Music and Metal

Every Time I Die - King Tut’s, Glasgow, Wed 7 Dec 2011

Relentless stream of three-minute blitzkrieg salvos

17 Jan 2012

King Tut’s is sold out tonight, and rightly so. US noiseniks Every Time I Die are one of the most engaging bands in the broad church of metal, preaching their inimitable brand of plunging rock ‘n’ roll since way back then in 1998. Trash Talk do a good…

Korn – The Path of Totality

Blistering new dubstep direction from the nu metal overlords

25 Nov 2011

They’ll forever be known as ‘the godfathers of nu metal’, but on Path of Totality Korn have taken a massive side step. Sure the guitars are still heavy as hammers but they’ve gone dubstep. And we’re not talking the odd breakbeat this is a full on…

Opeth - HMV Picture House, Edinburgh, Thu 10 Nov

Mesmerising show from the Swedish prog metallers

16 Nov 2011

Prog metal (from Rush to Mastodon) is an acquired taste but Sweden’s Opeth are at the top of their game and it is in the live arena where you can really appreciate their musicianship. You can watch each musician and really piece together their input…

Various artists - Songs For Dying

Vibrant collection of tunes exploring noise genres from techno to metal

16 Nov 2011

(Pjorn 72) The local Noiserati and associates’ recent reclaiming of their techno and/or metal roots helped their clan avoid a nihilistic dead end. As this bumper fifteen track compendium of clings, clangs, sci-fi slapstick, sepulchral drones…

Alice Cooper - SECC: Clyde Auditorium, Glasgow, Mon 31 Oct

2 Nov 2011

Could there be a more perfect date for Alice Cooper to play Glasgow? And the Halloween freakshow starts early with protopunks New York Dolls still pouting after all these years. A muted response from the crowd in this vast arena lessens the impact but…

Interview - Manowar get ready for their first UK tour in 16 years

Q&A with the most awesome metal act in the world

21 Oct 2011

Manowar are the very embodiment of epic metal excess and they return to the UK for their first full tour in 16 years playing their debut album Battle Hymns in its entirety as well as other thunderous metal classics. We catch up with outspoken bassist…

Corrupted - Garten der Unbewusstheit

Japanese doom metallers' moody follow up to El Mundo Frio

18 Oct 2011

Osaka’s enigmatic Corrupted have been shape-shifting their doom-laden and dystopic sound with each release over the past 15 years, to refer to them as a sludge band in their current phase seems bone-idle. Garten der Unbewusstheit (Garden of Unawareness…

Metal titans Manowar announced their first UK tour for 16 years

22 Jul 2011

The mighty Manowar have announced their first UK tour in 16 years. Where they will be playing their album Battle Hymns in its entirety alongside other bombastic rock classics. Famed for their over the top showmanship, love of swords, sorcery and Norse…

Bon Jovi – Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Wed 22 Jun 2011

Polished if unremarkable show from the New Jersey rockers

20 Jul 2011

For many years to even admit a passing love of Bon Jovi lead to ridicule and derision. But the passage of time has been kind to these reformed poodle rockers, nostalgia has meant their hits have been reassessed as cheesy but ultimately life affirming…

GWAR, with Clutch - O2 ABC, Glasgow, Tue 14 Jun

23 Jun 2011

The differences between GWAR and Clutch might be as obvious as they are many, but there was no doubt that the bearded southern destroyers were capable of holding their own with this one. This hour-long set further cemented Clutch's status as a…

Earth, with Sabbath Assembly - Stereo, Glasgow, Tuesday 5 Apr 2011

18 Apr 2011

Sabbath Assembly’s Process Church-inspired occult rock seems appropriate amidst the beards gathered within the confines of Stereo. Lead by Wooden Wand and Jex Thoth frontwoman and conjurer Jessica Toth -- their celebration of both Jesus and Satan evokes…

Foo Fighters – Wasting Light

Growling, heavy, punky goodness from the constantly entertaining Foos

13 Apr 2011

(Roswell/RCA) It’s impossible to talk about a ‘return to form’ when it comes to the Foo Fighters, they’re one of rock’s most consistently steady and constantly entertaining acts. They’ve never had a genuine down-turn. Dave Grohl’s (almost) outgrown…

Rob Zombie - O2 Academy, Glasgow, Sun 20 Feb, 2011

Shock rocker Rob Zombie slays Glasgow with support from Skindred

9 Mar 2011

Roll up roll up the Rob Zombie circus sideshow is in town, it’s been over a decade since the ‘Superbeast’ defiled the UK and all the ragged deadites are howling in anticipation. But before the master of ceremonies grants us with his presence Skindred…

Shock rocker and horror film director Rob Zombie - full interview transcript

Musician and director's first UK tour for 12 years

15 Feb 2011

HN:This is your first UK tour for 12 years. Why it’s taken so long? RZ: Basically it’s taken me a pretty long time to get back to anywhere, I haven’t been outside of the US for a long time, basically the thing that’s got in the way of my world wide…

Rob Zombie returns to the stage after 12 years

Master of schlock rock and horror movies set for UK tour

11 Feb 2011

Schlock rock and horror movies go full circle as Rob Zombie returns to the stage after 12 years, finds Henry Northmore

DevilDriver - Beast

Enough gratifying moments here to see past the raw gristle of ‘rusty chainsaw’ music

11 Feb 2011

(Roadrunner Records) DevilDriver are, for lack of a better phrase, purveyors of what could be called ‘rusty chainsaw’ music. It grinds and grunts at frenzied pace, and when it’s on a bit of downtime, it’s still pretty lethal. Beast may be a cringing…

Ladysmith Black Mambazo - Songs From a Zulu Farm

8 Feb 2011

(Wrasse Records) It’s debateable whether the ubiquity of the Ladysmith Black Mambazo sound (once it had graced the baked beans advert which took them into the mainstream) came at the expense of a specialist audience whose expectations might keep them…

Helmet - The Cathouse, Glasgow, Friday 17 Dec 2010

The weight and ingenuity of metal without the cheese and pretension

23 Dec 2010

The outbreak of onstage mild hysteria at the Cathouse tonight can be attributed to a number of things – although the support band playing the first song of the American quartet’s encore is never entirely explained. Mostly, the technical gremlins along…

Deftones - Perfect mix of power and intensity

O2 Academy, Glasgow, Fri 12 Nov 2010

18 Nov 2010

The expansive prog-metal of Coheed & Cambria were always going to be the ideal warm-up for Deftones. Claudio Sanchez’s vocals may be a bit hard for some to take (it can take on a whiny quality in the higher registers) but the heavy instrumental jams and…

Marnie Stern - Marnie Stern

15 Sep 2010

(Souterrain Transmissions) If, come some dull or unfathomable morning, you seek death by blissful, virtuosic metal-pop, then look no further than Marnie Stern: she’ll brutalise your every organ with hyper-melodic axe-mastery and alt-rock. The opening…

Biffy Clyro play secret acoustic gig to 200 at Ross Bandstand, Edinburgh

Intimate acoustic gig from melodic rock trio

26 Aug 2010

There’s an audible intake of breath as Biffy Clyro stroll onto the Bulmer's-sponsored mini-stage opposite the Ross Bandstand. Around 200 lucky competition winners have been granted an audience with a band who regularly command the attention of thousands…

Slash interview - Full transcript

16 Jun 2010

Born in Stoke on Trent, Saul Hudson became Slash after a move to LA at the age of 11. Now one of the world’s most iconic guitarists who gave us the timeless riffs from ‘Welcome to the Jungle’, ‘Paradise City’ and ‘Sweet Child of Mine’. After leaving…

Ozzy Osbourne - Scream

1 Jun 2010

Rock/ Metal Ozzy Osbourne Scream (Columbia) ‘I’m a rock star,’ growls Ozzy at the start of this, his tenth solo album. Well, not really, Ozzy, you’re primarily a global reality television celebrity, something you’re actually better at these days.

Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage

28 May 2010

(12A) 106min Despite massive success during the Canadian trio’s 35-year career, ‘The world’s most popular cult band’ have always existed alongside the mainstream, never in it. It could be argued that the showy musicianship and lyrical subject matter…

Soulfly

Studio 24, Edinburgh, Wed 19 May

26 May 2010

Since quitting/being thrown out of Sepultura back in 1996 (it’s all still a bit murky), Max Cavalera has been anything but idol, there’s been the short-lived Nailbomb, recent reunion with brother Max for Cavalera Conspiracy and collaborations with…

Picture gallery: Kiss

SECC, Glasgow Sun 9th May 2010

14 May 2010

Tonight's opening declaration - "You wanted the best, you got the best, the hottest band in the world: KISS!" - can be taken very literally, as the bands Sonic Boom Tour landed in Glasgow amid an inferno of 40ft high bellowing flames and exploding…

Ratt - Infestation

14 May 2010

Infestation (Roadrunner) It’d be so easy to dismiss Ratt as 80s hair metal also rans. But if you actually take the time to listen to Infestation you’ll soon realise why Ratt are still making records, and damn great records at that. There’s no…

Taking Dawn - Time to Burn

14 May 2010

(Roadrunner) Powering straight outta Las Vegas, Taking Dawn obviously grew up supping down the most hedonistic of rock cocktails Sin City has to offer. Big riffs, big shout-out-loud choruses all brewed from the DNA of the likes of Skid Row, GN’R and…

Slayer embark on 2010 UK tour - here's why you need to see them

12 May 2010

1: They’re finally here … we hope This Barrowland date was originally slated for November 2009, then the beginning of April, and finally the mighty Slayer should be with us this May. And the reason for this delay? Vocalist/bassist Tom Araya had to…

Exposure: Esben and the Witch

29 Apr 2010

Those of a fragile disposition are advised to look away now. Brighton horror-folk sorcerers Esben and the Witch – Daniel (axe, electronics), Rachel (lungs, bass), Thomas (axe, synth) – are rapidly advancing. They’re coming to get you, Glasgow You…

Slash among latest additions to Download 2010 festival bill

16 Apr 2010

Former Guns’n’Rose/Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash (making his solo Donnington debut) leads the announcement of 30 new bands for this year’s Download festival. Also joining him on the metal and rock festival bill are As I Lay Dying, Atreyu, Breed 77…

Five reasons to go see: Airbourne

29 Mar 2010

1: They supply the ultimate party soundtrack ‘Hard hitting, sweat soaked, fist-thumping rock’n’roll,’ explains guitarist David Roads, ‘just very loud and very hard, foot-stomping kind of music for a good time.’ 2: They sound a bit like AC/DC ‘It…

Steel Panther, Saxon and Dilinger Escape Plan added to Download 2010 bill

23 Mar 2010

A further 22 names have been announced by rock and metal festival Download to perform on the 2010 bill. Steel Panther, HIM, Saxon, Airbourne, Coheed & Cambria, 36 Crazyfists, Dilinger Escape Plan, Dommin, Taking Dawn, Unearth, Cinderella, A Day To…

Aerosmith and Rage Against the Machine join Download 2010 bill

23 Feb 2010

The final two headliners for this year’s Download festival have been confirmed with Rage Against the Machine and Aerosmith joining the previously announced AC/DC to head the hard rock and metal festival. The organisers also state vocalist Steve Tyler…

Rob Zombie - Hellbilly Deluxe 2: Noble Jackals, Penny Dreadfuls and the Systematic Dehumanization of Cool

17 Feb 2010

(Roadrunner) Rob Zombie is certainly one of the most enigmatic figures in modern metal. He’s evolved from rock star to a full-blown, gore-loving stage persona (a feat last pulled off by Marilyn Manson to increasingly lacklustre results). Taking a…

Mastodon to showcase Crack the Skye at Barrowlands

17 Feb 2010

Huge, multifaceted progressive metal as the mighty Mastodon return. Rumour has it they are still playing their latest album, Crack the Skye (a complex masterpiece detailing the astral journeys of a paraplegic), in its entirety for the first half of…

Iain Shaw - May You Live All The Days of Your Life

17 Feb 2010

(Vow of Noise) Recorded and mixed over four hours, in Glasgow, Iain Shaw’s covers album includes gentle, intriguing, but over-tweedy and earnest folk versions of Motorhead (‘Motorhead’) and The Ramones (‘Blitzkreig Bop’).

AC/DC, Them Crooked Vultures, Motörhead and Megadeth set for Download 2010

3 Feb 2010

Metal festival Download is celebrating 30 years of rock at Donnington (the first ever Monsters of Rock took place on the site in 1980) in style with a massive coup as AC/DC are announced as their first headliner for 2010. The Aussie rock legends are no…

Lostprophets line up Glasgow and Edinburgh dates

1 Feb 2010

One of Britain’s big rock success stories, Lostprophets are one of the few UK acts to break in the US with their catchy, crunchy guitar hooks. The Welsh nu-metallers latest album The Betrayed continues the theme including anthem in the making ‘It’s Not…

Killswitch Engage

11 Jan 2010

‘This is the Taste Of Chaos tour, not the Taste Of Tampons tour’, says Killswitch Engage guitarist and general oddball Adam Dutkiewicz, before requesting that the now pungently perspired crowd pogo up and down and side to side again once…

Gary Numan

4 Dec 2009

Genuine innovators who also become successful in their own lifetime are pretty hard to come by. Gary Numan not only wrenched the synthesizer from the grasp of the neo-classicist aesthetic of prog and retoolled a generation of artists disillusioned with…

Slayer

13 Nov 2009

In 2009 what do people really need from Slayer? This is a band who set the bar at a breathtaking high over 20 years ago, releasing intense, condensed concrete slabs for albums, if concrete slabs can be dripping in blood and goat entrails. The quartet’s…

Taste Of Chaos

13 Nov 2009

RRRRAAAAAARGH! That’s the sound of metal coming home, baby! The Rockstar Energy Drink Taste Of Chaos tour kicks off in Glasgow this month, featuring headliners Killswitch Engage, with additional rockage coming from Swedish melodic metallers In Flames…

Slayer - World Painted Blood

4 Nov 2009

(Mercury) Being pretty much the complete package when they started, California’s Slayer are attributed with inspiring an entire generation towards replicating their heads down, relentless thrash riffage. The problem with that is that over the years…

Halloween Guide: M - S

Yet more spooky goings-on

16 Oct 2009

M is for Movies Perhaps only rivalled by the upsurge in the plastic horn industry around 31 Oct, the annual economic boost for the horror film industry ensures that, every Halloween, there is a fresh crop of dismembered corpse-filled flicks to satisfy…

Dream Theater - SECC, Glasgow, Sun 11 Oct

Prog rockers entertain

15 Oct 2009

Progressive metal godfathers Dream Theater are here tonight for their Progressive Nation tour, and they bring with them some buddies who share their insatiable love for odd-timings and guitar wankery. Sub-headliners Opeth impress with their melancholic…

Music In The Digital Age

Technology's impact on the artform

2 Oct 2009

To paraphrase the Creme Egg adverts, when it comes to music, how do you hear yours? Streaming over the internet? Nicking stuff from torrents on the web? A bag full of goodies from Fopp? Crates of obscure vinyl from your local specialist…

Hitlist: Music

Your fortnightly feast for the ears

2 Oct 2009

Noah and the Whale, Mudhoney and The Vaselines, Invasion, Scarce, The Big Pink, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Music Like a Vitamin, The Dead Weather

Mudhoney and The Vaselines

Grunge legends team up with the recently reformed Scots

1 Oct 2009

Back in early 90s the music world turned its eyes on Seattle. And Mudhoney were there right at the start, they were first band to have success on the seminal Sub Pop record label with their Superfuzz Bigmuff EP in 1988, featuring the classic ‘Touch Me…

First word - Stix Zadinia of Steel Panther

10 Sep 2009

Stix Zadinia from glam parody rockers Steel Panther flexes his muscles to talk sex, drugs and rock‘n’roll

InMe

Essex rockers show off their new album

3 Sep 2009

InMe have had a bit of a rough time in recent years. The alt.rock band went from being the poster boys of a teenage generation – with tracks like the brooding ‘Firefly’ regularly on music television in the early 00s and helping to win an army of devoted…

Part Chimp - Thriller

3 Sep 2009

Imagine a supernova collapsing into a super-gravitational black hole, sucking in whole star systems, then eating pies and doughnuts for all eternity, and that still wouldn’t be as heavy as Part Chimp. This third album from the London…

Faith No More

Massive shots of musical adrenaline that have the crowd and band pumping

27 Aug 2009

Surely the crowning glory in this year’s Edge Festival - the reunited Faith No More returning to Scotland after a long, long absence. Firstly, Manchester youngsters Oceansize kick things off in suitably fuzzy prog metal style, reminiscent of oor ain…

Kerrang! The Album ‘09

10 Aug 2009

Since 1981 weekly metal mag Kerrang! has been waving the flag for hard rock charting the rise and fall of thrash, nu metal, grunge and emo. This double album exemplifies the dichotomy at the heart of any commercial magazine: do you cover what’s popular…

Mach Nausea - DIY noise festival

23 Jul 2009

As church fetes go, this second edition of this DIY noise festival was an appositely unholy resurrection. Lit from an archway behind them and playing on bare floorboards, the 18 acts on show tapped into industrial metal roots, surrealist slapstick, an…

Exposure: Growing

23 Jul 2009

Unlike, say, The Lemonheads, Growing are a band with a literal soubriquet: their evolutionary noise and experimental rock exploits provoke a sense of advancing ambience, metal progression and, well, growing. They’ve recorded for Mogwai’s Rock Action…

T in the Park - Saturday

13 Jul 2009

Having utterly failed to 'tweet' from T in the Park, Brendan Miles is given a second chance to voice his thoughts on some of the best acts to grace Scotland's biggest music festival

Dream Theater: Black Clouds & Silver Linings

9 Jul 2009

The phrase ‘prog-metal’ might not be the most alluring, but bands like Mastodon, Muse and The Mars Volta are helping to rehabilitate this most over-indulgent of art forms. Dream Theater have been in the game for longer than most, creating dense, complex…

Killswitch Engage - Killswitch Engage

25 Jun 2009

(Roadrunner) It seems that for today’s metal bands to achieve success, they’ve got to be able to mix the traditional guttural distortion with clean melody and soaring choruses – and Killswitch Engage are premier purveyors of this dichotomy. This…

Clutch - Strange Cousins From The West

25 Jun 2009

(Weathermaker) Clutch are one of those bands who constantly find themselves outside the circle of mainstream music, and unfortunately, it seems they’ll never transcend the fringes. This is their ninth studio effort and, rather unspectacularly, keeps…

Download 2009 - Donnington Park, Sun 14 Jun

19 Jun 2009

The sun is shining once again on the hallowed grounds of Donnington and this year’s Download has to have been one of the most successful metal festivals yet, the line-up has been fantastic (Faith No More, Slipknot, Limp Bizkit and The Prodigy already…

Exposure: Serpico

28 May 2009

It seems to be quite a quick rise to fame. How did it all get started? Not that quick! We formed the band in mid-2005 and released our EP at the start of 2007. It got some nice reviews and we’ve basically been on the road as much as possible since…

Heaven & Hell: The Devil You Know

14 May 2009

Heaven & Hell are essentially Black Sabbath ‘Mark Two’. After Ozzy was kicked out, Rainbow vocalist Ronnie James Dio stepped into the breach way back in 1979. Now, for legal reasons, they tour and record as Heaven & Hell but it’s still legendary…

Exposure: Black Sun

30 Apr 2009

Black Sun are a trio of Glasgow musicians, who collectively, are purveyors of a brutally intense noise and slow-grooving metal carnage that is not to be taken lightly. Bridging the gap between experimentation in sound and pounding riffs, Black Sun have…

Exposure: Holy Mountain

21 Apr 2009

Armed to the teeth with an arsenal of sludgy heavy grooves, down-tuned blues riffage and an unrelenting penchant for improvised noise, Glasgow duo Holy Mountain are an intriguing prospect in this time of continuous heavy metal/hardcore regurgitation.

Exposure: Ingested

16 Apr 2009

If you’re finding metal just isn’t doing it for you any more, why not delve into the brutal world of death metal, a hardcore body blow of sound accompanied by guttural vocals? This fortnight there’s a bumper bill of extreme noise with Manchester’s…

Alestorm

16 Apr 2009

Trying to confuse us all with yet another music subgenre, Alestorm are purveyors of pirate metal and are proud of it. Yes, you heard right. The pirates from Perth have made a splash in the metal community and are turning heads across Europe and beyond.

Mastodon - Crack the Skye

2 Apr 2009

METAL Resisting any temptation to compromise their sound in pursuit of any continued commercial growth, Atlanta’s Mastodon run headlong down a dark path where giant nocturnal beasts ravage the land with the making of exploratory progressive metal as…

Lamb of God

5 Feb 2009

METAL Lamb of God are part of the new breed of American metal. The sheer level of musicianship involved in these fast, brutal and aggressive songs is something that is often overlooked by the mainstream press. ‘I think there’s a stereotype of the…

In Case of Fire

22 Jan 2009

Fast rising Northern Irish trio are the opening act of the Kerrang! Tour in anticipation of their debut album, Align the Planets. As you’d expect the full line-up is a snap shot of modern metal including young tykes Black Tide and their old school metal…

Slipknot

8 Jan 2009

METAL For any rock band worth their salt, it’s all about the guitars. BIG. HEAVY. GUITARS. Slipknot have their fair share of shredding riffs and six string belligerence, although the first thing that hits us tonight, aside from the explosions and…

Slipknot - SECC, Glasgow, Mon 9 December 2008

16 Dec 2008

For any rock band worth their salt, it's all about the guitars. BIG. HEAVY. GUITARS. Slipknot have their fair share of shredding riffs and six string belligerence, though the first thing that hits us tonight, aside from the explosions and flames from…

Biffy Clyro to headline Rockness 2009, with festival stretching to three days

28 Nov 2008

Scottish band Biffy Clyro have announced that they will be headlining the final day of RockNess 2009. The festival, which takes place in Dores on the eastern banks of Loch Ness, is set for June 12th, 13th and 14th in 2009, growing from two days to three…

Exposure: Alestorm

20 Nov 2008

Excuse us while we sit down for a bit, because we’ve just had the shock of our lives. You might feel the same when you open up the MySpace page of four-piece Perth (Scotland, not Australia) rock outfit Alestorm, because nothing can quite prepare you for…

Slayer - Carling Academy, Glasgow, Mon 3 Nov

7 Nov 2008

Relentless. That’s what Slayer are. Relentless in that they have been battering us with a music that they pretty much help invent in the early 80s -- they were original thrash metal pioneers alongside Anthrax, Megadeth and Metallica -- and still revisit…

Slayer, Trivium, Mastodon & Amon Amarth

30 Oct 2008

When it comes to metal they don’t get any more influential than the founding fathers of thrash: Slayer. While pretenders to the throne may go heavier and faster you can’t match the peerless Reign in Blood and in particular the blueprint for thrash metal…

Attica rage - Ruin Nation

30 Oct 2008

Glasgow’s Attica Rage might have the directions for the road to hard rock valhalla but the second-NWOBHM-coming they are not. Their debut Ruin Nation, although mastered in London by Skunk Anansie’s Ace, is perceptibly DIY and the foursome, who have…

Maximum exposure

16 Oct 2008

The List are joining forces with Glasgow venue The Barfly in launching a new live music event this month. The List Exposure Night will be a regular monthly live music event showcasing the best new and emerging music from near and far. The line-up of the…

Metallica - Death Magnetic

18 Sep 2008

METAL That Metallica have become metal’s answer to the Rolling Stones – an endlessly touring megalith who’s albums have be come increasingly irrelevant as their live shows have become greater spectacles – should not negate getting the most out of…

Meshuggah

The Garage, Glasgow, Mon 8 Sep 2008

9 Sep 2008

Its been a long time coming for the return of the Swedish metallers and many may have wondered whether it would actually ever happen. Their last appearance this side of the border was way back in 95' supporting Machine Head with two cancelled shows…

Meshuggah

4 Sep 2008

Sometimes the devil is in the detail, but there are also times when the more you explain something, the less sense it makes. In Meshuggah’s case both are true. As regards the first notion, their music is arguably among the most complex and…

Dragonforce - Ultra Beatdown

4 Sep 2008

DragonForce play the most extreme power metal and it’s impossible to review Ultra Beatdown without the words ‘pompous’ and ‘bombastic’. They sound like every Iron Maiden song every written, all played at once, due to the sheer speed of delivery from the…

Black Sun

21 Aug 2008

Dark doom from Glasgow deviants Black Sun. This is sludgy, rumbling metal that reverberates through your synapses like an earthquake. A crushing assault on the senses with a dose of post-hardcore and ambient of the blackest variety. Check out new album…

Serj Tankian interview: full transcript

System of a Down vocalist talks to The List

20 Aug 2008

System of a Down were a singular prospect in metal, intelligent, intricate and utterly unique. Now vocalist Serj Tankian has released his first solo album, Elect the Dead, as you'd expect it's as distinctive as his former band. Classical pianos morph…

Brigade

17 Jul 2008

When it comes to rock us Brits are often in the thrall of the US, and Londoners Brigade certainly don’t buck that trend with a mix of pop punk meets post-hardcore, featuring Will Simpson (brother of Busted/Fightstar frontman Charlie) on vocals and…

Judas Priest - Nostradamus

3 Jul 2008

METAL (Columbia) Rob Halford’s howl and tracks as powerful as ‘Breaking the Law’ and ‘Painkiller’ have cemented Judas Priest’s status as a driving force that helped shape the entire metal genre. Formed back in the early 70s vocalist Halford left…

Cult of Luna - Eternal Kingdom

3 Jul 2008

METAL (Earache) Once pegged as post-metal rip-offs in the vein of Neurosis, Sweden’s Cult of Luna are fast becoming a formidable outfit in their own right and Eternal Kingdom strengthens that reputation. A concept album lyrically and musically based…

Soundshok - The Bringers of Bloodshed

3 Jul 2008

METAL (Rising Records) Metal from the small Scottish town of Arbroath as Soundshok unleash their debut on an unsuspecting world. If you hadn’t already guessed from the title, The Bringers of Bloodshed, Soundshok are heavy - very fucking heavy - and…

Nine Inch Nails - The Slip

5 Jun 2008

METAL (The Null Corporation) Trent Reznor has always been an innovator and after several years of dispute with his record label he’s finally free to operate by his own rules. With his first taste of freedom he released a 36 track instrumental album…

Serj Tankian

27 Mar 2008

METAL ABC, Glasgow, Tue 1 Apr System of a Down were a singular prospect in metal – intelligent, intricate and unique. Now vocalist Serj Tankian has released his first solo album, Elect the Dead, and, as you’d expect it’s as distinctive as his former…

Cavelera Conspiracy - Inflikted

27 Mar 2008

VERY HEAVY METAL (Roadrunner) Brazillian metallers Sepultura are pretty much untouchable in the world of thrash. Their Chaos AD and Roots are classics of the genre. However, frontman Max Cavalera split from the band in 1996, going on to form Soulfly…

Dillinger Escape Plan

14 Feb 2008

Most bands have their share of bad luck. Dillinger Escape Plan have their share and others’ too. The New Jersey noisecore troupe’s misfortunes include: five years between debut and sophomore albums, approximately seven line-up changes (songwriter and…

Various - Rough Trade Counter Culture 07

14 Feb 2008

EVERYTHING (Rough Trade) If anything can be gleaned from these expansive, annual compilations its this: try as you might you can’t keep up with all the fine new music around unless you actually run a record store. And while you might have…

Korn

4 Jan 2008

These dreadlocked, bagpipe-wielding metal mongers have been through plenty in their time, recently losing a member to Jesus. The band, who virtually single-handedly invented nu metal in the early 90s, may have slipped out of favour somewhat as rock…

Dillinger Escape Plan

15 Nov 2007

METAL Ire Works (Relapse) Having written the definitive math-metal album with 1999’s Calculating Infinity debut, DEP have faced incessant criticism from a select few for daring to expand the sonic palette. Ire Works looks set to provoke further…

*Hitlist

3 Jul 2007

• T in the Park 80,000 folks have over 100 reasons on stage to get down this weekend, from Arctic Monkeys to Wu-Tang Clan (pictured) and all in between. See full running order. Balado, Fri 6-Sun 8 Jul. (Rock & Pop) • The Skids After Green Day and U2…

Converge

3 Jul 2007

HARDCORE While metal is enjoying something of a renaissance as Mastodon and Tool’s esoteric leanings catch the mainstream’s attention, there’s yet to be a group to prove that hardcore is a bona fide art form. A group to attest hardcore is more than…

Aereogramme

3 Jul 2007

FAREWELL SHOW When Aereogramme released their aptly-titled third album My Heart Has a Wish That You Would Not Go earlier this year, it was to a certain critical warmth and a gust of commercial tumbleweed. Now that they’ve knocked it on the head…

Records - Will Haven

3 Jul 2007

METAL After splitting up, re-forming, and then losing vocalist Grady Avenell, Will Haven’s continued existence has been in question of late. But with the arrival of long-time friend Jeff Jaworski, the California metal quartet has finally found a…

Records - Pig Destroyer

3 Jul 2007

GRINDCORE Pig Destroyer have always had more to them than your average grinders, largely thanks to the lit-heavy lyrics of JR Hayes. So, while Phantom Limb plays like the illegitimate offspring of early Napalm Death, there’s a deeply unhinged quality…