RAMzine: Issue 5 - Bloodstock Festival

ROCK & METAL

ISSUE #5 WWW.RAMZINE.CO.UK

! e r o m d n a ie b m o z b o R , Trivium, within Temptation

K C O T S BLOOD REVIEW PLUS! METALDAYS

w o h d n a e r u lt u c K U ve lo “I ” is e st ta c si u m r u o y se r dive OUR INTERVIEW WITH JARET REDDICK

Contents Featured

W E! WELCOM

hat a month! What a summer! We sure have been busy! From Bloodstock in Derbyshire, all the way to MetalDays in Slovenia! This may just be our best issue yet. We have celebrated the old, looking back at Marylin Manson, and Rainbow in our RAMzine Classic’s reviews. We also showcase the new, as we talk to Adam Leader of In Search of Sun, who have also just been recommended by none other then Pantera guitarist Rex Brown!

This issue covers a lot of genres, I believe Jaret Reddick from Bowling For Soup explains it perfectly as he tells us ‘‘I love your culture and also how diverse your music taste is. I love the fact there are some fans who are like ‘My two favorite bands are: Bowling For Soup and…

Slipknot’. It’s something you don’t really get in the states.’’

We value our UK music industry and the diverse range of bands that we have on offer, and we shall continue to be varied. Next stop Hard Rock Hell in Wales this November headlined by Black Label Society, Saxon, UFO, and Helloween!

-Victoria Purcell

12 Bloodstock

RAMzine went to the beautiful country of Slovenia to embrace metal in the sun.

Interview 08 Bowling For Soup

We catch up with Jaret Reddick.

04 Reading Festival

Limp Bizkit, Slaves, Royal Blood, and the mighty Metallica!

05 Marilyn manson

We take a look back at ‘AntiChrist Superstar’ in one of two RAMzine Classics Reviews, in this issue!

06 in search of sun

We have a chat with vocalist Adam Leader.

11 Metaldays

RAMzine went to the beautiful country of Slovenia to embrace metal in the sun.

SEE YO U A T !

HA R D RO CK HELL

17 Reviews -Spark The Sail - Sapphire Deep -Dream State- Consequences -Conflict North - Treading Water -Coldrain - Vena -The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am -No Longer Afraid To Die - Harmlessness -Silent Jack - Play The Game -Days of Collapse - We got This Far -Annihilator - Suicide Society -Pigs - Wronger -Heldmaschine - Lügen -Voodoo Vegas - Hypnotise -Ugly Kid Joe - Uglier Than They Used Ta Be -Atreyu - Long Live -Mustasch - Testosterone

Contributors Cover design by Ryan Stanikk www.ryanstanikk.co.uk Rob Zombie on the cover and Bloodstock photos by Mark lloyd - www.amplifiedgigphotography.com.

Proofreaders: Neale McGeever, Neil Mach, Pagan Hel & Sophie Colvin.

Reading Festival Review by Victoria Bundy.

RAMzine Classic: Marlyn Manson’s ‘AntiChrist Superstar’

by Steve Jackson.

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Marlyn Manson photo by Photo By Lisa Billingham of Billibee Creative - www.facebook.com/ BillibeeCreativeLimited Introducing In Search of Sun by Sean Rafferty.

RAMzine Classic: Rainbow Rising by Pagan Hel (Senior Writer).

Reviews by: Heather Moss, Stuart Iversen, Pagan Hel, Alex Reeves, Paul H Birch, Neale McGeever, Stephen Stanford.

Neale McGeever (Senior Writer) Bloodstock Review, and Interview with Jaret Reddick of Bowling For Soup.

Reading Festival 2015 Photo by Tom M Over the years Reading Festival has changed quite dramatically. As I look out across Richfield Avenue, an arena filled with flower headbands and neon face-paints on fresh young faces. This is a sight i’m not surprised to see with this year’s diverse line up of grime, pop and dance music. Amidst the crowd, I catch sight of a ‘Master of Puppets’ t-shirt on a man with beer in hand, baffled by a group of girls twerking outside the dance stage... and the my faith in Reading Fest is restored! Here are some of our best rock moments from Reading Festival 2015:

LIMP BIZKIT They’ve been touring like crazy and tonight we can’t think of a better way to celebrate 20 years of Limp Bizkit. In 1995, we were whipped up into a disillusioned state of nu metal angst, and something tells me we are heading for something very similar tonight at Reading. The crowd are pumped and the NME tent is almost shaking with adrenaline.

Frontman Fred Durst, as expected, is sporting that familiar baseball cap, baggy tracksuit and bad attitude; pumped and ready to reignite moments of teenage anger. Bizkit storm through hit after hit. A complete back catalogue of their greatest classics including ‘Rollin’, ‘My Way’, ‘Take a Look Around’ and ‘My Generation’. The kind of tracks you didn’t realise you knew every single word to until you were screaming them in the face of the person next to you in the crowd.

Now, we’re not trying to change Durst’s bad boy reputation, but tonight he’s gone all soft. Durst offers ‘everyone in this tent free beer’ (two each actually), before stopping ‘Break Stuff’ mid-frenzy, to make sure fans that had fallen in the mosh pit were pulled up off the ground.

We can’t help but get caught in the hysteria, singing

“If you can’t handle the heat, get out of the kitchen!“ - Fred Durst George Michael’s ‘Faith’ and RATM’s ‘Killing in The Name Of’ at the top of our lungs, as Durst tells us to ‘‘Turn it up - let’s have some Limb Bizkit karaoke right now’’. We’ve had an awesome night with the Limp Bizkit lads and with a new album in the pipelines, which Durst has branded ‘‘the heaviest, most crazy metal record of all time’’ we can’t wait for more.

4 By Victoria Bundy

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METALLICA ’Neill

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SLAVES Slaves- the fierce punk duo from Kent take the stage in the NME tent. They’ve lost their goldfish, they’re pretty upset about it but it’s not going to ruin the show that’s for sure. There’s something about these two smashing around the front of the stage that is captivating, a nostalgic assault of real British punk.

The topless and Hawaiian shirted duo seem to have balanced themselves somewhere between the state of don’t-give-a-fuck and lads-on-holiday.

The show is carnage- a dirty pint full of sweat, beer and saliva. Wild eyed and looking out onto the swarming crowd over his up-right drum-kit, singer/drummer Isaac Holman announces ‘‘Reading is the best festival in the world’‘ and fans are fired up for a good time. The set is a storm of punchy confrontational tracks including crowd favourites ‘7am’, ‘Sockets’ and ‘Where’s Your Car Debbie’. Did someone say main stage next year? Yep, we think you’re right.

ROYAL BLOOD It’s all very serious and fierce-faced as the band enter onto main stage at Reading. Although a reassuring moment of humanity from singer/bassist Mike Kerr, telling the huge crowd ‘‘There is a lot of people. I’m gonna shit myself’’, lowers the tone somewhat. The crowd is in fact, massive.

This band is about noise and sludge and fuzz - we love it! Royal Blood pump out more power and energy during their set then most four/five piece outfits we’ve seen this weekend. Pounding through heavy tracks including ‘Figure it Out’, ‘Loose Change’ and ‘Come on Over’, the crowd swirls as fans pull and push in and out of the emerging mosh pits. As Royal Blood tear through an extended version of ‘Out of the Black’, drummer Ben Thatcher gets some of the action as he dives into the crowd and emerges with a flag draped around him like a cape. They’ve got something new for us, a brand new track ‘Hook Line and Sinker’. After an immense year followed by the success of their selftitled debut album, this tasty new track showcases the future of what is to come; more aggressive, pounding, heavy-rock numbers.

Metallica headline Reading Festival for a record fourth time, the rock veterans execute two hours of raw, unadulterated metal greatest hits. Metallica had been busy sneakily picking an entourage of lucky fans, donning white ‘tallica album artwork t-shirts to accompany them on stage for the entirety of tonight’s set. The overwhelmed on-stage crowd seem to be battling between snapping as many photos as possible and embracing those fleeting moments of real eye-contact with the metal legends themselves.

Frontman James Hetfield opens the set with one simple statement ‘‘We’re Metallica, and this is what we do’’, before ripping full throttle into ‘Fuel’, from the 1998 album ‘Reload’. The band thrash into frantic classics such as ‘Battery’ and ‘Ride the Lightening’ and Hetfield’s command over the crowd is like no other, as he conducts a mass sing along to the 1997 song ‘The Memory Remains’. As the band fades and Lars Ulrich takes a step back from smashing the shit out of his kit, the stage lights dim and the sound of the audience chanting the haunting melody transcends the arena.

The epic metal ballad, ‘One,’ is a rather fitting apocalyptic mixture of heavy rain, flashing strobes and exploding pyrotechnics. Between the gun-fire lasers, backdrop of soldier silhouettes and smoke filling the air we are reminded that Metallica not only perform a show; they create a visual experience of epic proportions.

‘Master of Puppets’ the title track from their 1986 third album is a timeless thrash anthem- laden with the signature ferocious beats of Ulrich and Hammet’s screaming guitar solos that extend into the night. The set rips into ‘Fade to Black’, before Hetfield teaches new fans tonight to ‘Seek and Destroy’, with a helping hand from his ‘‘Metallica family’’. The track from their 1983 debut album ‘Kill em’ all’ transports us back over three decades, where it all began, to thrash metal in its rawest form.

The only way to top over 2 hours of pure metal classics has to be the Black album favourite ‘Enter Sandman’, of course. As Hetfield drops to his knees, giving a respectful rock signal to the nearest camera, and Robert Trujillo bounces around in full crab position; the anthem kicks in. Hundreds of Metallica branded inflatable balls flood onto the crowd, fireworks explode from the stage and the crowd is wild with energy as our hero of the weekend, Hetfield, demands for the last time tonight ‘‘Are you alive?’’.

Classics Review!

Review by Steve Jackson Photo By Lisa Billingham of Billibee Creative

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hen the planets align and the moon eclipses the sun, the stage is set for the ‘Antichrist Superstar’. Marilyn Manson’s impact on alternative and mainstream culture was something which the world had been crying out for, if you wanted it or not. Grunge was near dead and metal was slowly dying away (of course with the exception of certain bands holding the fort). Alternative music in general was not in a great shape, remember, Nu-Metal was yet to explode and was very much looked upon with great disdain by the mainstream. America’s unpopular youth had no great spokesman, no one to raise that middle finger to the constitution and be the voice of the voiceless. Sounds very dramatic I know but it was pretty dire times to not be someone who fitted in (so to speak). Marilyn Manson became what the scene was craving so dearly, finally after years here was an artist who spat back in to the face of the oppressors. His nihilistic message created a deep fear in the mainstream and appealed greatly to those who felt like there was no place in society for them.

While the imagery and timing is massively important in launching any act, it is not the lasting impression of an artist. Ultimately the music is what will stay around for years and be the final defining statement of an artist.

While the output of albums after Antichrist range from the amazing ‘Mechanical Animals’, to the questionable (to put politely), Antichrist will forever remain his defining statement. If you take away the cultural impact and all the other sideshows, you are left with an album that fully deserves to be considered a classic purely on musical merit. Each and every song is a multi facet beast and the various musical tones complement each other perfectly, be it timid shy slow creeping worms or the colossal behemoths stomping on your head, all the songs take their turn in telling part of a story.

Antichrist contains some of the most anthemic and recognisable songs in the whole alternative music scene. From the industrial grunge of Tourniquet, the imperialistic march of ‘Antichrist Superstar’ or frantic thrashing of Irresponsible ‘Hate Anthem’, these are songs that have lit up many a dance floor at rock clubs. Of course though there is one particular song that became the statement for a generation, an anthem in every sense of the word and a song that will still be blasted in clubs for another 20 years, ‘The Beautiful People’. However massive songs like those only make up a small part of this 16 track behemoth. The rest of the album is jam packed with killer track after killer track. Songs like ‘Dried Up Tied Up’ and ‘Dead to the World’, ‘The Reflecting God’, ‘Deformography’, ‘Angel With The

Scabbed Wings’, ‘1996’ and ‘Mister Superstar’; are all blistering anthems in their own right, filled and dripping with sleaze and malice. While there are songs like ‘Cryptorchid’, ‘Minute of Decay’ and ‘Man That You Fear’ showcase a far more sensitive and reflective side to the journey.

Trent Reznor deserves a tremendous amount recognition for his hand in shaping ‘Antichrist Superstar’. His production (along with assistance from others) is perfect in generating the feeling of unease and impending doom. The guitars fizz and buzz around like frantic wasps while they take a back seat to other proceedings before exploding into life with devastating crunch and weight when required. The drums sound at times like the hell’s marching band heralding the apocalypse and at other times hollow, desolate and isolated, ideal for the more reflective moments. The Bass is often the main driving force of the music, while the chaos reigns around the speakers the bass being placed dead centre keeps the whole affair grounded. With the keyboards adding layer upon layer of subliminal white noise, macabre sound bites or what ever is required to add to feeling intended. To add to this Trent Rezonr’s influence on the song writing is quite clear, the songs may never became this focussed and purposeful, especially on reflection of the progression from Manson’s debut album ‘A Portrait of an American Family’.

However having said all of that, this is Marilyn Manson’s album, pure and simple. His vocal delivery, the lyrics and also the imagery are well and truly inspired. The intensity and honesty of his vocals are truly terrifying, while it’s a story you are bearing witness, literally hearing a man pour his soul into what he is doing, feeling and meaning every single word. The conviction and self belief is astonishing yet at the same time contradictorily self loathing and self deprecating. The portrayal of a personality at odds with themselves, powerfully individually yet incredibly fragile spoke and struck the hearts of a generation of perceived misfits.

‘Antichrist Superstar’ has lost none of its spark or energy after nearly 20 years. It is an album that seems to grow and bloom more and more as the years go by. Sure you have heard some of the songs many times before, but when was the last time you actually sat down and really listened to the album. Approach and listen to Antichrist with fresh ears and no preconceptions, I will guarantee that you will be blown away by just how good of an album it is. It should now be time to accept that ‘Antichrist Superstar’ is one of the greatest albums of the 90’s if not of all time, now this is not an overblown statement in any shape or form.

By Sean Rafferty

“"World Domination. Nothing More, Nothing Less".”

Makes me wonder if I’m speaking to the villain of the new Bond film.

However, I’ve actually just quizzed Adam Leader, vocalist of In Search Of Sun, about the ambitions for the group when they first started. Akin to many stories that have birthed the musical gods of today, In Search Of Sun started as simply two friends in their local pub.

For many, starting a band requires one resource; musical friends. It’s fair to assume that Adam, having played in previous bands, probably had an abundance of people he could have called, but anyone who would pick up the phone wouldn’t cut it for Adam.

“I was struggling ever since I left school to find the right members to start this band, until one 2010 summer’s evening in our local pub, myself and Dave ran into each other. He asked how the band was going and I told him I was still looking for musicians. He said ‘Dude, you know I play guitar right?’ A couple months later, Dave brings in Faz and Sean, I bring in Rory and we were good to go!”

And this is where the ambition for world domination becomes that tiny bit more believable.

In a sea of musical talent, Adam was looking for the right people to form In Search Of Sun. It’s an honest comment that shows the authenticity of this group’s strive for success.

The group started under the original name of Driven and released their first EP in 2012, titled ‘A Breakdown of Character’. It was the first show-

case of the band’s groove laden, heavy metal sound that has carried them to success.

“Nobody is really gonna want to put you on a bill if you’re not able to bring anybody through the door, but we persevered; hounded venue promoters, took any show we were offered and gradually built ourselves up to where we are today.

It’s still challenging now, but it’s worth the fight, we love this band too much, and hey, everything worth doing always comes with a difficult path, but when you reach success it’s totally worth the struggle.”

This success that came in 2014, with the release of their debut record, ‘The World Is Yours’, after signing with their label Raging Demon Entertainment.

“With it being our debut album, it was the first time we’d ever done such a long haul in the studio, but we managed to find our feet and got the momentum going. Working with Phil Kinman at MTR Studios was a blessing man. He too is as passionate about his work as we are about this band and he definitely got the absolute best out of us. “ From an outsider’s point of view, ‘The World is Yours’ ticked all the boxes for a genuinely successful debut for any band. After its release, In Search of Sun found themselves on playlists for Kerrang! and Scuzz and garnering mentions on lists for ‘Best Underground Album’ and even VH1’s ‘15 Metal bands you should be listening to in 2015.’

However when I probe for information about what the band has in store for us in the future,

the responses shorten. It’s both surprising and kind of predictable. For a group that has shot up this far, this quickly, you expect for the next few months to be meticulously planned with plenty to talk about. But this is a very exciting time for any fan of the band, and you can see why mum’s the word when it comes to the future.

July saw the release of a brand new single from the group. To this day, the video for ‘Elevation’ has had just over 5000 hits on YouTube. The next move from this band will be one of substantial interest to many and where there is an investment like that, maintaining suspense is key.

From what I could persuade out of Adam, he confirmed: “Album two... 2016...” But does it end there? Not a chance. We’re talking about a man with world domination on his mind, so of course the next words out of his mouth where: “We plan to get on the road, and not just UK road’’. Adam continues ‘‘Europe is definitely on the cards, and who knows, if things really take off then maybe we’ll be able to tour in some non European countries. It’s definitely in the plan without a doubt!’’

‘The World Is Yours’ may have been the message to fans at the moment. But with every passing minute this band put their plans into motion this may well change, and the ambition for world domination is set to replace this sentiment. Should we be afraid? I’m going to go with a definite maybe...

‘The World Is Yours’ is out now via Raging Demon Entertainment. We can expect to see something new in from In Search Of Sun in 2016!

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Photo by Dark Fable Media

By Neale MGeever

Jaret Reddick

By Neale McGeever

In 2013 punk-pop icons Bowling For Soup anounced they would be saying goodbye to the UK for a while. Since then their vocalist and guitarist, Jaret Reddick, has released material with his other bands People On Vacation and Jarinus, as well as working on a few other projects. Last year BFS released a fan-funded, re-recording of their greatest hits (or at least the first ten years worth) known as ‘Songs People Actually Liked - Volume 1’ and more recently announced they would be returning to UK for the ‘How About Another Round’ tour in February 2016. Hooray!!

We caught up with Jaret Reddick himself to talk about their return to the UK, rock music for kids, fan-funded music and a certain ‘cheeky’ chicken chain.

You said farewell to the UK a couple of years ago, why are you coming back now?

We were pretty open about this on the ‘Farewell Tour’, that ‘farewell’ wasn’t necessarily ‘good bye’. We knew that at some point that we would come back. At the time we didn’t know what the future of BFS was so, for no other reasons than personal ones – Erik was going through a divorce, so was I, Gary was a new Dad and just started his own business, so there was no way we could keep this up.

We’ve been coming here [the UK] every year for 15 years, sometimes more than once. There was no way we could keep the schedule going.

It’s been a couple of years now and everything has smoothed its way out, so we found a new way of figuring out a lighter touring schedule.

And we felt the fans wanted us to come back, it was a constant thing on the internet. We knew there would be people who thought we would be ‘taking the piss’ as you guys say, but by no

means is that true.

But I can understand why you would feel that way. For example I saw KISS on their ‘Farewell Tour’ in the frickin’ ‘90s! And they’re still going!

Sincerely I really had no idea what was going to happen with Bowling For Soup or what we were going to do. This isn’t us saying ‘We’re going to be back every year from now on’ this is more like: ‘Hey, we’re back in business and here we come!’

even bringing their teenage kids to see us now, it’s crazy. Maybe that’s an oversite but you guys do a lot of ‘shagging’ early so… (He laughs) let’s be fair!

That’s only a good thing, right?

There were definitely some haters at first and those who went to multiple shows with it being a ‘farewell tour’ in mind but if you look back at the press –even then – we weren’t saying ‘goodbye’. It was just that we needed a break.

For us, having been to the UK over 35 times since 1999 – 2 years is a pretty long break.

I feel like ‘farewell’ wasn’t a misuse. I feel we used it properly. Yet I couldn’t be more excited and the people who were upset are over it now, and are gearing up for a pretty fun tour.

time in many years where I saw something that was new to me. So it does happen from time to time. For the most part, we’re very comfortable in the UK. So in every city we have a favourite bar and a favourite place to get lunch and favourite place to get a kebab at 4 in the morning.

Those things are already decided.

“There’s not a place on the planet that totally understand BFS, and totally gets it, more than the UK“

So do you feel the UK embraces Bowling for Soup more than the US and even other parts of the world?

For sure, the US has been great to us and there’s definitely countries that have been great to us but there’s just not been a place on the planet that totally understand BFS, and totally gets it, more than the UK. You really understand what we’re doing which is the main thing. In the US reviewers are like “they don’t take anything seriously, it’s just fart joke after fart joke.” Whereas that same review in the UK would be: “FART JOKE AFTER FART JOKE! WE LOVE IT!” I think early on our band made a connection and I think it’s continued. What’s great is we are easily in our third generation of fans here, and it’s funny we are playing just as bigger venues as we always have so it shows how loyal the BFS fan base is here and how it’s been handed down from generation to generation.

I also love that there are people who came to see us when they were 15 in 2000 and they are

“We we didn’t know what the future of Bowling For Soup was“

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Do you have any favourite places to visit in the UK? Or is everywhere great?

Definitely! We’re not great tourists, we don’t really do that kind of thing, but every once in a while we might spark our interests. We’ve seen all of the churches and we’ve seen all of the statues, we’ve seen a lot of that kind of stuff. I was on tour with Erik, doing the acoustic shows, and we had brought along Ryan from my other band People On Vacation. When we played New York, Ryan was saying ‘Dude, you got to take a look at this place there’s a friggin’ wall built around it!’ I’m thinking ‘It’s a wall!’ but I went and it was the first

Speaking of Ryan – how does it differ to tour with People On Vacation to touring with Bowling For Soup, who you have known for many, many years?

It’s different. Its fun, it’s great and it’s new. It’s almost like starting anew school. BFS have been going for so long, we have an unspoken communication at all times. Even little things like putting a suitcase on a seat in a dressing room. We all know seats are for asses to sit on. Then you go on tour with a bunch of new guys and it’s totally different and their bags on chairs and it’s like AAAGGHHH! It’s the little things. I will say it was fun, but because we had a head start as a band we got to do it on a bus and it wasn’t quite as commando as it was for Bowling For Soup back in the day. It’s really cool to experience those things with new people. One thing is that Gary is my ‘roommate’ on the road, so I do miss him sometimes when I’m on the road with POV. Again it’s an unspoken thing – I’ll wake up and there’s already a Diet Coke waiting for me , or He’ll wake up and I’ll already have a Subway ready for his lunch. Those things just happen without asking.

POV was a really fun tour though and two of the guys in that band are English, so having those guys around to ‘bully about’ is a lot of fun.

BFS also just released the fan-funded ‘Greatest Hits’ collection which was re-recorded and released as ‘Songs People Actually Liked’ – was it fun to go back to the old material?

It was A BLAST! We had so much fun, especially with the really old ones. We’ve been a band for 21 years and we recorded our first album in 1994. It was a blast to revisit songs from that era again – both sonically and playing wise. I’d say we’re better singers and players now, also the technology is awesome. Working through those songs was really fun. Getting to the latter parts of the catalogue, for example ‘Girl All The Bad Guys Want’ or ‘Punk Rock 101’, actually became challenging. That was sort of the beginning of the era that really is Bowling For Soup. What we are now is due to those songs. The idea was to polish up on old recordings so it was a real challenge to change any of those. In all it was a lot of fun but challenge at the same time.

Are we going to hear any new material from BFS soon?

I think that will happen, possibly next year. On the ‘farewell’ tour we filmed our acoustic shows and recorded the ‘last’ live BFS show so we’re finally getting around to those and getting those ready for DVD. We’re hoping to have one of those out for the time we’re touring next year. The other one is due for summer next year. And hopefully at that point we can start thinking about getting back in the studio. Possibly for a ‘Volume 2’ of our greatest hits or even something new. It all depends on how everything falls in place.

case of doing it at the right time and in the right way.

Your tour comes with support from your buddies The Dollyrots and new band Lacey – did you choose these bands or is it out of your hands?

We definitely get to choose. It’s something I’ve taken a lot of pride in, over the last several years by bringing new music to the UK with bands like Army Of Freshmen, Patent Pending, MC Lars, The Dollyrots, etc. To bring bands in like that, even the likes of Zebrahead too, who have had a history here, but weren’t touring here.

With this tour almost being a ‘comeback’ tour, but not really because it hasn’t been that long – we went with The Dollyrots because they are almost family and I thought it was time for them to come back too. Lacey had been so gracious to everybo-

“Crowd-funding works for bands that are REALLY good So what are you listening to right now? at marketing themselves’’ I like that new Twenty

dy, so I thought they belonged on the tour too.

I’m excited! It’s a good, diverse line-up. You get the pop-y rock stuff with Lacey and the more raw edge of The Dollyrots and then you get a bunch of fart jokes from Bowling For Soup.

It’s going to be awesome.

“I love what’s happening in the whole pop-punk genre right now’’

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So there will be a ‘Volume 2’?

Thing is with ‘Part 2’ is like what happened with the latter songs off the first volume. We need a proper idea of what we are going to do with songs from the second ten years of material. I don’t think re-recording the songs is going to make a lot of sense, as you get into the songs we have done in the last five years or so. Maybe it will become more of a compilation, rather than a rerecord, but we’ll see. There’s other things we could do for example make it a compilation but cut all the songs acoustic too and make it a double album. The demand is definitely there. Probably the most asked question apart from: “Why are you coming back to the UK?” is probably “Will there be a volume 2?”It’s a really good idea but it’s a

around and some new bands are doing stuff that complimented what we were doing several years ago. I just like music, my Spotify playlist might surprise some people as it’s very very diverse. There’s not a lot that I don’t like. I also have a 2-year-old, but he doesn’t have an opinion. Although he does love Eminem.

So are you always listening to new bands to get an idea of what band to bring on tour next?

I do. It’s funny, these days I’m being educated by my kids. They are 9 and 12. I love being introduced to new things and I love what’s happening in the whole pop-punk genre right now. Also I love the fact there’s still a lot of us dinosaurs

Photo Will Von Bolton

One Pilots album, I’ve been listening to a bunch of country too. Like I mentioned my younger kids listen to Eminem, so I’ve been introducing them to Run DMC and The Beastie Boys. It’s been a good week musically in the Reddick car.

The BFS ‘Greatest Hits’ album and the latest POV album were recorded with help from crowdfunding. Do you see that as the way forward for making records?

It works for some people, yet it can be difficult for others. We were so lucky that when the first POV album dropped in ’09 – the fan base was already there. Social media was in place so we could keep in contact with everybody. A few years before we wouldn’t have had Facebook or Twitter, and we were still trying to figure out Myspace. The timing worked out really well, so I think that crowd-funding works for bands that are REALLY good at marketing themselves as well as really honest and open with their fans. I think it’s 100% a new model for the future. That being said, for a new artist just starting out – I even advise a few bands in the US – that a failed pledge or kick-starter is not something you want on your resume. People think ‘should I do a kick-starter?’ and they have

500 likes on their Facebook page, what I would do is focus on building those likes to around 2-3,000 and then think about a kick-starter.It’s also about good timing. I also think there’s still a place for record labels too. They have the money, and they have the know-how. There’s a lot of songwriters who aren’t great songwriters. On the other hand there’s a lot of great marketing people who aren’t the greatest song writers.

Those kind of people are more fitted to a label.

Fan funding is right for us and I’ve done it since the first Jarinus album.

Honestly it’s not really a new thing – it’s essentially like a presale. Which has been happening for years. It’s a glorified presale which forces the artists to provide the fans with more content. So now they are buying an album a little sooner than they would of and they are get-

singing ‘My Wena’ at 65 years old, in front of some teenage kids and it’s going to be super-creepy, and hopefully we don’t get arrested for it. I did tell the guys: “You realise now we took this break, we can never split up now?” Together forever!

ting all this extra shit. It’s not a new idea but I love the model. It’s making the bands work harder and I love how fans can get more out of it. For example I am literally not done fulfilling the rewards for ‘Songs People Actually Liked – Volume 1’. We had 4,000 or something pledges I think. For BFS it takes me at least a year to fulfil everything. It’s just t-shirt and stuff its Skype sessions, or it’s ‘I’ll write you a song’. A lot of things are time-based. I had a couple people at my house to write me a song. So it is hard work but it’s worth it. Fans are getting something they never would ten years ago. Back in the day I wish I could have got a hand-written lyric sheet from Motley Crue, but unfortunately I didn’t.

live. So my answer is: Foxy Shazam.

When you actually do your farewell tour, you aren’t going to sign a contract like Motley Crue have saying they legally can’t come back – are you?

That’s the thing, now I feel like we could never do another one. Essentially we can’t break up now, because if we tried to people would be like “yeah right, we’ve heard that one before”. Doesn’t matter how hard we tried. Dude! We never said it was ‘goodbye’! I guess we’re just together forever and

If you could bring back any broken-up band, who would it be?

Gosh, that’s a tough one. What makes it such a hard question is: that you don’t realise which bands have got back together or not. Everyone breaks up and gets back together. If there was one band I could get back together, right now, it would probably be Foxy Shazam. I just got into those guys, about two years ago and they were supposed to come to Dallas – then they broke up! I heard they were amazing live so I would have them reform just so I could see them

You already have BFS, POV and Jarinus – will be trying any other musical styles?

Well I’ve already started writing songs with my fiancé’s dad…who is my age! Go me, right? The songs we have been writing have been like country, Southern style rock but with my lyrical twist. I don’t know what we’ll do with it, we will definitely record. It would be hard for us to tour or anything but we could do some online concerts. We will be getting some music out there for sure. Then I’m working on a children’s album. I just try never to stop.

A children’s album makes sense because you have recorded songs for cartoons, video games and even Chuck E Cheese – are you working on anything similar soon?

I hope so! I read and write for a bunch of pilot shows, so I just hope they get picked up. As of now Disney’s Phineas and Ferb is over, I’m still doing the Chuck E Cheese thing still, I hope that things like that are still in the works. I did a theme song for a franchise called Team Hot Wheels, based on the toy cars, which will be on Net-

flix. Me, Linus [other half of Jarinus] and our friend Gabe wrote it together. And Linus is doing all the music for the show too. There are some episodes out and a full movie soon. It’s me singing on it, and it was a fun project to do. It’s pretty good show.

Is the children’s album going to be like a childfriendly BFS? It will be part of it because our songs do translate so well to younger audiences, for example stuff like Jimmy Neutron, so that sound has always translated well to that age-group. That and also elements of just fun music. Want it to be really upbeat, something catchy, but also smart. So I’m going to take my time with it but still have fun. It’s something I’ve been talking about for a very long time. So to sit down and do it after this tour will be really good.

What do you miss the most about touring the UK? Mainly it’s just the shows and the fans in general. I love your culture and also how diverse your music taste is. I love the fact there are some fans who are like “My two favourite bands are: Bowling For Soup and… Slipknot”. It’s something you don’t really get in the states. That and Nando’s. Not sure what’s ‘cheeky’ about it. The mashed potatoes are delicious though. I’m surprised we don’t have Nando’s here.

Bowling For Soup hit the road early next year at the following dates in Febuary 2016!

1 O2 Academy Glasgow 2 O2 Academy Newcastle 3 O2 Academy Leeds 4 O2 Academy Liverpool 5 Manchester Academy 6 O2 Academy Birmingham 7 O2 Academy Sheffield 8 Norwich UEA 9 Nottingham Rock City 10 Guildford G Live 11 London Camden Roundhouse 12 O2 Academy Bournemouth 13 Southampton Guildhall 14 Cardiff Great Hall 15 O2 Academy Bristol

Photo by Kate James of F13 Photography

This summer has been a great for UK Festivals!

We have been to Hammerfest, Breaking Bands, Download, Bloodstock... the list goes on. We did however also venture out to a European festival!

We took a short flight over to Slovenia to attend the beautiful MetalDays Festival.

Hell O ver Pa radi se!

indeed a path, but where else can you do that!?).

The sun was always shining for us this year, in the 35 degree heat.

There is something quite liberating about this festival. We are surrounded by metal heads, yet I also feel at one with nature. Being from the UK I was surprised The festival played by the open-air showers, “ r and peoples willingness host to a diverse la cu ta ec sp te i range of our to just stand in them , i t's qu "It 's unbelie vable favourite bands. stark bollock naked (there " in re a e w t a We witnessed a are also paid cubicle is a rea th th ea ter) showers available). The chilling headline Th m a re (D rie B performance from environment is very - James La Behemoth, a down relaxed, but you are right amazing set never too far away from campers from Dream Theater, loaded up with Jägermeister. Each morning the and the heavy metal beach plays host to topless badminton, followed thunder that is Saxon. Not to mention Suicide by men in thongs volleyball. This even gets Silence, Arch Enemy, Skindred, and Anvil - just to advertised on the main stage «We are looking name a few! There were also hundreds of bands for big balls and hairy asses». that we have never heard of before, them being more prominent out in Europe. This is the beauty MetalDays is 5 days of music, which means of a festival like this. I know that when you attend you could be camping out for 7 days - which I a festival you expect to be able to stumble across found fine! However if camping is not for you, bands you haven’t seen before, however being the town of Tolmin is just a short walk from at a European festival, the diversity and range of the festival site. Here there are bands was something else. of hotels and hostels, however you will need to book in Not only were the bands great, but MetalDays is advance. Advance flights are in a location like no other. The festival is located cheap, food and drink is cheap, at Sotočje, Tolmin, Slovenia, which lies inand tickets are very cheap! between the two mountain rivers, Tolminka and MetalDays is a festival worth Soča. There is a beach in between the two rivers looking into for next August where the water runs crystal clear. People camp 2016. After all KREATOR have out in the woodlands. Festival goers take their been announced! Read our full airbeds from their tents, place them in the river festival review online at www. next to the beach, and float on down to the next RAMzine.co.uk. beach, where they can buy a cocktails or a much Words by Victoria Purcell. needed hangover-cure smoothie. (This isn’t the Photos by Katja Borns, Marc recommended way of travelling to it, there is Hansen, Michael Jagla.

ound h ere" “"It 's very fucking ME TAL ar nce) - Ma rk Heylmun (Suicide Sile

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VERY WELL ORGANISED, GREAT ATMOSPHERE. ROCK MUSIC IS ALIVE AT BLOODSTOCK!

fuelled punk-metal anthems such as ‘Terminator’ and ‘Predator’. Bassist Barrakuda throws his guitar case out to the crowd and leaps on to it and is ACTUALLY surfing the crowd while wielding a fan-made plastic machine gun during ‘Commando’. I see a theme going on with these songs, not sure what? Well, they are all about heroic tales.

The six-piece from the San Francisco Bay area hold an impromptu inter-gender bodybuilding competition during ‘Pumping Iron’ and everyone wins! Either that or Holzfeuer doesn’t have a prize. Well everyone wins because the next track is crowd-favourite ‘I’m Ballsy’ in which the chorus really encapsulates the nature of ArnoCorps: I’m Ballsy/I’m a stud/ I don’t take no shit from anyone! The action-adventure hardcore rock n rollers finish with a tribute to the ‘Goddamn Heroes and Sheroes’ in attendance tonight with ‘Last Action Hero’. I walk out the pit automatically wearing black way-farers and camo paint, wondering why so many members of the audience were wearing t-shirts with this ‘Arnold Schwarzenegger’ character on them. The bar has been raised a lot here Bloodstock! Time for bed? What’s that? Party until 2AM? Bed can wait.

18:25 – Some don’t realise there are actual bands on the night before the festival kicks off.

The Sophie Lancaster stage hosts five bands tonight including cult favourites Reign Of Fury, Metaprism and speed-metallers Desecration – who really draw in the crowds. Its official: the first crowd surfers of 2015 have been pulled over the barrier by security. Something we should expect to see more of over the weekend.

Photo by Nei

l Jarvie

As British residents we forget how spoilt we are for music festivals. Whatever you listen to, there will be fest for you. RAMzine readers will be familiar with other major rock festivals this year, but it is universally recognised that Bloodstock Open Air is tailor-made for metal-heads. Since going ‘open air’ in 2005 this site has seen all kinds of acts from Slayer to Alice Cooper and everything in between. This year’s line-up was no different – four nights of carnage at Catton Hall headlined by Trivium, Within Temptation and Rob Zombie.

Day 1: Thursday, August 6th

14:15 – Slightly later than planned, I set foot in the Midlands – the birthplace of metal. I can tell just by the fact the first campsite is called ‘Valhalla’ that this is going to be a memorable weekend. I see someone dressed as Luigi, two pirates and a topless man with obscenities scribbled all over him. Yup, this is the right place.

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20:55 – We already have folk donning the jolly roger and swigging ales, it is only fitting piratemetal crew Red Rum should join the party. With a yo-ho-ho and a bottle of…overpriced rum the band who started as a college project bring the party mood to this tent, something that is really infectious tonight. They end the set by paying tribute to legendary actor and metal fan Christopher Lee with a cover of ‘The Hobbits Have gone to Isengard’ which brings out the many Lord Of The Rings fans in the mosh pit.

21:55 – Can you believe this right now? Not only are ‘The Greatest Band of All Time’ headlining the festival BEFORE it even begins, this is their Bloodstock debut. In fact, it’s their festival debut! ArnoCorps fill the air with cigar smoke and fans faces with camo-paint. As everyone should know this band are bringing back Austrian folk stories of true heroes to the masses, after they have been pilfered by Hollywood. As front man Holzfeuer says these songs are “Old, but not obsolete” they fire out rocket-

Day 2: Friday, August 7th

8:00am – What day is it? That was a good one last night, oh well time to get up and alive for some serious head banging.

11:00am – Thrash veterans Nuclear Assault give the festival site a much needed wakeup call with the appropriately named ‘Rise From The Ashes’ and ‘F# (Wake Up!)’. Probably the world’s loudest alarm clock.

Ease us in lightly I paid £4 for this bacon sarnie.

12:00pm – It’s midday and saviours of British Metal, Raging Speedhorn, make a welcome return. Their guitarist takes a bit of a tumble a la Charlie Chaplin but picks himself up to give the audience what they really want – the classics. It’s hard to believe ‘The Gush’ was released 14 years ago.

13:00 – Armoured Saint still have it! Although their performance is relatively brief, they perform a track from their latest album ’Win Hands Down’ plus favourites like ‘Can U Deliver’ and ‘March of The Saint’ showing metal can still be melodic as well as heavy.

15:15 – Norway’s Enslaved bring some extreme black metal gloom to what is otherwise a bright, sunny day. Although they aren’t everyone’s cup of tea – but it’s hard to deny Ivar and the guys are talented musicians. Totally dark, totally metal and most importantly….totally Bloodstock!

17:35 – Meanwhile on the Sophie Lancaster Stage is something completely different: filling the tent with heavy-as-hell riffs are Hang The Bastard to the backdrop of a topless woman. This is the perfect environment for the West Londoners, performing tracks from their 2014 album ‘Sex In The Seventh Circle’ in addition to what seem like fairly old-school tunes now.

18:00 – Back to the Ronnie James Dio Stage are original thrash-metal heads Overkill. Shrieking their way through their back-catalogue. Frontman Bobby ‘Blitz’ Ellsworth exclaims “Hello Midlands! We are you cousins from New Jersey…whether you like it or not!!”

Well he certainly knows how to make a point. Very OTT, but all the best metal bands should be!

Those lucky enough to be in the VIP area are treated to blues-fusion from Gator Bait at the Serpent’s Lair Bar a very low-key set sounding like Slade’s Noddy Holder going outlaw country.

18:45 – “Is that the bloke who used to be in Dragonforce?” if you mean IAMI frontman ZP Theart- you would be correct. The South African vocalist shows he still has it with his current band, something that was sadly overshadowed in his former band.

19:00 – Hopping over to the Hobgoblin New Blood Stage we have dirty Southern metal from Piss Viper. By southern, we mean South Wales. Or near enough. It’s hard to believe a band this skilled only formed last year. The likeness to metal legends Pantera is staggering. Despite the bizarre name, this is a band you are sure to hear more about in the future.

19:15 – Time to suit up in steel-plated vests and camo pants for tonight’s special guest: power-metal Swedes Sabaton. Walking out to ‘Final Countdown’ by Europe, It’s no surprise they are seasoned Bloodstock veterans, hugely entertaining with great songs to boot (no pun intended). Starting with their anthem ‘Ghost Division’ and leaving after ‘The Art of War’ they leave with the Bloodstock fans wanting more.

Just as well returned to the stage with a bang –quite literally- covering the main arena with yellow confetti and closing with ‘Metal Crue’. They almost feel like a headliner.

21:15 – Speaking of headliners, our first main stage closing act take the stage after a singalong of Iron Maiden’s ‘Run to the Hills’. A nod to the British metal scene that inspired them growing up. We see a white demon skull hanging over the stage: Of course it’s Trivium! From Orlando to Catton Hall, there is a ‘big show atmosphere’ at the Dio Stage for the first time this weekend. Starting with their latest single and title track for their new album ‘Silence In The Snow’ (fun fact: this is the first time they have played this track at a festival).

After a few technical hitches with guitarist Corey Beauliu’s mic – the heavy metal dudes take us back

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with tracks ‘Strife’ and ‘Built To Fall’. Frontman Matt Heafy proclaims ‘I heard this is the most metal fest in country…’ The crowd roar in agreement.

He continues ‘…everything I have seen today says they are correct’. This is really a band who know their audience and are passionate about metal. Some naysayers said Trivium weren’t a ‘heavy’ enough band for Bloodstock’s line-up. On one hand they aren’t in the same league as Cannibal Corpse for example, but still provide a great rock n’ roll show, and believe in the metal lifestyle.

one of the most ‘metal’. Nevertheless they still don’t feel like a major headline act. As the weekend progresses, we will see how they fair against other international giants that top the Bloodstock bill.

22:45 –What you thought the night was over? Think again! Dutch symphonics Delain are over on the Sophie stage. A lot of fans compare them to tomorrow’s headliner Within Temptation, which is fair considering the band was founded by their former keyboardist Martijn Westerholt.

‘Tonight is proof that metal is alive and good’ announces Heafy, who cites Dio – the person the stage is named after- as his biggest influence. We are then treated to the live premiere of Rainbow-inspired track ‘Blind Leading The Blind’. The perfect appetiser for their next release. The frontman then dedicates ‘Dying In Your Arms’ to all the Trivium fans who have stayed with them from the beginning of their career.

Front-woman Charlotte Wessels isn’t your typical operatic singer though – she seems to have gone learnt her craft listening to Kate Bush, Gwen Stefani, Bjork and Tori Amos. Something totally unique at an event like Bloodstock, which isn’t a bad thing. A good breath of fresh air to end what has been a fantastic first day.

After we have some room to breathe, the band pull out the big guns ‘In Waves’ and of course ‘Pull Harder On The Strings Of Your Martyr’ the song that made Trivium who they are today. Exiting on Dio-era Black Sabbath’s ‘Heaven and Hell’ you can tell that although the men on stage are from Florida, and the other side of the barrier, at the end of the day they are one of us.

They respect us as fans so we should respect them making the metal scene exciting again. They may not be the ‘heaviest’ band this weekend, but definitely

9:00am – No time for a lie-in! This Bloodstock up and ready I go to start the day, watch some awesome bands. Unofficially Saturday is meant to be the most enjoyable day of any festival. Let’s see what you have in store BOA!

Day 3: Saturday, August 8th

13:05pm – 1349 get out the black-metal make up for a typical ‘doom and gloom’ show. Not that appropriate for one of the sunniest days of the year. But metal sounds awesome whatever the weather!

14:10 – Something slightly different from Finnish folk-metal icons Korpiklaani. Who says violins and the accordion with lyrics about Finnish Fairy tales can’t be heavy? Korpiklaani show us that they can.

This also reminds me – I don’t think I’ve seen so many beards in the same place at once since I went to that ZZ Top lookalike contest (which may have been a cheese dream).

15:10 – Zakk Wilde’s former tour buddies Godsized own the Sophie stage with their stoner-rock riffs and Sabbath-esque lyrics. Not long before the four-piece are main stage material.

15:30 – It’s a real honour to see one of the bands that brought hard metal to the masses, it’s only the Godfathers of grindcore – Napalm Death. Only seconds in to their set and the pit is more open than I’ve seen it all weekend. Vocalist Mark ‘Barney’ Greenway runs around the stage like there’s a wasp in his hair. Their set is great mix of newer material such as ‘Metaphorically Screw You’ and old school tracks like ‘Scum’ and officially world’s shortest song ‘You Suffer’. They even perform their famous cover Dead Kennedys’ hardcore classic ‘Nazi Punks Fuck Off’ to finish off a great gig. Napalm Death should have been higher on the bill considering their notoriety and the lesser known names who follow.

16:35 – Death Angel follow on the main stage, and give us what seems like the ‘same old, same old’ in comparison to what else we have seen this Bloodstock. Nothing new here. I think it’s time for a pint!

17:10 – Popping their BOA cherry on the Jägermeister stage are the current saviours of Rock N’ Roll – Knock Out Kaine. The way Dean Foxx handles the crowd shows this isn’t their first rodeo, despite never playing a festival of this scale or not being the heaviest of bands on the bill. There’s a reason the Lincoln lads have met critical acclaim live. Surely there’s room for KOK on a bigger stage next time round?

19:40 – An eerie Middle-eastern tune attracts most of the festival to the Dio stage for the spectacle that is Opeth. One of those bands not everyone is a fan of but are curious to check out. Starting off strong with their most recent single ‘Eternal Rains Will Come’, I can safely say the Swedish death-prog outfit are worth seeing. There is some brilliant musicianship and live vocals you would expect from the original Pink Floyd shows. We have a lot of non-metal influences here from jazz to folk to classical. Joakim Svalberg’s skills on the synthesisers are second-tonone in the world of metal. For the first time this weekend, we have heckling at Bloodstock. Vocalist Mikael Åkerfeldt responds with ‘Ikea? I have many items of furniture from them’ Despite performing almost flawlessly, they only have time to perform six songs, finishing with ‘Deliverance’. Although it is

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Naturally they are concentrating on their recent UK top 10 album

a breath of fresh air and something totally different, their music verges on sounding like tunes from Sega Mega Drive game ‘Columns’. Even so, they could have done with more time.

20:55 – After a hot and sunny couple of days, we hear rain for the first time this weekend. Jettblack come on stage to an atmospheric storm-cloud effect.

Pretty apt as this band hit us like thunder from the get-go. This is what a lot of people would class as a ‘proper’ rock band. Looking up to the Gods of hard rock like Aerosmith and Led Zeppelin for inspiration.

This is even more prominent with a heavier cover of The Rolling Stones’ ‘Paint It Black’. It’s great to see there’s a band in the same vein as AC/DC on the Bloodstock bill. The duel vocals and guitar from Will Stapleton and Jon Dow are an intense mix of power and passion. Likely to be a main stage contender in the near-future.

21:30 – Our second headline act on the Dio stage, Within Temptation are off to a fiery start with their duet with Tarja Turunen. Sadly she isn’t there to sing with WT front-woman Sharon del Adel, but instead we get a recording of her on screen. Understandable as we can’t get everyone here, but why not borrow another female vocalist?

Like yesterday’s headliners, Trivium, a lot of Bloodtock loyalists have said Within Temptation don’t belong on a festival line-up of this ilk. Although they are symphonic-metal, they are still a metal band who –let’s face it- draw crowds. Let’s give them a chance.

After all WT headlined Bloodstock before it went ‘open air’ in 2005.

‘Hydra’. Problem with this is most of these songs are duets with other artists – who like Tarja, only appear on screen. For ‘Dangerous’, collaborator Howard Jones (of Devil You Know and ex-Killswitch fame) has a blue filter on his video making him look a little like a slimmed-down Shrek.

The symphonic metal/ hip hop crossover ‘And We Run’ has extra awkwardness added during Xzibit’s rap. These two worlds should never have met in the first place. That said, WT are fortunately great musicians who are pretty good at what they do. It’s easy to see the appeal, even if it does slightly verge on Eurovision’s Dutch entry.

Front lady Sharon del Adel exclaims ‘‘They say this is a male dominated festival, but I can see all the ladies are here tonight’’ - too right! It’s good to see more female musicians on stage than most other British rock festivals. All seems to be going fairly well tonight until the band attempt to play ‘Ice Queen’, a classic in WT’s back catalogue. The crowd are chanting with them, there’s an atmospheric build up, guitarist Ruud Jolie strikes a chord and… the power cuts out. Three times. Not their fault but we do get to hear an awesome ‘unplugged’ drum solo by Mike Coolen.

Like most experienced bands, Sharon and co move on to new track ‘Covered In Roses’ and signature song ‘Mother Nature’ to round up the show. A lesser band would of cancelled the gig altogether after a mishap like that, but not our friends from the Netherlands. Although WT feel more like a headline band, they don’t feel very ‘Bloodstock-ish’ a brilliant show (despite the hiccups) but we should expect heavier in the coming years.

22:30 – It appears Fleshgod Apocalypse are still on the Sophie stage. All I can say is: what the hell is going on here? Too many ales I think. Bedtime for me.

Saturday has lived up to its expectations and been the most exciting day…so far. I can only imagine what the last day has in store for me.

Day 4: Sunday, August 9th

10:30am - Sunday, religiously is a ‘day of rest’ not for Bloodstock. This morning’s sermon is by London groove-metallers Skarthia on the New Blood stage.

We need more young British talent in the metal industry, so a talented band like Skarthia is pleasing to see.

12:00pm – Serial Bloodstock rockers Wolf are as close as you can get to the ideal formula for a heavy metal band: Swedish, heavy riffs, awesome name, long hair, flying V’s, and most importantly …..META A A A A A L L L ! ! !

Celebrating their 20th year, Niklas Stålvind shows younger bands how it’s done or ‘Real Metal For True Bastards’.

13.05 – More Bloodstock OGs on the main stage again, OG standing for: Orange Goblin. Mixing Sabbathesque stoner riffs with a Ramones-like punk rock tempo (see: ‘Scorpionica’) it’s evident that Goblin have sadly been overlooked in the past two decades. Even so, the London lads have been hitting the BOA stage since day one. Finishing with ‘Red Tide Rising’ we know there’s more fight left in them.

14:10 – Pro-Pain get angry starting with ‘Death Wish’. Vocalist and bassist Gary Meskil snarls for the crowded main-stage area like a New York metal-core Phil Mitchell. Again a band that have never got the attention they deserved in the past 20 years. A lot of fans may look at the New Blood stage for new music to listen to, but its worth checking out the main stage as well.

15:20 – The Dio stage is name-after-name today.

It’s only South America’s most successful band… ever: Sepultura the headline feel comes early at Bloodstock as 90% of the festival seem to be gathered to watch the Seps perform. I don’t think anyone is bothered this isn’t the Max Cavalera-era (or the ‘Caval-era’) anymore, current vocalist Derrick Green has been with the band for 18 years and what a frontman he is! Green towers over the crowd belting out tracks from almost three decades of music such as ‘Propaganda’ up to 2013’s ‘The Vatican’ and beyond.

Green also wields a drum by his mic stand, which is something that gives Sepultura a ‘third-dimension’ in the world of metal – their Brazilian-folk influenced percussion. We really feel it pulsating in the crowd.

Green dedicates ‘Sepultura In My Skin’ to all their fans, or as he puts it: ‘‘for all you hardcore mother

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f**kers’’. In hindsight, the Seps should have been higher on the bill as they can hold a huge crowd as well as the likes of Trivium do (if not better) and some may have paid for a ticket on the basis of seeing this band in the first place. I’m sure they have many more festivals coming in their many years as a legendary band. Finishing with ‘Roots Bloody Roots’ this was a classic Bloodstock set.

16:10- take a breather 17:55 – I keep talking about this day being full of legends. So far we have had Wolf, Orange Goblin, Pro-Pain, and Sepultura. You can’t think of important bands in the metal genre without Cannibal Corpse

rabbit appears and throws huge green yoga balls out to the crowd. Everyone here is most likely a LMD fan who know tracks like ‘Icky Ficky’ and ‘Did You Spill My Pint?’ Funny that I think one of those yoga balls knocked mine! For a band who don’t tour they have a lot of elaborate props. They pull out the ‘Deth Shed’ for a theatrical rendition of ‘Sheep Dip’. Turns out that sheep was a member of Agalloch! It doesn’t stop there, Evil Scarecrow’s Matt Burton joins the band for a cover of ‘We’ll Bring The House Down’ (by Slade).

If you thought you saw everything during this set, you were wrong. Pete parts the crowd, in traditional metal style and gets everyone to do the fabled…. hokey cokey (of deth). Possibly the most memorable show this weekend. Why didn’t these guys headline last night?

19:30 – Speaking again of legends, icons, and heroes (and sheroes) you can’t go to a metal festival in the Midlands and not worship the church of Ozzy.

Someone so influential in rock

can you? Like Napalm Death yesterday - Corpse have brought heavier, grittier forms of metal to the masses. They have been associated with various subgenres such as grindcore, extreme metal, death metal and speed metal. Definitely not the latter: they are playing pretty slow! They do get faster but after all the different kinds of bands we have seen this weekend, this is fairly passé. Credit where credit’s due: How is his voice that low after 25 years of growling?

18:10- A robot made from cardboard boxes and a camping chair rocks out.

18:30 – I’ve said this before about almost every band on Sundays line –up, but there are so many iconic acts today. In the future this will be known as the ‘Day Of The Legends’. If any of the main-stage acts don’t justify this then the next band on the Sophie stage will. Coming out to the theme-tune of ‘The Muppets’ are bonkers thrash veterans Lawnmower Deth. “They are an awesome band…” a random middle-aged man tells me at the bar “but they’re still a bunch of tossers really”. Not sure what he meant by that but the tent seems full-to-bursting for theses ‘tossers’.

Vocalist Pete Lee confidently says to the audience ‘Thank you so much for not seeing Cannibal Corpse!’

LMD are known for their unpredictable live shows, during the classically written song ‘Flying Killer Cobs From The Planet Bob’ a random bloke dressed as a

that even members of his touring band have successful careers. Case and point is guitar hero Zakk Wylde’s Black Label Society. Taking lessons from his mentor, BLS are heavily influenced by Sabbath. These tracks scream out ‘stereotype biker band’. Which in essence they are. Axe-man Wilde is great to see live, yet these songs can be tiresome and get very similar as time goes on.

20:55 – Bristol’s heaviest Onslaught show the kids how it’s done, even on a smaller stage. Sy Keeler and co have a live album and DVD coming out soon, and you can see why they chose this option. It’s true heavy metal sounds best loud and live.

21:15 – Well this is it. The last headline act for Bloodstock Open Air 2015. After what we have seen over the past two days, no-one can predict what we will see tonight. The sun sets for a creepy atmosphere, almost like a horror film. Which is pretty apt as our headline act has also had a great career producing horror movies, and the stage is decorated with images of Dracula, Frankenstein and King Kong. Who else but ‘shock-rocker’ Rob Zombie. His band are dressed in, as you may expect, some unique attire: gas mask, bullet proof vest…usual festival clothes then. Starting with

‘Teenage Nosferatu Pussy’ this is totally different to what we’ve seen at Bloodstock so far. Anything goes, we even have a crowd-surfing sofa during ‘Demonoid Phenomenon’. The vocalist takes note “you know your fans are getting lazier these days when they crowdsurf on a couch…it used to just be a chair”.

Zombie even takes a break from his material “you can’t listen to metal all day” he confesses before starting a cover of James Brown’s ‘Sex Machine’. The crowd get dancing. A lot of people see Zombie as a more ‘gruff’ Marilyn Manson or new-age Alice Cooper – he doesn’t really do much to shake off this image by hiring Manson’s former drummer Ginger Fish and guitarist John 5, and then covering Cooper’s ‘School’s Out!’ What’s with all the covers? Surely he can’t run out of material over his 20 plus year career. It feels like it as we get a quirky guitar solo from John 5 and a drum solo. This is the finale of Bloodstock – fans don’t want all killer, no filler.

Older fans might have been introduced to Zombie through his thrash-era metal band White Zombie, the front-man has gained the respect of fans old and new.

He doesn’t disappoint by incorporating White Zombie tracks like ‘More Human Than Human’ and ‘Thunder Kiss ‘65’. There isn’t really part of his career that doesn’t go untouched as he performs hidden gems like ‘Ging Gang Gong De Do Gong De Laga Raga’ to fan favourites like ‘Living Dead Girl’. After a cover of

Ramones’ anthem ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’ the Massachusettsborn singer and his band briefly leave the stage, only to return in Pete Townsend-style Union Jack jackets. Zombie dips in to his movie soundtrack resume with ‘Lords Of Salem’ and finishes with signature tune ‘Dragula’ (which is ironically used in ‘The Matrix’ soundtrack).

22:45 – It’s not over yet!

Experimental industrial metal (experi-metal) duo Godflesh are still playing on the Sophie stage.

I don’t think the audience know how to react. It’s pretty surreal stuff but not entirely awful. Sort of what David Lynch’s Eraserhead would be if it was a metal gig.

23:30 – You can’t have a metal festival in the Midlands without a bit of Sabbath. Just as well we are treated to Ozzy and Sabbath tribute Ozzborne Again in the VIP area to end what has been an amazing weekend.

The headline acts weren’t as exciting as previous years, but we have seen some amazing talent and

bands we wouldn’t be able to see elsewhere. Bloodstock doesn’t get as much praise as other heavy rock and metal festivals, but I believe it’s one of the best in the country, especially for those with a penchant for anything metal, of the heavy variety. Very well organised, great atmosphere, passionate yet considerate fans and most of all – fun. Which is what all festival experiences should be.

Words by Neale McGeever, photos Mark Lloyd.

Jimmy Bain’s bass gets the airing of its life, while Cozy Powell’s drums really take a battering and Blackmore’s riffs just gouge through the flesh, along with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra in its entirety. Giving it that all-round feel. It is one classic track that never gets boring no matter how many times you listen.

‘Do You Close Your Eyes’ is irrepressibly catchy and another favourite of mine for the sheer grin it brings as you sing the lyrics, in fact all the tracks bring different memories of times gone by, some good, some bad, but none the less memories.

I remember meeting all of the above musicians long after this album had been released, and to meet the genius’s responsible for the creation of ‘Rainbow Rising’ was nothing more than a pleasure and an honour.

If I could turn back the clock - I would be a fly on the wall when this album was made and heard six powerfully charged tracks being spawned by five of the best musicians of rock history in their prime.

‘Rainbow Rising’ is the legacy that will live on and on (despite two of the members – the charismatic Ronnie James Dio and virtuoso Cozy Powell who have now sadly departed to that mosh pit in the sky) each and every time someone listens.

‘Rainbow Rising’ is a story to music and Dio paints the wondrous pictures with his words and together it is one epic album that relentlessly keeps on giving.

Classics Review!

For me ‘Rainbow Rising’ has to be the greatest metal album of all time just for Ronnie Dio’s vocals alone!

This album proves that musicians (if they all come together, and the timing is right) can make true rock history!

I haven’t always been a fan of Blackmore, but there is nothing anyone can take away from his playing on this album. It is incredible to say the very least.

‘Rainbow Rising’ sets the pulse racing and sends

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flushes of excitement down the spine with immediate effect.

Although there are only 6 tracks on the album, the 8 minute 26 second long ‘Stargazer’ takes up a large chunk of the vinyl – yes, you heard right kiddies, vinyl – not CD! You know that big blob of black vinyl with a small hole in it for use with something called a record player?

This album renders every metal head to a state of standing still, eyes closed and screaming the well voiced lyrics to the top end of their scale – some even play air guitar to it and or air drumming! It’s that good! But don’t take my word for it just listen to the album and feel the love and pain that has gone into producing it and then say it isn’t a classic album! I dare you!

‘Stargazer’ is without a doubt the best track on it, showcasing Dio’s versatile, bellowing lungs. The keyboards from Tony Carey give it that spaced-out feel,

By Pagan Hel

Reviews

17

Spark The Sail

Dream State

Conflict North

Coldrain

Sapphire Deep

Self-Released Words: Heather Moss Up and coming pop-rock band Spark The Sail are preparing to conquer the hearts and ears of the nation with self-released debut EP ‘Sapphire Deep’. Formed in 2013, the Bristol rockers began life as a duo but with their decision to expand to a quintet came their opportunity to be a vibrant and energetic addition to the alternative scene.

Opening track ‘Sapphire’ seems to glow with its infectious, memorable hooks and harmonious dual vocals. Beginning with a suspenseful and enticing intro, that isn’t dissimilar to something you’d hear on Linkin Park’s ‘Hybrid Theory’, the listeners expectations build for a banger of a release. However, while a solid pop-rock attempt, the song fails to match its introduction’s hype resulting in a slightly underwhelming opener. Next track ‘Never The Moment’ follows a catchy riff and underpinning juxtaposing male/female vocals. Male singer Ryan Moore’s vocals are reminiscent of Panic! At The Disco frontman Brendon Urie’s and are the standout feature of the song. Moore litters the record with spectacular high notes and a statement accent that could rival that of Tom DeLonge’s; “I can’t a find a way to make this seem easier” he croons during the bridge, the drawl tainting the lyrics making the track a notably stand-out three minutes of the EP. Spark The Sail have certainly created a crowd-pleasing record, ‘Trust Me’ brings a more emotive quality to Sapphire Deep with its gentle acoustic guitar and sentimental vocals, and listening to ‘Outlook’ and ‘Pieces’ you can sense an energy that would enrapture a live audience; they’re a band that emit a sense of both intimacy and activity.

For a debut EP, it’s a strong effort that demonstrates the potential of the young pop-rockers and is definitely worth purchasing upon its release on November 6th.

Consequences

Treading Water

Vena

Self-Released Words: Stuart Iversen Wales has always had a bit of a thing for good post-hardcore bands. The success of Funeral For a Friend seemed to galvanise the country and since then they’ve seen a steady stream of exciting bands emerge.

Looking to join those ranks is Dream State, with their debut EP, Consequences.

As ‘Burden’ kicks us off most people’s minds will leap straight to the Paramore comparison. A female vocalist backed up by a solid alternative rock band always has that effect. But the truth is, as it tends to be with every female lead band, that it’s a lazy comparison. Sure there are some similarities, particularly with Paramore’s earlier work, but Dream State deserve to be looked at in their own right.

In fact, tracks like ‘Burn Them Down’ bear as much comparison to the work of A Day to Remember as they do anyone else. With the contrast between Charlotte-Jane Gilipin’s melodic vocals and the more aggressive approach taken

by Sam Harrison-Little on the backing vocals really standing out. Throw in a huge chorus and it already feels like a sure fire hit.

On the other hand, ‘Try Again’ has a more relaxed feeling, allowing Gilpin’s voice to take centre stage as it takes it’s time building up to a chorus that shows off her range. While ‘Relentless’ lives up to its name with its jabbing riffs and wild feel.

Finally, ‘Rebuild, Recreate’ sees everything take on a more melancholic edge and has Gilpin give her best performance on the album.

Dream State write music that you want to listen to. It’s packed full of catchy hooks and soaring choruses which demand your attention. If they can keep writing songs of this level, then they are a band that we should all get used to hearing a hell of a lot more about. Consequences is out through all platforms and stores on Friday 20th November.

Self-Release Words: Pagan Hel Conflict North, a strange name considering they are from down South.

In true metal core assault the first track ‘This Too Shall Pass’ delves into a sizzling onslaught of venomous intensity with powerful vocal edge, melodic riffs and torrid beats that instantly bed down into the aural, blanketing them with a compellingly ferocious lure.

The second track ‘Lessons Learnt’ has a superb chugging rhythm that lies beneath a strenuous vocal turning clean and lilts, so the mix of both clearly give the band that diverse leaning and they make use of every avenue. ‘Wake Up’ holds a lot of ambiance and atmosphere as well as the tell-tale metal core element. The melodies flow uninterrupted and seamless before it buckles under the weight of some stupendous harsh growling tones.

‘Still Breathing’ offers up a superb weave of impressive music and vocal combined with a punishing rhythm that is catchy and addictive!

Now they have well and truly tenderised the ears!

‘Labyrinths’ holds a savage breath that executes emotion to the forefront with compelling riffs and steely bass hooks making it a very imposing track that is best played on full max volume to feel it in your guts! But then there are always those cheeky clean vocals that keep it grounded.

‘All I have’ is a superb array of monstrous riffs taunting the ears as the hearty growl takes over. The unbridled passions within this track are raw and full of excitement, although maybe slightly subtler, but none the less powerful at weaving their magic.

I can’t believe this band only have 199 likes – metal core isn’t to everyone’s taste, however, the music doesn’t lie, if you like brutal with a cheeky hint of clean then Conflict North are the ones to watch!

Hopeless Records Words: Heather Moss Hailing from Japan, Coldrain are a post-hardcore quintet that are about to revolutionise their scene with new album, ‘VENA’. Released this October, the fourth album by the Japanese heavyweights is overflowing with countless anthemic tracks that will have fans screaming and crowds heaving. Vocalist Masato Hayakawa tells us that “[coldrain] wanted the record to be about the routes [they] travel as musicians and people.” This intention is clearly translated through the music, the album seemingly being both a narrative and musical journey, with differing styles being showcased at individual points; if opening song and title-track ‘Vena’ is an aggressive, full-throttle speed through the streets of Japan then ‘Whole’ is the emotionally expressive scream from the rooftops.

Transcending between the haunting beauty of piano interludes to hard-hitting breakdowns, Masato explains that “The record is diverse... and [they] are confident there is something in it for everyone.”

One standout track is VENA’s lead single ‘Words of the Youth’; with intense and intimate clean vocals juxtaposed with the raw and impassioned unclean growls, the song is harmoniously melodic yet powerful. Masato Hayakawa also comments on this track, saying “[its] simply about the voices that are not heard in the world right now.

At a young age, most people are less afraid to say how they feel. It’s that feeling and power that I think a lot of us really need right now.”

A demonstration of versatility which showcases coldrain’s pure, undiluted passion and incredibly impressive musical talent, VENA is an insight into the influence of both life and art. While exposing varying sides of the band, one thing remains consistent - the astounding quality of the music they produce. While many bands seem to burnout by their fourth attempt, Coldrain, and their message, seem to burn brighter.

The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die Harmlessness Epitaph Records Words: Alex Reeves With a constantly fluctuating line-up sometimes expanding to ten members, TWIABP are more of a movement than a band. Founded by Derrick Shanholtzer-Dvorak, Tyler Bussey, and bassist Josh Cyr in 2009 in the post-industrial mill town of Willimantic, Connecticut. They have been key players in the most recent revival of emo – the wave that idolises American Football and conjures images of angsty teenagers in drizzly Midwest towns.

Having put out numerous odds and ends of EPs and splits since they formed, ‘Harmlessness’ is surprisingly only their second fulllength album. The title nods towards their very first release, ‘Formlessness’ – a gesture inspired by the return of founding member Bussey to the band. There’s a neat circularity to the album.

It feels like a culmination of some kind of mission.

Musically, it’s the most convincing realisation of the TWIABP sound yet.

Tracks like ‘We Need More Skulls’ and ‘Mount Hum’ make full use of the breadth of musicians in TWIABP, stirring up foreboding crescendos like Brand New in their darkest moments, while the twiddly guitars and explosive choruses of ‘I Can Be Afraid Of Anything’ create an irresistibly uplifting rock song.

It’s also every bit as thoughtful and introspective as you need an autumnal emo record to be.

Bookended by stripped-back folk tracks, there’s plenty of material to soundtrack your afternoons spent thinking about your hometown. It’s hard not stare thoughtfully out the window when listening to ‘January 10th’.

‘Harmlessness’ is much more than another emo record.

They sound as they have absorbed the best of two decades of a genre, studied what makes it so great and put their thesis into practice.

Reviews Silent Jack

Days of Collapse

Annihilator

Pigs

Heldmaschine

Play The Game

We got this far

Suicide Society

Wronger

Lügen

Pledge Music / Self Release Words: Heather Moss Birmingham-based quartet Silent Jack are taking rock back to its roots with new album ‘Play The Game’. The 13-track debut oozes the cool and care-free charisma of traditional rock ‘n’ roll with its riotous riffs and gritty vocals, traits littering title-track ‘Play The Game’.

The band also demonstrate impressive versatility, from the hard-hitting arrogance of ‘Whiskey & Me’ to the overtly sentimental ‘Turn Away’, ‘Play The Game’ manages to revive a forgotten era without the stereotypical stagnancy.

Imminence Records Words: Pagan Hel Before you switch off by the strange opening noises - have some patience and carry on listening as they say, for once into the track you will not be able to contain the lip-smackin’ groove and twisted malevolent frenzy that ensues from such a track or indeed an album!

The torrid fuelled passions are there for all to hear track after track pulverises within a concentrated formula that is dramatic and forthright.

They have got this far, let’s see them go all the way!

UDR Music Words: Stuart Iversen Fifteen albums into their career Annihilator should have their act screwed down tight. Sadly, Suicide Society suggests otherwise. Whether it’s the radio friendly mishmash of musical ideas that constructs the title track or the creepy pop of ‘Snap’, this album ultimately comes across as a bit of a mess.

Annihilator have been great in the past. Suicide Society even has a few good moments, but when it’s bad it’s really bad and it’s sadly that which sticks in the head once the music stops.

Solar Flare Records Words: Victoria Purcell If you look at the album artwork for ‘Wronger’ and try and imagine what that image would sound like, you may guess correctly.

Pigs is noisy rock music, it’s organised chaos, it’s upbeat, and it’s dirty. The album’s gritty abrasive sound takes you on an unhinged journey through 11 tracks. You either get it, or you don’t, depending how your mind works. Personally I embrace the downright maniacal sound of Pigs. They have been compared to Jesus Lizard, and that is a pretty correct comparison.

MP-Records Words: Pagan Hel The compelling raucous German language boldly strikes again with added catchy keyboards, getting this all in perspective with their dramatically rousing addictive tracks – I know it won’t appeal to the few with no rhythm, but for me I just can’t keep still, as in turn the tracks demand body participation – and it helps greatly when you know what the band are singing about! I am not even going to mention the fact they sound like a certain band from Berlin – just shut up and dance!

Voodoo Vegas Hypnotise

Self Release Since 2013 album ‘The Rise of Johnny Silver’ a couple of members of Voodoo Vegas have walked the gangplank, but their replacements ensure ‘Hypnotise’ is the same guns and ammunition hard rock with its heart longing for the LA strip and its feet splashing about down by the seaside.

Supporting seasoned warriors like Y & T and Status Quo they’ve learned their road craft so a trip to Madrid to record with The Answer’s producer Will Maya was in order. “Essentially this is a prelude as to what happens next but doesn’t give the game away,” said vocalist Lawrence Case of this here EP in lieu of a second official long-player. ‘Seems there’s a game plan in mind with the story of Johnny Silver set to continue, and this EP’s something of a back story. Essentially that’s songs about

Ugly Kid Joe Uglier Than They Used Ta Be

Records As a band, Ugly Kid Joe hit us at a weird time in the world of rock: the hair metal party was coming to an end, grunge was in full swing and punk-pop was about to explode. Luckily Whitfield Crane and co had elements of all three styles – the heavy riffage of hair metal, the gritty ‘everyone hates me and I hate everything’ lyrics of grunge and the raw energy of punk.

Their last album was released in 1996, and in 19 years the music industry has changed…a lot! So how do the metal misfits put out an album in 2015? A crowdfunding campaign of course. In February this year, Ugly Kid Joe had raised enough for their first album in two decades – Uglier Than They Used ta Be.

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A reference to their debut EP (Ugly As They Wanna Be) and let’s hope they are as awesome as they used ‘ta be’.

Off to a familiar start with brand new track ‘Hell Ain’t Hard To Find’. Already we know this is UKJ but it also sounds very current, this could easily be a lost Foo Fighters track.

Now with a 7-member line up that they call the “Seven Headed Monster”, the album displays the range that Ugly Kid Joe can play. From the hard hitting to the slowed down and slightly sleazy, “It’s a full circle of sorts,” says Whitfield Crane “there was a lot of love and talent in one room and that is exactly what this album sounds like.” As a treat UKJ jave included a cover of the Motorhead classic ‘Ace of Spades’, which features Motörhead guitarist Phil Campbell. Phil also appears on the tracks ‘My Old Man’ and ‘Under The Bottom’.

Neale McGeever

entrapment then having the living daylights whipped out of you by a bondage queen.

Pretty much your Conservative politician’s perfect night out. Unless such torment’s metaphorically about a broken heart.

Title track ‘Hypnotise’ is a chord-driven strut wherein the first of what will be Ash Moulton’s great driven bass grooves through this EP rumbles forth. Overall, the music’s less Guns ‘n Roses-cum-Aerosmith as Case’s voice becomes more tempered, pitching between Mott’s Nigel Benjamin and Girl-era Phil Lewis, notably on ‘Tied Up’ as he screams out “She’s broken your heart, she’s broken your back” over a riff that stalks like crazy. With ‘Round & Round’ everyone’s grandstanding; guitars not only soloing away effectively but someone applying Frampton’s Talkbox, followed by Case on blues harmonica, while a chunky rhythm and scuzzdrenched guitars offer ‘Killing Joke’ in finale.

The signposts indicate Voodoo Vegas are heading in the right direction; try hitching a ride.

Paul H Birch

Reviews Atreyu Long Live

Spinefarm Records If heavy metal could be defined as a natural phenomenon it would definitely have to be thunder and this phenomenon comes in the form of Atreyu that delve deep into a genre that offers scathing vocals to the maximum. The melodic slices mingle with some tough hard core edges that make it superb listening. The punk and metal-core elements mean that everyone gets something they can relate to and these guys seem to have a torrid love affair with their instruments that will melt the hearts of metalheads all over the planet.

The twisting lures and melodic seduction go so well together – hand in hand in fact and produces some meaty chunks of edgy metal.

The mouth-watering chugs take you on a tempestuous journey of aggression. Feisty and irresistible their tracks breed a lasting stamp on the mind with melodic voices harmonising superbly with a hard scathing raspy vocal that commands the lead.

The force is paraded boldly, with great tenacity and storming rebellion. The boisterous bolts of metal will hit brutally like an all-out war on the audial cavities and injecting them with military precision.

Atreyu have created a bruising backdrop of stomping metal that is one ‘indecent’ proposal that nobody in their right minds can ignore – once initiated on the press of

a button. The feverish appetites of the band offer one extreme to the next with the flexible writing and playing talents that each of the band delivers with mesmerizing qualities.

Catchy and aggressive momentum leaps into action and firmly takes the bull by the horns, kicking up a bad ass storm of corruption.

Also packed neatly into their flavoursome groove are some mellower moments that captures a glimpse of a very flexible five-piece band whose aim is to annihilate on listening!

The production is perfection alone, although it helps having musicians who know exactly the direction they are heading and that can only be forward with an album of this calibre.

It is a healthy extreme with lots to perk the appetite along the way and portraying a thoroughly capturing encounter - so perfect for drying the hair!

The intensely satisfying creativity flows uninterrupted with contrast and caustic rhythms that cast a magnificent attitude and endeavour to the mix.

They explore new boundaries that offer dreamy seduction and wild abandon lighting the way with fire and passion.

A very cleverly thought out album that leaves nobody in any doubt that this is a first class album that deserves recognition. This definitely works for us!

“LYRICALLY AS A WHOLE, THIS RECORD IS THE BEST ALEX HAS EVER WRITTEN” - Porter McKnight See our interview with Atreyu in issue 3 of RAMzine

Pagan Hel

Mustasch Testosterone

Stephen Stanford

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Gain Music/ Sony Think of Sweden and I am almost certain music will be one of the first things you think of - From Abba to Arch Enemy, Europe to Eagle-Eye Cherry, our friends in the vast North have all your genre needs covered.

With a wealth of musical history it is understandable to have let heavy rockers Mustasch slip past you. However, they are looking to change that, with the release of their new album, ‘Testosterone’.

An album named with such a title from a heavy rock band called Mustasch certainly does conjure up images of hard-thumping, whiskey swilling, bar-fighting anthems, and that isn’t too far from the truth, but don’t be fooled into thinking these boys are a one trick pony.

This album signals a change from previous form, as they look explore a more mature sound, while sticking faithful to their heavier roots, and it is a balance they have been able to achieve admirably, with, understandably, the odd stumble along the way.

Track two ‘Breaking up with Disaster’ and track four ‘Down to Earth’ are ideal examples that match the earlier given description. Both hit faster and harder than the bar stool in my imaginary brawl.

Track seven ‘Be Like a Man’ takes this

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formula and rams it up a notch, adding an slight, yet effective, choral element to proceedings, but also adding a dubstepesqe undertone, which may put some of the more die-hard fans off.

Lead singer Ralf Gyllenhammar spoke of the album as “[…] a new sound being formed, both hard and soft at the same time”. Gyllenhammar also steeped away from playing guitar, allowing him to “devote all my time and energy to vocals and lyrics: large and numerous choral arrangements.”

Tracks two and six ‘The Rider’ and ‘Dreamers’ fall into the latter of these categories, as they break off from the norm, and bring a new dimension.

‘The Rider’ in particular definitely has that almost Iron Maiden-esqe musical storytelling (for want of a better phrase) feel to it, which is something that is not easy to pull off.

This album also has a very open and honest feeling about things, both musically and lyrically, it feels as though everything has been laid bare and out on for display. A rarity in music today some may argue. It is a big gamble, especially for a band such as this, with a loyal and established fan base. However, I don’t think there will be too many disappointed faces out there, as it feels as though the gamble has paid off.

t u o 6 e u s s I Dec 2015!

“SILENT JACK PAINT THE ROCK N’ ROLL CANVAS PERFECTLY...

THEY’RE ONTO A WINNER HERE” Ryan’s Gig Guide

“PLAY THE GAME IS A GREAT DEBUT ALBUM THAT GETS BETTER WITH EACH SONG” Devil’s Gate Media

NEW ALBUM OUT SEPTEMBER 30TH

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