RMP Magazine #20 by RMP Magazine

THANKS TO

Executive Staff

Writers

Kenny Leys // CEO

Cameron Smith // Copywriter liaison

David Marote // Managing Editor

Dave Gilmore

James Cross // Photo coordinator

Jesse Mouart Holly Reijs Antony Gallagher

Design

Renske gommers

Jolien Krijnen // Chief designer

Roel Vanobbergen

Editor Frederik Geuvens // Editor in chief Suzanne Gielis // Editor

Photography Daria Colaes Lisse Wets Carl Battams Juriaan Hodzelmans

www.rock-metal-punk.org 2

RMP Magazine #20

Jonas Hoflack

CONTENT

I n t e r v i e w / / Architects

Inter view//Evil Invaders

18 I n t e r v i e w / / Western Addiction

I n t e r v i e w / / Cancer Bats

30 18

I n t e r v i e w / / Don Blake/Andrew Cream

50 Album r eviews

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THE EDITOR

A W

FROM THE EDITOR

Hello again! Another month has flown by and a new issue of RMP Magazine is ready for you to devour. Spring is in the air, the sun is shining and Groezrock announced its final line-up and timetable! Time for us at RMP to start planning our schedules meticulously so we can cover the whole shebang in photos and words for our loyal followers. But patience my friends, the Groezrock special will be for our May issue. First we check in at our annual Groezrock bootcamp to prepare. For now we leave you with RMP Magazine#20, the April issue.Yep, we're closing in on that magical legal age of 21, but as Milo Auckerman would say: “I don't wanna grow up!” And what does this new issue hold in store? Following our monthly tradition: we have some fresh and exciting interviews that will lift a tip of the veil on some of those bands you want to know more about. From the mighty Cancer Bats to UK hardest Architects, or what about Belgian thrash heroes Evil Invaders? We even have a real premiere for RMP Magazine: our first double interview! We’ve talked with Don Blake and Andrew Cream, two of the UK's finest band of musicians who recently embarked on their first European tour together. Meanwhile our dedicated team of reviewers is still catching breath from all those amazing new albums that were released this month.Your new favourite album could be in there! All that interlaced with cutting edge live pictures from the latest international shows and our monthly party suggestion section that will give you a head start on where it's all happening soon. This is RMP Magazine#20, our pride and joy. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did creating it. Let us know your thoughts and what to add or how to improve on our various media channels. Your feedback is our fuel. Now of to Groezrock and beyond!

David Marote

Managing editor RMP magazine

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YOU MAY WANT TO LIS

STEN TO... Wester n Addicition

– I'm Not The Man That I Thought I'd Be

John Wayne, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and The Sundance Kid, that's about as far as my Western addicition goes. However that's not the point here; “I'm Not The Man That I Thought I'd Be” is the latest three-song EP by the hardcore band Western Addiction. Rough, rugged and shredding at 100 mph, these Fat Wreck family members deliver a speedball of energy through hardcore-infested punk. Title track “I'm Not The Man That I Thought I'd Be” kicks off as a pure stadium rocker while the drum kicks in and vocalist Jason Hall spits his bile up in the crowd. Next up we have “Cold-Hearted Maceration”, a couple of chords, a raging beat line and vocals that send a shiver down your spine: the perfect recipe for salvation. “Clatter And Hiss”, a demo track, perfectly closes the row with its brethren; uncut, raw and designed to make you pump those fists, Western Addiction is indeed addictive. A full album is something I'm looking forward to wholeheartedly after hearing these sonic shots of adrenaline.

Isaac – Burner Isaac is a three-piece from Nottingham, UK. They recently released their debut album “Burner”. They formed after meeting at a Ted Leo show and this dynamic trio have been taking over UK's stages for a while now with their melodic indie-punk. From opener “Burden Of Your Bones”, one gets sucked into the Isaac sound with their catchy love songs with a twist, sometimes poppunk, then leading into indie-rock, always leaving you nodding along and tapping the beats with your fingers, due to their simplicity in sounds and song structures. There’s no need for over-the-top production, or a variety of instruments that even a bandcamp couldn't offer, just decent-build songs played with passion by three merry men. Some have compared Isaac to bands like The Menzingers and Restorations. In my humble opinion I hear a lot more of the indie influence as perfected by for instance Jawbreaker. One thing is sure, if you're into melodic good rocking music then “Burner” should be on your shopping list.

Jef f Rosenstock

– We Cool?

For those out there who missed the last issue where we interviewed Jeff Rosenstock, I leave you with one advice: Jeff rules! With that being said and the reference to catch up on your literature, let's discuss Jeff's latest record “We Cool?”. Another collaboration with Side One Dummy records has spawned “We Cool?”, a brand new album of twelve songs by Jeff Rosenstock. Given Jeff's reputation of being a huge part of the famed Bomb The Music Industry, one knows that musicality oozes out of the man and that he possesses a talent for writing poppy punk tunes many envy. From opener “Get Old Forever” we are catapulted into the magical world of Jeff Rosenstock. Electric guitar strummed like a madman, pounding drums and crazy melodies will get you 'insta-sing-a-longing'. Other top tracks that should be a part of your musical knowledge are “Polar Bear” or “Africa”, “Nausea” and “Hey Allison”. Actually, all twelve tracks are great and should be included. If you love a catchy song with high energy, give Jeff Rosenstock a try.

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Writer & Photographer // Carl Battams

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oday we visit Birmingham Institute and the idyllic setting of an old school theatre. Upon approaching the main hall we're greeted by guitarist Tom. In between soundchecks we sat down with one of the 5-piece Brighton metalheads to talk about their tour, album, being vegan and skin cancer.

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INTERVIEW // ARCHITECTS

So Tom, how are you? Good, Yeah. Exhausted. What was your introduction to metal and hardcore music? I guess Killswitch Engage, Poison The Well, Johnny Truant,… who are like our home time heroes growing up. Probably Every Time I Die are in there as well. What bands have you been listening to lately? Who should we be looking out for? Oh god.... I tell you what, this is probably a really clique thing for someone in a metal band. But, I don’t find myself listening to an awful lot of metal... It's not that I don’t like metal. It's just I don’t think there are many good metal bands. But I really like the last Tesseract album, which I just got into way after

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it came out. I really enjoyed listening to that! That's a UK band that’s doing something different in their own way. I like lots of other music but I wouldn’t say that I have my ear to the ground or anything like that. So I can’t really recommend anything else, that I think anyone else wouldn’t already know. On your current tour, what has been your favourite place to perform? I love playing in Germany and Cologne in particular, It's just a great place for us for some bizarre reason. Germany is just fantastic. We played a really fun show in Amsterdam as well that had no barrier, it’s just people being mental, stage diving and generally just behaving

"Cologne

e in Germany is a great place for us for some reason."

like bizarre Dutch people. But I would have to say maybe Manchester was just the biggest show weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve ever headlined. Manchester was really cool. What was the strangest thing to have happened on the tour so far? You feel like strange things must happen all the time, even from my perspective, but when we get asked this question, and we do get asked this question a lot, you just cant think of anything, I'm sure weird things have happened. You get into a routine where, you know, you just have a daily routine like anyone does in any job, and sort of bizarre things donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really happen. We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t tend to go out an awful lot.

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INTERVIEW // ARCHITECTS

we pack up, get in the bus and go to bed. Because we've got to wake up in the morning and load in again. So there isn’t much room for bizarre stuff. So I don’t know, tough question. Shouldn’t be, but it is. What was the strangest thing to have happened on the tour so far? I don’t think that anything strange has happened on this tour actually? You feel like strange things must happen all the time, even from my perspective, but when we get asked this question, and we do get asked this question a lot, you just cant think of anything, I'm sure weird things have happened. You get into a routine where, you know, you just have a daily routine like anyone does in any job, and

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sort of bizarre things don’t really happen. We don’t tend to go out an awful lot, we pack up, get in the bus and go to bed. Because we got to wake up in the morning and load in again. So there isn’t much room for bizarre stuff, you know. So I don’t know, tough question. Shouldn’t be but it is.

What have been some of your high and low points being on the road? Probably... low points. It all happened in America. We dropped off a tour last year in America. It might have been the year before that actually. But, you would have to say that’s a low point.

one gives a shit and it's just hard work. Highs? Probably any time we get to tour in the UK or Europe; I mean we are going to play Roundhouse. If that isn’t a high then I would have done something seriously wrong. Because, I can’t believe we are playing there. It's amazing.

Dropping off a tour is rough. But then, actually no. The dropping off was fine, the bit before when we were like "Are we going to drop off….?” “Yeah, no, yeah, no….?” Everyone was burnt and we were like "Shit!" But, we have had a couple of times in America where our band bank balance had hit zero and no

What are your hobbies outside of music? I like exercising, I like cycling, but, really when I'm off the touring my hobby is to play guitar and write music. So, that actually takes up all my time. But, I don’t know maybe that's why we are still doing it after 10 years. Because it is our hobby. I'm a bit sad in that respect. It's all music for me. What had the most impact on your decision to go vegan?

We were actually recording our album Daybreaker and we were living in a house all together just outside of Reading. In between we were just getting drunk every night and then we would all sit down and watch these documentaries. We watched "Food Inc", theres another one "Food Matters" and "Folks Over Knifes", which is a fantastic documentary. And since then another documentary called "Cowspiracy" which has just come out and is fantastic as well. We just watched that stuff, the information entered our consciousness, and we thought “well... we don’t really have a choice now”. You know, if you find out some things and don’t act on it then I don’t think I could look at myself in the mirror

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INTERVIEW // ARCHITECTS

at the end of the day. Regarding Sam Simon, who sadly passed away earlier in March 2015, what do you think his contribution was? I would say this is almost certainly a question that Sam would be better off answering. He is the sea shepherd man. Not that I think they're pirates like some people, I absolutely back the organization, but, it's definitely a question for Sam. Let's talk about your current album "Lost Forever Lost Together". What's your favourite song of the record? What was the hardest song to write lyrically? Favourite song.... I mean the great thing about the album is I’m pretty happy with quite a few of them, which hasn’t happened very often for us.

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But I really liked Colony Collapse because it's a bit different, and it was one that I wasn’t sure if we were going to pull off. I didn’t want it to... I don’t know, be tasteless? But yeah, so Colony and writingwise lyrically probably. C.A.N.C.E.R because I was writing about getting skin cancer. So, maybe I had to think a little bit more about the sort of direction and message that I wanted to put across. Because everyone knows someone that has been affected by cancer and I didn’t want it to be hopeless or insensitive or make out that my life or situation was terrible and unmanageable because so many other people have it worse. So just in that sense I didn’t want to take out the honesty from the song, I wrote it over

a period of time but some points I was just thinking about how I was going to die. So, I didn’t want it to be too morbid and you know Sam’s singing it! So it has to make sense. It can’t be all woe is me. What is the significance behind the title of "Lost Forever Lost Together"? Kind of a couple of things, when we were in the studio we were all just working really hard, putting a lot of pressure on ourselves like we always do. We definitely felt like we did fuck this one up..., that was it! So everyone was really struggling a lot. Myself and some of the other guys in the band have a hard time with anxiety. But sort of the experience going through it didn’t feel lost or the future felt uncertain but we were all in it together,

"I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want it to be hopeless or insensitive or make out that my life or situation was terrible." as a band. But also it reflected nicely for me on a larger scale with some of the themes on the record. We kind of live in scary times. I'm sure people felt like that in the 1920's as well... Although, they had two World Wars. So, I'm guessing it was full of hard times. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m sure people have always felt like that, but with the damage we are doing to the environment... Even things like Fukushima leaking 7000 tonnes of radiation.

No, the radiation increased 7000 times the other day. Anyway, there are all sorts of terrible things, fish stocks going in the sea, it's scary, but we all carry that together and I think that was the kind of direction we were thinking of. You have achieved a lot as a band in the past 11 years. What is your ultimate goal? Thank you. I have no goals or ambitions in terms of success, ticket sales, album sales or

any of that stuff. I just want to write records that me and the rest of the guys are proud of and believe in. I think if we have any goals I suppose they'd be more creative or artistic ones which are sort of intangible and impossible to describe. So yeah, I think to do it as long as we enjoy it and do it for as long as we believe the band can offer something that we believe in, and that is a hard challenge. You know,

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INTERVIEW // ARCHITECTS

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we've done six albums and that doesn’t happen every time. Sometimes you go in and think you've got it and you come out and it's not right and you think "Damn!" On to the next! If Architects could be remembered for one song, which would you choose? You know what, maybe we haven’t written it yet? I should probably say the song I’m most proud of was "Colony Collapse". But, I was really happy when we released "Naysayer", because it felt like it represented how the band was that we wanted it to be, to come out with something that is not completely uncompromising. But, its an embracive song that I think no one expected us to do. I was so stoked to get to put that out and for that

to be the first thing, and obviously it's a lot of fun to play live. Also it's not too hard to play. I fucking hate all the fucking hard shit. So yeah, "Naysayer". What's next for Architects after the current tour? Bits and bobs really. We're at the end of the cycle. We're going to headline in Australia, doing a run in Russia, we're doing some festivals. Not to down play any of those things, especially going to Australia is great, but it is kind of odds and ends. We're just focusing on moving on to writing the next record and hopefully going on to record that at the end of the year, which I'm sort of bracing myself for right now. The thing is, I want to say this is great. You look forward to doing it for so long, big headline tour, our

biggest ever. But then you're on it and actually I feel a bit of the weight of just it all. Even having a show like London, we play to 3000 people but that’s not like going skiing or something. It’s not a holiday. It can be really exhilarating, but it's also really scary actually. So, I'm almost looking forward to going home and going "Thank fuck nothing went wrong". That’s if nothing goes wrong. Well thank you Tom for speaking to the readers of RMP and all the best. No problem, thanks mate! facebook.com/architectsuk

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BLESSTHEFALL Trix Antwerp 2015, Belgium Photographer // Daria Colaes

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Writer // Frederik Geuvens Photographer // Jolien Krijnen 18

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ith the foresight of an awesome release show later that evening, RMP took the time to talk to Joe (vocals/guitar), Sam (lead guitar) and Senne (drums) of the Belgian metal band Evil Invaders. We met in the record store a twominute walk away from the venue and had a nice chat about their new album 'Pulses of Pleasure', their recording adventures and Japanese schoolgirls.

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INTERVIEW // EVIL INVADERS

We've been hearing about Evil Invaders for a couple of years now. Your band name frequently comes up at shows in Belgian youth clubs. How long are you guys already known as a band? Joe: Our first gig must have been somewhere in the beginning of 2009, but with a totally different line-up. I am the only one left of the original line-up, Sam and Senne joined later on. So how long have you been playing with this line-up? Sam: Like this? We've been playing together for six months or so. Senne: Yes, we recently got a new bass player Joe: Indeed, but us three. We’ve been playing since 2012. Sam: Senne didn’t you join us in 2011? Senne: Yes indeed, at the end of 2011.

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How did you come up with the band name? Has it something to do with Razor’s second album: "Evil Invaders"? Joe: Yes, that’s exactly what it is! We were looking for a good band name for over a year and one time I stumbled upon that album and I thought ‘that sounds pretty cool’. And of course it immediately fitted our music genre. These last two years, your popularity has grown. Especially after the release of your first EP “Evil Invaders”. Did you expect this? Sam: We didn’t really expect it, but I think it has to do with the fact that we played lots of gigs in the last two years. Since the EP came out, we were playing almost constantly and that’s how you reach a lot of people. Senne: And you need to continue working

for it because nothing comes from nothing. We all have to give 100 percent. Joe: We've also been lucky, especially when it comes to international success. At one moment the shows kept coming and we got a deal with Napalm Records. That all just happened to us. We know those were big opportunities. Was there a big difference between writing and recording your new album "Pulse Of Pleasure" and your first EP? Joe: In the making and recording of both albums we were in control, but we had to record the EP in a bedroom with our guitars plugged in directly into our computer. That really was a trial-and-error process. And now, for our full album, we knew what we were doing.

"WE HAD TO RECORD THE EP IN A BEDROOM WITH OUR GUITARS PLUGGED IN DIRECTLY INTO OUR COMPUTER." RMP Magazine #20

INTERVIEW // EVIL INVADERS

We also went to the studio of our sound engineer to record everything decently and after that we did the mixing and mastering ourselves. So we could determine our own sound even more. Sam: Recording the album went indeed a lot smoother. [laughing] This time the stupid laptop didn’t constantly break down. Mario Lopez created the artwork for both your EP and the new album. Does the image on the album cover represent your song “Stairway to Insanity”? Joe: It’s actually a combination of a lot of things. There are lots of references to the lyrics

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in the album cover. If you read the lyrics and you look at the cover, you’ll be able to connect little pieces of text with parts of the image. We put a lot of different references in

there on purpose and we tried to include a bit of mystery to it all. You can’t clearly see what’s going on in the cover, but if you read the lyrics you’ll think “Of course, that’s what

they intended with the artwork!” Today is the release party for your very fist full album “Pulses of Pleasure”. What are your expectations for the new album? Sam: I think it’ll depend on the crowd. Of course we hope they’ll like it very much and that it’ll bring us even further. That’s the purpose of releasing an album: going forward and not standing still, isn’t it? Joe: We’re really working to go further and we sincerely hope we will be able to grow as a band. I think this album is a step in the right direction. It’s of a much higher level than our EP if you ask me and we also we also worked harder on our show.

"READ THE LYRICS AND LOOK AT THE COVER. YOU'LL BE ABLE TO CONNECT LITTLE PIECES OF TEXT WITH P A R T S O F T H E I M A G E ." This album has definitely more depth to it and it sounds a little bit more mature. Sam: ‘A little bit…’ [laughs] Joe: Yes, indeed. We just try to reach as many people as we can while playing the same style of music. On March, 7 you’ve played at Up The Belgians! Fest in De Kreun (Kortijk, BE) as part of a double release show for on the one hand your new album “Pulses Of Pleasure” and on the other hand the new album

“Last Tribe Standing” by the old bastards from Ghent, Ostrogoth. Did you have fun during this evening full of metal violence? Sam: Yes, certainly! Joe: Of course, without a doubt! We already knew the people of Ostrogoth because we already did a club tour with them two years ago when they had announced their reunion. Sam: And at Graspop Metal Meeting we also performed together. Joe: They’re really cool dudes and also their fans and our fans fit perfectly together!

Old and young metal fans banging their heads like brothers! In the meantime you were signed by Napalm Records, known through bands like Alestorm, Legion of he Damned and The Cavalera Conspiracy. How do you experience the cooperation between you guys and the label? Joe: It’s very laidback actually. In the beginning you expect that a label as famous as Napalm Records is going to push you in one direction or another

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INTERVIEW // EVIL INVADERS

but that didn’t seem the case! We’re really keen on our freedom, musically speaking, and they respect that without any doubt. They also don’t give us some sort of time limit. But they do give us advice for when to or not to release our songs. For example using promo stunts. We also noticed that the music video Napalm Records posted on their YouTube page got lots of views. That's awesome! You’ve played in countries like Japan, Spain and Lithuania. What was it like, compared to playing Belgian shows? And which show did leave the biggest impression on you guys? Joe: Japan was different, but mostly it’s more or less the same during shows: there are always some mosh pits and stage dives. But in Japan you have some weird situations

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like people with mouth masks in the crowd and that make you wonder “Where did I end up?”. Sam: We even saw some girls in school outfits! Joe: Yeah, those kind of anime costumes! [laughing]. We experienced some really strange things. Like during the soundcheck: When you raise your thumb during the soundcheck in Europe, the sound guys knows that the sound is okay. But in Japan the sound guy thought a raised thumb meant he had to raise the volume. So when we entered the stage and we started playing everything went “Boom!”. Senne: But in general the crowd was very cool! It was really awesome! Joe: And they couldn’t stop taking pictures and asking for autographs. Sam: They’re very respectful nonetheless.

Joe: But crazy! Next to gigs abroad you also played for the first time at Graspop and Pukkelpop. These are festivals at which you’ve probably wandered around yourselves as fans. What was it like to be there, at those festivals, as a performing band? Sam: Awesome! Joe: It was really cool, especially Graspop; so many people came to see us there! At Pukkelpop we had to play very early but all things considered the tent was pretty crowded. We didn’t expect so many people that early on the last day of a festival. Isn’t the last day, the day where everyone sleeps of their debauch? [laughs] Sam: I was secretly hoping for rain that day so the crowd had to come inside the tent for shelter so they had to see us.

It’s kind of obvious that, musically speaking, you’re influenced by the early thrash metal bands. Which bands are the biggest influences? Joe: We actually have a bunch of influences and they’re also differents between band members. Me for example, I listen to Motörhead, Savatage, King Diamond and Merciful Fate. Senne: And I’m very much intro Iron Maiden, so I’ve got a lot of heavy metal influences. Sam: And I’m really fond of Rush for example. I personally think it’s very important as a band to have lots of different influences. Joe: We can't deny that we're influenced by bands like Judas Priest, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin.

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INTERVIEW // EVIL INVADERS

So we’re kind of a mix of all bands from the 80’s. Your outfits reflect your preference for the eighties.Is that a deliberate choice? Senne: I just take what’s on top in my wardrobe! [laughs]. Joe: I always walk around like this. I don’t have anything else! So you don’t have special special show outfits? Sam: Not really, but we have to make sure that we don't wear shoes that could be slippery,

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or we might end up face down on stage. Joe: We just have to wear comfortable clothes. And of course it comes in handy that you can hang your guitar strap over your shoulder. Sam: I’ll also never wear a tongue anymore!

to our readers? Joe: That’s something Senne will do! Senne: Check out our new album and maybe we’ll meet the next time during a show! That'll be awesome. We can all party together and drink a whole lot of beer!

Not anymore? Sam: Yeah well… No comment. [laughs]

New album :

I really wish you the best of luck for the release of “Pulses Of Pleasure”. Is there anything you want to say

“Pulse Of Pleasure”

Out now!

www.facebook.com/ evilinvaders

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Trix Antwerp 2015, Belgium Photographer // Daria Colaes

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Writer // David Gilmore 30

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ancer Bats have been a musical force of nature since its inception eleven years ago. With each new album, the band pushes the limits of its sound and and the members evolve as musicians. Now that their fifth studio album, "Searching For Zero", is being released, we sat down with the guys to discuss the making of the new record, working with Ross Robinson and their tour with While She Sleeps.

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INTERVIEW // CANCER BATS

“ W E ' V E D E A LT W I T H E V E R Y T H I N G A N D T H AT W E ' R E M O V I N G F O R WA R D , E V E R Y T H I N G IS POSITIVE FOR US.”

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Hey guys! How are you looking forward to your upcoming tour with While She Sleeps? We're so pumped for this Sleeps tour, it’s going to be the best! How would you describe a Cancer Bats' show to someone that hasn't seen you before? I would say to someone who hasn't seen us before, that our band is a giant ball of Canadian hair and beards just spitting and yelling and making all types of noise...., in a good way. A few years ago, you did the Pentagram Tour. You performed six times in one day all over London. Are you planning on doing this again on the next tour ? We had a blast doing the Pentagram rip for DSOL but I don't think we'll ever do that again. Everything worked out so perfectly that day I wouldn't want to try and attempt it again.

I feel like we'd curse it. [laughs] Does the title, "Searching For Zero", of the new album have a special meaning? “Searching For Zero” is the idea of us finding a new common ground to move forward. After 10 years as a band, this is our new starting point. We've dealt with everything now that we're moving forward, it's all positive for us. Good vibes only! What made you decide to work with Ross Robinson as a producer on the record? Ross’ name was presented to us and we looked back at all of his past work and it just made sense. When we spoke with him we realized that he's the most stoked dude ever. It was just a match made in heaven. Are you planning to play at European festivals this year?

We've got some festivals lined up for this year, but we're hoping to come back next year and really crush anyone we miss out on this summer. There's just too many amazing places we want to go! The new songs “True Zero” and “Satellites” sound more doomy than most of your previous recordings. Was this intended? and what music were you listening to during the writing process? I think this has just become a natural progression of the band. We all love stoner rock and doom and sludge so I'm sure all of that creeps into what we're writing. We all were listening to a lot of Black Angels, Witch, Graveyard, Neurosis, Church Of Misery, Nebula, Kyuss, Fu Manchu and tons of stuff like that. Just getting stoked on great records !

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INTERVIEW // CANCER BATS

How do you try to capture the energy of your live shows on record? It's Ross' specialty of channeling those vibes. I think it really takes someone who has been working with so many aggressive bands for so long to really understand all the little tricks that it takes to capture that raw live sound. He is truly the king of the vibe. Most critics are in agreement on the high quality of your previous albums. Do you feel any pressure to make an album that lives up to the expectations? We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to really outdo the last albums

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and to create something different. With DSOL I feel like it was us really nailing a lot of ideas we'd been working on since we started the band. So it was really important for us to move things forward and build from there and to not just write DSOL part 2. Are there any songs on the record that will surprise longtime fans? I think there are a lot of surprises, but for longtime fans, I think they'll be really stoked to hear some fresh new ideas coming from the same sound and four dudes they've been hanging out with for the last ten years.

Thanks for taking the time to talk to us, do you have any final words for your fans? Thanks so much for doing the interview and I can't wait for everyone to hear the new album and to come party with us in April! New album : â&#x20AC;&#x153;Searching For Zeroâ&#x20AC;?

Out now!

www.facebook.com/ cancerbats

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Trix Antwerp 2015, Belgium Photographer //Lisse Wets

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WE AD

38 Writer & Photographer: David Marote RMP Magazine #20

ESTERN DDICTION O

n the day that Amsterdam experienced a blackout, Western Addiction was in town on its first European tour. Luckily that power shortage was swiftly solved so the show could go on. RMP Magazine took some time to sit down with Jason Hall, the vocalist and guitar player of Western Addiction. In between the sound check and the show we checked if a second blackout was to be expected tonight, one caused by the hardcore madness of Western Addiction. Find out below about Jason's experiences in the Old Continent of Europe and their newest EP “I’m Not The Man I Thought I'd Be”.

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INTERVIEW // WESTERN ADDICTION

Hello Jason, this is the first European tour for Western Addiction and also your first visit to Europe. How has it been so far? I love it! All the other guys have been before, so they've known what to expect a little bit. So far I loved every country. We went to Spain, went to France, I loved France, then the UK and now here. Have you noticed the cultural differences between those countries? Mostly for the good, things make sense here. Getting around on the public transportation makes sense. The size of the food makes sense. They give you just enough to eat and to be full. That makes total sense to me. It's not like a big giant burrito or something. So far everybody has been wonderful.

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And Amsterdam? I looked a little bit and it's so beautiful. It's as beautiful as some of the small towns in France we went to. Not small but relatively small like Lyon, Cognac and Toulouse. Toulouse was pretty wonderful, but this one is like a postcard everywhere you look. I love it. Lagwagon asked you to play this tour with the support of The Flatliners. How psyched were you for this tour? Really excited actually, I've known Joey for quite a long time and I've known The Flatliners guys. I used to work at the record label that we're on, so right when I was leaving, they got signed. They're wonderful dudes and Joey is wonderful too. He wanted to do a tour with all of his friends. It's so great, I have a fulltime job and I don't

get to tour all the time. So this is like a dream for me. I'm loving it.

“I’m Not The Man I Thought I'd Be” is the band’s newest EP that was recently released. Have you played any songs live yet and how was the response? We've played that song, the title track song. And we played this other song called “Clatter And Hiss”, it's a demo on there. Pretty good. I think we're kind of the odd band on the bill. People are looking at us and they're kind of confused; interested, but confused. I'm screaming at them the whole time and Lagwagon and Flatliners are so fun and happy. I think they're going “What am I seeing?!”. That first song “I'm Not The Man…” is like a rock song, so people’s bodies automaticly kind of move with rock. It's really like AC/DC

style rock, that's like our only song like that. You can kind of see people moving and react to music but they're still kind of confused of what we're doing. The new track “Clatter and Hiss” is the first track where bass player Tony contributed during recording. How does a new member affect the group and the recording? Each new member brings something different. I love having Tony in the band, he's really positive. He's a great guitar player, he plays bass in our band. But he's an awesome guitar player, he's an awesome singer. I can't really sing, I can do a little bit, but I have in my mind what I want a song to do. When I can't do it physically, he can do it. So I'm like “Hey Tony, there's a part that needs to be sung”

" M AY B E T H E C O M F O RT I S T H AT I CA N F E E L T H E SA M E WAY YO U F E E L A N D T H I N G S W I L L B E O K AY. "

RMP Magazine #20

INTERVIEW // WESTERN ADDICTION

and then he can really do it. He's been in other bands like Cobra Skulls. He has been around the world so he's like a veteran. I'd rather have good, cool friends in the band and I'm so glad he's playing with us. When recording the new EP it was recorded to 2” tape in the studio. In this era of digital technology being the standard, what do you believe to be the benefits of tape? Chad, our drummer, he's really into that. He likes the sound that the drums make with it. I'm not really that great at that stuff. But Chad is really good about this; he recorded our demo that went on our record. He has got an ear for that. He has a really huge knowledge about when things were recorded, history of music. He really knows a lot of punk, hardcore

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and metal. And that's the sound he likes, he kind of helps us out with that kind of stuff. The title track of the EP “I’m Not The Man I Thought I'd Be” has a rather pessimistic feel to it. Can you let us in on what message you were trying to get across? Every song isn't necessarily super true, but my wife read the lyrics to that. And then my mom was at our house and she picked up my lyrics book and was reading it. She was like “I don't know about that song, I'm worried about you”. First of all I was like “You put that down, why are you reading that?!” [laughs]. It's a little pessimistic. You think about how life should go, how things should turn out. They don't ever, they never turn out the way you thought

they would. I mean it is pessimistic, but I don't know, sometimes I'm filled with anxiety and that was just one song about how things go. I never thought I would be playing in a hardcore band and touring Europe at this time of my life. That's kind of a good thing that I wouldn't have anticipated. There are good things and bad things; that one is about the bad things. Everybody always feels those things and a lot of our lyrics are really cryptic and you can't really connect with them. I have some friends in bands and they make good lyrics that really connect with people. I think Against Me! does a really good job at connecting with people but their lyrics are understandable. I'm trying to do that a little bit more versus

"AND NOW WE'RE A LITTLE BIT OLDER AND GETTING BACK TOGETHER LIKE A FAMILY IN A WAY."

all those crazy words and things that no one can relate too. I think people may be able to relate to that song by thinking about how your life is going to be and it just doesn't happen and you feel disappointed in a way. Maybe the comfort is that I can feel the same way you feel and things will be okay. You mentioned you worked at Fat Wreck Chords in the past. How has this influenced the band?

Definitely connections. I mean, I have all these great friends from long ago so you just know lots of band people and it does help. We would never be on all of this if it wasn't for Joey. I'm not going to hide any of that. He's a great friend and he asked us to play and we're thankful. And Chad works at the label now. There's this cool thing that has been happening at Fat Wreck Chords, people splintered off a bit and went their separate ways. And now we're a little

bit older and getting back together like a family in a way. I'm seeing all these people and the person that runs our label Erin, she's awesome. She was my boss basically for years and now it's like old friends coming together. She's really supportive, she even texted us on this tour. It does feel like a family in an odd way. We're kind of a different band for Fat, but I don't care. I've seen all the other labels, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve seen bands not get paid. Fat always pays bands.

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INTERVIEW // WESTERN ADDICTION

They always treat them right, they give them whatever they need. Even it hurts the label a bit. That's pretty cool. I love the way they work with one record deals. Yeah, because they're not trying to lock anybody in there. There are no tricks. Even if you don't make money from royalties you always get a statement. It's not like labels like Lookout records who were in the past accused of not paying people. Fat always pays even if you don't like them or make fun of the bands. They always pay. After the start of Western Addiction and the first release in 2006, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Cognicideâ&#x20AC;?, you all went on a hiatus, due to the usual routine of kids, work, life or other interests. How does it feel to be playing and

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recording again? It feels kind of nice. The break was my fault. Because I have a family and my little daughter was young and I didn't want to be away or gone too much. She's a little bit older now and I'm able to get away and I also have a job. Leaving the label I came to respect music so much more and like music more. I always liked it. Even when I talk to the guys of the label they don't always know exactly what's going on because they're in it all day. I love music. I listen to it all the time, I look forwarding seeing it on TV. I got a bit older where I'm not complaining about music as much. So if you're watching a big television show like the Grammy's or the Superbowl. What's this band doing? These guys

suck. I don't think like that anymore. I'm just so thankful, check it out, there's rock 'nâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; roll on TV. I'm more appreciative, I lightened up a little bit. Jason, you also keep a tour diary published on New Noise. For instance, you visited the Guggenheim museum in Bilboa. In the blog you mentioned Niki de Saint Phalle and her sculptures, what attracts you to her work? Yeah, I have to do that. I turned in the other one Wednesday. They had a video of her speaking about her work. It was so powerful. I life with all ladies: I live with two daughters and a wife and they are all strong, powerful women. She was a really strong, powerful woman and what she was saying was really interesting. She was basically saying:

RMP Magazine #20

INTERVIEW // WESTERN ADDICTION

“Only men can make destructive things, so only women can make beautiful art out of these things.” She had this giant skull and this golden bat with the machineguns. Also when you’re looking at some people's art you can see them falling apart or their madness. You can see their madness in what's happening. The whole thing, I think she was an incredible woman. You also seem to be fascinated by black metal like the Gaudi sculptures you described on the tour blog as ‘black metal’. What do you like in it and what bands can you recommend? That's only recent. I like all the classics. I'm really new to listening to it. I only recently started listening to it. Like all the classics as Bathory and Burzum,

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the ones you're supposed to listen to. There's something so fascinating about that lifestyle to where you paint your face, you only do certain things and you run into the forest. I guess there's more to it. I don't know. I get into genres of music and I go in and out of things. For a while I was into Sam Cooke a lot, a while I was into The Pixies. Now I'm into black metal. For some reason I don't know why, it's so fascinating. There's this band from San Francisco, they're called Mastery. They have a black metal record and the cover looks different than any black metal cover. It's not the undecipherable writing, really cool, just like primary colours. I listen to that and like this music, it’s maddening. It makes me feel

nervous and anxious and wonder “Why am I listening to this?”. In a bizarre twist of faith I met the guy who made the record at the record store. I referred his record to him. I'm in the black metal section and I go “Have you check this band out?”. He said “Yeah, I made it.” And I was like “Get the hell out of here!” I think it's interesting. It's like another world, like in a play. It seems crazy. Just seems so fascinating. Have you seen that documentary about the Norwegian scene “Untill The Light Takes Us” or something. The whole thing is like a fascinating chapter in history. It wasn't really about being satanic. It was about people coming into their country and appropriating their things. You always think it's all about the devil.

So in 2013 the threesong EP “Pines” was released and this year the new EP. Any plans for a full album soon? We have a lot of new songs. We were going to make a new record but we got offered this. I’ve never been here, so I was like “We're doing that.” But we have tons of new songs. When we play in Germany in a few days we will play more because we have a thirty-minute set. We will play one new one tonight that is not on any album. I pretty much used up all my vacation from work so I don't know when we are going to record. Maybe on Christmas day or something. What is the ambition of Western Addiction next to world domination? I want to do one more record. I'd like to. The songs we have now are really interesting.

I like the line-up, it feels really positive and fun. I have to share the members with other bands. Those guys will be doing their thing. I've been here now, we've been to Japan. Of course I'd like to go to other countries, I feel kind of spoiled. This is great. At least I got to come here and see some of the best countries of Europe. I'm pretty good actually. Any last words for our readers? Just thanks so much and maybe check out our new EP, it's on Fat. We'll have a new record out soon! New Album : “I’m Not the Man That I Thought I’d Be” Out now !

www.facebook.com/Western Addiction

RMP Magazine #20

Trix Antwerp 2015, Belgium Photographer // Jurriaan Hodzelmans

RMP Magazine #20

ndrew Cream and Don Blake recently embarked on their first joint European tour, also known as the ACDB tour. Hailing from the UK, both bands loaded up the van and crossed the channel to play some select European places of the continental persuasion. RMP welcomed them at their last show in Belgium for a small chat on the tour, the new Don Blake record â&#x20AC;&#x153;Pocket Universeâ&#x20AC;? and how Andrew Cream is now a full band thanks to Don Blake.

Writer & photographer //David Marote

RMP Magazine #20

INTERVIEW // ANDREW CREAM AND DON BLAKE

Welcome to Belgium! can you please introduce yourselves? Nige : I'm Nige, I play drums. Joe: I'm Joe, guitar for Don Blake Kieron: I'm Kieron, I play bass in Don Blake and Andrew Cream. Rob: I play guitar in Don Blake Andrew: I'm Andrew and I play guitar as Andrew Cream So this is the first European tour for Don Blake and you're joined by Euro-veteran Andrew Cream. How has it been? Joe: It's been really cool. We've been in a few different countries in a short period of time. It's been cool to play lots of different kinds of shows in such a short period. When we get to a venue you never quite know

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how the show will go down. Some shows you thought were going to be okay, turn out amazing and then other shows that might be amazing, turn out to just be okay. You've played France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and many other countries. Have you noticed any cultural differences? Rob: We ate more pasta when we were in Italy. Andrew: There's a trend amongst every time I've been to Europe. How well the hospitality and how we get treated is ten times better than in the UK. We get fed so well, we always get a good place to sleep. That is a trend that runs through every country that we played. Rob: I think that's been

the main difference. Playing new places is cool anyway, but the main difference has been the hospitality and everyone who helped us out on these shows. Andrew, Don Blake plays a pop punk sound, while your work is more folk punk. How does the crowd react to the different styles? Andrew: I think a lot of the time people that are into punk music will listen to anything from acoustic singer-songwriter to punk up until

"Playing new places is cool anyway, but the main difference has been the hospitality and everyone who helped us out on these shows."

RMP Magazine #20

INTERVIEW // ANDREW CREAM AND DON BLAKE

hardcore. A lot of the crowds just enjoyed that punky sound. I think some of the gigs had people that were more inclined. For example in Italy they have quite a big pop punk scene so Don Blake went down really well on those shows. As on some of the other gigs we played with more acoustic folk punk artists in Germany. People are more inclined to like that sound. But then both sides appreciated each other.

Rob: I think with the two bands, there is a difference, but it's not a world apart. Andrew: A lot of my songs are just pop punk with an acoustic guitar to it. Today you’ve played the final show of the tour in Belgium. But you've got big plans ahead: you'll be playing

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with Masked Intruder in the UK soon. Are you psyched about that? Nige: We played with them on a big festival at Manchester. There were ten bands on at the time and we were the first one on. We also played with The Murderburgers, they're friends of ours. Congratulations with the new Don Blake album “Pocket Universe”. It was released a month ago. How has the response been so far? Rob: It's been pretty good. There's a lot more focus in writing an album for the first time. On the whole, people take it well and seem to like it.

“Pocket Universe” was released on Round Dog Records, which is run by Fraser of The Murderburgers. How did this come by?

Kieron: We put on gigs in Manchester ever too often and met Fraser and The Murderburgers through that. We went on tour with them. He mentioned he had a distro but then turned into a record label. Rob: We pretty much asked him to be on. Andrew: I heard it involved a gun. There might be a vinyl release this summer. Any updates on that front? Joe: That's partially to be done by Round Dog Records and the US release is being done by Bloated Kat. We're looking forward to getting the record out, but part of me is just so excited to be associated with the other bands on the label like The Kimberly Steaks and so on.

"We saw some crowd surfing and human pyramids. It's been great fun."

RMP Magazine #20

INTERVIEW // ANDREW CREAM AND DON BLAKE

"Next time we will be more prepared." Last year Andrew Cream and Don Blake released a split EP together, now the split tour and Nige and Kieron play as Andrew's full band on the tour. What's the attraction between both bands? Kieron: I really struggle to understand... Nige: Andrew doubles up as a tour manager/ tour organiser so you know... Andrew: I've known these guys for like coming up to ten years. Rob and Joe especially and I met Keiron and Nige like two years later. I don't really know where the conversation started but I wanted to start playing my songs

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with a band and Nige and Keiron seemed to be the obvious people to ask. And they were more than happy to do it. Deciding to do the split seemed quite natural. I really wanted to do a European tour with a full band and the only way I'm getting to do it with a full band is by getting them along. It's been really fun. Joe: Andrew has always been active playing shows and we've been in bands before Don Blake where we weren't doing anything. In Don Blake we've been all more active. Andrew, both you and Don Blake played The Fest 13 this year. How

was that experience? And are there any plans on returning soon? Joe: It's been amazing. This tour is really great. That and the Fest show, that's been the highlight of us being in the band. I'd love to go back and play. I'm going to go next time. I don't know the rest of the band can do it this year. Rob: It was really cool and an awesome experience. In a way it's been a learning curve in terms of knowing what to do. Most of the foreign bands go without taking any of the gear with them. It's a learning experience. Next time we will be more prepared. Still, it was an amazing experience. Andrew, you're from Leeds and Don Blake is based around Manchester. How is the scene over there in the UK?

Kieron: I think in Manchester it’s very varied. We've got a lot of promoters like Under The Bridge who put on acoustic punk stuff. They're getting big bands now like The Flatliners. He's putting up The Masked Intruder show. Andrew: I find Leeds a little bit more of a hit and miss than Manchester. Sometimes we can have really great turnouts and other days not so good. Manchester feels more of a community. I think Leeds has the potential to become a community. It had a really great community about five or ten years ago, but all those people are getting older. There's no young blood coming in. It's about creating something new again. I've only lived there for 18 months and I want to try and help that happen.

Rob: We're not in the band for that long, just since 2012, so we're quite lucky getting to play in the Manchester scene in a time with shows like Masked Intruder. We also played with Chumped some time ago. So what's next with Don Blake and Andrew Cream? New joint ventures or releases planned? Rob: We've got a new album and we want to put on shows in the UK this year and promote that. Joe: We got a new record that we worked pretty hard on to get so now it's about getting it out there. Any last words for our readers? Andrew: This tour has been fantastic. It's been really great for me to be able to play my songs with a band.

I feel like every place that we played we took some positives from every gig. It was really great fun. Rob: It's our first European tour. The hospitality’s been amazing. Just as the shows themselves. Having people listen to us, like last night when we played in France, it's so cool to play a new place. We saw some crowd surfing and human pyramids. It's been great fun. New album : “Pocket Universe” (From Don Blake)

Out now !

www.facebook.com/donblake band www.facebook.com/andrew creammusic

RMP Magazine #20

MOD Hasselt 2015, Belgium Photographer // Jurriaan Hodzelmans

RMP Magazine #20

TOP THREE EVENTS

Three of the biggest events taking place over the next couple of months Do all those concerts and festivals make you feel dizzy? Don’t you really know where to start or do you just want to try something new? No worries, we’ve put out some of the top upcoming events that you sure as hell don’t want to miss.

MARK THE DATE! VOL. 11

Photographer // Carl Battams Writer // Jesse Mouart

RMP Magazine #20

TOP THREE EVENTS

JERA ON AIR 2015 (NL)

// Ysselsteyn, 19th and 20th of May 2015

We really love it when small time festivals are growing and start to play together with the big dogs. Jera On Air is this kind of festival. Located in the small village of Ysselsteyn in the south of the Netherlands near Eindhoven. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Where?â&#x20AC;? do you say. Exactly, in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by fields and no one that can be bothered. This means that this festival has some real potential to grow even larger than it is today. Other things that will help their growth is their rep sheet. Getting big names on the festival and continuing this year after year is key to success and something Jera is really mastering. This year they welcome bands such as A Day To Remember, All Time Low, Enter Shikari and Lagwagon to the stage. A very diverse line-up where a lot of people might get attracted by. After all, the festival puts his main output on the punk and metalcore subgenre. Also representing the metalcore scene are Texas In July, Chelsea Grin and Northlane. These three bands have made their name last in the world of hard music; a definite plus to the festival bill. You will also see some hardcore acts this year. The Dutch hardcore No Turning Back band will be joining the festival together with LA legends Terror. Last but not least they also got the punk rock scene covered: join the pogo pit with Authority Zero, Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! and Strung out for an epic festival experience! The cool thing about this kind of festivals is that you get to see some locals play and find out about new music this way. We have for example The Royal and Destine, two Dutch bands that will get to play with their heroes on this festival. Jera has still some announcements to make, so keep a good look at their festival line-up.

RMP Magazine #20

TOP THREE EVENTS

FORTAROCK 2015 (NL) //Nijmegen, 6th of June 2015.

FortaRock is a rather young festival, but since they started out it became clear that this wasn’t your typical small-scale festival. In the past they’ve welcomed headliners such as Suicidal Tendencies, Rammstein, Iron Maiden and this year they bring us Slipknot. And the best part is that all of this comes with a very reasonable price tag. So if you are looking for one day filled with the best bands metal has to offer, you are on the right address. If you could get there a day earlier, you can also check out FortaRock In The City. On this pre-festival you only got a €5,- admission to pay if you already have a FortaRock ticket. The festival opener is the Michigan band King 810, a very aggressive band that puts their main lyrical focus on violence and has a very early Slipknot sound. If you’ve never heard of them before they’re definitely something that could surprise you. Sylosis recently released their very strong new album “Dormant Heart”, an album which really shows what these guys can do. They’ve mastered the art of combining different types of metal, which result into very interesting music. One of the most well-known extreme death metal bands is Dying Fetus. This legendary band will also be delighting us with some of the fastest and most aggressive types of music known today. Talking about legends, what do you say about the thrash band Exodus? “Frickin’ awesome!”, that is what we’d say. This 80’s metal band still really knows how to bring their very decent shredding live and will bring you one hell of a show. A band who can only be described as 2000’s most famous rock band is the one and only Papa Roach. Of the years they have produced a collection of albums, which are very different compared to each other. As a result the fan base is very varied, but this doesn’t kill their superb live atmosphere. If you we say hardcore-crossover, you instantly say Hatebreed. This band has the reputation of totally killing it live. So brace yourself, this is going to be a rough one. The Australians of Parkway Drive found a fast way to the top. They are definitely doing something very right, because their shows are bigger, better and more crowded every single time. The raw sound of the band Lamb Of God is one that no one will ever recreate. We are glad Randy Blythe and his gang are back on track and are even putting out some new music. Maybe a sneak preview on the festival? Who knows. You could never go wrong with a headliner act such as Slipknot. A one-of-a-kind band who surprised every metalhead back in the day and still remains interesting over the years. They’ve only just released a new album called “.5: The Gray Chapter”, an album that has been praised and is equally insane compared to their predecessors. These new songs will be a great addition to their already very sick and powerful live performance.

RMP Magazine #20

TOP THREE EVENTS

DEATH WISH FEST EUROPEAN TOUR 2015 // In Europe, starting 30th of May till 5th of June 2015.

Touring festivals are getting quite popular in the most recent years. Deathwish Fest might not ring any bells if you are not into the world of record labels, but Deathwish Records is known for their ‘not your everyday’ heavy music. As you could presume, this one is not for the faint of heart. You can expect some hard, heavy and even a bit of technical stuff on the show. First off is the Blackened Crust band Young And In The Way. Their name might not be that ‘black’ but don’t be fooled, there are some serious black metal influences, finished with a pinch of hardcore. This band is a rather young band but they already have a serious discography of several EP’s and full albums. If you like it cold and rough this band is exactly what you are looking for. Harm’s Way is a band that reigns with brute force. If metal could not be aggressive enough, they’ve added some serious hardcore action to their work. Just this year they’ve released their new album “Rust”, so you can be sure to hear some of the new stuff that night. Next up is the Boston-based metal/hardcore band Trap Them. Their aggressive sound fits right into the line-up and in the repertoire of Deathwish Inc. Their organized chaos really puts them competing with the most extreme metal/hardcore bands in the world. Last but certainly not least, the headlining band of the evening: Converge. This band is a very innovating band that pushes borders and creates music that really puts out new standards for the heavy music genres. They are one of the few bands that have risen from the underground punk/metal world and managed to make their underground sound work for the rest of the world. We believe that these bands will form one of the most killer cocktails for the perfect live shows. We will have to warn you, you will probably feel like you are 50 years older after a show like this.

RMP Magazine #20

AB Brussel 2015, Belgium Photographer // Jurriaan Hodzelmans

RMP Magazine #20

ALBUM REVIEWS

Skinny Lister Down On Deptford Broadway

Moonspell Extinct

Moonspell’s newest album “Extinct” is definitely in line with their previous albums. But this time the band’s gothic metal is combined with influences from different places and eras. “Medusalem” clearly contains Arabic influences, while “La Baphomette” could have been situated in the French Revolution. In this song, Fernando Ribeiro sings in French for the first time; and he does that brilliantly! “Extinct” is a well-balanced album in every possible way. Moonspell switches easily between heavy parts with primal grunts, Fernando’s clean vocals and female backing vocals. Also worth mentioning is the mysterious and almost magical atmosphere in several songs, like “Funeral Bloom” while “A Dying Breed” might as well have been a rock opera! In other words: there’s plenty of space for instrumental experimenting. Nevertheless, Moonspell maintains an up-tempo album rhythm, so “Extinct” doesn’t bore for a minute. Fans will love it.

By Suzanne Gielis

RMP Magazine #20

Skinny Lister revolves along a brother and a sister playing folky tunes. Assisted by the rest of the eclectic band of merry men, they play songs rooted in tradition but catchy as hell. Their first album “Forge And Flagon” already led to international tours and a release with Side One Dummy Records. And when the jug gets rolling it doesn't stop, so recently Skinny Lister embarked on a European tour supporting Chuck Ragan and the Camaraderie. On April, 20 their second album “Down On Deptford Broadway” is released through Xtramile Recordings. For those familiar with their first album full of folk, rock, punk, and ten dozen other styles from rowdy to intimate, all balled into a perfect party tune: “Down Of Deptford Broadway” holds the same key elements that will have you comparing them to The Offspring, The Pogues and The Clash but all in a traditional folk package and into tune with the present musical spectrum. From party starter “This Is War” to the folk of “Bold And Brass” and the more intimate “What Can I Say”, eclectic doesn't fit to describe this amazing album.

By David Marote

ALBUM REVIEWS

Mastodon Once More Around The Sun

Mastodon's newest offering “Once More Around The Sun” represents the quintessence of ‘rock-olution’. If you have been following the band, you have likely noticed they have had a tendency to actively evolve their sound and overall performance with each other on an album-to-album-basis. This isn't by any means a bad thing, the current generation of modern rock and progressive rock listeners just haven't really been given this sort of pleasant ear barrage in a long time. “Once More Around The Sun” achieves just that; it kicks off with the opening track “Tread Lightly”. The intro of the song really sets the pace for the rest of the 11-track album: it sort of builds up a profound feeling of mystery, which plays perfectly on the tracks references to the unknown. One of the key things long time Mastodon fans will notice is the overall toned-down drum work on the entire album. Don't get me wrong, it's clearly Brann Dailor's handy work, but it is just a lot more in the pocket for a majority of the album. Mastodon's overall continuous work on melodies and pocketed yet atmospheric solos make “Once More Around The Sun” an absolute listening pleasure. From beginning to end the album finds a way to bring a smile to your ears, as well as a tear to your third eye. By Antony Gallagher

Courage My Love Becoming Album Review

“Becoming” is the second album from the three-piece Canadian pop punk band Courage My love. The band consists of twin sisters Mercedez and Phoenix Arn-Horn and bassist Brandon Lockwood, the newest member of the band. The opening track “Skin & Bone” begins with a slow verse, but it soon builds up to a massive chorus. “Kerosene” is a really fun track, it makes you want to get up and dance. The lyrics are down to earth that a lot of listeners will be able to relate to them. “Unfamiliar sheets” follows on and it is a very summertime song. Based on love, the band really knows how to relate to their fans whilst putting their past experiences into lyrics that everyone has been involved in before. A song that really stands out on the whole album is “Lost Cause”. It’s catchy and the guitar is really bright and makes the whole track work in the real pop punk way. All in all, this 14-track album has made the band who they are today. They have made the lyrics easy to relate to and have given us another taste of the pop punk genre. Big things are going to come their way for Courage My Love once this album is released.

By Holly Reijs

RMP Magazine #20

ALBUM REVIEWS

RMP Magazine #20

ALBUM REVIEWS

RMP Magazine #20

ALBUM REVIEWS

NitroDive Re-Evolution

Prong Songs from the Black Hole

As Friends Rust Greatest Hits?

NitroDive has released their second album “Re-Evolution” and what an album it is! Don’t let looks fool you. Even though they might look like they’ll throw emo music at you, you’ll get what they promised: a raw and explosive album. This up-tempo music is exactly what you need after a long day of work or school to become joyful again.

Cover albums happen for a few reasons like self-indulgence, contractual obligations or plain laziness. However “Songs from the Black Hole” doesn’t sound like any of these. The ten songs on offer here are all executed with enough skill and obvious love of the source material that makes this album wellworth the investment.

And that’s what they sing about: women, anarchy and self-motivation. They wanted to create a garage rock album and they’ve succeeded in doing so if you ask me. The album has many sides but in the end, you’re listening to a band that makes you want to dance and jump into a moshpit. As a fan of punk music or raw rock, this one is definitely an album you should put on your ‘to-listen list’.

The band’s version of Neil Young’s “Cortez The Killer” is a particular stand-out and quite unlike anything you’ve heard Prong commit to record before. Each track is transformed by their unique style and the band successfully made each track their own. Vocalist Tommy Victor’s voice is in fine form throughout and the rest of the band isn’t far behind. The sheer diversity of tracks is an achievement on itself with tracks from Discharge, Fugazi, Butthole Surfers, Killing Joke and Bad Brains to name a few. The whole album works well and will undoubtedly be a fine addition to the band’s live arsenal.

When first listening to this album and not really knowing who As Friends Rust were and what sort of album this was, I was kind of surprised at the different styles I heard throughout the album. The first three songs for example are really messy and ‘hardcore-ish’, the next five are a little more melodic, a little more catchy and the last six sound much newer: the recording is slicker and so is the sound.

By Roel Vanobbergen

RMP Magazine #20

By David James Gilmore

And then I realised this album is an assortment of songs from As Friends Rust’s six albums, spanning across six years... and that totally made sense because I read that the first songs are the oldest and the last ones the newest. So I think this album is especially exiting for the fans, because it almost takes you on a trip through time. Of course, for everyone who likes some old and new hardcore music, it might also be a good listen.

By Renske Gommer

ALBUM REVIEWS

Less than Jake American Idle

Strung Out Transmission.Alpha.Delta

Hot Water Music 20th Anniversary Collection

This 2-song album contains a brand new song called “Late Night Petroleum” and “American Idle” from the former album. When you listen to it, you’ll make the connection with the album “See The Light” quite fast if you know it well. The sound is exactly in line of what they released back then in 2013.

“Transmission.Alpha.Delta” is the newest release from the Simi Valley-outfit. Nearly six years after their previous release “Agents Of The Underground”, the Californians deliver another dose of high speed punk rock. For this release they teamed up with Kyle Black as producer.

20 years is quite an age for a band, so it’s worth celebrating. Hot Water Music decided to celebrate with a compilation album, filled with their 30 best songs. This American band is one of the punk rock values and this record is a fine way to get to know them.

And just as they did in the past, they show us how they can combine punk with ska music whereas the first song is an up-tempo punk song, the second song is a mellow ska song to relax. And it only takes you about two times to sing along! This album offers a great opportunity for people to get to know the band as they get the best from both worlds with punk rock and ska songs.

Overall the album has a more old school-Strung Out feel compared to the previous releases that were reaching out to technical metal at times. With tracks like “No Apologies” and “Modern Drugs” they reminisce to the days of “Suburban Teenage Wasteland Blues” and older material. Always evolving the band has found a new breath again and they're playing Europe this summer. So look out for Strung Out anno 2015!

By Roel Vanobbergen

By David Marote

You’ll hear immediately that these guys are professionals. Make sure to give “It’s Hard to Know” and “Drown In It” a listen. However, if you’re already a fan and own one or more Hot Water Music albums, you might want to skip this one because chances are you already own the songs that are on it. Apart from some re-mastered versions, Hot Water Music isn’t presenting anything you haven’t heard yet.

By Suzanne Gielis

RMP Magazine #20

ALBUM REVIEWS

Bowling for Soup Songs People Actually Liked Volume 1-The first 10 years (1994-2013) This album is the band’s first authorized greatest hit albums. Yes, there were some compilation albums before, but those were just songs thrown together. This time, the band recorded all our favourite songs again without changing a single thing about them! This album offers people the chance to get to know the band before they started focussing on being funny in their songs like “Almost” and “1985”. It was because of these funny songs that I became a fan of the band but this album offers people like me a great chance to learn the old classics, which are at least as good! There is one new song in the midst of these ‘oldies’ called “20 years (that’s a lot of beers)” and it is quite obvious what’s behind this song: 20 years of making awesome music!

By Roel Vanobbergen

RMP Magazine #20

Zebrahead The Early Years, Revisited

Kyle Gass Band Kyle Gass Band

What does this remind me of? Early nineties fun-punk with a taste of rap-rock, maybe? Since the album title is “The Early Years, Revisited” that might just have been the sound Zebrahead was looking for.

Kyle Gass Band is a side project of Tenacious D’s Kyle Gass, but don’t expect more of the same successful recipe. Kyle Gass Band is Tenacious D’s serious nephew but that doesn’t mean that Tenacious D fans will be disappointed. Certainly not if they listen to feel good rock tracks like “Dyin’ Day” and “Getting The Band Back Together”.

I’m not sure I can say the album is very original, I think I’ve heard the song titles “Rescue me”, “Get Back” and “Someday” at least a dozen times before, but hey, it does kind of make me want to grab a skateboard and skate the sh*t out of my neighbourhood skate ramps. And that’s saying a lot, since I don’t even really know how to do that. So if you want a good excuse to wear your old baggie jeans, long shirts and backwards caps again, grabbing this album might just be a really good idea!

By Renske Gommer

This album has a nice balance between strong rock songs and soft balads. Make sure to check out “Gypsy Scroll” which starts out as a soft song but turns out into solid rock ‘n’ roll; maybe even Meat Loaf worthy. Same can be said for “It’s Our Job To Rock” which might as well have been a Tenacious D track. And “Ram-Damn-Bunctious” could have been an AC/DC tribute. It’s a shame Kyle Gass didn’t have much inspiration for a decent album title, because this album certainly deserves it.

By Suzanne Gielis

ALBUM REVIEWS

You, Me, And Everyone We Know Dogged EP

Pop punk band You, Me, And Everyone We Know has released a new six-track EP, “Dogged”, that will change your ears forever. The EP starts off with a 57-second song “Raise Them Bones” which is shortlived and leaves you wanting more towards the end. Vocalist Ben Liebsch dives into the lyrics promptly with the acoustic guitar jamming in the background. “Eat My Hands” is a humorous title, but the lyrics throughout are very down-to-earth, reflecting on their previous experiences. The chorus is very catchy and is repetitive throughout. “Brooks Was Here” is the fifth track on the EP, it starts off with Bens voice standing out over the beat, making you listen to every word he sings. The guitar comes in beautifully, flattering his voice perfectly. Seeing as the whole EP is based on Ben Liebsh’s life after sobering up and getting it back on track, it’s an honest six-track EP and it invites you into Liebsch’s world to see all of it from his perspective.

By Holly Reijs

Miles Away Tide

Miles Away is an Australian hardcore band with a lot of influences of the 90's positive old school hardcore. Fans of Break Even will love this band for sure! The band will release the brand new album “Tide” on May 5th, and this will be their first full-length album since “Endless Roads”, which was released five years ago. “Tide” is an album with great artwork: it looks like a landscape in the fall, and it refers to the band’s coastal West-Australian roots. The album kicks off with a nice piece of piano music followed by the typical positive old school hardcore of this great band. They mix their old school hardcore with influences of modern melodic hardcore bands like Defeater. “Tide” contains 11 songs which are all really good songs. There is also a good variation between the hard, old school songs and the more melodic-based songs. My advice to everyone who is reading this review, and is digging bands like Defeater, Dead Swans, Break Even, is: listen to this album!

By Jonas Hoflack

RMP Magazine #20

BANDS IN NUMBERS // TWISTED SISTER

THE METAL WORLD, INCLUDING RMP, IS SHOCKED AFTER THE UNEXPECTED DEATH OF DRUMMER A.J. PERO. AS A TRIBUTE TO A.J., WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE MANY ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF HIS BAND TWISTED SISTER.

YEARS ago, a glam metal band was founded in New York. Twisted Sister formed in December 1972. But because of a big break, the band hasn’t been making records and playing concerts the entire time.

"WE’RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT."

237

ALBUMS have been recorded so far by Twisted Sister.

5% EP’s

30% compilations

35% studio albums

30% live albums

553

LIVE SHOWS, that’s what Twisted Sister performed in the United States alone during the past 16 tours.

57 times in the United Kingdom

8 times in the Netherlands

LIVE COVERS have been made of the song ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’. That makes it Twisted Sister’s most covered song. The band is most covered by P!nk, Motörhead, Widowmaker and Steel Panther.

RMP Magazine #20

5 times in Belgium

wh sh fac tw

WEEKS in a row we saw Twisted

Sister’s album “Stay Hungry” in the Billboard 200 charts. “Stay Hungry” was in 1984 the very first heavy metal album to top the charts.

GOLD RECORDS

from the United States are probably hanging on the wall in Twisted Sister’s recording studio. The band also received 1 Platinum and 2 Multiple-Platinum records in Canada.

hat's the next band that we hould do? Let us know via cebook (RMP Magazine) or witter (@rmpmag).

SINGLES AND MUSIC VIDEOS have been released. ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’, ‘I Wanna Rock’ and ‘Leader of the Pack’ are Twisted Sister’s top 3 songs.

MUSICIANS, permanent or temporary band members, contributed to Twisted Sister’s music throughout the years. Current members are singer Dee Snider, guitarists Jay Jay French and Eddie Ojeda and bass player Mark Mendoza. Together with A.J. Pero they are seen as the classic lineup.

guitarists

singers

9 2

drummers

bass players

"Sources: billboard.com, setlist.fm, worldmusicdatabase.org, Wikipedia." RMP Magazine #20