Dead City Ruins- ‘Midnight Killer’ (23/07/2012- Self Released)

     Dead City Ruins’ debut album, ‘Midnight Killer’ is set for UK release on the 23^rd of July this year, formed through their intense inspirations from Alice in Chains and Black Sabbath. The Anglo-Aussie band is acutely famed for lively shows with high-voltage sets, as well as their blend of classic rock ‘n’ roll elements, grunge, heavy metal and some punk components. Formed in London in 2007, Dead City Ruins, released their debut EP ‘Lost in London’ and settled in Melbourne in 2010 purely independently.

'Midnight Killer': Artwork

      With its Pop Punk and classic rock vibe, ‘Where You Gonna Run’ is as hard-hitting and rhythmic as the Foo Fighters and really hits the ground running. However, vocals and lyrics are as limp as a bad Lostprophets’ track, and fail to be uplifted, even by a monstrous guitar solo. Dead City Ruins have admirably intermingled various genres and styles to create an effect sound, which is runs clearly through ‘Damn My Eyes’ and ‘My Lay Massacre’. Yet as the album continues, it is difficult to avoid the tarnishing sense of repetition from song to song.

      The organic sense of ‘Midnight Killer’ (which doesn’t sound as dark as it reads), enhances the band’s unique flair, but their undeveloped and tedious lyric really let them down once more; ‘…give me an inch baby; you know I’ll take a mile!’ ‘Blues’ begins with stunning guitar strumming and illustrates Dead City Ruins’ softer side, with the genre of blues being the backbone of the track. However, this gentle bravado does not bode well with the lairy, terribly under-produced ‘Go to War’. Concluding tracks ‘Highway Girl’ and ‘Fallen’ continue in an awfully average manner, with good instrumentation but dire songwriting and a severe lack of enthusiasm.

Dead City Ruins

      Despite some wondrous guitar solos and a fantastically husky vocal sound, Dead City Ruins have disallowed notable potential progress in the industry with lack-lustre lyrics and samey song structures.

2/5

This Calamity- ‘I’ll Paint You A Picture If You Promise To Put It Up’ (17/06/2012– Self Released)

     From Plymouth, This Calamity, otherwise known as Martyn Crocker is a pop/alternative artist who began his career in September 2010. Influenced by likes of Dashboard Confessional, Death Cab for Cutie, Deftones and Weezer, This Calamity released his debut EP ‘Animals’ on the 7^th of November 2011 for free to make his fan base as vast as possible before the composition and release od ‘I’ll Paint You A Picture If You Promise To Put It Up’ on the 17^th of June this year.

     This Calamity’s first mini album, is an expansion and evolution of ‘Animals’ and retains the same, somewhat obscure compositional style. ‘I’ll Paint You A Picture’ gives the listener a taster of the rest of the album, as the begins gently and in a wonderful melodic manner, almost lulling the listener into a false sense of security. However when Martyn commences his vocal input, it almost disrupts the rhythm of the instrumental, as his voice projects a strong, distinctive British accent. His vocal style is similar to that of We Are The Ocean vocalist Dan Brown for the band’s acoustic work, yet This Calamity’s interesting use of sound effects and eerie piano. Despite being influenced by a number of artists and bands, This Calamity has managed to grasp his own sense of musical style and an solid blend of instruments.

  

Artwork: 'I'll Paint You A Picture If You Promise To Put It Up'

     ‘Moving Away’ conveys Martyn’s clear and unique sound, and decent female harmonies, but also reflects that he has not pin-pointed an audience with his choice of genres, which makes it difficult to comprehend who exactly his music targets. The track comes to a close with bird song, showing the unintimidating, yet general style This Calamity is reaching for. With a straightforward format of vocal and guitar for a period, ‘Bottle Rocket’ depicts how instrument focused the album is, particularly with the brass section. Although This Calamity cannot be a labelled as a straight up copy of other band or artist’s work, the mixture of genres he uses could become problematic.

    With its Blink-182 esque opening, ‘In Need of an Exit Strategy’ is wonderfully melodic and emotive, but is tainted by obscure, pointless screeching sounds towards the end. ‘Broken Lips’ illustrates This Calamity’s stunning vocal abilities, to the level of Ed Sheeran, however, his song writing abilities do not match up to Sheeran’s. Yet the haunting harmonies work brilliantly and ‘This Carousel Just Keeps on Turning’ amplifies Martyn’s compositional gifts, but unfortunately also highlights his lack of lyrical talent once again.

Image by Dom Moore

    ‘I’ll Paint You A Picture If You Promise To Put It Up’ portrays This Calamity’s progression from his first release, as well as his aspiration for uniqueness. However, his lack of specified genre or audience and unspecific lyrics outweigh the clever instrumentation and composition.  

2/5

Visit www.thiscalamity.com.uk to download This Calamity’s debut EP ‘Animals’ for free now!

The Audition Return With Self Released EP

     The Audition start afresh with their brand new self-released EP ‘Chapter II’ which is set for UK release on the 11^th of June 2012. The band will also appear at the Slam Dunk festival in May.

The Audition 

     Backed by the support of their fans around the world, ‘Chapter II’ sees the band heading in a fresh direction and honing their signature sound into one that demonstrates a maturity and breadth evident in their earlier releases but not fully realized until now. The first single from the EP, the catchy ‘You Make Me Sick’ can be heard on the band’s sound cloud account found below.

      The Audition has been touring with Every Avenue and We Are the in Crowd in the US, marking their first tour of their home country since 2010, and thus ending a hiatus that left their fans longing for a return to the road. The members of The Audition have been excitedly road-testing the material from their new EP after two long years off from touring and are eager to bring the show to the UK in May as the band have a long-standing history of effervescent shows in the country.

      The band signed with Victory Records and released their debut album, ‘Controversy Loves Company’ in September 2005. The Audition see this new EP as a second chapter to the career and legacy they want to leave behind, with their own production and release details, the EP is utterly in the band’s control, and truly a blend of their past and aspirational sounds and selves.

LIVE DATES:

26th May               Slam Dunk Festival          Leeds University

27th May               Slam Dunk Festival          Herts Uni, Hatfield

28th May               Slam Dunk Wales             Cardiff Uni

  

http://soundcloud.com/madmacent/02-you-make-me-sick

www.facebook.com/theauditionband 

www.twitter.com/theauditionband

The Return of American Pie

The cast of ‘American Pie’ reunite for the randy ‘American Reunion’ which hits UK cinemas on the 2^nd of May 2012.

     From the moment Jim Levenstein made love to an apple pie in the 1999 original film, the series was destined to be an instant hit with teens and adults alike. With the likes of Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Tara Reid, Eugene Levy and Jennifer Coolidge returning, this new chapter invites fans to chuckle at the hilarious habits of the original cast. The only difference is, they’re all married with children. Aside from Stifler that is!

     The East Great Falls gang return for their High School Reunion 13 years after they graduated for a crazy weekend of partying just way they did when they were teenagers. But this time, although Jim is married to Michelle, their intimacy habits leave a lot to be desired. Unrealistically, and despite many a temptation, not one of the characters opts to cheat on their partner.  

'American Reunion'

     The trailer for ‘American Reunion’ is as sharp yet silly as hoped, with sexual hilarity being the obvious foundation of the humour. It’s safe to say lead character Jim still pleasures himself unashamedly, but this time it’s in secret from his wife. And involves a sock.

       Full frontal nudity, all the cast back together (most likely due to the series’ immense success) and a bet for safe lots of laughs, ‘American Reunion’ is set to smash box office records. The movie’s soundtrack is set to include nostalgic artists like Good Charlotte, Boyz II Men and Spice Girls, reflecting the characters’ past relationships being perfectly rekindled and partying like its 1999!

Jim Levenstien is played by Jason Biggs

     It’s great to see that although the cast may have grown up, their witty and comedic portrayals are said to be as immature. Who doesn’t want a giggle over hopelessly horny teenage behaviour, Jim’s dad’s new single life? Along with the comforting message that reseeding hair lines have no link to enjoying ‘American Pie’s’ side-splitting scenes.

Watch the official trailer for ‘American Reunion’ here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1akixU65dDY

And visit the movie’s official site for the latest news and updates: http://americanreunionmovie.com

Founder of Marshall Dies

      Director and founder of Marshall amps, Jim Marshall OBE passed away yesterday aged 88.

Jim Marshall

      Known as the ‘father of loud’, Marshall began his professional career as a drummer and drum teacher teaching over 60 students a week. He lived in West London in the 1960 and spotted the gap in the market for a cheap yet good quality Amplifier. It was a real rags-to-riches turnaround with his amps being used by legends Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain.

     Many a tribute flooded in for Marshall’s passing, including a heartfelt tweet from ex-Guns ‘n’ Roses guitarist Slash, ‘The news…is deeply saddening. R &R (Rock ‘n’ Roll) will never be the same without him. But his amps will live on FOREVER!’

Marshall amps

     As a company, Marshall Amplifiers payed tribute to their legendary boss via the website, ‘It is with profound sorrow that we announce the passing of our beloved founder and leader for the past 50 years, Jim Marshall. While mourning the Guv’nor though, we also salute a legendary man who led a full and truly remarkable life.’ He was named ‘the sound of Rock’ and a ‘very humble and generous man who…donated millions of pounds to worthy causes’ over the years.

     An online condolences site for fans and admirers will be set up for public use very soon.

Visit: http://www.jimmarshall.co.uk to read Marshall's statement in full.

Coca Cola Presents £15 Festival!

      Coca Cola are celebrating the Olympics in style with a day of chart-toppers performing in the capital. On the 26^th of July Hyde Park with play host to headliners Dizzee Rascal and The Wanted, along with Eliza Doolittle, Little Comets, You Me At Six, Rizzle Kicks, Morning Parade and Mark Ronson.

    The concert will mark the end of the Olympic Torch’s journey across the UK. It will give thousands of attendees the chance to celebrate with some of the nation’s most popular acts for just £15 (plus a couple of pounds for processing charges). It will take place just a day before the official Olympic opening ceremony.

Coke's Future Flame Campaign

    Coca Cola, the primary sponsors of the Olympics 2012, have also revealed four other smaller gigs completely free of charge throughout the summer. Those interested can register at http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/coca-colacelebrations now and those lucky enough to go will be picked at random. The gigs will be held in Cardiff, Glasgow Leeds and Birmingham, and each feature 3 amazing acts. There are isn’t even a processing or handling fees for the four gigs or age restrictions, so head over to the website now!

    The 4 free show’s details are as follows:

1.  Cardiff’s Cooper’s Field, May 25th (You Me At Six, Emeli Sandé, and Kids In Glass Houses )

2.  Glasgow’s George Square, June 8th (Eliza Doolittle, Emeli Sandé and General Fiasco)

3.    Leeds’s Temple Newsam Park, June 24th (Friendly Fires, Tribes and Little Comets)

4.   Birmingham’s Cannon Hill Park, June 30th (details of line up coming soon!)

     To register for the 4 free shows, head over to http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/coca-colacelebrations

You Me At Six

         The events are part of a whopping 66 nights of Olympic celebrations across the Olympic Torch Relay route. Coca Cola hope to unite friends and families throughout different communities to celebrate together and participate in glory of the games being held in London.

     Hyde Park headliner Dizzee Rascal said, ‘I’m looking forward to hooking up with Coke to bring music to Hyde Park at the end of the Olympic Torch Relay. Young people out there make a really positive difference and now we can recognise and celebrate them with music. It’s wicked so get a ticket, see you there!’ Emeli Sandé stated how thrilled she was to be a part of the celebrations and cannot wait to ‘share in the excitement and energy that the Olympic Flame will bring to the UK.’

Headliner: Dizzee Rascal

     Last summer, Pop-Punkers You Me At Six helped Coke to choose inspirational torchbearers and played a show with Eliza Doolittle and Dizzee Rascal at Westfields Shopping Centre, West London. The band said, ‘It’s amazing that we now get to celebrate them (the torchbearers) with these amazing concerts…this is going to be huge!’

     So why not nab yourself a ticket to see some of the nation’s best acts for just £15 and celebrate the Olympics!?

Refused Return For Download 2012

    Download Festival 2012 is set for its biggest and best year yet with Swedish Hardcore veterans Refused just confirmed. The festival is effectively an alternative for many who hoped to attend Sonisphere this year, with the two festivals being parallel in terms of genre, and therefore, one another’s main competitors.

     Due to Sonisphere being cancelled late last month, Download ticket sales are rumoured to be going through the roof, will all family camping packages sold out. The festival takes place at Donington Park, Leicestershire, between the 8^th and the 10^th of June.

     Refused’s lead vocalist Dennis Lyxzén expressed his excitement to play the annual weekend of Rock royalty to NME magazine. The band stated their eagerness to ‘meet UK fans for the first time in 15 years.’ Refused have officially reformed after 12 years apart, and Download Festival is their only UK appearance this year.

Refused

    The weekend-long bash will be headlined by The Prodigy, Black Sabbath and Metallica, along with news acts revealed including Kids In Glass Houses, Don Broco, Lower Than Atlantis and Gallows. The three-dayer also boasts the likes of You Me At Six, Biffy Clyro, Billy Talent, Steel Panther and Rise Against.

    A limited number of both day and weekend tickets (as well as RIP packages) are still available from www.downloadfestival.co.uk. Also visit the website for full line-up details and the latest Download news!

The King Blues Split

     Britain’s most successful Punk Ska band, the King Blues officially announced their split via their website this Monday, the 2^nd of April 2012. The band was formed in 2004 and was a cutting-edge political hybrid collective.

     In their official statement, the band expressed ‘great sadness’ and told fans that ‘The King Blues are no more. We are all immensely proud of our body of work. We will be releasing the last The King Blues album entitled ‘Long Live The Struggle’ as the final chapter. The album will be released in early July 2012.’

     The King Blues simply feel they’d gone as far as they could as a band and felt it would be unfair to continue if they were just ‘going through the motions. We all believe strongly in what the King Blues stand for.’

    They also gracefully thanked fans for all their ‘support, love and passion’ through the years. The band brought political awareness into the minds of their fans, many whom are teens. Growing up in rough areas, with frontman Itch even selling the Big Issue and living on the streets at one point, the band sure know what it’s like to earn success. And with fifteen past members of the King Blues, there’s been many a line-up change over the past 8 years.

The King Blues

    With their Folk, Punk Rock and Hardcore influences, the King Blues are a great example of decent, politically driven music. They had heavy influences from the likes of The Clash, The Specials and Black Flag and incorporated rap, vocals and great musical ability.

Visit www.kingblues.com for the band’s official statement in full. 

Camden Crawl Announce 100 More Acts!

     Camden Crawl’s line up already features the likes of Lower Than Atlantis and Kids In Glass Houses and Death in Vegas headlining, 100 more acts have been announced for this year’s Camden Crawl, which will be held from the 4^th- 6^th of May 2012. Probably the only Rock based festival without the burden of mud, port a loos and takes place at Camden’s Koko and Barfly to save you trudging through a field or five. The latest additions include The Milk, Crowns, 22, Beans on Toast, Two Wounded Birds and Harry Oakwood to name a few.

     The festival’s organisers have also already released stage line ups and ‘major special guests’ are due to be announced very soon. The fest also offers comedy, storytelling, a record fair, quizzes, live karaoke, exhibitions, alternative performing, games and other live music events such as DJ sets.  Although early bird weekend and VIP tickets have already sold out, general weekend tickets are still up for grabs, as well as individual day tickets. Prices start from £42.65 for a day ticket (including those lethal booking fees) and entry to the entire weekend will set you back £72.90.

The Camden Crawl 2012 Poster

For the full line up, to buy tickets or for more information, hop over to Camden Crawl’s site at http://www.thecamdencrawl.com

Warped Tour Comes To London

     For Rock, Alternative and Pop Punk fans across the Atlantic, the U.S’s Warped Tour line up has been a dreaded time for Brits since its inception 14 years ago. But in November this this year, Warped Tour will be gracing our shores!

      With no word with regards to line-up as yet, it is Warped’s incredibly successful reputation fans are trusting, and who can blame them with past tours involving the likes of All Time Low, Of Mice and Men, Yellowcard, Lostprophets and Rise Against it cannot be missed!

     Details are being kept under wraps for the time being, but head over to www.vanswarpedtouruk.com and register for any updates. Perhaps it won’t be too long until Warped Tour blasts its way through the entirety of the UK

Sonisphere Festival 2012 Cancelled

     Due to a severe lack of ticket sales, this year’s legendary Sonisphere Festival has been cancelled. The festival anticipated the likes of Queen (with American Idol’s Adam Lambert replacing deceased Freddy Mercury), Switchfoot, Kiss, Evanescence, Cypress Hill and Black Stone Cherry to take the stage at the Stevenage festival.

     On their website, Sonisphere organisers expressed ‘deepest regrets to the artists’ and insisted that without acceptable ticket sales, this year’s event would not meet the expectations of audience and artists alike. Those who have already purchased tickets are entitled to a full refund.

      It is rumoured that ticket sales and lack of financial means caused Sonisphere’s unfortunate cancellation. Yet with many of the UK’s music festivals (and those further afield) boasting incredible line-ups with The Cure, The Killers, The Stone Roses, Paramore, Snow Patrol, Kasabian and Foo Fighters, a lack of Sonisphere should not dishearten those who hoped to attend. And without this year’s event Sonipshere Festival 2013 is set to be bigger and better than ever!

Queen

You Me At Six Release ‘The Swarm’ for New Thorpe Park Ride

 Thorpe Park unveiled Europe’s tallest winged rollercoaster ‘The Swarm ’with its 127ft drop on the 15^th of March. Weybridge, Surrey (just minutes from Thorpe Park) born You Me At Six have composed the world’s very first rollercoaster-dedicated song which was released on the 18^th of March on iTunes and onto British T.Vs everywhere with an advertising campaign.

The Swarm's concept art

     The track, which shadows the coaster’s theme of a destructed world and has brought You Me At Six a great deal of exposure, especially since their latest album ‘Sinners Never Sleep’ was released on the 30^th of September in an attempt to reach a wider audience and rekindle their sound with existing fans.

You Me At Six

Album of the Month: Weapons by Lostprophets: (02/02/2012- Epic Records)

    From Pontypridd, Wales, and founded by vocalist Ian Watkins in 1997, Lostprophets have achieved several top ten singles over the past few years.

      Their fifth studio album is based around the Latin saying found on its artwork ‘Deus Velox Nex’ which translates as ‘God is swift death’; living life to the full and being aware of how precious it is. This is a theme that trickles through the record, as well as a great blend of all Lostprophets’ past styles from past albums, including more mainstream components and even manipulated rap in parts. Single ‘Bring Em Down’ was released on the 23^rd of March and propels the band into an image of freedom fighters and the tone of almost sarcastic swagger and energy, as well as exceptional musical skill lingers throughout ‘Weapons.’

Freedom Fighters: Lostprophets' Artwork for 'Weapons'

Tribes- 'Baby' (16/01/2012 Island Records)

   Formed in 2010, Tribes are a four-piece Indie Rock band from Camden, North West London. With influences from the likes of Nirvana, R.E.M. and The Pixies, ‘Baby’ is the band’s third release but debut full length album. The album has a more approachable, straight up Rock sound, more appropriate for the mainstream, and paving the way for potential future success.

     After embarking on the NME Awards Tour this February with Azealia Banks, Metromony and Two Door Cinema Club, Tribes’ sound is spreading far and wide; a perfect bridge between the underground music, and more mainstream worlds. With beautifully melodic Indie ballads thrown in with catchy pop based tracks, if you buy one Indie album this month, let it be this one!

Tribes: Artwork