Reviews

Ohio-spawned Contra are a sludge-drenched doom four-piece who pack a groove-fuelled punch and, with the release of their new album, have proven they are hefty contenders within their field not to be messed with. Contra originally started life as a three-piece instrumental outfit comprising of guitarist Chris Chiera (Sofa King Killer), drummer Aaron Brittain (Rue), and Adam Horwatt (So Long Albatross) on a 4-string baritone guitar ...

Canadian pop punk band Simple Plan, brought their energy, catchy tunes and a whole lot of nostalgia to London’s Kentish Town Forum where they performed in front of a a sold out crowd as part of their No Pads, No Helmets.. Just Balls tour. Crowd surfing, bouncy beach balls and guitar riffs were all part of an awesome show, not that ...

Another fantastic and historical year of Download Festival has sadly been and gone. It’s a bit like the rock and metal Christmas in a way. Think of this week as being a 7-day boxing day. For once we had very minimal rain (not great for goths and gingers like me!) but bringing an extra sheen to the weekend – plus ...

They say you never forget your first Kiss concert. For many in attendance tonight, it’s easy to see why they would never forget for a variety of reasons. I personally got chatting to a couple of people in the queues. A father and son both excited. One a veteran having seen Kiss multiple times in many countries. His son was ...

Sikth, the Hertfordshire sextet have returned from their 2008 hiatus with their first full-length since 2006’s Death of a Dead Day. To state new release The Future in Whose Eyes? is perhaps the most anticipated release of the year would be doing it a large degree of injustice. Since their hiatus the progressive metal/djent movement they are considered the godfathers of ...

Joseph Poole, aka Wednesday 13 has created a new album that is as far removed from his previous punk-rock work and comedic spin-off song covers as you can get. If you’re looking for ‘Morgue Than Words’, then you’ve come to the wrong place, but there are certainly ‘Bad Things’ here. This is a far darker and more sinister body of ...

Progressive Metal and Djent progenitors Periphery return to Manchester with their debut show at the Manchester 02 Ritz along with fellow proggers Destrage and The Contortionist in an effort to answer the age old question, does it Djent? Appearing on stage first was Italian Progressive Metalcore band, Destrage, who provided an anarchic set made up of mostly songs from their ...

For a band with a cult following, CKY’s return to the UK after a six year hiatus was undoubtedly a welcome one. Having sold out their first date at the London Underworld with ease, it was no surprise that the band quickly announced a second date in the city, and the venue was packed out on a Monday night when ...

Kamikaze Girls’ debut record Seafoam is a real treat for those with patience. With a real genre mashing, combining shoe-gaze, grunge and punk-rock. You can guarantee that you won’t get your head around this album in one listen. But go back to it and after a while it starts to make sense. That seems to be what the band wants ...

A Lesson Learned is the debut album from Essex-based pop-punkers A Few Too Many. The eleven tracks that make up ‘A Lesson Learned’ claim to be full of heavy hitting pop punk anthems, and while there is certainly no doubting the enthusiasm that has gone into this, there is, unfortunately, very little else here that could suggest A Few Too Many ...