Posted in Gig/Festival Reviews

Introduction:
V Festival is now in its 16th year and was the first UK festival to operate over two days and swap line-ups overnight. Artists who have performed include The Killers, Kylie, Foo Fighters, Blur, Oasis, Kings of Leon and Radiohead.
2011 saw another great range of acts, most notably for me Pendulum, Eminem, Chromeo, Gomez and (because a buddy plays bass) Example.

The site:
V is on a huge site in Essex, easy to access from London, tonnes of parking and camp sites a quick walk from the entrance. Food stalls were great, was really good to see quality healthy options in addition to the standard burger vans...

Posted in Cd Reviews

Mortad are a London based metal band founded by Iranian Somi Arian. I first came across the band when they played at the Bloodstock festival in 2011, where they put in a seriously impressive second stage performance. Their new album is being given away free with the latest issue of Metal Hammer magazine in the UK, and to coincide with this, their EP, Pandemic Paranoia which was self released in 2011, is being re-released.
The obvious comparison for Mortad is Arch Enemy – you’ve got brutally powerful metal coupled with growling vocals from a female singer. Equally Arch Enemy are big supporters of Amnesty International while Mortad’s lyrics attack the oppression of people by religion and government, so both are looking at more intelligent topics than you get with many bands...

Posted in Cd Reviews

OPERA DIABOLICUS is the brainchild of composer David Grimoire and lyricist Adrian de Crow. The idea sprung to life when the two of them met randomly at a stage play of Umberto Eco’s book The Name of the Rose at a theatre in Gothenburg the year 2006. Both of them were very intrigued by the story and they ended up talking about how interesting it would be to make a theatrical and dark metal musical based on that kind of a story. The conversation between them that took place in Gothenburg that bleak December night planted the seed that soon should grow to be the concept of OPERA DIABOLICUS.

For this project an impressive group of musicians has been gathered together...

Posted in Cd Reviews

”Feet don’t fail me now” is the first single to be taken from Jake Morley’s forthcoming album ”Many fish to fry”. It’s a hard one to describe – I’d say it’s a cross between, pop and rock, but that’s not really doing it justice.

The song has a great tune, and for the backing vocals he has a choir singing them – they really add a lot to the power and richness of the song, and it does feel as though it should be from a movie soundtrack. This is a great song that just puts a smile on your face when you hear it. If the rest of the album lives up to this standard then it should be a big seller.

”Feet don’t fail me now” will be released on March 12th.

Posted in Press Releases

We are excited to confirm the component releases of last year’s ”ELVIS COSTELLO – THE RETURN OF THE SPECTACULAR SPINNING SONGBOOK!!!” in three formats (standalone CD / standalone DVD / Deluxe CD + DVD) for March 12th 2012 internationally. Please find details below.

Elvis Costello returned to the stage in 2011 with his celebrated Spinning Wheel tour and now comes the definitive document of this tour: The Return of the Spectacular Spinning Songbook!!!, recorded over a 2-night stand at The Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles on May 11 and 12, 2011, shows which The Los Angeles Times said were the kind of uniquely invigorating experience that warrants a buzzword all its own: inspiring...

Posted in Press Releases

This Valentine’s Day, forget roses, wine, and the fancy dinner. Instead, treat your loved one to a brand new single from Chicago’s The Super Happy Fun Club. Following a hugely successful UK tour last year, the band felt they’d received so much love from UK audiences, that it was time to give some back…

So head over to either of the following links to get yourself the free new track from the band – ‘Way Back (The Conflict)’.

www.shfclub.com/love

Talking of the track, The Super Happy Fun Club had this to say;

”Happy Valentine’s Day UK! We are really excited to release our new single WAY BACK as a free release! Everyone in the UK has been so great to us, we wanted to take this opportunity to give back and say Thanks for the all of the love and support! Send it to your sign...

Posted in Gig/Festival Reviews

Stämningen är på topp i Helsingborg.
Det kyliga vädret omvandlas till en het afton med pumpande adrenalin och en förväntansfull publik som tålmodigt står ut med den långa pausen efter att uppvärmarna i Bai Bang gjort sitt. Bai Bang fick inte alls med sig publiken och det var lätt att se vilka publiken var där för att se…

Efter en omtumlad start på den nya mini-turnén med rykheta albumet Yes Kids It´s True i ryggen som skulle inledas vid årsslutet, står dem äntligen på TheTivolis scen i Helsingborg. Hemmaplan för Von Benzo. Det är fullt hus och publiken är taggad för att få se sina lokala hjältar erövra rockhimmeln. Keyboardisten Richard Larsson höjer stämningen direkt när han försöker presentera bandet på knackig tyska...

Posted in Cd Reviews

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of its release, the classic album by The Doors – L.A. Woman is being re-released. As well as the original album, a bunch of extras have been unearthed from the vaults for inclusion in this 2 disc package. The original album contains some of the best known songs by the band including title track ”L.A. Woman”, ”Riders on the storm”, and ”Love her madly”.
If you have never listened to the album then firstly – where have you been for the last 40 years?, and secondly, you’ve been missing out.

L.A. Woman was the last album recorded by The Doors with singer Jim Morrison, and was released just three months before his death due to a suspected drug overdose in Paris at the age of just 27...

Posted in Cd Reviews

”Intersection” is the latest album from American singer songwriter Nanci Griffith. Nanci Griffith has a career spanning folk and country music and over the last 34 years has released nineteen albums, with Intersection being her 20th. Twenty albums now, and none before like this. “It’s emotional for me, and it’s personal, and it makes my heart pound, thinking I’m going to be totally exposed here,” says Nanci Griffith, the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and Americana Music Association Lifetime Achievement Award winner.

The music is hard to categorise – it feels somewhere between country and folk without quite falling into either category. The songs are generally simple with the focus being on the acoustic guitar and Namci’s singing.

”Hell no” is one of the standout tracks...

Posted in Cd Reviews

Helvetios is the latest album from Swiss folk metal band, Eluveitie. Eluveitie’s brand of folk metal is hard and heavy – at times almost thrash, but with celtic influences and plenty of use of traditional instruments including fiddles, flute, bagpipes and the Hurdy Gurdy – Eluveitie are the only metal band I’ve seen who play the Hurdy Gurdy live on stage. This use of traditional instruments adds depth and interest to the music and emphasises the folk and celtic elements.

The album starts with the prologue – a spoken introduction that sets the scene. A celtic voice speaking with the sound of waves in the background talking about ancient battles, this serves to set the mood for the album.

Title track ”Helvetios” opens the album proper...