Posted in Gig/Festival Reviews

Tonights show was Rival Sons and Heavens Basement. For a midweek gig I was quite surprised to see the venue was busy right from the start – often fans arrive late, but clearly a lot of people wanted to see both the bands tonight.

Heavens Basement opened the night and put on a great show which really got the crowd going. We got a very energetic show from the singer who was constantly racing around the stage.  At one point early in the set he dived into the crowd and sang there for part of one song before climbing back over the barrier and being dragged back on stage by the roadies. Musically they impressed too – a great choice to start the night. 

Rival sons were a lot more laid back in comparison and chose to just let the music do the talking for them. 
Their blues tinged classic roc...

Posted in Gig/Festival Reviews

The neckbreakers ball started amidst confusion – not everyone was aware the venue had changed from the forum in Kentish Town to the Relentless Garage so some fans (and press) went to the wrong place and were late arriving as a result. 
The band I was looking forwards to most, Death Angel had unfortunately dropped out and the replacement wasn’t announced till the night. 

The night kicked off with Omnium Gatherum. Being on very early they played to a small crowd of maybe 70 people.  Poor lighting meant they played in near darkness. 
They put in a good energetic performance and their heavy music and growling/screaming vocals went down well with the audience. 

Gurd came on stage in front of a slightly larger crowd – maybe 150 people, but as with Omnium Gatherum the lighting engineer appea...

Posted in Cd Reviews

Frontiers/BAM

Norwegian rock´s most fashionable beauty ISSA releases her second album. The follow-up to her debut “Sign of Angels” sees her trying song-writing together with the Martin Brothers (VEGA, HOUSE OF LORDS). The debut lacked something I have a hard time defining, will that illusive “it” be here , extracted by ISSA and Daniel Flores?

This time around the opener is first class. “Looking for Love” has a slight keyboard intro, a forceful yet melodic refrain and promises more. The rest of the album never in fact reaches that level again. There is an aspiration to create a big US sound, and they often makes the most of songs that are not upto the Martin brother´s normal standards. The echoes of WHITESNAKE and POISON are nice twists, but it also shows the flaws in comparison...

Posted in Cd Reviews

MDD/Sound Pollution

Germany´s MOURNING CARESS first reared its head in 1998. On board from the start were almost the same line up as today; vocalist Gerrit Mohr, guitarists Florian Erhart and Benedikt Bjarnasson, bass man Daniel Busche and drummer Dominik Schluter. The original guitarists have both left, and the replacements are Florian Albers and Wolfgang Sander. Two demo EPs and two full-length albums have been the result of their activities, and apparently a lot of hardship with lack of backing and bad luck. So, are they worth buying?

MOURNING CARESS are a cross-over band, a mix of the old ways and the latest trends. “A Matter of Time” opens in fine fashion, lots of drive, a catchy melody and almost the voice to suit the material...

Posted in Cd Reviews

Soulseller/Sound Pollution

DEVIL was formed in 2009, pledging allegiance to the likes of BLACK SABBATH and WITCHFINDER GENERAL. The demo “Magister Mundi Xum” did nothing to harm their chances. The info sheet decribes this album as a joyful trip to hell, not bad for a bluesy, doomy, heavy metal album.

Opener “The Welcome” provides a feeling last known by BLACK WIDOW, or DEMON´s “The Observation”. DEVIL hits right off with the WITCHFINDER GENERAL blueprint “Break the Curse”, and the more original “Blood Is Boiling”. The feeling of past times is there, as is the occult touches of a few Hammer movies. The album is mostly filled with ok music, but not as excellent or as void-filling as the next doom torchbearer should be...

Posted in Cd Reviews

Atom Records/Cargo

Austria´s CORNERSTONE is in the business of 80´s pop/rock with lots of AOR, big guitars and big refrains. Formed in 1998 by bassist/keyboardist/vocalist Michael Wachelhofer and his brother guitarist/vocalist Steve, the band started out playing covers. The band soon tried their wings, resulting in a near collapse until vocalist Hanna Wachter came along in 2004. The new line up recorded their debut “Head Over Heels”. Many changes seem to have occurred before today´s line up of the founding brothers, drummer and percussionist Mike Pawlowitsch and vocalist Patricia Hillinger came to be. Press and and radio seem to favor CORNERSTONE, this sounds interesting…

In my world CORNERSTONE are a middle-of-the-road band...

Posted in Cd Reviews

Rock´n´Growl Records/Digital

ROUGH ANGEL rings no bells to me. These recordings were released in 1993, exclusively to promoters and the record industry. Vocalist Csaba Zvekan has remastered the recordings to be a first digital release of Rock´n´Growl. Back in 1993 the material must have been like a violin player in a punk band, will they send shivers down our spines in 2011?

The info claims the music to be like lava, and the opener “Standing by Mirrors” is perhaps lavalike to fans of JUDAS PRIEST or VIRGIN STEELE. But the music also has an element of glue, oddly under-produced and with the typical American fascination for heaviness over melody. Second track “Desire” proves my point, adding only a dimension of running on empty non-OZZY BLACK SABBATH to the mix...

Posted in Cd Reviews

Debemur Morti/Sound Pollution

The strictly preaching REX MUNDI inflict divine fury on mankind. They are purveyors of raw and pure black metal, bringing forward alleged lost wisdom of creation. The band members; Metatron, commander of legions and proclamations of faith, Seraphiel, unearthly presentations, Nahanael. Minister to the lost, and Chamiel, uncoverer of secrets and shadows really seems hell-bent on what they do. Convince me!

The demonic atmosphere of “J´Imagine (Be-Reshit)” is creepy, it is all very theatric. But as their hypnotic theatrics transform into the most churning black metal, quite a lot of the ancient wisdom is lost. They may throw in some clear vocals and loud praying but the baseline is not to be saved...

Posted in Cd Reviews

Debemur Morti/Sound Pollution

NUNFUCKRITUAL sounds like a name conceived while inebriated, and why not? Behind the name stands Espen T. Hangård of ALTAAR, vocals, effects and keyboards, guitarist Teloch of MAYHEM, Andreas Jonsson on drums (TYRANT) and NUCLEAR ASSAULT bass man Dan Lilker. Extreme metal is on the menue, of cause, and blasphemy galore. The conception of the album has taken its toll, the first steps being taken back in 2006. Nothing much is said about the band´s future, if there is one with all members being in demand elsewhere, but here goes…

First out is “Theotokos”, heavy and d r a g g e d out opener with many effects. It may drag forever on but it is also very occult. Attila Csihar guests on the worst drag of them all, “Komodo Dragon”...

Posted in Interviews

Festivalphoto recently asked The Undertones bassist Michael Bradley a few questions before the bands forthcoming tour.

Festivalphoto: Your last album (excluding compilations) was released in 2007. Are there any plans for a new album?

Michael: We have some new songs, and we hope to record them sometime next year. We havent practised them much , so we wont be playing them live this time round.

Festivalphoto: Your current tour is the 35th anniversary tour where you’ll be playing your first album in its entirety. What else can fans expect you to play on the tour?

Michael: As the first LP is only thirty two minutes long, we will include as singles as we can...