Tuesday 30 November 2010

Holy Roar Records

In one of my previous posts, I featured We'll die smiling, who have recently released an EP via Holy Roar Records. So, I've decided to do a special feature on the label so you can find out a bit about them and the bands that they work with.

Holy Roar Records are an independent record label operating out of London. They have worked in the past with more well known names in the underground, such as Gallows and Rolo Tomassi.

They are currently working with a number of bands, so I've put details about them below:-

Antares are a band who can't really be tied down to a particular genre. They are wildly technical and discordant. They feature one ex-member from the band - Chronicles of Adam West, who have previously worked with Holy Roar records, but who are sadly no longer active.

The band currently have release out through the label, called - L'esprit De L'escalier. You can download the release directly from the label at the link above.
http://www.myspace.com/antaresuk

Black Mass are a Leeds based hardcore/metal band. They are due to play a gig at The Old Blue Last in London on the 10th of December with label mates - Hang the Bastard.

They have a self titled EP available through Holy Roar. They have once free song available for download from the EP via the label's website, just click on the the link below for more information.
http://holyroarrecords.com/#/blackmass 

Brontide are an instrumental band, featuring ex-members of I Was a Cub Scout and Pictures. They have a self titled EP out via Holy Roar, and feature on a number of their label's compilations.

They have two gigs arranged for December. One is Birmingham on the 16th and one alongside Rolo Tomassi in London on the 19th. Go to their myspace page for more information and to listen to some of their tracks. http://www.myspace.com/brontidetheband

Brutality Will Prevail are a hard touring, UK hardcore band. The band have a number of European and UK dates booked with Mother of Mercy and Dead Swans at the end of November and through December. They are also playing in London on the 13th of January with Downpresser, Cornered and Pariso. Dates are available through the Holy Roar website and the band's myspace page.

They currently have an album available through Holy Roar, in various formats including 10" Vinyl, CD and Digital download. They also appear on one of Holy Roar's compilation cassettes.
http://www.myspace.com/brutalitywillprevail

Crocus are an awesome and original hardcore band from Cornwall. They have already released one EP through We Heart records and a split CD with fellow Brits, Lavotchking. They are hoping to release their debut album through Holy Roar in the near future. They also appear on one of Holy Roar's compilation cassettes.

The band have gigs booked in December, January, where they will be playing in Devon and London and have a gig booked for London in April, playing with Kerouac and Bastions.
http://www.myspace.com/crocusband

The Ergon Carousel are a UK grindcore band featuring ex-members of Carmen, Beecher and Narcosis. The band run their own blog, the address is - www.turninggravity.blogspot.com.

Their self titled EP is available through the label, alongside their special Kyuss covers split 7" with Throats. Go to http://holyroarrecords.com/#/theergoncarousel. The band also appear on a couple of Holy Roar compilation releases.
http://www.myspace.com/rocklikeergon 

Gallops are something a bit different, showing that the label is an eclectic stable of strong talent. They play rock with added electro and you can follow them on twitter at by clicking on this link - http://twitter.com/gallops

You can get their self titled CD via the label and they have a free song available for you to download off that record, called - Miami spider. Go to http://holyroarrecords.com/#/gallops for more!

Hang The Bastard are London Based hardcore band. Their current release - Hellfire Reign, is available in multiple vinyl versions, CD and via digital download from the Label. 

They have just recently finished a short run of dates in the UK with hardcore legends Knuckledust, and have a gig booked for February 19 at The Ringside in Hull.
http://www.myspace.com/hangthebastardlondon

Last Witness are another wicked hardcore band from the London area. They currently have their latest release - Give up, available through the label as various coloured vinyl and as a digital download.

The band have a gig booked to play Salisbury in January the 22nd. For more news on shows and to hear songs from their 7" - Give up, go to -
http://www.myspace.com/lastwitnessuk.

Livimorket is the ambient/black metal solo project of an unnamed member of one of the bands on Holy Roar's roster. The demo titled - Dark Totality, which is available as a digital download and features one 39 minutes track. There has also been a self titled demo and a split release with Deafest. 

You can find out more information in the projects releases by going to - http://holyroarrecords.com/#/livimorket.

http://www.myspace.com/livimorket

Maths are a UK based screamo band, but a very good one. They mold their screaming in with introspective musicianship, which has come to signify many British screamo acts in recent years. Their latest release - Descent is available through the label along with their split release with Throats. Go to - http://holyroarrecords.com/#/maths.


Pariso and others. For more info on the band, go to - 
http://www.myspace.com/mathsband

Run, Walk are a young UK duo from Winchester, playing good old, noisy off-kilter punk. The band appear on a couple of Holy Roar compilations and you can hear tracks by going to - http://holyroarrecords.com/#/runwalk.


They also have all of their releases to date, listed on their myspace page, including their long sold out, self titled EP which they are offering as a free download. 
http://www.myspace.com/runwalk

Finally, We'll Die Smiling are a local hardcore band from Leeds/Bradford. You may have already read about them on this blog, as I featured them not so long ago. I've recently bought their EP - Avant Garde, directly from the label. It's a great release and the whole package is well worth picking up from http://holyroarrecords.com/welldiesmiling.


The band are offering the song - Interdisciplinary, from their EP, as a free download through Holy Roar's website at the link above. They also have a split cassette with Betty Pariso and a free download of their self titled EP available through their myspace page.
http://www.myspace.com/welldiesmiling


Earlier in the month, I caught up with label co-founder Alex, who was kind enough to give me some insight into the label. Here's what he had to say.


Can you tell me a bit about how the label begun and how you decided on the direction you wanted to go?

The idea for the label was sown when me and Ellen lived in Birmingham. I formed a label with a couple of friends in Birmingham based around a webzine and we did 3 releases. Me and Ellen then moved to London and decided there was a bunch of bands we wanted to see pushed more in the UK! The first release came out around June/July 2006. As for deciding on a direction - well, essentially, this never happened! We just did, and always have, released exactly what we want. Anything we like that isn't cheesy is certainly up for consideration. We certainly never sat down and went 'lets release whatever is in fashion in the metal world and try and clean up on merch' or anything like that - a look at our catalogue should hopefully reveal that we always have, and always will support some bands that have no commercial prospects at all.

How has it been for you to see the label grow?

Amazing. The most satisfying feeling in the world. But it has certainly been very hard work - far more work than monetary return that is for sure! Which is sometimes hard to swallow when you do it full time, but I cant complain as it is better than working in a soulless office with personality-void drones.

You're the label that brought bands like Gallows, Rolo Tomassi to people's attention. What helps you decide on bands to work with?

I'm sure there are cynical people who think we released those bands to a) make money b) increase our profile, but that has never been the case. Rolo Tomassi we have been with since the start, and every other 'name' band we have worked with has come about organically through real friendships or mutual respect. Generally we just go with gut feeling on who to work with - sometimes we get it wrong, and sometimes with hindsight I'm like 'why did we do that?' - but if we ever got more calculated than that then I would hate myself. All we ask of our bands is that they be fucking amazing and work hard. Not much! Ha.

Do you still take pride in the DIY formula that the UK underground scene stands by?

I'm not sure to be honest. I've felt really burnt by a couple of situations recently that have left me more disillusioned with the complete lack of intelligence and logical thought of a bunch of people. But DIY to me is a personal thing - it stands for 'do it yourself' after all, and we certainly do EVERYTHING to do with Holy Roar ourselves. There is no outside funding, there is no one promoting our bands except us and fans!

What does the future hold for the label?

I'm determined not to becoming a merch company. I want to continue to release a lot of music and continue to try and push our music into new physical territories across the world. The future is trying to strengthen our position whilst remaining 100% independent, making ourselves better known around the world and releasing loads of good music!

To find out more about Holy Roar go to - http://holyroarrecords.com.

Monday 22 November 2010

Dutch Metal Scene - Terzij de Horde

So far, I've been focusing on the Noord-Brabant Hardcore scene, but I thought I'd look at other bands from the Netherlands in general, as there's no shortage of quality bands out there.



Terzij de Horde are a black metal band from Utrecht, who play abrasive hardcore/black metal in the vein of Wolves in the Throne Room. They have toured around Europe, including the UK and Germany and have graced stages alongside the likes on Annal Nathrakh and Altar of Plagues.



The band currently have released two CD's. A demo titled - Exposed Barren and Windswept and an EP titled - A Rage of Rapture Against the Dying of the Light.You can buy their EP from their Big Cartel page - terzijdehorde.bigcartel.com, or you can e-mail the band at terzijdehorde@gmail.com.



The band have a myspace page - http://www.myspace.com/terzijdehorde and they are on Last FM, where they have a song available for free download, which is called - Non Timetis Messor.



I was lucky enough to ask Bass player - Johan a couple of questions about the band. Here's what he had to say:-

What has been like for you as a band playing live and in some of the places you've played?

Since most us come from the hardcore scene, playing live is what it's all about. The passion, the frenzy, the rage, it all falls into place when the songs are performed. We tend to have very intense live shows, where we try to convey all the emotions in the songs onto the audience.

So far, the reactions have been overwhelmingly positive. In the beginning, we played lots of hardcore and screamo shows, since that's where we came from, and they were great, but we really wanted to play more metal shows, people at those previous shows couldn't really fit us in.

This summer, we started playing more and more metal shows, did an amazing tour of the UK and Ireland, ended up in Germany a couple of times and started playing bigger venues with bands like Altar of Plagues, Year Of No Light, Anaal Nathrakh and Liturgy . So far, this path we've taken leads to bigger heights still. Amazing.

What does the future for hold for Terzij de Horde?

At this point, we're writing songs for a full-length, probably to be released next year's summer. We'd like to find a label for that, but the EP was done completely DIY and that worked out really well, so we'll see. Furthermore, we'll be touring Europe during summer, and perhaps even beyond.  That's the near future, as for the far future, it's all about making our time count. Meeting new people, playing new places, sharing our music with those who are willing to open themselves up for it.
  




Jim.
 

Sunday 21 November 2010

Scene Heads-up - As Darkness Surrounds


As Darkness Surrounds are a metalcore band from Doncaster. They are a relatively new band and have three tracks posted on their myspace page for you to enjoy.

They have a show coming up,at The Priory in Doncaster on the 26th of November, so if your in that neck of the woods, go check em out.

Jim.

Saturday 20 November 2010

Interview - Pim (Vocalist, Said and Done)

Here is my interview with Pim, vocalist with Dutch hardcore band - Said and Done. It was really insightful to here from Pim and what he had to say about the Dutch scene.

How have you found playing in the UK? How does it compare to playing in mainland Europe?

We always love to play the UK. We've been there a couple of times now since 2007. First time we played the PLS MSH fest in Brighton, organised by the one and only Rob Boyce. He also introduced Guitar Hero and Anchorman to us. Something we're still grateful for haha. I think so far we went over there every year? Twice this year though. We played Le Pub in Newport (Wales) a couple of times, hooking up with Alex B. Alex and Caroline in Nottingham were always good to us. And then there's the boys from Carry The Weight / Never Again, who we did a weekend with in May. Great lads. They also released our "Weight Of The World" 7" and invited us to play Carry The Weight Fest two weeks ago. Which was a blast.

As for comparing the two? They're pretty much the same in a lot of ways. One difference is that in the Netherlands you more regularly get drinks and food at the shows you're playing. But it's probably because a lot of the promoters in the Netherlands don't have to pay for the venue etc while you guys in the UK have to come up with the cash yourselves. And it seems that shows getting cancelled / bands pulling out on a show happens more regularly in the UK in comparison with the Netherlands. I have no idea why that is though. That's all I can think of right now.


I've been doing a lot of research into bands from your scene recently. Where do you see the scene going in the future?

I think it will remain pretty much the same in the long run. We always had lots of cool bands from this area of the Netherlands. Pretty diverse bands too. At the moment it seems a bit less active though, less people coming to shows. But I think that's something that's happening in hardcore in general at the moment. For certain in all parts of the Netherlands. It's all going in waves. It always has, as far as I know. One of these days a (couple of) band(s) will stand up and will get more people excited again. Remember the Dead Stop / Justice / Restless Youth period? But yeah, I think it will just go on like it's now for some time. Bandwise we have a pretty strong scene and I don't think that will change anytime soon. Let's just hope more new kids will discover hardcore. More new blood would be welcome.

What was it like for Said and Done when you were starting out?

Exciting times! Said And Done was the follow-up to a band (with the same people) we were doing before, but the sound had changed, we changed and we wanted a fresh start. Enter Said And Done. I think within the first year or something with Said And Done we made our first trip through Europe, released a record on vinyl and played with some great bands we listened to a lot ourselves (Cro Mags for instance). So yeah that was a nice rollercoaster ride to say the least. Everything was new to us and it felt great. It totally showed how cool the hardcore scene can be. It's a small world and if you really want something, it can be achieved.

The scene seems to be a lot more DIY than say, the US scene, do you think that has helped to build the community spirit within the scene and across mainland Europe?

I've never been to the US and witnessed its scene so I can't really comment on that. I have no idea how it's over there exactly, you only know what you read on the internet etc. I can say that DIY is very important to me / us. It's the thing that, aside from the energy, attracted me to hardcore in the first place. With Said And Done I take care of the website, do the designs for our records (aside from the drawings that are done by proper artists, I can't draw myself), help the labels with promoting / releasing the stuff, we always have booked tours ourselves and never worked with tourmanagers or anything etc. etc. Being in control is important. You know how you want things to be, so why don't take care of it yourself too? You make a valid point though. While DIY is mostly about doing things yourself (uhuh), you need the help of others too. They have to let you play, offer you a place to sleep, they make that drawing for your record etc. You can't do this alone. So you're probably right and it did help to build a community. I never looked at it like that.

How have you seen your scene change as you guys have progressed?

Like I said, it goes in waves. When we started more people were into it I think. Or atleast it felt like that. That's one. Things were more about metalcore in the beginning, which was the first hardcore I got in touch with. But soon the whole oldschool explosion took over the scene. It seems that it's getting to be more about mosh / metalcore these days again. We'll see. There's plenty of stuff for everyone, whatever stuff you're into. Things got pretty diverse in time. For example, World Collapse combining stuff like Depeche Mode and the Cro Mags. Loved it. I guess that's good. No barriers. Just do whatever the fuck you want, if it feels right and you mean it, do it.

What are your plans for the coming year and beyond?

We're writing a new record. Should be out somewhere next year. No idea when yet, or who is going to release it. Early next year we're playing some shows with Supertouch in Germany. In March / April we're doing a tour in Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany. After that it's all open. We love to go places we haven't been before. So if anybody reading this wants us to come over, get in touch!

Thursday 18 November 2010

Scene Heads-up - With One Last Breath

With One Last Breath

With One Last Breath are a metal band from York. They formed in 2008 and have shared stages with many bands, including Asking Alexandria and Edguy.

They released a self titled EP earlier this year. You can get details of it from their myspace page. Unfortunately they don't have any songs posted on their page at the moment, but they do have videos you can watch.

Jim.

Scene Heads-up - While She Sleeps

While She Sleeps are a awesome metal/hardcore band from Sheffield.

They are about to embark on 3 UK shows with Rinao and a European tour with Shadows Chasing ghosts, which you can find out about on their myspace page.

The band have a record out called -  The North Stands for Nothing, which you can pick up from HMV, Play.co and their bigcartel store.

Check this band out and show them your support.

Jim.

Scene Heads-up - Fuck with Fire

This band is a local band from my town, Harrogate.

Fuck with Fire are a melodic hardcore band, who have a number of releases to their name, which are available through Dead end records.

They are a band that like to enjoy themselves and make sure their audiences are having a laugh as well.

Check em out!

Jim.

Tuesday 16 November 2010

Scene Flashback - Cutting Class (2008 - 2010)





This is second band that I have done a flashback on. I'm doing flashbacks because I don't just want to focus on active bands, but all bands who have helped shape the Yorkshire scene.

Cutting Class were an awesome hardcore band from Leeds, in the vein of American bands like The Loved Ones.

The band have their entire recorded output available for free download via Mediafire. The link is on their myspace page.

Check them out, cause they are still relevant even if they aren't active!

Jim.

Scene Heads-Up - A Day for Heroes

A day for heroes are a young band from Leeds.

Their music is a bit more melodic than some stuff you'll find on this blog, but that's not a bad thing, especially when one of their influences is Funeral for a Friend.

The guys are trying to get votes to help them get to an event called - Eurodemo in Santander, Spain on the 2nd of December this year. So go to their myspace page, listen to their tracks and vote for them!

Cheers.

Jim.

Monday 15 November 2010

Noord-Brabant Hardcore Scene - Cracks In the Wall


Ok, so this is my last post about bands from the Noord-Brabant hardcore scene for now.

Again, Cracks in the Wall are another new band to me, but again another gem of a find. They play old-school hardcore, very much in a similar style to Negative Approach.

They are signed to Crucial Attack records and have some releases available, including a self titled 7"'.

They also have shows lined up the Netherlands and Belgium. So if you're in that part of the world, go check em out. You won't be disappointed!

Jim.

Scene Heads-Up - We'll Die Smiling








We'll Die Smiling are an awesome hardcore band from the Leeds/Bradford area of Yorkshire.

They currently have a record out called Avant Garde out now (on Holy Roar records), which quite aptly describes their particular brand of hardcore. Holy Roar records was previously home to other homegrown bands like Gallows and Rolo Tomassi, so you know they're gonna be a bit special!

They're currently looking for shows.

Check them out and pick up a copy of their record!

Jim.

Noord-Brabant Hardcore scene - Laatste Halte





The next band I'm featuring in my look at the Noord-Brabant hardcore scene are - Laatste Halte. Again, I have only just come across this band but I am impressed with them.

The band share two members with another Noord-Brabant band - Malfunction, who you can also read about in this blog.

They have a couple of releases out that you can find out about on their Myspace page and they also have tour dates coming up in Holland and Germany and are looking for more shows.

Much like a lot of the bands in their scene, they are typically DIY!

Check them out and show them your support.

Jim.

Sunday 14 November 2010

Scene Heads-up - Goatspeed


Goatspeed are an awesome metal band from Leeds.

They have shows coming up that you can see by visiting their Myspace page and should have a 7" record out soon.

Go check em out and show them your support.

Jim

Check these out - Zines/Blogs

First of all - http://xroldx.blogspot.com/ - a blog by Rold from State of Affairs.

Also, www.somewillneverknow.org - a zine by Said and Done vocalist Pim.

Jim.











 

Noord-Brabant Hardcore scene - State of Affairs


The next band I'm focusing on in my look at the Noord-Brabant hardcore scene in the Netherlands, is State of Affairs. These guys are a youthcrew, hardcore band that play oldschool hardcore influenced by bands like Youth of today.

They are one of the only youthcrew bands currently active in the Netherlands, however if you know of any more, let me know.

They currently have merch for sale, so you can pick a copy of their demo.

These guys are definitely worth a listen if you're positive hardcore.

Cheers.

Jim.

Saturday 13 November 2010

Interview - Toon from Malfunction

Earlier today I interviewed Toon, guitarist in Brabant Hardcore band Malfunction, as part of my look into the scene over there. Here's what he had to say.

So, you've been part of the Brabant Scene for 11 years now, how have you seen it change?
 
Yeah it changed a lot over the years.
When i was starting to go shows you had this so called 'eurocore scene'.
That was a big thing during half the nineties till i would say 2002. 
At that time bands were heavy influenced by NYHC bands.
Raw vocals, a heavy guitar sound and simple old school riffs.   
Bands like Backfire!, Discipline (early days), Tech-9, No Turning Back, Violation of Trust and Right Direction
were huge during these days. Some of these bands are still going strong, especially NTB.
I was a big fan of these bands.
It was a great time to be an teenager in that period. 
A lot of fun and a lot of beers haha.
No one was talking about the right clothes, the right caps and the right sneakers.
It's was an open scene. These bands were also playing with rock'n'roll, metal and psychobilly bands.
Nobody didn't care. During that time were Eindhoven (Noord Brabant) and Maastricht (Limburg) the
hardcore capitals. You had the 'European Hardcore Party's in both cities, lots of venues and the legendary
Dynamo Open Air festival in Eindhoven. 
Nowadays Maastricht is more dead than alive but Eindhoven is still good for considering loud music
and Tilburg (Noord-Brabant) too.
 
Nowadays the scene is more divited.
Most of the time you see shows with one type of hardcore
Only metalcore bands, only hardcore thrash bands, only nyhc bands etc.
At the other hand you see more diversity considering hardcorepunk music and that's a good thing.
Kids like to experiment more and create their own sound.
'This Routine is Hell' from Utrecht is a good example.
Great band with their own sound.
 
...You also see that quiet some young kids are starting to go to shows.
But you know, with these big (hardcore) bands on MTV and all these dresscodes it could also be a fase in their life.
Hopefully these kids start picking up instruments too and putting up some shows too in the future.
Sometimes you see only people on shows who are 25+ haha.
I hope kids would stay and put some new energy in the scene.
But i'm quit positive about the Brabant scene, there are a lot's of shows, cool bands and cool labels.
It's also good that younger kids support local bands more and more.
They are not only go to a show when a big US band like Madball is on the bill.
There still young kids who have heart for hardcore.

I've been doing some research about the scene and have found out about bands like Cracks in the walls, State of affairs and of course Malfunction. Is the scene growing and what other bands should people look out for?
There are quiet some good bands from Noord-Brabant. But as i earlier mention, a lot of these people, also in the bands are around for quit some years. It's growing a little but still the older people are most active. 
People definly should check out: Said & Done (crossover/hardcore), Human Demise (clevo hardcore), The Butcher (fast 80's), Milkman (fast 80's), On Fire (melodic hardcore), Righteous Kill (punk), Enemy Ground (beatdown), Screw Houston Start Screaming (new school), Noyalty (new school), Laatste Halte (screamo)
Check also the Blog from Rold, the singer of State of Affairs: http://xroldx.blogspot.com/

Do people give bands a lot of support in your scene, because it seems to me like mainland Europe has more of a community than here in the UK?
...Holland is a small country so you can better talk about the Dutch hardcore scene than the Brabant hardcore scene
because it's easy to play all across the country.
It's also easy to go Belgium or Germany to you know.
Especially Belgium has a good climate for playing shows.
There are a lot of youth-centres who are doing shows.
But yeah, bands support each other and you never play in and empty venue in Holland.
There are always kids who want to check out some cool loud bands.
 
PS: Other bands from Holland and not especially Noord-Brabant who are worth to check out are:
No Turning Back (nyhc), New Morality (nyhc), Cornered (nyhc), This Routine is Hell (hardcorepunk),
The Real Danger (punkrock), All For Nothing (nyhc), Antillectual (punkrock)
 

Do Malfunction have anything in the pipeline regarding recordings or gigs?
Our demo'10 is out now. We recorded it our selves because it's pretty expensive to hire a studio and
it's cool to do it by yourself. We are a typical DIY band. We like the raw old school sound so we are
pretty happy with our demo. It's not a clean, modern record, just a straight forward record.
 
....About gigs: It's pretty hard to get shows. We're a new band and we have are own sound.
I think a lot of people have to get used to us.
It's also about having the right connections because most of venues put up shows with the bands that are
around for a long time. But we keep emailing to people haha.
And if we don't have a show we put one up ourselves.
Last month we played two great matinees but our next show is in March so we defently looking for more shows.

Would Malfunction be coming to the UK to play any shows in the future?
That would be great! I think everbody in the band would love to do that!
If you have connections and people who want to help us out that would be awesome!
Our singer and other guitarplayer are also in the band Laatste Halte so it's easy to bring them too cuz it's
them with another drummer haha.
I know Frankie from Cracks in Wall and they have toured a couple of times outside Holland so maybe we can
bring them for the experience. And maybe it's a good idea to bring the straight-edge kids from State Of Affairs for
driving the bus because we like to have a good drink you know, hehe :-)
Allright...let's see what the future will bring, never say never.

Noord-Brabant Hardcore Scene - Malfunction


As carry on my look into the Noord-Brabant hardcore scene, I thought I'd share this band with you. Malfunction play old-school hardcore in the vein of bands like Black flag and Youth of Today.

They have a show coming up in March 2011 which you can find out about on their Myspace page.

Look em up and show them your support.

Jim.

Scene Heads-up - DEBTS



These guys are crushing!

DEBTS are from Barnsley. They play hardcore with a hefty doom influence.

These guys have posted their demo up for you to download through their Myspace site and are also looking for shows.

They're definately one for the future!

Jim.

Scene Flashback - Raw Deal


Raw Deal are a band I came across recently.They were a hardcore band from Grimsby, kinda in the same vein as Integrity and Strife.

Sadly they are no longer together, but some members have formed a band called - Hanging over. They are just about to start recording, so keep your ears to the ground for some fresh tunes!

Jim.

Friday 12 November 2010

Audience participation!

My blog has been going for a few weeks now and I want to hear from people/bands who have been reading and checking it out.

If you want to comment on any of my posts, suggest bands I can check out, or just let me know what you think, please click on a comments link at the bottom of a post or e-mail me at stayaheadblog@yahoo.co.uk.

Cheers.

Jim.

Scene Heads-Up - Burn Alaska

 Burn Alaska are an awesome hardcore band from Leeds. They currently have their EP available for free download on their myspace site and have just been on a tour of europe with Empty handed (Germany).

Check them out and give them your support.

Scene Heads-up - Drowned In Flames



Drowned In Flames are a local metal band from the Harrogate/York area. They have been quickly gaining attention by touring wth bands like Young guns and Cancer bats. They have also had their tracks played on BBC radio 1 as part of their BBC introducing shows and have been reviewd in Rocksound magazine.

They deserve your attention!

Scene Head-up - Redmist Destruction

These guys are an awesome thrash metal band from Barnsley. If you like quick and oldschool thrash, these dudes are for you.

They have recently had their self titled EP reviewed in none other than Terrorizer magazine.


You can here two of the songs from their EP on their myspace page, along with 3 other rippers!

It's awesome to know that a band of this talent is just on our doorstep.

Get headbanging!

Jim

Scene Heads-up - Deal With It


Deal with it are an immense hardcore band from Leeds. The currently have a new LP out through Reflection records called - EYJAFJALLAJÖKULL.

They are currently on a short tour in Finland and will be back on these shores in late Nov/early Dec, in Machester, London (x2 dates), Leeds and Durham,including dates with the mighty Knuckledust. So check em out!

Tuesday 9 November 2010

Check this out

I've posted a link to this blog on my blog list, but it isn't showing up fvor some reason, so check it out be clicking here - http://hcmorethanmusic.blogspot.com/.

It's a brilliant blog about hardcore bands from aroud the world and should inspire you to broaden your tastes and listen to bands you haven't heard of.

It's certainly opened my eyes!

Happy reading.

Jim.

Noord-Brabant scene

The other day I asked for suggestion on bands from the Noord-Brabant hardcore scene, to check out. I've been doing some digging and found these bands:-

As Enemies Arise - These guys slay. If you like Parkway drive and bands of that ilk, you will love em!

Cracks in the wall -These guys are an awesome 80s inspired hardocre punk band. check em out if you like Black flag and Negative approach!

State of affairs -  This band is from Tilburg, the Netherlands. These guys play proper, in your face hardcore. They are influenced by the youth crew scene. Listen to them ASAP.

Laatste Halte - These guys are another awesome band from the Tilburg/Eindhoven area. They remind me a lot of Outbreak.

and finally...

Malfunction - My final recommendation for you to check out. Another 80s style hardcore band who deserve your attention.

Well, thats all for now. If you have any suggestions of bands from this area or any other area that you think should be featured, click on Comments at the bottom of this post and let me know.

Cheers.

Jim.

Monday 8 November 2010

Overseas exposure - No Turning Back

This band might not be new to a lot of people, but they are still worth biggin up!. These guys are a hardcore band from the Noord-Brabant area of the Netherlands, signed to Reflections records.

The band are about to release their new record - Take control. Go check out their myspace link below for new on the band and forthcoming tour dates.



While I'm on the subject of the Noord-Brabant hardcore scene, if anyone reading this knows of any other bands from that area, please let me know?

Cheers.

Jim.

Tuesday 2 November 2010

Scene Flashback - The Archetype Falls

The Archetype Falls were a local yorkshire band who were active between 2005 and 2008. In that time they toured and shared stages with many well know metal bands including Napalm Death, Despised Icon and Cephalic Carnage.

Members of this band went on to form metal band - When Giants Collide, who you can read about on this blog.

Scene Heads-up - When Giants Collide

When Giants Collide are a newly formed band from West Yorkshire. They formed from the ashes of another local band called The Archetype Falls in 2008.

The band are about to release their first EP entitled - "No one is safe" on the 26th of November. They also have a free EP release show booked for the 28th of November at The Well in Leeds, with local band - Throne of Decia, who are also releasing their EP that night.

Go check out their Myspace page for details and shows and support them.

Cheers

Jim.