Noisem - Blossoming Decay - Baltimore Loud Stuff

Maybe it’s fitting that Baltimore’s Noisem have dropped their album today in the wake of all that has been going on in their home town recently. The band have released their new album ‘Blossoming Decay’ via their Bandcamp page today, with physical copies currently available on pre-order. The band have been busy since their only other full length to date – 2013’s ‘Agony Defined’ was followed by the single ‘Defiled’ in 2014, a covers split with Occultist and ‘Consumed’ – an EP coming out in the later part of the same year.

Blossoming Decay’s opening track ‘Trail of Pertubation’ fades in discordant fuzz before launching into a bruising sonic attack that remains lovely, loud and grindy for the entire record. Second track ‘Burning’ gives you a feeling you can’t quite place, a sound somewhere in the Napalm Death sort of sphere and punishingly aggressive. Hostile End – Hollow Life finally gives you time to catch your breath, though not until half way through the track where speed and aggression gives way to a slow, harsh, creepy interlude lasting all the way into one minute into the sixth track, Cascade of Stars, where there’s an almost Slayer-ish Seasons In The Abyss type feel to proceedings before the pace is back again. Not afraid to mix in a bit of groove and a slower tempo now and then, Noisem have put together a fantastically strong release here, combining some catchy as anything riffs with aggression and harshness from start to finish.

Noisem have certainly been gaining wider attention recently, having supported Repulsion and Pig Destroyer this week, as well as attention from Decibel magazine, really showing how much this band has come on since that first release of ‘Agony Defined’. This album is hopefully what will push them to the next level, they’ve done a cracking job on it.

You can listen to Noisem’s new album ‘Blossoming Decay’ here, as well as put your order in for a physical copy : https://a389recordings.bandcamp.com/album/a389-162-noisem-blossoming-decay-12

And check out what the band are up to on their Facebook page : https://www.facebook.com/NoisemBaltimore

And last but not least come and follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/bigmetalbastard

Scumguts - Scumguts - Australia's Finest

Aussie grind/death.powerviolence lot Scumguts put out their self titled album back in January, and it’s one of the most impressive things I’ve heard this year. Though only totalling around fifteen minutes, it’s a fantastic way to spend a quarter of an hour. Relentlessly savage from start to finish, Scumguts hurtle through at a million miles an hour with some of the most intensely aggressive music I’ve heard in ages, plus some of the guitar work is has a fantastic groove to it, which is perhaps sometimes a bit of a rarity in a lot of bands who put out PV stuff. The guitar riff in Blind (track 8) is simple but so infectious, giving Scumguts a different feel within the realm of PV/Grind whilst still being very much in that bracket.

Australia seems to be doing something right, every time I trawl through Bandcamp there seems to be a disproportionate amount of Aussie bands showing up, but Scumguts is certainly the best I’ve found out of Australia, and this record seems pretty likely to end up in my top 20 of the year. Scumguts are set apart from the rest by the fact that they have combined the crusty, unrelenting aggression with some genuinely musically good tracks. Picks for me are ‘Blind’, ‘Awakened’, ‘Sixty Trillion Tonnes of Shit’ and ‘Sons of Northern Queensland’ but honestly it’s so, so hard to pick favourites. The record doesn’t have weak moments, it’s an incredible solid album and one that will remain in my regular playlist for a long time. If they ever get to England I'll be there to see them play.

Do yourself a favour and download this album

Check out Scumguts on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/scumguts

Download Scumguts by Scumguts at their Bandcamp here: https://scumguts.bandcamp.com/

And come and follow me on Twitter – www.twitter.com/bigmetalbastard

Agonie - Nemesis EP 2015 - German Black Metal

Agonie – Nemesis EP 2015 – German Black Metal

I hadn't heard of Agonie until I was browsing through EP's and demo's on Bandcamp earlier this week, and of the twenty or so records I downloaded, Agonie is the pick of the bunch. That's not something to say lightly either, with Black Falcon, Basura and Scumguts all producing stellar offerings. Agonie though, with their three track EP 'Nemesis' really steals the show.

Hailing from Germany, Agonie take their brand of black metal back to the early days with a really harsh and hateful 16 minutes between two of their own songs and a cover of 'Kriecht Zu Kreuze' by Zerfall (No, I don't know of Zerfall, either but they're on my ever growing list of bands to check out.)

The title track, Nemesis is one of the strongest openers I've heard on an EP for a long time, it's powerful, it's raw, it's loud and angry, it's everything you would want it to be. Agonie have also managed to avoid falling into the various traps littered around the black metal scene. Whilst the recordings remain raw and harsh, they have achieved a fantastic BM sound without putting out a woefully underproduced record as so many bands do. By the same token though they haven’t gone the other way either, leaving that harsh sound in without TOO much of a clean up of the recording. They’ve got the balance absolutely right.

Second is ‘Aufgelost in Wohlgefallen’ – which according to google means ‘Situated Lost in Pleasure’. I’m not sure that’s actually what is being got at with the title, but it’s an ace track anyway. Continuing in much the same vein as Nemesis, the two original tracks on this EP really give you a feel for what Agonie are all about, harshness in the extreme, all superbly done.

The cover ‘Kreicht Zu Kreutze’ is also outstanding. As I’ve said, I don’t know Zerfall, the band who originally recorded the song, but the way Agonie have gone about it almost makes me not want to. It’s a great track and I almost don’t want to be able to compare the two, Agonie have clearly done a stellar job with the cover, and the original would do well to be any better.

The EP is available as a physical copy through contacting the band on their Facebook page, although only 25 copies have been made - https://www.facebook.com/agonie.black.metal?fref=ts

And you can download Nemesis, as well as 2014’s release ‘Mammon’ from the bands Bandcamp page - https://agonieblackmetal.bandcamp.com/releases

Please do check out Agonie, they are an excellent band, and this is 16 minutes of black metal that you need to hear.

Desecrated (SWE) - Oblivion EP

Sweden has produced a massive amount of quality death metal, and here in the form of Norrkoping's Desecrated, they've served up another belter.

Looking through their bio on the bands Facebook page, it's clear to see that this lot have evolved massively from their original days as a heavy metal project by guitarist Erik and their ex-drummer, although the band played under the name Metalonium at that point. Still, to have come from that to producing what they are doing now, it's obvious that they've worked hard to develop what is a truly crushing sound.

From the outset you can tell that there's a lot of Bloodbath in the mix here, but certainly drawing on them rather than ripping them off as so many new death metal bands do. Desecrated certainly fit firmly into the death metal genre but still achieve their own sound, largely achieved by vocalist Micke Karlsson's incredible visceral growls.

The track that first took me to the band was 'Infernal Evisceration' which I actually stumbled upon through Reddit's 'headbang to this' sub. I tend to only check the sub once in a blue moon but this time it really has been worthwhile. From that track I found the band's Youtube channel which has a whole bunch of other songs uploaded, including 'Oblivion', probably my favourite of the bunch, with a more black metally vocal over the top of some seriously crushing music.

Desecrated are definitely one of my favourite finds of the year so far, taking all the best parts of death metal and giving it a fresh kick up the arse to make something absolutely incredible in the form of the 'Oblivion' EP.

Desecrated are on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/DESECRATED/399689540087965

You can hear their fantastic music here on Youtube : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGQHPDXM0AQP34UUTqP4rEw

Please do give them a go if you're a death metal fan, they are absolutely fantastic. Jag tycker om Desecrated!

Big Metal Bastard is back with loads more music coming your way, after a long time away from blogging the time has come to start doing this again.

Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/bigmetalbastard

Bloodstock Festival 2014!

Bloodstock Festival has become an annual pilgrimage for me, having not missed one since 2008. Unquestionably the best metal event of the year in this country, 2014's edition of the festival was brilliant as always. Boasting Emperor, Megadeth and Down as headliners, the festival continues to grow year on year attracting many bigger bands, but without losing sight of the unsigned and up and coming groups, which for me is part of what sets it apart from the bigger and noticeably soulless Download and Sonisphere.

For the 7^th year in a row, I made my way to the festival site by train, then by cab rather than the usual shuttle bus, and arrived in the glorious sunshine on the Thursday, looking forward in particular to Monument and Jaldaboath that evening on the Sophie Stage, before the festival kicked off in full on the Friday. Alas, I didn't make it to the Sophie Stage at all that evening. Who knew that starting drinking with a breakfast can of Magners and drinking throughout the day with no food until it was already too late could make you ill? My evening ended with regurgitated ravioli being spewed over the majority of the left hand side of the Midgard campsite as you enter from the arena. I'll catch Monument and Jaldaboath somewhere, sometime though.

So Bloodstock musically really started for me on the Friday. I had intended to see Bloodshot Dawn open the main stage, but was a little late due to a hangover from the aforementioned ravioli spewing, but also was caught up walking through the arena by the sound of Gurt, who were playing the Sophie Lancaster tent at the same time. Their doomy/sludgy sound isn't something I'm overly familiar with so forgive my lack of any real knowledgable input here, but Gurt were a great discovery, check them out.

Entombed A.D (not Entombed) took to the main stage next, so called due to a dispute over who owns the band name, the same thing we saw with Gorgoroth a while back. Unfortunately I'm rather in the minority when it comes to Entombed, I prefer the later stuff to your Wolverine Blues or Left Hand Path, but for the majority I'm sure it went down as a really good, old school Entombed set. I'll have to save my enthusiasm for a later tour when they play the less popular new stuff.

Ireland's Primordial are up next, and they're one that myself and a lot of people I know were really looking forward to. The last time they played this festival, front man Nemtheanga overdid it and damaged his voice so badly that he couldn't continue the performance. This time, his voice is noticeably less visceral, but no less impressive. Primordial smash through pretty much everything you could hope for from them, the only slight disappointment for me was the lack of Gallows Hymn, which is by far my favourite song they have done. Still, good job, Primordial, good to see you guys back here again after so long.

A need for lunch and a total cock up in timekeeping meant that I missed the seriously impressive De Profundis, who have just supported Demonic Resurrection on their UK tour. I caught De Profundis at Out of the Ashes festival in 2013 and was seriously impressed by them, they're certainly a band to see if you get the chance.

Triptykon are pretty much the natural progression of Celtic Frost after they disbanded in unpleasant circumstances after the absolutely incredible Monotheist album. Slow and crushingly heavy, Tom Fischer's ensemble effortlessly create an incredible stage presence without actually really doing that much. Maybe it's the nature of the music, maybe it's the incredible respect that I and so many others have for Tom, but the fact that he is a genuine legend in our music almost doesn't register, such is the humble nature of the man. A real personal hero of mine, it's good to see him finally crack a smile to break his usual sullen appearance.

Once Triptykon finish crushing the main stage, it's time to check out England's very own black metal monolith – Winterfylleth. Unfortunately, the heavens open and the Sophie Stage tent is absolutely packed out, there's no way I could have got in without being packed in like a sardine. Disappointing not to be able to catch them this time, but they are playing in London with Ancient Ascendant and Ethereal very soon, so all is not lost!

The rain keeps coming meaning that I take refuge in the tent until it's time for Dimmu Borgir to take the stage. Anyone who knows me will know that I absolutely love this band, and anyone who was there will know that the sound team horrible let us down. When they finally did get the sound sorted out, they were fantastic, but it was so disappointing to see them unable to create their full symphonic black metal majesty because of the poor sound for the first half of their set.

Phil Anselmo's Down then take to the main stage, but they aren't my thing, so it's back to the Sophie tent to see Rotting Christ. One of those bands that I've always heard of but never listened to, Rotting Christ are impressive in their stage presence and in musically, and the tent is well pleased by the set as a whole. A good end to the night.

On Saturday morning, a massive crowd is assembled for the mighty, mighty Evil Scarecrow. Bloodstock loves these guys, they are absolutely bloody ridiculous, and at the same time are an excellent band, and they've always gone down well here over the years. The crowd for them opening the main stage on Saturday morning is probably bigger than the crowd for Dimmu Borgir the night before, and everyone gets involved in a mass scuttling during Crabulon, drawing their own perfect robot square in Robototron, marching in whatever song it is that goes “I'm looking for war, have you seen her?” and, my highlight, improvised party poppers by throwing grass into the air. They've just achieved their goal in a kickstarter for their second album, which I'm sure will be equally silly. Evil Scarecrow are just one of those bands you HAVE to see at least once. Unless you don't like fun of course.

The searing heat unfortunately meant that I didn't catch all of Decapitated's set, although opinion was pretty much unanimous that they played an absolute blinder of a show. Again, I'm not too familiar with their music, but you know when you see a band at a festival and you know you have to check them out when you get home? Yeah, they're one of them. Absolutely brilliant.

Lacuna Coil are a strange one for me, not a band I would have thought I would have liked, but having had a Bloodstock playlist going for the past couple of days before the festival, I realised that actually, they're pretty good. Live, they really know what they're doing. They even played Our Truth, which is the only song I know about them, apologies to the bloke in front of me for having to put up with my singing along.

Children of Bodom then produced what was for me one of the best shows of the weekend. A real mixed bag going through pretty much every album (though nothing from Blooddrunk if I recall correctly), Bodom have really sorted their shit out. The last couple of times I've seen them they've been pissed on stage, forgetting how the songs are meant to go, Alexi blaming Janne for cock-ups etc. But this time, Bodom are absolutely incredible. Alexi proves just how good a guitarist and frontman he really is, as Bodom power through Lake Bodom, Angels Don't Kill and Hate Me. I forget the exact setlist because honestly, I was going a little bit over the top with the old headbanging/air guitar. But Christ, Children of Bodom, thank you for that. I still love you.

You know how earlier I said about you have to see Evil Scarecrow unless you don't like fun? Well Jeff from Carcass doesn't seem to like fun. “The trouble with festivals is you have to wait for all the shit bands to finish before you can play” he says. That's not a fun thing to say, that's a bit of a knobby thing to say really. Anyway, Carcass are okay, they cover a fair amount of their old grindy stuff, but for me, they get a bit boring after a while. Sorry.

Emperor are headlining tonight with the 20^th anniversary of the In The Nightside Eclipse album show. “We are now complete again” says Ihsahn, the vocalist, referring to the band being re-joined by their infamous drummer Faust, who has been released from prison after serving his time for the murder of a gay man in Norway in the 90s. It's a little uneasy watching Emperor, and the crowd's reaction seems decidedly mixed towards the return of Faust. Still, overall Emperor go down a storm with the Bloodstock crowd and even throw in a Bathory cover for good measure.

Sunday starts with an absolute deluge falling on our heads. Emerging from a leaky, wet tent, I eventually managed to get into the Sophie Stage for the splendid Haerken. Their brand of medieval themed thrashy death metal has the tent absolutely heaving, and a full scale inflatable war breaks out after the band throw out dozens of inflatable maces and swords, which kept rearing their heads for the rest of the weekends. It was Haerken's last show with their current drummer, I did speak to the singer (apologies, I can't for the life of me remember his name) and he handed me some flyers to give out about them seeking a drummer. If I handed one to you, please do get in touch with them, they're an absolutely brilliant band. If I didn't hand you one, find them on Facebook and give them a shout. They're based in the midlands though so do keep that in mind. Anyway, I'm babbling. Haerken were fantastic as always.

Morgue Orgy are a band I've managed to see a few times. At Beermageddon last year, they gave me a copy of their album “Murder's Most Foul” on the condition that I elbow dropped another CD, and at Out of the Ashes this year, they gave my brother an award for having the most fun during their set. This time, my brother took frankfurters into the stage with him and they eventually ended up on stage with the band, before being hurled into the audience again. Morgue Orgy are tremendous fun, but again, like Evil Scarecrow, they don't use fun to compensate for a lack in quality, they are fun and at the same time they are absolutely brilliant. The stage was again full for their set because of the stormy weather outside, but surely they must have won plenty of people over who came in to avoid the weather. Absolutely brilliant band, and certainly one of the most fun bands I've ever seen. With Evil Scarecrow, people know they're silly, they're expected to be silly. With Morgue Orgy they're not expected to be silly really, unless you've seen them before. A truly excellent band and I hope they can be given a main stage slot in the future.

Next, and still on the same stage, are Voices. I liked Akercocke as much as the next man, but it does seem like Voices are only on the bill because of that connection. Maybe I'm missing something with their brand of blackened death metal, but there's no stage presence, and nothing particularly interesting in the music for me. I'm sure there are plenty of people who will disagree and that's absolutely fair enough. Anyone who reads my blog regularly will know that I don't like to mention bands that I don't enjoy. Any band that isn't to my taste doesn't deserve to be badmouthed by me because I know full well that others will like them.

Obituary are next on the main stage, but the wind really doesn't do them any favours. Of course there's nothing anyone can really do to combat the weather, and Obituary are a fantastic band, but the poor sound meant that I went to the New Blood stage for the first time, to catch one of the bands I'm most looking forward to seeing – Scordatura.

OH MY GOOD GOD SCORDATURA. You know when you see a band for the first time and they just do everything right? These Scots are a band I've been aware of for a long while, they seem to play with Cancerous Womb a fair bit, that's certainly how I first became aware of them anyway. With a little help on the bass from Unfathomable Ruination, Scordatura absolutely smash the living shit out of the New Blood Stage. With a huge amount of people coming in from the main stage, the vocalist calls everyone bastards for having had the chance to see Obituary. Honestly without even the slightest hint of exaggeration, I was more impressed with Scordatura at Bloodstock than I was with Obituary at the Garage in London when they played a couple of years ago. Seriously, if you get the chance, go and see Scordatura. Also, they have their album and t shirts for sale on their bigcartel for £5 each. Go and buy their stuff, but leave one of each for me, I can't order mine until payday. Absolutely my band of the weekend.

Back to the main stage having had my mind blown by Scordatura for Saxon. I wouldn't say I'm a massive Saxon fan by any stretch of the imagination, but they're decent enough and their setlist is solid enough to keep me interested for the duration. Dave Mustaine even makes an appearance on Demin and Leather, after Saxon have powered their way through 747 (Strangers in the Night), Wheels of Steel and And the Bands Played on, but I can't recall any of their other tracks that they played. They were decent enough, but I was still getting myself together after the onslaught I'd just received on the New Blood Stage.

After that, it's Amon Amarth, who are the headliners for me as I'm not a fan of Megadeth or Satan. Not a bad way to sign off for the weekend though as they come out with giant dragon heads shooting smoke out of their mouths and more fireworks than you can shake a Mjollnir at. A good mix of old and new tracks from the Vikings, with tracks from Deceiver of the Gods, the Fate of Norns, With Odin On Our Side and a bunch of others. There's no Without Fear in the setlist which is a little disappointing, and I can not wait for the day I see them play Under The Northern Star live. Johann is his usual jolly massive Viking guy self and visibly enjoys every minute of the show. A great way to sign off from Bloodstock 2014.

Weirdly, no announcement of next years headliner as we've become accustomed to over the past few years, but we're told that an announcement is coming soon! My money is firmly on Judas Priest.

Also, you can follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/bigmetalbastard

and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/bigmetalbastard

Cheers!

Saccage - Vorace - French Canadian Crust/Grind

Saccage have been about since 2007 and are following up "Death Crust Satanique" from 2012 with this years "Vorace". The album itself is still yet to become available in physical form, but you can get a free download of it from their Bandcamp page, and it is well worth getting.

Very much in the same ballpark as the likes of Toxic Holocaust and Fukpig, these guys blend your regular d-beat, crusty-as-anything grind with death growls, black metal rasps and a shitload of riffage. The vocals though tend to vary a lot more track-to-track than you would get with the likes of Fukpig. It does have the harsh rasping you would expect from grind, but that sprinkling of chanting on "Musique Malsaine Pour Monde A Problemes" (which according to Google translates as 'Unhealthy Music For A World Problems', which probably isn't too far off) gives Saccage something else, as well as the growls and shrieks to be found throughout the release.

It is only a four track release, hence this blog being maybe not as long as they usually are, but it is completely free to download from their Bandcamp page and I really enjoy it.

Definitely one to check out, and if you do fancy a bit of a speculative spend, give "Death Crust Satanique" a go too.

You know the drill for the rest of this. Follow me on Twitter with @bigmetalbastard

And click on www.londonwebmaps.co.uk - the site I work on for my job.

More blog stuff coming soon, not sure what it'll be looking at but there are some cracking releases I've got hold of recently. Keep your eyes peeled!

Evilheart - Selective Extermination

I stumbled across these guys completely by chance this morning, but that was a very happy stumble to make. Evilheart have been running since 1999 and have released one demo and two full length albums during that time. Their third, "Quinquaginta" is due for release soon (unfortunately I can't find a release date, but they're putting samplers on Youtube so it must be close, right?) and the band have recently played as support to Hypocrisy and Necropsy on a date in Sonora, Mexico.



With a more death metal sound on Quinquaginta than on their previous "Dark In Glory" album, Evilheart have certainly changed significantly, with everything from production to vocal style having come on in leaps and bounds. That's not to say that Dark In Glory isn't a great album, but Quinquaginta promises to be even better. Their video for 'Selective Extermination' which has been released on Youtube recently shows that, and now has hints of Dying Fetus, Nile etc. without being any sort of a rip off. evilheart certainly have their own sound, and I think it could well propel them to the next level.



Check out the video for 'Selective Extermination' from their forthcoming 'Quinquaginta' album here :









Also, be sure to give them a like on their Facebook page



Whilst you're at it, follow me on Twitter 



And please check out the website that I work on for my day job - www.londonwebmaps.co.uk

Seprevation - Consumed - Debut Album 2014

Seprevation's debut album is one that I had been waiting to hear for a long time. Having found their music a little while before seeing them at the Unicorn in Camden with Flayed Disciple and Wretched Soul, they were a band that instantly grabbed my interest, you could tell there was going to be something big from them. They commanded the Unicorn that night with the presence of a far more experienced group, and with their first full length album 'Consumed', the follow up to the crushing 'Ritual Abuse' EP, Seprevation have their chance to step up and attain the status that they richly deserve.

The album starts off actually pretty quietly, with a reasonably long intro to the opening track 'Divine Devastation' which I found quite surprising, I guess that from previous stuff from the band it's been a more visceral, in-at-the-deep-end kind of thing, but having the intro there to bring the album in really works well, sort of as an extra-suspense builder in the long wait it has been for a full album from these Bristolians. At just over one minute in though, they can't hold it back any longer. Like a dam breaking and flood water coming bursting through, the quiet gives way to that brutality that we know Seprevation for. It's a blistering start to the album that does not let up, Lluc's vocals were incredible the first time I saw them, but he's become something of a beast.

As something of a grind fan, I tend to be drawn to shorter songs on albums, they tend to be either slow and filler-y, or a short, sharp blast to the face. 'Ascension of Agony' comes in at one minute and fifty-two seconds of absolute rip-your-face-off blasting death metal. The album as a whole does carry a feel of a Morbid Angel/Deicide style of things, but this is track is something else. Trying to find the words to do it justice is a bit difficult to be honest, perhaps it's something that needs to be heard to really show you what I mean, and by the time you get to 'Sarcophagal Chamber' you know that this album is an incredibly strong debut from Bristol's finest.

Also worth listening out for is the album version of 'Sea Of Thoughts'. This version seems to have divided opinion a little bit, but honestly, maybe it's just the flow of the whole of 'Consumed' as an album together, but I honestly think I prefer this version to the previous version that was on 'Ritual Abuse'. It'll be interesting to see which version comes out when they play live, but either one will suit me fine.

'Consumed' is one album you definitely need to get hold of in 2014, you can find Seprevations merch and get a copy of the album at their Bigcartel page here: http://www.seprevation.bigcartel.com/

And you can catch them on tour in May with Bonded By Blood and Flayed Disciple!

Give me a follow on Twitter too, www.twitter.com/bigmetalbastard

Out Of The Ashes 2014 Preview - Aeris

I'm a huge fan of festivals, and, with ticket prices rising for Bloodstock and the like, cheaper, smaller festivals are more than welcome. Beermageddon is a fantastic one that I've done for the last couple of years and will be returning to this year, and Out Of The Ashes is another of those.

I went last year for the first time, a long, long trek from London up to just outside of Liverpool. On the site of Vauxhall Motors Football Club in Ellesmere Port, Out Of The Ashes gives you 3 stages, more bands than some of the larger festivals can put on, and a truly great weekend for £18.

This is the first in a series of blogs I'll be doing in the runup to Out Of The Ashes Festival 2014, which is in July this year.

Aeris are a 4 piece metalcore outfit from Crewe in the North West of England, and their EP 'Become My Breather' was released only a few days ago, according to their Bandcamp page (link at the end of this post). Honestly, metalcore isn't my thing generally, but having downloaded the EP and put it on, by track four 'Revelations' this band had really grown on me. Maybe there's something about the rawness of vocalist Tom's vocals that does enough to put them apart from so many other bands that attempt to do the same thing. Aeris have found a wonderful blend of powerful, heavy, crushing tracks interspersed with really rather serene moments throughout the album, with a vocal line that at this moment I can only really compare with Bloodsimple, that is perfectly suited to providing a massive onslaught of harsh, pissed off, screaming over the top of the heavy parts, or as a heavy, loud contrast to those more peaceful moments in the EP. Aeris are a young band that will definitely be going places soon, they're certainly worth checking out live if the EP is anything to go by. I'll be doing my best to see them at Out Of The Ashes 2014, if you're from the North West though, you may well find that you get the chance to see them before then.

You can download Aeris's EP for free from here : http://aerismusic.bandcamp.com/releases
Give them a 'like' on Facebook at : https://www.facebook.com/AerisOFFICIAL

And come over and follow me on twitter : www.twitter.com/bigmetalbastard

Christ, just as I was about to clock 'publish', the track 'Portugal' has just come on on my media player. Go and download this bands EP, if you're into your metalcore, you'll dig it.

Oh, also, as a footnote, please check out the website I work on for my day job: www.londonwebmaps.co.uk and follow me on my work Twitter www.twitter.com/londonwebmaps.

Kraptor - Night Of The Living Dead

South America seems to be getting a bit of a reputation of being a hotbed of completely insane thrash metal fans. Whilst it may not be the first place you think of when it comes to metal, you only have to hear Iron Maiden's Live in Rio set, or see the reception Kreator get out there to see that actually, yeah, those guys love their metal. And they LOVE their thrash.

Venezuela, going through a bit of a rough time at the moment politically, and known for Angel Falls, has also produced a monolith of a thrash band in the shape of Kraptor. Their album 'Night of the Living Dead' is a free download at the moment, which is how yours truly came across them, but I haven't looked back since. This is hard thrash, crunching bass lines, ripping solos and really, truly angry vocals from the South American outfit. Definitely check out 'Murder King', it has everything a great thrash track should have in it, and christ, you can't help but imagine how it would sound to see it live. Having never been (as far as I can tell) to Europe to play, the album was put out in Europe by a Greek label named Chainsaw Distro, and they continue to tour with upcoming dates in Chile, Ecuador, Peru and Colombia. It can only be a matter of time before the Kraptor guys are playing live shows in the UK. I'll be there.

You can download Kraptor's album 'Night of the Living Dead' along with 'Fucking Liar' here: http://www.kraptorband.com/music.html

And follow them on Twitter here : https://twitter.com/kraptorband

And I'm on twitter at www.twitter.com/bigmetalbastard


Also, as a quick footnote, I'm currently working on a website listing over 300 free things to see and do in London, England. This is what I do as my day job, with music on the side. Please check it out and tweet me what you think of it. www.londonwebmaps.co.uk

Check back soon for more from Big Metal Bastard!

Gig Review! Gorgoroth, Vital Remains, Ageless Oblivion and Ethereal - The Garage, London - 6/04/2014

This was my first trip to the Garage in a long time, having last been there for Obituary and Macabre in December 2012. It has stuck in my memory as one of the warmest venues I've ever been to. I mean it gets ludicrously hot in that place. But here I was again, this time for the mighty Gorgoroth.

Doors opened at 7, but having been in the pub around the corner and slightly lost track of time, I didn't get there until 7.20-ish, one song into Ethereal's set. I have never regretted being 5 minutes late more. Ethereal are absolutely incredible. Possibly the best opening act I have ever seen, and I do not say that lightly, they are the raw black metal powerhouse that Gorgoroth could have been shown up by. The energy, the darkness and the visceral power of the whole band, not least the near-perfect blackened shrieking vocals, really tied the set together perfectly. A real discovery for me personally, I'll be seeing them again on the 19th at the Unicorn in London, and I'd encourage anyone and everyone who can to go along and check them out.

Next up were Ageless Oblivion. I personally don't like to review bands that I don't like so just a quick word on these guys. Just because it's not my thing doesn't mean that someone else would have been as enthusiastic about them as I am about Ethereal. They didn't do anything for me musically, but they had excellent stage presence and they were clearly going down well with some of the crowd.

Third up, a band that I had heard of for years, but had never seen or even listened to : Vital Remains. Absolutely unbelievable. I knew there was some connection with Glenn Benton and that Corpsegrinder wears Vital Remains shirts pretty much every time I see Cannibal Corpse, but these guys take all the best elements of Deicide and Cannibal Corpse, and turn it up to maximum. I don't know how some of those growl/shreiks could even be made to be so high pitched by human lungs, but they managed it, and mixed with the most gutteral, bowel-rupturing death-gurgles you have ever heard, Vital Remains absolutely blew me away. I can't believe I hadn't heard them or seen them before, but I'll definitely be seeing them again. Incredible stuff from an amazing band. AND for them to be doing shirts for £15!? Excellent, so I bagged myself a t-shirt. Vital Remains tore the place to pieces.


Headlining were Gorgoroth, who I hadn't seen since Bloodstock in 2010, who then had Pest on vocals and were very much there to play a bunch of songs and clear off. I guess it's just the black metal way sometimes to have pretty limited interaction with the audience. This time, Hoest of Taake was guest vocalist, and he absolutely slayed it. Taake are due to play the same venue in May at Incineration Festival alongside Anaal Nathrakh, Carach Angren, Eastern Front and Nargaroth amongst others, and the Garage was given a taster of how intense that night is going to be. Gorgoroth came out and smashed it, with enormous nails dangling from a heavily corpsepainted lineup of musicians peering through the fog of sweat and dry ice. Incipit Satan, Destroyer and Krig bring the Garage to its knees. Again little interaction with the crowd, which might just be a personal thing, but I quite enjoy at least a little acknowledgement from a band I've seen, but let that take nothing away from the intensity of Gorgoroth, proving that Gaahl or no Gaahl, they are still monoliths of black metal.

Finally, please go and check out Aeon Promotions. They were the guys who put this night on and who are doing Incineration Fest too. They know how to put on an absolute beast of a night.

Find me on Twitter : @bigmetalbastard

Bloodstock Festival Preview - Bloodshot Dawn and Morgue Orgy!

Bloodstock is pretty much undisputedly the leading metal festival in the UK, and it's pretty safe to say that it has now held that position for a few years. Growing year on year without resorting to filling the lineup with pop in the way Download have done.

This year the lineup is strong across the board, the headliners of Down, Emperor and Megadeth are going to kick ass, and bands like Amon Amarth, Dimmu Borgir and Obituary never fail to bring the house down, but lower down the bill are some real hidden gems. Bloodstock has fantastic support for the underground, both global and within the UK. Last year I saw Scarab, who came all the way over from Egypt to play their crushing brand of death metal, and they rank as probably one of the best bands I've ever seen without having known who they were beforehand. Hopefully you'll find something similar here with these two fantastic, crushing British acts.

Bloodshot Dawn have deservedly been afforded a main stage slot for this year, as things stand it looks like they'll be opening the main stage on the Friday, but more bands are yet to be confirmed so that may change. Either way, the main stage is exactly what Bloodshot Dawn deserve. I've been a fan of them for a few years now, since they handed me a copy of their Slaves To The Lie EP in a McDonalds in Camden in London. They were supporting Cerebral Bore that night at the Purple Turtle and they absolutely fucking slayed. I listened to the EP when I got home and I've been a fan ever since. This is real, chunky, bang your head off extreme metal. Bloodshot Dawn are one of the very best in upcoming British metal and if you're going to be at Bloodstock, absolutely check them out on the main stage on the Friday. If you're not going, check them out right here : http://bloodshotdawn.bandcamp.com/album/bloodshot-dawn


Morgue Orgy are another lot that are finally getting the recognition they deserve, even getting a mention on Pointless. I saw this lot at Beermageddon 2013, and they gave festival goers free CD's for elbow dropping one of their earlier releases. Naturally I obliged and the 4 hour journey home became a much more pleasant experience. Not their first time at Bloodstock, having played in 2010, they will be tearing up the Sophie Lancaster Stage on the Saturday in 2014, bringing their brand of British melodic death metal to Catton Hall. The future is bright for Morgue Orgy, who are certainly gathering momentum across the UK. Check them out online here, and download their album "The Last Man On Earth" for free!

As ever with these bands, if you find something you like please do consider buying CD's, merch and all the rest. More importantly, show up and support your local scene!

Big Metal Bastard will be back with more previews, album and EP reviews, gig reviews and all sorts of other stuff coming up.

Follow me on Twitter using @bigmetalbastard

If you want me to feature your band, give me a shout on twitter or by firing an email off to bigmetalbastard@outlook.com and I'll give your stuff a listen!

I'M BACK!

Hey guys and girls,

I know I've been away from this blog for quite a while now, having not done anything new for over a year for unfortunate reasons, but now I'm back and ready to get back to digging out the very best in underground and overground metal from all over the world.

Bands that have messaged me that I haven't managed to get back to yet, I will do, fear not! any bands that have stuff that they'd like me to have a look at and maybe write up, get in touch!

Fresh stuff coming soon.

@bigmetalbastard on Twitter, tweet me up!

Orange Goblin, Seaven Deadly and Wretched Soul - Westcoast Bar - Margate - 17th November

Well, this was one that couldn't be missed. Just a short trip down the road from university in Canterbury to Margate and the Westcoast Bar. Having got a lift there from a friend coming down for it and forgotten completely to book transport, after the gig the night was spent sleeping in the front of his car in the freezing cold on Margate seafront. Rock 'n' Roll if ever I've seen it. It was horrifically cold, but totally worth it.

Walking down the hill towards the Westcoast Bar equipped with a few cans of the cheapest non-urine flavoured lager Asda do (Bavaria, from Holland, acceptable) I was struck around the face with the smell of something rotten. As in, literally rotten. I suspect it was those wooden bits that you see on beaches that run into the sea. I forget their name, but I suspect it was those, sodden from high tide and by then rotting away. Either that or Margate is just a very, very smelly place.

Finally we got to the venue, and found that rather a lot of people had got there before us. I'm not sure what the capacity of the place is, but it's not a small place. When you consider that they have had Decapitated and Aborted play there, it's perhaps not surprising. We still have 20 minutes until Wretched Soul take to the stage, so time for a drink. £3.90 for a pint of Kronenbourg!? Grudgingly, I paid the money, and went downstairs, as it was just about Wretched o'clock.

I've seen Wretched Soul an awful lot, and God knows I go on about them on here a fair bit, but this time it seems like a milestone, with them providing support to Orange Goblin. They did, of course, already support Vreid earlier in the month, but as I didn't make it to that one, this really strikes home how far this band has come over the past year or so. Wretched, as usual, absolutely slay it. Those of the band who have the freedom to move around gallop around the stage with colossal energy, and Andy, the drummer, throws the horns to the crowd, which is fair enough, drumming doesn't really lend itself to running around the stage like a maniac. Moshpits galore through the set, and even some attention for the guys from a female audience member, who gets as close as she possibly can to the chaps, and even attempts to play the bass, before being escorted away by who I can only assume was the boyfriend. The Westcoast Bar is also possibly the best sound I've ever heard Wretched Soul have, and it really shows throughout the set. A killer start to a brilliant night.

Up next are Seven Deadly. Featuring ex-Panic Cell members, Seven Deadly are probably great if you like Killswitch Engage. I personally think Killswitch Engage are a big pile of cack, so the less said about that, the better.

To round off the night, Orange Goblin come out with one of the best shows I've seen for a long, long time. I forgot just how much I like these guys, having last seen them in around 2009 on the 'Healing Through Fire' tour and having missed them at Bloodstock this year, it surprised me how much of their stuff I knew. I can't find the entire setlist online, and my memory of the evening by this point is a little hazy, but bear with me. They came onto the stage with the mighty new single 'Red Tide Rising' from the latest album 'A Eulogy For The Damned', put simply, it's a cracker, and gets the entire place (which by this point is absolutely packed) banging their heads and moving their bodies. Moshpits all over the place. Goblin frontman Ben Ward does that thing singers do when they come to the front of the stage and shakes hands with fans whilst leaning over them. Fantastic, what a top guy. Except, I was right in the front row, and only very narrowly avoided getting a faceful of sweaty crotch on the numerous times he came to the front. It was tense, as I didn't want to cop a penis in the face, and he presumably wasn't going to be keen on being headbanged in the balls. Fortunately for both of us, no contact was made. Anyway, back to the set. My personal favourite song 'The Ballad of Solomon Eagle' came up early on, and goodness me, it's been a long time since I've lost myself quite like that. It's a similar story for 'The Filthy and The Few', 'The Fog', 'They Come Back' and 'Quincy The Pigboy'. One of the songs I seem to have missed hearing before is 'Scorpionica', but the room almost literally explodes are Orange Goblin plough their way through that one. Having been on the front row, I was knocked onto the stage, which was only about knee high, by a pit behind me. No room to get back to where I was, so only one way off the stage. Stagedive. Unfortunately the pit was very close to the stage, so I got turned upside-down fairly quickly and fell to the floor. But it was bloody glorious.

After that, it's onto more booze and an incredibly uncomfortable night in the front seat of a car on Margate seafront. I'd do it again for another night like this one.

Find Wretched Soul, and download their free single 'Veronica' from here
Seven Deadly can be found here
Check out the mighty Orange Goblin right here!

Also, I'm on Twitter! Follow @BigMetalBastard.

Best of Bandcamp

Something a bit different for you all this week, and something that I suspect will become a regular feature. For those who don't know, Bandcamp is a website that allows bands to publish their music online for people to stream or download - sometimes for free, sometimes charging money. I'm a student, and a bit of a tight bastard, so have only streamed these free ones. Anyway, here are my top three artists discovered this week.

Seprevation - Ritual Abuse E.P


From the South West of England, Seprevation seem to be turning heads since their performance at Bloodstock this year, and it's easy to see why their debut E.P entitled 'Ritual Abuse' - it's a killer record. Their brand of thrash is lined with death metal and the combination makes this release a really strong piece of work. Ritual Abuse is full of galloping guitar lines, blistering solos with vocals reminiscent of the likes of Sodom, and is every bit as good. Their intensity and brutality doesn't wane for a single second of the 15 minute record. It may be short, but it's certainly sweet. Keep an eye on these guys, they're going places.


Click here for Seprevation at Bandcamp - Ritual Abuse available for download for £2.50
'Like' Seprevation on Facebook here

Xul - Malignance

 In the far off land of Canada there sleeps an absolute monolith of blackened death metal. A bit of research tells me that this lot have shared the stage with Exhumed, Macabre, Cephalic Carnage and Vreid amongst others. These aren't just some small fry band from the middle of nowhere, they mean business, and honestly, I can see them blowing some of those bands off the stage. The perfect combination of black and death metal, even with a particularly thrashy sounding guitar line in places on 'Mastication of Putrescent Empyrean Remains' really comes together on this album. And perhaps best of all, it's currently available for free. (However, if you can afford to pay money for it, please do, these chaps deserve it).

Click here for Xul at Bandcamp - Malignance available for free download
'Like' Xul on Facebook here



More bloggery coming soon for you fine chaps! Until then, keep supporting underground metal!

I'm also on Twitter! Come along and follow @BigMetalBastard 

Gravesend - November 3rd - Rezinwolf, Kthon, The Furious Horde, Wretched Soul and The Iron Knights!

Kthon almost seem a little left out on this lineup, which attracted my attention personally for it's link to Beermageddon, which I have written about before. With The Iron Knights confirmed for the 2013 festival and The Furious Horde, Wretched Soul and Rezinwolf having been favourites of mine from this year's edition. Still, who knows, Kthon could well show up there next time. I'd certainly welcome it.

It was my first time at the Red Lion, or indeed in Gravesend at all, but the lineup certainly looked promising. The organisers - The Pandemonium Club - have been putting on gigs for a while now and this is the first one I've managed to get to. Unfortunately, presumably through a combination of it being Bonfire night weekend and a bitterly cold night, people stayed away on this occasion, whilst not taking away from the event itself, there is a bit of disappointment from the organisers that more people didn't show up. I know I'm just some idiot on the internet, but guys, if you have a local metal promoter near you who puts on shows, get along to them. These people put blood, sweat and tears into putting on the bands we love to play for us.

Anyway, bitching aside, I pay my £8 to get in for a lineup I'd happily have paid double that to see, escape from the freezing cold of the outside world and grab myself a drink. £3 for a Desperados isn't too shabby I suppose. After a while of soundchecking, Rezinwolf take the stage. These guys seriously impressed me at Beermageddon and absolutely did the same tonight. Whilst I maintain that their drummer looks like Jay from the Inbetweeners and their guitarist is a younger Corpsegrinder with a nice voice and good at guitar, Rezinwolf are exactly what you would want from a thrash metal band, they're full of energy and confidence and tighter than a very, very tight thing. Oh, and they threw in a cover of Pantera's 'Fucking Hostile'. Which was brilliant.

Rezinwolf over, time for another beer or two. It's at this point that I ended up chatting to some of the regulars of the pub, as opposed to the Pandemonium Club, about how to survive a zombie apocalypse. Since they only just met me, they decide that I'd have to be killed first if they had to resort to cannibalism, or if they needed to sacrifice someone to escape. Thanks guys.

Next are Kthon. I had seen them before a year or two ago as part of the Bloodstock 'Metal To The Masses' battle of the bands, where I was very impressed with them. It's slightly odd seeing them on a bill filled with very fast paced bands, but their crushing, chugging doom riffs complement the other bands very well. They're the kind of thing you want to listen to if you're in need of punching a wall, at a very slow pace. They are, by their own admission, a little sloppy, but their songs just have that massive feel to them. Plenty of headbanging, plenty of Lee Dorian-esque doom dancing.

Beer time.

The Furious Horde are up next, a band that I thoroughly enjoyed at Beermageddon and who I raved about on here and  have been yammering on about to my friends for the entire time since then. I was very excited to be seeing them again. This time, the keyboard player and his pink shiny onesie is missing, but accompanied by a keyboard backing track the Horde absolutely slay it. Seeing them again now that I know their songs really makes the experience quite pleasantly different, still just as intense, but with that unrelenting urge to scream the lyrics back at them. For my shame, I held back, as nobody else was singing and I didn't want to look like a bit of a wally, not even for 'Possession', my favourite track. Next time I'll be the irritating guy screaming in your ears so you can't hear their music properly. Good lord though, I'm very glad I discovered these chaps.

Alcohol pit stop.
Thrash o'clock again next as Wretched Soul take to the stage for five tracks of limitless energy. With their debut album due to be released early next year, it's well worth looking out for these chaps. One of my favourite bands on the underground circuit, there are exciting times ahead once the album hits. Despite vocalist Chris's throat giving him a bit of grief, it doesn't show and Wretched Soul once again bring their best to the stage with them.
Beer.

Next is a little confusing. I had arrived expecting to see Stuka Squadron, but instead am watching the first ever Iron Knights gig, due to complicated issues between the band and an ex-member. They smash through their set with full force, showing that they are just as strong and good as the Iron Knights as they were as Stuka Squadron. A fantastic way to close a brilliant night.



The night is only slightly dampened a day or so later, when the Pandemonium Club release a statement saying that due to lack of numbers coming through the doors, they can not afford to put on any more events for the forseeable future. Please guys, support your local promoters, we can't let these excellent groups of people fall away due to lack of support.


New blog coming up soon. Cheers for reading!

Snailking - Samsara - Swedish Doom/Sludge

Things have really kicked off over the past few months for Sweden's Snailking. Without doing down the bands own hard work in the process, a post by one of the members on the website Reddit a few months ago was picked up by users of the site and the band gained real interest very quickly. Within a few days of the original post, a follow-up was posted saying that Snailking had been approached by a record label. This week, their album - Samsara - was released by ConSouling Sounds.

With influences from the likes of Ufomammut and Sleep, this album is an absolute stormer. From the first atmospheric notes of the 14 minute opener 'Shelter', to the dying end of 'Samsara', the record has a feel that is rare in debuts. Every part of the album compliments the next, from the spoken opening lines and spacey guitar work through the introduction to the crushing, chugging monolith of the rest of the track. Vocally, the track leaves nothing out, gutteral death growls compliment the clean vocals which in places feel like David Bowie and Maynard James Keenan serenading one another.

This band is very exciting to me personally, and early feedback on the record is overwhelmingly positive.

Samsara is available for download at Snailking's Bandcamp, whilst physical CD copies can be ordered from the ConSouling Sounds page.


More bloggery to come soon, including a feature on five new and rising British metal bands.

Bastard out.

The Big Metal Band Feature - Disfracture

Hailing from the same city as the Kaiser Chiefs, The Pigeon Detectives and Chumbawumba, Disfracture are sorting Leeds out good and proper. This is a band that can't quite be put into one genre or another, with a huge array of influences and songs containing elements of death metal, groove, symphonic and progressive sounds. They kindly spoke to Big Metal Bastard through the medium of electronic mail.

Formed in early 2011, the band has developed in terms of both style and influence. What started as a performance module project at university quickly became independent of that and became an entity in it's own right. The band have overcome the problems of balancing music and jobs, ground through the recording process and are now well on their way to establishing themselves as a force to be reckoned with.

With each band member being influenced by a huge variety of music, to go for one particular standout influence is difficult, Meshuggah are mentioned, but it is clear when listening to their stuff that the intention was never to become a copy of them or any other band, instead developing their own sound that is not limited to one school of heavy metal thought.

Gigs for Disfracture are listed on their Facebook page under tour dates, although priority is at the moment on getting a new EP out (hopefully, they say) around December of this year, to be released via their Bandcamp site, where a free 3 track sampler is available to download (It is also available from their Soundcloud page here, if you prefer) featuring my personal favourite track - False Prophecy (which has an insane growl right at the start, check it out), Scarred Remains, and Commander to the Throne of Jeopardy. Three intensely heavy tracks for no cost, can't argue with that!

When asked who they would most like to open for, the response is a little odd - Lady Gaga, "to watch the faces of 50,000 unsuspecting victims experience the brutality that is Disfracture". When you put it like that, they may well have a point. Terrifying an O2 packed full of children would be quite the sight.


Disfracture are one of the most exciting bands around at the moment, combining brutality and raw aggression with complex musicianship and a hell of a lot of hard work, it can only be a matter of time before Disfracture are given the attention they deserve, they're certainly going to be a name to look out for in 2013.

Finally! Days Two and Three of Beermageddon

Firstly, my apologies for taking so long to follow up day one of this incredible festival.


I've managed to forget the order of the bands, so bear with me here.

The day started with a set from Exeter's Sanguine. A pretty decent crowd for the first band of the day, they whack through a fantastic set, including a new song which has a pre-chorus with a striking resemblance to that god-awful Adele song 'Rolling in the Deep'. Though that is not to say that this Sanguine track is bad, it is in fact very good indeed, as I can tell from the reaction of the audience. Their female fronted setup deliver a set that you are never quite sure if you should be headbanging or dancing to.

Diementia have travelled all the way from Scotland for this show, and make it worth their while by crushing everything in their path, their death metal has every neck snapping and every head banging, powering through a cracking set combining new and old tracks, prompting myself to go and buy both of their albums immediately after their set. Well, an album and an EP anyway. I'd highly recommend their Forgotten Dead EP, some fantastic work on that CD.

Twilight's Embrace are the first of two bands I missed on the Saturday, the other being Bloodshot Dawn, which I was very angry with myself about. Having seen them destroy the Sophie stage at Bloodstock a couple of weeks before, I had been really looking forward to them at Beermageddon. Unfortunately I thought they started at 8.20, when in fact that was their finishing time. Words can not describe my guttedness.

BUT. The day was made for me personally by The Furious Horde. Seriously good symphonic black metal, think Dimmu Borgir's Enthrone Darkness Triumphant album but with a harsher edge. It was my first time seeing the Horde so I was a little confused when in amongst the corpse painted band members was a keyboard player in a shiny pink onesie. Which is more than welcome, you don't have to be grim and kvlt to be in a black metal band.

Next, Warlord UK. They put on an impressive display of thrash metal, with an air of absolute confidence in themselves and their music, but not forgetting to have some fun whilst they are doing it. Excellent stuff from them, they're certainly deserving of wider recognition.

After Warlord, comes the disappointment of missing Bloodshot Dawn. I'm a big metal pillock for missing them, and got all sulky at myself for the rest of the night, meaning I miss out on Imperial Vengance altogether and don't enjoy Fallen Fate nearly as much as I should have done until I get home and listen to them. Saying that, they're bloody good.




Sunday on the other hand, the final day of the festival starts in unconventional style. A wedding. The festival organiser, Jim Beerman got himself specially ordained to marry the couple in the main room of the pub, and a decent amount of people turn out for it. There is something surreal about seeing a wedding without all the pompous crap that goes with it, but this is truly heartwarming. Jim, a man that normally pisses confidence is shaking like a leaf as he reads out his part in the ceremony, which is concluded with a huge round of applause for the bride and groom. It is something I will probably never see again at a festival, but something I was happy to be there for and I feel everyone else was too. A great start to the day which put everyone in a very good mood.

So, onto the bands! First up are Kent based thrashers and personal highlight of the weekend, Wretched Soul. Working hard on their debut album with Chris Tsangarides, the guy who produced Painkiller for Judas Priest, these guys get better every time you see them. They pound through Undying War, Dash To Destruction, When Shadows Ride, Wounded Illusion and Veronica in a mindblowing performance, despite singer Chris Simmons splitting his jeans early on in the set and attempting to keep his balls from falling through the hole. Fantastic stuff from a band that are definitely going places very soon.

Next are Karhu, the band are young, relatively unknown and only started playing live in the previous couple of weeks. You wouldn't know it. They have all the confidence of a band with years of experience, and their growls. Well they are just terrifying. Think Lamb of God, but think heavy Lamb of God. These guys are probably categorized as melodic death metal, but in reality they are death metal, with bits of melodic metal thrown in. Listen to them and you'll see what I mean. I've grown to love this band, it will be interesting to see them progress.

Allerjen unfortunately have to be missed as I haven't had a chance to eat anything yet, but I'm back in the room for Rezinwolf. I hadn't heard of these guys before the weekend, but went along to see what they were all about. SWEET JESUS. LISTEN TO THIS BAND. Technically gifted, vocally brilliant, these guys have everything a thrash metal band should have. Apparantly their singer had been throwing up beforehand with stagefright, but again, you wouldn't have thought it. There are a lot of very exciting bands at Beermageddon 2012, these are right up there with the best of the bunch though. The only downside is that they didn't bring any merch with them, so I couldn't buy a shirt at the end of their set.

Seregon bring the thrash back, but Rezinwolf were a tough act to follow. Big Metal Bastard went to the bar half way through, and stayed until most of Illflower's set was done. In hindsight, I regret not seeing all of both of those bands, but it can't be helped now.

Talking of stealing the show, Worcester's Fury bring their blend of thrash and power metal to the party in spectacular fashion. They play pretty much every song from their two E.P's, and throw in a cover of Pantera's Fucking Hostile to finish things off. An astounding set that left me wanting more of Fury. If you don't know them, check them out. (They aren't to be confused with Fury UK or Fury On)

Fury's show is fantastic and by the end of it I am far too tired to stick around for all of  Def Con One. They are very good indeed, but the heat of the hall and the ache of the neck gets to be too much. I catch most of their set from the back of the room, but Fury absolutely stole the show tonight.


Beermageddon really has that community feel to it. All for one and one for all. And all for underground heavy metal. The work of the organisers is fantastic and has been recognised by everyone there this year, most of whom will be returning next year for the second festival, albeit at a different site, but there is a real feeling that this could become the next Bloodstock. See you there next year.

Beermageddon - Day One

In the village of Somercotes in Derbyshire over this last weekend, a new metal festival was born. Just a fortnight since the mighty Bloodstock festival, Beermageddon steps foward, out of the shadow of it's neighbour, for its first, mighty roar.

On the Friday, four bands mark the start of Britain's newest heavy metal festival. First up, to open proceedings is Haerken, who unleash a huge sounding set of folklore-filled death metal, and an equally mighty arsenal of inflatable weapons for the audience to have some fun with - moshpit swordfights a-plenty, Haerken kick off the festival with the perfect atmosphere, you really get the feeling that everyone is here to have a good time and listen to some fantastic music.

Check out Haerken here

Between bands tonight is a burlesque act, doing three separate shows, but Big Metal Bastard chooses to go and sample the delights of the bar at the Black Horse, the pub in which the festival is being held. Fair play to the Black Horse, they had good beer, catered for all tastes, the staff were friendly and the music was good. Not a lot more could be asked, really!

And so after a quick beer or two, BMB heads back in to see A Fable For The Curious. Unfortunately, I have a confession to make. I didn't like them when I saw them, but have since listened to them via their Facebook player and now don't know what was wrong with me. They really are a very good band.

A Fable For The Curious

After another burlesque show, Fell On Black Days take the stage, and blow it to pieces. These guys are fantastic and really make the stage their own with their skull-pounding riffs that leave no head un-banged. The track 'Days of Ruin' will remain stuck in the head of BMB until the next morning. Certainly one to look out for in the future, this band from South Wales threaten to upstage Evil Scarecrow - the headliners of the night.

Check out Fell On Black Days here

Evil Scarecrow themselves are incredibly well received by the fans, playing through the likes of 'Robototron' (causing many, many robots on the dancefloor) and 'Blacken the Everything'. Setting the bar for silliness closing their set with a cover of Europe's 'The Final Countdown' having challenged the crowd to can-can for the duration of the song. The crowd succeed in doing so, and so bring the set to a close.

Evil Scarecrow