Kerrang! - June 4, 2016

KILLER
ANDY BLACK
& CREEPER
UNITE!
IT’S A
POSTERS
WEIRD-KID
REVOLUTION!
ND
AROU
G
N
I
P
SNOO
R
A
T
S
K
ROC SES!
HOU
REVIEW OVERLOAD!
BEARTOOTH
PANIC! AT
THE DISCO
OF MICE & MEN
O
F
IND O UR
K
T
A
O
WH DOES Y ?
E
PLACRO LIVE IN
E
H
O
O
O
GIGS
LISTED!
RIP
FUNERAL
FOR A
FRIEND
DOWN THE
FRONT AT
THE SADDEST
SHOW EVER
ARCHITECTS
IS THIS THE
ALBUM OF
2016... ALREADY?
LONELY
THE BRAVE
“I THOUGHT ABOUT
PAYING SOMEONE
TO BREAK MY LEGS…”
THE UNK
POP-PBACK
COME
EVER!
LACUNA
COIL
THE SOUND
OF MADNESS
ISSUE NO 1622
JUN 4 2016 / £2.50 AUS: $7.50
WWW.KERRANG.COM
TH STA
IS R
W TS
EE
K!
WORLD TOUR
THE STADIUM, QUEEN ELIZABETH
OLYMPIC PARK, LONDON SAT 4 JUNE
ETIHAD STADIUM MANCHESTER THU 9 JUNE
GIGSANDTOURS.COM / TICKETMASTER.CO.UK
PRESENTED BY SJM CONCERTS & LIVE NATION IN ASSOCIATION WITH CAA
ACDC.COM
QISSUE 1622 JUNE 4,
2016
HELLO, READERS, and welcome to this week’s
issue. It’s a big one. I mean, we’ve only gone and
got the world-exclusive blink-182 comeback
interview, haven’t we? Cor blimey.You know,
the new line-up, with Matt Skiba in it, where
they’re talking about their first post-DeLonge
music.Turn to p16 now, and read James Hickie’s sometimes
strained, always enlightening conversation with legends reborn.
In other news, let’s get serious for a second – you are running
out of time to get your tickets for the 2016 Kerrang! Awards
Show and Gig.And they’re selling out fast.
And we want to see your faces! So, get
involved and we’ll see you in the pit!
First, though, enjoy the issue!
NEWS
ON THE
COVER:
Funeral For A Friend get
watery eyes reliving their last-ever
show (p4), we go snooping round
some rockstar homes (p6) and
Young Guns talk new music
(p7). Elsewhere, we remember
former Megadeth drummer Nick
Menza (p8) and Mastodon’s
Troy Sanders talks supergroups (p9). Plus, we go
shopping for some rockin’ snacks (p10)!
ONTHE COVER:
In our world-exclusive
cover feature, James
Hickie heads to blink-182’s LA HQ to get the inside
story of pop-punk’s comeback of the year (p16), while,
closer to home, we get dark with Architects (p22),
cosy up with Andy Black and Creeper (p36), root
around an asylum with Lacuna Coil (p26) and hear of
LonelyThe Brave’s stupendous return (p40). It’s been
a busy week, all told.
FEATURES
LIVES
Quick! Red Hot Chili Peppers have
had to cancel! We need a hero! Oh,
hello, Panic! At The Disco. How’s it going? Saving a
massive festival, are you? Nice one (p46).And talking of
festivals, we held one of our own when we hosted the
Kerrang! Fresh Blood Stage at The Great Escape
with SHVPES, Muncie Girls, Black Foxxes and
Reigning Days (p48)!
So, Beartooth are
saying they’re ‘aggressive’
(p50).This is true, but
what nastiness is this right next door? Nails, that’s
who. It’s like being hated by hate. So angry (p51).
REVIEWS
We speak to Ash Costello as they
visit their second home before
New Years Day spend their
summer in the studio (p56), while promoter
Andy Wright shows us around Leicester (p58).
COVER PHOTO: PAUL HARRIES
GIGS
THE GREAT
ESCAPE p48
Reigning Days only played guitars
made out of the heaviest of heavy
woods and metal. Not good for the
back, though. Ouch.
p30
BEST. POSTERS. EVER.
Want your walls to love you forever and ever? Cover them
with these posters of Lemmy,Waterparks and more!
Matt liked his hugs
tight enough to turn
his face beetroot
FUNERAL
FOR A FRIEND
OUR HEARTS
SO, THAT’S IT, THEN… THE WELSH ROCKERS ARE NO LONGER A
THING. SOBS! IN THE AFTERMATH OF THEIR LAST-EVER SHOW, WE
SAT DOWN FOR A CHAT WITH SINGER MATT DAVIES-KREYE…
FUNERAL FOR A Friend’s 15-year
career ended last week, with two
consecutive shows at London’s O2
Forum Kentish Town on May 20 and 21.
A hugely influential band, the Welsh outfit were at the
forefront of the British rock explosion, paving the way
for the likes of Bring Me The Horizon and You Me
At Six.And apparently pollen levels were extremely
high the day of their final gig, because every bloke
onstage got a bit watery in the eye.We caught up
with frontman Matt Davies-Kreye to find out exactly
how emotional it was, and what’s next…
SO, MATT, HOW WAS THE LAST-EVER
FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND SHOW?
SO, A BIT MORE EMOTIONAL THAN
YOU EXPECTED?
“Yeah, I broke down during History, the last song
we played. It was one of those moments where
everything coalesced, and everybody just continued
singing that refrain over and over again, and I had to
compose myself a little bit.”
DID YOU MANAGE TO HOLD BACK
THE TEARS UNTIL THEN, OR DID THEY
CREEP IN AT ANY OTHER POINTS?
“As we were getting closer to the end it got harder.
Songs reminded me of moments from the past and
I thought I would reiterate and tell people, because
they were cool stories I thought they’d want to hear.
That made the moment more like a gathering around
a campfire than people who’d shown up and paid
money to watch us throw down for two hours.”
MATT DAVIES-KREYE (VOCALS):“It was pretty
exceptional.The weight of emotion took us all
by surprise.We’d spent much of the tour kind of
convincing ourselves that it wouldn’t get the best of
us, but it was hard! We knew with every song it would HOW WERE YOU FEELING BEFORE
be the last time that we played it, and that was intense, YOU WENT ON?
but you really couldn’t have hoped for a better way to
“Apprehensive. It was the first time that I’ve ever
end things, really.After a couple of days
looking back on it, we can only say that it
Guitarist Gav celebrated
really was a satisfying conclusion.”
WHAT WERE THE HIGHLIGHTS
FOR YOU?
“For me, it was the sheer volume
(laughs)! In the 15 years I’ve been playing
shows, I’ve never heard a crowd that
loud, to the point where I could barely
hear myself onstage! I don’t think we
realised how important this band was to
people other than ourselves, and it was
very nice to see that.”
4 KERRANG!
Matt’s marriage proposal
with some riffs
been in a band group hug before going on (laughs)!
It was weird being pulled into some circle, but it was
touching, and the finality of it all was very evident
at that point, like,‘Here we are, right at the end, and
now we’re getting all touchy-feely (laughs).’”
WHAT WAS IT LIKE BRINGING OUT
EX-GUITARIST DARRAN SMITH AND
EX-DRUMMER/VOCALIST RYAN
RICHARDS FOR THIS YEAR’S MOST
OPEN HEARTBREAK?
“I didn’t even know Ryan was at the show until just
before we were about to go on! Darran had asked if
he could come up and do that song with us early on
in the day, so we we’re like,‘Why not?’ Ryan decided
to skip out on some business he had so he could
come along to the last thing, and he just sauntered
out and joined in. I couldn’t stop smiling! It was funny
seeing Ryan without a drum kit wrapped around him!
I’ve never seen him trotting around onstage with a
microphone before (laughs)!”
SO, WHAT’S NEXT FOR EACH
OF YOU?
“I have no idea (laughs)! Currently it’s all
about normalcy, getting involved in a life that,
for most people, is normal, but to us has
been foreign to a degree for 15 years. I work
in a record store, and have done for the
last year, which is almost like going full circle
for me. Gav [Burrough, guitar] has started
a recording studio based in Bridgend. Kris
[Coombs-Roberts, guitar] is teaching from
September, as is Rich [Boucher, bass]. I’m
dusting off my stuff from [acoustic, countryesque side project] The Secret Show, and all
THE BIG
STORY
22
THE M
OST I
M PO
RTAN
T THI
NG E
VER
“WE’VE JUST
BURIED THE
CORPSE AND
WE NEED TIME
TO MOURN IT”
MATT DAVIES-KREYE
In Matt’s
defense, the stage
was very dusty…
the songs I’ve been gathering since the last album
and putting those pieces together, so we’ll see how
that goes.”
For our FFAF ‘A History In Song’ feature,
visit Kerrang.com
CO
O OS:
S SSO
WORDS: DA
“We have discussed this, at great length, and the only
reason we would have to get back together as Funeral
For A Friend would be if we had something new to
offer. Never say never, but, as of this moment, we’ve
just buried the corpse and still need a bit of time to
mourn it (laughs).What one thing will always stay
with me from my time spent in Funeral? The smell?
(Laughs) A deeper appreciation of man-farts? No,
really, it will be the opportunity given to a guy from
the valleys of South Wales to see so much of the
world. Seeing the world with the band has been such
an eye-opener and a true education for me, and that’ll
be with me until the day I die.”
S
HAVE YOU TALKED ABOUT A REUNION
TOUR YET?
KERRANG 5
KERR ANG
WHO LIVES IN A
D
E
E
F
E
TH
TH
! E S TA T E
S
HOUSE
LIKE THIS?
K
N ROC
I
K
E
I S WE
2
This home in
the Hollywo
od
Hills is irres
istib
place Uma Th le! The kind of
ur
man might lik
to live, you’ll
e
be thankful
fo
great mmrs
you make he r all the
re.
GEEZER BUTLER’S PUT HIS HOUSE ON THE MARKET. WHAT BETTER EXCUSE,
THEN, TO HAVE A NOSEY ’ROUND SOME MYSTERY ROCKSTARS’ PADS…
LAST WEEK, Black Sabbath bassist
Geezer Butler put his Beverly Hills
home up for sale. Got a spare
$3.22 million and fancy moving
to sunnier climes? Then his five-bed, five-bath
“Mediterranean” home (whatever the fuck that
means) could be yours. Everything in there’s
pretty beige, so it’s definitely a ‘take your shoes off
when you come in’-type deal.Anyway, we thought
we’d use this as an opportunity to nosey around
some other rockstar homes that have gone on
the market. See if you can figure out who they
belong to, then check the answers below…
KERR A
TAT E
NG ! ES
S
dy
, everybo
like these ia beach
In times
rn
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if
al
C
a
t
could use e sure you’ve go
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,
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a monke se taps look dod
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though, th
1
“PARTY TIP: EACH
MOMENT YOU’RE NO
DEAD IS A REASON TOT
CELEBRATE. THAT’S
HY
WE PARTY EVERY SIW
NGLE
DAY. WE’RE ALIVE.”
ANDREW W.K
.
6 KERRANG!
MANOWAR
ARE NO MORE
The New York metallers
announced they were calling it
quits last week, saying they wanted
to go out on a high after their
recent Gods And Kings tour.
“Coming off such an amazing tour
it was clear that the next time we
must go even bigger and beyond
anything we have ever done,” they
wrote. “Something that will fulfil
every Manowarrior’s dreams.”
They’ll do one more tour before
breaking up properly. More details
when we have them.
LAURA JANE GRACE
GOES 8-BIT
First she burned her birth certificate
onstage, and now Laura Jane
Grace has been turned into a video
game character. In the game made by
Punktendo, you can play as the Against
Me! frontlady to “defeat gender types on
the planet Zebeth”.Try the games – and
others inspired by PUP and Beach
Slang – at Punktendo.com.
ISSUE 1622 JUN 4, 2016
NEW MUSIC!
NEW SOUND!
K E R R A N G ! E S TAT E S
NEW LINE-UP!
IT’S BEEN A WHILE, BUT BRIT ROCKERS
YOUNG GUNS FINALLY HAVE SOME NEWS…
just
Are you forever saying, “I
”?
wanna live in Laurel Canyon
you.
Then this is the house for
ideal for
The river in the garden is
a lilo in.
girls and boys to hold onto
3
KERR ANG
YOUNG GUNS are back! And from
out of nowhere they’ve announced
they’ll be releasing a new album
this summer (title TBC).We asked
frontman Gustav Wood what we can expect from
the follow-up to 2015’s Ones And Zeros…
! E S TA T E
S
WELCOME BACK GUSTAV! WHY DID YOU
DECIDE TO DROP A STEALTH ALBUM ON US?
GUSTAV WOOD (VOCALS):“There was a gap of
three years between Ones And Zeros and the one
before it [Bones] because we spent so much time
touring the States.We wanted to make sure we
didn’t repeat that, so as soon as we finished touring
the last album in October, we more or less went
home and started writing the new one.We went
into the studio and we just wanted to keep things
under wraps until it was done.”
HOW WILL THIS ALBUM BE DIFFERENT?
“This one feels very concise and to-the-point.
It’s probably a little bit of a heavier record and
it’s leaning on guitars, but fundamentally it’s still a
record full of anthemic, melodic, accessible rock
songs, which is something we’ve always done.”
4
Three cheers
for this Tarz
an
property! Th
e decor in th a
e
bedroom do
esn’t make it
for teenager
ideal
s to sleep in
, but you
can always
change it.
HEAVIER ON THE GUITARS AND LIGHTER ON
THE SYNTHS, THEN?
“There’s been a little bit of a reversal on that, but
that’s not to say they don’t feature. Programming
is something else we’ve always done, it’s just that
perhaps we focused on it a little more on Ones
And Zeros. But it’s still quite a broad record and
there’s a lot of interesting stuff on there.”
YOU’VE ALSO SPLIT WITH DRUMMER BEN
JOLLIFFE. WHAT WAS BEHIND THAT?
“There was no acrimony, there was nothing
dramatic and therefore interesting with regards
to journalists (laughs).We’d just reached a place
where his trajectory in life was heading in a
different direction to ours. He has his own thing
going on and a relationship he was really passionate
about, and it was taking him to different places.”
OZZY TRAIN
Last Thursday (May 26), Ozzy
Osbourne returned to Birmingham
to launch a not-very-metal-looking
pink, white and silver tram named in
his honour. When asked if he’d
consider purchasing a tram
of his own, he said: “Not
a tram, a crazy
train maybe…”
WORDS: PAUL TRAVERS PHOTO: IAN COLLINS
ANSWERS: 1. Dave Grohl, 2. Patrick Stump,
3. Joel Madden, 4. Gerard Way
ALL ABOARD THE
SO, NO TEARS WERE SHED? YOU’D HAD
THAT LINE-UP FOR A LONG TIME…
“We had, but no, there were no tears shed. It was
actually a very positive thing and it’s going to be a
thing of benefit to us and him. It feels like a fresh
start for us, and Ben’s moved abroad and started a
new chapter of his own life.”
WHO’S FILLING IN ON THE DRUMS NOW?
“At Slam Dunk we had our friend Josh Coombes
from a band called Tigress, and we have Chris
Kamrada, who played in There For Tomorrow,
playing for us at Warped. For now we’re just
looking to stay flexible and enjoy it and keep it just
the four of us.”
For updates on Young Guns’ music
head to Kerrang.com
Gustav Wood was not happy he
got the answers to the rockstar
houses challenge wrong
KERRANG! 7
The rock world paid
tribute to fallen drummer
Nick last week
THE FEED
IN ROCK
K
E
E
W
S
THI
RIP
1964 – 2016
K! WRITER AMIT SHARMA REMEMBERS THE FORMER MEGADETH
DRUMMER WHO DIED WHILE PLAYING A SHOW LAST WEEK…
I
t is with a heavy heart Kerrang! reports on
the death of ex-Megadeth drummer Nick
Menza, who passed away on May 21 following
a heart attack onstage with OHM at LA’s
Baked Potato music club. He joins a growing list of
musicians that have regrettably bid farewell in recent
months, and though his name may feel like one of
the more obscure, his part in thrash metal history
cannot be doubted.
Originally considered to play for Slayer on South
Of Heaven, then hired by Megadeth as a tech, Nick
was officially invited to join by Dave Mustaine in
1989, having made his live debut in Bradford in May
the year prior. And so began what many fans would
consider to be Megadeth’s finest era, most notably
NICK
MENZA
REMEMBERED
BULLET FOR MY
VALENTINE’S MOOSE TELLS
US HOW NICK SHAPED HIM
AS A DRUMMER…
8 KERRANG!
of all, the one-two punch of 1990’s Rust In Peace
and 1992’s Countdown To Extinction. He parted
ways with the thrash titans in 1998 and the diehards
have continued to call for a classic-era reunion, even
if just for old times’ sake. It says a great deal about
his contributions to the thriving years of Megadeth
and, indeed, thrash metal itself.
“I woke up this morning to a text message from
my son, with the news of Nick Menza’s passing –
shocked, devastated and saddened don’t begin to
describe my feelings,” said Dave Mustaine of the loss.
“Originally a tech, Nick soon displayed such talent
and personality, it didn’t take long for us to realise
he belonged onstage with us, behind the kit. And,
as great a drummer as he was, the time spent with
“Nick was a massive
influence on my drumming,
so the news came as a huge
shock. I actually stole his parts
to use in BFMV songs (laughs)!
His drumming was amazing
because he had a lot of feel. He
was better than someone who
went a million miles an hour
all the time. It was the flair he
played with – he had his own
style, which stuck in my ears
to the point where I had to
borrow some of his parts. He’d
do these kick flips with his leg
that were kinda simple but
also saying,‘There’s way more
where this came from…’”
Nick joined
Megadeth in 1989
him as a person, a bandmate and
a friend was even more fun.There
were several times we discussed
him coming back to the band, but
for various reasons it never came
together.We’ve been in touch all
along, he had come out to our shows
recently and he had remained a
great friend, a true professional and a
larger-than-life personality. All of us in
this community are connected, take
care of yourself and your loved ones.”
Later that night, Megadeth brought down the house
lights at New York’s Rock’n Derby for a moment’s
silence in tribute to their fallen comrade before
playing Trust – one of the last tracks to feature
Nick during his nine-year stretch behind the kit.
And they’ve since said they’ll be arranging a benefit
concert in California in Nick’s memory.“We’re
hoping to leave an open stage for all of the alumni
from Megadeth to come there and play with us, so
that we can help leave behind something for Nick’s
children, which I think had been kind of left in a bad
way,” Dave told Albany rock station Q103.
Our deepest condolences go to Nick Menza’s
friends and family. He will not be forgotten.
ISSUE 1622 JUN 4, 2016
FULL OF TROY
MASTODON’S TROY SANDERS SPILLS THE BEANS ON
GONE IS GONE, HIS NEW SUPERGROUP…
HI, TROY… HOW MANY TIMES DID YOU
LOOK AROUND WHEN THEY WERE
CALLING THE OTHER TROY?
“Well, it didn’t take long. So, I’m now referred to as
Sanders and the other Troy is known as TVL. I can only
go by Sanders in that camp.”
SO, WHEN DID YOUR
INVOLVEMENT IN THE
PROJECT BEGIN?
HOW MUCH A FAN WERE YOU OF YOUR
NEW BANDMATES’ OTHER PROJECTS?
“I befriended TVL doing QOTSA and Mastodon
shows. I’ve always had a huge amount of respect for
him, because he’s a talented multi-instrumentalist.
Plus there’s everything he did with A Perfect Circle
and Failure – who changed my life. It was incredibly
humbling [to be asked to be involved] and I took the
first flight to hear some music in LA, did some vocals
and they thought it was a nice fit right away.”
YOUR SELF-TITLED EP IS OUT JULY 8 –
WHAT’S THE PLAN AFTER THAT?
“There’s a short tour in July over in the States, then
we’ll hopefully come visit you guys! We want this EP
to set the tone for what we do. I think it’s a nice taste
of the stuff we’ve done that no one has heard yet.
Our soundscape is very broad.”
WE’RE EXCITED TO HEAR IT. SO, HOW’S IT
ALL GOING IN THE MASTODON CAMP?
“We’ve been demoing loads of material for our
next record, we’re head-deep into it.There’s too
many ideas at the moment, we need to whittle it
down to the ones which sound strongest to us…
it’s a great problem to have! When we listen back, it
will lead us down the next adventure we’re headed
towards.We’ll do that for the next few months,
then there’s a monthlong tour in August, by then we
should be in a great spot to have a record or two
out next year!”
Gone Is Gone’s self-titled EP
is out July 8
PHOTO: LINDSEY BYRNES
“2012! I was waiting in line at our
local department of motor
vehicles, with lots of other miserable people, and
one was my friend Troy Van Leeuwen. He said he
was working on a scoring project with some guys
which had sorta turned into a band.They were
looking for a vocalist and my name came up several
times. Anything sounds great when you’re in line at
the DMV – a cold two-week-old sandwich would’ve
sounded good.”
WORDS: AMIT SHARMA
WHEN MASTODON vocalist/bassist
Troy Sanders was asked by Queens Of
The Stone Age multi-instrumentalist Troy
Van Leeuwen – who, let’s not forget, played
in alt.rock heroes Failure and A Perfect Circle amongst
others – to form a cinematic supergroup with At The
Drive-In drummer Tony Hajjar and [music production
company] Sencit Music’s Mike Zarin, it was a bit of a nobrainer.After all, two Troys are better than one…
K! AWARDS GIG
TO OVER-16S!
YOU CAN NOW COME SEE A DAY TO REMEMBER
AND ASKING ALEXANDRIA PLAY… SWEEET!
YOU GUYS have been begging
us to lower the age for our
post-K! Awards gig, on June
9 at London’s Troxy, so we’ve
only gone and done it! While
tickets to the ceremony are
still over-18s only, anyone 16
or over can now see killer live
sets from A Day To Remember
and Asking Alexandria.You’ll
also be in the room with
plenty of your favourite
rockstars, who’ll no doubt be
causing drunken chaos.To pick
up your tickets for what’s set
to be the gig of the year, head
to Kerrangtickets.co.uk (no
ID, no entry). One last thing:
voting closes on June 2, the
day after this issue comes
out, so if you’ve bought
it early enough, head
to Kerrang.com to
cast yours now!
ERRANG!9
ISSUE 1622 JUN 4, 2016
L
A
I
T
N
E
D
I
F
K!ON
GO
ROCK
S
SIP A
IBB
ND G
ERI S
PRIMUS
CHOCOLATE
H
These knock-off Wonka bars
were a promo item from
Primus’ 2014 record, Primus
& The Chocolate Factory
With The Fungi Ensemble.
Definitely worth getting
out of bed for if
you’re a bedridden
grandpa.
KISS
PEZ
DISPENSER
Been dreaming about eating
fruit-flavoured pellets out of
Gene Simmons’ bottom end?
Well, now you can with these
Kiss PEZ dispensers. Get
yours for £21.99 from
Cybercandy.
co.uk.
DEXTER
HOLLAND
HOT SAUCE
Move over, Pierce The Veil,
there’s a new hot sauceproducer in town! This is the
spicy work of The Offspring’s
Dexter Holland. It’s great
on eggs, apparently.
Order yours for $5 at
Gringobandito.com.
MY CHEMICAL
ROMANCE
SWEETS
This Thank You For The
Venom CD mini-disc given
out at a My Chem London gig
in 2004 came accompanied
with a bag of sweeties! You can
probably get some on eBay
still – they definitely
won’t be out of date.
SNACK
CHAT!
RECENTLY, RONNIE Radke
released his own brand of
cereal, Count Rockula, as a
merch bundle. Well, technically it’s just
the box and there’s no cereal inside, but
that doesn’t stop us wanting a delicious
bowl of it. Then we got thinking about
all the other bands who’ve put their
name to a food item over the years.
Let’s take a mouth-watering look…
PANDORA BY RAY ZELL Rayzell.com
10 KERRANG!
FOO FIGHTERS
MINTS
In 1996, the Foos parodied
a Mentos ad for their Big Me
video, using Footos mints. They
probably wish they didn’t,
though, because it resulted in
fans throwing Mentos at them
every time they played
live. Ouch.
PRESENTS
T I C K E T S AVA I L A B L E AT M Y T I C K E T. C O . U K
ISSUE 1622 JUN 4, 2016
HIGHEST POSITION
WEEKS ON CHART
WE WELCOME BACK ISSUES AND BEARTOOTH TO THE
K! ROCK CHART. HOWEVER, THEY’RE STILL NOT ABLE TO
TAME BIFFY CLYRO’S WOLVES OF WINTER…
ARTIST
TITLE
LABEL
1
4 1 BIFFY CLYRO
Wolves Of Winter
14TH FLOOR
2
7 1 ANDY BLACK
We Don’t Have To Dance
ISLAND
3
5 3 DEFTONES
Prayers/Triangles
REPRISE
4
4 4 MOOSE BLOOD
Honey
HOPELESS
5
6 2 A DAY TO REMEMBER
Paranoia
ADTR RECORDS
6
8 3 SET IT OFF
Uncontainable
EQUAL VISION
7
9 3 AGAINST THE CURRENT
Running With The Wild Things
FUELED BY RAMEN
8
3 8 REIGNING DAYS
Empire
ECCO RECORDINGS
9
1 9 THE HUNNA
You & Me
HIGH TIME
10 2 10 ISSUES
Coma
RISE
11 3 11 VUKOVI
Animal
LAB RECORDS
12 1 12 DEAD!
You’re So Cheap
INFECTIOUS MUSIC
13 1 13 TRASH BOAT
Strangers (Feat. Dan Campbell)
HOPELESS
14 12 13 BLACK PEAKS
Glass Built Castles
SONY
15 7 3 BABYMETAL
Karate
EARMUSIC
16 1 16 PANIC! AT THE DISCO
Don’t Threaten Me With A Good Time
FUELED BY RAMEN
17 5 13 STRANGE BONES
God Save The Teen
STRANGE BONES
18 9 12 GHOST TOWN
Mean Kids
FUELED BY RAMEN
19 1 19 BEARTOOTH
Aggressive
RED BULL
20 1 20 WATERPARKS
Crave
EASY LIFE/RED ESSENTIAL
12 KERRANG!
TYLER CARTER,
ISSUES
HEY, TYLER! DOES COMA
MARK A NEW CHAPTER IN
THE ISSUES STORY?
“I definitely think that
this is a new sound for
Issues. We are leaning
in this direction now,
but we have several
directions, so who knows
what will happen!”
HOW DID THIS TRACK
COME TO LIFE?
“Musically, the song was
written by AJ [Rebollo,
guitar], and when he
presented it to the band
everyone was amazed
TOBI DUNCAN,
TRASH BOAT
HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE
IN THE K! ROCK CHART?
“Incredible! Kerrang!
was so relevant to me
growing up. We would
have it all over our
bedrooms as kids.”
WHAT DOES STRANGERS
MEAN TO YOU?
“It’s got an underlying
by how strong and
smooth it played out. It
just had this different and
minimal approach, but in
a very new way.”
AFTER SPENDING SO MUCH
TIME WRITING HEADSPACE,
HAS A WEIGHT BEEN LIFTED
FROM YOUR SHOULDERS
NOW IT’S OUT?
“We’re 100 per cent
relieved to finally have
the new music out. It’s
one thing to get it out
and be proud and excited,
but to have such positive
feedback… What more
could you want?”
theme of
your support
network fading
or breaking
away. For me, it
was when all my mates
went to university and I
stayed to start a band.”
ARE YOU GLAD YOU
STAYED BEHIND?
“Fuck yeah! There’s so
many people who regret
going to university too
early in their lives.”
SEE/HEAR
THE OFFICIAL
KERRANG!
ROCK CHART!
The Official Kerrang! Rock Chart is made up of airplay
across Kerrang! Radio, Kerrang! TV and specialist rock
stations.The show airs on K! Radio every Saturday at
10am with Loz Guest, and also on K! TV Thursdays at 4pm.
Tune in and listen up!
PRESENTS
NOVEMBER
10 BRISTOL Marble Factory
11 LONDON Koko
13 BIRMINGHAM O2 Institute2
14
15
16
18
NEWCASTLE Riverside
GLASGOW Garage
MANCHESTER Academy 2
SOUTHAMPTON 1865
TICKETS ON SALE FRIDAY 3 JUNE AT 10AM
MYTICKET.CO.UK / SEETICKETS.COM
LACUNACOIL.IT / f/LACUNACOIL / T/LACUNA_COIL
THE NEW ALBUM ‘DELIRIUM’ OUT NOW
A KILIMANJARO & FRIENDS PRESENTATION BY ARRANGEMENT WITH UNITED TALENT AGENCY
OCTOBER
23 LONDON
O2 ACADEMY2
24 MANCHESTER
SOUND CONTROL
25 GLASGOW
O2 ABC2
26 BIRMINGHAM
O2 ACADEMY3
M Y T I C K ET. CO . U K / S E ET I C K ETS . CO M
E M M A B L AC K E RY. CO M
f / E M M A B L AC K E RY
Y / E M M A B L AC K E RY
A K I L I M A N JA R O & D F CO N C E RTS P R E S E N TAT I O N BY A R R A N G E M E N T W I T H 1983 M A N AG E M E N T
T I C K E T S AVA I L A B L E AT M Y T I C K E T. C O . U K
ISSUE 1622 JUN 4, 2016
(L – R): Max Dawson (bass),
Kaya Tarsus (vocals), Sam Hallett
(drums), Chris Pritchard (guitar)
FRES
OO
G
S
S
OCK’
BLOOD YOUTH
WORDS: TOM SHEPHERD PHOTO: ANDY FORD
THESE CATHARTIC ROCKERS RISKED IT ALL… IT WAS WORTH IT
WHO’S THIS BUNCH OF
GREASERS, THEN?
This is Harrogate melodic
hardcore heroes Blood
Youth.Their story starts in the dry heat
of Barcelona, where frontman Kaya Tarsus
(the chap in the badass Drive-esque jacket,
there) had moved to retreat from failed
bands and a failed relationship back home.
After a succession of café waiting and odd
jobs, he found himself on his second day at
a cold-calling office job, when a pop at his
computer would change the course of his life.
“I got an email from Chris [Pritchard, guitar]
– we grew up together – and he said, ‘Do you
want to come and try out for this band we’re
putting together?’” says Kaya. “So, I was just
in this office in Spain, and I said: ‘Do I want to
work in an office or do I want to go on tour?’
I walked into the manager’s office and was
like, ‘Er, I’m gonna go back to England and be
in a rock band.’ Obviously they all laughed.”
WELL, YEAH. BIT OF A GAMBLE, ISN’T IT?
While Kaya had no guarantees that he’d get
in, the band he was auditioning for was being
14 KERRANG!
built from the ashes of melodic hardcore
band Climates. In short: a group that knew
what they were doing. Kaya’s “audition” was
Climates’ final tour – a European run with
Vanna. “I missed it so much,” admits Kaya.
“Playing in bands was all I ever really knew. I
didn’t do well in school. So, when I got that
“I WANT PEOPLE
TO LISTEN LIKE
IT’S A THERAPY
SESSION…”
email from Chris, it was just like it was meant
to be. It was just too weird that I moved
away and then it found me again.”
SO, WHAT’S THE NEW BAND LIKE?
Having laid Climates to rest, Blood Youth
headed straight for the studio.Their first two
EPs, Inside My Head and Closure (soon to be
released in a vinyl package), are like sticking
your head in a cement mixer of hardcore
and heavy rock, while operating a hotline to
Kaya’s darker parts. “I want people to listen
to it like it’s a therapy session,” elaborates the
frontman. “We’ve always wanted to be
a really cathartic band.When people listen
to us, I want them to feel the stuff that I
was going through when I was writing.”
SOUNDS INTENSE. WHAT’S NEXT?
Having played Download within three months
of existence, Kaya jokes the band may have
peaked too soon. But with a slot on the Fresh
Blood Stage at Slam Dunk last weekend,
signs are there’s plenty more to come.“It’s
awesome,” beams Kaya.“Last year we went
to Slam Dunk just in the audience, and myself
and Sam [Hallett, drums] were watching
Beartooth. It was crazy.And I leaned over to
Sam and I said,‘We need to be doing this next
year.’ ” Having already supported Architects
and Beartooth, Blood Youth also head out on
the road with Every Time I Die this week. Just
make sure you bring earplugs.
WHAT YOU
NEED TO KNOW
FOR FANS OF:
Beartooth,
Every Time I
Die, Architects.
HEAR: The band’s
ace four-track
Closure EP, out now
on Rude Records.
MORE INFO:
Facebook.com/
bloodyouth
CHECK OUT:
The Fight Clubinspired video for
Closure, available
on YouTube.
DON’T MISS:
Blood Youth and
more killer new
bands on Alex
Baker’s Fresh
Blood show on
Wednesdays at
10pm on K! Radio.
Y
T
I
N
U
M
M
K!O
YO
IT’S
ISSUE 1622 JUN 4, 2016
LIFE!
R
U
YO
AGE,
P
R
U
HOW ABOUT HAT, THEN
“Not a selfie, but it’s with a rockstar. Does that
count?” says @Kill4MeDie4You. Definitely
counts, mate. Was Alice shopping for a new
leather jacket? We heard he dropped pizza
on his favourite one!
WINNER!
ONE SNAP CLOSER
“Saw Linkin Park – with Chester onstage!” brags
@ljmessam. As well as winning the award for
Most Photobombers In One Photo this week,
you’ve also won tickets to AC/DC. That’s alright,
ain’t it? Bonus points if you get an onstage selfie
with Axl Rose, while sitting on his lap.
BEANIEFACE
ALL YOU CAN MEET
“Met Michael Starr and he gave me free
tickets to a show,” says @TheSvenHen.
Considering in his band, Steel Panther, he
sings about hookers and giving people
unpleasant diseases, he’s a lovely chap,
old Michael. Or as he makes us call him:
a thinner, younger Vince Neil.
FAN-PIC! AT
THE DISCO
“I drew Tyler!” says
@Yelhsagreenwood.
Yes you did! Is Tyler
watching a really scary
film – maybe The
Conjuring – and hiding
under his beanie?
Or maybe Josh Dun
is walking around in
just his pants again.
Perhaps he has a really
cool drawing under
there that he loves
looking at… so
many possibilities!
N E X T
“The night I met your
K!1621 cover star, Mr
@brendonurie!” says
@thisisthesam. We’ve
told Brendon SO MANY
TIMES that he should
stop pulling faces…
because, as Granny
Magazine told us,
warned us: if the
wind changes! We
didn’t listen. We had a
crease for weeks :(
W E E K
WIN!
A SIGNED
GUITAR!
A LITTLE LESS FIFTEEN CANDLES…
“My birthday cake is better than yours!” says
@Fallouhtboy. All we can say is, thank the gods
of rock that K! isn’t that big every week.
Played a game of Scrabble with The Word Alive? Spotted You Me At Six at Nando’s and nabbed
a cheeky selfie? If you’ve met any rockstars, drawn an incredible picture or done anything else
cool, if you’ve got proof, we want to see – share your pics with us, using #Kommunity.
The best will win this ESP LTD M-10 guitar signed by Breaking Benjamin. Just don’t get too
sweaty playing it or you might rub off their scribbles.
KERRANG! 15
WORLD
EXCLUSIVE
FINALLY, AFTER THE FALL-OUT, COMES THE LONGAWAITED RETURN. WITH TRAVIS BARKER, MARK
HOPPUS AND MATT SKIBA PREPARING TO UNLEASH
BLINK-182’S FIRST ALBUM IN FIVE YEARS, CALIFORNIA,
JAMES HICKIE PUTS ON HIS PANTS AND JACKET AND
HEADS FOR THE BAND’S LA HQ TO GO…
16 KERRAN !
PHOTOS: PAUL HARRIES
BLINK-182
blink-18New: (from left)
Travis Barker, Mark
Hoppus and Matt Skiba
T
he area immediately surrounding Burbank
airport is something of a microcosm of
Californian life. Situated 12 miles northwest
of downtown Los Angeles, these bustling
boulevards are a patchwork that alternates
between palm tree-studded patches of lushness
and gleaming monuments to the many faces of the
American dream.
One of these is Vanowen Street, where near the
Hollywood Dog Training School and its revolving
door of quick-stepping Shih Tzus, and across the
street from a car body shop whose employees
seem impervious to heat that, even at 10am, is best
described as scorching, you’ll find Third Encore.
This large retail park-like rehearsal facility is where
blink-182 are preparing for a mammoth 45-date U.S.
tour in support of their own slice of California – their
seventh album, rather niftily entitled California; their
first with Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba – and yes, their
first without founding member Tom DeLonge.
It’s a whole new iteration of the pop-punk giants,
and, slowly but surely, they begin to arrive. Mark
Hoppus is first, all grins and when not discussing
impossibly Californian things like hip coffee shops and
high-interval training, he’s ribbing one of his techs for
being very sunburnt indeed. Matt Skiba arrives soon
afterwards. He’s raving about the “fucking dope”
Cure show he went to at the Hollywood Bowl
last night as he walks down the corridor in a long
ungainly stride best described as ‘lolloping’.
“Mr Skiba!” beams Mark, embracing the man
who, having been in the band since early last year, is
the not-so-new guy.“Like us, people feel that Matt
is a perfect fit for the band,” Mark tells K! before
recalling the first brace of shows with him, where
the crowd was already chanting Matt’s name before
they took to the stage. Matt smiles proudly at the
memory. In a year when many AC/DC fans reacted
to the news that Axl Rose would be fronting the
band for the remainder of their Rock Or Bust world
tour by requesting ticket refunds, the warmth with
which this merging of musical luminaries has been
received is clearly a source of pride.
Last, but by no means least, is drummer Travis
Barker, who pulls up in an immaculate matte black
Mercedes-Benz G-Class, says very little, and may well
be the only man in history to make a goatee look
tough. Fist bumps duly administered and warmth
KERRANG! 17
Travis and Mark humour our
bad jokes (above)… while
Matt takes a while to twig
Mark and Matt feigned
illiteracy to get out of
the drumskin signing
radiated, it’s time for the reason Kerrang! has
been elected to be flown some 5,437 miles – to
be the first in the world to see and hear what
blink-182 circa 2016 are made of.
W
hile the cobalt-blue sky visible
through the raised shutters of the
building is startlingly clear, the waters
surrounding blink-182’s recent past have been
anything but.And, as we navigate the building’s airy
corridors – wishing a good day to Sum 41 guitarist
Dave ‘Brownsound’ Baksh who’s working next door,
and sidestepping musical equipment covered in labels
that suggest both rapper Drake and ’70s rockers
The Doobie Brothers have recently been putting in
the hours here – K! is repeatedly requested not to
mention Tom DeLonge and his exit from the band,
or indeed, that period in general.
It didn’t take long for
Matt to really get into the
blink-182 spirit
18 KERRANG!
In the absence of addressing the elephant in
the rehearsal room, we’ll paint a quick picture of
the troublesome beast.Tom, Mark and Travis were
scheduled to go into the studio on January 5, 2015.
On December 30,Tom’s management contacted
them to inform them that Tom didn’t want to
participate in any blink-182 projects indefinitely,
and would rather work on other non-musical
endeavours – including a company built around a
platform that’s allowed the likes of Nine Inch Nails
and Pearl Jam ‘to monetise their art, their fan clubs
and ticketing’. Mark and Travis therefore released a
statement to that effect, culminating in the promise
that ‘the show must go on for our fans’.
The situation was made even more confusing
when Tom subsequently took to Facebook to say
he hadn’t quit the band, before then saying in an
interview with Radio.com that,“I hit a very specific
part in my life. I’m 39 years old. If I was to continue
to stay in the studio for a year to write a record that
I need to rehearse for eight weeks to go on tour
for another six months, and it’s only about those
12 songs I’m going to be severely limited in what I
can achieve artistically and I’m going to be looking
back when I’m 50 kinda going,‘Fuck, I really love all
these other forms of art, I really wish I could have
done something with it. So, what happened was that I
decided that… just to do it.”
Tom was therefore out, and Matt was in.And
while it’s telling that one of the words Mark uses to
describe the current arrangement is “possible”, it’s
tricky to fully explore the topic of just how California
came to be when there’s a large piece of contextual
material that’s off the table.And, as it turns out, that’s
not the only thing that is, either.
The three take to a red leather sofa in the corner
of the rehearsal room; Mark and Travis next to one
another sharing a bag of gluten-free nuts, and Matt
perched on the arm like a child in a family portrait.
“If these sofas could talk,” jokes Mark to laughter
from his bandmates.
A couple of minutes later and K! is wishing
they could, too, as they might yield more than the
three men sat atop them. It would seem that the
BLINK-182
Travis takes a moment to
Snapchat K!’s James Hickie
and Paul Harries at work
overzealous caution around the
subject of the band’s dramatic personnel change
has resulted in them being suspicious of any line of
questioning that tries to dig a little deeper.
Ask, for example, if one of California’s alternative
titles, No Future, was suggestive of a period in
which, given their very public problems, the band
feared theirs was in jeopardy, and Travis, taking
time out from the mobile phone he’ll fiddle with
for the duration of the interview, heads the line of
questioning off at the pass.
“It was based around the song No Future on the
album,” he replies matter-of-factly.
Of course, but was the title of the song a
reference to such concerns?
“No, and that’s exactly wh
’
title of the record, because p
it in different ways,” the drummer stonewalls,
returning to his phone.
A different tact, then: ask Travis what
the process of writing last year’s 4K-rated
confessional memoir, Can I Say, taught him about
his relationship with blink, and he’ll suggest,
“There’s so much more to my life than blink, and
so much more that I’ve been through.”
Okay – perhaps quizzing Mark, who’d seemed
so jovial beforehand, might bear fruit. Given
that some of the issues around Tom’s departure
appeared to centre around when the record was
being made; why, given the fact he and Travis have
had other music projects like +44, did Mark feel this
new music had to be a blink record?
“+44 was something from a while ago that we
did,” says Mark, giving the most literal response
possible.“This stuff felt like blink from the beginning.”
Time to turn to the levity, perhaps; is Built This
Pool, the recently-released 14-second ditty that finds
Mark suggesting,‘I wanna see some naked dudes,
that’s why I built this pool’, the result of the band
feeling obligated to retain the comedic elements that
have defined them for 24 years?
“There was a lyric that I had written many years
ago and, as a joke, had been playing it in the studio
and soundchecks over the years,” Mark says.“I didn’t
feel obligated to put a joke song on the record; I
didn’t feel hesitant about putting one on, either.We
just wrote a collection of songs”
M
d
d k
l k h ll
W
82
off their pants and jacked in the pleasantries, you get
the sense that, given the months of public fighting and
hearsay that’s come before, the band is done with
looking backwards and overanalysing how and why
they’ve ended up where they have.They’re simply
concentrating on doing what feels right and seeing
where it takes them – and who can blame them?
I
f you want to make blink-182 animated, then
mention John Feldmann.The ubiquitous producer
– a man whose energy, Mark suggests,“took me
a few days to understand” – manned the controls
on California. Somewhat amazingly considering the
fact he boasts one of rock’s busiest CVs, John hadn’t
actually worked with either blink or Matt’s ‘other’
band,Alkaline Trio, before.
In September of last year, the new blink began
writing in earnest, clocking up 30 song ideas that they
ran past Mr Feldmann’s golden ears at Travis’ studio.
The next day, they were at John’s studio scrapping
what they had and starting work on a totally new
batch of tunes.
Why?
“I think Matt said it best,” says Mark, loosening up
as he senses the questions steering towards blink’s
future.“When we were writing before, it was more
of a practice to writing the record that we wrote.We
were still working out things and still trying to figure
out what exactly we wanted to do, but something
happened when we went into John’s studio that took
everything to a different place.”
Geographically speaking, that place was Foxy
Studios, located in the affluent LA neighbourhood of
“I’VE ALWAYS SAID
I’LL DO BLINK
AS LONG AS
IT’S FUN.
AND RIGHT NOW, IT’S
F**KING FUN”
M A R K
H O P P U S
TRAVIS TALKS US
THROUGH CALIFORNIA’S
ICONIC COVER ART…
“I’ve collected
D*Face’s artwork for
quite a while. When we
were in the studio and
yet to have a title for
the record, I asked the
guys what they thought
of the idea of D*Face
doing the artwork, and
everyone was like,
‘Yeah, if he’s down for it
that would be amazing.’
So, I hit him up and, of
course, he was like,
‘I’d love to!’ We didn’t
really give him any
The full D*Face artwork,
as shared online by Travis
direction; when you
go to an artist, you do
it because you love
their style, and you’re
confident that what
they’ll come up with
will be awesome. He
sent us a bunch of
different ideas, and
we ended up going
with the one with the
guy and the girl. From
the start, I thought it
really summed up the
album. It felt like it was
an image that had a lot
of energy and said a
lot. There’s something
dark about it, despite
all the vibrant colours
– and I think that’s what
blink is, as well.”
KERRANG! 19
Woodland Hills. It was there, secluded within glass
walls that overlook a sizeable pool – “a place and a
lifestyle that defines who we are”, according to Mark
– that the band made their most fundamental change,
becoming something they’ve never been before: a
prolific band.
“John would literally say,‘I’m going to go to the
kitchen and make a coffee, by the time I come back,
I want you guys to have a chorus written for this
song,’ ” recalls Mark. It’s a motivational technique
that clearly worked, as they wrote and recorded 26
brand-new songs in a month-and-a-half; a creative
overhaul for a band that,Travis notes,“took a yearand-a-half to write our 2003 self-titled record, and
only had one song left over”.
It’s a process that suited the DIY-punk spirit of
Matt, who suggests Alkaline Trio has “a tendency to
be labour-intensive – not necessarily with the writing,
but the guys like to spend a lot of time doing stuff.
Here, there was a very immediate energy.We were
cookin’ and I think that translates to the album.”
So, was the distinctly Californian atmosphere the
reason for such a Californian album? As it turns out,
that was never the original MO.
“We didn’t really start off to write a Californian
album,” says Mark, readjusting his spiked quiff as if it
were a faulty TV aerial.“I think that everything that
we write, at least for me lyrically, comes from things
that’ve happened to me or happened to people
around me. It’s not all autobiographical; sometimes I’ll
be reading a book and there’ll be a cool word that
I build an idea around.We were just writing and, as
we got more and more into the process, we started
noticing that we had a song called Los Angeles and
one called San Diego and we were giving shout-outs
to punk rock bands like Rancid and Bad Religion.”
Illinois native Matt chimes in to suggest what he
thinks the goal is.
“We just knew that we had to make what we
felt was blink’s best record,” he says, boldly, and with
audible pride.“I always knew that we could do it.”
So, having a record about your home state that’s
being released on July 1 – the 182nd day of the year –
is this blink firmly sticking their flag in the ground?
“I would love to say yes, but it wasn’t,” says Mark
with a laugh.“This year, July 1 is actually the 183rd day
of the year because of the leap year…”
that becomes the giant hit of the summer the next.”
The giant hits that comprise California are a
melting pot of the breeziness of, say, 1999’s Enema
Of The State, and the maturity they successfully
cultivated on more recent albums.And while it’s hard
to pick favourites on such a consistently thrilling
collection, highlights include Sober, a cocktail of
echoed vocals and drum and bass rhythms co-written
by Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump, and She’s Out
Of Her Mind. Mark nods enthusiastically when K!
suggests the latter is a slab of classic blink.
“There are so many hooks in this one,” enthuses
Mark.“It’s one of those songs that totally makes
sense, but there was so much work that went into
having it make that much sense – if that makes
sense?” Meanwhile, Home is Such A Lonely Place
(about “the idea of letting go of people that are
hugely important in your life”, Mark reveals) is a lovely
ballad enriched by a picked guitar line and rolled
snare that gives credence to Matt’s observation that
“even the slower songs have an energy to them”, and
is destined to be a lighters-in-the-air live favourite.
Interview and playback over, it’s suggested that K!
stands in on today’s rehearsal to see how this will all
translate to the band’s forthcoming U.S. tour – the
biggest they have undertaken.
“WE’VE MADE
ONE OF THE
BEST
ALBUMS
IN BLINK’S HISTORY”
K
errang! is among the first people in the
world to hear blink-182’s new album,
which, at various stages, was known as the
aforementioned No Future, OB-GYN Kenobi and,
for a considerable amount of time, Nude Erection
– the latter presumably because it’s a great pun and
would have given the band the dubious pleasure of
discussing when Nude Erection was released.
In Mark’s words,“It’s a very upbeat, energetic,
positive record, but with a dark, weird underside,
which I think is how we feel about California – a place
of opportunity where great things happen.The dude
who serves you coffee one day could write a script
T R A V I S
B A R K E R
Sure enough, the thrill of witnessing Travis in full
powerhouse mode dispensing the opening beat to
Feeling This at such close quarters is something to
behold, as is the trio tackling the outro to Mötley
Crüe’s Live Wire (a current favourite to jam) with
Mark and Matt trading smiles and wide-eyed wonder
at just how well this is all working out.
After another successful run through, the band
take a break to allow Travis to head off to pick up his
kids from school.There’s time for one last question,
though, so Kerrang! chances our arm: just how longterm is this arrangement?
“I just do my best to stay present and take
everyday as it comes,” begins Matt with Zenlike calm.
“It can be daunting to think about the next year and,
as exciting as it is, it’s a lot of work. I’m really excited
about it and, right now, I’m doing blink. People ask,
‘What’s up with Alkaline Trio?’ We didn’t break up
or anything; the other guys have solo projects. I told
them a few months ago that I’m going to be doing this
for a long time, so you guys should figure out what
you’re going to be doing for the next year, at least. I’m
psyched. I’ve done labour – this is comparatively easy.”
“The next year of our lives is all going to be live
shows and touring and bringing this record to the
world,” says Mark.“That’s as far ahead as I’ve ever
thought. [Those original songs] we wrote for the
album, we’ve talked about what will happen with
them. If there’s a deluxe version of this record, if we
use them for an EP later on, if we use them as the
foundation for songs on the next album, we don’t
really know. It’s always like a six-month thing for me –
that’s as far ahead as anyone really knows. But things
are great right now. I’ve always said that I’ll be doing
blink-182 as long as it’s fun – and it’s so fucking fun!”
T
wo days later, and Kerrang!, now back on our
side of the pond, is speaking to Travis once
more.The sticksman is considerably looser –
perhaps due to being away from rehearsal, perhaps
because he’s just finished a workout in the gym – as
we once again chew over blink’s big return.
Has it felt cumbersome, we ask, dealing with so
many questions about the ex-member of your past
– and one-third of a line-up that made blink a global
force in the past – rather than your future?
“I don’t get asked about it much,” he shrugs.“It
hasn’t been a problem. Everyone’s been really excited
about the new single and really anticipating hearing
the entire album.”
What feels different about blink today than with
Tom, though?
“I don’t so much think about what’s missing as much
as I do what’s there and how it feels complete at this
point in time,” Travis admits, without missing a beat (or
naming names).“We just made one of the best albums
in blink-182’s history. So, I don’t feel like anything is
missing or there’s any element that is stopping this
from being complete.We’re a well-oiled machine –
there’s no lack of creativity or work ethic…”
With that in mind, then, is this return – and the
decision to record new material for the first time in
five years – more to scratch your own creative itch,
or to reward the fans’ patience?
“I‘d say it’s equally for us as it is the fans,” Travis
reasons.“I think you have to start off writing an album
that you believe in and love.And then, that transcends
into the fans loving it, too, you know? And I think
knowing that we made an album we love, front to
back, with so many songs… That was the hardest bit
in the studio, picking what should go on the album.
That should be reassuring to the fans, that we made
an album that we know they’ll love as well.
“Y’know, when we decided to keep going and
move forward with blink, we weren’t striving for
mediocrity,” he beams, finally.“We wanted to go all
the way.And I feel like we have. It will speak to the
fans, and live up to the hype… without a doubt.”
CALIFORNIA IS OUT ON JULY 1 VIA BMG
MARK IS TWITTER’S KING OF
THE DAD JOKE.WE PICKED
SIX OF HIS BEST ZINGERS…
“IS GANDALF
HIS FIRST OR
LAST NAME?”
20 KERRAN !
“Current LA level:
eating vegan food,
listening to arcade
fire, talking about
coachella. please
hand me my fedora
my man bun is
getting cold.”
“[BORAT VOICE]
MY WIFI!”
“When Tom
Hiddleston tries
to go incognito
he’s low-key
Loki. Send.”
“NEW
BAND IDEA:
MAROON 6”
“Are JK Simmons
and JK Rowling
related? haha
lol jk”
BLINK-182
Mark opts for the more traditional
devil horns over the 2016 upstart
contender, hang-ten.We approve
Revealed! blink’s rehearsal
schedule consists of a ‘one song,
one dick joke’ practice rotation
KERRANG! 21
I
TE
RVIE
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AS ARCHITECTS PREPARE TO UNLEASH THEIR HEAVIEST, BLEAKEST ALBUM
YET, ALL OUR GODS HAVE ABANDONED US, FRONTMAN SAM CARTER
AND GUITARIST TOM SEARLE TELL JAMES HICKIE WHY IT TAKES A BAND AT
ITS BEST TO TACKLE A WORLD AT ITS WORST…
PHOTOS: TOM BARNES
o say that Sam Carter is enjoying the
glass of orange juice he’s drinking right
now would be an understatement of
proportions as epic as the tunes on
Architects’ new album. In fact, it would
be more accurate to describe his appreciation as
positively life-affirming.
“The smallest things are incredible,” the band’s
frontman says following a lengthy glug, as Kerrang! takes
a seat in his Brighton flat (not pictured, thankfully).
“Being able to have a fresh glass of this is one of the
many things we take for granted every day.”
Meanwhile, guitarist Tom Searle – apologetically
joining proceedings 10 minutes late because he’s been
finishing his dinner – wastes no time in pouring out
something else entirely: namely, the unpalatable truths
that have fuelled the quintet’s seventh album,All Our
Gods Have Abandoned Us, released last week.
“I think people make life difficult for themselves,
and our individual consciousness creates a collective
22 KERRANG!
consciousness that makes life hard for one another and
our planet,” he says with very little prompting.
Sam and Tom form the axis of Architects – the yin
and yang core of one of the UK’s most consistently
thrilling bands.They’re two men bound by their
intensity, but differentiated by the ways in which it
manifests itself. Sam, on the one hand, is a ball of wideeyed enthusiasm, a man for whom “every day of life is
amazing” and “walking home and listening to a song on
the way back is awesome”.
And then there’s Tom, who brings to mind a quote
from late soul poet Gil Scott-Heron, that ‘a pessimist is
someone in full possession of the facts’, and relays the
fundamental ills of the world with such casual weariness
that you’d think he was reciting the cooking instructions
for the meal he’s just had.And he’s not done yet.
“People, myself included, should have a look at
themselves and ask: ‘Do I live my life in accordance with
the values that I believe in? Am I representative of my
highest vision of myself?’”
To be fair, Architects had seen
worse venues than this…
KERRANG! 23
Intense as these questions might be, they’re ones
that Architects (completed by bassist Ali Dean,
Tom’s drummer brother Dan, and guitarist Adam
Christianson, confirmed as a full-time member last
February) sought to answer with the making of All Our
Gods Have Abandoned Us, a record that pushed them
to their creative limits – a place,Tom suggests, few get
to reach, despite having the ability to do so.
“If everyone felt that they had an unlimited potential,
which I believe that people do, then who would work
in Carphone Warehouse?”
Well, you certainly can’t accuse Architects of shying
away from life’s big questions…
IF SAM WERE TO
DISCOVER THERE
WAS A DIVINE
BEING, WHAT
WOULD HE ASK?
SAM: “Essentially, the
record is asking, ‘Why
isn’t there more love in
the world, and why are
people climbing over
each other to get to the
top when the top is a very
lonely, sad place?’ I’d
therefore want an answer
to that question. As hippy
as it sounds, the world
needs more love and
care; and it needs people
to be more appreciative
of what they have, and
not take what they have
for granted.”
Ali Dean (bass)
24 KERRANG!
Sam Carter (vocals)
rchitects used to be a less remarkable band
than the one they are today. Sam recalls their
early days when they would tour “in a shitty
van” and, speaking candidly,“didn’t give a fucking shit”.
“I mean, I kind of had a bit of empathy and tried to
be a nice person, but I didn’t really care about much,”
clarifies the frontman, with audible regret. “Before that,
it was just drink, drink, drink. It was never anything
more than that, but I used to drink a lot.”
So, how did Architects go from living the clichéd
young band lifestyle of being “on a bit of a warpath”,
as Sam puts it, to men that, with recent single A Match
Made In Heaven, delivered a scathing critique of the
warmongering ways of the Bush/Blair coalition’s
invasion of Iraq, and its wake of ‘Collateral damage, face
down in the sand’?
The answer, it turns out, is twofold.
Firstly, there’s what Tom describes as “the awakening”
that the band went through during the making of their
fifth album, 2012’s Daybreaker, when in the downtime
that their peers might use for tomfoolery,Architects
watched documentaries.These included Earthlings – a
Joaquin Phoenix-narrated 2005 film about humans’
relationships with animals – and Forks Over Knives, a
2011 examination of how a plant-based diet can avoid
or reverse a number of chronic diseases.
The most immediate effect of this was that every
member of the band soon became vegan (guitarist
Adam later adopted the lifestyle upon his joining the
band, too), but more dramatically than that,Tom says,
they had begun to “peel back the layers of our society”.
“When you’re young, you have this bubblegum
vision of everything. That was the point that we had
our eyes opened to what’s actually going on in the
world,” adds Sam, in a tone that suggests he wishes it
had happened earlier.
The second factor that armed Architects for the
deeper, darker terrain they’re now exploring was the
unprecedented success of their previous album, 2014’s
Lost Forever // Lost Together.
“It was the first time that we came off the back of a
record and thought, ‘Holy shit, that actually worked,’ ”
laughs Sam, casting an eye over to the shelf where the
well-buffed Kerrang! Award for Best Album 2014 now
sits. “With Lost Forever… it was like every show was a
10 out of 10, and we hadn’t necessarily had that before;
we’d been told so many times that people thought
we were good that we actually started believing it
ourselves. I’m not saying that in an arrogant way –
we’ve worked for 10 years on honing our craft, and if
you’re not good after 10 years, what’s the point?”
Sam graciously shares this accomplishment with
the production team of Henrik Udd and Fredrik
Nordström, who he considers “the sixth and seventh
members of Architects”. It therefore felt natural to
reunite with them at Studio Fredman in the Swedish
city of Gothenburg for the follow-up.
“They were always going to understand better than
any other producers where we were going to take it,”
says Sam.
Despite this apparent certainty of their vision, Sam
admits he and Tom had a fan’s curiosity about what
Lost Forever…’s follow-up would actually sound like –
with only one element truly set in stone in advance.
“We knew that we wanted the next record
to start with a bang – straight in, no intro, just
relentless,” recalls Sam.
The result was opening track Nihilist, which, thanks
to the lyric, ‘Well, we’re all dying to meet our maker,
but all our Gods have abandoned us’, is the title-track
in all but name.
“I’m not ashamed to say I love the lyrics to that one,”
says Tom, who, as with all of Architects’ songs, penned
the bulk of them.“I felt like it summed up the idea that
we’ve ditched our faith and any sense of the unknown,
and what’s left in its place is this corporatocracy, where
corporations run everything and we’re left living in a
world of stress, survival and competition.”
Ask Tom for his thoughts about the worries that
stalk us all, and he’ll describe them as “an illness that
many spend the majority of their lives suffering from”;
an idea explored on Gone With The Wind – a track the
guitarist has described as “very dear to my heart”.
“It’s a song about soul-searching,” says Tom, with an
air of mystery. “It’s not a song that’s personal to me;
it’s about the way we all are. It doesn’t matter what
the sickness is that any of us might have – whether it’s
physical or mental – I believe that there’s a remedy
that lies inside of us.We’re so quick to turn outside
of ourselves to look for someone to come and fix us,
whereas we need to look inside and stop torturing
ourselves every day by thinking things like, ‘I’m not
good enough,’ or, ‘I’m not attractive enough.’ ”
Despite these attempts to avoid self-flagellation, Sam
admits the seven-week recording period was “gruelling”.
“Recording is hard work when it’s art.You’re putting
so much of your energy and yourself on the line,” says
Sam. Meanwhile, despite mischievously suggesting that
“you can smear shit on a wall and call it art in its own
right”,Tom concedes that he, too, took the process
“really fucking seriously”.
“For us, it was a coming-of-age thing – this is us
as men,” adds Sam, proudly. “We’ve learned about
ourselves, so this is us saying: ‘Here you go, what do
you think of this?’”
arlier this year, the Labour Party’s mayoral
candidate, Sadiq Khan, won the race to be
London’s mayor, afterwards suggesting that his
victory signified the capital having chosen “hope over
fear”, and a clear indication that people are starting
to fight back against the shackles that constrain them
– or, as Sam puts it: “People are starting to get fed up
with these people that run our country and put their
penises in pigs’ mouths.”
Despite All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us being
musically and thematically on the bleak side, for Sam,
this “classy, nasty record” should act as a similarly
vigorous wake-up call to new ways of thinking – not
unlike the way in which documentaries did for the band.
It was watching the 2006 Canadian film Sharkwater
that brought [marine conservation charity] Sea
Shepherd UK to Sam’s attention – and in 2014, he
became their first-ever Ambassador. So, does proactively
trying to make the world a better, fairer place make you
feel more comfortable with the person you see when
you look in the mirror?
“In a gradual way, yes. I think
it’s much easier for me to be the
answer than the question when
it comes to being a vegan and
campaigning for conservation
and animal rights,” suggests Sam.
“It’s easier to have people come
and ask why you do what you
do, because it comes from a
place of genuine interest. If I see
people coming to our shows
and wearing Sea Shepherd
T-shirts, then I think,‘Job done.’”
This notion of protecting
and nurturing life is something
Sam believes the band will take
into their eighth record – when
they eventually get around to it.
“I think on the next one
we’ll spread a bit more love; a bit more positivity,” says
Sam.“The closing track on this album is called Memento
Mori, which is about life over death – so maybe we’ll
talk a bit more about how cool it is to be alive and go
down the route more about embracing life rather than
those that fight against it. But who knows?”
Does the amount you changed over the past few
years mean you’re reluctant to think too far in advance?
“Yeah, I think we’re different people than we were
when we went in to do this record,” says Sam. “We’re
constantly evolving as people – as everyone in the
world is – so as a band that speaks about stuff so
honestly, it’s hard to know what we’ll be like at that
point in time, but I’m sure it’ll be lighter.”
We’ll believe that when we hear it.
ALL OUR GODS HAVE ABANDONED
US IS OUT NOW VIA EPITAPH.
ARCHITECTS PLAY DOWNLOAD
FESTIVAL THIS MONTH AND TOUR
THE UK IN NOVEMBER – SEE THE GIG
GUIDE FOR INFORMATION
Adam Christianson (guitar)
IF TOM WERE TO
DISCOVER THERE
WAS A DIVINE
BEING, WHAT
WOULD HE ASK?
TOM: “I know a lot of
people, myself included,
have been hard-nosed
atheists – but I’m sort
of over that now. When
it comes to God, it’s so
clouded by religion – and
people are sick of religion
because of the bigotry
and war and prejudice
– but there are some
principles that are good.
God is love, for example,
and I’m not going to get
upset about that. What I
want to know is: what is
the truth of this reality?”
Dan Searle (drums)
Tom Searle (guitar)
KERRANG! 25
“WE VISITED
ASYLUMS, AND
OUR IMAGINATIONS
RAN WILD…”
CRISTINA SCABBIA
Cristina Scabbia and Andrea
Ferro: well, next time, try
reading the bloody signs telling
you not to feed them…
26 KERRANG!
I
LA U
RVIE
OIL
W
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TE
CAN I PLAY W TH
SET IN A GOTHIC SANATORIUM, LACUNA COIL’S DELIRIUM MINES THE DEEPEST CORNERS
OF THE HUMAN MIND – AND SEES CRISTINA SCABBIA LEAD HER BAND OUT OF THEIR
OWN DARK PERIOD, TOO. AMIT SHARMA BRAVES THE RAVEN-BLACK SHADOWS…
L
ost somewhere deep in the serpentine hills
beneath the Swiss-Italian border stands an
old decaying building, where the screams of
its inhabitants echo through the eternities.
The asylum’s dusty, dilapidated exterior may
have eroded in time, yet the mental scars contained
within feel as fresh as the day they were forced open.
Before you start Googling how much a weekend
break for two will set you back, it’s worth noting
Lacuna Coil Sanatorium is the fictional setting for the
Italian gothic metallers’ eighth studio album, Delirium.
It’s the creative submarine they’ve used to delve deeper
inside the human condition than ever before, magnifying
the madness that, in many ways, plagues us all…
“We imagined this giant sanatorium with loads of
rooms where different patients would tell us their
stories,” says singer Cristina Scabbia, her warm Milanese
accent making even the scariest of places sound actually
rather enticing.“The idea was that we’d bring out
these stories waiting to be told in order draw a parallel
between mental illnesses and all those crazy little things
we do in everyday life… Like being in the same band as
your partner [Cristina dated bassist Marco Coti-Zelati
many moons ago] or grabbing your phone as soon as
you wake up, first thing every morning. For example,
our song You Love Me ’Cause I Hate You, was based on
the Stockholm syndrome, when people get kidnapped
and fall in love with their captors.Which, of course,
is not a normal thing to do.We even visited some
abandoned asylums, which made our imaginations run
wild. Personally, I found it easy to be inspired by the
music itself because everything was just so dark.”
It’s the darkest Lacuna Coil have sounded in quite
some time – with an especially valiant effort from
Cristina’s co-singer Andrea Ferro, whose return
to screaming has, in many ways, redefined his
role in the band. Some might say there have been
moments during their career where he’s felt like a
bit of an awkward fit – but one listen to Delirium and
you won’t dare question their collective assault.
“This time we thought, ‘Fuck everything people
expect from us, let’s do what we want now right
now,’ ” continues Cristina. “I found new ways to apply
my voice, and the same goes for Andrea – who used
to growl in the earlier days, but not as much since.”
The seeds of this rebirth were sewn as far back as
Valentine’s Day 2014, when longstanding members
Cristiano ‘Pizza’ Migliore (guitar) and Cristiano
‘Criz’ Mozzati (drums) announced they would be
amicably parting ways with the band they’d devoted
16 years of their lives to. Then, just as he was due to
record his parts for Delirium, guitarist Marco ‘Maus’
Biazzi followed suit, leaving Lacuna Coil with no six-
PHOTO: GEORGE FAIRBAIRN
stringers whatsoever.Yet, somehow, the band have
managed to thrive in the chaos…
“Obviously there’s been a big change in that three of
my brothers are not here any more,” Cristina admits,
her choice in words speaking volumes. “But, in terms
of the songwriting process, not much has changed.We
lost half our band right at the beginning of our career,
so Marco, Andrea and I took on all the duties – we
became the core.The biggest surprise was Maus – a
few days before he was due to record, he told us he
felt he wasn’t able to express himself enough. I don’t
know… It was such a strange decision that I’m still
confused about, to be honest. But, whatever, it’s only
human to change your priorities in life.”
W
ith their bassist now assuming all string
duties from the producer’s chair, plus
help at hand from Alter Bridge/Slash
conspirator Myles Kennedy, Nothing More’s Mark
OF THE RIFF
CRISTINA REVEALS WHY
MYLES KENNEDY AND MARK
VOLLELUNGA WERE THE PERFECT
HELPING HANDS FOR DELIRIUM…
MYLES KENNEDY
“I’ve always
considered
Myles to be an
amazing vocalist,
one of the best
out there. But
not many people
know he started out
as a guitar player and
he’s incredible at that,
too! So, when we were
talking about the solos,
we wanted people that
we knew to fit into that
family vibe to guest
on the tracks. I thought
he was busy with Alter
Bridge, but when I texted
him to ask if he wanted
to be on the record, he
replied immediately
with, ‘Of course!’ He
picked Downfall, and
put down this warm and
heartfelt solo.”’
MARK VOLLELUNGA
“We knew of Nothing
More because they
opened for us on their
first tour ever. And I
think they’re so talented
yet so underrated.
Their live show is
mindblowing, and
their songs are just so
different to a lot of the
other stuff that’s out
there. When we were
thinking about guitarists
for solos, we thought of
Mark straight away. He
picked the song Blood,
Tears, Dust and loved it
so much, he wanted to
add other things to it,
too! We told him to make
himself at home
and it turned out
to be one of my
favourite songs
on the record.”
Vollelunga and local guitarist Diego Cavallotti – who
was later instated as a full-time member – Lacuna
Coil sailed through the eye of their greatest storm,
eventually finding safe passage to escape the
whirlpool of turbulence.
Cristina laughs at the notion that she’s the survivor
of something akin to the Lacuna Coil horror movie.
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” she laughs. “Thanks!”
So, if you were to make a movie about your own life,
who would you get to play you?
“Maybe Christina Ricci,” offers the metal maiden
before reasoning,“I think she tends to work well with
crazy characters! Plus she almost has the same name
as me. Even if we don’t look alike, she’s a great actress
that would be cool for the part! If I made my own
movie, it would have to be more of a psychological
thriller than a splatter film.The unexpected is so much
scarier than a load of blood. But, of course, there’d
need to be some murdering here and there…”
As for real-life demons, for Cristina Scabbia there is
only one – solitude.
“I am totally afraid of being alone, it freaks me out,”
she reveals. “It’s more of an anxiety thing, stemming
from losing the ones I love, that’s what really
hurts me. In a way, love is a demon. Once you’ve
experienced love, you can’t really live without it. It’s
hard to give up. And I don’t mean just relationships –
friends, family, love in general…”
Anyone that meets the Lacuna Coil vocalist will
realise, in a matter of seconds, just how disarmingly
human she is for someone that has built a career in
the public eye. Though Cristina gets flooded with
scores of fan art, some of which gets shared back
with her fans, her social media posts reflect the less
glamorous aspects of life as a musician as much as
they do the bright lights of the stage.
“I don’t want to play rockstar,” she shrugs. “The
world is a surprise to me every day. It’s one thing to
take a cool picture or go onstage and kick
ass – the person you see up there is still
me and I love what I do – but once I’m
offstage, I don’t really need to show
how good I am, or whatever. I’m just
a regular person like anyone else – I
don’t understand when people feel
the need to act. Just be yourself.”
Wise words indeed.Though it’s good
to know that if Cristina ever does need
some time out, there’ll always be a room
for her at the Lacuna Coil Sanatorium…
DELIRIUM IS OUT NOW VIA
CENTURY MEDIA RECORDS
KERRANG! 27
THURSDAY, JUNE 9
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GET YOUR TICKETS AT KERRANGTICKETS.CO.UK
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PRESENTS
PHOTO: ANDREW LIPOVSKY
BRENDON
URIE
PHOTO: LINDSEY BYRNES
PHOTO: SARAH LOUISE BENNETT
PHOTO: GETTY
LEMMY
PHOTO: XXXXXXXX DIGITAL ART: XXXXXXXXXXXX
PHOTO: SAM ROENFELDT
PHOTO: ANDREW STUART
I
RVI
E
TE
W
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IN
WORDS: AMIT SHARMA PHOTOS: PAUL HARRIES
THEY MIGHT HAIL FROM OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE WORLD, BUT THAT’S ABOUT THE
ONLY THING THAT STANDS BETWEEN ANDY BLACK AND CREEPER’S WILL GOULD
– BROTHERS UNITED BY ONE SHARED VISION, AND LOVE, FOR ROCK…
ow I get to go on top,” grins Andy
Black, raising his arm over Will Gould’s
angular frame.“This is probably like
being your wife – it’s great!” laughs
the Creeper cult leader.
Backstage at the Concorde 2 on a serene afternoon
by the Brighton seafront, the two singers – eight days
into Andy Black’s inaugural solo tour – are feeling as
breezy as their surroundings.While the road crew go
about their daily business of assembly, the pair chuckle
away in a dark corner like old friends.They may have
only just met in person, and yet there’s much to be
said of what binds them together – Creeper having
been hand-picked to open by Andy himself, for one.
It feels like the start of a long-standing friendship
between two K! regulars that – despite being born
some 3,919 miles and a handful of years apart – share
more than a fair few things in common…
ANDY: “Believe me, that came with time!”
WILL: “It’s such a difficult thing to pull off. We’re
still learning, we’re still growing – we haven’t even
put out an album yet!”
ANDY: “Well, I’ve seen old videos where I’m pacing
the stage and thought I was attaching myself to the
audience. In reality, it just looked like I needed to pee
real bad! I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. Now,
it’s nice to be doing this with 10 years’ experience
of touring under my belt. As an adult, with a wife, a
house… I don’t party any more. I don’t go crazy.”
WILL: “Do you still ever get nervous?”
ANDY: “Actually, this new material has made me a
little nervous – with stage fright in a way that I haven’t
experienced for a while… I didn’t know what it would
be like to look to my left and not see [BVB’s] Jake [Pitts,
guitar] and Jinxx [guitar] or look behind me and not see
CC [Christian Coma, drums] or Ashley [Purdy, bass].”
T C O
S AV
N
V
NG T
ON THIS UK RUN. HOW’S IT BEEN SHARING
THIS EXPERIENCE TOGETHER?
ANDY: “I’m just a huge fan of Will’s band. It’s a thrill
p y
p y
WILL: “That’s so sweet, we should get you to review
p
g
y
favourite tour Creeper have done yet. Just chatting
the other day, I think we both realised we grew up
with a lot of the same bands… We come from a
similar punk rock place.”
ANDY: “You know, the guys in my solo band
thought your set was all covers because I knew
all the words to every song (laughs)!”
IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME AND GIVE
YOURSELF ADVICE WHEN YOU WERE STARTING
O
C
,
A
O
, AN ?
ANDY: “When I was younger, I got so focused on
making everything the way I needed it to be. I must
have been a real pain in the ass! I was caught up in
a
g
y
p
c
g
y
yy g
WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED MOST FROM
ANDY’S STAGECRAFT, WILL?
WILL: “I’ve taken a lot from watching Andy do his
g
g
g
has over people – he doesn’t need to do a lot, yet
he has them in the palm of his hands at all times.”
36 KERRANG!
be something like: ‘Be less of a dick sometimes!’”
WILL: “What I would take from that is to be more
patient with each other. All that stress and pressure
can make it easy to forget why you started the band
in the first place – to have fun, create something
cool and play music we love with our friends.”
ANDY: “Exactly! When you start a band it’s like, ‘You
like Led Zeppelin? I like Led Zeppelin, too, let’s start
a band!’ You might make a connection, but you might
find out later in life, say five years later, that the guy
is a clown or kills cats or whatever! Anyone that’s in
a band for so long and doesn’t find a bunch of crazy
skeletons… Let’s say I consider myself fortunate!”
SPEAKING OF WHICH, ONE THING THAT REALLY
CONNECTS YOUR BANDS IS HOW YOU’VE
CREATED A CULTLIKE COMMUNITY FOR FANS…
ANDY: “When I was a kid, I was a member of every
fan club, like the [Alkaline Trio] Blood Pact. I didn’t
have a lot of friends, so the idea of finding a new
group of people I might not have even met was really
important. I’d almost communicate through fanzines.”
WILL: “I was a weird, effeminate kid at school that
didn’t fit in… which is the case with a lot of people
that find their way through alternative music. I wanted
to create a place that was inclusive for everyone,
g
Creeper. When you come to our shows, you’ll have
the hardcore kid, the goth kid, the metal kid, and
they’re all patched up. It brings them together.”
ANDY: “That’s the idea. When BVB started, we
wanted to create a community around us. As we’ve
grown, so have the BVB Army – which is a name
they came up with! I never would’ve called it that
because of the KISS Army, but I kinda love it they
just went ahead and coined that one themselves!”
WHAT ARTISTS OUTSIDE OF THE K! WORLD ARE
SHAPING YOUR LIFE RIGHT NOW?
ANDY: “I feel like one thing, musically, we haven’t
Andy and Will struggle to
come to terms with the last
episode of Game Of Thrones
ANDY BLACK & WILL GOULD
p p
stalemate with neither rockstar
p
KERRANG! 37
NHS cuts meant dental inspections
weren’t all they were cracked up to be
“The key to imaginary
basketball,Will, is…”
L A ST
ANDY BLACK
WHAT’S THE FIRST THING
THAT COMES TO MIND FOR
OUR PAIR OF ROCKERS?
WILL GOULD
38 KERRANG!
“RICHARD
DAWKINS”
“RAIN”
“FIRE”
“HMMM...
CHAI?”
“AMERICA”
“SABBATH”
GOD
PURPLE
WOOD
TEA
GUNS
BLACK
“DAVID
BOWIE”
“CREEPER”
“SHOP”
“DEFINITELY
GREEN”
“N’ ROSES!”
“I WAS GOING TO
SAY THAT. HOW
ABOUT… FLAG!”
ANDY BLACK & WILL GOULD
Andy and Will onstage at the
KOKO. It’s a microphone,Will –
come on, you’ve done this before
lk d b
h
ly
S
19
output from that era.”
WILL: “It’s never been
’
properly, but I’m definitely
”
ANDY: “
200
’
that kinda attention to detail is
”
made. The grand nature of it
all, the instrumentation, then
h l
N h
h
i
’
i
’
that, but I could never do it that
’
”
WILL: “I think those records
,
Meat Loaf’s Bat Out Of Hell
[1977] has loads of Springsteen
references. I love all the
[Grammy-winning U.S. producer/
musician] Phil Spector records
and how they sound. I think
Springsteen has that in common,
that wall of sound which is larger than life. It’s
like being transported to another world when
you listen to them! Our guitar tech also works for
Father John Misty, I’d never heard of him before, so I got
his I Love You, Honeybear record and it blew my mind!”
ANDY: “I’ll have to check him out…”
As the flash continues to flicker away, so does the
flow of dialogue, leisurely digressing from music to life
in general. Of all things they bond over most, it’s the
wonderfully wicked K! photoshoots they’ve enjoyed
over the years.The Creeper frontman recalls ripping
his own heart out for their Fresh Blood feature in issue
K!1550 some 18 months ago, while Andy chuckles over
being greased-up with Asking Alexandria’s Ben Bruce
(K!1590), posing with Hector The Rabbit (K!1562) and,
of course, getting decapitated by his very own hero of
horror, Alice Cooper (K!1592)…
MUSIC ASIDE, YOU BOTH CLEARLY SHARE A
SIMILAR SENSE OF FASHION. NICE LEATHER
JACKETS BY THE WAY, BOYS…
ANDY: “This jacket got ripped up from all the
stupid watches and things I’ve worn over the years. It
doesn’t even have any lining left…”
WILL: “I wear fake leather because I’m vegan, and
they fall apart constantly! This one has disintegrated
and it’s so disgusting, it stunk my girlfriend’s bedroom
out. I roll the sleeves up so they make this little duct
where the sweat drips down, which makes them
very perishable! It’s got all sorts of holes and I still
wear it onstage every night This is my third jacket in
this band. It’s a piece of shit.”
ANDY: “(Laughs) I think this one should definitely
get retired in the K! Hall Of Fame at some point. I
y
y
hot me in it. So,
“THE GREATEST
TO WALK THE EARTH PHYSICALLY WON’T BE
ABLE TO PLAY IN 15 YEARS. WE HAVEN’T
PUT ENOUGH STOCK IN OUR
FOR THINGS TO
MOVE UP”
ANDY BLACK
when I’m done with it, I’ll give the jacket to them so
they can pee on it or whatever!”
WOULD IT BE FAIR TO SUSPECT YOU MIGHT OWN
SIMILAR MOVIE COLLECTIONS BACK HOME?
WILL: “That last video you put out had a lot of film
noir references, so I imagine you’re into a lot of the
classic horror stuff like Nosferatu?”
ANDY: “I’m really into shot choices at the moment
– especially looking analytically at Stanley Kubrick’s
films. I saw this documentary on The Shining that
was amazing! Because before, I was always more into
aesthetics, costumes and that kinda stuff, now it’s
more about the angles and reasons why a director
went with that choice.”
WILL: “I love that stuff. I studied film, and we’d spend
a week looking at certain movies trying to figure out
w
y
band, we’re really hot on that. Our videos are carefully
p
g h
i h ll h
i y d il I
i gi
FINALLY – AS TWO UPSTANDING
TORCHBEARERS FOR MODERN
ROCK MUSIC – WHAT ARE YOUR
THOUGHTS ON THE STATE OF
OUR BELOVED GENRE? IS IT
HEALTHY, OR IN NEED OF SOME
EMERGENCY CPR?
ANDY: “I have difficulty believing
it’s in a bad place, though I don’t
think it’s logical for rock to be this
gg
g
p y
y
to play in 15 years – if they’re still
p
g
stock in our young bands for things
p
y p
y
have a farm system – young players
which you build up to replace the
greats. We have kept the same stars
forever and always treated the
young bands like they’re not ready.”
WILL: “I totally agree. I think
we live in a culture of nostalgia
in general. If you scroll through
Facebook, everything is a Timehop
of a Timehop, a photocopy of a photocopy.
Everything is nostalgia.”
BUT THERE’S STILL HOPE FOR US YET?
ANDY: “When Gene Simmons goes around saying
rock is dead, it couldn’t be further from the truth.
I’m living proof! I don’t have any qualifications, no
education, I dropped out of high school… This was
my one shot and I made a living out of it. Will it save
the world? I don’t think it has to. When you watch
Iron Maiden play to 100,000 people, you don’t feel
sorry for them not selling the same amount of
records as Nicki Minaj.”
WILL: “And there’s still a life you can lead in the
interim. The UK pop-punk scene is great at the
moment with bands like Neck Deep – almost the
best it’s been since I was 15.”
ANDY: “Exactly! It’s a shame to constantly hear
stupid things like, ‘There are no rock bands any more,’
and, ‘Don’t you miss rock music?’ It’s like, ‘Fuck off!
I’ve been touring since forever while you go see
Mötley Crüe play once a year so you can sing along
to all the songs you remember from high school? If
you’re interested in rock music, fucking go to a show,
otherwise shut up.’ It is out there… We’re the proof.”
Some 30 hours later, Will and Andy stand shoulder-toshoulder onstage in London, joining forces for a runthrough of Alkaline Trio’s Time To Waste to a packed
house at London’s KOKO on the final night of Andy
Black’s Homecoming Tour And you can see exactly
what the man meant. They’re the proof, right there…
ANDY BLACK’S THE SHADOW SIDE IS OUT
NOW VIA LAVA/REPUBLIC. CREEPER’S THE
STRANGER IS OUT NOW VIA ROADRUNNER
“INTERESTING. I’M
FASCINATED BY THE
ILLUSION-ERA AXL”
“PEOPLE WEAR THE
SHIRT BUT DON’T
KNOW THE BAND”
“I WOULD
HAVE TO SAY
MY WIFE”
“CINCINNATI”
AXL
DEATH
LOVE
HOME
“AAAARGH!
AC/DC”
“MY JACKET
SMELLS
LIKE IT!”
“AMERICAN
NIGHTMARE”
Andy subtly tried to pass off
the blame for knicking our
can of Fanta out the fridge
“SOUTHAMPTON”
KERRANG! 39
I
TE
RVIE
W
N
SURVIVING
THE
WAR
DEBUT ALBUM THE DAY’S WAR WAS THE MAKING
OF LONELY THE BRAVE. BUT, AS THEY RETURN
WITH THE STUNNING THINGS WILL MATTER,
FOR FRONTMAN DAVID JAKES, THE EVERYDAY
BATTLE WITH LIFE IS ONE THAT WILL NEVER END…
WORDS: MARK SUTHERLAND PHOTOS: PAUL HARRIES
Brave New World: David
Jakes moves forward (to
the front of the stage)
40 KERRANG!
LONELY THE BRAVE
F
or most bands, being told you’re going to
play the Main Stage at your favourite-ever
festival for the first time is a great moment.
A cause for celebration and then months
of delicious anticipation.
For David Jakes, however, getting the call to say
his band, Lonely The Brave, had been booked for the
Main Stage at Reading & Leeds 2015 was literally the
stuff of nightmares.The rest of the band – guitarists
Mark Trotter and Ross Smithwick, bassist Andrew
Bushen and drummer Gavin ‘Mo’ Edgeley – were
thrilled but, for David, the announcement led only to
months of fear, nausea and dark, dark thoughts.
“I got into a blind panic,” he says ruefully.“I said,
‘I’m not ready for it, I can’t do it.’ The rest of the boys
were a bit upset. I basically ruined the whole summer
thinking about all the worst-case scenarios.”
David was so plagued by visions of his voice
failing onstage or something going terribly wrong
that, at one stage, he even contemplated taking
himself out of the equation.
“It drove me fucking bonkers,” he says. “This is
the honest truth now – I actually thought about
paying someone to put me in hospital. I was that
worried about it. Like, ‘If I could get someone to
break both my legs, I won’t have to do the gig.’ ”
Thankfully, David never made that call.When
the day came and there was no longer any other
option but to get onstage, he was oddly calm. He
not only played the show, but Lonely The Brave
comprehensively nailed it, confirming their status
as one of the most emotional live experiences out
there. It was, David declares, “an amazing feeling”.
But, more importantly, it was also “a turning point”.
A
early LTB shows, you can’t help but wonder why he
puts himself through it all.
The answer, of course, is that, while David
occasionally feels like he’s falling apart, everything
is coming together for his band. Lonely The Brave’s
stunning debut album, 2014’s The Day’s War, made
the Top 20 in the UK and established them as one
of the mightiest new noises in British rock.And now,
the follow-up,Things Will Matter, is about to rocket
them to the top of the list of Bands Who Matter.
Much of the band’s appeal is down to the intensity
D A V I D
J A K E S
of David’s skyscraping vocals and the mysteriousness
of his lyrics.The new album showcases plenty of
both, from the tense minimalism of Wait In The
Car to the glorious melancholy of Diamond Days
to the unrelenting heaviness of Black Mire, and
David – after years of singing the more introspective
Day’s War material – is finally feeling liberated and
confident in his own abilities.
On the album itself, David finds cathartic release
in the theme that runs through many of his songs:
his attempts to stay connected with his five-yearold daughter, Eva, while still living the hard-drinking
lifestyle of the itinerant rockstar.
“I’m trying to be a good dad,” he says, “but I still
want to live my other life.The tours we’ve been
nd so the David Jakes we meet today looks
less like a man who’d contemplate breaking
his own legs and more like one determined
to stand on his own two feet. He looks lean and fit,
and, even though we meet in his natural
environment of the pub, nothing stronger
than Diet Pepsi passes his lips.
David – who readily admits to being
a habitual “heavy old drinker” – now no
longer drinks when on band duty. Even
when – like today – he’s doing his least
favourite thing in the world: talking
about himself to a (relative) stranger.
Having tried and failed to get
along with conventional
medication or therapy, this
is all part of David’s ongoing
attempts to self-manage his
multiple health problems.
Even so, as he reels off
his afflictions, ranging from
physical ailments such as
diabetes, tinnitus, alopecia
and the post-nasal drip that
gives him an endless sore
throat, to mental health
Only the Lonely: (from left) Mark Trotter (guitar),
problems such as depression
Ross Smithwick (guitar), David Jakes, Gavin ‘Mo’
and the crippling social
Edgeley (drums) and Andrew Bushen (bass)
anxiety that forced him to
lurk at the back of the stage at
doing recently, we’ve all been trying not to drink.
The problem with that is, when I come off tour now,
I’ve just been getting as fucked-up as I can. But it’s
quite selfish if I come back and start hitting it hard
again. I’ve got a daughter, I’ve got to find a proper
balance because sometimes it spills [over].”
He pauses.
“I do wonder what I’d be like if I’d never have
drunk,” he murmurs. “I wonder if that is where a lot
of my mental problems come from. Some people
say that everyone’s given a barrel of drinks at the
start of your life and you can drink it slowly or just
completely smash through it. I think I’ve ended up
with all the dregs and shit at the bottom.”
Nonetheless, David is reluctant to contemplate
packing in the booze completely, despite the obvious
benefits of his new, healthier lifestyle. He’s no longer
with Eva’s mother, after they split following regular
“horrible screaming rows”, but they now get on
much better, and David is a regular visitor to the
house where she and Eva live. Meanwhile, Eva often
pops to see LTB’s soundchecks. “She thinks that’s
the show,” Dave smiles, his face lighting up. “She just
thinks we don’t have any fans…”
David has a more uneasy relationship with
Lonely The Brave’s actual fans, his attempts at social
interaction usually ending when someone asks an
insensitive question about his stagecraft or his hair.
“I always remember that guy and forget about
the people who’ve said really nice things to me,” he
says, with a shake of his head.
Nonetheless, recent LTB shows have seen David
finally edging towards the front of the stage, looking
the crowd in the eye (“I pick out the biggest, burliest
man in the crowd and sing to him – though not
lovingly into his eyes or anything…”) and even
indulging in some between-song “banter”, all part of
his conscious attempt to engage more with the fans.
So, will he be ready when – as they surely will
one day soon – even bigger gigs come calling?
“I don’t know how mentally stable I am to cope
with it,” he admits. “There’s no way I could ever
headline Reading, it’s too big a fucking deal.You’ve
got to have some big old bollocks to do that and I
haven’t got ’em.”
He catches himself once more
contemplating the worst thing that could
happen and resolves to think again.
“I just wish I could enjoy it more,”
he sighs, before brightening visibly.
“It’s my fucking demons, always
in the back of my head. But I’m
not going to let them get in
the way of what I’ve got.”
Fortunately, for David Jakes
and Lonely The Brave, the bestcase scenario is on its way.
DAVID REVEALS THE LIFE-SAVING
LIGHT ENTERTAINMENT THAT
KEEPS HIM SANE ON THE ROAD…
HOW DO YOU PASS THE
TIME ON THE ROAD?
DAVID: “I try to not be in silence with
my own head. I can’t just lie in bed,
I drive myself bonkers. I’ve
always got my headphones on.
I listen to a lot of [BBC Radio
4’s] Desert Island Discs, trying
to keep something in my ears.
I’ve listened to so many of
them. Tom Hanks was good. Damian
Lewis off Homeland, too. I love Desert
Island Discs, it’s brilliant.”
WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE ON
IT YOURSELF?
“Nah, you’re alright! I couldn’t do it.
It’s been a really good thing to
have, though, because there’s so
many on the podcast. Long journeys,
YOU COULD PICK LOTS OF
PEARL JAM, THOUGH…
WOULD YOU
ASK EDDIE IF
YOU MET HIM,
THOUGH?
“I’ve said it many times about Pearl
Jam, but there are so many songs I
love of theirs, where I’ve got no idea
what they’re about. And I like that.
Sometimes you can’t even work out
what Eddie Vedder’s singing.”
“I could never
meet Eddie
Vedder! I simply
wouldn’t be able to. I reckon I could
do [guitarist] Mike McCready, but
that would be it…”
man, I just love it now.”
KERRANG! 41
THE SONGS THAT
SAVED LIFE
MY
NEXT MONTH, GOOD CHARLOTTE RETURN WITH THEIR FIRST ALBUM IN SIX YEARS.
HOPEFULLY IT’S LOADED WITH LYRICS THEY WROTE FOR A LAUGH AND THE HEADY
INFLUENCE OF RURAL SMELLS. THAT’S WHAT’S ON BENJI’S IPOD, ANYWAY…
THIS WEEK:BENJI MADDEN, GOOD CHARLOTTE
THE SONG THAT MAKES ME THINK
OF HOME IS…
JOURNEY TO THE END
OF THE EAST BAY
RANCID
“Me and my brothers listened to this song
on cassette over and over and over again
in the very first car my brother had, this
little Volkswagen. Basically, after deciding
that song was our favourite, we just never
stopped listening to it.We grew up way out
in the country, around lots of farms, and
when I hear that song I can still almost smell
the farm air coming through the windows.”
FIND IT: …And Out Come The Wolves
(1995)
THE SONG THAT MADE ME WANT
TO BE A MUSICIAN WAS…
DON’T LOOK BACK
IN ANGER
OASIS
“I thought it was really cool that Oasis
had the two brothers [Noel and Liam
Gallagher)]who came from nothing and
made something out of their lives.That
was really inspiring to Joel and I, because
we came from a similar place – though we
get along way better than those guys do!
It’s also such a simple song – it’s got simple
lyrics and a simple melody, and I learned to
play it really easily.”
FIND IT: (What’s The Story) Morning
Glory? (1995)
WORDS: DAN SLESSOR PHOTO: TOM MARTIN
THE LAST SONG I LISTENED
TO WAS…
THE STRAYS
SLEEPING
WITH SIRENS
“I love Sleeping With Sirens.
Of the scene that they’re in, I
feel like they have a lot more
depth than a lot of bands.
They’re not one-dimensional,
and this song in particular
42KERRANG!
shows where the band can go. It really
captures a sentiment that I think is really
genuine – and the lyrics don’t even actually
pinpoint that sentiment exactly, it’s just
there in the vibe, and I think it’s so cool how
they managed to do that.”
FIND IT: Madness (2015)
“WHEN I LISTEN
TO RANCID,
I CAN SMELL
FARMS…”
BENJI MADDEN
THE SONG I WANT TO BE
REMEMBERED FOR IS…
GOOD CHARLOTTE
MARCH ON
“It’s a very hopeful song.When I was first
getting into music, it was the sense of
hope and encouragement I took from it
that mattered most, and when we started
our band, all me and Joel wanted to do as
songwriters was either give people a good
time or give them some encouragement.
It’s one of those songs that fans will know,
but probably nobody else will, and I think
Life Changes from the new album [Youth
Authority] is another one that embodies
the GC spirit.”
FIND IT: Good Morning Revival (2007)
THE SONG I WOULD LIKE
TO COVER IS…
LOST IN THE
SUPERMARKET
THE CLASH
“At some point I’d love to do a
good Clash cover, but I wouldn’t
want to do it the same way as
on the record.We’d need to
find an interesting way to
do it, and I think I’d love to
do a really soft, acoustic
version of this one. I’ve
always loved it; it’s really
vulnerable for The Clash,
and I feel like it’s sung
from a completely
different place
emotionally than
where [Clash
frontman] Joe
Strummer usually
comes from.”
FIND IT: London
Calling (1979)
THE SONG YOU
WOULDN’T EXPECT
TO FIND ON MY
IPOD IS…
WHO YOU ARE
JESSIE J
“I love the lyrics and message of
this song, and I guess some people
might be surprised I listen to it.
Jess is such a genuine person,
more than anyone knows,
and if you look at her records,
there are big pop hits, but there
are so many messages woven
through them where she’s trying to
encourage you and be a positive force.
You can tell she really means it.”
FIND IT: Who You Are (2011)
ISSUE 1622 JUN 4, 2016
A SECRET ABOUT ONE OF
MY SONGS IS…
THE ANTHEM
GOOD
CHARLOTTE
“The bridge is, ‘Shake it once,
that’s fine / Shake it twice,
that’s okay / Shake it three
times, you’re playing with
yourself’. It was put in as a joke – Joel and I were
just fucking around and figured we’d find something later.
This song looks at some deeper feelings everyone goes
through, but we ended up keeping the line anyway!”
FIND IT: The Young And The Hopeless (2002)
THE SONG THAT
MAKES ME WANT
TO CRY IS…
BOYS
IN THE
STREET
GREG
HOLDEN
“It’s about how his
dad could never
accept that his son
wasn’t straight.
He had always
rejected him for
it, but finally, at the
end of his life, his
dad told him he
was wrong [about
thinking that about
his son] the whole
time.Through the
song, the vibe is
always, ‘Why are
you kissing boys in
the street? You’re
embarrassing me,’ and
then, at the end, he
tells him to keep kissing
boys and to be who he is.
That chokes me up.”
FIND IT: Chase The Sun
(2015)
THE SONG THAT
MAKES ME WANT TO
STAGE-DIVE IS…
SP
BIG JESUS
“They’re badass! This is a badass
riff, and it’s one of those songs
where what’s on the record
translates perfectly when they cut
loose with it live. That shit just goes
off. You can quote me on that: ‘That
shit just goes off !’”
FIND IT: One (2014)
THE GOOD CHARLOTTE SONG
THAT’S HARDEST TO PLAY IS…
THE RIVER
GOOD CHARLOTTE
“Any song that we haven’t played in years is
the hardest to play! The River is not a hard
song to play, but singing… It’s so fucking
high! The key of all the songs and all of the
vocal ranges on that record are so high,
which makes them pretty challenging! We
love this song, so we play it every night, but
every time we do, it’s very tough for me not
to lose my voice. I’m always exhausted by
the time we finish it!”
FIND IT: Good Morning Revival (2007)
THE SONG WITH THE GREATEST
LYRICS EVER IS…
GOD ONLY KNOWS
THE BEACH BOYS
“It’s so deep, and there are so many
messages, and I think it means something
different to everyone. It’s so simple, but so
not. I didn’t actually discover this song until
I was already in my 20s.We had made The
Young And The Hopeless [2002], and the
producer, Eric Valentine, really pushed us.
Afterwards, he made me a mix CD and said,
‘Listen to these songs, because they’ll help
you become an even greater songwriter.’
And I think this one did.”
FIND IT: Pet Sounds (1966)
THE BEST SONG EVER WRITTEN IS…
HOTEL CALIFORNIA
THE EAGLES
“It’s another song that tells a story, and it
has a lot of deeper meanings to it that a
listener can take away.To the band it might
not have had any deeper meaning beyond
a poem they wrote, but I think there was
so much going on in their subconscious
that they let out without even knowing it.
It’s a song I connect with so strongly every
fucking time I hear it.”
FIND IT: Hotel California (1976)
KERRANG! 43
OF
Y
M
O
ANAT CKSTAR
A RO
I
I STAY SANE ON TOUR BY…
“Going on walks alone. I do that to
get away from the crowd and from
the group of people that I’m with 24/7.
It’s good to clear your head, listen to
music and walk around in a new place.
Do I like my own company? Yeah, I’ve
always been that way. When we get to
cities on tour, I’ll go off on my own and
just walk around the city by myself.
I love doing that stuff.”
VIC
FUEENTHTEEVSEIL
PIERC
L.
SCHOO
T
A
D
R
S A NE
N BE
VIC WA OD – YOU CA BMX
GO
AND DO
SMART YOU KNOW…
,
STUNTS
MY FAVOURITE PLACE
TO VISIT IS…
“Seattle – I love Seattle. It’s actually
where we finished the new record
[Misadventures]. I just love that it’s
rainy, because we never had it much
growing up. My favourite thing to do
there is visit the EMP Museum – it’s
an ever-changing music museum. Last
time I went there was an exhibit
about Nirvana, and they had all their
old original drawings and stuff from
their albums, and props and pictures.
There was also an exhibit on Jimi
Hendrix that had old hotel notes
and things that he’d written.”
AT SCHOOL I WAS…
“A nerd. I never missed a day at
school! I was on the dean’s list
in college, which is the top list of
students. I was always afraid of doing
poorly. I just had this fear of failure,
so I always studied really hard. I
studied graphic design at San Diego
State University, and I did well.”
MY GUITAR HERO IS…
WHEN I’M OFF TOUR I…
“Go to shows! I love going to shows.
I find it really jaded when people say,
‘Oh, the last thing I wanna do when
I’m off tour is go to a show!’ So
many people say that and it’s really
sad to me. We’re always trying to
look at what people are doing and
get inspired by it. It’s inspiring to see
people performing and to see the
production. I’ve just never stopped
enjoying going to shows!”
MY SECRET TALENT IS…
“Flatland biking. It’s like BMX
but not going off jumps – more
tricks on the ground, spinning
the bike around and spinning
the handlebars. It takes a lot of
balance. I started doing that when
I was 15 years old, because of the
X Games, which is skateboarding,
BMX and snowboarding. I used to
be super into that when I was a
kid, so me and my best friend just
did it all the time.”
44 KERRANG!
“MY DAD IS MY
GUITAR HERO –
HE’S UNLEASHED!”
O V I C
F U E N T E S
O
“My dad. He taught me how to
play and I’m still trying to chase
him – still trying to catch up to
him. Is he better than me? He is, in
the sense that he’s unleashed! He
has no rules to how he plays, and
it’s like he doesn’t know what’s
happening next. His soul is in his
playing – it’s still something I’m
trying to match myself.”
I KEEP FIT BY…
“Touring! That’s when I’m in the
best shape. It’s down to of a lot
of things – you’re on more of a
schedule, so you eat and exercise
around the same time every day, and
I find that super-helpful. Also, our
tour manager’s actually started really
helping me out and training me a
little bit while we’re on tour because
he’s super-good at it. We’ll turn the
venue into a little gym before it
opens up, running around and setting
up exercise equipment. And we’ve
started sweet-talking local gyms –
trading tickets for gym access. That
works literally every single day.”
THE FILM THAT CHANGED
MY LIFE IS…
“Wayne’s World. I can still quote
both of them, to this day. Why did
it change my life? I think it’s just
added a sense of easygoingness
and keeping things light and funny,
instead of taking things seriously
all the time. It also kind of formed
a bond between me and some of
my best friends – being able to live
your life by quoting movies!”
WORDS: JENNYFER J. WALKER PHOTO: ANDREW LIPOVSKY
MY FAVOURITE
FOOD IS…
“Carne asada – my dad’s carne
asada! I guess you guys would
just call it steak. It’s sliced-up
marinated steak, for burritos and
Mexican food. My dad is really
good – he goes to this meat
market down towards the
border near Mexico to get it.You
barbecue it, and the flavour
is just amazing.”
22 J
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R AT I N G S
KKKKK = CLASSIC
KKKK = EXCELLENT
KKK = GOOD
KK = AVERAGE
K = POOR
PANIC! AT
THE DISCO
WITH: WEEZER, BLINK-182, GARBAGE,
NOTHING BUT THIEVES
IRVINE MEADOWS AMPHITHEATRE,
CALIFORNIA. 14.05.16
BRENDON, BLINK AND WEEZER BASK
IN THE SUN AT CALIFORNIA MEGA-FEST
WORDS AND PHOTOS: AMY HARRIS
IT’S HOT, it’s loud and there’s a surprise appearance by a
returning legend – that ticks all the boxes for the annual
Weenie Roast run by radio station KROQ-FM, which has
been dealing in these three things since it began in 1993.
Previously, Foo Fighters, Soundgarden and the Chester Benningtonfronted incarnation of Stone Temple Pilots have all rocked up onstage
unannounced.Tonight, the lucky people of the Weenie Roast get the
first proper look at some of blink-182’s new music with Matt Skiba. And
the surprise relieves the disappointment of the last-minute cancellation
of headliners Red Hot Chili Peppers following singer Anthony Kiedis’
hospitalisation (he’s okay, folks!).
But before that, there’s a whole day’s worth of rock on which to
gorge yourself. NOTHING BUT THIEVES (KKKK) are a
treat early on, their Muse-approved alt.rock adding a dash of unique
Britishness to proceedings, while a fantastic cover of the Pixies’ Where
Is My Mind? wins over the afternoon crowd. Next, GARBAGE
(KKKK) frontwoman Shirley Manson is here to remind us of a few
things; most pressingly – other than just how awesome Only Happy
When It Rains and Push It are – that she’s one of the coolest stars in
rock, after she trips offstage into the photo pit, casually gets up, leans on
the barrier and continues singing. Pure class.
But if Garbage are class, we’ll need to invent a new word to
adequately capture the white-toothed charm and easy skill with which
PANIC! AT THE DISCO (KKKKK) operate. Gold suits? Of
course. Gold suits while performing a backwards somersault mid-song?
Now that’s whatever’s classier than class.Throw in the razzle-dazzle of
Hallelujah and Victorious, and you have to award Brendon Urie the title
of Rock’s Greatest Showman Of 2016.
It almost threatens to overshadow the surprise appearance of
BLINK-182 (KKKK). Almost. But from the moment Mark Hoppus
announces, “We’re blink-182, motherfuckers, and this is your new
mommy, Matt Skiba,” it’s a riot. New songs
Bored To Death and the ultra-fast, sub-one
minute Brohemian Rhapsody sound immense
already, while classics like What’s My Age
Again? sound brand-new under the setting
California sun.
With the RHCP cancellation hanging in
the air, it’s up to WEEZER (KKKK) to
save the day with an extended set. And extra
Weezer is never a bad thing, with Pork And
Beans, Buddy Holly and Hash Pipe filling the
balmy night sky, bringing things to a differentthan-expected, but no less excellent, finale.
46 KERRANG!
Panic! really
turned KROQ
on its head
ISSUE 1622 JUN 4, 2016
Brendon Urie: dressed
to host a game show at
a moment’s notice
Weezer: “Does anyone know
where we can get some red
lights? Anyone at all?”
Shirley Manson, as
500 people asked if
she had a nice trip
You appear to have left your
guitar under the grill for too
long, Nothing But Thieves
Take note, Han Solo – this
is how you take a lightsaber
tap from Kylo Ren
KERRANG! 47
Reigning Days hadn’t
mastered the art of
the guitar strap yet
STAR SHOUT!
DAN STEER
(REIGNING DAYS,
VOCALS/GUITAR)
HOW’S YOUR
GREAT ESCAPE
WORKED OUT?
“It’s been amazing. I
didn’t really know what
to expect, but everyone’s
been really receptive. Every
venue’s full of people – they don’t
know who’s playing but they’re
there anyway! It’s wicked, it’s such
a good platform for bands like us.”
THE GREAT
ESCAPE
GRIFFIN
DICKINSON
(SHVPES, VOCALS)
HAUNT, BRIGHTON. 21.05.16
WORDS: OLLY THOMAS PHOTO: CHRIS CASEY
KERRANG!’S VERY OWN STAGE BRINGS FRESH BLOOD
TO ULTRA-ECLECTIC SOUTH COAST FESTIVAL
QTHE GREAT Escape festival is spread across 35
venues in Brighton, and everyone from Craig David to
Slabdragger is involved. But, really, there’s only one place
to be: the Kerrang! Fresh Blood Stage for four slices of
excellent, homegrown talent.
It says much about the courage of openers BLACK
FOXXES (KKKK) that they choose to play a Bowie
cover; it says even more about their sound that their
version suggests the Suffragette City in question is Seattle.
Opting for a widescreen take on grunge, theirs is
a sound that stretches from Nirvana’s grit to the
soulful wail of Screaming Trees.
An inspired blend of heartfelt indie rock
and DIY punk ethics makes MUNCIE
GIRLS (KKKKK) an irresistible proposition.
Frontwoman Lande Hekt lyrically blurs the line between
the personal and the political to stunning effect, while
closing song Respect effortlessly makes the case for this
bunch of punks being absolute gold.
Making it three Devon trios in a row, REIGNING
DAYS (KKKK) draw on the continuum of sassy
riff action that runs from QOTSA to Royal
Blood. As long as Muse exist, they will remain
the county’s second biggest-sounding band, but
their swaggering set suggests
they’d view this as a challenge.
Time for something heavier?
Well, SHVPES (KKKK) are
here. Storming the stage like
they’re on a mission to convert
The Great Escape to the cause of
metal, they gleefully stamp their
mark on proceedings. And like
all of this evening’s bands, they
make the future of British rock
look really exciting. Escape? We
Black Foxxes were thrilled
want to stay!
to play the SH BL Stage
WHAT DOES IT
MEAN FOR YOU TO
PLAY THE K! STAGE
AT THE GREAT ESCAPE?
“It’s a big deal for us. We’ve just
come away from writing and
recording our album, and spent
seven months basically out of the
loop. So, to come back and be
welcomed like this, and play new
songs and get a great reaction, it’s
an absolute privilege.”
LANDE HEKT
(MUNCIE GIRLS,
BASS/VOCALS)
YOU’VE PLAYED
BRIGHTON LOADS
OF TIMES DOING
DIY SHOWS. HOW
WAS THIS DIFFERENT?
“It’s absolutely the polar opposite.
Normally we have a hand in
organising shows, or it’s our
friends who are organising them.
There were a load of people we
don’t recognize watching us, which
is really cool. I quite like that,
because it adds to the pressure.”
MARK HOLLEY
(BLACK FOXXES,
VOCALS/GUITAR)
Christ, how bright is the
sun outside that window?
48 KERRANG!
SHVPES’ Incredible Hulk
impression was going to
cost a fortune in jeans
YOU AND MUNCIE
GIRLS ARE FROM
EXETER, AND
REIGNING DAYS ARE
FROM TORBAY. IS THIS A
SOUTH DEVON TAKEOVER?
“Sort of! All of us have been
around for a long time and I
think we’re finally getting the
dues that we deserve. There’s a
lot of good music coming out of
the West Country. There’s a new
band called October Drift coming
out from our way who are just
phenomenal, as well.”
ISSUE 1622 JUN 4, 2016
BLIND
GUARDIAN
PLUS: GLORYHAMMER
QUEEN MARGARET UNION, GLASGOW. 17.05.16
KKKK
GERMAN POWER-METAL LEGENDS END A 30-YEAR
WAIT WITH STORMING SCOTTISH DEBUT
QTHREE DECADES is an awfully long time.
Thankfully, German power-metal titans Blind
Guardian bridge that gap tonight, delivering their
long-overdue Scottish debut not as a half-empty
nostalgia-fest, but to a rapturous, packed-out hall.
It doesn’t hurt that they’ve got screwball ‘heroic
fantasy metal warriors’ Gloryhammer tagging
along.Wrapping their ludicrous heavy metal in
wizards’ cloaks (even the soundman’s got one!),
and cranking the cheese up to 11, they deliver fun
by the cauldronful. Compared to the headliners’
career-spanning, two-and-a-half-hour assault, though,
they’re still a little insubstantial.With epic power
metal Nightfall and the self-explanatory Lord Of The
Rings, it’s a dream set list, delivered with the sort of
precision-engineered panache that only comes from
a half-lifetime of headlining European metal festivals.
Hell, underpinned by the undimmed vocal prowess
of frontman Hansi Kürsch and the animal energy
of shirtless sticksman Frederik Ehmke, even fresher
cuts like The Ninth Wave go down a storm. Are we
sated? Are we fuck! Two hit-filled encores – a mighty
Valhalla and breakout ballad The Bard’s Song (In The
Forest) – leave the venue physically rocking. And
even a cacophonous, tacked-on closing cover of The
Regents’ Barbara Ann has the homebound rabble
screaming for more. Best not leave it another 30
years, eh, lads?
SAM LAW
It was an unfortunate
time to lose one’s cufflinks
THE
DIRTY NIL
JUMPIN’ JACKS, NEWCASTLE. 06.05.16
KKKK
THE HOTTEST ALT.ROCK BAND OF 2016
SHOW TOON HOW TO PARTY LIKE IT’S 1991
Q THE VENUE is a converted loft above a pub, the
fans look like they’re from a ’90s skateboarding
documentary and the sound is much bigger than
the room. It’s almost like The Dirty Nil have taken
Bill & Ted’s phone booth and sent us to Seattle in
1991. Actually, the truth is that The Dirty Nil are
one of the finest new alt.rock bands around today.
The three-piece have gathered an underground
following thanks to their quirky videos and
addictive album, Higher Power, not to mention
their nomination for Best International Newcomer
at this year’s K! Awards. And live, they’re simply
awesome. With little time to waste, the band make
their way through their perfectly crafted noise like
a well-oiled machine. They still do a ‘1-2-3-4’ before
each song and keep tweaking their gear so it’s just
right throughout the set. It’s also apparent each
member knows their strengths and weaknesses,
switching lead vocals between Luke Bentham and
David Nardi as each song requires. Sliding between
beautifully fuzzy tracks like Zombie Eyed and the
Weezer-bating melodies of Fuckin’ Up Young, the
result is a gloriously raw whole. Echoing elements
of Bleach-era Nirvana and even early Green Day
on occasion, the trio have definitely done their
homework, but tonight they are a band all of their
own. In fact, this may be ’90s-tastic, but The Dirty
Nil are one of the most fresh and exciting new
bands around today.
NEALE McGEEVER
FUTURE
OF THE LEFT
PLUS: ROLO TOMASSI
SAINT LUKE’S, GLASGOW. 14.05.16
KKKK
GLASGOW GETS SHREDDED AS ALT.ROCK
DOUBLE-WHAMMY FLASHES THE CUTTING-EDGE
QAS ECLECTIC festival bills go, Glasgow’s Restless
Natives would take some beating. From emo
legends Into It. Over It., to boozy screenings of
cult-cinema cuts like Tommy Wiseau’s The Room,
and hip-hop from Wu-Tang Clan’s Ghostface Killah,
it’s a smorgasbord of leftfield eccentricity. Even
among such things, though, Future Of The Left and
Rolo Tomassi still manage to serve up something
that sounds genuinely unusual. Under the gaping,
deconsecrated ceiling of historic Saint Luke’s church,
the latter writhe and roar like demons at the altar.
Bathed in shadow, Eva Spence’s manic pirouettes
might lack a little of their regular sparkle, but the
blackened math-metal of opener Funereal and
the tortured theatricality of Adastreia bristle with
malevolent purpose. By contrast, Cardiff bruisers
Future Of The Left deal in nothing but closedfist immediacy.That’s largely down to the furious
vocal delivery of frontman Andy Falkous. From the
gob-flecked Arming Eritrea to the screws-loose
brilliance of Robocop 4 – Fuck Off Robocop, he
stokes the atmosphere with blood-vessel-bursting
energy. Superbly, his bandmates manage to pile on
the texture and style, too, ensuring that the closing
salvo of Lapsed Catholics and a cover of McLusky’s
Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues send the crowd home
with sweat in their shirts, cuts on their faces and a
spring in their step.
SAM LAW
THE SUMMER
SET
RESCUE ROOMS, NOTTINGHAM. 18.05.16
KKK
U.S. POP-PUNKS ROLL WITH THE
PUNCHES AT TOUGH MIDLANDS SHOW
WORDS: STEVE BEEBEE PHOTO: ANDY GALLAGHER
QONE OF The Summer Set’s tour T-shirts is
emblazoned with the words ‘Too Pop For The Punk
Kids,Too Punk For The Pop Kids’.While funny, this is
also emblematic of the dilemma facing the American
quintet. It might also be the reason this venue is only
a quarter full (although Busted playing down the road
sure doesn’t help).The fact remains – people just don’t
know what to make of The Summer Set.Tonight, facing
up to deeply unappealing odds, the band do what any
professional outfit does – they carry on regardless.
Despite pausing to consider their future last year,
they’re rolling on like pop-punk troopers (poopers?)
and Brian Dales’ fronting of the band is as effervescent
and brotherly as always. Unlike some of his peers, he
can really sing, too.Without needing to try too hard,
Brian brings the already-bulbous melodies of new
song Figure Me Out (which they open with) into even
sharper relief. Its well received by this small but very
shrill audience, but, inevitably, it’s the older tunes like
the bouncy, rainbow-coloured Chelsea – an ode to an
ex-girlfriend rather than the mid-table football club –
that go down best.
Where The Summer Set go from here, though, is
anyone’s guess.They’ve certainly had their share of bad
luck, but a proven ability to bounce back could steer
them towards the bigger stages yet.
KERRANG! 49
INGS
KKKKK = CLASSIC
KKKK = EXCELLENT
KKK = GOOD
KK = AVERAGE
K = POOR
BEARTOOTH
AGGRESSIVE (RED BULL)
KKKK
OHIO METALCORE MOB CEMENT THEIR NAME WITH
BLOOD ON THEIR CLAWS AND FIRE IN THEIR EYES
THE FIRST cut, they say, is always
the deepest. Like starving grizzlies,
Beartooth ensured that was the case
with their breathtaking 2014 debut,
Disgusting. That album was an intoxicating meld
of brawny metalcore verve, shining pop-punk
extravagance and old-school punk grit built
around the immense charisma and inescapably
frank songcraft of ex-Attack Attack! frontman
Caleb Shomo. It sliced through the bullshit macho
posturing and bare-faced commercial clamour
of a stagnant scene, breaking what looked
conspicuously like fresh ground.
Of course, the traditionally ‘difficult’ second
album isn’t going to outdo the knockout impact
of the first. Our guard is up. Expectations are
already pressed against sweat-damp venue ceilings.
We already know how awesome Beartooth are.
Credit, then, to the Ohio crew for fronting-up
50 KERRANG!
with a genuine attempt, not at replicating that
already-won victory, but at convincing us they’re
truly capable of even more.
‘I’m way too aggressive!’ reckons Caleb on an
inward breath before fuse meets gunpowder on
the incendiary, eponymous opener. He’s wrong.
This is a record positively fuelled by aggression,
bolstered by its sense of injustice and raised high
on an instinctual need to prove its heavyweight
pedigree. It’s not too aggressive; it’s aggressive
enough for what’s going on. ‘Who knew you’d be
hated for being who you are?’ Caleb muses on
Hated, where runaway hardcore clashes against
the personal doubt of the lyrics. Better still is
the frontman’s sneering ‘I’ve always been a fan of
the nightlife because it’s the only life I had!’ on
the defiant, fiercely-autobiographical Loser. It’s
a motif of the entire record: two aspects of one
personality clashing to create one cathartic whole.
We’re in ideal fight-film sequel territory, of
course. Our heroes have fought tooth-and-nail
(claw?) for that first taste of greatness. Now
they’re defending their place in the sun with
both fists. Perhaps the greatest measure of
Aggressive’s success is that we do invest in every
punch thrown. From the grooving, mid-tempo
rage of Always Dead to the woah-ohs and raw
throats of However You Want It Said, from King
Of Anything’s vitriolic build to Rock Is Dead’s
demolition-derby payoff.Yeah, Aggressive is very
aggressive, but it’s also the sound of a band
showing their strength, and defiantly proving
that Beartooth tackle second albums with the
natural ease of their furry namesakes dropping
shit in the woods.
DOWNLOAD: Aggressive, Loser.
FOR FANS OF: letlive., Bring Me The Horizon.
SAM LAW
ISSUE 1622 JUN 4, 2016
“THIS IS MORE
INTENSE THAN
ANYTHING WE
DID BEFORE…”
CALEB SHOMO
TRAC
K
B
TRACY
K
NAILS
YOU WILL NEVER BE ONE OF US
(NUCLEAR BLAST)
KKKKK
GUMSHIELDS AT THE READY – THE WORLD’S ANGRIEST
BAND GET EVEN MORE PISSED-OFF ON THIRD ALBUM
1
YOU WILL NEVER
BE ONE OF US
Johnny Rotten called his
autobiography Anger Is An
Energy. If this is the case, then
by the former Sex Pistols
singer’s reckoning, Nails must
be a nuclear power plant.
Blowing up.Twice. Because it’s
having a shit day.The 10 blasts
of raging hardcore, death
metal and stomach acid they
vomit up here are delivered
with the worst of intentions.
Nails are cross, people…
2
this is a chugga-chugga
pulveriser, and the first song
to break two minutes!
6
SAVAGE INTOLERANCE
It’s not just Nails
who are angry; their very
instruments sound pissedoff. Just listen to how
vicious the bass is here –
it sounds like it’s about
to headbutt you.
7
IN PAIN
You know when a
blastbeat is played so hard
it actually sounds like
drums blasting apart? Yeah.
Plus, there’s a very cool
Slayer-esque squealy solo.
FRIEND TO ALL
…Cross about what,
we don’t know – curiously,
Nails are not big on choruses
– but a broad brush would
paint it as ‘literally everything’.
PARASITE
This minute of sarcasticallyFifty-five seconds of
titled grind is unfriendly
grinding mayhem. It makes
to everyone.
producer Kurt Ballou’s band,
Converge, sound like Busted.
MADE TO MAKE
YOU FALL
INTO QUIETUS
Is that a blastbeat in your
Nope, not quiet.
pocket, or are you really
Into Loud-iness.
annoyed to see us? Ah, right.
THEY COME
LIFE IS A
CRAWLING BACK
DEATH SENTENCE
Clocking in at a whopping
Keeping the positive vibes
eight minutes, this basically
going here. If you have
repeats the whole album,
something nearby that will
like a second smack in
break, break it.
the mouth as a fucking-off
present. Has anyone ever
VIOLENCE IS FOREVER
offered Nails a hug? Don’t,
Taking the foot off the because we really like them
accelerator for a moment,
when they’re angry.
8
CALEB SHOMO
(EVERYTHING)
WHICH SONG ON THE
ALBUM ARE YOU MOST
PROUD OF AND WHY?
“It’s hard to choose a
single song. I’m really
proud of all the tracks on
the album, and I think it
should be jammed as a
whole. I took a lot of time
on these songs, and I
spent countless hours
going over each one to
make them the best songs I
could write. However, I will
say, my current favourite
song is Burnout.”
WHAT’S SOMETHING
ON THIS ALBUM
THAT MIGHT
SURPRISE PEOPLE?
“The album as a whole
is more intense, in my
opinion. The recording
process was the same as
Disgusting – me writing
songs and recording them
alone in my basement.
What makes this a bit
different is that the majority
of the songs were written
in about two months; the
first album was written over
the course of about seven
months. The techniques I
used to record were very
similar, just with updated
gear and better mics. Also,
having David Bendeth
[Paramore, In Flames]
mix the album changed
the tone completely, and
brought so much more life
to the tracks.”
YOU’RE MERGED WITH
A WOLF ON THE COVER
ART. DID YOU HAVE
ANY ALTERNATIVE
COVER IDEAS THAT
GOT SCRAPPED? WHAT
WERE THEY?
“We had a few other ideas
which were photo-based.
For the most part, we used
the other ideas as single
covers. We worked with
Myriam Santos, and she
pushed me to get some
crazy shots. I’m very happy
with the album cover.”
9
4
10
5
THIS ALBUM IS MOSTLY MADE UP OF…
98%
Anger
1%
Hardcore
1%
Metal
0%
Crying
about it
WORDS: NICK RUSKELL
THE INSIDER
3
KERRANG! 51
KKKKK = CLASSIC KKKK = EXCELLENT KKK = GOOD KK = AVERAGE K = POOR
THE DREAM IS OVER (SIDEONEDUMMY)
KKKK
CHAOTIC CANUCK INDIE-PUNKS CREATE THE
PERFECT STORM ON RAW SECOND ALBUM
QFACED WITH a couple
of problems – a frontman
with badly torn-up vocal
cords and a fleeting desire
to murder each other –
PUP did the only sensible
thing: regroup and record
a head-spinning second album.The Dream Is
Over hits the sweet spot between the slacker
cool of Weezer, the sunny skate-punk of
FIDLAR and the blustery aggression of their
fellow Canadian noisemakers Single Mothers.
Each track bubbles with the life this band nearly
had snatched from it, frontman Stefan Babcock
refinding his voice to deliver some off-the-wall
storytelling (‘I was feeling a little bizarre / The
day that I buried my family car…’) as well as
articulate songs that beat with real, pounding
heart. Expect this to crop up on more than a
few album-of-the-year lists.
DOWNLOAD: DVP, Familiar Patterns.
FOR FANS OF: Weezer, The Menzingers.
LYRIC OF
THE WEEK
‘You got sneak
attacked from the
zodiac’. RHCP
have always
been really
good at rhyming.
Sometimes the
rhyming words
make no sense
together, but they
still sound good.
And, lads, it’s
sneak attacked
by the zodiac.
Grammar, yeah?
BAND:
Red Hot
Chili Peppers
SONG:
Dark Necessities
ALBUM:
The Getaway
ALISTAIR LAWRENCE
REIGNING
DAYS
REIGNING DAYS
(ECCO)
KKKK
DEVONSHIRE TRIO TICK BOX MARKED
‘FUTURE ROCKSTARS’ WITH KILLER EP
QA TRUSTY way to
achieve a quick impact
is to make everything
sound so huge that
people would have to
be stone deaf to ignore
you. Reigning Days get
the brief. Opening with a piledriver of a riff,
they quickly reach for a hook that’s somehow
even bigger. Ultimately – just as with most
great bands – it’s all about the songs.There
might only be four here, but each of them is
laced with the kind of melodic goodness most
new bands would struggle to concoct once.
Renegade comes armed with yet another
killer chorus, while Friendly Fire teases before
slamming the big rock door in your face once
again.With frontman Dan Steer’s commanding
voice and bouncy barnet, it’s hard to see
Reigning Days abdicating anytime soon.
DOWNLOAD: Empire.
FOR FANS OF: Biffy Clyro, Royal Blood.
SLEEVE OF
THE WEEK
The new Moose
Blood album is
entitled Blush.
How does one
illustrate that?
Personally, we’d
go for a picture of
someone caught
going to the toilet
somewhere they
ought not to,
and capture their
blushes. Moose
Blood, however,
have better
ideas than us,
and have gone
for a blushed
pink sleeve.
Clever lads.
STEVE BEEBEE
MANIC STREET
PREACHERS
EVERYTHING MUST GO 20TH
ANNIVERSARY EDITION (COLUMBIA)
KKKKK
THE MANICS’ BIGGEST ALBUM GETS THE
DELUXE TREATMENT, REMAINS AMAZING
QFOLLOWING UP the
Manics’ classic 1994 album,
The Holy Bible, should
have been impossible.
And yet, somehow,
Everything Must Go was
every bit as incredible a
52 KERRANG!
VIDEO OF
THE WEEK
SILVERA,
GOJIRA
What oddness
have Gojira
served us here?
Something
involving people
in bedsheets
being ghosts.
And some weird
black goo stuff.
It’s kind of like
a horror film. A
tech-metal one.
record, despite being made in the most trying
of circumstances, as the band still reeled from
the 1995 disappearance of guitarist and main
lyricist, Richey Edwards. EMG replaced THB’s
scabrous ferocity with stately dignity, but was
scarcely less intense as the band explored love,
loss and politics, and ended up selling millions
of records and winning two BRIT Awards. It’s
been beautifully repackaged for this anniversary
edition but, ultimately, you don’t need DVDs
or fancy booklets to appreciate this fitting
monument to the Manics’ enduring power.
Everyone must buy.
DOWNLOAD: A Design For Life.
FOR FANS OF: Stereophonics, Muse.
MARK SUTHERLAND
VEXXES
COMMON GROUND
(SELF-RELEASED)
KKK
NEW LEEDS ALT.ROCKERS PRESENT AN
INTRIGUING FOUR-TRACK TASTER
QBIFFY CLYRO and
Arcane Roots have
proved that the art of the
anthem doesn’t have to
be simple, formulaic or
lacking in musical skills
and invention.Vexxes
essentially deliver big melodic slices of poprock, but there’s a lot of space for them to
explore within that remit, using technical riffs
and big layered meshes of sound to support
the crystalline hooks that appear to be their
stock in trade.The production is perhaps a
little too flawless, though – there’s a pristine,
hermetic quality that gives it all a made-in-theworkshop feel, but that’s a mere quibble. It’ll
be fascinating to see what VEXXES come up
with given more than an EP on which to flex
their creative muscles.
DOWNLOAD: Enemies.
FOR FANS OF: Arcane Roots, Biffy Clyro.
PAUL TRAVERS
SLØTFACE
SPONGE STATE
(PROPELLER)
KKKK
NORWEGIAN POP-ROCKERS INTRODUCE
THEMSELVES WITH FIERCE DEBUT EP
QBUZZ, WHILE helpful
to a new band, can also
be a very dangerous
thing. Especially when
it’s the type that
elevates a quartet of
über-trendy Nordic
OF MICE
& MEN
teens with an edgy name (their original
moniker, Slutface, having been very publicly
changed-out in the name of social-media
decency) and a commendable feminist
agenda to cult status before a note’s even
been properly struck. Fortunately, the
four songs that comprise Sponge State,
Sløtface’s debut EP, overflow with the sort
of infectious energy you just can’t help
but rave excitedly about. The music itself
might be a pretty easy-on-the-ears blend
of riot-grrrl attitude and the ragged punk
playfulness of early Green Day, but it’s
powered by pure, proud, protest-music
heart. From livewire breakthrough single
Kill ’Em With Kindness, to the enormous
title-track, to incendiary banger Shave My
Head, Sponge State is brave, brazen and
brilliantly defiant music that’ll stretch your
(sløt)face into a righteous grin.
DOWNLOAD: Get My Own, Sponge
State, Kill ’Em With Kindness.
FOR FANS OF: Sleater-Kinney, Muncie
Girls, Green Day.
SAM LAW
DARK
FUNERAL
WHERE SHADOWS FOREVER REIGN
(CENTURY MEDIA)
KKK
SWEDISH BLACK METALLERS RETURN
TO PUT THE ‘FUN’ IN FUNERAL
QFOREVER
TOEING the perilous
tightrope between
pantomime evil and
true malevolence, you
have to wonder: which
direction will Dark
Funeral head in this time? Fortunately,
Where Shadows Forever Reign, the band’s
sixth album, is the latter. The result of 20
years of practice, their ability to wield
serrated, frost-bitten BM riffs like masters
strikes with an impressive urgency on
opener Unchain My Soul, while they
find just as much value in slowing the
fuck down on As I Ascend. It’s a desolate
soundtrack that’s perfect for frontman
Lord Ahriman to wax lyrical about topics
as varied as Hell, burning (in Hell), eternal
condemnation (to Hell) and the abyss (of
Hell). Oh, and the Devil (address: Hell). Yet
for all this Satanic jibber-jabber, it’s Dark
Funeral’s vicious music that sells it best.
DOWNLOAD: As I Ascend.
FOR FANS OF: Gorgoroth, Watain,
Dissection, Dimmu Borgir.
GEORGE GARNER
THE RETURN of OF
MICE & MEN with
a new album later
this year is very good
news indeed. Can’t
wait? Us neither, so to
tide yourselves over,
you’ll be wanting to
check out LIVE AT
BRIXTON (KKKK),
filmed at last year’s
triumphant show at the
Capital’s legendary
venue. It’s a place
that’s the proving
ground for future great
bands, the place you
play as a way to hand
in your application
to start doing arenas.
So, kind of lucky
they filmed it, really,
as Austin Carlile
and his champs
didn’t just rise to the
Against Me!
WATERPARKS
CLUSTER
AGAINST ME!
IS REINVENTING
AXL ROSE (No Idea, 2002)
(EASY LIFE / RED ESSENTIAL)
KKKK
TERE
O
S
1
SINSAENUM
– ARMY OF
CHAOS
One new
band? Pah,
Joey Jordison’s
got two. And
this one’s got
members of
DragonForce
and Mayhem in
it. Heavy.
2
BRAND
NEW – I AM
A NIGHTMARE
Brand New
are back! And
they’ve got a
brand-new song.
It’s good.
3
TURNSTILE
– ADDICTED
Watch a man
riding a chicken
wing in the
video. Or just
listen to this
furious hardcore
if you don’t got
a telly.
4
TRASH
BOAT – HOW
SELFISH I SEEM
Another tasty bit
of speedy punk
from the Brit
crew. All aboard
the HMS Punk!
5
STEVEN
TYLER –
RED, WHITE
& YOU
Mr Aerosmith’s
gone country.
Still rocks, mind.
ISSUE 1622 JUN 4, 2016
THE MADDEN BROTHERS’ FAVOURITE
NEW POP-ROCKERS MAKE A SPLASH
QKEYS FRANTICALLY
clicked and search
engine windows popped
when Good Charlotte
announced that they’d
cherry-picked Houston’s
Waterparks to open
their comeback show at LA’s Troubadour
last November. Clearly, the Maddens were
onto something the world at large were not.
However, with a few celeb thumbs ups and
a killer EP under their belt, theirs is a name
that won’t be met with blank stares for long.
This EP, the trio’s first non-self-released
output, with footnotes including Benji Madden
co-producing and Mikey Way filling in on bass
duties, is five chunks of pop-punk expertly
designed to cling to your brain. From opener
Crave, the band show they know how to
fold mischievous intelligence in with their
gravity-light pop frivolities – something their
contemporaries often lack – while a spritely
weirdness peppers the production. It’s a slide
you’ll want to go down again and again.
DOWNLOAD: Mad All The Time.
FOR FANS OF: All Time Low, As It Is.
HOW THE FLORIDA CREW HELPED TO REINVENT
PUNK ROCK FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM…
BACK WHEN the bubblegum
sheen of blink-182 and Good
Charlotte was catapulting poppunk to soaring commercial
peaks, four misfits from Gainesville begged
and borrowed whatever money they
could find to record their debut album
at the nearby Goldentone Studios. It’s
a good thing for us all they did. Against
Me! Is Reinventing Axl Rose contradicted
everything about what was clearly working
well at the time, eschewing all notion
of polished perfection for a 30-minute
warts’n’all blast of punk-rock purity:
kicking like a mule, straight from the heart.
Singer/guitarist Laura Jane Grace takes us
back to her band’s humble beginnings…
WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR
MIND AS YOU WROTE THESE SONGS?
LAURA JANE GRACE (VOCALS/GUITAR):
“There’s that cliché – you have your whole
life to write your first record! I was working
on the songs as a teenager, and the record
was a culmination of everything I’d been
through up to 18 or 19 years old.We made
the record very quickly, it was our first time
in the studio pretty much and we felt really
intimidated by everything.We had no idea
how to make the sounds in our head come
out of the speakers, you know? So, we were
very nervous – there was a lot of that kinda
energy.We did one whole day’s recording
and decided we’d played everything too fast!
So, we had to book another day and come
back to do it all a second time.Technically, it
was all recorded, mixed and mastered in one
day for about $700. And to think, it changed
the course of my life!”
TOM SHEPHERD
WHITE
LUNG
PARADISE
(DOMINO)
KKKK
PROOF THAT SHAVING THE EDGES OFF
DOESN’T ALWAYS PRODUCE LAME RESULTS
QPREVIOUSLY,
VANCOUVER’S White
Lung have sugared their
alt.rock with broken glass.
Here, though, they’ve
taken things into a place
where that barbed-wire
charm takes a backseat to sounding absolutely
enormous.There’s still a sarcasm in Kiss Me
When I Bleed and the chorus-pedal-tastic
Hungry, but it’s served as a delicious treat.
There are shades of PVRIS’ ethereal beauty,
a dose of full-on alt.rock guitar and, in Mish
Barber-Way, they have a singer who can make
blunt, grungy vocals sound as vast as the songs
they’re sitting atop. Paradise isn’t a softening of
the blow, then, it’s just putting a bow on it.
DOWNLOAD: Hungry.
FOR FANS OF: Muncie Girls, PVRIS.
DO YOU THINK THE SMALL BUDGET
AND LACK OF STUDIO TIME HELPED?
“There was a certain element of just
working with what we had – the
instruments you hear was all we could
get. That was a big part of the whole DIY
spirit of that album, you have to work with
what you have and shape it all together. As
far as influences go, I was listening to a lot
of (Young) Pioneers, one of my favourite
bands who came from Richmond,Virginia. I
was hugely under the influence of them, as
well as taking all the punk rock I grew up
listening to and putting it into a record.”
SO, WHY THE HELL DID YOU END
UP USING AXL ROSE AS A LOOSE
CONCEPT FOR THE ALBUM?
“Guns N’ Roses were hugely influential to
me, especially when I was a kid. I listened
to tons of bands like that when I was a
small kid, like, eight or nine years old. It felt
dangerous to me. And I definitely identified
with the ambiguity they presented – you
couldn’t tell if the members were boys
or girls! Axl Rose was so androgynous,
especially for such a young person. I just
loved that band, so, in a way, I wanted to
reclaim that part of my childhood and
present my own version of that.”
AND FINALLY, DO PINTS OF GUINNESS
REALLY MAKE YOU STRONG?
“Well, I have to say, that song has gotten
me a lot of free pints over the years!
I do like Guinness, I’m a fan and I’ve
even toured the brewery in Dublin. My
favourite part was the advertising section
where they show all the old ’80s Guinness
commercials – they’re the weirdest things
ever! They’re not anything like what you’d
expect for a beer commercial!”
Kerrang! Radio play
it all at 10pm, June 2!
WORDS: AMIT SHARMA
N TH
E
O
K!LASSIC ALBUM
challenge of playing
one of London’s most
prestigious stages
that night, they put
it in a headlock and
made it buy a load of
merch. This DVD/live
album captures all the
sweat and shouting
from that night, and
does so brilliantly.
The action is fast and
engaging, the sort
where you’re made to
feel so close to it you
can practically see up
Austin’s nose and feel
the sweat flying off
him as he pinwheels
around during Second
& Sebring, the sort that
makes you wish you
were there. It cements
what a big deal that
night in London was
for this band – the
night when their star
potential stretched
itself into full span
and peacocked itself
for all to see. Where
Of Mice & Men go
from here remains to
be seen, but insider
whispers about their
forthcoming album
suggest it’s somewhere
brilliant. Christ knows
how they’ll top what
they’ve done here,
but we can’t wait to
find out.
WORDS: NICK RUSKELL
NICK RUSKELL
“IT WAS DONE
IN ONE DAY
FOR $700…”
LAURA JANE GRACE
KERRANG! 53
MU$T
HAV£S
ALL THE BEST GEAR FROM THE FOUR
CORNERS OF PLANET ROCK AND BEYOND!
Eastbourne: where drive-by
shootings are done on mobility
scooters. Just as scary, though.
£12.99 Kontrabandstor.es
Sneak a microwave in your
backpack and make your own
popcorn at the cinema.
£8.99 Iwantoneofthose.com
This twenty one pilots tee is reduced
price because it has no sleeves. Not really,
but it should be.
$25 (£17.13) Store.twentyonepilots.com
The Of Mice & Men logo on this shirt was inspired by frontman
Austin Carlile’s love of word searches. He’s always got his head
in a puzzle book, that one.
$30 (£20.53) Ofmicemerch.com
It says ‘Communion’ on the front,
but we wouldn’t drink this Opeth
ale in church if we were you.
£2.99 Honestbrew.co.uk
Here’s As It Is inaccurately ripping
off FOB’s Take This To Your Grave
cover. Their sofa was black, guys…
£15 Asitis.limitedrun.com
Keep your shit safe this festival season with this miniature safe. Tie it
to the toilets if you really don’t want anyone to go near it.
£29.99 Masterlock.eu
According to The Word Alive’s website, their Dark Matter
coffee is “composed of Guatemalan and Brazilian coffees” and
tastes like “chocolate, caramel and raisin, with a mild citrus
acidity”. There was us thinking Telle Smith floated into outer
space and collected it up :(
$35 (£23.99) Districtlines.com/thewordalive
54 KERRANG!
Here’s a cowboy cat riding
a shark vomiting a rainbow.
Because why the fuck not.
£12.99 Emp-online.co.uk
Got a fake show with your fake
rock band coming up? Then treat
yourself to a new set of strings.
$2 (£1.37) Stupidiotic.com
Hang this Ouija board banner in your
kitchen if you can’t decide what to have
for dinner. The spirits will advise you.
$20 (£13.69) Creepycompany.com
ISSUE 1622 JUN 4, 2016
ALICE
THROUGH THE
The thing about Rob Damiani is…
that Rob Damiani is fun. Kerrang!
Tour 2015 can vouch for that.
£17.99 Donbroco.bigcartel.com
Enjoy this figure of Elliott from Pete’s
Dragon, until you see the remake
and it’s ruined forever.
£10.99 Popinabox.co.uk
Hayley Williams’ hair dye range is
finally out. *Goes home to recreate
her Riot-era hair*
$13.99 (£9.56) Gooddyeyoung.com
LAST WEEK YOU READ THE FEATURE, NOW LET’S FALL
DOWN A RABBIT HOLE OF MERCH…
Are you always late for a very
important date? Then this
snazzy timepiece should get you
there on time. Until you leave it
on the bus, of course.
£10
Vintagefashionjewellery.com
If Alice looks angry on the front
of this jumper, it’s probably
because the Cheshire Cat sat
on her Ride The Lightning vinyl.
Damn cats, no respect.
$30 (£20.52)
Storenvy.com
This Alice Through The Looking
Glass poster was pretty cool ’til
some bloke called Johnny Depp
went and scribbled all over it.
Absolute liberty.
£249
Ebay.co.uk
Nothing says ‘geek’ like carrying
your books in a bag shaped like
a book. Prepare for the security
guard at your local library to
follow you round when you’re
next in there.
52.50 Euros (£40.04)
Steampunk-story.com
These notebooks were crafted
from the skin of one of the
moles from the original movie.
You know, the little guy who
was one of the 12 jurors in the
Queen’s court. Poor dude.
£15.86 each
Amazon.co.uk
This Urban Decay make-up
palette is too nice to use, so just
take it out the box and look at
it every so often. Who needs
make-up when Snapchat filters
exist, anyway.
£43
Urbandecay.co.uk
Fighting the Dark Side is sweaty
work. Cool down with these
lightsaber ice lolly-makers.
$29.62 (£20.24) Hottopic.com
No idea what Jared Leto’s upto on
this shirt. But then who ever knows?
$34.99 (£23.92)
Thirtysecondstomarsstore.com
These Lidl shirts are pretty ropey, but well worth it for the money.
You can pick up some cheap bananas while you’re there, too.
£3.99 each Lidl.co.uk
In the Dark Ages, they had dinosaurs but no tables lamps. And in 2016,
we have table lamps but no dinosaurs. Swings and roundabouts, eh?
£27 each Lisaangel.co.uk
KERRANG! 55
NEW
YEARS DAY
S
S
I
M
T
DON’
THE NEW
V
FORE THEY
TAKE THE SUMMER OFF TO WRITE A NEW ALBUM… DUNGEONS BEWARE!
WORDS: JAMES HINGLE PHOTO: GETTY
HEY, ASH! YOU’RE COMING
BACK TO THE UK VERY SOON –
ARE YOU FEELING PUMPED?
ASH COSTELLO (VOCALS):
“Oh my gosh, is that a serious question (laughs)?
I am fucking looking forward to coming back to
the UK – we’ve been there so much in the last
year that when we started our current U.S. tour,
it felt foreign. The UK is like our second home.”
SO, WHAT HAVE YOU MISSED THE MOST
ABOUT OL’ BLIGHTY, THEN?
“I mean, I don’t want sound cliché, but the first
thing we miss is the fans, obviously. We have the
most incredible fans over in the UK, and our
shows are getting bigger and bigger, so it’s really
exciting for us. I like seeing all the old bars and
visiting every dungeon – that’s my favourite part.
I love visiting the torture museums, too. We try
to do all the weird creepy shit!”
LOVELY. IS THERE ANYONE THAT YOU’D
LIKE TO LEAVE IN A DUNGEON?
“There’s too many to list! I have no problem in
saying that; I’m a sweetheart, I’m a total doll and
I could get on with the Devil himself, but if you
get on my bad side, then you stay there. Let’s
just say if [horror movie] The Purge was real,
56 KERRANG!
there would be a lot of people who would have
to watch their back! I loathe Donald Trump, so
I would throw him into a dungeon. He would fit
in there perfectly.”
IS YOUR LIVE SHOW AS SCARY AS BEING
ON YOUR BAD SIDE?
“It’s heavy these days. Our goal at shows is to
get people jumping and headbanging. Our music
has progressively become heavier, and we’ve
“I WOULD
THROW DONALD
TRUMP INTO A
DUNGEON!”
ASH COSTELLO
been re-evaluating our songs and discussing
how to make certain bits hit harder than ever.
It’s getting more face-melty!”
HAVE YOU EVER SUFFERED ANY SERIOUS
HEADBANGING INJURIES?
“All the time, but I’m used to it now! We have
bangovers, so if we go hard at a show, the next
day we can feel it in our necks. One time, I
had a bangover so bad that it felt like I had an
elephant sitting on my neck! It made me feel
sick. I actually threw up from headbanging so
much from the night before – but your body
gets used to it after a while.”
OUCH. HOW DO YOU USUALLY RECOVER
FROM A BANGOVER?
“Oh, you just don’t (laughs). There really is no
remedy but to drink more! I mean, you don’t
really have time to recover.You’ve just got to
push through it the next day.”
WHAT A PRO. FINALLY, HOW ARE
YOU FEELING ABOUT CAMDEN ROCKS
THIS WEEKEND, AND WHAT’S NEXT FOR
NEW YEARS DAY AFTER THAT?
“It’s cool to see a bunch of venues opening
their doors for a festival. Camden is already so
packed with people on the streets that I can’t
imagine it being any crazier! After that, we’re
taking the summer off to write a new record –
we’ve already started writing new songs!”
DATES: Norwich Waterfront June 1, Southampton
Joiners 2, London Camden Rocks 4.
ISSUE 1622 JUN 4, 2016
KERRANG! DAY JUNE 1
BATH Decade, Cheap Meat (Moles Club)
BIRMINGHAM Oceans Ate Alaska
(Rainbow)
BOURNEMOUTH Norma Jean, Palm
Reader (Anvil)
BRISTOL Wheatus (Thekla)
CARDIFF Cancer Bats (Clwb Ifor Bach)
CARDIFF Senser (Globe)
LEEDS Vukovi (Brudenell Games Room)
LONDON Every Time I Die, Muck, Blood
Youth (Underworld, Camden)
MIDDLESBROUGH Fatherson,The Xcerts
(Westgarth Social Club)
NORWICH New Years Day (Waterfront)
PLYMOUTH Zebrahead,The Bottom Line,
Arizona Law (Hub)
SOUTHAMPTON Hands Like Houses, I,The
Mighty, Dead!,The Gospel Youth (Joiners)
THURSDAY JUNE 2
BIRMINGHAM Senser (O2 Academy3
Birmingham)
BIRMINGHAM Vukovi (Sunflower Lounge)
BRISTOL All Pigs Must Die, Arabrot,
Bongripper, Corrupt Moral Altar, Dead
Congregation, Dragged Into Sunlight and
more! (Temples Festival @ various venues)
BOURNEMOUTH Cancer Bats
(Sound Circus)
CARDIFF Hands Like Houses, I,The Mighty,
Dead!,The Gospel Youth (Clwb Ifor Bach)
CHESTER Norma Jean (Live Rooms)
LONDON Decade, Cheap Meat
(Upstairs @ Garage)
LONDON Every Time I Die, Muck, Blood
Youth (Dome,Tufnell Park)
LONDON Fatherson,The Xcerts, Rob
Lynch (Scala)
MANCHESTER The Algorithm (Tiger Lounge)
NEWCASTLE [spunge] (Think Tank?)
RIDER OF THE WEEK
BAND: Weezer
Organic produce only here! Jamie
Oliver would be jumping with joy if
he saw the geek-rockers’ rider…
ALL FOOD SHOULD BE ORGANIC
DUE TO SERIOUS FOOD
ALLERGIES. NO NUTS IN ANY
PRODUCTS, PLEASE.
24 x bottles of water
6 x cans of Diet Coke
6 x bottles of Coors Light
1 x bottle of Rombauer Chardonnay
1 x bottle of Jordan Cabernet
Sauvignon
1 x bag of Lightly Salted Kettle Chips
6 x pots of non-gelatin yogurts –
assorted flavours
Assorted organic fruit – apples,
bananas, grapes, cherries
1 x block of vegan chocolate
5 x convenient salads – must be
vegetarian and nut-free
2 x ripe avocados
1 x loaf of whole-grain wheat bread
1 x jar of natural almond butter
1 x jar of 100% fruit jam
1 x bag of tortilla chips
1 x jar of salsa
1 dark chocolate candy bar
Silk Original Soymilk
1lb of sliced and roasted deli turkey
1 small cheese platter
1 x container of Sabra hummus
1 x bag of pitta bread
POOLE Zebrahead,The Bottom Line,The
Mistakes (Mr Kyps)
SHEFFIELD Sonic Boom Six (Corporation)
SOUTHAMPTON New Years Day (Joiners)
FRIDAY JUNE 3
BRISTOL Decade, Cheap Meat (Exchange)
BRISTOL Mayhem, MGLA, Esoteric,
The Ruins Of Beverast, Funeral Throne,
Pissgrave,Vorum, Sheer Terror and more!
(Temples Festival @ various venues)
CHESTER Vukovi (Live Rooms)
GLASGOW Senser (Audio)
LEICESTER Norma Jean, Palm Reader,
Speaking In Italics (O2 Academy Scholar
Bar Leicester)
LIVERPOOL Less Than Jake,Trash Boat,
Success (O2 Academy3 Liverpool)
LONDON Hands Like Houses, I,The
Mighty, Dead!,The Gospel Youth (O2
Academy Islington)
LONDON Every Time I Die, Muck, Blood
Youth (Old Blue Last, Shoreditch)
LONDON Deftones (SSE Arena,Wembley)
LONDON Vision Of Disorder (Dome,
Tufnell Park)
MANCHESTER Sonic Boom Six (Club
Academy)
OXFORD Cancer Bats, I Cried Wolf (O2
Academy2 Oxford)
SATURDAY JUNE 4
BRISTOL Melvins, Agorphobic Nosebleed,
Bongripper Groundhogs, ((Ohhms)) and
more! (Temples Festival @ various venues)
BRISTOL Hands Like Houses, I,The Mighty,
Dead!,The Gospel Youth (Exchange)
GLASGOW Vision Of Disorder (G2)
LEEDS Decade, Cheap Meat (Key Club)
LEICESTER Less Than Jake,Trash Boat,
Success (O2 Academy Leicester)
LONDON AC/DC (Olympic Stadium,
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park)
LONDON SikTh,Young Guns, Ginger
Wildheart, New Years Day, Creeper and loads
more! (Camden Rocks @ various venues)
SOUTHAMPTON Bury Tomorrow, Every
Time I Die, Landscapes (Engine Rooms)
SUNDAY JUNE 5
BIRMINGHAM Decade, Cheap Meat
(Rainbow Cellar)
BRIGHTON Norma Jean, Palm Reader
(Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar)
BRIGHTON The Algorithm (Prince Albert)
BRISTOL Carcass, Grave, Iron Reagan,
Corrupt Mortal Altar,Venom Prison,
Gentleman’s Pistols,Tombstones and more!
(Temples Festival @ various venues)
EDINBURGH Oceans Ate Alaska (Opium)
LONDON Wheatus (Brooklyn Bowl)
OXFORD Less Than Jake,Trash Boat,
Success (O2 Academy Oxford)
SOUTHAMPTON Blood Youth (Social)
WOLVERHAMPTON Sonic Boom Six
(Slade Rooms)
MONDAY JUNE 6
LIVERPOOL Wheatus (O2 Academy2
Liverpool)
MILTON KEYNES Norma Jean
(Craufurd Arms)
YORK Titus Andronicus (Crescent)
TUESDAY JUNE 7
CARDIFF Petrol Girls, Joliette,This Is
Wreckage and The Bellamys (Gwdihw)
LEEDS Oceans Ate Alaska (Key Club)
LEICESTER Titus Andronicus (Cookie)
LIVERPOOL Norma Jean (Arts Club)
LONDON Foreigner (Palladium)
SWANSEA Wheatus (Scene)
WHO WANTS
AN ENCORE? 7
DAY
UNTILS
DOWNLO
AD
ON TOP OF ALL THE RAD BANDS ON THE ZIPPO ENCORE STAGE
AT DOWNLOAD (HI, ALL TIME LOW, JANE’S ADDICTION, NOFX ET
AL!), ZIPPO ALSO HAS UNMISSABLE ACTIVITY AT THEIR BOOTH…
s Tag #ZippoEncore on your own
Download photos and head to the booth
to print them for FREE!
s Buy official Download Festival Zippo
windproof lighters
s Personalise your new Zippo
windproof lighter with engraving (only
applies to Zippo chrome lighters)
s Take part in daily air guitar
competitions to win
side-of-stage access
s Get your face painted to pay homage to
your favourite rock god
s Win free merchandise
s Buy official Download Festival Zippo
windproof lighters
s Get creative and design your own Zippo
windproof lighter and be in with a
chance of it getting made for real
s Get free replacement wicks
and flints
MY FIRST GIG
WHO: QUEEN WITH
MAHOGANY RUSH
AND KANSAS, PARA
MOUNT
THEATRE, SEATTLE, AP
RIL 6, 1975
THE ROCK LEGEND STARTED HIS
MUSIC
ROYALTY AT ONE OF THEIR SM AL JOURNEY BY SEEING ROCK
ALLEST-EVER SHOWS…
NIKKI SIXX,
SIXX:A.M.
“My first gig
was Queen with
Mahogany Rush
and Kansas at
the Paramount
Theatre, and it
was small – a 2,000-seater show.
When Kansas went on we were
like, ‘Who are these guys in
overalls and cowboy hats? What
the fuck is this?!’
“Queen had just put out Sheer
Heart Attack, their third album,
and they opened with the song
Now I’m Here. It starts with the
guitars – ‘jun-gun-gun-gun-gungun’ – and we were like, ‘Fuck,
listen to that!’ The spotlight hit this
figure [of Freddie Mercury] and
he was all in black, and he says,
‘Now I’m here.’ Then the lights
went out, and he goes, ‘Now
I’m there,’ and he was on
the other side of the
stage in white.
“When Queen started
he show we were like,
‘What the fuck!’ We’d never heard
a voice or guitars that sounded
like that – it blew our minds. And
they were playing stuff like Liar,
Brighton Rock, Tenement Funster,
Killer Queen… it levelled me.
Levelled me.
“It was right around the time
I was like, ‘Oh, I can do this idea
I have in my head up there.’ As a
kid, I’d been writing poetry and
nursery rhymes, but I never had
any intention of being a musician
– I just loved words and I used
to get other kids to sing these
nursery rhymes to my stuff. When
I went to Seattle to live with my
mum, there was a gut string guitar
in the corner with three strings
on it, and I picked it up and I
started playing. All I knew how
to play was plucking the strings,
and I started singing one of my
things over it and I was like, ‘Oh,
woah,’ and I just didn’t know
what I was doing; I just
moved my finger and, at
that moment, I started
writing songs.”
WORDS: RYAN COOPER
YOUR WEEK!
KERRANG! 57
BOOKING NOW
LEICESTER
THE PREMIER LEAGUEWINNING CITY
BURSTING WITH ROCK’N’ROLL!
2000TREES
Line-up:Twin Atlantic, Refused, Moose Blood,WSTR,
While She Sleeps, Palm Reader, Neck Deep,The King
Blues,The Bronx, Basement, LonelyThe Brave, HECK,
Mallory Knox,The Xcerts,Arcane Roots, Counterfeit,
Dinosaur Pile-Up, Creeper, ZOAX, Reigning Days,
Dave McPherson, SikTh, Jamie Lenman and more!
Cheltenham Upcote Farm July 7 – 9.
ANDY WRIGHT
(PROMOTER),
LIVE IN LEICESTER
WHAT ARE YOUR FIRST
MEMORIES OF THE LEICESTER
MUSIC SCENE?
“I moved to Leicester from
Leeds in 1985 and was very happy
with what I walked into. There was
loads of kids into Hanoi Rocks
and all that glam scene at the time.
I was lucky enough to work with
The Cherry Bombs featuring
Andy McCoy from Hanoi
Rocks and Terry Chimes, the
original drummer of The Clash,
shortly afterwards. Generally, the
scene was strong across all genres
and over the next 10 years we
hosted almost everything indie,
goth, rock, punk, psychobilly at
The Charlotte here.”
IS THE ROCK SCENE STILL
THRIVING IN 2016?
“It is still strong right now. I am
involved with an annual weekend
festival in Leicester called
Handmade, which is a totally
independent festival arranged by
three friends and myself. This year’s
notable headliners were Lonely
The Brave and Deaf Havana.
We also arrange UPRISING
festival at De Montfort Hall
which hosts the final of Metal
2 The Masses for a place at
Bloodstock Festival.”
WHAT ARE THE KEY VENUES
WITHIN THE TOWN AND WHAT
MAKES THEM SO GREAT?
“The key venues in the city are; O2
Academy Leicester, which has
facilities over its three venues, from
a 300-cap room to a 1,600-cap
room. The Musician, 220-cap,is a
favourite amongst the music-lovers
of Leicester and has hosted many
rock legends and cult bands from
everywhere. The Cookie is the
place for up-and-coming bands
3 DOORS DOWN
O2 Academy Bristol November 2, O2 Academy
Birmingham 3, Manchester Academy 5, London Eventim
Apollo 6. Support: Pop Evil
which is a 200-cap cellar bar and
has a great kitchen to feed all the
bands that play there.”
ARE THERE ANY OTHER COOL
PLACES THAT PEOPLE SHOULD
BE VISITING?
“Well, we usually hang out at
The Cookie or Firebug Bar.
Then we also have a rock and
indie club called Mosh, which
is always packed. People should
also check out our record shop,
Rockaboom, which is still going
strong during the digital boom.”
AS A PROMOTER, WHAT MAKES
LEICESTER SUCH A GREAT CITY
FOR BANDS TO PLAY?
“Well, we get really great turnouts
for pretty much every show within
the city. We are a city full of musiclovers and it gets well supported
here. People know what we do and
travel in from other cities often to
see gigs here – which is a boost to
the scene.”
OUT OF THE SHOWS YOU’VE
PUT ON, WHICH ONE STICKS
OUT FOR YOU THE MOST?
“That would have to be
Joe Strummer And The
Mescaleros. The Clash were
the first band I saw as a kid, so
to have them here and meet
him was awesome. Then one of
my favourites has to be The
Offspring supporting NOFX
years ago – that really was one
crazy night!”
IF YOU COULD GIVE ADVICE
TO BANDS IN LEICESTER WHAT
WOULD IT BE?
“Don’t overplay your local area,
work hard at getting your set
together and make your shows
special events.”
AC/DC
London Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Stadium June 4,
Manchester Etihad Stadium 9.
AGAINST THE CURRENT
Bristol Fleece September 21, Glasgow Garage 22,
Newcastle Riverside 23, Leeds Stylus 24, Belfast
Mandela Hall 26, Dublin Academy 27, Nottingham
Rescue Rooms 28, London O2 Shepherd’s Bush
Empire 30, Birmingham Asylum October 1, Manchester
Academy II 2.
ALICE COOPER
Stone Free Festival @ London O2 Arena June 18 – 19.
ALL THEM WITCHES
BristolThekla October 2, Manchester Deaf Institute
3, London Scala 4, Brighton Haunt 6, Leeds Brudenell
Social Club 7, Glasgow Classic Grand 8, Nottingham
Bodega 9.
AMERICAN IDIOT: THE MUSICAL
Glasgow King’sTheatre June 1 – 4.
APOCALYPTICA
Manchester Bridgewater Hall February 27,2017,Edinburgh
Queens Hall 28,London Royal Festival Hall March 1.
ARCH ENEMY
NorwichWaterfront August 21, Sheffield Corporation
22, CardiffTramShed 23, Southampton Engine Rooms
24. Support: Soilwork.
ARCHITECTS
O2 Institute Birmingham November 11, Manchester
Academy 12, O2 ABC Glasgow 13, Nottingham Rock
City 15, O2 Academy Bristol 17, London O2 Academy
Brixton 18.
BAND OF SKULLS
Leeds Stylus October 20, Manchester Albert Hall
21, Newcastle Northumbria University 22, London
Camden Roundhouse 26, Southampton Engine Rooms
November 17.
BASEMENT
Newcastle Riverside July 12, Carlisle Brickyard 13,
Cardiff Globe 14,Wolverhampton Slade Rooms 15,
Southend Chinnery’s 18, Brighton Haunt 19,Tunbridge
Wells Forum 20, Southampton 1865 21, Plymouth Hub
22. Support: Dinosaur Pile-Up,The Sun Days.
BEACH SLANG
TunbridgeWells Forum June 7, London Camden
Dingwalls 8, Birmingham Sunflower Lounge 9,
Edinburgh Electric Circus 10, Liverpool Studio2 11,
Manchester Deaf Institute 12, Nottingham Bodega
13, Cardiff Globe 14, Cambridge Portland Arms 15.
Support:Weaves, Muncie Girls (except Manchester).
BEING AS AN OCEAN
Plymouth Hub June 21, Bridgend Hobos 22, Kingston
Fighting Cocks 23.
BESTIVAL
Line-up: Creeper, Fatherson, K.Flay, MilkTeeth, Moose
Blood, PrettyVicious, PUP. Isle OfWight Robin Hill
Country Park September 8 – 11.
BIFFY CLYRO
Glasgow Bellahouston Park August 27. Support: Fall
Out Boy,Wolf Alice, CageThe Elephant.
BILLY TALENT
Norwich UEA October 12, O2 Academy Bristol 13,
Manchester Academy 15, O2 ABC Glasgow 16, O2
Academy Newcastle 17, O2 Institute Birmingham 19,
O2 Academy Leeds 20, Nottingham Rock City 22,
London Camden Roundhouse 23, CardiffTramshed 24,
O2 Guildhall Southampton 26.
And the award for The Most
Obvious Venue goes to…
58 KERRANG!
The only place to buy your
rock/dynamite supplies…
BLOODSTOCK FESTIVAL
Line-up: Slayer, Mastodon,Twisted Sister,Venom,
Behemoth, DragonForce, Paradise Lost, Rotting Christ,
Anthrax, Gojira, Satyricon, Fear Factory, Symphony X,
Acid Reign, Metal Allegiance, Stuck Mojo, Goatwhore.
Corrosion Of Conformity, Unearth, Ghost Bath, Evil
Scarecrow,Witchsorrow,Akercocke, Desert Storm and
more! Derbyshire Catton Park August 11 – 14.
BLUES PILLS
Wolverhampton Slade Rooms November 1, Glasgow
Classic Grand 2, Manchester Club Academy 5, London
Camden KOKO 6, Bristol Marble Factory 8.
THE BOUNCING SOULS
Huddersfield Parish August 2, Glasgow Stereo 3, Bristol
Exchange 5, London Camden Underworld 6, Kingston
Fighting Cocks 7. Support: Pear.
BRING ME THE HORIZON
London O2 Arena October 31, Bournemouth BIC
November 1, Nottingham Arena 2, Birmingham
Barclaycard Arena 4, London O2 Arena 5, Sheffield
Arena 6, Manchester Arena 8, Glasgow SSE Hydro 9.
BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE
Newport Centre November 24, O2 Academy
Newcastle 27, O2 Academy Glasgow 30, Manchester
Academy December 3, O2 Academy Birmingham 6,
London O2 Academy Brixton 9. Support: Killswitch
Engage, Cane Hill.
BURY TOMORROW
Southampton Engine Rooms June 4. Support: Every
Time I Die, Landscapes.
BUTSERFEST
Line-up: Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!, FVK, Creeper,
WSTR, Crooks,Ashestoangels and more! Petersfield
Queen Elizabeth Country Park September 10.
CAMDEN ROCKS
Line-up: SikTh,Young Guns,We AreThe Ocean, Ginger
Wildheart, InMe, Norma Jean,The Godfathers, Evil
Scarecrow, NewYears Day,TheVirginmarys,The
Qemists, Queen Kwong, Forever Never,As Lions,The
DirtyYouth, SHVPES, Black Foxxes, Lounge Kittens,
Press to MECO, BloodYouth, Scholars,Ashestoangels,
Samoans, Counting Days,The Ghost Riders InThe
Sky, Bad Sign, Creeper, Glen Matlock, Reigning Days,
Sonic Boom Six, HECK, Zebrahead, Black Spiders,Yuck,
Reckless Love,The Algorithm, Fort Hope, Palm Reader,
Wars, Fizzy Blood,Vodun, OxygenThief. Camden
various venues June 4.
COHEED & CAMBRIA
O2 ABC Glasgow August 22, O2 Ritz Manchester
23, London O2 Forum KentishTown 24. Support: La
Dispute, mewithoutYou.
DAMNATION FESTIVAL
Line-up: Enslaved, Nails, Ne Obliviscaris, Full Of
Hell, Oceans Of Slumber. Leeds University Union
November 5.
DANCE GAVIN DANCE
O2 Academy2 Oxford November 3, Brighton Haunt
4, O2 Institute3 Birmingham 5, Southampton Engine
Rooms 6, Nottingham Rescue Rooms 8, O2 Academy2
Newcastle 9, Manchester Sound Control 10, Glasgow
Garage 11, Leeds Key Club 12, Cardiff Globe 14, Bristol
Fleece 15, London Camden Underworld 16.
DEAD KENNEDYS
O2 Academy Oxford October 12, London O2 Islington
Academy 13 – 14.
DECADE
Bath Moles June 1, Bristol Exchange 3, Leeds Key
Club 4, Birmingham Rainbow 5. Support: Cheap Meat
(except Bath).
DEFTONES
London SSE ArenaWembley June 3.
DON BROCO
Manchester Gorilla July 24 – 25, Glasgow Oran Mor
26 – 27, Newcastle Riverside 29 – 30, O2 Institute
Birmingham 31 – August 1, Leeds Key Club 3 – 4,
Bedford Esquires 5 – 6, London O2 Islington Academy
8 – 9, Southampton Engine Rooms 10 – 11, Norwich
Open 13 – 14, Bristol Marble Factory 15 – 16.
DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL
Line-up: Rammstein, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Korn,
Megadeth, Disturbed, Nightwish, Deftones,The Amity
Affliction, Counting Days, Gutterdämmerung, Havok,
Killswitch Engage, Skillet,Twin Atlantic, Sixx:A.M., Fort
Hope,Architects,Atreyu, Beartooth, Black Foxxes,
Dead!, MilkTeeth, Neck Deep, Rival Sons, Skindred,
TesseracT, Lawnmower Deth,Attila, BillyTalent, Breaking
Benjamin, Delain, Don Broco, Frank Carter &The
Rattlesnakes, Ghost, Gojira, Halestorm, Ho99o9, Saxon,
Shinedown,Tremonti,AllTime Low, Buck & Evans, Devil
You Know, Glassjaw, Napalm Death, Pennywise,The
Raven Age, Royal Republic, Scattering Ashes, Scorpion
Child,The Shrine,TheTemperance Movement,Weirds,
TheWildhearts,Avatar,WWE NXT, Juliette &The
Licks, Raging Speedhorn,The MenThatWill Not Be
Blamed For Nothing, Inglorious, Raveneye, Puppy, From
AshesTo New, Skinny Lister,The Amorettes, In Search
ISSUE 1622 JUN 04, 2016
Of Sun, ManThe Mighty,Wearing Scars,TheWild Lies,
BABYMETAL,The DirtyYouth,The Franklys, InMe, Santa
Cruz,Witchsorrow. Donington Park June 10 – 12.
ESCAPE THE FATE
BristolThekla June 8, Southampton Engine Rooms 9,
NorwichWaterfront 10. Support: FVK.
EVAROSE
London Garage (Upstairs) July 8, Oxford Bullingdon 9.
EVERY TIME I DIE
London Camden Underworld June 1, LondonTufnell
Park Dome 2, London Old Blue Last 3.
EXPIRE
Cardiff Bunker June 13, LeedsTemple Of Boom 14,
Glasgow Audio 15, Birmingham Rainbow 16, London
Boston Music Rooms 17. Support: Cross Me,
Renounced.
THE FALL OF TROY
Nottingham Rescue Rooms September 9, Leeds Key
Club 10, Glasgow Cathouse 11, NewcastleThinkTank?
13, London Scala 14, Bristol Fleece 15, Manchester
Sound Control 16, Birmingham Asylum 17. Support:
Tiny Moving Parts.
JUST ANNOUNCED
2000TREES
Latest additions:And So I Watch You From Afar,
Krokodil, Monarks.
BETTER NOISE RECORDS PRESENTS
Line-up:As Lions, From Ashes To New,Anavae.
London Upstairs @ Garage June 8.
BLOODSTOCK FESTIVAL
Latest additions: Shining, Kill II This,Anti-Clone,
Foetal Juice, Myrath, Misanthrope,Vektor.
BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE
Show added: Manchester Academy December 4.
COMBICHRIST / FILTER
London Heaven July 3. Support: Rabia Sorda.
DAMNATION FESTIVAL
Latest additions:Akercocke, Bossk.
DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL
Latest additions: Savage Messiah, Moses.
ROUNDHOUSE PUNK WEEKENDER
Line-up:Youth Man, Birdsong, Bullybones,
Drones, False Heads, Molasses, Mystified,
Screech Bats,The Antiseptics,Thee Jezebels,
The Vas Deferens. London Camden
Roundhouse July 8 – 10.
FORT FEST
Latest additions:Young Guns, Black Peaks,Arcane
Roots, Adelphia, FOES,Autumn Ruin, Boston
Manor, New Device, Fahran.
THE WONDER YEARS
London Tufnell Park Dome July 28, Swansea Sin
City 29, Leeds Key Club 30, Glasgow Stereo 31.
GOGOL BORDELLO
London C:amden KOKO July 26 – 27.
MOOSE BLOOD
Support added: Boston Manor,Turnover, Luca Brasi.
REAL FRIENDS
London Camden Electric Ballroom December
9, Birmingham Asylum 10, Newcastle Riverside
11, Glasgow Saint Luke’s 13, Manchester Club
Academy 14, Leeds Stylus 15, Bristol Thekla 16,
Southampton Engine 17. Support: Knuckle Puck,
With Confidence.
YASHIN / VAMPIRES EVERYWHERE
Southampton Talking Heads October 13,
Birmingham Courtyard 14, Norwich
Waterfront 15, Leamington Spa 18, Reading
Sub 89 19, Derby Venue 20, Plymouth Hub 21,
London Camden Underworld 23, Cardiff
Globe 24, Bristol Fleece 25,Work Fibbers
26, Chester Live Rooms 27, Newcastle
Think Tank? 30, Iverness Ironworks 21.
Support: Firstborn.
FATHERSON
London Scala June 2, O2 ABC Glasgow 4. Support:
The Xcerts.
FIDLAR
London Brixton Electric July 12.
FIREBALL – FUELLING THE FIRE TOUR
Line-up: LessThan Jake,The Skints, Mariachi El Bronx,
Kemuri (3 – 6),The Bennies (8 – 11). O2 Academy
Bristol October 3, O2 Academy Sheffield 4, O2
Academy Birmingham 5, London O2 Academy Brixton
6, O2 Academy Newcastle 8, O2 Academy Glasgow 9,
O2 Ritz Manchester 10, O2 Academy Bournemouth 11.
FORT FEST
Line-up: LonelyThe Brave, InMe,The DirtyYouth,
TheTreatment, Grumble Bee, BadTouch, Eva Plays
Dead, Cheap Meat and more. BedfordshireThurleigh
September 2 – 4.
OF MICE & MEN
FROM SORROW TO SERENITY
Birmingham Rainbow June 1, Brighton Sticky Mike’s 2,
Bristol Hatchet 3. Support: No Sins Evades His Gaze.
O2 Academy Birmingham September 30, O2
Apollo Manchester October 1, Nottingham
Rock City 3, O2 Academy Newcastle 4, O2
Academy Glasgow 5, London O2 Forum
Kentish Town 7, Cardiff Great Hall 9.
GLASTONBURY
Line-Up: Muse, Bring MeThe Horizon, ZZTop,Wolf
Alice and more. SomersetWorthy Farm June 24 – 26.
HANDS LIKE HOUSES
Southampton Joiners June 1, Cardiff Clwb Ifor Bach 2,
London O2 Academy Islington 3, Bristol Exchange 4.
Support: I,The Mighty, Dead!,The GospelYouth.
ICED EARTH
London Brixton Electric December 6. Support:
Ensiferum, Kataklysm, Unearth.
I KILLED THE PROM QUEEN
Glasgow Cathouse August 22, Birmingham Rainbow
23, Plymouth Hub 24, London Camden Dingwalls 25,
Southampton Social 26. Support:The Browning, Feed
HerToThe Sharks, Empires Fade,To Kill Achilles.
ISLE OF WIGHT FESTIVAL
Line-up: Queen + Adam Lambert, Stereophonics, Twin
Atlantic, Sixx:A.M. and more. Seaclose Park, Newport
June 9 – 12.
KATATONIA
London O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire October 21.
KERRANG! AWARDS 2016
Line-up:A DayTo Remember,Asking Alexandria.
LondonTroxy June 9.
KILLING JOKE
London O2 Academy Brixton November 4.
KREATOR
Manchester Academy February 28, 2017, DublinVicar
Street March 1, London O2 Forum KentishTown 2.
Support: Sepultura, Soilwork,Aborted.
METAL BREW
Line-up:Venom Inc, Diamond Head, Divine Chaos,
Incredible Hog,Witchsorrow, Groan, Desert Storm,
Dysteria, Landskap. London Barnet Rugby Football
Club July 30.
MINISTRY
CardiffTramShed August 16, O2 ABC Glasgow 17,
O2 Institute Birmingham 18, O2 Ritz Manchester 19,
London O2 Forum KentishTown. Support: DevilDriver.
MOOSE BLOOD
O2 Institute2 Birmingham October 3, Glasgow Garage
4, O2 Academy2 Sheffield 5, CardiffY Plas 6, London
Camden KOKO 7, Manchester Academy II 8.
MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK
O2 Ritz Manchester August 17, O2 Birmingham
Institute2 18, London Camden KOKO 19.
MUNICIPAL WASTE
Glasgow Cathouse June 13, NewcastleThinkTank?
14, Leeds Brudenell Social Club 15, London Camden
Underworld 16, Manchester Sound Control 17.
NAILS
Glasgow Cathouse November 4, Bristol Fleece 6,
London Camden Underworld 7. Support: Full Of Hell.
NAPOLEON
Liverpool Arts Club Loft June 21,Worcester Marr’s
Bar 23, Exeter Cavern 24, Brighton Sticky Mikes 25,
Basingstoke Sanctuary 26, Bournemouth Anvil August
1, Southampton Joiners 2, MargateWest Coast Bar
3, London O2 Academy2 Islington 4, Northampton
Black Prince 5, DoncasterVintage Rock Bar 6, Leeds
Key Club 7, Newcastle Central 8, Edinburgh Opium 9,
Glasgow Classic Grand 10, Manchester Rebellion 11,
Cheltenham Frog & Fiddle 12, Bristol Hatchet Inn 13,
Plymouth Underground 14.
NASTY
Manchester Sound Control October 23, Glasgow
G2 24, Birmingham Rainbow 25, London Camden
Underworld 26. Support:Aversions Crown,
Malevolence,Vitja, Sand.
NORMA JEAN
Bournemouth Anvil June 1, Chester Live Rooms 2, O2
Academy Leicester 3, Brighton Sticky Mikes 5, Liverpool
Arts Club 7, Swansea Scene 8, Belfast Empire 10, Dublin
Voodoo 11.
NORMANDIE
London Boston Music Rooms July 18, Cardiff Fuel 19,
Manchester Retro Bar 20, Newcastle Head Of Steam
21, Nuneaton Queens Hall 22, Cheltenham Frog &
Fiddle 23, Southampton Joiners 24. Support: Breathe
InThe Silence
THE OFFSPRING / BAD RELIGION
O2 Academy Birmingham June 19, O2 Academy
Glasgow 20, London Eventim Apollo 22. Support:
Templeton Pek.
HECK, Dead!, Big Spring,The King Blues, Modern
Baseball, ROAM,Waterparks, Brian Fallon and more!
Reading Richfield Avenue and Leeds Bramham Park
August 26 – 28.
PANIC! AT THE DISCO
O2 Apollo Manchester November 17, Cardiff
Motorpoint Arena 18, London Alexandra Palace
19 – 20.
REBELLION FESTIVAL
Line-up: Descendents, Flag,The Dickies, Bouncing Souls,
The Dwarves,T.S.O.L, Peter &TheTestTube Babies,
CJ Ramone,AbrasiveWheels,The Members, OffWith
Their Heads, Membranes, Gnarwolves,TV Smith &
Friends,TheVibrators, Pears, Evil Blizzard. Winter
Gardens and more! Blackpool August 4 – 7.
PETROL GIRLS
Cardiff Gwdihw June 7, Bristol Exchange 8,Worcester
Fly Bar 9, Plymouth Juntion 10, Brighton Prince Albert
11, Norwich Owl Sanctuary 12, Glasgow Bar Bloc 14,
NewcastleTrillians 15, Huddersfield Parish 16, London
DIY Space 17, Liverpool Social Centre 18, Manchester
Sound Control 19.
PIERCE THE VEIL
Cardiff Great Hall November 25, O2 Academy
Birmingham 26, London O2 Academy Brixton 27,
Nottingham Rock City 29, O2 Academy Newcastle
30, Glasgow Barrowland December 1, Manchester
Academy 2, Belfast Mandela Hall 4, Dublin Academy
5 – 6.
RAGING SPEEDHORN
Colchester Arts Centre July 15, Cardiff Clwb Ifor Bach
16, Liverpool Arts Club Loft 17, O2 ABC2 Glasgow
18, Leeds Key Club 19, O2 Academy3 Birmingham
20, PortsmouthWedgewood Rooms 21, Oxford
Wheatsheaf 22, London Camden Underworld 23.
Support: Stoneghost, By Any Means.
READING & LEEDS FESTIVAL
Line-up: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Biffy Clyro, Fall Out Boy,
twenty one pilots, Crossfaith, Eagles Of Death Metal,
LowerThan Atlantis,Asking Alexandria, Five Finger
Death Punch, SleepingWith Sirens, State Champs,
Frank Carter &The Rattlesnakes, Creeper, Mastodon,
Good Charlotte, Beach Slang, State Champs, Frank
Turner &The Sleeping Souls,Tonight Alive,Thrice,
Hacktivist, Nothing More, Citizen, Superheaven, FVK,
SWMRS,Nothing ButThieves, Coheed & Cambria,
Skindred, Dillinger Escape Plan, Kvelertak, MilkTeeth,
ROB ZOMBIE
London O2 Forum KentishTown October 17.
RORY INDIANA
Leicester Pi Bar June 17, Southampton Alex 19,
Plymouth Underground 20, Cheltenham Frog & Fiddle
21,TunbridgeWells Forum 30.
SLEEP
London O2 Forum KentishTown July 6.
THE SMITH STREET BAND
London Camden Underworld July 9, Kingston Fighting
Cocks 10, Norwich Owl Sanctuary 12, Nottingham
Bodega 13, Glasgow Audio 14, Manchester Soup
Kitchen 15, Dublin Fibber Magees 16, Brighton Prince
Albert 17. Support:Apologies, I Have None,Woahnows.
THE STRUTS
London Camden Dingwalls July 5, BristolThekla 6,
DerbyVenue 7.
TECH-FEST
Line-up: ProtestThe Hero, BetweenThe Buried And Me
and more. Newark Showground July 7 – 11.
THRICE
London Camden Electric Ballroom August 25.
Y NOT FESTIVAL
Line-up:The Hives, Fun Lovin’ Criminals, Neck Deep,
Creeper, Moose Blood, LonelyT he Brave, Gnarwolves,
HECK, Queen Kwong, Reigning Days and more.
Pikehall Derbyshire July 29 – 31.
KERRANG! 59
PHOTO: IAN COLLINS
FIZZY BLOOD / ALLUSONDRUGS
Kingston Fighting Cocks June 6, Birmingham Sunflower
Lounge 7, Newport Le Pub 8, Cheltenham Frog &
Fiddle 9, Liverpool Magnet 10.
THE WORLD’S BIGGEST MOVIE MAGAZINE PROUDLY PRESENTS…
SEPTEMBER 23-25, 2016 - THE 02, LONDON
CHEER THE BLOCKBUSTERS. RELIVE THE CLASSICS. DISCOVER CULT FAVOURITES
With more than 50 events packed into one extended weekend, including
exclusive screenings, exciting live events and specially curated movie
marathons, you definitely won’t want to go back to work on Monday
00513
Tickets on sale Friday April 29 empirelive.com
P R O U D LY P R E S E N T S
5 MINUTE WALK FROM FULHAM BROADWAY
CAN DI STATON
YOUNG HEART RUN FREE 40TH ANNIVERSAY
NASHVILLE NIGHTS
THE PRETTY THINGS
RO B B EN FO R D
THE VOICE OF MASSIVE ATTACK + ROOT REGGAE LEGEND
CU N N I N LYNGU I STS
T UN DE
VOICE OF THE LIGHTHOUSE FAMILY
JANET KEY & CARROLL THOMPSON
THE QUEENS OF LOVERS ROCK
T HE MAGIC BAND
PLAYS THE MUSIC OF CAPTAIN BEEFHEART
F E AT U R I N G
WEDNESDAY 15 JUNE
FRIDAY 14 JUNE
SATURDAY 18 JUNE
Sunday 3rd July
P L E AS E N O T E C H A N G E O F D AT E - O R I G I N A L T I C K E T S R E M A I N VA L I D
SUNDAY 5TH JUNE 2016
Under The Arches, Villiers Street, London WC2N
Tel: 0207 930 2020
Doors 6:00pm Tickets £25.00 advance
S TA R G R E E N 0 2 0 7 7 3 4 8 9 3 2 / w w w . s t a r g r e e n . c o m
Stargreen 0207 734 8932/www.stargreen.com
9-17 HIGHGATE ROAD, KENTISH TOWN, LONDON NW5INFO: 0207 428 4080
DOORS 4:00PM TICKETS 35.00 ADVANCE (STALLS)/40.00 ADVANCE (BALCONY)
THURSDAY 23 JUNE
TUESDAY 28 JUNE
TUESDAY 5 JULY
174 CAMDEN HIGH STREET, CAMDEN TOWN, LONDON NW1 · 020 7482 1932 · WWW.THEUNDERWORLDCAMDEN.CO.UK
TICKETS AVAILABLE FROM THE WORLD’S END PUB (NEXT DOOR TO THE UNDERWORLD)
OR BY CC: STARGREEN 020 7734 8932 / WWW.STARGREEN.COM
SAT 11 JUN
PRIMITIVE MAN + SEA BASTARD
& SLABDRAGGER & KING GOAT
TICKETS £11.50 ADV / DOORS 18.00
THU 16 JUN
FRIDAY 8 JULY
THURSDAY 14 JULY
STAMFORD BRIDGE | FULHAM ROAD | SW6 1HS
DOPETHRONE
+ GURT, LIMB & WIZARD FIGHT
TICKETS £13.00 ADV / DOORS 19.00
WED 6 JUL
TICKETS £17.00 ADV / DOORS 19.00
LIONHEART
+ BONO
TICKETS £12.00 ADV / DOORS 19.00
SAT 25 JUN
THU 7 JUL
MUNICIPAL WASTE + DUNGEON & DESOLATOR
SKA-PUNK-SUMMER-SLAM
FEATURING THE BAR STOOL PREACHERS, IN EVIL HOUR
POPES OF CHILLITOWN, THE JELLYCATS, NASTY BASTARD
MILLIE MANDERS & CALL ME MALCOLM
TICKETS £10.00 ADV / DOORS 16.30
und rth bridg .co.uk
THU 30 JUN
TUE 28 JUN
THE GODDAMN GALLOWS
+ DEATH VALLEY SURFERS & JO CARLY & THE OLD DRY SKULLS
TICKETS £10.00 ADV / DOORS 19.00
SUMAC
PLUS VERY SPECIAL GUEST JK FLESH
+ MAMIFFER & JANNE WESTERLUND
TICKETS £14.00 ADV / DOORS 19.00
THU 14 JUL
ARMORED SAINT
PLUS VERY SPECIAL GUESTS SAVAGE MESSIAH
+ DENDERA
TICKETS £17.00 ADV / DOORS 19.00
Tattoo Specialists
Cambridgeshire
Manchester
Established in 1999
Sacred Art is Manchester’s premier custom
tattoo studio.
Experienced, established and always busy thanks to
our solid reputation, Sacred Art have been tattooing
the people of Manchester and beyond for
over 14 years.
A friendly shop in the heart of Chorlton and
10 mins from the City Centre, we specialise in
Japanese, Dotwork, Cover-ups, Old School,
Portraits, B&G and Tribal.
Sacred Art Tattoo, 497 Barlow Moor Road,
Manchester, M21 8AG
UÊ/ii«i\Êä£È£Ênn£Ê£xÎäÊ
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Shropshire
To Advertise
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call
01733 366419
Liverpool
Nottingham
Awesome Sauce
All Female staffed studio
18A Market Place, Shifnal, Shropshire TF11 9AZ
Tel:01952 460 959
Email:[email protected]
We are also on Facebook
143 Picton Road, Wavertree, Liverpool, L15 4LG
Tel: 0151 733 6666 [email protected]
www.pictontattoo.co.uk
Established in 1997, Bodycraft is proud to offer 3 city centre shops,
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expert, laser tattoo removal technicians, semi permanent make–up artists,
and friendly reception staff. Along side a huge range of jewellery, gifts and
clothing. Male and female artists. Fully health registered.
www.bodycrafttattoo.com
Twitter: bodycrafttattoo Facebook: bodycraft Tumblr: bodycraft Instagram: bodycraft
Tel: 0115 911 6106
NEXT WEEK
ON SALE JUNE 8
THE ULTIMATE
PREVIEW!
+ AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE CD TO
EDITORIAL
WHAT'S THE MOST BLINK-182 THING
YOU'VE EVER DONE?
EDITOR: James McMahon (When on tour with
my old band, our bass player sat in the front of
the van and vomited. The speed we were going
sprayed it into my face. When we pulled over to
clean up, I left my bag on the roof of the vehicle.
Didn’t realise until a few miles down the road.
Came back to find my guitar pedals smashed and
scattered all over the motorway)
DEPUTY EDITOR: George Garner
(Farted on a pirate)
FEATURES EDITOR: Sam Coare (Got
really messed up and fell asleep on a festival
rollercoaster ride)
ART EDITOR: Steve Beech (I was on that ride
with Sam and threw up in my mouth and had to
hold it in while this random kid was laughing his
head of at me)
DEPUTY ART EDITOR: Matt Dykzeul (Plot
twist. I WAS THAT RANDOM KID!)
PRODUCTION EDITOR: Ryan Cooper
(Turned 23, and no-one liked me)
PICTURE EDITOR: Scarlet Borg
(Threw up in a handbag that wasn't mine)
ASSOCIATE EDITOR (REVIEWS): Nick
Ruskell (Done an epic fart in a school assembly)
NEWS EDITOR: Jennyfer J. Walker
(Threw up in my lap in the car)
NEW MUSIC EDITOR/EDITORIAL
ASSISTANT/SUB: Emily Carter (Only
wrapped two fucking presents on Christmas eve)
DESIGNER: Sophie Bland (Got drunk and threw
up sugar mice over a kid whilst on the tea cup)
LISTINGS EDITOR: James Hingle (Got
kidnapped and waterboarded with a bottle of wine)
CONTRIBUTING ED: Katie Parsons
(Taken off my pants and jacket)
CONTRIBUTORS: Matt Allen, Steve Beebee,
Jessica Bridgeman, Ryan De Freitas, Hannah
Ewens, James Hickie, Sam Law, Alistair Lawrence,
James MacKinnon, Amit Sharma,Tom Shepherd,
Dan Slessor, Mark Sutherland, Olly Thomas, Paul
Travers, Ian Winwood, Rod Yates, Ray Zell.
PHOTOGRAPHERS: David Bergman,
Lindsey Byrnes, Chris Casey, Ian Collins, Carrie
Davenport, Andy Ford, Andy Gallagher, Jeremy
Harris, Paul Harries, Lisa Johnson, Andrew
Lipovsky, Ashley Maile, Tom Martin, Martin Philbey,
Andrew Timms, Neil Visel, Dave Willis.
INTERN OF THE WEEK:
Kaitlyn Ulrich
For all work experience opportunities,
check out GoThinkBig.co.uk.
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MARKETING
MARKETING EXECUTIVE:
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GROUP DIRECT
MARKETING MANAGER:
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INTERNATIONAL
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Scott
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PRODUCER: Emily Bramfitt
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MEDIA:
Clare Chamberlain
GROUP COMMERCIAL
DIRECTOR: Simon Kilby
MUSIC MANAGER: Joel
Stephan
CREATIVE SOLUTIONS
MANAGER: Rick Williams
HEAD OF MAGAZINE
BRANDS: Rachel Flower
HEAD OF MUSIC: Neil
Mcsteen
SENIOR CREATIVE
SOLUTIONS EXECUTIVE:
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CLASSIFIED SALES
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Buckenham
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MANAGER: Helen Mear
HEAD OF CREATIVE
CONTENT: Jennie Mitchener
CREATIVE SOLUTIONS
ART DIRECTOR: Jon Creswell
PRODUCTION
MANAGER: Alex Brook
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MANAGER: Jackie Doran
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MANAGER: Zoe Bellamy
DISTRIBUTION: Frontline
(01733 555161)
REPRO: Rival Colour
PRINTING: Polestar
REALLY IMPORTANT
PEOPLE
CHIEF EXECUTIVE: Paul
Keenan
PERSONAL ASSISTANT
TO PAUL KEENAN: Emma
Knowles
GROUP MANAGING
DIRECTOR: Rob Munro-Hall
PUBLISHING DIRECTOR:
Liz Martin
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Phil Alexander
BUSINESS ANALYST:
Natalie Talbot
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ISSUE 1622 JUN 4, 2016
THE ULTIMATE
ROCKSTAR TEST
ROB ZOMBIE
WE WERE ALREADY A BIT SCARED OF ROB.
NOW WE’RE ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIED OF HIM…
ON ROCK’N’ROLL…
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ASKED
TO LEAVE A HOTEL?
“Back in around 1992, White Zombie
were staying somewhere in Texas, and we had
crammed seven people into a hotel room for two.
The hotel manager came up and was mad about
this, and he was screaming and screaming and
screaming at us, telling us to get out. We were
literally like, ‘Calm down, you’re going to give
yourself a heart attack.’ And then he immediately
keeled over and had a heart attack.”
WHAT’S THE MOST RANDOM PLACE YOU’VE
BEEN RECOGNISED BY A FAN?
“Well, just yesterday, my wife Sheri and I were
walking past the Omaha police station, and a superclean-cut guy in uniform and packing a gun on his
hip came rushing over. My first reaction was, ‘Oh
God, what did we do now?’ But he was all excited
and wanted to take a picture with us. So, yeah, in
front of police stations is a weird one.”
would that look like?’ It’s unlikely we would have
gone through with it, but before we had the chance,
a cop car came by with spotlights and they saw us.
So, we ran away and they chased, but they never
caught us.”
Was there nothing on the telly that night?
ON FAILURES AND F’UPS…
HAVE YOU EVER FALLEN OVER ONSTAGE?
“Every time I get offstage something is bleeding, and
I don’t know how I did it. We used to have these
big boxes that shot fire out of them, and they were
black, so sometimes when the stage lights dropped
they were invisible. I crashed into one once and
thought I broke my leg in half.”
HAVE YOU EVER HAD AN ONSTAGE
COLLISION WITH A BANDMATE?
“It’s actually pretty rare that we collide – we leap
around a lot, but we’re pretty good at knowing
where each other is. Actually, we bump into each
other at soundcheck a lot, which is weird.”
Weird, but not as weird as teenage
grave-robbing, eh?
HAVE YOU EVER RUN
FROM THE POLICE?
“When I was a kid,
me and my friends
went down to the
cemetery with
shovels a movie
some
l h b
se
lways
‘
at
a
b
?
t
LIFESTYLES
OF THE RICH
AND FAMOUS…
HOW MUCH DO
YOU THINK YOU’VE
SPENT ON MOVIE
MEMORABILIA
OVER THE YEARS?
“I don’t really
know. The thing
is, you start out
with no money,
then you suddenly have money and you’re like, ‘I
want to buy everything!’ And then you wonder
why the hell you bought it later on. I was friends
with [late-Ramones guitarist] Johnny Ramone, and
he bought a lot of movie posters, too, so that was
something we did together. But when he died, that
stopped being fun.”
WHAT’S IT LIKE HAVING ALICE COOPER
AS A FRIEND?
“Alice is great. I met him when I presented an
award to him years ago. I was really excited to
meet him and have him sign my original
albums. We later toured together and
recorded together, and it took a long
time before it seemed ‘not weird’,
because he was such an influence on
me. But he’s just a good, fun guy, and I
always like catching up with him.”
Yeah, but when did you last help him clean out
his shed? That’s when you know you’re true friends
ON THE HYPOTHETICAL…
DO YOU THINK YOU’D MAKE A
GOOD ZOMBIE?
“If we’re talking about playing a zombie in a movie, I’d
be terrible. But if it actually happened for real, I think
I would be phenomenal. The other zombies would
see me coming and say, ‘That guy’s got it together,
man – now that’s a zombie!’ If I survived the zombie
apocalypse, I’d make a pretty good zombie killer, too,
because I’d know what’s going on in their heads.”
WHAT WOULD A ROB ZOMBIE-VERSION
OF DISNEYLAND BE LIKE?
“It would be 50 per cent scaring
people, and 50 per cent making the
whole thing one big, crazy trip, so that
everyone leaving would feel like they
had just taken the worst acid ever.
It was great fun making haunted
houses at Universal Studios for
Hallowe’en, because I’d hide inside
them and watch everyone get so
scared, and laugh my head off.”
Isn’t that what you’re working on for
this year? The Incredible Self-Decapitating Rob?
SPIRITUAL HEADMELTER…
CAN YOU BE MORE HUMAN THAN HUMAN?
“I suppose if you’re a replicant [from Blade Runner]
you can, yeah. But if you’re not, not so much.”
Then why did you write a song about it? Unless… was
that a tacit admission that you’re a replicant? Security!
THE VERDICT
YOU KNOW THE WEIRDEST THING
HERE? THIS IS THE WORK OF A
MIND THAT DOESN’T DRINK…
SCORE
81%
“WE GAVE A
HOTEL MANAGER A
HEART ATTACK…”
ROB ZOMBIE
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
AL JOURGENSEN MINISTRY
ALICE COOPER
BEN BRUCE ASKING ALEXANDRIA
GENE SIMMONS KISS
CHAD NICEFIELD WILSON
MORTIIS
BERT McCRACKEN THE USED
BRENDON URIE PANIC! AT THE DISCO
BRIAN MOLKO PLACEBO
DERYCK WHIBLEY SUM 41
ROB ZOMBIE
12 DENIS STOFF ASKING ALEXANDRIA
13 TUOMAS HOLOPAINEN NIGHTWISH
14 CHRIS ROBERTSON BLACK STONE CHERRY
100%
99%
98%
93%
92%
90%
86%
85%
84%
83%
81%
73%
70%
52%
WORDS: DAN SLESSOR
THE LEADERBOARD
KERRANG! 63