Covers. They are as much a part of music as anything else. A great cover can put a band on the map while murdering a classic is never a good career move. So what makes a cover stand up? Why are people like Marilyn Manson and Johnny Cash as well known for their interpretations of someone else’s music as they are their own? While others efforts are scorned.
Bring Me the Horizon w/ Neck Deep and PVRIS, Edinburgh Corn Exchange
The first time I saw Bring Me the Horizon they were supporting Machine Head and were treated with something just a bit short of disdain. Yet those snotty punks gave as good as they got and that got my attention. In the years since a lot has changed and as they walked onto stage at the Edinburgh Corn Exchange it was clear that this crowd adores them.
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That’s Not Metal
My musical education took off when I discovered the Metal Hammer Podcast. It was the show that kindled my love of hardcore and introduced me to a whole host of bands that I still love today. When it ended, I was genuinely gutted. It was a weekly insight into heavy music provided by a group of guys who knew what they were talking about. Therefore, I was rather chuffed when Terry Bezer and Stephen Hill, who were both on the aforementioned podcast, started That’s Not Metal. A new podcast which is looking to fill the gap the death of that show left in my life.
Skindred
There’s a common misconception that Skindred are purely a live band. While there is no denying that you haven’t truly experienced Skindred until you have seen them live. It does hide the fact that they have one hell of a back catalogue. While their last album, Kill the Power, seemed to be an attempt to shoot for the stars and may have failed (although I personally quite liked it) their discography to that point had been near flawless. Joining those lofty standards is Volume and it’s unsurprisingly brilliant.
MG & The Juggernaut
Before kicking off this review, I should perhaps throw in the disclaimer that I discovered MG & The Juggernaut due to Simon Miller’s other job as a truth knowing games journalist. I’m a big fan of what he does at VideoGamer and I am a supporter of their Patreon. Of course, that makes no difference to my opinion on the EP and I’m more likely to be swayed by the fact he’s a big dude who could easily kick my arse if I ever met him.
Headliners
Where is the next Metallica? Where is the next Iron Maiden? Where is the next (insert big rock and roll band here)? They are questions that pop up at least once a year. Usually around the time that Download announces a batch of headliners who are near identical to the ones announced a couple of years before. But the question is, do we need a new Metallica? Do we need Iron Maiden? Or is this obsession with bands needing to sell out arenas preventing the next generation of metal bands making the step up to festival headliners?
Coheed and Cambria
Coheed and Cambria are one of those bands who are often taken for granted. Having been an active since 1995 and been releasing albums since 2002, they have almost always been there and it’s sometimes easy to forget just how good they are. A couple of middling albums haven’t helped their cause and bring us to the here and now with The Color Before the Sun, their first album to move away from The Amory Wars storyline. Instead, it finds lead singer and guitarist Claudio Sanchez facing fatherhood and the whole world of responsibilities that come with that. It just happens to also be the best thing they’ve done in years.
Download 2016
Festival season is a long way off, but that hasn’t stopped it kicking into a lower gear already, with both Download and Bloodstock having named their first bands. Last night’s announcement that Iron Maiden will once again grace Donnington’s hallowed turf is sure to send some all a flutter and leave others calling Andy Copping a cunt. It’s the internet after all. I could, of course, choose to stay well away from such situations, but where is the fun in that? So here’s some thoughts about Downloads first headliner.
No Devotion – Permanance
Like it or not, Lostprophets were an important band. They were one of the big players in a movement that saw British rock reassert itself. What happened after was obviously disgusting, but there were other people in that band and they lost everything due to the actions of one cunt. Which brings us to No Devotion, the moment where those men wipe themselves down and start again. Now with Geoff Rickly on vocal duties.
Brand New at the Usher Hall
If you took a second to look around the crowd before Brand New took the stage at the Usher Hall, you would see an interesting sight. The room is filled with all the usual suspects, but they’re all the usual suspects from a variety of different gigs. There are people wearing Nails t-shirts and others wearing lumberjack shirts. It’s a veritable mish-mash of musical ideas. All here to see one alternative rock band from Long Island, New York.
Ramblings About Wrestling 