Nycosia - New Music Video - Astral Selection - Self-release - Stampede Music Press UK - Release date 31st October 2016

Nycosia

New Music Video

Astral Selection

Self-release

Stampede Music Press UK

Release Date 31^st October 2016

Nycosia – Hereford, Monmouth, and Guildford UK

Links:

https://www.facebook.com/nycosiaband

Genre: Tech Metal/ Djent

News:

“Directed by Dark North Media, the video transports Nycosia to frontman Adam Barkley’s nightmare, as he discovers the eerie house that he grew up in, contains the demonic entity that has haunted Barkley since he was a child.

‘Astral Selection’ features guest vocals by Tyler Shelton of U.S deathcore band Traitors and is the first release from Nycosia’s next ep ‘Mindshift’, expected to be released in April 2017. The new single and forthcoming EP sees the tech metal / djent four piece taking their music to the next level.

Since forming in June 2015, Nycosia have been making a name for themselves, with the release of their debut EP ‘Pariah’, earlier this year.  Described as “Heavy, Dark & Massive”, the teenagers from Hereford, UK, have impressed with their live shows, which has seen them sharing stages around the UK with the likes of Borders, Loathe, Carcer City, Humanities Last Breath, Exist Immortal, Shields, and Monuments!”

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The eerie strange angular music breeds a certain cold ambiance. The hectic vocal chords screech wildly, urgently and incoherently, along with a raw low guttural tone that adds to the fear fest. The fact this is meant to be a nightmare is certainly a good musical adaptation and sounds as terrifying as it could be. It musters up unimaginable horrors that lurk within every chord, riff, and rhythm, and creates a simply disturbing profile of grotesque awareness.

It is also very fitting for this track to be released around Halloween adding that extra spice to the proceedings and for making more than a strong impression on the metal scene.

You can almost taste the fear from the jumpy camera angles and insane facial features as they contort with utter spine-chilling terror. It is like having a front row seat to watch the madness unfold.

The large thumping beats drive home the haunting potency that exudes from its dark corners, giving out the feeling of sheer terror that is captured within the mindset

 of the victim as he is ravished by the feelings of a dark entity that has haunted him since his childhood, now he is facing his fears once again.

The Djent helps tell the story along in its own annihilating way, while the technical prowess helps establish a structure from which the picture is built. It is a clever composition, whichever way you look or listen to it.

Riotous, ferocious and downright compelling it summons up malice and fear within its predatory rawness and unleashes a devilish demon whose only goal is to send one into a delirious panic!

The grooves are cold and cut deep, leaving a blood trail for the whole fuelled charged encounter. It bristles with delight for all the horror fans among us and let’s face it most metal heads love a bit of horror?

It's sinister and haunting is enthused with rage that reaches boiling point and total dread from the get go. Intimidating madness spirals out of control and what it leaves behind is total fright and distress. Perplexing bewilderment follows….

9.5/10

Catch Nycosia Live:

6th - CARDIFF - Legacy Fest 4 (w/ Shoot The Girl First, Create To Inspire, and more)

18th - CROYDON - Death Jam 1.5 (w/ Unfathomable Ruination, Human Error, and more)

27th - WORCESTER - The Marrs Bar (w/ Carcer City)

Members

Adam Barkley - Vocals

Matt Ball - Bass

Billy Kibble - Guitar

Ben Adams - Drums

Fair Warning - Pimp your Past - 11 Track Album - Steamhammer/SPV - Release Date: 12th December 2016

Fair Warning

Pimp Your Past

11 Track Album

Steamhammer/SPV

Release Date: 12th December 2016

Written for RAMzine

Fair Warning – Hannover/Berlin Germany

Links:

https://www.facebook.com/FairWarningMelodicRock

DISCOGRAPHY @ SPV:

2010 Talking Ain`t Enough – Fair Warning Live in Tokyo (live)

2012 Best and More (best of)

2013 Sundancer (studio album)

2014 The Box (5CD Set)

Genre: Melo Hard Rock

Biography:

So it comes as no surprise that the unmistakable spiritedness of this band, which has been on the scene for 25 years and is now throwing a new light on the beginning of their career with Pimp Your Past, is also reflected in the album’s unusual cover artwork. “We’ve run out of dragons, unfortunately, they’re extinct,” jokes Helge Engelke and gets to the serious core of the matter: “Of course people may wonder what this ‘arty stuff’ is all about. In view of the term ‘pimp’, a cover featuring old cars would probably have been the logical thing to go for. But honestly: who wants something normal? And after all, monkeys also stand for an early stage of the evolution of man, so the album title and the cover fit together really well. To put it in a nutshell: we played with our origins on Pimp Your Past, which was not only a lot of fun but is also expressed in this particularly humorous artwork.”

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Let’s all skip back to the 80’s when AOR was in its infancy and get into the groove. Fair Warning are masters but after 25 years on the road, it’s hardly surprising and good catching up with the past knowing it’s not far away, as it brings back happy memories of a bygone era.

The tracks have that heavy groove embedded in them although they are melodic and catchy, which always helps. The added ‘bounce’ and the fact it is easy to get into the songs, after a short, while you are singing along and your body just starts to do its own thing.  The album is a glorious romp with irresistible groove and carries a superb edge with melodic incitement!

Track after track offers challenging riffs and spicy beats that wrap you in elegant pleasure! You can listen to this album any time of the day or night and squeeze yourself some infectious groove – it never gets old, and of course there is some powerful heaviness added to its bones that make for great listening.

The bass hooks draw you into their seductive intensity, while the vocals are pitch perfect and reminiscent of an 80’s feel. The addictive qualities are never ending and have you in their sight for sure!

Fair Warning offer a fascinating 11 tracks of sheer indulgence, some heavier than others, some more calming and melodic with sweet lyrics, so it is a good balance of music.

All are quite epic or anthem driven but there’s something for everyone here. Littered with the ability to soothe and rock to their heart's content, which is a great ability to possess and equipped with all the flavor to seduce.

How many of us have stood in front of the mirror with a hairbrush and sang along to tracks of this nature? I bet it is a fair few!

‘Pimp your Past’ is exactly what this album does, for all of us old enough to have one! Makes me feel sorry for the younger generation, who missed out on the 80’s as Metal was coming into its own back then and gathering momentum, but great that Fair Warning have brought the genre into the 21^st Century and revived it with irresistible passion.

It is quite a tame album unless you have an open mind and a relentless heart for a music of all genres.

But just let yourself go!

8.5/10

Track List:

Longing For Love

One Step Closer

Out on the Run

When Love Fails

Long Gone

Burning Heart

Picture of Love

Angels of Heaven

Rain Song

Save Me

Don´t Give Up

Members:

Tommy Heart – Vocals

Helge Engelke – Guitars

Ule W. Ritgen – Bass

C.C. Behrens - Drums

Echelon - Brimstone Aggrandizement - 8 Track Album - Transcending Obscurity Records - Release Date: 12th December 2016

Echelon

Brimstone Aggrandizement

8 Track Album

Transcending Obscurity Records

Release Date: 12th December 2016

Written for RAMzine

Echelon – Essex UK

Links:

https://www.facebook.com/EverForwards

Genre: Classic Death Metal

Getting down to the nitty gritty of getting your ears around some classic death metal is always a good thing for me. Feeling the strikes of metal embed themselves under the skin and cause a lot of sheer tingling as the aggressive riffs hit so hard they hurt, but the hurt is all part of loving the genre, and the harder they hit the better!

The powerful grouchy vocals seethe profusely and goad you into wanting to grunt along in support! Music like this just gets the heart beating faster – no need to exercise as the formidable and relentlessness of the tracks gives you that boost you need to lose a few calories!

The pounding beats emerge flavorsome and solid and spread their animosity very generously indeed. Still, there is also some melodic reflection deep in the groove that keeps the tracks focused and interesting.

Bold and scything are the rhythms which are impressive and pique with regular velocity. It's unstoppable appetite will engage providing you love a bit of death metal, which I do wholeheartedly. It’s addictive listening and I am enjoying the tenacity of each and every track with utter relish as the band execute their blend of metal with all the elegance of a raging bull on steroids!

It flirts and then goes all out to destroy with its nagging bass hooks and growl infested vocals that keep the senses on high alert.

As I have said before there’s nothing quite like death metal for cleansing the soul even if it cleanses the soul with blood and guts! But bathing in this is what it is all about. It more than scratches the itch, it makes it bleed!

It snarls like a rabid dog and injects the poison with tempestuous qualities, which is how you know you are hooked on its offerings.

It bleeds raw intensity and its textures are all engaging and powerful, fuelled with antagonistic vibrant rhythms, in fact, it is everything good classic death metal should be and more besides.

Its fires burn dark and its relentlessness feeds on unwitting souls! Let the darkness take you on a never ending journey of hate and riveting rancor! Life wouldn’t be the same without death metal in my humble opinion.

So buckle up metal-heads and enjoy the ride it gives you. Let the sparks fly and indulge in its sheer and imposing vehemence if you dare!

10/10

Track List:

Plague of the Altruistic

The Forbidden Industry

Lex Talionis

Of Warlocks and Wolves

The Brimstone Aggrandizement

Vital Existence

The Feared Religion

Monsters in the Gene Pool

Members:

Paul Usher - Vocals/Keyboard

Mark Brandon - Guitar

Owain North - Bass

Andrew Grant - Drums

Demon - Cemetery Junction - 11 Track Album - Spaced Out Music - Release Date: 28th October 2016

Demon

Cemetery Junction

11 Track Album

Spaced Out Music

Release Date: 28th October 2016

Written for RAMzine

Demon – Leek Staffordshire UK

Links:

https://www.facebook.com/DemonBandOfficial

Genre: Heavy Rock

Demon Formed in 1979 I remember that year so well being the year I left school and got my first job so I could afford more albums as like everyone else music was and is still a big part of my life.

Sounds like there is a bit of a psychedelic mood going on here at least at the start of this album, which isn’t a bad thing for sure, and those lush keyboards are to be savoured like a good wine.

There are some really catchy tracks on this album. Demon started out as an occult-themed NWOBHM band but changed the style to progressive/hard rock after their first two albums and this new album holds a lot of variation and shows them to be diverse and keeping up with today’s trends.

The tracks are very persuasive and have a lot of imagination attached to them. Possessing a good strong hard-edged melodic structure and oodles of catchiness but I must mention again that lush keyboard extravaganza from ‘Fazza’ Farrington really gives the tracks some backbone.

The velvet smooth vocals from Dave Hill are magical and suit the tracks to perfection. Of course, since the band formed they have now obviously become the masters of their genre and it shows with un-resounding quality.

The tones blend together fantastically resulting in a superb drama of dual guitars and melodic bass hooks that mould themselves to your ears and leave a more than a pleasing result.

The blossoming edginess can be felt through each track the band have produced and produced well. Its character is engaging and bristles with a captivating element that screams professionalism.

They have captured a melodic heavy rock groove that is not only addictive but explores a potent ambience. It radiates and permeates a certain flavour that you want more of as it beats its chest and warrants the attention it so well deserves.

The band's title track ‘Cemetery Junction’ holds a sombre edge but still manages to possess a heavy melancholy, and is a great rugged song.

A lot of thought has gone into making this album a superb listen. Its textures are bold and forthright, employing endless amounts of creativity.

If you like Heavy rock with a melodic core Demon are for you, but you never know which direction the band will take, so just enjoy their deliciously compelling and anthemic tracks and add it to the collection!

9.5/10

Track List:

Are you just like me?

Life in Berlin

Turn on the Magic

The Best is yet to come

Queen of Hollywood

Thin Disguise

Cemetery Junction

Drive

Miracle

Out of Control

Someone’s watching you

Members:

Dave Hill - Vocals

Ray Walmsley - Bass Guitar

David Cotterill - Guitars

Paul Hume - Guitars

Karl Waye - Keyboards

Neil Ogden - Drums

Aghast - Something Else, Something Rotten - 8 Track Album - Abducted Records - Release Date: 3rd October 2016

Aghast

Something Else, Something Rotten

8 Track Album

Abducted Records

Release Date: 3^rd October 2016

Written for RAMzine

Aghast – London

Links:

https://www.facebook.com/AGHASTKVLT

Genre: UK Metal

This is one good way of opening up an album ‘King Bitch’ with razor-edged guitar riffs, a thunderous beat, and raspy vocals! If you were asleep before then you won’t be now as you will have your work cut out if you try and snooze.

The agitation is felt immediately on ‘Something else, something rotten’ and the scathing rhythms make your shoulders tense as you get accustomed to the brutal slabs of metal being executed from the speakers, however, there are some calmer moments, be them briefly.

The samples on ‘Laid out in Bed’ pave the way for what is about to ascend on the unwitting and that is more brutality of the highest caliber. The blast beats are unrelenting and stark reaching their peak before clobbering you with yet more compelling and feverish contagion!

‘The King Bitch’ (Rix Cena Remix) is very impressive as it employs an electronic component that can be likened to a dance floor track which is very unusual but most welcome indeed. The squally notes hold a very addictive vibe!

‘The King Bitch’ (Invertex Remix) is again very compelling, even thrilling as its devilish angular noises spew forth with unrelenting rancor and brutality be it with a keyboard although I have no idea which member of the band is making this unusual sound but it sure is exciting!

‘Something else, something rotten’ (Misfit) is a lot heavier than the first version and I prefer this version as it is full of variety with ballsy rhythms along the line of dub-step which played in this fashion is absolutely electric!

Now things are getting crazier by the minute. The short sharp noises and raspy evil vocals are profound on ‘Laid out in Bed’ (Babylon Remix) no wonder they are called Aghast this is sheer genius for being diverse!

Laid out in bed (Temulent Remix) holds a very dark and disturbing sound that is fast paced and vehement.

There is nothing like variety, it is indeed the spice of life and Aghast have proved it is what keeps the senses alive and kicking. It may not appeal to some as it is rather death metal meet dub-step shall we say, however, I think it’s a really brutal album that deserves some undivided attention!

So if you like ‘different’ be sure to check them out! Go on treat your lugholes! No disappointment whatsoever to be had here!!

10/10

Track List:

King Bitch

Something Else, something rotten

Laid out in Bed

King Bitch (Rix Cena Remix)

King Bitch (Invertex Remix)

Something Else (Misfit)

Laid out in Bed (Babylon Remix)

Laid out in bed) Temulent Remix)

Members:

Sam – Guitars

James – Vocals

Nick – Drums

Daniel - Bass

Roadhog - Millennium 2000 BC - Halloween Rock Night - 29th October 2016

Roadhog

Millennium 2000 BC

Halloween Rock Night

29^th October 2016

Arriving early as we have always done, we spotted a small group of people outside and walked past them into the Canberra Club with the gear and was met by one of the officials who asked were we part of the band, when the reply came back ‘yes’ I heard the people by the door say “We are in the band too!” Well, couldn’t blame them wanting to be inside!

We walked into a medium sized, dimly lit hall with chairs and long tables each side and not so pleasant greeting us was a floor full of balloons all shapes, sizes and colors that seemed to explode as soon as you looked at them. The walls were adorned with some fantastic Halloween decorations which really, strange as it is to say in the circumstances, made the place come alive!

 5 photo's courtesy of Graham Lee

Choosing, as always a place not too far from the front of the stage for photographic purposes we sat and waited for the rest of the band to show, which wasn’t long after us. In the meantime a couple came round selling raffle tickets and of course I always buy a lot and this time being no exception, and although everyone laughs at me – the money is still going to a good cause, and it is up to people how many tickets they buy, so I am not sure why they laugh at me with a stack of tickets? :P

The place filled up nicely and it wasn’t long before Roadhog were up starting their first set. It made things awkward for Oggy with there being people sitting either side of the stage and not directly in front of it, and for the whole of the first set, some just didn’t seem interested and chatted merrily away and some even  had their back to the stage, but it’s nothing the band hasn't dealt with before! They still had their faithful fans there to cheer them on and that was all that mattered. Oggy had even made the effort to change into a fancy dress, Neil forgot and I don’t think it was really Pete or Kev’s thing!

There are a lot of bum pics going about - tee hee!

As the last track of the first set finished, Ian jumped in with Closer by NIN for me which was good of him and not long after that the raffle started.

The Chairman (Martin Coach Dolan) began mentioning the best female costume which was won by a Zombie Nurse and then the best male costume went to a Pig in a Butcher’s apron, both were great costumes!

The remark Nicola made as she peered over my shoulder made me laugh, she said “Are you planning on winning something tonight?” as she glanced along the line of raffle tickets in front of me, “Of course!” came the reply!

I spread the tickets over nearly half of the table and I heard Adam behind me say “Well Pagan’s going to win everything!” which made me laugh and as it happened my ticket was called out first 6-10 pink.

I asked Oggy to go up and collect a bag from the 5 bags of prizes and shouted for him to get the guitar, which was a junior sized one and he picked up the guitar and a bag next to it which contained quite a number of prizes, including, Motorcycle Helmet, Tank Transfers, 2 T-Shirts, a Pair of Jeans, a balaclava, and a cap, (which came in very handy as my wig suddenly started to slip) lmao! No skimping for the Millennium 2000 BC Bike Club Raffle for sure!

 This beautiful helmet could mean another ride on a Harley!!

There was a bit of a stumbling block with the tickets as the colours weren’t easy to read between the blue and the green so when my ticket number was called again and I had those same numbers Oggy went up to the stage, but they said the ticket was green and not blue so no prize won.. I couldn’t tell them apart, to be honest, and next time will just stick to pink and yellow!

As the band’s second set began things started to happen on the dance floor, there certainly was thankfully, a lot fewer balloons, as most of them had exploded, which allowed me to breathe once again, as I have a really awful balloon phobia, but there was quite a fair few up on the dance floor dancing in between the odd balloon that had survived the night and about 3 that clung to the speaker at the front of the stage, but well away from me thank Gawd!

Caption this.....

Oggy had removed his fancy dress attire and makeup by then, and Roadhog seduced the people on the dance floor as well as pulling others on to it, as they kicked up the pace a notch.

As ‘Word-Up’ started I knew what I had to do and thought ‘right, it’s now or never’ I got up and spotted Manny on the dancefloor (as Beetlejuice) and immediately we started larking around on the dancefloor and soon after ‘Paranoid’ came on so I stayed up for that but with my feet and my raspy breathing I soon regretted it, but I had a fabulous time with our friends so it was well worth it!

 Beetlejuice aka Manny and me

3 Photo's courtesy of Jane Craig

The hall seemed a lot empty as the last song hovered in the air, people were making their way home and once again another rock event was over.

 Jane - Prosecco still the order of the day!

 Manny! You did what?

 Mike and Stu - brother's from a different Mother!

 Please don't laugh - having a bad hair day lol

 Jane and Me

 Adam: But I love you more Brown!

 Steve, Adam and Me

 Dawn, Nick and Adam

 My sexy Oggy!

 Moz and Phil

Tracey Oc strutting her stuff!

Chris and his lovely girlfriend Joanne

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Shout out’s to: Millennium 2000 BC Club Members, Paul Huntly, and Trish Nelson Thomas, Canberra Club Staff, Lynda Lamb and Peter David Knight for the sound, Ian Green the fantastic DJ for the night, Jane Craig, Gully Panther & Jane Cox, Mike & Di Lloyd, Tracey Oc & Stuart, Amy Longworth, Jan, Charlie, & Adam Brown, Darren Oc, Penny Smith, Joker, Gillian Twinkie Dawes, Dawn Bolton, Steve Barfoot, Nicola Webb, Nita Walsh, Jilly Wombat & Manny, Chris Adams & Joanne, Ozzy & Deb, Moz Hulme & Phil Howard, Moz & Denise Fletcher, Ian Med, Hana Doyle, Emma Noone, Kev Croft, Nick Hodgson, Phil Curly Law, Pete Mozzer Moran & Lynda Biggin and of course to Oggy and Roadhog for the entertainment!