Surrounded by algorithms, screens and endless stimulation, it’s hard not to feel disconnected. That’s a strange thing. The world is at your fingertips, and yet reality is not. You can be assaulted by endless sights and sounds, but they’re all strangely abstract. It’s the same with music. Making it has never been easier, literally anyone can publish a song, the tools are right there – you can even download your favourite artist’s beats, samples or guitar tones. You can reference their tracks in the mix. You can sound just like them. Re-enter punk rock. Ironically, it was a reaction to overblown ..read more

Just like whiskey, pickles and smelly cheese, heavy bands often ‘mellow with age’. In 2021, The Plot In You released their second album ‘Swan Songs’. It seemed they’d done just that, leaving behind the aggression of their early music in favour of more expansive or intimate soundscapes. Mixing alternative/experimental metal with R&B, it saw them inadvertently stumble into the space between Bad Omens and Sleep Token. Then came last year’s ‘Vol. 1’ EP – it was a whipcrack, an about-face, and it definitely wasn’t mellow. Rather than expand the sound, they rejected it, returning heavier and mor ..read more

It’s a monumental night for Neck Deep. They’ve sold out their biggest show to date at Alexandra Palace, and those of us brave enough to scale what feels like the steepest and windiest hill in London are here not only to enjoy a night of ‘generic pop punk’ (as the welshmen term themselves) but to celebrate their achievement. It’s a ‘told you so’ kind of evening, and we want to revel in the fact that we were right; Neck Deep can pack out arenas, and do it in style.  The first thing you need to know about the inaugural Neck-Deep-Massive-Show is that they do not stop, ever, cramming twenty fo ..read more

Rolling into Bristol on a poetically warm, rain-soaked Friday night, Hot Water Music arrive ready to kick off a celebratory UK run that culminates at Manchester Punk Festival. Armed with 30 years of genre-defining material (certainly a solid decade of which remains hugely influential), this is something like their very own low-key ‘Eras’ tour. While ticket sales are unlikely to smash records or boost local economies, and it’s doubtful that vibrations from the crowd will generate seismic activity, more wholesome accolades involving the highest number of beards, flannel and undiagnosed lower bac ..read more

If you’re a fan of metalcore and have been for many a year, then this line up is absolutely unmissable. There’s tonnes of good bills that go on the road but for the metalcore-obsessed, this particular tour is something else. Featuring an up-and-comer, a breakthrough act and a legend of the genre, technical metalcore pioneers August Burns Red top a bill of genre heavyweights and pull out all the stops to provide one of the finest metal showcases of the year so far. Strap in folks, this is going to be one hell of a night. Kicking off the evening is the fast-rising thrown, the anticipation bubbli ..read more

Life is a highway, and Kris Barras Band are picking up speed along its twists and turns. The MMA fighter-turned-bluesman has taken a nod from tour buddies Black Stone Cherry and gone all in on the southern rock for their fifth outing. According to the frontman, “‘Halo Effect’ still keeps the essence of what Kris Barras Band are; big riffs and even bigger choruses. It’s just that, this time, we’ve turned everything up to 11 and beefed it up!” While this is a cracking album for fans of classic rock, especially of the flavour that Those Goddamn Crows cook up, this also marks the point at which Kr ..read more

Getting noticed isn’t easy. If your music speaks for itself but if no one hears it, what do you do? Scottish alt-rockers Dead Pony had this exact problem. After releasing a series of EPs, they felt they were getting nowhere, that their career had stalled and making music was, in fact, like flogging their namesake. So they reconsidered, made something uniquely theirs and gave it a title that sounds like a dare, so here are five reasons why you shouldn’t ‘Ignore This’. Firstly, this isn’t a rerun. It’s a reinterpretation of their core sound. High-energy and upbeat, it’s alt rock but here they’ve ..read more

You can’t seriously call your band Fortune Teller and title your first EP ‘Premonitions’ without expecting an avalanche of clairvoyance jokes, can you? Luckily, you don’t have to reach for a crystal ball to see big things in this pop-punk band’s future. They aren’t relying on prophecy, they’re being proactive. Despite their social media feeds vying for your attention, until now there’s been no substance to divine from, so this five-track EP sets the standard. Hailing from a former coal-mining area of Glamorgan, it’s not hard to see why Fortune Teller wanted to escape. Pop-punk is a genre ..read more

While She Sleeps have come racing out of the stalls with ‘SELF HELL’, their sixth studio album to date. An amalgamation of various music genres, from their delicious brand of metal to hardcore to even a more synth rock side, this promises to be a strong offering from these Sheffield-based powerhouses. ‘PEACE OF MIND’ opens this album with a huge punch of power, before segueing into ‘LEAVE ME ALONE’. Bruising guitar work opens this absolute powerhouse of a song – it simply brims with pure, unadulterated rage. Electronic undertones are punctuated with war cries of, “Leave me the fuck alone!” It ..read more

Every day your newsfeeds are full of Tech-bros telling you A.I. music is the future, but they’re wrong. Music doesn’t have a simple recipe. You can’t tweak the ingredients to make it tastier. It’s not supposed to be easily digestible. It’s not supposed to be bland. It’s supposed to be an idea carefully expressed. It’s supposed to make you feel something. USA nails understand that art takes many forms. It’s thought-provoking, personal, and stirs something in your soul. If A.I. output music like their new album ‘Feel Worse’ you’d think it was broken. Any band that names themselves after a Blood ..read more