Kill Casino’s Karen – Was The Kerrang Tour A Jackpot?
Guest Post by Karen - Kill Casino Vocalist.
So I’ve made it to the Roundhouse for the annual Kerrang! tour and it’s really encouraging to see so many British bands on the bill. I’ve known the My Passion guys for a few years and whether you dig what they’re doing or not, you cannot deny that they work incredibly hard. I know they’ve sacrificed a hell of a lot to get this far and it’s great to see everything coming together for them. Tonight they rock it!
Next up is Young Guns. Gus from Young Guns and I did a photoshoot together a while back for Kerrang! but this is my first taster of what the band are about and I’m impressed with their confident performance.
The Blackout - Image Taken by Jodie Cunningham.
It feels like The Blackout are the band a lot of people have been waiting for – certainly if their reception is anything to go by as they get the loudest cheer so far. I haven’t seen them play in a while and – have to say they’ve really developed their sound and presence since I saw them last. They’re owning it tonight.
The audience is mainly young and female so all the beautiful rock boys are going down very well, including All Time Low who open to a chorus of teenage screams.
The show is over and I hit the aftershow – it’s really nice to catch up with some familiar faces I haven’t seen in a while. Randomly Sean from the Blackout is whizzing around on a segway! I’ve always wanted to have a go on one but I’m not going to risk it tonight as I’m way passed the drink drive limit and could see that all going horribly wrong! The bar is stocked with vodka and Relentless energy drink who are sponsoring the show. We’ve each drunk about 3 pints of Relentless now which I’m sure is a contributing factor in our decision to jump in a cab and head to a rock pub. It’s gone 2am and we’re still going but as the Relentless wears off, I’m definitely starting to feel it!
It’s 3.30am when I finally get in and I look a mess! When I contemplate the week ahead, I start to think maybe I should have called time earlier- afterall we’ve got a show with Boys Like Girls and then we’re off on tour in Germany with Fightstar. But I can’t deny it’s been an epic night with some epic mates. Roll on Germany..
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Ten Second Epic – Hometown
about 1 month ago - No comments
The frantic summer frenzy is abound, so naturally the Vans Warped Tour-esque pop-rock bands come out in their masses. Ya know, the type of music/bands we hear playing from the amps here in the U.K when we’re waiting for that American export to come on stage… cue in Paramore, All Time Low and so forth.
Fortunately, a Canadian quintet called Ten Second Epic aren’t afraid to visit the U.K, don’t slate our amazing choice of cuisine and hopefully won’t become a one hit wonder like fellow Canadian ‘rockers’ The Mission District.
Most importantly how does the album stand? On the whole, pretty good to be honest with you.
Initially first track ‘Welcome To Wherever You Are‘ had me pretty hyped up about the album. It contains catchy and addictive lyrics (“welcome to your life, welcome to goodbye”) immersed within a vibrant upbeat tone. (Think of a less punkier version of New Found Glory – ‘Hit Or Miss’ and you’ll be close.)
Tracks 2-9, however, just seem far too cliché – minus the catchiness. It’s listenable, but mediocre at best. After a few listens to the album you’ll most likely find yourself skipping right through these tracks to arrive at some of the more later hidden gems.
These diamonds in the rough such as ‘First And Foremost‘, ‘Further Now‘ and ‘Count Yourself In‘ save face to say the least. They open the latest rock rulebook and tick all the boxes; 2010′s rockers request energetic vivacious anthems that they can dance their skinny jeans off to, and these tracks certainly allow for that. Not to mention some of the epic breezy riffs consistently allocated throughout.
So are Ten Second Epic gonna break into the British rock sphere? Undoubtedly- some of the jewels on this album have earned their rightful place on that Kerrang playlist. Are you gonna be playing this 50 minute saga at your BBQ’s? If you’re a lover of sprightly bands such as ATL, Mayday Parade and You Me At Six then I sure hope so.
Rating: 7/10
Review by: Jamie
Funniest Rock Moment Thus Far in 2010?
about 4 months ago - No comments
My Passion the Marmite of our society. You either love them, hate them, or stalk them… lets just hope it’s not the latter!
However, one Facebook user who seems to lack a caps-lock key went one step-further and created the “i hate my passion” group.
Fans are in arms regarding the situation and have since retaliated with a series of comments in support of the band. As you can imagine this has also been met by the haters comments which have so far been in the form of misconstructed sentences.
Regardless of whether you like the band or not – we don’t believe the groups creator was quite braced for this…
Lead Vocalist Laurence Hits Haters Where It Hurts... (Not Literally Of Course.)
As Winston Churchill once said: “You have enemies ? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.”
Article by: Jamie
Kerrang Tour 2010 – Unsigned Band View
about 5 months ago - No comments
Guest Post by Jay, bassist of Colour Me Stupid. Images taken by Jodie Cunningham.
This was my first year for the Kerrang! Tour, I went on the 30th January to Birmingham Academy, I could talk about my journey there (which was terrible by the way) as none of us had ever been to Birmingham before so the usual satellite navigational device was needed. But I digress. We were a tad late for Young Guns which I was disappointed 
about, but we did catch the last two songs which I must say were simply amazing to say the band had never really performed in this type of venue before; I was very impressed with Gustav (Vocals) who commanded the crowd brilliantly. After their set me and the guys moseyed on over to one of the ATL merch stands which I must say, were amazing; they had screens behind them detailing the line up which I thought was awesome, I’d never been to an 02 Academy before so all this was new to me.
Next band up; My Passion, I had seen these guys before the Kerrang! Tour so I was looking forward to see them again. Their set opened with a pre-recorded track and a little light show to set the mood. The band then thrashed their way onto the stage and burst into Crazy and Me, an instant crowd pleaser, and my personal favourite. I swear, these guys never stand still, that’s what is so great about their performance, it’s so energetic and over powering. They played all the crowd favourites such as Thanks for Nothing and Play Dirty. Their final song was, of course Day of the Bees, while not their best really did do justice, My Passion really have done well for themselves to get to where they are. All of them interacted with the crowd in their own way from throwing Simon’s slobber covered glow sticks to Laurence’s whipping microphone leads, My Passion really do have it all.
After getting drinks and buying Tee’s The Blackout were set up and ready to go. No offence to the guys but they were my lowest rating band of the evening, mostly because of how they interacted with the audience, too much swearing and insulting for my liking, now I know that it’s part of their act, but it didn’t just work for me. However, they did come around and compliment the audience for their participation and they performed their songs really well, my personal favourite out of their set was This is Why we Can’t Have Nice Things. An overall good performance in terms of songs, but they did seem to drag on more so than the final band All Time Low, I swear Sean said “this is our last song” about four times.
After The Blackout had finally finished and I had relocated myself for the final band I could easily tell the crowd were getting restless. The lights dimmed and the band started playing off stage which I thought was pretty different considering intros are normally pre-recorded but All Time Low really pulled it off. ATL then burst into their new album with Lost in Stereo which is one of my current favourites. The crowd went wild from where I was standing, which was conveniently at the front; you’d think being at the front surrounded by girls would be a good thing. But in this scenario it really isn’t, it’s a smelly sweaty mess. We had to help a drowsy teenage girl over the barrier, and by help I mean crowd surf her over because it was that humid. Their final song which was Dear Maria… was easily one of the best performances of the night, at this point I wasn’t able to raise my hands because I was crushed, my hand went slightly blue from the lack of blood getting to it!
Overall my night at K! Tour 2010 was truly EPIC, my personal highlight would be seeing My Passion again, they’ve grown so much as a band and as performers and they show it. After All Time Low ended their set myself and a slightly dazed girlfriend exited the venue for the drive home. I’d recommend to anyone the bands who played at this year’s K! Tour and they all are a must to go see live.
Katie P Interview!
about 5 months ago - No comments
Today I suspect some of you will be going ‘who’ whilst the more veterans amongst us will be going ‘ooooh’. Either way you’re going to need the current issue of Kerrang! and in particular page 14… *pause for you to skip off and purchase it*
Ok as well as gaining Kerrang! another sale (what a sneaky devil I am) you should all now be going ‘oooh’ – hopefully in public so you’re getting bizarre stares.
That’s right, Katie P is the talented journalist behind the Kerrang! ‘Introducing’ articles and also currently part of the Kerrang! Tour ‘crew’. We caught up with Katie to talk Kerrang!, radio, and desert islands?….
Q1: Of course working for Kerrang! you must get the good, the bad, and the ugly (the demos not the job applicants) what’s the best demo you’ve ever received?
“The best demo that I think I ever heard was Bullet For My Valentine. That’s not to say that their demo then was an amazing quality – they were temporarily called Opportunity In Chicago at the time – but I had just watched them play a support slot at the London Barfly and had a feeling that I had witnessed something potentially really special. I asked the band for a demo after the set and they handed me a battered CDR. I did their first ever magazine article a month later.”
Q2: How’s the Kerrang! tour been so far? Do the tour bus parties live up to their expectations?
“The tour is brilliant – every year I have a great time and wish it would never end. There isn’t really much partying – or as much as people might expect – as playing a show is pretty exhausting, and the bands want to be on the best when 
playing every day. We had a really good dance party in Birmingham though this year – it was amazing!”
Q3: I was quite surprised to see you’re actually a DJ, as well as a journalist (talented or what?) How did getting a slot on the radio come about?
“I have been doing radio for about five years now. I started on Total Rock – an online radio station – working on a Metal Hammer show where I was writing at the time. I then got a slot on the Radio One Rock Show with Mike Davies – and later Daniel P Carter. A year or so later, I started presenting the XFM Rock Show while regular presenter Ian Camfield was in the States. That lasted 9 months and was the most fun ever!”
Q4: You’re about to be sent off to an island for a month yet you can only take 1 cd with you. What is it?
“Just one CD? That’s unfair! I might have to go for Queen’s Greatest Hits? Or Pantera? Or Paul Simon’s Graceland.”
Q5: Finally, as a journalist do you have any pet hates? Such as constantly editing your articles before publish?
“My pet hate is when people think that bands buy their way into magazines. It’s bullshit. There is no way that can – and could happen – and I feel proud to run a new band section in an important mag that is totally and utterly based on finding new talent and supporting groups we believe in.”
To follow the adventures of Katie P then check out her website over at: http://www.katiep.co.uk
Asking Alexandria – Stand Up And Scream
about 6 months ago - 1 comment
Asking Alexandria; Imagine a twisted ‘free for all’ mosh-pit between Enter Shikari, Attack Attack, and Bless The Fall. At least then you’ll be scratching the surface of pinning down the bands sound…
Yes. The British outfit have possibly one of the most bizarre sounds I’ve heard, yet it’s not a bad thing by any means. First song Alerion bursts in with the whole techno vibe coupled with metal guitar riffs, meaning that the ravers can rave, and the metal-heads can either mosh or do that thing were they deny they like the band but secretly they have lead singer Danny’s picture in their purses – n’aww.
The Final Episode [Let's Change Channel] (and no I’m not talking about last nights Big Brother) is exactly like a heavier Shikari, and as a reader in the latest issue of Kerrang perfectly put it: “Every song is brutal and makes Shikari sound like they’re singing I’m a little teapot!” Probably most interesting of all is it’s not until the 3:10 mark that we can actually get our glowsticks out and embrace our inner demon of wanting that ‘bad ass’ synth
A Candle Lit Dinner With Inamorta starts off sounding like an extremely fast subliminal message telling us to bow down to the band – and who knows it could be? As far as the rest of the song goes it’s actually ‘pretty soft’ (used lightly) in comparison to the previous two tracks. Again it’s towards the end of the song we’re joined by that Ibiza sounding club-ness; yay for synthesisers! Now all we need is that beach and sea then we’re good to go!
Nobody Don’t Dance No More. Aside from the name sounding as if it was derived from Of Mice and Men, it actually borrows that Shikari ‘sing along trend’. You know, the one where the band all share the vocals and it gets all the fans excited at every show even though they were expecting it? Fair play to the band though, it works a treat!
Now before this article gets longer then Chris Crocker’s Brittany memoirs, lets zoom through the rest of the album!
Hey There Mr. Brooks is pretty disappointing. The little ‘break’ around the 2:24 section sounds boring and is such an anti-climax it even manages to put Go Audio’s split to shame. – Come on you have to admit, it was inevitable. Hiatus is a welcome addition, a pure non-guitar and vocal track makes it a distinctive piece of the album, and a nice little gap filler. If You Can’t Ride Two Horses At Once You Should Get Out Of The Circus just left me thinking “WTF” – True quote, but it does have a decent little break down at the end. A Single Moment Of Sincerity starts to finish off soft, and then ends up suddenly going back to screamo; probably done for the laugh/surprise? It did ruin the ending though as it was actually something different for a change. Not The American Average the EXACT same thing happens as the previous track.
I Used To Have A Best Friend [But Then He Gave Me An STD] (that’s the track name by the way, not some ‘coming out of the closet’ announcement for all you conspiracists out there) actually goes back to some decent material. The vocals sound great and go along with the guitar perfectly, so major props to AA there. A Prophecy has an epic verse, then goes into some immense techno. I Was Once Possibly Maybe Perhaps A Cowboy has ‘possibly maybe perhaps’ one of the mightiest breakdowns that I’ve ever heard, seriously you all have to check it out! And finally, When Everyday’s The Weekend is basically a mixture of every song on the album as a whole, making it a perfect track to end the album with a bang – or heartbeat in this case.
Summary: Without a doubt this album has some little gems that are sure to make rockers ‘stand up and scream’. At times the album does get a bit monotonous and you end up wanting something ‘interesting to happen’, which is why A Prophecy is such a key track.
Now one question left… ‘who’s Alexandria?’….
Words by: Jamie
Photo: Emily Pearson: Link
about 4 months ago
I and also my friend were in conflict concerning an issue similar to this! Now I understand that i is right. lol! Thank you for the facts you post.