by Nicola Heyes
Archive for February, 2016
European Cotton Club, A Great Gatsby Affair
Wednesday, February 17th, 2016Anger Management: Cursed Earth — Enslaved By The Insignificant
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2016Cursed Earth spent 2015 laying waste to venues, house parties and ears across Australia via a sonic scorched earth policy. Playing a load of gigs, with a refreshing amount of diverse genre lineups, the groups powerful hardcore meets Swedish HM2 buzzsaw Death Metal turned heads and dropped jaws. Like if Crossed Out or Infest started jamming on Entombed’s gear, super intense but not afraid to riff out with some headbanging riffs.
New flexi ‘Enslaved By The Insignificant’ was introduced by a simply effective (and addictive) browser game. ‘Ensnaked’ (still playable at www.ensnaked.com) allowed some with the muscle memory of the Nokia era an early listen to the new tracks. This kind of simple marketing is genius and makes me wonder why more bands don’t try this more often, sometimes making an effort larger than a youtube clip goes a long way.
The two new tracks (Degenerate, Enslaved) sound excellent and heavy. A powerful and clear production makes Enslaved really shine, some off putting dissonant riffage puts this one at the top of my ‘would like to hear live’ list.
The download contains 9 older tracks, the remastered ‘Vae Mortis’ ep from 2104 and tracks from the split with Burning Season. This is a buzzsaw to the face and a can’t miss live band. Essential listening.
Critical Mass airs every Wednesday from 9PM (GMT+8) on RTR FM 92.1 in Perth, Australia.
PBS Drive Live — Taipan Tiger Girls
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2016Melbourne community radio station PBS is right in the middle of Drive Live — their annual week-long celebration of live music.
All this week there will be a stack of great Melbourne artists playing live in the PBS studios from 5pm to 7pm.
Yesterday saw the most-excellent Taipan Tiger Girls put on a showcase of exceptional droney, synth-filled goodness. Check out the full 25+ minutes right here:
The rest of the week’s PBS Drive Live lineup is:
Tuesday, February 2 – Mixing Up The Medicine
The Drones
Deaf Wish
DEEP HEAT
Wednesday, February 3 – The Afterglow Radio Show
Terrible Truths
Sui Zhen
Jess Ribeiro
Thursday, February 4 – Fang It!
BATPISS
Wet Lips
Grotto
Friday, February 5 – Stone Love
Little Desert
Waterfall Person
Drug Sweat
Head to the PBS website for more info.
Two Minutes with Skullcave
Monday, February 1st, 2016Ahead of their spot supporting High On Fire at the Rosemount in Perth on February 17, we spend a couple of minutes with Skullcave and find out what’s been happening…
Describe your music in five words or less.
Riff, whinge, harmony, chugg, riff.
What’s going on in the world of Skullcave?
We put out 2 EPs last year and we’ve been writing for our next release which we’ll hopefully record with Ron Pollard.
What motivates you to make music?
The local heavy music scene in Perth has actually been the biggest motivator to me recently. There are a lot of great artists creating some really unique sounds, so their artistic success inspires me to keep writing.
What have been the high and low points of your musical experiences so far?
Lows: Spending all your money on a new amp/guitar and then struggling to eat for the rest of the month.
Highs: Spending all your money on a new amp/guitar and then struggling to eat for the rest of the month.
What music are you listening to at the moment?
Elder, Drowning Horse, Melvins, Hard-Ons, High On Fire
If you were stranded on a desert island, which member of the band would get eaten first?
I think Liam would be the easiest to catch and pin down. Then again I’m definitely the least fit. Either way, Steve would probably last the longest.
Here’s an opportunity to bitch about something, whether music related or not. What really pisses you off?
Phil Anselmo’s racism. What a loser.
You’re putting together your perfect gig featuring Australian artists. Who would you get to play and where? Feel free to include acts/DJs/bands/venues that no longer exist.
Mine would be an all day outdoor heavy music gig made up largely of local acts.
Drowning Horse, Lo!, Tangled Thoughts of Leaving, Forstora, Cursed Earth, Serious Beak, Unravel, Self-Harm, Hard Ons, Mark of Cain, Foxes, Territory.
Riffs…