British trailblazing rockers Black Spiders have announced they will embark on a UK headlining tour in October.

Currently working on their second album This Savage Land, Black Spiders have made something of a name for themselves with their live performances, so you can be sure this will be a highly anticipated run of shows.

The album will be released on 2nd September, just before the tour starts. The band are joining a growing list of musicians planning to crowdsource funds for their music, and you can pre-order This Savage Land now on Pledgemusic.

Check out the dates below:

3rd October SHEFFIELD Corporation
4th October MANCHESTER Club Academy
5th October NEWCASTLE, Northumbria Uni
6th October GLASGOW Cathouse
8th October BIRMINGHAM O2 Academy 2
9th October BRISTOL Thekla
10th October SOUTHAMPTON Cellar
11th October LONDON Electric Ballroom

Blue Sky animation’s EPIC is out today, May 22nd, and we’ve got an exciting new featurette and some interesting game news for you to check out on your journey in to the cinema. You can also check out our review of the film here!

Directed by Chris Wedge (Ice Age, Robots) and based on William Joyce‘s kids book The Leaf Men and the Good Brave Bugs (#notagoodtitle) EPIC tells the tells the story of an ongoing battle deep in the forest between the forces of good who keep the natural world alive and the forces of evil who wish to destroy it. When a teenage girl finds herself magically transported into this secret universe, she must band together with a rag-tag team of fun and whimsical characters in order to save their world… and ours!

In other EPIC news, Gameloft and Fox Digital Entertainment this week announced Epic™, the new, official game inspired by the film.  Players will find themselves magically transported into the secret universe at the heart of EPIC.  There, they will interact with characters from the movie, grow and nurture their own forest kingdom, and fight back against the Boggan blight in action-packed battles filled with acrobatic and elegant combat, all presented through beautiful 3D visuals and animations.

Epic™ will be available on smartphones and tablets worldwide this May, in time for the film’s release.  You can see a trailer for the game here: http://gmlft.co/oGc1P

Although heralded as ‘Japan’s Phantom Genius of Film’, you may not have come across the works of Sadao Yamanaka before now. During his brief career from 1932 to 1937, before dying at the age of 28 as a foot soldier for the Japanese Imperial Army, he directed an incredible total of 26 films, yet only three have made it intact to the present day. These three are available now as a two-disc DVD set, and we take a break from today’s blockbuster-packed box office to step in to black-and-white 18th century Japan and see what all the hype is about.

First up is Tange Sazen: The Million Ryo Pot (Sazen Tange and the Pot Worth a Million Ryo), which follows a seemingly old and worthless-looking pot in to the hands of Yasu, a young boy whose father was killed due to the negligence of Tange Sazen, the master of an archery parlour. Sazen takes the boy under his wing and unwittingly becomes the owner of the pot, together with the hidden treasure map contained inside.

Kochiyama Soshun (Prince of Darkness) is a modernisation of an old Kabuki play and, like Tange Sazen, is about the hunt for a missing item; but this time it is an immensely valuable samurai knife which has been stolen from its owner. Two petty conmen eventually sell the knife back to the samurai as a fake, thus outwitting their social superior. Finally, we have Yamanaka’s last and most acclaimed film, Ninjo Cami Fusen (Humanity and Paper Balloons), set in a fairly unassuming and impecunious district of Edo.

News of a neighbour’s suicide has the local tenants gossiping and criticizing the ronin (masterless) samurai for choosing to hang himself rather than following the more traditional and class-befitting method of ‘sepukku’ (samurais would be expected to stab themselves in the stomach if captured or dishonoured). Nevertheless, his neighbours mourn his death by organising a wake, which is where the film introduces another ronin samurai, Unno, who lives in equal poverty. Unno partakes in a kidnapping as a desperate last shot at bringing in some money. That night his, so-far, silent wife, having discovered his misdemeanours from the neighbours, stabs him in a double suicide, thus closing the narrative circle.

All three films display Yamanaka’s highly idiosyncratic style, which demonstrates fluid editing, a preference for the subtleties of emotion over ambitious plotlines and an understated, humanistic approach to his characters. Unlike his antecedents, Yamanaka chooses to show samurais in an unglamorous light and challenges their social status (and thereby social status as a whole) whilst remaining humerously kind and forgiving. He also depicts the plight of the poor with unprecedented realism. At a time when Japan was committing atrocities in Shanghai and Nanjing, and people suspected of communist or liberal inclinations were being openly jailed, this was a brave stance to take.

We are lucky that these three films remain at all but, even if you don’t get overly-excited about Japanese socio-politics, we’d recommend this set for any home collection as, apart from anything else, they will certainly surprise you with their ability to hold your attention from beginning to end without the need for HD, CGI or even colour. For the enthusiasts amongst you, there are also rare fragments of other lost Yamanaka films included, together with a lengthy booklet including excerpts from Yamanaka’s diary. Definitely a keepsake worth having, and one that will provide plenty of food for thought.

8/10

Written By: Michelle Butterworth

City Showcase returns to Dean Street, Soho, London on June 2^nd 2013 and it looks set to be another great year. This not-for-profit event is becoming an annual Soho staple and is held to support the wonderful work of the Kids Company.

Previously City Showcase has seen artists such as Amy Winehouse, Keane, Laura Marling, Ray LaMontagne, Razorlight and Gabrielle Aplin. But this year will see the turn of new and wonderful artists such as: Lilygreen & Maguire, Robbie Boyd, Echotape, Lillian Todd-Jones, Caroline Harrison, Asya, Corey Fox-Fardell, Nikita, A Girl Called Ruth, Passport To Stockholm, Matt Pound & Lieutenant Leek, Battle of You, Tom Tyler and Roger Boyd.

From 12pm, Dean Street will become a hub of culture, as aside from the live acts above it will also include comedic performances and market stalls full of goodies. The event saw a 10,000 strong crowd last year and looks set to beat that record in 2013.

www.cityshowcase.co.uk

It’s about time that Ben Marwood stepped out of the shadows of his peers and his latest album Back Down could allow him to do just that. Holding on to his signature folk sound and everyday man lyrics, but with a massive jump in the standards of production, the twelve track effort should see him bumped up to the big leagues of his peers Frank Turner and Chris T-T.

The album opens with For The Skin and These Are The Days When You Can’t Go Home. Safe choices by any means, there’s no clear progression in lyricism from the previous efforts of Outside There’s A Curse. Marwood knows how to put together an acoustic song, however, and it’s great to see he’s stuck to what he knows best. The Soundtrack To Your Miserable Christmas Special, however, seems like an unnecessary addition to the album, and the shrill xylophonic pinging is totally out of place.

Under Lock and Key shows off the crisp new production – and charming lyrics – and crowd pleaser We Are No Longer Twenty-Five provides a much-needed sing-a-long favourite for music fans that aren’t in their teens or early twenties, miles ahead of the any competition as the best song on the album. With an enchanting introduction, This Industry Eats Its Young, hears Ben, with a fragile, longing voice, tell a no doubt autobiographical account of the perils of the fickle music industry.

I Promise You That It Will Be Okay kicks off with frenzied guitars and the Gogol Bordello vibe continues throughout, transforming into a jig-worthy barn dance by the time the last chorus comes around. Channelling Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly., An Escape From Yeehaw Junction shows off a delightful combination of lightly-picked guitars and effortless singing but, much like some of Marwood’s other songs, there’s nothing particularly special about it.

Demons is nice enough but its plodding efforts fall short of interesting but the energy you find yourself longing for throughout Don’t Call It A Comeback just about manages to manifest itself in a song of protests and criticisms. By Murder She Wrote and Lake Wales it’s hard not to want to give the singer a big shake and shout CHEER UP in his face, but, again, he mumbles on. That’s the only problem with Marwood’s music: it can get a little, erm, boring.

Marwood’s awareness of the music industry and his admittance of the struggles he has come across as a musician give his music the honesty and integrity expected from contemporary acoustic folk singers. For music ideal for pub sing-alongs and chilled out summery barbecues, Ben Marwood might be worth a shot.

6/10

Standout track: We Are No Longer Twenty-Five

For fans of: Frank Turner, Chris T-T, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly.

Written by: Kathryn Black

Having only formed in February of this year, The Old Silent have announced that they are to release their double A side single Ever You/Ill Wind digitally on the 17th June. The debut release was written, produced and recorded by the band and mixed by up and coming producer Tarek Musa. An impressive move only three months after forming!

Talking of Ill Wind, vocalist and guitarist Ste Forshaw explains:

“It’s a song about a time when I was feeling restless and anxious about the future. We were really skint trying to make a living as buskers through a long winter, and I was really far away from my girlfriend in London at the time.”

As a celebration to this achievement, the band are currently streaming this track ahead of the release:

Keep an eye out for the release of a video for Ever You in the near future.

]]> http://www.bringthenoiseuk.com/201305/music/news/music-news-the-old-silent-announce-details-of-double-a-side-single/feed 0 http://www.bringthenoiseuk.com/201305/music/interviews/music-interview-with-one-last-breath http://www.bringthenoiseuk.com/201305/music/interviews/music-interview-with-one-last-breath#comments Wed, 22 May 2013 12:00:59 +0000 LizziHart http://www.bringthenoiseuk.com/?p=40063

We caught up with the York lads from With One Last Breath at Radstock Festival in Liverpool. Sam (vocals) and Joe (bass) told us all about their drunken antics, tour stories and their hopes for the future.

So how has your day been today?

Sam: It’s been pretty wicked, watching bands, sadly trying not to drink and getting
excited for 6:30.

What bands have you seen so far?

Sam: I went to see For Eyes, Rat Attack and then I was kind of like here and there
trying to sort out everything else and everyone else because I’m like the dad.

Do you feel that because you’ve become the new main vocalist you’ve stepped
up to the dad position?

Sam: Yeah, added ten years to my age. Nah, I’ve always been the dad. Everyone
else can’t look after themselves, don’t know where anything goes or why it happens,
so I have to.

What’s a day in the life of With One Last Breath then?

Sam: Well, I don’t really know what it’s like now because this is my first show since
summer, and we have a new guitar player now. Before it was kind of like drink all
day, regret it when we go on stage, come off stage and be like, for fuck sakes, we
played really shit. But I can’t drink at the moment, trying to get my voice from just
singing the choruses to trying to do all the vocals now, so it’s a little more straining.

Do you find it difficult switching between clean and screams?

Sam: I don’t find it difficult, it’s the aftermath, when I’m sat at home after three long
days of singing and screaming all day and I have a sore throat. Everyone was
drinking last night and I couldn’t do it, because I was like if I wake up tomorrow and
my throats bad and I’ve been drinking as well tomorrow, and I really don’t want to
upset Germans.

Joe: You always upset them anyway. I sleep all the way through the day so I don’t
really know much about the day. It’s the night time that I’m the expert.

So this is your first show as the new line-up isn’t it? How you feeling?

Joe: Erm, I’m actually feeling a bit nervous.

Sam: I’m nervous but I’m ultra-confident because we’ve made sure everybody knows
exactly what they’re doing for the first time ever, and it’s going to be different. I feel
pretty confident that we’ll see more t-shirts for our band walking around.

Do you prefer doing intimate headline shows or would you prefer to support a big
band in a massive venue?

Sam: Intimate headline show. We’ve done a lot of them but my god I hate playing in
front of people that don’t give a shit about you, because if you’re playing to two
thousand people who are here for the other band… they don’t wanna watch you.
Before, you know a year ago you could have said to me like aaaw come and play to
all these people, and you’d not even think for a second, totally different style of music
to them, blah blah blah, so if there are a hundred people there for us and they’re all
there to hear what we have to do, that feels way better.

What do you think is the best part about being on tour?

Joe: Not being at work.

Sam: Yeah not being bossed around by somebody else.

Joe: It’s just a big laugh.

Sam: It has nothing to do with work really. I’d say the best part is the hotel parties
after. We can’t have any of them on the next tour.

Joe: We can have van parties.

Sam: Yeah, we can have van parties.

Joe: We’re not good enough for a tour bus.

Sam: It’s like a giant van-caravan. Compared to being on a sofa.

Joe: We can stumble out of the venues and straight into bed.

What country would you like to visit?

Sam: America. I think we are an American-style influence band stuck in the UK.

What would your favourite band be then?

Sam: Oh, there’s an all-time which is Metallica for me, but you know the sort of
bands like The Devil Wears Prada, go out to America a lot and bands out there and
doing exactly what we want to do, playing to who we need to play to. You know, the
UK has been treating us well over the last sixteen/ eighteen months, but it’s time to
go elsewhere I reckon.

Have you got a big fan base in York?

Sam: Ish. Yeah, York’s awesome. It’s just really weird because everyone always
asks us about York because everyone’s like well that’s not a renowned place for
bands.

Joe: I don’t think there’s enough people in York.

Sam: Bands can play Manchester and so many people are there and such a small
percentage go to the shows but we still have two thousand people there. York’s
weird because everyone knows everyone, so if you’re playing York it’s just friends.
There’re a lot of good bands in York but everyone’s just friends. For the tour we go
on next week, we’re doing Leeds which is next to York, so that will be a test to see if
any people actually travel.

Which city are you most excited about hitting?

Sam: For me, Norwich. Well it sold the most tickets on the next tour. We’re excited to
know that we’re gonna turn up and people will be there. We went there with Asking
Alexandria and we went there with Yashin. I think we are in a smaller room but we’re
still there, it’s still going to be fun.

Who would you like to spot in one of your crowds? Any person ever.

Joe: My mum.

Sam: Your mum goes to every gig, so that wouldn’t be original. Err, Harry Potter.

Joe: Harry Potter?

Sam: Yeah, imagine him casting a spell on me whilst I’m on the stage.

Joe: I’d pick Roger from American Dad. You’d never know it was him because he’d
be in disguise, wouldn’t he? They can dress him up as you [Sam] and see if we can
get away with it.

Sam: Nah, Harry Potter, come on. And Hermione, she’s fitter than Roger from
American Dad.

What is the best thing you’ve received from a fan?

Joe: Themselves!

Sam: My best one was, we weren’t even playing a show. We went to see Asking
Alexandria in London this year at Brixton when they filmed the DVD. We got out of
the taxi and crossed the road and someone came up to me and bought me a bottle
of Jack Daniels. She was called Stacey. I have no idea what I did to deserve that, but
that was awesome. We got absolutely arseholed.

Joe: Yeah we did, didn’t we?

Sam: Yeah, you know what he did? We were stood there with all the guys from like
Raw Power, and he got his dick out and he fell over on the floor and he laid there
with his dick out passed out.

Joe: Cannot remember a thing. It was a good laugh though.

Sam: I was sick on a taxi as well. I got out, opened the door and fell on it and was
like ughhhh, then I ran off.

Joe: We didn’t pay for it. And even on the hotel floor as well.

Sam: That’s what whiskey does to you.

What was the funniest thing that’s happened on tour then?

Sam: I know what it was, it was him [Joe] again. We were playing in somewhere
called Margate. We went out, it was like on a day off, and this is how bad it was. We
couldn’t afford hotels, we couldn’t even afford a van. We slept in tents. How bad is
that? And we went for like a day out and we were in this bar getting drunk, how bad
is that, we can’t afford hotels but we’re drinking all day. It was all part of the laugh.
And this real proper minging bird came up to us…

Joe: She was using her southern charm on me, that’s what it was.

Sam: Anyway, we’re getting drunk, and he started getting off with this bird.

Joe: I thought fuck it, let’s have a laugh.

Sam: Then we all got kicked out because it was like right it’s turning into a nightclub
now and you can’t be here, because we’d all been swimming in the sea and they
were like, you can’t be here in swimming shorts, so we got a taxi home and he was
like, I’m staying here with that girl.

Joe: No, there was no room in the taxi for me. They try and put it on that I wanted to
stay… I didn’t want to stay.

Sam: Yeah you didn’t go in the sea so you were kind of ready, weren’t ya? We went
back, got ready, went back out absolutely hammered and we were like, where’s Joe?
Couldn’t find him. And he came running back in and he’d slept with this woman…she
was fifty five!

Joe: She had a kid the same age as me.

Sam: You can’t exaggerate that because he slept with a fifty five year old widow. She
was widowed. Her husband passed away.

Joe: It was a little treat for her. I was scarred, literally scarred. Trying to get some
sleep on the long drive home and I just couldn’t close my eyes. Every time I did I saw
her there on the bed.

Sam: Check out Shirley Valentine, she’s like a short, minging, stumpy version of her.

Joe: She was my woman.

Sam: He was getting really protective over as well, because he was arseholed.

What was her name?

Sam: Shirley probably.

Well, thanks for that! What band are you most excited about seeing after your set?

Sam: Bury Tomorrow.

Joe: Yeah, Bury Tomorrow.

Sam: We toured with them last year and they’re just awesome. So metal.

Interview By: Lizzi Hart

Who: Serpico

Where: London (via Edinburgh), United Kingdom

What: Punk Metal

About: Serpico are a new band, with a history. Originally formed by singer Mikey Serpico way back in 2005, with a sound drawn equally from metal, rock and punk, you might be forgiven for wondering what’s so new with Serpico. Since their first release in 2009, Neon Wasteland, the London-based quintet have had to rebuild themselves with an entirely new line up behind Mikey.

Prior to 2010 the band were going all guns blazing, touring around the UK and Europe with bands such as Aiden, Kill Hannah & Black Stone Cherry, supporting giants like Skindred and AFI and even appearing at Download Festival. But, when three members choose to leave in late 2009 the band went into stasis, playing only sporadically, as new members were recruited and new material was written and recorded. It would have been enough to finish most bands, but Mikey was determined to carry on and managed to find himself an even stronger line up.

Four years later and Serpico have a new look, a new location and a new sound. The band are back with new EP We Can Rebuild, featuring single Screamager which includes a vocal appearance from ex-Elliot Minor vocalist, Alex Davies.

Verdict: Serpico are pop-metal riot mongers – a dizzying mixture of dark-hearted punk melodies wrapped around a hard-rock heart with a die-cast metal exterior. Imagine Black Veil Brides jamming Misfits tunes with Young Guns and you’re probably nowhere close… but maybe you get an idea! Serpico might just be the best band you’ve never heard. They’re back bigger and badder for 2013 and with a little luck they might just be able to catch the break they deserve.

For fans of: The Blackout, Bad Religion, Avenged Sevenfold, Black Veil Brides

Top tracks: Screamager, No Time For Heroes, Kultura, We Own The Night

Find them:  Facebook, Twitter

Hear them:

Written by: Lisa Fox

Finnish melodic metal legends Children Of Bodom have released another track from the upcoming new album Halo of Blood.

The title track is the second to be released after a video for Transference was released recently. Not to put any pressure on it but frontman and guitarist Alexi Laiho has said of Halo of Blood: “That could be my favorite Bodom-Song ever”.

The intro throws something of a curve ball with a shock of blastbeats, but the traditional keyboard-driven metal comes through in the end. Have a listen and see what you think, then have a look at the artwork, as usual featuring the grim reaper:

When asked about the venue for his band’s curated night at the Relentless House Party in Manchester’s Antwerp Mansion, Delphic keyboardist Rick says: “It’s cool, I just hope it’s still standing at the end!”

Having been told it was going to be a raucous party, and looking at the dilapidated state of the old Conservative gentleman’s social club, it wasn’t hard to feel like there would be a few more holes in the ceilings and walls of this place. Covered in random graffiti and looking like a haunted house from any classic ghost-horror film, it’s not the most pretty looking place in the world, but once inside you enter a world of abstract art mixed with the fusty surrounds, creating a juxtaposition that keeps you on your toes as you explore the sprawling mansion.

The gig room, though more conventional-looking in the dark, still feels like a different world, and that is exacerbated when hippie-inspired indie-rockers Egyptian Hip Hop take up main support duties. Their chilled yet somehow jarring vibe is perfect for getting people in the mood, putting a retro feel to a classic Manchester sound.

The room has already become a sweaty mess by the time Delphic hit the stage, and the ante is upped severely when they kick off with a big hit in Baiya. It doesn’t take long for the predicted raucous energy to flow round the room. In front of the sound desk a very inebriated female awkwardly jumps up onto a wooden platform to dance in a swaying motion for almost the entire set, while the bouncing and jostling up in front of the stage continues for the same period of time.

With the atmosphere already pretty electric, it wasn’t going to make much different how the band were musically, but as it turns out this was a very solid performance, a stellar mash-up of interesting electronic sounds and edgy indie-rock, while the extra 20 minutes that they continue onstage speaks volumes about the music’s energy.

Once Delphic’s last blip has been sounded, many choose to leave, but those that do stay are treated to an after party as diverse and the headliner’s music. Downstairs continues with the electro-rock, while up the dusty stairs is a more dance feel, with Zed Bias DJs providing the tunes late into the night. For a £5 ticket, it’s not a bad way to spend a Thursday night.

If you missed it, check out what was happening by clicking the video below from co-hosts Relentless Energy Drink:

9/10

Written By Iain Currie