Ahead of their main stage slot at Slam Dunk Midlands we sat down with Mayday Parade vocalist Derek Sanders and guitarist Brooks Betts for a chat about all things music. With their fifth studio album Black Lines released in 2015 - and also signifying their tenth year within the band - there was plenty to talk about!

Now in its tenth year, Slam Dunk Festival weekend is a highlight for many music lovers across the country. 2016 saw the relocation of Slam Dunk Midlands to Birmingham’s NEC, we headed down to check out some of BTN’s favourite bands on what looked set to be a brilliant day of live music.

Not too long ago we reviewed Cheap Meat’s debut EP The Parts That Show, we pretty instantly fell in love with their rocked up pop-punk sound. To celebrate their EP release they held a free release show at Camden’s The Black Heart, so we headed down for a Thursday night full of fun.

Max Raptor have been working super hard in the past months, releasing their Damage Appreciation EP in November it was swiftly followed by their self-titled full length. The punk quartet has gathered a solid fan base thanks to their brutally honest lyrics and fiery live shows, this release definitely didn’t let those fans down.

It’s likely you won’t know of Chisel Beeches, because if we’re honest neither did we as the internet is seriously lacking in information about this Surrey quartet. But one thing we did manage to find out is that April sees the release of their debut mini-album In A Week, On A Whim.

When we took a trip to the final date of the Scuzz Throwdown tour in London, we caught up with Wil Ray (Max Raptor), Damo Hughes (Allusondrugs) and Lewis Williams (Press To MECO) for an end of tour chat. We talked super bands, raccoons in the audience and making noodles with a bin… it was a weird one to say the least!

The first ever Scuzz Throwdown tour rounded off in London’s Borderline last week, featuring the likes of Allusondrugs, Press to Meco and Max Raptor we headed down for what was to be an incredible night. It might not have been the smoothest tour with illness striking two of the bands along the way but with everyone back and almost fighting fit, it was time to send the tour off in style!

Every so often an album is brought to our attention which we might not have appreciated fully when it was initially released, but soon caught our attention and left us hooked. Seafret with Tell Me It’s Real is one of those albums; captivating, serene and simply stunning.

Hassle Records signing Cheap Meat have their own unique take on pop-punk, with big bold lyrics and singalong choruses. We checked out their debut EP 'The Parts That Show' and it's safe to say that we were more than impressed!

Lacey have started off 2016 in style with a new five-track EP entitled I Don’t Owe The World A Thing, following on from the release of their debut album Under The Brightest Lights in 2015. After we became hooked on last year's release we've sunk our teeth into the follow-up, to see if it lives up to our high expectations.