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Trivium - Trivium - In Waves In the past, Trivium were seen as being the future. On a freezing day at the 2005 Download Festival at Donington Park, thousands upon thousands of metalheads could be seen sprinting their way across uneven ground in order to watch the Orlando quartet’s early afternoon set. The buzz was such that immediately after this the band were featured on the front cover of Kerrang!, and whispers could be heard claiming that theirs was the name reserved for the grandest chair at metal’s high table. At the time Metallica were flogging their frankly awful St Anger album, and... Cant - CANT "Answer"from the album Dreams Come True2011On September 13, Grizzly Bear's Chris Taylor goes solo when he releases Dreams Come True, his debut album as CANT. But you don't have to wait till then to hear the warped, bendy "Answer." The album was recorded with help from Twin Shadow's George Lewis Jr., and you can hear that in the decadent emptiness and synths here. But there's no trace of either dude's pop sensibilities here: This is pretty soundscape heavy and about as far away from Grizzly Bear as you can get.~ Andrew... Gomez - Gomez - Whatever's on Your Mind It’s a long time since Gomez won the Mercury Music Prize. Thirteen years, to be precise, since they beat The Verve, Massive Attack and Pulp to the award back in 1998. And after one spin of this, their seventh studio album, you’ll think it was even longer ago. Perhaps in another life altogether. To be fair, Gomez have been sliding towards middle-of-the-road mediocrity for a while now. Those first three albums - Bring it On, Liquid Skin, and In Our Gun - were rife with a sense of raw, youthful experimentation, blending British and American folk... Jeff Buckley - Jeff Buckley - Grace While Jeff Buckley’s sole complete studio document has achieved two million sales worldwide since its mid-90s release, its impact at the time was far from impressive. And that’s from both critical and commercial perspectives, as although today it’s regularly held in high regard come top-albums lists, a mixed reception greeted it on its initial emergence. Listening today, almost 17 years to the day after that first release, it’s easy to hear why reviewers weren’t universally moved by Grace. Its best-known track isn’t even one penned by Buckley, Hallelujah being a cover of Leonard Cohen’s haunting masterpiece. Nor is Corpus... Title Fight - Title Fight - Shed Pennsylvanian melodic hardcore troupe Title Fight are still frightfully young but with their Walter Schreifels produced debut album "Shed" they're proving themselves as one of the most exciting new bands around. Playing with the raw intensity of early emo bands such as Lifetime and Jawbreaker, the quartet have nailed the balance between being heartbreakingly emotional and completely live sounding that the former bands helped create. Opener 'Coxton Yard' hits the ground running at a hundred miles per hour and lasts for just ninety seconds but has hooks to boot, the full-throated chorus of the following title-track carries this quality and doesn't... Suicide Silence - Suicide Silence - The Black Crown Californian metallers Suicide Silence have spent the last few years building a core and faithful following with their particularly brutal brand of deathcore. "The Black Crown", their third full-length, branches out from their base sound into more metallic territory while losing none of its head-crushing edge and, as a result, feels like a natural progression for the band. Vocalist Mitch Lucker spoke of the songs comprised as having 'more structure' than before and that can certainly be heard here. Lead single 'You Only Live Once' has an epic and sinister yet endearingly motivational spoken-word intro before diving into furious roars, riffs... Cavalera Conspiracy - Cavalera Conspiracy (Sonispher... This was probably not the best slot for Cavalera Conspiracy and way too early for such a titan in my opinion; especially if you consider the rest of the line-up appearing higher up on the bill for Saturday. However, the impact after the minion bands was tremendous and extremely effective. When Max Cavalera comes on stage, he is clearly in a different league to the preceding boys that have stood at the centre of the Apollo Stage so far today. Kicking the set off with 'Inflikted' brought absolute chaos to the front and the hardcore Sepultura/Soulfly/Cavalera Conspiracy fans rushed forward to... Edwyn Collins - Edwyn Collins (Latitude 2011) Edwyn Collins was an act that saved Latitude's soul and kept it true to its roots. His announcement was one that made sense on a Latitude bill, which cannot be said for many of the other acts on this year's puzzling line up. It was hard not to feel sorry for Collins, once the sexy rocker front man of Glasweigan post-punk band Orange Juice now reduced to walking with a cane and slurred speech as a result of suffering multiple strokes in his lifetime. But this fact has not affected Collin's confidence, nor his performance. Despite his speech problems, the distinctive... Coldplay - Coldplay - Parachutes (2000) Lightly tasteful tablature stories and fables is the best way to describe the debut album that put Coldplay on the maps of the music industry. Just like the reality of a Parachute, this album will seem to be taking its time. Truth is, the combination of musical professionalism and lyrical content is truly going the speed of light. Track three, “Spies", resembles an overcast system hovering over beautiful tropic skies. From one environment to another, using every format of creative instrumental technique to blend into one 5 minute and 18 second song. “ And if we don’t buy here, They’re going to find us,... Architects - Architects (Sonisphere 2011) Brighton based, Architects, are on the Apollo Stage after Sylosis. They have had some turmoil in the band lately with bassist, Alex Dean, leaving in February, but luckily he re-joined in July 2011. Perhaps it was this tasty Sonisphere slot that lured him back? Generally the band is received with a good response upfront, and two circle pits forming quickly, but they fail to convince the people at the back right from the onset. Saying that, the relentless charm by front man, Sam Carter, seems to have an effect and heads start bobbing around the arena. The band is tight and solid,... |