BIG BAD MED featuring Climate Of Fear, Heavy Lies The Crown, All At Sea and Taller Than Trees.

Some would say hardcore rules the roost in the Teesside club gig circuit. As a result there’s plenty of savage competition to stand at the peak. Tonight’s four band bill at Bad Medicine Rock Club of Climate Of Fear, Heavy Lies The Crown, All At Sea and Taller Than Trees is loaded with rabid, heavier than heavy hardcore bands. The newest of the four and first up, Taller Than Trees make their début with a set of six songs that are for all intents and purposes brand new. Opener ‘Six Feet Chunder’ pounds and pummels with brutal vocals from singer Paul Gent getting the band off to a tight start, immediately followed by the intense ’40 Sex’, a song that truly lives up to its name and is exceptionally raw. ’Launch Pad’ slows down to showcase the powerful grooves of bassist Ben Leighton and brutal drumming of James Spence. ‘You Best Play Dead’ sets off again at full pelt with the pacey riffage from Johnny Reardon and Craig Brudenell in a track that also boast a brilliantly executed and thoroughly evil bass solo. ‘Rule One: Cardio’ really hammers down the the bands rhythmic skill before closing on ‘The Wet Heat’ a song more focused on a rolling filthy groove with what can only be described as a spot on solo. A blistering but short set leaves All At Sea with a tall act to follow.
From the first haunting guitar wail it’s apparent All At Sea subscribe to a different flavour of hardcore; still as abrasive, but spiced with doom and melody in place of aggression. The dark and stormy heaviness of All At Sea make it the perfect fit for the hellish roars of singer Jordan Paterson. ‘Equalizer’ throws some dancey grooves against the thorny drums of Jamie Walker for a rather ferocious throw-down. A vein of Killswitch Engage mellodies run through their penultimate song to awesome but curious effect before switching back into more of a black metal gear in their closer.
Heavy Lies The Crown’s groove laden, black metal influenced hardcore cracks their set open with a gravely chaotic track that drips with bluesy charm amid the savage noise. Heavy Lies The Crown manage to deftly mix beatdowns and the thrash sensibilities of the likes of Pantera into a wall of consistently aggressive music that chugs with deep grooves and delicious dirtiness. In ‘The Family Demise’ the melodic twang of Heavy Lies The Crown’s guitars side steps this otherwise consistent deep south sound from the North Eastern boys, but it’s by no means a foul or unwelcome move. A melodic section flexes some more versatile muscles for guitarists Graham Sanderson and Dan Williams, that is still firmly in keeping with the band’s hardcore edge. This is a performance practically mirrored later in their set with guitar work that verges on the progressive. ‘Stepping Stones’ returns to the core black metal hardcore sound, bringing with it a firm metal strut that not only closes their set but cements their immense swagger.
Headliners Climate Of Fear are commonly known as “Teesside’s angriest band”. Tonight’s performance for the ‘Boro murder crew makes them fight hard for that title by matter of circumstance. These have been some hardcore bands that have swung their weight around and shown a considerable amount of balls and skill while doing so. Taking to the stage with a far more to-the-point take on hardcore, Climate of Fear do it with all the brutality and flair of their set mates. With arguably the best projected vocals of the evening making vocalist Rae’s style far more apparent, Climate Of Fear firmly grasp their role as head of the bill and throttle every last breath they can out of it. Seemingly less heavy in their clarity, Climate Of Fear are exceptionally well put together live almost to the point of disbelief. ‘Ghosts’ smacks of Raging Speedhorn in its tense chug before truly kicking in to retake the heavy crown. Performing track after track full of grooves and catchy hooks, Climate Of Fear neatly round off their set with the appropriately titled ‘Fuck Off’. ‘Fuck Off’ is easily one of the sets more aggressive numbers. All the way through, from the guttural screams of vocalist Rae to the riffs of Woody and Hodge, everything from Climate Of Fear is delivered with a sense of vigour and intent that is taken to a whole new level in their final beat-down. Climate Of Fear conquer both record levels of quality and brutal walls of noise to more than deserve their reputation. These guys are angry and want us to know about it.

Download Festival 2012.

Download are now one short of the big four as 14 new bands are added to their 2012 bill. Megadeth immediately leaped out of their latest release, joining fellow thrash heroes Metallica and metal gods Anthrax on what’s shaping up to be quite a stellar line up across the June 8-10th weekend. Joining Mustaine’s metal mongers in the latest 14 are Slash featuring Miles Kennedy, Rise Against, Steel Panther and many more.
The legendary riff lord and ‘Vunter Slaush’ himself, Slash returns to the Download stage for the third time, bringing with him Alter Bridge frontman Miles Kennedy for whats sure to be another astonishing solo set. Melodic hardcore punk group Rise Against, glam rockers Steel Panther, punk four-piece Billy Talent and US heavy metallers Black Label Society are all announced, with the desert rock giants Kyuss Lives! reincarnating the legendary and highly influential stoner rock band Kyuss. Five Finger Death Punch bring their own brand of unrelenting melodic aggression, followed by industrial metal 4-piece Fear Factory and progressive djent metallers Periphery. Yorkshire rockers Terrorvision and Ginger Wildheart also join the grammy nominated metalcore group As I Lay Dying and Finnish glam metal band Reckless Love on what’s certain to be one of the biggest weekends on  2012′s rock calendar.
The other big news in this midweek announcement is the extension of the deadline for weekend arena ticket sales at 2011 prices. Originally scheduled to closed on Monday 30th January, fans will be pleased to discover that prices will remain the same until midday tomorrow at which point all ticket types will go off sale, returning at 5pm and increasing to 2012 prices at £155 plus fees.
Tickets are available now from Downloadfestival.co.uk

Mastodon - Dry Bone Valley.

Sludge metal monsters Mastodon have just released their brand new animated video, and let us say, it’s one hell of a trip. The newly premiered video for the Atlanta based bands track ‘Dry Bone Valley’ is a mix of live action and animated footage directed by fine artist Tim Biskup, that dazzles and confuses. You could quite honestly call this video a psychedelic rainbow nightmare and not be too far from the truth.
Mastodon are on tour next month with dates including:
February 5th, O2 Academy, Bristol.
February 6th, Manchester Academy.
February 7th, Barrowlands, Glasgow.
February 9th, UEA, Norwich.
February 10th, HMV Institute, Birmingham.
February 11th, O2 Academy, Brixton.