Robyn Writes

Dead Swans [farewell show] – Relentless Garage, London, 30/3/13

Despite not registering as a ‘cool’ band amongst some of the hardcore scene’s more picky and trendy crew for a few years now, it’s a fitting testimony to the band’s impact on UK hardcore that Dead Swans play out their last performance in front of a sold out crowd in probably the largest venue the band has ever headlined. A refreshingly varied bill of eight bands gives the show a festival atmosphere as the cream of the UK underground bids farewell to one of the most passionate, uncompromising and intense acts on the hardcore circuit.

Unfortunately I missed Strange Places and Departures but the latter of the two deserves upmost recognition for undertaking a monstrous seven hour journey to play for a mere fifteen minutes. Dedication indeed.

Honour Among Thieves, previously defunct, have picked up their instruments once again at Dead Swans’ behest. Well aware that a great swathe of the heads in the room are unfamiliar with any aspect of the band, the vocalist takes a confrontational approach in the hope of provoking some kind of response. Placing himself in the midst of the crowd, the response is gradual, but by the end of a set of rather straight-forward speedy hardcore, said vocalist is being jumped on by an eager gaggle who seem to know some of the words. A success for a band who clearly imagined they were going to play to a sea of blank faces and static figures.

Holding up the banner for carefree party jams is Gnarwolves who are going from strength to strength as of late. Stage divers, taking advantage of the lack of barrier and overbearing security, immediately set themselves upon the overwhelmingly young audience who press themselves against the stage. The kids in the know regurgitate every single word to breakneck melodic punk tunes such as ‘History Is Bunk’ as well as the softer and potentially lip quivering ‘Community, Stability,Identity’. Although they still maintain their ragged charm, the Brighton trio are a much more solid live entity thanks to their unrelenting touring schedule. The group surely won over some of the crusties at the back of the room, if not for their engaging performance, than for their much applauded quips at Don Brocco (who are cunts apparently, who knew!?). Gnarwolves debut album is awaited with eager ears.

Spitting in the face of any essence of monotony are Landscapes, who have done away with hardcore’s limitations and much notion of any distinct ‘fast’ or ‘mosh’ parts to actually create fucking great songs that are heavily impassioned and have obviously been painstakingly arranged. Sticking entirely to their much lauded debut Life Gone Wrong, the band incites a fervent response as many at the front seem to have taken it upon themselves to burn every word screamed by the emotionally pained vocalist onto their brains. Relying more on poignancy rather than sheer brutality, tracks such as ‘D.R.E.A.M’ are works of masterfully controlled dynamics that have much of the venue enthralled from start to finish.

Breaking Point have failed to impress me in the past, but despite sticking rigidly to a one-dimensional ‘mosh’ sound, tonight they seem a much more engaging live proposition. The hardcore dance enthusiasts finally take their cue to violently hurl their body parts round the pit to the mosh-ready riffs and lyrics of the vehemently straight edge disposition. Frontman Louis is rabid, confrontational and fresh off the road with his new position in Brutality Will Prevail. He repeatedly urges the crowd to “get ignorant”, a command to which they respond with aplomb.

A band with no concept of subtlety, Last Witness are instead more concerned with battering the audience into submission as down-tuned riffs rain down on a now well warmed audience. Coming on stage to the demonic screams of the intro to Slipknot’s Iowa seems perfectly apt way to signal their arrival. Despite hardly being the most intimidating of figures, lead growler Theo commands a brilliantly abrasive and guttural scream which he unleashes unfailingly even as he spends a large portion of the set in mid-air, bouncing non-stop around the stage. The riffs, ingrained with hints of nu-metal, are disgustingly crushing in their unrelenting fury. Oldie ‘Dreamland Welcomes You’ and newie ‘Saccharine’ are blasts of ultra-aggressive metalcore that keeps the pit action frantic whilst closer ‘The Void’ and its groove-laden metalisms end the set on a positively destructive note.

Taking to the stage in a hail of feedback, the scream of “It’s starting” announces the arrival of ‘Thinking Of You’ from Dead Swans‘ only full length, Sleepwalkers, with stage divers launching themselves from the monitors onto the packed front rows. The band only make it halfway through the song before their frontman has hurled himself into the crowd. An inspiring vocalist, Nick throws every morsel of anguish and pain into his vocals and despite becoming increasingly intoxicated throughout the set his acerbic vocal chords never falter. For once, a hardcore show is blessed with a live sound of relative clarity, with Benny’s dazzling drumwork sounding nothing less than monstrous through the forgiving PA and the vocal often distinguishable from the cacophony around it. With most of their songs clocking in at two minutes or less they manage to cover a great swathe of their discography, the cataclysmic ‘Hanging Sun’ from their debut Southern Blue to the breathtakingly aggressive ‘In The Half-light’ from the split with the now massive Architects boys and their well-honed hardcore sound of ‘You Can Only Blame Yourself’ from their most recent release Anxiety And Everything Else. Throughout the almost hour long performance every band member experiences the joys and perils of stage-diving, with even sticksman Benny finding a break in the set to jump on some heads. Although the pace of the show falters toward the end, an understandable factor considering the amount of energy thrown into every song, the bands performance is pure passion from start to finish and an inspiring spectacle. Finishing with an encore of ‘Preferring The Worst’, the first song ever penned by the group, rounds off the night in logical fashion. An awe-inspiring performance by a group who obviously still court huge adulation in the UK underground. Dead Swans and much of the crowd are by the end of the set saturated in sweat, mentally drained and physically battered- all the hallmarks of a perfectly executed hardcore show and the best send-off Dead Swans could have asked for. They will be sorely missed.

5 out of 5 high fives!

Emmure – O2 Academy 2, Birmingham, 8/4/13

The Mosh Lives tour wound its way on down to Birmingham once more and a rather large bunch of noisy hardcore bands decided to make a mess in the second city. Nice. Kitteh and I took our earplugs and our tank tops/KISS leotards to our home away from home, the O2 Academy 2, and spent an evening surrounded by enthusiastic teenagers enjoying some beefy breakdowns.
Buried In Verona (2.5/5) started us off. Aussie metalcore with synths meant sexy accents but generic tunes for the most part the other night. While they were full of enthusiasm, the set wasn’t bad, but ultimately forgettable. However, with a line up ever in flux and a wildly differing back catalogue to choose from, it stands to reason that given time and a longer slot, Buried In Verona could have a lot more to offer. Canada’s Obey The Brave (4/5) didn’t skimp on the facial hair or the quality with a set to smash your face in for. Although in their current form, Obey The Brave are relative newcomers, they’re all really deathcore veterans, and Alexandre Erian and co led the Academy crowd to a sweaty and satisfied state with a series of brutal and relentless mosh-heavy anthems. Obey The Brave make no compromises and the end result is a heart pounding experience.

At first, I thought that Attila (3.5/5) were going to suck. The first two songs seemed to be more style over substance as the band paraded around the stage in perfectly chosen outfits and played formulaic songs with highly predictable basslines. But then, something magic happened. Vocalist Chris Fronzak started displaying some ridiculous range and everything began coming to life. The tone and depth of his screams in a live situation is enviable. Deeply enviable. Everything became tons of fun after that, with particular highlights in ‘Party With The Devil’. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for Chelsea Grin (2/5). While technically, everything was fine – the band were tight, competent and everything else you’d expect in the more techy end of the genre – their set was just dull. There was no change in tempo or tone throughout, and while they maintained a good rapport with the crowd, no amount of synths or snappy dress sense could save it. The second to last track displayed some promise, but went on for too long and the set as a whole just fell flat.

Ah, but nobody was really there to see any of them anyway. Emmure (4.5/5), the Queens deathcore titans, were at their finest. Frankie Palmeri is equally charming and vicious – one moment, he’s thanking the fans and reminding them to keep safe and in the next, he’s launching into a violent tirade with ‘Solar Flare Homicide’. The band as a whole fit the hardcore dynamic to a tee but with an enthusiasm and power that’s slowly dying out in the genre; at first, they’re imposing, but ultimately ready to mosh as hard as the kids in the pit. As tempting as it is to dive into the pit, it’s also just worth standing back and watching as Emmure do their thing; they’re completely arresting. The set consisted of all the classics, and not as much material from their latest effort, Slave To The Game, as I would have expected; but that left room for all the best stuff from Speaker Of The Dead and Felony anyway. Opening the set with ‘4 Poisons 3 Words’ left Kitteh positively shaking with joy. Believe me when I say, the mosh definitely lives, and definitely will continue to if left in the hands of Emmure.

J-Pop Sunday – GO!GO!7188

Ah, nostalgia! This week’s J-Pop Sunday takes me back a few years: Back to a time long ago when I was but a curious teenager, first discovering the world of Japanese music. A time when the idea of J-Pop being readily available in the UK – via legitimate means – was but a madman’s dream and import CD costs were far too much for the wallet of a poor secondary school student. However, back in such an archaic time a little video site called “Youtube” was rising in popularity, bringing with it access to a seemingly infinite fount of weird and wonderful Japanese music. It was there that I stumbled across a Japanese band with a silly name and guitar riffs that will have you subconsciously bobbing you head along to the music. And this happened to be the week I remember that they exist. So without much further ado, here’s “GO!GO!7188”!

GO!GO!7188 consists of Turkey (Drums), Yuu (Vocals/Guitar) & Akko (Bass/Vocals)

Quick Guide:
Act Name: GO!GO!7188 (“Go! Go! Nana-ichi-hatchi-hatchi”)
Line-up: Akko (Bass/Vocals)
Yuu (Guitar/Vocals)
Turkey (Drums)
Years Active: 1998 – 2012
Genre: Rock, Surf-Rock, Light Punk (Is that last one even a genre…?)
Notable Tracks: Taiyo (太陽/Sun) (2000), Jet Ninjin (ジェットにんぢん/Jet Carrot) (2000), Ukifune (浮舟/Floating Boat) (2002), Kinyori Ren’ai (近距離恋愛/Short-Distance Love) (2006), Mayakashi no Sekai (まやかしの世界/Phony World) (2010)

Like all great rock bands GO!GO!7188 started life as a few high school girls mucking about. The younger versions of guitarist Yumi Nakashima (Yuu) and bassist Akiko Noma (née Hamada) (Akko), along with three other girls from their school in Kyushu (whose names have seemingly been lost to the annals of time) started a band called “Jellyfish”. Jellyfish primarily focused on covers of songs by a 90’s rock group called “JUDY AND MARY.” Sadly, Jellyfish never made it off the ground and the three nameless girls left the group but Yuu and Akko stuck together and in 1998 started calling themselves “GO!GO!7188”. In 1999 the pair performed at a local music festival/talent show, sponsored by Yamaha. Although the pair didn’t win the competition agents from Yamaha saw promise in the girls. Yamaha recruited the pair to their talent agency and paired them up with Takayuki Hosokawa; a drummer from Shikoku who also went by the name of “Turkey”. The line-up for GO!GO!7188 was complete. It was time to head on over to the big city.


A campy Yakuza/Detective romp (with carrots) is the bizarre theme for the video of Gogo’s second single “Jet Ninjin”.

The band moved to Tokyo in 2000 and released 4 singles and an album before the year was over, including their debut single “Taiyo” (太陽/Sun) and the oddly titled “Jet Ninjin” (ジェットにんぢん/Jet Carrot). 2001 saw 3 more singles, their second album and a nationwide tour. However, after 2001 the band’s output began to slow down: 2002 only saw one new release from the band: A traditional style ballad called “Ukifune” (浮舟/Floating Boat). Ukifune made several references to one of the later chapters of the 11th century literacy work “The Tale of Genji” which shared the same name.


GO!GO!7188 performing “Ukifune” live.

Albums and singles slowly trickled out from the band while the group toured and worked on side projects. In 2003 Akko released a solo album and in 2006 she got married. Yuu meanwhile released a solo album in 2004, she followed that in 2005 with a formation of a new band called “Chirinuruwowaka” (チリヌルヲワカ) which went on to release two albums; one in in 2005 and one in 2006. As for Turkey? He was happy enough hitting things with sticks for GO!GO!7188. Regardless of side projects, GO!GO!7188 was still an entity. In 2004 they performed at the legendary Nippon Budokan arena and in 2006 they released a new album and their first single in two years: “Kinyori Ren’ai” (近距離恋愛/Short-Distance Love)


The video for “Kinyori Ren’ai” makes me think of Tic Tacs for some reason…

In 2007 GO!GO!7188 embarked on their first international tour which included visiting the USA. However, rather than spur them on, the band’s trip to America seemed only to slow things down even more and for the rest of their years the band rarely managed more than one release per year. Of course, that’s not to say that the band’s quality diminished as they slowed down. The song Mayakashi no Sekai (まやかしの世界/Phony World) from the band’s final album “Go!!GO!GO!Go!!” in 2010 is proof of this.


Sadly, I don’t have a witty comment for “Mayakashi no Sekai”

2012 saw the end of GO!GO!7188 with Yuu withdrawing from the band. Yuu felt that she had reached her limit of what she could do for the band that she believed still had more potential to grow without her. Evidentially, that wasn’t the case as Akko and Turkey are no longer performing together as GO!GO!7188.

Of course, there is one question that remains. What’s with the crazy name? When asked about it the members have repeatedly stated that there is a reason behind it, however, it’s a secret known only to the group’s members. A secret that, sadly, we now may never learn the truth about…

Road To Horizon – Chapters [EP]

Through the misty fields of the Yorkshire dales you can hear a rumbling, a progressive crescendo of riffs, screamed vocals and hollow drum beats that is earning the region a reputation for thumping metalcore and raging post-hardcore. Shortly after Yorkshire’s The Ocean Between Us released their debut record and subsequently parted with frontman Judd Wrighton, and soon after the regions own Bring Me The Horizon released their game changing album Sempiternal, Leeds based Road To Horizon enter the fold with ‘Chapters’,a five-track EP (and a bonus Rita Ora cover) made up of sophisticated instrumentals and intense vocals. You might recognise the boys from BBC Three’s “Don’t Tell The Bride” series. Having appeared in the “metal wedding” episode, which aired in August 2012, the band are shown performing at the unique ceremony, along with getting the groom royally “fucked up” before the big day.

Draped in melodic rhythm, the EP personifies the fantastic bi-polar nature of the post-hardcore genre, from the softer percussion-driven verses to the explosive screamed choruses. The juxtaposition of heartfelt emotion & gut-wrenching aggression makes the EP sound remarkably similar to the likes of A Day To Remember and Road To Horizon’s slower, more melodic take on the genre offers a familiar, yet strong sound.

The EP bursts into life with opening track ‘Through The Ashes’. The song begins with a gentle synth and piano combination but swells into something much more powerful with heavy drums and fast-paced guitars. The soft, clean vocals float in and carry the song through until raspy screams intermittently burst forth to maintain the diversity and give the songs that metal-tinged something extra.

This is a feature of the EP itself and each track that makes it up. With whirling but gentle melodies, fast and intricate guitar work, and the metal-edge delivered by rough vocals and heavy drums. “Caught Red Handed” slows down the clean vocals, but the energy still emanates through. As the chorus springs in the thrashing guitars and aggressive screams tear up the script and give what could have been a slower more peaceful song a darker yet catchier side. “In Your Bed” and “This Is The End” carry on this trend, filling the lyrics with emotive angst and slamming the riffs against the constant heavy drum beat, the screams and clean vocals forming a match made in heaven.

Road To Horizon definitely show a whole lot of potential in ‘Chapters.’ They are capable of putting together a great post-hardcore song, writing and performing complex instrumental parts and the vocals, clean and rough, are fantastically conveyed. When putting together an album however, they could benefit from more diversity, throwing in songs with faster melodies; maybe a song or two with only clean or rough vocals. All in all it is a great EP, a great stepping stone, and hopefully even better things will follow on from this. From first listen they seem capable; let’s hope they deliver!

4 out of 5 high fives!

Radstock Festival 2013 – O2 Academy Liverpool, 30/3/13

On what was a rare sunny day in Liverpool, a brand new indoor music festival called Radstock was launched, seeing 24 bands playing across three stages in two rooms from 1pm to 11pm. With free Monster energy drinks handed out to the queue, 13 year old emo girls olds bouncing off the walls with excitement and slightly creepy older men watching them as they queue for a day long festival of rock, metal and punk; spring officially kicked into life.

The first band on the Big Deal Clothing stage came in the form of Gnarwolves. The set burst into life with a fast punk drumbeat, clean but shouted lyrics and a rumbling bassline, not to mention a few riffs here and there. There were a lot of abrupt changes of pace to fit the punk-esque style, but there were also some more pop-punk moments and even a slower softer song “because it was early in the day”. Apparently it was the earliest a band has played at the venue; whether or not that’s a compliment to the band is another matter entirely, but Gnarwolves delivered a strong set to warm up the assembling crowd.

Next up and first on the larger Monster Energy stage were Natives, injecting energy into the room with their brand of poppy, fist pumping, and sing-along rock. Thriving off crowd participation, Natives brought a thumping rock attitude with the catchy element of pop music. Respect where it’s due, this got the crowd more involved, seeing everybody kneeling down and jumping up for the chorus of the second song, not something you are used to seeing at 2 in the afternoon. A lot of the songs were very similar, in structure and deliverance, but that said, Natives clearly found a song-writing formula that worked for them and stuck with it, seemingly to the pleasure of the cheering crowd.

Drive By Night provided guitar dominated alt-rock, filled with rhythmic riffs, clean vocals and nice harmonies. It may have been their first ever show together as a band, but they proved that they are full of potential and have obvious technical ability, they were just lacking that something extra. There were no obvious faults to pick out, with the songs or their live performance; they just seemed to be lacking the extra ‘oomph’ that could make them a fans’ favourite.

Then, and controversially to some, I skipped the chance of seeing Sonic Boom Six to see Carcer City, recommended by a friend, on the Hardtimes stage. I wasn’t disappointed. With the first sign of rough vocals and a loud breakdown to bring the song in, the Carcer City show also saw the first pits of the day. Declaring themselves as ‘scouse metal’, the lead singer, Patrick Pinion, said that they were “here to bring the heavy”, and they truly brought it. Showing their diversity they also found a place for softer vocals and a more technical rhythmic song, before bringing back the crunching breakdowns with force and a solid drum dominated instrumental to round things off.

Back to the main room and Tantrum to Blind were the next band to play, with the first and only female lead singer of the day (that I saw any way), whose high-register vocals were more reminiscent of Versaemerge than Halestorm. But a lot of energy and a good stage presence came from the band who seemed used to handling the crowd.

Red Jumpsuit Apparatus (RJSA) then lit up the main stage with a pitch perfect ‘False Pretence’, as the crowd started to grow and get progressively more involved. They delivered exactly the performance you’d expect from an experienced band with years on the circuit under their belt. Throughout the short set there was a great vocal performance and a raging guitar solo in ‘In Fate’s Hands’. The set was just long enough for all of the classics and a couple off the new record too, before fans’ favourite ‘Facedown’ rounded off the set with the crowd bouncing and a sense of nostalgia, since it was one of the songs that first got me listening to ‘real music’ as a young whipper snapper.

Light You Up were unfortunate to be sandwiched between RJSA and Yashin, receiving a lot less attention from the dispersing crowd than they deserved. Songs like ‘Without You Here’ crashed through with progressive riffs and pounding drums, keeping a lively tempo and showing that Light you Up deserved to be more than an interlude between bands on the mainstage.

By the time Yashin opened with a ferocious start, the biggest crowd of the night had assembled for breakdowns and head-banging aplenty. Despite the fact that they seem to pay as much attention to their scene hairstyles as their music, Yashin’s saving grace is that it is still fucking good music and bloody well performed live too. They showed the added bonus of two vocalists, one riling the crowd up as the other sings/screams, and the overall band chemistry and stage presence saw the teenage girls (and boys) in the crowd swoon. Those of us not falling in love with their emo/scene image could still appreciate Harry’s melodic and Kevin’s demonic vocals, the riffs ripping through each and every song and the drumbeat that feels like an earthquake resonating through the room. The crowd was kept glued to the main stage, with circle pits, walls of death and even spinning on the spot (no, really,) to keep the set fresh and interesting. Even Harry bringing his mum out on stage mid-song (a slower song, don’t worry) after she’d flown in for the show was a nice touch and received a big cheer. The first signs of crowd surfing from fans and band members alike showed that the set was a job well done and that the gauntlet had been thrown down for the later bands to follow.

The boys from Don Broco were next on the mainstage, opening with ‘Priorities’ and showcasing the walk, which is essentially synchronised marching/dancing on the spot by the vocalist, guitarist and bassist. A lot of energy was showcased by the band and the crowd, with the lads bouncing around the stage, talking to the crowd and making fans do push-ups in the middle of the floor before a wall of death. They even took time out to return a lost passport that had been handed in, but in classic Don Broco style they had to make a few jokes in doing it. Musically the distinctive vocals stand out as much live as on the record, with the funky base another stand out feature and a lot of sing-along opportunities.

Blitz Kids then came out onto the smaller balcony stage, bouncing and jumping, showing off riffs and a sweetly done guitar solo. Overall they boasted a very rhythmic sound, a show full of energy, and subtle changes in tempo helped to build up songs to a climax and slow them down in again in the verses. However a lot of the set was spoilt to some degree by the We Are The Ocean crew testing the equipment on the other stage, distracting the crowd and meaning “check, check, check,” ran over some of BK’s songs.

When WATO came on they delivered a strong set, but definitely too a tiring crowd. Despite a good mix of old and new, fast and slow songs, there were no pits or crowd-surfing. Perhaps WATO just aren’t as loved in Liverpool, or despite the strong riffs, mix of powerful live vocals and rock/pop-punk drums, maybe everyone was just getting tired?

There were more teething problems later as technical difficulties meant Bury Tomorrow were late onto the Hardtimes stage, cutting more into The Blackout’s headline show on the Monster Energy stage. When they finally managed to get on stage the lads were all very apologetic, promising a speedy and powerful set. This was a promise they lived up to with a heavy set and small but brutal pits. As I enjoyed taking part in most of the pits the whole set flew by in a haze, the three song combination of ‘Sceptres-Redeemer-Waxed Wings’ pumped the room with energy, fuelling some of the craziest pits and loudest cheers the stage must have seen all year, never mind all day. There was even time for the band to convey messages of being comfortable with and happy about who you are, I vaguely remember hearing “it’s okay to like Bieber, hey, JB has a couple of good songs”; but it was business as usual as the set ended with a blood-boiling rendition of ‘Royal Blood’.

Because of the overrun, I was very late to The Blackout, but arrived just in time for an onstage marriage proposal (she said yes, whoever they both were). However, I have been reliably informed that they were the regular cheeky chappies we are all used to, telling the crowd they’re shit, calling themselves pricks and even trying to make the fans face the back of the room for one song. All in all, standard material from The Blackout.

It was only the first Radstock Festival, but it was truly a classic. If this can be recreated again then it promises many more happy years of metal, rock and punk in Liverpool.