On September 23rd, Backstage Entertainment conducted an interview with Ill Nino frontman Cristian Machado. You can view the chat below.
The interview took place in Nebraska when Ill Nino visited Omaha as part of the ‘Noise Revolution’ tour, where the band are now appearing alongside Emmure and Static-X.
Ill Nino’s sixth studio album ‘Epidemia’ is released via AFM Records on October 29th.
Redline’s 2012 album ‘Vice’ is rooted firmly in the old school. On this release, the Brummie five piece band have not just settled for a little retro – they’ve chosen all out, old fashioned 80s metal as their core sound. The first song rips from the speakers with attitude, powered by the kind of riffs that would make their fore fathers very proud.
Within ‘Battle Cry’s opening two lines, vocalist Kez Taylor delivers lyrics which mention both “Running with the devil” and “the reaper” as if no time has passed since the days of Sounds Magazine and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal; its chorus (“Time to do or die / Shout the battle cry!”) fits the mood well with its brazen cheesiness. The heavy staccato riffs show no sign of abating over the course of three minutes and taking in a fierce lead guitar break en route, Redline sets their musical manifesto out for all to see. By the track’s end, you’ll either find yourself going with Redline for the (leather clad, motorbikes and demons obsessed) ride, or you be moving swiftly along…
‘King of the Mountain’ follows suit with a similar twin guitar attack. No surprises from a band called Redline, this tune is celebration of heavy horse-powered two-wheeled greatness and comes with hi-octane riffs to suit the subject matter. A number adopted as the official theme for the Isle of Man TT Races in 2009, on this particular track, Kez offers huge vocal (with some equally huge screaming notes on occasion) and the rest of the band sounds nice and tight. The only weak point here is the one line chorus; considering the band loves motorcycles so much, it’s a pity that repeating “King of the mountain” ad nauseum was the best they could manage. A second ode to the motorbike and open road, ‘No Limits’ is far better: a pumping bass lays the foundations for a fist-clenched slab of metal which recalls classic tunes by Saxon and their ilk. Unlike some early Saxon tunes, bassist Redvers manages more here than a pounding open E, but all the same, ‘No Limits’ doesn’t pretend to be flashy. With squealing guitars, full throttle riffing and a much better chorus, this pure and simple approach typifies the kind of tunes that would have placed Redline at the forefront of the studs-and-leather dominated scene had they been doing this three decades earlier.
‘The Edge of Falling’ and ‘Some Kinda Mean’ are numbers on which the band branches out a little farther, opting for a slightly more melodic edge. ‘On The Edge’ is particularly enjoyable with its mix of acoustic and electric guitars; the punchy mid paced rock is slightly reminiscent of early Dokken and shiny backing vocals lend more of an American feel. At the heart of it all, though, the guitars reign supreme and an old-school lead guitar break tops things off nicely. ‘Some Kinda Mean’ has a riff which isn’t too far removed from something Glenn Tipton would have penned for Judas Priest circa ’84 and as such has a hugely classic sound. Taylor, meanwhile, takes each line in his stride – his big voice an equal match for the riffs. As with ‘King of the Mountain’, a one line chorus lets the side down a little, but everything else here is more than solid.
Interestingly, ‘Vice’s weakest track is ‘Cold Silence’ – and it is possibly no coincidence that the potential missteps happen during Redline’s only attempt at lightening up. This particular track is an overwrought power ballad, at first led by piano and strings (arranged by Slade’s Jim Lea). It’s wonderfully orchestrated, but that doesn’t stop its first half sounding like a poor man’s equivalent to a Queensryche ballad. During the second half, things rock up somewhat. The combination of strings and a well played lead guitar improves things considerably, while drummer Mark Biddiscombe also puts in a rock-hard performance.
Let’s not beat about the bush here: ‘Vice’ is uncool. Not uncool in such a way that could be considered cool, just uncool. However, it cannot be denied that Redline are great musicians and in Kez Taylor the band possesses a powerful vocalist with some serious old-school chops. If you don’t care about fashion and want a metal album that hits you in the kind of way those old vinyl LPs did back in ’81, then this record is definitely for you.
September 2012
Posies founder Ken Stringfellow is to play a run of live shows in Spain this coming December.
Promoting his 2012 solo album ‘Danzig In The Moonlight’, Ken will be appearing at the following venues:
05.12 @ TBC. Irún
06.12 @ Patio de la Favorita. Gijón
07.12 @ Teatro Circo. Murcia
08.12 @ Teatro Caja Granada Isidoro Maiquez. Granada
09.12 @ Four Seasons. Castellón
10.12 @ Café España. Valladolid
11.12 @ BeCool. Barcelona
12.12 @ La Lata de Bombillas. Zaragoza
13.12 @ Siroco. Madrid
14.12 @ Café Pop Torgal. Ourense
15.12 @ La Iguana Club. Vigo
‘Danzig In The Moonlight’ is released on Lojinx Records on October 1st. You can stream a track from the album here.
Recorded in just three days, Belgian garage rock/pop punk band The Ratboys’ full-length debut ‘Cash, Gas and Trash’ was a low budget romp that packed twelve songs into approximately half an hour. Capturing a balance of 60s twang and garage ethic, dished up with an enjoyable punky sneer and farfisa organs, it was destined to gain a cult audience.
Their 2012 record ‘The Ratboys…Are Stupid Brats’ follows a similar blueprint, it’s four songs sharing a love of old rock ‘n’ roll records, Jonathan Richman, Joey Ramone and The Real Kids. It has a key difference, however: a notable lack of farfisa sounds! Those were almost pivotal to the debut, and their absence here has the odd knock on effect of making ‘…Are Stupid Brats’ sound rather more thrown together and even lower budget than need be.
For all of its self-proclaimed trashiness, ‘Cash, Gas and Trash’ actually had some very audible bass parts. On this EP, we aren’t always given such luxury. Bassist Ratboy Vince is there, but never as distinctly as he deserves to be, since throughout these four tunes, Ratboy Manu and Ratboy Ricky’s guitars dominate. The lack of warmth all round works best on ‘Stupid Brats’; their slightly slapdash playing giving a sense of urgency to the tune, while Ricky delivers a simple chorus hook straight out of the Joey Ramone school of dumb fun. With plenty of repetition, it’s reminiscent of Ramones, The Dead Boys and other CBGB trash from ’77 and even with a European vocal slant, it’s a good example of brainless punk song writing that really works.
A guitar part heavily inspired by The Real Kids’ ‘She’s Alright’ initially promises great things for ‘School Bus Driver’. Despite initial excitement, the track descends into fairly run of the mill garagey sounding punk-pop that even an upbeat guitar break never quite rescues. On this and the following ‘Rock N Roll Vacation’, Ricky’s vocal style is wobblier than ever before, and he even appears slightly unsure when tackling any longer notes. But even his vocal instability isn’t quite as bad as the ensuing fiery rock ‘n’ roll solo, which has a generally sloppy air and contains enough missed notes that even Paul Westerberg would baulk. ‘Bangkok Action’ has a sharper lead riff and a louder/stronger bass part, a few gang vocals and a much better guitar solo, meaning it has plenty of potential all round. Attempts to stretch it over a minute longer than necessary weaken its overall impact, but it is enjoyable enough in its bubblegum pop/punk approach. Let’s just say – like a couple of these other songs – the ideas are solid even if the general fidelity and performances are a tad lacking. In short, if US surf/pop punks The Queers got their hands on this track, it would sound absolutely terrific.
Although in the scheme of second outings, ‘…Are Stupid Brats’ was never likely to equal Ramones ‘Leave Home’ in terms of brilliance, it should have still been a little better than it is. The minimal running time means it is still possibly worth checking out, but since nothing here matches the standards set on the debut, it is best not to set your expectations too high. Without the farfisa organs that previously gave The Ratboys a more distinctive sound (and a sense of retro cool) they no longer stand out from the pack in the way that they could.
[You can stream or download ‘…Are Stupid Brats’ via the player below. You can also check out ‘Cash, Gas & Trash’ by clicking here]
September 2012
Florida ska-punks Less Than Jake will play a short run of UK shows this coming November.
No strangers to the UK, the band have already played various UK dates throughout 2012, but this final set of dates finds them co-headlining with New Found Glory, who are celebrating the 10th anniversary of their breakthrough record ‘Sticks & Stones’.
Less Than Jake’s new studio album ‘Greetings & Salutations’ is released on 15th October.
The dates:
November 4, 2012 Nottingham Rock City
November 5, 2012 Manchester Academy
November 6, 2012 Leeds University
November 7, 2012 Glasgow Barrowland
November 8, 2012 Norwich UEA
November 9, 2012 Cardiff University Great Hall
November 10, 2012 London Alexandra Palace (Warped Tour UK)