Following his performances at both the Reading and Leeds Festivals over August bank holiday weekend 2013, folk-punk troubadour Frank Turner has announced he will headline a short run of arena dates early in 2014.
As part of the ongoing promotion of Turner’s 2013 release ‘Tape Deck Heart’, fans can catch him at the following dates:
Bringing together the talents of Robbie LeBlanc (Blanc Faces), Daniel Palmquist (Xorigin) and noted session drummer/engineer Daniel Flores, Find Me is a project with strong foundations. With a selection of songs written by Frontiers Records in-house regulars Allesandro Del Vecchio and Tom Wilson and contributions from Issa and Erik Mårtensson, the whole package is designed to be the AOR fans dream. Usually when such big ambitions are chased such projects falter, but almost everything about Find Me works excellently.
This second EP from Manchester-based Duke and the Darlings was recorded live in the studio and its relative rawness gives the material a natural energy and edginess. After recovering from the initial shock of something sounding like a blown speaker, there are four well played numbers waiting to be discovered from beneath the general fuzziness.
Following an intro that’s very horror-esque with its use of haunting keyboards, marching drums and synth strings, Reading based metallers Her Dying Regret launch into ‘Ashes’ – the first full track from their second release – …and the gloves are off. With thrashing twin lead guitars and a guttural roar, the band tears into an undeniably great slice of metalcore. The drums pound relentlessly against a downtuned guitar, topped by a duel vocal of Trivium inspired throatiness and Dani Filth-esque screech. At the point where it feels as if something will burst, the chorus crashes through with a clean vocal and a very strong melody. At this point, there’s no doubt that these guys are good players. Although in a very similar style, the EP’s lead track – and title cut – ‘Legacy’ pulls all of HDR’s best features together, making the best choice for promoting the release. The melodic chorus – delivered by “clean vocalist” Tom Melville – is among the EP’s best, while the gruff voices – courtesy of Scott London – just teeter on the good side of threatening. With riffs strongly inspired by classic Killswitch Engage and early Shadows Fall, this is solid stuff indeed. The twin guitars of Craig Meyer and Dan Osbourne are stellar throughout in their downtuned approach, but it’s Osbourne’s melodic edge that really catches the ear midway. Following a brief interlude of sweeping notes, as he launches into a brief, yet sharp and clean solo, his playing is reminiscent of something more in keeping with progressive metal.
Poltergeist, the band featuring Echo & The Bunnymen members Les Pattinson (bass) and Will Sergeant (guitar) alongside Neil Kilroe (drums) are about to head out on their biggest UK tour to date.
In support of their current album ‘Your Mind is a Box (Let Us Fill It With Wonder)’ [out now on 180g double LP & CD] the band will be appearing at the following venues throughout October: