Fear Zine.

And I said, what about, Bakefast at Piffany's?

The Hardest Season

We reviewed these guys first album. It’s good.

THE HARDEST SEASON: NEW VID, TOUR AND SPLIT TAPE RELEASE
 
Roman act The Hardest Season has just released a new single, “Sheepflesh&Wolfteeth”, via Youtube. The song is an exclusive feature of an upcoming 4-way split tape produced by Don’t Shoot The Messenger promotion on a limited number of copies, including English bands Acres, I Don’t Want To Know Why The Caged Bird Sings and Forrest. The Hardest Season will hit UK stages from 28th April to 4th May alongside Acres.

LINK:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEv_RVyyMSI&feature=youtu.be

FACEBOOK:
http://www.facebook.com/TheHardestSeason

TOUR EVENT:
http://www.facebook.com/events/219379648186718/

Disembarked.

Just been listening to this intense new band from Sweden called Disembarked. They sound incredible.

They formed in early 2012 and have so far self-released an EP as well as playing a handful of shows. Currently they are set to release a new 7” EP on Dog Knights Productions called ‘I Do Nothing but Regret the Fact That I Left’ on April 22nd. They are of the new breed of emotional hardcore that puts them in the league of the Wave bands from the states. Think Touché Amoré or Pianos Become the Teeth, with just as much raw energy and emotion. Below check out the video for the track Bewildered as well as a small promo video for their upcoming EP.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3TNpErXjtE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzTSInIt3Eg

Last Witness - Saccharine/Less Than Zero Review

Last Witness have been moving from strength to strength with each release, and this is very evident from their latest effort, a two-track single out on Holy Roar: Saccharine/Less Than Zero. The break the band had between Give Up and Mourning After was clearly beneficial as they have now fully honed their distinctive brand of screamy, breakdown-heavy hardcore, and it’s incredible.

The first track of this latest release, Saccharine, starts in true Last Witness rifftastic style, before easing up to award Theo’s opening line the impact it deserves. The track remains staunchly Last Witness sounding and the guest vocals (done by the singer from Rough Hands I think?) in the middle definitely compliment Theo’s own. What is it with ending songs with a break down though? Reminds me of The Void (from Mourning After.

Following on is Less Than Zero, a song whose morose title is reflected in the lyrics and, as with many Last Witness songs, the pained and distinctive sound of the band in general. Although this second track is good, I feel it hasn’t really pushed the band musically to new places, giving it more a feeling of a song that simply didn’t make the cut for Mourning After.

Overall this 7” is still excellent with the same face-punching brutality expected of Last Witness, however given their previous back catalogue, potentially more was expected…

Bastions - Bedfellows Part 1: The Bastard Son Review

Their story must be told. For what seemed like an age this enigmatic message was the only information we had regarding what Bastions had recently been up to, with links to a barren web page containing nothing but a single image and eerie music. Finally, now, the veil has been lifted and it’s been confirmed that this was all build up to the release of part 1 of a two part EP, the first instalment named Bedfellows Part 1: The Bastard Son; and what a worth while wait it was…

Despite being only four tracks long, The Bastard Son still manages to fully demonstrate the breadth of musical diversity Bastions are capable of delivering, clearly never content in pigeonholing themselves. With the arrival of Zach Birchley (ex-Crocus) on bass, I was expecting a more chaotic influence to be present throughout, however this release shows any influence he has had to be subtler than to simply say, “hey, why don’t we sound more like Throats?”

The opening track Pallor begins with a pulsing guitar that would be at home in any Explosions in the Sky song, before kicking in with true Bastions fashion to assault your auditory senses. Not dissimilar to Hospital Corners opening track Augury, which perhaps made it an especially fitting title, Pallor is sludgy and dirty, with bleak lyrics recounting a wretched life, probably best expressed by the song itself: ‘Seems like trying to live, is such a waste of death’. The EP is off to a great start.

The next two tracks are both faster paced and more hectic to an extent, while maintaining an isolated and despondent feeling. It is during these two tracks that you really get a sense of encroaching madness or psychosis, a theme Bastions enjoy exploring. The short summary accompanying the announcement of this EP’s release describes two teenage boys abandoned by their increasingly erratic father to child services, after the loss of his wife and their mother. Given this backdrop, you can better envision the anger and frustration these boys must feel, which is very cleverly portrayed in With Love.

Life Less Lived I feel is the most ‘classic’ Bastions track on the EP, starting with a quick intro section and constantly switching between slow and fast bits it really makes the song seem dynamic and interesting. As is prevalent throughout Bastions back catalogue, they persist in making clever, thought-out and through-provoking songs, fully exemplified in Life Less Lived. Every section has been carefully written and ordered to constructively merge in phase with each other, giving increased weight and forcing itself to be remembered.

The final track, Amongst Crows was released prior to the EP along with an emotional video, depicting an old man, presumably the father from the concept story, reliving old feelings in his mind and slowly descending into greater and greater fits of stress and anxiety, while on a wall behind him the blurred image of a woman walking into the sea loops. Musically, Amongst Crows really pushes the boundaries of Bastions sound, and could potentially be the heaviest, most soul-crushing track they’ve released. The song builds and crescendos to an epic conclusion of punchy chords overlaid with a monstrous tremolo riff, while the slow, almost pulse-like drums, help provide some sense of finality, almost saying “to be continued…”

Overall, as I’ve said before, the EP really demonstrates the dynamic range that Bastions have to offer, while maintaining their idiosyncratic feeling of desolation and dark, pent-up emotions. Don’t be an idiot, go and order Bedfellows Part 1: The Bastard Son now!

Bedfellows Part 1: The Bastard Son is out 18^th February through Holy Roar Records (http://holyroarrecords.com/), there are a couple of pre-order bundles left but move quickly because they will sell out!

Check out the video for Amongst Crows, as well as links to pre-order bundles here: http://www.theirstorymustbetold.com/

Bastions are focusing on touring Europe this year instead of the UK, which they have been extensively and exhaustively roaming around recently. They head out at the beginning of March.

Gnarwolves. Gnarly.

Gnarwolves are obviously amazing. With a couple of releases that have shot them to stardom, Thom was still rad enough to answer a few questions we had, check it!

Gnarwolves: Me and Max are brothers so we met when Max came out of my mum, but we met Charlie through playing in Hardcore bands in Cornwall. We played together a few times and all ended up in Brighton for various reasons. Both of our bands were starting to wind down so Charlie stuck a message up on facebook saying he wanted to make a band that sounded like Weezer. We answered the ad, and that was it!

FZ: How did life in Cornwall influenced you, both musically and in general?

GW: Cornwall has influenced us all massively. Coming from a REALLY rural area where the winter basically means there is nothing at all to do, starting a band seems like a really natural way to channel energy and boredom. The Cornish hardcore scene has been a big influence to us,
expecially Crocus (RIP), a band that really taught us our craft in DIY.

GW: No, that would be extremely shitty subject matter haha.

GW: Yeah man! We’re gonna be putting out a 4 track record at the end of April. It’s coming together pretty nicely and we’re excited to show people something new. Expect big ass choruses.

GW: We’ve played a buck load of shows, so it’s definitely difficult to pick out a favourite. I reckon for me it’s a toss up between our single release at the Fitz in Brighton (MESSY), the Joyce Manor show in the Old Blue (mad line up), House Show in Southampton (so much nudity)….fuck there are like 40 shows that could be the best! I’m hoping that there will be more best shows to come!

GW: Max made some on our first tour. He put it on top of the bass amp on the first show. Charlie started playing bass and rumbled the fucking bottle onto the floor. Smashed everywhere and left a stinky hot sauce mess. Someone came and licked it up though so it’s fine. I miss that sauce.

GW: I reckon we’d fight over this, but I’m a massive jalapenos fan. Vege Hot all the way for me.

GW: Haha, maybe on tour!

GW: Ben has done guesties for us more times than I can count now. He’s our
resident merch guy/ party dude/ weed finder general and we all love
him very much. Damn right there are future release possibilities. Ben
Marco guesting on our cover of Raining Blood haha.

GW: I’m 10/10 excited. We’ve all been big Dead Swans fans for a really long time and are sad to see them go but this should be a pretty epic send off. Also dead excited to play with Landscapes again, such a solid band. I reckon it might be the craziest show we play this year.

GW: It’s really great that they are resurrecting the band for a good cause. To be honest I don’t think they should break up at all and the Old Blue Last show more than proved how much the UK loves them. 2 shows a year and the odd 7 inch would be fine, just don’t make me go cold turkey!! We’re actually playing a show of our own that night so can’t go, but we’ll be there in spirit.

GW: Well, I’d be surprise if none of us died before the end of it. It’s 23 days long, which is the longest we’ve been away as a band. We’re known for partying pretty hard and it’s not an over-exaggeration so it could be a pretty world shattering experience. We’re really excited to visit Europe and play to some people that almost definitely have never heard us before, and also excited to hang out and see the Great Cynics and Broadway Calls guys every day. It’s gonna be a blast!

GW: Haha, we ain’t pro’s yet but weirder things have happened. Max and Charlie are the true skaters of the band, really passionate about. I’m all about the cruise and popping big spins in car parks. Charlie has recently started a collective called Heshones which incorporates skateboarding, so if anyones interested in checking out our skating go to his youtube channel!

GW: More? Umm, there is a Tumblr blog for it which various skate bits and a zine in the pipeline with some pretty awesome stuff (I think lovenskate are involved) aswell as lifestyle, punk roack and art secitons. It’s pretty cool, Charlie is pretty focused on it. I’m excited to see how it comes out!

GW: Ever ever? It’s an evolving list but I think Suicidal Tendencies, H20, Dag Nasty, Green Day, Latterman, Iron Chic, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Pixies, NOFX, Green Day, Gang Of Four, Title Fight, Cursive, Tigers Jaw…. Oh Bugger all of them!!!

GW: All those bands forever! Moose Blood and Otto are the two bands to keep an eye on. Nai Harvest are also sick.

GW: 2 more records, 100 more shows, 52 more pizzas, at least a couple more videos, some more embarassing press coverage and a BAFTA.

Gnarwolves are touring pretty solidly until the end of May so you’d have to be fully lame not see them. Big tours include a European tour with Broadway Calls in March, as well as the UK dates of the Story So Far/The American Scene tour during May.

Listen here: http://gnarwolves.bandcamp.com/

Moose Blood Interview

With the release of Moving Home, an excellent six track EP out on Fist in the Air and Day by Day records at the beginning of this year, Moose Blood are quickly becoming the standard bearers for UK emo/pop-punk. I recently caught up with them to ask them a few questions…

Fear Zine: How did you guys meet/decide to start a band?

Moose Blood: Eddy had been sitting on demos of a few songs for a while (the first version of Bukowski on our bandcamp being one of those demos) and I think it got to the point where he just wanted to get things going and make a real band of it. We all knew each other from being in bands previously so I think when Eddy was deciding who he wanted in the band it all came together pretty easily.

MB: I’m not sure about Canterbury but in Kent as a whole there’s definitely something good going on right now. The Canterbury scene seems to come and go in waves, a few years ago we had a great venue for shows and a ton of great hardcore bands played there, as well as all of our old bands but it got shut down and things went really quiet for a while after that. We actually played one of our first few shows in Canterbury at the end of last year and the place was packed so hopefully things are on the rise again..

MB: It’s been amazing.. pretty ridiculous actually. None of us really knew what to expect going into it, we were all just so happy that it was even getting a proper release.  Seeing the reaction it had once we put the EP online was really cool, we were all a bit blown away by the response.

MB: We played a show in London with The Winter Passing when they were on tour with Forrest.  I sort of knew their guitarist/vocalist Rob who is one of the people behind that label and he basically just mentioned to us after our set that they were interested in releasing it on tape. I’ve always liked collecting tapes so I was stoked. I think I started designing the layout for it the next day and it was announced about a week later, it all came together really quickly. They’re great guys too so I’m glad we got to work with them!

MB: As a band we all agree Brand New, hands down. American Football are great but one album and an EP can’t compete with everything Brand New have put out over the years..

MB: We’re stoked! Our first show this year was with Gnarwolves and it was awesome, they’re the best guys. Getting to play with Broadway Calls is going to be cool too, we’re really looking forward to those shows.

MB: We want to play as many shows as we can.. So far we’ve had 2 tours fall apart before even being announced which is less than ideal but hopefully we can sort something out before Summer.

MB: We’ve actually just ordered our first shirts this week so I guess by the time this is put out we’ll have merch online and at shows with us!

MB: Mark says because coffee tastes better with cigarettes. I’ll take his word for it.

MB: We can’t do this collectively.. it’ll start an argument haha.

Eddy: American Beauty, Pretty Woman, Drive, The Notebook, Blue Valentine

Mark: Dumb & Dumber, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, 300, Drive, True Romance

Sam: High Fidelity, The Godfather, Goodfellas, Drive, Stand By Me

Glenn: Where The Wild Things Are, Scott Pilgrim, Into The Wild, The Notebook, 500 Days of Summer

That was hard.. our lists would probably change every week..

MB: Moose Blood is actually the only band any of us are in now. Mark & Eddy were in Harbours but they just broke up recently. I was in Alaska and we’ve decided to call it a day too because we had literally done nothing since January last year, so MB is the top priority for everyone now which is cool.

MB: Glassjaw - Eddy

        Nirvana - Mark

        Bruce Springsteen - Sam

        Brand New - Glenn

MB: Modern Baseball put out a record at the end of last year called Sports and it’s great. I’ve had Basement - Colourmeinkindness and Title Fight - Floral Green on repeat since they were released. Other bands I’ve been listening to a lot lately: Real Friends, Citizen, Nai Harvest, Dikembe and Tigers Jaw.. always Tigers Jaw.

MB: A lot of new music and some interesting vinyl options.. If there are people out there who care about us enough to collect all of our records, I want to make sure it’s worth it for them. We’re really just planning on working hard and seeing how much we can get done this year, hopefully we’ll be touring more as the year goes on too.

You can stream all of Moving Home and get it as a digital download here: http://mooseblood.bandcamp.com/ or order the 7” from Fist in the Air (http://fitarecords.bigcartel.com/) or Day by Day (http://daybydayrecords.limitedrun.com/).

Emo is a gang.

Basement Flip Cam Summer

xJOExSWANSONx