Quite possibly the most exciting thing to come out of Redhill in the last three centuries, Trevor’s Head markedly circle in three distinct orbits around stoner, punk and prog, creating a heavy, sonic vibe quite unlike anybody else out there.
Their new album “A View From Below, released on 5th May via APF Records (Mastiff, Desert Storm, The Brother’s Keg, Video Nasties) is a lean and cohesive expression of the power trio’s precision, which marks the next stage in the genre-bending and ever-evolving sound that is Trevor’s Head. For first single ‘Call of the Deep’, Roger Atkins (guitar/vocals) states,
"These last few years have been tough for us – for everyone – and I have constantly been struck by the strength I’ve seen in others. Whether battling personal loss, mental health difficulties, financial stresses, relationship troubles, whatever. This song is a nod to anyone who keeps fighting through the calm and through the storm. I have unending respect and pride in anyone who can do that, and this song is for them. Even if it didn’t go to plan for the protagonist this time.”
Rotherham based three-piece, sludge band Swamp Coffin have shared the video for new single ‘Your Problem’, taken from their upcoming album Noose Almighty set for release on 26th November (APF Records). Vocalist/guitarist Jon Rhodes comments,
"We were close to finishing writing the album but knew that we needed something huge and pissed off to open the record with, to really set our stall out for what was coming. “Your Problem” was one of those songs that just came together really quickly. I went in to rehearsal with the verse and chorus riffs and by the end of the session we’d got what you hear on the album. Lyrically it’s about those people that have followers instead of friends who are never seen to do any wrong but are ultimately only out for themselves and will happily stab you in the back without ever letting the mask slip. It’s about revenge after a betrayal and we wanted to play off that with the video and make it as claustrophobic a viewing experience as possible.”
Rotherham based three-piece, sludge band Swamp Coffin will return on 26th November with the colossal new album Noose Almighty on UK label APF Records. It’s an incredibly cathartic record covering depression, trauma, grief, betrayal and a general disenchantment with the world. Vocalist/guitarist Jon Rhodes explains,
"Something not a lot of people know is the day that we were due to travel to London to record our 2017 demo me and my wife were woken up at 2:30am by the police to tell us her brother had been killed in a car accident. When we eventually got in to the studio a month later it made that demo session all the more emotional as he and I we were close, he’d always been a big music lover and I was gutted I never got to share any of this with him. 9 months after his death we had a housefire that left me and my family without a home for 6 months so the two events were massively influential’.
For the recording of ‘Noose Almighty’ the band returned to Top Floor Audioworks in Sheffield to again work with Owen Claxton who recorded, mixed and mastered their previous record.
Recorded in only three days, the band had rehearsed the material to death beforehand so they could record efficiently and more importantly leave time for their usual ‘mad experimentation’ and layering which takes a record from being great to something truly special.
‘Welcome To Rot’ is the first single to be shared from the album. Jon adds, "When we were close to finishing writing the album I remember saying to the other guys that we needed something incredibly nasty and horrible to finish the record with. Welcome To Rot came together really quickly and fit the bill perfectly. In the words of Owen Claxton, who recorded the album, “It’s fucking gross”.
The title is inspired by our hometown and lyrically it’s about overcoming that claustrophobia that seems to affect all dying towns. There’s that mentality that things were always better in the good old days when in reality everything has been slowly falling apart for years, shops and houses are boarded up and only those that can’t go anywhere else are left behind. It may be a shithole, but it’s a shithole we’re proud to have come from. Filming the video DIY style in a cramped, filthy barrel store under a pub seemed like a fitting location."
Utopia, the technical metal group centred around guitarist John Bailey and Corrupt Moral Altar vocalist Chris Reese have shared the 2nd video from their upcoming debut album Stalker set for release on 27th August (APF Records).
New single ‘It’s Not The End’ sees John and Chris joined by drummer Lee Fisher (Psyopus / Fawn Limbs) and bassist Arran MacSporran (De Profundis). Watch the video now:
Utopia, the technical metal group centred around guitarist John Bailey and Corrupt Moral Altar vocalist Chris Reese will let loose their debut album ’Stalker’ this August on APF Records.
Watch the video for first single ’Happiness’ here:
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The album see John and Chris joined by an impressive list of guest musicians such as drummers Billy Rymer, Baard Kolstad (Leprous) Lee Fisher (Fawn Limbs/Psyopus) and Si Blakelock (Tangaroa/Dream Troll) alongside guitarist Simon Peter King, bassist Arran McSporran (De Profundis/Virvum) and finally keyboardist Mike Moran (Ozzy Osbourne/George Harrison).
The initial idea for the band was formed by John Bailey, by day he’s a touring guitarist for the likes of Aled Jones and Russell Watson, a far cry from the extreme metal of Utopia, but with ’Stalker’ he wanted to bring together all the music he loves, creating something aggressive and intense but also well thought out and intelligent. He comments,
‘I wanted it to be super heavy and crazy but also really emotional. The music combines elements of jazz and various styles of metal. The songwriting is very important lyrically and structurally. The lyrics draw influence from philosophy, literature, art and film (particularly the films of Andrei Tarkovsky).
The concept of the name Utopia is a reflection of mental health/neurodiversity and social structures in the world we live in. The double edged sword of trying to lead a happy life in a world of conflicting ideology and bad faith between humans. I suppose the pitfalls of attempting a sophisticated life despite us being poorly evolved primates who are highly individual in their own rights. Its ultimately rooted in varying degrees of sensitivity, mental health and neurodiversity based on individuals trying to interface with one another in a constructive way.’
Utopia was started in March 2020. As John was coming off the back of a busy tour/session schedule and felt this was the time to finally start the band which he’d been thinking about doing for years. For a vocalist he had no one else in mind but Corrupt Moral Altar’s Chris Reese.
After 7 to 8 months of writing it was then just a matter of getting each person to record their parts which posed their own geographical problems with different musicians living around the world. However once all done the album was mixed and mastered by Rob Hobson at Silent City Records.
Across the 11 tracks ’Stalker’ spawns a vast array of subject matters, such as the opener ’The Bus Station Roof’ which John describes as a reference to ‘ the place in Preston where people go to throw themselves off when they’ve had enough. The image of what might be going through people’s mind when they make that decision is really the basis of the song. Truly disassociated from the world and no longer capable of interfacing with the world.’
‘Impotent Prophet’ is a genre bending social comment on religion and how it fails. While’ Smiledyawnednodded’ is a word taken from the book ‘Ulysses’ by James Joyce. John adds, ‘It’s a great word used to describe the boredom of talking to someone who only talks about themselves and their own successes in life.’
’Stalker’ is released on 27th August via APF Records and will appeal to fans of Dillinger Escape Plan, Meshuggah, Converge, Mastodon, Botch and Strapping Young Lad.
Following the release of their debut album ‘Dominion’ on APF Records last year, Video Nasties are back with another slab of moral-panic inducing heaviness – the addiction inspired single ‘Draw The Shades’
With ‘Dominion’ selling out on vinyl, APF Records are repressing the album for release on 7th May. Limited to only 300 copies (150 Flaxen Lust / 150 Suspirium Pink), the reissue will include ‘Draw The Shades’ on a 70s retro style Flexi-disc. Bassist Rick Owen comments,
‘We’re extremely excited about Draw The Shades. It’s our first single since the release of Dominion and we feel it picks up right where They Rise left off so it makes a perfect companion piece for the repress of the album. We decided to go down the same path with recording it ourselves, to make sure we really nailed the early 90s sound that we felt we captured so well with Dominion. At its crux, the song is about addiction. Whether that is blood, drugs or love… There is a need that has to be sated. ‘
Time for some full moon, campfire horror metal at the gates of Hell with Possessor! ‘Bloodsuckers’ is the opening track and second single from the upcoming Possessor album Damn The Light, with vocalist/guitarist Graham Bywater commenting on the new video,
‘We wanted to create a rough and ready no frills video of us at our first rehearsal of 2020, the year that never ceases to be shit.
‘Lyrically ‘Bloodsuckers is quite a literal description of our new album cover, with the opening line “A weathered hand, a plume of smoke…” and it’s all very much based on the imagery Alexander Goulet designed for us, written partially from the viewpoint of a vampire bat… “Under a blood red moon…immortal and black winged”. As with most Possessor songs it’s got its heart in the past and its boots stomping into the future. We like to make music which inspires the listener to scream along to whilst raising the devil horns at the midnight hour. Party on.’
Since 2017, something has been lurking in the shadows around Merseyside, snarling from the unseen corners with a piercing horror-metal atmosphere; that something is Video Nasties, and they’re ready to strike with their moral-panic inducing heaviness.
Comprised from members from some of Liverpool’s finest heavy exports in The Bendal Interlude, SSS, Magpyes and Iron Witch, the quintet that is Video Nasties mix death metal with punky and thrashy undertones, creating something morbidly macabre and devilishly debauched.
Recently signed to the label – on Halloween 2019 no less – Video Nasties finally bring their reign of terror to APF Records. Set to unleash their debut full-length Dominion [APF025] on Friday 13th March (of course) on all good formats – LP, CD, cassette and digital – Video Nasties are content to lurk no more; get ready for their slasher soundtrack to rip your eardrums to pieces soon.
‘Drone Eagle’ is the first taster to be shared, described by bassist Rick Owen as a song about, ‘Armageddon. We’re going to hell in a hand basket, baby and there’s nothing we can do to stop it. A demise driven by power, greed and corruption.’
Listen to ‘Drone Eagle’ here:
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Upcoming Video Nasties shows:
31st Jan – Alma Inn, Bolton (free entry)
14th March – Sound Food and Drink, Liverpool (album launch show)
Riff juggernaut Pist who released new album ‘Hailz’ on 8th November through APF Records (Mastiff, Battalions, BongCauldron, Desert Storm) have shared the lyric video for new single ‘Fools Gave Chase’.
Vocalist Dave Rowlands comments, “’Fools Gave Chase’ is a snapshot of what this record is all about: it’s punky, got black metal influences, good old heavy groove and a mellow bit with a face-melter of a guitar solo. For me this song flows perfectly and is a real indication of where we’re heading as a band. Lyrically it deals with my contempt for current times and the state of the world falling apart around us. It’s about fighting back and carving your own path. Enjoy!”
Aural Aggravation 