Anthrax - All For The Cause - Review

I have been waiting for this album patiently since the Red Lion gig in Gravesend last year where a couple of new tracks were aired on the night and fitted in quite nicely next to the old familiar songs.

So here I was expecting an old school style Anthrax album and didnt get it.
When the plain envelope dropped thru the door i ripped it open and headed for the CD player only to be confronted by another envelope printed with a black and white image of the album cover and a neat anarchy A "grow your own" vegetable logo, nice, as was the lyric booklet and poster and the gatefold CD packaging inside the envelope - all very nice but would the noise on the CD stand up to the packaging.

"Sleeping Dogs" woke me up with a bite, then sneaked quite neatly into a semi skank with the guitars working together better than they ever have, adding somehing new to the old Anthrax groove.
A superb opening track, swiftly followed by "Monochrome Dreams" and still the guitars work beautifully together with the rhythm section providing a solid and sometimes funky backing that weave their way through the songs, this is shaping up to be a good album.
Then it's "One Last Drop" which almost gets very pop punk in places as do "Happy" and "Grin", both of which start off really poppy and drift quite nicely into the familiar onslaught and drift back again, held together superbly by Oskars voice which is given space to take control for a change and does quite nicely.
"What Does It Matter" hammers its way out of the speakers and assaults the ears old school style and wont dissapoint old school fans.
"Running On Empty" almost steps on Oi territory and pulls it off very well with its chant along chorus and almost Business like vocals in places.

And the rest of the album?
Go and get yourselves a copy because this deserves to be heard rather than written about. Whatever i can say wont do this album justice.

Anthrax have obviously worked on these songs and it shows, this is certainly no one dimensional album as many are these days and this is not a band trying to be like the band they were. Anthrax are being the band they want to be and this album oozes with that. Anyone expecting old school Anthrax from start to finish will be disappointed, this is something new and refreshing from an old school anarcho band.
Anthrax have certainly matured with age without losing their sound or their integrity.

Best thing they have ever done......quite possibly.

"Dance You Bastards Dance, You May Never Get Another Chance"

Welcome from the previously mentioned Red lion gig.




The Cd and Vinyl will be available from Anthrax on 27th August
We should be getting some for our store when it is released.

Foreboding Ether – Beyond Conjecture. Pre-release review.

What was I expecting? Being as this isn't the style of music I listen to through choice I wasn't really expecting much - boring riffs, inane lyrics, “same as every other band logo”, sub standard guitarist playing as loud and as fast as they can and a vocalist that knows all of one range – groooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwl
So the sleeve shows the “same as every other band logo” but you can actually read what it says for a change. I thought “oh shit, here we go, I'm going to hate this”

“Fore20” hit my speakers and I sat up and paid attention – this wasn't what I was expecting, structured, melodic riffs, machine gun drums which build the song up quite nicely and then the vocals – grrrrrrrrrr – no. O.k some growl then another vocalist nicely pitched at a different range, one high, one low. F.E. have two vocalist for those that don't know and for what shouldn't work, actually does, rather well.

“Deadline” Massive riffage from the start and lyrics that seem to be about the troubles the band have been through to get where they have, so far. Breaking the mould - oh yes – to quote F.E in their own lyrics, “Feels better to write about something you care about, No-one can relate to a zombie invasion". I totally agree.



Having seen F.E live and various viewings of the track on YouTube, I was dying to hear what they had done to “Tuna Bhuna” and wasn't let down, it's more brutal now than its ever been. Remember children, its not about Tuna and its not about Bhuna and I will seriously need new speakers if I turn this up any louder.

“Conscious Altered” The duelling vocal comes into its own here, again over a massive riff that deserves to be heard LOUD and intelligent lyrics that deal with the realities of life, yes, I said intelligent lyrics, which seems to be something lacking in a lot of bands these days.

“House Of Cards” and “OD” -aaaarrrrrrrrrrgh my ears are starting to bleed – how much more of this can I take. Two more tracks obviously. This E.P gets better as it goes along. I'm not going to bore you with more breakdowns of tunes that need to be heard. So hassle the shit out of the band and get this out.



So this is supposed to be progressive death metal is it ? – what absolute bollocks – This is Beyond Conjecture, this is Foreboding Ether's new E.P and it sits quite nicely in it's own little niche thank you very much.
Call it what you want, but this debut CD is THE heaviest release I have heard from any Thanet band EVER – From the opening punishment of Fore20 to the fade on OD this E.P doesn't let up. Nearly 28 minutes of pure riffage that doesn't disappoint. Whether you are a fan of this style of music or not, I suggest that you give this a listen to see what can really be done with a bit of thought.
Get these fuckers on Download or Sonisphere – They deserve it.

Preorder the new CD here http://forebodingether.bigcartel.com/

The Warriors + Booze & Glory + Horrorshow - The Gaff London

Kent band The Warriors headline a party night on the 5th February at The Gaff in Holloway Road in London. It is the official Release Party for their new split single release with Booze & Glory.
It is called "England" and is out now on Randale Records in Germany and will be available at the gig as well as from Randale Records.
The single is available in Red and Black vinyl and features 2 tracks from each band including a completely new one by The Warriors called "Predator".
Some of you may recognise "England", which Andy H wrote and recorded, originally with Surgery Without Research, before re-recorded a more up tempo version with The Warriors just before joining then permanently on lead guitar.
Also on the bill with their first English gig are Polish band Horrorshow.

Below is a video of England taken in Berlin at the Punk & Disorderly Festival before Andy joined The Warriors. This video features their old guitarist Dave Rowe.