Released some twenty-five years into a career that saw them burst out of the east-coast hardcore scene in the mid nineties, Heavy Pendulum (Relapse Records) is Cave In’s seventh album, and is a landmark release for the band who sadly lost their bass player Caleb Schofield to a car accident in 2018. Schofield also provided many of Cave In’s heavier vocals, and his role in the band is assumed by close friend Nate Newton (Converge, Deathriders), and who also has a mean voice himself.
Cage Fight is the new project from James Monteith, guitar wizard for technical / prog metal outfit TesseracT, and is a very different sound from what he delivers in his day job. Initially featuring Jon Reid on bass and Nick Plews on drums, the three-piece produced a number of instrumental demos before drafting in the extraordinary talents of French vocalist Rachel Aspe, formally of the band Eths, after James had seen a Black Dahlia Murder cover that Rachel had posted online. Continue reading
Ibaraki is the new solo project from Trivium’s Matt Heafy, and Rashomon is released through Nuclear Blast, having been over a decade in the making. The name translates as “Wild Trees”, but is also taken from a terrifying Japanese demon of feudal legend, and the concept is a profound affirmation of Heafy’s Japanese-American heritage, incorporating a number of different musical styles. Although the main inspiration clearly sits within the black etal genre, taking influence from the experience of Emperor’s Ihsahn, who co-produced, and whose quirkier ideas from his solo work are peppered throughout the release. Continue reading
Bloc Party burst onto the UK music scene with their raucous debut album Silent Alarms in 2005, proving to be a unique act in the indie rock scene, with a collection of uptempo songs blending contemporary post-punk with art rock. The band immediately resonated with a new generation in a similar way that contemporaries such as Arctic Monkeys and The Libertines had, largely helped by the flamboyant personality and distinct vocal style of frontman Kele Okereke. The record went platinum in its first year as the band were championed on mainstream UK radio by the likes of Steve Lamacq and Zane Lowe, with a buzz also being created in the States where extensive touring followed.