Ghostfest (UK) Adds Heart Of A Coward & More To 10th Anniversary Line-up


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Despite already boasting a packed line up, topped by US Hardcore Heroes Hatebreed, alongside Emmure, Despised Icon, Angel Dust, Martyr Defiled and Venom Prison amongst others, Ghostfest 2015 has confirmed the addition of Heart of a Coward, Stray From The Path (both of whom are fresh from devastating sets at this years Download Festival, Malevolence and Blood Youth.

The festival, which takes place with the same line up on two different days, Saturday 5th September at Leeds University Union (site of Damnation Festival) and Sunday 6th September at Motion in Bristol (site of Temples Festival) is shaping up to be the best Ghostfest yet, as the boat is pushed out to celebrate their tenth anniversary.

 

For Ghostfest ticket information, click here


Ghostfest 2015 Adds Xibalba and Crime In Stereo To Bill


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Ghostfest has added Los Angeles death metal/hardcore outfit Xibalba and Crime In Stereo to the two shows alongside headliners Hatebreed and Despised Icon.

Sep 05: Leeds University Union – Leeds (UK)(Ghostfest North)
Sep 06: Motion – Bristol (UK)(Ghostfest South)

We are pleased to announce that death metal / hardcore crossover band XIBALBA will fly in to the UK for 2 exclusive…

Posted by GHOSTFEST OFFICIAL FAN PAGE on Friday, April 10, 2015


Despised Icon Return For 10th Anniversary Of The Healing Process Shows


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Despised Icon will be returning to action for three special live shows, marking the 10th anniversary of their album The Healing Process, which was released on April 5, 2005.

Frontman Alex Erian (also of Obey The Brave) said of the album:

“This album is a big deal for us. It’s where it all started. We already had our first album out for a couple of years, which had a decent local success, but that was it. We gambled a lot on this one. Both Eric and I had other bands for quite some time and decided to invest all we had on this one. This was before Myspace, Facebook, even the Deathcore genre. We wrote the songs, recorded the album by ourselves and took it upon us to make the most out of it. The rest is history.”

Guitarist Eric Jarrin added:

“To us, this is the defining album. The Despised Icon sound known today has been forged on this album. With Alex Erian shifting from drums to vocals along with the addition of Alexgrind in the line up, that’s when we incorporated all the hardcore and grindcore elements into our death metal roots to create this raw, aggressive distinct sound”

Sep 05: Leeds University London – Leeds, UK (‘Ghostfest‘)
Sep 06: Motion – Bristol, UK (‘Ghostfest‘)
Sep 10: Festival Envol et Macadam – Quebec City, QC

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Despised Icon Announce Reunion Shows


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Reunited deathcore pioneers Despised Icon have announce a run of North American shows. The band will perform four days across North America in December and whilst there are no plans for a full tour or new studio album the band have confirmed they are just happy to be back performing together. The tour will start on the 12th December in Montreal and conclude in Worcester on the 21st December.

 

Press release:

Reactivated Montreal, Canadian death metal pioneers, Despised Icon, have now announced some North American shows this Winter. The band recently performed a run of dates in Europe, four years after announcing that the group would be disbanding. While no album or full tour is planned, the members of the group are just happy to be back on stage performing together.

Vocalist, Alex Erian comments:”Cheers to everyone that came out to our reunion shows this summer. The response was overwhelming. It felt just like in the good old days. We promised you a few more in Canada and the US, so here you go! There won’t be any other dates so don’t miss out. Keep it brutal.”

Confirmed dates and final dates:
Dec 13 – Montreal, QC @ Club Soda
Dec 14 – Toronto, ON @ Opera House
Dec 20 – New York, NY @ Gramercy Theatre
Dec 21 – Worcester, MA @ Palladium

Having created quite a buzz with their debut album, 2002’s Consumed By Your Poison, Despised Icon’s brand of technical death infused hardcore matured and developed over the years, arguably reaching its peak with 2007’s classic, The Ills of Modern Man. The band has sold over 150,000 albums worldwide and have influenced countless number of bands in the metal and hardcore scene today.

Despised Icon disbanded in 2010 after a series of sold out farewell shows across their home country.

Alex Erian – vocals
Steve Marois – vocals
Eric Jarrin – guitar
Ben Landreville – guitar
Sebastien Piche – bass
Alex Pelletier – drums

Despised Icon on Facebook


Neurotic Deathfest: Day 3 – Live At 013, Tilburg NL


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The Sunday started a little bit late due some technical problems with my mode of transportation. But luckily enough Grave was there to cheer me up. Grave gives you a full force band with the strength of a bulldozer. The filled up room might have given them that little bit of extra energy, to give us a hell of a show. Although Grave can sometimes disappoint you because of the typical show they put on, they pumped you up with their well known classics, they didn’t live up to their reputation at all. It was the best show in ages, according to the voices all around me.

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Misery Index is a known force at the Neurotic Deathfest and didn’t surprise me at any point. But they did interest me and this is a very good live act! For those who don’t know this band, they are pretty versatile with their sound and play with different styles in the death metal genre. The biggest mistake for me was to stand in front of the pit, that hurt.

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Just like Misery Index, Severe Torture is a name that you can find often on the bills from previous years. I am proud we have these kind of bands from the Dutch grounds and we see that we do take part in the death metal scene. I am not proud that the following band named Pestilence comes from the same land. I heard of their bad live reputation but I wouldn’t believe it. I have to admit they were right. I am sorry for being so negative, but I cant find a single positive thing about this band. They sucked, and this needs to be said. If you read this and you are in a band, don’t follow Pestilence’s example. This band was known for their awesome shows and good songwriting, but with this new lineup, they are on the edge of extinction. They only float along on their former pride.

Once again the national memorial of casualties of the second world war fell on the same date as the Neurotic Deathfest. Strange enough this was one of the most epic moments of the whole festival, all death metal fans were quiet for a moment of silence (exceptions for some nitwits that just can’t keep their mouth shut). It gave me shivers. This is the example that it doesn’t matter how brutal you can look, you can still have some decency. The bands also took part of it and that is why Pentagram Chile started a little bit later than they should have. They gave us a whirlwind of a show with a guitar sound that was beyond recognition. Their debut album came out last year which is pretty late for a band started from the 80s. They played a nice mix of thrash/death with a sound that clearly evolved since the early days of this band.

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Pentagram were a pretty good lead in to the final band of the Neurotic Deathfest, which is not a death metal band at all, Dark Angel. They gave us some much needed thrash metal. The band around Gene Hoglan seemed to be a welcome guest at this death metal festival, unfortunately the drums were pretty loud in contrast with the guitars which was a bit of a downer for this show. Luckily after a few songs the sound guy woke up and set things straight. After that we were happily surprised by some nice high quality thrash metal. All hell broke loose when the front man Ron Rinehart turned the venue into a party zone where beer was flowing richly. After this we left the festival with a smile on our faces.

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Neurotic Deathfest on Facebook

WORDS: KAAT VAN DORMALEN

PHOTOS: SUSANNE A. MAATHUIS