Ten reviews you might have missed

Reviews from Monday 25 September 2017

LIVE: Charly Bliss / Whenyoung @ The Old Blue Last, London

Any observant music fan would predict Charly Bliss’ fizzy pop rock to pull in a herd of pastel grunge kids with candy floss hair and eternal smiles. But as Vice-owned hot spot The Old Blue Last fills to bursting point for the band’s live London debut, that prediction couldn’t

Friday 22 September 2017

LIGHTS – ‘Skin & Earth’

The latest album from synth-popper LIGHTS is a concept album. Running alongside the musician’s self-penned comic book it fleshes out the story found between those pages. That’s not to say you need to have read the comic to enjoy the album– ‘Skin & Earth’ tells a vivid

Cradle Of Filth – ‘Cryptoriana – The Seductiveness Of Decay’

Cradle Of Filth need no introduction. They’ve certainly left their mark on the extreme music scene during their twenty-five-year long career, as well as becoming something of a household name. Even though Cradle Of Filth regularly evolve and shed their skin (and often band members) with each new album they

Wednesday 20 September 2017

The Bronx – ‘V’

The hardest part of these reviews is usually figuring out how to introduce the band in the first paragraph, trying desperately not to resort to clichés and meaningless platitudes. Some bands, however, make this part easy. The Bronx are back, people. Stop what you’re doing and listen immediately. ‘Night Drop

LIVE: Reading Festival 2017 – Sunday

A cursory glance at the Reading and Leeds line up for this all confirmed what many have been saying for years – this is not the rock lead festival we once all knew. Musically diverse is one way of putting it but actually the Bank Holiday weekender – an

Tuesday 19 September 2017

LIVE: Reading Festival 2017 – Saturday

Monday 18 September 2017

LIVE: Reading Festival 2017 – Friday

Saturday 16 September 2017

Arcane Roots – ‘Melancholia Hymns’

The last time we heard from Arcane Roots, it seemed like the band had hit a wall. The praise lavished on debut LP ‘Blood and Chemistry’ could only carry them so far, and the departure of drummer Daryl Atkins in June of 2015 —later revealed to be permanent —

Friday 15 September 2017

Enter Shikari – ‘The Spark’

There’s no other band quite like Enter Shikari. From the unmissable claps of ‘Sorry You’re Not A Winner’ and the scruffy video that came alongside them a decade ago, to their 10,000 capacity show at Alexandra Palace last year, their fanbase has grown and grown, and their ideas –

Nothing But Thieves – ‘Broken Machine’

When Nothing But Thieves released their self-titled album nobody saw it coming. The rough and raw guitar tone juxtaposing singer Conor Mason’s heavenly vocals fused together the sombre and heartfelt intimacy of Jeff Buckley with the menacing doom you hear in Muse’s ‘Origins Of Symmetry’. Now with their feet

Thursday 14 September 2017

LIVE: Tides of Man @ The Parish, Huddersfield

Having released two records as a progressive post-hardcore band, Tides of Man took their first steps into instrumental post-rock in 2014 with the release of ‘Young and Courageous’. The departure of vocalist Tilian Pearson (now of Dance Gavin Dance) forced them to write music in a new

Wednesday 13 September 2017

The Contortionist – ‘Clairvoyant’

When a band plays together for a long time, it’s almost inevitable that at some point their sound will start to drift away from its original state (unless that band is Slayer, but whatever). There is, however, a difference between simple change and genuine evolution. Bands change

Tuesday 12 September 2017

Arch Enemy – ‘Will To Power’

‘Will To Power’ sees a much changed Arch Enemy enter the fray. A decade on from their inception, much has been made of the 2013 addition of vocalist Alissa White-Gluz and (most recently) lead guitarist Jeff Loomis. Most acts would suffer, and possibly cease to be, after such line

Grizzlor – ‘Destructoid’

‘Destructoid’, the new LP from New Haven noise trio Grizzlor, is as rough, raw and rugged as if the band were your next door neighbours, playing it unsociably loud at 2am right next to your bedroom. Full of bouncy, swaggering rhythms and a willful disregard of standard tropes, the

Monday 11 September 2017

Rosedale – ‘Again’

Although initially formed as a band, since the 2012 release of debut album ‘Real’ Rosedale has very much become a personal and individual outlet for the creativity of self-confessed workaholic Mike Liorti. It also helps that Mike’s vocals are made for pop punk. There’s a warmth and

Friday 08 September 2017

Death From Above – ‘Outrage! Is Now’

In an age where modern music fetishises the two-piece band, it’s necessary for any avid music fan to understand what these groups are trying to replicate. The answer is most likely Death From Above. They grabbed the world by the balls when they released ‘You’re A Woman, I’m A

LIVE: Ieperfest 2017 @ Ypres, Belgium

Here at Punktastic, we’ve always been big fans of mainland European festivals. While extra the cost of travel can be stressful, the payoff is usually worth it in the end, especially since our equivalent of Ieperfest, Hevy Fest, no longer exists. Thankfully, Ieper is one of the most accommodating

Thursday 07 September 2017

Helpless – ‘Debt’

Ugly. Harrowing. Barbaric. If those three words in any way describe the kind of music you get your sick, miserable kicks to then congratulations, you’re about to have a new favourite album. ‘Debt’ is the debut full length from Plymouth trio Helpless, following on from their 2015

LIVE: Car Seat Headrest @ Manchester Ritz

It’s rare that a band whose last album peaked at number 198 in the UK gain as much anticipation as, Car Seat Headrest. The lo-fi garage rock band from Virginia have been rapidly gaining notoriety globally for their grim but youthful guitar jams contrasted with bittersweet lyrics to

Wednesday 06 September 2017

Lionize – ‘Nuclear Soul’

For a band that have released six full-length studio albums – seven including this one – Maryland quartet Lionize have eluded mainstream recognition. That could be all set to change with ‘Nuclear Soul’, an eleven track journey through rock, blues, soul, funk and gospel that could get a completely severed