Black Stone Cherry, Shinedown, Thunder, Volbeat, You Me at Six, The Bronx, Marmozets, Milk Teeth, Rolo Tomassi, Boston Manor, Jonathan Davis, The Temperance Movement, Thrice, Baroness, L7, TesseracT, Hatebreed, Cancer Bats, Dragonforce, The Struts, Monster Truck, Less Than Jake, Greta Van Fleet, Whiskey Myers, Thy Art Is Murder, Cradle of Filth, Inglorious, Kreator, The Maine, Stray from the Path, Jamie Lenman, Miss May I, Employed to Serve, Shvpes, Bury Tomorrow, Puppy, Higher Power, Dead Cross, Stick to Your Guns, Blessthefall, The Bottom Line, Emmure, Plini, Myrkur, Knocked Loose, All Them Witches, Malevolence, Zeal and Ardor, No Hot Ashes, Gold Key, The Hyena Kill, Sun Arcana, Tigress, Death Blooms, The Faim, Turbonegro, Corrosion of Conformity, Savage Messiah, Myke Gray, Von Hertzen Brothers, Woes, Powerflo, Sleep Token, and Koyo will join the likes Ozzy Osbourne, Avenged Sevenfold, Guns N’ Roses and more at the Donnington Park based rock/metal festival, which takes place from the 8th to the 10th June. More bands will be revealed soon.

Tickets are available to purchase now on the festival website.

The song is taken from their EP ‘Disturbia’, which was released last week via UNFD.

The band will also be playing the following UK shows with Miss May I, Fit for a King and Currents.

JANUARY 2018
22 SOUTHAMPTON Talking Heads
23 GLASGOW G2
24 BIRMINGHAM Mama Roux’s
25 MANCHESTER The Bread Shed
26 LONDON The Underworld
27 BRISTOL The Exchange

The title track opens the record in fairly typical fashion, churning out roars and riffs at an accustomed rate, but it’s not entirely reflective of the direction this album has taken. When they bite – on the singles ‘Swallow Your Teeth’ and ‘Lost In The Grey’, most notably – they bite hard, but ’Shadows Inside’ mainly earns credit in other areas.

‘Death Knows My Name’ is smooth, melodic, and fine-tuned, ‘Under Fire’ has an undeniably classic vibe, and ‘Never Let Me Stay’ is distinctly eerie. Collectively, it makes for a more polished effort, all working surprisingly well with Levi Benton’s ever-sharp vocals. Each track is lead-driven; less about the breakdown, more about the progression and arrangement. Heavyweights like Trivium have adopted this approach, albeit to varying degrees of success, but Miss May I have struck a fine balance to remain relevant to fans both new and old.

Yet, ultimately, ‘Shadows Inside’ does not boast their best material. Miss May I are far better when the shackles are off, but the restrictions weighing down parts of the record are almost tangible. There are a few tracks that need to shift up a gear, to go a bit heavier, but are being held back. They are striving for that mature sound, but it doesn’t appear to come naturally yet.

As Miss May I continue to develop in this new direction, it will not take long for them to get it right. They cannot be the band they were eight years ago, and their desire not to be is commendable. ‘Shadows Inside’ offers something different, which has to been seen as a success, even if every note isn’t as strong as it could have been.

MATT BORUCKI

They join the already-stacked line up that includes Thy Art Is Murder, Miss May I, Being As An Ocean, and In Hearts Wake.

The event will take place on April 17th at Manchester Academy, and tickets are on sale now.

Although So What?! is a two-day event, they kick it off early with a pre-party at The Door in Dallas. When your pre-party consists of Set Your Goals and Knuckle Puck, you know you’re doing it right. Knuckle Puck manage to make the show despite having played a show earlier that day at SXSW in Austin (which was killer, in case you’re wondering). After Knuckle Puck smash their set, Set Your Goals take to the stage, and chaos ensues. With guest vocals from Chad from New Found Glory, the most acrobatic stagedivers I’ve ever seen, and a girl crowdsurfing in an inflatable swan, it’s a hell of a way to kick off So What?! fest.

Saturday

The main event starts with the more pop punk-based day of the two on the Saturday. It’s a solid line up, which sees Milk Teeth, Major League, Seaway, This Wild Life, Have Mercy, Turnover, Knuckle Puck, Citizen and Real Friends absolutely tear up Main Stage 1 for the whole afternoon. Over on the Imaginary Idols Clothing stage, Too Close To Touch and A Will Away particularly stand out.

On Main Stage 2, Miss May I draw a big crowd and then incite numerous moshpits and crowdsurfers, before Escape The Fate take after them. With bangers like ‘Gorgeous Nightmare’ and their new single ‘Remember Every Scar’, they cause both moshpits and anthemic singalongs, which is basically the best of both worlds. It seems like the bands who don’t fit in with the rest of the day’s overall pop punk vibe have just as many fans there to see them, and it’s good to have a little variety.

The best band of the day  are State Champs on Main Stage 2. They play as the sun is going down over the festival, and it’s a pretty special moment. With bangers like ‘Perfect Score’ and ‘All Or Nothing’ off their new album ‘Around The World And Back’, the crowd go off, and it’s an incredible atmosphere. Frontman Derek DiScanio’s voice is on point, and ending on ‘Elevated’ is the perfect finale to a short but sweet set.

Next on Main Stage 2 are Neck Deep, who draw the biggest crowd of the day. It’s pretty wild to see a band from the UK doing so well in America, and it’s definitely something to be proud of. The kids here absolutely love them, and they play their pop punk anthems enthusiastically. This is the last date of their world tour with State Champs, and it’s a great finale. With catchy songs like ‘Can’t Kick Up The Roots’, this is only the beginning for them.

Last but not least today are the mighty New Found Glory, who are just as surprised as anyone that despite being incredibly sunny, Texas can get extremely cold in the night time. Around halfway through the set, Chad complains that his hands are so cold he can’t play anymore, but nevertheless, they power through. NFG are basically incapable of playing a show that isn’t ridiculously good fun to watch, and tonight is no exception. From certified bangers like ‘Dressed To Kill’, to a fan request for them to play their cover of ‘My Heart Will Go On’, to their finale of ‘My Friends Over You’, this is a solid NFG crowd-pleasing set, and nobody leaves disappointed.

However, this isn’t the end for So What?! fest round one, because the guys at Emo Night LA have brought the afterparty to The Door in Dallas. With guest DJ sets from Have Mercy, State Champs and Neck Deep, it’s just as chaotic as you might expect, and a very fitting end to a fun day.

Sunday

Back to Quiktrip Park for round two of So What?! fest on the Sunday afternoon, and today is considerably busier. It’s clear to see that the more metal end of the spectrum is more popular in these parts, because the festival is a completely different beast today.  With bands like He Is Legend, Stray From The Path and Chunk! No Captain Chunk!, it’s a strong start to the day.

The Word Alive, Dance Gavin Dance and Silverstein all put on great shows, and then Beartooth come on to Main Stage 2 and absolutely tear it to shreds. Although they haven’t been around that long, they’ve gathered a huge fanbase already, and the crowd go wild for them. Songs like ‘In Between’ and ‘Body Bag’ are so huge that there are endless crowdsurfers and crazy singalongs throughout their set. A huge success.

Next are The Devil Wears Prada on Main Stage 1, who sound just as massive as ever. They draw a huge crowd and people go absolutely wild for them. Their sound is heavy, and although there’s a little less crowd interaction than I’ve seen them give before, it’s an absolute triumph. Next up are Saosin, back with original singer Anthony Green. They sound great, and people are beyond psyched to see them playing together. Green talks a lot about how he’d had an energy drink before they’d gone onstage, and he’s definitely not quite on the same planet as everyone else. Nevertheless, it’s pretty damn entertaining, and their set is great.

And finally, what everyone’s been waiting for: Underoath. The band are back together, and they’re reunited with drummer/vocalist Aaron Gillespie. You’ve never seen a crowd more excited, and there are tears of emotion throughout. They play their two most popular albums, ‘They’re Only Chasing Safety’ and ‘Define The Great Line’, which hadn’t been announced, so the excitement is palpable. The highlights of the set are ‘A Boy Brushed Red Living In Black And White’ and ‘Reinventing Your Exit’, which set off some truly anthemic singalongs.

A wonderful finale to a fantastic weekend. Bring on So What?! fest’s tenth anniversary next year.

LAIS MW

http://www.mmiriseofthelion.com/

With their new album scheduled for release on the 28th April 2014, Miss May I have unveiled the official video for their new single, ‘Echoes’.

According to bassist Ryan Neff, the track is not necessarily a reflection of the forthcoming album, stating that “‘Echoes’ is a very different track compared to the rest of the record, and everything else we’ve written, which makes it one of my favorites.”

‘Rise of the Lion’, the band’s fourth full-length, sees Terry Date at the production helm, whose previous work includes Pantera, Deftones and Bring Me The Horizon amongst others. The record is a concept album of sorts, with each track acting as a response or a commentary on various fan letters.

Miss May I will be undertaking a brief US tour with Fall The Fallen Dreams before heading back to the UK for Download Festival in June.

For more on ‘Rise of the Lion’ head to the official website.

The tour stops of at the locations listed further down the article, and so is the band’s recent video for ‘Hey Mister’.

NOVEMBER
30 MANCHESTER Club Academy

DECEMBER
01 GLASGOW Classic Grand
02 BIRMINGHAM O2 Academy 2
03 PORTSMOUTH Wedgewood Rooms
05 NOTTINGHAM Rescue Rooms
06 LONDON Garage
07 CARDIFF Great Hall 2