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From Tuesday 04 July 2023

Plaiins – ‘Puppet’

Plaiins are not a subtle band. Their commentary on “politics, inequality, heartbreak, and mental health” is less a nuanced examination and more like hitting the listener round the head with a brick. The multicultural trio won’t be the band you listen to if you want to stroke your beard

Monday 03 July 2023

LIVE: The Mars Volta @ Troxy, London

Outside it’s a sticky Sunday night, but the real heat is coming from the anticipation inside Troxy.  Within the hallowed walls of the renovated 1930s cinema, its pastel lit art deco windows creating an elegance at odds with the slightly mushy carpet, there’s a palpable buzz for

Friday 30 June 2023

LIVE: Download Festival 2023 – Sunday

To quote Anakin Skywalker, “I hate sand”, and the dustbowl that Donington Park has become does nothing for the mood of a tired, surly, dehydrated crowd . Still, with a host of international acts taking the stage today, it would be remiss if the crowd didn’t pull themselves together

Your Future Is Metal – ‘Your Future Is Metal’

Johann Saul had a simple dream. Well, to be more accurate, he had a nightmare which he then decided he wanted to manifest into reality. Luckily for him, Saul had been a member of Weathered Hands and Real Authority before the pandemic. He recruited his former drummer, Salaryman Ben,

LIVE: Download Festival 2023 – Saturday

Dust. That’s the name of the game. On the hottest day of the weekend, with not a drop of rain in site and tens of thousands of people making tracks towards the water and merch lines now fighting for their life, Donington has gone from a verdant green field

Thursday 29 June 2023

Halflives – ‘Inferno’

Once upon a time, you may have known Halflives as a band but, with the imminent release of ‘Inferno’, it’s time to learn that Halflives is now the solo project of vocalist Linda Battilani. Described as Linda’s “personal descent into hell, a collection of my demons wrapped up into

Wednesday 28 June 2023

LIVE: Download Festival 2023 – Friday

If you weren’t wearing sun cream before, you certainly are now. Day two starts the true heat of the weekend, along with an even larger crowd than the shorter day yesterday attracted. The merch lines are getting longer, the afternoons are getting sweatier, but there’s an energy in the

Throw The Fight – ‘Strangeworld’

Three years ago, grizzled DIY-circuit survivors Throw The Fight faced the toughest moment of their career. James Clark, the frontman who’d won them tours with luminaries Bullet For My Valentine and Black Veil Brides, was leaving to focus on his supergroup. Could they carry on with bassist Kade Kastelitz

Tuesday 27 June 2023

LIVE: Download Festival 2023 – Thursday

British etiquette dictates that when it’s miserable outside we complain that we miss the heat, and the second the warm weather arrives we complain that it’s too hot. That’s just the way it goes. With that said: how about that heatwave? Softly nestled between two torrents of rain sat

Monday 26 June 2023

Vexed – ‘Negative Energy’

In 2021, Vexed released their debut album ‘Culling Culture’. It showed off their songwriting chops, and there were whispers; Could they be The Next Big Thing? Last year, fuelled by the weight of expectation, the band reunited in Hertfordshire, intending to make a record that was epic,