Indholdsfortegnelse for June 2023 i Metal Hammer UK

Future PLC, 121 - 141 Westbourne Terrace, Paddington, London, W2 6JR Web: www.metalhammer.com Letters: metalhammer@futurenet.com Editorial Editor Eleanor Goodman eleanor.goodman@futurenet.com Production Editor Vanessa Thorpe vanessa.thorpe@futurenet.com Reviews Editor Jonathan Selzer jonathan.selzer@futurenet.com Art Editor Louise Brock louise.brock@futurenet.com Associate Editor Dave Everley dave.everley@futurenet.com Staff Writer Rich Hobson rich.hobson@futurenet.com Content Director – Music Scott Rowley Contributors Steve Appleford, Robert Arellano, Oliver Badin, Adam Brennan, Richard Chamberlain, Chris Chantler, Alec Chillingworth, Joe Daly, Hywel Davies, Remfry Dedman, Alex Deller, Jerry Ewing, Paris Fawcett, Spencer Grady, Stephen Hill, Emma Johnston, Tyler Damara Kelly, Hannah May Kilroy, Dom Lawson, Elliot Leaver, Dannii Leivers, Dave Ling, Clay Marshall, Will Marshall, Sophie Maughan, Edwin McFee, Joel McIver, Matt Mills, Mörat, Catherine Morris, Tom O’Boyle, Alastair Riddell, Liz Scarlett, Rosie Esther Solomon, Kevin Stewart-Panko, Paul Travers, James Weaver, Christina Wenig,…

AFTER WRITING ONE of the most striking metal debut albums of 2021 with Serpent & Spirit, London trio Urne set their sights on even bigger things. But never in their wildest dreams did they imagine that Gojira’s Joe Duplantier would get wind of their music, offer to produce their all-important follow-up album, and then invite them over to New York to record in his band’s studio. We caught up with awestruck vocalist and bassist Joe Nally to find out what we can expect from album two. Joe Duplantier producing Urne – how did that come about? “It’s mad. Apparently, Jean-Michel [Labadie, Gojira’s bassist] was listening to us on the bus while they were on tour, and he said to Joe, ‘I think I’ve got a band for you.’ So, Joe…

ALONE TOGETHER Sick Of It All’s We Stand Alone as the best hardcore song ever? Jesse Leach knows what’s up! Saraj Misaghian Shirazi, Facebook Yup, Jesse’s certainly made no secret of his love for hardcore over the years, so obviously his choice for the greatest hardcore song would be an absolute banger. WHO METAL? Kinda tired of all of my favourite bands distancing themselves from nu metal in 2023. _ego_death, Twitter Nu metal – a bit like hair metal before it – is still a loaded term for a lot of the artists who were seen as part of the scene. But we like to think that with the likes of our recent Linkin Park Meteora feature, we’re doing our part to rehabilitate people’s perceptions of nu metal. And look…

STEEL BEANS SET the internet alight last year with their Molotov Cocktail Lounge video, a righteous rock’n’roll riot in which a kimonosporting Jeremy DeBardi sings and plays guitar and drums simultaneously. This extraordinary technique was worked out one day when both the bassist and drummer were late for rehearsal. “I sat down at the drums texting them, with my guitar round my neck,” recalls Jeremy. “I hit the kick pedal, and just started playing drums and guitar and singing. It was like, ‘Oh, I guess that’s a thing I can do!’” Jeremy has been jamming away with anyone who’ll play with him since 2006, working through around 50 bandmates across 13 albums. “I’ve never had anybody quit, I never kicked anyone out, all these people are on good terms -…

Kyle: “I actually think they did steal that riff from Spirit [Led Zep won a copyright case that claimed they’d stolen the opening notes of Stairway To Heaven from Spirit song Taurus]. Just cop to it. It’s all right. Everybody steals.” Jack: “Tribute, our flagship song, is mostly just Stairway To Heaven. I’ve listened to that Taurus song; it has some plunking at the start that sounds like Stairway…, but Stairway… is a million times better. Come on! Let’s let the courts decide. It’s always a matter of opinion. That’s the thing about music. There’s no best band in the world–” Kyle: “I’m more a Greta Van Fleet Guy–” Jack: “Kyle. It’s my turn. Please, zip it. Anyway, the idea of the best song in the world is absurd and…

“OZZY WAS LIKE THE TASTE OF BLOOD ON YOUR TONGUE” Jack: “Ozzy Osbourne’s Blizzard Of Ozz [1980] was my intro to metal. Before that, I was listening to Journey, Styx and prog rock that didn’t go that dark. But once I had the flavour, once I got the taste of Ozzy, it was like getting the taste of blood on your tongue. I couldn’t shake it. Then I went back to his roots and checked out Black Sabbath.” “Black Sabbath invented metal. Before Black Sabbath, the only other band you could say invented metal was Led Zeppelin. And they rocked extremely hard – don’t get me wrong, I love Led Zeppelin – but that wasn’t metal. It was the thing right before metal.” Kyle: “There’s a school of thought that…

For Amy Lee, life was only ever going to go one of two ways. “My back-up plan was being Danny Elfman and my top plan was being a mega rock star superstar,” says Evanescence’s singer and prime mover with a laugh. Still, she adds, there was never any doubt in her mind one of those ambitions would eventually become a reality. “Manifesting is real!” Now aged 41, the singer has achieved her dreams and more. Twenty years into her career, she’s a genuine icon, whose creative soul and steely self-confidence propelled her to superstardom when her band, Evanescence, broke through with 2003’s gothic juggernaut single, Bring Me To Life, at the height of the macho nu metal boom. Evanescence’s 2003 debut album, Fallen, went on to sell a mind-boggling 17…

SPINEFARM UK’s enigmatic pop/metal cult-starters expand their reach WHEN SLEEP TOKEN released The Summoning in January, it broke the internet. They were already one of our world’s most talked-about, divisive bands, splitting listeners between those who viewed the masked, anonymous collective as a pretentious gimmick and those enthralled by their blend of ambience, thunderous tech-metal and mournful pop melodies – all elevated by their ritualistic live shows and singer Vessel’s soulful, cursive vocals. The Summoning, the second single from third album Take Me Back To Eden, stunned fans and earned them a legion of new ones. Taking every idiosyncrasy of the Sleep Token experience to the next level, it veered between a cathedral-sized hymnal chorus and the heaviest breakdown and vocals they’d ever recorded – and with it, the kind…

KREATOR / SYLOSIS WEMBLEY ARENA, LONDON Virginia’s groove metal machine fires on almost all cylinders WE HAVE BEEN waiting three years for this tour… or does it just feel like that, due to the slow-moving queue outside Wembley Arena? The exhausting chaos at the entrance of the venue means that SYLOSIS only have a couple of songs left by the time most make it inside. Those who are there appear to be incredibly receptive to the Reading thrashers, and you can see why; their state-of-the-art precision metal has always been musically thrilling, but the addition of Conjurer bassist Conor Marshall has given them an energetic live boost. For a band who go into 2023 celebrating their 41st year, the level of ferocity in KREATOR’s attack is remarkable. Amazingly, the upward…

AMENRA / DER WEG EINER FREIHEIT / HANGMAN’S CHAIR THE FORUM, LONDON France’s genre-blitzing oddballs find some strange bedfellows IT’S A SHAME that the sentence ‘This opening act deserve to headline this place’ has been reduced to a platitude, because rarely has it been more applicable than to HANGMAN’S CHAIR. The French quartet have nailed their niche of ‘Sisters Of Mercy, but metal’, layering goth melodies atop a bedrock of lead-heavy doom. Plus, the faultless mix and swirling lightshow bring the kind of theatre usually reserved for the last band on. Give us another hour of this and none would complain. However, the misery merchants need to pack up quickly, since Kentish Town’s getting the most stacked and varied heavy music bill it’s seen in some time. Offsetting Hangman’s sadness…

You’ve recently released the Hamartia EP. Why an EP, and why now? “We had a switch in members with Jonathan [Hultén] leaving and Joseph [Tholl] coming in on guitar, and we wanted Joseph to be part of the songwriting without doing a full album right away, so an EP felt like a good choice. We wanted to give ourselves a soft start with this new incarnation of the band.” Jonathan was one of the band’s chief songwriters – how difficult was it writing without him? “I always felt confident that we’d be able to continue and that we’d always find whatever makes Tribulation, Tribulation in my songs. The most fun thing with this session was working with Joseph again – we’ve been playing music together since we were kids, so…

METAL HAMMER READERS, Tenacious D have taken over this issue of Metal Hammer magazine. Over the years, some have questioned the D’s heavy metal credentials. When we won the Grammy in 2014 for Best Metal Performance, some critics cried foul… Some went so far as to say that the D were unworthy of such an honour. BALDERDASH!! I remember the day I bought Ozzy Osbourne’s seminal solo album, Blizzard Of Ozz, and my life was forever changed… or the time when me and Kage bonded over our love of Metallica’s masterpiece One… or the time we studied at the feet of the greatest heavy metal vocalist of all time, Ronnie James Dio, on the set of our rock opera, The Pick Of Destiny. We have the power. We have the…

ROB HALFORD CAN remember exactly where he was when he first met Jack Black. “When Priest did American Idol [in 2011], he came bursting into the dressing room, ripped his shirt off, and started to scream and throw the Devil horns. That’s the thing about Jack – he knows how to make an entrance!” Rob chuckles wryly. Tapped by the D to share the wisdom that set him on the path to being the Metal God, Rob admits to being touched by the suggestion. “I’m honoured Tenacious D have asked Priest to be a part of this particular edition of Hammer,” he says. “I think it’s beautiful that Jack and Kyle have always stayed true to each other, they do such great stuff together.” Let the lessons begin. WITH CHANGE…

With Bring Me The Horizon’s Sempiternal turning 10, Hammer writer Stephen Hill asserted that it changed their career forever and defined a generation. But not all of you agreed… THEY SAID “Not only did it shove the ‘boyband with breakdowns’ accusations down the throats of their detractors, it also became their finest musical statement, saw them achieve monumental crossover success and inspired an entire generation of BMTH copycats in its wake.” YOU SAY This generation’s definitive…” just stop right there. It’s not even this generation’s 10th most definitive album. Also, when you wilfully ignore all the great metal bands outside the US, these are the silly conclusions you’ll draw. Mike Dostal, Facebook This album was amazing. I remember being in school when Sempiternal came out and everyone, even people who…

“THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST SET MY SOUL AFLAME” Jack: “It’s the pinnacle of headbanging. I loved Iron Maiden growing up. When [1982 album title track] The Number Of The Beast came on the radio, it set my soul aflame – Ifelt a kinship and a sense of community with the metal audience through that song and that era. That’s very much my coming-of-age. Kyle, you were more mature than me – by the time that came out, you were onto, like, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. You never dipped into the deep, dark depths. But I was very much a Beavis And Butt-Head-era child, so I was swept up into that dark, Dungeons & Dragons universe.” Kyle: “I always liked the name. Isn’t it a weird torture device?” [Yes…

ANTI-RITUAL Green Terrorism INDISCIPLINARIAN Six tracks. Eight minutes. The world is being fucked by ultra-wealthy corporations. If it weren’t for the pristine-sounding grind and black metal attached to this Danish volley of hardcore punk, you’d think it’s still 1986. ■■■■■■■□□□ KEVIN STEWART-PANKO BLACKGOLD Volume 2 SELF-RELEASED The second EP from these masked upstarts is a modern take on nu metal – a blistering condemnation strewn with recordscratches and razortongued rapping. On Another Level is reminiscent of RATM, in the best way. ■■■■■■■■□□ CATHERINE MORRIS IRESS Solace DUNE ALTAR LA’s Iress sound exhausted. Mixing A.A. Williams’ simmering of home truths and Darkher’s adrift-at-sea reveries, these five glacial tracks sound like they’ve reached the end of the road, contemplating uncharted pastures beyond. ■■■■■■■■□□ JONATHAN SELZER BLACK COAST Black Coast EP…

LAKE MALICE ELECTRIC BALLROOM, LONDON New Delhi’s alt metal sensations strike a universal chord BLOODYWOOD’S RISE IS verging on the meteoric. They’ve played to huge crowds internationally at Bloodstock and Wacken, and while their last headline show in London was at the 250-capacity Boston Music Room, this penultimate gig of their European rampage is in front of 1,500 fans at the Electric Ballroom. Once more, they’ve brought rising fellow genre-smashing alt metallers LAKE MALICE along as support. The room is already near capacity for the Brighton band as they launch into the electro thrash of Magic Square. Second song Power Game opens a pit that stays open for the duration of their set, which features highlights from the more typical walls of death to a somewhat rarer group Macarena. The…

“WHEN I WAS really young, maybe three or four years old, my imaginary friend Skynd appeared, and he opened up my world to true crime. I grew up with all those stories and it sparked the idea of writing about true events and in particular telling stories through songs, like PINK FLOYD do with The Wall. I could speak about all the songs on that album, but Comfortably Numb is the one that just never gets old for me. KATE BUSH is my hero. Deeper Understanding is such a futuristic topic to sing about – especially when it was originally written [in 1989]. It’s about a computer that’s going to be your friend and be there when you’re lonely. It’s actually a really sad story about depression. That song is…

TENACIOUS D Tenacious D “Ah, ah, ah-ah-ahah-ah-ah, oh-oh-ohoh, whoa-oh-oh-oh, ah-whoa-oh-oh-oh!” ELEANOR GOODMAN EDITOR DØDHEIMSGARD Black Medium Current “High weirdness and emotional alchemy from Oslo’s black metal visionaries” JONATHAN SELZER REVIEWS EDITOR GRAVE PLEASURES Plagueboys “Just bloody brilliant. Mat McNerney and co deliver the goth goodness yet again” VANESSA THORPE PRODUCTION EDITOR WYTCH HAZEL SPIRITBOX Eternal Blue “I was very lucky to see their first Aussie show in Melbourne a few weeks ago. Absolutely incredible” LOUISE BROCK ART EDITOR GRAVE PLEASURES Plagueboys “Chucking some spring-appropriate glitter onto the goth gloom” RICH HOBSON STAFF WRITER GRAVE PLEASURES WYTCH HAZEL IV: Sacrament “Jesus-loving, tunic-wearing trad metal in excelsis. Praise be!” DAVE EVERLEY ASSOCIATE EDITOR…

GROWING UP IN Birmingham, the ‘home of metal ,’ Pryti looked up to Linkin Park as much as she did pop icons Christina and Britney. Now, those elements are at the forefront of her music, which merges a pop star’s knack for arena-sized melodies with crushing riffs and emotional performances à la Amy Lee and Chester Bennington. “I want to build that connection,” Pryti says. “I love songs that really punch me in the gut and I have always written for people who don’t fit in, because that’s what Linkin Park was for me. I heard Hybrid Theory and was like, ‘This band get me.’” She planned her latest release, Searching For Now, Lost In Again, with military precision. In the near-decade since the slow-burning choruses and gloomy riffs of…

Jack: “The obvious thing is Angus Young, because he’s such a riff-master. But a lot of people don’t realise how big the contribution of his brother [Malcolm Young, rhythm guitarist who passed away in 2017] was. He had so many juicy riffs, but everyone just used to look at Angus, because he was so entertaining! Kyle, what’s your favourite AC/DC jam?” Kyle: “Whole Lotta Rosie’s pretty good. We used to cover that. I like It’s A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock ’N’ Roll). It’s great, but then he pulls out the bagpipes. That’s it. You got me, Bon Scott!” Jack: “When Angus came up with the riff for Thunderstruck, do you think he knew? Do you think he got goose pimples and was like, [adopts a…

Jack: “The thing about Priest is that they rock so hard and have had so many hits. The earworms. Living After Midnight is a fuckin’ monster jam.”  Kyle: “I always wished they’d spent more money on their videos. I don’t know if they got the memo.” Jack: “Heading Out To The Highway [from 1981’s Point Of Entry]! That’s a monstrous jam to the heavens. Those melodies they came up with are genius. Glorious. It’s a call to arms. It’s an anthem. There’s not that many people who can harness that kind of power – it’s like a singalong, and it’s melodic, and heavy and hard rock, but it’s also joyful. “I remember seeing Black Sabbath in their later years, in the enormo-dome in Los Angeles – Ican’t remember the name.…

Jack Black and Kyle Gass are funny boys. The D have triumphantly balanced bonerbased banter between the screen and stage for nearly three decades, from their selftitled HBO series and The Pick Of Destiny feature film to numerous albums of giggle-inducing ditties. Say what you like about comedy rock: Tenacious D are the daddies. And it got us thinking. What are the funniest songs? Does something have to be an out-and-out deliberate ‘comedy’ song to split sides, or can it be lyrically funny, musically funny, unintentionally funny, or just so batshit that there’s no other way to describe it? So, we put it to JB and KG. Tell us. Enlighten us. What are the funniest songs in the world, and why? They rattled through an admirable shortlist, featuring The Who,…

O2 ACADEMY, LEEDS Ohio’s metalcore masters triumph over stiff competition WHO WOULD HAVE thought that the shy kid who started out behind the keyboards in scenesters Attack Attack! would end up here? In a few days hence, Beartooth mastermind/ vocalist Caleb Shomo will take his rock’n’roll metalcore to a dream gig at Wembley Arena – asurprise upgrade from a still-closed Brixton Academy. But right now, there is a sold-out Leeds show to contend with… Up first, a show of hands reveals the majority of the room are seeing STRAY FROM THE PATH for the first time. The New Yorkers’ incendiary Rage Against The Machine-inspired punk is undeniable, though, and it isn’t long before heads are banging appreciatively to a vitriolic Needful Things and Goodnight Alt-Right. MOTIONLESS IN WHITE explode on…

THE ROUNDHOUSE, LONDON LA’s glam metal legends celebrate four decades of delirium BOTH OUTSIDE AND inside the Roundhouse, the atmosphere is one of a gathering, charged with a dyed-in-the-wool allegiance comparable perhaps only to an Iron Maiden event. It’s not just old fans either; there are followers of all ages, adorned in battlejackets, W.A.S.P. t-shirts and simmering with anticipation. From a distance, W.A.S.P. belong to a bygone age with somewhat different mores to the world we inhabit now. But of all their glam/shock rock peers, Blackie Lawless’s gang are unique in having long transcended the scene they came out of – even after former guitarist Chris Holmes’ star turn in the notorious The Decline Of Western Civilisation Part. II documentary – to become a genuine cult. Emblematic and yet timeless,…