Surrey added to the map of New Wave of British Death Metal

LIFE AFTER DEATH METAL IN EPSOM
By Tom Willmott

Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page may be Epsom’s most famous musician but his namesake Danny Page (no relation) hopes to rival him one day. Danny is the lead singer of Pravus, an up and coming death metal band hailing from Epsom, a small town in Surrey.

Before settling on Pravus, the band, which also features guitarists Dave and Paul, bassist Cloud and drummer Iolo, had been through various name changes. “It’s a Latin word meaning depraved, wicked, evil and perverse, basically what we wanted to convey in our music.” The band claim to have a diverse range of influences. “We all have our specific favourites, mine personally are pretty vast, including Strapping Young Lad, Cannibal Corpse, Porcupine Tree, Opeth, Aborted and Yes.” In an attempt to raise their profile, they have entered a competition for a place at UK metal festival Bloodstock Open Air. Success would mean playing alongside giants such as Heaven and Hell and Twisted Sister. “It would be a great honour to play Bloodstock, I couldn't think of a better way to break through into the scene than to play a festival that has so many successful acts on its bill.”

Their songs focus mainly on the darker side of this planet. “Empires” (full title “Empire of Hate”) is about a fictional world where we are run by a totalitarian state, fed fake news stories and kept in our homes. As their sound is hard to define, even they find it difficult to categorise themselves, although the sound they are closest to is death metal. “We aren't really brutal enough for death metal. We aren't proggy enough for prog metal and we aren't groovy enough for groove metal.” Despite their short touring life, they are already on track to proving themselves ones to look out for. “Our last gig had the biggest turnout and we got a very positive response.”

When it comes to recording, they are very organised. “We don't actually get to the studio until we're confident with the song as a band first in the jamming room. So it’s usually there that we write and structure the songs.” The band have promised that new material will be delivered in the near future. “We have two tracks from our demo that were featured on MySpace after the gig at the London Gaff in Holloway on 14 March, and more to feature on our EP we're writing.” And whilst the band may not have as much funds as they would like, they're still prepared to tear up a venue near you. “We may not have the budget to be able to do a full on tour, but we are looking to play as many shows as possible around the UK.” It seems this band really do have the potential to kick up a storm and are ready to challenge the metal scene. Visit the band’s MySpace (www.myspace.com/pravusmetal) for any gig updates and new demos.

ROCKS LIKE:
Hypocrisy – A Taste Of Extreme Divinity
Napalm Death – Smear Campaign
Nevermore – Enemies Of Reality

The week that shouldn't have been!!

Triumph and Trauma are two things I have constantly battled with in the past 5 days. I felt it would be useful to express my feelings in my neglected blog just to give a recap.

Monday - No uni today and so things would been running as smooth as possible. Since this is the day that the new album releases and also with a load of money in hand, my wallet was going to be murdered. However, on my way in the town square, I passed some twattish idiots who I overhead utter the words "Get a fucking haircut." trying to make out I couldn't hear what was going on. It really angers me that people would judge you on your appearance especially in this day and age. I could have easily insulted them back but when there's other citizens around you, it's just not acceptable. I cheered up eventually by getting Band Of Skulls' album which I finding really enjoyable at the moment.

Tuesday - So I enter uni for contextual studies (my least favourite part of the course) and have a very early wake up call to a crime scene. What turned out to be what I thought was just a nice way of insulting each other turned out more viscous, which I felt such a shame considering this class had always had a friendly nature. Not only that, we had to stay behind for a while considering the police were called in and so asking for all witnesses phone numbers and having to write down a statement about what had occurred. It definitely was an act of total selfishness considering we had to miss a camera tutorial we had initially been booked in for. But at least it brings us closer as a group considering we now have an "enemy".

Wednesday - Again it was an early start but this time for all fun reasons. Booking free Rage Against The Machine tickets would always be a nightmare and so after nearly waiting 90 minutes I felt like tearing my hair out and breaking down in tears in front of the screen. At one point I was nearly helped out by my lovely friend Kelly but whilst trying at the other end I finally succeeded in getting two tickets. The only thing I am worried about is that because I was in a state of panic I hope I put my friends correct details down. Then came a very lengthy waiting game for the confirmation e-mail to arrive. See Tickets has never had a great reputation in the past and they weren't doing themselves any favours by taking even longer than expected to deliver the confirmation. At around 5.16 I received confirmation alas 46 mins late. But at least now that was over and done with I felt extremely cream crackered and wasn't able to get out of my seat until around 1 a.m.

Thursday - Another lecture that would hopefully go a lot less violent than the previous. But even this would have its weak points. A fire alarm blurted out and so it was time to evacuate the building. I really cannot stand fire alarms due to the fact they can damage your hearing badly not to mention there was one the other week nearly my house which lasted nearly six fucking hours and whilst trying to drown out the torture with Mogwai, my ipod ran down to an empty battery. Eventually after standing nearly twenty minutes in the rain, we were granted access to enter once again. The cause apparently was a hair dryer of all things!! But the lecture was a pretty interesting affair and going to weatherspoons for a slap up meal (due to one of our colleagues birthday) is always worthwile. I had the pleasure of interviewing my favourite Italian Melanie with her also interviewing. It was pretty funny even though I kept going "off the record" and missing out valuable questions. But at least I felt a bit more self-conscious this time around.

Friday - So out of all the things that had frustrated me, who'd have thought it would be my turn to let MYSELF down!! All because of mistaking two digits for one. I can't believe I would make such a foolish mistake and I now feel ashamed. If it was my previous college, I really wouldn't haven't cared because it was awful. However with uni, I do care. I actually find what my lecturers very interesting characters and the people I work with are some of the best people I've met in the past 5 years or so. It is kind of a shame I've broken my near 100% record attendance but I guess nobody's perfect. Also I'm starting to get sick of looking at forums where people like to think themselves as intelligent by treating their opinions as facts. If they really value their opinion that much they should have at least taken up something like Music Journalism and then they could be taken a little more seriously.

I do apologise for sounding like a whiny little bitch as I don't tend to talk about my experiences but it just felt a bit more necessary this time.

Hopefully uni will get back to normal and I'll manage my time a lot better in the future. On a positive note this what I literally cannot wait to hear. This has definitely made my week more than anything:

Albums to look out for this year

Well we can now speculate on what is in stock for this year in terms of album releases. I'm keeping my eye out for this lot so far:

Lostprophets - The Betrayed (18 Jan)
HIM - Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice (8 Feb)
Angels and Airwaves - Love (14 Feb) (Released entirely for free!!)
Story of The Year - The Constant (15 Feb)
Alkaline Trio - This Addiction (22 Feb)
Blood Red Shoes - Fire Like This (1 Mar)
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Beat The Devils Tattoo (8 Mar)
The Automatic - Tear Down The Signs (8 Mar)
Dillinger Escape Plan - Option Parlysis (22 Mar)
Kamelot - TBC (22 Mar)
Deftones - TBC (26 Apr)
Rolo Tomassi - Stolen Magic (Mar)
Coheed and Cambria - Year of The Black Rainbow (Apr)
Slaves To Gravity - Underwaterouterspace (Apr)
Cancer Bats - Bears, Mayors, Scraps and Bones (Apr)
Bullet For My Valentine - TBC (Apr)
Gaslight Anthem - American Slang (Jun)
Stone Sour - TBC (Aug)
Against Me - White Crosses (Spring)
Good Charlotte - Cardiology (Spring)
Funeral For A Friend - TBC (Summer)
Fighting With Wire - Bones of The Twilight (TBC)

Then hopefully these bands will be relasing something:

Jimmy Eat World (Aiming for a 2010 release)
Kings of Leon (No word yet but lets hope it's an improvement on Only By The Night)
Fair To Midland (Have just released a new demo and recording new material)
Oceansize (Just released an EP so a full length is expected to follow)
Hold Steady (Debuting new songs on tour)
Pulled Apart By Horses (Highly anticipated debut which apparently is done and dusted)
Brigade - (Aiming for a 2010 release)
Incubus - (Just released a greatest hits album and come off their hiatus)
Nine Inch Nails - (Apparently two new releases confirmed by Mr Reznor himself)
Middle Class Rut - (Released an EP last year so debut now expected)
Awesome Color - (No word yet but it would be nice to hear more new material)
Arcade Fire - (Aiming for a 2010 release)
Fucked Up - (Have some releases planned apparently)
Iron Maiden - (Playing Sonisphere so hoepfully there will be new material to be promoted)
Exit Ten - (New demos have surfaced)
Bright Eyes - (Apparently the last album to be released under the "Bright Eyes" moniker but still aiming for a 2010 release)
Zico Chain - (Several demos have surfaced)
Chapman Family - (Having already released a couple of singles a debut should seem likely)
Innerpartysystem - (Have started writing and demoing)
White Stripes - (Jack White should be entering the studio after finishing touring with his several hundred other bands)
Strokes - (Playing the Isle of Wight festival so hopefully there will be new material to promote)
Interpol - (Aiming for a 2010 release)
Foals - (Same as above)
Klaxons - (Even if it has taken them three years apparently progress is being made)
Within Temptation - (Aiming for a 2010 release)
Turisas - (Same as above)

There is also the hope of Foo Fighters and Queens of The Stone Age releasing new material but if not then another Them Crooked Vultures album would be nice. Or maybe a new Desert Sessions album but that would be greedy.

Another thing I had intended was to include Avenged Sevenfold in the list but since the untimely death of their drummer Rev, the chance of releasing a new album now look very slim.

Albums of the Year

Hey. Sorry about the long delay, just getting shit together such as projects for uni and other busy doings. So anyway here's my personal top 50 albums of this year.

1. Alice In Chains - Black Gives Way To Blue
2. Mastodon - Crack The Skye
3. Brand New - Daisy
4. Manchester Orchestra - Mean Everything To Nothing
5. Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures
6. Karnivool - Sound Awake
7. Wolfmother - Cosmic Egg
8. Porcupine Tree - The Incident
9. Silversun Pickups - Swoon
10. In Case of Fire - Align The Planets
11. Biffy Clyro - Only Revolutions
12. 30 Seconds To Mars - This Is War
13. Inme - Herald Moth
14. Hurt - Goodbye To The Machine
15. CKY - Carver City
16. Manic Street Preachers - Journal For Plague Lovers
17. A Place To Bury Strangers - Exploding Head
18. Alberta Cross - Broken Side of Time
19. Future Of The Left - Travels With Myself And Another
20 Mew - No More Stories / Are Told Today / I'm Sorry / They Washed Away // No More Stories / The World Is Grey / I'm Tired / Let's Wash Away
21. Metric - Fantasies
22. Gallows - Grey Britain
23. Alexisonfire - Old Crows/Young Cardinals
24. Taking Back Sunday - New Again
25. Dream Theater - Black Clouds and Silver Linings
26. Billy Talent - III
27. Ghost Of A Thousand - New Hopes, New Demonstrations
28. Killswitch Engage - Killswitch Engage
29. Fightstar - Be Human
30. Architects - Hollow Crown
31. Thursday - Common Existence
32. The Used - Artwork
33. Kevin Devine - Brother's Blood
34. Telegraphs - We Were Ghosts
35. AFI - Crash Love
36. Polar Bear Club - Chasing Hamburg
37. Horrors - Primary Colors
38. Paramore - Brand New Eyes
39. Johnny Foreigner - Grace And The Bigger Picture
40. MC Lars - This Gigantic Robot Kills
41. Weezer - Raditude
42. Arctic Monkeys - Humbug
43. Boxer Rebellion - Union
44. Bats - Red In Tooth and Claw
45. Muse - The Resistance
46. Enter Shikari - Common Dreads
47. Placebo - Battle For The Sun
48. Mars Volta - Octahedron
49. Frank Turner - Poetry of The Deed
50. Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown

And the top 5 worst albums go to...

1. U2 - No Line on The Horizon
2. Marilyn Manson - High End of Low
3. Papa Roach - Metamorphosis
4. Creed - Full Circle
5. Blackout - Best In Town

This weeks records

Biffy Clyro - Only Revolutions

So the long await is now over for our favourite scotsmen and once again they have delivered an exceptionally great record. The only problem I have is I still seem to prefer Puzzle making this a sort of anti climax. But the songs will eventually sink in at one point, so for now I'll say thumbs up Biffy.



Weezer - Raditude

It actually took me quite a while to completely dig this album fully especially after the excellent Red Album but thankfully most of the songs have clicked. "Put Me Back Together" is just another reminder of how fondly we all love Weezer. Also "Tripping Down The Freeway" and "In The Mall" are personal highlights.



Dead Confederate - Wrecking Ball

A recent discovery for me and I have to say this is a fine display of alt rock at its best. They have a very Manchester Orchestra vibe going on which is always pleasing to the ears. We can only hope for more material to surface.



Johnny Foreigner - Grace And The Bigger Picture

Having been slightly weary about them when they first came onto the scene, looking further into their music has helped me realise how interesting their sound is. With more happy jangly guitars in place, this certainly was worth a purchase and for the most part, an enjoyable record.



Orko - Creating Short Fiction

Yet another scottish act in stock with the cost of only two pounds from Banquet Records, it was an interesting purchase to say the least. The sound is very Biffy Clyro-esque but with a lot of atmosphere to add. Having released this in 2006, they have gone no further but however they have some upcoming shows hinting a sign of new material on the way.

Top 50 albums of the decade

So it seems that the time has come for everyone to reflect back and choose their finest albums. But rather do several hundred, I'm just gonna keep this nice and simple and pick 50 of the most awe inspring albums from the last 10 years.

1. Fair To Midland - Fables from a Mayfly: What I Tell You Three Times Is True
2. Muse - Origin Of Symmetry
3. Deftones - White Pony
4. Mastodon - Blood Mountain
5. Tool - 10,000 days
6. Nine Inch Nails - With Teeth
7. Queens of The Stone Age - Songs For The Deaf
8. Incubus - Morning View
9. System Of A Down - Mezmerize/Hypnotize
10. Death From Above 1979 - You're A Woman, I'm A Machine
11. Wolfmother - Wolfmother
12. Biffy Clyro - Infinity Land
13. Finch - Say Hello To Sunshine
14. Nine Black Alps - Everything Is
15. Subways - Young For Eternity
16. Machine Head - The Blackening
17. Brand New - The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Of Me
18. The Datsuns - The Datsuns
19. Alexisonfire - Crisis
20. Alkaline Trio - Crimson
21. Rise Against - The Sufferer and The Witness
22. Audioslave - Audioslave
23. Cooper Temple Clause - Kick Up The Fire, And Let The Flames Break Loose
24. Jimmy Eat World - Bleed American
25. Silversun Pickups - Carnavas
26. Radiohead - Hail To The Thief
27. Porcupine Tree - Fear Of A Blank Planet
28. Reuben - In Nothing We Trust
29. Coheed and Cambria - Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness
30. Rodrigo Y Gabriela - Rodrigo Y Gabriela
31. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
32. Hurt - Vol 1
33. Mogwai - Mr Beast
34. Hold Steady - Boys And Girls In America
35. Oceansize - Frames
36. Killswitch Engage - As Daylight Dies
37. The Music - Welcome To The North
38. Emanuel - Soundtrack To A Headrush
39. Billy Talent - Billy Talent
40. Mammal - The Majority
41. Thrice - The Artist In The Ambulance
42. People In Planes - Beyond The Horizon
43. Weezer - The Red Album
44. Enter Shikari - Take To The Skies
45. Alice In Chains - Black Gives Way To Blue
46. Fightstar - Grand Unification
47. Funeral For A Friend - Hours
48. Lostprophets - Start Something
49. Manchester Orchestra - Mean Everything To Nothing
50. Linkin Park - Meteora

Missed out a load of artists but still that sums up the decade for me.

This weeks records

Foo Fighters - Greatest Hits

Possibly a pointless purchase on my behalf, but being a Dave Grohl fanboy I thought I would treat it more like a collector's item. Besides the new tracks "Wheels" and "Word Forward" are decent enough as well. Bring on Them Crooked Vultures album in 8 days!!



Karnivool - Sound Awake

This by far is THE definition of fucking awesome! It ticks all the boxes in what I'm looking for in music. It's diverse, it's progressive and it has its heavy moments. Yet another great export from Australia.



Horse The Band - Desperate Living

Oh the joys of trips to London. As part of our exhibition trip, we were treated to a mini tour of London which led us to a very underground part bombarded with record stores. Best still there were several cheap CDS on offer. This was by far my prize purchase of the day. Having only been out for a month, I was thrilled to find it for £3. As for the music, it's what Horse do. Nintendocore FTW!!!



Be Your Own Pet - Get Awkward

Part of the reason for me getting this was due to reading one of the blogs I follow (I put on my worried shoes a.k.a Joel Paynter) explaining about the release of ex-BYOP vocalist Jemina Pearl releasing a solo record. It then reminded me how good the band were and seeing as how I saw their final album "Get Awkward" for £3, who could say no??



Test Icicles - For Screening Purposes Only

Despite being a very short lived band, they sure made a hella racket for just one album. In conjunction with this purchase, I was told that former member Dev Hynes a.k.a Lightspeed Champion was walking round the same street we were exploring. Oh how proud he would felt to know that people are still buying his records.



The Boxer Rebellion - Exits

And the winner for the lowest price purchase goes to said album. Having bought their latest album only last week I was thrilled to find this in another record store after our tour had concluded. It definitely is my most prefered record from the band especially at £1.



Cooper Temple Clause - See This Through And Leave

So our record searching concluded of all places at HMV. But this HMV is definitely one of the best I've come across in London and I was surpised to find Cooper Temple Clause's first record here as I was pretty sure this was out of print. But for £9, it was definitely worth it considering this is their best album by a long shot.