Berserker like a Fox
Aussie metallers BerserkerfoX release a new EP, New World Murder (love the title) on March 11. A single called Digging Your Own Grave is available now and it’s kickass – screamed vocals, low-ass guitars, huge Iron Maiden-type guitar harmonies, and more tempo shifts than an Iggor Cavalera fever dream before kicking into an atmospheric, creepy, partly-acoustic breakdown that almost reminds me of Alice In Chains at their most wrist-slashingest. Check them out at facebook.com/BerserkerfoX where you can get in in a special pre-order offer: the limited edition CD along with a copy of their first album History.Altar.Ashes and a t-shirt.
Gig Alert: @MOSHPHERE Festival
Speaking of BerserkerfoX, they’re playing at the @MOSHSPHERE festival at the Hi-Fi on Sunday March 11 (hey, that’s the same day the EP is released) along with Sybreed, Anno Domini, Eye of The Enemy, Elysian, Circles, , Synthetic Breed, Hatchet Dawn, Aeon of Horus, Internal Nightmare, House of Thumbs, Naberus, Deliverance We Prey, Decimatus, Mastiff and DJ Lady London. Tickets from the venue, Moshtix, Polyester and a whole bunch of other places. Check the Facebook event page for the full list of ticket retailers.
Eternal Rest Finish Debut Album
Aussie death metal band Eternal Rest (who are happen to be playing the Brisbane date of @MOSHPHERE) will release their debut album, Prophetic, later this year. It was recorded and engineered by Joe Haley (Psychroptic), and features new additions Josh Robinson on vocals and Jannico Kelk on bass. Guitarist Jake Kaiser says “It has been a long journey since the start of our album recording, finding/auditioning new members, recording in many different locations and rehearsing constantly, but we’re pleased to say that our debut album Prophetic is finally finished. The material on this album is a big step up from anything we have previously recorded, with the addition of new members adding their skills and working with an amazing engineer we could not be any more excited to get this album out for you all to hear.” A teaser track called Preaching The Decimation Of Spheres is out now.
Get yerself on a Bag O’ Nails recording
Blues-rock power trio Bag O’ Nails are playing at the St Andrews Hotel, Main St St Andrews this Saturday March 3. They’re going to record the show for an upcoming CD release, and they’ll put the names of everyone who attends in the liner notes. They kick off at 9pm. Go to bagonails.com for more info.
The Poor re-release old EPs
Aussie hard rockers The Poor have released a double EP combining their Rude, Crude And Tattooed and Underfed releases from 1992 and 1993, respectively – back when they were known as The Poor Boys. In 2012 The Poor are working on new music as well as getting their entire back catalogue onto iTunes. Catch them at the Wheelers Hill Hotel on Friday March 16 and at House of Rock at the Palace on March 17.
Axes And Axes Accessed On ‘Axis’
Sydney guitarist Chris Brooks recently released The Axis Of Things, an utterly world-class instrumental hard rock album with flashes of fusiony goodness. Fans of Guthrie Govan, John Petrucci and Steve Morse will definitely dig what Chris is doing, but he’s one of those players who’s pretty hard to pin down in terms of “Oh that dude sounds like this dude.” The Axis Of All Things is available on iTunes now or you can buy it from Chris. Check out his website at chrisbrooks.com
Vai To Begin New Album Mix
Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and Steve Lukather are hitting down soon for a few G3 dates and a set at Bluesfest in Byron Bay, and just the other day Steve returned to his old Mothership Studio in Hollywood (he now records at his home studio instead) to install a new mixing desk so he can begin mixing his new CD. The Mothership is a pretty historic place for the hard rock and metal world: not only did Vai record a whole bunch of stuff there back in the day, but Devin Townsend recorded Strapping Young Lad‘s City there. It’ll be his first release of all-new material since 2004’s Real Illusions: Reflections. Catch G3 at the Palais on March 31 and April 1.
Killing Joke Celebrate The End Days
The original line up of Killing Joke – Jaz Coleman, Geordie, Youth and Big Paul – release MMXII on April 6. That’s 2012 if you can’t be fucked figuring out the Roman numerals, and judging by the press release it seems the album sees the band exploring that whole ‘apocalypse’ thing: “2012 is an end-of-time album that somehow finds moments of optimism in the downward swirl of the planet,” it says. Lyrically, the band says the album’s themes are political, anti-capitalist and forward-looking. “If we can concentrate on what it can be, the dream of clean streams, of re-forestation, of permaculture, of disengaging all the banks – identifying all the majority shareholders of the top 100 corporations and dismantling them. If we start dreaming of a fairer system and defining what an elite should be – an intellectual powerhouse and not international bankers.”
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