Saturday, 25 February 2023

*** PODCAST #110 Hayden Peeling (Thank You Driver) ***



     A year-to-the-day after THANK YOU DRIVER's release of 'They Taught Us How To Read In Nam' (and just over four months since 'Nothing You Do Can Stop This'), I present to you a podcast with bassist/back-up vocalist Hayden Peeling. He took the ferry over from Surrey to do this podcast, see the Mares Of Thrace show (linked here) after we hit it off at their 2022 release show (linked here). We discussed many things including their next show (March 4th linked here) as well as: being born in the wrong generation, loving La Dispute, cover bands and the beginning of THANK YOU DRIVER, member ultimatums and drummer switches, the stupidest thing Hayden did as a teenager (starring Michael J. Fox), shifting from emotional hardcore to chaotic hardcore/mathcore, moving into math class, fry screaming and vocal change-ups, Thank You Driver's name origin story, newer vs. throwback metalcore, love for Mathcore Index, Hey Allen give me more Miriam, doing covers are fun, favourite/upcoming shows, local shout-outs, pingy snares, favourite 2023 releases thus far, etc. Bands played in this podcast: A Mourning Star, A Needle Under The Nail, Kokeshi, Long.Way.Down., Poison The Well, and Stasis. Listen to podcast #110 which is available to stream and/or download for free via this link.


Music Video for "Dyer Blueprint"
Music Video for "Rich In Bootstraps"


1 First Shows are Supposed to be Abysmal
POISON THE WELL "Nerdy" (Hayden)
***LONG.WAY.DOWN. "you'vegotagoodheadonyourshoulders" (Dave)*** <<< exclusive premiere

2 Hayden Caught A Contact High
STASIS "Far From You" (Hayden)
A NEEDLE UNDER THE NAIL "The Third Impact" (Dave)

3 Calling Jeremy Out (for being a genius)
A MOURNING STAR "A World Beyond" (Hayden)


~Dave

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PODCAST #110 linked here
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Friday, 24 February 2023

***LETTERBOMBS exclusive song premiere***

LETTERBOMBS
"Elämän jokainen hetki (Every Last Moment)"
exclusive song premiere
For fans ofBarabbas, Du FörtappadePepi Rössler, and Life
'Väkivaltaisesti Sinun' releases February 28th, 2023 on Tomb Tree (26x swirl cassettes) and Mangoe Records (30x clear 10" lathes).

     What?!?! LETTERBOMBS has more material?!?! You bet yer ass they do. On February 28th Tomb Tree and Mangoe Records will release two very limited runs of the new EP by Finland's LETTERBOMBS titled 'Väkivaltaisesti Sinun'. This follows their most recent split with In Wolves' Clothing and precedes a 4-way split cassette (releasing in April). Today I am premiering the sole single "Elämän jokainen hetki". Some info about the release:

"I met Laura for the first time at a premiere for a poetry zine in 2020. After that encounter, we stayed in touch, and she sent me the poems that can be heard on the release, and I just knew we had to get a wider audience to hear these. We recorded the spoken word parts first and had the accompanying music done soon after. I wrote the lyrics as a sort of response to the poems for a totally different perspective. We felt that we’d like to do our part for the victims of abuse and domestic violence, so we’ve decided to donate all profits to Ensi- ja Turvakotien liitto (The Federation of Mother and Child Homes and Shelters)." – Eetu

"Roope took the lead on writing the music for the poems to fit the mood and emote certain feelings, which he managed to capture brilliantly. I co-wrote most of the actual Letterbombs tracks with Jussi. We wrote a total of five tracks, three can be heard on the release. In addition to having gone into new musical territories, we decided to take it even further by having an acoustic track and an experimental ambient/noise outro. Damián Antón Ojeda from Sadness did guest vocals, and they took the release to a whole new level. Despite having separate tracks on digital platforms, Väkivaltaisesti sinun “Violently Yours” is in fact a single track that is meant to be listened to in its entirety."
– Chris


     And they also had this to say about the track being premiered:

Elämän jokainen hetki (Every Last Moment) is portraying the poems from an antagonistic viewpoint, in which someone believes to have ownership and “permitted” you to experience your life. Till death do us part, which is the unfortunate reality for some victims of domestic violence. 

We as a band, stand by the victims, and hope to raise awareness of this topic that affects so many globally. There is no room for theses heinous acts of barbaric brutality and toxic behaviour. 

EMOVIOLENCE AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE


     To the track we go!!!

(2023) LETTERBOMBS "Elämän jokainen hetki" (from 'Väkivaltaisesti Sinun')

ADDITIONAL LINKS & WHATNOT

Monday, 20 February 2023

***MARES OF THRACE w/Liminal Shroud + Tribunal live show review***

MARES OF THRACE / LIMINAL SHROUD / TRIBUNAL


@WICKET HALL in VICTORIA on February 18th, 2023

Live Show Review

     After getting very into MARES OF THRACE when this blog first started back in 2013, it was a goddamned no brainer to go see them in live - especially considering I didn't need to take a dang ferry (2.5 hours each way) like the Vancouver shows I tend to frequent. The band and I also did a podcast together late last year (linked here). So my friend Hayden from Thank You Driver and I hopped in my dying van and made the 1.5 hour drive south.

     The show was much bigger than I had anticipated, with a line-up around the corner and a very interesting/unique venue that I would probably conclude at this point was pretty peculiar but definitely allowed a great view of the stage regardless of your position in the multi-leveled baseball-diamond-esque floor.

MARES OF THRACE
     Taking the stage with commanding authority second was the two-piece Calgary doom metal/hardcore that was the reason for my trip. They slayed and their new material sounds even better live, although they definitely dipped into some old favourites from 'The Pilgrimage' which got the crowd moving from headbanging to moshing. You'll notice that in the videos Casey seems non-existent as I found out early in "Dark Harbours" during an extreme zoom in) but I assure you that he was kicking ass on drums behind the lights and haze.
(2023) MARES OF THRACE "The Perpetrator" (from 'The Pilgrimage')
https://youtu.be/3HGODIF24VE
For fans ofKokeshi and Oathbreaker

extra videos: "Onward, Ever Onward" / "In All Her Glory" / "Dark Harbours"
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LIMINAL SHROUD
     I recently saw this Victoria-based atmospheric black-metal trio in Nanaimo with Hexis on the first date of their prodigious 40+ day Canadian tour last year (linked here). Their set was the driving, pummeling, and explosive onslaught that I had remembered as they ripped through six-ish minute speed marathons with pukey vocals.
(2023) LIMINAL SHROUD
https://youtu.be/Qacey9uf_CU

For fans ofSpectral Wound and Hope Drone

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TRIBUNAL
     This Vancouver five-piece played their new record in it's entirety. The band played (from what I gathered, as I'm not really well-versed in this style) goth-driven doom metal utilizing two of their instrumentalists as vocalists, one delivering death growls and the other haunting singing.
(2023) TRIBUNAL
For fans of: goth / doom / black metal

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