Shrinebuilder - Button Factory, 29/11/10

Shrinebuilder (Scott Kelly, Wino, Al Cisneros, Dale Crover) made their Irish live debut last night. Click HERE for the review.

New Alright The Captain track

Nottingham noiseniks Alright The Captain have released on new track, ‘Rostov Could Get It’. It is available on the compilation A Cheery Wave From Stranded Youngsters.

The band has expanded on the noise element of their music on this track, as the cacophony barges through initially. However, they haven’t lost sight of the art of the composition. ‘Rostov Could Get It’ is heaving with thick riffs and very crunchy bass lines, which are a formidable presence. It then leads into meandering and effervescent but smooth passages.

There is still little news on Alright The Captain’s full length record, the follow up to last year’s 123 EP. However ‘Rostov Could Get It’, for now, is a satisfying stopgap.

Click HERE to listen to the track.

Misery Index & Grave - Whelan's, 23/11/10

The doors of Whelan’s are opening at the much earlier time of 6pm tonight. It’s both a good and bad thing. The positive side being that it will accommodate the mammoth tour bill on hand. The negative is that such an early start means that there isn’t a great deal of folk through those doors at this time, particularly given that it’s a Tuesday night.

Strangely, UK’s The Rotted find themselves at the bottom of this five band line up. It’s strange because the band above them, The Last Felony don’t enjoy nearly as much notoriety. Regardless, they make do with their slot and hurl out their blood drenched and debauched death effectively.

The Last Felony struggle somewhat to get a strong reaction from the crowd despite the mouth-piece bassist practically begging people to move and respond. But still, their set is relatively strong even if the sound borders on horrendous in parts. Live, they slightly overshadow their recorded output as their energy is palpable from the beginning. What their next endeavours are may prove to be quite interesting but right now they’re just another face in an already generic crowd.

The proceedings shift then for Arsis. With tracks like 'Forced To Rock' making their presence strongly felt, there’s a little bit of a party vibe to their performance. The crowd has started to thicken and the appreciation for the Virginian’s visceral and technical punishment is greatly heard. Closing with 'Face Of My Innocence' is also a nice touch.

Swedish death metal luminaries Grave are nothing short of a treat. The sound is tight, as too is their delivery, whether it’s tracks from latest effort Burial Ground or older, more seasoned numbers. 'Turning Black' from 1994’s Soulless is one of the particular highlights and with topping it all off with the near obligatory 'Into The Grave', all couldn’t have been better.

Meanwhile, their co-headliner Misery Index are an entirely different beast. From start to finish they assault with their skull shatteringly rapid and relentless ferocity. Cuts from the new opus Heirs To Thievery steal the show with aplomb and only a few songs in, 'The Carrion Call' lays proof of this. But also, the mass crowd’s fist pumps and bellows for 'Traitors' are something else, being wholly invigorating.

The vocal trade offs of Jason Netherton and Mark Kloeppel are stunning tonight, devastatingly complementing each other. New led guitarist Darin Morris doesn’t go without appreciation either from all on hand as the impeccable sound in Whelan’s by the time of their slot comes, attests to his playing.

But with that said, the spotlight falls on drummer Adam Jarvis and unsurprisingly so. In many regards, he’s one of the fastest, most brutal yet still slick drummers in death metal right now and the flood of sweat seen pouring from him is indicative of that. He batters through other highlights of their set including the “slow” 'Ghost Of Catalonia' and the ravenous 'Conquistadores'. All in all, a lesson in brutality but still with powerful adroitness – one of the death metal gigs of 2010.

Gazz Carr, Butterfly Explosion interview

Dublin based shoegaze band Butterfly Explosion. Click HERE for the interview with guitarist and vocalist Gazz Carr to find out about the band's life so far and what lies ahead.

Leaflog - Mayday EP

Mayday is the new EP release from Cork/Kerry post rock outfit from Leaflog. Click HERE for the review on Drop-d.

System Of A Down reunited?

The rumour mill is galloping once again regarding a possible System Of A Down reunion. French radio DJ Francis Zégut has reported on his blog (HERE) that SOAD will be playing a Paris show on June 6th 2010.

Frontman, Serj Tankian appeared on the radio show Pulse Of The Radio last August where he stated: “Shavo (Odadjian, bassist) got married like two months ago, we were all at his wedding, and you know, we all talk, we're friends, nothing's changed, and we get offers to play shows, tours, whatever, and we discuss them once in a while. We have not made any decisions as of yet as to what we’re going to do. But when we do, it'll be quite obvious.”

Reports like this are to be approached with caution. An official statement from the band, any of their members or management is yet to be seen. The band have been on hiatus since 2006 over artistic differences and a situation within the band that was “unbrotherly-like".

The Ocean - Anthropocentric

The second and final part of The Ocean's album concept. Anthropocentric is upon us, click HERE to read the review.

Gareth Pearson interview

In the latest issue of Griffiti, you can read an interview acoustic guitar instrumentalist Gareth Pearson. Check out the pages below, a version of the interview will be appearing on Drop-D in the near future.

Click to enlarge:

Read the interview on Drop-d HERE.

Michael Gira interview

Yes, the inimitable visionary that is Michael Gira. Click HERE for the interview with the architect of Swans now where he discusses Swans’ return, the new album, playing live again and a little indication as to what the next album has in store.

Nimh Stil - Nimh Stil [Demo]

Nimh Stil, black metal band from Galway have released this self titled demo online for your consumption. Click HERE for the review.

New Refraction track

Dublin’s Refraction have released a new track for streaming. The instrumental metal outfit are currently recording a full length album due for release some time soon… apparently. New track, ‘Into Nothing’ for now is just a taster of what we can expect. Put frankly, the track is a stormer. It’s a maelstrom of angular riffs and neck-craning peaks and the production is beautifully done also with each little nuance audible to stunning effect.

Go on over to their myspace HERE to check it out or their Facebook to keep up to date with any news regarding the album.

Engel - Threnody

Engel are back after seemingly falling off the radar following the cycle of 2007's Absolute Design coming to an end. So, back with a new record in Threnody, how does it fare? Click HERE for the review.

Spittin' Bones - Amongst The Blind EP

Spittin' Bones, from Dublin, have released their new EP Amongst The Blind. Click HERE for the review.

Josh Graham & Domenic Seita, A Storm Of Light interview

Just over a month ago A Storm Of Light played their first show in Ireland, touring still in support of last year’s stunningly heavy yet beautiful record Forgive Us Our Trespasses. Drop-D spoke with band founder Josh Graham (also of Neurosis and former Red Sparowes notoriety) and bassist Domenic Seita about the band’s origins, touring and hints to the new album. Click HERE to read the interview on Drop-D.