yashin

Takedown Twenty 14 Review

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I arrived at the site at just gone 12:30, people were queuing all the way up the courtyard of the venue waiting to get there wrist bands. 

Exploring the venue I found myself watching a band called The Smoking Hearts at the Southampton Intro Stage. The Smoking Hearts, A 5 piece rock and roll band from London UK. During there set they interacted with the crowd threw each song asking if everyone was enjoying their day so far. Their performance was all round very tight, sound and vocals where clear and sounded great, they also were really getting into it as a band, head banging, bouncing around. Was a smallish crowd, maybe 50 odd people watching but from what I could see everyone was enjoying it including myself. If you’re into your punk/rock and roll this is defiantly a band to look out for, music can be found at  www.store.bombermusic.com and also Checkout there Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/thesmokinghearts.

Next stop for me was to go a watch the awesome Heart In Hand at the Uprawr Stage. Heart In Hand are a Melodic Hardcode band from the South coast. Charlie (vocalist) sporting shorts and short sleeved shirt, with all his tattoo’s on show, the bands all round stage presents was great, all of the constantly moving around. The sound and vocals were tight and so clear. Crowd going completely mental mosh pits, odd crowd surf, everyone singing along to their songs and just all round loving the music. Between each song Charlie interacted with the crowd asking how everyone was and if they were enjoying their day so far and going to party. Through part of the set Charlie got into the crowd and got people to sing in microphone. I really enjoyed this band thought they sounded great live and had a fantastic stage presents and looked like they really enjoyed themselves as well as the crowd loving it.

After their set I managed to catch up with Charlie Holmes (Vocalist) for a chat and asked a couple of questions.

  • Biggest influences? (Charlie) “Generally it has to be life in general, also the band are big Deftone fans, even though we don’t sound like them really like their music, also liking the band Underoath even though they aren’t around anymore”.
  • Biggest achievement as a band? “Its probably playing Download Festival this year, we’re all looking forward to that”. Where do you see yourselves in say 5 years? “Who knows really, guess we’ll keep writing music till we can’t anymore, we’ve just finished recording our third album and going to working on the fourth soon, so that really”.
  • Favourite venue you guys have ever played? “We’ve played some massive venue in Europe that we can’t think the name of but they’ve been great, I really like The Joiners in Southampton, I prefer smaller venues there lot more intermit and lot more fun”.
  • Where are you guys most likely to be on a day off? “In bed normally”
  • When on tour who/what do you miss the most? “Erm… it’s got to be my Girlfriend, three of us in band have girlfriends so it’s defiantly got to be them”
  • I guess they don’t come on tour with you then? “No not really, two of our girlfriends are here today though, and it’s my girlfriends birthday”.
  • What are the plan’s for this year, album/shows/tours? “Well we just finished our latest album but can’t say when its out or what it’s called, we were meant to be touring but that’s been dropped sadly but hopefully come end of the year we’ll have something, atm it’s just Download Festival”.

Heart In Hand can be found at www.facebook.com/heartinhandukmh there are links to there web store, twitter and music.

Next band to watch on my list was a band called Idiom on the Uprawr Stage. Idiom are an Alternative Metal band from Exeter, they’ve shared the stage with such bands as Devildriver, 36 Crazyfists, Skindred and tons more. Crowd all cheering as they walk on stage and start there set. After their first song the crowd really get into it as do the band, they all sync head banged and bouncing around the stage, at one point the vocalist gets into the crowd and gets them to sing along in the mic. Towards the end of the set a rubber blow up shark was thrown onto the stage where the vocalist picks up and swings around before throwing back into the crowd, lot of crowd interaction between songs. Was all round a great set and everyone enjoyed themselves? Before the set I managed to catch up with the band for a small Q&A. 

  • Biggest influences? “Erm.. We don’t really have one, we should come up with one as a group really. Deftones we all really like them”.
  • How long have you all known each other? “We all grew up together in the same village and three of us went to the same high school just different years”
  • So you all get along really well, don’t annoy each other or anything? “Nah we all get along pretty well” (Dan) “No one would want to annoy me, haha”.
  • Biggest challenge as a band? “Coming from Devon, as it’s so far out the way of everything, getting to places can be a pain”
  • Do people back home support you guys a lot? “Yeah, back home we’ve got a pretty big following, they come to our shows so we hope they like our music”.
  • Favourite venue you’ve ever played? “HMV Forum was pretty amazing, Nottingham Rock City was awesome, Underworld London is always a fun and intense one”.
  • If you could describe your band in three words what would they be? "Fun, energetic and different”.
  • Anything big happening for you guys this year? “We’ve got our EP’s coming out this year and also we’ve got tour in May”.

Idioms music can be found threw there facebook page which is www.facebook.com/pages/IDIOM/12224761257

While walking around the venue I came across a band called Heart of a Coward. They’re a metal band from Milton Keynes, with influences such as Deftones, Pantera, The Acacia Strain, etc… While watching this band I was sat on the balcony looking down at the crowd and band, everywhere you looked people where moshing, pitting and having a good time. Lead singer Jamie Graham was wearing camo, cargo shorts and vest, with all his tattoos on show. During the song Deadweight Jamie asked the crowd to all put their arms round each other’s shoulders and the whole crowd erupted into song, singing back the lyrics. All the band got into it sync head banging and bouncing around the stage, also between songs talking to everyone in crowd. The music was tight and clear, I really enjoyed this band and would love to see them again. Music and other info on the band can be found at www.facebook.com/heartofacoward

Throughout the day I caught up with couple other bands to have a chat and Q&A. I had a chat with two of the guys from Yashin. They are a post-hardcore band from Scotland, formed in Greenock near Glasgow. I spoke with Harry (Screamer) and Kevin (Singer).

  • Biggest influences? (Harry) “It’s all really spread out to be honest, from like Limp Bizket to Deftones, so heavy side of things” (Kevin) “ I really like Panic at the Disco and Fall Out Boy”
  • Biggest challenge? (Kevin) “I lost my voice a little while back, so that was pretty hard” (Harry) “Being in a band is pretty hard, but also the best thing in the world”
  • Favourite venue you’ve ever played? “Err Rock City was good, but also ones in Europe, Hamburg”. (Harry) “I love the CoCo, cause it’s blood red theatre and really dark, so it’s really cool”.
  • Have you ever had anything embarrassing happen on stage? (Harry) “I fell off stage, I went to walk where there was nothing there and just fell off”
  • Was it a big fall did it hurt? “It was a big fall but I tried to make out that I meant to jump off, but it was quite funny” (Kevin) “You were just so confident walking into thin air”.
  • Favourite album right now? (Kevin) “Restoring Force the new Of Mice and Men Album, that’s pretty cool” (Harry) “I really like the new 1975 album. Architect’s new album that’s good, saw them the other day, it’s doing really well in charts too”.
  • Do you have any guilty pleasures? (Harry) “I like cars” (Kevin) “guilty pleasures… I like murders, hahahahaha” (Harry) “I like Candy, always eating candy”
  • What have you guys got coming up this year? “We’re playing Sonisphere, recording our album, finishing that off in April. Also looking to do some support tours, headline tours and get out to other countries”.

You can find their music and other stuff at www.facebook.com/theyashin

Last band of the night to play were the massive Funeral for a Friend. The band were formed in 2001 in South Wales, they’re a post hardcore band, with influences from 90’s and 00’s hardcore, punk and metal with other bits and pieces here and there. The lead singer came on stage with the long sleeved shirt buttoned all the way to top and baseball cap, which I found very odd as it was boiling hot in the venue. Between songs there was a lot of interaction with the crowd, the room was filled to top with people watching, there was a mosh pit on front of me and people sitting on other people’s shoulders singing the lyrics to the songs being played. All the band members were moving around, jumping up and down, and enjoying the atmosphere. The more the show went on the hotter it got in the area. I thought the band performed great and the crowd really enjoyed it, so it was al all round good performance by the headline band.

By the end of the event the venues were littered with cups all over the floor but the party wasn’t close to finishing, I headed along to the after party and enjoyed some of the DJ sets and asked fellow Takedowner’s if they’d enjoys the day and it appeared everyone had a really good day and were ready to party the night away.

Photos courtesy of JPS Images @ Takedown Festival

More new artists added to Sonisphere UK’s lineup

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Sonisphere's return to Knebworth in 2014 continues to materialize as they add more acts to the already announced lineup.  Headliners The Prodigy, Iron Maiden, Metallica will be joined by a number of top rock and metal artists for one of the summers biggest metal festivals.

SONISPHERE is thrilled to announce DREAM THEATER as Sunday’s headline act on the Saturn stage. A mesmerizing band to watch, each member with a number of impressive accolades under their belt,DREAM THEATER have been churning out their unique brand of progressive metal for over 25 years, selling over six million albums worldwide. Building their sound from a solid base of incredible musical proficiency, becoming heavier over the years, whilst retaining their trademark, the band have become one of the biggest-selling progressive bands around, resulting in an induction into the Long Island Hall of Fame. With an extensive back catalogue and impressive new material from their latest critically acclaimed self–titled album, SONISPHERE can’t wait to see them spread their prog magic at the festival.
 
Also appearing at the festival are DEVIL YOU KNOW, the creative union of the former Killswitch Engage frontman Howard Jones, Francesco Artusato (All Shall Perish), John Sankey (Devolved/ ex Divine Heresy, Fear Factory) and Ryan Wombacher (Bleeding Through). Having voiced the Grammy-nominated Massachusetts metallers through nearly a decade of touring and two gold records, Jones is at the top of his game and the star line up, who have just played Soundwave in Australia, are ready to take on the world. DEVIL YOU KNOW will unleash its inaugural effort this spring, the highly-anticipated debut, ‘The Beauty of Destruction’ and audiences would be wise not to miss the incredible set the band are bound to deliver.
 
Says the band:
 
"We are beyond stoked to make Sonisphere our first UK festival! It's an honour to be playing such a massive festival alongside some of the biggest names in hard rock and metal. What a way to play the UK for the first time. We can't wait to get over and show everyone what Devil You Know is all about!" 
 
Glasgow heavyweights YASHIN will also be stopping by SONISPHERE. The band have been working hard, having just released their new video  ‘D.E.A.D’, with recent live appearances at Warped Tour UK and supports slots with Black Veil Brides, Limp Bizkit and Papa Roach in the UK and Europe. YASHIN’s performance at the festival will be the first chance for fans to see them play tracks from their forthcoming album, ‘The Renegades’, scheduled to hit the shelves in September 2014.
 
Says vocalist Harry Radford:
 
"It’s a huge, HUGE thrill and a massive honour to be added to this year’s Sonisphere line up. Maiden, Metallica, Limp Bizkit, Deftones… It’s like we've been put in the middle of our record collections, so many of our heroes in one place, it’s actually ridiculous. We're getting back to live action in the next couple of weeks so we will be warmed up nicely to hit the Sonisphere crowd hard. See you there!" 
 
Making their way from Nashville, THE CADILLAC THREE will give SONISPHERE a dose of their very own country fuzz. The band boasts the kind of loud and boisterous rock that the loudest PA’s in the world were invented for. Tunes such as ‘Down to the River’, ‘Get Your Buzz On’ and ‘Back It Up’ evoke the legends of southern rock – Molly Hatchets, Outlaws or Ozark Mountain Daredevils, only with a fresher sound that’s going to blow your mind.
 
Returning to KNEBWORTH are Yorkshire’s GLAMOUR OF THE KILL, who have just unleashed their infectious new single ‘Freak like Me’, taken from their fantastic album ‘Savages’. Following a full US tour with Escape The Fate, a European tour with Papa Roach as main support, a largely sold out tour with Motionless In White and The Defiled in the UK, GLAMOUR OF THE KILL seem unstoppable as they are about to embark on the Heaven’s Basement’s tour before they promise to treat the festival goers to a full set of their triumphant anthems this summer. 
 
Says vocalist Davey Richmond:
 
“We're really excited to get back to Knebworth for this year’s Sonisphere! There's something special about Sonisphere that you don't seem to get from any other festival and we're happy to see it making a bold comeback. It must be the history associated with Knebworth and all the greats that have stood on stage there throughout the years. The line up for this was already incredible, but it just got a whole lot better!” 
 
Also appearing will be UK based hardcore quintet PALM READER. Drawing influences from The Dillinger Escape and Gallows, the band would have undoubtedly been winning over new fans on the recent Rock Sound Impericon Exposure tour and show no sign on slowing down before they hitKNEBWORTH.
 
Says Drummer Dan Olds:
 
"We Can't wait to play Sonisphere… Bands such as Deftones and Mastodon have always been close to Palm Reader's hearts. It's the first festival I ever went to so it’s gonna be a special moment!" 
 
Canterbury’s BROKEN HANDS will bring their particular brand of retro-rock fused with psychedelic blues and garage influences to SONISPHERE.  Having supported the Rolling Stones in Hyde Park last summer and toured in the UK and Europe with Band of Skulls, Deaf Club and Kill It Kid respectively, BROKEN HANDS are on the brink of big things.
 
Rising from the ashes of My Passion, Johnathan Gaskin, Ande D'Mello, Simon Rolands and Jamie Nicholls announced the formation FORT HOPE. SONISPHERE is looking forward to sharing the beginnings of their exciting journey as a new band. 
 
"We're so excited to be playing Sonisphere this year, and honoured to join such an incredible bill. There's nothing better than sun, rock music and festival crowds. Roll on summer!”
 
Mixing an eclectic combination of crushing guitars and infectious electronica, which incorporates elements of metal, hip hop, rock and dance, THE ONE HUNDRED are going after the hearts and minds of everyone crossing their path and will no doubt expand their ever growing army of supporters after their performance at SONISPHERE.
 
Says the band:
 
“We are stoked to have been invited to play such an amazing festival with so many of our heroes, we’ve dreamt of playing at Sonisphere so let's have it Knebworth!”
 
Also added to the festival’s line up are Manchester’s COLLIBUS. Having won the 2013 Discretionary Rock Award of Parliament’s largest competition, Rock the House, COLLIBUS made history by becoming the first metal band ever to play the House of Commons. The band’s sound has been described as a combination of the intelligence of prog with the fire of metal, and their winning track ‘Dead Inside’ has already been featured on SCUZZ TV.
 
Says vocalist Gemma Fox:
“The reception we've had following the release of our debut album has been mind-blowingly phenomenal. We are extremely honoured to have been invited onto the awesome Sonisphere line up and cannot wait to play alongside musicians and bands we have long been fans of ourselves!”