Want some irresistibly amazing free music? Here's the best news you'll hear in a while. Our favourite UK label Basick Records has been named “label of the month” by no less than Amazon.co.uk. That means for the entire month of November, you can get a ton of Basick releases at a specially discounted price - just £4.49 for albums and £1.99 for EPs.
But the best is yet to come (or this shouldn't be under Free Music Monday). The label is giving a 12 track sampler absolutely free! That includes Misery Signals, Circles, Skyharbor, No Consequence, Glass Cloud, Bear, The Algorithm, Uneven Structure, Aliases, Damned Spring Fragrantia, Dissipate and Chimp Spanner! That's a shit load of amazing free music! You still there? Click on that link!
I'll be out of town until Wednesday but I didn't want to leave
The Circle Pit hanging. So here's something I set up last week to kill
all the memory left on your iPod.
THIS IS THE FREE MUSIC MARATHON!
We've
helped promote a lot of free music over time. This is the cream of the
crop. And it ranges from big bands to the deep underground. Click a
link, any link. You may just find a new favorite. No matter what, you'll
find free music and tunes available for the price of your choosing. All
of these artists deserve support, so don't be afraid to throw some
dollars if something really makes you happy.
This is the second lap of four. 25 links a day.
We'll officially be back in full operation on Wednesday.
Video and additional reports coming soon! Read up on Report 1 HERE.
Friday July 12th, 2013
The real UK Tech-Metal Fest is just getting started. The sky is grey over our heads but it seems like there will be no rain for the whole weekend, which is a remarkable sign of good luck for the fest considering we're in the UK.
During the early afternoon the performance that surprised us the most was delivered by The Colour Line, one of the first bands to take the main stage today. Everyone who saw the set can confirm that this band definitely wins the award for the most frightening and insane live performance of the fest. A perfect example of what a chaotic mathcore band should do live (we got it on tape, you will see it very soon). You need to check out this band if you're a fan of The Dillinger Escape Plan's recent stuff and live attitude, or if you like some good mathcore in general.
Later on we received sad news that Destiny Potato had to cancel their show. But we were informed that it had only been delayed to the following day due to some trouble with their gear on the plane. Exist Immortal's performance received good feedback from the audience during the first afternoon. Other bands proceeded to play main stage, including the heavy live show from Cold Night For Alligators, supported by a good and enthusiastic audience as well.
After lunch, around 3:30 PM, our friends Damned Spring Fragrantia got on stage despite the long series of troubles with the UK plugs (they're completely different from all the other European plugs. And believe me, this gave a lot of problems to a lot of European musicians). Their set was powerful and enjoyed by a considerable audience. It was amazing for these guys to travel more than 2000 miles for their first show out of Italy and find several people already wearing their t-shirts. We filmed part of their set too, which featured a good portion of their latest album “Divergences” including the song “Heritage” that they weren't able to perform during their recent release party. I've already described more than once the power and the intensity of their live shows, so I won't reiterate. But it was a great show, trust me.
After that, UK local heroes Meta-Stasis played their ruthless show headlining the second stage. I had seen these guys walking around the camping grounds and the stages, doing their best to try to give away their CDs and spread their music, putting all their heart into it. You should check em out.
Destiny Potato's spot on the main stage was taken by the Israeli band Linked. Fronted by two vocalists, capable to bring dynamic singing, both clean and screaming, this band had a sort of Fellsilent and early Monuments flavour, reminding this band during the “We Are The Foundation EP” period. I've met them many times during the weekend. They were a bunch of really friendly guys (they also saved Damned Spring Fragrantia's ass one minute before their set, finding them an adapter for the UK plugs, of which I spoke before). I really hope to meet them again. This was the last show of their UK tour with Invocation and No Consequence, who played shortly after. The UK-based band signed by Basick records has been growing so much since last year. With the release of their album “IO”, they've been showing more than serious potential. They played the most renowned tracks, like the single “Coerce:Conform” and “Unify”, but also amazing tracks like “Enemy Of Logic” and “Bury The Debt”. It was a memorable and high quality performance from a band that has by now conquered their spot in the UK and international tech-metal scene as one of the most interesting and promising acts. Me and my mate also met their vocalist around the venue many times for some very drunk Italian lessons with him - one of the funniest moments of the weekend.
Unfortunately I was busy trying to solve problems with my computer and camera so I wasn't able to attend Cilice's performance and part of Scar Symmetry's set. Anyways, I was told that Scar Symmetry's set was damn intense and attended by the largest audience so far. They performed songs like “Morphogenesis”, “The Anomaly”, “The Iconoclast”, and “The Illusionist”.
After a short break we were ready for the first after-party! After midnight it was officially my birthday as well! Celebrating it here at UKTMF was one of the best experiences of my life. As I was walking towards the stage I met two really funny English guys that insisted that I had a real English birthday, so every time they found me without a drink in my hand they bought me one. Alcoholic nights apart, I met them in the following days and had great times with them. Unfortunately, I cannot remember their names (met so many people!) and I hope this post will help me find them.
I was really curious to see the UK-based metal & drum n' bass band Collisions. Luckily, I was sober enough to enjoy them and The Algorithm as well in a worthwhile way. There was a good number of people to watch them even though most of them didn't know the band. I must say that I was really surprised and liked their performance more than their studio stuff, which I actually already loved. They played their singles “Believe In This”, “Push” and the the Bjork cover “Army Of Me”, also bringing us some new amazing material. I'm definitely looking forward to this band's new album, coming very soon. You all should check em out too if you already haven't. After Collisions, it was the time for The Algorithm's live set. I already told you about The Algorithm's live show with Mike Malyan, and how intense and incredible they are. This time was possibly even better than the last time: Remi and Mike were also supported by an amazing guitarist adding thickness and epicness to the sound. The show was also more continuous, almost without interruption between the songs, making it more similar to a live DJ set.
First official day has been a fucking blast! Tomorrow will be probably be even better considering it's my birthday but also one of the busiest days. You'll see...
It’s the start of July already. We’re already over halfway through 2013. Jeez time really does fly. The amount of metal of the highest quality that has hit the stores already is astounding. We've been doing our best to keep up with all the notable releases of the year and I think we've been doing a pretty decent job. Not too much has flown under the radar and I’ve personally had time to digest mostly everything I was excited for at the beginning of the year. I’ve been surprised by a lot of the music I’ve really been enjoying, some of which is a lot lighter than I ever would have predicted. Without further ado, here are the Best Of lists and some song highlights from our four main writers starting with my own (albums in no particular order). If you’ve missed any of these, definitely check em out.
Trisolino's List
Albums
Intronaut - “Habitual Levitations (Instilling Words With Tones)” [LISTEN HERE]
Coheed and Cambria - “The Afterman: Descension” [LISTEN HERE]
Wormed - “Exodromos” [LISTEN HERE]
Anciients - “Heart of Oak” [LISTEN HERE]
Leprous - “Coal” [LISTEN HERE]
Arsis - “Unwelcome” [LISTEN HERE]
Heaven Shall Burn - “VETO” [LISTEN HERE]
The Ocean - “Pelagial” [LISTEN HERE]
The Monolith Deathcult - “Tetragrammaton” [LISTEN HERE]
A Pale Horse Named Death - “Lay My Soul to Waste” [LISTEN HERE]
Tesseract - “Altered State” [LISTEN HERE]
The Black Dahlia Murder - “Everblack” [LISTEN HERE]
Scale the Summit - “The Migration” [LISTEN HERE]
August Burns Red - “Rescue & Restore” [LISTEN HERE]
Palms - “Palms” [LISTEN HERE]
UK Tech-Metal Fest announced 11 new bands to perform at this Summer's edition of the festival. It will pack all kinds of extreme talent into Peterborough, UK from the 11th until the 15th of July! Check the full flyer down below.
The new additions are Exivious, No Consequence, Red Seas Fire, Visions, Damned Spring Fragrantia, Exist Immortal, Beyond The Dust, Shattered Skies, Foreboding Ether, Invocation, and Linked! All these new bands will now be featured alongside the 24 acts already announced, including Scar Symmetry, Tesseract, Veil Of Maya, Skyharbor, Monuments, Chimp Spanner, Sybreed and many more. This brings the count to 35 bands! And there are still more artists to be announced!
The festival has also announced the acts for the after-parties on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This will feature a DJ set from The Algorithm, a live performance from the UK-based drum n bass-metal band Collisions, Aleksandra Djelmash, Aleksandra Radosavljevic; ESO, Drewsif Stalin, and the Bilo Super Jam, featuring David Maxim Micic, Bojan Kvocka, Milan Jejina Yeqy (Destiny Potato) Jakub Zytecki (Disperse), Tymon Kruidenier (Exivious), Sam Bell (Mask Of Judas), Uri Dijk (Textures), and Adam Swan and Mike Malyan (Monuments). If you live around Europe, you better not miss this festival. It's gonna be huge!
No Consequence came through in the clutch as our Artist of the Week! These guys are awesome. If you haven't heard their music, you know what to do!
We're currently holding a worthy contest with these lads. 3 WINNERS WILL BE CHOSEN! Scroll down past the contest banner for more details on how you can win a FREE shirt, copy of "IO", or both!
Also be sure to check out the interview we had with the insanely talented guitarist Daniel James Reidfor an in-depth look at the band.
1. Like the post for a second vote 2. Comment on the post for a third vote
This contest ends Monday 4/29 at 9 PM EST!
*We will contact the winner. *By participating, you acknowledge that you completely
release Facebook of all responsibility. This promotion is in no way sponsored,
endorsed, administered by, or associated with Facebook.
__________________
DJR = Daniel James Reid MT = Mike Thall
MT - First off, thanks for your time! For those who don’t know, No Consequence saved us from a potential last minute scheduling disaster. We’re glad to have you as Artist of the Week.
DJR - Thank you! It's a pleasure dude! MT - Onto the questions. Here’s the one that always needs to be asked. How did you come up with the name No Consequence? DJR - Our original vocalist Phil thought it up (before Kaan joined NC). The basic idea behind it was to have a name that didn’t instantly pigeonhole the band too much, so we were free to create whatever sounds felt good to us.
MT - Good thinking. You’re signed to the legendary Basick Records. How does it feel to be counted amongst such extreme talent? DJR - It’s awesome! As you say there are some killer musicians, but in addition the label manages to retain a great family spirit amongst the bands, which is probably the best part. Playing shows with other Basick bands is always a pleasure.
MT - Right on man. You just came out with a massive record “IO”. Can you tell us what went into making it?
DJR - A lot of time and patience! We transcribe our ideas on Guitar Pro first generally, before jamming them at the practice studio. It’s a great tool to help us arrange the more complex parts and lock down grooves that we probably wouldn’t fully realize otherwise! From there we recorded drums with Monuments drummer Mike Malyan. He worked closely with Colin to get the best possible takes and then we moved back to my home studio to record the rest of the album. I handled the mix from there, which it was quite a comfortable experience, as we recorded the guitars and bass direct from Axe Fx and PodX3 respectively. For the vox Kaan and I spent a lot more time this round developing and layering ideas to try and sit the melodic lines within the music rather than just stacking them over the top of the music. We gave mastering duties to the excellent Fascination Street Studios in Sweden. The aim was for a clear and detailed final master, which they delivered!
MT - Hell yeah. I’d go as far as to say “IO” is an inspirational record. It’s awesome to see how you guys have grown as a musical unit and the lyrics have very strong messages behind them. What or who inspired you to create such a great sound? DJR - Firstly thank you! I think from a musical perspective the addition of our newest members, Colin and Tom has been a big part in the evolution of the band. They bring different influences to the table, whilst still sharing in the collective views that our songs portray. I think I can speak for our vocalist Kaan when I say a lot of the lyrics take on very down to Earth issues, which affect us all every day. From another perspective, however, the title of the album ‘IO’ refers to one of Jupiter's moons, which is a highly volcanic, destructive environment that also inspired us to draw comparisons back to the often brutal nature of our own planet.
MT - Very cool. How do you feel about the evolution of your sound since “In The Shadow Of Gods”?
DJR - We had quite a long period of uncertainty when the lineup became unstable after “ITSOG”. Getting the right, committed members to carry on took a while, which was frustrating at times. As a positive side to this downtime, however, it allowed us to grow as songwriters and spend much more time refining ideas. I think the final sound of “IO” reflects this and hopefully it comes across as a much more mature record. For me, one of the key points this time round is I’ve been able to experiment a lot more with subtle layers, ambience and dynamic sections. To me this has really filled out our sound and added depth that we previously didn’t have. MT - Yeah, I'd definitely say"IO" shows a matured sound. Great record.Have you guys done much touring? Any favorite shows in particular?
DJR - We've been getting back on to touring a lot more since we finished writing "IO', and now that it's out we've got some great stuff lined up over the coming months. Our favourite show so far has to be Euroblast last year though. We really did have a blast, there were some great bands there – including Bear, who we recently played with again in Belgium, and they totally slayed it. Everyone should check them out.
MT - What’s the craziest thing that’s happened to you guys while touring or at a show?
DJR - We played a show in Falmouth this one time and turned up to find a couple of tonnes of sand covering the venue floor. Not your nice fluffy beach stuff but gritty, builders grade sand. The venue had hosted a beach party the night before and this shit was everywhere. The sound guy hadn't shown up so one of the support bands members had to handle the mix. This was definitely going to be one of those shows... So we start the set and unbeknownst to Colin, Kaan had put a small pile of sand on his snare so the very first hit of the set blinded him with a massive cloud of sand to the face. Not only that but when ever people started getting rowdy in the (sand) pit these thick clouds of dust just covered everything. It actually turned out to be a proper funny gig as we all just started messing about and putting stupid stuff in the set. Tom's falsetto backing vocals was clearly the highlight of the night. We still to this day find grains of sand in our equipment.
MT - That's insane! We need more metal beach parties in the world. What are your plans for the rest of 2013?
DJR - We have Djentival in Germany and UK Tech fest coming up over the summer, plus plenty of other shows around the UK and Europe so everyone's going to be seeing a lot more of us. We've also already started coming up with a few ideas for album three and we're also currently getting some remixes done of a few songs from "IO', so later this year you might hear some new interpretations of tracks being released.
MT - Some great shows there. Everyone definitely go check out UK Tech-Metal Fest!Here’s the fun round… If you had the chance to do anything in the world with no consequences, what would you do? DJR - Lead a selfish, hedonistic care-free existence that involved a hell of a lot of substance abuse, casual sex and dangerous things like tiger wrestling or alligator golf. Unless Game of Thrones was on, then I'd probably just stay in and watch that.
MT - Ohhh yeeeah, good choice.Those are all the questions we have. Any shout outs you want to give before we wrap up here?
DJR - Anyone and everyone that's ever supported us, be you fans, friends, long-suffering family members or anyone from our particular little corner of the music industry. We love you all!
Word up to our guitarists out there! If you play guitar and are visiting thecirclepit.com, chances are you are already aware that you are very very cool, but mad props to you anyway! Here is a gift package for you. And even if you have hobbies that aren’t playing guitar but have found yourself wondering how Within The Ruins is even possible…well this is for you too. Enjoy!
Looking back, it's hard to believe the immense steps No Consequence's been making since their debut album "In The Shadow of Gods", released in 2009. It seems waiting 4 years to release a new album was the best thing this band could do, taking all the time they needed to grow, evolve their sound, gain experience, and end up packing this amazing new product. "IO" is a brilliant album which has what it takes to bring No Consequence to the highest level in this scene. They managed to create an original and unique sound with crazy and irresistible grooves which show they're now ready to be recognized among the big names of the UK's modern progressive metal front. And the wise English label Basick Records had the foresight of believing in these guys and giving them the chance to release "IO", an album you all should listen to.
The band immediately reveals themselves as a much more mature band compared with the one that released "In The Shadow Of The Gods". They deliver a fast musical assault from the very first song "So Close To Nowhere" which you might have already heard. "Name Your Price", "All That's Left", and "Enemy Of Logic" all bring incredible guitar riffage built with a good balance between complexity, power, and groove, all supported by a unique and original tone. Every song also features memorable and deep melodic segments, more so in some songs than others but it still shines through regardless. A small break is brought by the fifth track "Ether". It's a small atmospheric hint intent on leaving the listener floating in a daydream. But it also prepares them for the powerful attack of one of the heaviest tracks of the album, "Bury The Debt", which is still crossed by the same kind of melodies and light atmospheres.
Atmospheres and melodies can be found again in the seventh track "Sentinent", a six minute metal ballad driven by incredible vocals. The song keeps growing in intensity and soon it explodes in the final two heavy minutes without escaping that faint, but beautiful nebulous atmosphere. This owns the whole album, playing a very relevant role in the final result. Definetly one of the most memorable episodes of the album, followed by more huge tunes: "Illusion Of Choice", the fantasitc first signle "Corce:Conform", the small and groovy instrumental "What Is Dead May Never Die", and "Vela". In this series of songs, No Consequence unleash some of their craziest riffs and sickest breakdowns. The closure of the album is commited to the song "Unify" and it's amazing outro supported by unforgettable guitar passages and perfect vocals.
This hell of an album drops on April 1st. But in the meantime you can stream it for free at punkastic.com, so you better go give it a listen ASAP and start thinking of pre-oredering it at the Basick Records store. This band has a very bright future ahead of them.
We have a huge one for you guys today. No Consequence is an incredibly talented Progressive Metal unit on rise from the south of
England. Signed to Basick Records, they're aiming to do big things with their upcoming full-length "IO" (check our album preview here).
Actually scratch that, they already are doing big things. The band just dropped a music video / single of the track "Coerce:Conform". This is awesome enough in itself. The video / song are insanely good. But what makes it even better is that No Consequence are offering up "Coerce:Conform" for a "name your own price" download on the official Basick Records Bandcamp! I highly recommend taking advantage of this offer while it lasts. I also highly recommend you prepare your ears and minds for "IO".
UK Tech-Metal Fest is continuing to expand rapidly as they have added yet another event to their ever growing line of concerts. That's right, there will be a second London event held by the Tech Metal aficionados and it's looking as good as ever. It will take place March 31st at the Scream Lounge and will feature a multitude of bands. The headliners will be No Consequence and Mask of Judas. Supporting acts include Last Legion, Sincerity, Foundations, and Karybdis among many others. Check out the flyer along with music from the bands down below and get ready for the solid ton of metal headed your way!
You may have
seen No Consequence touring with amazing bands like Tesseract,
Monuments, Uneven Structure, Textures, etc. You also may have seen them
at Euroblast or UK Tech-Metal Fest. If not, allow me to introduce you.
This
is an incredible Progressive Metal unit coming from the south of
England. Currently, they're gearing up to release their sophomore album through the UK-based label
Basick Records! The new album "IO", following their
smashing 2009 debut record, "In The Shadow Of Gods", has been anticipated for awhile now. It's being hyped by a recent
teaser posted on the Basick Records' YouTube channel which you can watch below. The band has also
unveiled the artwork and tracklisting for their forthcoming release and they
announced they'll release the first single "Coerce:Conform" on March 4th
FOR FREE!
In the meantime they're also streaming the first track off
their new album "So Close To Nowhere" on their Soundcloud page. And
remember, you can even stream their entire debut-album on the official Basick Records
Bandcamp page. Make sure to keep an
eye on this band and jam some old and new stuff!
________________
1 - So Close to Nowhere
2 - Name Your Price
3 - All That’s Left
4 - Enemy of Logic
5 - Ether
6 - Bury The Debt
7 - Sentient
8 - Illusion Of Choice
9 - Coerce:Conform
10 - What Is Dead May Never Die
11 - Vela
12 - Unify
________________
Want some irresistibly amazing free music? Here's the best news you'll hear in a while. Our favourite UK label Basick Records has been named “label of the month” by no less than Amazon.co.uk. That means for the entire month of November, you can get a ton of Basick releases at a specially discounted price - just £4.49 for albums and £1.99 for EPs.
