Fortify – Valhalla EP

Unleashing five reasons why closer attention is warranted and deserved by Essex quintet Fortify, the Valhalla EP shows that British pop infused rock is still one lively temptation. The release is maybe not the most unique offering, the band’s sound embracing recognisable and familiar essences, yet it is hard to suggest there is nothing fresh and of individual character about each and every song within Valhalla.

Emerging in 2015, Fortify have increasingly earned support and praise through a live presence which has seen them play with the likes of Chapter And Verse, Create To Inspire, and TheCityIsOurs as well as debut single Emergency Exit which came out last year. It hinted at a power and creativity within the band’s sound and songwriting now loudly vocal within Valhalla, itself also fuelled by a potential which adds to the anticipation of their future creative horizons.

In many ways creating something akin to a fusion of A Day To Remember, Paramore, and We Are The In Crowd, Fortify quickly lure ears with opener What About Us. Swiftly the guitars of Kieran McLoughlin Spink and Charlie Fallows entangle ears in spicy tendrils and rapacious riffs as the swinging beats of drummer Jamie Smith bite. Each, with the heavier darker tones of Billy Byford’s bass as rich, enticing the imagination until the magnetic voice of Anna Louise comes forth to momentarily steal attention. With an organic power and expressive dexterity to her presence, she adds greater fire to the catchy and smartly crafted song, sizzling away even when the encounter slips into mellower waters.

Next up, Survivors saunters in on a more reserved energy but one as the sounds it drives, bubbling with intensity which subsequently ignites in rising crescendos across the melodic landscape. As with the first, there is certain imagination and invention at work, an enterprise which lures keen focus and a continuing relationship between music and listener as much as the individual prowess of the band and Anna Louise’s magnetic tones.

As potent as both songs are, each blossoming with every listen, things are taken up a notch with Rumours. Looming in from a distance, it leaps upon ears with relish and a muscular boisterousness, riffs and bassline a rapacious attack speared by the intensive and dynamic rhythms of Smith. Everything from the infectious rock ‘n’ roll of the opener to the plaintive alternative rock of its predecessor is embraced and escalated within the third track and its own tapestry of invention and drama around the vocal melodic roar.

It is immediately challenged for best track status by Emergency Exit though, the song showing why it drew high praise as a single previously with its blaze of melodic and sonic endeavour. Unafraid to draw on metal bred essences within its fire, the song sizzles and burns as it hits the sweet spot; inventive ideation lining every twist and turn.

The EP is completed by Strangers, another cauldron of sound and emotive energy driven by the predacious rhythms of Smith and Byford. It comes bound in the similarly hungry riffs and grooves of McLoughlin Spink and Fallows with Anna Louise captivatingly roaring away. It has everything about the Fortify sound which marks them put as a band to eagerly watch with a lining of originality which defuses any familiar aspects which arises in their music.

It all makes for a thoroughly enjoyable and increasingly magnetic first multi-track listen to Fortify, a band sure to be tempting bigger spotlights very soon.

The Valhalla EP is out now on iTunes.

 

https://www.facebook.com/FortifyUK/    https://twitter.com/FortifyUK    https://www.instagram.com/officialfortify/     http://fortify-uk.wixsite.com/home

Pete RingMaster 31/10/2017

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

Never Found – The Human Condition

Having laid down ear pleasing foundations with their debut EP, British outfit Never Found build bigger lines of attention with its successor The Human Condition. The release sees the Oxford / Bridgend hailing band take their punk infused, metal seeded sound to new throes of adventure and enterprise. It is not a proposition which exceptionally startles but certainly excites whilst whetting imagination and appetite for the future of Never Found with its rousing songs and raw energy.

With their first EP, Sorrow & Cyanide, coming in 2015 not long after the emergence of the band at the tail of the previous year, Never Found has continued to build a potent and loyal fan base and an increasingly strong reputation for a live presence which has seen them support Aiden on tour and share stages with the likes of Fearless Vampire Killers, William Control, and Annisokay among many to date.

The Human Condition is the next step in the band’s ascent through the UK rock scene, a push which quickly gets down to business as the instrumental of its title track sets an atmospheric and imposing scene. Its dangers and vocal statement pulls the listener into the waiting jaws of new single Come To Me. Comparisons to bands such as A Day To Remember, Funeral For A Friend, and Bullet For My Valentine have been placed upon Never Found but the track openly has a potent Reuben feel to it; an irritability which colludes perfectly with the melodic trails of the guitars and the harmonic lure of Daniel Barnes’ vocals. With the stabbing beats of Kieran Ivey in league with the brooding tones of James Sweeten’s bass, the song is a lure and trespass of the senses in equal measure.

The lead guitar of Samuel Redmayne continues to weave a flavoursome web in next up Favourite Mistake, the riffs of Barnes strolling invasively alongside his own vocals with raw throated and melodically nurtured tones as similarly united as the guitars. The track has the infectious instincts of its predecessor and the aggression but misses out on its richer adventure. Pleasure is still a given though and its cinematic heart provocative before The Monster Remains steps in to part steal the show. The band’s metal inspirations instantly fuel riffs and a predacious air, keen bait which only expands and blossoms as the contagious exploits of the band bound in with punk spirit and imagination. It is a great blend with Barnes heading great vocal variety within the virulent roar.

Anyone But Me brings its own catchy and tenacious strain of metal bred rock ‘n’ roll with tempting hooks amidst emotional and vocal discord. There is something openly familiar to the track but plenty to reinforce the growing individuality of the band’s sound though it is quickly eclipsed by the mighty throes of My Grave. It is the other half of the two prong pinnacle of the EP, an aggravated and mercurial trespass which manages to flirt with the passions whilst chewing on the senses with its punk metal nurtured tempest. For its dark side and temperament, the song is as irresistibly infectious as anything on the release and another easy excuse to keep Never Found under close attention ahead.

The EP closes with the equally boisterous Misanthropy (A General Hate), a track with its own crabby tone though tempered by the song’s melodic dexterity. It is a fine end to an encounter which just blossoms with every listen while suggesting that Never Found is a proposition riddled with more than just potential.

The Human Condition is out now and available @ http://www.neverfound.bigcartel.com/

https://www.facebook.com/weareneverfound    https://twitter.com/weareneverfound    https://www.instagram.com/weareneverfound/

Pete RingMaster 09/10/2017

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

Everyday Sidekicks – Hope

It has been around eighteen months since British post hardcore outfit Everyday Sidekicks caught ears and appetite with their debut EP, The Things I’ve Seen. It was a release which suggested this was a band with real potential. Now the Bristol quartet uncages its successor, a collection of songs which not only realise much of that promise but show a big leap in fresh adventure and maturity, as well as identity in their sound. Hope is a stirring encounter, a warm and spirit inspiring proposal equally showing a new rousing aggression and raw energy in band and music.

The time between releases has obviously seen Everyday Sidekicks concentrate on honing their sound and writing. There is boldness and a far keener character distinct to the band in the songs roaring from within Hope. According to the band, some of the new qualities revealed have been pushed and nurtured by the EP’s producer Tom Manning, the band stating that, “He pushed us to play better and really put in the effort, so that we feel now that a big part of our sound has actually come from working with him. He likes to make things a lot less over produced and more stripped back and raw, which we are really starting to dig in our sound.” What and wherever the seeds, Everyday Sidekicks have hit a new plateau with their EP, yet still a mere but potent step in expected greater evolution ahead.

Glass House starts things off, the song an immediate bluster of sound and impassioned vocals with frontman Archie Hatfield, a blaze of emotion and word under the mesh of melodic enterprise cast by Tim Brown’s guitars. A raw edge is swiftly apparent but equally too an infectious tone as the song blazes away in ears and imagination. In many ways, it is not overly unique as a post hardcore proposal yet has a fresh breath and nature to its roar urged on by the muscular tenacity of drummer Mat Capper and the brooding catchiness of bassist Sam Hughes.

Its strong presence and persuasion is followed by that of Bury Your Friends, the song from a melancholically melodic start erupting into a metal coaxed rock ‘n’ roll tempest. Its body and tone is irritable, its swing ultimately infectious but constantly feeling like it could turn on the listener at any time even in its calmer and fierce pop scented passages. It is a striking track, a bigger outburst of the band’s new creative prowess matched in power and thrills by recent single Fracture. Riffs and grooves lead with antagonism, rhythms barely taking an ounce of venom from their punch as melodies and vocal harmonies subsequently escape from a brooding storm never far away. Richly enjoyable when first unveiled last August, it seems to have just grown in temptation and stature; blazing superbly from within Hope with greater attributes being found with every outing.

The poetic melancholy of Lacuna takes the imagination away next, the brief instrumental a solemnly suggestive detour before the EPs best track launches its mouth-watering squall upon the senses. As much as their sound is hardcore/punk bred, Business Secrets Of The Pharaohs is equally a proposal of carnivorous metal intent; a snarling, intrusive treat fluidly merging with melodic and post hardcore spawned endeavour. From vocals to sound, writing to cantankerous air, the song is superb and if a sign of things to come, maybe the first step in truly big things for Everyday Sidekicks.

The band themselves admit hints of inspirations from bands such as A Day To Remember and Beartooth can be heard in their music but as the excellent Hope shows, and especially its closing gem, all are becoming passing whispers in something warranting, as good as demanding attention.

The Hope EP is released March 31^st and available @ https://everydaysidekicks.bandcamp.com/album/hope

Upcoming live Dates:

4th April – France, Dunkerque – Bobble Café

5th April – France, Angers – T’es Rock Coco

6th April – Belgium, Namur – Le Temple

7th April – Switzerland, Zurich – Wallstreet Bar

https://www.facebook.com/everydaysidekicks   https://twitter.com/EDSKOfficial

Pete RingMaster 31/03/2017

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

Seven Stories High – Take The Long Road Home

Take The Long Road Home is the new mini album from British quintet Seven Stories High, an encounter which finds the band’s already ear pleasing pop punk with even bolder infectiousness and melodic enterprise to tempt national awareness. Take The Long Road Home hits the ground running and continues to offer variety and creative tenacity throughout. Admittedly it might often avoid the uniqueness which certain moments within it suggests is there within the band’s imagination, but from start to finish the Swansea hailing band successfully ensure enjoyment is at the top of the agenda.

Formed at the beginning of 2014 with inspirations said to include the likes of Blink 182 and Sum 41, Seven Stories High soon made their mark on their local and increasingly the national live scene. Line-up changes and inner positional shuffles have been part of the band’s earlier times, as too and since, the sharing of stages with bands such as Moose Blood, Decade, Altered Sky, Light You Up, and Kids Can’t Fly. They released their self-titled debut EP on the January of 2015 to potent responses which now Take The Long Road Home threatens to turn into a stronger national recognition of their emerging presence.

The release opens proper with CTRL, a rousing slice of raucous pop punk with thumping beats and wiry riffs around the potent tones of vocalist Rhys Hyett-Ferrier. There is a great rawness to the song too, bringing a touch of Millencolin to it at times but equally a rousing energy which especially equips  the group roars and the irresistibly catchy enterprise shared by the guitars of Matt Davies and Charlie Porter.

The potent start continues with the similarly tenacious and lively That’s No Moon, another which takes no time in firing up ears and appetite with its raucous pop punk dexterity. Framed and driven by the throbbing bassline of Kallum Brain and the swinging beats of Dave Bevan, the song soon reveals a sonic and emotive fire in its belly. Admittedly, as its predecessor, there is something very familiar to the encounter but more than made up for by the adventurous hooks and a vocal strength which simply captures the imagination from Hyett-Ferrier with resourceful backing from Davies and Brain.

It is that aspect of the band which most consistently impresses across the release, with no negative reflection on the potent songwriting and skilfully woven sounds, the vocals making a constantly striking impression repeated on the feisty canter of Working For Wednesdays and following it, the excellent Wait For It. The first of the two also bears some great scything spicy grooves to keep ears and appetite busy, if without quite living up to the first pair while its successor, which features Charlotte Gilpin from Dream State, explores a more alternative rock canvas for its melodic seducing of ears. It still has a punk essence in its spirited flame, though it could be called more post hardcore scented; one of many textures in the emotively fuelled drama of sound led by the powerful vocal union of Hyett-Ferrier and Gilpin.

It is a track which becomes increasingly potent with every listen as too the acoustic stroll of Skin Me Alive. It is an immediately alluring proposal which further blossoms in ears the more time given to it. Its melodic serenade simply leaves a lingering impression before making way for album closer Fool’s Paradise, a boisterous tapestry of melodic suggestiveness around rapacious rhythms and expressively strong vocals. There is little surprising about the highly accomplished song, but it leaves enjoyment full so, as the release, warrants only recommending.

Seven Stories High have taken another potent step with Take The Long Road Home, and indeed their sound and its growing maturity. The band might not yet be in touch will major uniqueness but the signs and potential is there in some cracking tunes. A fan of bands such as Kids in Glass Houses, A Day to Remember, and All Time Low then Seven Stories High will be up your street.

Take The Long Road Home is released May 20^th through all stores and at https://sevenstorieshigh.bandcamp.com/album/take-the-long-road-home

https://www.facebook.com/sevenstorieshigh/   https://twitter.com/7storieshigh

Pete RingMaster 19/05/2016

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

Dead Winter – My Only Home

The early weeks of 2014, saw UK post hardcore band Dead Winter make a rather potent introduction to themselves with debut EP Erasing Glaciers. It was a magnetic six track fury of melodic metal and hardcore ferocity soaked with open potential which had already aroused attention with its first outing a few months earlier. Its re-release four years ago though, sparked a more national awareness which the band fed with their impressive live presence. The past couple of years or so have seen the band seemingly quiet. Things were happening though with ideas and directions breeding line-up changes as the band headed into their next steps now marked by new single My Only Home.

Formed in 2011, the Blackpool hailing band soon lured loyal support and ears with their sound and in turn the successful Romesh Dodangoda (Funeral for A Friend, Twin Atlantic) produced Erasing Glaciers. Weaving inspirations from bands such as Bury Tomorrow, Bring Me The Horizon, and A Day To Remember into their sound, Dead Winter and EP were soon drawing acclaim from the likes of Rock Sound, Powerplay, and Big Cheese Magazine. That regrouping and defining of direction and intent followed but now, and ahead of their first album also called My Only Home, set for release this summer, Dead Winter ‘return’ with a bang in the shape of its title track and an equally gripping video.

With Dodangoda at the helm of album and single again, My Only Home swiftly descends on ears with rapier like rhythms and badgering riffs which soon reveal their own predacious intent and snarl. There is a great metalcore edge to the trespass but a hue soon matched by the melodic enterprise and warmth increasingly aflame in the song. In the first minute alone, the band shows themselves to have tapped into a new contagious and virulent quality in their music without defusing the emotive intensity and fire that marked out their earlier exploits.

As pop punk in many ways as it is melodic metal and post hardcore crafted, the song continues to stir up appetite and pleasure, It provides a compelling and at times almost hostile anthemic proposal further shaped by the guitar craft of Jamie Townsend and Adam Roberts whilst driven by Danny Dawkins’s addictive beats and led by Ant Jones’ outstanding clean and melodic tones. There is a real maturity to the song which hopefully is a big teaser to the heart of the album to come, and a bold adventure which simply whips up attention.

My Only Home, single, video, and album looks like the moment when Dead Winter reassert themselves as one of Britain’s most exciting and seriously promising propositions.

The single, My Only Home is out April 15^th. Check out the video on our Video Selector page.

https://www.facebook.com/DeadWinterUK

Pete RingMaster 15/04/2016

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

For more exploration of the independent and promotional services check out http://www.zykotika.com/

Safe, So Simple – Too Close To Closure

Hailing from Arizona and increasingly inviting ears with their mix of easycore/pop punk energy and tenacity, Safe, So Simple is ready to take big steps into stronger attention with the release of new EP, Too Close To Closure. It offers five bold and lively tracks rich in swinging melodies and boisterous energy but also carry a volatility which adds a great shade of unpredictability to a sound unafraid to openly wear its inspirations. In short it is an attention grabbing proposal from a band many feel is heading towards big things.

Hailing from Benson, Safe, So Simple weave essences of bands such as Chunk! No, Captain Chunk, These Hearts, A Day to Remember, Blink- 182, Taking Back Sunday, and New Found Glory into their feisty sound. They are spices, as suggested earlier, which are easy to pick out but only add to something which, if not yet majorly unique, is certainly a potent lure on ears as shown by the band’s previous releases and now Too Close To Closure.

The Cameron Mizell (Sleeping with Sirens, Hands Like Houses) and Matt Good (of From First to Last) produced EP opens with the short and fiery Within Reach, a track which picks and jabs at the senses as the band creates a raw and bracing introduction. It awakens ears and imagination with its brief tenure before Ghost In My Backseat whips up body and spirit with its frenetic but composed revelry. Featuring Joe Candelaria, the song is a swift stirring built on the bruising rhythms of drummer Derek Ausseresses and a rapacious bassline from Benny Garcia and further shaped by the wiry and at times ferocious hooks and grooves of guitarists Josh Striffolino and Derrick Fenn. For those influences previously mentioned, there is also a touch of Hagfish meets CIV to the song, a scent only aided by the great blend of vocals from across the band which equally drive the song.

Teeth Like Sharks is a matching collision of flavoursome and varied textures to its predecessor, one casting an arguably even more virulent line in melodic and harmonic enterprise. The busyness of songs in voice and sound bring that enjoyable unpredictability which gives Safe, So Simple something a little different to other like sounding propositions, the band’s new single/video vibrant evidence of its potency.

The aggressive bounce of Welp, Better Luck Next Year is next, band and song creating a tempestuous incitement for body and appetite which again crafts a great mix of concussive and seductive resourcefulness to grip the imagination as firmly as its wilful sounds grabs ears.

Closing with the inescapably infectious Do Or Do Not, There Is No Try and another roar of pop and hardcore punk involvement that challenges as pleasingly as it captivates with an unbridled catchiness, Too Close To Closure is an encounter which simply grows with every listen, only blossoming further in presence and its persuasion of thoughts and appetite over time.

Too Close To Closure might not be the most unique release you will come across this year but, given time, it will become a slice of punk devilry you are likely to strap on and enjoy more often than most.

The Too Close To Closure EP is released March 11^th across most online stores and physically @ http://www.safesosimple.bigcartel.com/

https://www.facebook.com/safesosimplemusic/

Pete RingMaster 11/03/2016

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

For more exploration of the independent and promotional services check out http://www.zykotika.com/

Heartfelt – Heartfelt

Hailing out of Tennessee, melodic metalcore quintet Heartfelt punctuate their recent signing with Imminence Records by releasing a self-titled single this month. Whether the release should be actually described as an EP, with neither of its tracks bearing the name of band or single, can be debated, but as a rousing introduction, the encounter is a potent slice of melodic metalcore persuasion.

Formed in 2013, the band emerged as vocalist Brian Medley moved on from previous band Woe Is Me. The life of Heartfelt to date has been eventful; numerous line-ups changes and being the victims of a burglary which cost them thousands of dollars in stolen musical equipment and related items, amongst the band shaping experiences. Now though stability has hit the band in personnel, with Dyllan Puckett, Billy Roberts, Brett Boatman, and Brandon Cain alongside Medley, and through the link up with Imminence Records. Heartfelt’s previous singles, in Crossroads and Slip Away, certainly awoke ears to the band but the lead track on the new release, Be Strong, alone has the qualities and power to really spark strong attention, especially alongside its accompanying Ben Greene filmed video.

Produced by former A Day To Remember member Tom Denney, Be Strong rises on a wave of harmonies and evocative melodies whilst being steered by robustly tenacious rhythms. Almost as quickly, Medley’s impressing vocals step forward to provide their own warm yet feisty coaxing, to which, a collusion of rawer roars and those alluring harmonies add further magnetic drama to the growing sound. Bass and drums make no show of hiding their aggressively boisterous incitement , getting straight to the point alongside matching riffs and harsher vocal trespasses to provide a formidable confrontation, but one superbly tempered by the soaring clean deliveries and flaming melodies that similarly ensnare ears and appetite.

The song’s companion is an even more hostile affair, certainly initially, but soon White Eyes reveals its own recipe of sonic seduction whilst increasing in belligerence soaked tone and anger fuelled aggressiveness. The extremes of textures within it are even more pronounced than in its predecessor and undoubtedly it blossoms all the more for it.

Between the songs, Heartfelt reveal signs of potent depth to songwriting and sound as well as the potential of a uniqueness which it is hard to say is really there within the single. Nevertheless, both songs carry a freshness and vitality to their creativity which grabs ears as much as the force of their tempest of sound. It is fair to say therefore, that Heartfelt is worth keeping a close ear upon with no doubt more enjoyment being the reward as they progress.

The Heartfelt release is available now digitally through Imminence Records @ https://imminencerecords.bandcamp.com/album/heartfelt and includes exclusive Bandcamp bonus tracks of the 2013 demo versions of Crossroads and Slip Away.

https://www.facebook.com/HeartfeltSux      http://twitter.com/HeartfeltTN

Pete RingMaster 28/02/2016

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

For more exploration of the independent and promotional services check out http://www.zykotika.com/