Blood and rage: exploring the roar of Incentives

Bred in and roaring from the heart of the Australian melodic hardcore/metalcore scene, Incentives is poised to release new EP Dusk. Already drawing potent attention their way, the release is sure to accelerate awareness of the striking quintet. We recently took the chance to explore the band ahead of the EP’s unleashing and get to the core of the potential fuelled outfit…

Hello and thanks for taking time out to talk with us.

Can you first introduce the band and give us some background to how it all started and what brought you all together?

Holla! We are Incentives, a band out of Melbourne, Australia. We started about three years ago thanks to our guitarist Rory bringing us all together.

Is Incentives your first musical adventure?

None of us had really been involved in anything of any real significance before the band. I suppose it was kind of cool that we can all call this our first and only band!

What inspired the band name?

Honestly, I’ve no idea what inspired the name it was more of a “this will do for now” kind of thing, and then it just stuck and we’ve grown to really love it.

Did you come with a specific idea when forming the band and also in what you wanted it and your sound to offer?

We really had no idea what we wanted to sound like or anything along those lines. I feel that this has in a way helped us to find our own sound which I believe we are honestly starting to do.

Do the same things still drive the band when it was fresh-faced or have they evolved over time?

Well I guess it grows a bit. We started off happy just playing any show, but now we are looking to play bigger shows, get on more tours and just generally keep growing as a band!

Photo Andrew Bromley

Since your early days, how would you say your sound has evolved?

I’d say it’s just constantly becoming a more refined sound. We were all teenagers when we first started and so now we are finding we are making a more complete (whole) sound. Slowly learning what suits us and what doesn’t and hopefully making stuff people will enjoy too.

Has that refining been an organic movement or more through the band deliberately setting out to try new things?

I’d say pretty organic, nothing is forced within the group. We obviously always like to experiment, some of which works, some that certainly doesn’t but it is all part of moving towards a unique sound.

Presumably across you guys there are a wide range of inspirations; are there any in particular which have impacted not only on the band’s music but your personal approach and ideas to creating and playing music?

I couldn’t really name one specific band or artist that has really changed our approach, but bands such as Volumes and Counterparts have provided a massive influence on our writing and sound. Parkway Drive is probably the reason we all got into this kind of music in the first place so they deserve some credit in here that’s for sure!

Is there a certain process to your songwriting which generally guides the writing of songs?

Usually our guitarist Max will write some riffs and melodies and then our drummer Joe will program drums and then Kyle our vocalist will write all his lyrics and patterns over that.

Where do you, more often than not, draw the inspirations to the lyrical side of your songs?

Everything is based off life experiences. And more specifically they are based around relationships, with friends, loved ones, and family. Sometimes things will get exaggerated, but who doesn’t love a bit of a story hey!

Can you give us some background to your latest release?

Our latest release is Corrode which is the first single off our upcoming EP, Dusk, set for release on the 30th of June. It’s a fast paced hard-hitting track with our mate Max from Imprisoned featuring in it and doing a stand up job.

Give us some insight to the themes and premise behind it and other songs.

I’ll answer this from the viewpoint of the whole EP (yet to be released). It’s all to do with relationships and the ups and downs to pretty much every little emotion and situation that defines them. Corrode in particular is about dealing with a partner that is suffering from a mental illness and just how damaging it is to not only them but to you too.

Are you a band which goes into the studio with songs pretty much in their final state or prefer to develop them as you record?

It’s a bit of both really! We usually go in with a pretty decent idea, but there are always aspects that still need writing or changing and Sam who produces our stuff and also writes for his band Ocean Grove really helps us out.

Tell us about the live side to the band, presumably a favourite aspect?

Absolutely! We all love playing live. We like to think we are pretty high energy band, lots of bouncing around and head banging. If it’s fun for us, we figure it is fun for the audience!

It is not easy for any new band to make an impact regionally let alone nationally and further afield. How have you found it your neck of the woods? Are there the opportunities to make a mark if the drive is there for new bands?

Oh for sure! There are sooooo many bands out there at the moment and to stand out you really have to do everything right all the way from image to music and live performance. Melbourne in particular has a ridiculous amount of talent (Void of Vision, Ocean Grove, Sentinel) just to name a few. I guess what we do to separate ourselves is just play our style and hope people dig it. High quality production of music and promotional work is of huge importance if you’re going to get anywhere!

How has the internet and social media impacted on the band to date? Do you see it as something destined to become a negative from a positive as the band grows and hopefully gets increasing success?

Without social media I doubt we’d be anywhere. In fact this is a certainty. We were lucky enough to get to tour overseas last year and I know for a fact that we were discovered via social media! So best we all pray to the Facebook God’s and hope that our ridiculously over-priced Facebook Boost’s get us some decent exposure!

Once again a big thanks for sharing time with us; anything you would like to add or reveal for the readers?

Thanks for having us! Keep an eye out for our debut EP coming June 30th which hopefully you will enjoy!

https://www.facebook.com/IncentivesMelb   https://incentivesmelbourne.bandcamp.com/

Pete RingMaster

The RingMaster Review 10/06/2016

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

Cleanse The Hive – From The Depths EP

Photo Credit – A D Zyne

If you have not head the buzz around Scottish metallers Cleanse The Hive yet, there is a pretty good chance you soon will as the band’s debut EP explodes in more and more ears. An irritable and dynamic fusion of death and groove metal with ravenous metalcore, the band’s sound shows all the qualities of a someone taking their time to evolve and hone their craft and imagination; a intent which here ensures the From The Depths EP is an introduction which not only grabs attention, it demands it!

Formed in 2011, the Aberdeen hailing Cleanse The Hive, as mentioned at the start, have not rushed to the moment to broadly unleash their inventive exploits though live the quintet has been a hungry incitement soon becoming eagerly followed and praised. Drawing on inspirations ranging from Lamb of God, As I Lay Dying, and Whitechapel to Periphery, Pantera, and Cancer Bats, Cleanse The Hive has earned a potent reputation for their explosive live shows and reputation building tours alongside bands such as Heart of a Coward, Nexilva, Carcer City, Exist Immortal and many more. Now they are ready to wake up a national, if not larger, spotlight upon themselves, a success already expected with the immense roar and persuasion of From The Depths alone.

The EP hits ears straight away with a wall of intimidating and prowling sound; riffs and rhythms colluding in predatory relish as a vocal growl erupts from the throat of Callum Hutchinson.  Taking a further moment to compose itself, Eviscerate then springs with greater zeal at ears, the guitars of Jordan Pacitti and Glen McMillan casting surges of ravenous riffs and sonic dexterity as Hutchinson’s vocals share varying shades of hostile and venomous squalling. In no time ears and imagination are gripped, further enthused by the broadening enterprise of the guitarists amongst the brutal swings of drummer Greig Hadden and alongside the pestilential encroachment of John Campbell’s bass riffs. Lamb of God is easy to offer, Cryptopsy too, as a hint to the maelstrom of craft and sound assaulting and exciting ears yet already something individual to the band is emerging and continuing in its successor.

Cities Of Gold is arguably even more primal and inhospitable than its predecessor; vocals spewing malice with every syllable and the instantly captivating grooves spreading toxicity with very swing of their body within another tempest of emotional and aural animosity. To that though, a perpetually virulent infectiousness flows and in time, a melodic seduction from keys and guitar which is as bracing and invigorating as the animus of confrontation surrounding it. The opener grabbed ears and appetite, its successor trapped both, and by The Reign Of Tyrants, it is fair to say that band and EP had these ears enslaved. Thrash metal is never too far from the textures of death and extreme metal, and drives the third track with open eagerness, though things soon become a part of A thick tapestry of flavours and rabid intent as unpredictable as it is enthralling. Compared to the previous pair, it also has less urgency to its devouring; a more reserved violence to its assault that only makes it more dangerous and captivating.

The EP’s title track descends on the listener next, it too a less vicious attack initially, preferring to build its intensity and savagery over time as grooves and melodic acidity vein its evocatively volatile landscape. As the previous song also, it does not quite make the same impact as the more boldly eventful trio of tracks starting things off though its adventurous nature, as melodic mystique coats guitar imagination, only leaves a want and appetite for more in place.

The dramatic dance and intimidating theatre of Terror Rising brings the release to an impressive close. Again a siren-esque hue wraps melodies; their middle eastern scent a masterful temper to the cantankerous invention and resourcefulness soon driving riffs and rhythms. Emerging as the most imaginative and diversely sculpted track on the EP as even more metal bred styles are included in its emprise of sound and invention, Terror Rising alone provides plenty to use as a reason to get excited about Cleanse The Hive and for the UK metal scene ahead with them in it.

It is hard in modern metal to make a mark on your debut powerful enough to pull attention away from all the other emerging bands do the same thing, but take it from us, Cleanse The Hive have done so and how.

The From The Depths is out now @ https://cleansethehive.bandcamp.com/releases and across other online stores.

https://www.facebook.com/CleansetheHive/    https://twitter.com/CleansetheHive

Pete RingMaster 20/04/2016

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

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

Except One – Haunted Humanity

The past couple of years has seen a striking amount of potential loaded and highly enjoyable bands emerging from the French underground metal scene to which you can now add another in the imposing shape of Except One. Creating a concussive yet persistently engaging proposal merging melodic death metal with metalcore and other extreme flavours, the Paris quintet had already nudged spotlights with a previous EP but now is as good as stalking them with Haunted Humanity and its seven tracks of attention grabbing voracious metal.

The Except One sound is not necessarily unique but carries plenty of twists and imaginative moments which command extra attention.  The band’s five track debut EP, O.M.N.I. #1, provided a potent introduction though it is Haunted Humanity which it is easier to imagine awakening ears and focus the way of vocalist Estelle, guitarists Junior and Ad’ibou, bassist Boris, and drummer Fanch’.

It opens with Rise and a sonic embrace around the accusing yet coaxing voice of Estelle. In no time the track is a tsunami of intensity and riffs led by the impressing tone, which by now has become throat grazing, and roar of the singer. Grooves and sonic endeavour vein and wind around rhythmic hostility as the track hits top gear but equally a swiftly pleasing invention emerges which sees moments of predatory calm and imposing sidesteps reshape the hellacious assault of the excellent track. Not ground-breaking but perpetually striking, it provides a stirring start to the release which continues with Lost.

The second track instantly grinds upon and nags the senses as guitars lead its invasive character. The dynamics of drums and bass which ignited the opener are more reserved initially but build in tenacity and imposing adventure to match the brewing imagination of the guitars and vocal rapacity of Estelle. Ears and appetite are sold in no time, more so as a passage of evocative calm is shaped by provocative melodic hooks and clean vocal tempting. As the first, the track is bordering irresistible before Schizofriend takes over with its spirals of niggling grooves and hefty rhythmic swipes. A great blend of clean and abrasive vocals again only add to the infectious nature and drama of a track, the band also flirting with post hardcore to add to its arsenal of flavours and textures.

Revenge is a maelstrom of riffs and rhythmic antagonism driven by the ear catching prowess of Estelle and the equally alluring craft and enterprise of Junior and Ad’ibou which ensures one of the more formula sculpted tracks stands out as potently as the more experimental ones such as Elm Street which follows. It is another seeing the band weave and hone a broad array of creative spices and genre flavours into one rabid and merciless incitement. Further coloured by melodic and harmonic imagination, it grouchily bristles as it entices and seduces as it gnaws on the senses.

Personal tastes most greedily take to the tracks which see Except One pushing their imagination and undercurrent of diversity the most, Disease another where a host of styles get entangled as eventfully as the results snare ears and pleasure. As much as that merging of flavours brings the band’s songs alive so too does the vocal variety which blends to captivating effect and the moments of unpredictability that at times just does not go far enough.

Completed by the barbarous and simultaneously evocative exploits of 7even, the hellacious charm and captivating tempest of Haunted Humanity leaves satisfaction bursting at the seams. The release is a signpost to the potential and already healthy invention within Except One and a sound which may be is not yet unique but has much to suggest it might just be a matter of time before the French band majorly steps from the crowd. With more enjoyable offerings like this along the way though, we can happily wait for the moment.

Haunted Humanity is out now @ https://exceptone.bandcamp.com/album/haunted-humanity

http://www.exceptone.fr/   https://www.facebook.com/ExceptOneOfficial   https://twitter.com/except_one

Pete RingMaster 12/04/2016

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

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

The art of choosing…talking with The Dreamer Within

Hailing from Exeter in the UK, The Dreamer Within is a band beginning to lure very potent attention with their compelling metalcore bred sound. Young as an outfit, they have already shown themselves a fresh presence and roar on the British metal scene with a stage presence that has audiences swinging s evidence by acclaimed shows with the likes of I Divide, Glamour of the Kill, Skindred, and Palisades. Recently the quintet unveiled a new video for the song Purge for another big poke at broad attention. It had us wanting to know more, so with thanks to the guys we explored the beginnings of The Dreamer Within, their new video, an impending EP, and more besides…

Hello and many thanks for taking time to talk with us.

That’s kewl😀

Can you first introduce the band and give us some background to how it all started?

Alex and Charlie started writing stuff when they were at Uni many years ago…like 7 years ago (they’re both well old). They both knew each other played guitar from school but Charlie didn’t like Alex because he had better hair and knew how to play more Metallica solos than him. However they ended up jamming together in a covers band and started writing their own stuff just for fun. They’d send each other random riffs and ideas and eventually ended up putting drums to some stuff so things sounded a bit more legit. One day though, Alex decided to put some synth over one of the riffs for a joke, however there was actually no laughing matter – it sounded genius. Well actually it sounded terrible but it started to influence some other things they wrote and eventually synth became a must for any song ideas. To cut a longer story shorter: they eventually got in touch with some people who they thought might be interested in actually playing some stuff live, including Alex’s dear cousin Josh who loves to play a bit of bass. After a few years of practice, writing and re-writing everything and a couple of line-up changes we eventually managed to play a show in July 2014. Ultimately, our love of metalcore probably brought us together, plus we all really like wearing vests. We all have pretty similar music tastes though, ranging from more straight up metal to trance/EDM so going down the contemporary metalcore route was a pretty natural thing for us.

What sparked the decision to form the band and the direction it was to take?

It’s always been quite a natural development, we all love our music heavy and full of synth! As mentioned above, the original conception of the band happened years ago (you can probably still find the original version of Recovery on the internet without having to look too hard) and the direction of the band really just came from a culmination of the things we love about music, minus Taylor Swift’s voice though unfortunately.

Is there any specific meaning behind the name?

Choosing our name was a stressful time. We all had terrible ideas and it got pretty frustrating as all the super cool names were taken according to numerous Google searches.  We agonized over so many until one day at practice, Charlie lost it and said “right, I’m going to my car to get my mountain dew and packet of cashews, I want a name by the time I return…” and sure enough, Eliott came up with The Dreamer Within. It probably reminds us most of Charlie being furious and eating cashew nuts, although on a more serious note, we liked it as it vibed well with our style as a lot of our lyrics relate to recognising what’s important within oneself and looking at the world outside the box if you catch our drift. At the core of it, the name refers to the part of yourself that is dormant inside that aspires for greater experiences.

Tell us about your early days as a band; the unforeseen surprises and difficulties which you came up against that maybe musicians do not expect or realise will show themselves.

It’s still pretty early days really! I think one thing we never really considered was just how much effort (and equipment) has to go into creating the kind of sound that we have to manipulate live. I’d say one of the biggest surprises was probably when we played our first show after releasing our debut single Heart of Mine as originally we just wanted to release some music and play a live gig to say that we’d done it; the feedback was so overwhelming that we decided to keep going and never really looked back. In hindsight we could have probably done a far better job at getting ourselves shows at the start – we ended up waiting to be asked by other bands a lot which was awesome when it happened but it did mean we struggled to keep ourselves booked up. Ultimately, we realised that everyone in the local Exeter scene was super nice and talking to people/other bands was the best way to get about. Typically, no one ever has any batteries and we use A LOT of batteries for all the wireless stuff etc. The amount of times we’ve had to do an emergency battery run before a show is ridiculous – we never learn! Josh is the worst for this and also equipment in general. One show we played in Plymouth had him kneeling on the floor playing after his strap broke mid set. Obviously he didn’t have any sort of backup plan so the drummer from The Core of IO had to duct-tape it up for him while he was playing…we looked really awesome…

As you say, it has been a relatively short time that The Dreamer Within has been around; how would you say your sound has evolved in that time?

To be honest not that much – the first two songs we released in 2014: Heart of Mine and Recovery 2.0 are songs that were written alongside a few others that we actually had in mind for our up and coming EP so we’re still very much influenced by our original ideas. We guess that people can probably expect a far heavier EDM presence in some of our more recent compositions but essentially we want to get better at what we started doing rather than change our sound loads of times before people really get to know us.

Do you write and create as a unit?

Alex and Charlie often lay down the primary structure for most of the tunes as they’re both guitarists. They also have the responsibility of recording, mixing and mastering everything so it makes sense for them to take the lead on that side of things. However overall the songs come together from everyone’s ideas as Eliott is a keen synth composer and Matt handles pretty much all the lyrical side of things. As much as we make fun of him, Josh is a sick bass player and he rarely has to be taught anything and is happy to write his own bass parts rather than mimic the guitars…All pretty harmonious really.

 You recently released the video for new track Purge. Tell us about the song’s theme first of all.

Purge is primarily about recognising agents of deception and control in everyday life and “Purging” the feeling that you need to conform to believing what’s force fed to you or allow yourself to be easily influenced by common sources of information. Essentially the message is ‘don’t believe everything you read/see, don’t just sit there letting the world carry you along, get out there and find your own truth.’ We hope we don’t sound too cliché and political!

The press release with its announcement suggested that your new tracks, as well as being more creatively imposing and inventive, have “a darker lyrical tone.” Can you elaborate upon that and does Purge epitomise that evolution or are there further dark depths to be discovered?

We think the darker elements come from the overall feel of the songs themselves rather than the lyrics. We find it impossible to write anything in a major key! However regardless of what the song is about, lyrically we always try and put a positive spin on things to inspire a more uplifting feel.

What kind of things most inspires the band’s lyrical side?

We like writing about mankind’s place in the Universe, why we’re all here, what we should be doing while we are here etc. We are all really into space and all that cool stuff so we’d like to think our songs have a really big epic feel to them. We also like writing about some supernatural/potentially supernatural stuff as we think that a lot of potential answers to the world’s great mysteries could lie in thinking a bit more radically than the norm. Our first single, Heart of Mine is actually about Final Fantasy 7 which is one of our favourite video games. Video games are a theme we’d like to explore more in the future. All of us are also massive Star Wars fans so you can probably expect to hear a song in the future that mentions about how Rey from the new film is the greatest female ever.

Back to the video; who did you film it with?

An ace gent who goes by the name of Ben Lumber; the frontman of Acres who are currently killing it in Europe.

Did you, as a band, have a particular idea for it in mind or left it to the director etc. to come up with the basis for what is certainly an eye catching, ear pleasing proposal.

We scouted out what we thought was a pretty cool location for a first video. To be perfectly honest we took a lot of influence from videos that came out in the golden 2008 – 2012 metalcore/(dare we say it) crabcore era. It’s not a big surprise to hear that we love all that stuff. Because it was all performance based, it was up to us to choreograph our moves and group shots. We tried to throw in as much energy from our live shows as possible so what you see in the video is pretty close to what we pull off live, although that can be dependent on the size of the venue! Ben had some great ideas for angles and solo shots etc. but we had a lot of input in the visual side of things and Ben was great at listening to our ideas and working with us.

I believe the band is working on a new EP? Can you give us some insight and spoilers to that?

Cheeky😉 I think we can probably let slip that the EP is going to be called This Is Not Our Home and will be out at the end of May. It will be made up of 5 tracks including Purge and another new song we’re doing a video for very soon. After listening all the way through, you should end up feeling like you’ve just danced with the Incredible Hulk at a rave until 6am.

Apart from the EP, what is in store for The Dreamer Within fans from hereon in across 2016?

We’ve got some really cool festival announcements coming up over the next few months including Massacre Fest in Gloucester. We also have our first tour booked from June 1st to 5th with High Rise, Follow the Wolf, and Last Hounds which we’re stupidly excited for. It will be our first time playing most of the venues on the schedule including dates in Leeds, Leamington Spa, and London so we’re really looking forward to seeing how we go down in places that aren’t near the South West.

Many thanks again for chatting with us. Anything you would like to add?

Thanks for having us! And to those of you coming to our hometown show of the tour on June 2nd – keep your eyes open for a ripped and kewl announcement about that😉

And finally, give us an insight into the records and artists which could be claimed to have most inspired your own life and creativity.

We’re inspired by a lot of the bands that people wouldn’t be surprised by like Asking Alexandria, Abandon All Ships and Enter Shikari etc. Although collectively, it’s not unusual to see us listening to artists/bands like Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Yngwie Malmsteen, Bullet for my Valentine, Trivium, Black Sabbath, Whitesnake, Erra, Funeral for a Friend, Paramore, and The Lonely Island to name a few.

Check out The Dreamer Within further @ https://www.facebook.com/thedreamerwithin

Pete RingMaster

The Ringmaster Review 23/03/2016

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

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

Tall tales within the wings of reality: an interview with Pegasus

Hailing from Arras in France, Pegasus is a metalcore band which has lured keen attention with the recent release of their striking debut EP, Fairytale. Following a pair of well-received singles over the previous two years, the new proposition from the quintet of vocalist Thomas, guitarists Damien and Florent, bassist Raphaël, and drummer Sylvain, suggests Pegasus has the potential to make a firm mark beyond their local metal scene. Wanting to know more and with thanks to the band, we look at the beginnings of Pegasus, their new EP, and plenty more…

Hi guys and thanks for taking time out to talk with us.

Can you first introduce the band and give us some background to how it all started and what brought you all together?

We are Pegasus from Northern France, and we play loud music! We can define it as metalcore with little djent or progressive metal parts.

Originally formed by the drummer and the singer, there have been some changes in the line-up of the band and some of us met before being in the band, some of us met by joining the band.

Have you all been involved in other bands before? If so how has previous experiences impacted on what you are doing now, in maybe inspiring a change of style or direction?

Some of us have been involved in different bands which had good levels, but still this is not the first band for any of us.

Indeed there are impacts on what we do because the advantage of every first time is to show you how not to do things. Thanks to our former bands, we are more sure of what we want and what goals we need to reach, and how to reach them.

Pic Matthieu Lepoint _Directeur Artistique

What inspired the band name?

Continents is band which inspired me a lot these last years. Their song Pegasus, Pegasus is a call for freedom, to free yourself from your chains and live without drowning. It makes you understand that when really you want something you have to go for it. It’s the perfect representation of Pegasus, and a state of mind which fits us.

Was there any specific idea behind the forming of the band and also in what you wanted your sound to offer?

It’s always more enjoyable to play the music you love with people than playing it alone in your room. And playing it with people you find agreeable to be with is even better. We had a pretty accurate idea of the kind of music we wanted to play and our way to compose makes everyone in the band love all of what we do. We did not try to make something in particular; it just came out like this.

Do the same things still drive the band when it was fresh-faced or have they evolved over time?

Our minds, motivations and ways to compose and play have not changed. We see things in the same way, but bigger. We first met to play music we love with people we love, and we still do.

Since your early days, how would you say your sound has evolved?

With the arrival of new people the band stabilized itself and our style has become more complex, more complete. The band is more solid, more mature and we can feel it in our music. We tried to leave out easy or rehash parts and let our role model bands inspire us more

Do you have more of an organic movement in your sound or do you deliberately go out to try new things?

We can say both. As we said, with new people even with the same state of mind, our music has changed. And to please everyone, we had to try new things. Seeing the result, we all agree that these changes happened for the best.

Presumably across the band there is a wide range of inspirations; are there any in particular which have impacted not only on the band’s music but your personal approach and ideas to creating and playing music?

We listen to a lot of bands of many different styles so we sure have a wide range of inspirations. It has impacted us by opening our minds, showing us plenty of ways to compose music. We are no more limited to the genre we listened to first when we were young. And even in our style, a lot of bands play the same genre with very different methods. There are no limits when you want to do music!

Is there a regular process to the songwriting of the band?

Our guitarists first compose the song. Then we all add our personal touch. We change some parts if it doesn’t suit everyone and we add some little details to make it more brutal, catchy or atmospheric.

The biggest part is done by the guitarists, but we all work on it. Of course we are inspired by bands we like a lot, but we are careful not to copy them.

Where do you, more often than not, draw the inspirations to the lyrical side of your songs?

Events of the past and future inspire us a lot. Our society is fucked up; many things are faked or hidden on different levels. That’s what we want to say through my lyrics. In our EP, the point is to show the strengths and weaknesses of people through a Fairy Tale metaphor

Give us some background to that release.

It’s our first release and we have been working on it for a long time. We had to deal with changes in the line-up and it delayed the creative process a lot.

But it’s finally here, and we are proud of the result. The work was really worth it. We released it via White Tower and now we want to play it a lot, in every place we can!

And the themes and premise behind it and its songs?

We tried to denounce how some things in our society are hidden or kept secret from the masses, how only the good sides of things are shown. The Fairy Tale in our songs is the part made for the masses. A story made to be beautiful without mentioning the hard truth.

Tell us about the recording of the EP and the studio process.

It’s difficult to answer this question. We recorded the guitars, the bass and additional parts at home. Our guitarists have really good material and know how to use it very well!

With this way of working, we always make the songs evolve until our sound engineer (Harry from Efficient Records) gets it for mixing and mastering. But we recorded the drums parts in the first place (at the Boss Hog Studio) as we did not want a digital drum song and preferred it natural. So the biggest parts of each song were done before the beginning of any recordings, and minor changes were still made during the recordings.

What about the live side to the band?

We work hard to give the best of us and of our music! We always end up exhausted after a show; we put a lot of energy in it. We have recently worked countless hours on light programming. But the effort was worth it!

This is the side we enjoy the most. That’s the best way for us to show our songs to the people. Seeing the public enjoying the moment while we play is always something really thrilling!

It is not easy for any new band to make an impact regionally let alone nationally and further afield.

How have you found life as an emerging band in France? Are there the opportunities to make a mark if the drive is there for new bands?

Make the music the way you feel. You can always do perfect music, but if you do it just because you know it will work without feeling it there is something missing a people can easily feel it. But doing good music and feeling it is always good!

And you need to not be afraid to contact people/organization that can help you promote your work. If you expect opportunities to come on their own, they won’t. We have the chance to work with White Tower for promotion and digital distribution, and Ventures Group for the booking.

How has the internet and social media impacted on the band to date? Do you see it as something destined to become a negative from a positive as the band grows and hopefully gets increasing success or is it more that bands struggling with it are lacking the knowledge and desire to keep it working to their advantage?

The internet offers the opportunity to share your music really easily. The negative side is that everyone can do it too, and you are lost in a sea of new bands/artists. By having an easy way to be visible, you have fewer chances to be noticed. It forces bands to find new ways to promote their work, and it can be really positive.

We can see a lot of amazing stuff today. Knowing how to use tools on the internet is very important today. Doing this today without the internet seems impossible.

Once again a big thanks for sharing time with us; anything you would like to add or reveal for the readers?

Thank for listening to us!

 

Explore the world of Pegasus and their new EP further via the following…

https://www.facebook.com/pegasusband   http://pegasusband.bigcartel.com/

https://pegasusband.bandcamp.com/   http://instagram.com/pegasus_music/   https://www.youtube.com/user/pegasusofficialband

Pete RingMaster

The RingMaster Review 19/03/2016

Black Coast – Crows Of The North

Good things are openly being spoken about Black Coast and their metal/hardcore ferocity, praise that is easy to expect continuing as their debut EP, Crows Of The North, hits ears. The five track fury is a potent introduction, a powerful announcement of their arrival on the British metal scene with its melodic prowess within a commanding tempest of aggression and sonic animosity.

Formed in 2015, Black Coast is a band which is still looking for the uniqueness within their sound and it is fair to say that Crows Of The North provides few major surprises, yet it equally offers strong and open potential which certainly draws attention to itself. For a first release, the EP is a noticeably accomplished and carefully honed affair revealing that the Stoke-on-Trent quintet already has a good handle in equipping raging tempests with contagious hooks and suggestive melodies. They are qualities which have lured interest from the likes of Rock Sound and Alex Baker for his Fresh Blood show on Kerrang!, and will soon help the band in stand out within a crowded metalcore/hardcore fuelled scene.

Crows Of The North gets off to a bang with new single and best track on the EP, Violence Reigns. From its first breath, sinew sprung grooves are entwining ears with their enticement backed by heavy beats and the groaning lure of bass. Almost as swiftly, the vocal squalls of Charlie Hewitt unite with the adventurous sonic enterprise cast by guitarists Scott Pinnington and Joe Mayer, his entrance seemingly the spark to a great shift into unpredictable and an evolving landscape of sound and imagination. From vocals to hooks, rhythms to intensity, the track becomes a tapestry of maybe familiar but attention exciting flavours, persistently twisting and turning to incite an early keen appetite.

The great start is nicely, or should that be grudgingly, backed by the irritable predation and antagonism of Mercenary, a track which blossoms into something between The Ghost of a Thousand and While She Sleeps. Swinging grooves quickly ignite ears whilst the intrusive strikes of drummer Matt Clarke seem to punctuate the turbulent emotion of Hewitt’s caustic vocal enterprise. Courted by a more ‘reserved’ trespass uncaged by Jack Beardsall’s bass and an infestation of swirling grooves and acidic hooks, the song leaves satisfaction ripe. Its pleasing success is then matched by the similarly intensive sonic and emotive inferno of Plagues where again grooves easily infiltrate the imagination whilst the broader melodic climate which comes and goes shows more of the invention and adventure lying within the songwriting and desire to merge sounds and contrasts. It does lack the same incendiary spark as the first pair of tracks though, being fully pleasing without drawing that extra excitement even if it has definite moments where riffs and anthemic rabidity, especially in its finale, hits the spot rather nicely.

Habit is the same, a track which does little wrong but misses the ingredient, even with its excellently crafted animus of emotion and sound, that helps turn a good song into a great proposal. Again though, it has to be said that it reveals creative incidents which only suggest that Black Coast is moving in the right and potent direction to be a notable antagonist in British metal ahead.

The EP’s title track closes Crows Of The North off; its attitude driven concentration of belligerent intensity and sonic tenacity highly captivating especially when bound to searing yet inviting grooves and barbarous rhythmic confrontation. Ultimately breaking into a bruising punk ‘n’ roll stroll clad in metallic ferocity, the track provides a thoroughly satisfying end to a fine first look at Black Coast.

Originality is maybe scarce within Crows Of The North but imagination and the sparks of future individuality make for a promise which time will see realised or not. Finding out should be an enjoyable adventure with Black Coast though just as the EP is now.

The self-released Crows Of The North EP is available from February 26^th through iTunes and other stores.

https://www.facebook.com/blackcoastuk   https://twitter.com/blackcoastuk

Pete RingMaster 26/02/2016

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THE DREAMER WITHIN UNVEIL THEIR STUNNING NEW VIDEO

South West metalcorers ‘The Dreamer Within’ have made an attention grabbing statement with a sound that is dramatic, cinematic, explosive, and now new video single ‘Purge’, which is out now and viewable at https://youtu.be/_M8pMRy26P4

Spawned in 2014 and fusing a devotion for synths, blistering riffs and ruthless breakdowns merged with engrossing melodies, The Dreamer Within pull from everyone from Enter Shikari and Skrillex through to Bullet For My Valentine and HIM. Consisting of Matt Stuart (Vocals), Charlie Smith (Guitar & Clean Vocals), Alex Hepworth (Guitar and Programming), Eliott Lipscombe (Drums), and Josh Hepworth (Bass), the quintet have already shared stages with the likes of I Divide, Glamour of the Kill, Skindred and Palisades to name a few, and are set for their first UK tour this June.

Besides playing as many live performances as possible, the Exeter outfit has been busy crafting a crushing new set of songs that have a darker lyrical tone, strong use of atmospherics and an overall epic groove brought about with brutal riffs that bed into your very core. First temptation is the new video single for ‘Purge’, a roar of technical riffs and impressive dynamics which is set to not only spark potent anticipation for an in the works new EP but lay the foundations for a very successful 2016 which will include a full UK touring schedule later this year.

https://www.facebook.com/thedreamerwithin/ https://twitter.com/dreamerwithinuk