2011
12.23
From BrigNewspaper.com.
A Starr is born: Steel Panther.
For what is only their second visit to Scotland, Steel Panther possess the impressive ability to drag a good half-venue of Glaswegians out on this icy December eve. There’s a fundamental irony in so many showing up to watch a brutal, wig-wearing lampoon of ‘80s era heavy metal, comically detailing the type of excesses that were, at one point, embodied in a serious manner by tonight’s co-headliners. Perhaps this lack of criticism for the Panther arises from the fact that the two ‘serious’ bands being parodied here once wrote hit songs about overdosing, dying, coming back to life, hitching a lift home and overdosing again (and that’s just one song) and masturbating over a picture of Marilyn Monroe. The laughter track has always been playing silently in the background of their careers, perhaps desensitizing fans to the point where not even a piss-taking pseudo-tribute act can expose the ridiculousness of such antics. Or maybe the satire just completely passes over the heads of the girls who sit on boyfriends’ shoulders, screaming and exposing themselves to the misogyny of 17 Girls In A Row and Community Property. Either way, they’re entirely entertaining, and provide some respite from a metal scene that often forgets how to have fun.
Continue reading “Def Leppard + Mötley Crüe + Steel Panther, Glasgow SECC, December 2011” »
2011
12.20
From WheelScene magazine.
The Oxford Dictionary describes locust as:
noun
A large grasshopper with strong powers of flight. From time to time it migrates and causes extensive damage.
In a way, this insect shares a work ethic with American metallers Machine Head. Their last release, 2007’s The Blackening, sent them on an extensive tour which included several treks across the world, during which they rubbed shoulders and shared bills with Metallica, Slipknot and Heaven & Hell. Such tireless globetrotting cemented them as one of the best, most defended and most sought-after bands in heavy metal, vocalist Robb Flynn recently revealing his fear for the fans’ safety amidst the intense frenzies that the band invokes in their live audiences. Now, after a well-earned rest and with the release of new record Unto The Locust, the destructive Californians are ready to swarm the world once again.
Continue reading “Machine Head Interview, November 2011” »
2011
12.11
From Brig Newspaper.
Jonny ‘Itch’ Fox finishes off a hamburger in an underground dressing room in the heart of Glasgow. A few hundred miles may separate him from his native London but, apparently, very little distinguishes the inhabitants of each city from another.
‘People are different everywhere. There are nice folk and dicks no matter where you go.” he laughs, swivelling his chair away from the mirror.
He would certainly know, having spent the last few months touring Europe with his band The King Blues. However, ‘band’ is too insultingly broad a term. Their sound, particularly on latest album Punk & Poetry, is a hard one to define: a pendulum of punk, hip-hop, ska and folk, swinging between cheeky pop sensibilities (the bittersweet harmonies of Everything Happens For A Reason) and compellingly unsettling vitriol (the snarling call-to-arms of We Are Fucking Angry). That’s not to mention the poetry juxtaposed with their more energetic offerings, the lyrical themes of which range from Itch’s respect for women, despite his inability to understand them, to his tongue-in-cheek branding of certain politicians as fascists.
The kids are united: The King Blues (Itch, second from right)
Continue reading “The King Blues Interview, November 2011” »
