KLOGR new single

I've posted previously about Italian alternative band KLOGR and their album Black Snow, and stated that one of the reasons I liked their album was because they address issues and causes that matter in today's world.
 "Black Snow is the third release from the Alt Metal band from Italy and it shares with the band's previous releases (the full length debut "Till You Decay" and EP "Till You Turn") the common theme of the relationship between man, society and, in the case of Black Snow, between human society and environment."In keeping with their humanitarian spirit, they have now released the second single from the album, Zero Tolerance and all money from the first 500 downloads via iTunes will go to Sea Shepherd, a marine conservation society. For more information on Sea Shepherd, visit their website, they are most notable for their work trying to protect the Taiji Dolphins which the single Zero Tolerance supports.

They are currently on tour and will be playing four dates in the UK supporting Prong, starting this Sunday.

Sunday 30th March - The Underworld - London

Tuesday 1st April -  Cathouse - Glasgow

Wednesday 2nd April - NQ Live - Manchester

Thursday 3rd April - Slade Rooms - Wolverhampton

Onslaught add support to UK tour

UK thrash metal band, Onslaught are touring the UK in July this year, with Danish band Artillery as their support. However, they have now named Hatriot as their second support act, which will see Steve 'Zetro' Souza return to the UK.

Takedown: Review

Southampton University was home on Saturday to the alternative event of the year in the city, and with some glorious sunshine it couldn’t have been a better day for it. Southampton already has a strong rock and metal scene catering to all genres across multiple venues, and it was great to see everyone come together for Takedown Festival. When I first arrived there was a huge queue and I was wondering if everyone was going to get in before the first acts were on, but all the staff and crew were helpful, friendly and worked as quickly as possible and I didn’t hear any complaints from those who had been waiting. I was momentarily confused as to where a couple of stages were, before I realised the Uprawr Stage was in what is usually called ‘The Cube’ and the Southampton Local stage was located in the bar area just outside. Other than that the event was very smoothly run, Hacktivist unfortunately couldn’t make their timeslot and were moved to a later time which was disappointing for those wanting to see them but you really can’t blame the crew for that. 

I spend as much time as possible at gigs so choosing which bands to see was brain achingly difficult, especially as the line-up was so strong and I knew how good the bands all were. The Catharsis, a metal core quintet from  Birmingham were up first  on the Uprawr Stage, with a decent crowd for a 2.15pm slot including fans I’d seen at previous shows and the singer from Zoax. They played their well-known tracks like Stray Dogs as well as new single Natural Decline which went down well, and caused some movement in the pit. As always they played with energy and passion, The Catharsis are not a band who ever let up. From that stage I went to the Total Rock stage to catch the last of VooDoo Vegas, and I immediately wished I’d seen it all. They are very much what I imagine when you say classic rock and they were an excellent choice to precede Western Sand. 

Western Sand themselves nailed it, and with the sunshine streaming through the windows you could have believed they were straight out of the Southern States. The Howling followed and I stayed to watch as they came highly recommended by a friend. On appearance they looked like L.A./Hollywood types and I was a bit sceptical but looks are deceiving, they know how to play and how to play well! They delivered a high octane performance that most definitely took away any doubts I had and has left me wanting to see them again.

I have just one bone to pick with the Total Rock stage, the sound created by all the bands playing that day was just too big for the room they had, so the quality was a little lacking. The logic behind the placement of stages and bands was evident and well organised, the Total Rock stage would not have been suitable for say metal-core purely because there just wasn’t the space to move around, was just a shame the sound wasn’t a bit better. 

For a total change of pace I visited the Big Deal Clothing stage for a recent favourite of mine, Zoax. I’ve previously seen them at Camden Rocks with about 5 other people in the audience, and this time it was great to see so many people showing their support. Adam is much more than just a vocalist, he’s a true entertainer, he always has to interact with the crowd and climb on everything which included trying to get into the roof via a ceiling tile on Saturday. When he jumped onto the booth behind me I had to agree with his comment that it was indeed “fucking tremendous” to see so many people.

From one favourite to another, Jettblack were my next stop where I was at the barrier as I have been the last twenty times I’ve seen them. At this point it might be fair to say I’m bias but it was great to hear a few of the classic Jettblack anthems as well as a couple of new tracks from their potential third album (it won’t happen if they can’t meet their pledge music target) and to see the room packed out for them. Despite my love for Jettblack, I think the day was owned well and truly by Heaven’s Basement. I hadn’t seen them since they played Sonisphere in 2011 and how they’ve progressed since then is phenomenal.  They are currently on their Welcome Home Tour having been in the States and Australia, and despite being ill and rundown they absolutely killed it and had the crowd wishing they could play longer. 

All in all I don’t think anyone could deny that they had a superb day. Takedown 2014 was an absolute blast and I’m already looking forward to next year, I’m sure the wonderful team will find a way to make it even bigger and better!

ELVENKING Explain Non Appearance

Sadly Elvenking were unable for a second time to play their UK dates and following some negative comments and abuse aimed at them, they felt they had to explain the reasons for the their non attendance in full. They posted the following statement on their facebook page:

"We are sorry to announce we were not able to play the UK shows as planned this week, for reasons that go beyond our will and control. Unfortunately, the promoters didn’t show any respect and/or any kind of professional behaviour towards us. These shows had already been cancelled in September 2013, and that caused us a big loss of money; nevertheless, we decided to cover those costs ourselves, with the promise of a better situation for the re-scheduled February gigs. After months of silence, unanswered mails, not a single piece of information, plan or time schedule, we read on Facebook that the Dublin show was cancelled and nobody had the good sense to let us know. Once asked what was happening and why nobody was telling us anything about this gig, the promoters decided not to pay the agreed amount of money that would have covered our costs for getting there.

Our agency informed us that the advance payment, which was agreed from both sides, and which we needed to buy our flight tickets, was late. Furthermore, the contract hadn’t been signed (until the last minute) by the promoter, and the promoter informed our agency, that they didn´t have money to pay right now and that they have to wait for the money from the ticket sales. In other words: If the sales are bad (and no one ever told us how the sales were), we might end up paying again.

Everybody expects that bands are on time, that their equipment is in good condition, that they rehearsed their songs and perform as good as they can. And of course, every band is trying to do all this, ‘cause it is every bands wish to be good, and professional so that the fans enjoy their shows. Why can´t all these bands expect the same enthusiasm from the people behind the scene?

A show got cancelled on the upcoming tour and nobody even told us. And once we found out, we were told that it is up to us to step back from what everybody agreed on and pay.

This is simply not acceptable for us and with sad heart we had to cancel our presence in the UK…ONCE AGAIN! We usually don’t like to talk business, especially not publicly, but after reading some really nasty things about us and our involvement in this, we feel the need to tell everybody what really happened. We just couldn’t afford to risk a deeper loss of money. We are deeply sorry to all the fans who have waited so long for these shows to happen…, but it seems we simply got offered this opportunity by the wrong people. We promise we will work hard to get to the UK as soon as possible!"

 

 

Takedown After Party

I've already told you what I think of Takedown Festival and how excited I am to be going, but there is more! If you think you can handle a whole day of music and then more, why not go to the UPRAWR after party? UPRAWR are fairly well known now in the alternative scene as they also appear at Slam Dunk festival providing after show goodness for them.

It starts at 10.30pm and goes on until 3am and tickets are just £6 each if you haven't already got a festival ticket that includes entry.

Elvenking UK Tour

Elvenking have been producing metal out of Italy since 1997 and have some what of a cult fan base in mainland Europe, which is more rapidly spreading to the UK. They have previously played at Metalfest and Bloodstock Festival where they performed with ex-Skyclad singer Martin Walkyier. This month they will once more join with Walkyier for 4 exclusive shows, entitled The Viking Funeral Tour.

These shows will be taking place in two different formats, one being Elvenking's set where they will play stuff from their Era album and possibly a few new tracks from the album they are currently recording and the second as the backing band for Walkyier as he performs his take on Skyclad material, which has appropriately been called Martin Walkyier Goes Skyclad.

“I consider this new album to be the closest to the original conceptual idea of the band we’ve yet done. When we founded Elvenking, our idea was to mix up strong epic and intense music with influences from folklore and with lyrics based on our personal idea of life and what we consider as a personal sort of paganism. Through the years, we moved steps away from our original path in search of new stimuli and ways to express ourselves as songwriters, but now we want to carve the name Elvenking firmly into our music and define exactly where the origins of our band are. We are really looking forward to these shows, because it will be really special to see how people react to Elvenking in the UK today…” - Aydan (guitars)

 

Iron Knights UK Tour & Free Download

It's about time there was some Iron Knights news! This month they will be on tour in the UK with their brand new line up to promote their new album which is due out around April this year.

I can't bring you information about the new album just yet, but watch this space and in the meantime why not listen to Destroyer? It's a stand alone track as it isn't featured on the album, and can be downloaded for free from their website! Everyone likes free stuff!

February/March Tour Dates:

21 Feb - The Unicorn, London

22 Feb - The Flying Shuttle, Bury

23 Feb - The Victoria Inn, Derby

26 Feb - The Head of Steam, Newcastle

27 Feb - The Venue, Dumfries

28 Feb - The Moorings Bar, Aberdeen

1 March - Bannermans, Edinburgh

2 March - Rock Zombie, Dudley

Takedown 2014 is best yet!

I myself am Southampton based and Takedown 2014 looks to be the best yet, the buzz surrounding the festival at other rock and metal events I've attended has been immense! They've got some major names involved in this years lineup, including Heaven's Basement who recently got back from a tour in the US, Yashin who have previously supported the likes of Papa Roach and Kids in Glass Houses and Black Spiders who have played at Download and Sonisphere festival!

There are too many bands to write about on this lineup. I've seen pretty much all of them before and can attest to their greatest but special mentions have to be for the more local bands like The Catharsis (see previous post about them at Joiners) and Our Hollow Our Home (see same post) who have so much energy that you just can't turn away. Zoax and The Smoking Hearts have previously been at Camden Rocks Festival and I personally would love to see them with a bigger crowd at Takedown, not that it made a difference to them because they played like thousands were watching them.

Then there are bigger bands like Baby Godzilla who are due to appear on the Kerrang Tour in February alongside Limp Bizkit and Nekrogoblikon, and the Fearless Vampire Killers who more recently played the main stage at Butserfest 2013.

I may be entirely bias but I cannot go without mentioning Jettblack, they are currently working on their 3rd album with the help of fans via PledgeMusic, and are definitely ones to watch because they never leave a crowd disappointed and they keep you coming back for more! Trust me, I've seen them twenty times already! The Howling are special friends of theirs and I believe they have shared a stage together before, as are Western Sand a more local southern rock-esque band. I've interviewed both Jettblack and Western Sand before, just click the names to be taken to those interviews.

This amazing day is taking place on March 15th at Southampton University, with doors opening at 1.30pm. It's due to finish around 10.30pm, however for those of you who don't want the night to end just then there's an after party in association with UPRAWR (over 18's only) at The Cube in the Student  Union. For more information on when and where and who, go over to the Takedown Official Page or look them up on facebook and twitter.
Tickets for the event are £30, or £34 if you want to attend the after party. I really can't argue with the price, considering what I've paid to see some of these bands alone before. More than likely this event will sell out, so get in there quick!!

Volbeat/Trivium North American Tour + Tour Poster Comp!

Volbeat are returning to North America on April 3rd in support their most recent album, Outlaw Gentlemen and Shady Ladies and are taking Trivium with their album Vengence Falls as main support. You can find a list of the dates they are set to play below, starting in Denver Co and ending up on the East Coast in the second week of May.

There's additional exciting news as Volbeat and Trivium have teamed up to allow fans the chance to design the official tour poster for these upcoming shows. If you reckon advertising and design is your speciality then why not give it a go. For more details on how to enter and all of that pesky eligibility information, head on over to Creative Allies.

APRIL
01 Minneapolis, MN 93X Low Dough Show Series*
03 Denver, CO The Fillmore Auditorium
04 Mescalero, NM Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort
06 Anaheim, CA The Grove
08 Modesto, CA Modesto Centre Plaza
09 Reno, NV Grand Sierra Theatre
10 Medford, OR Medford Armory
11 Spokane, WA Knitting Factory
12 Mesa, AZ KUPD UFest *
14 Seattle, WA Paramount Theatre
15 Missoula, MT Wilma Theatre
17 Fargo, ND The Venue
18 LaCrosse, WI LaCrosse Center
19 Clive, IA 7 Flags Event Center
21 Ft. Wayne, IN Piere’s
22 Cleveland, OH The Agora
23 Louisville, KY Palace Theatre
25 Tampa, FL WXTB 98 Rockfest*
26 Ft. Meyers, FL Fort Rock *
27 Jacksonville, FL Welcome To Rockville*
28 Nashville, TN Marathon Music Works
30 Pittsburgh, PA Stage AE

MAY
01 Bethlehem, PA Sands Event Center
05 Niagara Falls, NY Rapids Theatre
06 Poughkeepsie, NY Mid Hudson Civic Center
08 Huntington, NY Paramount Theatre
09 Hampton Beach, NH Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom
16-18 Columbus, OH Rock On The Range*

All Dates w/ Volbeat & Digital Summer except*

Pretty Reckless add London show

Following on from my previous post on The Pretty Reckless, they have announced an extra one off London date, 24th March at the Electric Ballroom. Germany has two additional shows and Italy and Switzerland both have one. 

They have also released the track listing from the new album, Going to Hell which is due to hit stores on the 17th March. 

Tracklisting for GOING TO HELL:
1. Follow Me Down
2. Going to Hell
3. Heaven Knows
4. House on a Hill
5. Sweet Things
6. Dear Sister
7. Absolution
8. Blame Me
9. Burn
10. Why'd You Bring a Shotgun to the Party
11. Fucked Up World
12. Waiting for a Friend
 
Available on LTD Edition physical & Itunes Deluxe ONLY:
13. Going to Hell (Live Acoustic)
14. Sweet Things (Live)
 
*Itunes Deluxe will also have track ‘Only You’ available as an exclusive.
‘Going to Hell’ will also be available to pre-order from Amazon & Itunes.

Periphery's Clear

Periphery are streaming their new EP Clear, before it's release on the 27th January. Aparently the EP is an experimental recording which represents all of Periphery's achievements. 

"Clear is an experiment to explore all of the different writing styles in the band. It's rare when you have a band where every member is capable of writing and producing music. With each member controlling their own track, this recording enabled us to go down any path we chose in terms of style and sound. Every track also contains a melodic theme established in ‘Clear’'s intro track "Overture" this common thread links all of the songs together, even though they all sound wildly different. ‘Clear’ shouldn't be confused with our new 3rd full-length album that we're currently working on, nor should it be considered ‘just’ an EP as it rides somewhere in-between clocking in at 30 minutes. Enjoy!" - Jake (guitar)

If you want to listen to the EP before buying it, head over to Metal Hammer: http://www.metal-hammer.de/video-audio/premieren/article526023/hoert-die-neue-periphery-ep-clear-hier-in-voller-laenge.html

Butcher Babies Tour + New Single

On 17th February, the L.A based metal band Butcher Babies are releasing their new single Magnolia Blvd, taken from their debut album Goliath via Century Media. They were recently confirmed as main support for The Defiled on their UK tour and have now announced a string of headline dates, that will see them travel the length and breadth of mainland Europe. 

This band doesn't just have one frontwoman but two; Carla Harvey and Heidi Shepherd who are joined by guitarist Henry Flury (Amen), bassist Jason Klein (Azdachao) and drummer Chris Warner (Scars of Tomorrow). 

 If you've never listened to them before and want to get a feel for what they're about, go on over to the Mayhem festival website to watch the lyric video for I Smell A Massacre.

European Tour + The Defiled:
08.02. UK Nottingham, Rock City*
09.02. UK Newcastle, Academy 2*
10.02. UK Glasgow, King Tut’s*
11.02. UK Manchester, Academy 2*
12.02. UK Norwich, Waterfront*
13.02. UK Brighton, The Haunt*
14.02. UK London, Islington Academy*
15.02. UK Southampton, Talking Heads*
16.02. UK Bristol, Thekla*
17.02. UK Birmingham, Asylum*
18.02. UK Leeds, Cockpit*
21.02. ES Erandio, Sonora
22.02. ES Madrid, La Boite
23.02. ES Zaragoza, Sala Utopia
24.02. ES Barcelona, Rocksound
26.02. IT Romagnano Sesia, Novara, Rock’n Roll Arena
27.02. DE Munich, Backstage Club
28.02. DE Bochum, Matrix
01.03. NL Amsterdam, The Winston
* Supporting The Defiled

Morbus Chron - Sweven

MORBUS CHRON line-up:
Robert Andersson – guitars, vocals
Edvin Aftonfalk – lead guitars
Dag Landin – bass
Adam Lindmark – drums

As some of you may well know, Sweden's Morbus Chron have a new album coming out on February 24th and March 4th in North America. Sweven sees them develop their mix of dark death metal and progressive sounds which was firmly established on their A Saunter Through The Shroud 3 track single and Sleepers in the Rift album.
They really aren't a standard death metal band, at times they sound stoner/doom before Robert Andersson's raw and downright terrifying vocals kick in, but then they fade again to reveal something that sounds more psychedelic.

Sweven will be released in the following formats:
Standard CD Jewelcase with 24-page booklet
Deluxe LP with 180 g vinyl, matte-laminated cover and 12-page booklet in LP size
Digital download.

 

Dyscarnate - In The Face Of Armageddon - Official Video

UK death metal band Dyscarnate, have unveiled their video for In The Face Of Armageddon taken from the And So It Came To Pass album due for re-release on February 2nd. Following on from that on February 10th, their Enduring The Massacre album will be re-released on an international level as it sold out within a couple months when it was originally released back in 2012.

That isn't it though, Dyscarnate have also been announced as main support for Chimaira on their upcoming European/UK tour.

Lacuna Coil - New Album

I'm always happy to receive news about Lacuna Coil and today it was to announce that their new album Broken Crown Halo will be released on March 31st, April 1st if you're in the USA or Canada.

"What conflict could run so deep that it takes you to the deepest corners of your inner world? Today we are surrounded by a lot of lies, aliases, and people acting like they are wearing an invisible crown - but you better have thick skin if you want to wear this crown! ‘Broken Crown Halo' is a cinematic album that could be the soundtrack of our days - it is a dark vision of a near future when survival is second nature, and failure is not something to be avoided, but rather cultivated with lessons learned along the way.
  We set the bar pretty high with 'Dark Adrenaline' and it hasn't been easy bringing our sound to the next level, but we have lived, learned and grown through a year full of personal issues and changes. We learned to be strong and get stronger, and we felt an inner vibe in this band that we haven't felt before. We locked ourselves in an age-old studio in Milan, Italy, where history was strong and the past met with our future, vintage gear and the influence of classic Italian horror movies and bands like Goblin meeting the fresh and rough sounds of the modern world with unique and invigorating results. ‘Broken Crown Halo' is LACUNA COIL introducing a new order, and letting nothing stand in our way..."

This is the band's seventh album and is the follow up to Dark Adrenaline which was released back in 2012, the same year they had an incredible run of tour dates with numerous bands including Volbeat, Megadeth, Motorhead and Paradise Lost.

L-R: Cristiano "Criz" Mozzati, Marco "Maki" Coti-Zelati, Andrea Ferro, Cristina Scabbia,
Marco "Maus" Biazzi and Cristiano "Pizza" Migliore.

As far as dates this year go, they have been confirmed for Bloodstock here in the UK and will be on the road in North America as part of Revolver's Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock Tour. Not sure what the non female members think of this! Although they will be sharing the stage with Sick Puppies, so it's sure to be a kick ass show!

Dripback Debut Album

“It’s been a long time coming but finally the Dripback album will see the light of day, and this is as pure as it gets. Direct from us to you, no labels, no bullshit. It’ll be on Itunes for the lazy cunts with their Ipods and we’ll have a nice vinyl for people to get stuck into as well." - Dripback

London hardcore band Dripback's debut album Failed Futures comes out January 20th on digital release and March 24th if you're after the vinyl format. It was recorded with Russ Russell at Parlour Studios and has over a dozen tracks of uncompromising fast and furious metal to make your ears bleed.  But in the good way.

Failed Futures Track Listing:

1. Wasted

2. Rest With the Dead

3. We Precede the End

4. Cessation of Suffering

5. Profit Driven War

6. Shallow Lives

7. Seeing Without Eyes

8. Failed Futures

9. Victims

10. Stranglehold

11. Forgotten Code

12. Embodying Emptiness

13. Requisite for Refinement

To pre-order the album on vinyl and receive a free download code visit their store page and for more information visit them on facebook. 

Hands Of A Saviour Interview

This week I have more interview goodness for you, this time with London's Hands Of A Saviour. They are a unique blend of groove, hardcore and progressive metal and after seeing them live the other month at The Firehouse, Southampton I knew I wanted to find out more about them.

Photo Credit: Roads To Nowhere

Luckily for me they agreed to an interview despite my accosting them with a business card and rambling on outside the bar, and I think the responses they gave were surprising in places but very intelligent, informative and funny. They currently have an EP out, Clock Hands which you can download here and if you haven't seen them live I definitely recommend them, they have a captivating stage presence making it impossible to walk away from.

Hands Of A Saviour are:
Drums - James Roberts
Vocals - Henry Charnock
Guitar - George Owen
Bass - Luke Fabian

Who are Hands Of A Saviour and how would you each describe yourselves in 3 words?

George: Luscious; rambunctious; titillating.

Luke: Ginger; unappreciated; empowered.

James: The very best.

Henry: Do not resuscitate.

How did you come to be? Have you all been friends forever, did you meet at school/college, put ads in the local paper for band members…

H: James formed the band with a friend of his and hosted adverts online looking for a vocalist. That’s how I got in contact as I didn’t know anyone who played music where I lived. We then wrote the music for Clock Hands and brought in George, who was another friend of James’ from previous bands, before we recorded. Eventually our old bassist left to go to university and that’s how we drafted in Luke – he also responded to an online ad, having just moved down to London from the Midlands.

How did you come up with your band name? 

J: Basically, me and the old guitar player were joking about merging band names like Eyes of A Traitor & Heart of a Coward and we stumbled across Hands Of A Saviour.

H: I used to be worried that it would make us sound too much like a Christian band, but I guess it’s kind of similar to Lamb Of God’s name. Like their video for Redneck, anyone who thinks we’re going to be a worship band would probably in for a relatively unpleasant surprise ...

I don’t really want to ask about influences because that’s a bit cliché, but I’m always interested in what artists are listening to, so what was your favourite album of 2013?

H: I guess ironically, considering what I’ve just said, my favourite album last year was by this worship band from Nashville & New Zealand called The Ember Days. Obviously, they’re nothing like us; their music is really beautiful and passionate. I would recommend anyone to give them a try if they want something a little different. Their latest CD is called “More Than You Think.”

G: TesseracT’s new album (Altered State).

L: Touché Amoré - Is Survived By.

J: Severence by Heart Of A Coward.

... and what release are you looking forward to this year? 

L: Ours! ... or the new Down EP ... and definitely the new Tool album if it eventually emerges.

J: Monuments.

G: ... I don’t know, are Periphery doing an album? I don’t really follow music ...

H: Again, not at all similar to us, but I’ve been looking forward to Kat Dahlia’s debut album for a while – that’s supposed to be released this year. She’s kind of a hip hop/pop singer, but with a really aggressive flow and cutting, depressing lyrics. More on-theme genre-wise though, I’m a big fan of Tyler Carter so I’ll definitely be getting the new Issues CD. Upon A Burning Body are writing at the moment too, I think, so definitely their next release.

Talking of releases you guys have an EP out at the moment, Clock Hands. What can you tell us about it, is there a particular theme or idea that runs through it?

J: Groove.

L: A theme I noticed as a new member of the band was a constant stream of riffs.

H: Lyrically, and this wasn’t something I planned, in one way or another each of the songs deals with the idea of wasting or wasted time – specifically me beating myself up for wasting time. If you think about it, what could be more valuable in life than time – and so what could be worse than wasting it? We carried that theme over to the cover art too with the ruined clock tower and the smashed hourglass with the sand pouring out, etc.

You recently played in Southampton for part of a Christmas metal night at the Firehouse, how do you think it went? Did you get a chance to listen to any of the other acts that night?

H: We were all really pleased with that show. Personally, I think it was probably the most enjoyable show we’ve played. I always appreciate playing outside of London because it seems the venues get bigger crowds who are more into the music, I guess because there are less shows each night. I also always appreciate climbable terrain in a venue and The Firehouse had that in spades so I was happy, hanging off of banisters and climbing pillars etc. Who wouldn’t love that?

In terms of the other bands, I personally enjoyed Roads To Nowhere’s set. I loved the singer from Laid Wasted too. He had a really weird, creepy stage presence and that’s something I’m always drawn to.

Do you currently have any touring plans or dates in London, seeing as that’s where you are from?

H: We’re focusing on writing new material at the moment and, with the Christmas/New Year period just finishing, we haven’t had many shows scheduled. Once we’ve got the new set nailed down, we’ll be looking to ramp up the number of shows we’ll be playing all over the country. I’m really keen to play in and see some new places.

L: Our next gig is coming up on February 4^th actually, we’ll be playing at a place called the Horn in St Albans.

All the festivals have been announcing their line-ups left, right and centre. What ones have caught your eye?

L: Hellfest because I’m going to go to it. It’s in France. A continental trip and a healthy dose of metal, what more could you want from a holiday?

H: The rest of us aren’t really festival guys. I guess that’s pretty cliché for a tech-y kind of band – that we’d rather spend time in our bedrooms writing songs ... I’m sure Techfest is going to be killer again this year. Then hopefully they’ll do another Techabilitation show afterwards. We played that last year and it was a really great experience for us. If you haven’t checked it out before, definitely give it a look.

And on that note what does Hands Of A Saviour have planned for 2014?

J: More shows, more music.

L: More curries.

J: We’ve got plans for our 1^st music video too. We’ll be heading into the studio to record these new songs once we have them nailed down and then it’s a question of releasing and trying to get as many people to hear them as possible.

I’ve got some quickfire questions next, so people can get to know you in a less conventional fashion.

Canada or North America?

G: ... for what?

H: Assuming North America means the rest of the continent minus Canada ... América del Norte porque me interesa la cultura de México y Centroamérica. Algún día, quisiera visitarlo. I love the Carolinas as well.

Small or large venue?

G: ... How small?

L: Small.

H: As long as it’s packed ...

If you could commit a crime without being caught, what would it be?

H: I would take over the world like some crazy cartoon villain. It wouldn’t even matter if I got caught that way because there’d be no one who could to do anything about it anyway. Plus, I’ve always wanted to have minions ...

What colour matches your personality?

J: Red because I support Arsenal.

L: Royal purple because I like to think I’m a bit like Prince.

If you had to have theme music play every time you entered a room, what would you pick?

H: Tina Turner – Goldeneye. It’s just a great, classic tune.

L: Power by Kanye West. It even uses the line, “I guess every superhero needs his theme music.”

J: The Champions League anthem.

G: Northlane – Quantum Flux.

If reincarnated as an animal would you be a giraffe or a wolf?

J: Wolf ... actually Giraffe would be quite convenient ... nah, I’d be a wolf. Who wants to eat leaves all their life when they could be chewing on a carcass?

Festivals – better home or away?

L: Away because I’m going to Hellfest.

J: Yeah, Away. I’ve been to Wacken and that was awesome.

Strictly or X  Factor?

L: I’d go for Strictly because I’m a middle aged, BBC kind of guy.

J: I like X Factor because sometimes there’s fit birds on it.

H: I’d say Strictly as well because I just love sequins ... and Bruno Tonioli.

G: No.

Bikini or One Piece?

G: Good question ...

H: Bikini ... it’s so hard to find a one piece that’ll fit me ...

L: Women look fabulous in bikinis ... well, some of them do.

Independent venue or chain?

L: Independent. All the way.

H: Yeah, definitely independent. I guess that’s an easy choice to make when you’re a band of our size though ...

House or Apartment?

J: House.

L: I would like to live in a Victorian semi-detached.

H: I’m a mansion kind of guy so house for me as well.

If forced…Eastenders or Coronation Street?

L: Eastenders because it’s London.

H: Agreed.

For more information on Hands Of  A Saviour you can check out their facebook page as well as Bandcamp where you can listen to Clocks in full and download it.