Ian Pollock's Illustrations
for Housing Benefit Hill |
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1. Ex marks the spot
It's not every day that you meet an ex-Incredible String Band member turned Lady Mayoress and find yourself picturing her with a paraffin stove perched on her head
Signed copies of Housing Benefit Hill available
If you would like a signed copy of the book of the series, Housing Benefit Hill & Other Places, contact me via HubPages and I'll tell you how.
Housing Benefit Hill was a series of columns which appeared in the Guardian Weekend between September 1993 and September 1996. Originally it featured a cartoon series by Steven Appleby, which were very funny, but not specifically intended as illustrations of the text. (Mind you, sometimes they could be accidentally appropriate). However in September 1995 the editors at the Guardian commissioned Ian Pollock to illustrate the stories, and the results are shown below.
They are remarkable drawings, not least because somehow or another Ian seemed to be able to capture not only the essence of the story, but the actual appearance of some of the characters. It was genuinely uncanny. I never met Ian, and, as far as I know, he never visited the people or places I was talking about, and yet, on the scantiest of information, he was able to do a portrait of that person of such accuracy it was as if they were sitting for him as a model.
2. Deeper and down
Philippa was concerned at the amount of bad drugs he was taking and the amount of booze he was pouring down his neck
The most telepathically precise are Andre Van Der Beest in the third story, Caged Beest, "Kerry" in the fourth story, Ain't life a bitch, "Stan" in the sixth story,Lonesome trucker, and Mark in the twelfth story, Sitting target. You would genuinely think that he was working from a photograph, or that he had met these people.
Also the pictures of Steve, the Bard of Ely in the second and the fifth stories are pretty good. He doesn't look like that any more of course, having lost much of his hair, but back in the 70s, which is when these stories are set, he really did look like these pictures, as I'm sure he will agree. Steve is also featured in the eighth story Primordial booze, but he doesn't look like Steve there, he looks like the Creature from the Black Lagoon, which is what, in fact, he had turned into. Even the picture of my son looks remarkably like my son - though his eyes are the wrong colour. As for the rest, they are great illustrations, and worth looking at: particularly if you happen to own a copy of the book of Housing Benefit Hill. It could definitely have done with some of these pictures to brighten it up a bit.
The images are complimented by the blurb that appeared with the original stories, and in the case of two of them, with the story itself.
Enjoy these lovely, quirky, humorous pictures by Ian Pollock. I know I do.
Read on...
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NOW AVAILABLE FROM GONZO MULTIMEDIA
"Stone writes with intelligence, wit and sensitivity."
Times Literary Supplement
"Wry, acute, and sometimes hellishly entertaining essays in squalor and rebellion."
Herald
"The best guide to the Underground since Charon ferried dead souls across the Styx."
Independent on Sunday
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| SOME OTHER BOOKS BY C.J.STONE |
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 Morrissey and Marr: The Severed Alliance Updated Twentieth Anniversary Edition
by Johnny Rogan
Paperback: 624 pages
Publisher: Omnibus Press; Upd Rev An edition (13 Jun 2012)
Language English
ISBN-10: 1780383045
ISBN-13: 978-1780383040
Once again I would like to thank those jolly nice people at Omnibus Press for having kept my leisure hours amused for the past week or so with this massive re-issue of a classic tome by Johnny Rogan. Bizarrely, in some ways at least, I should have read this book many years ago. Although I never particularly liked The Smiths, this is one of the classic rock music biographies and I am an avid reader of such things.
The really peculiar thing is that although, as I have said I never particularly liked The Smiths, this book enthused me enough to re-examine their music. And I now know where I was going wrong. Being an anally compulsive sort of cove, I have always approached listening to any band in the same way. I start at the debut album and continue through in chronological order. This has served me well on a number of occasions, but when I read that even the band themselves weren’t particularly enamoured with the mix on their eponymous debut album, this time around I started my investigations with their second (I refuse to call it their sophomore) album, and – much to my surprise – after two and a half decades of missing the point, I finally get The Smiths.
I had always quite liked Morrissey’s solo albums and in particular the 2006 offering Ringleader of the Tormentors, and had always annoyed purists by saying that his solo stuff was considerably better than The Smiths had been. Now, at least as far as the second and third albums; Meat is Murder and The Queen is Dead, I lay my shoulders down in shame. They are magnificent.
However, this is where the really bizarre thing comes into play. Although Rogan’s incisive prose finally turned me on to a whole slew of music that I had missed back in the day, there is nothing he said about any of the people concerned, especially Morrissey and Marr, that made me like them even a little bit. They both come over as cold, calculating and selfish, and one ends up feeling more than a little bit sorry for the lesser members of the band, and for the long line of people who did their best to manage them. I’ll re-phrase that; you feel a little bit sorry, but not very much, because most of them don’t come over as particularly likeable. But boy, Johnny M could play a mean guitar (and Johnny R can't half write).
Well done Mr Rogan.
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AN EXCHANGE OF PLEASANTRIES WITH DAVEY CURTIS
Dear Jon,
A sad day today. Newcastle City hall refunded my money for the cancelled Motorhead gig. This is the second time Lemmy and Co have pulled out due to Mr Killmister's ill health.
Is this the end of the line for the Icon? Has Keith Richards won the "let's see just how much abuse can I subject my body to?" competition. I hope not, the Newcastle gigs were legendary.
Regards
Not very Happy the Man. Davey. C
PS I hope Dave Brock stays fit as fiddle for the Shepherds Bush gig.
That IS one not to miss!
I REPLY: u at shepherds bush? I am probably filming it
Oh God yeah! I would not miss it for the world! It is The Space Ritual after all! Now if only Roger Waters would get out of his Wall fixation and perform Amused to Death live I'll be the happiest of bunnies.
THE NEXT DAY......
Dear Jon,
I was a bit squiffy on vodka last night and missed the best bit.
When I got the Hawkwind tickets, my work colleague and I were wondering what would be the cheapest option for a stay in London. Bus? Car? Train? Then he had a stroke of luck. He saw in a travel agents window, an old biddy weekend get-a-away!
Train to London,staying in the Hotel Knitwear full board and a riverboat cruise with sight seeing trip option! All for £180! Result! I said "we don't have to go on the cruise." He said "Sod That! I paid for it, I am going!"
Happy days
Regards
Davey C |
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| For those of you not in the know, Davey Curtis (that's him in the unfortunate hat) is an occasional contributor to these pages and to other things I edit, and is one of my closest and most badly behaved friends... |
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HAWKWIND NEWS
(The Masters of the Universe do seem to have a steady stream of interesting stories featuring them, their various friends and relations, and alumni). Each week Graham Inglis keeps us up to date with the latest news from the Hawkverse.. |
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Total Rock Radio has carried an interview with Hawkwind's Dave Brock, during which several pieces of news about events in 2014 emerged.
Hawkwind are looking to to play in Japan this year. In 2011, Japan had to cope with an earthquake and tsunami (tidal wave) and the Hawkwind dates were cancelled amidst reports that thousands had died and the Fukushima nuclear power station was leaking radioactive material.
On the festival circuit, Portugal will get a look-in as well. Brock sounded cheerful during the interview, despite the atrocious weather in Devon recently - he commented on how the railway line supports have been washed away, down the coast in Dawlish - this happened three days ago, and currently is hindering train services between Devon and London - this impacted Tim Blake's commute down for a Hawkwind gig in Minehead this weekend.
Following completion of the 'Warrior 2013' tour, a live 'Warrior on the Edge of Time' album is due in May, and will possibly be a double album. And work's underway on a concept album and tour for the autumn.
Meanwhile, the 'Space Ritual' gig that's happening in a couple of weeks in Shepherd's Bush will have John Etheridge (a jazz guitarist) as a support act, and his set could well merge into the initial part of the Hawkwind performance.
Doors open at a somewhat early 6:30pm at that O2 Empire gig, by the way, which is on Saturday 22nd. |
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 The great Depeche Mode played the Shoreline theater the other week to a sold out crowd of devoted rapturous fans. I was there for every note with my soul mate and a couple of our best friends. This is a band that’s truly weathered time well – singer David Gahan still bumps, grinds, and belts out the deep notes with aplomb. Singer multi-instrumentalist and principal writer Martin Gore raises the stakes whenever he comes out to be front and center, most notably on this tour performing slow acoustic versions of “But Not Tonight”, “Home” and “Shake the Disease” hitting all the best long vibrato soaked tones perfectly. Andy Fletcher does his low key celebration in back. A drummer and second instrumentalist round out the band for their live shows as they have for just over 10 years now.
 The group was out to promote their latest release “ Delta Machine” – an album that’s surprisingly good for writers so well into their careers. From the opening track, also played to start the show, “Welcome to my World” to “Angel”, “The Child Inside (another Martin slow burner) and “Soothe My Soul” (a classic form for David’s best delivery) they covered many of its high points, all of which fit nicely in their catalog. These new tracks serve to update the Depeche Mode sound, even hinting in parts at dub-step electronica, a variant on the form they practically invented along with German forbearers Kraftwerk.
Of the later work, only 2005′s “Playing the Angel” was represented with two tracks – “A Pain That I’m Used To” and “Precious.” The rest of the set list focused on the band’s 80′s and 90′s hits including 1981′s “Just Can’t Get Enough”, skipping to 1985′s “Shake the Disease”, 1986′s “Black Celebration”, “A Question of Time”, and “But Not Tonight”, 1987′s “Never Let Me Down Again” (encore with everyone’s arm wipers to augment it), 1990′s “Enjoy the Silence”, “Personal Jesus”, “Halo”, and “Policy of Truth” (all practically required for these shows), 1993′s “Walking in My Shoes” and Martin’s tear jerker “Home”, now a perennial favorite from 1997. Not as fond of the other selection from “Ultra”- “Barrel of a Gun” which ended up being one of several instances where the drummer drowned out the founding members – a minor complaint, but here’s one fan wishing they more frequently dispense with the live drums.
Read on... |
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| the world according to mark raines |
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| THE YES CIRCULAR - TIME AND A WORD |
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| The Court Circular tells interested readers about the comings and goings of members of The Royal Family. However, readers of this periodical seem interested in the comings and goings of Yes and of various alumni of this magnificent and long-standing band. Give the people what they want, I say |
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But don't be disappointed. There were only two stories last week, so we have increased that score 100% this time around. Let's hope that the trend continues.
I am probably getting a bit OCD about all of this, but I find the Yes soap opera of sound to be absolutely enthralling, and I for one can't wait to see what happens next!
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Changing the world one gift at a time
The worldwide Freecycle Network is made up of many individual groups across the globe. It's a grassroots movement of people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free in their own towns. Freecycle groups match people who have things they want to get rid of with people who can use them. Our goal is to keep usable items out of landfills. By using what we already have on this earth, we reduce consumerism, manufacture fewer goods, and lessen the impact on the earth. Another benefit of using Freecycle is that it encourages us to get rid of junk that we no longer need and promote community involvement in the process.
http://uk.freecycle.org/ |
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This is to certify that i have never spied upon the NSA
nor accused TSA of assault,criminalities and corruption
Nor have i stopped CIA renditions.I have not closed Guantanamo Bay torture center
Nor released those digital pix of waterboarding.I have not even asked for documentation
of black budgets for offshored torture centers,nor any accountability for those
who lied in public or in private about their complicities in war atrocities.
I have not checked on civilian casualties,nor the use of white phosphorus in Lebanon and Palestine
Nor the use of depleted uranium ammunition -and its effect on our troops
I do not seem to care enough about wars that drain our Treasury
and kill and maim the flowers of our youth.I apologise
for my apathy,inertia,and indifference.I am not sure
if i can ever change.I keep seeking whistleblowers to blame.
Yours truly-The Public
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In Victorian times every well-bred Gentleman had a 'Cabinet of Curiosities'; a collection of peculiar odds and sods, usually housed in a finely made cabinet with a glass door. These could include anything from Natural History specimens to historical artefacts. There has always been something of the Victorian amateur naturalist about me, and I have a houseful of arcane objects; some completely worthless, others decidedly not, but all precious to me for the memories they hold.
But people send me lots of pictures of interesting, and, may I say, peculiar things. But once again this week it is over to my lovely wife...
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"I thought, oh yeah, I'll have toast,
A little piece of toast." (Streetband)
Yes, this week I bring you exciting tales of toast.
Firstly – and I am having to force myself to type the name of the act concerned here – a piece of half-eaten, vegemite-coated, piece of toast that had almost caressed the salivary glands of One Direction’s Niall Horan (yes them again, and no that does not mean that I am holding some kind of veiled adoration of the band – I made sure I wrote ‘force myself’ first, so there) reached a bid of $100,000 before being withdrawn - according to one source - but sold for almost that amount from one of a few other sources.
A slight difference there. Withdrawn or sold? Who cares?
However, according to the ‘Mirror’, the listing reads: "The item is perishable and although we will package it so that tampering is evident, we do not advise that it is consumed. We will not be including the mouthful that Niall spat out - because that's just gross." How thoughtful.
And Jo Usmar continues in the same article, “These people LOVE One Direction. We wouldn't put it past some of this lot to sell their organs for a bit of Niall's toast. Which maybe they have. (Please say they haven't or we might vomit up our Vegemite. Hey, anyone want to buy our leftover Vegemite toast? It's fresher than Niall's.)”
Jo Usmar….. I salute you.
Then there was the Justin Timberlake auctioned off left-over French toast. Whatis it about toast? Interestingly, we have anomalies on this particular item also.
Now, whilst I don’t really give a flying doughnut hole, these various different versions of the same story did, I do admit, mildly get my inner sleuth itching to don deer-stalker, magnifying glass and pipe and go search for answers. I have none of those items to hand, except a magnifying glass, so the internet had to suffice. I even began considering the possibility that Mr Timberlake had left a piece of half-eaten French toast on not one, but two separate occasions; a kind of French-toast-in-every-port scenario. However, the dubiously dubbed ‘lucky winner’ of the auction remains the same in every version in which she is mentioned, so I guess it must have been the same piece of French toast after all.
At least one source states that it was in 2006 when radio station Z-100 nabbed a slice of Justin Timberlake’s half-eaten French toast and sold it to a 19-year-old 'N Sync fan for over $3,000. The proceeds went to Timberlake’s charity.
Another source says it was in 2000 when an eager N-Sync fan bought it for $1,025.
A piece of French toast half eaten by former N-Sync and Social Network star Justin Timberlake sold for $3,154 on eBay in March 2006. The toast was sold by a DJ from the radio station Z-100, where Timberlake had been a guest. The DJ noted that Timberlake had only eaten one bite of his toast and speedily posted the remains on eBay, with the proceeds going to charity. The toast was purchased by 19 year-old N-Sync fan Kathy Summers who said that she would "probably freeze-dry it, then seal it … then put it on my dresser."
In March 2000, the boy band 'N Sync sat down for a breakfast interview with New York City radio station Z100, and Timberlake barely touched his food. An enterprising staffer put the two slices of French toast, plate, and extra syrup in a bag, and the radio station put the package on eBay. A University of Wisconsin student paid $1,025 for Timberlake's leftovers, and Z100 threw in an equal amount and gave the whole kitty to charity.
Justin did not finish a plate of French toast in a New York hotel during an interview. Some smart waiters were able to pick up the leftover scraps and sell them on eBay for $3,154.
And another
I gave up then. Or to be brutally honest, I just lost the will to live and decided, for the sake of my sanity, that enough was enough.
But isn’t it interesting how stories get distorted? And this is just with regard to a piece of flipping French toast.
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Tales from the Fringe
And now - and I do apologise for the inclusion of this - I am turning your attention to the obnoxious brat Justin Beiber. And not only did I have to force myself to type that name, I also had to have a blood pressure pill beforehand. All I can say is that it is just as well I am a touch typist and don’t have to look at the keyboard whilst typing out the name of such a detestable, and every other synonym of that word, creature. |
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“DeGeneres will be auctioning the box of hair off to the creepy hair-collector with the most money via her website. The donation will go to her favorite charity, The Gentle Barn, an organization that rescues abused and neglected animals and then invites high-risk children to come visit, where they can be inspired by the animals and feel less alone.”
Source
A good cause indeed, but more than a little ironic, considering Beiber deserted his pet monkey, Mally, in Germany two years later.
I also note that if you want to look like the odious little sprout himself before he had the haircut (no that is unfair to sprouts; they are my favourite vegetable) you can follow one of a few video tutorials on YouTube. All I can say is that it seems a certain Mr. Todd and Mrs Lovett missed out on a perfect opportunity.
And to close this week ....
Most toilets flush in E flat.
They do you know. That is what I found out this morning. However, this snippet of information did not go as far as divulging whether this E-flat is a major or a minor one. But as the major one is often associated with “bold, heroic music", in part because of Beethoven's usage, and even before him, Francesco Galeazzi, who identified E-flat major as "a heroic key, extremely majestic, grave and serious: in all these features it is superior to that of C”. I think toilet flushing just HAS to be E flat major.
And whilst on the subject of the great Beethoven, his Fifth was the first symphony to include trombones. Just sayin’.
Aren’t I a mine of sparkling, tantalising little gems of information today? |
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And to close this week ....
Most toilets flush in E flat.
They do you know. That is what I found out this morning. However, this snippet of information did not go as far as divulging whether this E-flat is a major or a minor one. But as the major one is often associated with “bold, heroic music", in part because of Beethoven's usage, and even before him, Francesco Galeazzi, who identified E-flat major as "a heroic key, extremely majestic, grave and serious: in all these features it is superior to that of C”. I think toilet flushing just HAS to be E flat major.
And whilst on the subject of the great Beethoven, his Fifth was the first symphony to include trombones. Just sayin’.
Aren’t I a mine of sparkling, tantalising little gems of information today? |
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SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION TIME
Just in case you are interested, here is yer beloved Editor at iTunes
   
Check it out now... |
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| INTRODUCING THE NINE HENRYS |
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There are nine Henrys, purported to be the world’s first cloned cartoon character. They live in a strange lo-fi domestic surrealist world peopled by talking rock buns and elephants on wobbly stilts.
They mooch around in their minimalist universe suffering from an existential crisis with some genetically modified humour thrown in. I think Peter McAdam is one of the funniest people around, and I cannot recommend his book The Nine Henrys highly enough. Check it out at Amazon.
Each issue we shall be running a series of Henrybits that are not found in his book about the nine cloned cartoon characters who inhabit a surreal world nearly as insane as mine...
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The Weird Weekend is the largest yearly gathering of mystery animal investigators in the English-speaking world. Now in its fifteenth year, the convention attracts speakers and visitors from all over the world and showcases the findings of investigators into strange phenomena.
Cryptozoologists, parapsychologists, ufologists, and folklorists are descending on Woolfardisworthy Community Centre to share their findings and insights. Unlike other events, the Weird Weekend will also include workshops giving tips to budding paranormal investigators, and even a programme of special events for children. The Weird Weekend is the only fortean conference in the world that is truly a family event, although those veterans of previous events should be reassured that it is still as anarchically silly as ever!
The event is raising money for the Centre for Fortean Zoology, the world’s only full time, professional cryptozoological organisation. The profit from food and beverages goes to a selection of village charities, mostly working with children.
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| the running order (so far) for the 2014 event |
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We are students at The Small School in Hartland North Devon. Our school is the smallest secondary school in the country as there can only be forty students in the school i.e. eight in each of the year groups. However we only have twenty four students this year which we enjoy as it makes it feel like a large family.
Our school is a vegetarian school and other specific dietary needs are also catered for. We all sit down together to eat lunch and we always start by saying the Peace Prayer. We have some lovely meals, a main course and a pudding each day. One of the reasons why our food is so good is because we use lots of vegetables which we have grown in the school garden. The garden is organic as we do not want to use chemicals and we want to encourage the wildlife too. The garden is organised by one of the parents who works as an organic gardener nearby, but she also comes into school every Friday afternoon to teach us gardening skills and to educate us on how to look after the environment generally.
All students in year 7, 8 and 9 have an hour long gardening lesson each week. During this time we help with the planting, weeding and harvesting of the crops. We have a large polytunnel where we grow the salad crops and we also have a healthy looking grape vine so that we can add grapes to our fruit salads in the Summer.There are raised beds for the vegetables, rhubarb and a couple of apple trees. We have a fully working compost heap and system and a willow structure to sit in during the hot weather. If we cannot grow the food, then we buy it at our local shop so that we support local businesses. We really enjoy working in the garden.
At the end of the Summer, we collect seeds from the flowers and vegetables and these are saved till February when a local organic gardening group uses the school for a Seed Swap. Anyone can come along to this event and even if they do not bring seeds to share, they are welcome to help themselves to some of our seeds. The event is advertised throughout North Devon and it is a good meeting place for gardeners to chat over a cup of tea and a piece of cake made by parents and students.
All of the students at The Small School have lots of opportunities to learn about cooking. Every student at the school spends a week helping out in the school kitchen. During this time we work with a different parent each day and we learn how to cook for over thirty people each meal. It is really good fun and we can use the recipes at home too. We also have to learn about budgeting as we can only spend £1 a person on the ingredients. This will help us when we live on our own we will be able to cook for ourselves. There are also other opportunities for us to help with cooking as the school organises a lot of catering events. For example the school organises a monthly Farmers’ Market in the village and students help to cook a variety of dishes from full breakfasts to just tea and cake.
As well as learning about gardening and cooking, we can also choose from 16 subjects at GCSE level. The subjects are Maths, English Language and English Literature, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Drama, Music, Film, Photography, History, Geography, Latin, Classics, Art and Textiles.
Our school is in an old chapel building and it was set up just over thirty years ago by Satish Kumar as he was concerned about young people travelling long distances to large comprehensives. As a result of this we do not receive any government funding and parents only pay just over £500 a term. The rest of the money comes from the many fundraisers we have to organise and donations from people who support the philosophy of the school. We get quite a lot of visitors from all over the world and we often have volunteers who come into school to teach a workshop or help out for the day.
If you would like to visit our school then the contact details are on our websitewww.thesmallschool.org.uk
Year 8 and 9 students
The Small School, Hartland, North Devon. |
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| SOULFLY Savages (NUCLEAR BLAST) |
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| When I put on ‘Roots’ for the very first time, all those years ago, I was absolutely blown away. Sepultura had come of age and had produced an album I never actually thought possible and they went from being a band on my radar to an outfit I was definitely interested in. Since then I have followed the career of all those involved with both interest and some disappointment. Could Max ever recapture that intensity and power, and would a Max-less Sepultura ever really challenge again? Well, although Sepultura have produced some good work, they have never really hit a home run while Max has been patchy to say the least. The debut Cavalera Conspiracy was a stunner, but have Soulfly ever really done anything to match their own debut? |
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Well, there is nothing here to change that. What we have is a very run of the mill album, which for me personally is a huge disappointment. Sure, Max has brought in some guests and there is the odd number that captures the intensity and power, but for the most part this just doesn’t work. I mean, what on earth is “Ayatollah of Rock 'n' Rolla” all about?
I wanted to enjoy this, I really did. I wanted it to be the rebirth of Soulfly, but all it does is make me add my voice to the many others and ask when on earth are they all going to bury the hatchet and take Sepultura back to centre stage where they belong.
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| THEOCRACY Theocracy (ULTERIUM RECORDS) |
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| Originally Theocracy was a one-man project of Matt Smith, and this the debut album was released in 2003. Now, while Matt is a multi-instrumentalist he wasn’t a proficient drummer so instead used a dreaded drum machine to fulfil that part for him. The album gained acclaim, so for future releases he brought in Shawn Benson to undertake that role. Now, after being unavailable for some time, he has decided to revisit the album and Shawn has recorded new drum tracks. Musically that is the only change to the original, but he has taken the opportunity to re-mix it and then brought in Mika Jussila (Nightwish, Stratovarius, Children of Bodom) to remaster it. In addition, he has provided new liner notes and track comments. |
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This album was originally released back in 2003 through Metal Ages, and I didn’t hear it at the time, but am really glad to have the opportunity now as this really doesn’t sound like a project but like a full on band. Given my personal hatred of drum machines I am sure that using Shawn to go over the previous tracks has had a huge impact as he is a large part of the overall sound. Also, Matt has a very powerful voice while also being a very good guitarist, which definitely adds to the band feel. Keyboards are used sparingly and are not really a key part to the overall sound, and this comes over much more as a melodic metal/power metal outfit than a prog metal one.
Influenced by bands as diverse as Edguy, Iced Earth and Savatage, this is an incredibly solid debut and certainly doesn’t sound 10 years old. Well worth investigating.
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| WARBRINGER IV: Empires Collapse (CENTURY MEDIA) |
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It probably comes as no surprise to learn, having seen the title, that this is the fourth album from L.A. thrashers Warbringer. These guys have been around since 2004, and have toured almost constantly since their inception, playing with the likes of Arch Enemy, Exodus, Suicide Silence, Megadeth, Napalm Death, Suffocation, Hatebreed, Testament, Nile, Iced Earth, Symphony X, Obituary, Overkill, Kreator, Destruction and Nevermore. This is a new chapter for the band, as it marks the first recording sessions for recently added members Jeff Potts (guitar) and Ben Mottsman (bass), both formerly of Mantic Ritual. It certainly sounds like these guys live on the road as they are incredibly tight, albeit not exactly brimming with ideas.
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It is an okay album, and something that I would have bought I had seen them in concert, but I can’t imagine hordes of people rushing out to get this if they haven’t. It isn’t possible to compare this to the latest Testament or Death Angel albums for example, as those guys are in a different league, but this is still good fun nonetheless. If you enjoy good old school thrash then this is worth hearing, and if they are ever playing in your neighbourhood then you definitely should get out and see them as it should be a good gig.
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| WE ARE LEGEND Rise of the Legends (PURE LEGEND RECORDS) |
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| So, a band with ‘Legend’ in their name release an album with ‘Legend’ in the title, on a label that also contains the word ‘Legend’. That’s not confusing at all. Drummer Heiko Burst and guitarist Siggi Maier were both in Abraxas year sago, but only put together this band in 2010. Since then they have been creating a stir in Germany, winning various awards, but this is their debut album. These guys have obviously taken Savatage as their starting point and have decided that their sound is so good why move on from there? And when a band performs as well as these guys who can blame them? Singer Selin Schönbeck uses the piano to great effect, bringing forward thoughts of the masterpiece that is “Gutter Ballet”, but there are plenty of times where he concentrates on just fronting this powerful quintet as they blast along with some incredible melodic and hard hitting metal. |
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| They fully understand the use of light and shade, slow and quick, and hit the mark far more often than they miss. There is just no way that this sounds like a debut as they exude confidence with great harmonies, twists and turns and obviously don’t take themselves too seriously (listen to “This Holy Dark” and there is a vocal harmony that definitely shows what I mean). They can riff as if they are the offshoot of Helloween, but it is to Savatage that they definitely tip their hat. Overall this is an impressive debut and I only hope that we get to hear a lot more from these guys, and soon. |
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