FACT – Resident In My Room Video

The official FACT video for the single ‘Resident In My Room‘, taken from the band’s ‘Never Turn Out The Light To Keep Myself‘ debut, released through Japan’s Bullion Records in 2005.

FACT – A Fact of Life Video

The official video for the FACT single ‘A Fact of Life‘, taken from the band’s 2009 self-titled Vagrant Records debut. FACT is currently over in the UK touring with Breathe Carolina, and both bands played the Slam Dunk Festival from May 28th-29th, a festival headlined by Alkaline Trio and New Found Glory.

Introducing FACT

Kicking off our Hassle Records week is Japanese post-hardcore/metal band FACT.

Each day of this week we will be featuring a different Hassle Records artist, and with FACT having only joined the label in March (along with 65daysofstatic and fun., the latter of which we’ll be featuring later on in the week), we therefore decided that FACT would provide as good a starting point as any for our fantastic week of featuring quality Hassle artists.

FACT started out its life in Tokyo back in 1999, and the band then began to start touring locally before starting to gig further afield. From forming it took the band five years until the release of the ‘The Fine Day Never Last’ EP in 2004, with debut album ‘Never Turn Out The Light To Keep Myself’ then gaining its release the following year through Japanese label Bullion Records. 2009 was a big year for FACT as the band released its second studio album through Vagrant Records, a self-titled release, the band’s major label debut and first album to reach a worldwide audience. In 2010 the band has followed it up with ‘In the Blink of an Eye’, and now stands strong as a very impressive Japanese post-hardcore band with a great wealth of material.

To date the band has officially released three singles; one from each album that has been released thus far.

The following is the official video for the FACT single ‘Slip of the Lip‘, taken from 2010′s ‘In the Blink of an Eye‘ studio album:

Hassle Records Week

Each day of this week we will be featuring a different Hassle Records artist on the website that played at the Slam Dunk Festival in Hatfield/Leeds over the weekend.

Starting out with FACT, you will then see us cover Alkaline Trio, Rolo Tomassi, Fireworks, and We Are The Ocean as the week progresses, with a different band being focussed on from Monday through Friday.

Expect to see information about these five bands featured here, along with videos aplenty, and much much more in store as we get out Hassle Records Week well and truly under way.

Morcheeba ‘Even Though’ Free Download

New Morcheeba single ‘Even Though‘ is out today, and the band is currently giving the single away, completely for free at the following address: www.morcheeba.co.uk/spotify

Take a trip to the website to request your free copy of the single now.

Feeder October Tour

Welsh rock band Feeder is to hit the road in October, playing a total of eight dates throughout the UK. The tour will begin with a date at Leeds Metropolitan University on October 21st, and will ultimately close with another University date as the band plays Southampton University on the 31st.

The following is a full list of the shows that Feeder has planned for October:

October
21 – Leeds, Metropolitan University
22 – Glasgow, ABC
24 – Manchester, Academy 2
25 – Wolverhampton, Wulfrun Hall
27 – Bristol, Academy
28 – London, Shepherds Bush Empire
30 – Oxford, Academy
31 – Southampton, University

Pennywise, Strike Anywhere, A Wilhelm Scream @ Shepherds Bush Empire, Sunday 16th May 2010

Jim Lindberg may have departed, this show at the Shepherds Bush Empire however presented powerful evidence that Pennywise is still a band that is well worth watching. Ignite’s Zoli Teglas is now on vocal duties and this is a time of great change for Pennywise, all the passion is still there though, and the band is still clearly very keen on putting on energetic and exciting punk rock shows.

Having missed first support band Project North I therefore can’t comment, next up was A Wilhelm Scream however and thankfully I wasn’t too late to catch them. Drummer Nick Angelini may have had a hangover, that didn’t hold him back though as A Wilhelm Scream put on a strong set featuring a number of top tracks. The sound quality could have been better, the music of A Wilhelm Scream went down well nonetheless though, with the band belting out a number of classics including ‘The King is Dead’ and ‘Killing It’ as well as many more. Pennywise with Zoli Teglas was always the main attraction here, A Wilhelm Scream started to get the crowd on its feet though, had a number of people singing along, and warmed the stage well ready for Strike Anywhere to take to it.

Following on from A Wilhelm Scream, Strike Anywhere seemed to take a bit of time to warm up, a few songs into the set though and the band seemed to be well and truly in its stride as it began to get the crowd moving. Strike Anywhere will be back in August for Reading and Leeds, for this evening they were concentrating on pleasing the London crowd at the Shepherds Bush Empire however, demonstrating strong onstage energy and making sure that the crowd was having a good time. Drummer Eric Kane seemed to have his head down quite a bit as he drummed so perhaps he was feeling a little worse for wear after a hard night with Nick Angelini; I’m not really sure on that one, he was definitely on top form with his beats though and all in all Strike Anywhere certainly impressed.

So three bands had now taken to the Shepherds Bush Empire stage, the crowd was ready and waiting, and Pennywise was soon to appear to belt through a fine collection of classics. There was a vibrant mood in the venue and rightly so; I think the audience knew that they were about to witness something rather special, and Pennywise put on what was without doubt one of my favourite punk rock performances for years.

‘Every Single Day’ was the track that Pennywise chose to open with, and right from the word go the band had the crowd’s full undivided attention as they tore through the track before launching into many more. Some idiot thought it was a smart idea to throw a pint of water on stage just as Pennywise was coming on and this therefore caused a few problems to start with as Zoli slipped over and towels had to be brought on to clear up the wet, the singer seemed to take it all in good heart however and it certainly didn’t stop the band from putting on a show to remember.

With tracks such as ‘Society’, ‘Fuck Authority’, and ‘Can’t Believe It’ being played, there was therefore plenty to get excited about throughout the set, and never for a second did the Pennywise sound disappoint. The band was obviously having a lot of fun on stage, and the audience also was clearly feeling it in a big way as the evening flashed by. There was even room for the band’s ‘Stand By Me’ cover in the set, a song that really did seem to suit Zoli Teglas’ vocal tone well; the track was as energy packed as the rest and fitted in supremely well in what was a very impressive set.

As well as putting on an excellent show, Zoli Teglas also used the gig as an opportunity to raise awareness of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, of which he is an active supporter. In particular, Operation Blue Rage was spoken about, a project to protect the bluefin tuna. The Sea Shepherd Society will be sending out the Steve Irwin vessel to the Mediterranean this summer in order to stand against the illegal overfishing of bluefin tuna, and if you share in Zoli Teglas’ passion for marine conservation then you can read more about it here.

Pennywise managed to get about as close to perfection as possible in this show at the Shepherds Bush Empire, and when the night was over I’m sure that the entire crowd would have happily kept watching for several hours more. Ending with the brilliant ‘Bro Hymn’ the band really did impress hugely, and there were many arms raised in the air around the venue as the band passionately played through its final song.

Work has already begun on Pennywise album number ten, and although some may be sceptical of what the band can offer in the absence of Jim Lindberg, people should not forget that Zoli Teglas has seventeen years experience behind him as the vocalist for Ignite, and I for one am extremely excited to hear what the band can offer with its next studio release. A new vocalist may now have been acquired, going forward Pennywise is still a band that is as relevant as ever however, and although the loss of a vocalist of more than 20 years is tough to come to terms with, Pennywise seems to be doing just fine without Jim Lindberg and we’ll no doubt be hearing plenty more from the band in the future.

Rating:

New This or the Apocalypse Track Unveiled

Pennsylvania’s This or the Apocalypse has today posted a new track on its Myspace page, and the new material is now available for streaming. ‘Charmer‘ is the new track to have been posted, a track from the band’s ‘Haunt What’s Left‘ debut album which is due for release through Good Fight Music on June 22nd.

This or the Apocalypse vocalist Ricky Armellino had the following to say about the meaning behind the new track:

The more I struggle to learn about myself, the more I just abhor the amount our society consumes.  It’s disgusting that a religious belief could make one feel empowered enough to irresponsibly destroy and consume other forms of life because they feel that there is an “afterlife” only for themselves and nothing else,” starts Armellino. “

One of my dearest friends calls me a “charmer” because I tend to be cunning and persuasive when I talk to others, it’s a gift and a curse; you can be so convincing that you can even distort the truth in your own eyes and make yourself believe you’re not one of ‘them’, you’re not to blame. I named the song after that nickname because I always want to remind myself that I should be holding myself accountable first, the rest of the world second.

This or the Apocalypse only signed to Good Fight Music back in February, already the band has made powerful progress however and the result of much hard work is soon to be revealed as the band’s debut album gets its release in June.

The Gaslight Anthem June Tour

The Gaslight Anthem is touring in June and be found headlining a number of shows across the UK, as well as playing at Hard Rock Calling, Hyde Park in support of Pearl Jam on June 25th.

The band is currently working on a video for new single ‘American Slang‘ which is due for release on June 14th, and this short tour will then follow a week later as The Gaslight Anthem takes to the UK. The Gaslight Anthem will be returning to these shores later this year for the Reading and Leeds festivals.

The following are the tour dates that The Gaslight Anthem has planned for June:

June 22nd – Birmingham (UK) O2 Academy (headline show)
June 23rd – Glasgow (UK) O2 Academy (headline show)
June 24th – Manchester (UK) Academy 1 (headline show)
June 25th – Hard Rock Calling (supporting Pearl Jam)
June 26th – London (UK) Brixton Academy (headline show)
June 29th – Oxford (UK) O2 Academy (headline show)

fun. – The Gambler (Acoustic) Video

A live recording of New York based three-piece fun. performing the track ‘The Gambler‘ acoustically.

‘The Gambler‘ is a track from the band’s ‘Aim & Ignite‘ studio album which is due for UK release through Hassle Records on June 7th.

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