It could be argued that the emergence of Machina Kore from the darkness of the pan(dem)ic year that was 2020 is also the emergence of the band’s constituent members from their own personal darknesses into a new and vibrant light. Two of the characters involved in this story will already be familiar to long-term ÜR readers, and followers of the Northern Ireland metal scene…
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For their 11th studio album, ska-punk pioneers The Mighty Mighty BossToneS have turned the despair and negativity of the past year or so on its head, using the time on their hands to plunge themselves headfirst into an intense song writing frenzy. The result, according to the band, was the most fun they have ever had making a record, and with the help of numerous friends and acquaintances they have produced one of the strongest albums of their career in ‘When God Was Great’.
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Someone out there loves John B this week. It is pretty embarrassing to admit this is the first time he’s getting around to checking out Belvedere with how much he loves skate punk and it is a damn shame he has waited this long. Now that he has heard them, he can’t imagine his music collection without them being front and center. He know h just gave away the review in the beginning, but he can’t help it. He doesn’t get this hyped about a new album all that often. Fair warning gushing to follow.
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While several summer festivals have been forced to once again reschedule until next summer, and others are looking set to follow, Bloodstock has issued a defiant statement of intent to bring live metal back to the masses (sic) with the announcement that Evil Scarecrow will round out this year’s event with a Sunday night headline slot on the event’s Sophie Stage…
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Like so many hundreds, nay thousands, of other bands, the onset of the global Covid pan(dem)ic stopped Montreal retro-rockers The Damn Truth dead in their tracks. They were two-thirds of the way through recording this, their third album, with legendary producer Bob Rock at the helm, when they decided to take a break from the process, which was taking place in Vancouver, and return to their home city to recharge their batteries… then, BOOM, the world went into lockdown. The band initially considered releasing the six songs they had already completed as an EP, before casting that idea aside and, displaying the DIY ethic that had helped them reach this stage of their burgeoning career, decided to finish the damn thing (sic) themselves, with the help of hometown producer Jean Masciotte.
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