Appetite For Destruction – A tribute to Guns N’ Roses

Appetite for Destruction, the ultimate Guns N’ Roses experience, have been performing the music of Guns N’ Roses for almost twenty years, selling out venues throughout the Northeast. They have performed with special guest and current G N’ R keyboardist Dizzy Reed and shared two bills with ex-G N’ R guitarist Gilby Clarke. Appetite delivers the definitive Guns N’ Roses show, performing all the hit singles, rock radio staples, and fan favorites with acute attention to detail, serving as both outstanding lookalikes and soundalikes for the legendary band. Their catalog of songs is unsurpassed, as is their nearly two-decade-long career of bringing G N’ R to the masses. You may not get to see the entire classic Guns N’ Roses lineup live, but you can surely satisfy your appetite with Appetite for Destruction.

Cradle of Filth | Cryptoriana World Tour

Cradle of Filth

Cradle Of Filth have assumed the role of dark metal diarists, exploring the amorphous horrors that lurk in humanity’s shadows and reveling in the opulence of mortal sin across centuries powered by bleak romance and a lust for the sensually grotesque. Currently enjoying a collective creative renaissance that is driving them to new heights of elegant fury, the band are more potent and devastating than ever before as they approach the release of their latest and perhaps greatest studio effort, Cryptoriana – The Seductiveness Of Decay. “This album represents an onwards and upwards drive for the band, building on the success of Hammer Of The Witches and pushing further with the venomous musicology to create something that is both unique and loyal to our previous incarnations,” lead vocalist Dani Filth states. A monstrous tour-de-force of utterly distinctive but reassuringly destructive heavy metal, laced with spectral disquiet but delivered with muscular aplomb, Cryptoriana hits hard from the exhilarating melodrama of opening two-fisted salvo “Exquisite Torments Await” and “Heartbreak And Séance” onwards, the twelfth Cradle album manifestly represents yet another wild expansion of the band’s sonic manifesto across nine epic and elaborate new anti-hymns. As they prepare to introduce these stunning new songs to their dedicated global fan base, Cradle Of Filth have never been more powerful or their excellence so undeniable

Clutch – Psychic Warfare World Tour w/ Devin Townsend Project

The eleventh Clutch studio album Psychic Warfare goes straight for the throat with “X- Ray Visions” and never lets go. Working again with acclaimed producer Machine, this time in Texas, the concise arrangements that made Earth Rocker so assertive is the same harness for the combustible musical energy on Psychic Warfare. Harder, faster… let the rhythm hit ’em. Formed in 1991, the Maryland-based band’s ability to absorb different musical styles and fabricate them into a distinct Clutch sound continues to be their forté. “A Quick Death In Texas,” overstocked with signature “Clutch heavy” Tim Sult riffs and lonesome guitar licks, and the funk undercurrent of “Your Love Is Incarceration,” color Psychic Warfare with articulate musicality and comfortable familiarity.
Neil Fallon: Vocals/ Guitar
Jean-Paul Gaster: Drums
Dan Maines: Bass
Tim Sult: Guitar

GWAR – The Blood of Gods Tour w/ Ghoul, He is Legend & US Bastards

GWAR are thrash metal’s answer to the more mainstream satire of Spinal Tap. Gory, sexually perverse, and scatological in the extreme, GWAR were formed as an experiment in marketing strategy by several musicians, art students, and dancers. The group claimed to consist of all-powerful interplanetary warriors, descended from aliens stranded in Antarctica and initially created from the lowest filth in the universe, who came to Earth to sexually enslave and/or slaughter the human race. Taking the rock theatrics of Kiss and Alice Cooper to depraved new levels, GWAR have been putting on one of rock’s most outrageous and offensive–not to mention creative—live shows. The group quickly established a unique identity as the members performed in bizarre costumes made of latex and papier-mâché, while the stage show itself featured fake pagan rituals and corpses spewing washable bodily fluids on the audience. GWAR are perhaps best appreciated for their visual aspects, which have historically been far more creative than the actual music; indeed, the group received a somewhat stunning Grammy nomination in 1993 for its long-form home video Phallus in Wonderland.

Dirty Heads w/ The Unlikely Candidates & Tyrone’s Jacket

After two decades spent chiseling their unique, multi-genre infused sound, Dirty Heads have finally come into their own. Following in the footsteps of their California brothers Sublime, Huntington Beach’s Dirty Heads mix hip-hop, reggae, and rock along with that laid-back South Cali attitude. Since the release of their 2008 debut Any Port in a Storm, the five-piece band—Jared Watson (vocals), Dustin “Duddy B” Bushnell (vocals/guitar), Jon Olazabal (percussion), Matt Ochoa (drums) and David Foral (bass)—has consistently experimented with their sunny style, leaning heavily on reggae fused with hip-hop cornerstones and scaling back for more acoustic fare, darting between extremes.

Kamelot

Kamelot, Delain, ft. Lauderdale

with Delain & Battle Beast

Doors: 7:30PM

Kamelot’s release of their debut Eternity was praised by the music media as one of most promising debuts of all time. They went on to create many other albums all with striking results. Kamelot’s video “The Haunting” and “March of Mephisto” became huge hits on YouTube and prompted the band to launch their own YouTube channel, aptly titled KamTV. KamTV’s initial launch hurled the band into YouTube’s top 10 music channels and #1 Metal Channel, transcending all genres. Subsequently, Kamelot presented themselves more sinister and soulful on Ghost Opera and Poetry For The Poisoned, but have now returned to the melodic aspects of their multi-layered sound with the album, Silverthorn. The album, went directly to the top, debuting at the #1 position on Amazon’s Heavy Metal Chart! Along with this amazing accomplishment, Kamelot also impacted major charts in other categories including the #9 position on Billboard’s Hard Rock Chart, #24 on the Rock Charts, #79 on Billboard’s Top 200 Chart, as well as appearing on multiple international charts.

ISSUES – Headspace Tour w/ Volumes, Too Close to Touch & Sylar

Issues ft. lauderdale

Issues are an Atlanta, Georgia metalcore band formed in 2012 and was quickly

signed to Rise Records imprint Velocity just a few months after formation. Issues'

first EP, Black Diamonds, arrived at the tail end of 2012. A genre-blurring mix of

metalcore, R&B-tinged pop, and Linkin Park-esque nu-metal DJ breaks, their self-

titled first album Issues debuted in the Top Ten of the Billboard 100. An acoustic

EP, Diamond Dreams, was released later that year, featuring their 2013 stand-alone

single, "Hooligans." Issues returned to the studio to record their sophomore LP,

Headspace, which they are touring in support of.

ALTER BRIDGE w/ guests Nonpoint

Fittingly, on their fifth full-length album, The Last Hero, hard rock juggernaut Alter Bridge pursue a level of excellence inspired by timeless heroism. Making the record became something of a personal quest for the quartet—Myles Kennedy [vocals, guitar], Mark Tremonti [guitar, vocals], Brian Marshall [bass], and Scott Phillips [drums]. In 2013, the band reached an elevated creative and critical milestone with Fortress. It bowed at #12 on the Billboard Top 200, moving over 30,000 copies first-week and earning unanimous tastemaker praise. The record garnered perfect scores from Total Guitar and KERRANG! as well as acclaim from Billboard, The Guardian, Loudwire, Ultimate Guitar, and many more. In between sold out tours in Europe and North America, the guys appeared on VH1 and graced the cover of Classic Rock Magazine who labeled Fortress, “The best thing they’ve ever done,” while Eddie Trunk called it, “A top 10 album of the last 10 years.” When it came time to write new music, the musicians collectively raised the bar yet again for The Last Hero. Ultimately, Alter Bridge heroically deliver for fans worldwide and rock music at large.

Revolution Fan Favorite Nonpoint provides support for the show.

Dillinger Escape Plan

The Dillinger Escape Plan create maniacally intense, crushingly metallic, and decidedly hardcore punk-infused jazz-time-signature-invoking compositions displaying an unparalleled musical bravery, precision musicianship, meticulously thought-out, and complex structuring, and rigorous physical endurance. The band’s guitarists and drummer are regular features in publications geared toward the guitar- and drum-playing set. The depth of extremity and mental challenge presented by their music virtually defies description, at once recalling the mind-wandering spirit of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, the complex heavy metal of latter-day Death, Cynic’s solitary death metal achievement, and the progressive hard rock of Rush. Their performances bring to mind the anarchic charge of early Guns N’ Roses shows, and the sophistication that drives their craft should awe fans of classy art rock bands like Radiohead. This is bound to be one of the best live shows of the year! Don’t miss this!

Bring Me The Horizon with Of Mice and Men, Issues, letlive.

When Bring Me The Horizon finally returned home from their last world tour in December 2011, they’d been on the road for two whole years.

Their third album There Is A Hell, Believe Me I’ve Seen It. There Is A Heaven, Let’s Keep It A Secret had proved both a critical smash and their worldwide breakthrough, smashing into the Top 20 on both sides of the Atlantic and going to Number 1 in Australia. They’d sold out shows across Europe, Asia, Australasia and North and South America. Played astonishing, show-stealing gigs everywhere from the Vans Warped Tour to Reading & Leeds Festivals. Inspired an obsessed army of devotees, not to mention an almost-as-vociferous band of haters.

Now that they had to do the hardest thing for any band in their position – essentially, the hottest breakthrough metal band on the planet – to do: nothing.

For frontman Oli Sykes, the band’s first proper downtime since they formed in Sheffield in 2004 was a much-needed chance to take care of business, both of the commercial (Bring Me The Horizon signed to RCA after three albums on indie Visible Noise) and personal variety (“writing became my passion again”.

Consequently, when the time came to begin work on their fourth album, Sempiternal (an old English word meaning “everlasting”), Oli found himself in a “better position and clearer mindframe than ever before – I was working at 110% whereas before it was always 50%, because there was stuff going on that was hindering me”.

But he also knew that a clear head alone would not be enough to craft a truly game-changing modern rock record. This time around, Bring Me The Horizon were determined to deliver an album that – in the words of guitarist Lee Malia – was “as close to perfect as we could make it”. Before, BMTH albums had often been put together on the hoof between tours, but for Sempiternal they had plenty of time and a license to experiment. It was time to rip up the rulebook and start again.

Previous BMTH albums were no strangers to electronic sounds, but this time around Oli brought in Jordan Fish, formerly of atmospheric electronic-rockers Worship, to help integrate keyboards and programming into the band’s sound from the very start of the process. Initially, he was supposed to play a support role, but soon he was writing with Oli, and bouncing ideas off Lee, and slowly-but-surely he became an integral member of the band.

Jordan jokes about falling on his feet by joining BMTH just as they look likely to become one of the biggest rock bands in the world, though he’s certainly paid his dues (“I’ve done all the shit bits of being in a band, just without anyone knowing about it…”) and he also played a vital role in overhauling BMTH’s sound, his electronic soundscapes adding depth and space to their raw rock power.

“We’ve never wanted to just be beholden to the metalcore thing,” says Oli, who as boss of his own, wildly successful clothing line Drop Dead, has long defied the metal stereotype. “We always said we want to push boundaries, but this time we pulled it off. Jordan opened up a lot of stuff that we’ve always wanted to do, but couldn’t.”

“Before, we used to build up and then go into something super-heavy,” says Lee. “But we’ve moved on a bit from that: it can still sound massive but it’s not just based around a breakdown.”

But they didn’t stop there. Oli also changed up the way he worked, taking singing lessons, spending hours crafting perfect lyrical soundbites and even studying the science of “what makes a melody catchy”.

“The idea behind Sempiternal is that we wanted every song to have a different theme musically and lyrically,” says Oli. “And that whatever song you listen to, you should know what it’s about, at a certain level, straight away.”

And the results of Bring Me The Horizon’s new approach, and the hugely intense recording sessions at Angelic Studios in Banbury (“Whenever we took a break, I could tell it was killing Oli,” says Jordan, “He’d be itching to get back to work”) are splattered all over Sempiternal. An album of astonishing versatility, it ranges from the controlled menace of Seen It All Before to the naked aggression of Anti-Vist; from the bubbling electronica of Can You Feel My Heart? to the metallic attack of The House Of Wolves; from the irresistibly anthemic chorus of Shadow Moses to the uncompromising fury of Go To Hell.

Meanwhile, Oli’s newly-bolstered voice is a revelation, swooping from heartfelt croon to cathartic scream and all points in-between, while his lyrics grapple with both his own personal issues and wider concerns, from the attack on religion in The House Of Wolves (“I had stuff to deal with and there were a lot of people pushing me towards religion,” says Oli, “But I couldn’t stomach it”) to giving a verbal smackdown to keyboard warriors on Anti-Vist (“The whole internet generation drives me insane,” he says, “People think they’ve got a platform to spout any old shit”).

In short, Sempiternal is here to reclaim the word “epic” from the people who save you money on your car insurance. No wonder the band is already attracting unprecedented levels of buzz, not just from the hard rock enclaves where Bring Me The Horizon have long been superstars, but from the mainstream.

Already, since their return, they’ve proved their unique versatility by playing – and conquering – everything from a small Sheffield Leadmill show for hardcore fans to a headline slot at Vans Warped UK to a Maida Vale set for Radio 1’s Rock Week (quite a baptism of fire for new-boy Jordan).

Then, with broadsheets and music magazines alike electing BMTH as poster boys for the UK’s new wave of hard rock, Radio 1 premiered Shadow Moses on daytime radio, not once but twice, lighting up Twitter and providing a rallying point for the whole rock scene in the process. It was no one-off either: weeks later, Bring Me The Horizon are still staples of the playlist.

“What must builders be thinking when they listen?” ponders Lee. “It must be weird for people who never listen to that sort of music… It’s still weird for us!”

They’d better get used to it, because Lee, Oli, Jordan, bassist Matt Kean and drummer Matt Nicholls are poised to become THE rock success story of 2013. And Oli Sykes, for one, is ready for it.

“Everyone starts off listening to pop music but they get hungry for something a bit more exciting,” says Oli, who was converted to the rock cause as a teenager by Linkin Park. “A whole lot of people want that – there just hasn’t been a band that have done it for a while, there hasn’t been that band to get people into better music. I would love Bring Me The Horizon to be that band for this generation.”

 

 

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