Things get DIRRRTY this Wednesday!
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2 floor Rocknight is back for a 3rd week!
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Get into gear with Orphan Gears this Friday!
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Band Quest 2010 is here!

Band Quest 2010 IS The South East's widest set of opportunities for alternative music acts. A multi-faceted Battle of The Bands-esque competition with extended showcases and up to 60 PRIZES, worth over £25K. 6 Finals with at least every finalist winning a prize valued at £100 upward. The opportunity to be part of a brand new set of triple Promotional CD compilations, a full colour program featuring all bands and supporters. Offering reduced studio costs, festival slots (such as Bloodstock), local discounts, deals and more, so what you waiting for?

BAND QUEST 2010 will be fully launched this Friday 11th December.

You can view more details at the Band Quest website by clicking on the flyer below:

If you are in a band and want to apply immediately click on the image below and you will be taken to the application form:

The best local metal night returns to the scene once more. This time at Dartfords newly refurbished Bull n Vic pub, bringing the best of the scenes local metal bands with it!

THIS ADDICTION will be laying down some heavy thrash riffs in a week which sees the return of classic metallers CONQUEST, complete with new bassist. THE HUFFMEN also play. DJ 69 will keep things metal between bands.

The Monday Hate Club at the Bull and Vic every Monday.

£2.00 for Loyalty Card Holders, £2.50 for everyone else.

What track would you really like to hear played by the DJs at The Monday Hate Club? – Email us a request now!

We head to the Dirty South for the first time and bring an eclectic mix of vibrancy from some of the better, upbeat local bands with us on the 9th of December!

HEADRUSH kick the night into action with their powerful, original style followed by THE SEPARATION who throw an exhilarating fusion of catchy hooks, energetic riffage and frenzied vocals together. RED 13 will then take to the stage with their hard-rockin dirty riffs that kick your arse. The night is rounded off with the exciting, upbeat, fun loving frenzy that is THEY CAME FROM JAPAN!

Dish The Dirt at the Dirty South this Wednesday.

£3.00 for everyone.

What track would you really like to hear played by the DJs at Dish The Dirt? – Email us a request now!

It's the 3rd week at the Zero Bar in Bexleyheath, again with 2 floors of great music from 8pm til late!

The main downstairs floor will have DJ's playing the best alternatove, rock and metal tracks, bringing back the best original rock night, plus it's free entry.

Upstairs, we have 3 great bands performing live each Thursday night for a small entry fee. TANK TRAP, NELLYS HEROES and APOLLO WITHSTANDS entertain this week.

Get ready to roar at the Red Lion again this Friday!

Fresh from playing the Purple Turtle in London ORPHAN GEARS headline this week with LUNAR PROPHECY, SHATTERPOINT and DECLASSIFIED as support.

Live At The Lion at the Red Lion every odd Friday.

£3.00 for everyone.

What track would you really like to hear played by the DJs at Live At The Lion? – Email us a request now!

PRINCE KATOCO needs:

- Drummer

Contact the band here: cmp5000@hotmail.co.uk or ring Chris on 07506 550 303 or spoek@tiscali.co.uk or ring Joe on 07738 820 290.

Singer available - Contact Darren Holmes here: dareneholmes@hotmail.co.uk.

A cold Monday night in Camden near the end of November is not on top of most peoples wish lists, so things did not bode well for the evenings gig at the Underworld. This was unfortunate as you don't get to see 3 quality Norwegian bands in one evening that often.

Openers MAGENTA (7/10) sound a hell of a lot heavier live than on record, but the main elements of their music still shines through. The classic 80s goth influence is found throughout the set, with the likes of 'Darkest dream' providing the evening with some melodic beauty. TRAIL OF TEARS (7.5) have been headlining in Europe for good reason. Their brand of male-female fronted gothic metal knocks most of their contemporaries for six. Their airline lost most of their guitars on the way to England so we were treated to newer material which matched the tuneage of the guitars they had available. This may have disappointed those baying for some old classics but it didn't compromise the performance as the likes of 'Deceptive mirrors' was delivered with all the menace on earth, with Cathrine Paulsen's vocals piercing the dark surroundings like a sharp knife in butter, while Ronny Thorsen's roar thundered against the walls. More hardcore Trail of Tears fans may have been expected to have been here but that didn't stop the band putting in a fine and professional performance.

After being a regular headliner at the Gotham festival for the past 3-4 years (on and off) it wasn't surprising to see GOTHMINISTER (7.5) headline this leg of the tour. Using some of Magenta as the backing band has obvious advantages for a tour like this and tonight they perform well for a second time, with Gothminister himself prancing around the stage like he owns it. Some of the Trail of Tears crowd were slowly replaced with a younger set of fans who happily moshed, danced and head banged to the industrialised gothic metal emanating from the stage. Kicking off with the slamming 'Dusk til dawn' always ensures a reaction from the crowd and 'Gothic anthem', 'Angel' and the eerie 'Sideshow' carries on the good work throughout the set. It is the magnificient 'Darkside' though which is the bands piece of art. It's dark rumbling bass line creeps along until the massive chorus crushes all before it with it's satanic melody.

The Underworld may not have been packed but all three of these Norwegian bands treated those present to a night of dark, gothic metal pleasures.

Review by Alan Hicks

The last South of Heaven gig at the Fox and Firkin was always going to be a big party and it certainly was!

First on was Storm the Gates (7/10). This band sound like they are trying to bring back the bay area thrash scene started with bands like Metallica and Megadeth and a damn fine job the did too, being first on didn't seem to phase them. They had some great riffs throughout the set which really shows this band could go far in the future. The drummer needs to hit the drums a bit harder at times but being a young band they can only get better and stronger if they keep this sort of level up.

Second on were Silas (8), this band definitely know how to mix things up, throwing in blues to jazz to reggae, mixed with a huge dose of metal to tie it all up. There were some great guitar solos thrown in throughout the set which were truly awesome, the vocal harmonies between leading vocals and backing were great too. They're a band you definitely want to see live, they just rocked the place to the core.

Third on were Motorcity Daredevils (8), with ex-members from bands such as Raging Speedhorn and Viking Skull and Sex-Ray Specs, your going to want to hear something special. They certainly deliver by churning out some impressive old school rock, you could be fooled into thinking you were listening to the likes of Led Zeppelin and AC/DC. With a great mixture of vocals from the drummer and guitarist they certainly were fun to watch. They even had a new bass player who had only rehearsed with them for the past week and a half and played like he had been in the band since the start, this was made even more impressive by the fact he was extremely drunk but still played with great composure.

Headlining the last South of Heaven were Brutai (9). This band came on to a great crowd who threw themselves into their set with a brutal mosh pit starting just a few seconds into the first song. This band have a similar sound to Trivium which isn't necessarily a bad thing as they totally own the night with their tight playing and great stage presence. The clean vocals could use a bit of polishing but apart from this little thing they kicked some ass tonight, this was great preparation for their big up coming gig with, 'Rise To Remain' on 10th December at South of the Border in Shoreditch.

Shame this was the last 'South of Heaven' for the year but already next year looks to have a great line up.

Review by James Griffiths

Bassist Joey Vera of Los Angeles metal veterans ARMORED SAINT has issued the following update:

"After six weeks, the new ARMORED SAINT record is done. Well, not entirely... we still have to have it mastered which should be done in the next two weeks. So technically, there's plenty of time for more arbitrary bouts of stress. But all of the tunes have been recorded and mixed. And I have the dark circles under my eyes to prove it!

"As the producer of the record, I did in fact work very long and hard on this. But I didn't work alone. Everyone involved worked their asses off. Gonzo [Sandoval, drums], John [Bush, vocals], Phil [Sandoval, guitar] and Jeff [Duncan, guitar] all came in and gave it everything. Engineer Bryan Carlstrom and his assistant John Nuss were the workhorses who kept up the pace in this session which for the most part meant putting in 12-14-hour days.

"I can't say enough about Bryan, Nuss and Annette Cisneros from Tranzformer Studios in Burbank. This is a first-class operation and to boot, they all gave heart and soul into the project which these days you just cannot even pay for. We are in much debt with them. Truly wonderful people.

"The result is just amazing, and I may be hasty when I say that this may be our best record ever. But all dopes in bands say that right? Well, this time I think it's true and although my reasons may be purely personal, I still deem it truth. The songs are great and it sounds great."

"The title of our new record is La Raza which means 'The Race'."

"For all of you tech nerds out there, a few quick bits on how we made this one: We used nothing but analog gear, most of which was custom-built by Rupert Neve for Bryan Carlstrom. We hit every signal (drum mics, guitars, vocals) with custom or vintage analog gear before recording into Pro Tools. We even used rare vintage amps for most of the guitar overdubs. At mix time, we mixed on an SSL 4000E console and went to a one-inch tape reel (one of only two on the West Coast) for our final masters. Uh…you DO know what tape is, don't you?"

"What does this all mean? It means we spit in the ear of the age of the MP3, teenie, tiny ear bud listening culture that has turned it's back on what it means to experience music. This record is FAT. We means, obese! Full-on cardiovascular failure stuff! Old school, baby!"

"We are finishing up the other crap that goes with making records. Photo shoots, CD artwork (you DO know what a CD is still, right?), mastering, the running order of the tunes. After that, we wait until it is released."

La Raza will feature the following songs, among others:

• Black Feet
• Chilled
• Loose Cannon
• Blues
• La Raza
• Head On
• Get Off The Fence
• Left Hook From Right Field

La Raza will be released in March 2010 on Metal Blade Records!

The band's current lineup is the same as the one on 2000's Revelation and 1992's Symbol of Salvation LPs:

John Bush (vocals)
Jeff Duncan (guitar)
Phil Sandoval (guitar)
Joey Vera (bass)
Gonzo Sandoval (drums)

www.armoredsaint.com

www.myspace.com/armoredsaint1

Devolution Magazine are now taking submissions for Februarys Covermount. Bands who want to be featured on Issue 24 - our 6 year birthday cd can email us their Band Name, MySpace Address, Genre and Location to info@devolutionmagazine.co.uk and we will get back to you asap if we would like to use your material for our cd. Please do not message us with the info any other way other than the email address specified .

FACEBOOK:

Facebook group - Unified Sounds

Facebook group - Rock Matrix

Facebook group - Red Roar Festival 2010

Facebook group - Rock Matrix Loyalty Card Holder

Facebook group - Dark Desires

Facebook group - Bloodstock

MYSPACE:

www.myspace.com/rockmatrix

www.myspace.com/rockmatrixpromotions

www.myspace.com/redroarfestival

www.myspace.com/bloodstock