Ready for some Snakebite this Monday?
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Dark Desires corrupts the Noisegate this week!
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Obituary and Amon Amarth destroy London!
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Zocalo's empire crumbles!

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LATEST BAND QUEST RESULTS BELOW:

SUNDAY 08 MARCH - Band Quest - Heat 3 - Alt

1ST - THEIR NAME ESCAPES ME

2ND - HOOF

3RD - ARCADES

MONDAY 02 MARCH - Band Quest - Heat 4 - Metal

1ST - FALLING EMPIRE

2ND - ZOCALO

3RD - SHADOWCAST

TUESDAY 03 MARCH - Band Quest - Heat 4 - Alt

1ST - THE HOPELESS SONS

2ND - SUNRISE FALLING

3RD - THE GODLESS REDS

FRIDAY 06 MARCH - Band Quest - Heat 4 - Metal

1ST - DENOUNCE

2ND - LYCAN'S BLOOD*

3RD - CARNAL RITES

(Lycan's Blood now go into a playoff since Denounce won last year)

Thanks from the Team at http://www.unifiedsounds.co.uk

Join the group on facebook now: Facebook group - Unified Sounds Presents BAND QUEST 2009!

Sponsors:

DINGO JACKS MUSIC STORE | ELEPHANT MUSIC | ROADRUNNER RECORDS UK | MEDIA SOURCING | WHATEVERNEXT RECORDS

Partners:

BLOODSTOCK-METAL TO THE MASSES | ORE NET SERVICES | JIGGA JAM STUDIOS | BANANA ROAD STUDIOS | DEMELZA | HELLFIRE FESTIVAL

Support from:

BEXLEY COUNCIL | DARTFORD COUNCIL | HOLLOWEBDESIGN

The alternative side of Band Quest 2009 continues tonight in Bexleyheath.

R.S.V.P churns out the good stuff tonight. One of last years big hitters in Band Quest returns. APOLLO WITHSTANDS will be confident of getting to the final again if they can play like they did in last years competition. BLACKBIRD and SOUTH SIDE HEROES try to beat them to it.

Win a Reading Ticket as guests of this events in a Super Draw! Ask at the event for details.

Invite people to this event on facebook by clicking here

Band Quest 2009 - Alternative Sundays at R.S.V.P every Sunday.

£2.00 for Gold loyalty card holders, £2.50 for those with flyers, £3.00 for everyone else.

What track would you really like to hear played by the DJs at Band Quest 2009 - Alternative Sundays? – Email us a request now!

Band Quest 2009 will be bringing the METAL TO THE MASSES to you every Monday in Bexleyheath as bands battle it out for a place at Bloodstock!

Heat 5 follows last weeks battle of the titans which saw Falling Empire topple Zocalo! Anyone who has seen heavy hitters SNAKEBITE will know they have what it takes to get to the final. They are up against thrashers SANITY BURNS who themselves blew the Drayman away earlier in the year. Classic metallers WINDHALE won't be easy to move though. DJ 69 returns to spin the heaviness.

Win a Bloodstock Ticket as guests of this event in a Super Draw! Ask at the event for details.

Invite people to this event on facebook by clicking here

Band Quest 2009 - Metal Mondays at The Drayman in Bexleyheath every Monday.

£2.00 for Gold loyalty card holders, £2.50 for those with flyers, £3.00 for everyone else.

What track would you really like to hear played by the DJs at Band Quest 2009 - Metal Mondays? – Email us a request now!

The alternative side of Band Quest 2009 continues tonight in Dartford.

More punk in heat 5 as THE DEPTHS take on THE CONSPIRACY THEORY and ARCHIE WAH WAHS.

Win a Reading Ticket as guests of this events in a Super Draw! Ask at the event for details.

Invite people to this event on facebook by clicking here

Band Quest 2009 - Alternative Tuesdays at the Darenth Suite, Acacia Hall every Tuesday.

£2.00 for Gold loyalty card holders, £2.50 for those with flyers, £3.00 for everyone else.

What track would you really like to hear played by the DJs at Band Quest 2009 - Alternative Tuesdays? – Email us a request now!

The Noisegate at the The Drayman in Bexleyheath every Thursday.

ROOM 1 (main floor) – Rock, Metal, Goth returns to the main floor at The Noisegate - expect a bigger mix of all things alternative.

ROOM 2 (upstairs) – Indie, indie disco etc.

2 Pool Tables

Projection Screens, Lighting, Effects!

7pm-Midnight - The whole night (Lower Floor)

BBQ and Patio (on the warm nights) or stating subject to weather

Drinks Promo's inc, Buy on get ONE FREE on bottles of wine, Vodka and Red Bull Mix £3, Fosters, Becks, Stella, Strongbow and selected house Spirits with Mixer £2.50, and '2 for 1 cocktails £5/£6 + More!

Staffed Door!

Special Promotional Feature Nights, with free stuff and Brand New Music!

Over 18's ID Essential

No entry after 11pm

FREE entry for Gold loyalty card holders - £1.00 for everyone else.

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

On the main floor at the Drayman as part of The Noisegate is Dark Desires.

A night of goth, industrial, EBM, gothic metal, 80s and dark alternative.

DJs 69 and Cybertrash playing the likes of Sisters of Mercy, VNV Nation, Paradise Lost, The Mission, Combichrist, The Birthday Massacre, Type O Negative, BlutEngel, Marilyn Manson, NFD, Colony 5, Ministry, The Ghost of Lemora, 69 Eyes, Nine Inch Nails, Fields of Nephilim, Lacuna Coil, Joy Division, The Cult, KMFDM, Dope Stars Inc, Siouxse, Lacimus Profundere, The Cure, Deathstars, Evanescence, Covenant, Specimen, Poisonblack, Star Industry, Adam Ant, Billy The Rebel, Killing Joke and much much more!

Invite everyone you know to this event on Facebook

Entry on the night is FREE for Rock Matrix Gold Card Holders and just £1 for everyone else.

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

Heat 5 of the Gravesend metal part of Band Quest is here!

O.M.T bring their highly catchy racket to Gravesend this week and are up against the death metal might of ODESSA STEP SEQUENCE. SEVEN7 hope their big meaty riffs will help them through.

Win a Bloodstock Ticket as guests of this event in a Super Draw! Ask at the event for details.

Invite people to this event on facebook by clicking here

Band Quest 2009 - Metal Fridays at the Red Lion every Friday.

£2.00 for Gold loyalty card holders, £2.50 for those with flyers, £3.00 for everyone else.

What track would you really like to hear played by the DJs at Band Quest 2009 - Metal Fridays? – Email us a request now!

Bloodstock Open Air returns in 2009 and is set to increase in size for the 5th year running. Three days full of pure metal and a little bit more at Catton Hall!

Weekend tickets are available and can be ordered from the Bloodstock website - Order Bloodstock Open Air tickets.

Here are the bands confirmed so far:

• CARCASS
• ARCH ENEMY
• AMON AMARTH
• SATYRICON
• SAXON
• GWAR
• KATATONIA
• TURISAS
• MUNICIPAL WASTE
• ENSLAVED
• KREATOR
• THE HAUNTED
• CANDLEMASS
• MOONSPELL
• BATTLELORE
• SABATON
• DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER
• MILLION DOLLAR RELOAD
• BEHOLDER
• PYTHIA

MESSAGE FROM BLOODSTOCK:

Due to the huge success of our first ever VIP campsite which SOLD OUT last year we are pleased to confirm that we are bringing it back this year... only bigger and better. We are releasing a limited number of VIP tickets which will go on sale from today Thursday 12th March. For those of you who want a little bit extra from your camping experience why not come and party in style by booking one of our fantastic VIP packages.

We have various options available to suit all budgets, and whichever package you book you automatically get a whole host of extras in addition to your normal festival experience.

These include:
Access to the secure, private VIP camping area - this area has its own toilets and shower facilities, plus you will get a VIP parking pass which means you can park your vehicle in the VIP parking right next to the VIP campsite so no lugging your camping gear across the car parks for VIPs!

Your VIP weekend camping ticket also gets you access to the VIP hospitality area back stage which has its own bar and toilet facilities, plus you could find yourself hanging out with your favourite artists performing over the weekend! VIPs also get faster access to the festival site with a dedicated entrance so no need to queue! All VIPs will also get an exclusive Bloodstock VIP goody bag.

The VIP packages sold out last year and we expect the same again this year. So in order to get your hands on all this special treatment and exclusive treats all you need to do is book yourself one of our fantastic VIP camping options which will be online from Thursday 12th March.

Click the Link Below to view our VIP Packages Now!

www.bloodstock.uk.com/vip-camping.html

For more information on the festival visit the Bloodstock website.

NEONFLY needs:

- Drummer

We need someone who will be committed to the band, as we have a pretty busy schedule for 2009 including a UK tour and many dates abroad in the works for this summer. We are looking for a London based drummer between the ages of 18 - 29 with a solid groove who can play really tight and in time to a click and with an eclectic music taste. Preferably someone who has his own drum kit and transport.. Contact the band here: neonfly@hotmail.co.uk or www.myspace.com/neonflyband.

BAND WITH NO NAME YET needs:

- Singer

Influenced by Vasoline-STP, Day that Never Comes-Metallica, Own Worst Enemy-Lit, In Bloom-Nirvana. Contact the band here: John Riddle jr224a@yahoo.com.

BAND WITH NO NAME YET needs:

- Song writing guitarist

Influenced by Clutch, Monster Magnet, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, QOTSA etc. Contact the band here: www.myspace.com/ajddk.

DRUGDEALER CHEERLEADER needs:

- Bass player

Contact the band here: info@drugdealercheerleader.com or www.myspace.com/drugdealercheerleader.

BAND WITH NO NAME YET needs:

- Singer

Influenced by Tool, Killswitch Engage etc. Contact the band here: Nel on 07798640786 or nelcooper@hotmail.com or Joe on 07752519676.

CONQUEST need:

- Bass player

Contact this band here: leslie.clayden@ntlworld.com or admin@roystone.com or ring Les Clayden on 07832 235715.

UNTIL I BLEED need:

- Guitarist (with some lead ability)
- Bassist
- Drummer
- Female vocalist

Contact this band here: tombwibble@yahoo.co.uk

ROY STONE needs:

- All musicians

Contact Roy Stone here: admin@roystone.com or www.myspace.com/roystonelink.

RELEASING A SINGLE

Step One – Before You Begin

To make full advantage of releasing your single, it should be available on iTunes and other national digital retailers. 90% of music is bought via iTunes these days so you’re limiting yourself substantially if you don’t use them. The last part to this guide gave advice on who to contact to get on these national retail sites – please note that most of the time, it will cost you very little indeed to do this and very few artists will be rejected, assuming the quality of your recording is up to scratch.

It takes a little while to get everything going with a release, and the most important thing about releasing a single is timing. Without trying to sound like a Scout Leader, you need to be prepared early on. Before you even tell anybody you’re releasing a single, ensure you have the following in place:

1) The song (and any B-sides – please note you don’t need any if you’d rather not have B-sides)

2) The artwork (CD sized image in .jpg format is best for digital releases – your distributor will specify exactly what you need)

You’ll also ideally need at least 10 weeks to promote your release, so choose a release date well ahead of you and stick with it. You’ll need to liaise with your digital distributor to ensure that the release date is feasible. It is a really good idea to keep everything about the single release private and secret until you have a confirmed release date, especially if for some reason you need to put that date back. The vast majority of singles in the UK are bought on the first day of release, so this day is what everything is geared up towards – it is hugely important you get this correct from the beginning. It’s not a problem if your single ends up on iTunes earlier than you say, but if you prepare a release, get loads of people interested and then find your songs are not available on that day, you’ll have wasted an awful lot of work.

Second part to follow next week.

Please take some time to check out the following websites:

BBC Kent Introducing Website

BBC Kent Introducing Myspace page

BBC Kent Introducing Facebook event

BBC Kent Introducing Newsletter signup

1st: A Boy Named Girl
2nd: Escape The Skies
3rd: About Your Bear

It’s that time of year again the Rock Matrix Band Quest. On the 24th February Arcacia Hall was the venue of Band Quest Alternative Heat 2. There were three bands playing, Escape The Skies, About Your Bear and A Boy Named Girl. All three bands have different styles and the only thing they couldn’t do was perform covers.

Up first were Escape The Skies, with their Paramore appeal and Bullet for My Valentine sound this band interest a wide audience. There set consisted of five tracks regular listeners would have known and one brand new track. The band is professional in their musical skills and has great stage presence. The vocal parts are split evenly between the three guitarists although the vocalist is prominent though out.

The second act of the evening was About Your Bear. This band has an edgy, raw and indie sound reminiscent of early Killers or Scouting For Girls. They played pretty well for a band that is recently new to the local circuit. They appeal more to Indie kids rather than Rocker’s and their songs sound the very similar to each other, suggesting they have kept within their comfort zone.

The final band of the night was A Boy Named Girl. With their punky sound similar to that of Fall Out Boy this band are very commercial and attract listeners of most alternative genres. As with the other bands of the evening A Boy Named Girl hade great stage presence so its no wonder they beat Escape The Skies by four votes.

Overall the whole night was eventful by providing a Wii to play on and a raffle with the chance to win a ticket to reading festival. Unfortunately due to the smoking ban a lot of the crowed were crowed round the door so they could still listen whilst having a cigarette.

Review by Fleur Brown

It was strangely welcoming to enter the Forum to the deathly melodic sounds of Keep of Kalessin (7/10). The rattling drums of Vyl along with the rumbling bass of Wizziac set the evening up well. Vocalist Thebon did his best to help spread their dark magestic magic to the people who had bothered to come in earlier enough, and to an extent succeeded.

There is something to be said for European thrash. Its military like precision hits home in a different way to its US counterpart. A perfect example of this can be found from Dutch thrashers Legion Of The Damned (7). Like fellow European thrash acts such as Kreator, Legion Of The Damned have a colder, more strict take on the genre. Tonight they blast through a set like beasts unleashed, and despite the muddy Forum sound still manage to make their mark.

Obituary (8.5) on the other hand whip the crowd into an uncontrollable frenzy, with multiple pits opening up across the full width of the Forum. For the first time in the night the guitars are more audiable meaning every one of the Ralph Santollas and Trevor Peres' guitar riffs hit home with a ferocity unseen in many a live arena this year. Frank Watkins' bass is gut wrenchingly powerful While singer John Tardy drags himself from one side of the stage to the other, his unique drowly vocal style pulling the crowd with him. With classics like 'Slowly we rot' nearly massacring the entire venue Obituary prove that this death metal machine from Florida are definitely not rotting away! If anything they are sounding better than ever after twenty three years.

After such a display it was always going to be interesting to see how the headliners reacted. The past few years have been good for Amon Amarth in the UK. Their last three albums have all kept the momentum going, along with a handful of impressive live dates at the Scala, the Forum (supporting Dimmu Borgir) and last years Download Festival, where they had emos running for the hills. Tonight Amon Amarth (8) were at times physically and mentally massive. The band are giants and take up the stage as if it was won in a gory fight to the death during a routine pillage. Tales of victory and war are delivered in a thunderous wave of viking metal crushing down on the assembled London rabble. Johan Hegg's vocal display is truly impressive throughout, reaching every corner of the venue with ease while the rest of the band ensure the backbone of this invasion is true and strong. Despite the set becoming slightly samey halfway through the likes of openers 'Twilight of the Thunder God' and 'Free Will Sacrifice' from last years excellent 'Twilight of the Thunder God' album hit hard and 'With Oden on Our Side' and 'Death In Fire' meant the evening was never allowed to slip away from them. The crushing 'Pursuit of Vikings' ended the night and made the wait for their appearance at Bloodstock seem even longer.

Review by Alan Hicks

The very first video from CANNIBAL CORPSE, title track off their brand new release ‘Evisceration Plague’, will be receiving an exclusive premier via the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival website.

Head over to the Mayhem Festival official website now to be one of the first to see the uncensored version of the video ‘Evisceration Plague’, which was shot on Jan 21st in Northern NJ.

The video for ‘Evisceration Plague’ was directed by Dale Resteghini who has worked with a stellar list of diverse artists of today such as Fall Out Boy, Diddy, Jim Jones, Hatebreed, Mudvayne, Shadows Fall, Li'l Wayne, Cypress Hill, The Red Chord, 3 Inches of Blood, and Trivium.

‘Evisceration Plague’ is available as a ltd. edition Digipak incl. bonustrack and bonus DVD, jewelcase CD and ltd. splatter vinyl!

www.cannibalcorpse.net/

www.myspace.com/cannibalcorpse

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