Real ROCK returns to Bexleyheath!
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Do you HATE Mondays? Maybe some METAL will help?
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Have these bands got the X Factor?
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Dunstable lives! Live bands from next Tuesday!

The Metal Cross continues to bring you the best in heavy music to the South East of London on the odd Wednesday!

Catford bruisers BRUTAI return to New Cross with their heavy hitting thrash metal. F.S.I, AMONGST THE ASHES and HEADRUSH support. DJ 69 keeps things heavy between and after the bands.

The Metal Cross at the New Cross Inn every odd Wednesday.

£2.00 for 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 The Metal Cross? – Email us a request now!

The New X Factor continues to showcase local bands in sunny New Cross, starting off your weekend in style.

Expect plenty of laughs tonight thanks to THE CUSTARD CHUCKERS. THEY CAME FROM JAPAN, EVERYTHING AND NOTHING and REYKJAVIK support before a DJ spins until the early hours.

The New X Factor at the New Cross Inn every odd Friday.

£2.00 for 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 The New X Factor? – Email us a request now!

We return to The Old Sugar Loaf for a third night but the first with live bands.

TRAMP ETIQUETTE and THIRD LAW along with a third act will kick Dunstable back into the live arena!

Live @ The Loaf at the Old Sugar Loaf every Tuesday.

£3.00 entry.

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

We return to the Zero Bar in Bexleyheath, but this time we have 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. INTERNAL SCARS, ECHO DOWN and other acts will play live for the opening night.

Thunderstruck + The Live Feed at the Zero Bar every Thursday.

Free entry for everyone for Thunderstruck. The Live Feed will have a small charge.

What track would you really like to hear played by the DJs at Thunderstruck + The Live Feed (please specify Thunderstruck or The Live Feed)? – Email us a request now!

One the best live venues in the South East sees a whole evening jam packed with bands, bands and more bands!

TRASH MONROE, I BROKE THE DAMN, THE CONSPIRACY THEORY, THE REVELATORS, THE REVELATORS, THE BLUEPRINT, SUNRISE FALLING and CRITIX all play in what will be one hell of an evening.

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

£2.00 for Loyalty Card Holders, £3.00 for everyone else.

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

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!

Local melodic metallers INNER FIRE are the perfect band to get things started with a special headlining slot. BEARTRAP and Metal Band Quest 2009 finalists SILAS are main support, with LEWIS SMITH opening the night.

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!

Our very own DJ 69 is back spinning at Club AntiChrist on Friday 4th December!

On Friday December 4th, AC is having a STEAMPUNK special!

Doors open at 10pm.

Happy hour at the bar 10-11pm. Most drinks £2 or less!

This is a public service announcement.....
December 4th is not just a Steampunk event. It is an AntiChrist with a steampunk theme.

We'll have fetish, we'll have goth, we'll have industrial too. We'll also have steampunk inspired bands and acts, walkabouts and decor. To find out more about steampunk, check out these links....

The Hellfire Room:
All Night Goth, Trad, and Alternative dancefloor

PureFuckingIndustrial dancefloor
:::PFI presents STEAM PUNK and PERVERSION:::
This December the :::PureFuckingIndustrial::: residents DJCYBERCHRIST and DJKNINE will be rounding up some of the UK's hottest young DJtalent to bombard you with bass and seduce you with sexy, fucking music. So get your best steam punk outfits on and see you back in the future... the future is dark, sexy and perverted. The future is here now, and its :::PUREFUCKINGINDUSTRIAL:::

Fully Equipped Playpenz Dungeon, Mistress Rebekka as the house Domme, scene friendly DM's, and fetish art installation.

Couples Darkroom:
With seating, free condoms, free tissues, and monitors on the doors.

Chillout Zone:
Seating, bar and Thai food stall.

Theatre of Sin STAGE TIMES:

DJ 69 will be spinning between performances.

10.00 Satan's Strip Shows
10.40 Joe Black - The Minstrel
10.55 Luna.x - Seductive fetish dance
11.15 Ghostfire - Steampunk Band
12.00 Joe Black - The Abortion
12.15 Veronika Valentine - Venus Man Trap
12.30 Kittie Kohl– Clockwork Fairy Bellydance
12.45 Vermilion Embers - Steampunk shenanigans
1.00 Veronika Valentine - Dirty Cash
1.15 Joe Black (and his piano)
1.40 Transmutant

www.clubantichrist.com

FULL TRAVEL DIRECTIONS HERE

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.

Earlier in the year the Islington Academy in London was fortunate enough to host the first Hellfire festival, which included some fine headlining performances from the likes of Overkill, Firewind and Breed 77, as well as a collection of top British talent. Ten months later Birmingham got to witness the four staged indoor weekend of music at the vastly bigger National Exhibition Centre. Not only that but it was twinned with the Music Live event, which had it's fair share of live bands and usual traders.

SATURDAY

Hellfire started on the Saturday and the first band we managed to see were Peterborough metallers THE MORE I SEE (7.5) on the Big Cheese stage. Gizz Butt on lead guitar dominated the performance equally due to some quality six-stringing and a sound that drowned out vocalist Peter Ellis for most of the set. Their Metallica meets Exodus-esque songs still went down a treat though and Hellfire had truly started! Irish thrashers GAMA BOMB (6.5) added some tongue-in-cheek zombie influenced entertainment which saw as many riffs bounce off the walls as heads banging. MALEFICE (7.5) are everywhere at the moment but the fact they get better with every gig means it is near on impossible to get bored. The way they command the stage here (and during the recent Devildriver support slots) means they take over the room, delivering a metal onslaught a band twice their age would be proud of. Expect their January night at the Underworld to be a scorcher. Hearing THE ROTTED (8) live is the aural equivalent of being hit in the face with a packet of cold peas. Their songs have such a hard and crushing impact but contain enough texture to keep you wanting more, thanks to the potent mix of punked up metal. Armed with songs like 'A return to insolence' The Rotted have slayed the Bloodstock and Red Roar festival crowds this summer and can now add Hellfire to that list.

The main stage was opened by BEHOLDER (8) who know a thing or two about getting a crowd warmed up. Their set at Bloodstock was one of many highlights for that festival and they approached this with equal vigour. Frontman Simon Hall bellows over some meaty metal containing enough thick riffs to last all day, let alone the twenty minutes they play today. While FURY UK (7.5) put in a good shift on the Metal Hammer stage NEW DEVICE (8) are powering their way through a set of quality eighties influenced hard rock back on the Scuzz stage. The band have a much cleaner sound than many of their contempories and with their debut album containing more catchy tracks than a lot of bands can muster up in a whole career their future looks rosie. 'Takin over' ends a fine set. Back on the main stage SACRED MOTHER TONGUE (7.5) are using the likes of 'Anger of reflection' to whip up an expectant crowd but it is BLAZE BAYLEY (8) who really raises the stakes for the day. Greeted like a returning war hero it would have been easy to forget the flack this man took during his tenure in Iron Maiden. Songs from last years release like title track 'The man who would not die' sounded ready made for the European festival circuit. Place this alongside some 'Blaze' era tracks and of course Maiden songs 'Man on the edge' and 'Futureal' and the man who would not die has the crowd in the palm of his hands! Birmingham heavyweights BENEDICTION (7.5) take the heaviness up a notch while ESOTERICA (8) impress on the Scuzz stage with their dark alternative approach. It is no surprise they are supporting Marilyn Manson on their up and coming tour, the goth and industrial influences poke at an AFI meets A Perfect Circle mix-up to great effect. The Metal Hammer room was packed for London thrash metallers SAVAGE MESSIAH (8). They sound like festival veterens with tracks from this years 'Insurrection Rising' album proving they are as hot as the scintillating guitar solos they produce. The main stage crowd were preparing themselves for metal legends ANVIL (8). Okay, it's taken a film for most people to actually give a damn (including old fans who have slowly forgetten they even existed) but playing the likes of the Motorhead-esque '666', the Sabbath inspired 'This is thirteen' and metal classic 'Metal on Metal' to a hall full of Saxon fans was always going to hit the spot. Catch them on the Saxon tour if you can. Although the crowd wasn't as big as SAXON (8) are used to they still play a festival set including the 'hits'. In truth the set didn't differ too much from what they have played at the multitude of other festivals they have performed at this year but that didn't stop the likes of 'And the bands played on', 'Heavy metal thunder' and 'Denim and leather' making the crowd headbang with the biggest grins of the weekend.

SUNDAY

The main problem with the Big Cheese stage on the Sunday was all the bands clashed with some excellent tribute bands on the Music Live stage (which turned into the Hellfire main stage in the evening). This meant the likes of ARTHEMIS (7) and BLAKFISH (7.5) were missed by the majority of the crowd. The main stage though seemed to have a bigger crowd than the previous day and was kicked off by SEROTONAL (7.5) who include ex-Anathema singer Darren White in their ranks. The band have a very strong, but not obvious gothic influence running through their music. 'Wasteland' (no not a Mission cover) chugged along on a simple but dark riff, making it a pleasant highlight of the set. Over on the Scuzz stage the progressive brilliance of NO MADE SENSE (8) made for a captivating experience. Twisting and turning the music seemed to reach inside of all in attendance, creating new passages of musical splendour as the set went from down right heaviness to experimental tinkering and back again. OCTOBER FILE (7) were slightly at odds with the other acts on the main stage. Their hardcore-punk onslaught was fine for those who had turned up to see them but seemed to go over the heads of those who were there for the darker stuff such as KATATONIA (7.5). The likes of 'Leaders' and 'Forsaker' gave the crowd the doomier and more gothic metal sound they were waiting for before ANATHEMA (8.5) went and stole the show. Opening with the keyboard led 'Shroud of false', followed by the titanic 'Fragile dreams', 'Empty' and 'Lost control' meant they melted the crowd into submission with the first four tracks from genre classic 'Alternative 4'. The duet with the female singer on 'A natural disaster' was pure class adding yet more to a set which could well go down as one of the best of the year. They wound up their magic performance with ex-singer Darren White on vocals sending all Anathemaites to doom/goth metal Heaven. MY DYING BRIDE (8) followed, keeping the whole thing dark, heavy and doomy. The few people who wanted something different decamped to the Scuzz stage for VIKING SKULL (7.5) who suffered from the same problem as The More I See. The band sounded like they usually do, a beer-swilled trad metal locomotive. Shame about the vocals being so low in the mix. The main stage had no such trouble for which the sound was near perfect all weekend which must be a first for any festival! The line-up for the main stage on Sunday to look at was probably the most miserable ending to a festival you could ask for, and a complete contrast to the likes of Download (Def Leppard), Bloodstock (Europe) and Red Roar (Guns 2 Roses) who chose classic, party rock bands to end the weekends. In truth it was anything but miserable. All the bands raised their game and created a special doomy but accessable athmosphere. Goth overlords FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM (8) closed the festival in style. Opener 'Shroud' led the crowd into the darkness the Nephilim created before 'Straight to the light' shook things up, frontman Carl McCoy's white eyes pearcing the very souls of all below them. The cataclysmic 'Dawnrazor' was a highlight of the festival, creeping around the venue with all its mid-paced menace while the anthemic 'Moonchild' showcased the Nephilim in all their dark glory, the rumbling bassline sending goose bumps down the spine. 'Psychonaut' and 'Last exit for the lost' brought the set and the festival to a dark and quite magnificent end.

Overall, despite the lower than expected attendance some of the performances were excellent and like the first Hellfire, many smaller British bands got their chance to shine (and did). The biggest surprise was how well Fields of the Nephilim went down as headliners after every rock festival in the UK chose to ignore any form of goth music for so long. Whatever next, Sisters of Mercy at Download.....

Review by Alan Hicks

Rising to the roof, rammed full of legions of blackened souls peering over the balcony or up from the tightly packed floor the Koko is the perfect venue to host death metal royalty. If a queen dressed head-to-toe in black existed she would be here in one of the royal boxes, ready to thrash her neck from its socket.

Annotations of an Autopsy (7/10) are warming things up nicely as we enter but it's Dying Fetus (8) who really impress. A good number of the crowd have come to see the Maryland death trio and it is no wonder why. Tracks from their new album 'Descend Into Depravity' punch holes into the walls, turning a hesitant pit into a mass of bodies. When they slow things down and let the big meaty riffs grab all before them they seem to move up a level. A perfectly balanced set.

A lot of bands limp along into middle age, relying in their back catalogues to see them through the endless touring cycle, releasing albums as mere adverts to the fact they are still alive and on the road. Cannibal Corpse (8) are not one of those bands. Their last three albums 'Kill', 'The Wretched Spawn' and this years 'Evisceration Plague' have been arguebly among their best. This is proved by the world destroying opening combination. First track 'Evisceration plague' rumbles into place with its mid-pace bowel-bothering basslines (try and say that after 5 pints) and is followed by the lightning speed aural massacre that is 'The time to kill is now' from 'Kill'. 'Fucked with a knife' is dedicated to all the 'ladies' in the house while 'The wretched spawn' combines everything which is good about the Corpse into just over four minutes. 'Hammer smashed face' turns the Koko into a death metallers heaven, sending everyone home with devilishly big grins and new a found thirst for gore-drenched nightmares.

Review by Alan Hicks

Boston Massachusetts metallers THE RED CHORD have hit the Billboard Top 200 chart at #180 with the release of their new studio album, Fed Through the Teeth Machine. THE RED CHORD also debuted at #34 on the Billboard Hard Music chart and #6 on the Billboard Heatseeker chart. Fed Through the Teeth Machine cracked the Neilson Sound Scan charts in Canada coming in at #57 on the Independent charts and #70 on the Hard charts. THE RED CHORD has already completed a month's worth of dates on a two and a half month trek with labelmates GWAR and JOB FOR A COWBOY and will continue touring the US and Europe in support of the band's 4th studio album, 3rd for Metal Blade.

www.theredchord.com

www.myspace.com/theredchord

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 .

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