THE AMSTERDAM RED LIGHT DISTRICT (TARLD) are proud to present their new album Sapere Aude, released March 2nd 2018 via Red Light Records.
In conjunction with the news, the band released their thumping new video for 'The Best Is Yet To Come', featuring Liam Cormier of Cancer Bats.
Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpLKN4-ootY
Stream on Spotify: http://spoti.fi/2F5iCfB
Get the album here: http://bit.ly/2DWQmXF
The band are playing a range of tour dates, playing across the UK, France, and Spain.
Tuesday 6th March - Leeds - Santiago Bar
Wednesday 7th March - Canterbury - Chromos
Thursday 8th March - London - The Sebright Arms
Friday 9th March - Bridgwater - The Cobblestones
Saturday 10th March - Cheltenham - Frong & Fiddle
Friday 23th March - Lyon (France) - Hardrock Cafe
Saturday 24th March - Paris (France) - Bus Palladium
Saturday 12th May - Granollers/Barcelona (Spain) - Dràstik Punkaires
Sunday 13th May - Alicante (Spain) - Marearock
Tuesday 15th May - Almeria (Spain) - La Cueva
Saturday 19th May - Madrid (Spain) - Entre Darts Rock
Having firmly established themselves with their highly acclaimed debut Gone For a While, THE AMSTERDAM RED LIGHT DISTRICT are set to further raise the bar with sophomore album Sapere Aude. For fans of While She Sleeps, Letlive., Stray from the Path and more, TARLD have created a new masterful album of riffy melodic hardcore and mark themselves as a new force from France. With a notable touring record having performed across Europe with the likes of Refused, Anti-Flag and Slayer, TARLD show no sign of slowing in 2018.
UK rockers EVA PLAYS DEAD have announced the release date of their new EP The Fix, out on 27th April 2018 via Playing Dead Records. To coincide with the announcement the quartet have released the video for 'Get Back'.
Check out the video for 'Get Back' here: https://youtu.be/YsuKonDsBro
The band comment on the new single:
"Life - life doesn’t always seem to go to how we want it to and living with a mental health condition like Bipolar Disorder can make you feel like you’re stuck living inside your head. ‘Get Back’ has been a song that has become incredibly important for us whilst dealing with Tiggy’s battles with mental health during 2017. The visuals throughout this song and video are created by Tiggy from real experiences and emotions she has faced before ultimately being confirmed as having Bipolar Disorder. This song is just the beginning of our new direction and positive future - we're hoping that our new music and experiences will open up discussions surrounding mental health issues."
Sticking to their DIY roots EVA PLAYS DEAD will launch a PledgeMusic campaign to help fund the release, building on their already strong fanbase. The band have set up Playing Dead Records to release the hugely personal EP in order to maintain full creative control. Pledges can be made via this link from Monday 5th March: http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/evaplaysdeadthefix
Raucous, raw, and topped off with frontwoman Tiggy’s thunderous vocals, The Fix is a reinvention of classic rock at its best. Listen for the peaks of track four, ‘Bones’, or the heady anger of opener ‘Spin’ – this is an irresistible no-holds-barred five-track barrage. An angrier release than its predecessor Sounds of the Written Word, The Fix is a highly personal release, detailing Tiggy’s relationship with bipolar disorder.
Eva Plays Dead are a young band with an already impressive history: notable supports include SOiL, New Year’s Day, Alien Ant Farm, Skindred, Devilskin and more, and the band have garnered the attention of Kerrang!, Planet Rock Radio and TeamRock amongst others.
Keep your eyes peeled for tour dates to be announced soon.
For more information:
www.evaplaysdead.com
www.facebook.com/evaplaysdead
www.thearteryfoundation.com/artists/eva-plays-dead/
www.youtube.com/evaplaysdeadtv
www.twitter.com/evaplaysdead
Today post-hardcore trio CHOCOLATE release their brand new single 'Heavyweight', coinciding with their UK tour which will see them play shows in March and April.
Check out 'Heavyweight' here: https://youtu.be/d0ozkTa06Yk
"We are very excited to release our latest single Heavyweight," the band comment. "Since releasing our previous single Ninth Cloud we've developed a more mature sound and we feel that the track highlights our best qualities: solid grooves, anthemic choruses and huge riffs."
Drawing influence from the likes of Deftones and Reuben, CHOCOLATE raise the bar with 'Heavyweight', a hard-hitting track that alternates between powerful riffs and twirling melodies, all the while delivering an important message.
See CHOCOLATE live at one of the following dates:
March 3rd - Niall Fest, Manchester
March 10th - Angila Ruskin University, Cambridge
March 14th - The Moon, Bishops Stortford
March 17th - Essex University, Colchester
March 30th - The Flag, Watford
April 17th - The Horn, St Albans
May 6th - Woolpack Festival, Hertford
For more information:
https://www.facebook.com/chocolatebanduk/
https://twitter.com/chocolatebanduk
UK TECH-FEST has announced the second wave of bands taking over the Newark Showground from 5 to 9 July 2018.
PROTEST THE HERO return to the festival for a special Fortress album anniversary show, and they are joined by NORMA JEAN who will be celebrating the anniversary of their groundbreaking Redeemer album.
Tech-metal pioneers SIKTH also return to the festival along with the following mind warping acts:
BLEED FROM WITHIN, NEXILVA, COGNIZANCE (EU exclusive debut), CONJURER, THE VOYNICH CODE, CREPITATION, DESPITE EXILE, UNPROCESSED, THIS IS TURIN, ARCAEON, PERCEPTION and TIBERIUS.
Also announced are:
ACACIA STRAIN (EU Exclusive), THE CONTORTIONIST, CYCLAMEN, AMOGH SYMPHONY, VOLA, DVSR (EU exclusive debut), JINJER, VOYAGER, TIDES FROM NEBULA, CRYSTAL LAKE, BLOODSHOT DAWN, RISHABH SEEN (EU exclusive debut), THE SURREALIST, DAMNED SPRING FRAGRANTIA, SCHIERMANN, SIAMESE, STÖMB, LEECHED and YOU WIN AGAIN GRAVITY.
Dalbello Guitars and Line 6 have also come on board as sponsors. They join: Zilla Cabs, Carillion Guitars, Double Slit Guitars, Strandberg Guitars, Moomin Merchandise, Hands On Printing, Mapex Drums, D'Addario UK, RAWAS, OHMZ Sound Services, Stay Close Clothing, Bandit Banners, Tired Moon, Loki Films, JWA Creative and Waghorn Guitars.
UK TECH-FEST 2018 continues to grow its most diverse line-up to date, and with another 20+ bands to be announced, it promises to be another brutally cerebral edition.
Weekend tickets are £74.99 + £20 Camping.
Purchase tickets here: http://uktechfest.gigantic.com
For more information, contact James Monteith on +44(0)7917 879 482 or James@holdtightpr.com
Venue address:
Newark Showground
Lincoln Rd
Newark-on-Trent
Winthorpe
Newark
Nottinghamshire
NG24 2NY
OFFICIAL WEBSITE: www.uktechfest.com
UKTMF YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/UKTechMetalFest
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/uktechmetalfest/
FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/uktechfest
DOES MY BAND NEED MUSIC PR? – PART ONE
by Lisa Coverdale, Director, Hold Tight PR
The quick answer is simply, it depends. (You thought I was going to say yes, didn’t you?!)
It depends on 3 key factors.
- What stage of development is your band at?
- What are your aspirations for your band? Do you treat your band like a business or is it just a fun hobby with friends?
- Can you afford it? PR is an investment and when done well it isn’t cheap.
Firstly, let’s be brutally honest here. Not every band is going to need PR. Your band may only be in its infancy, your band may just be for fun, a hobby, playing the pub and club circuit on a Saturday night and aspiring for nothing more than to play at weekends in front of your mates and to have a good time and you know what, that’s absolutely fine. But if you pick up music magazines and hope to see your band in there one day, if you want to sell more than a handful of CDs, get booked on exciting tours as tour support, be a full time musician and have the world hear your message, then a solid PR team behind you can help with all of these aspects. But before this can happen, you need to sit down together as a band and assess as honestly as you can just how good you think your music is before engaging with a publicist. Nearly every band believes they have the greatest album, or the greatest history/backstory, the newest sound or the greatest guitar player ever, but only a tiny percentage actually do.
OK BACK UP, WHAT IS A PR COMPANY?
It’s easier to start with what we’re not. We often get asked to do management, distribution, label services, booking gigs or putting on gigs. We don’t do any of that. What we DO do is take you (as a band) and your product (EP/Album/Single/Video/Tour/DVD/this list is not exhaustive) to the media and shout about it. LOUDLY. We’re publicists, a well oiled propaganda machine with a network of contacts and knowledge so vast it would take you a lifetime to accrue and you don’t have time for that, do you? No, because you have a release due out shortly or a tour to organise and you should be prepping for that.
The quickest way to get your music exposure is to get press coverage, be it print (mags), online (webzines) or radio airplay (internet, podcasts, streaming services and on ye olde squawky boxes), and the easiest and quickest way to this end is to work with a PR agency. Publicists are smart, fierce, creative individuals with bulging contact books who are able to get your release into the hands of the media, in the territories you are releasing it in, quicker than you could ever do yourself. Publicists, good ones, have a vast contact network and know which of their contacts will be the best ones to pitch your release to. They’ll take your product and promote it in the media, set you up with interviews, book in reviews, even buy advertising for you if you need it/want it. Going on tour? – they’ll make sure people know about it, where to get the tickets and even try to bring along some press to review your show and if you are really interesting, they may even want to interview you. The end game of the publicity engine is to ALWAYS keep the band’s supporters, asking and wanting more of the band. Publicists are your hype machine.
BUT WE’RE AN UNSIGNED BAND WITH ONE ALBUM UNDER OUR BELTS, NO ONE CARES ABOUT US, DO THEY?
No one cared about Metallica before they burst onto the scene in the 80’s. Having good music is the first step, but bands burst into existence in the minds of the consumers backed by a team of experts who know how to move them from pillar to post to climb the ladder of success. There’s no magic formula, but there is a tried and tested methodology that most publicists, managers and record labels will adhere to in order to make their brightest stars shine like diamonds and grow in stature with each release. So you may be unsigned now, but if your music is good, if you believe in your band, if you are willing to work hard and you think outside of the box, then there’s no reason why a reputable PR company wouldn’t work with you and take you on. Everyone has to start somewhere and PR isn’t exclusive to larger signed bands, it’s the process to get you climbing the ladder, where the end goal is moving you up into the bigger league to battle it out with bigger bands, kinda like Spartacus but with guitars instead of swords. (Note to self: idea for game show!)
OH NO, THIS SOUNDS EXPENSIVE. AM I GOING TO HAVE TO SELL THE DOG/BABY/CAR/A LUNG?
I’m not going to lie, it is going to cost you money. Nothing in this business is free, and if it is, seriously question why it’s free. Professional services cost money but don’t let that put you off. A huge touring band, commercially successful and shifting lots of units are going to be spending vast amounts, via their record label, on publicity. You’ve got to spend money to make money and the same applies here. For smaller to middle size bands, depending on the agency you book with, depending on the contract you need to take, depending on the territories you need to cover, you will have to size up the price you pay against the returns you expect to get. Only you can decide on these measurements (and it’s something we’ll come back to in another instalment of this blog). Publicity can be done inexpensively depending on requirements, it can be done smartly and it can make a huge difference to your band. Results can never be guaranteed and you generally are paying for a publicist’s time and contact book. But like any other service it needs to be paid for.
Don’t be the band with only one guy at your gig! Hire a good publicist.
REASONS YOU NEED PR
1: You picked up the latest issue of Bitchin’ Beats Monthly and thought, why isn’t my band in this magazine yet?
If you want to sell your music, gain new fans and get your band on bigger tours, you need people to know about your band and your music. You need exposure. You need to build buzz, hype and other awesome jargony terms that publicists and record labels fling at you to make you get excited. Are you frothing yet?
The quickest and most professional way to do this, is to hire a publicist to place your release into the hands of the gatekeepers at magazines for review ahead of your album release date and to set you up with features both online and offline to raise your industry profile. Yes, you can buy advertising but this is often ignored or skimmed through on the way to more interesting content. A good feature is always going to add that extra edge of interest and authority when people read about something in a magazine, rather than simply looking at an advert which doesn’t really tell you a whole lot about the band. It is notably influential.
2: You need to get past the gatekeepers and from where you are sitting, they look pretty scary!
Journalists, DJ’s, TV moguls – they all like to promote new music, but the age old issue of being bombarded by music from every angle is always a problem for them and it’s getting worse. There are more bands around today than ever before. Making music is incredibly easy and everyone wants a slice of the pie. So how do the media folks decide what to listen to and what stays in the pile. Let’s ask some of those gatekeepers….
Dom Lawson, one of the UK’s most respected music journalists, writes for magazines such as Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, Classic Rock and The Guardian newspaper. He says:
“I’m more likely to check something out if it comes from a trusted PR contact. Bands have a necessarily unrealistic view about how good they are & often assume that I’ll like their stuff because, y’know, it’s awesome. Anyone who I’ve worked with on any meaningful basis should have a decent idea about my taste and have a vague sense of how likely I am to dig something.”
Getting past the gatekeeper is key, and publicists already have existing relationships with the media, thus having the ability to place your record in the right place, at the right time, with the minimal amount of fuss.
Alex Baker heads up the Fresh Blood show on Kerrang! Radio; he explains the issue further:
“Music is everywhere, bands/artists are everywhere, and my job is to be the filter, to provide my audience with the very best of what is out there. It’s a job that I feel blessed to have – that moment when you listen for the first time to something that is largely unknown but truly exceptional, is just astonishing. Being in a position where I can help grow artists is something I do not take lightly. A great PR company shares that passion and they believe in and care about the artists they work with – and I cannot tell you how invaluable that is.
I receive thousands of submissions every month and the reality is, the ones that come from trusted sources go to the top of the listening pile. GOOD PR companies don’t just blindly send out artists, they develop relationships, they get under the skin of the brand/tastemaker/show/title they are plugging to and they customise their approach to get the best results, and the results of that approach creates great exposure that the band/artist could have otherwise struggled to achieve.”
And it’s not just print publications and radio/broadcasters that are inundated, online websites are completely swamped day in day out with submissions from bands as well.
Vince Neilstein heads up Metal Sucks - part of the Blastbeat Network, he waded in on the debate:
“Hiring the right publicist is crucial for a band’s press efforts. On any given day I receive roughly 150 pitch emails, so it’s very difficult to stand out from the pack. What you’re really paying for when you hire a publicist is relationships: who they know, and at the very least, who they can get to listen to your music. They’ve spent years cultivating relationships with people at press outlets and will be able to cut through the clutter much more efficiently than a band promoting their own music ever could. I’m way more likely to pay attention to an email from a publicist I have a working relationship with, and who has taken the time to understand my tastes, then a random email from a band I’ve never heard of. ”
3: You have no idea how to run a PR campaign, what’s involved, you haven’t time and when you get home from work, you just want to sit on the couch and watch Peaky Blinders.
We hear you. It can be tempting to run your own PR, but trust us when we say that running a sophisticated and timely PR campaign is incredibly time consuming and at times, very frustrating. Even if you are well connected, the work intensity of servicing and pitching your release to the media is a huge drain on your creativity and your time. Instead of concentrating on writing, preparing for tour, doing the million other things that a band should and could be doing, you are having to contact media outlets, handle emails, respond to interviews and do everything yourself, leaving you with less time to focus on your music and subsequently, less time for Peaky Fookin Blinders….
A good publicist takes this burden from you, working with their existing network of media contacts and targeting the release to the specific outlets and bases that they know will be interested in your style of music. Whilst doing it yourself might mean having to take a scattergun approach to mass email media that you’ve never spoken to before and found via an internet search, hoping that a few leads fall out, a good publicist knows exactly which publications to target and how to approach them. Very few people have the time to handle a powerful and targeted PR campaign, market their product and conduct “band business as usual” and also continue to have a life outside of music too. The time spent on learning every procedure, tactic and secret in addition to the probability of failing is not worth the money you save being your own publicist. PR is more than just press releases and reviews, it’s pitching, it’s content generation, it’s endless idea creation and a lot of hard graft.
4: Hiring a publicist generates an air of credibility around your band
Believe it or not, having a publicist on your side boosts your credibility. This is basically for two reasons. First, it shows that you are serious about your product. If you didn’t believe what you have could be the next big thing, you wouldn’t hire someone and pay them to tell the music masses about it. Secondly, if your publicist is a good one, they won’t take every client that comes their way, because they won’t pitch bad music to their contact base. Some PR companies will take every band that comes across their desks, but the good ones will listen to your release objectively and look for all the key elements that will make a record press worthy. Then and only then, when the publicist is sure they can secure press for your music, will they take you on.
Because this is such a HUGE topic and of such importance to bands to get it right, part two of this blog will cover: How to choose a PR agency, when to engage with a PR agency and what to expect from a PR agency.
If you are looking for PR for your record label, band, festival, cat or tour then get in touch with me at Hold Tight! PR: EMAIL ME.
About the author: Lisa lives in a forest in Scotland and likes to complain about the weather. She's a partner at Hold Tight PR and has 20 years+ PR and Marketing experience, 15 within the music industry and can usually be found face down in a pot of fresh coffee, writing press releases for a myriad of international bands, or trying to coerce musicians into things they generally don’t want to do. She also likes to harass journalists with pictures of cats. She’s passionate about progressive music and filthy as shit metal, cheese, Between the Buried and Me, and forests. She has 2 kids under the age of 4 and doesn’t feel like she’s getting out of this parenting thing alive.
Connect with Lisa Coverdale on Social Media: Twitter || Facebook || LinkedIn
Sheffield trio AWOOGA return to the fold with their debut full-length, Conduit, set for release on 20 April via Rockosmos.
They have also unveiled new video 'Waterhole', check it out here: https://youtu.be/Jw5iVSQUglY
The band hit the road this week supporting Amplifier, check them out on one of the following dates:
FEBRUARY 2018
28 Newcastle, O2 Academy 2
MARCH
01 Glasgow, O2 ABC
03 London, O2 Islington Academy 2
09 Southampton, 1865
10 Milton Keynes, Craufurd Arms
11 Southend On Sea, Chinnery's
16 Birmingham, Academy 3
17 Brighton, Sticky Mike's Frog Bar
18 Bristol, Exchange
24 Manchester, Academy 3
25 Sheffield, O2 Academy 2
A culmination of a year’s work resulting in a deep, heavy, tranquil and visceral record, Conduit is set to establish AWOOGA as one of the UK’s most exciting and unique acts in 2018.
Following on from 2016’s debut Alpha EP, AWOOGA have further explored the boundaries of dismal sludge and euphoric space to create something that that is very much their own. Conduit is a vast soundscape that fills nearly every wave-length, touches on every emotion. It flows, it confuses, it’s conflicted and it’s beautiful. It is AWOOGA.
Inspiration from Frank Zappa, Alice in Chains and Tool is immediately apparent, AWOOGA also give a nod to Miles Davis, who was a champion of musical diversity and some of the world’s greatest artists.
Transition, change and progression are all fundamental themes of Conduit, and the recording process was very much a direct expression via the individual members’ performances. Vocalist and bassist Tam Ali explains:
“In the exchange between the brain and the mind is the liminal place. This is where we reside. Brutality and Tranquillity. - All pass through the Conduit. The process of writing this album was extremely visceral, and direct flow of energy channelled out of the world and into a studio in the Galician mountains.”
AWOOGA have performed at festivals such as Crooked Ways, Tramlines festival supporting Anathema and KAYA festival with Asian Dub Foundation, an impressive feat for a band with only one EP released. This year will see them tour far and wide with many more headline and festival dates to follow.
Pre-order Conduit here: https://www.rockosmos.com/awooga
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Awoogaband/
Website: http://www.awoogaband.com/
No-nonsense garage punk rockers PRETTY PISTOL have confirmed that they'll be releasing their new EP Welcome To The Dead Club on 13th April 2018 via SaySomething Records. To coincide with the announcement the band have released the video for their new single 'Drive Me To The Dogs'.
Premiered via Punktastic, the band comment:
"Drive Me to the Dogs is about gritty nights out in the seedy parts of town, drinking too much, waking up the next day with someone you don’t recognise and a pounding head. Then when you look back at the night before in the cold light of day, you decide to do it all over again. It’s about making the same mistake over and over, and never learning your lesson."
Check out the video here: https://youtu.be/0e67oPxq6Xs
Pre-order Welcome To The Dead Club here: www.prettypistol.co.uk
To celebrate the release of 'Drive Me To The Dogs', Pretty Pistol will play a free show at London's Birthdays on 1st March. Support will come from Lazybones, Jack The Envious and Yur Mum.
Sitting somewhere between Gallows, Be Your Own Pet, Milk Teeth and The Kills, Pretty Pistolare made up of Laura Le Rox's vicious vocal attack, and backed by Emma Waller (drums), Billy Larsen (guitar), Rich Cooper (bass). Having recently supported punk legends Penetration as well as Crazytown, the band are due to undertake an EP release tour in April.
Previously supported by the likes of TeamRock who made Pretty Pistol their band of the week, the four-piece sold out their last London show at The Black Heart, and signed with SaySomething Records.
For more information:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/prettypistoluk
https://www.twitter.com/prettypistoluk
https://www.facebook.com/saysomethingrecords/
Two men entered a wooden shack in the backwoods with nothing but their instruments, a plan to pursue the perverse, and enough hard liquor and drugs to kill a yak at 50 yards. Rain fell, sparks blew from power outlets and an ungodly racket raised and summoned the twisted cacophony presented here.
This is Jaw of The Tyrant Hills by St Fenton The Tainted, which will hopefully, pending numerous court cases, legal challenges and imminent self-destruction, be UNLEASHED upon the world on 6th April via Hibernacula Records. Unless anyone objects.
Spread across six agonising tracks of suffocating hatred, Appalachian murder ballads and droning swamp rock, Jaw of The Tyrant Hills is the product of deranged, outback rage featuring some of the most downtuned, spirit-breaking, crusty sludge to emerge from Hertfordshire.
Ahead of the album release the band have released a single and video God Sent Rain (You Sent Blood and Piss), check it out below.
Comments ramblin’ frontman Fenton T:
“If God wants men to have faith, why does he not make us more disposed to believe? I mean, it’s really quite inconsiderate. Does the deathbed convert really believe or is he just hedging his bets? The pious debauchee? However if you give us wine, we'll drain the dregs and toss the empty bottle at the world. Show us your Lord Jesus in agony and we may mount the cross and steal his nails for our own palms (and maybe his sandals and loose change). We shuffle from the world, our dribble fresh upon the bible and look upon a pinhead and see angels dancing.”
This is not something you want to miss if you have a penchant for the absurdly disturbing. Truly harrowing, unpleasantly listenable. Dare you anger the Saint?
Jaw of the Tyrant Hills will be released on 6 April 2018 via Hibernacular Records.
Get more St Fenton The Tainted news and info at:
Facebook || Bandcamp
Jaw of the Tyrant Hills track listing:
1) You Stepped On My Grave (intro)
2) Kill What You Love
3) God Sent Rain (You Sent Blood and Piss)
4) Ghost of the Stillborn Summer
5) Do Your Devils Know My Name
6) Death Wanders Home
Scottish technical metalcore troupe FROM SORROW TO SERENITY announce their signing to Long Branch Records and their new single 'Supremacy', which lands on February 22nd.
Having formed in 2013, FROM SORROW TO SERENITY released their roaring debut EP Antithesis to acclaim from the UK tech-metal scene. Garnering support slots with the likes of Chelsea Grin, Veil of Maya, Monuments, the band also played both Techabilition and UK Tech-fest.
In 2016 the band self-released their first full length album Remnant of Humanity, and were hand-picked to tour with Fit For An Autopsy.
Having recruited new vocalist Gaz King (formerly of Nexilva) the band released their new single 'Golden Age' in 2017 to showcase a step away from their deathcore roots, and a surge towards a modern tech-metalcore sound. With the release of the new single they toured the UK as support Jinjer as part of their sold out UK run in November 2017.
The band will also open for Betraying The Martyrs and Modern Day Babylon on their March 2018 tour of Europe and the UK. A full album is planned for late 2018.
LINE-UP
Gaz King - Vocals
Steven Jones - Guitars
Andrew Simpson - Bass
Ian Baird - Drums