Tag Archives: Ben Hosking

Cassette Kids @ Oxford Art Factory, Sydney June 18, 2010 – with Howl and Kids of 88 [Live Review]

Review: Ben Hosking

Click the image for photo gallery article
Cassette Kids

[Photo: Ben Hosking]
  It’s 8pm on a Friday night in busy inner-city Darlinghurst. Yet here we are, presented with an awesome parking space right next to the Oxford Art Factory (OAF) where Sydney darlings Cassette Kids are due to take to the stage in just a couple of hours. Supported by New Zealand’s Kids of 88 and Victoria’s Howl; it was to be an interesting night of music, full of pop, and at times dance-infused rock.

First up was NZ’s Kids of 88 who tonight were boasting a full band line-up including a live drummer and guitarist. This more organic delivery of well known electro tunes such as ‘Ribbons of Light’ and ‘Just a Little Bit’ had the rapidly growing crowd moving. The group provided a lively and entertaining performance that will no doubt win them some new fans this side of the Pacific.

Continue reading Cassette Kids @ Oxford Art Factory, Sydney June 18, 2010 – with Howl and Kids of 88 [Live Review]

Cassette Kids @ Oxford Art Factory, Sydney June 18, 2010 – with Howl and Kids of 88 [Photo Gallery]

Photographer: Ben Hosking
Click the image to view the photo gallery
Cassette KidsCassette Kids

[Photo: Ben Hosking]

View the full Photo Gallery here

Headliner: Cassette Kids
Supports: Howl and Kids of 88
Venue: Oxford Art Factory, Sydney
Date: June 18, 2010
Continue reading Cassette Kids @ Oxford Art Factory, Sydney June 18, 2010 – with Howl and Kids of 88 [Photo Gallery]

Album Review : Anathema – “We’re Here Because We’re Here”

Review: Ben Hosking

Listening to UK band Anathema these days, it’s hard to believe that they once toured alongside groups such as Paradise Lost, Cathedral and Cannibal Corpse. Formed in 1990 under the moniker of Pagan Angel, the group signed to Peaceville Records – the same group that was home to other legendary doom metal bands of the time.
Continue reading Album Review : Anathema – “We’re Here Because We’re Here”

Annihilator – “Annihilator” [CD Review]

Review: Ben Hosking

  With the seemingly never-ending list of 1980’s bands reuniting over the last 10 years or so, all trying to recapture some of their former glory; it’d be easy to dismiss Canadian thrash legends Annihilator as just another in the line. However, founder member Jeff Waters and company never actually left and have been producing quality metal the entire time; unlike many of their fallen brethren.

That said, this – their 13th studio album to date – easily qualifies as their finest effort in the last 20 years or so. A self-titled album, ‘Annihilator’ is brimming with speedy, precise riffage that

effortlessly melds old-school thrash with more modern technical metal that will surely have you damaging neck muscles in the bedroom, car or public transport.
Continue reading Annihilator – “Annihilator” [CD Review]

Mike Patton – “Mondo Cane” [CD Review]

Review: Ben Hosking

  The prolific Mike Patton returns with a project unlike any that have come before it. Sung entirely in Italian, the album ‘Mondo Cane’ features a 40-piece orchestra, choir and band.

Listeners have had hints of Patton’s multi-lingual abilities in the last, such as tunes found on earlier Faith No More releases. However, ‘Mondo Cane’ sees the twisted genius using his talents to pay homage to other songwriters, including his beloved Morricone, who penned the track ‘Deep Down’.

Continue reading Mike Patton – “Mondo Cane” [CD Review]

Review: Dillinger Escape Plan @ The Metro Theatre – Friday May 21, 2010

Review: Ben Hosking
A video camera appears at the front doors of the Metro Theatre on Sydney’s George Street and the assembled throng erupt with screams and cheers. The footpath is a fast-flowing river of regular folk, looking on curiously as the rag-tag gathering of music fans chant “Dillinger Escape Plan rawk!”

It’s a cold, rainy evening in Sydney’s CBD as hundreds stream into the iconic venue to witness a night of musical and at times, personal destruction courtesy of the US band mentioned above.
Continue reading Review: Dillinger Escape Plan @ The Metro Theatre – Friday May 21, 2010

CD Review: Escape The Fate – “This War Is Ours”

Review: Ben Hosking

  Escape the Fate (ETF) just doesn’t know what they want to be. The Las Vegas quartet plays a very American, largely accessible rock/metal blend for the most part. Their tunes switch back and forth between swaggering mid-tempo rockers, unconvincing ballads and even more surprising and bewildering blasts of deep growled passages over menacing riffage.

So just what is it that ETF are trying to achieve? Their vocalist Craig Mabbitt is reminiscent of most of the emasculated faux-metal front men currently in circulation.

You know the kind: a little nasal and still awaiting puberty. This means that they’ll never be fully accepted by the metal or hardcore scenes. Their big choruses and pop sensibilities have helped them to win over 20 million MySpace page views and 400,000 friends; yet they’re far beyond the realms of Australian radio. Continue reading CD Review: Escape The Fate – “This War Is Ours”

Interview: Ben Weinman – The Dillinger Escape Plan

By: Ben Hosking
[Click here to listen to the audio version of this interview]

In a scene where many bands tend to follow the latest musical trend and the industry doesn’t know which way is up, The Dillinger Escape Plan stand clearly out from the crowd.
THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLANFormed in the late 1990s, the group has gone from strength to strength thanks to an unwavering self-reliance and unique ability to churn out some of the most twisted, ugly riffs available. Founder member and guitarist of the New Jersey band Ben Weinman (BW) talks to LifeMusicMedia’s Ben Hosking (LMM) about band dynamics, society’s relationship with technology, illegal downloading and their new album ‘Option Paralysis’.

LMM: How’s the tour going?
BW: Pretty good. Everybody’s a little sick, but we’re holding it together.

LMM: Too much partying or more a case of ‘one guy gets sick, we all get sick’?
BW: I think it’s the latter, man. We’re all on a bus together, so when one person starts hacking up a lung, it just spreads like wildfire.
Continue reading Interview: Ben Weinman – The Dillinger Escape Plan

Live Review: Jeff Martin @ The Basement, Sydney – 7th May 2010

Review: Ben Hosking
Arriving at Sydney’s iconic Basement at around 8.30pm, one could have been forgiven for thinking that they were arriving early enough to catch a decent viewing point of the stage. Alas, walking into the dimly-lit venue an hour before the scheduled start time – past rows and rows of cattle-like drunken Friday night inner city executives at the bars next door – actually saw punters encounter an already half full concert space.
Clearly, this was going to be a big night.

Thanks to a complete lack of any advertised information, the evening’s opening acts seemed to catch a lot of people unaware, including this reviewer. However, despite the complete rudeness of the audience, both performed well; Brisbane singer/songwriter Pear (aka Stephanie Barros Lees) providing the surprise performance of the night.
Continue reading Live Review: Jeff Martin @ The Basement, Sydney – 7th May 2010

Interview with Jeff Martin (The Tea Party/The Armada)

By: Ben Hosking
Jeff Martin[Click here to listen to the audio version of this interview]

Jeff Martin (JM) spent 15 years fronting iconic Canadian rock group The Tea Party before leaving the country to escape the band’s ‘acrimonious’ split. While holed up in Ireland he embarked upon a successful solo career and met percussionist Wayne Sheehy – a chance meeting that later spawned The Armada, with multi-instrumentalist Jay Cortez.

Now an Australian resident, Jeff embarks upon a fresh tour of Australia in May, where he plans to road test some of his new material that will be recorded later this year. Ben Hosking from Lifemusicmedia.com (LMM) caught up with the enigmatic musical gypsy to chat about his upcoming live Armada CD/DVD set, the tour, potential Tea Party reunions and his friendship with Jimmy Page.
Continue reading Interview with Jeff Martin (The Tea Party/The Armada)

Live Review: Behemoth, Job for a Cowboy, Goatwhore, Amenta @ The Metro Theatre – Friday 16 April 2010

Review: Ben Hosking
behemothThere can be no disputing that Behemoth’s latest tour has been one of the most anticipated events on the 2010 Australian metal calendar. Tonight’s full house should be evidence enough.

Outside, fans form a haphazard monochrome line up the adjacent alleyway as they wait patiently to get in. Some take swigs from take away beers, some inhale their last cigarette before entering the smoke-free zone and most talk excitedly amongst themselves about what they’re about to witness.
Continue reading Live Review: Behemoth, Job for a Cowboy, Goatwhore, Amenta @ The Metro Theatre – Friday 16 April 2010

Audio Interview with Jeff Martin (The Tea Party/The Armada)

Interview by: Ben Hosking
Jeff MartinJEFF MARTIN, set to embark on a national tour April/May 2010, talks with LifeMusicMedia’s Ben Hosking about The Armada, The Tea Party, Music Influences and his upcoming Live Album and DVD.

Continue reading Audio Interview with Jeff Martin (The Tea Party/The Armada)

CD Review: Rotting Christ – ‘AEALO’

Review: Ben Hosking

Rotting CHRIST AEALO
Rotting ChristBuy: Rotting Christ at iTunes
  Rotting Christ is, for the uninitiated, a very strange beast upon first listen. Credited as being one of the progenitors of the second wave of Black Metal (BM) at the dawn of the 1990s, the band has amassed a sizeable and remarkable body of work spanning some 11 releases.

What sets Rotting Christ apart from their contemporaries is their ability to seamlessly inject their Greek heritage into the music. This is done largely within the accepted construct of the BM rule book and without a hint of cliché or pastiche.

Continue reading CD Review: Rotting Christ – ‘AEALO’

CD Review: The Dillinger Escape Plan – ‘Option Paralysis’

Review: Ben Hosking
Dillinger
The last few years have been pretty turbulent for The Dillinger Escape Plan. While their records and their live performances have always been violent musical explosions of fury, the latter usually quite unpredictable in nature, it did seem at one point that the band ran the risk of becoming victims of their own chaos. As front man Greg Puciato recently put it, the band was engulfed in “a vicious tornado of animosity” that led to the departure of drummer and co-founder Chris Pennie.

As history sits, their last album Ire Works was completed and toured with the help of Gil Sharone of avant garde group Stolen Babies. However, this proved only a temporary solution, with Sharone leaving the group at the end of 2008.

Certainly, Dillinger is not a band known for their stable line-up, with guitarist Ben Weinman the lone original member. Regardless, the group searched for permanent replacement through 2009 – no easy task considering the relentlessly brutal barrage of erratic blast beats that permeate most of their music. What they found was 25-year-old Billy Rymer.
Continue reading CD Review: The Dillinger Escape Plan – ‘Option Paralysis’