Review by Billy Geary
As is the case with many bands that are somewhat lesser known, despite being critically acclaimed and possessing a stellar live sound, British four piece 65daysofstatic have taken quite a while to finally make it down under. After over ten years together, the band, with the help of the increasingly impressive Birds Robe record label, it was finally Australia’s turn to experience the quartet in the flesh.
Fresh from a huge 2012, including an ARIA award nomination, Sydney’s sleepmakeswaves were tasked with the role of main support for the entire tour. The quartet has, over the last few years, grown their fan base quite significantly and it showed in the sheer volume of the crowd’s cheers on Friday night as the band wandered on stage. The highlights of the set were opener ‘To You They Are Birds…’ and ‘We Sing The Body Electric,’ displaying exactly why they are considered one of Australia’s best young bands. To the delight of many, the band also showcased a couple of new tracks in ‘Avalanches’ and ‘Freshmaker.’ The former was particularly impressive, being slighter faster paced compared to most sleepmakeswaves tracks whilst still retaining their original sound.
Continue reading Live Review: 65daysofstatic + sleepmakeswaves @ The Corner Hotel, Melbourne – 4 January 2013
Just about every time you think music is becoming stale, over-saturated or downright boring, there’s always a band ready and waiting to put your faith back in music. Twelve Foot Ninja are one of those bands. Forming in 2007, Twelve Foot Ninja quickly rose to prominence, releasing two EPs packed with genre bending moments of reggae, metal, funk, dub and hardcore, sometimes within the same song. Their debut album, Silent Machine shows the same tendency, with added heaviness and polish.
With the annual Splendour in the Grass festival letting loose in Bryon Bay, the sideshow circus around the country was in full swing. Co-headlining Splendour was the infamous
The Ocean are one of the more interesting bands of the past few decades. The brainchild of guitarist Robin Staps, The Ocean has, over the years, morphed into one of the most forward thinking and innovative metal bands in the world. Their show at Melbourne’s Hi-Fi bar on Saturday night was the second last leg of their maiden tour of Australia, and what a night it was.
As Melbourne’s Soundwave week continued into Wednesday night, it was time to head to the beautiful Forum Theatre for a taste of some of the most original music the massive line up had to offer.
We caught up with
It’s fair to say that over the years Californian natives
We caught up with Cathedral guitarist Garry “Gaz” Jennings for a quick chat about
With The Dillinger Escape Plan set to inflict their brand of intense, chaotic and stage totalling performance on an eager 

Rising Sun – Stray from the Path
Smart, unique alternative rock is becoming somewhat of a rarity in today’s music industry. Only a handful of bands such as Manchester Orchestra, Karnivool and Thrice are prepared to branch out and try something different and still retain an inherent accessibility about them. Given the ever increasing saturation of music worldwide, it often takes something quite special to break out of the rut and create something truly interesting and captivating. What Texan quintet Fair To Midland have achieved with their fourth album Arrows and Anchors, however, is just that Continuing on from where their breakthrough album Fables From a Mayfly left off, Fair To Midland have put together an outstanding album of eclectic rock music, albeit in a heavier fashion this time around. Arrows and Anchors is the natural progression from Fables… in that it improves the band’s overall sound while still retaining what made its predecessor such an excellent release. Tracks such as the utterly magical ‘Golden Parachutes’ and ‘Short Haired Tornado’ are perfect examples of this. In fact, the chorus of ‘Golden Parachutes’ is arguably one of the best rock choruses this year, let alone on the album. Praise must be given to vocalist Darroh Sudderth who possesses one of the best voices in rock music today, as displayed in the aforementioned songs.
Forming in 2009 after the demise of two well known Perth bands Saturation Point and Fractured, Perth’s Define My Addiction released their debut album Systemic in early 2011. The four piece play a brand of modern metal that comes across as an equal mix of
Melbourne hard rockers Calling All Cars are undoubtedly one of the harder working bands doing the rounds today. In the past two years since the release of their debut the three-piece have toured relentlessly with the likes of AC/DC, Queens of the Stone Age and The Butterfly Effect as well as a heap of headline shows of their own. Somehow in that time, they’ve managed to record an absolute cracker of a sophomore album, improving their sound in every way possible.
The meteoric rise of Dead Letter Circus in the past 18 months is no secret. Having quickly moved from the small, intimate feel of the Espy to regularly selling out the substantially bigger HiFi Bar and touring the UK and America, its fair to say that DLC are doing all right. Back in Melbourne for yet another jaunt around Australia, this time for their “No Fracking Way” Tour, Brisbane alternative rock darlings Dead Letter Circus were at the top of their game on Wednesday night.