THE BEST NEW MUSIC

THE BEST NEW MUSIC

J-rock is coming at us in a big way, so allow ROCK SOUND to introduce you to the latest eastern promise… T H E Y ’ R E

FACT That’s Our Goal

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“I guess we’re a ‘buzz’ band or something. We’re not really big though,” admits Tomohiro, bass player for J-rock outfi t FACT. It’s a changing industry if the band feels comfortable playing down their musical reputation – having yet to really establish one! - but as Tomohiro elaborates: “Because we’re not big in Japan it doesn’t feel like we’re trying to start all over again in Europe and America.” In fact, touring the UK and America is more of a starting point rather than a fi nal destination for the band as they release their new self-titled album. “We wanted to make an eclectic album infl uenced by all different types of music, creating something that pulls that in, yet maintains a specifi c sound. Finding the balance between eclectic and cohesive was the toughest part.” Perhaps it was the widely interpreted variety of songs that prompted the band to also release a remix version of the album. “We had many different elements of programming and synths as we thought

LINE UP: Hiro (vocals), Takahiro (guitars, vocals), Tomohiro (bass,

vocals), Eiji (drums, vocals), Kazuki (guitar, vocals)

FROM: Chiba and Ibaraki, Japan

SOUNDS LIKE: A crazed cacophony of J-rock and 80s-inspired Ameri

can thrash metal.

CURRENT RELEASE: ‘Fact’ (album, Vagrant. Out July 06)

WEBSITE: www.myspace.com/factjapan

DOWNLOAD THIS: ‘Rise’

it would be cool to hear different arrangements in the remixes of the songs.” In terms of stylisation, Japan’s bands are often famed for their ‘visual kei’ involvement, but though FACT adorn masks they’re “not involved” with that. “We wear masks to avoid the prejudice of people who judge our music by the way we look. The reason for it being a Japanese traditional mask is to portray that we are Japanese and we do embrace the culture… though they do creep me out.” This statement of intent is hardly surprising with a sound likened to Sunsgrind rather than Slipknot (so don’t you fucking judge them!), but despite their traditional roots, breaking the UK scene remains attractive. “Most Japanese bands are infl uenced by western bands so we are all looking to break in the west. It’s the ultimate goal!” Interesting...

FAYE LEWIS

O R Y OU R S?

REVOLUTION MOTHER If you thought Long Beach, California was only responsible for “sunshine pop-punk” think again, dirty rollers Revolution Mother are about to give you a blast of sludge-loaded, grimy rock ‘n’ roll not seen since The Dukes Of Nothing abdicated. Featuring members of Mean Season, Outspoken and fronted by pro-skater Mike Vallelly, they’re about to off-load their second fi lthy outing ‘Rollin’ With Tha Mutha’ via Ferret. Finding their origins in Mike V And The Rats, these bearded-up boys reek of greasy bikers, old leathers and whiskey, and while their tunes are not about to change the world, they’ll certainly make it a whole lot better! RK WWW.MYSPACE.COM/REVOLUTIONMOTHER PLAY THIS: ‘Come On’

TOADIES This band’s stop-start career has seen them sell over one million copies of their debut album in the US. They went on hiatus in 97, reformed in 01, only to split later that same year. Hailing from Texas, the great southern trend kill they are not, however, they offer up southern-tinged rock with driving rhythms and powerful vocals. Toadies are now touring the UK for the fi rst time in their 20-year career and the new record, ‘Made In Texas’, comprised of their three previous albums to date, is the perfect soundtrack to drinking bourbon. Oh yeah! AB WWW.MYSPACE.COM/TOADIES PLAY THIS: ‘Song I Hate’

FIREFALLDOWN Currently on tour in support of their single, ‘Commissioned’, which was released this month, this London three-piece have a clear melting pot of infl uences ranging from motown to hardcore. However, far from sounding muddled, FFD are able to hone and focus their infl uences into a controlled, melody-driven sound, complete with positive lyrics and a smattering of restrained but punchy heaviness. This is fresh, summertime music. If you pushed Sublime down a mountain and allowed them to snowball with RHCP and early Incubus you would arrive somewhere pretty close to where FFD are right now. AB WWW.MYSPACE.COM/FIREFALLDOWNMUSIC PLAY THIS: ‘Commissioned’ Want to see your band featured in these here pages? Get yourself over to

[32] rocksound.tv

www.myspace.com/rocksound pronto and add us. It could be you next month... HACRIDE

SOUNDS LIKE: An aurally glorious collision between Gojira, Strapping Young Lad and Meshuggah.

T H E Y ’ R E

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“The lyrics are about what’s happening in the main character’s mind. This person can be anyone going through a bad period of their life. I think anyone at some point can feel very close to getting crazy and doing something wrong. You don’t have to be a mad man to get this feeling,” states Hacride vocalist Sam Bourreau of his band’s new album, ‘Lazarus’, essentially a movie set to music. The title comes from the Lazarus Phenomenon, where a body spontaneously begins circulation again even though resuscitation has failed, as in Lazarus from the Bible. This rebirth can then open our eyes to the pain of the world around us. “I think music and art in general have a lot more to say about negative things,” Sam continues. “When you look outside and see how the weather is

getting crazy, when you watch the news and realise how a human can treat his fellow humans and nature, there is a lot to say about it. There is much more to say about the negative side of life.” This ecologically aware stance coupled with the fact that they’re French and following a similar prog-ish, death metal path will draw comparisons to Gojira, but Sam sees a way around this. “I prefer to consider myself as a musician before being seen as a French person only,” he says, with a laugh. “When we say to people we meet [at festivals] we are from France they barely believe us, [but] they do trust what we say because of our accents.” CURRENT RELEASE: ‘Lazarus’ (album, Listenable. Out now) DOWNLOAD THIS: ‘My Enemy’ WWW.HACRIDE.COM

KEN MCGRATH

T H E Y ’ R E

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GOES CUBE

SOUNDS LIKE: Your favourite mid-90s post-hardcore heroes shot full of steroids and cranking the volume up to 11…

“How about this?” suggests Goes Cube singer / guitarist David Obuchowski when asked what particularly grinds the band’s gears. “…showing up to a venue and fi nding that they booked you with an interpretive dancer. And you’re opening.” Not particularly good times for a band as thunderously LOUD as New York noiseniks Goes Cube perhaps, but at least they can see the funny side, as drummer Kenny Appell chucklingly points out. “The postscript to that show is that the next morning an amazing photo of the band was taken in front of a cigarette and cigar store called Cox Smoker’s Outlet.” Interpretative dance and fellatio gags aside, if there’s one thing that these guys are deadly serious about, it’s the music.

“We all gave up our jobs, and we all turned down subsequent job offers,” states Obuchowski bluntly. “Goes Cube is very do or die for us. It’s not a hobby. It’s not something we do on weekends. If I didn’t have music to play, I don’t know what I’d be doing other than feeling like a coward. At the end of the line, it’s not about whether or not I ever got signed or made money or did any of that shit. It was completely about saying, ‘You know what? Music is my passion and it feels like what I was born to do’. So, despite my personal talents or the chances of success or any of that shit, I decided I needed to truly try or I’d never forgive myself.” CURRENT RELEASE: ‘Another Day Has Passed’ (album, The End. Out now) DOWNLOAD THIS: ‘Grinding The Knife Blade’ WWW.MYSPACE.COM/GOESCUBE

Alex Deller

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