Our weekly music News Report has evolved into the Full Pelt Magazine, and you can download the seventh issue now for free!
Volume seven includes an update from cover stars The Xcerts, reviews of Blink 182 and Funeral For A Friend live, album reviews for Creeper, REWS, Beartooth and The Dollyrots and a load more!
We have our News Report rounding up new releases from Bring Me The Horizon, Feeder, Blossoms, The Sleeping Souls, Thornhill, MOSKITO, Waterparks, Delilah Bon, South of Salem, Powerwolf, Gama Bomb, Employed To Serve, PLAIINS, Scott Stapp, END and Lord of the Lost!
Plus new live announcements from Bryan Adams, YONAKA, Stonedead Festival, Casey and Haunt the Woods.
Finally, we round up the latest additions to our âDiscoverâ New Music Playlist with Spyres, Future Static and Crushed by Waves!
The metalheads have taken over Birmingham with battlejackets visable on every street corner. Yes, the mighty Iron Maiden are in town and a sold out Utilita Arena is braced for a theatrical evening of fun with a band currently firing on all cylinders.
The legendary group are here as part of their aptly titled âThe Future Pastâ Tour which sees them focus on material from their latest studio release, âSenjutsuâ and their 1986 sixth album âSomewhere In Timeâ.
Up first however are openers Lord of the Lost, fresh from the indignity of finishing last at this yearâs Eurovision. Given the reputation of Maiden fans to be rather harsh on their support acts, and the German groups recent past, we were concerned that Lord of the Lost would go down like a certain variety of balloon!
That thankfully isnât the case though as they deliver a polished yet honest performance which is well received by the waiting masses. The band are able to show that they possess quality with substance and some great songs, which is probably why Eurovision fans werenât interested! If that experience was a disappointment, this one is a big success for the band.
Soon enough those familiar strains of UFOâs âDoctor Doctorâ start to fill the arena and the atmosphere kicks up a few dozen notches. With an updated stage show complementing a setlist full of rarer heard fan favourites it doesnât take long for the band to suck you right in.
Within moments Iron Maiden have the audience in the palm of their collective hand as they lead them back and forth from new tracks like âThe Writing on the Wallâ to deep cuts like âStranger in a Strange Landâ and classics such as âCan I Play With Madnessâ!
With multiple appearances from Eddie plus all the usual trimmings this show is Maiden at their very best. The carefully curated setlist makes this a unique opportunity for the diehards but also a fine example of what the band do for any newcomers. This is perhaps best summed up by the final main set run of âHeaven Can Waitâ, âAlexander the Greatâ, âFear of the Darkâ and âIron Maidenâ.
By the time âThe Trooperâ and âWasted Yearsâ close out the evening, Maiden have one again shown themselves the masters of their craft. Those metalheads then head back out into the Birmingham night filled with glorious, dramatic metal!
Welcome everyone to another edition of our weekly music News Report!
This week we begin with the best live announcements from the past week and up first are The Darkness who will revisit their iconic debut album, ‘Permission to Land’ for its 20th Anniversary this December.
Regarding the shows frontman Justin Hawkins says, âWe, The Darkness, are delighted to announce that weâll be hitting the road in the U.K. once again. To commemorate the 20th anniversary of Permission to Land, our set will include every song from our debut album faithfully reproduced (with additional clam notes and meanderings) in the order in which they appear on the record. Weâll also play all of your favourite Darkness songs from the rest of our illustrious and tipsy turvy career. It will be the best show youâll see this year. I should know, Iâm the singer and also a YouTube music expert.â
In further celebration the band will re-issue the album with a new collection set for release on October 6th.
On the new release Hawkins says, âSo much has happened since the original release of Permission To Land that I can hardly believe itâs only been 20 years. Such turmoil, upheaval, the emotional rollercoaster ride of being nobody, becoming somebody, going back to being nobody and LOVING EVERY SECOND OF IT. The past two decades have only been this eventful BECAUSE of the impact that our debut album had. Iâm grateful for every second of this experience and delighted to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the best debut album by The Darkness of all time. Join me in giving this seismic long player 20 heartfelt bumps. Happy birthday PTL!â
Festival favourite Beans On Toast may currently be serenading fields across the country, but as if like clockwork the singer will soon be back out on the road once again.
You can catch Beans later this year playing many often forgotten towns and cities!
Lord of the Lost share video for ‘Reset the Preset’
Lord of the Lost – ‘Reset the Preset’
We move our News Report on now to the best new releases from the past week and up first are Lord of the Lost who are fresh from supporting Iron Maiden in arenas across the UK.
The group have now shared their latest video for the track, ‘Reset the Preset’, and you can check it out above.
Commenting, the band say “In line with the song title ‘Reset The Preset’, we did everything the way we NEVER do it for this video. We put every creative decision of the music video – whether it was clothing, lighting, colors, content, whatever… – into other hands. Namely, into the hands of our tour photographer and cameraman Lennard Schmitt, who has an incredible knack for visually absurd art. So, with Lennard as director, we set every LOTL preset to reset and let ourselves be surprised with this video from start to finish. The result is definitely the most shrill and weirdest piece of visual art we’ve ever released.”
We have plenty of new music to get through this week and up next are Dirty Honey who have debuted their latest single, ‘Won’t Take Me Alive’, which you can check out above.
The track will feature on upcoming new album, ‘Can’t Find the Brakes’.
Singer Marc LaBelle describes the song as, ââŠthe best riff Iâd heard in the last decade.  The song is full of sex and swagger, but itâs still the heaviness and the fun that Dirty Honey is all about.â
ââWonât Take Me Aliveâ was an instrumental idea I demoed on bass, drums, and guitar at my home studio,â says guitarist John Notto.  âI bought it to the band, and we wrote a new chorus, and it was basically finished that quickly.  Nick [DiDia] rented some vintage amps and really helped me get the raunchy sound and attitude I wanted for the riff.â
In a big week for Bad Touch, the group revealed that their new album, ‘Bittersweet Satisfaction’, will be released on November 10th.
Coinciding with the announcement the band shared their brand new single, ‘Nothing Wrong With That’, which you can check out above.
âWe’ve never sat on anything that long because we’re like kids in a candy shop, as soon as we write something, we want to get out there and play stuff,â says frontman Stevie Westwood on the album. âSo, it’s very exciting. It’s slightly more mature. I love every song. It’s a different sound for Bad Touch. It’s less balls-to-the-wall rock, and the songs seem a bit more thoughtful rather than just kind of exploded out of a tin can.â
Speaking on their latest single the band adds, âWeâre delighted to present to the world our new singleâ exclaims Stevie. Itâs a song for everyone that encompasses the Bad Touch mantra âas long as you carry a song in your heart, and a smile on your face, then nothing can get you down.âÂ
âThis song came together during a time when there was a lot of unrest, fear of the unknown, and we all were just getting through day by day, in whatever way we could. A time when we felt the world could use a little lift to somewhere a little bit brighter. So whatever is getting you down, this song is here to say youâre not alone, we are with you, and whatever way you need to get through the bad times⊠a good book, some good company⊠or some good wine!⊠we say⊠ thereâs nothing wrong with that.â
Teenage Fanclub share new single ‘Tired of Being Alone’
Teenage Fanclub – ‘Tired of Being Alone’
Our News Report continues with the latest single from Teenage Fanclub. You can check out ‘Tired of Being Alone’ above.
The track will feature on upcoming new album, ‘Nothing Lasts Forever’, which is out on September 22nd.
Commenting on the track Raymond McGinley says: âTowards the end of our session in Rockfield Studios making the album I woke up in the middle of the night. There was a guitar next to the bed. I picked it up and this song came out. The words for the chorus were there already. I recorded a rough version on my phone and then went back to sleep. We recorded the song later that day. As a band we like to trust our instincts and let things happen. As with Normanâs song âForeign Landâ this song only exists because we decided to go to the studio and make a record. If weâd waited for the stars to align first before recording weâd still be waiting now.â
Courting have shared their latest single, ‘Flex’, which you can check out above.
Speaking on the concept of the track, frontman Sean Murphy-OâNeill, says ââFlexâ is designed to be a theatrical performance, a short play. Our protagonist is wealthy, successful, and famous⊠but at what cost? Our protagonist misses their ex (after seeing their glow-up), wears Ricks, chainsmokes, sends thought-out emails about their wellbeing to people they shouldâve replied to sooner, and has increased their screen time by 25%
In the thrilling conclusion, our protagonist does donuts in a closed car-park, in a 1967 mustang, with all of their friends. The event is livestreamed on twitch to be rewatched until the end of time.
âFlexâ is as sincere as we can be. Sometimes the lines between real life and fiction get blurred here, but weâre nothing if not committed.â
Lacey have unveiled their latest single, ‘Middle England’, which you can check out above.
The track comes from upcoming new album, ‘This Is All We Are’, which is out July 17th.
Frontman Graham “Graz” Turner describes the single as “reflective of the typical English sentiment of looking on the bright side, things could be worse.”
Turner describes the record as, “Basically, the soundtrack to what itâs like to feel everything and nothing, all at the same time. Lyrically, no stone is left unturned, and I can guarantee if youâve ever felt anything, it will be addressed here. This really is a soul bearing ride through every, conceivable human emotion. This is all we are”.
The final new release in this section of our News Report comes from ‘Discover’ New Music Podcast alumni Call To The Faithful!
The band have unleashed their brand new single, ‘Let Me Down’, which you can check out above.
There is more new music on the way from the band as the single will feature on their debut EP, ‘Strong / Stable / Suffer’, which will be released on September 1st.
Staffordshire UK quartet Death Of Me are back with their brand new single âHaloâ!
“This was one of the more difficult songs to write from the release as it deals with the themes of grief, loss and love. Exploring the guilt that comes from letting go and moving on with life when facing a loss, the realisation of how things could have been done differently, all that will never be and all that could have been.â – Vocalist, Jim Carter.
As the band describe: âDeath Of Me was always a project intended to transcend genre and trends. The premise instead was to explore the darkest corners of the human psyche both sonically and visually and just be ourselves in our purest form. Death of me became the vessel to put pen to paper, exercise demons and expose open wounds on the stage of the worldâ
FEATHER TRADE – ‘BIG NOTHING’
Manchester via Athens, Georgia trio FEATHER TRADE have released their new single, ‘BIG NOBODY’!
The band say, âCreated or destroyed by crucial influence, each personâs world is a lifetime searching for meaning and reconstruction. They push through the strata â anger, grief, fear, shame, loss â fueling the desire for absolution and certainty. Some find it in religion. Some find it in drugs. Some find it in sex. Feather Trade brought the flames to one another. We scream in the darkness, the echoes giving black shape in sound. A fight with cancer. Watching a loved oneâs descent into schizophrenia. Losing it all to fire. The unceasing longing to seal the fissure of three broken words.â
Hunch Power – ‘Is This the End (Or Just the Beginning?)’
Nottingham band Hunch Power deliver new single ‘Is This the End (Or Just the Beginning?)’!
Frontman Harvey Springfield says:
âIâd only just been through a break-up when Covid hit so I had plenty of reasons to give up but instead I decided to work twice as hard. People kept talking about the end of the World but you could also see it as the beginning of a new era. The sky over London never looked so clean. We could hear the birds over the traffic and working from home was finally accepted as normal.
Manic Street Preachers inspired me to write the chorus when I was 20 but didnât have a band back then. I forgot about it and only finished the song a couple of years ago, adding in an instrumental part which Deano took to another level with a ripping guitar soloâ.
Watch Episode 43 of our ‘Discover’ New Music Podcast with guests Hunch Power
‘Discover’ New Music Podcast – Episode 43 – Hunch Power
Welcome everyone to another edition of our weekly music News Report!
We get started this week with the latest from Reading and Leeds Festivals which as is tradition take place this August Bank Holiday weekend.
This week saw the likes of Lauran Hibberd, The Royston Club, Somebody’s Child and Bilk.
They will join names such as The Killers, Yard Act, The Amazons, You Me At Six, Frank Turner, Imagine Dragons, Don Broco, The Snuts, Hot Milk, The Murder Capital, Yonaka, Normandie and Sleep Token.
The View recently announce that their new album ‘Exorcism of Youth’ will be released on August 18th. Now the band have revealed a full Autumn UK Tour in support of the album.
Kyle Falconer commented, âTouring has always been what weâve done best, we just needed some time to refuel. Canât wait to get back to it!â
PJ Harvey has announced her new album, ‘I Inside the Old Year Dying’, will be out on July 7th.
Ahead of her first album since 2016, Harvey has also debuted brand new single, ‘A Child’s Question, August’, which you can check out above.
On the new single: âI think the album is about searching, looking – the intensity of first love, and seeking meaning,â says Harvey. âNot that there has to be a message, but the feeling I get from the record is one of love â itâs tinged with sadness and loss, but itâs loving. I think that’s what makes it feel so welcoming: so open.â
Grian Chatten, vocalist of Dublinâs critically acclaimed band Fontaines D.C., has shared his debut solo single, âThe Scoreâ, which you can check out above.
Commenting on the track, Chatten explains, ââThe Scoreâ is a heavyweight bated breath of lust. I wrote it in Madrid between an electric fan and a dying plant and I intend to keep it there. It was inspired by sugar and sunset.â
Very first German rock/metal Eurovision Song Contest representatives, Lord of the Lost, have released an official music video for ‘Destruction Manual’, which you can check out above.
The band on the new video: âA video where the whole band is represented by women. That is something I’ve wanted to do for half of my life. But it wasnât the right time until now: the moment has come! Next to Louisa, we have four outstanding female musicians from all over the world at our instruments, and we love the energy that all five of them radiate here. What can I say? We’ve never looked so stunning!”
Next in our News Report is K.Flay who this week released her latest single, ‘Raw Raw’, which you can check out above.
Regarding the single K.Flay says, ââRaw Rawâ is the start of my next chapter. After losing half my hearing last fall, I was faced with a sudden and intense episode of fear and vulnerability. Like, could I even make music again? Once I got into my recovery and started writing and recording, I knew that I could. And what I wanted to create was music that felt properly rock but also properly future oriented. Uninhibited and different.
âWith âRaw Rawâ I wanted to capture what vulnerability really feels like. Outwardly it might seem tender, but on the inside itâs messy and bloody and somewhat terrifying. Itâs a chainsaw buzzing at your throat.â
Loose Articles share video for ‘Sinead Loves Bitcoin
Loose Articles – ‘Sinead Loves Bitcoin’
Manchester indie punks Loose Articles this week shared new single ‘Sinead Loves Bitcoin’, which you can check out above.
âThe song is about our pal and local legend Sinead Ferguson, who’s a band photographer,â say the band of the story behind the track. âShe had her instagram account hijacked by Bitcoin hackers who were posing as her and trying to sell everyone Bitcoin for ÂŁ10,000. For a split second everyone thought Sinead was a Bitcoin dealer, so we turned it into a song where she was stealing your wifi and hacking your social media accounts to sell Bitcoin.â
The band have launched a spoof NFT scheme to accompany the track, alongside Sineadâs Bitcoin Fund, which will offer fans the ability to donate money to the band to unlock perks.
Tiers range from ÂŁ0â20+ and include incentives like a specially recorded B-side short story, a cassette tape of the release, a DTG Ape Loose Articles shirt, and more special gifts TBC.
Salisbury punk rockers CARSICK have shared their latest single, ‘Anaconda Frank’, which you can check out above.
The band are also set to drop their forthcoming debut EP ‘Drunk Hymns’ on 30th June.
Anaconda Frank is our biggest rager yet,â the band said of the song. âWe wanted to capture the chaotic energy of our lives right now and so we’ve drawn on a bunch of real experiences we’ve had recently – covering everything from addiction to giant exotic snakes. It’s about being in a transitional stage of your life and figuring out what exactly it is you want to do and the kind of person you want to be.”
New York-based punk band Oxymorrons continue their genre-bending revolution with their latest single, ‘Last Call’ featuring Troi Irons.
When asked what inspired them to write such an honest song and share themselves so openly, the band explained, ââLast Callâ is an exercise in vulnerability and using our music to help us better understand ourselves and our coping mechanisms. Too many times weâve all found ourselves drowning at the bottom of a bottle, using alcohol to help us feel something different or feel nothing at all. Whether youâve struggled in the past or are struggling right now, we hope this song helps you feel seen and plays a role in helping you not struggle in the future.â Â Featured artist Troi Irons brought a different perspective to the track, sharing, âIâve long been a fan of the Oxymorrons and what they do so I was thrilled to hop on this song. I donât really drink but itâs more a metaphor for how humans tend to reach for the closest thing to help us feel less alone. Itâs not always healthy. Hopefully people reach for the music to feel less alone with this one.â
DETHRXNER – ‘STAY COLD’
Copenhagen’s DETHRXNER share their new single, ‘STAY COLD’ featuring Aaron Matts of ten56..
“âStay Coldâ is a track about resilience and perseverance in the face of challenges. The lyrics convey a determination to stick to one’s plan, despite past failures and missed opportunities – itâs ultimately a declaration of staying strong, staying true to oneself, and staying focused on success, no matter how tough the journey may beâ – Vocalist Neema RadÂ
Tribe of Ghosts – ‘Sunburner (Deny the Rot)’
Tribe Of Ghosts share their brand new single ‘Sunburner (Deny the Rot)’.
âWhen my mental health began severely declining before my diagnosis, I always associated the Sun as some kind of aggressor or enemy as it would cause emotional and physical discomfort whenever I saw it… This discomfort would bring on these intense feelings of anxiety and intense physical pain that I would daily attempt to mask and ignore as I didnât want to accept that I was mentally unwell.â – Guitarist Adam Sedgwick.
