With all the happenings of the past few months, we have been a bit quiet, call it despair if you will. Then I remembered that music is the only thing that keeps souls alive, so in no particular order, here are things that are exciting us at ROCKCULTURE right now.
French newcomers MERGE, alternative rock I suppose you call them, who had their new album ”Ineffable” mixed by the same guys as Betraying the Martyrs, released their single “Recovery” ahead of the album’s release (watch it here https://youtu.be/FIPsYYKJ3ng ) and even though the vocals remind us of 50 other bands, they have an unequal soothing effect. Definitely worth a listen and a band to watch out for.
As we just mentioned those Frenchmen Betraying The Martyrs, they will be touring Europe with Chelsea Grin, the metal band from Salt Lake City, in February and March of 2017. Chelsea Grin have released a few songs from their upcoming album “Self Inflicted” and you can have a listen https://youtu.be/MYhZ0zlydqQ before you go and check them out. German dates so far
05.02.2017 Underground, Köln
17.02.2017 Schlachthof, Wiesbaden
18.02.2017 Vaudeville, Lindau
22.02.2017 Z Bau, Nürnberg
23.02.2017 Lido, Berlin
02.03.2017 Logo, Hamburg
03.03.2017 Eventwerk, Dresden
05.03.2017 Backstage, München
Chelsea Grin (photo courtesy of Little Press)
Though not 100% sure musicians should voice their political views too loudly, we do love what Stick To Your Guns have done in support of Standing Rock. The Orange County hardcore band have released the title track “Better Ash Than Dust” from their recently released EP, available from Pure Noise Records at http://smarturl.it/STYG or on iTunes.
“With the eyes of the world on what is happening in North Dakota and the Dakota Access Pipeline, I think this a perfect time to release this video,” says vocalist Jesse Barnett. “So much of what is happening to the indigenous people of what we call America is not just horrifying, but down right unacceptable. This is not just an injustice against these people, their land and their water, but it’s a perfect example of how what we call a civilized society can, more often than not, be barbaric and disgusting. The support that the whole world has shown for Standing Rock has been an inspiring thing to watch and this band stands in solidarity with them.”
The band and their record company will be donating a dollar per share, up to a thousand dollars each, to Standing Rock front line warriors.
Stick To Your Guns (photo courtesy of Little Press)
Stick To Your Guns are not just an inspiration – look at what their support and all the voices from the supporters at Standing Rock have accomplished! – but they make pretty decent music, too. You can follow them on https://www.facebook.com/STYGoc and find out more about their upcoming tour. ROCKCULTURE cannot wait to see them live in April at the Jahrhunderthalle in Frankfurt.
On that note, we will love you and leave you, enjoy the festive season, cherish your loved ones and we will see you again in 2017!
Best wishes
Nx