Alt-014 - Steak, Dead Cult Diaries, Meka-nism, Kamikaze Test Pilots, This Devastated Fan, Where The Skeletons Play, Paabel, Fuckshovel, Black Magic Six, Sounds & Scenarios

STEAK
'Corned Beef Colossus'

Early assumptions would be that these four lads were once aspiring butchers until their selection of luxury meats were found to contain 100% horse meat in them, then again that's nothing for Londoners Steak as they unleash their latest serving of Stoner Rock in the form of their EP 'Corned Beef Colossus', a juicy and crunchy rocking sound that will get anyone off their feet and doing air guitar movements oppan gangnam style. Besides the intentional puns, 'Corned Beef Colossus' is a decent enough release that should appeal to a myriad of rock and metal fans alike, featuring a host of slick riffs that gently glide over the percussion and over rough, thick bass tunes whilst the vocals deliver the all important final blow, listeners in the end should consider themselves mince meat.

Download This: "Acid Dave"

[8] RHYS STEVENSON

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DEAD CULT DIARIES
'The World Is Too Small'
WARNER MUSIC FINLAND

Considered to be a breath of fresh air for the Finnish rock scene, pop punk rockers Dead Cult Diaries get down to business with their debut album 'The World Is Too Small' released back in April, what separates female-fronted five piece from the Paramore trap is that they stick to their guns and create their own phenomenal sound that can only be described as a whipped up pot of The Rasmus, Vanilla Ninja and The Birthday Massacre via the stark similarity of riffage on 'Boys And Toys' which can be likened to the intro of 'First Day of My Life' by The Rasmus. The comparison with Estonia's Vanilla Ninja derives from the heavenly angelic vocals both vocalists share, as for the link with The Birthday Massacre, simply the electronic feel here and there. All in all, 'The World Is Too Small' is a factual statement and Dead Cult Diaries is the most anticipated Finnish rock export since the glory days of HIM, The 69 Eyes and The Rasmus.

Download This: "The Story's Over"

For Fans of: The Rasmus, HIM, Vanilla Ninja, The Birthday Massacre, Evarane

[9] RHYS STEVENSON

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MEKA-NISM
'The Dance At The End Of The World'
FU RECORDS

When it comes round to mixing different music styles to create something it can be a tricky business, but bands like Meka-nism make light work of it, instead they lauded the foundations of metal and rock music with a plethora of different elements including electronic music, opera, Japanese pop, folk, etc etc - basically experimental music. 'The Dance At The End Of The World' serves well as the band's latest release and explodes in a radioactive spectrum of colorful sounds, from the blackness of the evil vocals that drive the red-hot riffs and drumbeats, whilst the icy blue chilling atmosphere serves well for the green fading away on the heart monitor, after all this Floridian four-piece are the more softer and sharper kind than their fellow countrymen Deadstar Assembly, none the less it's a breath of fresh air.

Download This: "Tyranny Reigns"

For fans of: Ayria, Exilia, Deluhi, Alien Vampires

[8] RHYS STEVENSON

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KAMIKAZE TEST PILOTS
'Kamikaze Test Pilots'

English / Zimbabwean rockers Kamikaze Test Pilots sounded off last year with their highly anticipated debut self-titled album. Mixing together different elements taken from the Hard Rock, Punk Rock and Heavy metal music styles, the four piece (now three piece) fuse together a unique sound of traditional Zimbabwean rock with the brutality of the English metal. 'Kamikaze Test Pilots' takes listeners on a magical and bizarre journey that cannot be felt elsewhere, talk about ethnic music. This is a music style that no one else has ever mustered, think of the ragga style of Skindred being mixed with the traditional African music, you get the idea. A truly cosmopolitan release that should appeal to rock fans everywhere.

Download This: "Dinosaur"

[7.] RHYS STEVENSON

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THIS DEVASTATED FAN
'Plot & Debauchery'

Hailing from the North-West, Alternative rockers This Devastated Fan made light work of conjuring up a winning score for their third album 'Plot & Debauchery', squeezing out a delinquent array of melodies and sensational sounds that shows similarities with bands like Placebo and Biffy Clyro, whilst inevitably caressing and harnessing their own style of powerful rock. 'Plot & Debauchery' is a soundtrack that speaks more than a thousand words and illuminates up as one of those releases that should be in any rock fan's collection. An essential classic sits right here and has a lot of elegance going on that smothers the production so nicely, it sets the tone for future as a bright and prosperous one.

Download This: "Barricade"

For Fans of: Biffy Clyro, Muse, The Horrors and Placebo

[7.5] RHYS STEVENSON

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WHERE THE SKELETONS PLAY
'Blue Serotonin'

Let's be honest if you're looking for a duo that look like they come from Hollywood Undead, play music that would be apt on The Matrix soundstrack or have riffs that would be associated with a Nu Metal band and develops an atmosphere of eternal bliss, chances are Where The Skeletons Play are your right choice. Their latest effort 'Blue Serotonin' demolishes the rules set in stone and plays rock their own way, dragging into it a feeling of calmness and tranquility, which in hindsight is hard to do as rock is meant to be energetic, but this London duo do the exact opposite. It's the sort of music you could listen to and fall asleep too much more easily and without the need for sleeping pills. So on a dark night Where The Skeletons Play, a specific type of Blue Serotonin may be available... a blue pill.

Download This: "Perspex Queen"

For Fans of: Deftones, NIN, Razorlight

[8] RHYS STEVENSON

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PAABEL
'Üle Järve'

Now this is something different, imagine this: mixing the traditional music elements of your home nation with contemporary music and then producing it as one musical masterpiece. Such a music group is Paabel who hail from Estonia, their 2012 album 'Üle Järve' is enriched with the classical sounds of traditional Estonian music with lashes of rock, folk and ballads. Funnily enough it is the sort of music that you could easily drive to, fall asleep to, you know easy listening? With some songs having an upbeat feel to them whilst others simply (with the beautiful aid of the Estonian language) sooth and calm the mind, leaving a tranquil emotion behind in the listener's repertoire. Paabel may as well be one of a kind, but even so they are an absolute delight to listen to if you like the softer side of folk and rock, 'Üle Järve' is an absolute essential for those who love soft music.

Download This: "Kosjalaul"

For Fans of: Gregorian, Eluveitie, Tyr, Dropkick Murphy's

[8.5] RHYS STEVENSON

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FUCKSHOVEL
'This Is What We Are'

Is this the Sex Pistols reincarnated? It would seem that way, well yeah Fuckshovel might as well be haha. Here we have their epic debut album 'This Is What We Are', a solid display of ballsy punk rock that would get the holiest of priests blaspheming all the way down to the pub, for proper holy water, er-hem. The great thing about the album and indeed this band is that both don't follow the Sum 41 root, that watered down version of punk rock aka pop punk, they stick to their guns and let the bullets do the talking, shredding out riffs and shrapnel-like vocals like no tomorrow. Given due that it took around three years for the first album to see the light, it was well worth the wait and at the same time the band have managed to prove themselves as proper modern punk rockers, 'This Is What We Are' has the middle finger written all over it.

Download This: 'Black'

For Fans of: Sex Pistols, Pantera, The Clash

[8.5] RHYS STEVENSON

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BLACK MAGIC SIX
'Brutal Blues'

You would need to be bloody drunk to appreciate this music, sure Black Magic Six are a decent enough Punk rock duo, but the verses in the lyrics are so damn repetitious, they need not to learn each song! 'Brutal Blues' is the latest offering by the Finnish two-piece and quite frankly, it's a little bit of a mockery at times when there are far more better bands out there that sound greater, perhaps it's ones opinion but the overall feeling from this release is utter disappointment. Credit for the attempt but for the overall product to actually reach a reasonable level, this duo would have needed double studio time just to adjust the corrections!

[4] RHYS STEVENSON

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SOUNDS & SCENARIOS
'Teenage Tendencies'

Pop punk these days seems to be as common as emo and scene girls, they are everywhere. But it's always the first wave that are the best, just ask Sounds & Scenarios. The Northamptonshire pop punk boys deal justice with their latest release 'Teenage Tendencies', it takes the very essence of early pop punk bands to the modern day and keeps the true sound going. Bouncy beats form the basis for the guitars to layer a happy smacking of riffs in time with the vocals. 'Teenage Tendencies' is a release that should put Sounds & Scenarios on the map, how long before Kerrang! sniff this lot out is anyone's guess, but they certainly are that sort of material, you can see this lot at Download in years to come.

Download This: "A Girl I Know"

For Fans of: Sum 41, Bowling For Soup, Busted, Mallory Knox

[8] RHYS STEVENSON