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@ Newcastle o2 Academy, March 10 2010

With all good metal bands there is no higher accolade than being mentioned in the same breath as Metallica.  However, with this comes the added pressure of living up to that reputation and this is where Trivium enter.

Touted for a long time as a band that could take Metallica’s mantle after Hetfield and co. decide to call it a day, Trivium have big shoes to fill.  They rolled into Newcastle Academy with a point to prove, fans queued for hours expecting to see raucous scenes and Trivium didn’t disappoint. Read the rest of this entry »

This week we welcome the return of hard gigging saviours of the UK rock and roll scene, New Generation Superstars, with an exclusive interview and a review of their latest show.

And if live reviews are what you like then we’re hoping to run the rule over Obituary, Trivium and A Day To Remember during the next few days.

There’s a stone cold classic in this week’s 12@12 as we whip out our white label version of much missed rockers White Trash. White who? If you missed their brilliant debut album back in the day you missed out. And there’s more. Read the rest of this entry »

After a successful stint with his adopted band across America, drummer Nick Augusto has won one of the hottest seats in metal for good.

A more than useful stand-in on the US leg of Trivium’s Into The Mouth Of Hell We Tour trek, the skinsman appears on new track Shattering The Skies Above.

And singer Matt Heafy today confirmed Augusto has replaced Travis Smith for good. Read the rest of this entry »

Transcend Records today announced the signing of one of Britain’s most promising young metal acts – Rise To Remain. 

Despite only forming in 2008 the band has made a massive impact on the UK festival scene and live circuit, kicking off with an appearance at Download festival in the same year swiftly followed by a vicious set on the Bloodstock main stage. Read the rest of this entry »

Metal fans across the UK can look forward to a feast of bone crunching riffs next spring after Download stars Trivium finally announced the full British tour fans of the band have been waiting for.

In demand and in form, the US giants have barely had time to do blistering new record Shogun justice in the country which first warmed to their considerabley meaty talents.

But that will all change next March when the Into The Mouth Of Hell We Tour shows cut across 16 towns and cities – including a stop at Newcastle’s o2 Academy. Several high profile support acts are in discussion with the band’s management now with label mates DevilDriver and Lamb Of God heading the list of possible openers. Read the rest of this entry »

The highlight of this week’s best rock releases is the new record from Brazilian thrash kings Sepultura but it’s well worth checking out re-releases from Bonham and Molly Hatchet if you’ve got money to burn on Monday.

Led Zep drummer Bonham used to be a decent solo artist in his day and if you’re a lover of Southern boogie-tinged rock then you can’t beat Molly’s self-titled classic.

Check out rushonrock‘s Rock Solid reviews section every Sunday for the best in tomorrow’s records today…  Read the rest of this entry »

It’s yet another rushonrock exclusive and just 48 hours before the boys from Dragonforce bring Newcastle to its knees we track down guitar hero Herman Li. Enjoy and see you Wednesday…

rushonrock: How’s the UK leg of the Ultra Beatdown tour going right now?

Herman Li: I guess we’re just over halfway through now and it’s been great. Every show’s been sold out and it hasn’t been too bad at all. Nothing’s really gone wrong apart from Sam (guitars) jumped up during one show, slipped on his beer and landed badly on his ankle. He was laughing about it and I would have been – had he hurt himself! Unfortunately he was OK.

It’s all been pretty insane and the crowds have been full on every night. I suppose it’s just par for the course for a Dragonforce gig and we’ve still got the crazy folk of Newcastle to come…

rushonrock: Are you putting yourself under pressure by bringing along the sensational Turisas as your support?

HL: Well we’re a really good band which doesn’t fear anyone. But they also play a really different style of music to us and that’s why we wanted to bring the band on tour with us. There’s zero competition but we both go out to do our very best every night. Our fans can appreciate Turisas’ music and everybody’s a winner. We’re taking them with us through the UK, Europe and the US so we clearly like them. People who’ve seen the shows in the last few days say we’ve put together the best tour on the road right now.

rushonrock: In the past you’ve claimed everyone thought Dragonforce was a joke. Why?

HL: I think that when we started out there was a perception, from people who don’t know about music, that everything under the banner of metal had to include shouting, screaming and growling at some point. We spent 10 years trying to persuade people different and to join that scene would have been the easy way out.

It was like if you play guitar solos and your singer’s good then you’re gay or pussy or something. The people who said that just had the wrong idea about what metal always was and always will be. There was a time when iron Maiden weren’t popular but they always stuck to their guns and we did the same.

rushonrock: Why have opinions changed?

HL: I don’t really know. The great classic bands are back and I think people have a better understanding of what heavy metal is all about. People do get influenced by the printed press and that’s a fact. The same magazines that gave us so much shit for so many years are finally starting to accept us and that’s played a part.

Everyone always said I was rubbish as a guitarist anyway, even when I was a kid. So the criticism’s never bothered me. The other kids said I played widdly diddly wanking music but you just have to do what you want to do. I’m mates with Adam Jones from Tool and one day I told him that when their band came out I couldn’t even play the guitar. He asked me if I liked the music and I said ‘no, it’s shit’. But for a while that was what metal was all about.

rushonrock: Where are your metal roots?

HL: As a kid I liked the usual stuff – Maiden, Dream Theater and Slayer – so you can see where I’ve always been coming from. I got my first Dream Theater T-shirt when they played the Marquee in London but the last time I saw them they were at Wembley Arena earlier this year. They’ve come a long way and we’re following hot on their heels

rushonrock: Your new album cracked the top 10 on both sides of the Atlantic. After all the shit you’ve been through do you really care about commercial success?

HL: You do get annoyed when you spend months putting together the perfect album and you can’t find it on the shelves of your local music shop. It’s a pain when you search high and low and then you have to buy it over the internet from some obscure mail order company. With our new record Ultra Beatdown it’s been different. You could see it the day it came out and there were even copies at the airport! Imagine that? It’s just good to know in the age of the download and illegal file sharing that so many people still want to buy our record.

rushonrock: Was there ever a time when the criticism got to much and you came close to quitting Dragonforce?

HL: These days we realise all the negative publicity didn’t mean anything to us. If it had made a difference then we wouldn’t have started this band in the first place. The only time I ever thought about quitting Dragonforce was when we nearly didn’t finish Ultra Beatdown.

Luckily we were given an extension but there was a period when time was running out and a great record wasn’t going to see the light of day. We hadn’t even finished laying down the guitar parts and the record company said ‘that’s it’. We’ve become pettier and pickier over the years and we just wanted Ultra Beatdown to be perfect. In the end we needed the pressure to push us to the limit and get it finished.

rushonrock: In what’s been a vintage year for rock records what’s your favourite new album?

HL: I’ve got to say Death Magnetic. It’s great that Metallica have come back with the record everyone wanted to hear. The big bands which inspired us are still doing great things now and it makes us want to achieve even more. Metallica and Trivium have both released two great records in the space of a couple of weeks and it sets the bar for the rest of the bands out there.

It’s Sunday so it’s reviews day and after last week’s melodic feast there’s a decidedly heavy feel to to this week’s hottest releases. Plus a cracking compilation from Kerrang!…

Trivium – Shogun (Roadrunner)

Slated as the saviours of thrash metal following Metallica’s demise, what does the future hold for this brutal bunch of hard-hitting heavies now their heroes have returned to form? With Death Magnetic setting fresh standards in the world of rock now might not be the best time for the pupils to challenge the masters.

Fortunately for Trivium they are four albums into a pretty impressive career and confidence is hardly lacking on Shogun. It’s a cocksure statement of Floridian bravado and sits comfortably alongside Metallica’s latest as one of 2008′s essential releases.

Frontman Matt Heafy displays a deft talent for tackling the full spectrum of rock vocals and once fist pumping opener Kirisute Gomen has left you battered and bruised you’re in the mood for a full-on onslaught. The only way is up for this autumn’s Unholy Alliance headliners.

rushonrock rated: 8/10 Shogun Fires On All Cylinders

Holy Moses – Agony Of Death (SPV)

If Trivium’s latest is heavy then this uncompromising record could crush an entire city under the sheer weight of Sabina Classen’s trademark growling and some stunning thrash riffage.

This is Teutonic rock par excellence from a band which shows no signs of slowing down 12 albums into a prolific career. And if there’s nothing radically different here then Agony Of Death still delivers enough twists and turns to keep die-hard fans and intrigued newbies alike.

Boasting a who’s who of the heavier stuff as special guests - members of Obituary, Death, Destruction and Demolition regularly pop up – there are some truly slick moments. Angels In War and the epic Dissociative Disorder are obvious highlights and if you’ve never heard Holy Moses this isn’t a bad place to start.

rushonrock rated: 6/10 From Agony To Ecstasy

Todd Rundgren – Arena (Hi-Fi Recordings)

There was a time when rushonrock wouldn’t have touched multi-talented Todd with the proverbial barge pole but this is, quite possibly, the crazy dude’s rockingest record to date.

Arena, as the title suggests, is an album capturing the flavour or arena rock in Rundgren’s eyes and as such it’s a very listenable study of a modern musical phenomenon. From hair metal riffs to Jovi-esque choruses it could almost be a piss-take if it wasn’t so good.

The brilliant Mercenary probably captures the mood of this surprisingly accessible release best – close your eyes and you could be in a state-of-the-art venue, on a numbered seat, enjoying great acoustics, a massive light show and warm beer from a plastic glass. Or in an Arena.

rushonrock rated: 9/10 Arena Deserves An Audience

Kerrang! The Album 08 (Rhino Records)

In this brave new world of cheap as chips downloads, legal and illegal file sharing and websites streaming singles 24/7 it’s impossible to know how well a metal compilation will sell. But if anyone can sell it then it’s Kerrang!.

The industry leader for all things new and noisy knows its audience inside out and there are all the bands currently keeping the kids keen on this rich and varied collection. Whether you covet Kill Hannah, go stir crazy for Scars On Broadway or feint at the mere metion of Fall Out Boy they’re all here in their fashionable glory.

In addition chart heroes Nickelback, Kid Rock and Green Day appeal to a wider audience and newbies The Gaslight Anthem and You Me At Six get the chance to peddle their wares to a wider audience. It’s unlikely you’ll own something by everyone on here and it’s worth a listen in case there’s something you’re missing.

rushonrock rated: 7/10 The Soundtrack Of Your Year

Metal Church – This Present Wasteland (SPV)

Like label mates Holy Moses there’s not much you can teach the old dogs of Metal Church after almost 30 years thrashing their way through the US, Europe and beyond.

By the mid 1980s these US noiseniks were setting standards alongside the likes of Metallica but where their one-time tour buddies took off, the Church was in decline and by 1993 and the inevitable split had happened.

Six years later the band was back and a decade down the line from that much-heralded reunion it’s safe to say these true rock survivors have rarely sounded better. Perhaps inspired by Metallica’s retrun to form, Metal Church have chosen to use The Present Wasteland as evidence that they, too, are by no means finished. Tracks like Perfect Crime and Meet Your Maker showcase ‘new’ vocalist Ronny Munroe’s best talents and next year’s world tour should be something.

rushonrock rated: 5/10 Church With Bells On