Band of the Week: How To Destroy Angels, The Grazing Saints and more!

My little spate of posting on a weekly basis got screwed up last week. Sad times. Let's see how long it lasts this time, shall we? On to the music.

We kick off this week with dark ambient/post-industrial-ness in the form of How To Destroy Angels. They have a new EP coming out soon (i.e. next week), or so I am informed by their website. Debut album is also apparently due out next year. For now, check out Keep It Together.

Keep it together by howtodestroyangels

Their debut self-titled EP is available for free download from their store HERE. Tis rather lovely.

Next up, some bluesy indie rock from The Grazing Saints. Their new(ish) EP Infernal Combustion Engine is a free download from their Bandcamp. Have a listen:



Then we'll have... hip-hop...ska...punk...rock? It's Sonic Boom Six. Make your own mind up on genres because I can't pick one. Have a listen to recent single Virus. I'm fairly reliably informed it's more electronic than older material, but I think it sounds pretty good.

Finally, we'll have Diablo Swing Orchestra. Again. Yes, I know I only posted about them a few days ago. Avant-garde, jazzy metal. Most delicious. And I think we'll have the same video again, because Voodoo Mon Amour is just so damn catchy.

As always, check it out and (hopefully) enjoy.

Current Love: Voodoo Mon Amour by Diablo Swing Orchestra

So, basically, I finally got round to looking up Diablo Swing Orchestra and now I'm bemused as to why it took me so long because they're bloody awesome. Avant-garde metal. Like, jazzy, brass-ridden metal. Seriously cool. Check out Voodoo Mon Amour below.

Also, apologies for lack of Band of the Week this week. Job applications are getting in the way, but it should be back next week.

Band of the Week: Zoëtrøpe, Dana Jade, Verses and Hugh Laurie?!

What are we up to now? Three weeks of remembering to post Band of the Week? Hurray for regularity. Anyhoos, moving on to the important bits.

Let's kick off this week with the mad art punk of Zoëtrøpe. Here's the debut single from last year (I believe):

You can also check out their SoundCloud page, which has a whole bunch of other bits and pieces on it.


And now we'll have some punky rock courtesy of Dana Jade. Here's her recently released self-titled debut album:


You can also download her single Little Sister for free. Have a listen:


Next up, British rock band Verses. We're talking rock in the vein of Young Guns here. Good stuff. Actually, having said that... they remind me more of Emery. Minus the screaming. Anyhoos, I'm struggling to find a decent link for streaming, so let's have this little thing from YouTube of the track Who We Are from their new EP. I should probably point out that said EP (Come To Life) is being given away free with Rock Sound at the moment... Right, video.

You can also check out their Facebook page.

Finally, the loveliness that is the awesome Hugh Laurie singing. Y'know, Hugh Laurie of Fry & Laurie and Blackadder fame? And assorted other brilliance. Or, for American readers, House. He released an album of blues tracks last year. Much loveliness. Anyhoos, enough babbling. You can get a free download of Guess I'm A Fool from Laurie's site HERE. GO!

That'll do for this week. Check it out and pass it on.

Band of the Week: Mandala, Plurals, & more!

Well, would you look at that? I actually remembered Band of the Week for a change. Considered renaming it "Band of the indeterminate time period" but it just sounded silly... Anyhoos, onwards.

First up we have English instrumental duo Mandala. Scrummy proggy, metally brilliance. Seriously good. Here's new single Wind Secular:


Next up, more instrumental prog metal stuff! Woo! This time from Belgian project Plurals. Have a listen to the Inner Planets EP, which is currently a free download:


Then we'll have the new (ish) track from Aamir al-Loki because I only remembered it existed last week. New EP should be coming soon, so that's also pretty awesome.


Next, I think we'll have Harlequin Jones. Dark cabaret loveliness. Yum. Check out The Bad Beginning:


Finally, not really a band, but I just had to share because they're absolutely brilliant - the re-issue label Dust-to-Digital. They take old recordings, digitise them, then release them as CDs and I have found some most delicious stuff on their BandCamp. For the purposes of this post, let's have this, which is the first disc of an album of upright bass tracks:

Band of the Week: super-mega-awesome feature the second

Iiiiiiiiiii... haven't posted for weeks and I don't have a good excuse. I'm also not in the mood for writing a proper Band of the Week, so we have super-mega-awesome feature (take two) instead. Yay! Moving on...

First up, the delectable Jill Tracy. Dark cabaret. Think smoky jazz clubs and that gorgeously sultry music with a sinister edge. She's got a damn good voice.

Then we have Civet. Self-styled 'femme fatale punk rock', for which read really good punk with even more awesome female vocals. Again, damn good voice.

Next, Bourbon Crow, outlaw country from Wednesday 13 and Rayen Belchare (both of horror-punk band Wednesday 13). Brilliant, tongue-in-cheek country. By which I mean it takes the piss out of the genre while still being really good music.

Hmmm... who next? Nine Inch Nails hardly need plugging, they're HUGE, but hey, they're also awesome so check 'em out if you haven't.

And then go and have a listen to Dommin and their lovely atmospheric gothic rock/metal. Brilliant live and their cover of Cutting Crew's Died In Your Arms is beautiful.

Is five artists enough to count as a super-mega-awesome feature? Hmm, maybe one or two additional pieces of scrumminess...

This is EPIC:

This is Enter Shikari, by the way, covering one of their own songs. Class. And available for free download too. One sec, I'll find the link. First one on this page 'ere: http://www.entershikari.com/downloads/

And finally, this 'ere has to be one of my favourite covers ever. You know I said Nine Inch Nails are awesome? Have a listen to how awesome Japanese Voyeurs' cover of their song Closer is.


Japanese Voyeurs - Closer by ThrashHits

Much brilliance. In other Japanese Voyeurs news, their debut album is due out at the beginning of July. They're very much worth checking out. Get on it.