Live Review: Goodtime Boys, Oathbreaker, Iced Out and The Pact – V Revolution, Manchester - 27/10/2012

INTERVIEW: ARCANE ROOTS
Having finally released début album ‘Blood And Chemistry,’ we met up with vocalist/guitarist Andrew Groves to discuss the new album, being compared to Biffy Clyro and more.

INTERVIEW: NATIVES
Currently on tour with The Summer Set and a new EP set to be released soon, we caught
up with New Forest's Natives to talk about the new EP and album, the UK rock scene, the transition from being Not Advised to becoming Natives and much more.

FIVES: THE BEST WONDER YEARS SONGS
This week Lansdale, Pennsylvania’s The Wonder Years released their fourth album - ‘The Greatest Generation,’ a record that sees the pop punk quintet reach their creative peak in a number of ways. With a wealth of material in their discography, Already Heard's Sean Reid and Tom Knott took on the tricky task of picking out the five best songs from The Wonder Years. Find out what we picked and let us know if you agree or disagree?

INTERVIEW: MALLORY KNOX
Following the release of their superb 'Signals' album, Mallory Knox have certainly become ones to watch in recent months. We caught up with the band to discuss joining Search & Destroy Records, how vital the festival season and touring are, what it feels like to be a part
of the expanding British rock scene and much more.

ALREADY HEARD RECOMMENDS: OVER THE OCEAN
Over The Ocean have crafted a compelling, brooding record with their latest effort ‘Be Given To The Soil.’ With intense specific precision and delicate accuracy that echoes the likes of Explosions In The Sky and Sigur Ros. Jesse Hill from the band to discusses how the
album came together, the importance of precision, being compared to post-rock pioneers and more.

VERSUS: BRING ME THE HORIZON - 'THERE IS A HELL...' VS 'SEMPITERNAL'
After a top ten UK album and an outstanding UK tour with festival dates on both sides of the Atlantic to follow, Bring Me The Horizon are having a fantastic 2013 and are now featured in the latest edition of "Versus." It's ‘There is a Hell, Believe Me I’ve Seen It. There is a Heaven, Let’s Keep it a Secret’ vs the bands latest release, 'Sempiternal.'

ALREADY HEARD TRACK GUIDE: ALEXANDER - SAY HELLO
We catch up with Newcastle Indie Rock quartet Alexander to find out more about their debut album 'Say Hello' for a “Already Heard Track Guide” feature.

Live Review: Goodtime Boys, Oathbreaker, Iced Out and The Pact – V Revolution, Manchester - 27/10/2012

The few people that walk past vegan food/record store V Revolution are either baffled or intrigued by the noise that’s blaring out. It’s loud and heavy so it could only mean one thing, the owners have expanded from doing free acoustic sessions and have moved to a full all rounded amped up mini show featuring four of the best hardcore bands around, two of which are using this as a warm up of sorts for when they play with mathcore mob Rolo Tomassi later in the evening.

First up are newly formed Sheffield hardcore band The Pact, who feature members of Grazes and give an eye opening tight and fast set. Their craft is akin to early American Nightmare, not just in tone and style but also by the fact they have the potential to grab your throat and entice you to rip your vocal chords. What’s really intriguing is the odd manner of their frontman, who poses like a psychotic killer who you wouldn’t want to be left in a room with; there really aren’t enough weird frontmen in hardcore these days so this is refreshing. (3.5/5)

Despite technical difficulties, Durham’s Iced Out plough through all of their energy with their visceral brand of metallic hardcore. Menacing and pissed off, they have plenty of boot-crushing enthusiasm to destroy a lot of objects in the room; of course this can’t be done in a literal sense but their vicious vigour manages to sink in with ease. (3/5)

Oathbreaker from Belgium sound crystal clear with their harsh noise; utilising sharp jagged metallic riffs and eerie frightening tones they really feel like a much needed kick in the face. Vocalist Caro Tanghe provides some of the most terrifying screams imaginable under the mask of her hair as if she’s being possessed by a demon that cannot be exorcised. This should be the soundtrack to pure evil; terrific stuff! (4/5)

Welsh screamo quintet Goodtime Boys deliver a staggering performance of which is both graceful and frustration fuelled to the touch. The numerous melodies dance with the despair tinged vocals of Alexander Pennie who embodies the stamina of a troubled poet, releasing the demons that torture his mind. Nothing but sheer relentlessness, honesty and grandeur embody this magnificent set, no wonder American hardcore label Bridge 9 signed them, they have a fantastic career ahead of them, no questions asked. (4/5)

4/5

Words by Aaron Lohan (@ooran_loohan)