NORTH EAST MUSIC

NORTHERN CROWN – new album by Durham duo, Lowfeye

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Original cinematic soundscape musician and producer Alan Rowland and songwriter Carol Nichol have released a new album Northern Crown.

“It’s a mammoth task trying to mix on our equipment set up in a box room at home, it’s D.I.Y. – it’s low fi”.

A toxic mix of Stooges/Springfield/Velvet Underground gave birth to 2017s Pow and 2021s Poor Little Rich Girl. Both sparked with creative energy leaving their third album big shoes to fill.

To find out if they’ve got the right size and same passion I caught up with Carol in old favourite the Centurion Bar in Newcastle’s Central Station. 

“Thing is it’s sad to see storytelling becoming censored in the arts you see it even with comedians now, that is what the album is about. We’re having a go basically”.

“The track ‘Little Vultures’ and the lyric ‘drowning statues’ deals with the people who want to wipe out history instead of preserving it. Just Stop Oil protesters throwing a tin of soup over a Van Gogh painting. What’s that about? He died in poverty”

“They’re targeting big sports events and slowing traffic down stopping people getting to work on time. They’re targeting the wrong people. It’s about the killing of culture. We should rejoice in our culture and celebrate it. You had to laugh when people wanted ‘Delilah’ by Tom Jones banned!”

The album has 11 tracks building slowly and throwing in a surprise or two.

“We’ve got a strong running order and a very diverse range of tracks. The song ‘Bubblewrap’ has a go at middle class privilege, the arts are dominated by them. Not only acting but music, they want you to sing about utopia, sunshine and everything’s alright out there”

“We are banned by the BBC for ‘Snowflake Generation’ which was on our last album, although it was played on Amazing radio in USA and here in the North East on the Keith Newman show on Northumberland Radio”.

“We’ve got the cinematic track ‘Chinatown’ with its 60s Latin vibe and then ‘Starlight’ which gets dark, a woman is in a boot of a car and is going over a cliff – it’s a bit Thelma & Louise.”.

“The track ‘Kiss of Life’ is a dig at politicians during lockdown they had their raucous parties when people couldn’t kiss their loved ones goodbye”.

“Neil Tunstall came in and recorded some bass on ‘Creatures’. A song about man’s cruelty to animals which I hate, again it’s us having a go about what’s going on around us. There’s a lot more grit in this album”.

“On this album we have kept to the cinematic music by including two soundtracks, one is a loose ballsy swagger for maybe a film soundtrack that hasn’t been made yet!”

Film being a theme right through this album. British actor Albert Finney is pictured on the front cover, a still from one of my favourite films ‘Saturday Night, Sunday Morning’.

“My mum got me into the gritty, working class, kitchen sink dramas, films like ‘Get Carter’. The reason why I chose Albert Finney is that he grew up working class and made it big in Hollywood films and turned down a Golden Globe and an O.B.E. He wasn’t interested in all that – he was the real deal.”

“It’s a sort of celebration of working class heroes like Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, these people wouldn’t get into the acting business now, it’s saturated with the privileged, the middle class who pay their way into the industry. We need the working class ethic back in music and acting again.”

“Savage Silence’ was my mother’s poem which I used in a song. I dedicate the album to her as a thank you for influencing me into being creative and introducing me to the golden age of 60s, 70s film and music which I adore. Also to remain true to your creative passion as music is an art, and not to sell out to the manufactured mainstream and the masses”. 

“I really enjoy putting it all together, we love the process, we’re looking at writing new stuff now. We’ve also had two more TV syncs from our soundtracks ‘Bury My Skin’ and ‘One Drop’ used in the second series of Warner Brothers Swedish TV drama ‘Partisan’. (Series 1 & 2 available to view on All 4).

What can we expect from the fourth album?

“Well I don’t write Adam and Eve type Ed Sheeran stuff I don’t think I’ve ever wrote a song with lyrics like ‘I love ya’ baby!”

Alikivi    August 2023

For further info or to buy a copy on CD contact Lowfeye on their social media page: 

 Facebook

Link to previous Lowfeye interview:

A FISTFULL OF MELODIES : Durham band Lowfeye | ALIKIVI UK : NORTH EAST CULTURE (garyalikivi.com)

FRIDAY NIGHTS ALRIGHT for New Wave of British Heavy Metal band, Avenger

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In the early 80s Tyneside based Avenger released two albums on the Neat record label – ‘Blood Sports’ and ‘Killer Elite’ both firmly planted the band on the NWOBHM map.

Fast forward to 2023 and their last show was three months ago in Spain at the Galia Metal Fest near Madrid…

“It was a cracking festival just in its first edition” said drummer Gary Young.

Next up is an explosive triple bill of classic NWOBHM on Friday 1st September. Joining Avenger are Spartan Warrior plannng an old school 80s set and an exclusive Venom set from Abaddon.

“I think we’ve played more shows with Spartan Warrior than any other band we know. We have a smooth working relationship with them and that makes touring alongside them very easy”.

“We’ve played with Abaddon too, and been friends with him for nearly 40 years! It’s always an honour to share the stage with him and the lads”.

The three bands will be playing on home turf at Trillians Rock Bar in Newcastle…

“We love Trillians….so much history, so many memorable shows there in the past – both as punters and playing. The place is essential to the music scene’s health”.

How influential has NWOBHM been?

“I think New Wave of British Heavy Metal has been a keystone to how current metal music has developed and that’s recognised by people especially when discovering metal for the first time.”

“When researching a bands history they can identify the whole legacy, for example Metallica were influenced by NWOBHM”.

After 40 plus years the NWOBHM North East Division of Satan, Raven and Tygers of Pan Tang are still breathing fire wherever they turn up.

“How has NWOBHM endured 40 odd years? Simple, the sheer quality of the bands”.

Free night of classic NWOBHM at Trillians Rock Bar, Newcastle, Friday 1st September 2023.

Alikivi   August 2023

Link to 2017 interview with Gary Young, Avenger:

YOUNG BLOOD – interview with Avenger and Repulsive Vision drummer Gary Young | ALIKIVI UK : NORTH EAST CULTURE (garyalikivi.com)

MEMPHIS CALLING for Teesside Rhythm & Blues singer & songwriter Emma Wilson.

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Robert Plant, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan and Jerry Lee Lewis are just a few names that have recorded in Sam Phillips Studio in Memphis, USA – a new name to be added to that impressive list is Teesside Rhythm & Blues Singer & Songwriter Emma Wilson…….

“Sam Phillips studio breathes, it has an immense presence. The Phillips family have kept the rooms the same. The live room is awesome, huge, beautifully designed, it took me everything to hold it together. I let my emotions out on the recording”.

Her second album Memphis Calling, scheduled for an October release, with first single What Kind Of Love released on Friday 1st September 2023.

What Kind Of Love was co-written by legendary singer and songwriter Don Bryant (Hi Records) and Scott Bomar, who also produces the album.

“Don Bryant collaborated with his then wife, my idol Ann Peebles, on many huge songs such as the iconic ‘I Can’t Stand The Rain’. For him to offer me one of his songs and then join me in singing was a dream come true…he is so vibrant and such a great singer!” explained Emma.

“When I asked him how he thought I should perform the song he took hold of my two hands and said “Just sing it honey”.

“The band on ‘Memphis Calling’ are spectacular we have members of the HI Rhythm section Leroy Hodges bass, Charles Hodges organ, Hubbie Turner piano, the greatest drummer in the world Steve Potts and young Memphian cats Joe Restivo guitars, Kirk Smothers saxes and Marc Franklin trumpet”.

“Scott Bomar produced the record and is one of the greatest, he restored the STAX desk that we recorded through, it was just a beautiful experience”.

Emma won 2022s Emerging Blues Artist of The Year in the UK Blues Awards, her debut album Wish Her Well, made the finalist in Blues Album of The Year category in UK Blues Awards 2023.

Pre order link:

https://EmmaWilson.lnk.to/WhatKindOfLovePR

For further info contact the official website at:

www.emmawilson.net

You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/emmawilsonbluesband

Alikivi   August 2023

SOUTHERN COMFORT for 70s rock legends GEORDIE

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Geordie were signed to EMI, had UK chart hit singles, appearances on Top of the Pops and toured with Thin Lizzy and Nazareth. A few line-up changes took them into the 80s where they finally called it a day.

With a much welcomed return to the stage, the 2020s line up has original members Brian Gibson on drums and Tom Hill on bass with new recruits in former Animals guitarist Steve Dawson, and former Beckett/Back Street Crawler frontman Terry Slesser.

“Terry is working really well as the frontman for Geordie” said Tom.

The band are back on the road in August and heading down south with a series of gigs including the Half Moon in Putney and Leo’s Red Lion in Gravesend.

Tom added “For the set we’ll be introducing some new songs, we recently released three singles in quick succession. All three made the top 20 of Mike Read’s Heritage Radio Show”.

“After this run of gigs we’ll be doing more recording then at the end of September playing a festival in Belgium, keep on rocking”.

Alikivi   2023

For further info contact the official website:

The Official Geordie Website – Keep On Rocking – Geordie Band

NIGHTS of NWOBHM at TRILLIANS ROCK BAR, NEWCASTLE

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The starting gun fires on Friday 4th August on old school NWOBHM at Trillians. They won’t be nights full of half arsed tunes. Expect red hot, heavy, driving sounds topped with power vocals – just the way you like it.

First up is Kev Riddles’ Baphomet, Kev was an original member of NWOBHM band Angel Witch who released their first album in 1980.

The record, along with the track Baphomet, always feature on any ‘Best of NWOBHM’ lists. On their last visit to Newcastle, Kev Riddles’ Baphomet played original Angel Witch classics to a packed house. Expect the same on a loud start to your weekend.

Another night of old school metal is a triple bill on Friday 1st September with Avenger, Abaddon and Spartan Warrior.

Spartan vocalist David Wilkinson explained “2023 has been a milestone year for Spartan Warrior as we celebrate 40 years since the release of our debut album, ‘Steel n Chains’, on the Guardian label”.

“We’ve played some well received anniversary shows where we’ve played our debut album live in its entirety”.

“As we have two shows at the same venue quite close together we want to give people something different each time. The 1st September set will be exclusively from the ‘Steel n Chains’ album and the second album only. November’s set will draw material from all four albums”.

That November date is set for Friday 3rd, a pre-Bonfire night with Kev Riddle’s other band Tytan. What to expect from Tytan? Chunks of melodic, epic rock with screaming riffs and Tony Coldham’s soaring voice. At the time of posting the band are on the road back from Germany after playing the Headbangers Open Air Festival.

Joining the bill are Millennium, frontman Mark Duffy explained “The first time Millennium played in Newcastle was when we were asked to do a reunion show for the Brofest festival in 2016 and we’ve played Newcastle a number of times since”.

“We know Spartan Warrior as they were on the Guardian records compilation ‘Pure Overkill’ along with Millennium. Although we didn’t get to meet them till around five years ago, we’ve since played gigs on the same events. We haven’t  played any gigs with Tytan before so we’re looking forward to that”.

Spartan Warrior’s Wilkinson added “We’re very excited to be co headlining the November show with our dear friends Tytan. We’ve shared stages before and it’s going to be a great night for sure. We also have a long history with Millennium who were our Guardian label mates, so in our 40th Anniversary year that’s a bit special too”.

Millennium’s Duffy added “I think the NWOBHM scene has lasted so long because it has produced so many good bands who recorded some great records. There’s also a younger generation who are now listening and discovering these bands for the first time and appreciating their music”.

“We’re looking to do some gigs with other NWOBHM bands and hoping to play festivals in Europe having played in Athens this year. But it’s always good to play home shows at Trillians – really looking forward to it”.

If that isn’t enough for ya’ on Thursday 23rd November at Trillians is a hometown visit from the Tygers of Pan Tang. After trekking around mainland Europe during summer they have arranged extra dates to support new album Bloodlines.

Alikivi   2023

THE HISTORY OF ROADRUNNER RECORDS – with Film Maker Bill Saxton

/ Alikivi

Launched in Holland in 1981 and focused on releasing  Heavy Metal records, the label then expanded and opened offices around the world including UK, USA, Germany, Japan and Australia.

A documentary about the company is currently in production, the idea for the project started during lockdown when 34 year old Bill and his friend from Leeds started a podcast called Temple of Bleh.

The idea for the podcast was for the pair of us to reconnect with heavy music in a more meaningful way explained Bill.

This would be done through projects such as The Hunt for the Secret Channel 4 Metalhead, then we finally arrived at looking at The History of Roadrunner Records.

Being a metal guy of my age, I noticed a thread that connected my favourite bands – Trivium, Killswitch Engage, Sepultura, then the likes of Mercyful Fate and Type O Negative. So I toyed with the idea of a book on the subject.

After writing a brief report on the topic for the podcast, by complete chance, I crossed paths with former PR for Roadrunner UK, Michelle Kerr. She told me she’d like to see the finished product.

This was a sign to take this project to an academically accurate standard – so as not to look a complete twat in front of Michelle, who had kindly taken an interest.

I spent about a month creating a monster spreadsheet, detailing every original Roadrunner release since its formation in 1981 – conventional wisdom says Roadrunner formed in 1980, this is a lie.

After finishing this, I set about contacting every band, with mixed success, for a Zoom interview – which would be put up on the Temple of Bleh podcast and You Tube channel.

Then the idea was to roll them up into three documentaries of 60-75 mins each and detailing the three core ‘eras’ of the record label – 1981-1986, 1987-2001 and 2002-2012 explained Bill.

Andreas Kisser of Sepultura, pic Bill Saxton, 4th November 2022, at KK’s Steel Mill, Wolverhampton.

Research can always bring up a number of unusual stories, and Bill found a few about Roadrunner.

A good story I found is that Roadrunner’s first Gold single wasn’t metal at all – it was a 1995 gabba song called I Wanna Be a Hippie by Technohead. 

Also, in this period Roadrunner was trying to edge away from heavy metal, and in the UK specifically were trying its hand at Britpop.

If you were to ask Franz Ferdinand singer Alex Kapranos who first signed him, he’d say Roadrunner, with his early outfit The Karelia.

Another story is the range of artists Roadrunner licensed to Europe from the rest of the world. There are albums from Sinead O’Connor and Cliff Richard bearing the Roadrunner label.

Bill emphasised that the main point of the documentary is to illustrate that once upon a time, death metal hit the top of the Billboard charts, and had a seat at the table with the perceived top industry ‘players’.

It’s important to my generation to understand exactly how that came about. Who better to ask than those responsible at Roadrunner Records.

It’s also insanely convenient that you can’t answer the ‘how’ question without showcasing the stories and legacies of the key artists on the label such as Mercyful Fate, Type O Negative, and Slipknot – as well as the less mainstream bands like Deicide, Gruntruck and Blue Mountain.

Madball being interviewed, pic by TheFinalCut, 7th February 2023, at Manchester Club Academy.

After six months, 150 hours of interviews, one mini and one full documentary complete, Bill was contacted by Mrs X – who would prefer to remain anonymous.

She favoured the project so much she came up with the finance to form a production company and elevate the quality to broadcast standard.

Big thanks to our Mrs X where would I be without her! said Bill. So far I’ve filmed 32 interviews for the project, across six countries, both artist and Roadrunner personnel alike. I’ve still got a lot to go before I can call this thing even close to complete.

Bands from North East UK are represented by stories from Battleaxe and Dark Heart. It’s a dense mix of music business learnings, interwoven with rock n roll regalia.

As it stands at this moment, ‘The History of Roadrunner Records’ has no distributor or broadcaster interest as yet– so this will likely be hitting YouTube.

The documentary is being exclusively filmed in the UK and I’m managing the time with my day job, so I can’t put a final deadline on the production. I’m considering crowdfunding to quicken it up.

For more info or if you dealt with the Roadrunner label contact Bill at templeofbleh@gmail.com or @HistoryOfRoadrunnerRecords on Instagram.

Alikivi   July 2023

THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE MOUTH OF THE TYNE FESTIVAL 6-9th JULY 2023.

/ Alikivi
Siouxsie at the Mouth of the Tyne Festival 2023

I still get some freelance camera work and this job was at a four day event set in a fantastic location inside the grounds of Tynemouth Priory & Castle where the river Tyne meets the North Sea.

First day a smooth load in and five camera set up with three operators and two remote to feed the large video screens, after a few tweaks the set up was ready to go live.

The return of headliners The Proclaimers, they were canny back in 2019, stage time called and the Reid brothers marched on towards the sun and a full crowd, not a bad place to work.

Of course they played Letter From America and 500 miles, they make the camera job easier for framing when they’re planted next to the mic. Think it might be different for Siouxsie tomorrow – and it was.

Opening band LYR were mere lambs to the slaughter as a sold out sunny Friday evening saw Siouxsie casting spells and spinning her web in the perfect goth setting of the Priory, Castle ruins and graveyard.

The Ice Queen majestically skipped around stage singing Spellbound, Cities in Dust and Arabian Knights. Played last, and not on the set list, was a triumphant Hong Kong Garden. Letting the crowd know she went for a dip in the North Sea earlier in the day brought a cheer and more love from the goth hordes.

Set list for Siouxsie at the Mouth of the Tyne festival 2023.

Camera set up 4pm on Saturday in place for the openers from 6.30pm, former Housemartin/Beautiful South vocalist Paul Heaton & special guest on at 8.15pm. Cameras went undercover on a soggy evening.

Trouble in the crowd was just handbags, and the rain never dampened the Saturday night sing a-long. Heaton’s songs are great little stories, and a nice touch when introducing band members he told the crowd what football team they supported!

The show ended with four encores, yes that was four, and a sparkly finish, compared to barely an hour on stage from Gabrielle on Sunday.

It was a long filming day with early camera set up from 10am for six acts and over six hours video screening scheduled. Gates opened 11.45am and saw Newcastle band Clear Blood first on at 12noon.

Gabrielle sauntered on stage for 5pm, but after a few songs disappeared for 15mins leaving her backing vocalists singing random pop hits. What’s this about? A costume change? No, when she returned just a few more songs and no encore.

After enjoying the show the crowd looked deflated – was that it? And who thought of booking a Thin Lizzy-lite rock band to go on before her? As tight as they were, maybe a better fit would of been Friday before Siouxsie.

Thankfully, earlier in the afternoon the suited and booted Big Red & the Grinners landed on stage, tuned in and turned on the crowd to their brand of blistering banjobillypop – and saved the day, excelling from their 2019 performance with Big Red observing the Priory ruins ‘I see you still haven’t repaired the windows’.

With sold out shows another successful event organised and delivered by North Tyneside Council. See ya next year.

Alikivi   July 2023

THE EDGE OF DESTRUCTION – new album by Durham musician, Foster Neville

/ Alikivi

50 year old Foster Neville is catching his breath as his new double album The Edge of Destruction is making ambient sound waves in Japan via Durham, Netherlands, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Australia and the USA.

Originally from Consett, Foster has always been a big fan of German electronic band Kraftwerk, but started off as a singer/songwriter in a punk band in the 1980s.

While the music on the new album is mostly electronic, Foster’s starting point for all of the tracks was simple piano improvisation.

He explained “I manipulated these sketchy jazz-like improvisations using aural patterns taken from poetry and architecture. Once they were in the bag, I re-recorded them using electronic treatments.”

“Ambient music is about a different kind of listening, it has to be taken at another pace and is perhaps more suitable to our lives today and the problems we face”.

“I like to think of it as ‘green’ music – sound structures with plenty of space for sunlight or moonlight to percolate through. Thanks to the internet this sort of music is finding an audience everywhere in the world” added Foster whose music and lyrics are inspired by the landscape around him.

“It’s a northern landscape, often reclaimed from, and bearing the scars of, heavy industry and pollution”.

“The opening track, ‘A Change in the Air’ alerts the listener to the threats hidden in idyllic rural scenes and draws on my own childhood memories of playing out after the Chernobyl nuclear accident.”

The title track, The Edge of Destruction, features a girl’s voice counting down in Chinese to imminent disaster before safety is reached in the album’s remaining tracks.

The double vinyl also has a hidden song, which is a homage to the late electronic music pioneer Delia Derbyshire, who is best known for her version of the Doctor Who theme.

“I went from living in a former mining village to curating art in galleries in the West End of London and at Durham Uni was a founder of one of the largest collections of modern art in any UK university”.

“During this time I became friends with the Maharaja of Baroda Shrimant Ranjitsinh, who was to prove an important spiritual and musical influence. It was ultimately through Ranjit that I re-engaged with music-making on my own terms.” 

On the new album Foster teamed up with producer John Pilgrim, one of the founders of the folk horror revival movement.

“The folk horror movement celebrates British movies with a connection to rural traditions and folklore, like The Wicker Man and The Blood on Satan’s Claw”.

Foster continued “As an undergraduate at Oxford, I was taught poetry by Seamus Heaney. While dropping out of academia, all of my experience in life provides the album with a literate and artistic background”.

The Edge of Destruction is released on SubExotic Records and distributed through among others, the legendary Rough Trade label. The eleven-song discs plus hidden track are on sale in major record stockists in the UK.

Alikivi  June 2023

The Edge Of Destruction | Foster Neville | Subexotic Records (bandcamp.com) 

https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/product/foster-neville/the-edge-of-destruction

RESISTANCE 22 – new album from Tyneside punks, The Fauves

/ Alikivi

The Fauves are fronted by vocalist Mick Smith, Allen Hughes on guitar, drummer Bob Rowland & bassist Bri Smith.

Their new album is not exactly a snoozefest. Throughout are overtones of French alt. rock band Trust and twisty riffs alike to New York’s King of the punks, Ramones –  make no mistake The Fauves are on the hunt.

We’re quite busy at the moment. This is our fourth album really, but we count it as our third because most of the songs on the second album Back Off World were redone with Micks vocals, he gave the songs a bit more aggression than the original version explained bassist Bri Smith.

Universal themes of money, war, drugs and love are delivered with seething anger and frustration.

Resistance 22 is obviously a pro-Ukrainian song, No Escape describes the first stages of war in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, while Sanctuary is about wanting to retreat to a quieter world explained frontman Mick Smith.

Who else is in the firing line?

We have a track about the so called social warriors, the compassionate narcissistic types in Shower of Fanatics – while the track Tax me when I’m Dead is about the lazy work shy being financed at the expense of the workers.

Mental health and the darker side of life is examined on Looking in the Mirror and Inject the Poison… That’s about someone overcoming drug addiction while Chemical Curfew is about the overuse of medication and alcohol to keep us in line.

Poverty of Thought is a song about judging and being judged and Sleeping Rough is someone who seeks love on the street because there’s no love at home.

‘You cannot sleep tonight, there’s a face right up close, try to close your eyes again, want to shake off this old ghost’

Among the chaos and debris of life The Fauves retain a sense of humour in the track Where’s Bob.

That’s about a man who will go to any lengths to get the right sound for his band – even killing several soundmen!

For Resistance 22 the band entered Garage Studios in South Shields and again employed the services of Kyle Martin.

Kyle is great, he engineered the album, we’ve recorded all our albums there and it’s also a great place to rehearse. Kyle knows our style of music and knows what sound we like.

He also throws a few ideas in as well. It’s a great little studio, ideal for us and it’s got all the facilities we need added Bri Smith.

We also did a gig at the Bunker in Sunderland in March where it was recorded live. The recording was that good we decided to release it as a live album which will be released soon. It also has a bonus track on, a new version of Slightest Push an old song from years back.

This summer The Fauves are looking to get back on the road to promote their new album.

We are going to break the new songs in gently, maybe introduce three or four songs at a time, we’ve already played a few of them live explained Bri.

We have a few gigs lined up over the coming months, The Black Bull punk festival 30th June, The Underground in Bradford 8th July, Angels Place Sunderland 22nd July, Trillians Newcastle 23rd July then we’ve got the big one on August 6th at The Rebellion four day festival in Blackpool. Really looking forward to that one.

The Winter Gardens stage Rebellion from 3-6 August, bands include The Damned, New Model Army, Big Country, UK Subs, Exploited, The Only Ones and many more. The literary stage features an interview with South Shields born Wildheart, Danny McCormack.

That’s followed by The Punk and Ska Festival in Redcar 7th September, other gigs are being lined up for later in the year at Manchester and other Northern areas.

Check out a promo of the album here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZO3PVGN4zxw

The new album on CD released on 1st July 2023 costs £10.00 + £2.00 postage in UK and a free exclusive badge until stocks last.

The CD will be available at all gigs from 30th June.

For details including merchandise, contact Phil on thunderbirdsport885@hotmail.co.uk or

Phil Rowland on Facebook Messenger.

From July 1st 2023 the album will be available on all usual online platforms including BandCamp, Spotify, iTunes, Amazon Music, Deezer and many others.

Alikivi    June 2023

Check out Ground Zero for more about The Fauves via South Shields punks Angelic Upstarts.

GROUND ZERO – in conversation with Bri Smith & Bob Rowland from Tyneside punks THE FAUVES | ALIKIVI UK : NORTH EAST CULTURE (garyalikivi.com)

ALL HELL’S BREAKING LOOSE – new album by Godfathers of Thrash, RAVEN

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So far, this year has been golden for Raven who’ve been inducted into the Metal Hall of Fame, recorded a new album ready on the blocks for release, awarded a front cover on the highly respected International Rock & Metal magazine Aardschok and preparing for an upcoming tour. Bassist & vocalist John Gallagher explains the positive mood in the Raven camp…

The new album ‘All Hells Breaking Loose’ will be our 15th full studio album. The album name is one of the tracks and it’s always nice to have a title track. This one stuck out as a great title to build the album around and sparked the cover idea too.

But lately at gigs we’ve been playing the ‘All for One’ album as it’s reached it’s 40th anniversary.

Raven at Newcastle Mayfair 16 June 1983 pic Duncan Butterfield.

1983 was a big year for Raven – they hoyed the kitchen sink and both taps at a major USA tour, previously there was a gig at London’s Marquee and a few nights later they landed on Newcastle Mayfair.

The biggest bands on the planet including Zeppelin, Queen, Nirvana and The Who had played the venue, then on one red hot sweaty night in June ‘83, Raven played on home turf.

John remembers that night… I do seem to remember doing a ‘runner’ during my bass solo. Jumping offstage, running up to the balcony, round and back on before most people knew what happened!

John Gallagher Newcastle Mayfair 16 June 1983 pic Duncan Butterfield.

It was a great night, I was doon the front as were many from Sooth Sheelz as the show was opened by local metallers Hellanbach. The red hot atmosphere of the night was captured in these excellent live pics by music fan Duncan Butterfield.

Mark Gallagher, Newcastle Mayfair 16 June 1983 pic Duncan Butterfield.

Sadly, the Mayfair was demolished in 1999 only to be replaced by a shiny pub and restaurant block with some bonny lights. But here we are many moons later and Raven have been busy in the studio mixing up the latest concoction.

It’s 10 songs, about 40 mins of all killer no filler – 1000% pure mania! So far we’ve put out two video singles, ‘Go for the Gold’ and ‘Surf the Tsunami’ and there will be one more when the album comes out.

The Godfathers of Thrash release their new album All Hell’s Breaking Loose on 30th June 2023. Check the official Raven website for merch/album/video & upcoming European  gigs in July & September 2023. 

Raven | Official Raven Lunatics Website

Like this – you might like these.

ALL FOR ONE at 40 with Chief Heedbangers, Raven | ALIKIVI : NORTH EAST UK (garyalikivi.com)

FIRESTARTERS – The North East Connection from Raven & Blitzkreig to Megaforce & Metallica | ALIKIVI : NORTH EAST UK (garyalikivi.com)

Alikivi    June 2023