British metal band DEF CON ONE will be on tour in 2015 to continue the promotion of their second album ‘II’ released on Scarlet Records in 2014.
Currently working on new material, DEF CON ONE will be active on the live front throughout the year as they play new venues and return to old favourites. More shows are being added so check the band’s website for all the latest news. Shows so far include:
13.02.15 – Rebellion, Manchester
14.02.15 – The Cellar, Oxford
06.03.15 – Sanctuary, Burnley
07.03.15 – The Venue, Selby
13.03.15 – The Roxbury, Blyth
14.03.15 – The Old Turk, Dewsbury
27.03.15 – The Intake Club, Mansfield
28.03.15 – The Unicorn, London
01.05.15 – Scruffy’s, Birmingham
02.05.15 – Thrashersaurus, Norwich
29.08.15 – The Arches, Coventry
If you haven’t seen Def Con One yet, here is what Zero Tolerance magazine had to say about them:
“… the bruising metal assault that the band unleash in The Garage tonight. The Geordies tear through their set, playing with total conviction and clearly enjoying every moment of their time onstage. Ex-Venom man Antton Lant hits his kit so fucking hard, and the weight of the thuggish riffs is crushing. ‘Steeped in Pain’, ‘Soul Possessed’ ‘War Face’ … every track is 100% convincing. No fucking about – just head-caving, skull-crushing metal. Very impressive.”
Following the positive reactions and a wide media echo on their self-titled debut in 2012, DEVIL’S TRAIN got their follow-up in the pipeline, now, set to be released on earMusic on January 23rd. Again and again have their supporters expressed their joy about a band still combining the heavy sound of the 80s with the classic hard rock attitude of the 70s. Even though, DEVIL’S TRAIN had been thought to be a short-term side project in the beginning, it got clear pretty quickly that everyone had simply too much fun working together to quit – the outcome is quite impressive indeed. Instead of keeping it easy and following the straight concept of traditional heavy rock with a biker attitude, which had been so well accepted in the past, DEVIL’S TRAIN have been refining and enriching their individual style for their classically titled follow up “II“ without compromising any of their principles.
By doing that, the international quartet never appears to be old-fashioned in any way, they rather add some irony to it. Hard and heavy, but still emotional and, above all, honest – DEVIL’S TRAIN are 100% authentic.
“All of us love this bluesy stuff, which the brilliant ‚Badlands‘, ‘Tesla’, ‘Cindarella’, or ‘Tangier’ used to play”, tells Liapakis. “You’ll find hints of it in many of our songs. Of course, they were also found on our debut, but not as prominent as on this one. It just felt right to put more emphasis on it in songs like ‚Can You Feel‘ or ‚Suffocated‘. The most radical song in this matter is surely ‚Mr. Jones‘, which is definitely one of my favorites on the record.”
With all this remarkable awareness of traditions, DEVIL’S TRAIN is still no pure retro-act; for instance, the band adds traces of stoner rock to their songs. “That’s one element we enjoy very much. I think that’s one of the details contributing to the fact that we are not only addressing established rock lovers, but also welcoming loads of younger fellows in our audience”, says the singer cheerfully.
As a similarity to their first record, not only do DEVIL’S TRAIN prove to be excellent songwriters and composers, but also to be brilliant interpreters of all time rock classics. This time, the musicians adapt with a lot of love for the originals Led Zeppelin’s monumental „Immigrant Song“ and the biker-hymn per se, Steppenwolfs „Born To Be Wild“, to make them their own.
In respect of the band’s members’ references, there had never been a doubt about the technical performance or quality of DEVIL’S TRAIN. But „II“ has quite a few positive and enjoyable surprises in store, considering the authenticity and effectivity of presenting their different, more emotional, and down-to-earth sound.
Follow this link to the first video „Hollywood Girl“:
Tracklist
1. Down On You 2. Hollywood Girl 3. Gimme Love 4. Mr. Jones 5. Can You Feel 6. Rock Forever
7. Let’s Shake It 8. Girl Like You 9. Born To Be Wild 10. You And Me 11. Thunderstorm
12. Suffocated 13. Immigrant Song (Bonus Track)
Produced by R.D. Liapakis ( Mystic Prophecy, Suicidal Angels, Eldritch, Steel Prophet) at Propehcy Studios Empten, Germany
Mixed by Fredrik Nordström (Hammerfall, In Flames, Arch Enemy, Dimmu Borgier)
at Fredman Studios in Sweden
British metallers DEF CON ONE have announced 3 more dates on their touring schedule. The shows take place in the UK in September, check out the dates below:
Metal Shock Finland premiered DEF CON ONE‘s video in May this year, for the track ‘Skinhead Shaped Dent’ from current album “II”, which can be seen below:
English metal band DEF CON ONE were formed over a decade ago by former VENOM drummer Antton Lant. The band played Bloodstock Open Air in 2011 following the release of their self-titled EP. Many gigs covering the length and breadth of the UK built their following of loyal fans and in 2012 DEF CON ONE released their debut album “Warface” after signing with Scarlet Records. Last year saw the release of limited edition EP “Brute Force And Ignorance” on vinyl and this year in February, the band released their new album, entitled “II.”
This album sees the band take things to a whole new level. They have described their second offering as “a natural progression” and have definitely stamped their own sound all over it. With influences covering a wide range of musical styles, from modern metal to old school rock and punk, DEF CON ONE have been described by the organizers of renowned Bloodstock Open Air festival as a bar fight between MACHINE HEAD, SLAYER and PANTERA.
Metal Shock Finland is proud to present the premiere of the video for the track ‘Skinhead Shaped Dent.’
The band commented about the interesting choice of song title:
“The song title came about when we were on our way to Les Fest in Scotland we stopped off at some services for some food and as we were leaving the restaurant, a car nearly knocked us down. Steve said if the car had hit us there would be a big skinhead shaped dent in the car, we all fell about laughing thinking it was so funny but then thought it would make a killer song title!”
Senior Manager Ali Blackdiamond comments:
“This song and video lives up to what we expect to hear from DEF CON ONE – brutal chugging riffs combined with Davey’s vocals and Antton’s precision drumming makes for the ultimate metal listening experience, don’t miss it!”
Check out the video made at Garage Studios in South Shields, below:
Artist: DEF CON ONE Album: “II” Label: Scarlet Records Release Date: 19 February 2014
Tracklist:
1. H8 Ball 2. Broke 3. Soul Possessed 4. Scarred For Life 5. Debt To Society 6. Skinhead Shaped Dent 7. Need A Reason 8. Die Again 9. Damned Disgrace 10. Drag Me To Hell
I like DEF CON ONE. After hearing “Warface”, hearing and reviewing “Brute Force and Ignorance” and seeing the band live several times I was pretty confident that I was going to like this new full length album too. But, then again, I’ve been wrong before as a fan of bands who were once on a winning streak before heading in a direction that left me behind. Fortunately, this is not the case with the Newcastle crunchers. The aptly named “II” (yes, it’s their second album) opens with ‘H8 Ball’ playing to DEF CON ONE’s strengths right from the word go. With a riff from Johnny Hunter that plays across the ‘alternating accent’ drum line laid down by Antton Lant, it heads straight into the kind of über heavy groove metal that DEF CON ONE have made their own. Davey Meikle’s vocals shine as always and Steve Miller’s bass line nails the whole thing together into one mighty wall of punchy metal.
Suffice to say, the entire album is rock solid with a stylistic thread running through all of it that never crosses the line into repetition but keeps each song tanking along at the right pace and feel. Third track – and the one that the band released as a sampler for the album – is ‘Soul Possessed’ which opens with some tasty clean guitar and vocals before crashing back into full-on driving Defcon-ness. It’s got a particularly interesting structure and Davey’s voice showcases some more of the diversity that he really started to use to greater effect than ever before on the “Brute Force And Ignorance” EP. Here it leaves an annoyingly catchy chorus line stuck in my head for hours. Job well done. ‘Die Again’ is another track that starts quietly, running for half its length at a perfect atmospheric pace – complete with a hint of keyboard – before Johnny comes in with some inspiringly emotive guitar work. In fact, this track may well be my current stand out favourite (though that’ll probably alternate with another one in about half an hour!)
Simply said, this is a great album that once again shows the way that the band are constantly evolving and pushing themselves forward. There are many bands in the UK currently that are – to my ears at least – receiving plaudits for recycling riffs and ideas that made the 80’s a great decade for metal: DEFCON ONE are not one of these and have carved their own identity and sound. If the metal scene has any justice in it then they should be forging ahead professionally to match their artistic progress. They have excelled themselves with a bloody great album that show the band moving along an ever inclining upward trajectory they began with the excellent “Warface”. I cannot wait to see this new stuff live on stage because, ironically perhaps considering the strength of the band on album, they are a live animal: you may see bands on stage as good as DEF CON ONE, but you won’t see better. Onwards and upwards!
Rating 9/10
Band Members: Davey Meikle – Vocals Johnny Hunter – Guitars Steve Miller – Bass Antton Lant – Drums
Swedish death metallers DEATHDESTRUCTION are back with a new album. The album “II” will be released in April 23th on Gain Music. With the new singer Tony Jelencovich behind the microphone DeathDestruction has recorded the album “II” with the famous producer Roberto Laghi (In Flames etc.).
A sneak preview from the album already came last year in the form of the song “Money, Blood, Crucifixus’ which was also accompanied by a video signed Patric Ullaeus. On February 26 the band will release their second single “Set The Sail”.
Band comment:
“We are very proud of the album and what we have accomplished, and we are so ready to get out and play the new songs for the fans! After waiting in long over a year now it feels great that the album finally will be released. The new album has a new width and sometimes a good, catchy melancholy, but without compromising on weight or attitude. We look forward to introduce our new material under this spring. 2014 will be amazing!”
DeathDestruction released their self-titled debut album in 2011, and attracted critics with good reviews all over the world while the audience discovered the band through festival appearances, European tour with Hammerfall and a Scandinavian tour with In Flames. The band was also nominated for a Bandit Rock Award as ”Best Newcomer”.
DeathDestruction:
Tony Jelencovich, singer
Henrik Danhage, guitar
Jonas Ekdahl, drums
Fredrik Larsson, bass
Money, Blood, Crucifixus – Directed by Patric Ullaeus:
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