Vans off the Wall Tour - Update

Vans Off The Wall Tour - Update

From April 22nd - 7th May, Vans present Cancer Bats on the Vans Off The Wall Tour that will see the band play at 16 venues across the UK. Also, just confirmed are two band signing appearances at the Vans Leeds store on April 30th and at Exit store in Manchester on May 3rd. Special Guests on the tour The Plight and SSS.

Taking Back Sunday - Win signed T'shirts!!!

Recent headliners of Give It A Name Festival & with new album 'New Again' on the way, June 1st - We thought it was a good time to catch up with Taking Back Sunday.

The new album title is more than just that, it's a declaration. "We kicked around a bunch of different titles, but this one always remained top of the list, and that's because it really does feel like a new band," Vocalist Adam Lazzara tells us.

New guitarist Matt Fazzi has undoubtedly contributed to those thoughts, "Bringing Fazzi in, the excitement & the drive to get out there & play for people is just where it was with our first record; it's like that energy, we just bottled it" Lazzara goes on to say.

The band played some pre-release dates where they were able to see first hand the fans' excitement over the new material. To bassist Matt Rubano, it was the perfect way to re-introduce the group to the hardcore TBS devotees after the three years since their last studio effort, 06's 'Louder Now'. "It was the right way to start off this record, which was to re-engage the fan base on a one-to-one, very real, in your face basis".

The mature themes being addressed by Taking Back Sunday in 'New Again' could be one of the most important things about the band in 09'. "Getting all the way to this point with a brilliant new band member & a great new friend with a record that we are all bursting for people to hear, it really feels like we've accomplished something pretty great" Rubano goes on to say, "It represents a year of difficulty & struggle, and at the same time, unbridled exploratory creativity. It's been a really special and important year for us and this record 'New Again' certainly represents that."

"Lonely, Lonely" is one of the songs Lazzara is most proud of on the record. "That song from start to finish is one of the most relentless songs we've written, it's at 10 the whole time," he says. "And to me it moves more like an older rock'n'roll song than something more current or that we've even done in the past."
"It's a tune that's made for the stage, as is 'Sink Into Me.' A drum intro leads into the frenetic, rhythmic vocals punctuated with a repeated 'Hey, Hey, Hey' a la the Ramones. Lazzara can't wait to hear 20'000 fans scream along with that one! "It's a really fun song to play when we rehearse it, so I can't wait to bring that to the people because we put in these gang vocal 'Heys' in it, which takes the energy of the song up even more, so i'm really excited to play that for the people". And oh hell are we looking foward to you guys playing it!!

Ok, so it's competition time, thanks a bunch to Taking Back Sunday for giving a load of signed guys & girls t'shirts...so for this one, we'll be announcing 2 winners!!!



And all you have to do, is tell us the name of their new album....hhmmmm it's a toughy this one!! Just follow the link below, and give us your answer.

takingbacksunday@ebtm.co.uk

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Madina Lake Competition - Win Signed Merch!!!

Hailing from Chicago, Madina Lake are recent coverstars of Kerrang!


their eagerly anticipated new album 'Attics to Eden' drops early next week (May 4th)


and throw in the fact they're currently on a UK tour (see dates below), it really is shaping up to be a great year for the guys!

Working with esteemed producer David Bendeth (Breaking Benjamin, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus & label mates Killswitch Engage) on 'Attics to Eden', the experimental follow up to 07' Roadrunner debut 'From Them, Through us, to you' proved to be a great honour & priviledge. "David broke us down, he was like a drill sergeant" say's Matthew, of the first time Madina Lake played some of the new material for Bendeth.

"It was challenging making this record" echoes brother & lead vocalist Nathan, "But at the end of the day, we are super proud of how it came out. I think we blew the first album out of the water. I guess artists are artists, and in our experience, you bump into people who...let's just say have a level of talent that qualify their attitude, and some don't. Bendeth is clearly a guy who does".

By the end of it all, Madina Lake have given us a monsterous collection of perhaps genre-defying, impassioned & seriously infectious tunes melding the hypnotic elements of Muse with the riff potency of Linkin Park. 'Attics to Eden' proves maturity does come with experience, as one of rocks most promising young acts they take us on a voyage across layers of diverse sound. The twelve songs on the album, including "Never Walk Alone", "Let's Get Out Of Here" & the guitar-less "Friends and Lovers" are replete with other worldly atmospherics, epic guitars, intricate & oftentimes punishing drum work, melodic choruses, imposing bass lines, audacious instrumentation & Nathan's unpredictable, inescapable vocals.

"This goes completely surreal, like universal", Nathan states "There's elements of spiritual escape, and almost science fiction elements to it that we went with on this one, but at the end of the day, we're sticking with our main objective for the whole story, which is good vs evil. We didn't want to repeat anything we did on the first one, we didn't even really want to touch on the same topics. But you have to put faith in the kids that support your band to see your vision out & develop with you".


And so to celebrate the album release, our friends Madina Lake have kindly put up for grabs a bunch of signed goodies including the new album, t'shirts, stickers & 7"!!
All you have to do, is follow the comp' link below & tell us who produced the new album 'Attics To Eden'??? Nice and simple! We'll pick a winner on May 11th!

madinalake@ebtm.co.uk







Check out Madina Lake on their UK/European tour now!! 28th April: Leeds Cockpitt - Leeds 29th April: Nottingham Rock City - Nottingham 30th April: Glasgow QMU - Glasgow, Scotland 1st May: Manchester University - Manchester 2nd May: Newcastle university - Newcastle 4th May: Sheffield Corporation - Sheffield 5th May: Birmingham Academy2 - Birmingham 7th May: Cardiff Solo - Cardiff, Wales 8th May: Camden Electric Ballroom, London.

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Check out the Madina Lake "Adelia" & "Orange Blend" T'shirts available to buy now from us here at EBTM!!!

Ghost of a Thousand - Interview & Giveaway!!

EBTM:
Hi guys, a huge thanks for being the first interview on the new look EBTM! …and a massive congrats on signing for Epitaph in February! How's everyone today & how does it feel to now be stable mates with the likes of Converge, Every Time I Die & Gallows?

Ghost: (Tom Lacey - Vocals)
It feels fucking incredible, and you're forgetting Thursday, Rancid and Hot Water Music too ha ha. No really it’s amazing, we're very, very lucky and very, very proud to be on Epitaph, it’s the ideal home for our record and we're delighted they've got so much faith in us.

EBTM:
New Hope, New Demonstrations is released June 1st, tell us a little about the album, what can we expect & how has the Ghost sound evolved from your 07' debut…The Fight…?

GHOST: (TL)
Well, we're covering a lot more ground with NHND, Fight was intentionally a one tone record, just anger for 25 minutes, Hopes has a sadder more disturbing feel, its darker but we've dropped a lot of the hardcore to be replaced with a black hearted rock'n'roll feel. You can expect a real journey, its great broken up into singles but it works best as a whole because it’s so all over the place, we'll put your heart through the wringer by the end.

EBTM:
Do you have a standout track on there, a certain favourite already?

GHOST: (TL)
I hate this question because I love them all, at the moment Knees,Toes,Teeth is my favourite it’s like AC/DC if they grew up listening to Slayer, ha ha. It’s just a bad-ass tune.

EBTM:
You recorded the album in Sweden with Pelle Gunnerfeldt (The Hives, Refused), tell us about that experience, how was it to work with Pelle?

GHOST: (TL)
Pelle is one of the worlds little miracles, he was very quiet the first few days which I gather is a trend of Northern Swedes, but once we figured out his sense of humour was as unhinged as ours we got on great, he took the record to a very different place to where it was originally, and it just got stranger and stranger. He was the perfect choice in hindsight although we were all pretty nervous to start with because his imagination would just run riot!

EBTM:
You're playing SlamDunk & Download this summer, what else have you got lined up for 09'…UK or European tour at all?

GHOST: (TL)
Well, we're playing Reading & Leeds this year and it looks like Sonisphere is going to happen too. Loads of other UK fests and Groezrock was amazing for us so we can’t wait to get back into Europe. So far there’s Stage Dive Fest in Sweden, Oya in Norway, Finnish dates, Pukkelpop and a bunch of others about to get confirmed. We want to be out in Europe as much as possible and this seems like a great start for us.

EBTM:
Are there any bands in particular you're looking forward to playing with over the summer?

GHOST: (TL)
We're playing with Millencolin at Stage Dive Fest which will be amazing, for me playing with Mastodon will be a huge deal as I'm head over heels about their new record, to be honest the Gallows and ETID dates are going to be amazing, stoked to get those.

EBTM:
Any bands that have caught your attention recently you'd like to put the spotlight on & recommend we check out?

GHOST: (TL)
I would say you should check out Sharks from Leamington Spa who have just started getting a lot of attention, and The Computers who we're friends with, a kick-ass band, and lovely fellas too.

EBTM:
Thanks again guys, we'll be meeting up with you next in Brighton May 16th as part of the Great Escape Festival.

GIVEAWAY!!
As part of the EBTM relaunch, our friends Ghost of a Thousand have kindly offered a bundle of signed merch. Nice one, thanks guys!
So if you want to get hold of this, all you have to do is answer the following question. What's the name of the new Ghost album due out on June 1st???? Pretty damn easy this one!! Follow the Comps' link below & address the email GHOST COMP...please include your answer & full name in the content. The guys will pick a winner when we hook up with them May 16th.

Competition now closed: winners announced - Cameron Beattie & Leila Bryant - Congratulations!!!


Check out Ghost of a Thousand at the following dates:

: 6 May - Academy 1 w/ Gallows and ETID Manchester, UK
: 8 May - ABC w/ Gallows and ETID Glasgow, UK
: 16 May - Great Escape Festival Brighton, UK
: 21 May - Forum, w/ Gallows & ETID London, UK
: 24 May - University, Slam dunk festival Leeds, UK
: 11 June - The Borderline w/ Alexisonfire London, UK

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Win a Pair of Download 09' W'end Camping Tickets!!!!!!

What better way to celebrate the relaunch of EBTM than to embrace the festival season & win yourself a pair of W'end Camping Tickets to Download 09'

But wait, not content with that, we'll even throw in a 2-man Ltd Ed' Sigma Tent courtesy of our friends at Addict & a bundle of EBTM T'shirts (because let's face it, you won't be washing will you?!) so all you've got to worry about is which stage to get to first... & with Faith No More, Slipknot, Def Leppard, Motley Crue, The Prodigy, Korn, Marilyn Manson, Pendulum, Trivium...(DAMN, THIS LINE-UP IS NEVER ENDING!)...it ain't gonna be easy to choose!

It gets better aswell, because we're too busy bringing you the latest updates & reviews from all your favourite bands, the freshest ranges from DC, New Era, Supra, Glamour Kills, Your Eyes Lie....we haven't got the energy to think of a question. So all you have to do is add your email address to the competitions link below, pretty damn simple really!


Ok, The Download Competition is now closed!! We have a winner...FAYE CHAPMAN. The tickets are now in the post to you, have an amazing w'end. We'll be meeting Faye at Download and will have a full w'end report & photo's on the blogs asap.



Please note: By entering this competition you are agreeing to be entered into our email newsletter.
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