Lullaby For A Unicorn – I Can’t Believe They’re Not Better Dates & Raisins Records Release Date: 04/07/2020 Running Time: 34:09 Review by Beth Jones 6.5/10
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far, away, a unicorn got jiggy with a seagull, and spawned 4 ne’er-do-wells. It taught them the language of the unicorn gull, then threw them out of the nest, to find their own way in the doldrums. The young hoodlums roamed the galaxy for years, serenading the planets with their unique sound, until one day, around 30 million years later, when they could finally be arsed, they decided to put their music on a record. And, ladies and gents, that record is the subject of my musings today!
Here in the Wales, we like life to be lived at a more leisurely pace than our English neighbours. Most parts of the country now have running water, which is pretty damn high tech, let me tell you. Apparently soon, we may also have something called 5G, or at least 4G, however, dial-up does us just fine. With this in mind, it comes as no surprise that Lullaby For A Unicorn call North Wales their home! It will also come as no surprise that the majority of their debut album, “I Can’t Believe They’re Not Better”, is taken up by songs that anyone who has followed them for the last couple of years will have already heard, many times over! But that doesn’t make them any less groovy/unhinged.
For those who haven’t had the pleasure of an evening with the Lullaby boys, then prepare to be medicined! Make sure you bring plenty of rum, leave your serious boots by the door, and put on your tongue in cheek sense of humour hats (and/or unicorn onesies, which ever you feel more conspicuous in)!
‘Alan Raiders’ opens the album (There’s a funny story behind the name of this song – for more details, spam Lullaby on their Facebook page). A classic hit of theirs, which introduces us to the tortured vocals of Justin, Baxter’s sexy bass skills, Dan’s riffage, Gaz’s animal-esque drumming, and some dude shouting ‘Alan, Alan, Alan…Alan’ (could be any of them, probably Gaz, but I prefer the mystique of not knowing). It’s difficult to describe their sound. They don’t really have a genre. Unicorn Thrash is probably the closest I’ll get. Imagine you were a unicorn, having a really bad day, sick of everyone telling you that you’re mythical/not real, and fed up with farting rainbows, then you pick up a guitar and play some Thrash on it, and manage some pretty tasty fingerings (ooh err Mrs), even though you have hooves instead of hands, because YOU’RE MAGIC, SO THERE! That’s Unicorn Thrash.
Anyway, moving on. Track 2, ‘Huffing on the Whiskey Smoke’, starts of quite mellow, with stormy sea sound effects, and pleasant guitar, then kick in to a 90’s inspired, sludgy grunge style, with plenty of overdrive, some double bass kicks, and the eternally pissed off vocals of Justin, with the added injection of alcoholic slurring!
These two tracks essentially set the tone for the rest of the album, sludgy, grungy, slightly doomy, thrash, with a bit of funk popping up every now and again (the opening of ‘Kung-fu Bukkake’ being one fine example). Musically, it couldn’t be further away from polished if it tried, but I would expect nothing less from the boys, really!! However, this lack of finesse, rough around the edges, approach does make it, and them, strangely exciting!
My favourite track has to be ‘WTF’. Not because it’s a stroke of musical genius that’s better than the rest, but because it takes me back to the good old days of the Tivoli Nightclub in Buckley. The Saturday rock nights there were my happy place, back in the late 90’s, and this track is almost an illustration of them. Picture the scene – it’s around 11.30pm, and I’m sitting on the dubiously stained sofas, on the balcony area, drunk as a skunk and stoned out of my tree, trying to make sense of the metal music drifting from downstairs, as it merges with the music from the Indie room upstairs. It was mental torture, but it was great. This track is exactly that!
In fact, that pretty much sums up the album, really. Epically lovable mental torture. It’s not the most technically put together album you’re going to hear, nor is it the most musically adept. But it’s jolly good drunken fun, and they do have a great sound, and an endearing attitude towards both music, and life. One suggestion though, if you’re not drunk, go and get drunk, then come back and listen to it, and I promise you’ll be jumping about like you’ve lost your mind within seconds.
TRACKLISTING: 01.Alan Raiders 02.Huffing On The Whiskey Smoke 03.March Of The Unicorns 04.Rancid Santa 05.Kung-fu Bukkake 06.WTF 07.Lords Of Vice Live at HRH Metal 2020 (Stage Three) 08.Pointing At Seagulls (2018…honestly, not filler at all)
LINE-UP: Justin – Vocals and Synths Gaz – (D)rums and Funny Noises Baxter – Rumbling Bass Noises and Onesies Dan – Guitar, Stupid Facial Expressions and a Terrible Posture
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Beth Jones and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
Hi everyone! Welcome
to our new EMQ’s interview with Bangor, North Wales based Alternative Metal
band Winter Hotel. Huge thanks to guitarist Liam Osment, vocalist Warren Porter,
and drummer Charlie Wignall, for taking part.
What is your name,
what do you play, and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the
band?
Liam: I’m Liam and I play guitar for Winter
Hotel. I guess the band fell into place when Warren and I met at a social event
for Bangor University’s Metal Appreciation Society. Once we realised we were
both musicians we met for a jam a few days later… It was a little tricky at
first trying to combine Warren’s brutal death metal influences with my own
lighter taste in the metalcore/post-hardcore spectrum, but we quickly found an
interesting halfway point between the two extremes. From there we were able to
find some other members to complete our line-up, and we quickly got to gigging,
recording, making merch and all that good stuff. Recently, we’ve had a bit of a
re-shuffle in our line-up, at which point I brought Charlie on board. Charlie
and I had been in a couple of pop-punk/alt rock bands several years ago, and
having experience of what he can do, I knew he’d be a perfect fit for Winter
Hotel.
Warren: I am Warren, Winter Hotel’s
vocalist. Liam pretty much has it covered. When we first started jamming, I was
originally going to be the drummer, but after the first practice I was put on
vocal duty!
Charlie: I’m Charlie and I’m Winter Hotel’s
newest recruit as a drummer. From what I know, the band have been on a strong
up-rise in the Bangor and North Wales metal scene since 2017, however myself
and Liam have been in bands together since we were 15/16.
How did you come up
with your band name?
Liam: Warren and I had bounced around a lot
of ideas, but it came together when Warren suggested November Hotel. From there
I think we both settled on Winter Hotel. Warren and I are both huge fans of
Stephen King’s ‘The Shining’, and when I see ‘Winter Hotel’ it immediately puts
me in mind of the hotel from that story. I’ve always thought our name doesn’t
really give away much of an idea of what our sound is. It’s vague and plays
with people’s expectations. I think that allows our music to speak for itself.
Warren: My personal inspiration for the
name stemmed from the poem by Phil Bowen called November Hotel, as well as the
Stanley Hotel in Colorado, the hotel in which Stephen King drew inspiration for
his novel, The Shining.
What Country/Region
are you from and what is the Metal/Rock scene like there?
Charlie: The band was formed in Bangor,
North Wales where the Metal scene is a tight-knit community, with strong
supporters and great local contacts. Liam and I are originally from
Lincolnshire, where the music scene is god awful unless you want to be in a
T-Rex covers band!
Warren: Bangor is pretty dang juicy with
regards to its love and devotion to rock and metal! That passion came as a very
pleasant surprise when I arrived in Wales from St. Johns, Michigan USA, in
2017. Michigan has an incredible plethora of music, but bands such as Throne,
The Revenant, Pestilent Age, Boreworm and of course The Black Dahlia Murder
have been some of my favourite Michigan based acts.
Liam: Bangor was such an unexpectedly
great place for us to start. I had no idea that this small city in Wales would
be home to so many passionate folks who want to engage with underground bands!
Their support has been nothing short of incredible. As Charlie said, where he
and I used to be based was pretty dry for rock and metal.
What is your latest
release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)
Charlie: On 6th March 2020 we
released our debut single and music video, ‘Lovers At Bay’ (available on
Spotify, iTunes, apple music and all other major streaming platforms)
Who have been your
greatest influences?
Charlie: Reuben, Devin Townsend, Nine Inch
Nails, Smashing Pumpkins, Primus, Whoopi Goldberg.
Liam: Alesana, Hawthorne Heights, The
Elijah, Motion City Soundtrack, Pianos Become the Teeth.
Warren: My mom always played music in the
house and car throughout my entire childhood, that constant exposure to music
helped inspire me to want to create my own.
Charlie: My older Brother used to pass on
his slightly more mature taste in music, but at the time this was stuff like
Green Day. I also have family who have had successful careers in music and
passed on priceless advice over the years.
Liam: I think I found a few bands I really
gelled with from my Sister’s old CD collection when I was around 10 years old.
I ended up finding similar artists and it just blossomed from there. My Dad is
a guitarist and he taught me how to read tabs, learn songs, and generally
encouraged me to pursue music. I was also very fortunate to meet some of my
favourite bands who all really inspired me. JT, of Hawthorne Heights, in particular
gave me some really useful advice.
If you could
collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
Liam: There’s a trance artist I really like
called BT. I’d just love to see what kind of an insane fusion of genres we’d
make.
Warren: On the metal side, I would love to
work with Coprocephalic Mutation. It would also be amazing to collaborate with
artists such as Clann and Ic3peak to see what waters we can explore.
Charlie: Jools Holland. I’d make him say
our band name in his funny voice.
If you could play any
festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
Charlie: Primavera Sound in Spain,
fantastic line-up every year.
Liam: I would have loved to play Warped
Tour. So many of my influences made their name playing it.
Warren: Deathfeast Open Air, Wacken Open
Air and the Obscene Extreme Festival would all be mighty delicious. So much
girth.
What’s the weirdest
gift you have ever received from a fan?
Charlie: A satsuma!
Liam: I’ve yet to be given a gift from
a fan. But for future reference, I really like a good Twix!
Warren: High 5’s are always a scrumptious
treat!
If you had one
message for your fans, what would it be?
Liam: The world can be a scary place
sometimes. Look out for yourselves and look out for each other.
Warren: Don’t just chase your dreams; chase
them and beat the shit out of them.
If you could bring
one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
Charlie: Bach.
Warren: Martin Funderud from Kraanium,
only if he wanted to return of course.
What do you enjoy the
most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
Warren: The cycle of creation within
music is my favourite aspect of being a musician. To see a song go from one
riff or lyric to being recorded and played on a stage is an astonishing
feeling. I certainly do not enjoy the price tag of musicianship; but it is well
worth it in the long run.
Charlie: The best bit is gigging, by far,
but being a drummer can be difficult. It’s expensive and things break often.
Liam: I love playing shows, writing new
music and recording. Being a musician is super expensive and very time
consuming, but the positives outweigh the negatives by a mile.
If you could change
one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
Charlie: I’d like to see more people going
to local shows and supporting the smaller bands. In some places the scene is
fantastic; Bangor is one of those. But elsewhere there’s no hope for the
budding musicians. Giving up £3 and 3 hours of your time to attend a gig makes
a world of difference for the underground artists.
Warren: An aspect of the music industry
that would be rad to see change is the amount of red tape one has to venture
through in order to simply have a bands’ music heard, and performances seen. It’s
similar for many artforms, but music is very much its own beast.
Name one of your
all-time favourite albums?
Liam: “I Loved, I Hated, I Destroyed, I
Created” by The Elijah. It is insanely underrated, everything about it is so
impactful and beautiful. The Elijah deserved so much more recognition than they
received.
Warren: “Eternally Even” by Jim James is an
album that captivates my imagination and senses from start to finish. The album,
as a whole, is warm and gentle, but also profound and incredibly thought
provoking.
What’s best? Vinyl,
Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?
Warren: Physical copies of any kind for the
collection and direct support. Downloads for the accessibility and convenience.
What’s the best gig
that you have played to date?
Liam: We played a show in Bangor last May
that really stands out to me. It wasn’t the biggest crowd we’d played to by a
long shot, but it was made up mostly of some of our most dedicated fans who’d
been with us since our first show, it was just such a brilliant atmosphere.
I’ll never forget it.
Warren: Playing in the second heat of M2TM
this March has been one of my favourite performances of ours so far. That show
helped to put our journey into perspective a bit more for me. Before I moved
here I said to myself that I wanted to be the vocalist for a metal band in the
UK, and playing on that stage while having a music video available definitely
made me reflect on the initial setting of that goal. It is a trip.
If you weren’t a
musician, what else would you be doing?
Liam: I completed my undergrad degree in
Psychology last July, if I wasn’t a musician, I imagine I probably would have
gone on to do a Masters.
Warren: I would probably still be washing
dishes and studying poetry at university, but with less gutturals.
Which five people
would you invite to a dinner party?
Liam: I’m going to assume this also
includes fictional characters, so I’m inviting Master Chief (from the Halo
series), Katy Perry, Tobey Maguire, Joe Lycett, and a pot-bellied pig. I’d
serve goats cheese tarts followed by a smashing tiramisu. It would be a
brilliant night.
Warren: That is a doozy. I would order
several gluttonous double pepperoni pizzas with extra cheese and invite Andrew
Reynolds, Shane Koyczan, Sal Rodriguez (Stages Of Decomposition), Ruben Rosas
(Devourment) and Leonardo DiCaprio. Yum.
What’s next for the
band?
Liam: We have a lot of exciting stuff lined
up. As Charlie said earlier, we just dropped out first single & music video
– there’s a lot more where this came from. We’ll also be lining up some more
shows pretty soon, so keep an eye out.
What Social
Media/Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
Liam: Jaffa Cakes are absolutely NOT a
biscuit. They’re smooth misery discs disguised as confectionery.
Warren: I am not well versed enough in such
sorcery to know. But I do enjoy a nice Poptart!
Thank you for your
time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Liam: Thanks for the interview! The only
thing I’d like to add is just a massive thank you to everyone who’s been
listening to our single, has come to a show or supported us in any capacity.
Thank you also to Ever Metal and North East Wales Metal Productions. You are
all keeping the scene alive and I can’t put into words how much we appreciate
that.
Warren: Not to mention Beany and Fozzy as
well as the kind dudes, Dani and Joe, at Powerzone radio.show.
Disclaimer: This interview is solely the property of Ever
Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this interview, unless you
have the strict permission of said party. Failure to adhere to this will be
treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
Disclaimer: This photo album is solely the property of Beth Jones. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of these images, unless you have the strict permission of said party. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
Disclaimer: This photo album is solely the property of Beth Jones. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of these images, unless you have the strict permission of said party. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
Disclaimer: This photo album is solely the property of Beth Jones. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of these images, unless you have the strict permission of said party. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
Disclaimer: This photo album is solely the property of Beth Jones. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of these images, unless you have the strict permission of said party. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
Disclaimer: This photo album is solely the property of Beth Jones. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of these images, unless you have the strict permission of said party. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
Bloodstock M2TM 2020 – North Wales, Heat 2 Mcleans, Pentre 07/03/2020 Review & Pictures by Beth Jones
We were still dusting ourselves down from the first heat of
this year’s Metal 2 The Masses North Wales, when suddenly, quicker than you
could say ‘get me on the New Blood stage’, it was time for heat 2! Originally
this heat was going to be taking place in Bangor, on the North West Wales coast,
but sadly the venue is now an ex-venue. However, because this is North Wales,
and the NEW Metal Productions team can handle pretty much anything, it was
reorganised to our regular haunt, Mcleans, Pentre!
Five bands were set to take to the stage in this heat, and
there were rumblings that this was going to be the toughest heat we had ever
seen. Our very own Rick Tilley was asked to stand in as a judge on this heat,
as one of the regulars, Phoenix Rising’s John Matthews, was unable to attend.
It was pretty certain the judges were going to have a hard task. The ‘order of
service’, drawn before we arrived, was Winter Hotel, Thrashatouille, Lullaby
For A Unicorn, Krank, and Leatherback. This was going to be fun!
Winter Hotel
Hailing from Bangor, these guys play a hard hitting, modern
alternative metal style with a pretty hefty punch. They haven’t been round that
long and were using a stand-in bass player. While they had done a fair bit of
prep for this, bringing with them printed lyric sheets for the judges, their
relative infancy showed in their stage craft, which this year is one of the
main things the judges are looking at. Musically they were great, and the
charisma of front man, Warren Porter, did shine through. But, in my opinion,
they weren’t quite ready, performance wise. However, this is something that
will come with practice, and more gigging. They definitely have something
exciting to give; they just need to work out how to present it.
We’ve seen these guys a good few times now, including last
year’s M2TM North Wales, where they narrowly missed getting a spot in the
final. Not to be downtrodden, they decided to return this year to give it
another go. It was instantly noticeable that they had a new toy on stage –
front man Rob Sutton had a synth that goes boom (not a technical term, but good
enough to describe it – I’m old and all this synth trickery goes over my head)!
I love the effect that you get out of them, so was looking forward to seeing
how he used it, and to seeing how they’d come on since last year. I was not
disappointed! From the first chord, to the final boooom, they were bloody
brilliant! By far the best we have ever seen them perform. Their madcap food-based
death/thrash metal, complete with inflatables, energetic movement on and off
the stage from Rob, and a healthy dose of booooooom, was totally something I
could imagine going down a storm on the New Blood stage. Epic performance!
After being within touching distance of the New Blood stage,
as one of last years’ runners-up in the M2TM North Wales final, it was no surprise
to see these guys coming to give it another go. I’ve lost count how many times
we’ve watched them play but was still as eager to see them again. They are
quirky and have an endearing band personality that makes you feel happy,
despite the manic and slightly psychotic look in front man Justin Williams’
eyes! They seem to have a bit of a curse on them in this competition though,
and they do have a nasty habit of over thinking it. In this performance, a
gremlin had got into the sound, and they were plagued with feedback, which I feel
threw them off their game a bit. There was none of the usual party popper
madness either, which was possibly like taking away their comfort blanket. I
still really enjoyed their set though, as I always do, and I was very hopeful
that the audience would see past the gremlins, because I know what their ‘A
game’ is like.
We last saw Krank in the M2TM heats two years ago, and back
then they just weren’t ready, so I was interested to see how they’d come on.
Musically they have definitely come a long way, and they make a very good sound
together. Carrying on the theme of the evening, it was quirky, humorous, and
heavy. They’d obviously spent a bit of time thinking about their stage show, as
they had a projector playing a random video in the background, and they also
had a large ‘Doomsday clock’ displayed on a laptop for the audience, and the front
man to see, as apparently they have a tendency to run over time! They’d brought
a lot of fans with them, so they went down well with the crowd. They threw a
load of miniature squeaky rubber chickens in to crowd at the start of the set
too, which caused a bit of a gigglesome fracas. Unfortunately, even though I
think they’re really good musically, something about the front man’s over the
top, bullishness really irks me. I find it irritating. Yes, I’m a grumpy old
woman, but I just think he needs to tone it down a bit. Let the music do some
of the talking, and please, for the love of god, put your tits away! Oh, and
another thing – my daughter has now stolen the squeaky rubber chicken we
brought home and will not stop squeaking it! Goddamn you!!
The final performance of the evening was a one-man techno/industrial/metal
crossover. My first thought was, ‘I hope they’re going to put the stage lights
back on, because the photos won’t be much good otherwise!’ I asked the all-knowing
Fozzy, and his response was ‘Just wait and see’. Hmmm, I’m not good with
surprises! When the performance started, it became clear what Fozzy meant!
Strobe… Lots and lots of strobe! It was like being in a 90s rave! Musically,
there were samples, synths and pedals being controlled like clockwork by Matt,
aka Leatherback. At the same time, he was playing some pretty tight rhythm
guitar. Combined with the strobing and colour changing lights, also controlled
by the music, it made for a pretty hallucinogenic experience! I had issues with
this performance though, both as a lover of old-school, and as a photographer.
He does what he does very well, and with a lot of skill, however what he does,
and what I like musically are two very different things. My second issue was
the lights. I spent so long looking directly at a strobe, trying to actually
capture some useable photos, that my eye and the side of my face went
completely numb. That was my cue to leave. I’m going to leave it at that.
Clever, but not my cup of tea! It did get the audience going, but on a
performance level, I don’t think that it would transpose to a big stage like
the New Blood.
So, with all the bands done, it was time to vote. For me,
there was one clear winner, who stood head and shoulders above the rest –
Thrashatouille. After a short break, for the judges to deliberate and the
audience to cast their votes, master of ceremonies, Beany, returned to the
stage to announce the results. I totally couldn’t call it, so can imagine how
tough it was for the judges.
First to be announced, and winners of the public vote were
Krank, which is a good bit of statistical evidence that other bands should take
notice of – the more people you bring with you to your heat, the more likely it
is that you’ll win the public vote (unless you really suck and all the people
you brought secretly hate you!). The band taking the judges vote, because of
their musical ability, professionalism, stage craft and preparation (and
rightfully so, if you ask me) were Thrashatouille!
This heat had definitely been a tough one, and it was sad
that there had to be winners and losers, but, by definition, that’s what
competition is. Onwards and upwards my friends, onwards and upwards! Next up!
Heat 3, which takes place on 4th April
Disclaimer: This review and photographs are solely the property of Beth Jones and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
Disclaimer: This photo album is solely the property of Beth Jones. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of these images, unless you have the strict permission of said party. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
Disclaimer: This photo album is solely the property of Beth Jones. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of these images, unless you have the strict permission of said party. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
