Rock Werchter Review: Part 3

Rock Werchter Review (Saturday)

Temperatures had now soared to a staggering 36 degrees Celsius in Werchter and as we move closer to one o'clock on Saturday, American rock band FIDLAR (Fuck It Dog, Life's a Risk) are set to take the stage. Front-man Zach Carper is appropriately dressed for the weather, he's sporting a blue and white flowery shirt and shorts. He introduces the band. "we're FIDLAR, F, I, D, L, A R" as they dive in to their set with opener 'Stoked and Broke'. Fidlar's song's rarely exceed three and a half minutes, which lead to a breezy and rapid set full of quick and speedy riffs and "we don't care" style vocals. The set was over just as it began, the band blasted through songs from their self titled debut album, new songs including 'Drone' and they even treated the audience to a cover of Weezer's 'Sweater Song'. Fidlar are appearing at various other festivals this year and they will no doubt leave the audience stunned with their brand of punk. 

Up next on the main stage were British duo Royal Blood who just one year ago were declared as the "saviours of rock and roll" read in to that what you will, but they lived up to their hype by putting a red-hot set. The pair had actually played the festival on the Thursday and returned to give the Saturday crowd a dose of old-school rock and roll which both them and Royal Blood seemed to really enjoy. Opening with 'Come On Over' the duo set about breaking a few ear-drums. The only slightly disappointing element of their set was the speed at which they played some of their songs. 'Come On Over' was played at a slower tempo which meant that the song lost a bit of punch. Also front-man and bass player Mike Kerr has grown in confidence since the band first stared as he introduces the band with an American accent whilst he strutted around the stage in aviator sunglasses clearly fond of himself.  'Little Monster' saves his apparent arrogance as it completely blows away everything leaving you in awe of the riffs. Closer 'Out Of The Black' is bone-shaking ending to a set which is perhaps growing a little bit old and stale. Take nothing away from the performance because Royal Blood are a superb live band, but we want the duo to release some new material and fast. 

For all the hype surrounding The War On Drugs at the minute, it would be interesting to see if he lived up to it. The atmospheric composer bathed in the late afternoon sun did absolutely nothing to suggest that this hype is true. His performance was as dull as they come, and musically well, you can make all the little sounds come to life in a recording studio, but on a big festival stage they are rendered completely irrelevant and his performance lacked everything, even one his famous songs 'Red Eyes' was a disappointment. He drew in a big crowd as the festival advertised him one not to miss but they were left confused by this statement. If his performance was a colour it would have been beige. 

Bringing round the main stage crowd from a dreary performance would be a tough task for many bands and artists. But when you have Noel Gallagher on the bill you can breathe a sigh of relief. The ex-Oasis guitarist now solo artist took up the gauntlet. It turned out to be a brilliant performance with a few hidden surprises to boot. His opening track 'Everybody's On The Run' set the tone with it's anthemic chorus and vocal melodies. Noel Gallagher also interacted with the crowd something which The War Drugs failed to do. Gallagher seemed astonished when a member of the audience told him he was Mexican despite having ginger hair. Gallagher replied by saying "seeing a ginger Mexican is as rare as seeing a unicorn on acid" and then gave the man a round of applause. Gallagher then played four tracks from his new album "Chasing Yesterday" which although a bit samey, still had the huge choruses that you would expect from any Gallagher or Oasis song. Talking of Oasis songs, Gallagher played four in total including 'The Masterplan" and "Don't Look Back In Anger" which to everyone's delight he ended with and it was a special moment for any Oasis fan who hadn't seen the 90s group live. The perfect showman left the Werchter crowd with a smile on their face and had treated them to one of the stand-out performances of the festival thus far. 

Festival Preview: Rock Werchter

Preview: Rock Werchter

Since 1976 Belgium has hosted a festival which has won the Arthur award for best festival in the world an impressive seven times. That festival is Rock Werchter. This year from the 25^th to the 28^th of June the four day festival will play host to various acts spanning many genres and nationalities. Topping the bill on Thursday night is none other than multi-award winning critically acclaimed rock five-piece Foo Fighters (pictured) who with a new album to show off will be drawing in one of the biggest crowds of the festival. Elsewhere, the headliners are Mumford and Sons, The Prodigy and Muse. On Thursday, The Chemical Brothers who have recently unveiled a new track will be bringing their spectacular live show to the fields of Belgium and they are sure to give the crowd something to remember. Florence and the Machine, Elbow, Patti Smith, Eagles of Death Metal and Brit award winner James Bay will also appear on the Thursday of Rock Werchter.

Friday sees the ever-popular Mumford and Sons (pictured) headline. The four-piece have their new album Wilder Mind to show off and as they have played at the festival before you will expect a performance that is precise and well drilled. Another band who will follow suit with their intricate and precise performances are grammy award nominated Alt-J. As the festival has the word “Rock” within its title, you might think that the festival is genre specific. You would be wrong. Friday has the likes of Pharell Williams, FKA Twigs and Roisin Murphy to appeal to a wider audience. Friday seems to have the feel of a pleasant day, Ben Howard and Of Monsters and Men will also feature creating a relaxed atmosphere around the site.

Saturday is the day of the big hitters. Another group who are out to show off their new album are The Prodigy who are Saturday’s headliners. Known for their on stage power and diversity, the trio will no doubt prove a hit at this year’s Rock Werchter and with ‘The Day is my Enemy’ added to their repertoire they are a force to reckoned with. Another big hitter is none other than multi-award winning Lenny Kravitz who will be returning to the festival after releasing his tenth album ‘Strut’ in 2014. Noel Gallagher and his High Flying Birds are also returning to the festival having first played there in 2012. British rock duo Royal Blood (pictured) who rose to fame after securing number one album on the UK and performing a series of storming performances in 2014 will also appear on the Saturday of Rock Werchter. The War on Drugs and Hozier are another two stand-out performers on the day.

The final day of the festival sees a celebration of musical diversity. Muse who have reignited the world of rock music take the final headline slot along with their immense live show and blistering songs. Their British counterparts Kasabian still riding high after headlining Glastonbury in 2014 join them on Sunday. Pop band The Script are another group to return to Werchter in 2015 along with Jessie J. Maxi Jazz – famous for dance group Faithless – will also be at this year’s festival along with the E Type Boys. Alabama Shakes, The Vaccines and Enter Shikari, who will also take to stage. This year’s Rock Werchter 2015 is full of diversity and range. It’s not one to be missed. 

News: 6 Music Festival 2015 Line Up Announced

6 Music Festival Line Up Announced

Royal Blood, The War on Drugs and The Charlatans are all confirmed for the festival 

Lauren Laverne has announced the line up for this years 6 music festival which will take place in Tyneside.

The likes of Hot Chip, Royal Blood, Maximo Park and Interpol will grace the stage in Tyneside on the 20 to the 22 of February this year after the success of last years show in Manchester. Jungle, The Fall, Public Service Broadcasting, Ghostpoet and Sleater-Kinney who are playing their first UK show in a decade are also on the bill at the festival.

6 Music festival by night will be hosted by O2 academy Newcastle as well as the Sage in Gateshead. Tickets for the event are on sale now.

"Last year's first ever 6 Music Festival was an incredible weekend featuring a fabulous line-up of music plus conversation at the Festival Fringe," said Laverne. "It was great to meet so many of our listeners as we listened to the great and good perform together. This year's 6 Music Festival is going to be one to remember". (quote source: independent) 

News: Dave Grohl calls Royal Bloods debut album 'so encouraging'

Dave Grohl calls Royal Bloods debut album 'so encouraging' 

Foo Fighters front-man Dave Grohl has described Royal Bloods recent rise to the top UK album charts as 'so encouraging'.

The Brighton duo's self titled debut album went straight in to the UK album charts at number 1 when it was released back in August 2014. It has become the fastest selling rock debut since Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds' release in 2011.

 Speaking to the NME, Grohl recalled watching footage of the bands set at this years Glastonbury Festival. "I saw some live footage of them, and I was so excited to see a band that was heavy, had riffs, had songs, and could really perform, and an audience that was genuinely excited to watch them play," said Grohl.

"And then someone tells me that the album went to number one, and for another guy with a guitar to see another guy with a guitar getting the number one record, it’s so encouraging".

Foo Fighters are favourites to headline one of the nights at Glastonbury Festival next year after Grohl himself told the NME that he's interested in the slot. Fleetwood Mac are also in line to headline despite Mick Fleetwood stating that the band will not perform together next year. 

Quotes from NME

Royal Blood: Debut Album Review

Royal Blood: Album Review

At the very beginning of 2014 XFM first broke the news about a duo from Brighton who favour bone shaking riffs and massive impact than fancy intricate guitar solo's. That duo are Royal Blood and in August 2014 they released their highly anticipated self titled debut album. 

The duo are made up of Mike Kerr (Bass and Vocals) and Ben Thatcher (Drums) and formed in 2012 after Kerr worked in Australia. They met for the first time when they were 15 and played in bands influenced byt the likes of Queens of the Stone Age and Muse but Mike wanted to travel and it was over in Oz that he developed the unique sound he generates from a bass guitar. The bass is played through effect pedals and a guitar amplifier as well as a bass one which accompanied with Ben's piercing drums gives Royal Blood their sound which sets them apart from other duo's. Back in 2013 when Arctic Monkeys headlined Glastonbury festival, drummer Matt Helders wore a Royal Blood t-shirt on stage and since then their popularity has soared, especially after the pulsating "Out of the Black" appeared on the Radio 1 daytime playlist and all this has led them to supporting the Arctic Monkeys and Pixies as well as playing at festivals up and down the UK, most notably at Glastonbury, T in the Park and Reading & Leeds where they played in front of 10,000 people! A slightly different scene to a year ago when they played in front of three people who sat down during the whole performance. The band released four singles before the album itself, which notably included "Come On Over" and "Little Monster" both of these songs put Royal Blood at the forefront of a new wave of heavy, guitar based bands which  include Drenge, Eagulls and The Wytches. 

The album itself begins with the aforementioned "Out of the Black" which is four minutes and two seconds of heavy dark and moody riffs designed to make you take notice as Royal Blood begin their assault. It also seems that their might some angst in Kerr's lyrics, "I've got a gun for a mouth and a bullet with your name on it" which only add to the angry sound of the duo. "Come on Over" and "Figure it Out" are based on more ferocious riffs which may sound straight forward but they are devastatingly effective, they give Royal Blood a sound of a band who have been around. "Come on Over" contains some religious angst "I went ti church and stopped believing" and "There's no god and I don't really care" are personal remarks from Kerr as he was brought up in a strictly religious household which adds another element to the album. "You can be so cruel" has a very unique melody which set it apart from the other songs on the album, the riff is still dark and dingy but it shows that there can be variations on the genre. "Blood Hands" has the impact of a boxer pummelling a punch bag it may start off slow but once the song explodes with savage force it will leave your bones shaking. "Loose Change", "Careless" and the superb "Little Monster" are prime examples of a band who know exactly what they are all about couple that with "Ten Tonne Skeleton" and the brutal closer "Better Strangers" and it makes for a incredibly powerful album which will leave your ears ringing but you will want more. Royal Blood are here to tell you that loud is good and guitar music is not dying out!

8/10
Best tracks in my opinion: Blood Hands, Figure it Out.
The album is available to purchase now!