Concert Review: Parachutes, House vs. Hurricane, Betraying The Martyrs & Memphis May Fire in Stuttgart on May 30th

This was the first show I attended since my taste in music drastically changed for good, so describing it as intense seems to be the most appropriate in my eyes but let's start from the beginning.

When we arrived at the venue, which was a little club in the city, there were some members of House vs. Hurricane sitting outside drinking beer and one of the guitarists of Betraying The Martyrs sat there and read a book. Since we had to wait for my interview to start, we just watched them and wondered who belongs to which band and who does what for the band.
After around one and a half hours, the guys from Parachutes were done with their soundcheck and came out for a quick interview (I'll upload it in a second). It was super nice chatting with them, they were so easy going and really comfortable to be around. Huge thanks to Carsten and David for turning my first interview ever into such a great experience! 

Nobody Takes Vegas - No Respect

Nobody Takes Vegas were one of the first bands I ever reviewed (can be read here), it looks like they liked what I had to say about their debut EP because this time I got the chance to listen to their new EP before they'll actually release it. 

My first impression was very good, after listening to the new stuff once, I listened to their first EP again and it's safe to say that the guys developed a lot, especially Nick and his vocals. If I didn't know any better, I'd probably think they already played Warped a million times because that's how Nobody Takes Vegas sound: confident, passionate, professional. Not only the vocalist but also the guys who are responsible for the amazing guitar parts and drums.

It's actually hard to pick a favourite song because the six songs on No Respect are all favourite-song-material, so to say. The band managed to put so much energy and passion in this EP that I can only sit here being all impressed and happy about it. However, song number five, Floater, makes me the happiest to be honest. It's acoustic so you only concentrate on the vocals as you slowly float away and just enjoy. 

Another really good thing is the music video they shot for No Respect, check it out: 

I wouldn't mind some band playing in my living room (as long as they leave my fridge alone) but apparently there are people who react scared and desperately want to get rid of these guys breaking into their house. The highlight of this video is definitely Nick using a banana as a microphone, that looks definitely punk rock.
At the end I almost feel sorry for the poor owner of the house who obviously had a shit day anyway and then he had to deal with five teenagers playing loud music in his living room. Thumbs up for the idea and the making of it! 


All in all I'm amazed by the great result the five guys from Long Island, New York accomplished and I'm 500 percent sure you guys will like this album as much as I do. Follow them on twitter and give them a like on Facebook to stay tuned for more info concerning the release date!

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Big News, Great News!

Apart from the weather which looks more like October than May, this day has been going great so far. I have some awesome news to share!

First of all, the timetable for this year's Rock am Ring finally went online so I could plan which band I'll see when. Check it out: 

Friday: 

3.50pm - 4.20pm Asking Alexandria

4.40pm - 5.20pm Bring Me The Horizon

5.40pm - 6.25pm A Day To Remember

7.05pm - 8.05pm Paramore

9.20pm - 10.15pm Bullet For My Valentine

midnight - 1.35am 30 Seconds To Mars

Saturday:

2.30pm - 2.55pm Filius Nox

4.05pm - 4.50pm Papa Roach

5.55pm - 6.40pm Stereophonics

7.45pm - 9.45pm Stone Sour

10.55pm - 11.55pm Hurts

00.30am - 2am The Killers

Sunday:

2pm - 2.40pm All Time Low

4pm - 4.30pm Pierce The Veil

5.20pm - 6.05pm Simple Plan

10.20pm - 11.30pm - Casper

… - 00.20am - Green Day

I'm extremely happy about the fact that none of the bands I'd like to see will clash with each other, I didn't even expect this to happen but it looks like the festival god up there is in my favour. 

However, this isn't everything. I'll attend the Memphis May Fire concert in Stuttgart next week and I'll get the chance to interview one of their supporting acts, Parachutes. They're germans, too and getting in touch with them was easier than expected. Big thanks for all the quick replies and a huge thanks for actually giving me this opportunity! I'm already super excited! 

30 Seconds To Mars - Love Lust Faith + Dreams

After being on tour for around two years straight, the Leto brothers and guitarist Tomo Milicevic went on a well-deserved break. Nobody knew when (or if) they would come back, today this break is officially over after almost six months. 30 Seconds To Mars are back with new songs and a new tour. 

Love Lust Faith + Dreams contains twelve songs, the deluxe edition also offers a DVD with Mars300, the last concert of the huge tour, and two other short documentaries. 

The first song on the record, Birth, sounds like it was taken from a movie about some greek army commander who's about to go to war. The drums and trumpets at the beginning convey this impression.
The second song, Conquistador, rather sounds like Mars again, it's the kind of song that pushes you forward when you need it. 

Song number three was the first new song we got to hear: Up In The Air. For some reason it reminds me a lot of Closer To The Edge, maybe that's why it's one of my favourite songs on the whole album. I can't wait to hear it live when thousands of people sing the "oh-oh" part along. 

30 Seconds To Mars started to work with some new elements, for example a synthesizer and a violin. It's different from what we're used to and that's what makes this whole record so special.
Furthermore it wouldn't be Mars if there wasn't this one song that's completely different from all the others. On This Is War it's L490, on this one it's Pyres of Varanasi. I think Jared's time in India inspired him to write this song because Varanasi is a city in India and pyres are places where human bodies are cremated. 

Bright Lights might be my favourite, it just makes me so happy. 

The last thing I noticed is pretty interesting: Some of the songs pick up the album title, it's like a riddle if you want. Have fun finding the songs!

I am very happy about the fact that 30 Seconds To Mars are back, I really missed them. If you haven't picked the CD up yet, you should totally do it, it's worth it!

It's None Of Your Business, But I Won't Be A Witness - W like We Are The In Crowd

I'm officially in love with Tay Jardine and that's how I got into We Are The In Crowd. Well, I kind of knew her because she had something going on with Alex Gaskarth what I didn't really care much about. For some reason I listened to their first album (my review can be read here: [x]) and I immediately fell for it. Do you know the feeling when you discover new music and it's like you found the end of the rainbow? That's how I felt and actually still feel whenever I listen to We Are The In Crowd. I've never been a big fan of female-fronted bands but then WATIC happened and let me tell you I screamed when they followed me on twitter. 

I don't have loads to tell about my relationship to this band because it basically just started so the memories and stories are to come in the future but one thing is for sure: We Are The In Crowd make me very happy and I'm very glad I discovered them. 

All Time Low - Don't Panic

I hope all of you had a great start into the new week, I'd like to present you my album of the week today: Don't Panic by All Time Low. It's not new to me but I had the urge to write about it and this is the result: 

Released on October 9th 2012 through Hopeless Records, the record contains 12 songs and each song is better than the one you listened to before.
Kicking off with The Reckless And The Brave, you already get pulled into this stream of greatness and let me tell you: you won't get out easily. During the last few months this song grew into being the anthem of all the people who are connected to the band in any way. The members definitely are reckless and brave (at least that's the message they carry out into the world) and us fans would like to be. 

People on tumblr put the lyrics on pictures of empty beds, All Time Low shot the most awkward video for it and everybody loves it: Backseat Serenade is a song for people who are "sick of sleeping alone", who are separated from their loved ones and who like crazy music videos [x]. 

We can keep talking about how it feels to miss somebody you love, Alex sings about it. If These Sheets Were States is a love song in disguise. You don't recognize it until you actually pay attention to the lyrics, if you don't do that you get lost in the great sound of the guitars.

I'm emotionally attached to the next song because I don't like the idea of growing up that much. I'd rather sit on my bed at night and wait for Peter Pan to get back his shadow so he can take me to Neverland with him. All Time Low either like Disney a lot, or there's a deeper purpose of Somewhere in Neverland. They also shot a video for it which isn't available in Germany so I can't link you. However, if you watch it, pay attention to Jack's outfit because it's my personal favourite thing of the whole video.

A song I absolutely can't relate to is number ten: For Baltimore. I've never been to Baltimore so I don't know anything about it but the guys from All Time Low love their hometown. They love it so much that they wrote a song for it and that's pretty cool in my eyes (and ears). 

I can't decide on which song is my favourite on the album but Paint You Wings is definitely one of them. 

All in all I can definitely say that Don't Panic is my favourite album by All Time Low so far and I love seeing how much the whole band grew over the years. 

New Discovery: Like Vultures

Sometimes I receive mails from people who ask me to check out their band. I always do and last night I got a message on facebook from Jacob Krueger, vocalist in Like Vultures. He said they sound like Memphis May Fire so of course I was curious and they didn't disappoint me. 
Founded in January 2013, the post-hardcore band from Washington just started working on their career but it already sounds pretty promising. Jacob Krueger (vocalist), Tristen Guillam (drummer), Angel Garcia (vocalist), Caleb Oakes (bassist) and Billy Howard (guitarist) released their first EP (Obsessed) on January 9th 2013. There are nine tracks, including a cover of Taylor Swift's We Are Never Getting Back Together. I wasn't able to check out the lyrics so this time I only focus on what I hear. 

After listening to the whole record once, I can definitely say that I dig it. A lot. The voices of the vocalists go together very well and there's not a single song I'd want to skip. However, I have to admit that I miss a slower song in between just to take a breathe and because I'd like to know how it would sound. 

All the songs contain some pretty nice guitar parts, for example at the beginning of The Truth, which is my favourite song on the record by the way. 

The cover of We Are Never Getting Back Together is brilliant. It starts so innocent and basically like the original and suddenly he starts to scream and you just don't expect it. Who thought that this song could be material to mosh with hundreds of other people? I definitely didn't. 

Not even 24 hours passed since I listened to Like Vultures for the first time but they're already in the top 3 of my favourite New Discoveries. Jacob said they'll try to tour here in Europe somewhen next year and I just really hope that's going to happen. 

Go check them out, show some love and let me know what you think of them!

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