• Trans-Europe Express #1: Slovenia

    May 21, 2013 - By 

    Go on, admit it. You’ve heard Slovenian music before. In fact, you hear it once a year in May when you make excuses to your friends for staying in, switch on BBC One and then sit there without as much as a single pang of shame as the Eurovision theme fades and Graham Norton gleefully introduces a series of horrendous, instantly forgettable acts. And there you are, dancing around your living room and singing along to the choruses of songs with unpronounceable titles, while your last shred of dignity shrivels up and dies and your partner discreetly packs their bags,…

  • Lost In Necropolis: Nomadic Rituals

    May 15, 2013 - By 

    In the very first of his regular column on all things metal – Lost In Necropolis – Conchobhar Ó Dochartaigh catches up with Belfast-based doom/sludge metal three-piece Nomadic Rituals ahead of the release of their debut album to talk doom, recording and their thoughts on the local metal scene. Tell us about how the band formed. Was there a shared vision or aim in mind? What influences would be a good reference point for those unfamiliar with you? Craig, our vocalist/bassist, asked us if we wanted to form a sludge/doom band, so we organised a jam to see if it…

  • Dave Magee: How Music Became Disposable

    May 4, 2013 - By 

    I miss music. What’s that you say? There’s loads of it? No there isn’t. That’s not music. That’s advertising. That’s what that is. Maybe I’m getting old (check that – I am getting old) but I remember a time when I was so passionate about bands I loved so dearly that I would argue the bit out to hammer home my point. I had a conversation with a friend recently about how nostalgia taints our view of music, books, films etc. About how the things we still love from our youth are only still loved by us because they remind…