Fearless Vampire Killers

ok let me start of by saying not many people or bands can set me off in frenzy of words

However i feel compelled to say something about this.

Fearless Vampire Killers,

Ok i'm not going to pretend i know alot about this band, but besides tonight i have only ever heard good things about them.

now i had a few metal images in my head when i first heard their name, and it turns out i was right about them. You can instantly tell from their name what they are going to look like. In this case i thought they looked something straight out of an Edgar Allen Poe novel... And yes i was correct.

is this a bad thing?

NO

on first appearance these guys already stand out. Black eyes and talcum powder on their faces and the must have got a bit over excited and got some on their clothes aswell.

For me to look at i initially said to myself "This going to go really well, Or really badly" normally i would shun a band for wearing more make up then an essex girl on the pull (unless they were from the 80's)

these dudes already have a selling point a unique look. they look like the illegitimate love child of Aiden, The Horrors and Panic! At The Disco. Let me explain why,

I say Aiden very loosely but the reason i do say this is simply because of the powder pale face and black eyes.

I say The Horrors, well because just look at them.

And i say Panic! At The Disco simple because it looks like they have jumped straight out a cabaret

THESE GUYS LOOK THE PART

Now lets focus to the most important part the sound

i was blown away by how fucking tight these guys are, they have been planning domination for a long time its obvious! nothing was out of place. Now to me they do sound like a dirty indie/ shock punk band which is a refreshing change to some of the shit we get on the local scene.

they do remind me of a young My Chemical Romance especially the first album and the darker side of Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge.

I physically cannot fault their live performance, they were energetic and fun to watch. i want to see this band again, and again, and again.

so in summery they have the look, they have the sound, and they have the energy!

GIVE THESE GUYS A LISTEN

i promise you will not regret it!

P.S - if i was a head of a record label i would snap these guys up before someone else does these guys have the potential to have a major impact on the mainstream! and i really hope they do

tonight guys you made a big fan

http://www.myspace.com/wearefearlessvampirekillers

My Review of Reachback

From left to right; Tom, Craig, Ruby and Joe

Reachback are a 4 piece pop punk band from the essex/london area. Now i had the immense joy of watching them play live and let me start off by saying what a treat that was. Not only we're the band tight and in-sync together, they were energetic and fun which for me is a hard thing to witness these days. Normally bands that i go to see at the moment are rather technical musicians, don't get me wrong this isn't a bad thing but when i pay money to see a show I'm not coming just to check out the music (ironic i know) but i want a band to take my breath away, I want to be in the crowd and be sweating more then the band is. This has a point believe me I'm just about to get to it. The reason i go to see bands play is for the atmosphere and the energy and that is exactly what Reachback did for me, they entertained. Although where i saw them wasn't exactly packed to the brim there was a fair sized crowd. Although i have only seen these guys once and my god do i want to see them again, i feel this band would be so much better preforming with a bigger crowd seeing as the crowd although being small were dancing like no tomorrow, and anyone with eyes could tell that everyone was having a good time.

Okay, now on to the members of the band themselves. Being a 3 or 4 piece band isn't as easy as you may think. Say for instance the guitarist slips up the whole band is going to suffer where as in 5 piece band you have the safety of knowing that the other guitarist will pick up the slack. For Reachback being a 4 piece band of the pop-punk genre i can see why they would only use one guitarist. But i do have a suggestion for them; you may want to consider finding a rhythm or lead guitarist. The reason i bring this up is because for me personally the recording that i have listened to on their myspace sound pretty thin. I would love to hear a more textured sound to the band. Maybe try some guitar harmonies, it would broaden the sound and also give you more to think about and experiment with later on with what i hope to be a booming career.

Reachback like i have mentioned consists of 4 members, one of which is Ruby Williams the lead singer. Personally female lead singers are the difference between a Cream Brulee and a Mcflurry. For example if Paramore or Hey Monday had a male lead singer would they have really gotten as far as they have today? Well probably, but my point is; Guys want a poster of a sex symbol on their wall and Girls want to look like them. Ruby is a very attractive young lady, with a fantastic voice to match, which makes her the perfect front lady. this alone is going to do the band favors because lets face it in the music industry or even any industry sex sells and that is a great marketing factor this band has.

The other three members Tom (Guitar), Craig (Drums) and Joe (bass) look like the guys you can sit down and have one those immature chats with. They look like Punk Rockers. Not the Sid Vicious or Donnie Torrette Punk Rockers, I'm talking about the Tom DeLonge's and Jordan Pundik's the immature I don't want to grow up types, and for me this works, this is the heart of pop - punk since the mid nineties when bands such as Blink 182 and New Found Glory were at the top of their game, this band just reminds me of what is great about the genre of Pop Punk its about having fun, Not necessarily doing something different to get big. Its about doing music because its fun, Its fun to get on stage, Its fun to act immature and for me this is the heart of the band and this band believe me has a lot of heart.

I would say they have had a lot of influence from Paramore and Hey Monday i would even push a little of YouMeAtSix, A dash of New Found Glory and a cheeky hint of dare i say it... Avril Lavigne. This band really does have the happy go lucky factor which i miss in band these days, and i think with some well produced recording's these guys could go on tour with big bands like them to eventually get the headlining spot

If you love upbeat, fun, catchy music i would defiantly give these guys a listen because to me with professional recordings these guys could be England's answer to paramore.

To check these guys out visit their Myspace www.myspace.com/reachbackband