Author: Troy Culpan

Wednesday 13

Wednesday 13

“I think it’ll just get a little more ugly this time, we’ll get a little more dirty, a little louder and heavier this time. So yeah, it’s gonna be fun, it’s been two years since we’ve been there and we’re super stoked to be coming back.” From Release: WEDNESDAY 13 has firmly cemented himself as the undisputed leader in Horrorpunk. With […]

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ABLAZE

ABLAZE

“We’re trying to bring the fun back into the live scene. We’re serious about what we do but try not to take ourselves too seriously. We’re all about giving everyone a great show that they’ll remember.“ From Bio: Like all great things in the world, Ablaze started out as an idea over beers at the local pub, intent on rocking […]

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Steel Panther – Live from Lexxi’s Mom’s Garage

Steel Panther – Live from Lexxi’s Mom’s Garage

So it may have come out at the end of February and I’m a little late to the party, but when it’s Steel Panther, the party never ends, so I’m here, I’ve grabbed a drink, and I’m ready to go! This isn’t technically a new Steel Panther album, but it’s something they haven’t done before which is a live acoustic […]

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Sevendust – The Metro Theatre, Sydney – March 19, 2016

Sevendust – The Metro Theatre, Sydney – March 19, 2016

Sevendust are finally back in Australia for a headline tour, that of which ends tonight in Sydney and the sold out crowd here are all up in my grill and ready to block my view of the stage to witness one of the best live bands I’ve ever seen. With a couple of supports tonight in Tensions Arise and Horrorwood […]

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Buckcherry – The Metro Theatre, Sydney – March 18, 2016

Buckcherry – The Metro Theatre, Sydney – March 18, 2016

Buckcherry are just straight up rock and roll and judging by the crowd here at The Metro tonight that’s exactly what the people here need and are waiting for. Alas, we must wait just a little bit longer as we have two supports tonight… Electrik Dynamite are up first and delivered a set worthy of their 80’s style which of […]

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Mike D’Antonio of Killswitch Engage

Mike D’Antonio of Killswitch Engage

“I guess we just know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, we’re one of those bands that hasn’t gone through too many member changes and the guys that we’ve got are really trustworthy and we know our parts in the band and we rely on each other a lot, which is great that you have that sort of backup and support […]

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Josh Todd of Buckcherry

Josh Todd of Buckcherry

“Isn’t it bazaar that all we are is a band, two guitars, drums, bass and a vocalist and we just write about our experiences and our lives around us and what we did and we’re like this thing, and I don’t know one other band that’s making new, traditional rock and roll records and this has been going on since […]

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Chris Henderson of 3 Doors Down

Chris Henderson of 3 Doors Down

“We’ve had a lot of ups and downs and I think we’ve grown as musicians, but not only as musicians we’ve grown as people and I think that now after all these years everyone in this band is finally in a spot where we can finally look up and look around and finally take a breather you get what I’m […]

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Lajon Witherspoon of Sevendust

Lajon Witherspoon of Sevendust

“…the first time we were together there was a certain type of magic that was there that I felt just something that I couldn’t put my finger on at the time but I knew that we had something special and we still have that when we get together on stage. I don’t know, we just get up there and throw […]

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Monster Truck – Sittin’ Heavy

Monster Truck – Sittin’ Heavy

When an album starts with a straight up rock and roll energy the way that Monster Truck’s new album ‘Sittin’ Heavy’ does, well you get the feeling you’re in for a bit of an injection of what many people are missing these days, and that is what might save your life tonight… Rock and Roll! I mean the track is […]

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Nikola Sarcevic of Millencolin

Nikola Sarcevic of Millencolin

“I mean when we started the band it was to have something to do and have fun with friends and I think in a lot of ways it’s the same thing, as we do have fun together and that’s an important thing because if we put out an album every year or every second year it wouldn’t be that fun, […]

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Joey Belladonna of Anthrax

Joey Belladonna of Anthrax

”You know I just think we’re a much, much more focused in what we want to do and we’ve got a really great way of making things sound better now, I think we’ve advanced as players, singers and all that stuff, musicians in general and we’ve just gotten better , we’ve naturally picked up the pace and that’s a good […]

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Rob Thomas – On The Steps – Sydney Opera House – February 24, 2016

Rob Thomas – On The Steps – Sydney Opera House – February 24, 2016

Rob Thomas most of you would know from his position as front man in Matchbox Twenty for the last twenty years, and he’s visited Australia many, many times since his first visit in 1997. Tonight he returns off the back of his newest solo album ‘The Great Unknown’ and he’s playing somewhat of an iconic venue, but more on that […]

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Dave Mustaine of Megadeth

Dave Mustaine of Megadeth

“I think probably the only thing that we try and do is not copy ourselves to make sure that we set the scales for our own self critiquing to high, not to unobtainable heights because obviously that would kill any project but just to make sure we don’t take the easy way out and that we don’t copy ourselves.” From […]

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Halestorm – Manning Bar, Sydney – December 13, 2015

Halestorm – Manning Bar, Sydney – December 13, 2015

OK, it’s fitting that it’s my last show of the year because this is also my most anticipated gig of the year, mostly due to the fact that I’m a huge fan of Halestorm and have been for around six years now. So to say I’m a little excited is an understatement, just a warning… Bellusira back from LA for […]

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Chris Cornell – Sydney Opera House – December 11, 2015

Chris Cornell – Sydney Opera House – December 11, 2015

Before the show even starts I feel that this could be the show that I simply review this way… ‘Chris Cornell. Genius.’ But I’ll see what else I can come up with. David Le’aupepe from Gang of Youths opens the show solo tonight. Now I love this band and hearing him sing these songs tonight this way is an absolute […]

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The Maine – The Factory Theatre, Sydney – December 1, 2015

The Maine – The Factory Theatre, Sydney – December 1, 2015

I’ve been looking forward to this show, as a band like The Maine may not get the radio play or attention they deserve but there are plenty here tonight that know who they are and in the end that’s all that matters… With Confidence certainly know how to warm a crowd up as they with their way through a set […]

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Zakk Wylde’s Black Label Society – The Roundhouse, Sydney – November 28, 2015

Zakk Wylde’s Black Label Society – The Roundhouse, Sydney – November 28, 2015

Tonight Taylor Swift returns to Australia and wait… There’s another gig on in Sydney tonight and that’s exactly where we are… thankfully… It’s been a long time between tours for Zakk Wylde and his Black Label Society, so after almost six years they’re back, and as the merch says they’re ‘forged in iron and built to destroy…’ and we can’t […]

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John O’Callaghan of The Maine

John O’Callaghan of The Maine

“I think that our love for music has just substantially grown, exponentially it’s grown and at this point it’s really, really special that people are still allowing us the opportunity to make records and giving us the chance to see where it goes and I think that’s something that we certainly don’t take for granted.” From Release: THE MAINE, Arizona’s […]

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Joe Hottinger of Halestorm

Joe Hottinger of Halestorm

“Really we just play a rock and roll show, there’s no tracks or trickery, we don’t even use a click track, we just kind of plug in play and what you see is what you get. We like it, we get to ride the wave of the audience…” From Release: Pennsylvania-natives Halestorm have left an indelible impression on the hard […]

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Jerry Only of The Misfits

Jerry Only of The Misfits

“So I think what you really need to do is come with an open mind if you’ve never seen the band and participate and I think participation is really the key to having that combustion between that audience and the band.” From Release: From hell they came… in April 1977 at the dawn of the punk movement, THE MISFITS were […]

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Zakk Wylde of Zakk Wylde’s Black Label Society

Zakk Wylde of Zakk Wylde’s Black Label Society

“It’ll be great family entertainment, I wrestle a great white shark and then after that we have dancing bears, grizzly bears and then we introduce everyone to the Black Label fall fashion line of men’s lingerie, so it’s a very exciting evening *laughs* there’s also a lot of choreography going on, it’s just a delight to the senses. *laughs*” From […]

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Elliot Vernon of Alestorm

Elliot Vernon of Alestorm

“…we’re pretty much there just to have a good time, it’s not really about metal and it’s not about being serious, it’s just about having fun. So we appeal to pretty much everybody really which I think is pretty unique in the metal genre, so yeah, fun.” From Bio: Avast, ye landlubbers! From the deepest darkest depths of the Caribbean […]

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Def Leppard – Qantas Credit Union Arena, Sydney – November 17, 2015

Def Leppard – Qantas Credit Union Arena, Sydney – November 17, 2015

Def Leppard are back in Australia, and what can you say about a band that has been doing it for almost forty years? Everything… but where to start? Let’s get to that after The Baby Animals and Live… The Baby Animals open with a newer one tonight. ‘Under Your Skin’ and it’s great hearing these guys in a big arena like […]

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The Tea Party – The Enmore Theatre, Sydney – November 14, 2015

The Tea Party – The Enmore Theatre, Sydney – November 14, 2015

Australia has always loved The Tea Party, and tonight they’re back and here for the twentieth anniversary of ‘The Edges Of Twilight’ and we’re getting it in full plus more. There’s also no support tonight just The Tea Party and I’m ok with that. Starting acoustically and with that unbelievable vocal, Jeff Martin sing a simple “you…” the crowd cheers and […]

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The Darkness – The Enmore Theatre, Sydney – November 13, 2015

The Darkness – The Enmore Theatre, Sydney – November 13, 2015

It’s been many a year since I caught The Darkness live on their ‘One Way Ticket’ tour and more importantly eleven years since I first saw them at their headline show at The Gaelic Club in Sydney in 2004 and man, that was one hell of a show then so I’m looking forward to checking out their live set circa […]

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Frankie Poullain of The Darkness

Frankie Poullain of The Darkness

“I think we used the new album to escape from the upheaval we went through, the upheaval with management. Obviously we did the comeback and when you do a comeback for us it wasn’t really a comeback, we just wanted to get together again and do an album…” From Release: THE DARKNESS, multi award winning, multi-million selling megaband formed in 2000 […]

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Adam Spark of Birds of Tokyo

Adam Spark of Birds of Tokyo

“The idea mainly spawned from when we were away a lot over the last couple of years.  We always have to introduce ourselves and say here have a listen prior to going in and giving them sampler things and all that stuff. I don’t know, it kind of dawned on us that when you’re doing that sort of stuff how […]

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John Sankey of Devil You Know

John Sankey of Devil You Know

“So after the first record I think we were like we’re not going to go through that experience again, I mean not that it was a terrible thing it wasn’t at all, this album sounds a lot truer to who we are, the each of us, and the people that have heard it so far have all said that, like […]

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Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist of The Hives

Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist of The Hives

“…I mean it’s basically if you think about  rock concert that you’ve been to and you multiply it by ten, it’s kind of more, it’s louder and faster and more jumping *laughs* cooler clothes, better guitar playing, you know, the usual… it’s the same thing, just more and better *laughs*” From Release: Australian audiences require no introduction to The Hives. The five-piece […]

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