Part 2 of a special news series about all that has happened over the last year of lockdowns. In case you missed it, Find Part 1 Here.
Part 2 is here and we are looking at what the next batch of bands have been up to since the lockdowns started. This part features: Icarus Falls, Idle Bones, Jokers Parade, Killatrix, Mirrors of Madness, My Pet Shark, and Negative Measures.
So where do we start? Well with the awesome Icarus Falls:
Just as we were starting to see the beginnings of the pandemic, Icarus Falls announced an upcoming video. This began a campaign of promotion i9ncludingthe announcement that the new video would be for their new song 'Phoenix' due for release on22nd May 2020.
Jump forward to May 22nd, and the song was indeed released. Unfortunately, there was no sign of the video, however, it was announced it would debut on June 5th, and indeed it was. Check out the video to the awesome new track below:
Sadly later in the month Jono, their bass player, announced his departure from the band due to family commitments. This left a hole in the band, and then the search was on for his successor. This didn't take long however as at the beginning of August Icarus Falls introduced us to their 2020 lineup with Vinnie Denton as their new bassist:
September saw another big announcement from these guys, another new single. This one was announced along with the artwork which had already been produced, they kept that quiet. The new song was called 'Broken Halo' and was features Amy Marluca on the cover artwork and as the star of the video. The single dropped on 25th September to rave reviews. Check it out below:
The song again features the power and control we have come to love and expect of these guys. The only criticism of this video is that they tried to make this into a music and lyric video, it would be interesting to watch it without the onscreen lyrics as they can sometimes feel a little distracting. That said, the song has been in my playlist ever since hearing it!
The socials then went very quiet for these guys for the next year, however earlier this month the band announced that they have been working on their debut album and that they were soon to be heading into the studio to begin recording. As this would mean content would be more limited while they worked on this, a series of 'Live' sessions were also planned, with the first airing not long after. Check out their Facebook page to watch them as they are released. We are now just looking forward to the Album, currently scheduled to be recorded in October 2021.
Although there wasn't too much new coming from Idle Bones during the lockdown, they were keeping up on their social media. Every few days there was an update from these guys whether keeping everyone updated on what was going on or sharing memories, and in August 2020 we were told that there was a new addition to the band in the form of a new drummer; Thomas Benjamin Pick.
September brought a bit of a subtle post from the band, a picture captioned 'Off to the studio!' Exciting time lay ahead for the band. The recording continued and then another post out of the blue announced a video was scheduled for a Halloween release. Jump forward to October 31st, and the video and brand new single 'Dead Dancing Girl' dropped in true Idle Bones style. Check it out below:
This was the band's 4th music video, and if that was anything to go by, we cant wait for the next!
o be honest, this is not a band we were expecting to feature on this list as back in January 2019 Jokers Parade sadly announced they were disbanding. During the lockdown, however, some cryptic photos began appearing on their social media.
The most recent one has caused some intrigue, being titled 'New drummer, New sound, New faces watch out' accompanied by this photo:
It's left us intrigued as to what is coming next!
Killatrix is one act that has grown incalculably since gracing our stages, and this shows in the amount of content that they have been putting out. Throughout the lockdowns, they were checking in with their fans making sure everyone was ok, as well as promoting themselves, their fellow acts, and anyone that wanted a shout out. This is something that is always amazing to s, acts not just promoting themselves, but showing love for their fellow musicians so publically too.
May 2020 saw the band put together a video for Jägermeister x Benumu Sessions and have it featured on JagerUK Youtube channel. Their aim was to 'put the spotlight on emerging artists, giving them a chance to show us what they've got in this series of at home sessions'. Check out the video below:
This was an awesome intimate look at the members of the band in their own homes and enjoy some awesome music too!
June 2020 saw Killatrix make an awesome announcement that the first track from their upcoming EP 'Future Weapons' would be released at the end of July. The track is titled 'Subterranean' and what a brilliant track it is. Less than 2 weeks later it was followed up with another banger from the EP; 'Centipede'. Instantly a bit heavier than the previous track, but just as catchy and hard-hitting. A week later and a third track was released, this time 'Cooked Brains', with 'Broken Teeth' following another week later. It was strange to have this number of singles released this soon too the release of the EP on which they featured, but we weren't complaining!
sure enough, on 31st July we saw the release of the epic EP Future Weapons' Check it out, including the tracks we mentioned above through Spotify below:
Killatrix followed up the release of this fantastic EP on the 17th of September 2020 with the release of a music video to the song 'Subterranean'. With jumping and jerky visuals matching the beat perfectly, this was a brilliantly recorded video with no sense of it being recorded during a lockdown at all:
All that Killatrix News and that was just 2020! Sadly 2021 started with some sad news that long-serving member Sam, their guitarist, was to step away from the band as he believed he could not bring the drive the band required. From there the content slowed from Killatrix as they are currently working out how this change affects the band, and where they will be going from here. Hopefully, this will just be a pause, and when the world is fully opened up again, we will be there to see Killatrix kill it again!
Now, for those of you that have been following us, you will notice that this band has never appeared at one of our events. So why are we featuring them? Well, in case you missed the recent #MusicMonday post, we will fill you in! These guys were originally known as Two Tonne Vice. They played at one of our charity events and a Punk-A-Palooza under this name. In January 2020 the band announced the departure of vocalist Shona, and in Marck 2020 announced the appointment of Lee as the replacement vocalist.
Less than two months later Alex, a founding member of Two tonne Vice also departed the band, leaving them as a four-piece once more. The band then went quiet until September when they announced they had been working on new material, and in January plans were underway to begin recording.
In March this year, Two Tonne Vice ceased to be, and the band rebranded as, you guessed it, Mirrors of Madness. They blasted in with the immediate release of their new track 'Here Be Dragons'. The sound is similar to that of the Two Tonne Vice material, but still so different. Although it was April 1st, it was no joke when the band followed the release of the signal with the video for the track. Check 'Here Be Dragons' out below:
Now that they had blasted back onto the scene Mirrors of Madness were not hanging about. On April 23rd their second release was, well, released. This was again followed up by a video a month later:
as if that wasn't enough for a band forming and recording during such times, July saw the band release their third single; 'Hypersleep'. This track has not currently received a video, and for all we know, it may not. Either way, we are still loving the track. Check it out below:
If you are liking what you hear, Mirrors of Madness will debut on stage this Friday at Bar 42 in Worthing. They will be playing alongside Vesture and Aren Drift, and we can't wait!
Just before the lockdowns fully came into force, My Pet Shark released their newest single 'Aunt B'. A full-on funk-rock track, check it out below:
Don't forget to come on down to our next event which features My Pet Shark; Tidal Rave Supported by My Pet Shark and Ornate Antlers.
Just before the lockdowns came into full swing the hardcore punks Negative Measures released their track 'Beneath The Ground'. The track was recorded just down the road from Littlehampton, at Ford Lane Studios with the video being recorded at a live event. Check it out below:
Well, that brings us to the end of this second part of our news round-up of the last year. Coming soon is the third and final part of this series, keep your eyes peeled, and don't forget to check back on Monday to see who is next to feature on #MusicMonday!
James