#kyrbgrinder

[planetmosh]

Photos of Kyrbgrinder at Hard Rock Hell VII

Photos of Kyrbgrinder at Hard Rock Hell VII

Some photos of Kyrbgrinder at Hard Rock Hell.

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[dawnofthedeaf-blog-blog]

Threshold - March Of Progress - Album Review

Ah, dystopian futures. They are always good fun, especially if they were dreamed up in the past. And to make sure we don't forget this, Threshold seem to have conjured up a whole album of rousing visions of future horrors from the perspective of the 1980s.

What we have here is some kind of blend of Queensryche and Dream Theatre and eighties techno-rock. It's immaculately played, extremely complicated and actually fairly unique, although their influences can at times be fairly obvious.

The vocals are perhaps the most distinctive aspect musically - very melodic and almost operatic. Some of the harmonies are spectacular, although sometimes they do seem rooted in the sounds of thirty years ago. That's not to say they are bad - just idiosyncratic. Personally, I really like the singing here.

It is fair to say that there is little here that is likely to trouble the charts. Every song bar one is over five minutes long, and the album as a whole is about seventeen hours long. Having said that, Staring At The Sun, at a shade under four and a half minutes long, is the closest thing to a single here, and it is actually very catchy, with a very memorable chorus and some nice synth guitar sounds plucking away in the background.

Normally I find overblown dramatic prog epics a bit much to handle, often lacking in feeling and song craft, but this stands out in the crowd. The band clearly know how to write real songs, and yes some of them are quite long, but that's not to say that they are boring - the use of varying textures and dynamics hold the attention over even the longest songs. Liberty Complacency Dependency is a good example of this, merging heavy techno-metal passages with quieter passages and well-constructed synth parts.

The biggest, baddest, longest and most symphonic song here is called The Rubicon and it wraps the album up. It is pretty much the album encapsulated into one song - modern metal, retro synths, anthemic vocals and excellent musicianship. My favourite song, however, is The Hours which, at 8:15 is almost as long, but is catchier and tauter.

I'm not normally a huge fan of bombastic prog metal, but I really like this album. Although perhaps a little bit OTT for some tastes, Threshold manage to put a nice spin on the genre, making March of Progress a definite must-listen.

Track Listing

01. Ashes 02. Return Of The Thought Police 03. Staring At The Sun 04. Liberty Complacency Dependency 05. Colophon 06. The Hours 07. That’s Why We Came 08. Don’t Look Down 09. Coda 10. Rubicon Bonus track: 11. Divinity

[beyondthresholdfanclub-blog]

Kyrbgrinder Interview

Johanne and friends have been interviewed!!! This time is is courtesy of the Rocktologist and you can check it out here (long hand for ease of posting in other places) http://www.therocktologist.com/interview-with-kyrbgrinder.html So spread the Kyrbgrinder word! It's a nice interview with the band playing as you read! Don't forget - Threshold setlists, venue pics, stories and anything to [email protected]

[beyondthresholdfanclub-blog]

Some news...

If you haven't noticed we nearly have some Threshold dates upon us - Derby, Kingston, Uden, Loreley and As!!! We really need YOUR stories - why you went, how you got there, where you came from, the gig, the after gig and much more! Just send us any thoughts and we'll do any editing and you could be in the next issue of Beyond!!! [email protected] But what of the news? Well Kyrbgrinder have launched a new website so you can join Johanne and his friends to find songs videos and much more! http://www.kyrbgrinder.net/ Not enough for you??? Metalloid are also starting to work towards an album - so some more work for Pete! To celebrate they have been gathering together loads of videos from all sorts of places and here is one you can look at now http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1skAUFhtPTk We've left the links long hand as that is what people have said they prefer - don't forget to email us with ANYTHING and we'll share it with the Threshold family!!!

[beyondthresholdfanclub-blog]

Quick Update

It's all happening!!! Here is a very quick round up of all that is imminent in the Threshold world!!! League of Lights debut is out now - Click here for more about Richard's project For the first review - Click here Maiden United have left the UK (did you see a show or maybe the live stream from Wakefield?) and have the rest of Europe to conquer - Click here for tour dates Kyrbgrinder will be playing Newcastle, Barnsley and Southampton this week - Click here for gig details Damian Wilson Band DVD is nearing the end of its pre-order before the release at the end of May - Click here for the pre-order Fused has just been and gone - Click here for a review Oh, and we are working hard on Issue Seven. Phew!

[dawnofthedeaf-blog-blog]

Kyrbgrinder Post New Track 'What About Me'

Kyrbgrinder have released a new track, 'What About Me' which is available now on their ReverbNation site http://www.reverbnation.com/artist/exclusives/kyrbgrinder

Last year the band released the outstanding 'Cold War Technology' and 2011 looks like being an exciting year for the band.

Kyrbgrinder are hard rocking funky metal trio from London with some surprisingly catchy songs… or as one reviewer put it :- “are a bloody exciting, funk driven beast of an outfit that throws more crunch at you than a cornflake coated bag of gravel”

What really makes this band unique is that it’s led by seriously good drummer Johanne James (voted drummer of the year 4 times by the Classic Rock Society), who not content with being the engine room also provides lead vocals! However, Phil Collins he ain’t ……..

As one journalist put it “a drummer this good shouldn’t be able to sing so brilliantly and a brilliant singer definitely shouldn’t be able to drum this well - to do both is world class! Try rubbing your belly and patting your head….. then do Riverdance with your feet and you’ll get the idea!”

Johanne is ably supported by Alberto “Albi” Flaibani on bass and guitar maestro Tommy Caris.

Their recently released album “Cold War Technology” has received rave reviews in the press but it if you want the experience of a lifetime, check out the band live.

From the moment Kyrbgrinder hit the stage they grab the audience by the throat and don’t let go until they’ve bought some merch on the way out!