Rock band Flymore is one of Russia’s most exciting new exports, now signed to Red Star Music, one of the few UK labels who have spotted the potential of Eastern European Rock.
The band, originally called Millenium, was formed in 2002 by guitarist Igor Mukhin and bassist Denis Rybakov. From the city of Ivanovo, they grew up listening to Nirvana, Green Day, and Rage Against The Machine, and were inspired to start writing their own material. They soon discovered talented singer, Frozt, performing with another band, who was quick to join them.
“Flymore has taken many influences from musical genres that were established in the 90’s. In the works of their debut album “Millennium 45″, they fine-tuned a sound that fused elements of Dark Wave, Industrial Metal, and atmospheric music styles with the more raw sound of Nu metal. This fusion has created an even more unique sound as noticed in their song “Insane”. They have reported that Korn is their biggest inspiration.”
“We don’t want to copy Korn, we just want to revive the sound of Nu Metal that we all knew and loved”
Posted 5 days, 5 hours ago at 7:23 pm. Add a comment
The first time I had heard of the The All Time Low was an album called Punk go Crunk, They did cool cover of Umbrella by R&B singer Rihanna. I am big fan of Punked up covers so I kinda thought I would be a fan of band live. Turns out the best thing about this band was how they party after the show. Which is not leave you in any doubt about how good they are live. Amazing, does come close to there stage presence. But the Double Jack that I was bought after.. well .. Thank you.
All Time Low Hail from from Baltimore, Maryland, they formed back in 2003
So far they have 3 releases
The Party Scene (2005)
So Wrong, It’s Right (2007)
Nothing Personal (2009)
These boys are ones to watch for sure. American Pop Rock for the Win. But when a band formed to play Blink songs and named them after a New Found Glory Lyric, It was never going to bad.
There is a little list I have at home, Its my ‘Bands to shoot in 2010′ list. Somewhere near the top of the list was THE BLACKOUT.
Two things are important here, It was crazy crazy night and thank you to the people who help it be so. Just trying to get out the back of the venue was funny enough, nevermind some funky shapes be thrown down on the dance floor. The second thing was the great music. ALL TIME LOW were the OUTSTANDING head liners tonight. My Passion and the Young Guns were there to warm up the crowd.
THE BLACKOUT are another prime example of the Welsh brand of Metal, The Blackout offer up the Post-Hardcore serving. All signs are set for stardom following the greats as Avenged Sevenfold, Bullet for my Valentine, Skindred and Lostprophets t just name a few. This band are really that good. I am not sure what they put in the water down there, but its working.
The main idea behind this project was the angel wings. I have been wanting to find some good angel wings for quite while. I really wanted to build some proper ones of my own.
Our Model is Danny Bennett, who is playing the role of the devil.
This one is a little harder than the last
Step one !
Build some wings! Last year I was down in London, walking around the Natural History Museum, I grabbed a few photos that I could use at stock photos for some projects just like this one.
Having a good stock libary is a very important tool in the birth process of any project. The first step was to strip back all the things I didn’t want to use in this photo. Using the EXTRACT tool I freed my bones wings that would become the main shape of the wing and give me a proper shape to work from. Once the wings were free I used the STAMP tool to smarten back up the wings. For me building things up in layers in the main object here.
Once I have my bone wings, I used the PERSPECTIVE tool to shape the wings ( you can use any tools you like.) Using two Wings shaped to show the top of the wing and the under-feathers ( I can build up the feathers and colours to show the different sorts of feathers) I want real looking wings, yet wings that can not attached to any normal bird, after all, we are making Angel wings ! I created a few patterns using brushes and started to work on the wings to give them texture and depth. Using about 4 or 5 layers in different shapes and sizes, using blurring effects to blend them I started to build them up. Remember, you only have to build one wing !
Once you have your wing, ( mine took quite a time to build ) you can spin a copy over to make your full set. Maybe again shape them to give you a shape you like when you have your full wing span. Most people never colour angel wings, its up to you though. Since you should have all your wings elements in at least 3 layers ( top layer, middle layer, bottom layer, the top layer being the bigger feathers at the bottom of your layers ) They should be really easy to colour. Make a Layer section for each wing section, Flip the layer into some nice blending mode and colour, Simple. Using a Layer mask, remove the bits to show off the parts of the wings that have colour and give them a realistic looking layer system. I have built some quite Gothic looking wings with sharp feathers and lines. I used some photos of Bats and Insect wings as my references.
So you have some KILLER wings.. Lets make our Angel.
Our Model is Danny Bennett , but use anyone of anything you like !! Get your self a cool photo, Cut them out and attach. Simple. This is your first chance to see how your wings really sit and what they look like. After I had placed Danny infront of the wings, they looked light and unreal. I added some heavy black feathers that curl over. and gave some darker colours to the underneath. Go away, Have some tea and come back to have a look at what you have with some fresh eyes.
So now after your break, What have you got. Is it any good ? what changes would really make this photo POP out ? I decided the end of the world was about the right setting for my new Demon. After a quick flick over my stock image gallery, I pulled out some good stuff that I was going to use as my background. Pull them all out, open them all up and place them over the screen. work out where they can go, where they fit best and look good. I have used a flaming Demon and a Sewer Drain. The ideas behind this setting are taken from a comic book.
Once you have your background layered up and blending all sorted. ( I have about 20 layers just for the background ) Use Alt+Ctrl+E to merge them, Group up the layers you don’t want and clean up your layer stack. Keep stuff named and grouped, Colours are cool to use too ! I would expect you to have about 40-50 odd layers at this stage. A cool tip is to drop some DOF (Depth of Field) in the photo, mask out the layers that are far away and use a nice LENS BLUR to work in a nice look.
Bring in the final element, (top layer elements, that are not affected by your background light sources ) In this case is only Dan with his new wings. Place him where you feel fits in the photo. Remember the golden rules. Work in thirds and you can not go far wrong. If you need to edit the top layer ( Dan ) now is the time, clear up skin, tones, curves colours and anything else you want to fiddle with. I decided that Dan wanted to be Hell Boys little son, So painted him red. ( new layer>Sat blend>mask layer>paint out> Done.)
So your done! you should have your New Born Angel with a pair of stunning wings !! Now is a good time to go to town and edit your photo as if you have just taken a snap of the world burning. Not 100% sure why the Angel is posing for a photo while there is a Flaming Demon behind him, but that’s art
Final Photo
Thanks to Jak Flash, George Eko and Danny Bennett
Stock photos from Div Art
thewolf1607
tankphoto
Posted 3 months, 3 weeks ago at 7:46 pm. Add a comment
I just wanted to show how quick and simple a couple of photos can be used to create some dramatic photo-manipulations. This one has yet to be named, It took less than an hour. I guess if you have used photoshop before at some level, you should be able to follow this. If not. sorry !!
There are roughly 8 or 9 steps, I have tried to keep it nice and simple. Using a process of layers and masks it should be pretty easy to follow. Remember, using masks, is great for going back to re-edit steps at later levels. Photoshop is designed to edit in a non-distuctive way.
To start with, open up your main photo element, make sure you have a clear focus on where you want to go and ensure you have enough room to work with. Any simple photo edits should be done now. The photo I used was a pretty good starting point, I used the stamp tool (key short-cut (s)) and did some quick free hand work to clean up the back drop. There is not a lot of point in doing any make up changes or skin changes at this point as I know we are going to use lots of colour in the final photo.
I wanted to keep some light background clouds and tree line, using the mask layers remove the bits you dont want.
Using another layer and another stock photo, I added some more baseline details, the layer was flipped into screen mode (blending layer). This dropped out the darker sections of the photo and gave me just the details i needed. Create a mask and remove the bits you dont want.
Create a couple of new layers, I used 3 or 4. Using the brush tool, add some funky details. I grabbed some custom brushes, created some layer styles and combined them down into a group, then flipped them in to Colour Burn mode. I kept most of my small details away from my Treeline on the bottom layer and away from the main subject. If you just Google for Photoshop brushes you can find loads of great freebies out there. Next step is to add some colour.
Open up another layer ( try and keep them named and group them !) I used a golden gradient set at a 45 degree across the photo to give stronger colours at the edges. I think the layer was in screen mode, or overlay. Have a play around, see what fits for you. If you want, mask the layer, highlight areas or darken others. Remember, using masks is the only way you should be doing this. Next step is to add the main element, the wings. Don’t worry to much about your main photo getting hidden. Everything is masked, or maskable. we can go back and sort this later.
Using the stock photo of the flames (try i-stock or something), I cut out one section, created another layer, flipped it over, grouped them and duplicated them a couple of times. Once I had a couple of wings, I used some motion blur, made some bigger and layered them up to give me a fuller wing shape. Once I was happy with the shape. Once again the mask tool was used to leave some flick of flame across the photo. So we should have almost our photo coming to shape at this point. For my photo, a really strong facial look was important so i could not leave my model under the flames. I went back the very first layer (the stock photo of Emma), duplicated it and brought her onto the top of the stack and masked out the the background.
Once I have my photo its time to make the fire burn. I find its much better than having to worry about colour as I go. Using some photo filters, curves and levels ( all using masks to place where I want the certain changes to fit on the photo), I brought in the sides and started to enhance the flames. I use the rule, of masking every single layer. Its very rare a change I make will look good on the whole photo.
This paper look texture, flipped into overlay, or colour burn, or what ever funky layer style will give you a great look and save you a whole bunch of time . Using textures combined with a mask is fun and effective. From here, I edited up the skin, the border with another set of levels and curves. Added my logo, added some smoke to the flames and gave Emma some evil skin. Simple ! Oh some cool motion blur around the feet with some flames around the feet. There is no limit to the things you can add ! Just remember to use lots of layers, masks and you wont go far wrong.
Send some sample of what you can come up with ! All the elements used are below !!
Slam Dunk Festival | Vans “off the wall” tour, ft. Funeral For A Friend , Fightstar, Blakfish and Farse.
All 3 stages in the new O2 Academy in Birmingham.
The Mighty FARSE
Farse are a Ska-Core band from Birmingham. They attended St. Thomas Aquinas school in Birmingham, where the band formed in 1996. Through a few lineup changes until they ended up with Ade, Chris, Dan, Ollie and Tomas as the final line up. They played loads of shows around the UK, supporting many UK ska bands like Capdown, Bowling for soup and King Prawn. They released 2 Studio albums, Boxing clever was recorded at DEP studios (the same studio UB40 recorded at).
The record created a buzz throughout the underground punk and ska scene in the UK and attracted the attention of the Moon Ska Europe label. Farse then entered UB40’s DEP International Studios, to record their second album Boxing Clever in late 2002. Following the album’s release the band’s popularity grew, with the video for the song Hopscotch receiving heavy rotation on the now-defunct digital music channel P-Rock. The band then embarked on several headlining tours throughout the UK before unexpectedly announcing their split in early 2004. During their career they performed with similar acts such as King Prawn, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Mad Caddies, Bowling For Soup, Reel Big Fish and Capdown.
The final performance was held on Thursday March 18 2004 at the Carling Academy 2 in Birmingham. The show involved former band members joining the line up to play old material. The set finished with the song ‘Youth On Paper’, a song said to have been previously unheard at live shows.
Bassist Chris Badham now tours with The Mad Caddies. Ade is also the bassist of Beat Union formerly known as Shortcut to Newark.
Farse played three reunion gigs, one at Subside Bar in Birmingham on Monday, 4th May 2009, and one at O2 Academy 2 Birmingham on Saturday, 9 May 2009. Farse also performed at the Slam Dunk Festival in Leeds on Sunday, 24th May 2009 and the 30th In Birmingham. These Photos are from the Birmingham gig.
Slam Dunk Festival | Vans “off the wall” tour, ft. Funeral For A Friend , Fightstar, Blakfish and Farse.
All 3 stages in the new O2 Academy in Birmingham
Funeral for a Friend is a post-hardcore band from Wales. They formed in 2001 as a sextet called January Thirst. This did not last long, and in 2002 Funeral for a Friend recorded their debut EP Between Order and Model with their original 6-piece line up. After having been together for just a few months, the band changed their line up and subsequently signed a deal with Warner Brothers records for whom they recorded their second EP Four Ways To Scream Your Name.
The band’s debut full-length album Casually Dressed and Deep in Conversation was released in October 2003. Various singles were lifted off this, including Bullet Theory, Juneau (Juno on previous EPs), she drove me to daytime tv and Escape Artists Never Die. After a B-side to Escape Artists Never Die was released as a single, this was called You Want Romance? the video was sequal to Bullet Theory
Slam Dunk Festival | Vans “off the wall” tour, ft. Funeral For A Friend , Fightstar, Blakfish and Farse.
All 3 stages in the new O2 Academy in Birmingham
As you may have noticed 2008 was quite a year for Birmingham’s Blakfish. After playing almost 200 shows in over 10 countries, releasing their mini-album “See You In Another City” on highly respected UK independent label Big Scary Monsters to much critical acclaim, receiving 4th Best British New Comer in Rock Sound readers poll, NME’s ones to watch for 2009 and a 4 K review in Kerrang.
Their debut single, “Jeremy Kyle Is A Marked Man”, garnered a whirlwind amount of press including being featured by four different Radio One presenters, Colin Murray, Huw Stephens, Mike Davies (The Lock Up) & Daniel P Carter.
Building up a steady cult following on the strength of their live shows and hard work ethic there are no signs of them stopping anytime soon.
The start of 2009 has already seen them finish the recording of their debut full-length album, entitled “Champions”, in Seattle USA. Produced by Chris Common at the legendary Redroom studios (Mastodon, Fall Of Troy, Minus The Bear, These Arms Are Snakes, Hey Mercedes), it is set to be released at the end of May on Hassle Records (Cancer Bats, Alexisonfire, Rolo Tomassi, Thursday).
With plans to tour more excessively than 2008 it looks like this year Blakfish are going to be even harder to ignore. – last fm
Zebrahead is an Orange County, CA-based punk-pop-rap band which was formed in 1996 by vocalist/guitarist Justin Mauriello (formerly of once there), guitarist Greg Bergdorf (formerly of 409), bassist Ben Osmundson (formerly of 3-Ply), and drummer Ed Udhus (formerly of 409).
Inspired by acts including Fugazi and The Descendents, the group found themselves uninspired by the local trend towards ska punk and instead began incorporating elements of hip-hop into their sound, eventually recruiting rapper Ali Tabatabaee to join their ranks.
After issuing the EP Yellow on the indie label Doctor Dream Records in May 1998, Zebrahead signed to major label Columbia Records to release their full-length debut, Waste of Mind, which appeared later that same year. The band’s follow up album Playmate of the Year was issued in mid-2000 and the Stupid Fat Americans EP followed the next year as an exclusive release for Japan.
Zebrahead headed over to Europe with Green Day to support the records and played various festival dates as well. Throughout the years, they also shared gigs with bands like Less Than Jake, Kottonmouth Kings, 311, Reel Big Fish, and Goldfinger.
Three years after having released a full length album, MFZB (aka Mother Fucking Zebrahead Bitch) appeared in 2003, and shortly afterwards lead singer/guitarist Mauriello exited the group to pursue other interests (namely start a new band I Hate Kate). His departure distressed fans, as the singing/rapping dynamic between him and Tabatabaee was crucial to the band’s sound. However, Zebrahead was soon back in action with the addition of new vocalist/guitarist Matty Lewis (formerly of Jank 1000) to their lineup. — last FM
Originally from Wichita Falls, Texas they formed in 1994 from the ruins of an old metal band. Quoting Jaret Reddick, the lead singer, “we wanted to make happy music”. They’re known for their often humorous lyrics, upbeat guitar riffs, and Jaret’s voice.
They are best known for their singles “Girl All the Bad Guys Want” in 2002 on Drunk Enough to Dance which was nominated for a 2003 Grammy Award for “Best Pop Performance by a Group or Duo” and “1985” (originally written by Mitch Allan of SR-71) in 2004 on A Hangover You Don’t Deserve. The band’s name is derived from comedian Steve Martin’s “Bowling for Sh*t” routine from his 1978 comedy album, Wild and Crazy Guy, itself a reference to Bowling for Dollars. Their single ‘1985’ can be found on the UK and the Norwegian editions of Singstar Rocks for the PS2.
They have also became hits on Radio Disney with edits of “1985”, “Punk Rock 101”, “High School Never Ends”, and the inclusion of their version of “I Melt With You” in the Disney movie “Sky High”. They have also written and recorded “Today Is Gonna Be A Great Day” as the theme song for Disney’s “Phineas and Ferb” – Last FM
Band Lineup:
Jaret Reddick – Lead Vocals/guitar
Chris Burney – Guitar/vocals
Eric Chandler – Bass/vocals
