TRESPASS SUPPORT GIG A HUGE SUCCESS! PREPARATIONS FOR JOEL HOEKSTRA/BRANDON GIBBS GIG TODAY AT UNIT ONE

Last nights gig supporting Trespass at the Quay Theatre, Sudbury was a huge success. We would like to thank both the Quay Theatre and Trespass for having us on, and treating us incredibly well throughout the night.

Next week we are back supporting yet more legends, this time it’s Whitesnake guitarist Joel Hoekstra and Brandon Gibbs Music (Devil City Angels) live at The Music Room – Ipswich on April 15th, 2023. The Hoekstra/Gibbs duo is considered by many to be one of the best acoustic duos performing today. Expect a high energy show with blazing guitar riffs, storytelling, incredible vocal harmonies and a song selection of music from bands they have each been a part of, originals and rock covers making this a must-see show! Tickets are available from here.

We are back at Unit One tonight to prepare for the gig at The Music Room. You can see last week’s session here:

REHEARSALS TODAY AS KAINE TO SUPPORT NWOBHM LEGENDS TRESPASS ON SATURDAY (APRIL 8TH)

Kaine are back in rehearsals today. This week the band will be preparing their set for April 8th, at Sudbury Quay Theatre supporting NWOBHM legends Trespass. Tickets are available from here.

Trespass are a British heavy metal band from Sudbury, Suffolk, England formed in 1979. They were part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal at the beginning of the 1980s. The band reformed in 2015.

The band came to sign with Trial Records and their first single, “One of These Days”, had a pressing of only 2000 copies, which were sold out in a short time. In 1990, Lars Ulrich, the drummer and co-founder of the band Metallica, released a compilation entitled NWOBHM ’79 Revisited celebrating the tenth anniversary of the new wave of British heavy metal. The double-CD includes some of the top acts of the time, with Trespass being represented with their biggest hit “One of These Days” from the BBC session.

OPINION PIECE: SOMETHING NEEDS TO CHANGE IN METAL/ROCK JOURNALISM

We’ve all seen it, the clickbait posts.

There was once a time prior to every Slipknot release we would get Corey Taylors’ view on every matter from every available media outlet, presently we are getting inundated with things about Ghost since they found TikTok success with Mary on A Cross, apparently Sleep Token is the next big thing and we know Dave Mustaine was fired from Metallica 40 odd years ago, but for some reason, this story is repeated daily. This morning we learned about what Bruce Dickinson did when Blaze Bayley replaced him in Iron Maiden in slightly more recent times, 1994…

I have noticed these articles are getting two types of engagement. One group of responders are those who read the headline and not the detail and will comment on the headline only, without understanding the context of the headline or the quote in question.

One recent piece I read was about the challenges Dave Mustaine had replacing Dave Ellefson, organising the re-recording of the parts for the new Megadeth album, and then preparing a new line-up for a major tour, all of which anyone who’s been in bands will understand will know will be a stressful and difficult period. This was a small part of a recent interview where Mustaine talked about his success on his recent tour. In this, he spoke about how well the band had done, and he showed a great level of appreciation for the bands he had toured with.

It was an interesting piece, however the headline however simply said, “I know what it is like to have people gunning for me” in reference to how the music press had gone after Dave Ellefson immediately following the controversy, showing some empathy for his former bandmate.  The headline let down the article, which was actually a good one, a positive one. Because a large number of those who engaged with the article only read the headline, the response was overwhelmingly negative, assuming that this was again about Dave Mustaine and Metallica, which it absolutely wasn’t.

The other group who comments are those who are sick to death with seeing the same stories recycled by all the major outlets, the attempts to reignite a feud that finished decades ago and people’s opinions on stuff that frankly nobody cares about, just to get certain groups angry.

On the flipside the media outlets will argue, they post and write about this stuff because that’s what people engage with, but it’s almost all negative, whether it is people arguing over whether Sleep Token is the next big thing, how much they hate the latest Ghost single, or a falling out between the members of Journey.  But this negative content is pretty much all they write about, and it’s to win at algorithms and not contribute anything substantial to heavy music, or even the debate. They pander to the angry, not the interested. Surely there is something else, something better than just this to write about?

The whole Rock and Metal online environment has been turned toxic, and the music seems secondary to the online arguments and the drama.  In the U.K. we call these “Sun” “Mirror” or “Daily Mail” headlines used to get readers angry, and make a cheap political point but have very little substance. While it might generate engagement and a few clicks, it’s not going to be generating album streams, sales, or selling tickets to anyone’s gigs. We know that, as everything is declining.

I do think the silent majority are sick to death of the way things are presently, and do want something new. The media has the power to flip this on its head and to contribute towards growing streams, album sales, and ticket sales but instead, it’s choosing to go for cheap clicks instead. Is it any wonder so many of these outlets can no longer afford to print their magazines?

As I have stated, frankly, the silent majority want something new, the legacy bands are established, and they will always have a growing fanbase, they are not gaining anything from feuds from 40 years ago. People are getting fed up with this style of journalism which is doing a ton of damage to the Rock and Metal scene by encouraging its ugliest elements to continually engage with negative and angry content rather than celebrating the quality of the music, the live performances or the excitement at a potentially good new band. All the good going on is being lost behind the anger aimed at these clickbait articles, and the average music fan just wants something good to listen to, they don’t care about other stuff. These are the people we are turning away in droves by the media continuing to create this environment.

Do we see the same negativity ever being written about what say Ed Sheeran does by the “pop” media? No. Because they promote his music, and the qualities he has as a person, not whether he fell out with a mate when he was 19 while recording a demo. They are making big money with the positive approach. A lot could be learned from that.

While I appreciate that music is subjective, and not everyone will like every band, at the same time we have an absolutely thriving underground Rock and Metal scene here in the U.K. with hundreds of amazing bands which cover every heavy genre, from Hard Rock to Extreme Metal. We have bands with great songs, we have tons of great young bands who really can play their stuff live, they have great attitudes, and their own growing fan bases. There is something for everyone, every generation and every taste. This should be covered, but it is being completely ignored. For me, it’s a shame this is being ignored in favour of promoting negative headlines and feuds from half a century ago, or the latest TikTok success. I think that something needs to change in Metal/Rock journalism that helps promote the good that is happening, and not just focus on the negativity algorithm or trying to benefit from a social media flash in the pan.

That may upset a few influential people, or make me unpopular as a result, but this is how I feel.

REHEARSALS RESUME AT UNIT ONE THIS WEEK – CART & HORSES GIG + GENERAL UPDATE

Kaine, Riot Act and Lillian Axe on the final night of the tour

We will be returning to regular rehearsals on Sunday at Unit One, and working to prepare for our next gig, which is later this month supporting Desolation Angels alongside Planet Fatale at the legendary Cart & Horses. The gig is close to selling out so book a ticket to avoid disappointment!

September 10th, 2022 – Cart and Horses, London (buy tickets)

We are also close to finishing the new album, with mixing almost complete and mastering to begin soon. Earlier this week we released the track listing for the new album which can be seen here:

Once the album is released we will be completing our two new Patreon EP’s!

KAINE IN REHEARSALS FOR NUNEATON SHOW TODAY AT UNIT ONE

Last weeks sessions at Unit One

We will be returning to Unit One today to prepare for our gig with Kev Riddles Baphomet next week (April 15th) at The Crew Bar, Nuneaton (Queens Hall). The band will be rehearsing the set for the night, which kicks off at 7:30pm and is free entry. You can find more information by clicking here.

KAINE TO SUPPORT BAPHOMET IN NUNEATON ON APRIL 15TH 2022

Kaine will be supporting Baphomet at The Crew Bar in Nuneaton of Friday, April 15th 2022 (doors at 7:30pm). Kev ‘skidz’ Riddles was an original member of Angel Witch, involved in the conception and recording of the first classic album “Angel Witch”, until leaving in 1982 to form Tytan. The Crew is a Rock Bar with genuine slices of rock history including a signed Oasis guitar amongst the seemingly endless signed memorabilia plastered across its walls.

The band was formed in May 2021 to revisit the idea of gigging the 1st iconic Angel Witch album and other tracks from his era with the band, 1977 – 82, staying true to the original old school sound. You can read their interview with MetalTalk here.

VOCALS Tony Coldham (Tytan/The Deep)

BASS Kev “Skidz” Riddles (original member of Angel Witch/Tytan/Paul Samsons Empire)

GUITAR Chris Borsberry (Medicine Hat/Swamp Truck)

DRUMS Magpie (Medicine Hat/Magpie/Satans Empire)

Free entry – click here for more information.

Kaine’s Reforge The Steel breaks 19,000 plays on NWOTHM Full Albums

Kaine’s 4th album Reforge The Steel has broken 19k plays on NWOTHM Full Albums recently/ NWOTHM Full Albums is a YouTube channel that uploads all albums in the genre and has over 100k subscribers.

If you are yet to check out the album on the channel you can do so here. Please subscribe to the channel, like the video and include a comment to help the album perform better within the algorithm.

You can order the new version of the album on a collections edition CD here. It includes a light remix, additional backing vocals and a number of bonus tracks not available on the original album. The CD is enclosed in a Super Jewel Case and includes a full colour booklet.

FURTHER CANCELLATIONS AS KAINE PART WAYS WITH RS PROMOTIONS

Kaine will no longer be working with RS Promotions run by Ric Stats. This follows a string of issues, going back to the band being refused admin access to event pages, denied the ability to promote events, told inaccurate attendance numbers, gig cancellations due to poor ticket sales, and no organisation in regard to gear share. The band by being disallowed from promotional activities was severely hamstrung in trying to ensure events were well attended and the end result would have had a negative impact on the gigs in any case.

Kaine recently has to turn down a number of dates offered by Ric Stats on the basis drummer Liam Etheridge is in Norway visiting his partners family. Ric Stats then bemoaned this fact on social media which would turn out to be the final straw for the band. The band will be seeking replacement dates in the coming weeks.

THIS WEEKENDS SHOW IN NUNEATON CANCELLED DUE TO POOR TICKET SALES

This weekends all day NWOBHM event at the Queens Hall, Nuneaton has been cancelled due to poor ticket sales. Kaine were due to play alongside Airforce (featuring Doug Sampson of Iron Maiden fame), Mythra, Sacriledge, Snatch-Back, Sulvain and WKD. Kaine will seek out an alternate activity for the forthcoming weekend.

REHEARSALS TODAY AT UNIT ONE + PATREON UPDATE

Kaine will be returning to Unit One in Colchester today for rehearsals again to prepare for the return to gigging on July 9th and the lead guitar recording sessions next month.

In terms of our Patreon, the shirts and patches are being printed and will be sent out to our supporters very soon – you can still join our Patreon by clicking here for just £1.

We’ve also released a single alongside the new design which can be heard here: