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Wallets at the ready, because you’re all about to get a lot poorer.
This week has been tour announcement after tour announcement, festivals have been adding to line ups and I’m crying as my bank account starts to feel the burn of ‘missing out syndrome’.
The Wonder Years, Asking Alexandria, Straight Lines and Lonely the Brave have all announced headline UK tours for 2014 this week and there’s no doubt that each one will be incredible.
Sonisphere have added The Prodigy as their third headliner for next years festival, Groezrock Festival have slotted The Wonder Years, Deez Nuts, Bayside and many more alongside NOFX and The Offspring and Southampton’s one-day mosh fest, Takedown Festival, have announced their first batch of acts including headliners Funeral for a Friend. PHEW.
Oh, and you know that awesome A Day To Remember UK tour happening in February? It just got better...
Mallory Knox have been added as main support for the tour, so a massive congratulations goes out to those guys and it just shows how hard work really does pay off.
I caught up with Mallory Knox’s recent tour buddies Blitz Kids before their show in Brighton on Wednesday night and with their long-awaited new album The Good Youth out next month, it’s clear that the guys are excited to finally be playing their new material for fans, and told me it might come as a surprise to many of their fans...
"I don’t think they’ll expect it, but I think they’re going to like it,” says frontman Joey James when asked if the album will be what the fans anticipate from the four-piece.
“It’s difficult, because to us it doesn’t feel like much of a progression because we’ve written so much stuff inbetween and we’ve seen it all. Though I guess, because we haven’t released anything for so long, it’ll seem a little shocking. Hopefully it will be a good surprise. ‘Perfect’ is definitely my favourite track, though Nick is super excited to play ‘Sold My Soul’ because it’s the heaviest track on the album.”
With the album starting the New Year off nicely for the band, we asked Jono about his dream is for the 2014 festival season. His answer? "Headline the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury, every night. Just a residency at Glastonbury."
The jokers. Of course Reading and Leeds was on the top of their Festival wishlist, and when it comes to the bands he expects to see joining them on the circuit next year, he had some very definite answers.
“Lonely The Brave will be big, Crooks – who we’ve been playing on this tour with, they’re really nice lads," Jono told me. "Villians as well, big fans of them. There’s loads of new bands, In Dynamics are a band we really like, Fort Hope are going to do well and The People The Poet will do well hopefully, because they really deserve it."
2013 has been a massive year for album releases, with UK acts taking the music industry by storm. Though they named Paramore, letlive and Deaf Havana as some of their top albums, you may be surprised to hear Blitz Kids’ other top choices.
"The 1975, I didn’t stop listening to that for months after it came out. Then you’ve got Haim, London Grammar, it’s been such a good year for music" says Jono.
Oh and if you wanted to send them a little Christmas gift, Joey wants an Xbox One, Jono wants to add to his Hot Sauce collection and Nick just wants to get his mum drunk.
You can pre-order Blitz Kids’ album The Good Youth now, and it will be hitting stores on January 20th 2014. To round off this week in rock, here is a new band for you to get your teeth into. Check out F.O.E.S and their video for their new single ‘Ningyo’ below, also note the GLORIOUS beards.
