www.knockturnalleyband.com

Pre Valentine Massacre 6 – our first show for 2010

admin — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:30:40 +0000

Our first show for 2010 is in less than 24 hours.

The Pre-Valentine Massacre gigs have some sort of history which dates back to 5 years ago. This name has also built a reputation as one of the most awaited yearly metal gigs. Organised by Loathe and Knockturn Alley, the past line ups have also featured a third band since PVM II — and this year… it’s Seismic’s turn. After an 18 month absence from the scene, the lads are ready to hit the stage at Remedy. Meanwhile Loathe will still be celebrating their Despondent by Design release, although they’re still uncertain whether or not they will have copies for tomorrow’s show. However you can pre-order your copy from their site and be one of the first to take advantage of their promotional offer, which includes FREE entrance for their official release, a free EP and a Loathe sticker.

This exact line-up takes us back to PVMIV, 2 years ago where Seismic where are also the additional band. If you didn’t make it to the past gigs, below is a collection of all the past flyers including this year’s. If you attended to all of the 5 events — take a trip to memory lane and check out all the past flyers below.

Bands’ CDs and t-shirts will be available from the cash point at the show. More information on flyer.

Our top 5 albums for 2009 and the start of 2010

admin — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 10:38:04 +0000

Back from the tour last month and we’re back to our normal everyday lives. We met some great people along, played with some amazing musicians and most importantly, we had a great time. Check out some of our pics from the tour on our Facebook page to have a taste of what it was like. We also got a new t-shirt design printed just in time for the tour, which is now added to our Merchandise page, where you can buy it using your PayPal account. If you are thinking of buying one, think no more and buy it now cause there are only a few prints left!

Meanwhile Medusa has been reviewed on another German webzine and again received a very positive rating, 8/10. Read the full review here.

Just a week after the tour we also played a show at Rookie’s in Bugibba to end 2009 for Knockturn Alley. Now, a very short break before we start another busy year.

So as we end 2009 here’s a round up of our personal top 5 albums for the year:

Thomas

Architects – Hollow Crown
Paradise Lost – Faith Divide us – Death Unite Us
It Dies Today – Lividity
Raised Fist – Veil of ignorance
Mastodon – Crack The Skye

Daniel

Mastodon – Crack the Skye
Darkest Hour – The Eternal Return
Between the Buried and Me – The Great Misdirect
The Black Dahlia Murder – Deflorate
Despised Icon – Day of Mourning

James

The Mars Volta – Octahedron
Bat For Lashes – Two Suns
Biffy Clyro – Only Revolutions
Everytime I Die – New Junk Aesthetic
Dream Theater – Black Clouds & Silver Linings

Clint

Architects – Hollow Crown
Mastodon – Crack The Skye
Every Time I Die – New Junk Aesthetic
Raised Fist – Veil of Ignorance
Killswitch Engage – Killswitch Engage

John

Dream Theater – Black Clouds & Silver Linings
Mastodon – Crack The Skye
Paradise Lost – Faith Divide us – Death Unite Us
Killswitch Engage – Killswitch Engage
Katatonia – Night is The New Day

2010
We’re planning on writing new music as soon as we’re back in the rehearsal room and lay our hands on the instruments again. Hopefully we’ll play some of the new stuff in the next show, which, of course is on the 9th of February. For the sixth time running, Pre-Valentine’s Massacre is back! Together with Loathe and Seismic we shall bring you a night of metal frenzy on this yearly event, and those who have been to a Pre-Valentine’s Massacre before know what they’re after. See you very soon at Remedy.

Photos from Gozo gig, new t-shirts and upcoming shows.

admin — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:10:30 +0000

Let’s start off by mentioning the gig we had last Saturday in Gozo. Despite all the problems encountered before and during the gig, it ended as being a successful one and one which will be repeated, hopefully soon. We owe a huge thanks to Joseph from Prekursur band club in Xewkija for hosting this event, especially on such a short notice. Not only Joseph was happy to have us there but he also was a real gentleman! Thanks to snap-happy Audri, pictures from the show can be found below, including photos of the famous Chalie is-Sikkina – a mascot for the night. Thanks to everyone who attended the show and thanks to ItEM for sharing the stage with us again!

New t-shirts

Inspired by the track The Sinner, The Martyr below is the final design for the t-shirts which will be on sale on our tour from tomorrow and we should also have it on our blog and myspace very soon.

Gig in December

A week after we’re back from the tour we will be playing a show at Rookies, Bugibba. Saturday 4th December is the date and the flyer will be in the next few days.

Medusa Tour

So… the Medusa tour starts tomorrow with the first show in Prague. We will try to keep you posted with all the happenings and put up some picture and videos. More info about the tour can be found on our myspace.

Gozo Gig update

admin — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:52:44 +0000

It has been announced cancelled on Facebook, but we hadn’t given up yet. Just this morning we managed to confirm an alternative venue for out gig. We are still playing in Gozo, still in Xewkija but in a different venue. Bands will start at 8pm, and the gig will be held at Prekursur Xewkija Band Club. For more info about the gig please go to the event page on Facebook. Please check below for directions.

View Xewkija Band Club in a larger map

Gig in Gozo, Medusa Tour and updates

admin — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:43:11 +0000

If you have been following our Facebook profile lately you could notice that it’s been kept quite active and busy. We have posted dates and info about our upcoming gig in Gozo and tour which should start later this month. So this should explain why we haven’t been writing anything on our blog. Practicing our set list and planning shows is enough to keep our minds busy somewhere else. Due to this absence from our blog, here’s a long list of happenings for Knockturn Alley.

Gig in Gozo with ItEM – 14th November

In exactly 10 days we will be playing a show in Gozo, at Oli’s Wine Bar in Xewkija to be exact. We’re looking forward to this event, not only ’cause it’s a first for us in Gozo but but ’cause for the second time in 5 months we will be sharing the stage with ItEM. Last July’s gig with the guys could easily be described as one of our best this year and those who were present… know we’re not lying. We should be attending Loathe’s gig at Rookie’s the night before our gig, after that, hang around at a bar where James will be playing, and head to the ferry in some early hours on Saturday morning together with our mates from ItEM. Sounds like a good warm up for the gig. Check out flyer below and if you happen to be in Gozo make sure you don’t miss this.

Medusa Tour

Exactly a week after Gozo’s gig we will start our tour, visiting 5 countries in all. Following our debut album release last May, which has been positively reviewed a couple of times, we decided that a tour is best to promote our album, hence the name Medusa Tour 2009.

The tour dates can be found in the poster below.

Of course without the help of friends and other people this tour wouldn’t have been possible and we would like to show our appreciation towards the following: Tomáš from Calidad, Denis from SleighMSN, Sergejs from Melna Piektdiena and Ruta Mik. Thanks to all of you, we will be meeting very soon!

Merchandise

In preparation for the coming shows, we have also been working on a new t-shirt design which should be coming your way very soon!

That’s all we had to say for now, we should be back with something new after the gig in Gozo with hopefully some images from the night.

Gig photos and some updates

admin — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 15:19:00 +0000

Starting off by saying thanks to everyone who attended the show last night, and of course Oblique Visions for the opportunity to share Rookie’s stage with them. It was a fun night for everyone and despite being the first event of it’s sort organised at Rookie’s, it proved to a be a successful gig. Below are some shots taken during the gig, thanks of Steve Giordano Imbroll and Audri Mizzi. We are now looking forward to the next shows, which we are still planning and should be announced in the next week or two.

Loathe’s new track is now online
We are assuming that you have already checked out Loathe’s new track Black Light, but if you haven’t, make you sure you do now and visit their official site. View the track listing and learn more about their soon to be released album Despondent by Design, all in their latest blog update.

New track online, gig date announced

admin — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 11:14:36 +0000

It’s been a while but finally we’re back with some news and updates. We haven’t been playing shows for the last 2 months but that doesn’t mean that we haven’t been kept busy. We have been writing some new music and planning shows for the coming months. And if everything goes according to plans, it’s gonna be a busy schedule for the next few weeks. Starting from October 3rd, together with Oblique Visions, we will be hitting the stage at Rookies for the first time. See flyer below.

Medusa uploaded

Today September 19th marks the 5th year from Knockturn Alley’s first live performance. The date goes back to a supporting slot we played together with Loathe and UK band Scurge at Signals bar. A good debut one must say, and since then, some more shows, a couple of line up changes and this is where we are. So to mark this day we decided to upload a new track for you to listen to, judge, comment and hopefully tell all your friends about it too. The title track Medusa is now online on our MySpace page, Facebook profile, the Media section on this blog as well as below.

Last gig’s photos and site updates

admin — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 16:21:35 +0000

Firstly thanks to everyone present at our last gig with ItEM at Liquid, and also a big thanks to everyone who helped in making this gig possible – Ray at Liquid, Antoine and Shawn from Prostage, Mark Biwwa for the lights, Beast for the music and ItEM for sharing the stage with us. As the photos below show, it was definitely a night to remember and hopefully this will be repeated in the future. The gig progressed from one song to another having the bands alternating and perform their tracks, closing the night with both bands getting on stage to cover Sepultura’s Roots Bloody Roots!

A new page has been recently added to our blog, the review page will feature an updated list of reviews recieved for Medusa.

Bring your phones, cameras!

admin — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 12:04:23 +0000

Tonight’s gig will be entirely filmed to be used for future promotional material for both bands. You too can take part in this – your video clip will be used in the above mentioned media and you will be given credit for the clips used. Your name will be mentioned on the bands’ blogs and youtube pages! You don’t need to own a €500 video camera but any camera will do, even your crappy phone. We want to capture the motion from the crowd’s point of view. We want to capture the sweat, both on stage and in the pit. All we want to get is as many different angles as possible. So bring along your cameras, phones etc and join in, cause while you will be filming us, we will be filming you!

A different kind of gig and more band news.

admin — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 20:06:05 +0000

ItEM vs Knockturn Alley
With just 4 days to go here’s a summary of what the gig is going to be like. The ItEM vs Knockturn Alley gig is in no way a competition or anything of the sort. Last Saturday a few of us from both bands met up at Liquid to set up the stage and discuss things in more detail. The stage is set up in a different way and is even bigger, probably one of the biggest we have ever played on… the reason being that on stage there will be 2 set ups not one, 2 bass amps, 4 guitar amps and even 2 drum kits. There will be no opening band and no headlining band but 2 alternating bands! The bands will be playing a song each. This was possible thanks to Ray at Liquid and Antoine and Shaun from Prostage sound.

Last week, both bands gathered at ItEM’s practice room to decide the bands’ playlists and the order of the tracks for both bands. To add more to this special gig both bands will have guest members from the other band. Cedric will be our 3rd guitarist on the track Medusa, Max will be the guest vocalist on Bringing Back the Terror, Clint will be performing vocals on one of ItEM’s newest tracks God for the Godless and James will be a second guitarist on Give up the Ghost, ItEM’s recently uploaded track on myspace. If you haven’t checked out ItEM’s redesigned myspace profile, make sure you do now and listen to Give up the Ghost! Below are some photos from last week’s practice session.

Beast from Loathe will be our guest dj for the night and we’re sure that he will keep it loud while the bands are not hitting the stage. Apart from all the above mentioned, more surprises will follow; some will be announced later on this week on this same blog and some will only be revealed on the night of the show.

Knockturn Alley news
Last week we were also busy taking a new photoshoot, and 2 new band photos have been uploaded on our facebook and myspace profiles. The photos will be uploaded on this blog very soon. While all this was going on, preparation for the gig, band photoshoot etc. our album Medusa received another positive review on Metalreview.com. The album was rated an average 4.3 out of 6 and the ratings were as follows: 5/6 for production, 3.5/6 for songwriting and 4.5/6 for musicianship. To read the full review click here. Extract below:

“…a respectably energetic, well-structured and admirably produced self-released effort, that shows off a desire to appeal to wide audiences. The songwriting is good, with the few expected moments of legitimately kick ass riffing… “Deadly Twist Of Fate” has a cool groove going on that I’m sure will win over the live crowd with a vengeance, and the eight-minute title track manages to end the album on a progressively sprawling, highly promising note that I wish the rest of the disc contained.” -Metal Review