The Holy Grail of Rock has remained UCT Radio’s resident rock and metal show and will celebrate their fourth birthday this year. The shows focus is primarily on Cape Town’s rock and metal scene. To date, the team consists of Fluffee and The-Pixie-Of-Death-And-Everything-Else-That-Starts-With-A-D (we just call her the ‘Pixie’). Pixie, hailing from the land of Zim, has always had a love for metal: Slipknot is her favourite band and, despite her size, she can headbang harder than any metal head with a beard blessed by Odin himself. Fluffee, who has been supporting the Cape Town music scene since the impressionable age of fifteen, is a lover of classic hard rock and pandas.

Together, these girls present a show that is a chaotic, amusing, energy-filled combination of rock, metal, alternative and classic that comes from both the international and local scene. With birthday number four close on the horizon, they reflect on how the original idea behind the show was for it to be a solely rock show. However, when DJ Fluffee took over in 2010, she saw an opportunity for local metal that she just couldn’t let go of and has focused a lot of energy into including the genre.

The team has since crafted a show that focuses closely on the local scene, but combined with international content. Already inclusive of a fair portion of local music and live interviews, their ultimate goal is to evolve into a 100% local content show. “We love talking to bands” Fluffee told M4A, “and it makes us all warm and fuzzy when bands want to talk to us and send us their music.” At this point, the station invites bands to submit material from all over the country and even from other parts of Africa. Fluffee said “We’re constantly on the lookout for new music, new bands to talk about or talk to and for information on gigs to let our listeners know where they should be supporting.”

The show broadcasts every Wednesday night, 21h00-00h00 (GMT +2) on UCT Radio 104.5FM (For Live Streaming go to www.uctradio.co.za). The best way to communicate with the show, and to get up to date on interviews, gigs and competitions is via their official Facebook page.

The Maximum Anarchy Tour was conceived and coordinated by Pretoria death metallers, Maximum Carnage and will feature Egyptian progressive metal band Anarchy in a nationwide tour of South Africa in July of this year. The tour will also feature local support at seven different venues across the country, first hitting Gauteng and then the Western Cape before crawling up the East Coast to Port Elizabeth and Durban!

Anarchy play a blend of traditional and power metal buried deep in the sands of Egyptian lore. Their album Scriptorium received a glowing review on Metal4Africa earlier this year thanks to it’s classic sound, strong riffs and stellar songwriting. While South Africa sees a fair share of international metal bands in comparison to the rest of the continent, this is the first time (to my knowledge) that an African band from as far away as Egypt has graced its shores. You can stream footage of Anarchy‘s performance at Metal Blast 2013 at the end of the post to get a feel for what to expect from their live show!



Pretoria’s death metal scene is one of the stronger and more consistent in South Africa and Maximum Carnage are right in the bloody middle of it! The band’s thrashy, aggressive sound is sure to get your head banging and your mosh-sense tingling. Though the band has existed since 2009, this will be the first time they are travelling to the Cape and based on the way other Pretoria death metal bands have been received, this show will be one not to be missed!



Two awesome bands, two tour debuts, one continent traversed from north to south. Get ready for Maximum Anarchy!!

5 July 2013 – Red Door (Johannesburg)
6 July 2013 – Wolmer (Pretoria)
12 July 2013 – R.O.A.R (Cape Town)
13 July 2013 – Rabbit Hole (Cape Town)
17 July 2013 – Raggies (Port Elizabeth)
19 July 2013 – Live The Venue (Durban)
20 July 2013 – Red Door (Pietermaritzburg)

Watch footage of Anarchy performing “Pandora” from Scriptorium at Metal Blast Fest 2013 below:

Watch a short compilation of Maximum Carnage performing at the Emalyth Arts Expo last year below:

We agree that the scene needs a shot in the arm in between Metal4Africa events to keep it kicking and this Saturday, Liquid Abyss promises just that! On the outskirts of Cape Town a venue as yet untouched by metal exists, Club Liquid, and Wildernessking front man Keenan Oakes has put together a stellar lineup to baptise its walls with the sound of metal.
“I did a genre cross-over show at The Assembly in November last year.” Keenan says, “I wanted to do the same thing with the sub-genres of the local metal scene. Basically another cross-over show whilst staying in the realm of heavy music.” Liquid Abyss features seven of (In Keenan’s own words) Cape Town’s strongest metal bands and promises enough variety for all tastes.

Opening the event is the death-thrash contingent of The Warinsane followed by thrash metallers, Infanteria. Metalcore comes courtesy of Zombies Ate My Girlfriend with Wildernessking adding their signature atmospherics to the mix. No high-profile event would be complete without the power metal bombast of Strident who are billed to headline the event, with Marching Dead and Beeldenstorm closing off the gig!

Anyone with concerns about a non-metal venue hosting metal bands can put those aside, as Keenan assures “Liquid will certainly have a different atmosphere on the night. The venue will be out of the ordinary as it is.”
As for what metal fans can expect on the night, “I have some ideas. You’ll just have to wait and see.”

Whether Liquid Abyss is a once-off event or will become a more regular fixture in the gigging calendar is unknown at the moment, but the bottom line is that you will certainly be missing out if you are not there!

Tickets are available for pre-order at R30 and then from R40 before 9pm and R50 afterwards. Great value for a killer event!

Check out the Liquid Abyss Facebook event for more information.

It interested me above all to learn about the band’s name and the relationship it holds with the music – two stories which I have now learned do not converge as two things meeting from separate origins might do; but rather emerged as one and the same from the very beginning. “We like to tell a bit of a story,” said Ruan, “a tale of some dark force from mysterious origins, but from the perspective of science rather than religious dogma”;
Thomas added “Like some kind of monster. Rather than it being ‘the devil’, it is something which the known universe has somehow produced but equally as scary, if not more because it is physically manifest”.  
“For example,” Ruan continued, “if somebody tells me Satan is gonna get me, I wouldn’t bat an eyelid; but if you said a black hole is threatening earth, I’d shit myself!”

An encyclopaedia will inform you that Megalodon is the name given to an extinct (thankfully) species of shark known to have prowled the Earth’s oceans some million-odd and more years ago. If you are a historian of the Greek language, the word might take on the meaning of big tooth to your understanding. Rightly so! If such a beast still swam the oceans of today, I’m confident that mankind would not.
“We wanted a name that best described the band’s artistic orientation” said Ruan;
“and also captures the essence of the band’s sound” added Thomas.
A Megalodon was basically a great big prehistoric killing machine; known to have been one of history’s largest and deadliest predators.

“Our vibe started out as mostly just noise – we wanted to get a sound going that seemed almost machine like” Ruan explained. This affirmed my existing theory on the band’s low-tuned, eight-string guitars and often mathematical sounding passages. The lads explained how, when they initially began with writing and recording, they made use of looping technology when listening back to tracks or sections of tracks they had laid. At times they would let the loops continue in cycles, just enjoying the mechanical sound and feel produced by it and sometimes evolving further riffs out of the drone. “It made us think of something mechanical and dangerous, like a Panzer tank; some kind of destroyer. And lets face it: at any point some distant star could blow up, and the consequences could wipe out humanity in a heartbeat – this is the kind of power we wish to portray through the sound of our music.” We shared a chuckle as Ruan pointed out, apologetically, how this simply “doesn’t work” with six or seven strings.

With the coming Darkness in Sonance album, a chapter in the greater theme is being unveiled. Together with a clever social media campaign, the band tells of an intelligent and malignant force which has set its devotion to Earth and the planets inhabitants. Again, not so much to do with spiritual fears so much as the very real possibility that other intelligent life exists out there, and would likely be smarter than us. How would such an intelligence regard humanity? Certainly not as its equal. Much like the Megalodon of the ancient seas, where science and evolution dictated the hierarchy in the food-chain, cosmic order and stardust have come together in natural conspiracy against those lesser beings: and today, it is us earthlings. As a music group; as artists, Megalodon are our Prophets of Dark Science.

If you are in the Cape Town region this coming weekend (29, 30 March 2013), make an effort to attend the Megalodon album launch of Darkness in Sonance.
There will be a free show at Buckleys in Edward Street on Friday 29 March, featuring guests Infanteria and Terminatryx, plus the actual album launch event on Saturday 30 March at ROAR in Lower Main Road, Obz which replaces Terminatryx with Messiah Complex. Megalodon have also been enlisted to the ranks competing in the Wacken Metal Battle South Africa in May, which will see one local finalist compete against finalists from thirty other nations at Wacken Open Air in Germany this August.

Stream “I.D.K.F.A.” off Darkness in Sonance below:

After the short, scene-setting intro, Scriptorium opens with “12 Gates”, a musical and lyrical Pharaoh’s journey through the Egyptian afterlife. I always appreciate when a band seeks to capture their country’s sound – See viking metal and Scandinavia – and Anarchy’s use of Egyptian scales and tribal percussion immediately evokes images of the Nile, the Sphinx and grandiose pyramids. One thing that I really love about the album is vocalist, Adham Kafafy’s deep clean singing voice. Once again, it captures the most exotic images of Egypt and makes a refreshing change to the trend towards screaming in modern metal. The occasional growl finds its way in but they are used sparingly and add to the dynamics of the songs rather than just forcing their way in for the sake of it.

Speaking of dynamics, Scriptorium has them in spades. The tracks ebb and flow between straightforward metal-as-fuck riffs, extended instrumental passages and off-beat chaos. This right here, this is prog! Elements are juxtaposed in ways that they really shouldn’t work but in context the switch feels effortless. Special mention should be made of the interplay between drums and guitar riffs, where it’s not always evident who is holding who together. The instruments fly off on their own tangents so often that it feels like the threads holding everything together are going to come apart at the next note, but they never do. The less straight-forward riffs teeter on the edge of being a complete mess so often, but since they don’t fall they keep the listener engaged.

Further cementing Anarchy‘s progressive title are the stories told by each song. To vocals are clear and the concepts themselves are sometimes complex to follow, but each track feels like a series of chapters tied together by the music; “The Dragon and the King” has a great, high-fantasy story behind it that wouldn’t sound out of place on a power metal album. It also is home to some really fearsome riffing that just gets your head banging. And if that wasn’t enough, the penultimate track, “Headbanger” does that with purpose. Definitely not badly named, it feels like a cutting-room-floor edit of a bunch of really solid metal riffs. While I would have preferred another full song, these almost feel like riffs that wouldn’t work within the broader context of the album and it’s great to just be able to not concentrate too hard and just lose yourself in the tunes.

Throughout it’s forty-two minute length, Scriptorium touches on many different genres, influences and elements. These parts all come together seamlessly to create a really solid and heady piece of metal. I will say that the drums, especially the cymbals, sit a little too high in the mix, but compared to the rest of the dynamics at play, it’s a minor gripe on an otherwise stellar album. I was rapidly losing faith in “progressive metal” from the African continent, but Anarchy have more than restored my confidence!

Anarchy will be hitting South African shores in 2013! Stay tuned to M4A for updates about this awesome tour!

Stream “12 Gates” from Scriptorium below:

The eight-string guitars, supplemented with fitting bass delivers an innovative sound of fat blasts – If I limit myself to a single (all too single) description of the guitar section, it is a demonic front to the album. Darkness in Sonance contain varying drum and vocal use that enhances the chaotic feel of the music. The vocals enthrall your ears with demanding lyrics, which is a unique feature on the album. Overall, the album delivers an exceptional array of sounds.

The opening track, “Symbiology”, provides a powerful start to the album. The captivating intro flows comfortably into the verse, chugging through a bridge, ascending to the demonic climax of the chorus. The chorus swaying with the lyrics of “spread; spread the seeds, deadly seeds, the seeds of their deception”. Following the terrific pace, “Tempest” has a dark, foreboding tone that presents itself throughout the entire song. A violent and erratic bridge escalates to the powerful, capstone lyric of “I feed the tempest fury!”. Accompanied by interesting drum arrangements, the song delivers a metaphorical theatre-piece where everyone dies a tragic death.

“Dual Vision Triple Sonic”‘s unconventional patterns alters my traditional acceptance of what a fast riff sounds like. The cunning use of unconventional patterns is a distinctive feature of Megalodon‘s music. The chorus contains epic guitar bends that make for an interesting transition to the next verse. The next song, “Cessation”, has fast drum variations of a superior standard and there is also a good use of left/right balance at the verse. The chorus states a dramatic confession: “I am a god among men. I am the truth amongst death. I am a husk of a former man, I am law of consciousness”. The heart-stopping licks contained in “Cessation” are an example of what makes the album unique. “Umbilical Embroidery’s” chorus makes use of an interesting vocal technique by combining the line “Conceiving your false Utopia” with a subtle background echo of “Delivering my verve”. The outro embeds slow-paced vocals to create a tense ambience.

“I.D.K.F.A.”‘s drum patterns contains machine-like variations and the chilling vocals make for a superb track, switching between a fast and a slow pace, it is definitely the highlight of the album for me. Unfortunately a critique is that the outro of “I.D.K.F.A.” creates an intro for the next song. Thus, the last minute of “I.D.K.F.A.” contains samples that create a delayed flow to the title-track, “Darkness in Sonance”, a nine-minute song that by default demands perseverance. I think they should have put the last minute of “I.D.K.F.A”. in the next song or they should perhaps have left it out, because I feel it chokes the pace of the album. Nonetheless, four minutes into “Darkness in Sonance” the song takes shape and flawlessly streams into the solo. The last minute and a half still displaying crafty variations that create a lasting image.

“Beyond Within” continues the demonic pace in proportion to the rest of the album, containing numerous variations that create an energetic feel. “Omnipresent Authority Figure” provides more variation to the album with a groovy sound; mixing stabs of noise with more chugging sections. Rounding off the album, “The Unexpected” ends with a blast.

Darkness in Sonance demands more than one listen to appreciate fully, most observably because the shortest of songs are longer than 3:30. In my opinion, it is a metal album of international standards! Louis (guitarist, songwriter and Burning Tone sound engineer) deserves praise from the gods for making the album so tight that your sphincter pleads for recess.

Stream “Dual Vision Triple Sonic” off Darkness in Sonance below:

Junkyard Lipstick’s sound combines thrash metal, punk rock and a hint of power metal in the vocal style with the thrash influences adding technicality to the simpler punk elements. Guitarists Louise Gorman and Tanya Markowitsch (also on vocals) provide solid, catchy riffs and well-executed solos. The riffs from the tracks “Hellbent”, “Daisy” and “Rosie” remained firmly lodged in my head after listening to the album and stayed there after a couple of days. One of the most memorable solos belongs to “Rosie” as well (as you can tell, that track is one of my album highlights). Drummer Lucinda Viljoen puts in some interesting fills, with “Bus For Us” containing a great drum solo. The bass guitar is mixed well, allowing a good appreciation of bassist Jacky Roodt’s skills.

The song construction doesn’t always stick to the usual thrash metal characteristics either. The songs “Flush” and “Barbie” have a more progressive feel; these tracks take time to set the scene. Fast pace is balanced by slower interludes throughout the album, which kept me engaged.

Junkyard Lipstick’s lyrics deal mostly with South African themes, from the story of South Africa’s first noted serial killer, Daisy de Melker (“Daisy”), to social unrest (“War”). The lyrics also deal with serious themes like presidential incompetence and the case of child abuser ‘Advocate Barbie’ deftly – a balance is struck between maintaining the gravity of the themes while still creating an entertaining song. There were some lighter moments in between the serious lyrics; I found myself laughing out loud during songs like “Reality TV” and “Hollywood Hustler”.

Tanya Markowitsch is equally competent on the guitar as she is on vocals, with a strong vocal delivery. Her range is impressive – she handles the thrash semi-growl as well as she handles high notes. The vocals sounded somewhat muffled at times, but this may have been due to my sound system.

Hellbent is both a reminder of grim realities and a feel-good album to put on when you need cheering up. Overall, the production quality is very good, and I believe that the band has set themselves a high standard to follow on subsequent releases.

Stream “War” off Hellbent below:

M4A:Firstly, introduce yourselves, who does what in the band?

LYT: We are Last Year’s Tragedy a metal band from Nairobi, Kenya. There’s six of us: Chizi, lead vocals; Davie and Jose, guitars; Stan, Drums and Ruto, Keys (In true metal fashion, they left out the Bassist, Mahia, luckily, the internet provides –BV).

M4A: How did you guys meet each other? Did you see each other with metal shirts at University? Did you overhear each other’s conversations?

LYT: We actually met through each other. Some of us knew each other individually before the band was formed. We were also all into the same bands so it took off from there. That was way back in 2006. Chizi came up with the idea to form a band and then we all became friends. The original lineup of LYT was Chizi on vocals, Davie and Mahia on guitars, Stan on drums, Tomi on bass, Diallo on guitar and backing vocals with Ruto joining in 2007 completing the line-up. Tomi went on to work for the BBC and Diallo is on hiatus. Since then, Mahia moved to bass and a friend of the band who came back from UK took up guitars for us.

M4A: What is the metal scene like in Kenya? Are there many other bands we may not have heard of and which subgenre is the most prevalent?

LYT: The scene here is really growing! The following for metal here has really come up. These days there are metal themed nights like one called “Ward 7″ among various other shows that come up throughout the year. There are so many bands around like Mortal Soul, Lust of a Dying Breed, Cause of Death, In Oath, Absence of Light and newer ones making it onto the scene like Aphasia. Subgenres? Metalcore perhaps, but the tastes are so varied that it’s a bit hard to give a straight answer.

M4A: What would you say are LYT’s biggest musical and lyrical influences?

LYT: Wow, that’s a hard one! Everyone has their own individual preferences and tastes but we all agree on Deftones, Killswitch Engage, As I Lay Dying, Bring Me The Horizon and more we forgot for now. The main influence is just the passion to make good, real music.
Lyrically, life is what inspires us. We have always been about real music in that its music about what everyone feels, has gone through or understands. (The lyrics to “Elephants in the Room” include the line: “Like plagues we soar through hearts without a care / we were once in love but now in disrepair” – BV)

M4A: Africa is a big continent, do you have much contact from metal bands from Outside Kenya? Do you follow what’s happening on the rest of the continent?

LYT: Africa really is a HUGE continent, but metal heads always seem to find each other. We know of a couple of bands and have even shared the stage with Skinflint from Botswana. We’ve come into contact with other bands like Wrust (Botswana), Vale of Amonition (Uganda) and Facing the Gallows (SA). I’m sure the contacts will grow in time.
We do try to follow what’s going on around courtesy of guys like you at M4A.

M4A: The songs I have heard, are, if you’ll excuse the language, pretty fucking bad-ass! Is there a full album or EP in the pipeline?

LYT: Thank you very much! Yes, there is one hell of an album on the way. We’ve been working on it for so long that some new stuff came up along the way, so you guys can be prepared to hear a whole lot from us. The album is coming out in the next couple of months and it’ll be called Walking Through Walls.

M4A: What are the moshpits like over there, our brothers in Botswana tell us theirs are brutal, do Kenyans mosh? Or are they the more headbanging type?

LYT: Ours are awesome! It’s a mix of headbanging, moshing, circle-pits… guys here are BRUTAL! If it’s a live show, they’ll follow whatever’s being played. The same goes for DJ sets.

M4A:If you could liken yourselves to a mythical creature, what would it be?

LYT: Haha! That was unexpected. We can safely say we’ve never been asked that before. Erm… a six-headed dragon that shoots bodacious scores of music in laser form from its hands that breathes out fire from all the heads corresponding to all our different instruments! This heading to Crazytown. (More like Freaking-Epicville! – BV)

M4A:The addition of keyboards is relatively unknown within the “core” subgenre, was having keyboards a thought from the start? Or did the band evolve to a point where keyboards were necessary to complete the sound?

LYT: It was a thought and even at some point we had a violinist for one show but eventually we gave it a shot and it sounded good and so we made it part of our core sound. So in a nutshell, yes to the second question.

M4A: What are your favourite colours?

LYT: VIBGYOR (took me a while to get that – BV)

M4A: What? Why? Where? When?

LYT: Left. Right. Centre. Tits.

M4A: Do you have a message you’d like to share?

LYT: Thanks for checking us out, we hope to hit a stage near you soon! Stay Tamu! \m/

So in a nutshell, they’re a bunch of fun loving guys, making real music, and that, in itself, encapsulates the spirit of Heavy metal.

Below you can stream “Generation Light” and “Elephants in the Room”. Courtesy of their soundcloud account!

They also released a video for “Generation Light”, so if you can spare the cap, I suggest you take a look here:

We put our heads together in 2011 already to think about how we could get the best festival experience possible and pitched it to the RAMfest organizers. They agreed that this is what metalheads would want, and so at RAMfest 2012 we teamed up with them and put it to the test. For those of you who camped over the night before In Flames, you will recall the fun and debauchery of the M4A Tent, with Andy (“DJ Bearded Bastard”) on the decks and the flowing rivers of beer. This year we are bringing this concept back; but only better!

Not only are we bringing the heavy metal spirit with your choice in music at a prime spot of camping site, but we’ve also arranged for some braai facilities to keep everybody in high spirits during the late morning and afternoon as everybody gears up for the evening entertainment at the mighty open air Monster Stage. We invite all metalheads to gather to the camping spots surrounding this area, so come early for the best spots. You may bring your own liquor to the metal braai, and we urge that you also bring wood, blitz, meat and a grid. Supplied braai facilities are limited, so if you have a portable braai, bring it along as well – although please note that fires will ONLY be allowed at this designated braai area – not at private camp sites, for reasons of public and environmental safety.

The music will begin daily at around 10h00 am to toughen you up against your hangover apocalypse, and continue until about 16h00 pm just before we commence with a mass exodus towards the Monster Stage (also operated by yours truly). The line-up for this stage includes bands such as Megalodon, Strident, Marching Dead, Wildernessking and Ing amidst others, to remind us of what lekker metal Cape Town has to offer; and then from other parts of the country are bands such as Juggernaught, Pestroy, Bleeding Spawn, Haggis & Bong, Chromium and more…

For only R550, get your weekend’s fill of the best things in life, at one of the most amazing venues the Western Cape has to offer. Purchase your tickets in advance via www.ticketbreak.co.za for R100 discount (gate price is R650 for those who want to buy at the festival). Plenty of shaded camping; an unlimited supply of fresh water; loads of flushing toilets, plus showers; Riviersonderend River within a few hundred meters (or much closer if you choose your camping near the beach); and tons of excellent entertainment at no less than six party areas catering for just about every manner of person. Visit the official event page for further details.

The map below give a pretty good idea of the layout and location of facilities at the festival. See you there!

The new single. “War”, follows closely on the heels of the band’s initial release of “Barbie”. In keeping true to their flavor, “War” is yet another commentary on social dilemmas; focusing this time on the current political climate in South Africa where citizens have been witness to extended protest and strike action, and escalating in violence at an alarming rate. The song takes a particular view on the role government plays in the lacking education of their followers, who seem to be largely retained as “puppet followers” whilst government shifts the blame for not living up to their promises, and the inherent general lack of accountability.

Mark 29 March (Good Friday) into your diary now! Visit the official event page for Junkyard Lipstick’s album launch to see full details.

Listen to “War” below: