New Artist Promo: MOODKILLER

  I have been given the honour to bring to you, the Punkalovers (working title..might not catch on..), a new artist EXCLUSIVE!! (At least I think it's an exclusive...)

    From the "Occupied Cherokee and Creek Lands" aka Alabama comes new band MOODKILLER. For my Israeli readers, MOODKILLER is a punk-disco project including David of Sigfried and RoidRage. For those not from Israel or simply not familiar with him, David was travelling the world (parts of it, anyway) playing acoustic shows with punk songs he had written as well as some folk songs. After finding some amazing people in Israel, David formed Sigfried and RoidRage with Amit (Ex-Erev Rav/Bnei Zanot Nazim, Almunim Metim) and Guy (The Orions). David was beloved by the Tel Aviv scene but then moved back home (still beloved).
    Fortunately, David has teamed up with Jen (vocals), Tino (Bass/Drums/Guitar/Synth), Josh (Guitar/Bass/Synth) and Trevor (Drums/Bass) to make music which makes you think, drink and be merry. The band members have all been playing in bands (such as The Piss Shivers, Roll Tight and The Nightmare Boyzzz amongst many others) and/or at least been active in the DIY punk scene in the South for around 20 years. In the band's own words:

We started this band because there's too much macho bullshit going on here. We believe that celebration can be liberation. We are ardently anti-police and anti-fascist. We like to boogie. We like to shotgun beers.

  The band have 3 tracks on their soundcloud and hopefully many more to come soon. Violence takes us to the late 70s and early 80s to where punk and electro were starting to blend. Good Job verges upon the Blondie side of disco-punk along with an Atomic-like riff. The song in general is also reminiscent of Scottish band Bis. Surfing To The Apocalypse is a creepy sounding surf number, with echoed vocals and B-movie style riffs. The band have a really fun vibe, probably due to them all singing along and also swapping around on instruments, which must be great to see live. For someone who hasn't been in a band before, main singer Jen has a great riot grrl voice which actually gives the songs a little something more sinister about them. 


  
I'll leave you with some final words form the band: 

We've been in bands you liked. We've been in bands you've hated. All and all we're the kids in the back, waiting to hand you a flyer for something real, off the internet or trying to scam another drink ticket so we can forget this strange place that we all share. You can contact the band at: alabamamoodkiller@gmail.com

New Artist Promo: Azor

 
    I have really only done one band promo on this blog so far and that was because I was sent a special email requesting it. Luckily, they also happened to be a really cool band (Yawning Dog promo). This artist promo is brought to you purely out of being impressed by the band and thinking they bloody deserve a write-up. Due to illness, I unfortunately missed their debut show at BanditoFest in Tel Aviv. However, their performance was filmed and I really liked what I saw and heard. I also got to see them this passed weekend to a bit of a disappointing turn out. They nevertheless rocked out.
  
   Azor are a "power-trio", comprising of Yuval (ex-Inside Job/Erev Rav/Leah Katamin) on guitar and main vocals, Alon (Almonim Metim) on drums and vocals and Ori (ex-Beats 69/MASTERD) on bass and vocals. Yuval and Alon met for the first time in a crazy jam night; they were having an awesome session and decided that they should actually join up and make some music together. In October 2014, after finishing other music projects and having free time ,the two started to work on songs that Yuval wrote. The idea was to create something new while still hanging on to that old vibe of free and energetic rock music. After working as a duo for a while, old childhood friend of Yuval's, Ori, was brought in as bass player to really bring the whole thing together. The name Azor purely comes, as far as I'm aware, from the name of the area Yuval lives and that the band practises in, which is just south east of Tel Aviv near Holon.

The band takes their influences from a range of places. They take the heavy riffiness of Black Sabbath, the fun rock and roll vibe of bands like MC5 and the "grunge" edge of the likes of Nirvana as well as incorporating Mediterranean and Eastern elements. Having more of a punk background, it is refreshing to see these guys just playing some invigorating rock and roll. It is also nice to see the "punks" at shows getting their groove on to this sort of thing.
All three members are very good musicians. Yuval has written some great riffs and plays some blinding (that's British slang for "really, really good") solos, Ori plays cool bass lines and gives off a very joyous demeanour and Alon is an absolute nutter on the drums. Possibly one of the most creative new drummers I've seen at shows in the scene in a while. I actually first witnessed the band before their first proper show at an acoustic event. Yuval played acoustic guitar while Alon borrowed my cajon and was blasting out some pretty trippy beats.

After only having played their first few shows very recently, Azor are already working on the first album ''High Tempo Flight'', which is due for release in April, and plan to go on a European tour thereafter.  I urge you all to check them out if you ever get the opportunity to see them in person. In the meantime, you can see Beeran Production's filming of the band's debut show.