Articles by Paul Miles

American hard rock supergroup Mr. Big played Melbourne’s Forum Theatre on Wednesday 6 June 2018, as part of their Defying Gravity World Tour, and first-ever visit to Australia. Formed in Los Angeles during 1988, the band has remained active and popular over the decades, with a particularly massive fan-base in Japan that loves their musicianship and vocal harmonies. Their ballad To Be with You from their second album went to number one on the singles charts in fifteen countries.

American rock band Escape the Fate played a sold-out show at Melbourne’s Corner Hotel on Wednesday 30 May 2018, as part of their Australian Tour celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the album This War Is Ours. That was the band’s second studio album, and the first to feature former Blessthefall singer Craig Mabbitt on vocals, after their original singer Ronnie Radke (Falling in Reverse) was fired as he went to prison for two years.

South African rockers Seether played Melbourne’s Forum Theatre on Friday 25 May 2018 as part of their Poison the Parish World Tour. Seether is Shaun Morgan on lead vocals and guitar, along with Dale Stewart on bass, John Humphrey (The Nixons) on drums, plus touring guitarist Corey Lowery (Stuck Mojo, Stereomud, Dark New Day). After forming in Pretoria during May 1999, the band released their seventh studio album Poison the Parish a year ago this month, which peaked on Australia’s ARIA Album Chart at number 29, and number 14 on the US Billboard 200 chart. The album is the band’s heaviest to date, and fans tonight enjoyed hearing a slew of tracks from it, along with classic Seether hits like Remedy, Fake It, Broken, Rise Above This, and Gasoline.

Australian pop rock band 5 Seconds of Summer performed a special intimate show at Melbourne’s 170 Russell on Tuesday 29 May 2018, as part of their 5SOS3 World Tour. The sold-out show coincided with the release of their new single Want You Back (already viewed almost 20 million times on YouTube) and serves as a teaser for their full-blown national tour later this year, following the release of their third studio album Youngblood next month.

Sweden’s legendary hard rock band Europe played Melbourne’s Palais Theatre on Saturday 19 May 2018, in the middle of their first-ever Australian Tour. Best known for their worldwide 1986 mega-hit The Final Countdown that reached number one in 25 countries, Europe has sold more than 25 million albums worldwide.

Brazilian heavy metal icons Sepultura kicked-off their Australian Tour at 170 Russell in Melbourne on Tuesday 15 May 2018. Sepultura has released fourteen studio albums to date that have sold almost 20 million copies worldwide, garnering them multiple gold and platinum records around the globe, and making them the most successful Brazilian heavy metal band in history. The band’s current lineup consists of vocalist Derrick Green, guitarist Andreas Kisser, bassist Paulo Jr. and drummer Eloy Casagrande. The Melbourne crowd enjoyed another blistering live performance that culminated with a final encore song of their classic song Roots Bloody Roots.

San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal band Death Angel played Melbourne’s 170 Russell on Tuesday 15 May 2018 to kick-off their Australian Tour. The Californians are touring behind their eighth studio album The Evil Divide that was released in 2016 and reached number 80 on the Australian ARIA album charts. The band was initially active between 1982 and 1991, and now again since 2001. The line-up has remained the same over the last 9 years, which includes original lead guitarist Rob Cavestany, singer Mark Osegueda, rhythm guitarist Ted Aguilar, bassist Damien Sisson, and drummer Will Carroll.

Legendary voodoo guitarist Kid Congo Powers – best known for his work with Gun Club, The Cramps, and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – played The Croxton in Melbourne on Saturday 12 May 2018, as part of his Australian Tour, following on from two previous tours Down Under that sold out. The 59-year-old Mexican-American was president of the Ramones fan club in 1976, and then formed the Gun Club in Los Angeles a few years later. He left that group before their recording debut, instead taking his fuzz guitar to New York-based band The Cramps in December 1980. Powers rejoined Gun Club in 1983 and toured Australia, returning again in ’85, and ’88, at which point he then joined Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds in Berlin for several albums and corresponding tours.

Australian alternative rockers Rocket Science played The Croxton in Melbourne on Saturday 12 May 2018. After forming in Melbourne during 1998, the band went on to release four albums between 2000 and 2008, when they disbanded late in that year. A benefit concert performance in 2014 reignited the band that comprises energetic front-man Roman Tucker on vocals and keyboards (and theramin), Paul Maybury on guitar, Dave Gray on bass, and Kit Warhurst on drums. Rocket Science says they play trashy-psychedelic-garage-punk with new wave, no-wave art-punk enthusiasm.

Dublin’s finest young pop rock band The Script played the first Australian show of their Freedom Child Tour at Melbourne’s Hisense Arena on Thursday 19 April 2018. Returning Down Under after a three-year absence, The Script is Danny O’Donoghue (vocals/keyboard), Mark Sheehan (lead guitar) and Glen Power (drums). After forming in 2007, the band made a grand entrance into the global charts with their eponymous UK #1 debut album in 2008 and its epic, emotionally-charged pop rock anthems Man Who Can’t Be Moved, We Cry, Before The Worst and three-time ARIA Platinum Breakeven.