It has been four year’s since the band has taken the stage at Donnington before the death of Paul Gray.

I have been fortunate enough to see them before and after his death and I am always blown away by the spirit they have and how incredible they are live.

Except for two stoppages due to the main stage barrier giving way – the band gave it everything they had and the crowd couldn’t of appreciated it more.

Roll on the next two days of rock, music, friends, many beers and experiences like that!

They released their self-produced, self-titled debut album after just 6 months together, to great reviews. Whilst still retaining melodic sensibilities, the band decided that a new name warranted a change of direction, hence a much darker, heavier and far more mature sound.

In the 12 months that the band has been together, Fahran have enjoyed success as the openers on the debut I AM I tour in October 2012 (ZP ex-Dragonforce’s new melodic rock venture), plus supported UK rock troubadours, Heaven’s Basement in Feb 2013. In addition to this, the band appeared at BT London Live in London’s Hyde Park as part of the London 2012 celebrations on the band stand stage and will be headlining the Fethiye Festival in Turkey in May 2013.

The band are currently writing songs for their 2nd album and will no doubt be playing as many shows as they can, honing their sound and performance further and beyond their years.
This is a band that has worked for all they have achieved, leaving them with a seasoned gravitas. Fahran continue to forge a sound far greater than the sum of their parts that is redolent of no one and is entirely their own.

We got a chance to sit down with lead singer Nick Whitcroft ahead of the band’s Download slot and here is what he had to say.

S: Hi Nick, how are you doing today?

N: Fine and dandy, thanks! How goes it with you?

S: We are doing great – thank you for asking. What influenced you to get into music?

N: I wouldn’t say I had a single trigger point for wanting to be involved in music. I’ve spent my whole life surrounded by it – from the varying genres of my parents’ tastes, to my brother and friends setting the alternative angle into my head, to getting into choir singing back when I was a littlun.

Music was always the thing that I escaped to growing up – whatever was going on in my life, it was never football, it was the life of the nerd I escaped to: music, computers, writing, and the like. And surrounding yourself with that it’s only a matter of time until you realise you want to play a role making other people feel that same wealth of emotion you get out of the music that surrounds you!

S: Tell us about how the writing and recording is coming along for your second album?

N: Really great actually. It’s quite different not having the same time pressures as the debut – back then we knew we had to get a full release out there ASAP to give us the groundwork for making ourselves known. This sophomore release is going to be even more a labor of love than the first.

We’ve actually started tracking drums for several tracks already – a few numbers are already at the stage that we’re trying them out at shows and seeing how they go down (so far, pretty good!). There’s about 30+ demos bouncing between us at the moment too so we should have a pretty hefty cutting process at the end of the recording stage giving us an album we’ll be really proud to put out there for you guys to hear!

S: For anyone that doesn’t know – how did the band form?

N: Jake, JR and Alex have been playing together pretty much since the day they stopped wearing nappies, so when they’re previous singer and second guitarist departed there was never really a chance they weren’t going to carry on making music together. At that point I had just moved back down to London (ironically from the Midlands) and was looking for a new band to work with, having had my previous lineup scattered across this country and the next.

I had ads up in various places and soon received a message from the guys inviting me to come up for an audition. It was slightly surreal at first, making the 2-3 hour trek up to Derbyshire but you know when you just have a feeling…? Well, a year and a half down the line and here we are! Jake then met Chris when they were both studying music together and the pair hit it off like a house on fire. He fitted perfectly into the band chemistry when he came to jam with us and we haven’t looked back!

S: Are you excited to be playing at Download this year?

N: Does the pope have a balcony? Does Rebecca Black like Fridays? Does Dolly Parton sleep on her back? Does Chris like tea? We couldn’t be more stoked! 13:50 on the Saturday on the Jägermeister stage, people – we’ll see you there!

S: Tell us what is next for you guys after Donnington?

N: After Download it’s straight on to Bloodstock for us – a big summer of festivals! We’re currently working on the logistics of a full tour later on in the year – all of us already miss being on the road. Around that, every available minute is going to be spent in the studio working on tracks for the new album, so it’s a busy but really rewarding time for us right now!

S: Have you any pre-show rituals that you must do before going on stage?

N: Well, aside from my vocal warm-ups (which anyone who’s a singer or friends with a singer will tell you basically involve a whole host of embarrassingly hilarious noises) it usually winds up with everyone sipping tea whilst me and JR find some convenient piece of furniture to use for tricep dips – we’re cool like that

S: If you had to name one album as your favourite of all time – what would it be?

N: I’m not a big one for favourites – for a guy who listens to bands like Led Zep, Queen, Dire Straits, Thrice, The Cat Empire, Pain Of Salvation, Shinedown and god knows who else in pretty equal measure, picking a favourite just closes the mind a bit. I’ve had an unhealthy obsession with Thrice’s Major/Minor album for a fair while now though – those guys just really know how to craft incredible music and their presence on stage is effortless.

S: What musician or band would you love to tour with if you got the chance (past or present)?

N: I think, for this band especially, all of us would turn jelly-kneed if we ended up on the road with the Alter Bridge guys. Rolling back to the past, I’d probably have to say Queen. Because…well, because it’s Queen – do I really need to say more??

Check the guys out at 13:50 on Saturday 15th June on the Jägermeister stage.

If you like stomping riffs, ear melting solos and choruses to make the walls sweat, this may be the band for you.

Taking influence from the metal of the 80′s and early 90′s as well as the heavier music of today, THE WILD LIES deliver a sound that is indisputably their own, whilst giving a classic style a new lease of life.

The Wycombe 5 piece have been hitting the gig scene hard this year supporting the likes of Jettblack and Reckless Love at Londons famous Barfly venue.

Produced by Mikee Goodman (ex Sikth), the debut EP “Jacks Out The Box” has also received national radio play most notably on the XFM rockshow with Ian Camfield.

We got a chance to sit down with the guys ahead of their Download 2013 performance.

S: Well guys, how are you doing today?

WL: Quite hung over as we played Ipswich last night,. it was a great show, the crowd was awesome, it was mostly chicks which made a change!

S: Ha ha ha that would be good for you guys! Can you tell us what or who influenced you to get into music?

WL: We listened to all kinds of stuff growing up but we have common ground with bands like Iron Maiden, Guns and Roses and Pantera.

S: Ok great, tell us about the writing and recording of ‘’Jacks Out The Box’’?

WL: Working with Mikee Goodman and Simon Hanhart (Saxon, Asia) was really inspiring. They got us to play out of the box and try things we wouldn’t usually try. Because we’re all perfectionists working in the studio can take its toll to get the result you want, but we are really proud of the songs and the way they turned out.

S: For anyone that doesn’t know – how did the band form?

WL: This band formed from an earlier project known as Izzi Stone. Due to differences we went our separate ways and joined forces with Zak and Andre from Vintage Crow and Tom from Cascades, and now that is The Wild Lies!

S: So are you a little bit excited to be playing Download festival this year?

WL: Just a bit! We have all been coming since we were kids. Going from looking up at the stage to finally playing it is going to be mad!! It is an honour.

S: What you you guys up to after this festival appearance?

WL: We are playing a load oif Uni gigs across the UK which is awesome as students are always up for it! Then its the Camden Underworld with faster Pussycat on the 3rd July and back in the Studio at the end of Summer to work on some new material.

S: We like to ask bands if they have any pre-show rituals that you must do before going on stage?

WL: Its always good to have a shit and a shot!

S: If you had to name one album as your favourite of all time – what would it be?

WL: Wow! That’s hard. Its like asking which one of your kids you love the most (s: We’ll ask you that question in a few years!)

I guess you have to say Hysteria by Def Leppard as it is pretty much the perfect album. They spent years recording it and every song was a hit. Gotta love the production by Mutt Lange

S: What musician or band would you love to tour with if you got the chance (past or present)?

WL:I guess you have to say someone like Beethoven, did he tour? That would have been an epic lineup.

The band will be playing at the Red Bull Stage on Saturday 15th June at 11.40am.

Hard Rock Calling has fully established itself as one of the UK’s must see outdoor music events. The stage at Hard Rock Calling attracts some of the biggest musicians and bands in the world, with previous headliners including The Who, Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Stevie Wonder, Aerosmith, Peter Gabriel, Pearl Jam, The Police, The Killers, Rod Stewart and Bon Jovi.

Tickets are available but selling fast – get yours now by visiting www.hardrockcalling.co.uk.

British alt rockers Lower Than Atlantis and acoustic singer songwriter Jack Savoretti will join headliners Kasabian on Saturday 29th June. Passenger (aka Mike Rosenberg) will be joing headliners Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, as second stage headliner on Sunday 30th June.

Tickets are on sale now. Tickets for Saturday 29 June are priced at £45 plus booking fee. Tickets for Sunday 30 June are priced at £62.50 plus booking fee.

Tickets available at www.hardrockcallling.co.uk

To buy VIP Experiences and Hospitality please visit www.livenationexperience.co.uk or call + 44 207 009 3484

Formed in 2010 and taking a powerful chunk of influence from proto-punk acts such as Iggy and the Stooges, Motorhead and early Alice Cooper as well as a sliver of 90s grunge and stoner rock, Black Moth draw out the darker elements and combine them with the heaving riffs of heavy metal giants, Pentagram and Black Sabbath, with hooks so sharp you could hang a corpse on them.

They also look to more current acts such as the Melvins, Sleep and Electric Wizard for inspiration, though singer, Harriet Bevan, still maintains a vocal style that evokes the haunting psychedelia of Grace Slick and psych-Satanist, Jinx Dawson from Coven: the woman responsible for the “sign of the horns” in rock’n'roll.

We got a chance to speak with Harriet ahead of the band’s Saturday Download appearance.

S: Hi Harriet, how the hell are you today?

H: Hotter than hell (but not dressed in satin and lace) in the studio right now. I’ve been sentenced to a day of silence before I lay down the vocals and I was failing miserably to shut the f*ck up so I thought I’d talk to you guys.

S: Awesome, we will get cracking so and dig right in. What or who influenced you to get into music?

H: I don’t ever remember making a conscious decision… I have honestly wanted to be in a band for as long as I can remember. Jimmy and I have been in bands together since we were 13. The first female band I saw live was The Breeders and I was a huge fan.

I remember spending the whole gig screaming all the words to the song and grinning like a maniac at Kim, who I totally idolised. At the end of the gig she personally handed me her set list. For some reason that stands out as an early influence!

S. Apart from that ‘Breeders’ show, is there any other show that stands out in your mind?

H: Playing Leeds festival was pretty mind-blowing as its the big festival in our home town so it was ace to play something on that scale when the crowd is largely made up of your mates! Also our London date with Turbowolf at Highbury Garage was pretty immense as that was the biggest crowd we’ve played too- and turbofans are insane!

S: You mentioned that you have been playing in bands since you were 13, tell us a little bit about the formation of the band?

H: Myself, Jim and Dave were in another band for a few years before that was essentially a garage rock outfit but with a bit of an identity crisis as it took us a whole to meld our influences into something cohesive and focused.

When our drummer, Dom McCready, joined us, it felt like we had our proper line up at long last, and things just started to work. We had a sound and we knew what we were doing. That was Black Moth, and it was heavy! Then after recording our first album we liked the idea of having two guitarists in the band and the flexibility that would give us so invited Nico to join us. We’re now writing as a five piece.

S: With playing large festivals before – do you get excited about playing at Download this year?

H: Very much so- we have a very good feeling about this. Perhaps just because we’re playing in the same field as Motörhead.

S: Tell us what is next for you guys after Donnington?

H: We fly to Rome a few days later to begin a little tour in Italy and Switzerland! A couple of the gigs are with the mighty Red Fang. Should be quite an adventure!

S: Have you any pre-show rituals that you must do before going on stage?

H: Yes we do our Danzig workout… You can use your imaginations as to what that entails!

S: If you had to (HAD TO) name one album as your favourite of all time – what would it be?

H: That is IMPOSSIBLE!!! The first that springs to mind though, is Raw Power by Iggy and the Stooges. No other album makes me lose my shit quite like that one…

S: What musician or band would you love to tour with if you got the chance (past or present)?

H: Probably The Stooges. Or maybe KISS for the spectacle?!

Black Moth will be rocking the Red Bull stage at 13:55 on Saturday 15th June – be sure to check them out!