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As December Falls
Scene Queen
Vukovi
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D ISRUP T T H E N O IS E
Sad Park
Naked Lungs
Palehound
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AUGUST 2023
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upsetmagazine.com
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Let’s be honest - over the eight and a bit years Upset has been going, there are some bands who have very much laid the foundations. You could nod at Waterparks or Creeper, as acts who have resonated to create their own brilliant, wonderful worlds, but you’d be folly to leave out PVRIS from the conversation. New album ‘Evergreen’ is a remarkable work of bright, bold invention. Lynn Gunn belongs on the biggest stages. May those green shoots grow ever taller.
Stephen Ackroyd @stephenackroyd Editor
August 2023 RIOT! 4. Download 2023 12. Scene Queen 14. Vukovi 18. Static Dress 22. Sad Park ABOUT TO BREAK 24. Naked Lungs FEATURES 26. PVRIS 36. As December Falls 40. Zand 44. Mutoid Man TEENAGE KICKS 50. Palehound
UPSET Editor Stephen Ackroyd Deputy Editor Victoria Sinden Associate Editor Ali Shutler
Scribblers Alex Ingle, Dan Harrison, Kelsey McClure, Sam Taylor, Steven Loftin Snappers Alice Baxley, Frances Beach, Nicholas O’Donnell, Olli Appleyard, Sarah Louise Bennett, Tonje Thilesen PUBLISHED FROM WELCOMETOTHEBUNKER.COM PO BOX 420, HASTINGS, TN34 9LZ
All material copyright (c). All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, in whole or in part, without the express written permission of The Bunker Publishing Ltd. Disclaimer: While every effort is made to ensure the information in this magazine is correct, changes can occur which affect the accuracy of copy, for which The Bunker Publishing Ltd holds no responsibility. The opinions of the contributors do not necessarily bear a relation to those of Dork or its staff and we disclaim liability for those impressions. Distributed nationally.
THE MONTH IN ROCK
DOWN -LOAD DOWNLOAD may be home to some iconic legends of heavy music’s past, but 2023’s edition proves there’s plenty of forward thinking new music to light the way.
Words: Ali Shutler. Photos: Frances Beach.
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→ DOWNLOAD 2023 SEES THE HEAVY METAL FESTIVAL CELEBRATE ITS 20TH ANNIVERSARY, but for an event so often concerned with heritage, this year’s gathering was more a celebration of the present and future of heavy music. And that’s fine by us; Upset has never been much concerned with legacy. From Bambie Thug’s industrial rave through Nova Twins’ absolutely mammoth main stage debut to Bring Me The Horizon’s overdue and ambitious Friday night headline set, Download 2023 feels like the arrival of the new generation. And the regulars seem to know it. Closing out the Sunday night, Slipknot’s ferocious headline set feels more feral than usual, with the band out to prove it isn’t the end following the sudden and mysterious departure of founding member Craig Jones just days before the event while Metallica’s two-night takeover gives the thrash icons more space to explore the breadth of their back catalogue. Crossover anthems like ‘Enter Sandman’ and ‘Master Of Puppets’ hit as hard as ever, but there’s also room for the tightly wound ‘Lux Æterna’ and the sprawling ‘Call Of Ktulu’. Reworking their in-the-round stage show from their current M72 stadium tour, the two shows allow die-hard fans to get up close and personal with Metallica, but it leaves those towards the edges of the 80,000 crowd out in the cold at times. The same can’t be said for Ghost, whose gloriously theatrical Sunday evening set all but guarantees them a headline slot the next time they visit. Evanescence played the very first Download in 2001 and haven’t been back since 2007, so it’s no surprise that their second stage headline slot on the Saturday night demands one of the biggest crowds of the weekend. Pulling equally from iconic breakout album ‘Fallen’ and 2021’s glorious ‘The Bitter Truth’, their set masterfully weaves between then and now with vocalist Amy Lee a commanding presence and her vocals still mesmerisingly brilliant. Alexisonfire walk a similar path with vintage emo anthems from ‘Crisis’ as intense as the tracks from post-reunion album
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ASK YOURSELF, COULD YOU BE HAPPIER? Fresh from a slew of nominations at this year’s Heavy Music Awards, Glasgow’s VUKOVI are a band on a roll. So what’s next? Words: Ali Shutler. Photos: Frances Beach.
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Fresh from a European tour with Bring Me The Horizon and with another pencilled in for early next year, STATIC DRESS’ Olli Appleyard and Sam Kay speak to Upset about being lame onstage and their exciting Redux version of debut album, ‘Rouge Carpet Disaster’. Words: Ali Shutler. Photos: Olli Appleyard.
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EVERG With a sense of optimism and a slice of ethereal escapism, Lynn Gunn is taking a bold new direction. A record of connection and catharsis in a world increasingly distant and dissonant, new album ‘Evergreen’ is PVRIS in full bloom. Words: Ali Shutler. Photos: Sarah Louise Bennett.
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GREEN
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JOIN With their foundations firmly set, AS DECEMBER FALLS are throwing open the doors. Words: Ali Shutler.
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ZAND isn’t scared of making a statement, but with new release ‘Sewerstar’, they’re out to challenge everything.
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Words: Steven Loftin. Photos: Frances Beach.
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ALTER
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ONES ZONES MUTOID MAN are back, armed with a treasure trove of gnarly sounds and a newfound sense of confidence. Words: Steven Loftin.
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