The Cold Cut

Kings Of Leon- Crawl (Link 2) (Link 3) or download from the band (preferably).

Discuss: Kings Of Leon- Unstoppable?

Kings Of Leon will creep up on you. Just when did they get this big? "This" being "walk-in-the-park Glasto headlining" big and "trotting out brilliant albums every year" big. I get the simultaneously wonderful and terrifying impression that nothing can stop this band... Most optimistic fans weren't expecting to hear from the band until 2009, at the earliest. And yet, information trickled out of the KOL camp that a new album, 'Only By The Night' is to be released in the US on September 22.

Yesterday, NME broke the news that they would be doing an exclusive free download of a new album track 'Crawl' between the hours of 3-5 PM on Monday 28th July. And download I did. The album now feels within touching distance. You can head over to NME now (the download is still up).

So, the verdict? These boys can do no wrong. 'Crawl' is dirty, grimy and sounds like a direct progression of their 'Because Of The Times' sessions. They riff on pop culture, with the repeated chorus of 'Walk away, walk away', and there is even enough time at the end for a fitting guitar solo (an element largely left out of their music... until now). In short, this song is nigh-on perfect, and once again, they appear to be moving onwards and upwards. The question is, will the Kings ever hit a wall? On the basis of this and the three preceding albums, I wouldn't bet on it.

The album's first single is called 'Fri On Fire'. No news on the release yet, but a mid-August release woudl be the safe bet to allow the pre-album heat to build. The album can be pre-ordered via Amazon. The band are also embarking on a UK arena tour this Christmas:

Brighton Centre (December 1)
Nottingham Trent FM Arena (December 2)
Newcastle Metro Arena (December 4)
Sheffield Arena (December 5)
Glasgow SECC (December 7)
Liverpool Echo Arena (December 8)
Birmingham NIA (December 10)
London O2 Arena (December 11)
Bournemouth BIC (December 14)
Manchester Evening News Arena (December 16)
Cardiff International Arena (December 17)

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One of my recent acquisitions was the latest album by Foo Fighters, named Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace. Honestly, I was expecting it to be a bit samey/turgid like many of their previous offerings (aka a few standout tracks but on the whole disappointing). In short, I was badly mistaken- this album is by far their best to date, and has you wondering where the real Dave Grohl has been since the days of Nirvana.

A couple of weeks back I gave in to the constant nudging of my friend Joe and listened to the first single off this album, The Pretender. If you haven't heard it, listen up (and download it below)- its a heart-attack inducing whirlwind of a song, all heavy guitar riffs and soft interludes- sounds weird, but trust me, it works. Having a brilliant video can't have done any harm either: heavily played on MTV, the song features the band facing off against a parade of riot police with some extra-special CGI magic to cap it off (watch it on youtube; you wont be disappointed). But back to the album- The Pretender opens in theatrical fashion, and for the next few songs it doesn't let up. Next comes Let It Die, another song which walks the line between a heartfelt ballad and heavy metal classic to great success. Followed up by the well crafted duo that is Erase/Replace and Long Road To Ruin, these first 4 songs set the initial tone for the album, one which is smashed a few songs later by the acoustic Stranger Things Have Happened, harking back to the band's overlong In Your Honour days. From this point on, various styles find their way onto the album, most obviously on the guitar duel (minus vocals) that is The Ballad Of The Beaconfield Miners, about the collapse of a mine in Australia last year.

The only negative thing I have to so say about this album is the fact that the second half of the album is a little rock-less, but when you put this into the context of the first few songs (all intense) you feel you can forgive them for it. On the whole, this is by far their best album to date, combining classic rock characteristics with more sentimental elements into a series of different songs which together produce an album of perfect length; not something you often get with the Foo Fighters- up until now its definitely been the 'bigger is better' mentality, which is unfortunately not the case with music. I was a bit worried after the excessively lengthy and poor In Your Honour, but Echoes, Patience, Silence & Grace has restored my faith in the Foo Fighters as one of America's great no-nonsense rock bands.

Foo Fighters- The Pretender
Foo Fighters- Let It Die
Foo Fighters- Long Road To Ruin
Foo Fighters- Stranger Things Have Happened