New Gum Sarn

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By Wal Reid

New Gum Sarn are relative newcomers to the local scene as vocalist Oscar Dowling & guitarist Durham Fenwick confide ‘they've been playing together for two years', they've also been busy carving out a name for themselves with their animated live shows garnishing word of mouth around the country building anticipation for their just released debut record New Gold Mountain.

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Symphony X

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By Mark Derricutt

It was many a year ago when I was first introduced to Symphony X,'The Damnation Game' had been out for just over a year with 'The Divine Wings of Tragedy' soon to be released - from those opening riffs and vocals I was hooked, and became an fan for life: here was a progressive metal band with huge melodies, harmonies, riffs and solos galore, but with little or no fanfare about being "music for musicians" - the only problem was I was the only one who had seemingly heard of them - my own little secret.

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Cymbol 303 & This Pale Fire

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By Ben Doy

Today (Friday July 24th) sees the release of Auckland producerCymbol 303 (Shivnesh Sumer) and singer/songwriter This Pale Fire(Corban Koschak) collaborative EP The Cycle. Described as EDM meets sensible indie-rock, I sat down for a chat with the duo in the lead up to the release and found out more about this intriguing project. 

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Vince Harder

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By Wal Reid

Singer/producer Vince Harder is holding a cuppa as I stroll in for the interview. We try to connect the ‘dots' figuring out who we know from our past backgrounds, cackling like a couple of old ladies in a hair salon... well not exactly but you get the drift - the conversation is flowing with no awkward pauses which is good thing especially when approaching an interview as I find out he has a new E.P. ‘Rare Vision' and he's playing tonight currently nursing a sore throat.

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Cosentino the Grand Illusionist

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By Wal Reid

Cosentino the Grand Illusionist is as cool in real life as the slightly heavy-metal pierced magic fiend portrayed in his tour poster. He has the kind of presence of a youthful Marilyn Manson however his demeanour and personality couldn't be a as far removed, in fact he's very pleasant, it's hard to believe this modern day ‘Houdini' has taken out Dancing With The Stars and was runner up in Australia's Got Talent, so it's not too crazy that maybe one day we get to see him on TV's The Bachelor?

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I Am Giant

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By Poppy Tohill

Juggling life in between New Zealand and the UK, finding a new frontman, working on a new EP, judging theX Factor NZ, releasing a brand-spanking new music video for their latest single ‘Kiss From A Ghost,' and preparing for the Australasian ‘Kiss From A Ghost Tour' you could say it has been a busy few months for London based kiwi rockers I Am Giant.

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Head Like A Hole

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By Clare McCabe 

Ah Head Like a Hole. A band we all know and love. But did you know they have a new album out and are about to embark on an NZ tour? Well they are, and recently I caught up with Nigel Regan, one of the original members of HLAH, for a lovely long chat. We covered, amongst many other things: the new album Narcocorrido, what to expect on the upcoming tour, their new(ish) bass player, supporting Aerosmith and that fabulous video for I'm On Fire. We started off reminiscing about previous HLAH videos...

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