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We've added a forum to the site so that you can discuss allthings related to STML (and some things not related to STML!).
Click on the "forum" link in the menu to the right. |
The new album "Dance of the Mad" is complete and will be released in March, hopefully at our swish launch party that we are currently trying to arrange. Failing that, we'll release it by holding some kind of armed robbery at HMV or somesuch. Perhaps.
Anyhow, it's 8 tracks long, 4 studio, and 4 live (Bannerman's last August). and is priiced at £9 from here. (see link below) |
STML are definitely trying to blend at least two or three rock styles into their sound. And while proficient and worth a listen, they tend to sound like Muse.
First song on the demo Sleep On It with its vintage heavy metal rock guitars and Robert Plant-style vocals is a runaway foot stomper that would have the moshers red raw. The band give their influences as Queens Of The Stone Age and Muse which you see. While the guitars are heavy and distorted the lyrics are imaginative and poetic like Muse.
The bass groove helps to lift the second song Royale from okay to not bad. But the chorus of You Will Always Be My Hero gives it a fair stab at being a stadium anthem. But the lyrics aren't as good as Sleep On It and there isn't really a sense of what the song is actually about.
Third song Temptress is unfortunately a pedestrian heavy metal workout by numbers. From lyrics like: 'Shimmer out of the darkness/A vision piercing a heart' to the occasional scratch from a DJ deck this is too obvious and is instantly forgettable.
But Edinburgh-based STML are definitely worth checking out. Judging from the power driven riffs and big lyrical content this is a band you need to see live to get the best from them.
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From "The Scene" - Stornoway Gazette
Up next were Dragging The Lake with another of their intensely-delivered sets of pounding/ringing-loud/quiet, intricately-arranged emo-originals. Over the last year or so this band has, without a shadow of a doubt, developed into an adept writing and performing machine that to these ears sounds every bit as good as any 'name band', playing their particular brand of rock n' roll. Not only that, they should also be recognized as one of the driving forces behind the resurgence of local bands writing and performing their own material. Much the same could be said for the third act on the bill, the always entertaining, but never predictable Noisenik Riots, who slapped us mercilessly on the head i with what had to be one of their tightest, heaviest and most brutally sinister sets to date prompting one audience member to utter 'they're pretty scary, aren't they?'
Then it was time for headliners S.T.M.L., who are based in Edinburgh, and feature lain Macaulay on vocals/guitar, to take the stage for their first-ever gig in Stornoway. Wielding a cannon of hard-hitting, radio-friendly, hook-laden, heavy- riff rock (think the Wildhearts meets Queens Of The Stone Age) ,that's been road-tested and honed to a diamond-hard perfection, they were pretty intent on givin' up the goods. The rhythm section (Alex Benzie on drums and Dave McGinty on bass) were rock-solid and the clever interplay displayed between lain MacAulay and John Hughes whose guitar parts grab you by the ears and hold your interest from the first to the last note, were certainly a huge part of the appeal. But it's Iain's assertive delivery and powerful classic (in every sense of the word) hard rock vocals leaping out at ya' that's the icing on the cake. Add it all together and you've got exactly what the website (www.stmlmusic.com) says, 'a band that has to be seen live, in its natural habitat, to be fully appreciated' - couldn't have said it better myself. Glad I didn't miss that one! |
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Kirkintilloch Gig Cancelled
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| The gig at Bar Bliss with 13 Broken Fingers has been cancelled. We're not entirely sure why, but judging by the reaction of those wonderful Highlanders at the Market Bar, it can only be Kirkintilloch's loss! |
| STML will be touring Scotland in May 2004, with dates being arranged for Aberdeen, Glasgow, Dundee, Edinburgh, Perth and others. More detals soon. |
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STML chosen as Featured Artist
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| STML have been chosen as the featured artist on Isles FM, the independent radio station of the Western Isles. This coincides with an excellent review in the Stornaway Gazette, which will be featured here soon. |
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STML to go back into studio
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| STML will be recording new material over the next couple of weeks in preparation for a release in April, to coincide with the Scottish Tour. As yet, the final decision on what material to record has still to be made, although it seems likely that there will be a mix of new and tested material. |
finally STML have a well produced quality demo that `RAAAAAAAWKS` your mums socks off!
The masterpiece in its own rite was recorded at SPLIT LEVEL STUDIOS courtesy of our good friend Neil. It includes the tracks:THE CRUSH, SOLPACINO and BREATHE. This will be available soon so hold tight and we shall keep you informed. stay well - peace out
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** IMPORTANT ** - Gig Moved
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OK, OK - Socks Are Being Pulled Up....
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Alright, completion of this site has been slowed somewhat by unforeseen circumstances, including two burglaries and moving house (now out of little Bosnia - wahey!). Anyhow, I`m going to recommence work on the site very shortly, with my priorities being the messageboard and mp3 pages, and then fill up with the other easy to do content, like gallery and links and stuff.
On a different note, our friends at CoolDevilHills have parted company with each other. Andy is now working with Endorphin (www.endorphinuk.com) and starts gigging with them on 16th October at La Belle Angele. Intersting to see how he fits with their sound, which is kinda Muse meets early Stereophonics, now presumably meeting Stevie Ray Vaughan, but that remains to be seen ;-).
Hopefully, we`ll be playing with them soon, but more on that later.
Catch you all later,
John |
A big thank you to all who attended the Friday Night gig at Bannermans, and made us feel so appreciated.
Tons of people there who were seeing us for the first time, and it was nice to get such a great reaction.
Thanks again
The STML crew |
Due to the continued disappearance of our contracted engineer (again) we`re currently doing some in-house mastering on the CD, and it will be ready in a matter of days.
Apologies to all of you who have been waiting for a copy over the last few weeks, we have been as frustrated as you.
Copies should be available by the weekend. |
| Hmmmm..... mastering is taking a little longer than we hoped. For all those people to whom we have promised copies, they will be with you as soon as possible |
Karen, organiser of The Medows Festival (live music) wrote: "The sound engineers did a really good job. That is the best sound I have ever heard for STML."
http://207.21.217.38/ems/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1046 |
Wally, organiser of Edinburgh Rock Club Keroscene says the highlinght of the Meadows festival was "a blinding set by STML"
His review, posted at the forum of the Edinburgh Metal Scene reads...
"What a good weekend! It was nice to put some more names to faces and to chat to some others that I really hadn`t had the chance to chat to before.
Highlights for me included: [In order]
A blinding set by STML.
Pleasant suprises in the form of Nixie Kye and The Starry Wisdom Cult, both of whom kicked severe arse!
Kirsty`s Cape!
Spinal Tap-esque late arrivals by both The Erratix and a certain member of Abigails Glorious Voice who will remain nameless!
Maya29`s blinding day two opener.
Shindig realising that their set didn`t contain the most "family-friendly" lyrics.
Penny Hollow`s brief set. (yet another pleasant surprise!)
The Downsides included:
The Superheroes: 30 minutes of Rush-inspired noodle-rock, nothankyouverymuch!
Penny Hollow`s set (and, indeed the day itself) being cut short by the crappy weather.
All in all, I think anyone who was there will agree it was a bloody good two days, despite things being brought to a rather abrupt climax.
To those of you who didn`t go, I can reccomend checking out any of the bands above (except The Superheroes!) as they all kicked arse!
Winston: cheers for the Sothern Comfort cap, although I did end up giving the other two to Kynon and Ross.
Karen: Bloody great job in putting all this together! I did get Sunburn from saturday, it turns out, but only on the back of my arms. (I`d been wondering what that stinging sensation was! )
-Wally.
"I ain`t evil, I`m just good looking!"
http://come.to/keroscene2
http://207.21.217.38/ems/forum/topic.asp?whichpage=2&ARCHIVEVIEW=&TOPIC_ID=957
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| The new CD has been recorded and will be mixed on the 4th of June. To ensure that you get your copy please leave your email address in the subscribe box below and we will contact you with details when it is ready for public exposure. Your email will NOT be used by any third parties. |
| The guestbook is now working, please sign it |
| The NEWS and GIGS areas of the site are now operational. Expect to see them fully updated over the next few days. |
STML have spent the weekend in the studio at Jewel and Esk Valley College recording 4 tracks for an EP later this summer. Three tracks will be selected from the four recorded, which were Call Your Name, Tribe, Nursery Cryme, and new song Breathe.
More information will be released here when it is available. |
The STML website is currently undergoing a massive overhaul, in order to bring you a more user friendly experience, and also to make it much easier for us to keep it up-to-date.
As many of you will know, this site has not really been as up-to-date as it should be; the new site will, however, as John is designing a whole new content-driven site (for those of you who know what that means) which can be updated by any one of several people, and not just by HTML carthorse John himself !.
Anyhow, for the time being all you need to know is -
Meadows fesitaval - Saturday 1st June
Alloa - Saturday 22nd June
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STML To Play Meadows Festival
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STML have been confirmed to appear at Edinburgh`s Meadows festival, which takes place over the weekend of the 1st and 2nd June.
This is STML`s first festival appearance, after proving popular on the local club scene over the last 15 months.
Other bands confirmed include old STML bassist, Norm O`Malley`s Abigails Glorious Voice, Penny Hollow, Maya 29, PsychEssential, and others.
More information is available at www.meadowsfestival.co.uk |
The band have confirmed that they will be recording several tracks this weekend coming at Jewel and Esk Valley. Which tracks are still to be confirmed, although it is expected that 3 or 4 will be recorded.
Engineerer will be Richie, ex-drummer of Playtone and graduate of JEVC`s HND in Live and Recorded music. |
STML have added further gigs to the summer schedule, including dates in Edinburgh (Hard Rock Cafe, Club Java and The Venue) and Glasgow (Curler`s). The Hard Rock Cafe and Club Java gigs are "battle-of-the-bands" competitions. Please turn up to show your support. Details are on the gigs page. The Glasgow date will be the first chance for people outside Edinburgh to catch the STML experience.
Previous Angulus band-mates SlowLoris, have just played their first live set at the Smoke Album launch in Glasgow, and rumours suggest theirt first Edinburgh date will be part of Planet Pop, although the details are yet to be announced.
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STML completed the recording of three tracks at the weekend out at Split Level studios in Ingliston, with Neil McNaught on production.
The initial results sound very promising, but the final mixing and post-production will be carried out next Tuesday, back at the studio. The three tracks recorded were Call Your Name, Alone, and Never Again.
Copies will be available for sale from band members soon afterwards, although obviously not in time for tomorrow night`s gig at Bannerman`s as was originally hoped.
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STML will be heading into Split Level studios in Edinburgh next week to record demo versions of three of their songs. These are likely to be Call Your Name, Alone and Never Again, although this has yet to be confirmed.
It is most likely that the dates of recording will be Wednesday 21st and Thursday 22nd of March, depending on studio availability (while not thought to be a problem), and John and Iain`s work commitments, coupled with Alex and Norman`s college commitments.
It is believed at the moment that further recordings will follow shortly, using the college facilities to which Alex and Norman both have access.
Another development is that STML will hopfully be playing Edinburgh and Dundee dates later in the year with highly rated Dundee based band Mercury Tilt Switch. These dates will be late spring or early summer and have yet to be confirmed. STML also hope to play the Glastonbelly festival with Mercury Tilt Switch and The Damn Quails amongst others. John and Alex`s previous band Angulus played at the festival last year, which drew a crowd of roughly 1,000.
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STML completed their first major gig last night in front of a crowd of over 300 at the Venue in Edinburgh.
The set was very well received, overshadowing powerful performances by Alfonso and The White Room. All this was achieved despite a chest/throat infection for John, who struggled through the set valiantly, reaching the end just before his voice gave up.
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STML have arranged a second Bannerman`s performance, which is scheduled for Wednesday 28th March.
As usual for Bannerman`s this will be a free performance, and will start at 10pm. STML will be playing with college band Charly`s Boat, who coincidentally are managed by Iain.
New dates will be arranged soon to create a tour probably during mid to late April, which will take in much of Scotland, and probably Newcastle and Carlisle also. Watch these pages for details.
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It appears that John`s and Alex`s previous band Angulus are trying to start a feud with STML after posting messages on the message-board on this website accusing John and Iain of poaching Alex from them.
Since Alex`s departure, Angulus have re-launched under the name Slowloris and will be undertaking a change of direction.
STML have issued a flat denial that Alex was poached from Angulus, Alex has added that he chose to leave Angulus for his own personal reasons and that he was never asked to by any member of STML.
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Venue Tickets Now Available
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Tickets for the gig at the Venue on 28th January are now on sale from band members of the three bands performing. The ticket price is £3 per ticket, are sales are already reported to be high, so everyone is encouraged to get hold of tickets as soon as possible.
The other two bands performing will be Alfonso, and The White Room.
Set Times as follows:
Alfonso - 9:00 - 9:45
STML - 10:00 - 10:45
The White Room - 11:00 - 11:45
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Last Night`s STML performance supporting Cool Devil Hills at Bannerman`s in Edinburgh proved to be a storming success for the band who, by the admission of members of CDH, blew CDH off the stage.
While this might be a little unfair on Cool Devil Hills, STML certainly did put in a storming performance that was enjoyed and appreciated by an enthusiastic crowd, belying the fact that the band have been rehearsing and writing together for little over a month.
All promises well for the February 28th performance at the Venue, where the band could well be playing in front of a crowd of over 300!
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Alex has announced to the band that he has announced to the band that he has decided to quit Angulus to concentrate on practicing and performing with STML.
This had not been entirely unexpected as a long term move but the speed with which Alex made up his mind shocked STML`s other former Angulus member John.
"I know Alex had been thinking of this for a while, but I also know how much he valued Jamie and Caireen as friends, as I also did whilst a member of Angulus. Quitting Angulus was one of the hardest decisions of my life, and I guess it must have been for Alex also."
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Welcome to the new website of Edinburgh band STML, newly formed from members of Angulus, Czekai and Abigail`s Glorious Voice. On this site the band will keep you up to date with events which are happening regarding the band, and with plans for live dates, recordings, releases and so on. The website is being launched in its most basic form today, but in the near future further additions will be made to the content, such as soundfiles, fanclub membership, a mailing list and so on.
Please browse this site at your leisure. Add this site to your "favourites" (IE4/5) or "bookmarks" (Netscape) in the usual manner.
If you have any suggestions regarding this site, please feel free to email them to info@stmlmusic.co.uk.
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Secret Title Mystery Looms?
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After a band meeting cum rehearsal last night, the band members finally came up with a band name that they are all happy with. However, the band have decided to keep the full name secret, and operate under the initials STML. Those close to the band might be able to work out what it stands for, but the members themselves are remaining tight-lipped.
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Debut Gig Arranged for 17th January 2001
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Cooldevilhills (www.cooldevilhills.co.uk), a band managed by John, have offered a support slot the the boys as their debut performance. The date will be
17th January 2001 at Bannerman`s on the Cowgate in Edinburgh.
The members of the band feel that this would be ideal as it would be a low key affair, allowing them to test out the material in front of an audience, before kicking off with full performances from February.
The boys are expected to play a set of around half-an-hour. Be there as this IS the launch of something big!
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Line-up Complete - Rehearsals Begin
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The band line-up has now formally been completed with the recruitment of bassist Norman O`Malley from Edinburgh College band Abigail`s Glorious Voice. Also Alex Benzie from Angulus has been confirmed as drummer - possibly one of the worst kept secrets surrounding the band. Alex will continue to play for Angulus also, as Norman will continue to play for Abigail`s Glorious Voice.
Norman and Alex join John Hughes, ex of Angulus, on guitar and vocal, and Iain MacAulay, ex of Czekai, also on guitar and vocal. Live dates are planned for the New Year.
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After a meeting tonight between Iain MacAulay, ex of Czekai, and John Hughes, who left Angulus earlier that day, John and Iain haved decided to form a new band, pending the success of planned jamming sessions. Jamming with John and Iain will be Alex Benzie, also of Angulus. John and Iain will be auditioning bass players, and searching for a permanent drummer in due course.
John and Iain have been offered the full support of various promoters and managers within the music industry in Edinburgh and Central Scotland. The band hope to have a line-up and material ready for performances in the early part of 2001.
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