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The UK Tech Fest was originally founded in August of 2011. On the festival’s website, they describe their vision as being: “…creating a festival centred around musical innovation, creativity and diversity. The festival focuses on technical, progressive metal music and was created in order to give the best upcoming bands in this sub-genre a platform to play alongside some of the most talented acts from around the rest of the world. UK Tech-Fest is a metal festival where the bands and fans are able to integrate, network and share the passion of music together.”

The festival has garnered a great deal of positive attention over the last decade, featuring well revered acts such as Sikth, Dying Fetus, The Acacia Strain, Monuments and The Black Dahlia Murder. The festival often branches out from metal however, having featured the likes of UK math rock outfit TTNG in 2018, and American math rock project Invalids in 2019, making their UK debut.

After unfortunately having to cancel last year- as was the fate of many festivals for the last two years- UK Tech Fest has triumphantly returned with a fantastic line-up for 2022, with some of the most exciting names in metal from all over the world.

Some of the biggest names at the festival include German progressive metal band The Ocean Collective, French progressive metalcore band Novelists, Irish post-rock band God Is An Astronaut, London grime/metal crossover band Hacktivist and South African extreme metal sextet Vulvodynia. Also on the bill are UK mathcore/metalcore outfit Pupil Slicer and Frontierer, an American fronted Scottish mathcore outfit, who released their blistering third full-length album Oxidized in 2021, carrying the spirit of The Dillinger Escape Plan and marrying it with seven-string guitars, whammy pedals and even less melody.

Given the unpredictability of the COVID-19 pandemic, not all of the bands slated to perform in 2021 have made it to the 2022 line-up, such as American metalcore band Upon A Burning Body, who were originally slated to headline on the final day of the festival, and exciting Liverpool band Loathe, who released their fantastic debut full-length album I Let It In And It Took Everything in 2020.

Our new track “I Ain’t Depressed” Feat. @HacktivistUK is OUT NOW!! https://t.co/b6Ekl9pXv8 pic.twitter.com/EvLWv2Rjxd

— DROPOUT KINGS (@DropoutKingsAZ) December 4, 2020

Hacktivist have been steadily building up material for their upcoming second album, the long-anticipated follow-up to their debut Outside the Box from 2016. The rap metal band already released three singles last year – ‘Dogs of War’, ‘Reprogram‘ and the Prodigy cover ‘Spitfire‘, ready to feature on the new record. Most recently, Hacktivist shared their first song for 2020 – the huge collaboration with Kid Bookie for ‘Armoured Core‘, with further details on future releases expected very soon. 

‘I Ain’t Depressed’ is yet another fitting team-up for Hacktivist, having previously worked on various projects as both main artist and featured guests alongside Rou Raynolds from Enter Shikari, Jamie Graham from Heart Of A Coward, Astroid Boys, Kid Bookie, In Hearts Wake, The Qemists and now the rising Arizona nu metal act Dropout Kings. The video is obviously done in lockdown conditions and an entirely self-made product, directed and edited by Dropout’s guitarist Chucky Guzman with help from Hacktivist’s bass player Josh Gurner.

Formed in 2016, Dropout Kings have been building their reputation as one of the freshest names of the rap metal scene in the USA. Building on the momentum from their promising debut album Audiodope (2018) featuring the hit track ‘Scratch & Claw‘, the Arizona sextet returned earlier this year with the follow-up six-track EP GlitchGang. Having toured with the likes of Otep and Crazy Town, Dropout Kings are now signed to Stay Sick Records, the label formed by Christ ‘Fronz’ Fronzak from Atilla.

Hacktivist are playing the Five4Five fest next – a virtual stay-at-home festival organised in support of the Save Our Venues campaign. Scheduled across two separate events on 18 and 19 December, the event will be streamed on Facebook and YouTube from 7:30. Hacktivist are set to play on the second day, alongside Holding Absence, Nova Twins, Normandie and manu more. In anticipation of the two-day event, re-watch Hacktivist’s performance of ‘Unlike Us‘ from the recent Pulse of the Maggots festival for exciting new bands, organised by Knotfest earlier in November.

 

 

 

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Публикация, споделена от H Ʌ C K T I V I S T (@hacktivistuk)

Much in line with Hacktivist’s signature sound, the single hits hard with low djenty guitars and pinpoint drumming, backing up the fierce verse exchange between rappers J Hurley, Jot Maxi and Kid Bookie and building towards the explosive anthemic chorus. Speaking about the powerful track, J Hurley said: “It’s like a shield against anyone attacking us. Anyone can say anything they want, but you can’t get through the armoured core!” 

‘Armored Core‘ is the first new track from Hacktivist this year and the fourth standalone single since the release of their debut studio album Outside The Box that came out in 2016 via UNFD Records. In 2019, the rap metal outfit dropped the three fresh songs ‘Reprogram‘, ‘Dogs of War‘ and The Prodigy cover ‘Spitfire‘. Recently, the band also teased the exciting collaboration with Arizona nu metal act Dropout Kings ‘I Ain’t Depressed‘ expected on 4 December. All new material and recent activity surely means a second album is on its way, expected in 2021 without confirmed title or tracklist yet.

The new single premiered with official video at 10am today and is available to stream and download from all digital platforms. The video is predominantly shot around Hacktivist’s hometown Milton Keynes and directed by their own bassist Josh Gurner, with additional camera and drone footage by PJ West. Mostly self-made project, the track is produced by guitarrist and band’s main driving force James Hewitt, with mixing and mastering by the rewnowned metal producer Justin Hill, ex-singer of djent godfathers SikTh.

INTRODUCING ‘ARMOURED CORE’ FEATURING @kidbookie
OUT NOW VIA @unfdcentral

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO: https://t.co/6oh08KqJ1n
STREAM / DOWNLOAD: https://t.co/LFjqSNC5sV pic.twitter.com/i4wQFciL8l

— H Ʌ C K T I V I S T (@HacktivistUK) November 18, 2020

Hacktivist were the symbollic headliner at Knotfest’s inaugural Pulse Of The Maggots virtual festival that took place last Friday 13 November. The event was streamed for free and featured pre-recorded mini sets by some of the most exciting emerging and less popular bands from various metal genres all over the world. Representing the modern UK scene alongside Hacktivist were Wargasm, Death Blooms and October Ends, all of which with exciting recent releases or new material in production.

Born Tyronne Hill and usually labelled under the ambiguous trap metal style, Kid Bookie has been acting as South London’s primary melting pot of hip-hop and metal for few years now and slowly building his reputation as one of the most exciting names on the underground scene. He featured on Corey Taylor’s track ‘CMFT Must be Stopped‘ from his 2020 debut album, and recently released the killer collaboration with Tech N9ne ‘In My Soul‘. Kid Bookie’s highly anticipated new album Cheaper Than Therapy is dropping on December 1st.

My album is fucking sick, a south London mother fucker, no label, no backing, no help but I get to hear my voice with the voices that raised me on my own music, literally raised me, I don’t give a fuck if nothing happens, I made a dope album with my inspirations, heavy rock & rap pic.twitter.com/psxg6vSMUF

— Cheaper Than Therapy – Dec 1st. (@kidbookie) November 14, 2020

The virtual festival will take place and three separate digital stages, supported by the MusiCares charity, the Rock Against Racism initiative and the global guitar manufacturer ESP and is set to highlight the “top prospects from the various subgenres of aggressive music” from around the world. The event will start at 8pm GMT on 13 November and will run throughout the night with the main ESP stage starting at 1:30am on 14 November, all streamed exclusively at Knotfest.com.

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‪Knotfest.com is thrilled to Present: Pulse of the Maggots Fest! A FREE festival coming Friday, November 13, comprised of 3 digital stages of performances from 20 of the “best” emerging artists. Stacked with new and relentless talent, this festival event will be hosted by our very own @MoshTalksBeez, and Ryan J Downey (@superherohq), plus more special guests to be announced later. Each artist will be producing a new and unique set, streaming exclusively at Knotfest.com! ‬ ‪See below for stage times + stay tuned for more info coming soon: knotfest.com. ‬ ‪-‬ ‪@MusiCares Stage ‬ ‪12pm PT • 3pm ET • 8pm BST • 9pm CET ‬ ‪@RockAgainstRacism Stage‬ ‪2:30pm PT • 5:30pm ET • 10:30pm BST• 11:30pm CET‬ ‪@ESPguitars Stage ‬ ‪5:30pm PT • 8:30pm ET • 1:30am BST • 2:30am CET ‬

Публикация, споделена от KNOTFEST (@knotfest) на Ное 5, 2020 в 10:00 PST

Waving the UK flag from the virtual headline slot are Milton Keynes grime metal outfit Hacktivist that recently announced new material in production and a killer collaboration with Dropout Kings coming out in December, and might perform some fresh music next Friday. Joining them for Pulse of the Maggots Festival are Newcastle metalcore 4-piece October Ends fresh off releasing their debut album Zodiac on 30 October, Wargasm UK who recently dropped the shocking video ‘Backyard Bastards‘, and rising Liverpool nu metal/hardcore band Death Blooms. 

On the international front, Pennsylvania quartet Tallah are sure to bring the heat up with their raw mix of energetic nu metal and relentless contemporary metalcore. One of the more curious acts on the bill are Vended, formed by the sons of Slipknot’s Corey Taylor and Shawn Crahan, and set to carry on the legacy of their fathers. The list goes on with PRXJEK (USA), Cerberus (Mexico), Orbit Culture (Sweden), dEMOTIONAL (Sweden), Year Of the Knife (USA), Introtyl (Mexico), Diamond Construct (Australia), VCTMS (USA), Death Tour (USA), Thrown Into Exile (USA), Once Awake (Norway), 156/Silence (USA), and I Revolt (Finland).

We’re headlining the first ever @knotfest: Pulse of the Maggots Fest!
A FREE virtual festival feat. unique sets from 20 sick bands across 3 digital stages.
BE READY! You might just hear some brand new music for the first time too.

Fri 13th Nov: 12pm LA / 3pm NY / 8pm UK / 9pm EU pic.twitter.com/w1tIgM8A6x

— H Ʌ C K T I V I S T (@HacktivistUK) November 5, 2020

The original Knotfest was created in 2012 by SlipKnot for two exclusive shows in Iowa and Wisonsin, USA for a unique horror circus and dark carnival experience in celebration of their music and the relevant bands of the day. The inaugural event saw Deftones, Serj Tankian, Machine Head, Lamb of God, Gojira, Dillinger Escape Plan and Cannibal Corpse join forces with SlipKnot and establish the iconic festival that would later expand to Japan, Mexico, Colombia, France and Canada, and was expected to also hit the UK this summer but was cancelled due to the pandemic.

The new virtual festival for fresh metal music bands Pulse of the Maggots takes its name from the track off SlipKnot’s third studio record Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) from 2004. The song has become an anthem for the band’s fans and is a fitting title for a festival set to showcase the raw talent of young metal acts from across the world. Tune in next Friday 13 November via Knotfest.com to take part of what would probably be the largest virtual festival of 2020.

With two spectacular vocal partnerships on both sides, the potential team-up of all four singers and rappers is sure to raise the heat up for the new single. Hacktivist are surely bringing J Hurley’s British grime sensibility and Jot Maxi’s coarse rapping and brutal screams, while Dropout Kings have Eddie Wellz and Adam Ramey to deliver the distinctively American nu-metal and hip-hop twist on the genre for what could sound like one of the most powerful collaborations of the year.

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@DROPOUTKINGSAZ & HACKTIVIST… 4.DEC.20 Head over to their page for the pre-release link

Публикация, споделена от H Ʌ C K T I V I S T (@hacktivistuk) на Ное 4, 2020 в 12:06 PST

Hacktivist have been working on a new record for a while and have recently teased new material due to come out soon, sharing teasers of recording sessions across all social media channels. Whether this only meant the upcoming single ‘I Ain’t Depressed‘ or there is more to come before the end of the year is still uncertain, but fans have long anticipated a new album announcement or at least some news on the progress. As it is, with at least another month in lockdown at the UK and most countries across the globe, we have the new track to look forward to and keep us sane, which by coincidence (or not?) is dropping in the week when everyone is supposed to go back to “normal” life.

With 2020 slowly creeping away, Hacktivist’s latest music releases remain the three powerful singles from 2019 – ‘Reprogram‘, ‘Dogs of War‘ and the Prodigy cover ‘Spitfire‘. If all three potentially feature in the upcoming album, alongside the team-up with Dropout Kings, the record is already shaping to be worthy follow-up of their debut Outside The Box from 2016. Meanwhile, J Hurley recently dropped the “short film” for the grime track ‘No Chill‘, directed and edited by himself, with beats and production by Zaheer.   

OUTNOW on my @YouTube channel Big up @ZaheerMusic on da beat A short film hahaha NoChill https://t.co/wnSA8STQPY pic.twitter.com/bSUaGqcvjr — J HURLEY – HACKTIVIST (@JHURLEYhizrec) October 23, 2020

Over the Atlantic, last week Dropout Kings featured on the electric single ‘Bottle Rat‘ by post-hardcore heavyweighs Outline in Colour, once again reminding everyone of their raw talent and promising future. Dropout Kings formed in Phoenix, Arizona back in 2016 just as Hacktivist were releasing their debut record in the UK. The similarities between the two bands and many, but Dropout Kings add an extra nu metal twist in both their instrumentaion and vocals, finding their unique signature sound in the scene and expected to add variety and depth to Hacktivist’s own distinctive sound.

The Pheonix six-piece have been getting more and more popular in the States, following their first album Audiodope from 2018 and their most recent EP GlitchGang from earlier this year, alongside frequent touring with the likes of Otep, Outline in Colour and Crazy Town, and also working with none other but Dez Fafara from DevilDriver and previously nu-metal godfathers Coal Chamber. Watch the video for Dropout King’s most popular track to date ‘Scratch & Claw‘ off Audiodope below, and just try to imagine Hacktivist joining in with their own infectious energy and unstoppable charge.

The new material will come over an year after Hacktivist’s latest releases. In a productive 2019, the band dropped two new singles ‘Dogs of War‘ in August and ‘Reprogram‘ earlier in April, along with a cover of Prodigy’s classic ‘Spitfire‘ in tribute of Keith Flinth’s untimely death.

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It’s out of our hands now just a matter of time #Hacktivist #album

Публикация, споделена от Hacktivist (@hacktivistuk) на Сеп 29, 2020 в 11:31 PDT

The Instagram post confirmed an album is being prepared for release in “just a matter of time” while  in Twitter the Milton Keynes act shared the same video with ambiguous caption “It’s coming“. The forthcoming record will be the first LP to feature new singer and rapper Jot Maxi who joined the band in 2017 following the departure of Ben Marvin due to personal commitments. 

Hacktivist released their first studio album Outside The Box in 2016 through UNFD and Rise Records after the succes of the debut self-titled EP from 2012. Following another four-year break, frontman and main rapper Jermaine “J” Hurley and drummer Richard Hawking were shown last week during a recording session in studio as another indication of their highly anticipated second record.

Good session with @richthehawk & @JHURLEYhizrec today ! pic.twitter.com/c9DFGe52U4 — H Ʌ C K T I V I S T (@HacktivistUK) September 27, 2020

Hacktivist take influence from many places, but have been operating in a league of their own ever since their formation in 2011. Blending a unique signature sound of fiery grime bars, extremely low-tuned djenty riffs and funky nu metal beats, Hacktivist create a chilling indistrial atmosphere fueled with Prodigy-inspired electric samples and heavy political and social lyrical content.

The band’s debut video for the explosive single ‘Elevate‘ has reached almost 2 milion views on YouTube. Praised for their stage presence and electric live shows, the Hacktivist grew more popular after doing a live cover of Jay Z and Kanye West’s smash hit ‘N***as in Paris’ accompanied by a video from their memorable support performance at Download 2013. J Hurley has recently shared a screenshot of potential new video in post-producrion, shot during the UK lockdown period and seemingly titled ‘No Chill‘.

I’ve made good out of a bad situation ere , this hole lock down don’t go out much shit turned me into sum kinda Actor/Director/Editor pic.twitter.com/271mgiTKwJ — J HURLEY – HACKTIVIST (@JHURLEYhizrec) September 28, 2020

As part of the increasingly popular international heavy music label UNFD’s impressive roster, Hacktivist are surrounded by leading UK heavy acts such as Architects, While She Sleeps and Dream State, as well as global heavyweights like Crossfaith, In Hearts Wake, Erra, Northlane, Stray From The Path, Silverstein and many more.

Hacktivist are Jermaine “J” Hurley (rapping), Josh Gurner (bass, clean vocals), Richard Hawking (drums), Jot Maxi  (rapping, screaming) and James Hewitt (guitars, samples). Watch their latest video for the explosive single ‘Dog of War‘ from 2019 below.