BEASTS (Belgium)

Blending genres such as punk, noise, rap and doom in a very personal way, BEASTS is Antoine Romeo’s (ex-run SOFA) first solo project.

With an incisive debut album, The Shearing, whose release is due at the beginning of 2025 is drenched in subjects such as immigration, generational traumas, class war and social reproduction. BEASTS’s music is cathartic, visceral and uncompromised.

To shape this project, the artist from Charleroi, who grew up in a large family of Italian immigrants in the 90’s, got together with Ghentian drummer Tijl Van de Casteele (Whorses) and Tournaisian bassist François Hantson (Feel, Mingawash).

THE STABILISERS

Fueled by the garage band sound of the ’60s and the punk attitude of the late ’70s, London foursome The Stabilisers began life as a trio. Jon Bott, Francis Braithwaite, and Simon Corbey had been gigging around London to a cult following when Allan Crockford of Billy Childish’s band Thee Headcoats offered his services as an extra guitarist. The gigs got bigger and Crockford ended up going from hired gun to full-time member. In 2004 they released the album Last Chance Saloon on the Italian label Skipping Musez and the EP Evil Picnic on the Nicotine label, also based in Italy. The U.K. label Acid Jazz released their 2006 album, Wanna Do the Wild Plastic Brane Love Thing?, a more widely distributed effort that introduced them to many new fans, one of whom was E Street Band member and Sopranos actor Little Steven. Steven signed the band to his Wicked Cool label, compiled tracks from their previous releases, and released them as an entirely different album titled Wanna Do the Wild Plastic Brane Love Thing? in 2007.

In 2009 Crockford was developing a passion for a different musical direction and a desire to focus more on his own style so the search for another guitarist began. Surprisingly the answer lay very close to home as a long time fan of the band, approached them to offer his services and the Stabilisers moved into a new gear with Istvanski on guitar and vocals adding extra spice and a cutting edge to the band. If you’re feeling a little unhinged, then its time to catch up with the sound of The Stabilisers.