Enter Shikari Take the Punk World by Storm

“The most exciting band I’ve seen since the early Sex Pistols gigs back in 76/77” – Tony Wilson RIP

Tony Wilson a man who inspired the DIY ethic and celebrated what it is to be independent in the music industry, and who sadly passed away recently, had been championing one band through out his last year, a band whom in many ways he shared much in common with.

“I was thinking about the best band in the world the other night. They’re these young kids from St Albans just north of London and they are quite simply the best band in the world today. (By a fucking mile; and the last time I was wrong was when I gave Neil Young’s Harvest a bad review in my university newspaper, which I regretted two weeks later and have agonised over ever since). I have not got an art judgement wrong since so you can believe me. I saw Enter Shikari live last October, before I got ill with cancer, and the sight of these boys on stage with 200 15 year old kids with glow-sticks and glow rings going fucking berserk was the most exciting band I’ve seen since the early Sex Pistols gigs back in ‘76”. And we all know Tony must have seen a lot of bands during those years.

Tony continues “and as with any band who capture a new generational spirit, God has given them the gift
of melody. I never understand how that comes about, but that’s a different essay. This is about the return
of the object, the creation of something that gives you your little bit of the group, to have and to hold, from this day forth. The most exciting phenomenon in modern music.”

And in true punk rock form, Enter Shikari like Tony Wilson, both dared to take the unbeaten track and follow their instincts rather than follow the hum drum mediocratic rock and roll rule books. In 2003, as soon as school finished, they climbed in the van, hit the road, and never come home since. They formed a band that they hoped would reignite unity into the music scene and ultimately into people lives. And this was no hidden agenda as they started by fusing many different genres and styles together to form their own sound.

“Rave metal? Trancecore? Chemical-induced mania meeting snakebite-fuelled headbanging? Enter Shikari have created something undeniably new, exciting and vital. It’s no wonder they’ve won the NME John Pee  Award For Innovation”. – NME

Before you continue to read on, have a gander at this:

Enter Shikari are a young 4-piece band from St Albans, Hertfordshire.

Rou – Vox / Electronics
Chris – Bass / Vox
Rory – Guitar / backing Vox
Rob – Drums

Photo Credit: Levi Pervin

Their music is a hybrid of hardcore-punk-rock and trance / rave (the term ‘trancecore’ has been used, but
we’ll leave pigeonholing to journalists). The buzz was thick and even traveled stateside when Enter Shikari
sold out the Astoria in London in 06, making them only the second unsigned act to ever do so.

With over 500 UK gigs under their belt, this past year has seen them play their first overseas shows,
including the Eurosonic event in Holland, a show in Tokyo, an arena tour of Germany (with Canadian
bands Billy Talent and Alexisonfire) and a full headline European tour. Finally bowing to pressure from the fans they’ve collected online,this past Spring they embarked on their first ever US tour. This was without any label or major PR machine behind them, they wowed crowds in North America, with a short run
of dates in Anaheim, Pomona, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, Toronto, Worcester and New Jersey.

Enter Shikari’s debut album ‘Take To The Skies’ was released in the UK, Europe and Japan in March
2007. Despite having been made sizable offers by every major label in the country they took the route
of releasing the album on their own label Ambush Reality (with practical assistance from their
distributors, Vital / Integral). They proved themselves right when the album reached number 4 in the
UK album charts. They come to the US boasting a UK / Europe / Japanese press-pack currently running
at twice the thickness of the London phonebook, and copies of a top 5 UK album in their back pocket.

This September 2007 finds the band returning to North America for a short East Coast tour – starting in Texas, up through the mid-West to Toronto and back down to NYC and Baltimore – to celebrate at last the forthcoming release of ‘Take To The Skies’ in the USA / Canada. Once again, despite flattering offers from impressive people at major labels, Enter Shikari have instead elected to release their debut album via their own Ambush Reality label this time in partnership with US label Tiny Evil (AFI / Brand New / Jimmy Eat World). The Album will be released stateside in October 2007.

It is live that you witness such a passion in their performance and music that you can’t help but feel involved. They’ve always encouraged as much crowd participation as possible be it in the form of gang vocals, human pyramids, stage dives/invasions, these four lads have always seen the audience more as a collective fifth member than as a group of spectators. With an incredibly intense stage presence that reflects the euphoric aspects of the music, they are definitely a must see live band. In those three years Enter Shikari never really played any big billed shows (not that they had any choice); they always stuck to playing intimate venues with local bands like themselves. Enter Shikari were recently nominated for 4 nods at the 2007 Kerrang Magazine Music Awards. Nods for Best British Band, Best Live Band, Best Album, and Best Single. The only band to receive Two Awards they walked away with the Best Live Band & Spirit of Independence Awards.

“One of the most exciting live bands in the world today – KKKKK” – Kerrang!

“Fusing bone-snapping metal dynamics with euphoric house music.it’s a unison that sounds fucking righteous… the most frighteningly visceral rock ‘n’ roll experience there is, has ever been, or ever could be. Things will never be the same again” – NME

www.entershikari.com
www.myspace.com/entershikari
http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=AmbushReality

“Becoming only the second unsigned band to sell out London’s famous Astoria venue, Enter Shikari have been widely tipped to take 2007 by storm” – Rock Sound

“’New Rav’, ‘Dancecore’, whatever, Enter Shikari are creating a phenomenon right here, right now..” – Big Cheese

“They keep the crowd raving and moshing in a frantic mash-up of strobes and sweat” – Play Music

“It sounds a lot like the Prodigy speeding out of their brains with At The Drive-In.” – NME

“One of the UK’s most talked about bands…unwittingly found themselves at the center of one of the biggest industry shake ups of the last decade”. – Tuned Magazine

“Part hardcore, part trance, part something entirely their own, theirs is a rise to the top that as been based on word of mouth a a decidedly active myspace presence”. Kerrang

“The band’s fanbase spans everyone from spangled 16-year-olds drenched in fluro jewellery to hardened metallers who wouldn’t think twice about moshing an indie raver to death. They’re Britain’s most original, exciting and independent band” – NME

“Britiain’s New Teenage Phenomenon” – The Guardian

2007 North American Tour Dates:
31 Aug – Houston, Texas – Red Room @ Meridian
1 Sep – Austin, Texas – Emo’s
2 Sep – Plano, Texas – The Plano Centre
4 Sep – Kansas City, Kansas – Grand
6 Sep – Chicago, Illinois – Subterranean
7 Sep – Cleveland, Ohio – Grog Shop
8 Sep – Toronto, Canada – V-Fest @ Islands Park
10 Sep – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – North Star
11 Sep – New York, New York- Bowery
12 Sep – Baltimore, Maryland – Ottobar