Category Archives: Talk

Band Of The Week: Allfather

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13413_474870599331274_322883935686994312_nHaving binned my label off, I still love to trawl Bandcamp for new music, so when Allfather bust out of the speakers I was into straight off the bat. So, why not use the blog to shout about new bands, and hear what they have to say? Have a listen, check out the little review, and read what they have to say.

What do I think of them? Basically, take the best Black Sabbath riffs, add in a crunchy metallic hardcore stomp, with a punk boot to the throat, and you’re somewhere there. A real melting pot of ideas. If you’re looking for that lazy pigeonhole, then I guess the easiest comparison to make would be Hang The Bastard, who like their peers Crowbar, easily cross the divide of metal and hardcore. Allfather wear their influences on their sleeves, they’re not re-inventing the wheel, it does what it says on the tin, but it does it really well. So head over to Bandcamp, and if you like what you hear, chuck a few quid in the pot and have one less spiced pumpkin latte or whatever bullshit people drink these days. Headbang, raise a fist or go wild and do a Bushwacker in the pit!

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Farewell to The Independent Characters: Warhammer 40K Podcast

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ticThe End Times have arrived, the final episode has dropped, so we bid farewell to The Independent Characters. I’ve found most 40K podcasts to be annoying, full of stupid jingles, songs, skits and shoddy quality, so it’s a real shame that these guys are throwing the towel in. It’s understandable though, most of us are adults and are fully aware how real life takes over, and scheduling becomes impossible. This wasn’t a news, tournament and tactics podcast, these guys really got into the hobby aspect, fluff and background, so try and check out the Show Of Force episodes about your favourite faction.

So, a massive thank you to Carl and the gang for all their hard work over the years, and making my commute more enjoyable. Check out the last episode here, their Facebook page, and also their forum with its ongoing Hobby Progress Challenge

Band Of The Week: Vircolac

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Contrary to popular assumption, I am not much of a metal head. Sure I’ve always got a bit of Carcass or Morbid Angel on my phone should the mood take me. I will defend Slayer’s Dittohead against all snipers and celebrate Carcass’s later material regardless of the grind elites scorn. But my explorations into ‘proper’ underground metal screeched to a halt around ten years ago. I had reached a point where I decided I simply couldn’t be arsed listening to much heavy music anymore. I was exhausted and it didn’t move me one way or the other and instead I fully indulged my appetite for twee/disturbed female singer/songwriters instead. Judge away.

Despite slowly succumbing to late 30’s apathy, I still like to check in on what friends with stronger stomachs than I are producing and every now and again something savage like Sacred Ritual or Moloch or Venom Prison grabs me by the throat and demands my attention. With that spirit in mind allow me to introduce Dublin’s Vircolac….
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Social Wargaming Part 1: Social Justice Wargamer

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Phil Millar has been a good friend of mine for a few years now. He is an active trade unionist, keen gamer, and lover of awful 90’s Cali-punk. The admins of Corehammer recently discussed how unhappy we were at the state of aspects of the wargaming community. Corehammer itself is a response to this. A haven for those of us who don’t like to scream ‘WAAAGHH’ across a table,  for the player who doesn’t want to attend a gaming club full of neckbeards making rape jokes. But just existing isn’t enough. It’s not enough to encounter those attitudes and just be glad that we’re not like them. I spoke about it with Phil and he agreed to knock up a few articles on wargaming with some basic level of a social conscience. And I’m really glad he did. – Kev

Tabletop wargaming is a social hobby, at its most basic level, you need to interact with at least one other human being. Any social activity depends on its members to be responsible for making sure its society includes those it wants to include. You get this self-policing in every subculture and fan group, but it feels to me (maybe because its my main hobby these days) that the general and overarching world of wargaming is lagging behind when it comes to making a safe and welcoming place for everyone interested in fucking about with plastic models.

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The Shattered Crown – A new game from the makers of Across The Dead Earth

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Across The Dead Earth was a really exciting little project that brought the post-apocalyptic aesthetic to a UK setting. Offering gamers from our small island a chance to experience the now familiar setting in a context that’s known to them. There is a certain exhilaration to playing a game based on a locale that is familiar to you. I recall playing Cthulhu game set in 80’s Liverpool and just hearing the names of streets I knew did wonders for my suspension of disbelief and immersion.

The game itself seems cool enough. A nice fast paced skirmish game that you can dip in and out of without the massive cash and time investment of many modern war games. This is a big selling point and it is something that seems to be continuing with Rich Chappell’s newest project The Shattered Crown.

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Panther Ausf G painted by Charlie Brebner – The Great Bolt Action Paint Off Winner

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So when you’re best mate & Corehammer’s own Charie Brebner won a painting competition judged by Paul Sawyer (Fat Bloke!) and is featured on the Warlord site, it’s rude not to take a few sneaky pics and throw it up on Corehammer & YouTube. You can see the Warlord article here.

Gallery and video slideshow below…

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Prodos Games – Warzone Miniatures review.

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I don’t know much about Prodos’ Warzone IP. My only knowledge of the company came from their Aliens Vs Predator Kickstarter, so a couple of years back now. I was impressed that (what I assumed was) a small company managed to grab itself rights to such a solid project. It was a ballsy move, one that made me think that these guys were ones to watch. I didn’t back, but a few of my mates did, and that’s how they came to be on my radar. I went to Salute 2014 and spent a fair bit of time at their stand, admiring some of the initial sculpts for AVP. They really had gone all out on this project, the miniatures looked awesome and the small amount of gameplay stuff out there was very cool indeed. Continue reading →

WarGames – A new wargaming store that does what all stores SHOULD.

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Just when I was starting to feel crushed under the weight of disappointing Kickstarters… along comes Martin McNeil. The WarGames project is as ambitious as it is appealing. I’ve always wondered about the business practices of wargaming / hobby based stores. Loving Space Marines may well allow you to start a business that permeates passion for the hobby, but that is not enough to make an organisation a success. Continue reading →

Weekend Painting Workshop – June 7th & 8th – Cardiff

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FlyerFrom time to time I bang on about these. If you’re looking to pick up some new skills, or hone some existing ones, there is absolutely no better way to do so than painting with other people. GrotFighter

Liverpool painter John Harrison has been running weekend workshops for coming up to 4 years now, and has brought over some of the most talented and well respected miniature painters in the world to deliver classes in Liverpool, Cardiff and Cambridge. I’ve not met a single student who has come away from one of these classes feeling like their money had not been well spent.

John has two classes that he runs himself a few times per year. The first is his beginners class. This lasts a weekend and comes highly recommended. But the class he is bringing to Cardiff next month will be focussing on vehicle weathering, which over the last few years has reached something of a zenith in miniature painting. The more tutorials people see, the narrower the gap gets between high end historical painters and tabletop focussed gamers. While many of these techniques are on display in books, and in YouTube tutorials, there is no substitute for sitting down with an experienced painter and watching them go through them in the flesh.

TheButcherHaving gone through the weathering workshop late on in 2014, I can confirm that it covers a lot of innovative and exciting techniques to make your vehicles look in a very poor state indeed. This includes, but is far from limited to the use of oil paints, weathering pigments and chipping fluids.

If you have the weekend free, and weathering is something you are looking to expand upon, I can suggest no better way to spend your dosh than this workshop. Very, very highly recommended. Places cost £95 for the weekend, and are strictly limited. It will take place at popular gaming venue and online store Firestorm Games, in Cardiff. Get in touch with John via the event page on Facebook for more details and to book your place.

Choosing A Legion: Word Bearers, with Carl Tuttle

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Primarchs_bigThere is, on the face of it, very little difference between the 30K Legions. Why would you choose one over the other? 90% of the units are the same if you’re a gamer, so is it a matter of aesthetics and picking your favourite colour? Even if you’re not a gamer and just love the ever increasing series of books, why do you favour the grey ones over the white ones, when they’re cutting aliens into bloody chunks in an equally as visceral fashion?

Were about to delve a little deeper in to those whys, in a new series for Corehammer. In it, we’ll be asking readers the same set of questions, in an attempt to get some understanding, and hopefully insight into why that legion speaks a person’s soul more so than the others. And on the flip side, are there any legions you don’t like, can’t stand or even hate.

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