Jayce Lewis: S/T
The Welsh former drummer of an alternative rock band releases an industrial metal album and sells out arenas in India? Sounds like a film script doesn’t it? Well it’s actually the career of Jayce Lewis the former of drummer of Losing Sun who shot to stardom in India with this solo album and you can see why. He seamlessly blends fantastic electronica with metal riffage, every track is based upon heavy percussive metal with huge electronic loops and synths that would be at home on an early Rammstein album, and this is mixed with razor sharp guitar playing and Lewis' great melodic vocals. This is a solo album in the truest sense as Lewis plays all of the instruments and also co-produced the album. In terms of the songs Solitaire is a cracking opener mixing metal and electronica perfectly, Electric Medicine is a fully electronic track that is heavy as any metal song. Icon is one of the best tracks on the album (and the one that made him huge in India) however it is not all full on power throughout the album as Eratone is an introspective acoustic track that’s shows off Lewis' vocals and adds another string to his already huge bow. This is a great album from an artist that is nowhere near as well recognised here and perhaps he should be. 9/10
Onslaught: Sounds Of Violence
UK Thrash band Onslaught has had a ragged history having a massive album before splitting and re-uniting in 2007. This is the second album they released since their resurrection and it's a stormer full of blitzkrieg thrash metal riffage from Andy Rosser-Davies and Nige Rockett, schizophrenic blast beat drumming and all topped by the snarling vocals of Sy Keeler who delivers a sterling performance. Kicking things off with a percussive militaristic intro before breaking into the ear-bashing Born For War which has some truly great drumming. This album has all the hallmarks of classic thrash metal on Rest In Pieces with some added modern touches especially in the production department, everything is crisp and bright bringing tracks like the chugging Code Black to glorious life. The album also has a great cover of Motorhead's Bomber which features Phil Campbell on guitar and Tom Angelripper on guest vocals and may be more aggressive than the original. This is a great album by a band that is certainly re-invigorated and I hope they produce more albums of this standard. 8/10
Oli Brown: Open Road
Young Oli Brown is a something of a blues maestro this is his debut and was released when he was just 19 and it shows why he has gone on to become one of the biggest blues/rock artists in Britain. He has all the trappings of blues greats such as Rory Gallagher, some Eric Clapton and lashings of Jimi Hendrix especially on soulful Can't Get Next To You. However the biggest comparison is Joe Bonamassa, Brow has the same chops as Joey Bones he plays the guitar with the same technical ferocity this is shown on Stone Cold and opener Psycho. Unlike most of the newer Bonamassa albums however this is far more blues than rock with the classic 12 bars weaved into every single track. This album is a competent debut full of great tracks (although another cover of Black Betty is not needed) that is a great starting point to discover Oli Brown. 7/10
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