Piledriver: Brothers In Boogie (Rockwall)
You've got to hand to the Germans. With their love of David
Hasselhoff, sauerkraut and Grave Digger, they really don't give a shit. Enter
Piledriver, a band formed in Essen in 1995 with one intention, “to preserve the
legacy” of the original “Frantic Four”; yes folks, that is Status Quo. But none
of this namby pamby acoustic shite, the original hard rocking denim clad
pre-1981 band who used to be revered in the hard rock circles and who were
responsible for the epic Quo Live.
Piledriver didn't leave it as a tribute band though, oh no.
They decided to hit out on their own with their own Quo like boogie, four bars
that will never die. Brothers in Boogie is
the band’s third full release and mostly work. It's alright, listenable and
inoffensive. Ironically vocal delivery of Michael Sommerhoff and Peter Wagner
sits closer to Udo Dirkschneider than Parfitt or Rossi and the stomping beat
veres from Quo to Scorpions to Lightweight Accept. Rock In A Crossfire Hurricane? Yeap, that's here. Fat Rat Boogie, One Way to Rock and
perfect Quo replica Good Times Again make
you smile. In fact, these would be the ideal band at a party or wedding. You
will either hate this or love it. I'd love to see them live. It must be
hysterical. I think the Grammy can be
put back in the cupboard for another year. 6/10
Vesen: Rorschach (Soulseller)
Straight out of Satan’s arse hole comes Vesen, a four piece
thrash black metal who hit hard and don't stop. Some of the most gruesome
vocals I've heard for ages, cut throats riffage and rampaging bass and drums
all combine to make a fearsome noise. It's not pretty but then I don't think
the band are looking for pink and fluffy. Rorschach is their fifth full length
album, and it pounds like a hammer to the head. Pray for Fire has a galloping pace, with Ronny Ostil’s screaming
haunted vocals reminiscent of Behemoth’s Nergal. In fact the whole release has
more than a nod to the Polish lords of the black metal world. It's crushing
stuff and with tracks such as the demonic Blood,
Bones and Pride and the battery of Vulgar,
Old and Sick Blasphemy (with a large nod towards old school Celtic Frost)
it'll scare the shit out of those who think hard rock is Stone Broken. Break out the black candles and the goat
skull, time for a bit of Vesen in your
life. 8/10
Battery: Martial Law (Punishment 18 Records)
I went to Aarhus once. I saw Cardiff City get thumped in a European
Cup match in 1988. It was a dismal game which matched the place. Battery are
still stuck in that year, such is the dated style of their thrash. But it's not
all dreadful with some fine aggressive riffage and speed the name of the game.
Vocally it's bloody awful, with Chris Steel’s screeching voice a poor man’s
combination of about a million better thrash throats, Bobby Ellsworth, Paul
Balfour and Steve Souza for three. Andreas Joen batters the shit out his kit
from start to finish whilst raw fury drives the guitars of Steel, Jokull
Johannesson and Jesper Campradt. Jannick Nielsen’s rampaging bass lines impress
in the Frank Bello style. It's unfortunate that the vocals do nothing to
enhance any of the songs, with Battery By
Authority particularly dire but with some harnessing Battery
may yet fire a charge or two. 6/10
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