Final Blast: Interplanetary War (Self Released) [Rich Oliver]
Interplanetary War is the new release from Sheffield based band Final Blast. Final Blast is the project from Luke Robinson who performs nearly all the music (guitars, bass, orchestration) he is joined by Evegen Zoidze on vocals and 66Samus on drums. Final Blast already have an EP under their belts In The Course Of Time which was released in 2015 but Interplanetary War is the debut full length album. What we have on Interplanetary War is a mix of melodic death metal and symphonic power metal. The symphonic element is at the forefront and the orchestrations sound absolutely massive with a cinematic scale and are full of bombast and can easily be described as epic. The metal element of the sound sits between melodic death metal and power metal with heavy riffs that have strong melodies.
The vocals are a mixed bag - the clean vocals are wildly inconsistent either sounding very decent or absolutely terrible. Evgen Zoidze doesn’t have the best singing voice and he sounds very much out of his depth at times which is a shame as his harsh vocals are excellent and are very suited to the extreme symphonic metal music they accompany. The musicianship is excellent throughout with Luke Robinson showing himself to be a fantastic guitarist and a budding composer. The orchestration and compositions are very much to be applauded. The songwriting is very decent as well though some of the longer songs do seem a bit stretched out.
The shorter and more compact songs are the ones I found the most effective with Aphrodite And The Cascade, Starcadia and The Great Abyss being my personal favourites. Final Blast have a very decent debut album with Interplanetary War. It is very ambitious sounding and for the most part this ambition is paid off. The clean vocals are the weakest aspect of the album and whilst they are certainly not the worst I have ever heard they definitely detract from the music at times. All in all this is a very decent and solid album. 7/10
PVRIS: Use Me (Warner Recordings) [Bob Shoesmith]
Pvris (pronounced “Paris” like the city) are an American band from Lowell Massachusetts, formed by vocalist and the main public figure, Lynn Gunn, Alex Babanski and Brian MacDonald. The band originally started out as ‘Paris’ but changed the A to a V for ‘legal reasons’ and not mimicking Chvrches who they just happen to sound a lot like, honest. Now in general highly polished pop/dance/electronica doesn’t cross the desks at Musipedia Of Metal very often I’m guessing and I did raise an eyebrow when the software generated drum machine and industrial keyboard drenched dance tracks started, but if you look a little deeper the words ‘Alt’ and ‘Rock’ do actually appear in some descriptions of their work, online and they also inexplicably get mentions at Kerrang and The Radio 1 Rock Show. Whether this style was some former incarnation of them as a band (there are two ex-members) I’m not sure and being a gnarled rocker of a certain age I am certainly out of my comfort zone here, but here we are.
After two previous albums since their formation in 2014 on the Rise label (the debut album White Noise sold pretty well in the US and the UK) and a handful of awards for best new act, Pvris were recently scooped up by the majors – Time Warner – who will be releasing this, their latest release Use Me. Whether Warner are responsible for the commercial dance rebrand, or ensuring all the promo shots only feature Lynn Gunn, a delayed release date and their social media addressing recent posts to the 241.000 followers from Gunn herself in the first person it could possibly point the way to the potential for Pvris not actually being a “band” for terribly much longer? Or am I being cynical.
So, the album; Lynn Gunn has a very ‘of the moment’, cool vocal style favoured by X Factor contestants and chart female singers, very reminiscent of Robyn, Lauren Mayberry of Chvrches or Rhianna. Nearly all the 11 tracks are very, very similar (dance or slow dance) and aimed straight for the heart of the singles market. Don’t get me wrong all the tracks are insanely hooky, beautifully produced and airbrushed as you would imagine given their sponsors, but instantly forgettable within moments. Drum machine tracks, layers of synth and dance vibes with an occasional curve ball like Loveless a soft ballad where Gunn sounds a lot like Suzanne Vega and much the better for it. As the album plays out, the songs get slower and (slightly) darker such as the title track Use Me. To the uninformed like me, it does seem that Pvris have been rebranded from where they were originally going and their any previous affiliation to the rockier end of the road and are now on a path to a far more commercial, high gloss lucrative market. With Use Me, Pvris are now ensconced in a (slightly) darker, slightly more thoughtful part of the world of Charli XCX and Ariana Grande. I am convinced this album will sell bucket loads as this genre currently does, but I’m also certain the words ‘Alt’ and ‘Rock’ have long since departed. 6/10
Secret Machines: Awake In The Brain Chamber (TSM Recordings) [Dave Marcovecchio]
After an absence of 12 years, The Secret Machines are back with one of the biggest surprises of 2020, a brand new album seemingly out of nowhere, and to say the preceding dozen years have been a tough time for the band is an understatement. Exploding into the mid-2000's indie scene, the Space Rock/Shoegaze trio from Dallas Texas earned critical acclaim, toured with Oasis and U2 and even had a very public fanboy endorsement from some bloke called David Bowie? Unfortunately, in a tale as old as time, the cult favourites fell out with their major label.
The line-up departed, with brothers/founders Benjamin and Brandon Curtis both leaving to form School of Seven Bells and become a touring member of Interpol respectively. A 3rd album (2008's Self Titled) was met with a mixed critical response and the band went on an indefinite hiatus, which was sadly furthered by the death of guitarist Benjamin Curtis in 2013. It's clear from the outset that the band (now consisting of vocalist/bassist/keyboardist Brandon Curtis and drummer Josh Garza) have channelled the personal and emotional effects.
Opener 3, 4, 5 Let's Stay Alive is a hypnotic and borderline psychedelic wall of sound full of thundering drums and reverb-drenched vocals, but despite the dreamy sonic gloom there is an undercurrent of hope and positivity. It's a mood that permeates throughout the album. This is especially noticeable on single Talos' Corpse featuring the mission-statement chorus of “I want to give up, but don't, you don't give up, I won't”. Sonically the album is a dense fog of gritty drums, ethereal vocal harmonies and angular guitars, falling somewhere between the sweet spot of “anthemic stadium rock” and “hipster krautrock Quietus/Noisey-bait”. The pacing is measured and deliberate, alternating between slower meditative moments and faster rockier numbers that serve as an excellent soundtrack to long late-night drives lost in thought.
Time and tragedy have matured the band from their mid 2000's heyday and this comes across in an album that the listener is happy to bathe in and soak up for 40 minutes. 2020 has just been chock full of surprises, some of these very unwelcome and, lets just say, rather inconvenient. Others have been have been joyful, life affirming and the proverbial silver linings on dark clouds. Awake In The Brain Chamber not only captures that cathartic feeling perfectly, but the very fact this album exists is one. 8/10
Thou: A Primer Of Holy Words (Self Released) [Lucas Tuckland]
A Primer Of Holy Words is the latest output from the world’s busiest Louisianans, Thou. Thou art a doom/sludge band that hath been churning out fuzz ridden riffage since 2005 at quite an astonishing pace, releasing six EPs, full lengths and even a Nirvana tribute album in 2018 alone. The culmination of their tireless effort is a slightly disappointing covers album, that doesn’t seem to know where it’s trying to go.
The album starts weak. Prayer To God is a truly awful track, featuring no identifiable structure, and being mostly comprised of screeching amp noise between riffs. Faster tracks like Spin The Black Circle, and Screaming, though being something of a departure from the traditional slow melodies of sludge, are some of the strongest tracks on offer, containing a unique energy that feels wonderful and fresh compared to their slower contemporaries. Other tracks tend to blend together, and while musically, there’s a lot of skill on show, but the songs lack any real bite. If you’re not too keen on those however, the final third of this album is nothing but Black Sabbath covers.
Their Into The Void cover truly rips, and their riffing style adds a whole different kind of heaviness to the original melody. Unfortunately, the shrieking vocals feel horribly out of place, and are the main thing holding these covers back from being just as good as the originals that spawned heavy metal fifty years ago. Ozzy’s bluesy bars just don’t mesh well with the black metal vocal style this band employs.
Overall, this is an album that stumbles, has its strong moments, and can’t quite deliver with its covers. Fans of Thou are bound to enjoy it, but I wouldn’t recommend this album to any but those dedicated few. 5/10
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