Something a little bit different now, as we take a tumble into the world of 007 with a selection of instrumental arrangements given an update by Arild Brøter. Rather than go down the traditional route of refreshing the main theme song, it’s a deeper dive into the music that underpins key scenes and is offered as a firm labour of love.
A disclaimer: I know I go on about instrumentals, complaining about their inclusion elsewhere and I suppose that my doing a review of an album chock full would seem as if I’d performed a 180. I haven’t, the context is different. And besides, it’s James Bond, and it has probably my favourite piece of Bond music which is the theme from On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, which is given a rather respectful make-over as Suite Part 1. It doesn’t depart from the original arrangement and doesn’t add downtuned guitars but rather there are additional flourishes that are perfectly sat and make it that little bit better.
I guess there are two ways it could have gone – either respecting the material or going down the crazy route such as the K-Tel disco movie themes that were popular once. I also appreciate that they have tried to update certain themes originally written to ape a particular sound. This is the case in Bond Meets Solitaire (Live and Let Die) which originally was set within the Blaxploitation era now comes across as slightly sleazy as opposed to being a touch cringe.
There are some absolute belters on here, some such as the John Barry Suite had me wracking my brain as to which film they were in originally. There is a real care in how they stitched these different pieces together (Octopussy to The Man With The Golden Gun to Thunderball) and they shouldn’t work together but they do. The electric lead work on this one is spot on, and again it's completely in keeping with the original arrangements.
There are some absolute belters on here, some such as the John Barry Suite had me wracking my brain as to which film they were in originally. There is a real care in how they stitched these different pieces together (Octopussy to The Man With The Golden Gun to Thunderball) and they shouldn’t work together but they do. The electric lead work on this one is spot on, and again it's completely in keeping with the original arrangements.
Journey To Blofeld’s Hideaway (OHMSS) is glorious and manages to convey both a feeling of joy and a melancholic feel over its length whilst Space Laser Battle (Moonraker) receives a make-over that updates it for a modern audience but could have done with a bit of trimming in all honesty. Each of the themes is recognisable and there is fun to be had in working out which film it has come from.
Another cracker is Snow Job – Flight Into Space (combining A View To A Kill and Moonraker – did I mention that Moonraker could contain the greatest Bondism? Apart from stabbing that anaconda with his pencil. It has that ‘Bond?! What does he think he is doing? I think he’s attempting re-entry sir….’ Class) which is delivered so well.
And then they drop 007 Theme (Little Nelly Theme), which gets the overdriven guitar treatment and sounds better than the original. Instantly I’m thinking of You Only Live Twice and the gyrocopter battle over Japan. It’s brilliant stuff, probably due to the source material being so familiar and because it’s not Deathcore/Melodeath.
The digital release has 20 tracks on it and the quality doesn’t drop in the execution on each number. They take in Diamonds Are Forever, The Living Daylights before it wraps and these are good, but for me the highlights are the OHMSS / Little Nelly themes which capture the spirit of the originals whilst improving on them and it also highlights just how good the original scores were.
I would have liked to hear their version of Lulu’s The Man With The Golden Gun, which is just filthy, but you can’t have everything. This should hold a massive appeal to Bond fans, and I think that Arild and the fellow musicians should be proud of what they have done here. It treats the source with respect, its not cheesy and there are some exceptional moments on here. 8/10
A Forest Mighty Black - The Hedonist (Go Down Records) [James Jackson]
Hailing from Italy, this five piece Stoner Rock/Grunge band release their sophomore album this year, following on from the highly praised Chemical/Physical released in 2018, the band cite bands like QOTSA, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains as influences and as a “sounds like”, from listening to the album I’d throw Black Stone Cherry in there too, certainly not for the Southern tinge that BSC carry but there’s a similar tone and swagger to that featured on The Hedonist.
Lyrically the content covers such existential themes as human nature, the essence of Good and Evil within our society and personal daily lives, what truly comes across however is not the lyrics but the way in which they’re delivered by vocalist Costin Bursoc whose style very much fits in with the Stoner/Grunge style.
Each track upon The Hedonist delivers a powerful sound, utilising tempo changes to create a diverse atmosphere, a balance between the more laid back riffs of Stoner and the angst driven sound of Grunge, gives the songs a sense of motion, so often a track can stall for not having the insight of breaking the boundaries of the chosen genre but here the songwriting is more creative and the songs better for it.
For genres and influences that I generally don’t bother with, this album has been a pleasure to listen to and I know that I’ll be playing it again in the near future. 8/10
Dead Daisies - Light 'Em Up (The Dead Daises PTY LTD/SPV)
The Dead Daisies have a new album. This statement will create excitement for some and a big meh for others. I can go either way with their material, but the new one from this version ever changing and rotating lineup band, Light ‘Em Up, is pretty good. This version of the Daisies is lead by the now returning vocalist John Corabi and the guitar work of Doug Aldrich who has been with the band since 2016.
A Forest Mighty Black - The Hedonist (Go Down Records) [James Jackson]
Hailing from Italy, this five piece Stoner Rock/Grunge band release their sophomore album this year, following on from the highly praised Chemical/Physical released in 2018, the band cite bands like QOTSA, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains as influences and as a “sounds like”, from listening to the album I’d throw Black Stone Cherry in there too, certainly not for the Southern tinge that BSC carry but there’s a similar tone and swagger to that featured on The Hedonist.
Lyrically the content covers such existential themes as human nature, the essence of Good and Evil within our society and personal daily lives, what truly comes across however is not the lyrics but the way in which they’re delivered by vocalist Costin Bursoc whose style very much fits in with the Stoner/Grunge style.
Each track upon The Hedonist delivers a powerful sound, utilising tempo changes to create a diverse atmosphere, a balance between the more laid back riffs of Stoner and the angst driven sound of Grunge, gives the songs a sense of motion, so often a track can stall for not having the insight of breaking the boundaries of the chosen genre but here the songwriting is more creative and the songs better for it.
For genres and influences that I generally don’t bother with, this album has been a pleasure to listen to and I know that I’ll be playing it again in the near future. 8/10
Dead Daisies - Light 'Em Up (The Dead Daises PTY LTD/SPV)
The Dead Daisies have a new album. This statement will create excitement for some and a big meh for others. I can go either way with their material, but the new one from this version ever changing and rotating lineup band, Light ‘Em Up, is pretty good. This version of the Daisies is lead by the now returning vocalist John Corabi and the guitar work of Doug Aldrich who has been with the band since 2016.
If you know anything about the two guys I mentioned you will also know what the new record sounds like; straight ahead, sometime generic, other times killer, hard ass rock. Light ‘Em Up is more good than bad. Actually, there is nothing bad. I would say most is good, but maybe not all that memorable overall. This is the problem I have with the Dead Daisies. I like them and enjoy their work, but never go back to the record after the first couple of listens. This one feels like the same thing to me.
Sure, the title track is a fun little hard rock ripper. So is the second track, Times Are Changing. I’m Gonna Ride sounds like The Cult with Motley Crue’s other singer singing and the band definitely would have loved to have been ZZ Top, given songs like Way Back Home and Take A Long Line. I really like the almost grungy Back To Zero. I really could have done without Love That Will Never Be. Overall, the record is fine, it is there. It exists. This is the problem.
There is some really good hard rock on Light ‘Em Up, but once I finish this review, I will never go back to this again. This is the inherent problem I have with the Dead Daisies and the new record does nothing to fix that for me. 6/10
Sure, the title track is a fun little hard rock ripper. So is the second track, Times Are Changing. I’m Gonna Ride sounds like The Cult with Motley Crue’s other singer singing and the band definitely would have loved to have been ZZ Top, given songs like Way Back Home and Take A Long Line. I really like the almost grungy Back To Zero. I really could have done without Love That Will Never Be. Overall, the record is fine, it is there. It exists. This is the problem.
There is some really good hard rock on Light ‘Em Up, but once I finish this review, I will never go back to this again. This is the inherent problem I have with the Dead Daisies and the new record does nothing to fix that for me. 6/10
Lusca - Blood & Promises (MT Records) [Liam Williams]
This 7 track album by German’s Lusca is a fine example of industrial doom metal. It pairs your typical sludgy sounding doom metal riffs with some electronic elements which compliment each other quite well.
This 7 track album by German’s Lusca is a fine example of industrial doom metal. It pairs your typical sludgy sounding doom metal riffs with some electronic elements which compliment each other quite well.
Complimented by a pretty good mix overall there are some parts I feel that the guitars should have been lowered slightly and the bass should have been turned up a notch to let it have a bit more room, especially in the first couple of songs.
The vocals too are good but could have done with a bit more variation, but that is just a little nit-pick from myself. In relation to the genre the vocals fit well. The drums are programmed well and really help drive the rhythm of the songs.
As for the tracks themselves some of my favourite on the album are Savage Dominion, Marrow and Fractured. In Savage Dominion there are some parts which give me similar sort of vibes as some songs by KMFDM. Marrow, to me, sounds like an ancient machine powering up for the first time in over a 1000 years and I think it would be a good song to use in a horror movie. Fractured is my favourite song in terms of the lyrics and vocals. A brilliant song to end the album on.
As for the tracks themselves some of my favourite on the album are Savage Dominion, Marrow and Fractured. In Savage Dominion there are some parts which give me similar sort of vibes as some songs by KMFDM. Marrow, to me, sounds like an ancient machine powering up for the first time in over a 1000 years and I think it would be a good song to use in a horror movie. Fractured is my favourite song in terms of the lyrics and vocals. A brilliant song to end the album on.
Although I do think the first half of the album is a little bit weaker than the second half, I did enjoy listening to this so much that I had to listen to the entire album a couple of times before I started writing this review. And then once more whilst writing the review. So it’s definitely worth a listen to! 7/10
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