I loved the first album by Rhode Island’s Coma Hole. The duo kicks all sorts of ass and certainly bring the heavy as a team of two. This continues on also excellent second record, Hand Of Severance, that picks up where the self-titles debut left off. Eryka Fir plays everything except the drums and is a true star in the making, and the six tracks on Hand Of Severance doubles down on this point of view.
The up-tempo heaviness of the opener, Alphaholics, sets the tone with Fir’s bass and killer vocals leading the way. The way she layers her vocals is excellent and the production work makes it sound like they are a five piece and not just the two of them making all this noise. Steve Anderson on drums is no slouch in his own right and shows this on Nevermind. The title of this song reminds me that Coma Hole has a whole bunch of albums from 90s bands from Seattle in their collection. There is a Melvins/Mudhoney fuzz to the six tracks, but also a sense of melody that shines through. Fir really shows off her vocals on this one too.
Rivermouth has a killer riff and a Soundgarden but more sparse vibe to it musically. The bass rules the day on Luster, partnered with Fir’s vocals gives this one a Searching With My Good Eye Closed vibe to it. King Bee’s riff is all sorts of heavy (doesn’t that riff sound like the one from Dirt?) and this brings the doomier side of the band to the table, combined with an AIC thing going on. The closer, Nooses, has this punk vibe to it to go along with all of the grunge goodness that is going on and a surprising piano appearance to close it out.
Coma Hole’s sophomore outing is a great next step for the band. If Eryka Fir is not a do it all star in the making I don’t know who would be. Hand Of Severance should be a great way to build the duo’s following and take the band to the next level. 8/10
Casandra’s Crossing - Garden Of Earthly Delights (Frontiers Music Srl) [Rich Piva]
Deithesis - Equilibrium (Sliptrick Records) [Matt Bladen]
Equilibrium is the debut album from Deithesis. Hailing from Ireland, they're a band who play classic heavy metal mixed with some doom too, they mention influences such as Candlemas and Solitude Aeturnus, both of which are quite obvious in the darker sound Deithesis.
Beyond Tomorrow for instance is a steady mid paced rocker that not only links to the bands mentioned but also mid-period Metallica. Equilibrium creeps as it shifts into the chuggy Virtue, bassist Kenneth Bell and drummer Michael McConnon keeping the steady groove.
Vocally Allan Clarke has a voice that's similar to Therapy's Andy Cains, rough and booming while Darren Duffy and John Rankin's guitar weave between each other like it's a classic NWOBHM record, that closes with a bit more Metallica worship on Beckon Tragedy. Deithesis show a lot of promise on this debut, it'll be interesting to see where they go from here. 7/10
Coma Hole’s sophomore outing is a great next step for the band. If Eryka Fir is not a do it all star in the making I don’t know who would be. Hand Of Severance should be a great way to build the duo’s following and take the band to the next level. 8/10
Casandra’s Crossing - Garden Of Earthly Delights (Frontiers Music Srl) [Rich Piva]
Just because you put two very talented performers together it does not mean the end product is going to be a winner. The latest effort to jam two musicians into a studio and see what happens by Frontiers Records is the debut record from the combination of guitar god George Lynch and lead vocalist of Paralandra, Casandra Carson, aptly named Casandra’s Crossing. George Lynch rules no matter what shitty list tells you.
He is hands down one of the best players ever and in my top three of the “hair band” guitarists to shine in the 80s. I was not familiar with Carson prior to this, but what I can tell you now is that she has an extremely powerful voice that should pair nicely with Lynch’s shredding. But like all Frontiers releases, the slickness of the production drags some seriously killer shredding and good song-writing down, sometimes making the record feel like an American Idol production rather than a kick ass rock record.
I don’t blame Lynch, because as usual he is in top form. Carson sounds great too, and if every song sounded like the opener, Stranger, we would have a ripper on our hands. Carson kills it on tracks like Waltzing Nights, which sounds like 80s Heart but heavier (Lynch’s solo is something else too). My favourite and most raw track on the record is Just Business. The vocals and heaviness of this song makes me wish they all had this kind of edge.
Devastating Times is a winner too, showing off Lynch and Carson’s strong chemistry. I dig the up-beat ripper Run For Your Life too. There is not really a bad track on Garden Of Earthly Delights, but the production works against the record, taking great songs and making them so over produced that they tend to sound like everything else on Frontiers, which is not fair because there are some great tracks on this record.
I bet Casandra’s Crossing sound amazing live, with her voice and his guitar and away from the lab where the record was produced. Lynch and Carson shine, but Garden Of Earthy Delights is just too overproduced for my ears. 7/10
He is hands down one of the best players ever and in my top three of the “hair band” guitarists to shine in the 80s. I was not familiar with Carson prior to this, but what I can tell you now is that she has an extremely powerful voice that should pair nicely with Lynch’s shredding. But like all Frontiers releases, the slickness of the production drags some seriously killer shredding and good song-writing down, sometimes making the record feel like an American Idol production rather than a kick ass rock record.
I don’t blame Lynch, because as usual he is in top form. Carson sounds great too, and if every song sounded like the opener, Stranger, we would have a ripper on our hands. Carson kills it on tracks like Waltzing Nights, which sounds like 80s Heart but heavier (Lynch’s solo is something else too). My favourite and most raw track on the record is Just Business. The vocals and heaviness of this song makes me wish they all had this kind of edge.
Devastating Times is a winner too, showing off Lynch and Carson’s strong chemistry. I dig the up-beat ripper Run For Your Life too. There is not really a bad track on Garden Of Earthly Delights, but the production works against the record, taking great songs and making them so over produced that they tend to sound like everything else on Frontiers, which is not fair because there are some great tracks on this record.
I bet Casandra’s Crossing sound amazing live, with her voice and his guitar and away from the lab where the record was produced. Lynch and Carson shine, but Garden Of Earthy Delights is just too overproduced for my ears. 7/10
Bombus - Your Blood (Black Lodge Records) [Matt Bladen]
Rock fans rejoice as Swedes Bombus can cure what ails you. There's plenty of heavy style riffs, but Bombus take a slightly different route with this record, adding more melody to their rawer rock n roll sound to encompass some of the moody atmospheres of post punk/goth bands on The One, No Rules and Take You Down, a bit of country on Your Blood too. While The Beast and Leave And Let Die bring the heavier classic sound of the band, the one influenced by Motorhead.
Their first album, written and produced by themselves since their inception in 2008 and with this shift into more melodic/classic rock realms they can only increase their fanbase. The problem I have is that I do actually prefer their older louder material. I'm a fan of post-punk/goth but it's a little jarring when it's put with the frantic rock n roll. Other Swedish bands such as Mustasch can blend heavy and melody better, so while Bombus are branching out, I still think the 'rockier' material is more effective. 6/10
Deithesis - Equilibrium (Sliptrick Records) [Matt Bladen]
Equilibrium is the debut album from Deithesis. Hailing from Ireland, they're a band who play classic heavy metal mixed with some doom too, they mention influences such as Candlemas and Solitude Aeturnus, both of which are quite obvious in the darker sound Deithesis.
Beyond Tomorrow for instance is a steady mid paced rocker that not only links to the bands mentioned but also mid-period Metallica. Equilibrium creeps as it shifts into the chuggy Virtue, bassist Kenneth Bell and drummer Michael McConnon keeping the steady groove.
Vocally Allan Clarke has a voice that's similar to Therapy's Andy Cains, rough and booming while Darren Duffy and John Rankin's guitar weave between each other like it's a classic NWOBHM record, that closes with a bit more Metallica worship on Beckon Tragedy. Deithesis show a lot of promise on this debut, it'll be interesting to see where they go from here. 7/10
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