Detroit prog band Tiles released their last album Pretending 2 Run in 2016 and then I sort of thought that they had laid the band to rest. A shame as they were a favourite of mine, mixing Dream Theater with Rush, with album covers designed by the amazing Hugh Syme, I had followed them for a while but now I know the reason for the absence. Guitarist/Songwriter Chris Herin has spent 10 years supporting his father through Alzheimer's disease, these moments, these memories, this journey has been filtered into the debut of Herin, Chris' solo project.
A concept record that uses Herin's knack for emotive, introspective, prog rock playlist and art rock sensitivity, it's got to be the most experimental and personal collection of songs Herin has written. Produced by Terry Brown (Rush) and mastered by Peter Moore (Bob Dylan) it sounds gorgeous, warm but also disconcerting, moments of darkness and sobering reality are used to instil a sense of fragility, to reveal the real effects of Alzheimer's not only on the person but on their loved ones.
A portion of this album’s proceeds will be donated to Alzheimer’s charities, and I implore you pick it up of you are a fan of progressive music that can move you. Be it the The Heart Of You which has a bit of Toto meeting Phil Collins, the folky Second Ending or the string laden Safe House (Isolation) and even Slow To Crumble which sounds like Styx, there’s real heart to these songs.
Be it heavily orchestrated moments, quiet ambient sections, polyrhythmic riffs, interesting percussion or scintillating solos, this album is musically impressive as you'd expect, the talent not only from Herin but guests such as guitars/mandolin/flute from Martin Barre, keys from John O’Hara, and drums from Doane Perry current and former members of Jethro Tull who haven't played together since 2010ish on the track The Darkest Hour. Elsewhere there's some guitar brilliance from Peter Frampton and Alex Lifeson while other guests include Crown Lands, Tim Bowness, Colin Edwin, Randy McStine and Michael Sadler of Saga who is one of the myriad of vocalists but definitely the most identifiable on the opener.
Hiding In Plain Sight has Chris Herin dealing with his father’s condition through the only medium he knows, surrounded by friends and heroes, he tells his own story with gifted musicianship and deft song writing, while it’s not always what Tiles fans would expect, there’s a pile of prog tightly packed into 5 minute chunks. 8/10
Methadone Skies - Spectres At Dawn (Haywire Records)
Methadone Skies have been a band for fifteen years, Spectres At Dawn is their sixth studio album. This Romanian band can be classed as post rock but while many of the post rock bands come from the sludge and hardcore, Methadone Skies move more in the stoner/psych/space rock circles, sprinkling their post rock with classic prog rock, swirling psych and thundering doom.
Those doom riffs come from the first moments of To No Avail, Alexandru Wehry and Casian Stanciu's guitars doing a lot of the heavy lifting before the grooves get a bit quicker on '87 via '94, this is where those stoner influences come in with bit of thrash too. Behind these grooves Mihai Guta's bass sets a fuzzy foundation for Mano Cornetto, a song that deals with the Orthodox Churches furore over the 'Devil Horns' gesture.
Flavius Retea's drums add a classic metal gallop while the keyboards amplify the textures, not there's much that's needs amplifying on the killer stoner riffs of Thrill Estate. Spectres At Dawn introduced me to Methadone Skies and while I'm not always convinced by instrumental bands, this one has riffs that don't need vocals. 8/10
Codespeaker - Scavenger (Ripcord Records)
Codespeaker channel rage and probably the ice cold winters of their native Scotland into their Post-Metal. Industrial, savage and with a lingering atmosphere of darkness, Scavenger is their second record and delves deeper into the underground.
Be it heavily orchestrated moments, quiet ambient sections, polyrhythmic riffs, interesting percussion or scintillating solos, this album is musically impressive as you'd expect, the talent not only from Herin but guests such as guitars/mandolin/flute from Martin Barre, keys from John O’Hara, and drums from Doane Perry current and former members of Jethro Tull who haven't played together since 2010ish on the track The Darkest Hour. Elsewhere there's some guitar brilliance from Peter Frampton and Alex Lifeson while other guests include Crown Lands, Tim Bowness, Colin Edwin, Randy McStine and Michael Sadler of Saga who is one of the myriad of vocalists but definitely the most identifiable on the opener.
Hiding In Plain Sight has Chris Herin dealing with his father’s condition through the only medium he knows, surrounded by friends and heroes, he tells his own story with gifted musicianship and deft song writing, while it’s not always what Tiles fans would expect, there’s a pile of prog tightly packed into 5 minute chunks. 8/10
Methadone Skies - Spectres At Dawn (Haywire Records)
Methadone Skies have been a band for fifteen years, Spectres At Dawn is their sixth studio album. This Romanian band can be classed as post rock but while many of the post rock bands come from the sludge and hardcore, Methadone Skies move more in the stoner/psych/space rock circles, sprinkling their post rock with classic prog rock, swirling psych and thundering doom.
Those doom riffs come from the first moments of To No Avail, Alexandru Wehry and Casian Stanciu's guitars doing a lot of the heavy lifting before the grooves get a bit quicker on '87 via '94, this is where those stoner influences come in with bit of thrash too. Behind these grooves Mihai Guta's bass sets a fuzzy foundation for Mano Cornetto, a song that deals with the Orthodox Churches furore over the 'Devil Horns' gesture.
Flavius Retea's drums add a classic metal gallop while the keyboards amplify the textures, not there's much that's needs amplifying on the killer stoner riffs of Thrill Estate. Spectres At Dawn introduced me to Methadone Skies and while I'm not always convinced by instrumental bands, this one has riffs that don't need vocals. 8/10
Codespeaker - Scavenger (Ripcord Records)
Codespeaker channel rage and probably the ice cold winters of their native Scotland into their Post-Metal. Industrial, savage and with a lingering atmosphere of darkness, Scavenger is their second record and delves deeper into the underground.
Scavenger is the band setting out their intentions as a band with new members, this revised iteration seeing them become more concise, more honed and more dangerous. The different line up all adding their own influences and backgrounds as Codespeaker play post-metal that comes with a hefty nod to sludge and hardcore, in the vocals the repeating breakdowns and the general sense of unease on tracks such as Recission.
Obviously you can name Cult Of Luna or Neurosis as the major influences and Codespeaker do pay homage to these bands with their ear-bleeding heaviness and political lyricism. The latter particularly important as they think Scavenger is an “ode to the powerless”, filled with vitriol and venom it’s hard to disagree. Unless you like your post-metal at the more savage end then you may not want to approach Codespeaker, they’re pissed off and want to let the world know about it. 7/10
The Jailbirds - High Noon (Self Released)
High Noon is the new EP from firebrand rockers The Jailbirds. Fusing bluesy hard rock, grungy alt rock and bags of attitude, The Jailbirds showcase a knack for classic rock, be it the Zeppelin-like Tokyo Smoke or the STP- like moodiness of Sludge, they definitely dive into their own record collections on this five track EP.
The Jailbirds - High Noon (Self Released)
High Noon is the new EP from firebrand rockers The Jailbirds. Fusing bluesy hard rock, grungy alt rock and bags of attitude, The Jailbirds showcase a knack for classic rock, be it the Zeppelin-like Tokyo Smoke or the STP- like moodiness of Sludge, they definitely dive into their own record collections on this five track EP.
A proper power trio tracks such as Your Love swagger with the sound of three men locked into a groove, replicating their live sound on record while doing a bit of playing around with their sound. Something many bands do with an EP, it’s an excuse shift their sound while also welcoming new listeners. It’s definitely won me over as I like this EP a lot.
There’s plenty of the rock styles I enjoy, though woozy psych/stoner vibes of Our Time is my favourite one here. High Noon then is a great intro to The Jailbirds, this trio rock hard with a number of styles they can call upon. Consider me impressed. 7/10
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