Reviews: Brainstorm, Enemy Inside, Christian Mistress, TELMA (Liam Williams, Simon Black, Rich Piva & Matt Bladen)

Brainstorm – Plague Of Rats (Reigning Phoenix Music) [Liam Williams]

German power metal band Brainstorm have an impressive discography with more than 10 full-length albums spanning their nearly 30 year long career, and their newest release, Plague Of Rats, shows that they are still at the top of their game!

The album starts with an intro track which begins with a creaky door opening before some ambient synth comes in. Then we get some Eastern sounding acoustic guitars and a synth heavy build-up to the following track. Beyond Enemy Lines begins with the full band kicking things off and the lead guitars taking over from the synth riff at the end of the previous track. It’s an epic track, quite thrashy and very fun. There’s a nice instrumental section just before a crazy guitar solo with plenty of sweep picking. 

The intro riff comes back in before going into the final chorus. 

This is followed up with Garyda (Eater Of Snakes). This one is a bit more chuggy but it has some really interesting parts. A nice little instrumental bit before the second verse comes in with some acoustic guitar playing in the background. It also brings back that almost Eastern music sound with the strings and synths in the background. Next is False Memories and this is a solid track. Quite fast and heavy and I think the vocals are great in this one. There’s a really good solo section with some nice duel guitars.

The Shepherd Girl (Gitagovinda) brings back that Eastern sound again for the intro before the band comes in with some big powerful chords and a mini guitar solo before the first verse. There’s another great solo with more duel guitars and then there’s a key change for the second half of the final chorus. 

That’s followed up with Your Soul That Lingers In Me. It also features some guest vocals from Elina Siirala which come in for the second verse. There’s a bit of a duet for the second pre-chorus, chorus and final chorus. Up next is Masquerade Conspiracy. This one starts off very heavy, almost a bit metalcore sounding with the intro and main riffs. The guitar solo starts with a great divebomb before getting into some more shredding. After the final chorus, the song fades out for the outro.

We get another pretty heavy track next with From Hell. Very mean intro before things get interesting with the first verse. The guitar continues to chug along while the bass and drums slow down a bit until the pre-chorus. This one also has some back and forth action between clean and harsh vocals. With the harsh vocals being provided by another guest vocalist, Alex Krull. The duel guitars part is another standout moment for the whole album. We get some more duel guitars straight out the gate with the intro for the next track, The Dark Of Night. This one is a bit slower than the last few tracks, but it’s a lot more melodic. 

Crawling begins with a chuggy intro and some more duel guitars. There’s some great work from the backing vocals, especially in the second verse. The instrumental section before the solo is a bit softer, with some clean guitar and really good drumming. The solo is really good and I like the use of stings in the background for the choruses. Curtains Fall is our last track for this album, it starts off strong with another nice heavy intro. After the second chorus there’s a good chuggy instrumental section. There’s one last little duel guitars part before a short guitar solo leading into the final chorus.

This album is pretty solid. My only little nit-pick is with the song structures. Most of the tracks play it safe and reuse the same basic song structure. But the songs themselves are really good so this is only a little bit of a criticism. Everything sounds good, the vocals, guitars, bass, drums and even the other instruments used in the background. They’ve done a great job! 10/10

Enemy Inside – Venom (Reigning Phonenix Music) [Simon Black]

How have I not found this band before? And would I have liked them if I had?

Germany’s Enemy Inside started life as a side project spawned by Evan K. who is best known for his guitar work on Power Metal stalwarts Mystic Prophecy. As is often the case with side projects like this, you can get away with being more experimental than you would dare on your main act and pull in players happy to tinker with the limits of the Metal genresphere, as Power Metal is about the only sub-genre this record does not touch upon. With each record they have subtly altered their direction, and here with album number three fuses’ bits of Electro-Metal, 90’s Alternative attitude, Gothic darkness, Synthwave polish and an almost Symphonic expansiveness in their sound.

There are loads of other experiments too, and the beauty of this record is the sheer variety of sounds and styles that it gallops through in its mere thirty-six minutes of run-time. It's a heavily studio-orientated sound that’s going to be a challenge to reproduce live without a click track doing most of the work, but I don’t get the sense that that’s what they are about. What it does do is absolutely hold the attention from the opening bars, and then proceeds to punch you round the head eleven times with a brutally heavy, yet touchingly emotive barrage of punchy, precise and highly effective songs.

When she’s going for it, Nastassja Giulia creates the same effect as Emily Armstrong is aiming for with Linkin Park’s recent rebirth, but whereas Emily Armstrong is destroying her vocal cords trying to sound like Chester Bennington, Giulia achieves this more effectively adding an edge and angst that really touches the heart without sounding like she won’t be able to speak properly for a few days afterwards. But her vocals change tone and style as effortlessly as the rest of the band flit between genres, and that’s the real strength here, that regardless of the songwriting approach and target, she seems to effortlessly deliver the goods.

For an album that’s effectively an exercise book of random-seeming musical experiments, the tight and precise studio sound weaves it into a consistent whole, and I am left battered, bruised and desperately wishing there was more in the bag. Leaving people wanting more seems like a resounding goal in the back of the net, because after three or four spins I am still loving this. Wow, simply wow. 10/10

Christian Mistress - Children Of The Earth (Cruz Del Sur Music) [Rich Piva]

When I first started lurking around Bandcamp and Twitter back in early 2020 a band that came up in conversations in the metal circles I was trying to virtually insert myself into was Christian Mistress. The band had a small, but rabid following even though they had not put out any music for five years back then. I dove right in, grabbing all I could from their discography of three full lengths and a couple of singles. 

At the time (and I still am) I was looking for new bands playing the more traditional metal style, and boy does Christian Mistress check those boxes. Even back then there were rumblings of possible new material from the Olympia, Washington (Portland, too) band. Fast forward to 2025, where, finally, we get new Christian Mistress material in the form of the eight tracks on their new record, Children Of The Earth. Christian Mistress fans rejoice, because the new songs are exactly what you want and have been waiting for from this band.

If you are not familiar with CM, they bow at the altar of Judas Priest, early Scorpions, and bands from the NWOBHM times, (think Witchfinder General with awesome female vocals) and could pair nicely with contemporary bands like Castle, Haunt, High Spirits, Lucifer, and Wytch. The 33 minutes of music on Children Of The Earth doesn’t stray too far away from those bands and the band’s older material, and that is just fine with me. The opener, City Of Gold, is pure Priest worship musically with the vocals of Christine Davis sounding as great as ever. Voiceless has the same vibes, but this is the track I hear High Spirits in, and you know I dig that. 

Demon's Night highlights what this band does well; deliver high quality traditional metal as good as any band in 2025. Love Of The World is an early 80s metal anthem that just rules, in part because of the killer guitar work from Tim Diedrich. Same with Death Blade. The occult rock side of the band shines through perfectly on Mythmaker while also highlighting Davis’ vocals. At some point you have to have some Maiden love when you play this style, and Lake Of Memory does just that, sprinkled with some early Scorpions to go along with it. The closer, Shadow, kicks so much ass, and reminds me of something from The Neptune Power Federation, which is one of the highest compliments I can give.

Children Of The Earth is short and goes by quick, but stop complaining, this is the first new Christian Mistress material in ten years. If you like traditional metal with killer female vocals and fun songwriting you will really dig this record. 8/10

TELMA - Awakening (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]

Greek groovers TELMA are back with a second record and they’ve gone deeper down into the alt/grunge/groove sound of the late 90’s early 2000’s. They’re only a four year old band but they already have two full length albums and a defined sound. Influenced by bands such as Pantera, Alice In Chains, Godsmack and Disturbed too.

TELMA thankfully don’t share the controversial opinions of a couple of these acts, writing songs that have as much emotional weight as they do musical. After their debut, Eternal, came out they toured pretty extensively throughout their home country and The Balkans, honing their craft on stage in preparation of this sophomore album.

You can hear that refinement on Awakening, TELMA writing songs that still have a thick and fuzzy bottom end (Got No Rhythm) courtesy of bassist Filip Kotoulas and drummer Mike Tziastoudis, but with guitarists Mark Kotoulas and Kostas Koutsomarkos and singer Anthony Kyritsis, they’ve added some more melodic diversity in the song writing. Crystal Clear and Belly Of The Beast bring the modern groove modernity.

The production of George Margaritopoulos and mix Fotis Benardo at Devasoundz Studios keeps the meat on the bones, with the heavy staying heavy, overall mastering was done by Tony Lindgren at Fascination Street Studios and you can hear his background in melodeath on tracks such as the choppy Stray Dogs or the complex modern metal of Seventeen.

Awakening begins the next chapter of TELMA, a Greek band with bags of potential, this second album increases the heaviness but also the melodies too. 8/10

Reviews: Avantasia, Crown Of Madness, Will Wilde, Ironrat (Simon Black, Mark Young, Dan Sierras & Matt Bladen)

Avantasia – Here Be Dragons (Napalm Records) [Simon Black]

A new Avantasia album is for me always something to look forward to. I first came across them as late as 2015 when their special guest slot at Bloodstock was live streamed and was both bemused and blown away by the ensemble approach which took a whole raft of singers I recognised from a multitude of acts and presented them all together for 75 intense minutes. 

This probably wasn’t the best festival for this act to break into the UK with, given the more Metal-orientated audience probably weren’t open to this Melodic Power Metal feast, but from that moment on I was completely hooked, and I’ve happily worked my way through the back catalogue long since.

What started off as a one-off studio project from Edguy’s frontman during downtime, has long since eclipsed the act that spawned it, and now Avantasia albums are a major event, and the tours continue to get bigger and better. 

You usually know what you are going to get with an Avantasia record, and the suspense lies in who is delivering it. With nearly every song being a duet between main man Tobias Sammet and a smorgasbord of possible talent, the mystery is always in just who he has managed to persuade to come on board this time and, perhaps more importantly, whether he has persuaded them to join the tour.

However, this album feels a bit different.

One of Sammet’s key talents is his ability to craft a song for his guest artiste that perfectly captures the essence that their fans would instantly recognise, whilst retaining the overall genre and ethos of Avantasia’s Operatic Metal roots. This time the album has a more consistent overall feel and sound, with the artists contributing to that tone consistently, rather than being totally pitched to the respective contributor’s strengths. 

Part of that comes from the fact that those guests feel more like a permanent part of the family these days – to the point where it’s now an unusual release if it doesn’t include Michael Kiske, Bob Catley, Ronnie Atkins and Geoff Tate. That gives the release a bedrock, and Sammet a confidence to step forward and write what is clearly first and foremost an album for himself.

Joining them this time are Seven Spires’ Adrienne Cowan, H.E.A.T.’s Kenny Leckremo and Kamelot’s Tommy Karevik and Roy Khan. This probably helps with the confidence in keeping a more album-orientated tone, because with all these players firmly in the Melodic and Power Metal worlds, there isn’t the need to force a song to fit into a more left-field sub-genre groove with a fanbase less inclined towards Avantasia’s core sound.

As an album though, it took me a few spins to get the groove for myself. Normally the hook is around whoever the top billing guest is this time round, but this feels designed as an album in a way we haven’t really seen since original Metal Opera. Like a good concept album, it’s a full-on record, and needs listening to as such, gradually unveiling its depths with every spin. It stands up to them too, and for me although less immediate, is a much stronger release than 2022’s A Paranormal Evening With The Moonflower Society, which I really struggled with.

Consequently, I find myself struggling to narrow myself down to a short list of highlights (although the absolute banger Unleash The Kraken comes close), because there really is nothing that could be considered as a filler. If there’s a weakness, it’s in the Bob Catley contribution Bring On The Night – not because there is anything wrong with it (quite the reverse), but for that it feels very similar to some of his previous contributions. 

To be clear, I don’t have a problem with that, otherwise my collection of 23 Magnum studio albums in multiple formats would be nothing short of hypocritical, and to anyone who hasn’t slavishly listened to all the precedent Avantasia records as much as I have isn’t going to notice anyway, so this is me microscopically splitting hairs for the sake of it for an album that is clearly simply knocking it out of the park, and for which a mere perfect score does not seem generous enough. 10/10

Crown Of Madness - Memories Fragmented (Transcending Obscurity Records) [Mark Young]

With a focus that is tightly fixed on the use of discord, of chord shapes that elicit feelings of tension and disharmony, Crown Of Madness have sought to lay their own path as to what death metal should sound like in 2025. Avoiding what appears to be the norm in terms of how heavy music is recorded they fashion songs that use common techniques – the rapid-fire double bass, the guttural vocals whilst using guitar lines that seem almost out of place when considered against what others are doing. I’ll be honest, it took me a while to get into this and at first, I was ready to dismiss it after the first listen but that would have been foolish on my part. 

It starts with an instrumental opening track which didn’t offer any clue of how the next 9 songs would come in. The stabs of noise that follow with Sovereign Of Blood and Burdened, their stop start dynamic slowly got under the skin and there is a moment where you get it. They don’t fit that normal mould of death metal, with the barrage of riffs or super low vocals, instead they rely on the component parts to form a cohesive experience. 

On Ashes Of Mine as an example, the drums provide that feeling of speed and movement that is so important (at least to me) and provide the foundation for the guitars to weave their spidery lines that ensnare you. They sound mint too, possessing that carefully balanced amount of grit to them too. Its incredibly measured and in doing so treats the listener with respect. 

This isn’t to say that it is devoid of any grand guitar moments, the opening to When I Don’t Remember You has one of those, setting it up for the speed to be gently increased, those spider lines now spun faster whilst the drums reign percussive fire upon you. Its almost progressive in some respects and every part is built with precision.

 It unfolds almost like there are two songs being played out, with the vocals and drums on one side and the guitars / bass on the other. It absolutely shouldn’t work but it does. I can’t pretend that it doesn’t infuriate me a little, probably because I’m prehistoric in terms of how I traditionally like my metal but I’ll repeat my earlier comment and say, ‘stick with it’.

Deafening then sideswipes you with a traditional opening battering of the ears, and suddenly we are in new territory, one inhabited by mad wizards who just happen to be in a band. It’s a technical marvel of rhythm and counter-rhythm, of superlative drumming and a lead break that is spot-on. Its also an instrumental and for once I’m glad because it’s a reset switch that allows for them to go a little heavier on Sea Of Fangs. Those melodic lines are still there, as well as the jangling chord stabs but with added intensity. I think if you watch this as a playthrough it would be mesmerising in the way that they just seem to bend sound to their will. 

Its technical with an emotional feel as each chord, guitar line is used with utmost efficiency and it resonates with you. Dreamless Nights No Longer hits you in exactly the same way but is no rethread. This is like watching an artist create new works that are strikingly different each time, but with using the same set of tools at their disposal. The way that they play with timings is just perfect as you cannot second guess what they are going to do at any given moment. I guess that was what the initial issue was that I had, listen to enough extreme metal you get certain cues as to what direction they are going to fall. Not on here.

Hollow Thresher provides a shortened edition of the songs before it, and still manages to squeeze a ton of stuff in there without sacrificing any of the great work that preceded it. What is great is that the overall approach espoused on Sovereign Blood stays in place for album closer The Great Design. By this point, you are either onboard or you jumped ship early on. That progressive touch is back again with some stunning work in there, and it’s something to behold that they wrap up having dropped an album that is so consistent. Depending on where you lie with your extreme metal this is either revolutionary for you or its going to annoy. 

Again, I might be behind the times and this could be common amongst death metal releases. It doesn’t feel like that, at least to me and it feels that because they have followed their own path, they have produced music that doesn’t sound like anyone else. In scoring it I’m troubled a little because it didn’t have moments of brutality or plain old audio assault that I associate with this genre. Reflecting on another listen, I’m happy that it doesn’t because its an original release, one that they should be very proud of. 9/10

Will Wilde - Blues Is Still Alive (Vizz Tone Records) [Dan Sierras]

Will Wilde returns with Blues Is Still Alive, an energized blues rock album doused with his signature harmonica style that is second to none. There is so much energy brought to this album that you’ll be grooving to it from the first note.

The opening titular track, features blues guitar legend Walter Trout handling lead guitar. And boy, do Trout and Wilde know how to intertwine their talents on their instruments. A whirlwind of electrifying harmonica and lead guitar that takes a familiar genre, but make it sound new. Followed up by the track Wild Man, Wilde keeps up the pace, with his harmonica blazing.

The backing vocals on the tracks Don’t Play With Fire, Girl’s Got Soul, and Learn How To Love courtesy of Lindsey Bonnick, Chloe Josephine, and Will’s sister Dani Wilde add some nice depth and soul to each song. And Greg Coulson on the keys stand out on the song Gypsy Woman.

Trouble Of That Girl another solid, upbeat track with Wilde showing of his harmonica skills. Stole My Love is more of a traditional slower blues track, but Wilde makes it his own with his signature harmonica style. Broken Dream Blues makes me feel like I should be in a smoky blues bar listing to this song with yet another great, slower blues track. Finally, Don’t Trust Me rounds out this standout blues album with yet another upbeat song where Wilde just amazes on his harmonica.

There’s a reason why Wilde was nominated "Instrumentalist of the Year" in the UK Blues Awards in 2024 and he definitely show a why on this album. He takes the blues to another level, and if you’re a fan of the genre (and even if you’re not) you really ought to give this album a listen. It’s a great blues-rock album. 9/10

Ironrat - Beneath It All (Argonauta Records) [Matt Bladen]

As Orange Goblin ride off into the sunset the return of Ironrat should be heralded as a way to fill the void. Both bands possess a knack for playing doom metal with a bounce to it. 

Honed on live stages it's been 10 years since their debut Monument but they make a triumphant return to the studio with Beneath It All. The gap is due to some personnel changes, singer Chris called it a day for health reasons so the rest of Ironrat reconvened with restructured line up of Martin Wiseman (vocals/guitar), Wayne Hustler (guitar), Stuart Hillman (bass) and Gordon Wilkinson (drums). 

So the core part of the band remains the same but Martin does a great job taking over the vocals as well. Ironrat are influenced by Orange Goblin, check out the bounce on Tip Of My Tongue. The doom riffs, harmonic guitars, and massive vocals but they also nod to the American sludgers like Mastodon (in the vocals definitely), some NOLA grooves and even grunge. 

Beneath It All is only six tracks but they all capture exactly what you want a band like Ironrat to sound like, recorded as Foel Studios with Chris Fielding it's like sonic concrete, as the smoothness of the grooves harden into heavyweight doom. Burn takes you down the route of Sergeant Thunderhoof while Wasted picks up the pace again and drives into Obscene.

Ironrat are back, Beneath It All is filthy riff fuelled fun from Bradford and I'm glad they're back. 8/10

Reviews: Granicus, Demian, Twins Crew, Carcolh (Rich Piva & Matt Bladen)

Granicus - Granicus (RidingEasy Records) [Rich Piva]

You have read me praising Riding Easy Records a whole bunch of times so I am sure you are aware of my opinion on the label, but I just can’t believe how they keep finding amazing lost and/or forgotten records from the late 60s and 70s. 

There seems to be an endless well they keep drawing from, whether it is all of the great tracks on the 19 chapters of the Brown Acid Series, or the unearthed full lengths from bands on those comps, like the 1973 self-titled record from Granicus.

Granicus were heavy and raw, and incorporated a bunch of styles into the eight songs on their debut. The band brings the heavy prog rock with a serious early punk vibe to the party. I hear early Rush, Deep Purple, early Grand Funk, The Stooges, and MC5 in the mix. Just listen to the first track You're In America. 

Damn. 

Outside of singer Woody Leffel threatening to “drop his load” on America, this song just simply rips. The raw energy, the high-pitched vocals, the guitar tone, the 70s punk vibes in the lyrics, this one has it all. There is zero reason why songs like Bad Talk and Cleveland, Ohio did not bring them a big fan base. 

Riding Easy does an amazing job writing up the history of this record and the band so I won’t go there, but just listen to When You’re Movin’ and tell me this isn’t killer. Or the guitar work on the closer, Paradise. Just breathtaking stuff.

Go listen to this if you like the heavy classic rock stuff that helped mold your musical tastes. Granicus can hang with any of those bands. Thank you again Riding Easy for this seemingly never-ending supply of amazing underappreciated rock. 9/10

Demian - Demian (RidingEasy Records) [Rich Piva]

Writing reviews of unearthed “lost” records from Riding Easy Records back-to-back is a joy. After listening to and reviewing the amazing 1973 record from Granicus. 

You may think that it would be nearly impossible to match that release on the same day, but alas, the wizards at Riding Easy also give us the self-titled record from Demian, and although different in style, it hangs in the quality department with all of these gems we keep getting from the label.

Demian were more melodic, and I agree with the write up by the label listing James Gang as a reference point. There is an early ZZ Top vibe in here somewhere too, but it is subtle. There is zero reason why (other than lack of promotion) that the opener, Face The Crowd, was not a hit. 

I love the guitar work on this record, with tracks like Windy City and Coming being strong examples. The band also had this Neil Young/CSNY acoustic hippy vibe to them too when they wanted to, like when they bring out the harmonies on Love People. 

I also hear Grand Funk in a song like No More Tenderness. This record is an early 70s explosion of all things good from that time period. There is a back story to this record and band, but Riding Easy tells it best, as they always do with their great write ups on these releases on their website, but what I am here to say is that Demian rocks and we are all lucky to have Riding Easy bring it to us, even if it is 50 or so years late. 8/10

Twins Crew - Chapter IV (Scarlet Records) [Matt Bladen]

Twins Crew may sound like a boy and from the 1990's but it is infact a power metal band from Sweden. Chapter IV is their fourth album and is something of a 'comeback' album as the last album came out in 2016. 

They're called Twins Crew because guitarists Dennis and David Janglöv are twin brothers. But you could also call the band Hammerfall seeing as they play heraldic power metal that is very close to the Swedish compatriots.

Even in the production as they use Fredrik Nordström for mixing and mastering, giving it a muscular sound that also brings to kind Manowar and Judas Priest. This is steel on steel, classic heavy metal, there's even some hammer on anvil with opener Chose Your God. 

The brothers lead the writing and playing with their great guitar playing but for me it's Andreas Larsson who impress most with his Biff Byford-meets-Blaze Bayley vocals.

With this comeback Twins Crew don't really change their style too much but you know what? Sometimes you have to give the people what they want. Chapter IV is a classic heavy metal album from a band who have been out of the game for a while. It's a great listen but not an essential one. 7/10

Carcolh - Twilight Of The Mortals (Sleeping Church Records) [Matt Bladen]

There's been a spate of great French doom recently and from the ashes of Marble Chariot and featuring members of various members of doom bands from France is Carcolh.

Formed in 2016 they've released two albums before Twilight Of The Mortals and they don't seem to have run out of doom metal riffs just yet. In the PR it mentions band such as Candlemass, Solitude Aeturnus and Crypt Sermon, Carcolh remind me of all these acts, elongated songs with monolithic riffs and slow moving pulsating rhythms.

The album has 6 songs and it begins with the colossal For Every Second, the chuggy riffs bleeds into some great vocals, this is the ting that makes of breaks doom for me, if the singer is shit then then rest of the band suffer and it becomes a slovenly slow mess.

Carcolh have vocals that reminds me of Alice In Chains but their music is just classic doom with a lot of melodic lead guitar work, much of which comes from NWOTHM and with The Battle Of Lost reminds me of Grand Magus, but with My Prayers Are For Rain they slow right down into rumbling proper doom.

Another French band who do doom well they even add atmospheric moments to Twilight Of The Mortals to counteract the heaviness, if yoge not heard Carcolh until now, this is your chance to rectify it. 8/10

Review: Jason Bieler And The Baron Von Bielski Orchestra (Rich Piva)

Jason Bieler And The Baron Von Bielski Orchestra - The Escapologist (Baron Von Bielski Records/What The Hell Was That Sound Records) [Rich Piva]

Full disclosure. I am a huge Jason Bieler fan. Huge fan may not be enough. Maybe fanatic, mark, shill, apologist, borderline stalker…whatever you want to call my level of fandom. The first two Saigon Kick records are perfect to me still to this day.

I have seen incarnations of him live almost a dozen times, my one wish in the world above all is having Devil In The Details pressed on vinyl, and I still wear my Owl Stretching shirt, even if it barely fits. That being said, I am going to go into this review of Mr. Bieler’s new record from his most recent project, Jason Bieler And The Baron Von Bielski Orchestra, titled The Escapologist, as objective as I can possibly be.

Bieler’s work of late with the BVBO has leaned more towards prog, with a ton of cool and complex rhythms, tempo changes, and instrumentation, but still contains what you love from the man and his work: his killer, trademarked guitar action and those layered, harmonized vocals from which you can always tell he is involved. 

The Escapologist has all of this and more. Lots more. What’s the more? This album is batshit crazy in the best kind of way. There is so much going on and so many twists and turns you simply never know what is coming next, but is never scattered, and always leaving the listener excited to hear what’s coming next, but never doesn’t make sense.

The production on the record is perfect for what is happening across the ten songs on The Escapologist. Bieler’s guitar is right up front and ever present, but what you also realize is how amazing the drums are on these songs because they are recorded so well, played mostly by Edu Cominato (Geoff Tate’s band). The overall sound is what you come to expect from a Bieler work and continues his string of amazing sounding records.

How about the songs you say? Opening with those harmonized vocals a cappella style into a killer heavy riff, Industrious is exactly what fans want and expect from a Bieler work. This one, while catchy and a serious earworm, is also complex in tempo and has a ton going on musically. I mentioned the drums earlier, and boy does Savior bring it. This one has amazing percussion work (think Close To You but way more complex) and brings some Caribbean vibes, courtesy of Buzz Bykovsky and his steel drums, from which all of Bieler’s years influence living in South Florida has finally brought forward in the form of this song. 

This is in no way Kokomo though; this is some heavy/proggy fun, sort of like a metal pina colada. You know from songs he has written like Feel The Same Way, Bieler can bring the power pop, and he does with the radio ready (in some era) Stars Collide. The man can write a pop song, there is no doubt. 

Violent Creatures leans more on Bieler’s melodic side, with the vocals sounding the most like Saigon Kick out of any of the tracks on The Escapologist, and is a sprawling, huge sounding song that feels like it is flying. If there is one thing the casual Bieler fan knows it is that the man can also write a ballad. This theory is once again proven with Hollow, a piano lead harmony party that has layer upon layer of goodness to it and is the most Elton John song he has ever written. 

Zombies & Black Swans is possibly my favourite track on the record as it has it all; Bieler’s pop sensibilities, his playing, the harmonies, and a song that could be loved by radio rock and metal prog aficionados alike. No Real Goodbyes brings keys to the proggy pop party and pairs nicely with those Bieler layered vocals. How about those Brian May guitars during the solo? Bieler can’t step too far away from his Beatles love, and Space Debris has some of this, reminding me of the more Fab Four tracks in his arsenal but has more of a Beatles meets big band meets Yes all at the same time vibe. 

Sacred Cow has more of that huge feel to it, another sprawling track where Bieler’s guitar and the keys play perfectly off one another. I love the shredding he does at the end of this one too. The closer, March Of The Vikonauts, has a catchy as hell melody sung in Bieler layered harmony fashion to perfection with this “closing track” vibe going on, proving Bieler thinks of everything, including track sequencing, and created what is like the heavy prog version of The End, except with unworldly guitar work that goes along with it.

As a huge (understatement) Saigon Kick fan, it is hard to say this, but this may be the most fruitful creative period for Jason Bieler in his long and illustrious musical career. Between the genius of his last record, Postcards From The Asylum, and the near perfect of the crazy pop prog of The Escapologist, Bieler has hit a new stride of creativity that includes a musical complexity that you don’t often hear in songs that contains such strong pop sensibilities. 

No one is better at layering complexity over accessibility. The Escapologist is some of Bieler’s best work, which saying a lot for a guy who already has cemented his legacy as one of the world’s most underrated and underappreciated songwriters, guitar players, and musical geniuses. Take it from a mark like me, Jason Bieler and the Baron Von Bielski Orchestra’s new record is a must hear for anyone who understands and loves good music. 10/10

Reviews: God Complex, The Dead And Living, Nebula Nine, Sublind (GC, Simon Black, Matt Bladen & Chris Tsintziras)

God Complex - He Watches In Silence (SharpTone Records) [GC]

If a band has split up and the members have gone on to do other things, and the new thing isn’t very good as is the case with members of God Complex, there will always be the inevitable talks of will we ever hear them again and if we do what will it sound like? Well, it looks like fans of God Complex are about to find out with their new EP He Watches In Silence about to be released.

Opening track Salt And Ash takes an absolute age to get started with a full 1.21 of fuzzy ambient noise and what I am listening to slowly starts to really annoy and grate on my patience until it all does finally kick off and fuck me, kick off is an understatement. 

We get a schizophrenic mix of blasting grindcore mixed with extreme hardcore punk and it absolutely decimates everything in its path, furious and rousing noise mixed with total violence? YES PLEASE!! 

Depraved Idol goes straight for the jugular again and is another frantic mix of devastatingly thundering hardcore fury that is expertly mixed with insane blasts of madness, and it’s all worked together in a perfect way that one style never takes too much of the attention, absolutely unreal stuff! 

Ba’al’s Trick is the longest track on the EP and its only 3:37 but in this time they throw absolutely everything they possibly can into the mix and create an unholy noise mixing death metal, hardcore, punk, grindcore and various elements of noisecore in as well and if this sounds mental, then let me assure you it is but in the best possible way! 

The Judge clocks in at 59 seconds and as you would expect it is an unrelenting and feral noise that juts grates and picks away at you until you are almost glad it over but then you listen to it again as it was so good! 

Now just like that and in the blink of an eye Flooded Lungs is one last kick in the teeth, full of crunching riffs and two step mosh sections that are to die for its just a fucking good time and this is essential listening for any fans of extreme metal. 

It arrives kicks in the face and smashes your chest in then fucks of all and this in just over 12 minutes, and once you have recovered you will want to dust yourself off and go again! Absolutely fucking phenomenal stuff!!

Jesus H Christ, this was a shot in the arm! Not a single nano-second of this EP is wasted on things like subtlety, harmony, manners or anything that gets in the way of unrelenting savagery, the pure force that everything is delivered with is really something that should be studied because if every band could sound even a 10th as angry as this the world would be a much heavier and more fun place to be! 

Make no mistakes, you will struggle to hear a better EP all year!! 10/10

The Dead And Living – Damage (Rexius Records) [Simon Black]

Sweden’s Dead And Living are one of those bands who seem to think that the path to success lies in making sure that as little information about them as possible is made available on the internet, so as they probably intend, I am going to focus solely on what I can hear on this four track EP.

They’ve been around for over fifteen years but are not an act I had come across previously. They meld retro Gothic Rock with more Modern Metal sentiments and are nothing if not experts at mood and atmosphere and seem to have abandoned the more Punk and Folk elements of their earlier work.

For a start these songs have some really unusual rhythms and beats at their core – technically complex and quite experimental in a manner more common from the Progressive corner of the musical world, than the straight ahead 3/4- or 4/4-time signatures that so much of the genre favours. 

With the instrumentals and melodies weaving in around these structures with technical brilliance whilst retaining catchiness, the end result is remarkably sophisticated. 

The sound mix is still trying to make the drums sound like a retro drum machine from Andrew Eldritch’s loft, but this is not the simplistic repetitive stuff that often leaves this genre sounding unoriginal. Quite the opposite in fact.

This is dark and moody, but at times positively uplifting and expansive, which is clearly designed to compliment the mostly futuristic and spacey thematics going on in their lyrics. Damage is the heart of this, and definitely a well-polished piece. 

But I also really found myself coming back to Demons Till I’m Dead, because the musicianship is simply top drawer. It’s short, it’s punchy and I find myself wanting more, which is just what you need on a cold day in February. 8/10

Nebula Nine - The Last Sky Piercer EP (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]

The Last Sky Piercer is a four track EP from Swedish proggers Nebula Nine. Their music has been compared to Anathema, King Crimson and Pink Floyd but personally I'd compare what they do to the early sounds of Von Hertzen Brothers playing with Porcupine Tree. This EP is conceptual dealing with the last of the Sky Piercers, the ships that are there to take us off a ruined planet.

The atmospheric music deals with anxiety, loss and hope for the future, moving from the melancholic moments of Sky Piercer to the more insistent style of Terminal, there's a groove in both the bass and keys of Hampus Pettersson, King Crimson-like Moogs and Mellotron full of dread and galactic hope. Simon Malm's vocals are dreamy and emotive, carrying these stories of hope and reflection.

His guitars are locked in with Robin Karlsson who bleeds into the music with expressive lead playing. Blood Red Eyes brings heavier riffs, Middle Eastern influences and some big percussion from drummer Linus Person. The four tracks end with Maroons, a magnificent prog rock closer that seals the deal on this 4 track EP, that has many influences from the prog world and makes me want to hear more of it. 7/10

Sublind - Metalmorphosis (Self Released) [Chris Tsintziras]

Sublind is a thrash metal band from Luxembourg which was founded in late 2005/early 2006 by four teenagers.

They have released two EP’s were released (The Beginning Of The End in 2007 and Thrash It! and two full length albums (Thrashing Delirium in 2014 and The Cenosillicaphobic Sessions in March 2023).

The Luxembourg thrash metallers, after extensive and sweaty shows, are planning to release their next child, Metalmorphosis in 2025.

Sublind continue to deliver merciless thrash metal energy! Despite the fact that it will be a studio album, the listener is able to fill the raw power which will be delivered accordingly when they play Metalmorphosis tracks live.

The EP consists of the following songs: Thrash It!, Revolution Execution, Metalmorphosis, Necromania, R.I.P - Reign In Pain and Thrashing Delirium.

The abscense of fillers is unquestionable, I listened to the whole EP in one take and then went back to do it again. It is a catchy, raw and filled with thrash anthems. 7/10

A View From The Back Of The Room: Green Lung (Matt Bladen)

Green Lung, Unto Others & Satan's Satyrs, Marble Factory Bristol, 17.02.25

There are moments in time where you see a band fully become what they should have always been. This was one of those nights. It was bitterly cold in Bristol but in this most mystical of places (Avon & Somerset) the pagans, goths, greebos, rockers and anyone else who doesn't always necessarily subscribe to the norm, were drawn to the sermon that was about to be sung at maximum volume.

Before that though, a warm up, a taster, an aperitif as Satan's Satyrs (5) thoroughly woke up the room with fuzzing garage rock. Now they state influences as wide as Electric Wizard and Black Flag but I heard some MC5 and New York Dolls too but just not done as well. 

Most of the set was a bit too noisy and it felt rushed and I couldn't really pick out anything that was too exciting. They're basically grunged up indie rock and while they have a following they didn't do much for me.

Next up though it was time for some goth rocking courtesy of Unto Others (8). Now I've seen the band a few times in various venues but not for a long time and since then they've released much more material and become something of a goth sensation. 

Yep those who clad themselves in lace and leather loved bopping along to track such as Butterfly, Nightfall, Jackie and It Doesn't Really Matter. Unto Others always so good at blending NWOBHM, doom, post-punk and more extreme styles, their louche, Aviator wearing appearance downplaying the technicality they have as a band. 

Taking much of their set from their latest album Never, Neverland, they ran through 18 songs in their setlist, throwing in their bouncy cover of Ramones' Pet Semetary before the crowd really got going for Give Me To The Night and Dragon, Why Do You Cry? You may think that the addition of Unto Others on to a show like this would be odd but there is a crossover with the Marble Factory packed for both bands.

Mirrored shades away it was time to light the incense and embrace the old gods. 

While Unto Others are throwback to the 80's Green Lung (9) go back further to the 60's and 70's inspired by Sabbath (yes Scott Black rips on an SG) and the proto-metal bands such as Iron Butterfly, Vanilla Fudge and Blue Cheer, they also are inspired by UK doom rockers such as Orange Goblin, a band who will lay down their instruments this year, leaving a void that on this evidence Green Lung can deftly fill.

The London based band have gone stratospheric since the release of their most recent album This Heathen Land, the focus on more organs, from the dual wielding John Wright and a shift towards the more psychadelic sounds has seen people liken them to Ghost but I'd say Green Lung are much more authentic than Ghost. 

They conducted their sermon as if they were headling a festival, shooting out of the blocks with the perfect opening duo of The Forest Church and Mountain Throne, getting the claws in the air and voices singing loud.

They are full of energy live, vocalist Tom Templar standing as close to the crowd as he can get, hands outstretched to guide the audience throughout their ritual. 

The Ancient Ways, Call Of The Coven and May Queen got us all grooving like bunch of crazy witches, these songs of the pagan history of the UK throw back musically but also carry with them a social conscience of anti-fascism, pro-LGBTQ+, mental health positive lyrics away from religious dogma.

It's made them popular with the outcasts and misfits, anyone who feels abandoned by the increasingly right wing, religiously zealot world we live in. The pace was quick until the atmospheric Song Of The Stones which has bassist Joseph Ghast taking vocals and ritual drum combining with drummer Matt Wiseman for their mid set epic. 

Many bands would find it difficult to reactivate the set after this slowing down but the Woodland Rites, Templar Dawn, Hunters In The Sky and the Maxine (Witch Queen) got things back on track with some dust pumping psychadelic doom rock.

After a short break at the end of the set they returned for a four song encore, culminating in the song they wrote to cope with depression One For Sorrow to massive applause and fan participation. 

With the Heathens appeased Green Lung finished and cemented their place in the UK metal scene with this headline tour. I've seen them play smaller shows on their rise to this point and they've always been popular.

However with how busy their middle of the day Bloodstock set was last year and how full The Marble Factory, and every other venue on this tour was, Green Lung are heading towards arenas very soon. 

My only criticism was they didn't play Oceans Of Time but there's always next time and there will definitely be a next time!

Review: Ofnus (Matt Bladen)

Ofnus - Valediction (Naturmacht Productions)



When you're friends with a band you want them to succeed, I've known the members of Ofnus for a few years now and heard both their debut and their second album evolve from demos on a phone to full formed albums.

Now of course I have to approach everything with journalistic non bias but luckily for me Ofnus play the form of black metal I appreciate most. The type that owes much to Hans Zimmer as it does to Emperor. 

Their debut Time Held Me Grey And Dying wasn't hastily put together but it was the sound of a band establishing themselves, separating their style from the other bands they were involved in, Ofnus are a bit of a South Wales supergroup, and giving them a setlist to play live.

However just as this album was released, they had already started on the follow up, it had to be bolder, bigger, more dense in its scope to truly secure their place as not just another band playing atmospheric black metal from an often overlooked and undervalued local scene but as real contenders in the extreme metal scene of the UK and beyond.

Having played high profile shows including Bloodstock, a feat they will repeat again this year on a bigger stage, Ofnus are now a well-oiled machine, rehearsed to a sharpest of points with a laser focus on devastating every stage they come across. 

Of course the only way to do this is with material that challenges you as a band and with Valediction their second album they seem as if they have a bona-fide masochistic streak, composing music that would be better suited accompanied by a full orchestra than on the small stages of the UK.

As you may have seen or heard about Valediction is a concept album about the grief cycle, Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression & Acceptance, from the initial traumatic event itself, each subsequent song represents one of these stages as Alazia the final track offers an alternative of someone who rejects acceptance and solace opting for all consuming darkness instead.

These complex emotional stars are brought to life by the vivid mix and mastering of William Philpot and Abraham Fihema, capturing the minutiae of these incredible performances. Be it the multi layered string arrangements, the the unrelenting rhythmic blasts, the fluid melodious lead guitars and the scarred, baneful vocals. Valediction is a huge sonic step up from their debut.

From the opening salvo of The Shattering, you're drawn into the world they have created, this first single explored the initial traumatic event, confusion reigns, words are left unsaid and these emotions are driven by the atmospheric black metal sound Ofnus has honed through these live shows and the countless hours spent writing and working through these songs.

Ethan's stellar drumming builds the world from the ground up it's his and vocalist William's lyrics that are the narrative to this record, but there's a primal finesse to Ethan's drumming that is brutal and beautiful. The bulk of the rhythms revolve around him bassist Richard who plays bass as if it's a third guitar, locking down the frenzied ever changing tremolo rhythms from rhythm guitarist Alyn and lead guitarist James.

Alyn, Rich and Ethan from an unstoppable triumvirate, forging the blistering black metal blasts, allowing for space when James explores more atmospheric realms with some clean majestic guitar, much more of it, the time put into this record allowing for more musical expression. All present on correct opener The Shattering, a speeding collision with extremity, it’s the brutal opener to this record. 

Setting the tone with the unfortunate event that leads to all the turmoil that follows. Trem picking and gutsy low riffing combine as we build into fabulous dissonance, Will’s vocals more honed and vibrant than on the debut, the black metal squawks joined by guttural growls and the rueful cleans towards the end when the strings swell again.

Reflections Of Delusion begins on a mournful note of piano, haunting synths bristle in the background as it slowly burns, the denial can be felt in an instant, before the kick drums lock in for more viciousness. Reflections Of Delusion has shifting rhythms, more progressive like an Ihsahn track. 

A cinematic piece that embodies blackened doomscapes, switching between slow and fast pace with ease, Ethan’s drumming manipulating the pace, leading to another classic metal styled solo form James that builds up again into agonising cacophony of harshness, Will snarling as Ofnus become unleashed again, the piano trailing them into anger.

Yes anger, more accurately the Throes Of Agony, the second single (check out the videoclip but be aware it’s got trigger warning for a reason). This one is ferocious, true steamrolling black metal that doesn’t relent, Alyn and James shredding like all hell as Rich gets a few groovy underpins, the production allowing you to pick these out, unlike on many black metal releases.

 Throes Of Agony is Ofnus let off the leash, audio battery, frothing with rage and bile, counterpointing screams with growls, the orchestral swells are just as insistent as the riffs. As we move through the grief cycle the anger is fleeting, an attack of pure rage that descends into Bargaining.

Proteus correctly is filled with despair, the futility of trying to find some meaning in what happen, the harmonic highs of reaching out to the light set against the despairing lows of being faced with reality. It’s a track etched with pain as Ofnus create a dynamic mini-epic that unveils itself over 9 minutes. 

This is the band Ofnus are today, skilled in letting the music they play breathe, the euphoric highs, the tragic lows, it’s all encompassed in a track such as Proteus but we’ve only reached half way. As Zenith Dolour, descends into the depths of depression, the lifeforce of our unnamed protagonist pouring away with each moment, the obtuse tech death opposition of the main riff is yet more experimental in the black metal realms from Ofnus.

A solitary violin beckons more dread and fear, as the hopelessness and unmitigated sadness consumes all, the closing moments of this song simply one of the best I’ve heard the way all of the instrumentation comes back together with such ferocity is staggering, strings against blastbeats, riffs played as if the hatred felt comes from the instruments they have in their hands, it’s thrilling, hairs on the neck raising and needs to be heard.

I came late to black metal but knowing some of the members of Ofnus has gained me an appreciation and love of the genre when it’s done this. Doused in melancholy and atmosphere, progressive but instantly listenable. 

Complicated but not to confuse or alienate but to convey the complex emotional states they have written about. The title track completes the cycle, it’s almost joyous, the darkness receding into light, into acceptance, positivity emerging from the blanket of darkness that has smothered us. 

The clean guitars are so prominent here, used to reclaim your mind from the edge of complete despondency, there’s passages of this album that owe a lot to Opeth in their pitched melodies. If it was to end here, then solace would be found, the cycle is over and life has to find a way to carry on with acceptance but the pain still lingering. 

But what if that pain is too much? What if the anger never subsides? Well as I said Alazia explores with outright savagery and despondency, awakening wrath to close Valediction.

Ofnus play Cardiff in May, performing Valediction in full, they play Bloodstock festival for a second time in August, and they have released for me one of the best records so far this year. Be prepared! 10/10

Cover Design: Ben J - Winterkeep

Band Photo: Konstantina Frasia Photography Cardiff

A View From The Back Of The Room: Hamish Hawk (Alex Swift)

Hamish Hawk, Thekla, Bristol, 15.02.2025

I feel strangely at home in Bristol. Spending a weekend there, going to concerts and exploring the city has given me a love for the city’s culture, and places! It's intriguing, in that respect, then that the two acts playing the Thekla tonight are ones I discovered through a festival in Cardiff. 

Hamish Hawk stood out for me at Swn Fest last year for his sense of showmanship, and his unique style of song crafting that owes a lot to new wave, whilst being distinctly queer and experimental. “I want you to promise that I will see every one of you again,” Hawk remarked before finishing that set in the Tramshed. Well, promise kept! Tickets to this show were purchased almost immediately after that performance, and it's one that from my perspective, proves even more impressive.

That said, let me take some time to compliment Spielmann. Performing alone with just an electric guitar and a backing track as accompaniment – “It’s just karaoke going on up here” - the Leeds-based musician immediately wins over the audience with his humour and his deeply observational songs, which apply a wry mockery to everyday anxieties. 

Meanwhile, his songs channel the great American songwriters, with hints of Tom Petty And Springsteen coming through in the joyous melancholy while fluttering synth work lends a hint of dream pop to the songs. 

Having seen Spiellman play the Moon in Cardiff, there’s a prophetic nature to seeing him share a stage with our headline act, even if both acts penchant for witty writing, and a sharp ability to craft melodies.

From the moment he takes the stage, Hamish exudes confidence. His lyrics navigate the dark parts of his psyche, as well as his dreams and ambitions with a sense of vaudeville theatricality. Meanwhile, his backing band expertly commands every dynamic shift and shift in tone, from the dark Machiavelli’s Room to the danceable Big Cat Tattoo’s. 

Indeed, despite his habit of sauntering around the stage and being erratic in his movements, something that stands out about our frontman is his humility. 

“I am Hamish Hawk. We are Hamish Hawk” he says at one point, reminding the audience that while he may demonstrate a gigantic stage presence, he is only as talented as the musicians who accompany him, and contribute their ideas to his projects.

Indeed, special mention should go to guitarist Andrew Pearson, who proves a significant source of creativity within the band and makes his live presence felt, particularly on moments like Caterpillar and Nancy, Dearest on which he unleashes jagged, visceral guitar solos, capturing the inner turmoil at the heart of these pieces. 

Meanwhile, the percussive work of Steffan Maurice and the synth touches of John Cashman emphasize the subtlety at the heart of these songs, allowing for a varied emotional experience.

Drawing heavily on songs from the new album A Firmer Hand, there’s a darker undercurrent to the show, as many of the songs explore the feeling of never truly understanding or making sense of your sexuality. One exceptionally moving moment for me comes with the enraged Men Like Wire, which explores feeling an irrational sense of shame as to who you are, and the parts of yourself that you’ve hidden, for fear of rejection. 

The passion poured into every moment of the performance feels contagious, as it spills over from the performers to audience members, particularly those who relate to the stories of existential loathing or insecurity.

Given the seriousness of many of the songs performed tonight, the way humour is used throughout the show is incredibly inspiring. Hawk exudes a charming awkwardness between songs that makes him instantly amiable, whilst the decision to encore with a cover of (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, by the Rolling Stones certainly comes out of left field but proves an outstanding end to the night. 

The joy these musicians get from performing is palpable as if it's music that allows them to comprehend and transcend the worries that haunt them off-stage. In that sense, concerts like these are not just cabaret, but a act of defiance. 10/10

Reviews: Mantar, Löanshark, Noctambulist, Ray Of Light (Matt Bladen)

Mantar - Post Apocalyptic Depression (Metal Blade Records)

Pain Is Forever And This Is The End was a turning point for German duo Mantar, it made their rough blackened death-punk, bigger, more production and a wider sonic approach. 

With their fifth record Post Apocalyptic Depression, they have thrown what they've done before out of the window and again tried to suprise their audience.

First off this record is very immediate, it's got a rawness, probably because it was recorded live at Black Bear Studios, Gainesville, Florida by Ryan Williams. 

This focus on recording things live meant that they had to be brutal with the recordings, they just turned up plugged in a started playing, anything that wasn't needed was cut, they tried to recreate a punk spirit of just getting it done.

The duo cross musical and geographical borders with Hanno Klänhardt (guitar/vocals) living in America and Erinc Sakarya (drums), they want to make this recording process easier than the last album, where they almost collapsed the band.

So they restricted themselves to just what they could create in the studio for this record, rekindling their creative team and their friendship too, lyrically inspired by burnout and refocusing their relationship.

Basically this is a record about enjoying music again and it sounds like the duo are loving every minute of this adopting a lot of the grit and grubbiness for their debut album on Rex Perverso. 

A bit of horror creeps in on Morbid Vocation and Halsgericht is the longest cut with doom edge to it. Post Apocalyptic Depression combines the best moments of Mantar as they return from the abyss. 8/10

Löanshark - No Sins To Confess (ROAR-RPM) [Matt Bladen]

Like Raven or more recently Cauldron, Löanshark are a power trio, they play NWOTHM which is inspired by the original NWOBHM? Got that? Good! 

The Barcelona three piece have been playing traditional metal since 2017 but unashamedly take things back to the 80's when their style of music was thriving.

They particularly focus on the bands who didn't make it big. Ones that were always in the underground and became cult acts such as Angel Witch, Persian Risk, Tokyo Blade and Marseille, the latter featuring Neil Buchanan (Art Attack) and get covered by Löanshark with a version of Open Fire on this record. It's the cover that really speaks to what sort of band they are.

Re-recording early songs that work to fit with this debut album and while vocally there's some Saxon influences, they could have chosen to do a cover rod band many may not know anything about but one they love. 

It's clear that NWOBHM is ingrained into this Spanish trio, this album comes at you with no nonsense or overdubs what you hear is just pure heavy metal from the heart.

While it's not ground-breaking you can't fault their commitment to this style. 7/10

Noctambulist - Noctambulist II: De Droom (These Hands Melt)

Blackgaze, it's a genre that is very difficult to pull off, bands such as Alcest and Deafheaven are at the top of it, there are countless bands brooding in their shadow, most of whom come from Europe. 

Noctambulist are from The Netherlands and they are following up their 2021 album Noctambulist I: Elegieën with this second record. Formed by J.D. Kaye, Sam C.A. and Mitchell Scheerder, they are now joined by guitarists Tristan Tabbers and Stef Heesakkers.

De Droom reflects on the beauty of co-habitual existence while struggling with the dream of homeownership. With this second album the embrace more of their post-punk and shoegaze influences without sacrificing their black metal beginnings. 

Aderlater has an atmospheric beginning that shifts into post-punk towards the end while Godvormig Gat has the anthemic windscreen approach replicated on Gevoelsmens and also Vinex.

It's blackgaze at its heart but the addition of post-punk makes De Droom a gothic journey through the troubles of life. 8/10

Ray Of Light - Salute (Baysis Media)

A band out of time Ray Of Light are a group of rockers that throw back to the 80's glory days of the Sunset Strip. Now you may recognise some of the members as a part of German melodic rockers Frontline, they releases 8 albums then going on hiatus in 2006. 

Frontline tried to reunite but it didn't work out as they hoped but Frontline founder Stephan Bayerlein (drums) found British singer Gregg Cromack and Ray Of Light was born.

While writing their album co-founder/songwriter Robby Boebel fell ill in 2022 and passed away sadly, this obviously stalled the production of the record until they started to work with guitarist/producer Jörg “Warthy” Wartmann and he promptly joined Stephan, Gregg and bassist Thomas Hutch to finalise the debut from Ray Of Light. So what does it sound like?

Well Last Day and Stand Up both remind me of Def Leppard, Falling To Pieces take you down the glam route of Winger, Best Of Me meanwhile has the bluesy moments of Foreigner. Alive and City Of Angels meanwhile take notes from that early 90's melodic rock sound where that was ultimately wiped out by grunge.

It's a high calibre record from veterans of the German scene. Ray Of Light, offer a salute to the glory days of melodic rock. 8/10

Reviews: Shrike, Naxatras, To Obey A Tyrant, Heavy Velvet (Liam Williams, Matt Bladen, GC & Rich Piva)

Shrike – The Divine And The Serpentine (Self Released) [Liam Williams]

Preston based 3-piece metal band, Shrike, come out swinging with their first full-length album, The Divine And The Serpentine. Well, kind of... this album is actually just their 2 latest EPs packed into 1 LP with a couple of bonus tracks at the end. 

Nevertheless, this album is a bit of a beast, coming in with 13 tracks and a total runtime of just over an hour long. 

Since it consists of mostly previously released material, I will be condensing my review into 2 parts with a smaller bit before the summary to cover the bonus tracks, because, trust me when I say, there’s a lot to talk about!

Part 1 (tracks 1-6): We start off with Divine, a simple intro track with some ambient noise, melancholic piano and then a build-up with synth, strings and choir vocals. 

Ebb And Flow continues from the previous track, but with the band playing instead of the synth, strings and choir. Some guitars come in to build things up, there’s some really nice buzzing bass and then things get epic and cinematic sounding. 

This track and the one that follows, Reconstruction, are great, heavy tracks with a lot going on but a lot of fun to listen to. Just when you start getting comfortable with the heavier sound, they switch things up for their 4th track, CXVIII. This is a shorter one, and it’s all acoustic throughout, with vocals coming in around the halfway point. 

An Infinite Debt comes in with the full band repeating the outro of the previous track, albeit this time it’s a heck of a lot heavier. It’s fast and chaotic throughout most of the track, with some crazy drumming and an absolute face-melter of a guitar solo. There’s a slower, ambient part with clean guitars before the drums come back in to build-up to the last chorus. 

Part 1 culminates with The Sinner In Saints Regalia. It starts with some clean guitars which are overtaken by distorted guitars in the intro. 

There’s some great instrumental sections broken up by guitar solos with some sweep picking action before the final vocal part which is followed by the outro, with the band fading out and some orchestral and choir vocals taking over as the song comes to an end.

Part 2 (track 7-11): Part 2 starts with Divine, Pt II. Another intro track (or interlude) which starts with a repeat of the previous tracks outro, but then things take a darker turn. It ends with a droning noise along with some dripping water. 

Then we get to Serpentine. This track starts with the full band coming in with choir vocals over the top. It’s fast and heavy until a part with some isolated clean guitars with the lead guitar creeping in, leading to the final chorus. 

The Riverbank starts similarly to the previous track, with the full band and choir vocals. It has a very interesting bridge section and breakdown with a short guitar solo coming in right at the end. There’s a nice calmer section with clean guitars and clean vocals leading in to the final chorus. 

Plagues Confide Through Masquerade comes in with a very misleading calm isolated guitar intro before the rest of the band come in from nowhere and bring back the chaos. 

There’s a great part with a little back and forth of duel guitars and guitar solos after the bridge/breakdown section. Then it ends with another short clean guitar bit for the outro. 

Then we get to the “last” track of the album, O Father Time. This is a really great bombastic track with a lot going on in the first half. There’s a great breakdown with some choir vocals followed by another awesome guitar solo. 

Things slow down a bit after this and then there’s a calmer part with some isolated acoustic and clean vocals for the first part of the final chorus. The acoustic guitars come back in, with the addition of an ambient lead guitar that play until they fade out.

This next part covers the 2 bonus tracks. The first of which, I believe, is a reworked version of one of their previously released singles, In Pursuit Of The Witch. It starts with a bit of an interesting intro with guitars and choir vocals and there’s even a little guitar solo before the first verse comes in. 

There’s a little misdirection halfway through where they make you think another guitar solo is about to come in but it leads to the bridge section instead. 

Those who might have felt cheated out of a guitar solo though, have no fear, because we’re treated to another epic solo which even has some lovely duel guitar harmonies sprinkled in too. This continues until the song comes to a bit of an abrupt end. 

The next song, the real last track of the album, was a very pleasant surprise to me. It is a cover of a little well known song called No One Knows by Queens Of The Stone Age (one of my favourite bands). 

This cover is really good. They managed to balance being a somewhat faithful rendition whilst adding their own unique sound to the track without it feeling off or out of place. As a big fan of the Queens and heavier music, I think they did a great job!

To summarise, this album was absolutely fantastic! I really enjoyed listening to this one. I was worried with the long runtime before giving it a listen because I thought there would be a lot of boring filler stuff packed in just for the sake of it. But there’s not one bad track here. 

It all seems to fit together really well and I highly recommend listening to it from start to finish to really appreciate it as one solid piece of work. The mix is superb and the performances from all the band members are top notch! Everyone did extremely well. Excellent stuff! 10/10

Naxatras - V (Evening Star Records) [Matt Bladen]

With their previous album, their fourth, Greek psychedelic space rockers Naxatras added Pantelis Kargas on keys and synthesizers, unlocking a piece of their sound that wasn't there on their first three records. 

Naxatras have always been a band that reach sonic horizons, keeping the production warm and analogue while they jam to the science fiction story of their own creation.

Inspired by Hawkwind, Gong and Ozric' Tentacles, this band have been carefully building up their astral soundscapes from their debut and with some Jarre/Vangelis like keys and synths they can now fully experiment with what makes them a band. 

They've played all over the world with some of the top bands in this style and this dogged determination has lead to V their fifth and most accomplished album.

Exploring anew chapter in their own mythology, V steps further into the conceptual world, matching it with forward looking musical dexterity. The electronics glisten and swell against the warm 70's-hued guitar tones, from John Delias. 

The songs are constructed on hypnotic repetition, the bass grooves from John Vagenas locked in with the steady drums and percussion from Kostas Charizanis, the songs are pieced together, a more deliberate way of composing than taking them from jams like they did in their early days.

Naxatras now call to many genres, from the krautrock of Tangerine Dream on Celestial Gaze, to the flute that flutters through Spacekeeper as we segue into the Middle Eastern flavoured Numenia. 

Just with the three first songs you can hear a much wider sonic journey on this fifth record, the undulating percussion and synths swirl on the jazzy Utopian Structures while Breathing Fire is the first track you could consider as a rocker, a 60's proto rocker at that.

But genre names don't really matter, Naxatras are about letting the music consume you be it the Alan Parsons-esque Sand Halo or the flavoursome EDM-meets-classical Legion. On V Naxatras kick out the jams for studied, psychedelic wanderings. 9/10

To Obey A Tyrant - Frigore Inferni (Seek & Strike) [GC]

As genres go, deathcore is one that a lot of people seem to hate! Its not death metal enough for the purist death metal fan and its not hardcore for the always demanding and rule led hardcore crowd, so symphonic deathcore? 

Where do you even start on who will not be a fan of this? In light of all this I imagine To Obey A Tyrant won’t care what you think of their chosen sound though and their new EP Frigore Inferni is here to hammer that point home.

Opening with a subtle orchestral note I, Apollyon doesn’t take long to set the tone with an explosion of noise that takes as much from black metal as it does from death metal and the beatdowny parts are there for all to hear and of course we get the pig squeal vocals layered all over it.

While there is nothing wrong with what I am hearing, it just doesn’t connect with me, because as with most music in this style it doesn’t really stand out from the crowd and I have heard it done so many times I feel you need something different and unique too stand out and this song isn’t it. 

Obsidian Sol takes a little time to kick in and there is more grandeur to this song with the atmospherics shining through much better, which does give it a more unique feel but its not long before it all gets very ‘I’ve heard this before’ again. 

I just sort of sit and listen but not really find anything that grabs my attention until about midway through because this chugging beatdown section is done really well but after that it’s just a bit of a slog towards the end. 

Dawnbreaker once again has an interesting start with a more doom influence and slowing down the pace helps you really hear everything as you want to but then its back to the meat and potatoes thudding and grunting and the brieeee brieee vocals on this song just get on my nerves. 

They switch it up about midway again but drown everything out with the vocals and its just a frustrating listen as there is something there waiting to happen but it just never seems to come? 

On Frigore Inferni the lean is heavily towards the symphonic element of the sound and when they use this sound, they sound genuinely decent, but it’s never used enough, it always seems to fall back to the pedestrian chugging which is a real shame as it takes away from a potent weapon they have to use! 

Prince Ov Death finally gets the mix right and utilizes the swathes of orchestral grandeur and blackened death metal and is hands down the best track on the EP for sure, the styles finally compliment each other instead of fighting for space its just a shame its taken this long for it to click. 

The only thing that needs to be dropped is the pig squeal vocals they just sound out of place here, the high pitched black metal vocal and more straight up death metal growl are more than enough. 

Winters Rite instantly reminds me of an old school UK death metal band called Ignominious Incarceration, and not really to its detriment because they were fucking great but it’s just TOO similar to them and could be lifted directly off their album.

Which isn’t really what I want I want To Obey A Tyrant to sound like themselves and make me think of only them when I listen to their music!? Anyway, having said all that it is a decent enough track to end on.

The overriding feeling here was familiarity, I have heard this done so many times before, sometimes better sometimes worse, this falls into the middle ground really, it was good to listen too in places but never really pushed or challenged me. 

To be a standout symphonic deathcore band you really need to nail everything and there were just too many misses here for me, don’t get me wrong it’s worth a listen but you wouldn’t be rushing back to it in a hurry? 5/10

Heavy Velvet - Scarlet - EP (RidingEasy Records) [Rich Piva]

I feel like Heavy Velvet have been around for a while now, but the California band have only a handful of releases, including this new three song EP, Scarlet. Heavy Velvet are an amalgamation of influences from the 70s and 90s and includes the former guitar player from the awesome Slow Season, David Kent. 

This version of the band has a new rhythm section but still has the great vocals of Erika Leigh. This Heavy Velvet and these three songs are more polished than the first record, seemingly with their eyes on bigger and better things for the band.

The production level has certainly improved, but still keeps that retro vibe to the three tracks, but barely, as this sounds much more modern now. This is a quick EP, clocking in at 11 minutes and definitely leaves you wanting more. Kent is a riff master, and proves that over the three tracks, really taking the lead with his work.

Kane’s vocals are even better than the first record, with the track The Itch being my favourite of the three and where both of them shine the brightest, especially Kent and his work at the end of the song. 

The opener, Modern Love Is A Shame, sets the table nicely for the 70s hard rock meets grunge vibes these guys and girl create. The title track spotlights Kane, showing her bluey chops quite nicely to go along with some heavy, slower riffing.

The band certainly has the right vibe for the name they chose, even if I want maybe a little less on the production knobs to keep that vibe going. Heavy Velvet bring it on these three songs, but at 11 minutes this is more of a maxi-single than an EP, and I hope we get more soon, because this is almost an incomplete grade. 

I like what I hear so far with this new version of Heavy Velvet, we just need more and we need a full vision past the three songs on Scarlet. 7/10

A View From The Back Of The Room: Bayside (Alex Swift)

Bayside, Thekla, Bristol – 14.02.2025

Bayside has long straddled the divide between punk and metal. Their appeal has always been their ability to combine brilliant song crafting with sharp technical ability, with Jack O’Shea’s masterful lead guitar work, distinguishing them within the post-hardcore movement. Now twenty-five years into their career, they are one of the few acts from the first wave of ‘emo’ who are still together and still releasing consistently excellent albums. 

Being a show as part of the cleverly titled “Errors Tour”, half of the set is dedicated to songs from the latter half of the band’s discography, with the second half seeing them reminisce with some choice cuts from their early albums. Few bands can do that without utterly alienating one half of their audience or another. Let that serve as proof of both the dedication of their fanbase and the strength of their discography.

First up though is Cold Years. Their style of richly melodic alternative rock acts as a perfect tone setter for the night, as they compel the crowd to sing along and perform with a vitality that demonstrates their commitment to their craft. The band has been making inroads into the scene, providing support slots for Billy Talent and now Bayside. That makes perfect sense as well, as their sound leans into 2000’s nostalgia, whilst being unique and feeling like a fresh take on pop-punk principles.

“We said we wouldn’t come back unless we got to play on a boat” Anthony Raneri quips at one point, in acknowledgment of the uniqueness of the Thekla – a former cargo ship converted into a showboat and then a live music venue, permanently docked at Bristol Harbour. 

Indeed, the intimate nature of the space makes for a thriving atmosphere, as the act immediately provokes a vivacious response from the crowd, as we scream every word back at the performers. There are knowing smiles amongst some members of the audience as a few of us endeavour to sing the harmonies, the visceral line of “we’ll be walking hand in hand in hell!” that accompanies the bridge on Already Gone, calling for crowd participation in and of itself.

With a flair for making their songs take an emotional toll, there’s a feeling of catharsis present from start to finish. Moments like I’ve Been Dead All Day and Duality (which, thankfully, is not a Slipknot cover), speak to a sensation of struggling to express yourself, of feeling the need to cry out and yet having to mask your feelings of disillusionment behind a veneer of respectability. 

Cheers are heard around inside the ship when Raneri asks who is seeing Bayside for the first time tonight. For both long-term fans and those, like me, who have been a fan since the Cult-era in 2015 exposed them to a new audience, there’s a sense of reassurance in realizing the empathy you feel with these lyrics, is shared across generations, regardless of favourite album or era.

One of the most moving moments throughout the show is the mournful acoustic interlude of Don’t Call Me Peanut. A staple of this band’s live performances, this also provokes the loudest participation from the crowd of the night. “I’ve heard that song sung in a lot of accents, but that was something special” our frontman quips afterward. 

Having travelled through the Severn Tunnel, I was happy to lend my Welsh accent (that is incredibly noticeable to Bristolians), to the chorus of voices accompanying the strained, yearning composition! In stark contrast, there’s an alteration to the setlist with Valentine's Day promoting them to break out one of the only optimistic songs in their career – the romantic Falling Feet First. Being a rarity of live performances, and one of this writer’s personal favourite Bayside songs, this was a welcome addition to a set spanning the New York outfit’s entire catalogue.

Finishing on Devotion And Desire, the audience response is visceral, the sheer anger of the song provoking a final moment of intense emotional exuberance, in time to the song that proved upon its release in the early 2000s that these musicians were more than just a flash and pan when it comes to emo. There’s no encore – there perhaps doesn’t need to be, considering the vivacity and passion poured into the set. 

Having been a fan of this band for about ten years, I emerge into the cold Bristol night from the venue, incredibly enthused, still processing an experience that I’d been anticipating for a decade! Here’s to the next 25 years of Bayside! 9/10

Reviews: Killswitch Engage, Yawning Balch, Enbound, Caballero (GC, Rich Piva, Matt Bladen & Liam Williams)

Killswitch Engage - This Consequence (Metal Blade Records) [GC]

If you think back to the mid/late 00’s and the huge metalcore boom that happened described as ‘’The New Wave Of American Heavy Metal’’ there was a massive influx of bands that you either could ignore or take on board, one of, if not the main name form that movement was undoubtedly Killswitch Engage, they were EVERYWHERE, ALL THE TIME! Between their formation in 1999 till now they have released 8 albums that in my opinion have wildly varied in quality but when they hit their stride there aren’t many better at what they do, so on album number 9: This Consequence do they still have what it takes?

Abandon Us kicks things off and shows that the anger is still there with some familiar sounding twin guitar work, dusted with pitch harmonics & soloing and of course the huge anthemic chorus that lets Jesse leach grab hold of your heart strings and pull hard, yet even with all this it just feels like a bit of a tame start? Discordant Nation feels more like a band trying to prove a point and it’s a driving and urgent song that still manages to throw in the lighter vocals and mix that in with the relentless and forward-thinking song it’s a match made in heaven and probably would have served better as the album opener!!? 

Aftermath has a slow build up and builds towards yet another massive chorus that you can feel directly hitting your soul, Jesse has talked recently about his struggles with confidence and other issues, on this song he should have absolutely no worries as it’s a stunning vocal performance, backed by an emotional and stirring band performance after this we get Forever Aligned which is peak KSE, this song has everything that made this band the behemoth it is today, razor sharp guitars full of groove and rhythms so catchy you need to listen to them repeatedly to appreciate their brilliantness backed by yet another out of this world vocal performance, I am flabbergasted that Jesse ever questioned his ability because the performance he gives here covers me in me goosebumps, it is fucking spectacular and I cannot wait to hear it live! 

To then have the nerve to follow this up with a track as immense as I believe is just downright rude because to have one track as good as what has just been is brilliant but to then follow it up with something better is just unbelievable really! Absolutely every second of this song is pure perfection, the mellower tempo and structure cover everything in a blanket of comforting brilliance and the mix of Adam and Jess’s vocals are once again beyond description and when they sound like this it’s clear to see just why they got where they are today, jaw droppingly good stuff!! Where It Dies struggles to follow on, but most tracks would really, it’s a decent enough attempt at a thrashy, stompy track and harks back to the early days of their sound but for me it just somehow lacks the delivery that would really take it to another level. 

Collusion sort of follows the same route and feels like a mid-album track as it doesn’t feel like it is leading anywhere and is just mishmash of everything you have already heard and would expect but without ever really doing very much. The Fall Of Us kicks back into gear and throws the mid-paced shackles off with aplomb, powerful drums push the song forward backed by the usual skilful guitars and of course the real star of the album so far are the vocals and here they fit perfectly around everything, and it feels like we are back on track.

With Broken Glass the uplift is instantly stopped as this is just a bit of a weird one, its just a mid-tempo crawl that never really lifts out of first gear there is an attempt to get going about halfway through but its just sort of drags on and on without really ever doing very much and when its over I’m not sure what the point of this track was? But straight away Requiem brings us back into the room with its galloping guitar passages backed up by another thrilling drum performance that is the solid backbone of the song, there is a lot more of Adam’s vocals on show on this track and it’s a nice way to change things up but of course when Jesse is leading the song sounds superb, and closes the album on a breath-taking high.

So? Do Killswitch Engage still have what it takes to be a force in today’s metal scene, 26 years after they have formed and now 9 albums into their career? The answer is an emphatic yes! This album has everything that makes Killswitch Engage great, it has melody, heaviness, power, emotion and most of all a career high vocal performance for Jesse Leach, who at times sounded out of this world! Are there some parts that don’t hit the mark? Of course there are but the majority of This Consequence is flawlessly executed and hits every mark you want for a great metalcore record from one of the pioneers of this genre. An absolute must listen. 9/10

Yawning Balch - Volume 3 (Heavy Psych Sounds) [Rich Piva]

Volume 3 of the Yawning Balch project is more of the same. 

Now, in certain scenarios this would be a knock on the record, but in this case, it is not, because the two previous volumes have been amazing instrumental desert psych led by one of the two busiest men in heavy rock, Bob Balch of Fu Manchu fame and maybe a couple hundred other projects over the last few years. 

Balch is beloved in the stoner/desert scene and is one of the best players out there, period. With YB he partners up with the killer Yawning Man and create epic soundscapes leveraging all of the super skilled players to create the soundtrack to your trippy desert adventure.

Volume 3 is made up of two tracks, both awesome. The Taos Hum is a bit over 20 minutes and transforms you to the desert, where shit just isn’t as it seems. Balch and the YM crew have perfect chemistry, never playing over one another and melting together perfectly. This never feels like 20 minutes, more like half that, and never does it drag. Balch’s work is amazing as usual, and shows he can play any style out there. 

The relatively shorter Winter Widow (14 minutes) is just as great, highlighted by Balch but never overpowered by him. The song flows perfectly, like a stream you find after wandering the desert for hours, that appears just to quench your thirst.

You could listen to all three volumes of the Yawning Balch project and just drift away, getting lost in all of the awesomeness these guys bring. Let’s hope YB don’t stop at three and keep giving us this amazing music to float through life with. 8/10

Enbound - Set It Free (Embrace The Fear) [Matt Bladen]

Melodic metal from Sweden, we've had quite a bit of this recently and Enbound look to bring a bit more of it with their third album Set It Free. 

It's the first album to feature new singer Toby and new guitarist Andy joining band founders Swede (bass) and Mike Cameron (drums/keys), both make an impact as Toby's voice fits well with the emotive, anthemic music Enbound create with ballads such as You Never Walk Alone and the more metallic sounds such as Assaulted Taste or electronic-tinged Extreme.

So the membership may have changed but the influences are still the same, it's Kamelot, Serenity and even some Sonata Arctica. Again they have brought in Jacob Hansen to master the album and have Linnéa Wikström (Therion/Kamelot) again bring some powerful vocals to meet Toby's. 

She's not the only guest though as previous singer Lee Hunter sticks around to pass the mic over to Toby on Actors and keyboard legend Kevin Moore brings his skills to final track Leave Them To The Night.

There's a lot of progressive metal that comes on Overload, with lots of synths beneath the muscular melodic metal. Set It Free comes from the darker side of the melodic metal sound but continues to impress even with the change in membership. 8/10

Caballero - Caballero (Gates Of Hell Records) [Liam Williams]

Finnish metal band Caballero release their debut self-titled album. A debut album for any new band/artist is such a monumental step in their careers. Now, very rarely does a bands first full-length release propel them to overnight success. Most debuts are very rough around the edges, and it’s expected to have a few mistakes here and there. 

Unfortunately this is one of those examples where a debut album kind of falls flat on it’s face. As a result, this review will be short. No track break downs, I’ll just be saying what I liked and what I think didn’t work in the hopes that the band might read this and take some notes for their next effort.

I’ll be honest, there’s a lot less things I liked compared to disliked with this album, but let’s start with the positives. The guitars absolutely carried this album for me. Good riffs, some nice solos and the few acoustic parts were pretty decent. The instrumental sections were pretty good too. I did like the last track of the album, they definitely saved the best ‘til last. Now moving on to what didn’t work... Unfortunately the mixing is pretty bad overall. I think the guitars got the most amount of love and attention but the drums really suffered here. They sound too quiet and not quite punchy enough for a heavy metal band. The drums also felt off in some parts. 

There’s a few moments where I noticed a missing beat here and there. There’s also parts where they don’t keep in rhythm with the guitars and bass very well. There’s a couple of riffs and solos which were a little bit sloppy, but as I said earlier, the guitars are easily the best part of the album. Now, it’s time to talk about the vocals. I’ll be brutally honest, I really really didn’t like the vocals. While not infuriating, they are generally disappointing. I think they could have done a much better job, or maybe find someone else to take over in that department. The songs could have been a lot stronger with some more attention put into improving the vocals.

I really hope this band can turn things around for their next release (if you’re reading this guys, I really want you to make me eat my words). Underneath the rough parts, they do have some solid ideas which could push them to that next level. They just need to focus on finding their footing and maybe take a bit more time with the mixing and production for their next release. So in summary, a bit of a rough start, but I hope that doesn’t deter them from doing what they love and I’m sure they'll improve as they go along! 4/10