Root Zero - Dark Rainbow (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]
I've personally seen Root Zero blossom into quite a band in recent years, on the back of their EP, The Weight Of What I Started and near constant playing, they took the converted top spot at last year's Cardiff Metal To The Masses and played Bloodstock Festival. Driven by this their debut full length arrives and it's an impressive collection of tracks which as they state has been influenced by Soundgarden, Deftones, Cult Of Luna and Katatonia.Yes I can hear all of these bands in the low end riffing, dual vocals, piano led melodies however I offer a counterpoint. To me Root Zero remind me a lot of bands that have been formed by Rob Cottingham, both Touchstone and Cairo have extensive use of synths, some thick gothic metal riffs and ethereal female vocals that are countered by lower male vocals. There's also a strong link to Welsh prog bands such as The Reasoning, continuing a lineage that is very strongly defined with the 7 minute + brooding title track.
Making comparison like these are a definite compliment to what the band do, but there's so much involved in Root Zero's sound that you can't really dwell too much on their influences. A track such as Ignis Fatuus highlights what the band so well, Giacomo Fiderio's harsh growls and cleans accompanying the soaring leads of Sasha Bannister's, as the song shifts between gothic cleans and deathy riffs.
Guitarists Llyr Williams and Wren Wood have some serious chops, combining with the rhythm section for huge riffs and with Giacomo's keys in the melodic sections. That rhythm section of bassist Rob Edwards and drummer Joshua Powell-Gibbs add a proggy chug to the technical Tumbleweed, that heaviness shifting into just piano on Dry, a track which has the modern prog rock propulsion of Anathema and the build/release of post metal.
After the huge catharsis of Notti D’Inverno (partly sung in Italian) to Dry, an atmospheric industrial interlude such as Depression is rightly required before heading into the multifaceted title track. The way the band leave their longest compositions until the end is a triumph as they lure you in with the shorter 'hits' but really develop their song writing with the epics. Litha also shifts into a heavier sound after the dramatic Dark Rainbow, djenty grooves bring aggression as The Infection has the disorientating rhythmic groove of a band like Tool blended with a dark fairy-tale.
With this debut full length Root Zero create their own identity from a broad scope of influences, gothic progressive metal that is deceivingly heavy one moment and beautifully melodic the next. 9/10
Chantel McGregor – The Healing (Tis Rock Music) [Simon Black]
When the boss delivers me what we call in the team the ‘lucky dip’, it can be a moment of nervousness, particularly if it’s an artist I’ve not come across before. A quick online scan revealed that Chantel McGregor emerged from the Blues scene in, err, Yorkshire, but this is not a Blues record by any stretch of the imagination. By all accounts she’s a rocker by heart, and has been drifting in that direction over time with her own material and in The Healing I think we can safely say that this migration is now completed.
With this debut full length Root Zero create their own identity from a broad scope of influences, gothic progressive metal that is deceivingly heavy one moment and beautifully melodic the next. 9/10
Chantel McGregor – The Healing (Tis Rock Music) [Simon Black]
When the boss delivers me what we call in the team the ‘lucky dip’, it can be a moment of nervousness, particularly if it’s an artist I’ve not come across before. A quick online scan revealed that Chantel McGregor emerged from the Blues scene in, err, Yorkshire, but this is not a Blues record by any stretch of the imagination. By all accounts she’s a rocker by heart, and has been drifting in that direction over time with her own material and in The Healing I think we can safely say that this migration is now completed.
Most of us who fall in love with all things Hard and Heavy naturally lean in that direction with our own musical aspirations but starting from a first base of The Blues an interesting choice to make really, seeming to be much more niche these days compared to the massively overcrowded Rock and Metal scene, but after ten years of establishing herself, her attitude is clearly in “fuck it” territory.
Not having listened to her previous work I can’t really comment on the transition, but this album touches a lot of areas stylistically. What’s consistent are the very high and rich production values, which bring the instrumentals backwards and forwards as required in the mix so as not to drown out McGregor’s quite soft and subtle vocal tones.
Not having listened to her previous work I can’t really comment on the transition, but this album touches a lot of areas stylistically. What’s consistent are the very high and rich production values, which bring the instrumentals backwards and forwards as required in the mix so as not to drown out McGregor’s quite soft and subtle vocal tones.
If you are expecting a vocal chord-wrenching heavy rock ‘n’ roll vocal performance, this is not what we get. Although the music can touch some deeper and heavier motes, mostly brought about by key dropping, her style is much lighter touch but coming from a Blues starting point grabs the listener emotively, nonetheless.
The title of the album gives a clue as to why, as there’s a lot of soul bearing going on here with themes of loss and recovery standing out loud and clear throughout, as McGregor brings us with her on her cathartic journey of recovery from personal loss in her life, and for moments like that you need to flex musical muscles a bit more, even though the Blues is probably the more obvious route to explore this subject matter, it also works incredibly well with the broader range of musical styles on display here.
With her voice being the subtler instrument in the deck, we are mostly in the lighter end of the Rock spectrum, but the down-tuned Grungy moments work well. I’m also hearing a lot of Hogarth-era Marillion in the Progressive touches that thread throughout here, and this is where this record scores so much over a traditional Blues stricture, which is, let’s face it, quite limited in its range musically.
The title of the album gives a clue as to why, as there’s a lot of soul bearing going on here with themes of loss and recovery standing out loud and clear throughout, as McGregor brings us with her on her cathartic journey of recovery from personal loss in her life, and for moments like that you need to flex musical muscles a bit more, even though the Blues is probably the more obvious route to explore this subject matter, it also works incredibly well with the broader range of musical styles on display here.
With her voice being the subtler instrument in the deck, we are mostly in the lighter end of the Rock spectrum, but the down-tuned Grungy moments work well. I’m also hearing a lot of Hogarth-era Marillion in the Progressive touches that thread throughout here, and this is where this record scores so much over a traditional Blues stricture, which is, let’s face it, quite limited in its range musically.
This album also builds well, and by the time we get to the technically most demanding track (the quite brilliant Truth Will Out) when McGregor throws me completely by delivering a way more gutsy and soulfully raw vocal performance than I thought she was capable of, it’s safe to say I’m hooked. It doesn’t end there, as she saves the best to last with the title track, which really focusses on that self-recovery process post-grief and pulls together all the different directions of the album into one cohesive whole.
If I have a gripe it’s that the middle of the album has a surfeit of lighter soft-rock tracks that feel like some of the depth and intensity that came later could have allowed to filter into as well, but for a record which is all about an artist exploring her range and doing what she wants to experimentally, rather than what a label would like her to it works well. Pleasantly surprising. 7/10
If I have a gripe it’s that the middle of the album has a surfeit of lighter soft-rock tracks that feel like some of the depth and intensity that came later could have allowed to filter into as well, but for a record which is all about an artist exploring her range and doing what she wants to experimentally, rather than what a label would like her to it works well. Pleasantly surprising. 7/10
Dusty Rose Gang - A-One From Day One (RidingEasy Records) [Rich Piva]
Dusty Rose Gang sound like they are stuck in the 1970s in all of the best sort of ways. They also sound like they are from Detroit, which they are and which is why a band like MC5 comes up all the time when describing the eight tracks on their debut record, A-One From Day One. MC5 is not their only influence, as you here all the greats of that era, specifically I hear bits of Sabbath, Grand Funk, Thin Lizzy, The Stooges, and even a bit of Kiss. These are no crappy rehashes of a foregone time however; these songs kick all sorts of ass and are a fresh take on one of the best times for rock and roll.
The opener, Love Bug, gets you right off the bat, with the killer guitar work and recorded live directly to tape vibes you want from a band with the influences that I mentioned. Main man Dusty Rose simply just rips it up all over this record, on the opener and also as track two begins, which is the gigantic Sticker. Cowbell, gong, killer drums, riffs for days, and how about those vocals from Dusty? Killer song. Oh, that riff on Person Of Light…also a shout out to J. Rowe, who played drums on the record, for just bringing it. I feel like there is some Uncle Ted going on with this one as well.
Dusty Rose Gang sound like they are stuck in the 1970s in all of the best sort of ways. They also sound like they are from Detroit, which they are and which is why a band like MC5 comes up all the time when describing the eight tracks on their debut record, A-One From Day One. MC5 is not their only influence, as you here all the greats of that era, specifically I hear bits of Sabbath, Grand Funk, Thin Lizzy, The Stooges, and even a bit of Kiss. These are no crappy rehashes of a foregone time however; these songs kick all sorts of ass and are a fresh take on one of the best times for rock and roll.
The opener, Love Bug, gets you right off the bat, with the killer guitar work and recorded live directly to tape vibes you want from a band with the influences that I mentioned. Main man Dusty Rose simply just rips it up all over this record, on the opener and also as track two begins, which is the gigantic Sticker. Cowbell, gong, killer drums, riffs for days, and how about those vocals from Dusty? Killer song. Oh, that riff on Person Of Light…also a shout out to J. Rowe, who played drums on the record, for just bringing it. I feel like there is some Uncle Ted going on with this one as well.
A psych-y interlude leads to Part Back Jack, which opens with a drum solo and has some Grand Funk meets the Stooges vibes. It closes with a drum solo too. All in under four minutes. Leave It Alone is where I hear both Kiss and some dual action Thin Lizzy guitar work, all executed flawlessly. And more cowbell. The gallop of Feel Me starts with some trippy guitar, great drums, and thunders into a great riff that gives off Blue Cheer, MC5, and late 70s American Punk vibes all over the place. I love the slow down in this track too, reminding me of the end of Layla, but we don’t go out on a whimper, as the rhythm section picks up the pace again and Mr. Rose brings another killer riff, with the band just showing off at this point.
Killer, dusty, and dirty American rock and roll that leverages all of the best influences of the 1970s, A-One From Day One will prove to be one of the best debuts of 2025. Dusty Rose Gang is all about high-energy, straight-ahead, grade A, kick ass, American rock all the way, and their debut record bleeds with it. 8/10
Confessions Of A Traitor - This Pain Will Serve You (Facedown Records) [GC]
Confessions of a Traitor are one of those bands I have heard the name of forever but have managed to never actually managed to hear a single second of their musical output which is quite the achievement as they have been around for 10 years now, and I haven’t done it on purpose, just one of those check these outs I never got round too? Anyway, they have a new album This Pain Will Serve You about to be released, so will this make me regret my laziness?
It doesn’t really start too well on Starve which has a weirdly rap/nu-metal sequencing to the way the song is set out and has such a squeaky sound that it just does nothing for me at all and I hope that it can only get better from here, but it doesn’t really improve very much on Fatal Frame and I feel like I have time travelled back to 2006 and am listening to one of those random mid card bands on a Roadrunner Road Rage tour.
Killer, dusty, and dirty American rock and roll that leverages all of the best influences of the 1970s, A-One From Day One will prove to be one of the best debuts of 2025. Dusty Rose Gang is all about high-energy, straight-ahead, grade A, kick ass, American rock all the way, and their debut record bleeds with it. 8/10
Confessions Of A Traitor - This Pain Will Serve You (Facedown Records) [GC]
Confessions of a Traitor are one of those bands I have heard the name of forever but have managed to never actually managed to hear a single second of their musical output which is quite the achievement as they have been around for 10 years now, and I haven’t done it on purpose, just one of those check these outs I never got round too? Anyway, they have a new album This Pain Will Serve You about to be released, so will this make me regret my laziness?
It doesn’t really start too well on Starve which has a weirdly rap/nu-metal sequencing to the way the song is set out and has such a squeaky sound that it just does nothing for me at all and I hope that it can only get better from here, but it doesn’t really improve very much on Fatal Frame and I feel like I have time travelled back to 2006 and am listening to one of those random mid card bands on a Roadrunner Road Rage tour.
It’s all huff but with no real payoff, it’s a bit of a mix of nu-metal and metalcore but never really decides what it wants to be and sounds dated and predicable throughout, Doomsayer is slightly better as it focusses on one thing and this is a more palatable song but its metalcore 101 really, chugging angry verse, breakdown, melodic chorus, soft echoey middle bit, cut paste repeat chugs away until the end of the track.
Midnight Sun does little to shake off any stereotypes that have been thrown around so far and is another pick it from any recent mid-tier metalcore record track and you wouldn’t really know who it was because there is nothing that identifies it as a specific band, its all just very predictable, Still Haunted is the melancholic woe is me track that has been on the cards and just like that it’s here, moody and atmospheric guitars are covered by a decent enough lyrical performance and a flurry of riffing but it doesn’t save anything and this sort of track is just not for me.
It’s designed to make you feel something and I feel nothing but the urge to skip it, I don’t and when it’s over I am greeted with an almost carbon copy of a song in the form of Love You Left Behind which just feels like it’s a direct continuation of the previous track minus and of the heavy bits, which makes it even more tedious and boring.
By this point in the review, I am starting to lose the will to carry on and Noble Bloom helps my cause in absolutely no way! It’s just another mid-song album that meanders and does nothing to really convince that there is going to be much else that will save this record, Hail Mary does promise to stop with the slowed down, miserable pace of the previous 3 tracks but does nothing of the sort and is another mid-paced, chug along with no redeeming features to speak of and just keeps on going and gets more tedious with every second you listen to.
OK, I’m into the final stretch here and Let It Consume Me has reverted back to the earlier album predictability, it’s a better sound than the last few tracks as it has a bit of energy but again it’s nothing to write home about, The Sins I’m Yet To Answer For is just more of the same and just as I am about to kill myself finally we get a track with a bit of something about it Half Life thunders forward with no grace or dignity and has a real grab you around the neck and shake you about urgency and you just sit and wonder where this has been so far as it is now far too late for it to redeem this album.
So, after 10 years of not hearing them am I about to dip into their back catalogue? On this material no! There was nothing on here that was original or even interesting, I have heard it all before but done so much better. To be around this long they must have a following of some kind and if they like this then good for them I however, did not. 3/10
So, after 10 years of not hearing them am I about to dip into their back catalogue? On this material no! There was nothing on here that was original or even interesting, I have heard it all before but done so much better. To be around this long they must have a following of some kind and if they like this then good for them I however, did not. 3/10
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