If Jim Steinman wrote songs of motorcycle worship (Bad For Good project anyone?) for Turbo-era Judas Priest all while they were styled by Arthur Brown then you may get a vague approximation of the sound of Battlesnake.
This Aussie band started their engines on their self titled record in 2023 but it was last years Motorsteeple that had them bring their oddball brand of bombastic rock to the UK and Europe for the first time. Wowing and confounding audiences at the same time, as they kicked out their sci-fi jams to a new audience for the first time.
Since these shows then they've been on a fire bound freeway to even bigger success, especially over here as the media have been all over what makes Battlesnake tick. The way the band move through their influences and garner so many different styles is impressive, it's classic rock but with modern elements and that innate sense of weirdness that Aussie bands such as King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard and one of my favourites Dr Colossus have.
Shepherd Hunter for instance is NWOBHM but moves to proto-metal and thrash too as their breakneck genre shifts make this a record you can't not listen to. The finale Moto Exoridum closed the record with just harmony guitar leads as if nothing else's is needed and their right. Their songs all tell futuristic fantasy tales based around mechanical messiahs and Satanic creatures (Beelzebug II) general mind bending themes surrounding monsters, technology, religion and the occult.
Dawn Of The Exultants And The Hunt For The Shepherd takes all these things and brings them out on a meaner sounding album than previous efforts. Distorted guitars rampage against keytar melodies, the rhythms rumble and groove as they tell these tales of RoboChrist (yep). I suppose you could compare them to Green Lung but for the Mad Max crowd! All that's left to say is that Battlesnake are just bonkers and brilliant! 9/10
Woodhawk - Love Finds A Way (Grand Hand Records) [Rich Piva]
Canada is chock full of killer stoner/doom/psych bands right now. Most of those bands I am familiar with are from the Toronto area or from the booming Montreal scene. Apparently though, all of the killer riffs, mind-bending psych, and stoner rock goodness are not just limited to the provinces that those cities belong to, as Calgary, Alberta’s Woodhawk stand tall with all of the other killer bands bringing the heavy rock from The Great White North. The trio’s new record, and third overall, Love Finds A Way, is nine tracks of melodic stoner rock with great vocals, tons of riffs, and organ leading the way, and that makes this listener very happy.
Love Finds A Way is so damn catchy. Some of these songs will get very stuck in your head, and these guys understand melody, combined with hard rock, as well as any of the best bands out there. There is a bluesy feel at some points and a grunge vibe during others, but regardless of what you label it, this is some killer heavy rock. This is a deep cut comparison, but the addition of way more organ to this record reminds me of a band like Mount Atlas, which is a really good thing. The opening two tracks, Grave Shaker and Strangers Ever After have all of the goodness mentioned above, and really set the stage for an excellent fifty-plus minute rock journey.
The slow burn Truth Be Told has some serious 90s vibes and really rips when the chunky riff kicks in and the organ pairs with the killer vocals. A band like Valley Of The Sun would be another good comparison with this track, especially when the pace picks up. White Crosses is an interesting track; it is as close to a ballad as you can get from a band like Woodhawk, and shows how much bands of the 1970s inspire them but also how deep and personal the band can get with their lyrics.
Since these shows then they've been on a fire bound freeway to even bigger success, especially over here as the media have been all over what makes Battlesnake tick. The way the band move through their influences and garner so many different styles is impressive, it's classic rock but with modern elements and that innate sense of weirdness that Aussie bands such as King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard and one of my favourites Dr Colossus have.
Shepherd Hunter for instance is NWOBHM but moves to proto-metal and thrash too as their breakneck genre shifts make this a record you can't not listen to. The finale Moto Exoridum closed the record with just harmony guitar leads as if nothing else's is needed and their right. Their songs all tell futuristic fantasy tales based around mechanical messiahs and Satanic creatures (Beelzebug II) general mind bending themes surrounding monsters, technology, religion and the occult.
Dawn Of The Exultants And The Hunt For The Shepherd takes all these things and brings them out on a meaner sounding album than previous efforts. Distorted guitars rampage against keytar melodies, the rhythms rumble and groove as they tell these tales of RoboChrist (yep). I suppose you could compare them to Green Lung but for the Mad Max crowd! All that's left to say is that Battlesnake are just bonkers and brilliant! 9/10
Woodhawk - Love Finds A Way (Grand Hand Records) [Rich Piva]
Canada is chock full of killer stoner/doom/psych bands right now. Most of those bands I am familiar with are from the Toronto area or from the booming Montreal scene. Apparently though, all of the killer riffs, mind-bending psych, and stoner rock goodness are not just limited to the provinces that those cities belong to, as Calgary, Alberta’s Woodhawk stand tall with all of the other killer bands bringing the heavy rock from The Great White North. The trio’s new record, and third overall, Love Finds A Way, is nine tracks of melodic stoner rock with great vocals, tons of riffs, and organ leading the way, and that makes this listener very happy.
Love Finds A Way is so damn catchy. Some of these songs will get very stuck in your head, and these guys understand melody, combined with hard rock, as well as any of the best bands out there. There is a bluesy feel at some points and a grunge vibe during others, but regardless of what you label it, this is some killer heavy rock. This is a deep cut comparison, but the addition of way more organ to this record reminds me of a band like Mount Atlas, which is a really good thing. The opening two tracks, Grave Shaker and Strangers Ever After have all of the goodness mentioned above, and really set the stage for an excellent fifty-plus minute rock journey.
The slow burn Truth Be Told has some serious 90s vibes and really rips when the chunky riff kicks in and the organ pairs with the killer vocals. A band like Valley Of The Sun would be another good comparison with this track, especially when the pace picks up. White Crosses is an interesting track; it is as close to a ballad as you can get from a band like Woodhawk, and shows how much bands of the 1970s inspire them but also how deep and personal the band can get with their lyrics.
Anyone else get The Who vibes from Woodhawk like I do? That Valley Of The Sun comparison comes back with The Unholy Hand, which also shows how Woodhawk has mastered the art of the slow burn rocker. No Place For Hate lyrically leaves the subtlety at the door but certainly brings the riffs to the party while delivering an important message.
The title track may be the best song on the record, with a great riff and more of those wonderful vocals that put Woodhawk on another level. Relapser is where I really hear the Mount Atlas comparison shine through (if you have not heard their album Poseidon you really should) and is another catchy, up beat rocker (with cowbell!!!). The eight-plus minute epic closer, Killing Time, sounds like a 90s album record ender in the best sort of way, and may be the best vocal performance on an album full of them.
Love Finds A Way is some next level heavy rock. I hesitate to call it stoner rock, just like I would not call Valley Of The Sun stoner rock, but Woodhawk have created something special with the nine songs on their third, and best record to date. Love the vocals, love the riffs, love the organ, love the emotion, and love Love Finds A Way. 9/10
The title track may be the best song on the record, with a great riff and more of those wonderful vocals that put Woodhawk on another level. Relapser is where I really hear the Mount Atlas comparison shine through (if you have not heard their album Poseidon you really should) and is another catchy, up beat rocker (with cowbell!!!). The eight-plus minute epic closer, Killing Time, sounds like a 90s album record ender in the best sort of way, and may be the best vocal performance on an album full of them.
Love Finds A Way is some next level heavy rock. I hesitate to call it stoner rock, just like I would not call Valley Of The Sun stoner rock, but Woodhawk have created something special with the nine songs on their third, and best record to date. Love the vocals, love the riffs, love the organ, love the emotion, and love Love Finds A Way. 9/10
Blackfyre Rising - Blackfyre Rising (Self Released) [Simon Black]
Edinburgh’s Blackfyre Rising have been honing their thing for the best part of a decade, so this debut EP has certainly been a long time coming, but then getting a band going from a standing start is always bloody hard work and although they seem to have a following in their homeland, this is probably their moment to break out to a wider audience.
The core of their sound is the definitely from the Hard Rock end of the spectrum, but there’s a lot more going on here than chugging away around a core riff for three and a half minutes. OK, there obviously are some solid riffs in there – it wouldn’t be Rock ‘n’ Roll if there weren’t, but several of them are weaved into the mix here, rather than banging just the one throughout and musically this is a lot more fluid, complex and rounded as a result.
In fact the musicianship is something that really does stand out loud and proud here, as the band really push the boat out when it comes to thew instrumental breaks, and although the focus might be on the really beautifully crafted solos because of where it’s presented in the mix, but you can’t help but be surprised at what the other three players are weaving around with in the background with a level of technical proficiency and fluidity that is absolutely top notch.
If I have a gripe, it’s with the vocal arrangements, as the melody lines tend to align to the rhythms closely, as often is the case when your frontman is also one of your guitarists, but to be honest this is so minor a niggle as to be not worth worrying about, because James Brown has a really good vocal range on him and he holds the attention well.
There are only four tracks here, but they demonstrate a broad spectrum of styles from the commercial radio-friendly targeting of I’m Alright, the musically complex The Cycle, to the more solidly traditional territory Spellbound Woman with its catchy twin guitar interplay and the more moody, heavy and experimental Tempest there’s plenty of variety here. A promising start indeed. 7/10
Turian - Blood Quantum Blues (Wise Blood Records) [GC]
Since their formation in 2017, Seattle based hardcore band Turian have already released 4 albums and a couple of singles which could either be a good thing or a bad thing, they either have so many good things to say they are constantly putting new stuff out, or they have no filter and just release what they have!? Either way today I have album number 5 in the shape of Blood Quantum Blues.
Spill starts everything off in a very chaotic fashion, mixing hardcore punk with metallic hardcore and adds a slight sprinkle of madness via some very mathcore/djent passages, it all merges together well enough and creates an impressive start, Chemical Bath is then a bit of a left turn, it is more stop/start and has a bit of a stompy style to the riff but the way its dips in and out of the rhythm is a bit off putting and never really allows you to grasp any feeling of what they are trying to do, the vocals are furiously angry though and a real highpoint for the song.
Edinburgh’s Blackfyre Rising have been honing their thing for the best part of a decade, so this debut EP has certainly been a long time coming, but then getting a band going from a standing start is always bloody hard work and although they seem to have a following in their homeland, this is probably their moment to break out to a wider audience.
The core of their sound is the definitely from the Hard Rock end of the spectrum, but there’s a lot more going on here than chugging away around a core riff for three and a half minutes. OK, there obviously are some solid riffs in there – it wouldn’t be Rock ‘n’ Roll if there weren’t, but several of them are weaved into the mix here, rather than banging just the one throughout and musically this is a lot more fluid, complex and rounded as a result.
In fact the musicianship is something that really does stand out loud and proud here, as the band really push the boat out when it comes to thew instrumental breaks, and although the focus might be on the really beautifully crafted solos because of where it’s presented in the mix, but you can’t help but be surprised at what the other three players are weaving around with in the background with a level of technical proficiency and fluidity that is absolutely top notch.
If I have a gripe, it’s with the vocal arrangements, as the melody lines tend to align to the rhythms closely, as often is the case when your frontman is also one of your guitarists, but to be honest this is so minor a niggle as to be not worth worrying about, because James Brown has a really good vocal range on him and he holds the attention well.
There are only four tracks here, but they demonstrate a broad spectrum of styles from the commercial radio-friendly targeting of I’m Alright, the musically complex The Cycle, to the more solidly traditional territory Spellbound Woman with its catchy twin guitar interplay and the more moody, heavy and experimental Tempest there’s plenty of variety here. A promising start indeed. 7/10
Turian - Blood Quantum Blues (Wise Blood Records) [GC]
Since their formation in 2017, Seattle based hardcore band Turian have already released 4 albums and a couple of singles which could either be a good thing or a bad thing, they either have so many good things to say they are constantly putting new stuff out, or they have no filter and just release what they have!? Either way today I have album number 5 in the shape of Blood Quantum Blues.
Spill starts everything off in a very chaotic fashion, mixing hardcore punk with metallic hardcore and adds a slight sprinkle of madness via some very mathcore/djent passages, it all merges together well enough and creates an impressive start, Chemical Bath is then a bit of a left turn, it is more stop/start and has a bit of a stompy style to the riff but the way its dips in and out of the rhythm is a bit off putting and never really allows you to grasp any feeling of what they are trying to do, the vocals are furiously angry though and a real highpoint for the song.
Leash is a bit more straightforward and easier to follow style wise, its not as jagged and rolls along nicely lead by the bass and drums and when the guitars do drop in it all melds together and creates another track chaos filled with chaos and menace but sort of feels it all drifts away a bit towards then end of the song and loses some focus. Track 4 is Nite Flights which really focuses on a more straightforward style and is not exactly metalcore and not exactly punk, it’s a mix of both and has enough emotion filtered into it to just add a little bit of edge to the song it shows another side of Turian and its good to hear they can change things up when needed.
Place Of Darkness then throws back to the more chaotic side of their sound and while it’s all done well, there is just a little bit of untidiness to this song and some sections don’t really flow well enough into the next and feel like they are still trying to perfect the song as its being recorded, it’s all sound just a little too haphazard and mish mashed and because one of the longest songs on the album its fairly noticeable! Mache is a mid-album interlude of electronic samples, a bit of drums and keyboards that is 57 seconds I could have done without to be honest.
Divine Child (No One’s Daughter) then crashes into life with a huge sounding riff and a wall of noise that then all dissipates and is once again all lead by a fantastic vocal performance, where you can feel absolutely all the pain that Vern Metztli-Moon is pouring into every word, it’s the best thing about the song because it’s really what you focus on and it’s worth it!! I think I get what they are trying to do with Burden Of Blood musically it has a vey old school metalcore sound, its raw and dark and the way they approach the song is a nice thought but its just missing that killer riff and something to really hook you in and get you invested fully, it just meanders along when it should smash you into place.
Blood Quantum Blues feels like they have run out of steam and is another sort of slow in places and mid-paced in others and it just sounds too much like they are digging their heels in, slowing the pace midway through an album might be a move some bands pull off and do well but to try and do it towards the tail end of the album isn’t working for me and to save the longest track till last in the form of Mutiny also seems like a bit of a swing and a miss and as it’s just another overly long and drawn out track that just tries everything it can to keep you invested but ultimately has just completely ran out of steam and ends everything in a massively unhemming way.
It all started off well on Blood Quantum Blues and was interesting in places but the more it went on the more I lost interest really, they tried to do too much in some songs and the energy just sort of ran out and it all just got a bit too one paced and unfortunately slightly boring! Here is where that filter for a band comes in, because if this was a 5 track EP with more precise songs, we could have had a much better score but as it’s not we don’t!! 6/10
It all started off well on Blood Quantum Blues and was interesting in places but the more it went on the more I lost interest really, they tried to do too much in some songs and the energy just sort of ran out and it all just got a bit too one paced and unfortunately slightly boring! Here is where that filter for a band comes in, because if this was a 5 track EP with more precise songs, we could have had a much better score but as it’s not we don’t!! 6/10
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