Sometimes the boss likes to throw me a curve ball just to see what would happen. I think he does it because too much death metal is not healthy, and sometimes you need to listen to something else. In these moments of musical time-out, I reach for Carl Perkins, or possibly the Dave Clark Five, in the hope that batteries will be recharged and words will flow.
This month’s curveball comes courtesy of the Brazilian duo Deafkids and their latest Cicatrizes Do Futuro (Scars of the Future).
And you know what? As a change of pace and style, I loved it. The album itself, well I guess you could describe it as avant-garde/experimental/dance music. Well, I’m going to describe it as that because that is what I took from it. It reminded of metal nights a long time ago when bands started to lean into remixes that would allow them to throw maybe more industrial aspects into their music and as a result get people moving.
Any student night would be playing Ministry, Nine Inch Nails (specifically Head Like A Hole/Broken/Downward Spiral) whilst ploughing through The Future Sound Of London amongst others because you would dance to it. Especially if you were off your face. This is music that wants you to move, no more and no less. The way that they put these together brings in those Latin America sounds melded with dance club beats.
That is about as far as my knowledge of dance goes; In the early 90’s if you liked metal you didn’t go to places that played music like this unless it was a special club (Jilly’s in Manchester, Maximes in Wigan to name two, both are gone now) who also catered for drunk students who couldn’t get in anywhere else. Throwing industrial and the harder edged dance together caused all sorts of mayhem, which in a way is presented here, almost by osmosis. Its relentless and whilst tempo varies, the overall feeling doesn’t change.
It’s strange actually trying to write this review, because I’m drawn more memories of those days that are gone, that this album is somehow triggering. I won’t try to tell you which track is the best or is the relative high point because that would be missing the point. They themselves have called this a ‘visceral diagnosis of a world intoxicated by its own fictions of power’ and I’ll be honest, if I hadn’t had read that online, I’d would have said that they just want to make music that moves you. I guess what you take from this depends on what you like in your music. If any sort of dance music is a hard no, then I suggest you keep moving.
It’s strange actually trying to write this review, because I’m drawn more memories of those days that are gone, that this album is somehow triggering. I won’t try to tell you which track is the best or is the relative high point because that would be missing the point. They themselves have called this a ‘visceral diagnosis of a world intoxicated by its own fictions of power’ and I’ll be honest, if I hadn’t had read that online, I’d would have said that they just want to make music that moves you. I guess what you take from this depends on what you like in your music. If any sort of dance music is a hard no, then I suggest you keep moving.
However, if there is just the slightest, and I mean the smallest possibility that you might listen to this without smashing your listening device to bits, then give it a go. It could open some doors for you. 9/10
Pride Of Lions - Unbridled (Frontiers Music Srl) [Matt Bladen]
It's been a while since Jim Peterik traded in Eye Of The Tiger for Pride Of Lions, but since 2003 he and vocalist Toby Hitchcock have become one of the leading lights in the post Millennium melodic rock scene. Unbridled is their eighth stupid record and it's another 12 track record of slick, emotive melodic rock with songs of resilience, power and devotion, from Jim to his wife Karen.
Jim's keys and guitars are at the heart of all these songs, his innate sensibility for what melodic rock is evident from track one. When you've penned some of the biggest hits in the genre, this all comes easy, so Unbridled is brimming with skill and gives no real shift from what Pride Of Lions have been doing since 2003.
Ed Breckenfeld is behind the kit, Mike Aquino brings the lead guitar skills, doing some EVH on the title track and Bob Lizik is on bass, but Pride Of Lions is Peterik and Hitchcock's baby, as they both perform lead vocals singularly and in unison for some rich vocal harmonies that are a key feature of melodic rock/AOR.
Another record of huge hooks from Pride Of Lions on Unbridled, AOR done with veteran experience and skill. 7/10
Smoking Snakes - All Lights On (Frontiers Music Srl) [Matt Bladen]
Swedish sleaze metal now from Smoking Snakes who introduce this new record with their own radio promo before they take you to the Sunset Strip and the sounds of Skid Row, Ratt and W.A.S.P along with the dense Swedish scene too. The attitude is there, the riffs are there and gritty vocals are there so All Lights On is a throwback to when hairspray destroying the atmosphere.
However it's a throwback with a modern identity to it, but the 12 songs on this album, such as Screaming For More, will definitely take you back to the 80's, as will the strutting Broken Heart, the big drums of Turn On The Lights while Nasty...Wild has choppy guitars and Trick Or Treat is a track that could very well fit on The Last Command.
You can hear that this four piece live for the stage with their music, written to be performed live, the tracks here are there to capture a band who still defining themselves as this is their second full length record, so it's got some more dynamic offerings, that bring melody and balladry to the sleaze metal style.
All Lights On is a throwback that's carries the danger of that scene in the 21st Century. 7/10
Nunslaughter - Satanic Chaos Legions (BLKIIBLK Records) [Mark Young]
I so desperately wanted to love this. In terms of producing art, especially art that provokes a reaction anything called Nunslaughter (and I assume its slaughter, not Nuns laughing which actually might be a better fit) should by rights cause certain members of society to spontaneously combust. And yet, this feels ultimately like a missed opportunity or maybe something that should have been presented in a smaller (EP) sized chunk. Incredibly, I’d never come across these before, and their discography is something to be believed in a career that started in 1987 (as Death Sentence) before settling on Nunslaughter.
Pride Of Lions - Unbridled (Frontiers Music Srl) [Matt Bladen]
It's been a while since Jim Peterik traded in Eye Of The Tiger for Pride Of Lions, but since 2003 he and vocalist Toby Hitchcock have become one of the leading lights in the post Millennium melodic rock scene. Unbridled is their eighth stupid record and it's another 12 track record of slick, emotive melodic rock with songs of resilience, power and devotion, from Jim to his wife Karen.
Jim's keys and guitars are at the heart of all these songs, his innate sensibility for what melodic rock is evident from track one. When you've penned some of the biggest hits in the genre, this all comes easy, so Unbridled is brimming with skill and gives no real shift from what Pride Of Lions have been doing since 2003.
Ed Breckenfeld is behind the kit, Mike Aquino brings the lead guitar skills, doing some EVH on the title track and Bob Lizik is on bass, but Pride Of Lions is Peterik and Hitchcock's baby, as they both perform lead vocals singularly and in unison for some rich vocal harmonies that are a key feature of melodic rock/AOR.
Another record of huge hooks from Pride Of Lions on Unbridled, AOR done with veteran experience and skill. 7/10
Smoking Snakes - All Lights On (Frontiers Music Srl) [Matt Bladen]
Swedish sleaze metal now from Smoking Snakes who introduce this new record with their own radio promo before they take you to the Sunset Strip and the sounds of Skid Row, Ratt and W.A.S.P along with the dense Swedish scene too. The attitude is there, the riffs are there and gritty vocals are there so All Lights On is a throwback to when hairspray destroying the atmosphere.
However it's a throwback with a modern identity to it, but the 12 songs on this album, such as Screaming For More, will definitely take you back to the 80's, as will the strutting Broken Heart, the big drums of Turn On The Lights while Nasty...Wild has choppy guitars and Trick Or Treat is a track that could very well fit on The Last Command.
You can hear that this four piece live for the stage with their music, written to be performed live, the tracks here are there to capture a band who still defining themselves as this is their second full length record, so it's got some more dynamic offerings, that bring melody and balladry to the sleaze metal style.
All Lights On is a throwback that's carries the danger of that scene in the 21st Century. 7/10
Nunslaughter - Satanic Chaos Legions (BLKIIBLK Records) [Mark Young]
I so desperately wanted to love this. In terms of producing art, especially art that provokes a reaction anything called Nunslaughter (and I assume its slaughter, not Nuns laughing which actually might be a better fit) should by rights cause certain members of society to spontaneously combust. And yet, this feels ultimately like a missed opportunity or maybe something that should have been presented in a smaller (EP) sized chunk. Incredibly, I’d never come across these before, and their discography is something to be believed in a career that started in 1987 (as Death Sentence) before settling on Nunslaughter.
Getting back to Satanic Chaos Legions I expected this to set my skin on fire, to be the darkest of the dark and we got 14 songs of varying quality, depending on your how you take your death metal. Opening with the title track, Satanic Chaos Legions speeds along as you would expect with a suitably grindy guitar tone. Its fine, to be fair but just fine. I expected more than what I got and I don’t know if that is because of my unfair expectations or that I’m just being a bit of a twat with them.
In any event, they deploy another 13 songs that veer from short sharp shocks such as Jesus Fucking Dies and you think is this more for a certain catchment who like their metal with lots of swearing in it. If so, more power to them. Elsewhere, their songs keep around sub-three minutes in order to keep things fresh and this is admirable.
You cannot fault their energy but by the time you are getting past track 10 of what is largely the same thing, you wonder how long you have before it wraps up. I’ve complained about doom bands who are in desperate need of being ruthless in the studio and its no different here. They could have trimmed three or more songs and I wouldn’t have noticed.
Ultimately, they have their audience, and to be honest I don’t think that they will be disappointed by this. Personally, I couldn’t find anything here that gripped me in a way where I wanted to tell you about good this is. I appreciate that this is a relatively short review of this album, but in my defence I couldn’t find an awful lot I wanted to say about it. 5/10
Ultimately, they have their audience, and to be honest I don’t think that they will be disappointed by this. Personally, I couldn’t find anything here that gripped me in a way where I wanted to tell you about good this is. I appreciate that this is a relatively short review of this album, but in my defence I couldn’t find an awful lot I wanted to say about it. 5/10
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