Blues Pills: Lady In Gold (Nuclear Blast)
Lady In Gold is at the top of my 'most anticipated' list, the sophomore record from Swedish rockers Blues Pills, I've wanted this album since the first time I played the debut, my anticipation increased by the number of times I've seen the band live and their impressive live record, thankfully I no longer have to wait any longer as Lady In Gold has landed here at MoM towers and it's everything I wanted it to be and more. Blues Pills haven't skipped a beat for their second full length offering it's the same kind of blues based psych-tinged rock that they did so well on their debut evoking the spirit of Woodstock, The Doors, Cream, Jeff Beck Group and Big Brother & The Holding Company but they just take everything up a level, there is a more focused but experimental feel to this record, Dorian Sorriaux's guitar playing flows like an ancient river, he fluidly peels off stunning leads, deftly handling the guitar for great effect. Behind his impressive guitar-work, primary writer Zach Anderson's bass gives the crunch with dexterous playing and groove, his bass and Sorriaux's guitar are both individuals, Anderson's bass the main rhythm and Sorriaux playing intricate melodic leads over the top.
Kudos to producer Don Alsterberg for the authentic 60's sound, as added to the guitars on the title track especially are some great organs and synths which is an element to the bands sound that seems to have been a lot more pronounced on this effort, which is no bad thing. André Kvarnström takes his seat on the kit and gives and understated workman-like performance knowing when to put in a well-placed fill and when to give space to the other instruments and of course the vocals. Ah yes the vocals the most devastating weapon in Blues Pills' arsenal the bewitching articulation of Elin Larsson steals the show for a second time, she has a superior set of pipes traversing between hushed introspection on I Felt A Change which also has it's fair share of electric piano and kicks into the creeping Gone So Long.
As I've said there is a lot of different influences that rear their head a touch of country on Bad Talkers, some swaggering funk on You Gotta Try and as the record comes to it's end Won't Go Back injects a bit of Spector R&B with Elin full-on soulful blues rock belting backed harmonising with some girl group vocals. Lady In Gold is everything you'd expect and more, it's draws what it needs to from the debut and expands on it positively for another record of 10 tremendous songs. Buy it, play it, do it now!! 9/10
The Cadillac Three: Bury Me In My Boots (Big Machine)
Southern/country rock doesn't come much more authentic than the Nashville trio The Cadillac Three, frontman Jaren Johnston has co-written songs with many Country artists meaning that he knows his way around a barn dance. So this leads me on to this second album from his band The Cadillac Three it's a more subdued affair than their rockier debut, moving into the full country sound a lot more than before with White Lightning a great example of this with it's cool, blissed out, acoustic vibe full of banjo, while This Accent has a sparse percussive sound, courtesy of drummer Neil Mason, it has the earworm capability of the modern day King Of Leon displaying that Cadillac Three have expanded their remit a lot more than before. They still can rock though as The South has dirty guitar and a hard rock punch, it also features backing vocals from Florida Georgia Line, Dierks Bentley, Mike Eli.
Many of the songs on this record will be familiar to anyone that picked up the Peace, Love & Dixie EP last year, with the funky Peace, Love & Dixie driven by Kelby Ray's Dobro and Johnson's shaking guitars, the lustful Hot Damn that name checks some rock n roll lotharios and has Kelby Ray sliding all over it and hip-shaking Party Like You is the third track from the EP on this record. However there are other tracks that have received heavy airplay that you may recognise Graffiti is a distinctly modern affair full of programming and massive sing along chorus, the Southern boy atmospheric ballad of Drunk Like You which speaks of the most addictive substance...women.
Loading a record with songs that have received a lot of airplay is a smart move on the band's part nonetheless some of the unheard tracks don't actually add much to the record, there is an element of things just being rehashed and a bit of filler being added on what is 14 track album. This record is a lot more country than their debut and it's better for it yes giving them a wider appeal away from the rock circles, there are too many tracks on this record with too many drawn from last years EP however The Cadillac Three have embraced their roots and Bury Me In My Boots points towards what's to come for the band. 7/10
Witch Tripper: Witch Tripper (Self Released)
Mansfield trio Witch Tripper are making big waves in the UK scene, competing in the East Midlands leg of the Metal 2 The Masses for the second consecutive year, meaning that they once again get to play the prestigious Bloodstock festival, this time winning the final so getting the chance to play on the New Blood stage (last time they played the smaller Jagermeister stage). After two years of relentless gigging (the band were formed in 2014) they have built up quite a fan base and everything seems to be heading in the right direction for the triumvirate as they have unleashed their debut album just in time for their second BOA show.
The band is made up of Jimmy Collins on drums, Stoff on bass and Richie Barlow on vocals/guitar, they play heavy stoner rock in the vein of Orange Goblin, Clutch and Dirty Beard (their previous band) so big slabs of riffage are front and center throughout the three piece rocking their beards off with heavy bass rhythms leading tracks such as You Get What You Pay For and putting the groove on Chills To The Bone, coupled with some excellent snare driven drumming from Served My Time and searing shredding guitar work on Shout! and Attitude Adjustment. Full of heavy rock riffs and whiskey soaked vocals Witch Tripper is pounding tour-de-force of pounding stoner rock. 8/10
Wednesday, 10 August 2016
Tuesday, 9 August 2016
A View From The Castle Grounds: Status Quo (Live Review By Paul)
Status Quo: Caldicot Castle, South Wales
Status Quo are one of the very few bands that for some inexplicable reason I’ve never seen live. Growing up in the 1970s, I was fully aware of their double denim pomp in the early-mid part of the decade and as farcical as it now seems, back then Quo were a staple part of the rocker’s induction. Albums such as Piledriver, Quo, On The Level and 1980’s Jus Supposin’ along with the fantastic Quo Live were essential listening but for some reason I never got my arse to the live arena to catch the band perform. The opportunity to rectify this and catch the band a mere 20 minutes from home in the splendid setting of Caldiot Castle was snapped up. Inevitably the curse of the old rocker arrived in June when rhythm guitarist and one half of the essential Quo line up Rick Parfitt was hospitalised in Turkey with more heart problems.
Luckily, Parfitt is making a full recovery and the band have had to deal with this issue before with Freddy Edwards, son of Quo bassist ‘Rhino able once more to step into Parfitt’s glistening white daps (as we say in these parts) to ensure the show would go on.
Arriving at around 6.30, the first thing we noticed was how chaotic the initial organisation appeared. Parking the car was relatively straight forward but the arena was pretty crammed as we entered and it was only some common sense applied by a couple of stewards in rearranging barriers that were blocking access that finally got some frustrated members of the audience moving. A disappointingly poor range of beverages meant that cider was the order of the evening with a pricey £4.50 for a 500ml bottle. The usual range of uninspiring catering meant that an opportunity to get some local producers in was wasted. The crowd certainly had the appetite for a booze, with the balmy weather assisting in the consumption and a few early evening casualties were struggling to focus by the time the main support hit the stage.
Now although Quo are ancient, their music, certainly their pre-1982 stuff has always appealed. Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel (6) on the other hand have never floated my boat. Opening with The Beatles Here Comes The Sun Harley and his band delivered 75 minutes of folky bluesy tunes which blurred into one as the show wore on. The horrendous Mr Soft punctuated the consciousness midway through the set, by which time we’d moved to the other side of the stage where as usual there was more space (herd mentality avoidance technique #1). At long last the strains of the awful gurning Come Up And See Me (Make Me Smile), Harley’s biggest hit from 1975 signalled the end of a pretty limp set where more of the crowd seemed intent on necking Carling than watching. Obviously the final song got a huge reaction but for me it was the first time seeing Harley and that was once too much.
Bang on 8.30pm Status Quo (8) arrived on stage and Freddy hit the opening chords to Caroline; those chords always make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. This song is the ideal opener and really gets the blood pumping. Easy to sing along to, fists pumping in the air and encouraging the Gwent Valley commandos finest dad dancing, it was all happening. Front and centre stands Francis Rossi, lead voice and lead guitar. Stick thin, healthy and still bashing it out. Alongside him ‘Rhino’ Edwards, long serving bassist who took over some of the Parfitt vocals during the set whilst Andy Bown, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist remains ever reliable, a member of the band since 1976. Yep, that’s 40 years and he’s not even one of the fantastic four! Keeping time at the rear of the stage, Leon Cave, a mere youngster at 38 (whose drum solo was possibly amongst the most limited I’ve ever seen but hey, these oldies need the breather).
The set list contained all the classics you’d expect, with highlights Roll Over Lay Down and a blistering Down Down. A medley mid-set included Down The Dustpipe and Wild Side Of Life whilst the folksy Gernudula saw the whole band lined up at the front of the stage for a rendition of the track which surfaced on 1971’s Dog Of Two Heads. It wasn’t all old school though with more recent tracks like Beginning Of The End mixed into the set.
Rossi is a likeable character, mumbling into the microphone between songs, mainly inaudible it has to be said but still performing magically, with some deft guitar work. As I said ‘Rhino’ picked up some of the vocal duties, his bluesy voice working well on tracks such as Whatever You Want. As dusk fell, the band moved to the final tracks of the night with the inevitable Rocking All Over the World closing the set before a double encore of Burning Bridges and Bye Bye Johnny closed an enjoyable evening.
As we left we discussed whether a second viewing of the band in the MIA in December was an option. Whilst the attraction of support REO Speedwagon is obvious to those of us who like a bit of AOR, Quo’s fans are a pretty irritating bunch at times and the thought of being seated amongst them for four hours is probably sufficient to keep my £55 in my pocket. It may not have been Parfitt and Rossi but Quo outside in the summer time was a worthwhile and enjoyable experience.
Status Quo are one of the very few bands that for some inexplicable reason I’ve never seen live. Growing up in the 1970s, I was fully aware of their double denim pomp in the early-mid part of the decade and as farcical as it now seems, back then Quo were a staple part of the rocker’s induction. Albums such as Piledriver, Quo, On The Level and 1980’s Jus Supposin’ along with the fantastic Quo Live were essential listening but for some reason I never got my arse to the live arena to catch the band perform. The opportunity to rectify this and catch the band a mere 20 minutes from home in the splendid setting of Caldiot Castle was snapped up. Inevitably the curse of the old rocker arrived in June when rhythm guitarist and one half of the essential Quo line up Rick Parfitt was hospitalised in Turkey with more heart problems.
Luckily, Parfitt is making a full recovery and the band have had to deal with this issue before with Freddy Edwards, son of Quo bassist ‘Rhino able once more to step into Parfitt’s glistening white daps (as we say in these parts) to ensure the show would go on.
Arriving at around 6.30, the first thing we noticed was how chaotic the initial organisation appeared. Parking the car was relatively straight forward but the arena was pretty crammed as we entered and it was only some common sense applied by a couple of stewards in rearranging barriers that were blocking access that finally got some frustrated members of the audience moving. A disappointingly poor range of beverages meant that cider was the order of the evening with a pricey £4.50 for a 500ml bottle. The usual range of uninspiring catering meant that an opportunity to get some local producers in was wasted. The crowd certainly had the appetite for a booze, with the balmy weather assisting in the consumption and a few early evening casualties were struggling to focus by the time the main support hit the stage.
Now although Quo are ancient, their music, certainly their pre-1982 stuff has always appealed. Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel (6) on the other hand have never floated my boat. Opening with The Beatles Here Comes The Sun Harley and his band delivered 75 minutes of folky bluesy tunes which blurred into one as the show wore on. The horrendous Mr Soft punctuated the consciousness midway through the set, by which time we’d moved to the other side of the stage where as usual there was more space (herd mentality avoidance technique #1). At long last the strains of the awful gurning Come Up And See Me (Make Me Smile), Harley’s biggest hit from 1975 signalled the end of a pretty limp set where more of the crowd seemed intent on necking Carling than watching. Obviously the final song got a huge reaction but for me it was the first time seeing Harley and that was once too much.
Bang on 8.30pm Status Quo (8) arrived on stage and Freddy hit the opening chords to Caroline; those chords always make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. This song is the ideal opener and really gets the blood pumping. Easy to sing along to, fists pumping in the air and encouraging the Gwent Valley commandos finest dad dancing, it was all happening. Front and centre stands Francis Rossi, lead voice and lead guitar. Stick thin, healthy and still bashing it out. Alongside him ‘Rhino’ Edwards, long serving bassist who took over some of the Parfitt vocals during the set whilst Andy Bown, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist remains ever reliable, a member of the band since 1976. Yep, that’s 40 years and he’s not even one of the fantastic four! Keeping time at the rear of the stage, Leon Cave, a mere youngster at 38 (whose drum solo was possibly amongst the most limited I’ve ever seen but hey, these oldies need the breather).
The set list contained all the classics you’d expect, with highlights Roll Over Lay Down and a blistering Down Down. A medley mid-set included Down The Dustpipe and Wild Side Of Life whilst the folksy Gernudula saw the whole band lined up at the front of the stage for a rendition of the track which surfaced on 1971’s Dog Of Two Heads. It wasn’t all old school though with more recent tracks like Beginning Of The End mixed into the set.
Rossi is a likeable character, mumbling into the microphone between songs, mainly inaudible it has to be said but still performing magically, with some deft guitar work. As I said ‘Rhino’ picked up some of the vocal duties, his bluesy voice working well on tracks such as Whatever You Want. As dusk fell, the band moved to the final tracks of the night with the inevitable Rocking All Over the World closing the set before a double encore of Burning Bridges and Bye Bye Johnny closed an enjoyable evening.
As we left we discussed whether a second viewing of the band in the MIA in December was an option. Whilst the attraction of support REO Speedwagon is obvious to those of us who like a bit of AOR, Quo’s fans are a pretty irritating bunch at times and the thought of being seated amongst them for four hours is probably sufficient to keep my £55 in my pocket. It may not have been Parfitt and Rossi but Quo outside in the summer time was a worthwhile and enjoyable experience.
Monday, 8 August 2016
Reviews: Blackfoot, The Dead Daisies, MaidaVale (Reviews By Paul)
Blackfoot: Southern Native (Loud & Proud)
The original Blackfoot line-up which operated in the late 1970s and early 1980s hold a special place for me. One of the few bands from that era whose music I continue to play on a regular basis, the line-up of Rickey Medlocke, Greg T Walker, Charlie Hagrett and Jakson Spires produced some of the greatest Southern Rock of all time. Highway Song Live remains in my top five all-time live albums whilst Marauder, Strikes and Tomcattin’ contain absolutely essential rock tracks. The band released a series of radio friendly and to be blunt not very good releases after 1982 as the line-up fragmented and reshaped numerous times. To be honest, Blackfoot were always a band that only meant something with those four members in place.
Medlocke has been lead guitarist for Lynyrd Skynyrd for many years now but retains rights to the Blackfoot name and Southern Native, partly written and produced by him is the first release under the Blackfoot name for 20 years. A completely new line-up, which has been gigging under the banner since 2012 comprises guitarist and vocalists Tim Rossi and Rick Krasowski, bassist Brian Carpenter and drummer Matt Anastasi. The result? A polished album that disappointingly to these ears could have been delivered by anyone of a thousand other “Southern” sounding outfits. It’s a perfectly listenable release, but fails to deliver that cutting edge, pace or energy which put the original line-up so far apart. This is radio friendly Planet Rock music which stays safe and follows a standard blueprint. Call Of A Hero is ponderous, Everyman swerves between poignant and nauseating whilst the title track is just bland (and the video is dire). Unfortunately, there isn’t a track on this release that could hold a flame to the likes of Gimme Gimme Gimme, Every Man Should Know or Diary Of A Working Man. When the band do get going, on the likes of Whiskey Train and Love This Town then you finally get a touch of the old school but it’s too infrequent. After 20 years, I’d suggest that the ghost of Blackfoot should finally be laid to rest. It’s time to respect the history. 6/10
The Dead Daisies: Make Some Noise (Spitfire Music)
If you want competent safe cock rock which has been done a million times before and you don’t mind brainless, misogynistic lyrics then the third release from the much promoted “supergroup” of hired rock session musicians The Dead Daisies is going to be right up your street. If on the other hand you want some originality in your music then don’t bother even opening the sleeve.
Opener Long Way To Go is an Aerosmith wannabe, the title track is just dire Kiss-lite drivel and the inclusion of two covers, CCR’s Fortunate Son and The Who’s Join Together adds nothing. Okay, the musicianship is reasonable, but you’d expect it from this outfit. Last Time I Saw The Sun has the sleaze of Tyler and Co without the swagger and All The Same is just horrible. Why there is all the fuss about this outfit I have no idea and having seen them live at Steelhouse I am content to remain in the minority who think that The Dead Daisies should remain deceased. 4/10
MaidaVale: Tales Of The Wicked West (The Sign Records)
Heavy blues psychedelia? Well, it’s not unusual these days to be fair with the fantastic Blues Pills, Graveyard, Kadavar and The Vintage Caravan all well-established names of the genre. MaidaVale are another outfit to add to that list with their debut Tales Of The Wicked West an astonishingly mature release. Disappointingly not produced at Maida Vale Studios, the band combine a 1970s feel with a 1990s vibe, the mix of fuzzy guitar, despairing vocals and dirty grunge also adding elements of a maelstrom of influences, Blind Melon and Mother Love Bone to name but two. The band line-up is Linn Johannesson, Sofia Strom, Matilda Roth and Johanna Hansson and they formed in Farosund, Sweden in 2012. The album contains nine tracks, all of them high quality. Meandering melancholic closing track Heaven And Earth, which features some stunningly haunting guitar work and comes in at just under 11 minutes long is the choicest cut on an album which has one foot in the past and the other firmly planted in today. 8/10
The original Blackfoot line-up which operated in the late 1970s and early 1980s hold a special place for me. One of the few bands from that era whose music I continue to play on a regular basis, the line-up of Rickey Medlocke, Greg T Walker, Charlie Hagrett and Jakson Spires produced some of the greatest Southern Rock of all time. Highway Song Live remains in my top five all-time live albums whilst Marauder, Strikes and Tomcattin’ contain absolutely essential rock tracks. The band released a series of radio friendly and to be blunt not very good releases after 1982 as the line-up fragmented and reshaped numerous times. To be honest, Blackfoot were always a band that only meant something with those four members in place.
Medlocke has been lead guitarist for Lynyrd Skynyrd for many years now but retains rights to the Blackfoot name and Southern Native, partly written and produced by him is the first release under the Blackfoot name for 20 years. A completely new line-up, which has been gigging under the banner since 2012 comprises guitarist and vocalists Tim Rossi and Rick Krasowski, bassist Brian Carpenter and drummer Matt Anastasi. The result? A polished album that disappointingly to these ears could have been delivered by anyone of a thousand other “Southern” sounding outfits. It’s a perfectly listenable release, but fails to deliver that cutting edge, pace or energy which put the original line-up so far apart. This is radio friendly Planet Rock music which stays safe and follows a standard blueprint. Call Of A Hero is ponderous, Everyman swerves between poignant and nauseating whilst the title track is just bland (and the video is dire). Unfortunately, there isn’t a track on this release that could hold a flame to the likes of Gimme Gimme Gimme, Every Man Should Know or Diary Of A Working Man. When the band do get going, on the likes of Whiskey Train and Love This Town then you finally get a touch of the old school but it’s too infrequent. After 20 years, I’d suggest that the ghost of Blackfoot should finally be laid to rest. It’s time to respect the history. 6/10
The Dead Daisies: Make Some Noise (Spitfire Music)
If you want competent safe cock rock which has been done a million times before and you don’t mind brainless, misogynistic lyrics then the third release from the much promoted “supergroup” of hired rock session musicians The Dead Daisies is going to be right up your street. If on the other hand you want some originality in your music then don’t bother even opening the sleeve.
Opener Long Way To Go is an Aerosmith wannabe, the title track is just dire Kiss-lite drivel and the inclusion of two covers, CCR’s Fortunate Son and The Who’s Join Together adds nothing. Okay, the musicianship is reasonable, but you’d expect it from this outfit. Last Time I Saw The Sun has the sleaze of Tyler and Co without the swagger and All The Same is just horrible. Why there is all the fuss about this outfit I have no idea and having seen them live at Steelhouse I am content to remain in the minority who think that The Dead Daisies should remain deceased. 4/10
MaidaVale: Tales Of The Wicked West (The Sign Records)
Heavy blues psychedelia? Well, it’s not unusual these days to be fair with the fantastic Blues Pills, Graveyard, Kadavar and The Vintage Caravan all well-established names of the genre. MaidaVale are another outfit to add to that list with their debut Tales Of The Wicked West an astonishingly mature release. Disappointingly not produced at Maida Vale Studios, the band combine a 1970s feel with a 1990s vibe, the mix of fuzzy guitar, despairing vocals and dirty grunge also adding elements of a maelstrom of influences, Blind Melon and Mother Love Bone to name but two. The band line-up is Linn Johannesson, Sofia Strom, Matilda Roth and Johanna Hansson and they formed in Farosund, Sweden in 2012. The album contains nine tracks, all of them high quality. Meandering melancholic closing track Heaven And Earth, which features some stunningly haunting guitar work and comes in at just under 11 minutes long is the choicest cut on an album which has one foot in the past and the other firmly planted in today. 8/10
Reviews: Sinsaenum, Vainaja, Foray Between Ocean [Reviews By Paul]
Sinsaenum: Echoes Of The Tortured (earMusic)
Echoes Of The Tortured is a 21 song debut album from extreme metal outfit Sinsaenum. The band contain a number of iconic members of the metal community including Dragonforce bassist Frédéric Leclercq, who composed all the music and co-wrote the lyrics. Having had these demos since the late 1990s Leclerq eventually founded the band (the name based on the merger of sin and insane) with Loudblast frontman Stéphane Buriez who plays guitar on the album, drummer Joey Jordison, co-vocalists Sean Zatorsky of Dååth and Attila Csihar of Mayhem with bassist Heimoth (Seth) completing the line-up.
It’s a pretty brutal release as you’d expect, with not a love song to be seen. Jordison’s ferocious drumming is as impressive as ever, 110mph throughout whilst the combination of duel vocalists works brilliantly. At times it is just so aggressive you need your seatbelt on and I would not want to put this on the car stereo whilst in a rush on the motorway as I’d lose my licence. Lyrically there are no surprises, with themes of death, Dead Souls, Condemned To Suffer and anti-Christian intent, Excommunicare, Inverted Cross. The album fuses atmospheric interludes with all out extreme metal, the interludes providing some respite between the relentless barrages. For example, the haunting Lullaby allows breath to be regained after Dead Souls and the absolute carnage of Final Curse. Musically it is quite blisteringly good.
If you like extreme metal. If you don’t then what the hell are you doing here? Highlights? Well, the Sepultura tinged Army Of Chaos is immense, Condemned To Suffer merges Vader with Cannibal Corpse and the title track is just plain disgusting. It’s also a grower which gets better with repeated listens. I’m no death metal connoisseur but the demonic vocal delivery of Mayhem’s mouthpiece combine with a true death metal legend in Zatorsky gives the band the cojones. Oh, and the guitar work is superb too. Buy it. Don’t drive to it. That is all. 9/10
Echoes Of The Tortured is a 21 song debut album from extreme metal outfit Sinsaenum. The band contain a number of iconic members of the metal community including Dragonforce bassist Frédéric Leclercq, who composed all the music and co-wrote the lyrics. Having had these demos since the late 1990s Leclerq eventually founded the band (the name based on the merger of sin and insane) with Loudblast frontman Stéphane Buriez who plays guitar on the album, drummer Joey Jordison, co-vocalists Sean Zatorsky of Dååth and Attila Csihar of Mayhem with bassist Heimoth (Seth) completing the line-up.
It’s a pretty brutal release as you’d expect, with not a love song to be seen. Jordison’s ferocious drumming is as impressive as ever, 110mph throughout whilst the combination of duel vocalists works brilliantly. At times it is just so aggressive you need your seatbelt on and I would not want to put this on the car stereo whilst in a rush on the motorway as I’d lose my licence. Lyrically there are no surprises, with themes of death, Dead Souls, Condemned To Suffer and anti-Christian intent, Excommunicare, Inverted Cross. The album fuses atmospheric interludes with all out extreme metal, the interludes providing some respite between the relentless barrages. For example, the haunting Lullaby allows breath to be regained after Dead Souls and the absolute carnage of Final Curse. Musically it is quite blisteringly good.
If you like extreme metal. If you don’t then what the hell are you doing here? Highlights? Well, the Sepultura tinged Army Of Chaos is immense, Condemned To Suffer merges Vader with Cannibal Corpse and the title track is just plain disgusting. It’s also a grower which gets better with repeated listens. I’m no death metal connoisseur but the demonic vocal delivery of Mayhem’s mouthpiece combine with a true death metal legend in Zatorsky gives the band the cojones. Oh, and the guitar work is superb too. Buy it. Don’t drive to it. That is all. 9/10
Vainaja: Verenvalaja (Svart Records)
Foray Between Ocean: Depression Neverending (Prime Eon Media Ltd)
Greek metal is becoming a far more regular feature these days and if you like atmospheric symphonic death metal then Foray Between Ocean’s debut release Depression Neverending will be to your tastes. At nearly an hour in length this is good value with twelve tracks that pound relentlessly at you. With a decent production and well-constructed songs, the band mix clean and death vocals well with the traditional blast beats, driving guitars and layered keyboards all in the mix. My immediate comparison was with India’s premier metal outfit Demonic Resurrection, who provide a similar sound. Lost Sky is a complex number, combine light and shade whilst Castaway In Disappointment goes full bore before allowing the band to express themselves a little more outside of the battering ram attack. John Toussas’s vocals are solid with the death growls and clean vocals working well. Themis Ioannau’s guitar work is excellent. The keyboard work of Dion Chistodonlatos really adds to the compositions, simple yet also complex.
In a very competitive field, Foray Between Ocean have served up a high quality release. Tracks such as My Orient and The End Of My Time demonstrate that they can hold their own in the balls out brutality stakes although whether they can stand out ahead of the crowd is difficult to predict and if I have one criticism it’s that all the tracks do tend to merge. If you like your metal full of atmospheric keyboards, blasting drumming and intricate guitar work then this is worth a listen. 7/10
Two years ago I was captivated by the atmospheric death doom of Finnish three piece Vainaja and their debut release Kadotetut; a sinister and haunting album based on a folklore tale of an evil cult. Two years have passed but the Finns are back with Verenualja or Blood Caster, six tracks of the most crushing and atmospheric death doom which focus on the first six chapters of a tome, written by the mysterious figure Wilhelm Waenaa, a leading figure in the cult upon which Kadotetut was based.
As with the debut release, the Finns remain stunningly heavy, with massive riffs, ominous vocals and now with the addition of some clean lyrics which enhance and add to the horrific tales. Opener Risti sets the scene before the pace increases with the brutal Sielu, a faster opening soon slows to the more familiar brooding death growl of bassist and vocalist Wilhelm; shades of Emperor and Dark Funeral coming to the fore. The track develops into a full blown monster with pounding drums and a cascade of guttural fretwork from Kristian. However, it is the unsettling vocals of Wilhelm that really unnerve you.
Clocking in at 44 minutes and consisting of a mere six tracks, you quickly realise that these aren’t short three-minute throwaway tracks and come the middle of the album, we hit the ten-minute centrepiece, the terrifying Usua. This brooding piece combines the most frightening death vocals with baleful clean vocals of guest Jarkko Nikkila, incredibly powerful riffs and Aukusti’s percussion fitting perfectly. The song slows halfway through, the addition of strings,0horns and the sound of thunder, flame and just the vocal of Wilhelm echoing some of Tom G Warrior’s most haunting work. This piece is the most powerful on the album and builds to an eerie conclusion with the use of strings and the crows echoing in the background.
The second half of the album continues with chapters 4, 5 and 6 of the book. Valaja maintains the intensity, evil riffs and dark lyrics flowing. Chapter 5, Kultti continues in the same vein, throbbing bass lines crash against foreboding guitar like waves against the rocks whilst Wilhelm’s vocals never cease to frighten with the guttural delivery. Album closer, the seven minute Kehto begins slowly and calmly, tension building as the flow of deathly vocals commences. It doesn’t pick up much in pace but continues to build in sheer weight with merciless doom laden riffs. The use of effects, synths and echoes really adds to the overall imagery with the contrast between Wilhelm’s portentous death vocal and Nikkila’s clean delivery just stunning. Whilst the influences of the band are plain throughout, Verenvalaja has built on their debut and has been worth the wait. With another 11 chapters still to be explored, the Vainaja journey has a good way to go. 10/10
As with the debut release, the Finns remain stunningly heavy, with massive riffs, ominous vocals and now with the addition of some clean lyrics which enhance and add to the horrific tales. Opener Risti sets the scene before the pace increases with the brutal Sielu, a faster opening soon slows to the more familiar brooding death growl of bassist and vocalist Wilhelm; shades of Emperor and Dark Funeral coming to the fore. The track develops into a full blown monster with pounding drums and a cascade of guttural fretwork from Kristian. However, it is the unsettling vocals of Wilhelm that really unnerve you.
Clocking in at 44 minutes and consisting of a mere six tracks, you quickly realise that these aren’t short three-minute throwaway tracks and come the middle of the album, we hit the ten-minute centrepiece, the terrifying Usua. This brooding piece combines the most frightening death vocals with baleful clean vocals of guest Jarkko Nikkila, incredibly powerful riffs and Aukusti’s percussion fitting perfectly. The song slows halfway through, the addition of strings,0horns and the sound of thunder, flame and just the vocal of Wilhelm echoing some of Tom G Warrior’s most haunting work. This piece is the most powerful on the album and builds to an eerie conclusion with the use of strings and the crows echoing in the background.
The second half of the album continues with chapters 4, 5 and 6 of the book. Valaja maintains the intensity, evil riffs and dark lyrics flowing. Chapter 5, Kultti continues in the same vein, throbbing bass lines crash against foreboding guitar like waves against the rocks whilst Wilhelm’s vocals never cease to frighten with the guttural delivery. Album closer, the seven minute Kehto begins slowly and calmly, tension building as the flow of deathly vocals commences. It doesn’t pick up much in pace but continues to build in sheer weight with merciless doom laden riffs. The use of effects, synths and echoes really adds to the overall imagery with the contrast between Wilhelm’s portentous death vocal and Nikkila’s clean delivery just stunning. Whilst the influences of the band are plain throughout, Verenvalaja has built on their debut and has been worth the wait. With another 11 chapters still to be explored, the Vainaja journey has a good way to go. 10/10
Foray Between Ocean: Depression Neverending (Prime Eon Media Ltd)
Greek metal is becoming a far more regular feature these days and if you like atmospheric symphonic death metal then Foray Between Ocean’s debut release Depression Neverending will be to your tastes. At nearly an hour in length this is good value with twelve tracks that pound relentlessly at you. With a decent production and well-constructed songs, the band mix clean and death vocals well with the traditional blast beats, driving guitars and layered keyboards all in the mix. My immediate comparison was with India’s premier metal outfit Demonic Resurrection, who provide a similar sound. Lost Sky is a complex number, combine light and shade whilst Castaway In Disappointment goes full bore before allowing the band to express themselves a little more outside of the battering ram attack. John Toussas’s vocals are solid with the death growls and clean vocals working well. Themis Ioannau’s guitar work is excellent. The keyboard work of Dion Chistodonlatos really adds to the compositions, simple yet also complex.
In a very competitive field, Foray Between Ocean have served up a high quality release. Tracks such as My Orient and The End Of My Time demonstrate that they can hold their own in the balls out brutality stakes although whether they can stand out ahead of the crowd is difficult to predict and if I have one criticism it’s that all the tracks do tend to merge. If you like your metal full of atmospheric keyboards, blasting drumming and intricate guitar work then this is worth a listen. 7/10
Friday, 5 August 2016
Reviews: Tarja, Skillet, Bloody Hammers
Tarja: The Shadow Self (earMusic)
I reviewed the accompanying album to this The Brightest Void earlier this year and said that the odds-n-sods collection hinted at what we could expect on this the former Nightwish singer's fifth (if you count it's precursor) hard-rock/metal album (she also has two classical albums to her name). Well finally the album has dropped and it's probably Tarja's most diverse offering to date, the lady herself said that she felt transformed by this record going through as she says "some self discovery in recent years" you can hear it on this record it's a much more confident, assured piece than some of her sometimes hit-and-miss earlier material.
There is a myriad of styles present on this record the opening salvo of Innocence is led by some impressive piano playing it's one of the many classically influenced operatic pieces on this record where Tarja shows here impressive vocal range, it has metallic guitar sound that sounds like her previous employers in it's baroque nature, Love To Hate and Diva are both overwrought and dramatic with Diva having a vaudeville nature of a Broadway performance due to it's theatrical lyrics and Lloyd Webber-like soaring orchestra's.
With the classical moments dealt with we get the The Living End which is more of a Celtic/Folk style ballad, some electronic synths on the paranoid Eagle Eye, while Demons In You is the album's heaviest effort with Tarja backed by Arch Enemy frontwoman Alissa White-Gluz's barking harsh vocals. I must say The Shadow Self is a little bit of a let down most of the songs are mid/slow paced ballads and the cover of Muse's Supremacy is rubbish if I'm brutally honest, it does strike me that some of the best songs from this album were on the precursor EP, The Shadow Self is a confident as I've said it's just a bit tame. 6/10
Skillet: Unleashed (Atlantic)
Christian Rock band Skillet are back with their 10th(!) album of modern alt-metal and this time they are taking no prisoners, it's an aggressive effort with the opening two songs, Feel Invincible and Back From The Dead having big fist pumping choruses and high energy rhythms kicking the album off strongly. Defined by their use of keys from Kory Cooper who is the wife of frontman/bassist John, his huskier tones are complimented by the saccharine treated female vocals of drummer Jen Ledger making for powerful vocal harmonies which is backed up by strong, intense musical backing, special kudos to lead guitarist Seth Morrison who shoots fireworks with his axe. The pace slows on Stars is a mid paced key led inspirational track.
Skillet can be put in the same bracket as Shinedown Breaking Benjamin with a modern alt-rock sound full of hook-laden songs. This record is diverse with its sound with driving processed beats (Famous) and harder edged metal anthems (industrial stomp of Out Of Hell) sitting next to epic emotive hard rock (I Want To Live which is a great duet between the two vocalists) and huge pop choruses. I will admit I'm not usually a fan of bands tagged with the Christian Rock label, due in part to Stryper but Skillet are not overly preachy, they stick to singing about feeling inclusion and unity, Lions is the only song with overtly Christian overtones but it's done with so much passion and actually is such a good song that I can over look it. Ten albums in, world tours everywhere and no sign of settling down, this record is an outstanding demonstration of hard hitting modern alternative metal. 8/10
Bloody Hammers: Lovely Sort Of Death (Napalm)
Doom-laden Goth rockers Bloody Hammers return with their fourth record and once again they bring doom, gloom and heartache along with a heaps of kitsch, the occult and a schlock horror influence. Bloody Hammer's have always sounded like lost soundtrack to a Hammer Horror loaded up on mind-expanding drugs and filled with murderous intent. Even the title of the album refers to a 1967 LSD movie also called The Trip, featuring Peter Fonda, Bruce Dern and Dennis Hopper. (Even the title itself is an acronym of the third-eye opening helpers).
So much like Brits Electric Wizard you know these Charlotte, NC natives aren't messing around with the occult, horror and psychedelic drug related imagery they create, it flows through their music as they worship heavily at the altar of Sabbath, Bauhaus and even H.I.M in a similar groove to contemporaries Purson, Ghost and Uncle Acid. The band is the brainchild of frontman/bassist Anders Manga whose booming voice and bass are two of the loudest elements of the record while the organs of wife Devallia rapidly switch from delightful to imposing in a moment adding the texture to the doom-Goth riffs Anders brings along with guitarist Bill Fischer all anchored by Doza Mendoza's percussion.
This fourth record is Bloody Hammers Gothiest album so far moving away from the heavier early records adding more keys and atmospherics, Anders vocals in particular have improved tenfold, they are more varied and dramatic than before. Bloodletting On The Kiss has Depeche Mode vibe to it with lots of sexy synths cutting through the malaise, Lights Come Alive is airy and percussive a little like the darker side to U2, The Reaper Comes brings an oppressive and haunting feel but brings the rock back. Messalina comes in at a heavier prospect with fuzzy guitars and starts the louder part of the record as Stoke The Fire kicks off with stomping glam Goth rich with dual vocals. It's left for the final part of the record for the doom to lumber in with Ether and Shadow Out Of Time both creeping towards the albums climax. Lovely Sort Of Death is a strong, more considered piece that owes a lot to the 3 years it's taken to make 8/10
I reviewed the accompanying album to this The Brightest Void earlier this year and said that the odds-n-sods collection hinted at what we could expect on this the former Nightwish singer's fifth (if you count it's precursor) hard-rock/metal album (she also has two classical albums to her name). Well finally the album has dropped and it's probably Tarja's most diverse offering to date, the lady herself said that she felt transformed by this record going through as she says "some self discovery in recent years" you can hear it on this record it's a much more confident, assured piece than some of her sometimes hit-and-miss earlier material.
There is a myriad of styles present on this record the opening salvo of Innocence is led by some impressive piano playing it's one of the many classically influenced operatic pieces on this record where Tarja shows here impressive vocal range, it has metallic guitar sound that sounds like her previous employers in it's baroque nature, Love To Hate and Diva are both overwrought and dramatic with Diva having a vaudeville nature of a Broadway performance due to it's theatrical lyrics and Lloyd Webber-like soaring orchestra's.
With the classical moments dealt with we get the The Living End which is more of a Celtic/Folk style ballad, some electronic synths on the paranoid Eagle Eye, while Demons In You is the album's heaviest effort with Tarja backed by Arch Enemy frontwoman Alissa White-Gluz's barking harsh vocals. I must say The Shadow Self is a little bit of a let down most of the songs are mid/slow paced ballads and the cover of Muse's Supremacy is rubbish if I'm brutally honest, it does strike me that some of the best songs from this album were on the precursor EP, The Shadow Self is a confident as I've said it's just a bit tame. 6/10
Skillet: Unleashed (Atlantic)
Christian Rock band Skillet are back with their 10th(!) album of modern alt-metal and this time they are taking no prisoners, it's an aggressive effort with the opening two songs, Feel Invincible and Back From The Dead having big fist pumping choruses and high energy rhythms kicking the album off strongly. Defined by their use of keys from Kory Cooper who is the wife of frontman/bassist John, his huskier tones are complimented by the saccharine treated female vocals of drummer Jen Ledger making for powerful vocal harmonies which is backed up by strong, intense musical backing, special kudos to lead guitarist Seth Morrison who shoots fireworks with his axe. The pace slows on Stars is a mid paced key led inspirational track.
Skillet can be put in the same bracket as Shinedown Breaking Benjamin with a modern alt-rock sound full of hook-laden songs. This record is diverse with its sound with driving processed beats (Famous) and harder edged metal anthems (industrial stomp of Out Of Hell) sitting next to epic emotive hard rock (I Want To Live which is a great duet between the two vocalists) and huge pop choruses. I will admit I'm not usually a fan of bands tagged with the Christian Rock label, due in part to Stryper but Skillet are not overly preachy, they stick to singing about feeling inclusion and unity, Lions is the only song with overtly Christian overtones but it's done with so much passion and actually is such a good song that I can over look it. Ten albums in, world tours everywhere and no sign of settling down, this record is an outstanding demonstration of hard hitting modern alternative metal. 8/10
Bloody Hammers: Lovely Sort Of Death (Napalm)
Doom-laden Goth rockers Bloody Hammers return with their fourth record and once again they bring doom, gloom and heartache along with a heaps of kitsch, the occult and a schlock horror influence. Bloody Hammer's have always sounded like lost soundtrack to a Hammer Horror loaded up on mind-expanding drugs and filled with murderous intent. Even the title of the album refers to a 1967 LSD movie also called The Trip, featuring Peter Fonda, Bruce Dern and Dennis Hopper. (Even the title itself is an acronym of the third-eye opening helpers).
So much like Brits Electric Wizard you know these Charlotte, NC natives aren't messing around with the occult, horror and psychedelic drug related imagery they create, it flows through their music as they worship heavily at the altar of Sabbath, Bauhaus and even H.I.M in a similar groove to contemporaries Purson, Ghost and Uncle Acid. The band is the brainchild of frontman/bassist Anders Manga whose booming voice and bass are two of the loudest elements of the record while the organs of wife Devallia rapidly switch from delightful to imposing in a moment adding the texture to the doom-Goth riffs Anders brings along with guitarist Bill Fischer all anchored by Doza Mendoza's percussion.
This fourth record is Bloody Hammers Gothiest album so far moving away from the heavier early records adding more keys and atmospherics, Anders vocals in particular have improved tenfold, they are more varied and dramatic than before. Bloodletting On The Kiss has Depeche Mode vibe to it with lots of sexy synths cutting through the malaise, Lights Come Alive is airy and percussive a little like the darker side to U2, The Reaper Comes brings an oppressive and haunting feel but brings the rock back. Messalina comes in at a heavier prospect with fuzzy guitars and starts the louder part of the record as Stoke The Fire kicks off with stomping glam Goth rich with dual vocals. It's left for the final part of the record for the doom to lumber in with Ether and Shadow Out Of Time both creeping towards the albums climax. Lovely Sort Of Death is a strong, more considered piece that owes a lot to the 3 years it's taken to make 8/10
Thursday, 4 August 2016
Reviews: Black Crown Initiate, Lacertilia, Schemata Theory
Black Crown Initiate: Selves We Cannot Forgive (eOne)
Every once in while a band comes along and challenges you musically, Pennsylvania natives Black Crown Initiate are one such band, the breadth of musical ability on this record is simply breathtaking it would be a disservice to the band to try and pigeonhole them as they have so many little nuances and changes of pace, time and genre that I can really only describe them as powerful, progressive even prophetic modern metal. The band are intensely clever, their lyrics full of philosophical questions, spiritual/moral messages and their music the counterpoint of crushingly heavy music they play that brings in djent influences on the opening track For Red Chord with palm-muted guitars at the forefront of the sound, however like I said the band quickly change tact throughout never staying to long in one style giving them the progressive extremity of Opeth but the accessible edge of Metallica.
Much of this is due their use of dual vocals with guitarist/vocalist Andy Thomas having the clean soaring vocals that perfectly counteract the ripped from hell roars of James Dorton, both vocalists work in glorious tandem having a sound that is good and evil and bolsters the sometimes overly complicated musical backing, yes the band are all supreme musicians, the drumming of Jesse Beahler of particular note due to it's unrelenting ferocity and Thomas and bassist Nick Shaw are both key to the bands heavy sound. Now not everything is perfect on this second effort, there does seem to be a push to be a bit too progressive and at times introspective on this record meaning that it does lack the immediacy and general sense of aggression it's predecessor had but also shows that the band are not keen to replay former victories but change the formula so to speak. For the most part they succeed but there are a few disjointed elements about the record that will jump out at you, still for a young band there is a lot of promise here that will hopefully mature by the time of their third record. 8/10
Lacertilia: We're Already Inside Your Mind (Red Sun Sounds)
Back in 2015 Welsh stoner wizards Lacertilia unleashed their call to arms Crashing Into The Future the five track EP was a definitive statement of intent capturing the raw, primal fury of the band's live show, bringing together some of their live stables. Of course with any heavy touring band in the course of a year they create more songs to fill a set and as such they have now released their debut record, yet again it's a psychedelic infused metal trip, with big stoner riffs and more transient sounds all creating a sonic kaleidoscope. With the tabla led intro we dive straight into trippy heaviness with The Wired And The Weird which sounds like early period Orange Goblin filled with groove from Tom's bass and Carl's drums in the percussive middle section as Mike and Lucas' guitars bring the punkier riffs before some harmonics in the aforementioned middle section, with a progressive edge to it the opening song gives you an indicator of what to expect on the rest of the album it's progressive, psych filled mayhem with Fry commanding the thundering insanity with his excellent (Ben Ward-like) pipes and hallucinogenic lyrics.
Tangled Up is a shorter more direct track sounding a bit like a a heavy metal version of The Doors, while Ride With Us is a slithering primal sludge riff that builds up into an explosive climax. The fusion of rock n roll, psych, stoner, doom and cosmic space rock is handled very well with enough nods to their influences for the oldies to acknowledge with Journey To Agartha tripping on Hawkwind's vibe, a Sabbath doom mongering hammering comes on Earth (which is very ironic if you know your rock history) which features some intense swirling guitar playing, but there is also enough modernity to invigorate the most retro of sounds see the esoteric, almost ethereal Round And Round which builds with touches of Tool into one of the album's best songs. The sound that was Crashing Into The Future seems more refined here, more definitive, there is craft here it's a spellbinding, mesmerizing, mind warping, head banging debut from the Cosmic Boyos! 9/10
Schemata Theory: Networks EP (ABAF Records)
Modern metal five piece Schemata Theory hail from Reading and they bring metric fucktonnes of state-of-the-art metal full of palm muted riffs, crunching heavy groove and distinct djent-like sound. The band also have one of my pet hates, dual vocalists, now I don't mean singer and singer/guitarist but two (male) singers both fronting the band, Scar Symmetry have always done this I've never seen the need for it as for me it does detract from the music. However that said I may have to eat my hat and admit that Schemata Theory use two vocalists to great effect, Myles Dyer has some seriously low roars and barks conjuring evil with every grunt, but he also has a clean vocal that sounds a lot like Enter Shikari's Rou Reynolds this separates his style from the soaring clean only vocals of Luke Wright.
Both vocalists are at their most unified on final track Horror Show which is the strongest song on the record, no wonder why it was picked up by BBC Radio 1, it's a blinder of a song the impeccable mix of melody and discord with dual guitar harmonies and persistent drumming, it's a great climax, but that's not to write off the other two tracks on this EP as they are both quality pieces of work to giving a hint of what Schemata Theory can do both live and when they come around releasing their second full length record. 7/10
Every once in while a band comes along and challenges you musically, Pennsylvania natives Black Crown Initiate are one such band, the breadth of musical ability on this record is simply breathtaking it would be a disservice to the band to try and pigeonhole them as they have so many little nuances and changes of pace, time and genre that I can really only describe them as powerful, progressive even prophetic modern metal. The band are intensely clever, their lyrics full of philosophical questions, spiritual/moral messages and their music the counterpoint of crushingly heavy music they play that brings in djent influences on the opening track For Red Chord with palm-muted guitars at the forefront of the sound, however like I said the band quickly change tact throughout never staying to long in one style giving them the progressive extremity of Opeth but the accessible edge of Metallica.
Much of this is due their use of dual vocals with guitarist/vocalist Andy Thomas having the clean soaring vocals that perfectly counteract the ripped from hell roars of James Dorton, both vocalists work in glorious tandem having a sound that is good and evil and bolsters the sometimes overly complicated musical backing, yes the band are all supreme musicians, the drumming of Jesse Beahler of particular note due to it's unrelenting ferocity and Thomas and bassist Nick Shaw are both key to the bands heavy sound. Now not everything is perfect on this second effort, there does seem to be a push to be a bit too progressive and at times introspective on this record meaning that it does lack the immediacy and general sense of aggression it's predecessor had but also shows that the band are not keen to replay former victories but change the formula so to speak. For the most part they succeed but there are a few disjointed elements about the record that will jump out at you, still for a young band there is a lot of promise here that will hopefully mature by the time of their third record. 8/10
Lacertilia: We're Already Inside Your Mind (Red Sun Sounds)
Back in 2015 Welsh stoner wizards Lacertilia unleashed their call to arms Crashing Into The Future the five track EP was a definitive statement of intent capturing the raw, primal fury of the band's live show, bringing together some of their live stables. Of course with any heavy touring band in the course of a year they create more songs to fill a set and as such they have now released their debut record, yet again it's a psychedelic infused metal trip, with big stoner riffs and more transient sounds all creating a sonic kaleidoscope. With the tabla led intro we dive straight into trippy heaviness with The Wired And The Weird which sounds like early period Orange Goblin filled with groove from Tom's bass and Carl's drums in the percussive middle section as Mike and Lucas' guitars bring the punkier riffs before some harmonics in the aforementioned middle section, with a progressive edge to it the opening song gives you an indicator of what to expect on the rest of the album it's progressive, psych filled mayhem with Fry commanding the thundering insanity with his excellent (Ben Ward-like) pipes and hallucinogenic lyrics.
Tangled Up is a shorter more direct track sounding a bit like a a heavy metal version of The Doors, while Ride With Us is a slithering primal sludge riff that builds up into an explosive climax. The fusion of rock n roll, psych, stoner, doom and cosmic space rock is handled very well with enough nods to their influences for the oldies to acknowledge with Journey To Agartha tripping on Hawkwind's vibe, a Sabbath doom mongering hammering comes on Earth (which is very ironic if you know your rock history) which features some intense swirling guitar playing, but there is also enough modernity to invigorate the most retro of sounds see the esoteric, almost ethereal Round And Round which builds with touches of Tool into one of the album's best songs. The sound that was Crashing Into The Future seems more refined here, more definitive, there is craft here it's a spellbinding, mesmerizing, mind warping, head banging debut from the Cosmic Boyos! 9/10
Schemata Theory: Networks EP (ABAF Records)
Modern metal five piece Schemata Theory hail from Reading and they bring metric fucktonnes of state-of-the-art metal full of palm muted riffs, crunching heavy groove and distinct djent-like sound. The band also have one of my pet hates, dual vocalists, now I don't mean singer and singer/guitarist but two (male) singers both fronting the band, Scar Symmetry have always done this I've never seen the need for it as for me it does detract from the music. However that said I may have to eat my hat and admit that Schemata Theory use two vocalists to great effect, Myles Dyer has some seriously low roars and barks conjuring evil with every grunt, but he also has a clean vocal that sounds a lot like Enter Shikari's Rou Reynolds this separates his style from the soaring clean only vocals of Luke Wright.
Both vocalists are at their most unified on final track Horror Show which is the strongest song on the record, no wonder why it was picked up by BBC Radio 1, it's a blinder of a song the impeccable mix of melody and discord with dual guitar harmonies and persistent drumming, it's a great climax, but that's not to write off the other two tracks on this EP as they are both quality pieces of work to giving a hint of what Schemata Theory can do both live and when they come around releasing their second full length record. 7/10
Wednesday, 3 August 2016
Reviews: Fates Warning, Ghoul, The Devil's Music
Fates Warning: Theories Of Flight (InsideOut) [Review By Paul]
Having stuck to their path since formation in 1982, progressive metallers Fates Warning’s 12th album Theories Of Flight is a real grower of an album which is crammed full of technical quality, light and shade and damn heavy in places too. The Americans have lived in the shadow of the behemoth that is Dream Theater throughout their career, their early power metal gaining attention across the pond in Europe but it was always their big brothers who gained the spotlight as the progressive champions. This is apparently the first album for 12 years that has been recorded as a four piece with long time guitarist credited with only two solos on From The Rooftops and White Flag.
For a four piece Fates Warning make a handsome sound. It took a few listens to get fully engaged but it was worth the effort. Two lengthy ten minute plus tracks, The Light and Shade Of Things and The Ghosts Of Home nestle comfortably alongside much shorter songs which demonstrate the technical prowess of the band whilst retaining enough hooks and riffage to pique interest from across the metal fanbase. Opener From The Rooftops ebbs and flows whilst Seven Stars and SOS contain elements of power metal, AOR and even a bit of thrash as well as huge servings of the progressive style the band are so well known for.
Long serving vocalist Ray Adler’s superb vocals are crisp and clean aided by the excellent production. White Flag is a stunner, with solos form Aresti and Mike Abdow adding to the powerful sound. The engine room of Bobby Jarzombek’s double bass drumming and Joey Vera (bass) provide a solid foundation throughout, allowing Jim Matheos’ quite exceptional guitar work to take centre stage with his more delicate work to be found on the title track which brings the album to a close. I’d have to say that this album gets better on every listen. If you like your technical progressive metal, it’s well worth an hour of your time. 9/10
Ghoul: Dungeon Bastards (Tankcrimes Records)
Coming from Creepsylvania in Romania Digestor, Cremator, Fermenter and Dissector are a four piece death/thrash/grindcore band that have a morbid sense of humour, with a diverse set of characters that appear on all of their records by way of their songs, all of the records revolve around their home of Creepsylvania and the 'adventures' horror stories about the four masked mutants that make up the band. This of course if all bollocks (the band are from Oakland California) but their GWAR-esque backstory and live appearance (Jason Voorhees style blood drenched sacks) are all part of their impact and mean that they are little more interesting to investigate than your average thrash/death metal band.
When faced with an album of what is a very visual band the songs have to match the performance and due to the band's penchant for light-speed riffs, crunching thrash breakdowns and a three way vocal delivery that move between screams, guttural roars and thrash gang vocals the tracks on this record do the visuals justice. Imagine a mix of Death, Napalm Death and Venom tracks played by a band with the reckless abandon of Municipal Waste then you get a record that at 34 minutes is pure old school Californian thrash/death metal a maelstrom of shredding guitars and blast-beats. Dungeon Bastards and it's creators don't claim to be big or clever, but this record and the band themselves clearly don't give a shit they just plug in and cause chaos. 8/10
The Devil’s Music: The Devil’s Music (Coffee Jingle Records) [Review By Paul]
Devilment, the outfit who ended up with Cradle Of Filth’s Dani Filth as frontman was actually a band founded by Daniel J Finch. When Finch left Devilment in late 2014 he had a large number of songs already written for the next release. So what to do? Go ahead and produce them on an album with a variety of vocalists from across the metal underground. The result is a damn heavy album which offers diversity and intensity with dark lyrical themes and styles from nu-metal to old school balls out heavy metal with a dash of the darkness of CoF as well. Crushing aggression on Can You Hear Me with Collapse The Sky’s Lee Margaillan contrasts with the Korn influenced Break Through (Ian Messenger of Scream Serenity delivering a fine Jonathan Davies-esque performance) whilst Phoenix moves towards a heavy fusion of Linkin Park and Faith No More with a Mike Shinoda/Mike Patton provided by Scream Serenity's Jordan Fennell. It’s eclectic stuff and really interesting to boot. Closer Hate moves to the industrial feel of Rammstein/Nine Inch Nails to complete a really fine album that deserves to get some real exposure. 8/10
Having stuck to their path since formation in 1982, progressive metallers Fates Warning’s 12th album Theories Of Flight is a real grower of an album which is crammed full of technical quality, light and shade and damn heavy in places too. The Americans have lived in the shadow of the behemoth that is Dream Theater throughout their career, their early power metal gaining attention across the pond in Europe but it was always their big brothers who gained the spotlight as the progressive champions. This is apparently the first album for 12 years that has been recorded as a four piece with long time guitarist credited with only two solos on From The Rooftops and White Flag.
For a four piece Fates Warning make a handsome sound. It took a few listens to get fully engaged but it was worth the effort. Two lengthy ten minute plus tracks, The Light and Shade Of Things and The Ghosts Of Home nestle comfortably alongside much shorter songs which demonstrate the technical prowess of the band whilst retaining enough hooks and riffage to pique interest from across the metal fanbase. Opener From The Rooftops ebbs and flows whilst Seven Stars and SOS contain elements of power metal, AOR and even a bit of thrash as well as huge servings of the progressive style the band are so well known for.
Long serving vocalist Ray Adler’s superb vocals are crisp and clean aided by the excellent production. White Flag is a stunner, with solos form Aresti and Mike Abdow adding to the powerful sound. The engine room of Bobby Jarzombek’s double bass drumming and Joey Vera (bass) provide a solid foundation throughout, allowing Jim Matheos’ quite exceptional guitar work to take centre stage with his more delicate work to be found on the title track which brings the album to a close. I’d have to say that this album gets better on every listen. If you like your technical progressive metal, it’s well worth an hour of your time. 9/10
Ghoul: Dungeon Bastards (Tankcrimes Records)
Coming from Creepsylvania in Romania Digestor, Cremator, Fermenter and Dissector are a four piece death/thrash/grindcore band that have a morbid sense of humour, with a diverse set of characters that appear on all of their records by way of their songs, all of the records revolve around their home of Creepsylvania and the 'adventures' horror stories about the four masked mutants that make up the band. This of course if all bollocks (the band are from Oakland California) but their GWAR-esque backstory and live appearance (Jason Voorhees style blood drenched sacks) are all part of their impact and mean that they are little more interesting to investigate than your average thrash/death metal band.
When faced with an album of what is a very visual band the songs have to match the performance and due to the band's penchant for light-speed riffs, crunching thrash breakdowns and a three way vocal delivery that move between screams, guttural roars and thrash gang vocals the tracks on this record do the visuals justice. Imagine a mix of Death, Napalm Death and Venom tracks played by a band with the reckless abandon of Municipal Waste then you get a record that at 34 minutes is pure old school Californian thrash/death metal a maelstrom of shredding guitars and blast-beats. Dungeon Bastards and it's creators don't claim to be big or clever, but this record and the band themselves clearly don't give a shit they just plug in and cause chaos. 8/10
The Devil’s Music: The Devil’s Music (Coffee Jingle Records) [Review By Paul]
Devilment, the outfit who ended up with Cradle Of Filth’s Dani Filth as frontman was actually a band founded by Daniel J Finch. When Finch left Devilment in late 2014 he had a large number of songs already written for the next release. So what to do? Go ahead and produce them on an album with a variety of vocalists from across the metal underground. The result is a damn heavy album which offers diversity and intensity with dark lyrical themes and styles from nu-metal to old school balls out heavy metal with a dash of the darkness of CoF as well. Crushing aggression on Can You Hear Me with Collapse The Sky’s Lee Margaillan contrasts with the Korn influenced Break Through (Ian Messenger of Scream Serenity delivering a fine Jonathan Davies-esque performance) whilst Phoenix moves towards a heavy fusion of Linkin Park and Faith No More with a Mike Shinoda/Mike Patton provided by Scream Serenity's Jordan Fennell. It’s eclectic stuff and really interesting to boot. Closer Hate moves to the industrial feel of Rammstein/Nine Inch Nails to complete a really fine album that deserves to get some real exposure. 8/10
Tuesday, 2 August 2016
A View From The Back Of The Room: Frost*
Frost* - Thekla, Bristol
Oh my how I had been waiting for this, since their debut record Milliontown I've been a big Frost*, however due to the bands nature I haven't seen them live, they themselves say "They have won no awards, have a prodigiously slow work rate and have split up twice." Happily they are back together and on the back of their third record, they set out on UK tour so I made my way to the boat in Bristol for what promised to be a very fun night of progressive music.
Many of you may not know Frost* so let me enlighten you a little the band is the project of keyboardist/vocalist Jem Godfrey who earns his crust writing pop songs (for Atomic Kitten, Ronan Keating, Blue and that guy from X Factor) but has a love of classic British Prog rock, so he set about writing what he loved and since then the band have become their most accomplished incarnation since the start of the band. Along with Godfrey he has Craig Blundell (Steven Wilson) on drums, Nathan King (Level 42) on bass and long term member John Mitchell (It Bites, Arena, Kino & Lonely Robot) so with a cavalcade of talent on stage it meant that there was small a but heavily invested crowd for the gig. Going into the venue it was time for a beer and a peruse of the merch table which not only had every piece of merch imaginable there was also shortbread in the shape of the bands trademark asterisk. (Bonus points acquired here)
Twats In Hats/Twats With Bats
Oh my how I had been waiting for this, since their debut record Milliontown I've been a big Frost*, however due to the bands nature I haven't seen them live, they themselves say "They have won no awards, have a prodigiously slow work rate and have split up twice." Happily they are back together and on the back of their third record, they set out on UK tour so I made my way to the boat in Bristol for what promised to be a very fun night of progressive music.
Many of you may not know Frost* so let me enlighten you a little the band is the project of keyboardist/vocalist Jem Godfrey who earns his crust writing pop songs (for Atomic Kitten, Ronan Keating, Blue and that guy from X Factor) but has a love of classic British Prog rock, so he set about writing what he loved and since then the band have become their most accomplished incarnation since the start of the band. Along with Godfrey he has Craig Blundell (Steven Wilson) on drums, Nathan King (Level 42) on bass and long term member John Mitchell (It Bites, Arena, Kino & Lonely Robot) so with a cavalcade of talent on stage it meant that there was small a but heavily invested crowd for the gig. Going into the venue it was time for a beer and a peruse of the merch table which not only had every piece of merch imaginable there was also shortbread in the shape of the bands trademark asterisk. (Bonus points acquired here)
Twats In Hats/Twats With Bats
This was a prog gig so obviously it was guaranteed to be out of the ordinary and in true prog style Frost* were also the supporting act, well John Mitchell & Jem Godfrey more accurately doing a set made up of songs from their other projects, some lesser known Frost* tracks along with a lot of improv and very little rehearsal (apparently). With just Jem on keys and John on guitars and both sharing vocal duties it was great to see this superior musicians in a more stripped back environment playing everything a bit loose. The few times they have been in this collaboration they wear top hats and use the name Twats In Hats, but due to the lack of hats they hung bats from the mics and became Twats With Bats, much amusements was abound during the set with both men letting everyone into their irreverent friendship. With two Kino tracks bookending the set Letting Go and Loser's Day Parade it was brief tour through the two men's careers with The Forget You Song and Lights Out from the Frost* back-catalogue along with a simply stunning rendition of Tall Ships from Mitchell's tenure with It Bites. These latter tracks were worth price of admission alone and it was great to see the two men having fun and joking about the headline bands upcoming three hour set (I'd watch it),
Frost*
With so much revelry from the support the main set became a bit more po-faced with all the men totally serious about the musical endeavour, this of course is complete rubbish as with the additional rhythm section came yet more silliness, on stage banter and even some heckling between the stage and the audience. Proceedings opened with First Day which serves as throbbing intro for Numbers the insistent first track on the new record Falling Satellites which blended perfectly into the 'classic' Hyperventilate from the debut, this elongated mostly instrumental track displayed all of the bands impressive musicianship with Godfrey providing intricately woven synths above the technical rhythm section as Mitchell's oft-underrated guitar work was stunning.
With the end of the deafening Hyperventilate the call came from the audience to make it louder and proggier so the band obliged with the off-kilter Wonderland, after threatening Whole Again which weirdly got an enthusiastic from the audience and not just from the ladies, of which there seemed to be a fair few, something of a rarity in the progosphere but always very welcome. Godfrey's stage presence is a joy to behold as he is a bit mental to say the least leaving the synths to themselves for periods to annoy the rest of the band with his jests and quality face pulling, Mitchell cuts a much more stoic pose but with the aloofness of a rock god (its a good act anyway) as Nathan King bounced around like the Duracell bunny, unfortunately very little could be seen of Blundell but my god could he be heard.
After the excellent Wonderland Godfrey teased us with the promise of vocoder and along with Mitchell taking his first lead vocal of the main Frost* set on the atmospheric Signs which perfectly wrapped up the first third of the set. The rest of the main set was made up of one song; a song that was 32 minutes long, split into six parts and was all about dying. The song was the Sunlight suite from the latest album, it was played in it's entirety with the EDM of Heartstrings starting the piece off into the ethereal Closer To The Sun and the colossal The Raging Against The Dying of the Light Blues In 7/8 which is the nearest thing to prog/blues other than the Blue Floyd project. It was in this suite that the band really let loose, Mitchell peeling off some incredible solos, as Godfrey contributed the soundscapes and solos himself, behind them both Craig Blundell is one of the most dexterous and skilled drummers I've seen and Nathan King plays a mean jazz like bass and also dips in an out of yet more keys, with the crowd enraptured by the majesty on stage the 32 minutes flew by and the lights went off with the final chord of Last Day, cue the normal ravenous stomping and clapping and the band returning to the stage with the promise of more, the two encore songs both came from the debut record starting things off with the 10 minute Black Light Machine which is a majestic song that begs to be sung loud and proud with more than few fists in the air.
Frost* finished the encore with the impressive The Other Me which was stretched out and even had a drum solo in the middle of it which seemed to be a source of amusement for Godfrey and Mitchell (our opinion on drum solso are well documented) before they took up their instruments for the finale part of the song ending the night on significant high. Then that was that it was all over but for the shortbread eating, I had been looking forward to this show for months an I wasn't disappointed in the slightest, it was prog perfection from beginning to end with enough humour and technicality to appeal to everyone. Extra kudos too for finishing at 9:45 allowing those of us that don't live in Bristol to get home at a reasonable time. (These things are very important sometimes) 10/10
With so much revelry from the support the main set became a bit more po-faced with all the men totally serious about the musical endeavour, this of course is complete rubbish as with the additional rhythm section came yet more silliness, on stage banter and even some heckling between the stage and the audience. Proceedings opened with First Day which serves as throbbing intro for Numbers the insistent first track on the new record Falling Satellites which blended perfectly into the 'classic' Hyperventilate from the debut, this elongated mostly instrumental track displayed all of the bands impressive musicianship with Godfrey providing intricately woven synths above the technical rhythm section as Mitchell's oft-underrated guitar work was stunning.
With the end of the deafening Hyperventilate the call came from the audience to make it louder and proggier so the band obliged with the off-kilter Wonderland, after threatening Whole Again which weirdly got an enthusiastic from the audience and not just from the ladies, of which there seemed to be a fair few, something of a rarity in the progosphere but always very welcome. Godfrey's stage presence is a joy to behold as he is a bit mental to say the least leaving the synths to themselves for periods to annoy the rest of the band with his jests and quality face pulling, Mitchell cuts a much more stoic pose but with the aloofness of a rock god (its a good act anyway) as Nathan King bounced around like the Duracell bunny, unfortunately very little could be seen of Blundell but my god could he be heard.
After the excellent Wonderland Godfrey teased us with the promise of vocoder and along with Mitchell taking his first lead vocal of the main Frost* set on the atmospheric Signs which perfectly wrapped up the first third of the set. The rest of the main set was made up of one song; a song that was 32 minutes long, split into six parts and was all about dying. The song was the Sunlight suite from the latest album, it was played in it's entirety with the EDM of Heartstrings starting the piece off into the ethereal Closer To The Sun and the colossal The Raging Against The Dying of the Light Blues In 7/8 which is the nearest thing to prog/blues other than the Blue Floyd project. It was in this suite that the band really let loose, Mitchell peeling off some incredible solos, as Godfrey contributed the soundscapes and solos himself, behind them both Craig Blundell is one of the most dexterous and skilled drummers I've seen and Nathan King plays a mean jazz like bass and also dips in an out of yet more keys, with the crowd enraptured by the majesty on stage the 32 minutes flew by and the lights went off with the final chord of Last Day, cue the normal ravenous stomping and clapping and the band returning to the stage with the promise of more, the two encore songs both came from the debut record starting things off with the 10 minute Black Light Machine which is a majestic song that begs to be sung loud and proud with more than few fists in the air.
Frost* finished the encore with the impressive The Other Me which was stretched out and even had a drum solo in the middle of it which seemed to be a source of amusement for Godfrey and Mitchell (our opinion on drum solso are well documented) before they took up their instruments for the finale part of the song ending the night on significant high. Then that was that it was all over but for the shortbread eating, I had been looking forward to this show for months an I wasn't disappointed in the slightest, it was prog perfection from beginning to end with enough humour and technicality to appeal to everyone. Extra kudos too for finishing at 9:45 allowing those of us that don't live in Bristol to get home at a reasonable time. (These things are very important sometimes) 10/10
Sunday, 31 July 2016
Reviews: Dunsmuir, Fury, Hammers Of Misfortune
Dunsmuir: S/T (Hall Of Records)
So super-groups, some are great, some are not so great but seeing as anything Clutch frontman Neil Fallon puts his hands on turns to gold, Dunsmuir has the prospectus to be a very big deal especially when you consider the other members involved, Fallon takes up the vocals, in the back room is Fu Manchu's Brad Davies, behind the skins is the legendary Vinny Appice and on the guitar is Dave Bone who also plays the riffs in The Company Band which also features Fallon and Fireball Ministry's James A Rota. So with a cast of characters that are mostly known for their weed smoking stoner riffage you'd think Dunsmuir would be some kind of stoner supergroup akin to Down but that would be a bit too easy, this project sees them indulging in the music of their influences, well Bone, Fallon and Davies', Appice has probably contributed to a lot of the influences so doesn't count. It's more classic metal sounding than the most of the day-jobs sounding more like Dio-fronted Sabbath of Appice's tenure, with the intelligent, engaging lyrical poetry of Fallon. At 35 minutes its also all over in a flash but with Fallon's unmistakable vocals leading the way it's 35 minutes that you'll want to replay as soon as it finishes. Bone plays some massive licks, bolstered by the heavy backbone of Davies, who is no stranger to the power of bass in his day job picking up the rhythm parts when Bone solos, as all this happening in the top end, Appice who is a man who is from a drumming dynasty, plays his arse off in backroom even on easier tracks like Our Only Master he beats with power of men half his age. The sound of Sabbath can be found everywhere on this record but not in lazy way, this is a band paying tribute to the greats through homage rather than blatant copying, What Manner Of Bliss? is probably the album's biggest Sabbath moment. Dunsmuir may just be a studio project, it may become bigger touring prospect but with this debut it's certainly a statement of intent. 8/10
Fury: Lost In Space (Broken Road)
The Worcester classic heavy metal heroes Fury have returned with their second full length, this time the fantasy lyricism takes place in a galaxy far away with the occasional swing back to earth for songs about Vikings, War, Dragons and of course Pirates (as anyone who has seen them will know frontman Julian seems to have a massive Pirate fetish). With the album called Lost In Space I was expecting the title track to be a cover of the famous surf-guitar theme written by John Williams, it isn't that unfortunately but it is a 7 minute plus mini-epic with progressive time changes a sing along chorus and some excellent solos, it's a definitive opening statement reaffirming everything that is good about this band, Martin Trail's bass work gallops as it should, occasionally giving a fret slide or a rundown in the gaps while Alasdair Davies' drumming pushes the songs forward sometimes at a terrifying pace as he blasts away easily, only reigning himself in on the reflective Sons Of War where he plays with a deft hand adding drama to the piece. At the front of the sound is the twin guitars of Julian Jenkins and Jake Beesley they duel, harmonize and peel licks off with great skill, Beesley letting loose on the solo sections as Jenkins riffs underscoring the fireworks with solid slabs of riffage. I've always likened Fury to Metallica playing Iron Maiden and this sound is still very audible on this record, with thrash sounding riffs on Start Trippin' (not sure if this comes before or after Space Truckin') they also know when to resort to chest thumping classic metal on When The Hammer Falls and Vallhalla both of which are songs that would make Grand Magus green with envy. Fury are superb live act, I've personally seen them a few times, but their albums are never just excuses for more songs they take time to craft them trying to put as much of their live force into them as they can, I think they've pulled this off yet again on Lost In Space aided by the production of Pete Newdeck (Eden's Curse) and mastering of Harry Hess (Harem Scarem) they let all the instruments breathe and also capture the unique power of Jenkins' vocals, which are hard to describe being both husky and shrill, however they fit the music completely. Lost In Space is the latest sterling addition to Fury's catalog, no difficult second album syndrome here just another excellent showing from Fury. 9/10
Hammers Of Misfortune: Dead Revolution (Metal Blade)
Well yet again I have to admit my ignorance and stupidity, in that I had heard of Hammer's Of Misfortune but had never really listened to them as I naively thought they wouldn't be 'my thing'. Well listening to their sixth album I can attest that they are most definitely my thing, they have a NWOBHM meets Doom sound all wrapped up in 70's hard rock retroism, founder member John Cobbett is the driving force behind the band his guitar the basis of everything the band do, ably aided by Leila Abdul-Rauf on six and Paul Walker on four strings and songs that move from wall of noise doom, through chugging NWOBHM, rampaging thrash metal and beyond it's the dynamics of the guitarists that are the important part of the record as Will Carroll carries the beat. With just the members I've mentioned Hammers Of Misfortune would be interesting enough their fusion of styles sounding both different and comfortingly familiar, however with vocalist John Hutton, who makes this his second record with the group and has booming set of pipes, they have a good singer who's vocals are counterpointed by the more ethereal vocals of keyboardist Sigrid Sheie who is the band's best weapon as well as her vocals her keys and organs are and important part of the sound of this record with the psych wurlitzers cutting through the heavy riffs of The Velvet Inquisition before going full John Lord on the title track using the organ as and extra lead instrument going toe-to-toe with the guitars. With the style of this record the use of keys along with the NWOBHM styled riffage really gives Hammers Of Misfortune a unique sound so if you like your music a fusion of past glories with a modern touch Dead Revolution will get you rocking! 7/10
So super-groups, some are great, some are not so great but seeing as anything Clutch frontman Neil Fallon puts his hands on turns to gold, Dunsmuir has the prospectus to be a very big deal especially when you consider the other members involved, Fallon takes up the vocals, in the back room is Fu Manchu's Brad Davies, behind the skins is the legendary Vinny Appice and on the guitar is Dave Bone who also plays the riffs in The Company Band which also features Fallon and Fireball Ministry's James A Rota. So with a cast of characters that are mostly known for their weed smoking stoner riffage you'd think Dunsmuir would be some kind of stoner supergroup akin to Down but that would be a bit too easy, this project sees them indulging in the music of their influences, well Bone, Fallon and Davies', Appice has probably contributed to a lot of the influences so doesn't count. It's more classic metal sounding than the most of the day-jobs sounding more like Dio-fronted Sabbath of Appice's tenure, with the intelligent, engaging lyrical poetry of Fallon. At 35 minutes its also all over in a flash but with Fallon's unmistakable vocals leading the way it's 35 minutes that you'll want to replay as soon as it finishes. Bone plays some massive licks, bolstered by the heavy backbone of Davies, who is no stranger to the power of bass in his day job picking up the rhythm parts when Bone solos, as all this happening in the top end, Appice who is a man who is from a drumming dynasty, plays his arse off in backroom even on easier tracks like Our Only Master he beats with power of men half his age. The sound of Sabbath can be found everywhere on this record but not in lazy way, this is a band paying tribute to the greats through homage rather than blatant copying, What Manner Of Bliss? is probably the album's biggest Sabbath moment. Dunsmuir may just be a studio project, it may become bigger touring prospect but with this debut it's certainly a statement of intent. 8/10
Fury: Lost In Space (Broken Road)
The Worcester classic heavy metal heroes Fury have returned with their second full length, this time the fantasy lyricism takes place in a galaxy far away with the occasional swing back to earth for songs about Vikings, War, Dragons and of course Pirates (as anyone who has seen them will know frontman Julian seems to have a massive Pirate fetish). With the album called Lost In Space I was expecting the title track to be a cover of the famous surf-guitar theme written by John Williams, it isn't that unfortunately but it is a 7 minute plus mini-epic with progressive time changes a sing along chorus and some excellent solos, it's a definitive opening statement reaffirming everything that is good about this band, Martin Trail's bass work gallops as it should, occasionally giving a fret slide or a rundown in the gaps while Alasdair Davies' drumming pushes the songs forward sometimes at a terrifying pace as he blasts away easily, only reigning himself in on the reflective Sons Of War where he plays with a deft hand adding drama to the piece. At the front of the sound is the twin guitars of Julian Jenkins and Jake Beesley they duel, harmonize and peel licks off with great skill, Beesley letting loose on the solo sections as Jenkins riffs underscoring the fireworks with solid slabs of riffage. I've always likened Fury to Metallica playing Iron Maiden and this sound is still very audible on this record, with thrash sounding riffs on Start Trippin' (not sure if this comes before or after Space Truckin') they also know when to resort to chest thumping classic metal on When The Hammer Falls and Vallhalla both of which are songs that would make Grand Magus green with envy. Fury are superb live act, I've personally seen them a few times, but their albums are never just excuses for more songs they take time to craft them trying to put as much of their live force into them as they can, I think they've pulled this off yet again on Lost In Space aided by the production of Pete Newdeck (Eden's Curse) and mastering of Harry Hess (Harem Scarem) they let all the instruments breathe and also capture the unique power of Jenkins' vocals, which are hard to describe being both husky and shrill, however they fit the music completely. Lost In Space is the latest sterling addition to Fury's catalog, no difficult second album syndrome here just another excellent showing from Fury. 9/10
Hammers Of Misfortune: Dead Revolution (Metal Blade)
Well yet again I have to admit my ignorance and stupidity, in that I had heard of Hammer's Of Misfortune but had never really listened to them as I naively thought they wouldn't be 'my thing'. Well listening to their sixth album I can attest that they are most definitely my thing, they have a NWOBHM meets Doom sound all wrapped up in 70's hard rock retroism, founder member John Cobbett is the driving force behind the band his guitar the basis of everything the band do, ably aided by Leila Abdul-Rauf on six and Paul Walker on four strings and songs that move from wall of noise doom, through chugging NWOBHM, rampaging thrash metal and beyond it's the dynamics of the guitarists that are the important part of the record as Will Carroll carries the beat. With just the members I've mentioned Hammers Of Misfortune would be interesting enough their fusion of styles sounding both different and comfortingly familiar, however with vocalist John Hutton, who makes this his second record with the group and has booming set of pipes, they have a good singer who's vocals are counterpointed by the more ethereal vocals of keyboardist Sigrid Sheie who is the band's best weapon as well as her vocals her keys and organs are and important part of the sound of this record with the psych wurlitzers cutting through the heavy riffs of The Velvet Inquisition before going full John Lord on the title track using the organ as and extra lead instrument going toe-to-toe with the guitars. With the style of this record the use of keys along with the NWOBHM styled riffage really gives Hammers Of Misfortune a unique sound so if you like your music a fusion of past glories with a modern touch Dead Revolution will get you rocking! 7/10
Thursday, 28 July 2016
A View From The Back Of The Room: Airbourne
Airbourne & Leogun, Y Plas Cardiff
The Australian hard rock maelstrom that is Airbourne having been doing the rounds on the festival circuit culminating with Ramblin Man Fair which took place on the same weekend as Steelhouse Festival and looks like it will continue to be with both festivals taking place on the same weekend next year. Anyway back to the show and it was one of just two dates in the UK the band played post Ramblin Man, the first night was in Edinburgh and the second was right here in the fair city of Cardiff. Personally I was very impressed that Airbourne added Cardiff to their limited tour schedule so I was heartened to see that the Cardiff rock fraternity was out in force for the Aussie nutters.
This was to be my sixth viewing of Airbourne and even though they do sound like AC/DC, they have enough songs to keep you head banging, your fist in the air and you singing along all night. Due to a club night the support came on around 8pm after the 7:30 and went straight into their set. The band were London town's Leogun (6) who are a blues/soul three piece that do have a some great songs but their slow paced bluesy numbers were lost on the hard core fans in attendance that seemed more interested in getting drunk waiting for the headliners, Leogun in their own show would be better appreciated I think but on a Wednesday night in Cardiff the crowd, decked out almost exclusively with AC/DC and Airbourne T-Shirts (with the noted exception of one Chris De Burgh shirts), wanted beer fuelled hard rock.
As the theme from Terminator 2 played over the PA, it was time for the four piece to storm the stage and as the percussive piece ended the show kicked off with Ready To Rock guitarist Justin Rhodes and bassist Justin Street rocking in synchronicity as Ryan O'Keefe kept the beat hard and heavy then Joel O'Keefe made his shirtless entrance slinging his guitar like a weapon. From the chant of Ready To Rock it was back to the debut for Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast and due to this tour being a post festival bit of fun, the band set the tone by making it a greatest hits affair, not that anyone was complaining. I'm assuming that this will not be the case in their Autumn tour supporting their soon to be released album. Back to the show and it was two of their dirtiest numbers back to back with Chewin The Fat and Diamond In The Rough following each other allowing Joel to solo his heart out while gurning for Australia. The interaction was as you'd expect the same as if you'd walked into a bar in Warrnambool, Joel started by smashing cans of beer on his head, then proceeded to sit on a roadies shoulders for a solo section then moving into throwing out yet more cans to a more inebriated audience.
Black Dog Barking gave way to Girls In Black and Cheap Wine & Cheaper Women then one solitary new song the album title track Breakin' Outta Hell filled the gap as an hour neared we got the final two songs of the main set, No Way But The Hard Way twinned with Stand Up For Rock N Rolls which got the heads banging hard as it rumbled along. I was surprised how quickly the time went to be honest, a band like Airbourne (8) can make the time just melt away especially with a set full of anthems. Resuming the fun with an encore of Live it Up and the evergreen Running Wild in just over an hour it was all done and dusted the crowd were going nuts and the band were smiling from ear-to-ear. It's nice to sometimes see a jukebox set from a band inside a venue rather than in a field and it pays dividends as it keeps the band in peoples minds, expect the Autumn tour to sell very well, due to the evidence of the packed Y Plas there is a healthy appetite for their style of no-frills rock n roll, shame they are playing nowhere near us then...
The Australian hard rock maelstrom that is Airbourne having been doing the rounds on the festival circuit culminating with Ramblin Man Fair which took place on the same weekend as Steelhouse Festival and looks like it will continue to be with both festivals taking place on the same weekend next year. Anyway back to the show and it was one of just two dates in the UK the band played post Ramblin Man, the first night was in Edinburgh and the second was right here in the fair city of Cardiff. Personally I was very impressed that Airbourne added Cardiff to their limited tour schedule so I was heartened to see that the Cardiff rock fraternity was out in force for the Aussie nutters.
This was to be my sixth viewing of Airbourne and even though they do sound like AC/DC, they have enough songs to keep you head banging, your fist in the air and you singing along all night. Due to a club night the support came on around 8pm after the 7:30 and went straight into their set. The band were London town's Leogun (6) who are a blues/soul three piece that do have a some great songs but their slow paced bluesy numbers were lost on the hard core fans in attendance that seemed more interested in getting drunk waiting for the headliners, Leogun in their own show would be better appreciated I think but on a Wednesday night in Cardiff the crowd, decked out almost exclusively with AC/DC and Airbourne T-Shirts (with the noted exception of one Chris De Burgh shirts), wanted beer fuelled hard rock.
As the theme from Terminator 2 played over the PA, it was time for the four piece to storm the stage and as the percussive piece ended the show kicked off with Ready To Rock guitarist Justin Rhodes and bassist Justin Street rocking in synchronicity as Ryan O'Keefe kept the beat hard and heavy then Joel O'Keefe made his shirtless entrance slinging his guitar like a weapon. From the chant of Ready To Rock it was back to the debut for Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast and due to this tour being a post festival bit of fun, the band set the tone by making it a greatest hits affair, not that anyone was complaining. I'm assuming that this will not be the case in their Autumn tour supporting their soon to be released album. Back to the show and it was two of their dirtiest numbers back to back with Chewin The Fat and Diamond In The Rough following each other allowing Joel to solo his heart out while gurning for Australia. The interaction was as you'd expect the same as if you'd walked into a bar in Warrnambool, Joel started by smashing cans of beer on his head, then proceeded to sit on a roadies shoulders for a solo section then moving into throwing out yet more cans to a more inebriated audience.
Black Dog Barking gave way to Girls In Black and Cheap Wine & Cheaper Women then one solitary new song the album title track Breakin' Outta Hell filled the gap as an hour neared we got the final two songs of the main set, No Way But The Hard Way twinned with Stand Up For Rock N Rolls which got the heads banging hard as it rumbled along. I was surprised how quickly the time went to be honest, a band like Airbourne (8) can make the time just melt away especially with a set full of anthems. Resuming the fun with an encore of Live it Up and the evergreen Running Wild in just over an hour it was all done and dusted the crowd were going nuts and the band were smiling from ear-to-ear. It's nice to sometimes see a jukebox set from a band inside a venue rather than in a field and it pays dividends as it keeps the band in peoples minds, expect the Autumn tour to sell very well, due to the evidence of the packed Y Plas there is a healthy appetite for their style of no-frills rock n roll, shame they are playing nowhere near us then...
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