Reviews: Lör, Killitorous, Abyssidious, One Desire (Matt, Lee, Rich & Simon)

Lör: Edge Of Eternity (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]

Philadelphia based band Lör play a self described blend of power, folk, and progressive metal, a genre tag that is defined immediately on the first song of this EP, Upon A Withered Heart it's got a Blind Guardian racing jig, soaring vocals from Tyler Fedeli, numerous pace shifts, an anthemic quality and some nifty lead bass from Nick Bonsanto, a lot of it reminds me of Falconer but with the unflinching bombast of Blind Guardian. The title track closes the album with yet more fist pumping power metal and huge gang choruses, it all goes a bit Dragonforce before evolving into swing jazz in the middle, the speed metal kicking back in with gusto reaching the final destination of gang chants at the conclusion.

This EP is only just over half an hour long but it rarely lets you ease into being comfortable, A Life Once Known is rampaging speed metal with explosive soloing paired with lots of dual guitar/key lead runs and forays into folk acoustic playing. Ruin however has crunching riffs and jaunty keys from Matt Bartlett (who is also very important to the beautiful Relic) that is a little Haken flavoured, but early Haken due to the additions of harsh vocals from Peter Hraur who also supplies the gorgeous guitar playing and lush orchestrations. On the aforementioned Ruin they show a different side to their musical dexterity, it's a grandiose ballad led by the expressive drumming of Greg Bogart taking a more acoustic direction.

What I will say as well is that the production here is quite natural sounding, not relying on the massive in your face sound of so many power/prog bands, one to listen to on headphones for sure. I hadn't heard any of Lör's music before (they have a full length released in 2017) but the back of this album I will definitely be delving into their history. Edge Of Eternity is magnificent and doesn't feel like it's a short release, I can't wait to hear more! 9/10  

Killitorous: The Afterparty (Tentacles Industries) [Lee Burnell]

If you love your death metal, brutal, technical and full of 90s reference then boy is Killitorous' The Afterparty is an album for you. Founding member Aaron Homma is in very good company with Suffocation's Eric Morotti just blast beating the heck out of those drums. The Afterparty starts of with All Hail The Startchild and it's not long before you get a glimpse of what kind of grindcore/party-death metal magic you'll be listening to for the next 40 minutes. Married With Children gives a very Black Dahlia Murder feel with the technical guitaring prowess and shift in vocals from Mathieu Dhani and Youri Raymond. My personal highlight from the album is Rodney Danger field Of Dreams, just for the title alone. I mean, as the band rip and tear through this song and you hear "ahhh my Kel wants me to see a psychiatrist" - I'm only sad that I hadn't checked out Killitorous' debut album Party Grind sooner so I could understand what my freakin' ears were about to hear. The pacing of the album is phenomenal, there's simply no rest for the wicked here and it continues from Eat Your God up until King Diamond Dallas Page. The band definitely have friends in the business and some of the guests on the album are great additions with Riley McShane (Allegaeon), Raphael Weinroth-Browne (Leprous) and Voivod's Dan Mongrain amongst many others. For me it's a solid album, amazing technical prowess resonates throughout an album that not only packs a punch, but kicks you in the balls with light-hearted 90s goodness. 8/10

Abyssidious: Murk And Malice (Self Released) [Rich Oliver]

Murk And Malice is the debut release from experimental black metal project Abyssidious. Very little is known and can be found out about this project apart from that it is based in East Anglia and appears to be a one man band with all music and vocals performed by a K. Issious. Time to focus on what we do know and that is the music offered to us on this release. Murk And Malice is 35 minutes of uncompromising, raw and dissonant black metal. From the start a statement is sent with the opening song O...Salvation! being some unapologetically ugly and raw black metal with some very dissonant riffing and reverb drenched screams of torment. 

This unhinged sound is prevalent throughout the rest of the release with the title track being a far more atmospheric and psychedelic sounding song with a great use of dark ambient soundscapes being used in conjunction with the raw black metal riffing. The Mouth Of Mother contains the most traditional sound black metal riffs but again these are mixed with moments of twisted psychedelia and unhinged insanity. This is a great debut release from Abyssidious and shows great promise for future releases from the project. It might be a bit much for the casual black metal fan as this is a far more unhinged and twisted beast but if bands such as Blut Aus Nord, Dodecahedron and Leviathan are your bag then Murk And Malice comes highly recommended. 7/10

One Desire: Midnight Empire (Frontiers Records) [Simon Black]

Not an act I had come across before, but Finland’s One Desire feels very much like a spin-off project, featuring members of Cain’s Offering (itself a supergroup), Sturm Und Drang and others and is a very mainstream AOR affair. The tone of this sophomore piece is very mid-tempo and anthemic, with a focus on a clear, crisp execution of the 80’s Journey/Def Leppard vein that is not going to offend anyone and which would go down well at a festival like Sweden Rocks or Steelhouse.

Opening with Shadowman, the band clearly know how to structure their material by the numbers, and the tone carries over into the next couple of tracks well – building a nice tone and structure to the work. This is one of those albums where you cannot fault the end result of any of the individual songs – they are all well-crafted, well-structured, well-executed, well-produced, but the overall net effect at the end still doesn’t grab you by the throat and demand multiple replays. The danger with experienced musos getting together for these projects in between their main gigs is that it becomes very easy to be formulaic, because there isn’t the hunger and pressure to deliver that you get from a young band fighting to be noticed.

This definitely doesn’t have the feel of a band trying to kick down the doors, and the consequence is that there is little to distinguish One Desire from the melée of other acts in the genre. If you’re a fan of this sort of insipid AOR, you are going to probably pull me to one side at a festival and give me a jolly good telling off, but sadly this feels like an album made for an audience long gone. 6/10

Reviews: Ruadh, Gomorra, Bitterness, Reboot The System (Paul H, Simon, Alex & Matt)

Ruadh: The Rock Of The Clyde (Red Glenn Productions) [Paul Hutchings]

Discovering new bands is always a delight. Such an experience happened at last year’s Winter Eradication festival in Cardiff when Glaswegian solo project Ruadh delivered one of the sets of the day. The atmospheric black metal struck just the right nerve with the audience and their merchandise was swallowed up in minutes. This included copies of the Sovereign album, which proved to be just as enchanting as the live show.

The Rock Of The Clyde is the second album and draws deeply on the history, culture and mythology that populated Sovereign. Tom Perrett, raised in one of the oldest burghs in Scotland which translates to the ‘Red Glen’, composes his music to suit his own tastes, but includes a complex blend of old school black metal (Windr, Bathory, Burzum) intertwined with Celtic patterns and gentle, peaceful passages.

Opening track Embers explodes with a ferocity of blast beats and driving riffs, Perrett’s gruff growls supplemented by clean harmonies of Cieti, who adds all female vocals on the album. Double tracked guitar harmonies segue into peaceful, melodic passages, the synths generating flute effects providing a clear link with the natural world. Embers is the first of three ten-minute plus songs on the album and rather than become distracting, they absorb and envelope the listener, transporting you to the Iron Ages of Scotland. The title track follows, dripping with atmosphere. Clean vocals explore the history and mythology as the song meanders like a winding river.

Winter Light features further growling vocals, shimmering riffs, batteries of blast beats from drummer Philip Morrison and are all underpinned by sublime ethereal synths that capture the feel and spirit of the album. My only complaint at this point is the production which feels a little thin. This seems to rectify on the Celtic flavoured Fields Of Heather, which begins its ten-minute journey with an almost Celtic jig, before once more developing organically, returning to the ‘jig’ in a later passage. Full of passion and sonic landscapes, Fields of Heather proves to be one of the most expansive tracks on this record.

This leads to the final duo of tracks, Only Distant Echoes Reign Part I and Part II. The first part, the penultimate song sees Perrett accompanied by acoustic guitar before segueing into Part II which once more provides glistening walls of riffs, rapid fire drumming and growling vocals as the track picks up into one of the more aggressive pieces on the album. I’d pick this one as probably my favourite, with multiple changes of tempo and temperature, the reintroduction of Cieti’s ethereal vocals providing a measured check before the track soars towards a final climax. The Rock Of The Clyde is an uplifting epic release that demonstrates Perrett’s fine ability to reach deep into his country’s history and culture. A welcome second edition. 8/10

Gomorra: Divine Judgement (Noble Demon) [Simon Black]

Not to be confused with a handful of bands with subtly different spellings, Gomorra are a full-on technical thrash act from Switzerland, although their pedigree seems intermingled with that of Gonoreas, so I suspect we have a case of name changing going on here - although this is not at all clear from their web presence and the supplied biography highlights Divine Judgement as their debut album. Just listening though, this has the feel of a clearly experienced bunch of musicians making a fresh start and what we have here is a very effective melodic slab of thrash in the Testament vein, although with a liberal sprinkling of Power Metal which evokes early Sanctuary to this old hack. The album kicks off with the full on titular Gomorra, and doesn’t really let up for the next couple of tracks – speed, melody and power intermingle in a refreshing tap-a-long way, with some nice twin harmonic guitar interplay in Hope For The Righteous proving that there’s always a place for that alternating lead and harmonic guitar interplay between Damir Eskic (ex-Destruction) and Dominic Blum which I know is tempting to call Maiden-esque, but really the royalties ought to go to whatever remains of Wishbone Ash.

Brother We’re Damned, keeps that pace going, with a nice galloping riff-line and some thundering rhythm work and is refreshing to hear a thrash act whose singer is not afraid to aim high, long and loud on his notes rather than grunting his way through. They aren’t afraid to vary the pace either, and after a few gallopers, they slow the pace down nicely with the more traditionally metal Out Of Control (one of the album’s highlights in my humble opinion) for a solid chugger allowing some variety of vocal style with some nice harmonies coming into play. And so it continues – just when you think you have this bunch pigeonholed they mix things up a bit and keep the listener on their toes. It’s a well-produced album with the crisp and clear guitar style you need in a good thrash style, but without drowning out the rhythm section. This does sound like a band having undergone a rebirth, but one that still needs to cement their sound and style, as although I cannot criticise the content of the album, it does miss the distinctive ‘something’ they will need to be truly unique – it’s almost there in some of the guitar tricks, vocal style and time changes but not quite at the point of uniqueness yet. Nonetheless a highly strong effort and a darn fine start. 7/10

Bitterness: Dead World Order (G.U.C) [Alex Swift]

Bridging the sweet darkness of gothic genres, with the sheer hostility of death and thrash, It’s difficult not to find intrigue in Bitterness’ sound. A tantalizingly twining acoustic piece begins Dead World Order, lending a mystical ambiance. A Bullet A Day soon comes thundering in with a pulverizing riff that changes with the vivacity of an act willing to enrapture their audience. The drum and bass embellishments also create an impressionistic allure. The vocals may inspire you or turn you off altogether – as their harshly spoken delivery definitely suits the style, yet by occasionally hitting the higher register, come off as awkward at points. The title track is trudging and monolithic, the doomy delivery aiding in the concept of scale, once more the instrumentation is stunning, and inspired. However, the growling and lyricism prove increasingly hard to take seriously – “The world is a big place of shit!” our frontman decries, in his weird horse yet high tone. They’re not entirely awful, and the strangeness they command, does match the eerie tone, yet they also feel jarring and unexpected which definitely earns them the red flag of ‘an acquired taste’.

The brilliantly titled Idiocracy lays down an epic, and prestigious feel, moving from a borderline symphonic opening piece to relentless and defeating arpeggios. Also, the chorus line of ‘No rights! No Justice! No responsibility!’ is seizing, bringing into stark revelation the band's political side – an element which all great Thrash bands possess. Following this, the even more awesomely titled Let God Sort ‘Em Out feels rough and grimy in the way the instrumentation retains a tone just tuneful enough to keep that melodic power intact, yet murky enough to make the track the most brutal on the record. I hate to dwell on this aspect, yet our frontman has grown on me by this point. However, it’s worth noting that your forbearance for his squeak will affect your opinion.

Forward Into The Past keeps the listener enticed, the tempo and quick changes giving you a riveting taste of musical whiplash. This applies right from the opening notes to the cathartic lead solo at the centre. At least, you will be enticed if you are a fan of Thrash Metal. For those who don’t this may not affect you either way, and the admittedly formulaic tone may become tiresome by this point. Blood Feud is the longest anthem and actually one of the most interesting – we begin on a morose and brooding inro, the semi-chanted chorus furthers the goth-horror on display, while the complete change in style towards a progressive sensibility, shows an unexpected if gripping decision.

We finish on the scathingly harmonious None More Black, and the achingly subdued and serene Darkest Times – two ideas I would have liked to have seen scattered throughout the record, although I understand the decision to leave the innovation to the very end. Ultimately, while Dead World Order may not provide the perfect soundtrack to this new regime we’re living under, a certain type of metal fan will definitely get fulfillment out of this album, despite not being perfect. 7/10

Reboot The System: Demo (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]

This is the first release from Mattias Zimmergren aka Reboot The System. He has been writing music since he was 14 years old and now at the age of 29 he has finally released a record that he has written, recorded/mixed/mastered and performed by himself. The only other musicians apart from Zimmergren here are the vocalists Dennis Kare Andersson (Kill the Kong) on the title track, Rasmus Weström (Leading light) and Mike Andersson (Tungsten, Cloudscape) appear on Drenched In My Fears while Markus Kristoffersson (Offensive Ground) sings on Iniquity and I suppose you can include a drum machine. Musically the album is very much in the vein of the the numerous bands that have emerged from the Gothenburg scene (the city where Mattias comes from). It's pretty straight down the middle Swede-death with Drenched In My Fear having the dual clean harsh vocals style of bands like Scar Symmetry while the other two songs are in the Dark Tranquillity, In Flames mold, though Iniquity has some black metal overtones. Considering nearly everything here was done by one man it's very impressive from a technical standpoint but musically you will have heard songs similar to this before. Still a reasonably entertaining first release. 6/10

Reviews: Feral Light, Rising Sunset, Old Corpse Road, Noctu (Paul S & Rich)

Feral Light: Life Vapor (Hypnotic Dirge Records) [Paul Scoble]

Feral Light have been making music since 2015, in that time the duo have made 2 other albums; debut album Void/Sanctuary in 2017 and Fear Rides A Shadow in 2019. Feral Light is made up of Andrew Reeson on drums and Andy Schoengrund on guitar, bass and vocals, the band is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Feral Light play a fairly simple style of Black metal, this is at the opposite end of the Black metal spectrum to anything that could be considered ‘Symphonic’, there is a definite punk attitude to how this has been put together, and this comes across in the music as well, which has a crust punk feel to some of the material. So, in many places this is very simple, guitar, drums and vocals format, there isn’t that much complexity. However, if you thought that was a criticism, then you are wrong, this albums strength is it’s simplicity. The overall structure might be simple, but the elements that this is made up of are fantastic, the riffs are so well written and played that the lack of complexity just allows the high quality of the music to shine through.

Most of the material on offer here features pretty savage blast beats, with beautifully nasty tremolo picked riffs over the top, it’s straightforward, but extremely effective. When Feral Light aren’t ripping your face off they do a very good line in slower, more riffy material. Opening track Assuage is a great example of the both of these styles as it vacillates between simple, savage blasting tremolo picked riffs, and slower, more measured riffs, that are heavy and very tuneful. Hex Of Inverses opens with some wonderfully discordant and punky black metal that has some great blasting sections, as well as some more mid-paced, crusty riffs. In Summation also features a mix of blasting and slower riffs, in this case the slower, beautifully rhythmic section reminds me a little of Tyrants By Immortal, and also features a really great droney ending. The album closes with the track Walking Tomb. Walking Tomb does have some blasting, but is mainly about mid-paced, punky, and melodic riffs and slow and discordant sections. The song also boasts a guitar solo, and is a very mellifluous way to end a highly enjoyable album.

Life Vapor is a cracking album. As I’ve mentioned before it’s very simple, but it’s so well done that it doesn’t need any extra complexity. Although in places this is a pretty savage album, but it is packed with melody, tunefulness and great riffs that stick in your head. This is an album that works on songwriting, rather than huge production or bombast. These are very well written and played songs, and that is where this album shines. Highly recommended. 9/10

Rising Sunset: De Mysterium Tenebris (Wormholedeath Records) [Paul Scoble]

Rising Sunset have been making huge sounding music together since 2001. The band, who are based in Malta have produced 2 albums before De Mysterium Tenebris; the first in 2012, and the second album in 2016. There is a game that you could play with this album; you have to listen to it without thinking about Dimmu Borgir (damn, I’ve lost already), as this sounds a lot like the Norwegian band, particularly Dimmu Borgir circa the year 2002, as stylistically it sounds a lot like Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropy (2001) or Death Cult Armageddon (2003). When Dimmu Borgir made those albums they used an orchestra, Rising Sunset have had to make do with lots of keyboards, but manage to give a very similar feel. The vocals are very reminiscent of Dimmu as well. Vocalist Carlo Calamatta uses the very low register, Death Metal style and the more Black metal style that is much shriller and sounds exactly like Shagrath, is by second guitarist Joseph Camilleri. There are times when this album gets very symphonic, and once the vocals come in you would swear blind it was Dimmu Borgir.

There are other aspects to this album other than the Dimmu worship, in fact that's when Rising Sunset really excel. There are quite a few sections that sound more like Epic Black metal; the style of Black Metal pioneered by Summoning and perfected by Caladan Brood. Whenever the keyboards are replaced by strings or by layered guitars this album really works. The band feel like they have their own identity rather than borrowing another bands identity. The Book Of Enoch features some very nice epic parts, that feel huge and very melodic. The Harlot Riding The Beast is another track where this Epic style of Black Metal really comes through, and the album feels like it works. The track also boasts a really powerful opening featuring a choir. Probably the best track on here is the closing track Fate Of The Tribulation. The song starts slow and heavy, with soft and beautiful female vocals, we then get a section with layered guitars, that is very melodic and tuneful. The track does feature a small amount of blasting, before going back to the slow and heavy, again with operatic female vocals.

De Mysterium Tenebris is a very good Symphonic/Epic Black Metal album. The parts that feel like Dimmu Borgir worship aren’t bad, they are just so wedded to that bands style that it stops the album having an identity that is separate from Dimmu Borgir. It’s when the band go their own way that this album really starts to shine, the epic sections are fantastic, and will hopefully be the direction this band goes in after this album. 7/10

Old Corpse Road: On Ghastly Shores Lays The Wreckage Of Our Lore (SMP/Trollzorn Records) [Rich Oliver]

The UK black metal scene is in a very healthy state these days but one band who have been a bit quiet of late have been Old Corpse Road. Hailing from Yorkshire the band have always injected tales of dark folklore into their music as well as a gothic sensibility and on their third album On Ghastly Shores Lays The Wreckage Of Our Lore they have delved into tales from the dark and freezing oceans with songs based around coastal and maritime folklore.

On Ghastly Shores Lays The Wreckage Of Our Lore is a hefty album but it has a very expansive sound with a primarily atmospheric black metal sound which is rich with symphonic elements and gothic undertones. The title track kicks things off which is a bit of a slow burner full of atmosphere and build up before things explode in Harbingers Of Death (Voices In The Tempest) which is a ferocious black metal assault with layers of keyboards and sublime melodies. Melody is a key feature throughout the album (which always sits well with this reviewer) and is taken further in Black Ship which opens with a folk driven acoustic melody which leads into a some theatrics heavy melodic black metal which certainly has nods to the early Cradle Of Filth material and has a great inclusion of clean vocals. Other highlights on the album include Sea Fire with its haunting atmosphere, the ferocity of Demons Of The Farne and the monstrous 16 minute epic of The Ghosts Of The Ruinous Dunstanburgh Castle.

Old Corpse Road have a fantastic album with On Ghastly Shores Lays The Wreckage Of Our Lore which plays to the atmospheric, theatrical and ferocious sides of black metal and manages to incorporate these different elements together in a very cohesive way. It does have similarities to other UK bands who play a similar style such as Cradle Of Filth and Hecate Enthroned but Old Corpse Road definitely have their own defining stamp on this sound. 8/10

Noctu: Gelidae Mortis Imago (Transcending Obscurity Records) [Rich Oliver]

Gelidae Mortis Imago is the second album from Italian funeral doom band Noctu (the solo project of Noctu from Atra Mors). Funeral doom is a genre I’ve never been able to quite get along with bar a few exceptions so I approached this review with an open mind and a fair bit of trepidation. Unfortunately Noctu have failed to change my mainly negative opinions of the genre. My overwhelming criticism of Gelidae Mortis Imago (and of a lot of funeral doom in general) is that it is generally excessively long songs without the content to justify the song lengths. This is very much the case here with the album being made up of six songs and a duration of just under 74 minutes. There are three main songs and three shorter instrumentals (one being an intro to the album and the other two being rather pointless interludes) with the three songs all being extremely excessive in length. The three songs are in the region of 16, 19 and 32 minutes in length. 

I have no issue with long songs if there is an interesting composition to justify it but these songs very rarely change from their plodding pace or have much going on to retain my interest. The music is very dense throughout and is very driven by layers of keyboards as well as the walls of guitar. The vocals are reverb drenched howls and screams of torment which actually suit the music and are one of the positive aspects of the album. The best track on the album is Lucida Oscurita Senziente which has some wonderfully evil and haunting melodies throughout. Fans of funeral doom metal will probably find that Gelidae Mortis Imago is an excellent example of the genre and whilst there is no denying that Noctu deliver all the trademarks of the genre to crushing effect it just overwhelmingly failed to get much interest out of me. I think I will have to accept that funeral doom metal and me are just not meant to be. 4/10

Reviews: Wolftooth, Louise Patricia Crane, Solar Flare, WarlocK A.D (Paul H & Matt)

Wolftooth: Valhalla (Ripple Music) [Paul Hutchings]

Veterans from the metal scene, Wolftooth champion stoner riff worship. The US Midwest outfit follow a trusted formula that combines the sound of The Sword’s early works with the stoner bounce of Kadavar and whilst their music isn’t ground breaking by any means, this sophomore album is full of groove soaked riffs which resonate in all the right places. There are plenty of blues drenched solos soaring over the base sound. There are driving powerful tracks such as The Coven and the deep dark hypnotic thrust of opening track The Possession, with echoes of the true metal of Grand Magus with its muscular riff, and which introduces the sonic vocals of Chris Sullivan who also cranks out some of the mean guitar on the album. Clean harmonies from drummer Johnny Harrod add nicely to the choruses. Elsewhere the bass of Terry McDaniel and guitarist Jeff Cole anchor everything solidly. Ten tracks, all grabbing that stoner metal feel. Valhalla has much to commend it to the listener with variation to balance the pounding music. 7/10

Louise Patricia Crane: Deep Blue (Peculiar Doll Records) [Matt Bladen]

One look at the bewitching sepia cover of Deep Blue and you'll instantly be drawn into the world of Louise Patricia Crane, she has a mystical retro styling, with gothic overtones. This unique styling is reflected in her music, she is a singer/songwriter who knuckled down in Cambridge (a town with lots of prog/folk heritage) to write her debut album Deep Blue. The music here weaves the guitar-driven '70s prog/blues with 80's dream pop as she deals with literature, horror films, seductresses and dreams lyrically. There are nods to art rock innovators such as Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel along with clear Pink Floyd and Canterbury scene influences, in fact the album features a myriad of guests, all of whom are known in the prog/art rock world; one being bassist Danny Thompson who has played with both Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel and appears on the closing track The Eve Of The Hunter. Throughout the album Louise works with  Jakko Jakszyk the vocalist/guitarist of King Crimson who not only lets loose with his beautiful guitar playing but also adds to the lush vocal harmonies. He makes his presence felt on the majority of these songs especially the ethereal transcendent opener Deity.

However this record is all about the Crane whose talent shines through composing these magical  tunes brilliantly and having a smoky soulful vocal that takes you into her intoxicating anthems to feminism, witchcraft and the occult while her main players of drummer Simon Rippin and bass player Steve Mercy along with violinist Shir-Ran Yinon all add their own mark along with Crane's co-writer and producer Stephen Carey on guitar. Art rock is very difficult genre to get right however Crane has mastered it here deftly composing the songs for maximum instrumental prowess but also feel playing on your deepest emotions with the tribal Snake Oil, which along with the excellent Ophelia features Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) on flute, as Painted World brings Floydian guitar on top of Scott Reeder throbbing bass playing (very Mostly Autumn). Things never stay similar for too long much like in in the tradition of the untouchable Kate Bush or Peter Gabriel, experimentation is the name of  the game here, the mournful title track featuring Crane's stunning vocals layered with piano and swelling strings. Deep Blue is a fabulous debut album from writer who uses a multitude of styles never settling for just one and harking back to the days when music was expression. Dive into the Deep Blue with Louise Patricia Crane. 9/10    

Solar Flare: Solar Flare (Self Release) [Paul Hutchings]

Styling yourself on 1980s metal is a balancing act that requires a fair amount of skill. Solar Flare’s aim is to blend the mix of European power with the flair of American speed and rock-out nature. The five piece who hail from Ohio have been together for six years. This is their debut album and there is a lot going on in the opening track Medieval. Utilizing the thick synths of guest keyboard player Peter Danielson, Solar Flare race away, the duel guitar work of Mark Greene and Garian Perry combining in true Iron Maiden style. Under The Sun follows, and the retro sound is fully ensconced with the effects on the vocals of singer Ethan Jackson, whose range throughout the album is impressive. Comparisons with the other air raid sirens in the business including Geoff Tate and Bruce Dickinson are a little premature but Jackson certainly possesses a range. Under The Sun is a bit dull, the routine plod lacking urgency or excitement. Shortest track Born To Burn suggests promise with a driving riff but Jackson’s performance struggles, his tone variable and the scream at the start is blood curdling for all the wrong reasons.

Midway point and the seven-minute Pharaoh appears. Opening with an Egyptian flavoured riff and some interesting effects, Pharaoh suggests better things to come but I’m afraid it really is a bit mundane by here. Struggling with Jackson’s wailing pitch, which is high throughout, the song is crying out for variation, but it simply gets worse. The musicianship is competent and solid, with the battery drumming of Jordan Cavalaris holding things tight. Disappointingly, Nous Sommes is no better and although the band do finish with a reasonable duo in Taken To The Other Side and the longest track on the album, World In My Head. Whilst Jackson is classically trained, his constant high pitch is a real challenge to listen to and detracts from the playing at time. I suppose the biggest compliment I can give Solar Flare is that if they were playing at a festival, I’d give them more than one song. Apart from that, there’s not masses to get excited about here. 4/10

WarlocK A.D: Rise EP (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]

Let's get just this out of the way shall we? WarlocK A.D are a comedy metal band from Stoke-On-Trent, yes that's right comedy metal, that often ridiculed genre favoured mainly by extreme metal acts such as Raised By Owls. WarlocK A.D however have a classic metal sound and songs that, and I quote "no matter how taboo or macabre with one plan - Live, Laugh, Love". So what do we get 5 songs four of which have awful titles such as Scratch N Sniff and Balls First while they get worse with Geralt Of Labia and Expecto My Patronum along with members that go under pseudonyms and contribute not only instrument/vocals but are also known as sexual tension, little bitch, pervert, being long and meth.

So far so meh, a band trying to be overly 'humorous" by shock tactics and lots of crude jokes. Already I'm jumping to conclusions and that's without the band playing a single note, so the music, well it's a very poorly produced classic sounding metal, imagine a really self aware but Manowar but they record their songs in a public toilet with vocals that annoy and riffs that sound at times like they've been stolen from any 80's metal band you can think of. It's poorly recorded, desperately unfunny and tries far too hard, there are probably people who love it, I am not one of those people. Do yourself a favour and listen to the real Warlock (Doro Pesch's band) instead. 2/10 

Reviews: Gathering Of Kings, Course Of Fate, Voices Of Ruin, Tyrant (Reviews By Matt Bladen)

Gathering Of Kings: Discovery (RN Records)

Ah another Gathering Of Kings album and another chance to indulge in some big AOR rocking. Their debut record First Mission (JAnuary 2019) garnered an 8/10 from me when it was released so I rushed to check out this follow up. On the first record I compared Victor Olsson's project to the Phenomena records along with the more modern Avantasia albums too. Yep it's a multi-person collaborative effort with every song tailored for the vocalist featured on it while keeping the musicianship relatively similar. Olsson takes the majority of guitars, bass and keys with the drums spread between Efraim Larsson (ex-Diamond Dawn) and Jonas Källsbäck (Night Flight Orchestra) additional players are Nalle Påhlsson (Therion/Vindictiv) on bass and Joel Selsfors/Erik Gafvelin Wiss on keys.

Vocally many of the singers from the previous effort re-appear, Immediately you hear Apollo Papathanasio (Spiritual Beggars, We Are The Dead) on Riders Of The Light he take's two songs as does Rick Altzi (At Vance) who lends his gritty pipes to Heaven's On The Run a big AOR rocker. The lion's share come from Tobias Jansson (Saffire) who has a soulful delivery on the balladic The One That Got Away and the bouncy Lorelei with Alexander Frisborg who co-writes most of the lyrics, taking the remaining two. Discovery remains in a similar style to the debut record that does AOR well, the multiple singers giving every song a different identity. Does it get the same score? You bet it does! 8/10

Course Of Fate: Mindweaver (Rock Of Angels Records)

Ah Norwegian progressive metal...usually much more cerebral and heavier than many of the European prog/power bands while retaining those melodic elements that come from the extensive use of keys and atmosphere. Mindweaver is the debut album from Course Of Fate a band formed in 2003. Their last release was an EP in 2013 so this album has been a while in production, which could be due to the drummer's involvement in the Holter project's, one of which featured Nils K Rue from Pagan's Mind a band who Course Of Fate sound a lot like. However they have a lot more ambient and classic prog rock sounds along with the crisper metal riffs, a song such as Utopia is a great example of this, using an emotional at time theatrical delivery similar to American band Queensryche or even Evergrey. Lyrically the album deals with emotions and mental health meaning that the music follows suit by being dark and direct, there aren't huge flights of fancy with tonnes of solos, the songs are more reserved and deftly delivered relying on complex playing but never detracting from the songs. A debut album of Norwegian progressive metal that is very similar to any of the other numerous bands never really bothering the leaders, though as a debut it charts what the future may hold for  Course Of Fate. 6/10

Voices Of Ruin: Path To Immortality (M-Theory Audio)

When you're all ready to review a melodic death metal band and the album opens with an ambient shimmering guitar instrumental, it is a little bit of a surprise, however as soon as Carved Out opens the record properly you are thrust right back into the territory of Amon Amarth and Children Of Bodom. Path To Immortality is the third full length from the Southern California based band, but their fusion of death metal and classic heavy/power metal leads pays homage to the Swedish melo-death scene with a big Arch Enemy, Dark Tranquillity and In Flames all audio influences on songs such as the title track which builds from it's groove driven beginning into the speedier solo section at the end, Suffering Silence brings some more thrashier riffs and some soaring lead work.

The album was produced by Machine Head/Soulfy guitarist Logan Mader (Gojira, SepticFlesh) and he's made it shine showcasing the bands talent of ragers like Reach Toward The Sky which really brings Amon Amarth to mind, in that it sounds like Twilight Of The Thunder Gods. Herein lies the problem which is that I've always found melo-death bands to be a little samey, yes they play well and are at times more accessible to a wider audience than straight up death metal, but the songs are very similar meaning that either the albums whizz by with little deviation or the slog with sameiness. Path To Immortality is a good melo-death record and fans will lap it up. 7/10

Tyrant: Hereafter (Shadow Kingdom records)

Pasadena, California's Tyrant have been going 41 years! Formed by bassist Greg May in 1978 they released a slew of albums between 1985 and 1987, even being featured on Metal Blade records seminal Metal Massacre II and being signed to the label. Then they released another record in 1996 but as with so many bands they went through a period of change with no releases and line up switching. There most recent history started in 2017 with May and long term guitarist from the old days Rocky Rockwell adding Ronnie Wallace on drums (2010) and former Candlemass/Solitude vocalist Robert Lowe all of which has lead to their fourth album Hereafter. But! I hear you cry! Is it any good? Well I guess the honest answer would be that it's ok, it certainly sounds like a band who haven't released an album since 1996, at least production-wise, the record is really grainy and a bit wishy washy, the drums are too high in the mix and the trebles are too low. I guess the songwriting is adequate, there's riffs pinched from Candlemass, Sabbath and the like, most of the songs sit in a mid-pace with the occasional foray into acoustics and strings but nothing sticks and it's probably a few tracks too long. Their die-hards may have been waiting many years for this and greet it as the second coming but unfortunately for the more casual listener it's below average. 4/10

A View From The TV: Century Media Isolation Fest (Gig Stream Review By Matt Bladen)

Century Media Isolation Fest, Century Media YouTube Channel

What novel idea, after a few weeks of lockdown record label Century Media organised a showcase of some of their best bands. Recorded from various locations all of them were streamed performances, brought together to create an evening of heavy metal on a Thursday night. Between the songs members of the record label introduced the bands and the comments section on the stream was buzzing all evening. So after a bit of chit chat it was time for the first band:

First up was Baest (7) a band who are monumentally heavy, delivering face ripping death metal, it's a pretty meaty way to open any festival, you can imagine this at 11am in a field somewhere. Taken inside the Danish bands practice room, no quarter was given with them plowing full force into the first song, decked out in full stage gear with their inverted cross in front of the drummer it was equally as impressive from this little room as it would be on a stage, the drummer blasting for his life while the trio of guitar stringers windmilled madly, all four standing members headbanging in the breakdown. Just one song and my neck was already hurting as they introduced their second track of their 20 minute set, it was four song destruction showing why Baest deserve the plaudits, even their sound engineer was banging his head furiously in the behind the scenes shots.

Next Italian tech death from Hideous Divinity (8) as the countdown timer once again descended ready for the metal. We had the three screens of Hideous Divinity, one for vocalist Enrico "H." Di Lorenzo to unleash his roars, one for Riccardo Benedini to sweep pick and solo like a he's possessed with the last screen featuring guitarist Enrico Schettino and bassist Stefano Franceschini who shred like absolute bastards Enrico sharing the solo duty. This is laser focussed tech death built around pre-recorded drums from Giulio Galati who was probably having a beer and air drumming along. They managed to deliver a lot of power despite three of the four being sat, Di Lorenzo especially working it like a real live gig having to take huge breaths after every songs end. With only room for three tracks it was music that bludgeons and amazes in equal measure, extra marks go to the HD cat as well!

French black/death Svart Crown (7) were next keeping things heavy with another neck snapping, finger bending heavy assault in the black an white aesthetic favoured by Hideous Divinity (hiding those pink walls see?). More aggressive and little slower at times than previous bands Svart Crown utilise dual extreme vocals and progressive sounds in their music, putting more abrasive sometimes discordant guitar playing against the destructive drumming. Their bassist gets additional kudos for just looking as cool as fuck in his front room IKEA lamp and all. This style of music is made for videos like with the atmospheric, otherworldly feel, mirrored by the camera work, the band content with just letting the music do the talking unlike the two previous acts who treated it like a festival communicating the the (digital) fans, Svart Crown just play driving home every single note with a moody conviction before drifting into blackness.

The modern day successors to the Nevermore crown from the USA were next to the screen, having wanted to see The Offering (8) for a while, just to get this glimpse of them in a live setting (albeit a safe one) was one thing I was waiting for. Two intros came (the festival one and their own) but finally we went Home From Home the band in their respective homes cranking out tracks from their amazing debut record. Musically the band blend black, death and thrash with prog overtones. Nishad George (guitars) and Spencer Metala (bass) in their seated positions playing intensely technical runs that really have that Nevermore vibe to them, bolstered by the absolutely immense vocals of Alex Richichi, he's got a massive range even when sitting taking him into those glorious upper reaches of  the sadly departed Warrell Dane, while dancing around punching the air. Rounding out this talented four piece are Steve Finn's drums, who has the biggest kit so far (I mean it is prog after all). The songs were filled with theatrics, samples, (though all the vocals were live), crammed with explosive guitar solos and a light show and nifty video editing (that needed the flashing image warning!). Just from their living rooms The Offering showed that live they will be a force to be reckoned with and I loved every minute of it!

Continuing with the thrash worship German thrashers Bonded (6) who's album we reviewed at the beginning of the year to high acclaim were next. Now thrash is best suited to running around in a  circle like a mad man spilling beer over everyone and everything. This is difficult to achieve at home (imagine the carpets) but I'm sure if you're running around your coffee table it can feel very similar, if you get a friend to to run in the opposite direction then it will be a hallowed figure 8 pit. Bonded play thrash, they have pedigree yes, a harmonica break yes but 20 minutes is more than enough of them, there was a weird fade too where I thought the stream had broken. I can only really watch this sort of middling thrash on stage where it belongs both on record and here it had me doing something else.

It was Deserted Fear (7) who play flesh ripping death metal that followed, recorded live from a studio in Germany, they were shown having drink outside before heading in strapping on their guitars and getting behind the kit assuming that wide leg position and bringing some old school death metal riffs. There was some between song banter, but only if you spoke German but it didn't really matter due to the music speaking louder than words. Guttural vocals, twin guitars and a drummer locked in a room going nuts Deserted Fear did here pretty much what they do live, lock in to position and let loose the dogs of war. Only with a little more refinement adding some electronics and dashes of melo-death on their final number.

More thrash! This time from Spaniards Angelus Apatrida (8) each coming in separately and chugging a beer as the acoustic strains of their intro lead into their first song. Now unlike Bonded here there seemed to be a bit more life as they edged into the realms of crossover the melodic leads coming thick and fast with the pace never dropping below a steady chug, mostly the blast beats and shredding was the order of the day. Again it didn't set my world on fire but my head was nodding and the band seemed like they were enjoying themselves in their respective isolation even interacting with each other and the crowd throwing a bit of Pantera during the song changes sprinkled with liberal beer drinking. Full of youth and chaos they finished with You Are Next which was blistering!

Taken from a recent streamed "empty arena" show with Insomnium Finnish Melo-death band Omnium Gatherum (4) were one of the few acts to be playing on stage with their entire set up. Now the visuals on this one was greatly affected by the lights and the shaky camera work, at one point the video even went black. But they were in full performance mode delivering a slick set of keyboard driven melodic death metal that didn't really grab my attention enough to become invested in it. If anything the band playing on a stage to an empty room made it feel a little odd to be honest as the whole time I kept thinking this could be just a poorly recorded video from a gig. 4/10

Omnium Gatherum only got one song (thankfully) as it was then time for Swedish retro heavy rockers Lucifer (7) to get things grooving, filming themselves in their rehearsal space and bathed in red light. They started out on their usual smouldering form Johanna's soulful vocals leading as her band of merry men; Linus Björklund (lead guitar) Martin Nordin (rhythm guitar), Harald Göthblad (bass) and Nicke Andersson (drums) whipped up a hard rock storm in a very cramped room packed full of vintage equipment up to the ceiling. Taking tracks from their latest album III they were the one band of the night who had a massive stylistic difference but that was to their favour standing out amongst the mass of blast beats and lightspeed shredding with some blues occult grooves. A neat little detour into the realms of hard rock.

This gave way to the majestic avant-garde Black/Folk/Viking of Borknagar (8), featuring ICS Vortex on bass and vocals, a position he shares with keyboard/organist Lars "Lazare" Nedland they unleashed the best performance of the night so far, firstly with the folk chants and violin on the first song it was awe inspiring with the hairs standing on the back of my neck as the violin chimed into the slow pace evoking a tundra, with a fizz and change ICS took the mic and they launched into a heavier performance that was also spell binding but uniquely their own ICS' vocals are brilliant with a dense musical performance from all of the members homes. Possibly the best show of the night, it was beyond words, visuals not needed (though ICS has got a LOT of guitars), Borknagar were a audio experience over the course of just one and a half songs.

Canadian prog thrash revolutionaries Voivod (5) came next explaining that they would be without a drummer and without rehearsal as well. Still they managed to make two songs and a visualiser from drummer Away taken from their latest album, unfortunately it didn't win me over no matter how noble they were for playing despite setbacks. I can never get past Snake's vocals and for that it was a quick bathroom break before the headliner.

The penultimate act of the main show were melodic death metal act Insomnium (6), they were introduced by Sanctuary's Lenny Rutledge who called them his favourite band. Unfortunately it was the same stream as the Omnium Gatherum show earlier so had all the visual and audio quality of a phone recording at a show. Saying that the sound was much crisper both Jani Liimatainen and Niilo Sevänen's vocals audible and the bands more atmospheric sound giving a bit more clarity than earlier, only getting muddy when the distortion came in. Personally if they had filmed it all in the close up (when it wasn't pixelated) I'd have been happy but really I was just a little drained from the four hour running time and a slightly distracting performance from Insomnium.

Finally I was woken up by the hard rocking racket of Dead Lord (7) a band who were introduced by Lucifer's Johanna and are apparently the biggest selling Swedish rock band in Sweden. They channel the dirty dual guitar of Thin Lizzy with the wild eyes, hair and beards all living up to those 70's tropes. A band who are built to play live this is the sort of thing they are made for, playing in a circle in their rehearsal space, their rock n roll was accompanied by shaky, twisting camera work and psychedelic lights. An upbeat way of ending the evening with some good old fashioned rocking.

All in all a great idea that I hope spreads to the other record companies, especially with no sign of any summer festivals, it will be good to see some of the best bands around even in this strange format. Perfect for an evening of beers and loud music, without the travel, queues and problems that we've often discussed on the blog (other people talking!)

The Spotlight: Interview With Eulogy By Paul Hutchings

Eulogy Interview

One of the rising bands on the South Wales hard rock scene, Eulogy are a three-piece comprising Mike Williams – guitar, Neil Thomas – bass/vocals and Darran Goodwin – Drums. I caught up with the guys via Skype on 6th May for a chat and to see how things were in these strange times.

We started our conversation as is the norm these days. Unsurprisingly, the band are, like most of us, fed up with the lockdown and the restrictions. One member of the band is furloughed whilst the other two are working from home. That presents its own challenges as Neil described: “Yeah, we can do everything from home, that’s not a problem, in fact I’m probably doing more work now than I normally do. Your day doesn’t finish, it just goes on and on”.

For those readers who don’t know much about the band, it’s always useful to get a bit of history and Neil, Darran and Mike were happy to provide a potted history of Eulogy. Mike started the story. “We’d all played in bands before, in fact we’d played together before, years and years ago, and our paths had crossed many times. Anyway, I’d emigrated to Australia but it didn’t work out and when I came back I got in touch with Neil to see if fancied doing something and we got together to jam on a Saturday night”. “It was just a bit of fun to start” added Neil. “It was just that, a couple of beers, a catch up” continued Mike, “but sometimes these things flourish into something else, and before we knew it we had some tidy songs, but our drummer wasn’t really into it and he was getting less and less enthusiastic”.

Neil explained that they would be driving to the venues for gigs only to see their drummer driving the other way, away from the venue!” Mike and Neil got Darran on board, and as anyone who has the trio play will know, the chemistry is “fantastic”. Darran had been playing for Dirty Minds, a covers band who were well known on the club circuit in South Wales. Ironically, Darran had stopped playing due to his health. “Diabetes, and two or three gigs a weekend was just too much” Darran explained. “Neil got in touch and asked if I fancied going down to have a play and a jam; it won’t be every weekend! And the rest is history. Within three months we were recording You’ll Die Alone.” The irony about that, as Mike pointed out, is that if it wasn’t for the pandemic, Eulogy would be gigging at least twice a week.

Like so many bands, Eulogy have lost a shed load of bookings because of Covid -19. “We had a whole list of gigs ready and waiting for this year” Neil explains but of course they have lost all of them now. This included the Drunken Monkey Festival where Eulogy have been rebooked and pushed up the 2021 bill. We paused to reflect that many bands won’t make it to 2021. Darran continued “the momentum we had, it was going so well and then it has all stopped”. “This is the thing” Neil continues, “It was terrible timing. The EP (Memento Mori) was released on 23rd February and we had gigs lined up to back that up and go straight into it, almost an EP mini tour but everything has died down now. We’ve had some really good reviews for the EP, but we haven’t been able to promote it.” One of the biggest frustrations for the band is that their mini tour to support the EP would have seen them travel and gig in other parts of the country. Darran explained that the band had gigs across the country.

The reviews for the EP continue to be posted on the band’s Facebook page and are universally positive. It made sense to explore the reaction to the EP a bit more. “It’s been overwhelmingly positive” Neil said. “Some really good, positive reviews there. Part of the reason that the reviews are still coming in is down to us signing to One Eyed Toad Records in November and they have been doing a great job of promoting the EP”. It sounds like One Eyed Toad have been doing a grand job as Mike explained. “The latest review was from the Czech Republic. It’s fantastic, extending beyond our shores”. But that isn’t the furthest that the band have reached with Memento Mori, with Mike doing a magazine review of the album with a contact in Columbia, whilst they have also been noted in Canada and Australia.

“We were really chuffed with the review in Hard Rock Hell Radio, who made us their EP of the week” adds Neil “and we had some exposure on the radio station so that was good”. If you haven’t heard the EP, then make sure you check it out. It’ available on all good streaming services but also direct from the band on their Facebook page which would be even better.

Astonishingly, given the stupidity of people, no-one had misunderstood the song Corvid for Covid. At least not that we know about. “To be honest with you” Mike starts, “we’ve got two songs. Corvid, and You’ll Die Alone. It’s a really bad time for these songs!” Darran adds, I got some response when I put the live recording of our gig from Fuel on my Facebook page!”. “A guy from one of the rock radio stations contacted me last week and wanted to play something off the EP, so he gave it a spin and said to me, “I don’t know what’s going on here, have you directly written about this?” and I had to explain that obviously we hadn’t as the EP had come out in February. Unless I’m psychic or something then obviously not! So, he said well I can only play Blood Red Skies or Cross to Bare, I’m not chancing the other two.” “We wrote it in June or July last year” adds Darran who is correct as the band put it out as a single last year and then remixed it for the EP.

Eulogy recently did a ‘take-over’ on Norwegian radio show Metal Express. This needed further exploration, much to the amusement of the band. “One Eyed Toad put us on to the station, and they contacted us” explained Neil “and we recorded a whole hour slot for their show, with tracks that had influenced us over the years. The problem is, we missed the bloody show when it was broadcast!” Cue much laughter from Darran, Mike and me. “We have a beer on a Friday night and a chat over the web” adds Mike, “and we were there saying, something is going on tonight? And we realised it was the radio show and we were scrambling around to find it, but they don’t do a podcast or anything, so we missed it!” “We were listening to all these shitty songs on their playlist going when are we on, only to find we’d missed it!” Neil adds. “It did at least start out regular Friday night chats” Darran continues.

If you’ve seen the band’s Facebook page, you might have seen that both Mike and Neil have done some on-line ‘tutorials’. It turns out that there is a story behind it. Mike explained. “Nearly every gig I do, I get asked about my guitar set up. I’ve got this Park amp, no one has seen, its circa 1970, it’s a Marshall essentially, and if guitarists see us, they always ask about it. I’ve had a few emails from people, so I thought, rather than do a tutorial I’ll just talk about my set-up and people seem to have engaged with it”. Neil’s position is slightly different. “We were so keen to get something out there because we were noticing that the following and hits were dropping slightly so it was a good opportunity for people to get to know the band a bit more outside of our songs. My job normally is tutoring and lecturing and that’s why I put the vocal masterclass on there. Just some basic warm-ups and things like that really. And some good positive comments as a result too”. What I really wanted to know was when Darran’s drum masterclass was coming but with no room in his flat and no will to annoy the neighbours, we’ll have to wait. Suggesting the South Wales Hello Kitty drum-off provoked much mirth though, and I think the suggestion to transport a HK kit across the region filing drummers (from the socially acceptable distance of course) is a winner!

We moved on to the timely subject of social media. The band have an active Facebook page, and I wondered how the band embraced the whole social media movement. “It’s peaks and troughs for me” said Mike. “We’ve all got personal accounts, and Twitter and Instagram for the band which I look after, but the normal platform for us if Facebook which Neil does a lot of. It is a necessity for us, and for all bands. It’s promotion, exposure, which we don’t have to pay for if you like. Back in our day, we’d be paying for all this”. Neil adds “It’s quite enjoyable, you get to know people, we’ve made some good links with bands, radio stations. I tend to use the different groups and I think it’s been very useful”.

For a little while, Eulogy expanded to a four-piece. Are the band still looking for that second guitarist? Neil explained. “Yes, we are. After Darren decided, for his own reasons, to leave, we had lots of gigs lined up and he couldn’t commit to them. We are still friends with him. We did get used to having that bigger sound with the extra guitar, so we are determined to get a second guitarist, but it must be the right person. We have a good dynamic and we don’t want an Yngwie Malmsteen player who is a right arse (Paul – I think you might find that YM is both!), so it has to be the right person but we are determined to get another guitarist”. The band has held some auditions, but it is important that with a band as established as Eulogy, with musicians who have solid technical skills, that the person is right. As Mike points out “it may not sound difficult but there are some tricky chords structures within our songs”.

Eulogy are still hoping that one of their festivals makes it through this year. Ilfracombe Rocks is planned for November 2020, with a whole host of mainly tribute acts. It’s no secret that overall, I dislike this type of band, taking valuable space for developing original artists although you can’t avoid the revenue that they bring into venues that are currently in desperate times. “It’s a tribute band festival” explained Neil. “There’s ourselves and The Autumn Killers who are opening and then it’s all tribute bands. It’ll be a good day; we are on early and then we can get drunk!” But what about the band’s view of tribute bands? “I’m with you” said Mike. “I’ve always played and wrote original music. The irony is that if one of the local bands made it big there would be a tribute band of them! There is no support for grass roots music for bands like us. But you are right, they keep the venues open and give us a platform to launch from”. Neil adds “We’ve done a few gigs with Metallica Reloaded, and they do drag the crowds in, but we get exposure”. Apparently, there was a vote for tracks from new bands which were put in for the Ilfracombe Rocks and Blood Red Skies was nominated and that’s how Eulogy got on the bill”.

One of the challenges at the end of the lockdown will be getting gigs at all, as every band will be desperate to get gigs. “It should be a win-win” Mike said. “If the venues are full, then the band’s will be happy to be playing, but there will be venues that won’t make it through this, they will fall by the wayside which is a real shame”.

To conclude the interview, we moved on to a couple of lockdown questions.

MoM: What is the one album that you would have tucked away with you that you’d never tire of listening to?

Mike: Metallica – Ride the Lightning

Darran: Rainbow – Rising

Neil: Ha! There was an album back in the day which was absolutely awful, no, I mean awesome (cue laughter from the rest of us), an album (Diving for Pearls) by a band called Diving For Pearls, I don’t know if anyone has heard of that (blank looks) but it’s a classic but at the moment I’d add in H.E.A.T’s latest album (H.E.A.T. II)

MoM: And what one song do you never tire of hearing?

Darran: Wild Side by Motley Crüe.

Mike: I’m going off piste a little and I’m going to pick Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush (cue admiration all round)

Neil: I think I’d pick Enter Sandman by Metallica.

MoM: If you had to name one book that you could read during lockdown, what would it be?

Mike: One of my favourite authors is Iain Banks and I’ve read all his books, but I keep going back to The Wasp Factory.

Darran: I’m not a great reader, but I got into Brian Lumley and I’ve just got back into his catalogue, so I’ll pick Necroscope.

Neil: I’m not a reader, unfortunately. Unless I’m researching for a song, I don’t tend to read.

MoM: If you could watch one live show that you’d seen, what would that be?

Darran: That would have to be the second gig I ever went to, Motley Crüe at St. David’s Hall in Cardiff in 1985, Theatre of Pain tour with Cheap Trick supporting.

Mike: It’s tricky, but I’ll go with Metallica and Anthrax the year after on the Damage Inc tour in 1986. I saw Sunn O))) recently in London, they were mind blowing but I’ll stick with Metallica.

Neil: Newport Centre, 1991, Operation Mindcrime tour, Queensryche. I can’t remember the support, but it might have been Lynch Mob.

MoM: And one drink (water is a given). What would the drink of choice be? I’ll give you one alcoholic and one non-alcoholic option?

Mike: It’s Gin and Tonic. I can drink at the same time with no guilt! Haha!

Darran: Soda Water and Lime. I’ll have a Bud or a Coors for the alcoholic.

Neil: A cold San Miguel and soft drink a Diet Pepsi (Cue hysterical laughter from his band mates).

Like all bands, everything is in limbo. “We were doing a couple of gigs supporting the 501’s and Black Rose but those have been cancelled” Neil explained. Apart from the festivals that have been knocked back a year, we are just having to wait. I think the whole hospitality sector will be last to reopen. Restaurants, pubs, the whole thing. As soon as you release people into those environments, we may have another spread”.

Massive thanks to the boys from Eulogy for their time. Do check out their EPs because they are both superb pieces of crafted hard rock.

Reviews: Derange, Sinisthra, Fish On Friday, Okkultokrati (Simon, Paul H, Matt & Rich)

Derange: Sense Part 2 (Self Released) [Simon Black]

This is the follow up to last year’s EP, unsurprisingly with the title Senses Part 1, but my first exposure to this London-based Djent/Alternative team, although they appear to prefer the pigeonhole of ‘Sassrock’. Whatever you classify it as, it’s a cracking bit of technical metalwork on display here and they’ve come a long way since playing the New Blood stage at Bloodstock back in 2016. The first thing that strikes you is Cat Pereira’s strikingly haunting vocals. She’s got the kind of vocal talent that hooks you in from the get go – a beautiful timbre, a cracking range and the ability to apply totally different vocal techniques effortlessly and seamlessly across the songs. When a singer jumps between a clear and extreme style it often jars, but not here. Then there’s the matter of the twenty or so stops in between that she manages between those extremes and this is one voice. It’s not all about the vocals though and there is some really skilful technical playing going on here musically as well, with that effortless underplayed feeling that is the true mark of a cracking musician.

Even though the EP is only five tracks, they’ve put two singles out for this, which is a strange move. Forgotten starts off sounding like it might possibly they most radio-friendly track on here, but then the sounds shifts to full on technical metal with a total jump in vocal style again, forcing you to listen that little bit harder like sitting in the front row at a 20:20 cricket match when an unexpected six to the boundary takes out your pint…Take It All tries to fool you into thinking it’s a ballad from its opening bars before going full on power ballad in its final minutes, and is probably the most accessible track for a non-metal audience. However the EP closer We Are is probably the best showcase of the variety you can get in Derange’s music and the track I keep coming back to, because there is so much going on in the song’s 3’22” running time. The five tracks pass in a blur, and this is a band I would really like the opportunity to check out live. 7/10

Sinisthra: The Broad And Beaten Way (Rockshots Records) [Matt Bladen]

Sinisthra, which means "the left side" represents the allegory of general free thinking without being linked to Satanism/religion as it is with bands such as Entombed for example. The Finnish band released their debut album in 2005 but after that frontman Tomi Joutsen joined Amorphis and as his career with them increased, Sinisthra found themselves in limbo a little. However they have returned from the wastes with Joutsen behind the mic still to once again to spread their doomy, grungy, atmospheric metal sound that plays to Joutsen's baritone, emotive vocal style. At 6 tracks long you get a solid 42 minutes of music with some sprawling melancholic instrumentals that drive the 13 minute Closely Guarded Distance, though Halfway To Somewhere Else is probably more effective as a slow burning melodic doom number similar to Hallatar (another band featuring Joutsen) with a craning guitar solo, as things get heavier and more gothic with Morningfrail (check out those organs) and Safe In The Arms Of The Everlasting Now takes a jazz-inflection with some Paradise Lost like thump and ambience towards the end of it's 7 minute run time. The Broad And Beaten Way has had a long digestion period but it has paid dividends as this album is a sombre, spiritually awakening record from a band that hopefully have new life in 2020. 7/10

Fish On Friday: Black Rain (Esoteric) [Paul Hutchings]

Somehow we’ve never given Fish on Friday a review in these esteemed pages before. Given how the love of prog runs deep within the team, this is a major faux pas that is now dutifully corrected. Black Rain is the fifth release, their first coming in the shape of Shoot The Moon in 2010 with their most recent Quiet Life released three years ago. Fish On Friday comprise Frank Van Boguert on vocals, keyboards and guitar, Marty Townsend on guitar, drummer Marcus Weymaere and Nick Beggs on bass, Chapman stick and backing vocals. Beggs daughter Lula continues her appearances on FoF albums, following her two songs on Quiet Life with a further four here.

Gentle elements combine throughout. This is a crafted, delicate, and balanced album that refreshes from start to finish. There’s the Steven Wilson vibe on Mad At The World, with its pop sensibilities and vibrant bounce, the eight-minute epic of Murderous Highland Railway, teeming with atmosphere and melody and the dark Morphine. Tackling the way that the world is changing at such a fast pace, there are uplifting blasts of sun and happiness that contrast with darker tracks. Consummate musicians are always likely to make things sound easy and the laid-back confidence on this album simply flows. Angel Of Mercy for example, has Beggs adding sweet harmonies to Van Boguert’s clean delivery as the song meandered like a gentle stream heading downstream. There’s plenty of variation with the electronic flavour of We Choose To Be Happy, Lula’s backing vocals adding a nice touch.

What is most noticeable about Black Rain is that it is more than a collection of songs. There is a comfortable feel to it, and the album flows organically throughout its 55 minutes. The guitar work is understated, Beggs bass lines rarely steal the limelight whilst the keyboards and drumming both interlink comfortably. It’s a mellow, relaxed album which has arrived at time which could do with both. Pull up a comfy chair, pour a cuppa or a deep glass of wine and enjoy an album that shines from start to finish. 8/10

Okkultokrati: La Ilden Lyse (Southern Lord) [Rich Oliver]

La Ilden Lyse is the fifth album from Norwegian black & roll band Okkultokrati. Another band who have passed me by previously, Okkultokrati play an interesting mix of musical styles on this album. There main components of the Okkultokrati sound are black metal, hard rock, hardcore punk, post-punk and psychedelic rock. An interesting and at times jarring mix of styles you would think but somehow Okkultokrati just make it work.

The album is chock full of riffs. There are so many great riffs here that I lost count. You get gnarly black metal riffs , blackened rock and roll riffs, hardcore punk riffs and dirgy doomy riffs. You get all these different riffs combined with an apocalyptic atmosphere and a psychedelic twist. It is like Darkthrone, Black Flag, Black Sabbath and Killing Joke have all been dropped into a blender together and the result is Okkultokrati. The album starts with Thelemic Threat which is full of dissonance and reverb and a beautifully simple but nasty riff.

 This simplistic but nasty approach is prevalent throughout the album from the psychedelic punkiness of Loathe Forever, the rawness of Cold And Cruel and the doomy trip of Freezing Vortex Death Dreamer. Okkultokrati have crafted an excellent album here. It sticks to the aesthetics of black metal whilst simultaneously taking the sound in many different directions. La Ilden Lyse is a raw and lof-fi album which is also rich and ripe with creativity and experimentation. 8/10

Reviews: Tokyo Blade, Asking Alexandria, Kardashev, CMF (Simon, Liam, Lee B & Alex)

Tokyo Blade: Dark Revolution (Dissonance Productions) [Simon Black]

There’s been no shortage of 80’s NWOBHM acts coming back from the grave this year, and that’s just across my desk. I wonder whether Andy Sneap realised what he was starting when he resurrected Hell a few years ago, as ever since there has been a positive deluge of such resuscitations – some more successful than others. Tokyo Blade are another act I was aware of by name back in the day, but had never actually engaged with - which is probably not surprising given the whirlwind of line up, name and label changes that plagued them in their early period, so I am forced to base my thoughts entirely on the music presented right here and right now. This is no bad thing, as Dark Revolution is nothing short of brilliant.

Crashing in with the confidently in your face Story Of A Nobody, this is balls-deep top-notch NWOBHM. The sound is rich, fat and crunchy, like a succulent piece of pork crackling, with bouncy rhythm lines from the back of the room which rattle your epiglottis, solid galloping twin-guitar riffery and lovely solo interplay between the axes of Andy Boulton and John Wiggins without any need for showing off and a distinctive and strong vocal presence from Alan Marsh. And it doesn’t let up from then on for the 11 tracks and nearly full hour of running time – not dragging at any point.

My personal favourite is The Fastest Gun In Town, which is pure and brilliant NWOBHM throughout it’s 4’23” running time, with a catchy chorus and spot on musical interplay. Take the best production and structuring of early Priest, mix in the guitar interplay of Maiden, with some of the pop-sensibilities of Def Leppard and you have the keystones of where these guys are coming from, but this is a band with a modern sound and energy, not a stuck in the past nostalgic wave in danger of becoming their own tribute band. Tokyo Blade are absolutely relevant right here, right now. This feels like a full on comeback album from a band who never quite arrived and definitely never went away, but who really deserve a proper audience. 9/10

Asking Alexandria: Like A House On Fire (Sumerian Records) [Liam True]

Evolution in bands has always been a discussion point. Like Metallica’s leap from ...And Justice For All to The Black Album and Bring Me The Horizons massive change with Amo, musical changes in bands are hit and miss and have to be executed perfectly. But you’ll always have the arguments about their ‘Original style’. Asking Alexandria have already made their change on their previous self-titled album released in 2017, but Like A House On Fire cemented the changes they’ve made. While musically going for a more, and I hate this phrase, radio friendly approach, it doesn’t mean they still haven’t got the heart they had when they made Stand Up And Scream or even Reckless & Relentless. Their Heart, passion and soul is still there, they’re just not the same people who did at. In fact, I'd argue that (Trigger warning for those scene kids) LAHOF is better than SUAS in both the lyrical and musical context.

LAHOF presents the new chapter of their career, where the band is going for a more headlining status and chorus’ on their sixth studio album (Five if you don’t count The Black, like I don’t). From the opener and title track, showcase their ability to create catchy chorus’ and prove that vocalist Danny Worsnop has a more powerful voice than on previous records, he doesn’t stray from his old roots with the harsh vocals. While not prominent they make their appearances over the album in the perfect places bringing a more balanced approach to his ability to sing. I Don’t Need You shows the band has a softer side, with the guest vocals of Grace Grundy, unlike Moving On from, From Death To Destiny, it’s a more ambient approach. From then on, the album proves they have more hooks and chorus’ than you can come up in a lifetime. It switches genres throughout, going from Hard Rock, to Electronicore to Stadium Rock. It doesn’t matter how you look at it, their change is one of the best changes of a band I've heard.

Asking Alexandria are one of my favorite bands of all time, and when a band evolves and changes their sound, I usually hate it (BMTH is a perfect example) but on LAHOF, they’re more mature, grown up and have shown a side they never have. The ability to make a strong album for the older fans and to gain new fans. This is as far from SUAS than you can get, but I find it to be a more enjoyable listen. I’m speaking for myself, but I can’t wait to see this band play the new songs. 8/10

Kardashev: The Baring Of Shadows (Self Released) [Lee Burnell]

Progressive Death Metallers Kardashev follow up 2017s The Almanac with new EP, The Baring Of Shadows. By their own admission, they believe metal can be beautiful as well as brutal and A Frame. A Light encompasses both. Immediately, you’re hit by chilling melodies and haunting lyrics detailing guilt for not noticing pain that led to suicide. The way the song portrays heavy subject matter into music by taking you through an emotional journey of beauty and loss is astounding. Seamless transitions and melodies that heavily remind me of Devin Townsend keep the song going to a point where it’s easy to forget that 8 minutes have passed but that’s ok because all 8 minutes were just elegant and brutal. Snow-Sleep turns the metal up a gear and strides away from the soft, melody of the Doom side of metal and increases the pace ten-fold as the intro blends black metal and doom to produce something fierce.

Again, I can’t be helped but be drawn to the lyrics, the tone is still bleak and otherworldly but instils a sense of self-reflection. Half way through the EP and Nico Mirolla, Mark Garrett, Alexander Auden Rieth and Sean Long are just doing a phenomenal job of masking heavy subject matter with beautiful melodies between Sean’s brutal technical drumming and Nico’s contradicting guitaring coupled with Mark’s clean and dirty vocals. Torch passing starts off similar to an Alcest song (think of Eclosion from the album Kodama). Progressive Death Metal bands have a way of interesting me to find out more about the lyrical side of their material. Kardashev haven’t done this for every song but if you go to https://Kardashev.bandcamp.com and look into the songs individually from this EP, they give a scenario of the inspiration behind the lyrics and to give you a sense of the tone set, this is from Torchpassing:

 "An adult holds their parent in their arms while they die in hospice. The emotionally accept this death, and 'give permission' to their parent to die as a way to cope with their loss". This is so emotionally hard hitting and you can absolutely feel it in the vocals, the guitar, the bass and the drumming that absolutely everything is poured into this. 

Finally we have Heartache which is the shortest track on the EP but definitely the fastest. The pacing of the song truly stands out here as you can work your way through a range of emotion by listening to the growls, coupled with the methodical chugging of the guitar and the variant speed of the drumming. You get a sense of anger, through to grief and back again - a real emotional rollercoaster of an EP in general. All in all, this was a fantastic follow up to The Almanac - infusing what makes this band beautiful and emotive but turning it up a notch and creating this amazing EP. Definitely a band to keep an eye out for, for fans of Fallujah and Aegaeon. 9/10

Champlin Williams Friestedt: II (Black Lodge Records) [Alex Swift]

Album oriented rock – I always thought it was adult-oriented rock until I was told otherwise (Thanks Mr. Editor!). Then I became confused by the name of the genre. Wait, album-oriented? I’ve only ever heard singles from AOR bands. Turns out that the genre is designed to be radio-friendly, to tailor albums with more commercial appeal, from start to finish. How’s that going for you Chesney Hawkes and REO Speedwagon? (Selling out stadia in the USA - Ed). Snarkiness aside, despite being designed to be inoffensive and safe, the genre is not all bad – acts in the vein of Toto and Chicago have actually produced albums which despite courting a commercial format, are pleasant enough listen. As luck would dictate, Champlin Williams Friestedt is a collaboration between TOTO singer Joseph Williams, Chicago vocalist Bill Champlin and Swedish guitarist/Producer Peter Freistedt. There’s’ certainly talent on display here, even if I am not really excited by the collaboration. So, what did we get with 2?

Well, this is definitely AOR. From the opening notes of Runaway Dancer, the guitars cascade smoothly yet with just enough fuzz on display to lend a crisp and motivating sound. It might have been a playing style perfected by Van Halen yet it is one radio rock has adopted and ran with. Williams’ vocals are in very good shape and he hits some impressive highs. Friestedt's soaring guitar musings are quite inspiring, proving one of the finest elements throughout. A key criticism though is that the chorus and verse melodies are not very well fleshed out, which is a problem in this genre. It doesn’t hurt the fast tracks such as Disguise and All That I Want as much, where the instrumentation is engaging enough to distract from the inconsistent writing, yet slower tracks in the vein of 10 Miles and The Love In The World really suffer from a lack of grandiosity – and, as you’d expect, there’s a lot of ballads. Thankfully, the production is fantastic, with the little embellishments – a synth twinkle here, a strange percussive effect there – lending a magical spark.

Overall, the definitive question is would I listen to II again? Well considering I rarely listen to the associated acts past the singles, the answer has to be a definitive ‘no’. That doesn’t mean it’s not an enjoyable experience in listening. There's plenty of elements I find generic and pastiche, yet there are others that are life-affirming and optimistic. In that sense, I’m lukewarm yet not in a negative way. 6/10

Reviews: Firewind, Pattern Seeking Animals, Horisont, Toledo Steel (Reviews By Matt Bladen)

Firewind: S/T (AFM Records)

Yet again we have another Firewind album and yet again it sees another set of line up changes. Gone is long time keyboardist Bob Katsionis (perhaps a little swamped with all of the other work he does) and gone to is Henning Basse who only joined the band for their previous album replaced by Herbie Langhans (Avantasia, Radiant, Seventh Avenue) behind the mic. Of course Firewind has always been the vehicle for the virtuoso guitar stylings of guitarist Gus G and on this album Gus explained that they chose Herbie due to his similarity to "Stephen Fredrick (Firewind's) first vocalist". But does it sound like Firewind's first album? This also didn't have the keyboards in it but it was full of meaty speed metal. Firewind does have the atypical Gus G guitar playing that made Ozzy want him, this can be heard on opener Welcome To The Empire which kicks things off with blasting heavy metal assault, the heaviness is retained on Devour, Langhans' vocals gruff and gritty while Petros Christo (bass) and Jo Nunez (drums) add bounce to Rising Fire.

It's from Rising Fire that the sound shift into the more melodic realms of Gus' solo albums, Break Away brings synths (played by Gus) similar to 80's influence on Bob's other band Outloud. There's a three part story on the record beginning with Orbital Sunrise through the saccharine ballad Longing To Know You. The second part of this album evolves into a hard record with riffs stolen from Dio, Ozzy and Maiden (All My Life) moving away from their normal heavy/power metal sound. From the info this change of sound is a deliberate move as it does suit Langhans' style more, unfortunately I feel that it's a little bit safe and really can now be seen as another Gus G solo record really, alas not his excellent 2018 release Fearless.  6/10

Pattern Seeking Animals: Prehensile Tales (InsideOut Music)

Spock's Beard off shoot Pattern Seeking Animals return with their second album in a year, yet again the four piece of SB members Ted Leonard (lead vocals & guitars), Jimmy Keegan (drums & vocals), Dave Meros (bass) and long time SB contributor John Boegehold (keyboards) have made an album of songs that have wider palate than the classic prog rock sounds of SB. The debut was very much in the realms of art rock with washes of acoustic phrasing and poetic lyricism that, if could make a Marillion comparison, moves them from Fish into Hogarth. Prehensile Tiles takes things further with the addition of more classical string elements along with flute, trumpet, sax and pedal steel. Keeping things the same as the debut it was produced by Boegehold and mixed by Rich Mouser but with a wider scope of sound influences adding to the debut.

Prehensile Tales is only 5 tracks long but when the shortest on the record is 4:30 and the longest is a mammoth 17:20, there is a hell of a lot of music to enjoy Prehensile Tales opens with Raining Hard In Heaven, a jazzy number with lots of tinkling ivories and synths out of a 50's Sci-fi B-Movie met with finger bending bass from Dave Meros, it's a catchy start with a huge repetitive chorus that sticks in your brain. It's followed by Here In My Autumn which is layered with acoustic guitars and strings showing why I personally think Ted Leonard is one of the best vocalists in progressive music, he's got a unique sound I've enjoyed since his tenure in Enchant (a band I believe he is still in along with SB).

Here In My Autumn is grandiose while Elegant Vampires is almost akin to a folk pop number with some great percussion from Jimmy Keegan. Leonard. Leonard shows he's also a very good guitar player on Raining Hard In Heaven but also on Why Don't We Run a song that's a potent mixture of Ennio Morricone and Carlos Santana. This serves as an appetizer for the monumental Lifeboat the albums prog epic, having a touch of Yes at the beginning before the sax adds some Van Der Graaf Generator vibes. For any prog rock fans listening to the album this song you will naturally be the one you gravitate too, it's a slow burner for sure but oozes virtuosity out of every note but it's not over yet as the album closes with the 12 minute Soon But Not Today which has some 60's grooves, a lot of Jethro Tull-esque flute, Brian May leads, some reggae and trumpet making it the albums most intriguing number. Once again Pattern Seeking Animals explore what the term 'progressive' really means and if intricate artistic, hooky prog rock is right up your alley then I suggest investing in Prehensile Tales. 8/10

Horisont: Sudden Death (Century Media Records)

Sudden Death is Horisont's sixth full length record, no it isn't a tribute to Jean Claude Van Damme's hockey based action movie. No they are a Swedish retro rock band (yes another one) and as such do it as well as if not better than some of the originators. As far as decades are concerned Horisont are unashamedly 70's though they askew the Sabbath and Purple worship of Graveyard or Witchcraft, rather they fill their album with more poppier sounds of the 70's in particular the piano driven glam rock stomp of The Sweet and David Bowie channelled through the quirkiness of Blue Oyster Cult and ELO. Sudden Death is a collection of scary monsters and super creeps with more than a nod to Thin Lizzy on Pushin' The Line while the strains of Ziggy comes through liberally on Revolution, though the freewheeling Into The Night and into the acoustic scrubbing of Runaway you can hear why Sudden Death has been in the works since 2013.

Horisont have tried to stretch the boundaries of the 'retro rock' tag here by paying homage to the sounds of that era not often visited by many of their Swedish brethren (lets face it most of them are Swedish), consider this record an homage to the those glam, americana and blues influenced bands from the 70's, it's music that has been slaved over to make it sound as authentic as possible. Just listen to Breaking The Chains and not think about Moroder jamming with the Doobie Brothers, or Archaeopteryx In Flight without being haunted by the horror themes of John Carpenter, I dare you. Sudden Death like the JCVD film it's named after is a fun filled romp through one of the most vibrant times for music, grow out that moustache and get into the groove. 7/10

Toledo Steel: The First Strike Of Steel - The Early Years Anthology (Dissonance Productions)

This album is the 2013 and 2015 EP's from Bournemouth NWOTHM band Toledo Steel, after their full length album No Quarter received rave reviews in 2018 especially from me it was probably time that fans who loved that record were able to hear the early releases from these leather clad purveyors of galloping metal. The first three tracks are from the Toledo Steel EP and are rawer/punkier tracks the bass heavier in the mix and the compositions a little simplistic, but they show where the band were heading, it's with Zero Hour the remaining six tracks that we hear more of the Toledo Steel sound those that picked up No Quarter will be familiar with.

Kicking off with a synthy instrumental it's a much more polished sound with stinging dual leads from Kyle House (no longer in the band) and Tom Potter, with a pounding rhythm section of Matt Dobson (drums) and bassist David Lovell (also no longer in the band). However the main linking component is that Rich Rutter's trad metal shriek, his vocals soar higher than any Elon Musk satellite and on the Zero Hour material you will hear it at it's best. An ideal way of introducing new converts to the band to their older material, if you have them then nothing is different but if you missed them the first time round this is an perfect one disc collection. 7/10