Reviews: The Quireboys, Sodom, Arcane Existence, Attick Demons (Reviews By Paul Hutchings & Matt Bladen)

The Quireboys – A Bit Of What You Fancy (Off Yer Rocka Recordings) [Paul Hutchings]

There’s a bit of a push to get this album into the Top Ten. I must admit that chart positions seem to me a relic of a bygone era, probably about 30 years ago in fact! And of course, that’s where A Bit Of What You Fancy originates.

A studio re-recording of the band’s iconic first album, full of that gypsy rock n’ roll that the band made their own. Listening to this album again, it’s difficult to argue with its swagger, attitude and quality. Spike’s smoky, gravel coated vocals and the band’s interplay through both the raucous and gentle have always worked well. Sure, they’ve copied The Faces, The Black Crowes and that whole style but there’s something about The Quireboys that always brings a smile to the face. Their recent appearance at the Steelhouse Festival was the classic example. Watching Spike and co strut their stuff as the sun slowly dropped behind the stage with a beer in hand was just perfect rock n’ roll without any baggage. Those tinkling ivories, the sleazy riffs and music that you can’t help but sway to. It’s a good time album.

There’s not much filler on here either. The anthems of 7 O’Clock, There She Goes and Hey You are well known, but there’s the calmer Don’t Love You Anymore, the fingers down the blackboard of Sex Party and the downright bombast of Long Time Comin’ as well. Ultimately, The Quireboys will either get you reaching for the whisky and a good dance or for the off button. A true marmite band in every sense. The CD for this release features a couple of bonus live tracks, Man On The Loose and Mayfair whilst the vinyl reissue is limited to 750 copies in blue vinyl. One for collectors and serious fans only, but a welcome opportunity to revisit an album that still gets a smile and the foot tapping. 8/10

Sodom - Bombenhagel (Steamhammer/SPV) [Matt Bladen]

This Bombenhagel EP is supposed to be a sign of life for Sodom, it's a way to tell their thrash legions that they are still kicking even with all this madness going on. They originally planned a full length record but obviously with the lack of shows was a problem so instead they have brought out this EP. Named after and featuring a re-recorded of their 1987 song Bombenhagel the EP brings the track to life with Sodom's new four piece line up the double axe attack making it more aggressive than ever before, though it still features producer Harris Johns playing a solo. The other two tracks are new ones the first being Coup De Grace a rampaging thrasher written by guitarist Yorck Segatz, highlighting the climate emergency but also showing why Sodom are considered one of the Big 3 of German thrash. They are probably the also the nastiest of this triumvirate the Slayer to Kreator's Metaladeth and Destruction's Anthrax. A showcase of guitarists Yorck Segatz and Frank Blackfire, Coup De Grace is a pit inducing track, Pestiferous Posse though shifts into grooving evil dirges where Tom Angelripper's gnarly bass and drummer Toni Merkel's artillery fire grinds you down. Yeah it's a stopgap release but it doesn't claim to be anything else. With the promise of a new album Sodom are still alive and kicking. 6/10  

Arcane Existence – Colossus (Self Released) [Paul Hutchings]

The second release from the California-based symphonic death and black metal outfit, Colossus is a record that one could spend days exploring and still discover new and wonderful elements. Initially a solo project by multi-instrumentalist Kiera Pietrangelo in 2016, the addition of two studio musicians saw the release of 2017’s The Dark Curse. This morphed into a full band and Colossus sees the first fruits from that alliance. This isn’t a straightforward album. The combination of jagged black metal with death growling roars combined with soaring symphonic and operatic vocals will undoubtedly cause some purists to wrinkle their noses. 

It’s a definite crossing of genres, linking Nightwish and Epica with the likes of symphonic black legends Dimmu Borgir and the aggressive power of Watain. Thirteen tracks could be off putting but the album clocks in at less than an hour, with the songs rarely straying beyond five minutes apart from a couple of occasions. There are additional theatrical parts which enhance the creativity that is on display here. The atmosphere rarely dips, and for me, the whole combination is cohesive and enjoyable. The intricate and delicate sections, featuring the spiralling orchestral segments carve cleanly through the pummelling riffing and frantic blastbeats to an extent that the album flows in one organic mass rather than as may have been expected, a collection of songs. 

Rather than give a blow by blow review of the songs that make up Colossus, I’d recommend you spend plenty of time with this interesting and compelling release. It’s likely to be a real marmite album. Take the plunge and discover something a bit different to the norm. 8/10

Attick Demons - Atlantis: 10th Anniversary Edition (ROAR Rock Of Angels Records) [Matt Bladen]

I was probably a little harsh when I reviewed Attick Demons' last album Daytime Stories...Nightmare Tales. The issue I had was that they are far too similar to Iron Maiden vocally but musically things seem tried to be a bit heavier and thrashier than anything Maiden have ever released. So trying to take my cynical specs off for a bit, I dived into the 10th Anniversary re-release of the Portuguese Maiden's debut full length album Atlantis.  It's well much better, yes there's still more Maiden influences that it could be a pastiche, Artur Almeida's dead ringer for Dickinson vocal style ideal for the music, soaring high but with the snarling mids too.  

Atlantis is more like those classic Iron Maiden albums of the 80's, brimming with NWOBHM sounds from the galloping drive of A Flame Of Eternal Knowledge to the mini-epics City Of The Golden Gates and Sacrifice, it's full of historical themed tracks about mythical civilisations, much like in the Powerslave and Seventh Son records. As with their recent album there are some other influences of power and thrash metal but they are less pronounced letting the dual axe attack and powerful bass do the work on tracks such as Riding The Storm. 

To up their metal credentials this album also features Paul Di'Anno (before everyone realised he's a bit of twat) and ex-Manowar man Ross The Boss and was mastered by Andy LaRoque, but this isn't a remastered version so it's pretty much exactly as the original release however now available on vinyl and with 5 acoustic versions added as well. Atlantis I feel is a better record than their most recent effort as it has a bit more of an edge, the band young and hungry to play the music of their heroes. If you've got the original then only the acoustic tracks would make you rebuy it. But for new Attick Demons fans it's great to revisit where it all began. 7/10     

Reviews: Necronautical, Gama Bomb, Nothing Noble, Cold Comforts (Reviews By Richard Oliver, Paul Scoble, Megan Jenkins & Alex Swift)

Necronautical - Slain In The Spirit (Candlelight/Spinefarm Records) [Richard Oliver]

Manchester black metal horde Necronautical have been a dependable force in the UK underground scene since the bands inception in 2010. With three full length albums under their belts, Necronautical have now decided the time is now to stir things up a bit with the release of their fourth album Slain In The Spirit. Their previous three albums have been extremely solid black metal albums but on Slain In The Spirit the band have decided to wholly embrace other influences and styles. Whilst still very much rooted in the black metal sound the band have incorporated huge elements of death metal, progressive metal and symphonic metal into their sound. 

 The symphonic elements have appeared previously but here they are ramped up to the max and comparisons to bands such as Dimmu Borgir, Cradle Of Filth, Fleshgod Apocalypse and Septicflesh can easily be made. Necronautical use the symphonic elements to give their sound a far more cinematic and grandiose scale. This is evident from the very start with the opening song Ritual & Recursion sounding absolutely massive and it doesn’t stop there. The use of operatic vocals and choirs in Hypnagogia and clean vocals in Contorting In Perpetuity elevates the songs to a bombastic scale. There is also a greater use of melody especially in songs such as Occult Ecstatic Indoctrination and Necropsychonautics where the melodies are plentiful but very dark in nature. Slain In The Spirit is a masterful album. It feels like a natural succession for Necronautical and the material on offer is nothing less than spectacular. It is quite a long album running at just under an hour yet the songwriting and musicianship throughout are expertly crafted ensuring that that hour of listening absolutely flys by. 

 The only weak song in my opinion was a rather unnecessary cover of Slayer’s Disciple which closes the album but that is a very minor criticism as the cover does sound great. Slain In The Spirit is sure to catch the ire of ‘trve’ black metal fans who will dislike the new approach by the band but for me it is an absolutely winning formula. I always find myself drawn to melody mixed with extremity and add in all the bombastic symphonics and this album absolutely floored me. 9/10

Gama Bomb - Thunder Over London (Prosthetic Records) [Paul Scoble]

Gama Bomb shouldn’t need any introduction for regular readers of these pages, the Irish band have been making tight, high energy Thrash since 2002. In that time Joe McGuigan, Philly Byrne, Domo Dixon and John Roche have made 7 albums, the last one being Sea Savage last year, which was a great album. The band have now released this 3 track EP to keep them busy as Covid is cancelling tours. The EP features 3 tracks, the title track being a song about the evil of Nuclear Weapons. I grew up during the Eighties, Thrash Metal was a big part of my life as a child and early teenager. Fear of nuclear annihilation was also a big part of my childhood, I had stress nightmares about nuclear war, as did most of my friends. Then the cold war ended and we all forgot about it, but we shouldn’t have. There are twice the number of nuclear armed countries as there were before, and the weapons have continued to be developed; the bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima was a 20 Kiloton bomb, the equivalent of 20 thousand tons of TNT, modern nuclear warheads are measured by the Gigaton. It wouldn’t take many missiles to wipe out all life on earth, and let’s remember that all of this technology is designed, made and maintained by the lowest bidder. We live one piece of human error, short circuit or computer glitch away from annihilation. So I think this Ep is a timely reminder that we live a hairs breadth from the end of the world, and in my head Thrash Metal and fear of Nuclear Warfare go together so well. 

The EP opens with the title track Thunder Over London, which is fast, tight as fuck Thrash with a slight crossover, Hardcore feel to some of it. The chorus is slower than the rest of the song but is still driving and purposeful. Reveal The Shrieking Skull is more mid-paced, but with a great bouncy tempo to it, the chorus is faster and again a little bit crossover in feel. There is a cracking solo with some lovely harmonies. The track is called Reveal The Shrieking Skull, so does Philly shriek? Of course he does, in places he goes Ultra-Sonic, every time I play it my next door neighbours dogs go nuts. Final track Shut Up And Shout was initially disappointing, however that is not the fault of Gama Bomb or the song. I am severely Dyslexic so when I looked at the track listing I thought it said STAND Up And Shout, the Dio song, so I thought Gama Bomb were covering my favourite Dio song, and got very excited. I wasn’t disappointed for long though as Shut Up And Shout is a great track featuring more of those ultra tight Gama Bomb, riffs a cracking chorus and another really great guitar harmony solo. Thunder Over London is a great EP, superb songs, lots of energy and a timely reminder that the Human Race has spent the last 70 years sowing the seeds of its own destruction. 8/10

Nothing Noble – Modern Dismay (Prime Collective) [Megan Jenkins]

I’m going to be brutally honest here and say that progressive music isn’t exactly my thing. The new album from Nothing Noble falls under the progressive metal category and when I learned that fact my first thought was ‘oh god, I’m used to 4/4 time and songs under eight minutes long’, but my opinion has been swayed. The opening tracks, (of doom) and Modern Dismay, set the tone of the album perfectly. They’re both full of crisp drums, vocals that seem effortless, and guitar riffs that make you want to bounce. I couldn’t help but become hooked by their unique writing style. 

My personal favourite track on the album is Carnation – a slower song but nonetheless heavy like the rest. It's an instrumental track that lulls you into a false sense of security with clean guitars and technical, expressive drum work, but then the soft nature of the track is dropped for a driving drumbeat and djent-y guitar riffs. It splits the album up perfectly and allows you to have a break from vocals and just focus on the music and how truly impressive it is for a little while. It then fades into the next track and my close second favourite, Eternal Change’. 

It immediately brings you crashing back down to Earth and throws a riff that I can only describe as ‘chunky’ at you from the get-go. For self-confessed novices of the genre, this album is a perfect place to start. It doesn’t have the usual features of progressive music that would usually turn me off. Instead, it introduced me to a whole new genre that I won't be afraid to listen to anymore. 8/10

Cold Comforts – Living In Relative Obscurity (Self Released) [Alex Swift]

With a stripped-back yet commanding sound, Cold Comforts will undeniably appeal to anyone who adores the style of rock championed by modern acts in the vein of Royal Blood and Nothing But Thieves. That’s not to say these musicians don’t have a unique flair of their own though. Opener, Meditation seizes your attention with a blues-laden, desert rock riff and precise, rhythmic drumming. This momentum is carried over onto songs like the raucous and anarchic Anything At All and the broodingly dusky Lost In The Way. Meanwhile, moments like Turn Back Time and Slow Down soothe and inspire with production and melodies which despite being nothing awe inspiring, continue a proud tradition in this genre of aesthetics which sound discernibly independent and humble in quality. These anthems showcase this acts potential as one who are inspired by trends which they have witnessed and grown up with in music, that are also prepared to make these influences their own, with the instrumental skill and writing to back up those ambitions.

Sadly, there are also some moments here where the writing noticeably fails to grab me. I Don’t Really See The Point is aptly titled, and despite being a criticism of a music industry that capitalises on tragedy and saddening stories, fails to be lyrically or melodically interesting, based largely around the same words and phrases repeated for three minutes. Fake It All is one of the slower songs that actually feels like a slog to get through, despite the three minute running length. The transitions from the slower moments into the faster ones works about as well as the angry lyrics playing over a sultry and pleasant guitar line. There are some other criticism I have –on the production, the muddy nature of the mixing sometimes obscures the detail to such an extent that parts of the record become unlistenable, the records overall flow feels unnatural at times, and while my point about these players making their style their own still rings true, some of these songs might be too derivative for some audiences. 

That said, these are all criticisms which may become resolved over time as Cold Comforts go from living in relative obscurity to becoming a recognised and appreciated act. With their clever yet also accessible writing and impressive on-record charisma, they might find themselves in that position sooner rather than later. 6/10

A View From The Back Of The Room: Manic Street Preachers - BBC Radio 2 Live (Live Review By Matt Bladen)

BBC Radio 2 Live Presents: Manic Street Preachers, St David's Hall, Cardiff

A live gig! An actual live gig! Having been more cautious than a lot of the people around me and avoiding the first few weeks of 'freedom' by not going to some of the outdoor festivals that have happened recently. I forgoed Bloodstock this year due to work commitments (and my hatred of camping) but as luck would have it, tickets for BBC Radio 2 presenting the Manic Street Preachers, managed to find their way too me through the ballot and I was once again in the road to a live gig, after quite a lengthy layoff.

Taking place at the still closed to the public St David's Hall, this was a masked, socially distanced, fully seated, audience of around 100 people, spread out across the length of the venue in groups of two, this was a very rare chance to catch an arena size band in a very intimate venue. Having taken our seats been given our safety announcements by Jo Wiley herself, we were told to make as much noise as possible as this was being recorded for both audio and video, with numerous cameras on and in front of the stage as well as at the back of the venue. 

The stage dressing itself was reasonably bare, keys and rhythm guitar position/rack on the right hand side of the stage with drums in the back and the bass cab decked out in the Ddraig Goch. There was also a triple screen set up and lots of strip lights that would be used to great effect, but more on that later. Jo Wiley came back on to the stage, did her link and then as the place erupted, the applause and cheers echoing in the cavernous venue the Manics stode on to the stage in their unassuming style kicking off the night with an understated number before frontman James Dean Bradfield welcomed us all and drove straight into 'an old one' which was the first singalong moment of the night, the evergreen rock anthem Motorcycle Emptiness which brought a few tears to the eye, due to the power of the song itself but also, the magnitude of the show itself hitting home. 

Live music for some is vital, the bands especially and you could visibly see The Manics become more at ease as the hour long show wore on, Bradfield managing avoid blowing out his voice, which by the ned had that golden hue as Nicky Wire, decked out in his usual elaborate stage garb, began the night a little understated then started to throw shapes with the best of them. The set was a mix of tracks from their as yet released record, The Ultra Vivid Lament, some album tracks such as Let Robeson Sing and International Blue and some stone cold classics in the form of Your Love Alone Is Not Enough, If You Tolerate This (which still hits home) and You Stole The Sun From My Heart. The songs were more than musical spectacle, the screens carrying the words of Jack Kerouac, George Orwell and the most potent lyrics of each of their songs, "Reject All Propaganda" "So If I Can't Shoot Rabbits, Then I Can Shoot Fascists" "Culture Sucks Down Words"and "Libraries Gave Us Power" in large letters with the light show adding an artistic flourish. 

Towards the end of the show we were treated to a cover of Echo And The Bunnymen's Bring On the Dancing Horses and as the final notes rang out across the St David's Hall, all involved were enriched by the experience. The band finding their feet after the enforced break and the crowd possibly more appreciative of the music than if this gig had been in 2019. The show will be broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in September and will be on iPlayer and BBC Sounds before that, however you won't get the story of Jockey Wilson telling young Nicky Wire to fuck off at the International Darts Tournament in this very venue. It's tales like this that makes live music so vital, you can watch as many live streams or performance videos as you want but they just don't hold up, to the feel of a band cranking out their best songs to an audience! 9/10 

Reviews: Night Ranger, Circus Of Rock, Spektra, Alirio (Reviews By Matt Bladen)

Night Ranger - ATBPO (Frontiers Music Srl)

With 17 million album sales under their belts, the near-legendary rock band known as Night Ranger return with their 12th studio album titled ATBPO (And The Bands Played On), no it's not a bunch of Saxon covers. The title is an ode to all the bands making music at a time when it is near impossible. It comes at a very creative, purple patch in Night Ranger's career where the men involved will never recapture that MTV baiting, radio destroying magic of Sister Christian but have settled into a very strong latter career much like compatriots Styx and Journey. Night Ranger 2021 is the founding membership of Jack Blades (bass, vocals), Kelly Keagy (drums, vocals) and Brad Gillis (lead & rhythm guitars) along with 'new boys' Eric Levy (keyboards) and Keri Kelli (lead & rhythm guitars). 

Together they have written an album of arena ready rock tracks with a complexity that belies the catchiness. Bring It All Home To Me has a radio loving chorus but also dual leads from Kelli and Brad Gillis and of course the dual vocals of Blades and Keagy who shift depending on the type of song. Night Ranger were always different to a lot of their 80's contemporaries adding classic rock and progressive rock flourishes to the AOR sound and again ATBPO has all of that in the mix, from the driving Breakout, through the bluesy Hard To Make It Easy, the technical Cold As December and the stomp stomp clap of Dance the album is Night Ranger doing what they do best. What I also noticed is how few ballad there are, most of the album is pumping hard rock and better for it. I've always thought Night Ranger were one of the better bands from the FM/MTV 80's heyday and on ATBPO they prove they are just as good now as then. 8/10 

Circus Of Rock - Come One, Come All (Frontiers Music Srl)

Ah the rock/metal opera, previously the bastion of Tobias Sammet (Avantasia), Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon), Ian Parry (Consortium Project) and even Timo Tolkki (Avalon). But now Finnish drummer Mirka Ranatanen (King Company, Kopitelo & Northern Kings) has thrown his hat into the ring, or perhaps the three ring? Yep Circus Of Rock is the debut rock opera project with Ranatanen at the helm and as with all rock opera's worth their salt there is a who's who of rock/metal vocalists adding their pipes to these theatrical rock offerings that straddle European power metal, AOR and the baroque sound of Meat Loaf. You can pick an choose which songs are your favourites, one of mine is Sheriff Of Ghost Town which has Marco Hietala's gruffness on it and as it stands may be his final song as a singer. 

However the remaining songs on the album such as Desperate Cry has Johnny Gioeli (Hardline), In Times Of Despair features Elize Ryd and is basically Amaranthe, Thunderstone's Pasi Rantanen adds a bluesy punch to Crossroads, while my second favourite track is the brilliantly boisterous Caught In The Middle with Tyketto Danny Vaughn. Ranananen wanted the songs and the performers to speak for themselves so there's no reliance on the overly flashy, and thankfully no extended drum solos. Come One, Come All is a decent addition to the rock opera staple, though it's more of a musical project like fellow Finn Timo Tolkki is a dab hand at. A debut that is very much up to scratch with the leaders of the pack. 7/10 

Spektra - Overload (Frontiers Music Srl)

The creation of vocalist BJ, Brazilian rockers Spektra are a band influenced by the sound of American melodic rock acts such as Journey, Winger and even the more virtuosic offerings from Dokken. The title track gets us kicked off in fine style the band of Edu Cominato (drums), Leo Mancini (guitars) and Henrique Canale (bass) firing on all cylinders, showing their experience with bands such as Tempestt and Jeff Scott Soto band, both of which BJ is a part of, the first as vocalist and the second as guitarist and backing vocalist. This link means that Jeff Scott Soto and one Mr Del Vecchio produce this record making for a massive sound that really sounds like those classic Journey records brought into 2021. 

This is essentially a project to highlight BJ's voice and it does that very well, his history with multiple bands and styles paying off as he can easily move from slinky balladry, Since I Found You, into storming rockers such as Breakaway and the choppy Don't Matter. You can hear the JSS influence on this record throughout, the mixture of slickness, melody and also heaviness really making the album stand out above numerous other melodic/hard rock bands. Spektra are a fully formed veteran band, making an international splash with this debut record, nifty guitar playing, anthemic songwriting and that great voice make Overload a superior slice of melodic rock! 8/10

Alirio - All Things Must Pass (Frontiers Music Srl)

Yet another member of the Brazilian music scene added to the ever-expanding Frontiers roster. Alirio is a newer name on the music scene but on first listen his voice brought good memories of a much missed countryman Andre Matos (even replacing the great man in Sharman). The soaring ballads such as Here I Am and The First Time showing his great measured vocal delivery, that has been honed on stage as part of the Mexican and Brazilian production of Jesus Christ Superstar, as well as being the new voice of The Queen Extravaganza. So he's a very experienced singer and across this debut album his talent is very much  on display, having also had experience in some Brazilian rock and metal bands, such as the aforementioned Sharman. 

On this international debut album Alirio has worked with writers to make a record that will firmly establish his credentials outside of South America, the album features big ballads, the most effective being Grey which features Journey frontman Arnel Pineda and driving rockers such as I'm Still Here and Back To The Roots which draws from Shinedown's modern rock sound, Your Hate having . The main album is 10 tracks but there are 5 additional tracks on the digital versions making for a lot of content on this record and if you enjoy the music here then you'll want to come back again and again, however there are a few too many ballads that affect the pacing of the album. Alirio has made a mark on the international scene so it'll be interesting to see what happens from here. 6/10 

Reviews: Long Shadows Dawn, Blood Red Saints, Cruzh, Mayank (Reviews By Matt Bladen)

Long Shadows Dawn - Isle Of Wrath (Frontiers Music Srl)

Persuader guitarist Emil Norberg is obviously a massive fan of Rainbow. A style in contrast to his day job with thrashy power metal act Persuader, Long Shadows Dawn is an homage to Rainbow. Albeit the  Bonnet/Lynn Turner era with a sprinkling of Dio as well. Now obviously to capture that style properly you need a versatile vocalist, preferably one who has also performed with Rainbow (in 1994). The voice on Isle Of Wrath is the excellent Doogie White, a man with a stunning range, delivery and the ability to mold his voice to any style. It's no wonder he has sung for Yngwie Malmesteen’s Rising Force, Tank, Michael Schenker Fest and Alcatrazz as he pretty much has the blueprint hard rock vocals. 

I'll be honest it's White that makes this album, Norberg's playing is him indulging in as much Blackmore worship as possible, On Wings Of Angels coming on like MK III Purple, as Deal With The Preacher is out and out Dio. There's lots of explosive, fluid Strat playing (at least I hope it's a Strat), the galloping, rocky riffs shifting into expansive solos. I mean, they could have gone down the route of getting Ronnie Romero, a man who is often held in high regard for this style of music and even fronts Rainbow, however I much prefer Doogie White's voice, he's got a grit that comes from years of experience. Yet again another project curated by the Frontiers President but one that brings together a perfect vocalist with a Rainbow superfan for songs that sound-like Rainbow. It's a project that pays off well, worth a listen for Rainbow fans. 7/10 

Blood Red Saints - Undisputed (Frontiers Music Srl)

The fourth album from UK melodic rockers Blood Red Saints sees them return to the warm embrace of Frontiers, it's allowed them to move back towards the synth heavy, FM radio rock of that debut. It's the kind of music that never left your tape deck back in the 80's on the way to watch Tron. Well I say never left it would probably be swapped with Frontiers the album by Journey, funny then that it's the return to Frontiers (the label) that has brought back these massive Journey influences. Love Like War especially has that strut of the San Francisco AOR legends. The record was written throughout the Pandemic recorded at guitarist Lee Revills' studio. 

There was no set sound in mind for this album when it was being recorded but it was a natural fit to return to their debut as even though the band were formed in 2014 they are very much in that 80's sound of American acts such as Journey and REO Speedwagon but also Brits like FM and Dare. Pete Godfrey's voice is silky smooth, with a touch of the Steve Perry as Revill's guitars peel off tasty licks against the solid rhythm section of Rob Naylor (bass) and Andy Chemney (drums), a song such as Caught In The Wreckage highlights this well as does the rocky Karma which moves into some Def Leppard rocking. Clearly a positive move returning to Blood Red Saints they have re-established their melodic rock credentials with Undisputed. 7/10

Cruzh - Tropical Thunder (Frontiers Music Srl)

Not a concept album surrounding the 'comedy' movie featuring Robert Downey Jr in blackface, Tropical Thunder is the second album from this international (though Sweden based) melodic rock band Cruzh. This record sees a line up change adding Alex Waghorn's air raid siren vocal to the band adding more glam and modern AOR elements that reminds me of Reckless Love, Brother Firetribe or even Van Hagar with the virtuoso guitar playing from Anton Joensson a highlight. He has Dennis Butabi Borg (bass) and Matt Silver (drums) as his anchor meaning that there's always a thump on tracks such as Turn Back Time which also has tons of keys and synths from Erik Wiss, who is key to the sound. As with Blood Red Saints there's also some Def Leppard style on Are You Ready the band clearly writing this for stadia, mega-ballad Cady also created for a Billboard charting, in 1984, but still. Thankfully it's followed by the dramatic New York Nights taking away the sugar with some sin. There's been quite a long wait for a follow up Cruzh record and for fans it's been worth the wait, however Cruzh is a bit like the fruit flavoured ciders you see everywhere; far too sweet and not as satisfying as it could be. 6/10

Mayank - Mayank (Frontiers Music Srl)

Another project put together by the Frontiers President and it's a the age old tale of talented vocalist supported by a Frontiers go to studio musicians. Alessandro Del Vecchio is of course involved on bass/keys and production and it's Frontiers in house musicianship at it's best. Slick and melodic Gui Oliver's voice similar to Steve Perry as anyone who has listened to Auras or Landfall, both bands who have signed to Frontiers. Impressed by his voice with Landfall, Alessandro began to write the record with Gui and other writers, due to the pandemic, finally settling on the record they wanted to create this record together. They brought in Rolf Nordström of Perfect Plan on guitar and Nicholas Papapicco on drums to round out the band but as I said this is pretty middle of the road, modern melodic rock. 5/10

Reviews: Caskets, The Ugly Kings, Lorna Shore, Fearancy (Reviews By Matt Bladen, Megan Jenkins & Paul Hutchings)

Caskets - Lost Souls (Sharptone Records) [Matt Bladen]

So I've often lamented the modern style of metal with bands such as BMTH drawing my ire. Most of the time it's due to the emotional, often vulnerable lyrics, the radio baiting quality and the excessive use of electronics. However every so often I'm forced to eat my words, band such as Architects are a prime example for this, their metalcore sound has evolved into one that takes them into being one of the true future festival headliners. Other additions to that list are Wales' own Holding Absence, but I'm going to go out on a limb and put Caskets in that list of soon to be arena headliners too. The Leeds bands are a five piece and are following up their EP 2019 with Lost Souls their debut full length album. 

Recorded in a garden shed, Lost Souls sees the band, and frontman Matt Flood especially bearing his across the 11 tracks here, with heady, introspective and emotionally difficult lyrical themes. It's a record that talks with uncompromising openness deal about loss, fear and abuse but also retain an hopefulness that comes from the move towards an atmospheric sound. The crushing metalcore/djent heavy riffs counterpointed by soaring melodies, of course are boosted by the use of electronic blips and synths adding yet another layer to this dense musical offering. The band initially wrote the songs  in a similar ragey style to their debut but then decided to add mellower moments, relying more on passionate clean vocals and musical additions such as the synths and strings on the more introspective moments such as Hopes & Dreams.

Matt's voice is brilliantly raw but tuneful adding pathos to the lyrics of these songs his musical compatriots providing the captivating music. The driving rhythm section of Chris McIntosh (bass) and James Lazenby (drums) that makes Glass Heart a perfect single for Kerrang and Radio 1, they also power the anthemic Clarity with a dynamic bottom end that shits the feeling of it multiple times. Benji Wilson and Craig Robinson are a formidable guitar duo, cranking up the distortion on the massive sounding Lost In Echoes, which has the audio print of producer Dan Weller (Holding Absence, DreamState, Enter Shikari and Bury Tomorrow) all over it and again is natural single/live shout along. Taking me by surprise Lost Souls has quickly put itself on my albums of 2021 list. Poignant without being mawkish and passionate without being aggressive, it's a clarion call to all lost souls around the world, your voices are heard and projected through Caskets music. Fantastic! 10/10 

The Ugly Kings - Strange Strange Times (Napalm Records) [Matt Bladen]

From the country that brought us AC/DC, Rose Tattoo and Airbourne, Australian band The Ugly Kings eschew that pub rock sound of these legends of the Aussie rock scene, for a musical palette that is a little more haunting and much darker. Their sound is rooted in the offshoots of the Sky Valley scene, brimming with dark, bruising desert rock, as it transitioned into riffy, blues driven garage rocking that comes from the locker room of Queens Of The Stone Age. Add to this some punk of Iggy Pop and the mysticism of Jim Morrison sliding in to the moody, razor-sharp rock n roll. There's also some influences that loom large in the Greek metal scene with bands such as Planet Of Zeus, 1000mods and Deaf Radio.  

Frontman Russell Clark's deep, brooding vocal carrying the psychedelic, wooziness of Do You Feel Like Your Paranoid? or In The Shadows which has the start-stop riffing of Jack White building up into the the heaviest track on the record. Now there are a lot of bands that take from that alt rock sound of QOTSA, but The Ugly Kings are almost bang on to those early records, with a bit of oddness and danger in their music, packed into tracks that never give away too much about their lyrical content. The swaggering Spaghetti Western style of Lawman and the pulsing The Devil Comes With A Smile adding new strings to the stoner alt rock bow of The Ugly Kings. 

Along with Russell Clark, we have a rocksteady engine room of bassist Nicholas Dumont and drummer Joel Martin, The Devil Comes With A Smile one that is definitely all about them, while cranking out those riffs is guitarist Christos Athanasias who attacks his guitar with indignation, ferocity, while also being keenly aware of a move to slower, adroit playing for tracks such as Another Fucking Day which closes the record. We are indeed living in Strange, Strange Times so crank it up and let The Ugly Kings' guide you through the madness. 8/10  

Lorna Shore – And I Return To Nothingness (Century Media Records) [Megan Jenkins]

Though the band have been regularly releasing music since 2010, And I Return To Nothingness has forced me to start paying attention to Lorna Shore. At only three tracks long, I expected to listen to the EP from start to finish within 10 minutes and be mildly content, yet I cannot stop listening to it. The first track, and the title track of this release, is full of blast beats and in my opinion is an extremely solid start to the EP. 

The change between guttural and high-pitched vocals is impressive and seems so effortless for vocalist Will Ramos. Though he’s only been in the band for just over a year, he’s truly cemented his place within the group and proves that he is most definitely the right choice for them. Track 2 Of The Abyss is my personal favourite of the three. It begins with operatic vocals and then quickly incorporates a kick drum that sounds like a machine gun, but it works so well together even though it really shouldn’t. 

Intricate guitar playing quickly cuts to a breakdown that had me pulling gurns I didn’t even know my face could pull – absolute pure filth is the only way I can describe everything from the 3.5-minute mark. Then I’m given whiplash by the beginning of the final track To The Hellfire with an acoustic guitar riff that wouldn’t sound out of place on the soundtrack to The Last Of Us video games. Then of course it kicks in properly and we’re back to blast beats, gutturals and half speed breakdowns that are as disgusting as a broken septic tank but in the absolute best way. Thank you Lorna Shore for forcing me to pay attention to you. 10/10

Fearancy - Dæmonium (Black Sunset Records) [Paul Hutchings]

It may have been five years since the Austrian four-piece’s debut Paranoia but as the saying goes, all things come to he who waits, and in the case of their second album, it certainly has paid to be patient. 40 minutes of thrash blended with melodic death metal over ten tracks and each one brings something to the table. The band’s combination of styles brings a pleasing chug which underpins the fast and furious approach that is the blueprint throughout. Opener Last Disease provides a false dawn with a gentle intro that gives way to a thick groove-ridden thrasher which immediately piques the interest. Markus ‘Max’ Straub’s roaring vocals soar above the guitars, with Benjamin ‘Benji’ Jeram reliable and punishing drumming underpinning an overall ferocity that works well.

It’s fair to say that Fearancy aren’t going too far to reinvent the wheel with Dæmonium but their style should capture the interests of a fair number of metalheads. The title track weaves classic heavy metal in a way that should appeal to fans of more mainstream metallers although the vocals are slightly heavier and more demonic in sound and delivery. Elsewhere Voices is neatly crafted with an atmospheric intro which soon gives way to one of the fastest bludgeoning songs on the record. This is where the band ensure that there is no confusion in approach, but still manage to include some quality melody amidst the mayhem and frenetic aural assault. 

Rise Again brings chainsaw guitars and has a welcoming Arch Enemy feel. Fearancy have delivered a robust sophomore release, with a solid mix and mastering courtesy of J-F Dagenais (Kataklysm) and a stunning piece of cover art from Diego Gedoz de Souza (Hatebreed, Cypress Hill, Heathen, among others). I’d be very interested in seeing and hearing how this can be delivered in the live arena. 8/10

Reviews: The Helicopter Of The Holy Ghost, Grand Collapse (Reviews By Matt Bladen)

The Helicopter Of The Holy Ghost - Afters (Kscope) [Matt Bladen]

This is an album that shouldn't have happened, originally written by Billy Reeves after he left Brit pop/indie rock band theaudience (the springboard for Sophie Ellis Bextor). However Reeves' Morris Minor was hit at 90 mph and he spent a large amount of time in coma, undergoing many operations and then being housebound for a year. The demos for the Yours project seemed lost to the ether, Reeves' memory of the accident and that period of time pretty much gone. However in 2017 his brother gave him two mini-discs (remember them folks?) which had the demos on them. With these Reeves set about writing Afters the album that should not be.

Reeves takes the synths here, making the inspired choice of The Bluetones vocalist Mark Morris behind the mic. On piano Crayola Lectern (Lost Horizons/Departure Lounge) and guitars come from Mark Peters (Engineers). In the writing sessions the original Brit pop sound was disregarded for one that delves into the Canterbury scene along with the more modern art rock sound. A genre that Reeves championed when he was a journalist and broadcaster. The jangly, atmospheric guitars of Reeves, keening indie vocal of Morris and the piano of Crayola Lectern conjuring musical soundscapes of Steven Wilson, Robert Wyatt, and Gazpacho, whose Thomas Anderson is a special guest along with Cocteau Twins' Simon Raymonde and some other high profile names. 

Afters begins magically with Slow Down, this dream-like sound evident throughout the record, the beautiful strings behind Difficult Song, the jangly guitars and emotive keys of Tony Got A Car. Reeves and co-producer by Richard Archer of Hard-Fi bringing a esoteric ambience to these songs that Reeves himself, says he has no idea what they are about, in fact the band name is also a source of mystery. A wonderful collaborative project, taking victory from the jaws of defeat. 8/10

Grand Collapse - Empty Plinths (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]

Welsh politically charged hardcore/punk foursome, return to the fore with their first album since 2017. Since then of course there has been a little bit of political upheaval to say the least, so this album has a hell of a lot to rage about and rage it does. Calvin is the bile filled voice of Grand Collapse, he rages as the instrumental trio of guitarist Jon, drummer Glenn and bassist Blag bust out with biting riffs, the songs usually sitting around the 2 minute mark, using the short timing hammer their ideologically charged music home. Empty Plinths is a maelstrom of fury but with some nuances throughout as things move into some hardcore breakdowns, atmospheric passages and some clean melodic flourishes too to stop it from just being just an all out assault. A strong, punchy return for The Grand Collapse. 7/10

Reviews: Sepultura, Act Of Denial, The Cold Stares, Blacktop Mojo (Reviews By Matt Bladen)

Sepultura - Sepulquatra (Nuclear Blast)

A live album that has been cut together from Brazilian metal legends Sepultura's quarantine project, which kept them busy throughout 2020. Now it is a live album as these tracks were all laid down live in the studio but it has been produced to sound like a studio album. On these sessions they played a mixture of their own tracks and some covers from their respective studios. Additionally to make things interesting they also collaborated with numerous guests a lot of whom add additional guitars in unison with Andreas Kisser or vocals with Derrick Green. Now there's a an eclectic range of guest musicians, some from the Brazilian metal scene but also some friends from international bands. What we can all be glad about though is that opening track Territory, which features David Ellefson, is audio rather than video. 

As things progress we get Scott Ian on Cut Throat, the vocal trio of Fernanda Lira (Crypta), Angélica Burns (Hatefulmurder) and Mayara Puertas (Torture Squad) add to Hatred Aside, Devy being heavy on Mask, Matt K Heafy on Slave New World and Alex Skolnick of Testament on Vandals Nest. If I'm honest the guests don't really add that much to the songs leaving you with a Sepultura compilation with a couple of differences. It ends with a cover of Orgasmatron, one they have performed many times, though this time it features Phil Campbell. I admire that Sepultura have spent their time highlighting some of their compatriots with these sessions as well as joining some of their mates for some Sepul-karaoke but this is basically a fan-only curio. 6/10

Act Of Denial - Negative (Crusader Records)

Something of a supergroup, Act Of Denial are a melodeath band formed by Croatian guitarists Voi Cox and Luger, in searching for band members they have recruited Björn Strid (Soilwork/The Night Flight Orchestra) on vocals, Steve Di Giorgio (Death, Testament) on bass, along with drummer Kerim "Krimh" Lechner (Septicflesh) and keyboardist John Lönnmyr (The Night Flight Orchestra). So it is pretty much an extreme metal supergroup, albeit with Cox and Luger the only two members who have been in the same studio, I would think. Negative is their debut album and it's a heavy, aggressive mix of melodeath and groove metal. Driven by Cox and Luger's wall of riffs they come storming out of the gates with Puzzle Heart which with Strid on vocals has more than a little Soilwork, In Flames and At The Gates to it. 

Melodic flourishes of technical lead guitars and keys, on top of the thrash/death metal assault have that traditional melodeath sound, the credentials boosted by the production of Fredrik Nordström who was so key in making the sound of most of those bands just mentioned. Along with the high profile membership they have also sought out the six string wizardry of Bobby Koelble (Death), Peter Wichers (ex Soilwork), Matias "IA" Eklundh (Freak Kitchen) and Ron ‘’Bumblefoot’’ Thal (Guns N' Roses, Sons of Apollo) for some solos. Negative is an album that really embraces everything good about the melodeath genre but adds more elements to it, mainly the incredible guitar playing and Strid utilizing his clean voice a lot on songs such as Reflection Walls but also roaring like a good one on Controlled, Down That Line and Clutching At Rays Of Light. For a debut Negative is very impressive, hopefully this can become more than a studio project as gigs start to re-appear. 8/10   

The Cold Stares - Heavy Shoes (Mascot Records)

Big, riffy two pieces are usually very good. Bands like The Black Keys, Royal Blood, The Picturebooks and Wales' own Henry's Funeral Shoe all provide grungy, fuzzy, blues-influenced garage rock. So when it's a thriving genre to which The Cold Stares are adding their mark. Heavy Shoes is Chris Tapp (vocals/guitars) and Brian Mullins (drums) fifth album but their first on Mascot Records. Tapp draws from his own life along with American Gothic writers such as Edgar Allen Poe, though Tapp has lived through more traumas than Poe could conjure in a lifetime, adopted, the great-grandson of a Bootlegger, divorce and being diagnosed and thankfully in remission from cancer, Tapp explores all of these themes on Heavy Shoes his guitar playing moving between blues rock, Americana, desert rock and even doom as Mullins' drumming shifts the time and pace of each track, both men in a mirror-like unison. Musically acts such as The Picturebooks, Rival Sons and even good old Grand Funk Railroad themselves are all clear musical comparisons for The Cold Stares, the album hinges on tracks such as Strange Light, Election Blues, the title track and closer Dust In My Hands. Pure, blue collar rock n roll born out of struggle, just like it used to be. 7/10

Blacktop Mojo - Blacktop Mojo (Self Released)

We've reviewed Blacktop Mojo a few times on this blog. Paul Hutchings gave their 2nd and 3rd albums Burn The Ships and Under The Sun 6/10 while Simon Black gave their 2020 EP Static 8/10 so they've had a mixed fortune in these hallowed pages. So what about this third full length? Well I'm afraid I have to move more towards Mr Hutchings than Mr Black as for me Blacktop Mojo's music falls too often into the realms of Shinedown and Daughtry to really leave a mark. Soppy ballads like Jealously are too throwaway, Latex trys little too hard to be sexy, while Bed Tundy is a clever pun but it's Alter Bridge-lite.  You should expect that from a band that are dubbed Texas Grunge. As with a lot of the bands that aim towards radio success, like Blacktop Mojo do here, there are too many slower ballads consecutively, meaning that by the time Do It For The Money brings back the riffs, I was loosing interest. There's a place for this, it'll sell, mainly in the states or on rock radio but for me it's another addition to that long list of bands who attempt to reach the same level as Alter Bridge or Nickelback. 6/10

Reviews: Daemonicus, Grisly, Guhts, Eldingar (Reviews By Paul Scoble, Richard Oliver, Simon Black & Matt Bladen)

Daemonicus - Eschaton (Black Lion Records) [Paul Scoble]

Swedish band Daemonicus have been making nasty, brutal music together since 2006. The four piece made up of P.O. Wester on Vocals and Guitar, David Ekevärn on Drums, Jögen Persson on Guitar and Martin Pudas on Bass, have made 2 albums before Eschaton; Host Of Rotting Flesh in 2009 and Deadwork in 2012. The band play a very old school style of Death Metal, most of the influences on Eschaton come from the late eighties or early nineties Death Metal scene, back when Old School Death Metal was just known as Death Metal. Clearly Daemonicus like a bit of Metal nostalgia, but is this on the same level as albums made in this exciting, early Death Metal period, or is it a pale imitation?
The material on Eschaton is mainly a mix of very fast and brutal Old School Death Metal, and very slow, crushingly heavy and no less brutal Death Metal. The song The Double Edge Sword is a good example of the faster end of the spectrum. The track is fast, driving and beautifully flowing, it features a very pleasing guitar solo, and just to mix things up a bit, the track has a very slow and heavy ending. 

Another place where things get pretty rapid is the track The Grand Inquisitor which, after a chanted intro, is insanely fast. The fast parts have a definite D-Beat feel to them that is wonderfully energised. The Grand Inquisitor also has a very slow chorus, wherever Daemonicus slow things down it works very well, the riffs are breathtakingly heavy and remind me of Bolt Thrower, Autopsy and probably most of all it reminds me of Asphyx. The material on Eschaton also boasts some melody mixed in with all of the brutality, the track Fate Sealed Faith boasts some very fast and brutal riffs, but there is also a lot of melody in the chorus, and the song has a very tuneful and melodic section in the second half of the song. 

The band have managed to balance this mix of Brutal and Melodic in a very enjoyable way.
Eschaton is a very good Old School Death Metal album, it isn’t that original, but that isn’t really the point. In many ways this is a very simple and direct album, most of the songs are short and to the point. They turn up, kick your head in and then leave almost immediately, but they do leave an impression, I’ve spent the last couple of weeks humming all the riffs, and that is a great sign of a good album. If you are pining for some late eighties or early nineties style Death Metal then this is an album to seek out. 8/10

Grisly - Salting The Earth (XStreem Records) [Richard Oliver]

Three words that always manage to warm my cold dead heart are Swedish death metal. That filthy HM-2 guitar tone sounds as killer in 2021 as it did when it first reared its blood crusted chainsaw self in the late 80’s and early 90’s. There are a legion of younger bands paying homage to the old school Swedish sound and although they don’t hit the heights of luminaries such as Entombed, Dismember, Carnage and Entrails most bands do a damn good job of emulating the sound.

One such band is Grisly who have a killer second album of HM-2 worship with Salting The Earth. It is one of the countless bands featuring Rogga Johansson (seriously look at his page on Metal Archives) who performs vocals, guitars and bass and is also joined by Håkan Stuvemark on lead guitars and Nicke Ohlsson on drums. Basically if you have heard Swedish death metal then you know what you are getting here and that is filthy riffs, punky rhythms and a guitar tone that makes you feel like you need a bath after listening. Grisly aren't a Swedish death metal by numbers band though as they incorporate a lot more melody than most of their contemporaries into their sound such as in songs like By Inferno’s Light, Mutilator and Last Days In Fear. Although melodic this album doesn’t stray into melodeath territory with a near perfect balance between the melodic moments and the usual HM-2 death metal filth.

Salting The Earth is a very fun, solid, catchy and enjoyable piece of HM-2 death metal. It doesn’t try and reinvent or breathe new life into the genre but simply plays to all its strengths. The incorporation of a more melodic edge helps these songs stand out as really killer death metal songs with tunes such as Mexico (Reign Of Bullets) guaranteed to wreck some necks. It is a very short album with ten songs running in at just under half an hour but this is very much quality over quantity. 8/10

GUHTS – Blood Feather EP (Self Released) [Simon Black]

GUHTS is a Post-Metal side project from the husband and wife team at the centre of Witchkiss (Scott and Amber Prater from New York) and was born out of the song writing process for that act and the realisation that these sounds were sufficiently different from the more Doom/Stoner sounding Witchkiss to warrant birthing them in a project in their own right. Personally apart from adding a lot more emotional angst and some Gothic keyboard layering, it still feels like it could be from the same band, due to the presence of Amber’s distinctive vocals, but I guess sometime you need to do a project with new faces as well and in this instance the rest of the players are borrowed from North Carolina’s Black Mountain Hunger. 

The four tracks on this EP very much feel like part of a contiguous whole. It’s moody, dark and ethereal, with Amber’s haunting but punk-tinged and angst ridden vocals wailing over the top of the heavy and threateningly doomy feel of the instrumentation. She’s a drummer as well as a singer (although not on the stool on this project) and you can hear that in the way she phrases her lyrical delivery. It makes for a different sound, as usually in this style the vocal melody lines complement the rhythms, but in this case they follow the beats and time signatures very closely. 

Her voice is harsher than the normal clean and symphonic tone that this style delivers, which gives it a much harsher and more effective edge. At first it did not appeal, but on the second and third listen I really found it growing on me. The song writing could perhaps do with a little tightening up, with the final two tracks having just that little too much run time but this is an interesting enough project for me to be curious to see where a full length album might go. 6/10

Eldingar- Maenads (Pest Records) [Matt Bladen]

Hellenic black metal is a genre unto itself, because of this there is no end of evolution in the genre, though most of the bands stay true to that Hellenic black metal sound originated by Rotting Christ, Necromantia and Varathron. From Athens, Greece, Eldingar are a two-piece made of Stavros Londos (guitars/compositions) and Andreas Simitzis (vocals/lyrics) but despite there only being two members there's nothing simple about Maenads which is their debut album. They have collaborated with Markos Samaras (arrangement/production), Nefeli Karra (drums), Gregory Londos (bass) and Dimitris Zigras (cello, Cretan lyra and lute), giving them a much fuller sound with the folk, death and thrash influences strewn throughout. 

Maenads kicks off with the raging Maenads Crave full on Hellenic black metal with tremolo picking, moving into some thunderous death metal riffs, Stavros unleashing his guitar prowess as Andreas roars with vitriol. The acoustic interlude of Height leads into the epic doom sounding Height Of The Moon over 7 minutes of death doom that shifts between slow doom metal and full black metal speed. Serenity's Anger is full on thrash and once again followed by another interlude called Serenity's from where we are taken into the classical guitar and strings of Inside Trauma which shifts into the progressive Trauma. Maenads is a slow burner of a record, it needs repeated listens for you to really get into it but once it unveils it's charms you are captivated by this excellent black metal record. 8/10

Reviews: Bill Fisher, The Kite Experiment, When Darkness Falls, Sorceress Of Sin (Reviews By Matt Bladen)

Bill Fisher - Hallucinations Of A Higher Truth (Septaphonic Records)

Church Of The Cosmic Skull's leader and spiritual talisman Bill Fisher returns with his second solo album. While the first was more in the vein of his Mothership project, the singer songwriter influence creeping into the prog, doom style of COTCS, on this second album, Fisher has embraced the jazz sound that has roots in the style of Duke Ellington and Herbie Hancock. Shifting from the big band of In The Morning to the lounge style cover of Status Quo's Caroline. Yep you read that right, Fisher turns one of The Quo's heaviest hits into a smoky ballad is a brave move but pays off due to Fisher's reverence to the original. If you come into this record expecting heavy guitars you'll be surprised to hear the piano taking pride of place, with some metronomic drumming to accompany the keys. 

Now I said that there's some jazz greatness on the record but as it unfolds before you Answers In Your Soul takes the Billy Joel/Paul Simon route of soulful balladry, that shifts into a more jaunty, proggy coda towards the end. Following this is People Should Be Friendly which reminds me of Tom Waits, while Time & Death comes out of the Leonard Cohen songbook. The album ending with a gospel, stripped back rendition of Evil In Your Eye from Is Satan Real? COTCS's debut album. An interesting listen that is unlike most of the bands Fisher is associated with. Open your mind to a higher truth and welcome to jazz club...nice. 7/10

The Kite Experiment - Atmospherics (Self Released)

I'm always a fan of anything multi-instrumentalist, producer, singer/songwriter John Mitchell does, so the prospect of this surprise EP dropping on Friday 30th was enough for me to buy it immediately. However it gets better for prog fans as The Kite Experiment is a collaboration between Mitchell on vocals and piano, virtuoso drummer Craig Blundell (Steven Wilson, Steve Hackett) and classically trained guitarist Chris Hargrave of electro/art rock band Fishtank. Musically there isn't much different from any of the members day jobs but then I suppose that is supposed to be the point as all three have been involved with very eclectic projects throughout the years. I guess if I were trying to pinpoint it I'd say this is art rock taking from Peter Gabriel but also AOR heros. Temple Road kicks off the EP with a shimmering driving anthem Don Henley would be proud to write, although of course there's still that prog leaning of John Mitchell's back catalogue. 

Following this is The Bridge, an atmospheric piece, a simple repeating guitar chord, tapping high hat and understated synth, powers the verse as it leads into the more fully rounded chorus and then a carnival-like coda into the guitar solo, it's the longest song on the record at 5:38, but like with all the songs here, there's a lot of musicianship packed into the short run times. Alpha Omega brings a 80's synth pop sound of Duran Duran and the piano-driven pop of Keane, Domus is a slick, funky ballad that speaks of home (neat huh Latin fans?), in the Peter Gabriel/Eric Serra as the EP is rounded out with a prime piece of Celtic pop prog, that must come from Mitchell's time in It Bites. Atmospherics is a brilliant surprise EP from this virtuoso triumvirate and one worth investing in for fans of Mitchell, Blundell or Hargrave. 8/10

When Darkness Falls - What We Leave Behind (Self Released)

From Colorado, When Darkness Falls are a melo-death/metalcore band, What We Leave Behind is their second album and it's a technically proficent, heavy and stylish slice of modern metal. I'll not mention the drumming as I'm not sure if it is a computer or not as the official membership seems to be Eli on vocals/guitar, Kayla on bass and Will on guitar. Whatever the membership their is a brilliant unison on this record, the songs sounding like a band who are much more experienced. As their darkness descends on Heavy Blood the raging torrent of riffage brings to mind that of The Blackening era of Machine Head (before things went completely off the rails). 

Savage in their delivery but with a practically mechanical playing style things seldom let off the gas Eli and Will delivering riff after riff at frightening pace and intricacy, Deathless Rotting the shortest shot of anger. Kayley adding the crushing grooves to Another Grave To Dig which delves into the doom sound. Eli also is a quality vocalist his growling clear and resonant while his clean vocals are also very good as well. I'm seriously impressed with the high standard of songwriting, production and composition on this album, there's never a time when you would think this is only the bands second album (having formed in 2014). Tracks such as Order 270 are full on thrash workouts while Equidistance adds a melodic opening, ot the modern assault. A great melodeath/metalcore record, well worth your time. 7/10     

Sorceress Of Sin - Constantine (Self Released)

M'Colleague Simon gave UK melodic metal band Sorceress Of Sin a 8/10 when he reviewed their debut album in February of last year. Essentially a vehicle for singer Lisa Skinner and guitarist Constantine Kanakis, the band are a collaborative effort that came to fruition as a band on their debut album Mirrored Revenge, obviously no slouches they have spent the past year writing and recording their second album. Unfortunately unlike Simon, Constantine did absolutely nothing for me for one major reason, which I will go into later. I understand what they are trying to do, the album is a dark, thrash meets classic metal album with lots of theatrical elements that are in the range of Mercyful Fate and Hell. Musically it's decent if a little basic but the major fault for me are Lisa's vocals, yes their cinematic ranging from snarls to operatic warbling but none of it is in tune and varies too wildly to ever be too cohesive and keep the attention. After around four tracks I'd had enough but persevered to the end of the album, though it never got better I'm afraid. They play Bloodstock next week, listen to the album and watch the band to decide for yourself. However for me Sorceress Of Sin was all sin and no salvation. 4/10