Reviews: Grave Pleasures, Tanith, Through Fire, Texas Hippie Coalition (Reviews By Mat Bladen)

Grave Pleasures – Plagueboys (Century Media Records)

Sordid, sexy and obsessed by dystopia, Grave Pleasures have been kicking out post-punk goth jams since evolving from Beastmilk. This is body moving music, full of lust, death and nihilistic intent, it’s the soundtrack to an apocalyptic disco, the kind of party where everyone wears black and sways into the welcoming arms of oblivion. Previous albums Dreamcrash (2015) and Motherblood (2017) were lapped up by the music press and for latent goths such as myself who weren’t around for the heyday of The Mission, Sisters Of Mercy, Siouxsie Sioux and Killing Joke, its bands such as Grave Pleasures and Unto Others are a way to fully embrace the hopelessness of existence but with some juxtaposed upbeat rhythms.

Plagueboys climbs one step up from Motherblood going deeper down the misery hole with an album about “civilisation and savagery”, tears streaming from their eyes as the blacklights shine and timer ticks down to the doomsday. Staying true to their 80’s new wave influences, this is where the band have really honed their songwriting as the echoed guitars of Imminent Collapse could come from The Unforgettable Fire, the bass-heavy throb of Conspiracy Of Love is deep in lust with Killing Joke and even references frontman Mat McNerney’s bright burning but short lived Beastmilk. It’ll get your foot tapping but carries with it a menace, that carries through into the title track, all insistent bass and layered guitar noise, the final song Tears On A Camera Lens making me think of an alternate universe Duran Duran.

The yelps on Heart Like A Slaughterhouse are pained, dark Americana, while High On Annhilation is like scitzophrenic Joy Division. Gorgeously morose, but infectious, Plagueboys is the next symptom of Grave Pleasures condition, you’re going to want to let it consume you. 9/10

Tanith - Voyage (Metal Blade Records)

Ah the 70’s such a nostalgic time, it looks like everyone is trying to hark back to those golden years when we were outside of the EEC, there was strikes about pay conditions, massive inflation, blackouts, a cost of living crisis and politicians that couldn’t care less about the people they’re supposed to represent. It all seems a little too real now, but for music it was one of the most fertile times in music history, pop, to rock, to prog, to disco and funk as electronics came in towards the end of the era, it really started many of the genres we know today and gave birth to what we understand as classic rock and prog rock today in 2023.

So as long as the rest of life feels like the 70’s why not the music? That’s where Tanith come in, formed in 2017 and with a previously well received (in these pages) album under their belt, the British/American act are music from another time, a psychedelic, prog rock journey through space time and science fiction novels. Twin vocals from Russ Tippins (guitars) and Cindy Maynard (bass) are cleverly used for duality on all the songs the vibe entering into Fleetwood Mac play Rush. They are retro act for sure, aggressively so, the stereo sound designed for vinyl listening as analogue and vintage equipment was used in the recording process, at Excello Recording in Brooklyn with engineer Hugh Pool, of both the debut and this follow up.

Called Voyage, Tippins wanted it to sound like the albums he listened to growing up in the 70’s the twin guitars of Wishbone Ash with the quirky prog of Jethro Tull and the versatility of Red-era King Crimson. The production of the record was a voyage in itself as Covid forced them to work on it separately Russ in the UK as Cindy and drummer Keith Robinson were stuck in the US. Then finally as they were able to record guitarist Charlie Newton left the band the day before tracking started, hit with this revelation all the remaining trio could do was carry on regardless their bond getting stronger, the result of this triumvirate being another cracker of an album. The dual guitar harmonies are still there Andee Blacksugar brought into to be the Downing to Russ’ Tipton maintaining them as two guitar band but the creative decisions taken by just the three of them.

The opener Snow Tiger comes at you like the feline in its name, proto-metal riffs and gallops shift between acoustic scrubbing and intricate basslines before a twin axe solo section, Falling Wizard reminds me a lot of Uriah Heep as Rush influences come on Olympus By Dawn. It’s not an album that languishes, the songs are all quite contrite and to the point but pack lots of variation and experimentation in with Seven Moons (Galantia Pt.2) the big prog moment of this record (Pts.1 and 3 were on the debut). Voyage is an adventurous follow up from Tanith, stuck in the past but for all the good reasons it’s a throwback that’s clad in Paisley and smell of patchouli oil, prog rock with a proto swagger get your ticket for this fantastic Voyage. 9/10

Through Fire - Devils Got You Dreamin' (Sumerian Records)

The Omaha, Nebraska band Through Fire are modern hard rock with vitality that comes from the American post-grunge sound of bands such as Breaking Benjamin,Three Days Grace, Shinedown, Crossfade et al, with the trappings of nu-metal bands such as electronics, the opening track Karma Kills especially feels like Linkin Park with its dark electronic atmospheres. 

Founded by guitarist Justin McCain, he and vocalist Grant Joshua Kendrick are the only remaining members as previous drummer and bassist left after the release of their previous album in 2019. With brothers Tyler (bass) and Zack Halverson (drums) instilled in 2022, we now have Devil’s Got You Dreamin' their third studio album through Sumerian Records. The band have big following in the USA, their songs having been used for WWE events, the Stanley Cup and a film starring UFC fighters, all of which are common for radio friendly alternative metal/rock bands from America. 

They fall just on the right side of the heavy melodic divide, with riffs that distorted enough to bang your head to but feature huge emotive choruses that will be sung back at their shows, the refrain of “Are you dead or alive?” on Wake Up a prime illustration, or the hard hitting Over The Influence or the slower Devolution. Along with the rock tracks like Straightjacket they also have some big ballads such as Blindsided but these don’t flood the release, so the pace is high. Recorded as a therapeutic experience for the band, Devils Got You Dreamin’ brings Through Fire back after four years with some rock radio anthems. 7/10

Texas Hippie Coalition – The Name Lives On (MNRK Heavy)

If like me you think that the best thing the Abbott brothers were part of (other than Damageplan), was the Rebel Meets Rebel project with legendary Outlaw Country performer David Allan Coe, the brother have I got a band for you! Texas Hippie Coalition have actually supported DAC in the past along with Scottish boogie masters Nazareth and Southern rock trailblazers Lynyrd Skynyrd, so you’ll probably know what you’re in for on the name alone but this seventh studio album doesn’t radically shift the direction of what THC have been doing since the early 2000’s. 

Heavy grooving Southern metal that is more Molly Hatchet than Skynyrd (although Roadrunner Skynyrd comes close), just check out those country grooves on Built For The Road, wrapping it up with some NOLA stoner grooves of Corrosion Of Conformity on Licence To Kill, BLS on Hellhounds and even some hard rock similar to Van Hagar on Hard Habit. The self-styled ‘red dirt metal’ band are a big bubbling broth of several influences but are undeniably Texas born and bred, the bellowed vocals of Big Dad Rich part DAC, part Danny Joe Brown with touch of Sammy Hagar, his lyrics having a blue collar poeticism on songs such as I Teach Angels How To Fly, reminding everyone that this was a band of misfits and outlaws who have worked their way to where they are with true grit. 

Speaking of grit Cord Pool and Nevada Romo’s dual guitar sound is dirty and raucous, Rado Romo’s bass deep and thunderous and the drumming of Joey Mandigo is robust driving the grooves. The name of Texas Hippie Coalition will live on so long as they always deliver this consistent Southern metal, join the coalition and start rocking out. 8/10

A View From The Back Of The Room: Cannibal Corpse (Live Review By Richard Oliver)

Cannibal Corpse, Dark Funeral, Ingested & Stormruler, O2 Academy Bristol, 18.04.23

Bristol was spoiled for choice this evening when it came to metal shows as you not only had Imperial Triumphant playing at Dareshack and Voivod playing at The Fleece but you also had the combined forces of Cannibal Corpse, Dark Funeral, Ingested and Stormruler threatening to leave a smoking crater where the O2 Academy stands.

With a stacked line up for four bands it was an early 18:30 stage time for openers Stormruler (8) who were the only band on the bill who I was not wholly familiar with but a band that seriously impressed me as the music they play is right up my street. Although hailing from Missouri in the US, the band could easily have said they come from Stockholm in Sweden having a melodic black metal sound that brought to mind bands such as Dissection, Unanimated and Naglfar. 

Razor sharp frosty riffing, plenty of melodies and a furious onslaught of blastbeats ensured that Stormruler earned a good number of new fans this evening. It was only a short five song set but songs such as Sacred Rites & Black Magick and Internal Fulmination Of The Grand Deceivers got the crowd nicely warmed up for the evening of extreme metal ahead.

Next up were UK slam merchants Ingested (6). Having been on the road in Europe for several weeks the band were keen to play on home soil and performed a short set of barbarically brutal death metal with crushing intensity and bags of enthusiasm. Ingested mixed pulverising blast filled death metal with bone fracturing heavy breakdowns in such songs such as No Half Measures and I, Despoiler. Like a lot of bands who play this style of death metal it gets very repetitive very quickly and it is not a style that appeals to me at all. Despite my misgivings over brutal/slam death metal there’s no denying that Ingested played a very solid set and there were plenty in the audience who loved every second.

In the main support slot were a band that I have seen perform at festivals in the blazing sunshine and as such the conditions have never matched the music. Tonight finally I got to see the mighty Dark Funeral (9) in the right surroundings and bathed in darkness which is exactly how black metal should be seen. The lighting was kept to a minimum ensuring the right level of dark ambience was maintained for the entirety of the set and the blasting intensity of the music became the focal point. 

It was a set heavily drawn from the last two Dark Funeral albums - We Are The Apocalypse and Where Shadows Forever Reign - with songs such as Let The Devil In, Unchain My Soul and the moody When I’m Gone going down well with the crowd though old school fans were treated to furious renditions of My Funeral and The Secrets Of The Black Arts. The band were a force of furious nature especially drummer Jalomaah whose blastbeats are off the scale. It was nice to see Dark Funeral perform in the UK at a show that wasn’t a festival or in London and the fact that the room was absolutely packed out for the band showed that this was a very anticipated set by Bristol metal fans.

The headliners don’t really need any introduction being possibly the most well known and infamous death metal band out there and are quite rightly legends within the genre. The band of course are Cannibal Corpse (10) and this was their first visit to the UK since 2018 so it was safe to say that the crowd was pumped for this show and ready to get involved. The band have a grand total of 15 albums to their name and whilst latest album Violence Unimagined got the most coverage the band also put together an 18 song set which covered 13 of their albums so fans of every era of the band would be satisfied. 

It is safe to say that the band absolutely crushed it with a monstrous sound and absolutely furious performances from guys who are now all in their 50’s but performing with the strength and vigour of a band in their 20’s. Guitarists Rob Barrett and Erik Rutan ripped out furious riffs, churning grooves and ripping solos whilst Alex Webster provided enough low end to loosen anyones bowels and drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz pounding his kit into absolute oblivion. Of course the most recognisable figure on stage is the man mountain himself George “Corpsegrinder” Fischer whose trademark roar is just as effective as ever and he still puts most headbangers to shame with his effortless windmilling. George is also one of the most wholesome figures in all of metal and dished out plenty of dad jokes amongst the death metal carnage. And carnage it was with a crowd with surged and boiled and smashed into each other with impressive energy. 

 Of course with songs such as The Time To Kill Is Now, Fucked With A Knife, I Cum Blood, Evisceratiion Plague and Scourge Of Iron there was no doubt that this show was going to be a crazy one. Energy levels did start to flag towards the end though one last wave of energy was unleashed for the closing duo of Stripped, Raped & Strangled and Hammer Smashed Face before the show sadly came to an end. Even when the rest of the band had left the stage, George lived up to his wholesome reputation ensuring all the setlists on stage were given out to the crowd and sticking around to shake hands and chat with fans. 

When I’ve previously seen Cannibal Corpse live I’ve either been unwell or disgustingly hungover so I’ve never managed to fully appreciate a set of theirs. Now that I have witnessed a Cannibal Corpse show in good health I can fully appreciate why the band have such a rabid following and why the show tonight was 100% sold out. Cannibal Corpse were a masterclass in extreme metal from start to finish and will easily be one of the death metal highlights of the year for me.

A View From The Back Of The Room: Sabaton (Live Review By Matt Bladen)

Sabaton, Babymetal & Lordi, Cardiff International Arena, 16.04.23

This was always going to be an odd one to review, because really I’m not the intended audience. As a millennial music journalist (apparently) I’ve seen it all, a lot on m’colleagues from other publications have seen more. This means we’re all a little jaded, a little burnt out, been there/done that. This was evident on all our faces during one of the band at this show but more on that later (also yes music journos all huddle together like cattle because we can then bore each other to death with stories between bands).

However I realised that I’m approaching this show all wrong if I’m reviewing it as a 30 something journo, the best way to understand this gig would be to look back into the mists of time at what 13 year old Matt would have said. Although he may have been less eloquent, the idea of a show featuring Eurovision winning Monsters, Japanese Anime metal and a band who sing about history and have a tank on stage would make him giddy for a few Cokes (though Pepsi was ok) and lots of bouncing (with knees still intact). So with that fresh faced kid in my mind, it how I’ll approach this review as he’s the target audience…not me.

The CIA is nostalgic to me, is it modern? No, is it the best sounding venue? Absolutely not, but it reminds me of my misspent youth, my early musical education was spent in this building. Now back to its original moniker (Motorpoint be dammed!) it seems to be getting really big gigs recently and so on Sunday night it held a sold out crowd for this rescheduled show, an amazing feat when you think about it but I did feel sorry for any other metal shows on that night as by my reckoning, and the fact I had to stop every 20 seconds to say hello to someone, all of South Wales’ metal fans were packed in to the CIA.

The chants for openers started pretty early and with a build of atmosphere rock monsters Lordi (8) took to the stage for a short 40 minutes of schlock rock. Kicking off with a newbie it wasn’t until Would You Love A Monsterman that the temperature warmed up. The newer members of the band more animated than previous incarnations but most of the eyes stay on the stoic figure of Mr Lordi, stoic due to the expanding wings that appear during Devil Is A Loser and their Eurovision winner Hard Rock Hallelujah, but he keeps the attention with a gravely roar and charisma, even between the songs where he did his damn best to warm the crowd up properly. The new songs were luke-warmly received but the classics like Blood Red Sandman and Who's Your Daddy (which is a little cringe) were sung back loud. I’ve seen Lordi a few times, but each time I do, I’m that kid back in 2005 discovering them for the first time, Monsters are cool, radio friendly hard rock never goes out of fashion and they can whip up a crowd. I’d say that they were the perfect opening act.

Next though is where we have the problem, Babymetal (7) are a divisive band make no mistake, three women in their 20’s choreographed and singing in time with heavy metal, that is rampant with backing tracks, supported by an all masked band. It’s a weird thing for a certain part of the Western audience to understand, a lot of my fellow journos will pan them, the faces were less than impressed but with a level head you have to admire what they do and that it’s not a style of music or performance that is that well known in the UK. Well to a large section of the UK. Babymetal come from the Idol Culture of Japan, bands that are manufactured often featuring mid-teens-20’s girls and boys, chosen by record company executives, producers and more importantly company owners to perform an all singing all dancing show to various styles of music.

These are hit machines, they are very much a commodity rather than an act, a brand over a band if you will. In Japan, its big time and bigger business, for example Idol group AKB48 has 90+ members doing what Babymetal do but to a pop backing, while Hatsune Miku a computer generated performer can sell out stadia both in Japan and here. It’s hard to understand the appeal for a lot of the Western audience but noting the crowd reaction and the amount of people in cosplay, it seems that Babymetal do have a big following in the UK, with younger audience, which is the whole point. They are a gateway band, visually arresting, dusted with J-Pop sugar and backed by a tight, regimented band playing heavy riffs, it brings in another audience and while some may criticize their inclusion on the bill songs like Gimmie Chocolate got the crowd into a frenzy, kids on their dads shoulders and more importantly expose a new generation to bands such as Lordi and the headliners. Is it for me, the 30-something music nerd? No, is it supposed to be? Nope so I can’t slate it.

Babymetal site cleared, curtain dropped and the staging for the headliners revealed to a huge crowd reaction, looking like a military themed Disneyland, it was an impressive piece of staging, the now familiar tank/drum riser stood centre stage as towers, barbed wire and hidden entrances surrounded it. Sabaton (9) have adopted the Iron Maiden approach of big set pieces to accompany the concepts of their songs. It was all going so well as the darkness fell but there was a premature explosion in the middle of the arena, just before the band came on stage. We've all been there, it's embrassing but as the stabbing keys of Ghost Division blared out of the venue P.A, there was a second successful attempt and we were back on course.

This will be their opening song for the rest of their careers and it hits hard every time, from here it was into Bismarck and then The Last Stand, frontman/co-founding member and mastermind Joakim Brodén, the general leading his troops in heavy metal glory as he belted out their history inspired lyrics with his brawny baritone. His between song repartee is funny, informative and confident, telling us that people wanted older songs so they drove into the speedy Into The Fire from Primo Victoria. Hannes Van Dahl's cannon fire drumming and co-founding member Pär Sundström's bass exploding like the Napalm used in Vietnam (the inspiration behind this track).

With a costume change for Carolus Rex, sung in Swedish, and the spiky Winged Hussars, the middle of the set was taken up by four from The War To End All Wars split by their excellent version of Mötohead's 1916. While they had used fire and some costumes before, the theatricality was turned up from here, Stormtroopers having two solders wielding flamethrowers on the turrets, 1916 driven by a solitary marching band snare, as Soldier Of Heaven brought some snowfall. The interplay between guitarists Chris Rörland and Tommy Johansson taking us through peaks and valleys musically while staying inside the power metal remit.

The addition of Father from one of their recent EP's was a welcome one as it's Sabaton showing a heavier side, brilliantly set up as the Father of Mustard Gas floods the stage with smoke supplying gasmasks for the next song Attack Of The Deadmen. (I told you the theatrics increased). Obviously there was a plane for The Red Baron, though I'm sure the next step is to make it fly Maiden style and during the Christmas Truce a lone soldier played a burning piano as this ballad of No Man's Land closed the main set. With eyes wide open and hearts full the chanting for Sabaton grew louder and louder for an encore, young 'uns clambered closer to the stage for their last chance to experience the band as the boidned back on stage with chugging Primo Victoria.

Then of course came the chanting, the "woah woah" refrain for Swedish Pagans pit the two sides of the crowd against each other led by Chris and Tommy, each side getting louder and louder until the end of this long time encore. The final moment of the evening was To Hell And Back and in a flash of cordite and flames it was over. The masses cheered whooped and flooded out of the CIA with goofy grins on their faces, which as a performing artist is all you can wish for.

The massive, colour changing arch that said "The Tour To End All Tours" had perhaps a prophetic double meaning as Sabaton can't hurl this size of production around the world for much longer. They are nearing the time that they will be doing bigger and bigger elements so will need one off shows or festivals to really pull it off, much like Maiden do, touring less frequently or at bigger venues.

If anyone can pull it off Sabaton can as they have done the groundwork, from TJ's in Newport in front of 24 people to the CIA sold out on a Sunday, every step in between has been considered, toyed with, and worked out at length to ensure that it was meteoric rise to where they are now, sitting on top of the tree as one of the most recognisable and accessible metal bands around. These few rescheduled dates solidifying their future headliner status.

Reviews: Dozer, Iron Jinn, Witch Piss, Lurk (Reviews By Rich Piva & Mark Young)

Dozer - Drifting In The Endless Void (Blues Funeral Records) [Rich Piva]

A new Dozer record is going to produce both excitement and lots of opinions about one of the seminal stoner rock bands of our time. These have been producing killer rock across four decades now, but not everyone loves all their output. I have seen a lot of comments hoping this one is better than x more than pretty much any other band in the genre. Well fear not because the new Dozer record is amazing, making album number six, Drifting In The Endless Void, right up there with their best work which is quite a feat for a band who has been around this long.

Right off the bat you can tell this is going to kick ass with the opening track, Mutation/Transformation, which may be the album opener of the year so far. Let me just say it now; the drumming on this record is off the charts. I can’t help but to isolate in my head drummer Olle Marthans efforts on this record. The track itself has a great riff, a heavy/spacey feel to it, and just rocks.

I love the vocals on this and all the tracks on the record, as you can feel the guys are really feeling what they have created with this album. Another cool riff opens the absolute ripper of a track, Ex-Human, Now Beast. That drumming (I am tired just listening to his efforts here) once again leads the way but the vocal performance is next level as well. The unique guitar sound that the band has generated on Drifting In The Endless Void just expands the uniqueness of this record and is in full effect on this song. 

Dust For Blood is more of a straight-ahead rocker and may be their catchiest track on the album. Andromeda is Dozer’s space rock anthem, reminding me a bit musically of Kal-El but with those unique vocal stylings of Fredrik Nordin, and did I mention the drums? I love the song titles on this record, including the killer tracks No Quarter Expected, No Quarter Given and Run, Mortals Run, which are both more of the same excellence from the band on Drifting In The Endless Void. We close it out with the eight-minute stoner space epic Missing 13 which may be my favorite track on an album filled with killer tracks. Kind of reminds me of Jupiter era Cave In which is pretty much perfect.

There is no doubt that there will be a lot of opinions on Drifting In The Endless Void, but I can’t imagine anything being negative. This album kicks ass and can be put side by side with almost any release that we have heard this year. Dozer will be appearing on many end of year lists at or near the top and it will be well deserved for a band who has been around for so long and has cemented their legacy as one of the legends of stoner rock even more now with Drifting In The Endless Void. 9/10

Iron Jinn - Iron Jinn (Stickman Records) [Mark Young]

This is the self-titled debut album from Iron Jinn, hailing from Amsterdam and bearing component parts of notable rock outfits who came together due to their love of the heavy riff and their fundamental need to challenge through their music.

And what music it is. It is just a mesmeric piece, from start to finish. There is no set pattern to the songs or theme, some at pace others slow and measured. This is not heavy in a traditional sense with overdriven guitars but the way the vocals and backing synchronises is brilliant. The vocals tear through different styles – normal clean, falsetto but always sang rather than shrieked.

Winding World starts us off on this trip, giving a quick start which then takes in numerous musical motifs as it makes its way through 7 minutes of run time that doesn’t seem like that length at all. Soft Healers is another such track as it weaves its way from a tempered start before bringing in background keys and synths all with an ever-present bass line that is prominent. As a one-two start this is as good as it gets.

Throughout the rest of the songs there is this sense of confidence, that the songs they are writing are as good as anything else and that they are trusting their instincts on what good sounds like. Ego Loka has a soft and simple arrangement with vocals taking centre stage sounding almost like Michael Hutchence which gave me the chills.

When they do rock out, it is controlled and set to suit the song, nothing is out of place, and everything works. Truth Is Your Dagger is an example of this where we have the solo break that allows them to riff out, but it completely fits and sounds so organic. Just great stuff.

It’s a weird one, because some of it sounds like it has come from the early 80’s new wave onto early 90’s ‘guitar bands’ but sounding new. It does remind me of QOTSA but not the excess. There is no excess here at all. I know I’ve just said it reminds me of others, but this might be unfair. Sometimes you can’t classify or tag a band as a particular type although I’m sure someone will. I compared them to Qotsa just because there is a freedom running through each song based on each individual within the band. They don’t need to have a guitar or drums or bass ripping through, they do what they think is right.

For me it boils down to: Did I like it? The answer is yes, I did and think it is one of the releases of the year. 9/10

Witch Piss - Witch Piss (Saturni Records) [Rich Piva]

Witch Piss is the unfortunate and terrible name for a good new stoner/doom/sludge band out of Mechelen, Belgium. Some of us seeing that name may think you know what the band’s debut album may sound like and you would be right; heavy guitars and bass, vocalist with a low bordering on growling voice (clean vocals, but gruff…), riffs, doomy lyrics, and an overall heavy approach to six killer tracks that make up their self-titled record. I say it is a terrible name because it would be a shame for people to see it and think these guys are a joke, because they are not. They are dead serious about their doomy sludge and deliver it like they don’t give a shit, which I guess is why they went with that moniker. They don’t care what you think.

The album opens with a very depressing spoken word monologue on mortality, but once the first track Old Hound Religion kicks in you know you are in for a heavy ass ride. The double bass drum is evident along with the almost psych swirling guitars that sets us up for that growl introducing this ripper of a track that really picks up the pace once it gets going. The rhythm section leads the way here with a heavy gallop, clearing the path for Peter Egberghs’s gruff vocals and message. If I didn’t know any better, I would have guessed these guys were from Texas and when you listen you will know what I mean. 

How To Travel Lighter has a nice opening riff and slows down the pace a bit but not the heavy. I love the chant like vocals that is like a call and response. Sludgy doom at its finest. The guitars on this album are understated but not overtaken in the mix which gives this album a unique sound. Me And My Camero (of course this would be their car of choice) is a nice groovy stoner jam with those heavy psych guitars and will be on many 4/20 playlists for April. Hoofprints is more stoner/sludge goodness and weed worship, with a whole bunch of that double bass work and riffs aplenty, and dare I say a catchy chorus? 

The Hunter And The Game doesn’t stray too far from where we have been over the first four tracks, and that is a very good thing. I just continue to go back to the mix, which some may be put off by but I am enjoying the upfront low end and understated guitars. There is also something spacey about this whole album. It’s heavy but there is this undercurrent of floating in space that I cannot shake as I listen. The closer, Children Of The Fire is straight up heavy doom with some serious Candlemass worship to start, which is pretty killer.

Please take this band seriously and don’t judge by a name, because Witch Piss is not screwing around with their debut album. This is seriously heavy sludgy, doomy stoner rock that needs to be considered alongside the bands playing this style today. This is a very exciting debut album and I see a ton of potential in what these guys bring and will do next. 8/10

Lurk - Aegis (Transcending Obscurity Records) [Mark Young]

This is a slow, methodical album, where the order of the day is to extract as much tension as is possible from the listener. There seems to have been a glut recently of doom and sludge coming through, and it can be tiresome in all honesty as they meander without purpose.

Lurk are different in that they keep the repetition at bay by sheer force as they hammer home their take on this genre. It's uncompromising in its approach, unhurried in its delivery that for those who lean towards the speedier end of metal may find it dull and one note. Fans of nasty, grindy doom will find lots to love.

The vocals are seemingly spewed forth in a style that's uncomfortable as it sounds like he is in physical pain. There are moments of beauty within each song as softer parts are played off against the heavier ones, and the best is that they recognise when to do this.

It's a well written album and is for me one of the better doom albums I've reviewed so far this year. It won't be for everyone but as I've said will tick all the boxes for those are into it. I always go back to imagining how this would be live, and this would be a painful one. It might be slow but Blood Surge for example is one where it just grinds along, before it starts to groove. 

There are no weak or by the numbers tracks on here, and I would recommend it to anyone to at least sample it. Kehto is another where it could be used in a David Lynch film just to emphasize the pain a character is feeling. They bring it to a close with The Blooming and then we are done with a feeling that you have been punched about the body for the last 40 or so minutes.

One of the best things about reviewing music is that you get exposed to bands you would never hear, and ultimately miss out on. This is one of them and it's a welcome break from faster than the speed of sound guitar and drums. Its not restful or peaceful. It is bleak in its attack, and you know they wouldn’t have it any other way. 7/10

Reviews: Savage Hands, Ashrain, Red Rum, Raider (Reviews By Zak Skane, Matt Bladen, Erick Willand & James Jackson)

Savage Hands - Rock Bottom (Sharptone Records) [Zak Skane]

The band opens up with Angel Dust which starts with some Nine Inch Nails sounding electronic loops before we get some classic half time groovy hardrock riffage that every modern metal/rock bands have being using since the release Of Mice Of Men's restoring force which came out in 2014….jeez I feel old, but anyways the element that really pricked my ears was the vocalist singing style. 

The swaggering vocals sound like a mix of the grungy dirt of Layne Staley and hints of Kurt Cobian angst whilst having this modern British pop polish to flow over this top over the metalcore and electronic arrangements. Black Clouds does what it says on the tin, dark sounding low tuned industrial sounding guitar riffs mixed with 2000’s nu metal groove, the singer exploring into more Sam Carter from Architects delivery with the harsh vocals delivering mental health themed lyrics, whilst keeping our spirits lifted with poppy choruses and hearts pounding with heavy dropped breakdowns that comes straight from Bad Omens play book. 

I feel there is a bit a theme here because Rock Bottom again does what it says on the tin, the overall ballsy mantra of this track is a straight up rock track with low rumbling punch and swinging rhythms that would gain approval from any Bring Me The Horizon fan. The moving arrangements of Halo showers the listener with waves of layers from sampled vocals, emotional strings and acoustic guitars whilst their closing track Smile gives us awesome yin and yang pop rock with major scale structured riffs pop punk and vocal trade off with the Maria from Future Place laced with dark lyrics. 

For a five EP the band have show their full colours from the hard rocks rhythm riffs driven tracks of Angel Dust and Black Clouds to the more pop infused songs like Rock Bottom and Smile this does it all, but what made this band unique was vocals. If you are fan of your metalcore being on the mainstream side with bands like Bring Me the Horizon and Bad Omens this album is for you. 7/10

Ashrain - Requiem Reloaded (Metalville) [Matt Bladen]

Formed by noted guitarist/producer Nozomu Wakai, who performs with Destinia, Shortinio, Alcatrazz and Sigh, Ashrain are a power metal band for power metal fans. Taking the usual route of a guitar hero collecting a talented band, Wakai teams up with bassist Peter Baltes (ex-Accept), singer Iuri Sanson (ex-Hibria) and drummer Andy C (ex-Lords Of Black) for 10 power metal tracks that will delight the most hardened fan. Elyes Bouchoucha's keys opening Symphony Of Despair as Wakai's guitars bring some galloping riffs along with Baltes' big thumping bass, the keys used well in between. 

Musically on the tougher edge of power metal with the neo-classical style overarching as Wakai shows off his virtuosity with a guitar, there's Ring Of Fire, Malmsteen and others that all influnce the music here. It's not all about Wakai though the rest of the band are just as talented; Baltes having years of experience in guiding a track with bottom end, Andy C locking down with powerhouse drumming on tracks such as No Surrenders and We Fight To Win and in Iuri Sanson they have winner of a vocalist, perfect for some European sounding power metal, able to reach sky scraping highs but not totally reliant on it. 

Mixed by Simone Mularoni (DGM) Requiem Reloaded is a power metal delight from a collection of great musicians. 8/10

Red Rum - Book Of Legends (Trollzorn Records) [Erick Willand]

This is Pirate Metal. If the name, art or song titles didn’t make that very clear to you, there it is, I said it. Most of you may not have even finished reading that sentence and I get it, I do. This sub genre gets maligned on the regular and to be fair it is kind of silly. But that is what I actually enjoy about it. If you’ve read my other reviews then you know I’m a fan of theatrics, of costumes, of a committed schtick. I can’t help myself.

Red Rum hails from the UK and first set sail in 2011 and this, Book Of Legends is their second full voyage in search of fame and riches and opens with the proper atmosphere. We hear crickets, campfire and strummed acoustic guitar over a tale of lost treasure and a plan to get it. And we go right into Drunk And Disorderly, drums and of course, an accordion blast this ale house rouser. Sing along chorus, check, list of alcoholic liquids consumed by the crew, check, me lifting a glass while sitting at my desk signing along, check.

Now for the sake of time, how much ale I have, and the fact that this review is already late I’m going to fire this off like a broadside cannonade. 50 Gallons Of Ale keeps the ship sailing true and continues the story, the captain delivers a solid vocal performance here. We Pirates opens with a guitar scream in and we’re off over the waves instantly, this is clearly the band's anthem and I can see it as a festival crowd pleaser for sure. Liar’s Dice is a more folky, jaunty song with fun lyrics and I’d bet a pint or two this sounds awesome live. Enough games, back to drinking with The Greatest Drink (In All The Land), a bit repetitive lyrically this track is saved by its speed and short time span, it feels like filler.

Rekt follows and we’re back to sea proper again with this crew's epic 5 minute and 47 second long tale of getting Rekt on a pirate ship! I’m not that bothered here though, it’s rowdy, fast and I can sing along. They’re pirates, they break rules. Captain’s Command is back to the format of the first half of this album, shorter, rocking not thrashing and crew chorus fun, high seas at full sail.

Last two tracks tie up this booze soaked tale of pirate mayhem with Drunken Pirates (Ahoy!) and Make Port, Drink Port, the former a more epic almost Power Metal tale and the later a short just over 2 minute accordion filled punky banger about getting hammered once you hit port. Of course.

Back in my port I reflect on this voyage and despite a few mis-steps along the way I enjoyed the journey, quality musicianship, clean production, and commitment to the ‘brand’ made for a fun listen. The cover art is clearly not Ai and is loaded with nods to the songs, extra points for that. Finally, I make no apologies for the nautical jokes in this review. All the gold and loot is counted, 7/10                

Raider - Trial By Chaos (Self Released) [James Jackson]

According to the band’s bio they’re a Thrash Metal outfit but there’s also a definite Death Metal aspect to the Ontario based Raider’s sound; whilst at times vocally, there’s a similarity to that style quite often used in Black Metal.

Trial By Chaos is the band’s second full length album, following Urge To Kill their debut release in 2018 and a full length album, Guardian Of Fire in 2020.

The first track is also the title track, Trial By Chaos and it opens with a very Thrash like section before the vocals kick in, as I’ve said the vocals are more on the Black Metal vein, not quite the bloodcurdling screech found on most Black Metal albums but it’s not the usual deep and guttural style found on Death Metal tracks either.

Rite Of Conquest has a very Morbid Angel styled riff to it, quite particularly that found on their Covenant album, there is a particularly Old School Thrash and Death Metal vibe to the album as the guitar part to the intro of New Dominion sounds very similar to the early Sepultura.

By now I’ve decided that I’ve heard enough, I had my day of Death Metal and once owned (now) classic albums by the likes of Obituary, Deicide and Cannibal Corpse, my fondness for Thrash only really got as far as Megadeth, whilst trying other similar artists, but it’s some of their more divisive work that I like the most.

Point is this, for all of the talent that’s on display here, it’s just not that new; there’s nothing here that I haven’t heard before or that hasn’t been done better; it must take great effort and dedication to be able to write and play this style of music but I’d actually prefer for it to change, to offer a glimpse of something a bit more than fast riffs and fast drum beats, there are moments that hint at something more but it’s just not enough for me.

This one is for the diehard Old School, if you’re still listening and enjoying Schizophrenia-era Sepultura then this one’s for you; though that classic lineup would have done it better. 4/10

A View From The Back Of The Room: The Lottery Winners & Pet Needs (Live Review By Alex Swift)

The Lottery Winners & Pet Needs, Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff, 15.04.23

Some gigs showcase bands who, from their live performance, seem to be firmly on the cusp of greater name recognition. The Lottery Winners have a very real chance of seeing their forthcoming album, Anxiety Replacement Therapy, rise to no. 1 in the UK album charts. This on the back of frequent touring, often as the support for acts including the Kaiser Chiefs and Starsailor. That’s not, however, how myself, nor many people here tonight, know them or the support act of Pet Needs. 

A friend of mine referred to tonight’s sold-out show in Clwb Ifor Bach as the “Frank Turner alumni” show, and while bands as talented as the ones performing tonight should be known for far more than which acts they warm-up crowds for, its heart-warming that so many fans of Turners have shown up tonight to support these acts in reaching the next rung of their career ladders. You can absolutely see why though – both of the bands on tonight have performances that emanate excitement, and songs with choruses that remain in your memory long after the last note has sounded.

Pet Needs bring a frantic zest to their performance, the insane vigour of their songs only matched by the on-stage demeanour of each of the band members. Being only two albums deep into their career, the band have no right to be writing songs this insanely catchy. And yet from the amount of people singing the words back to the musicians on stage, songs like the ferociously tongue-in-cheek Toothpaste or the cathartic Punk Isn’t Dead It’s Just Up for Sale seem to have already become iconic anthems to their fan-base. 

“It’s like Tracey Emin’s Bed in my head. Kind of creative but mainly just a mess” everyone sings alongside the band, during their performance of their breakout single. One of a few moments demonstrating the potential within the music of our support act and our headliners, to act as a rallying cry for those whose minds feel like they work differently to those around them – a frequent well of inspiration for both bands.

Indeed, The Lottery Winners bring a positivity to their songs, that allows them to shine irrespective of their often-serious subject matter. Worry opens proceedings, the feelings of trepidation and unease sung about in its lyrics seeming to dissipate, as the audience joins their voices in a shared ode to overcoming those sensations. Like the band who came before them, there’s a joyous vibrancy in the quips Thom Rylance makes to crowd and the banter traded between each of the band members. 

“If we get a no.1 album you lot can say ‘I saw them before they were famous’” he points out at one point, leading the crowd in an impromptu chant of “fuck Peppa Pig (You’re Only Bacon)” in response to the news that the band are up against some stiff competition from an artist who voiced some major characters in the children’s TV show. Even the bands new songs provoke a huge crowd response, as Let Me Down and Money see’s our frontman doing his best impressions of Boy George and Shaun Ryder, who lend their voices to the studio versions of the songs, respectively. On the subject of famous faces, there’s even a few cheers given for Lily Savage, played by Paul O’ Grady, who the band have put on their guestlists since their inception, tonight vowing to continue doing so for every show they play, in tribute to the great performer.

In case the gigantic stage presence and amazing catchiness of this band’s songs weren’t enough to convince anyone at the show tonight that The Lottery Winners are destined for bigger success, Rylance imparts a bittersweet story of meeting Seymour Stein – the legendary record label exec who signed the Ramones, Talking Heads “and now The Lottery Winners”. Sweet because the story tells of “an elderly man” hobbling over to them at a show where they were playing to eleven people, and giving them his business card. Bitter, because tonight’s show comes about a week after his death. 

This process of witnessing a band slowly capture hearts and minds with their music is an inspiring one, and not because of the prestige or money that bands get with having sold lots of tickets. To quote the musician who helped start The Lottery Winners journey to this point, if you didn’t have venues like Clwb Ifor Bach “its not that you wouldn’t have acts who sell out stadiums, its just that they would all be chosen by someone like Simon Cowell”.

The Lottery Winners have got to this point in large part through the support of a grassroots fanbase – something evidenced by the crowd immediately picking up on the change of the final chorus in the bands closing song 21 to “this is how it feels to be number 1” and singing the new words in unison. The work this band have done in cultivating that, and becoming the wildly entertaining live act that they are, is proof alone that if anyone deserves the level of success that they might be headed towards, its them. 10/10

A View From The Back Of The Room: Wednesday 13 (Live Review By James Jackson)

Wednesday 13, South Of Salem, Sick N Beautiful & Tarah Who?, KK’s Steel Mill, Wolverhampton 14.04.23

Opening for an act as well known as Wednesday 13 must be a daunting prospect for many yet someone has to and playing to a rather static, quiet but gradually growing audience are the first of three support act’s tonight, Tarah Who? (4). For a three piece they’re certainly loud enough to catch the crowd’s attention, there’s a similarity to L7, remember them ? Grunge/Punk inspired it would seem and full of fight, it wasn’t really my thing and personally I struggled with the sound at times but they gave it their all and hopefully made some fans her in Wolverhampton tonight.

The hugely theatrical Sick N Beautiful (9) are up next and at 47 years old I thought I’d seen a few things, turns out I’ve never seen a woman in an illuminated corset, using an angle grinder on a guitar.. well after tonight’s performance I can tick that one off the list, alongside flame throwers and occult looking books up in flames. Amidst an array of neon lights and backdrop advertising the bands name in an eye catching green, the band, dressed like extras from a Mad Max film, prowl the stage with an energy that is as frenzied as their image is apocalyptic. 

I’ve not seen this band live before and have only listened to a few tracks in preparation for this gig, playing tracks from their three albums Sick N Beautiful put on one hell of a show, front woman Herma treats us to a few stunning costume changes, channeling her creativity visually as well as musically; whilst stood at their merch table I discovered that she had made the costumes worn by the band; yes, I enjoyed this performance so honoured that with a impulsive t shirt purchase. 

It’s worth pointing out that according to the band’s bio they are from outer space, upon further investigation it seems their origins are a little less extraterrestrial and more Italian, either way their blend of influences NIN, Rob Zombie, Rammstein and Katy Perry come across in a captivating way, there’s a a ferocious groove to their sound and it’s matched with a circus show that only embodies their sound. Disappointingly this set was way too short and I’m hoping for the opportunity to see them again and hopefully see more of the world they’ve created.

Kicking off with fan favourite Let Us Prey, South Of Salem (10), the main reason I’m here tonight; dominate the stage, seeming fiercer and hungrier than I’ve ever seen them before, whether that’s due to the recent infusion of fresh blood within the line up or the fact that they are now exactly where they’ve deserved to be all along I’m not sure, but here tonight on a stage big enough to accommodate their enthusiasm, they are on form. 

The set list is by now, a familiar one, tracks from their debut album are as good as they’ve ever been. Made To Be Mine, Pretty Little Nightmare and Cold Day In Hell are songs that showcase their musical prowess and onstage performance. Front man Joey Draper is as ever the focus, his audience participation endeavours never fail and for a small band from Bournemouth they’ve certainly got the ambition and ability to become something so much more. I’ve seen South Of Salem four times now and this is the biggest venue so far and they’ve taken it all in their stride, with the level of humility that I’ve come to expect, an enormous sense of gratitude for being given the opportunity to play here tonight, warming the crowd for the headliner. 

Another set that’s way too short, though I’ve a feeling it’s because I’ve massively enjoyed them and as the saying goes time flies when you’re having fun, these guys really are worth catching live. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again and again, South Of Salem really are a band that people need to listen to, buy the album, catch them live and wear the shirt, they’ve got a new design out and obviously I had to get it.

The main attraction hits the stage amidst a cloud of smoke and Wednesday 13 (10) strides centre stage striking an iconic pose, a dark silhouette of a cowboy hat wearing master of the macabre. Musically there’s a party anthem to every track and as the night wears on each song brings the ghouls and goblins out of the crowd and the reaction spirals. 

We are treated to two decades of Horror Rock anthems heralded by the Duke of Spook; tracks from 2005’s Transylvania 90210 like Bad Things, I Walked With A Zombie and Look What The Bats Dragged In are thrown into the mix along with Home Sweet Homicide, Scream Baby Scream, From Here To The Hearse from Fang Bang and Skeletons respectively, it’s a crowd pleasing set as the band play through Blood Sucker, Get Your Grave On and perform a love song in the form of Decompose, we’ve a few tracks from the newest album Horrifier including Insides Out, a death/groove beast of a song and Good Day To Be A Bad Guy. 

There’s an inevitable but heart felt tribute to the late Joey Jordison which comes with tracks Nowhere and Die My Bride from the Murderdolls albums that really brought Wednesday 13, the man not the band, into the public eye, each track in this dedication is received warmly by the fans and each of us are singing along to our hearts content. A notable point in the evening is a drum solo performed to the scores from The Exorcist and Halloween and many a horror film based sample.

It’s been an amazing night at KK’s Steel Mill and closing track I Love To Say Fuck is the ultimate crowd pleaser as Wednesday parades the stage with a middle finger emblazoned umbrella, stabbing it into the air with each crowd accompanied “Fuck”.

A great night and one that will be hard to beat.

Reviews: Jason Bieler, Luke Appleton, Orme, Dope Skum (Reviews: Rich Piva, Matt Bladen, Paul Scoble & Mark Young)

Jason Bieler And The Baron Von Bielski Orchestra - Postcards From The Asylum (We Don’t Hear A Hit Records/AMPLIFIED) [Rich Piva]

Look, I am a professional reviewer. Or something like that. I have done hundreds at this point, and if you are saying I can’t be objective with the new record from the God of all things rock, Jason Bieler, then I say good day to you sir. But seriously, I am going to listen to the new album from the guy responsible for one of my top five all time bands of all time (Saigon Kick) and one of my top five albums ever (their debut) and listen as if none of that ever happened. So let me get into that mindset…ok here we go…

Postcards From The Asylum is the new record from Saigon Kick’s Jason Bieler, who is edging more and more towards Yes and Devin Townsend then the 80s rock meets Jane’s Addiction stylings that made Saigon Kick an untouchable band from that time. The second album under the new Baron moniker, Songs For The Apocalypse, was a guest filled proggy adventure with the trademarked Bieler guitar sound and his unique Beatlesque layered vocals that can get you to pick out his sound from just a couple of notes if you are at all familiar with his work. Oh, and that record was killer; very complex and played by everyone involved with some serious next level talent. Postcards From The Asylum stays on that path but then proceeds to make trails everywhere else across the landscape in the best possible way, creating one of the finest works ever to come out of Broward County. 

To start, Postcards From The Asylum is huge in every possible way.  It sounds huge. The production, while not overdone, creates this gigantic soundscape. It is huge in content too; fifteen songs over 77 minutes can sound daunting, but you need to hang in because you will hear nothing like this again any time soon. You get a ton of cool guests too, from all over the musical landscape leveraging a whole bunch of styles and influences thought the fifteen tracks.

Let’s talk about some of those songs, shall we? Right off the bat you get a total ripper with Bombay, a firestorm of Bieler riffing with his unique voice and all sorts of noises going on behind the scenes with a killer breakdown and layered vocals that make this one of his best tracks in an already amazing catalog of his life’s work. Numb has some serious Lizard vibes but a more evolved version, like a Lizard that listens to Porcupine Tree. Heathens is also great, with it’s use of horns and some of that Bieler humor you get to hear in his solo shows. This would have been the lead single on the follow up Supertransatlantic album.  

Bieler is not afraid to talk about current events either, with the acoustic/synth driven track Mexico, which slows down the pace but not the quality and puts those layered vocals on full display.  We get some catchy as hell poppy styling with a track like Birds Of Prey and some serious prog complexity (and xylophones) with Flying Monkeys. A song like Sic Riff better have one (it does and lots more) and possibly my favorite track is the bubbly psych tinged Beneath The Waves which does what Bieler does best; combine his virtuoso guitar playing with his pop sensibilities and love for the Fab 4. Amazing stuff.

I could do a track-by-track 2000-word thesis on Postcards From The Asylum, but I may get fired by my editor. Just know this; Postcards From The Asylum is Jason Bieler’s best work and should be experienced by all. Proggy, poppy, a bit of psych, some trademarked SK stylings, brought all together to form one of if not the album of the year. 10/10

Luke Appleton - Forever Viking (Rocksector Records) [Matt Bladen]

Not content with playing with Blaze Bayley, Absolva and occasionally Fury, as well as previously playing in a band that can no longer be named. Luke Appleton also has his own solo project which has already yielded one full length album released a few years ago, he now has added an EP which inspired by those bearded Norsemen from the far North along with the title song being dedicated to Wayne Turnbull (The Viking) who sadly passed away due to Covid.

Recorded as a lean mean power trio, without the guest involvement of his full length, (though Fury bassist Becky Baldwin adds backing vocals to one track), the Luke takes vocals, bass and rhythm guitar as Rishi Mehta of Babylon Fire plays lead guitar, Dakesis drummer Adam Harris installed behind the kit. Musically inspired by classic heavy metal, first single and opening track Before Your Eyes has a harmonised guitar opening, going for the Maiden effect as it leads to a mid-paced rocker that like all of this record is built around the rhythm, the bass high in the mix as you'd expect, Luke driving the riffs along with Adam while Rishi reminds anyone who was a fan of Babylon Fire that he's a six string wizard playing with passion and technique. 

From here A Thing Called Fate gets heavier and a bit more modern, again hooked around the bass lines, there's even a bass solo, the second track mixing classic and modern for a bit of grooving. Luke's voice is also at it's best here, singing differently to the way brother Chris does in Absolva, he is just as good but perhaps a bit grittier. What Heroes Do the third track adds another feather with a bit of anthemic, drama building as the title track starts with acoustic guitars and turns into an emotional ballad that closes the EP in tribute to a good friend. Now more established as a trio than on the first album, Forever Viking stamps longevity on the Luke Appleton Power Trio with strong additions to the live set that doesn't deviate from his previous musical activities. 8/10   

Orme - Orme (Trepanation Records) [Paul Scoble]

Orme are a Hertfordshire based drone/doom band. The band is made up of Tom Clements on guitar and vocals, Jimmy Long on bass and didgeridoo and Luke Thelin on drums and silence. The band is also joined by Clea Griffin-Anker on vocals on the track Onward To Sarnath. 

Firstly, this album is a two track double album, the individual tracks are forty two minutes for the song Nazarene and fifty four minutes for the track Onward To Sarnath. Thats a fairly brave move for a debut album, are Orme right to be take this risk or are they being foolhardy? 

First song Nazarene opens with a slow fade up of bass and guitar noodling, after six minutes a single chord starts, this chord goes on and on, this has either been looped or is using some kind of sustainer effect, the bass is doing a little more but this mainly feels like one tone that goes on and on, without much modulation or change. After a couple of minutes a drum fill is added that is repeated approximately every twenty seconds, this repeated fill builds in volume and intensity, it makes you think that something is about to happen, and as not much does it ends up feeling frustrating, it keeps promising but takes forever to deliver. 

At the ten minute mark a spoken word section comes in with a Satanic liturgy that gets louder and more intense until the voice is shrieking. I’m not sure if the band have nicked parts of this, or all of it, as it feels very familiar, it might be so generic that it just feels stolen. It reminded me of how bored I am of Satanism as a subject in metal; we’ve got all of the universe to talk about, why keep going with this cliched crap? The shrieked invocation lasts fifteen minutes, after about five it stops being funny and just comes over as hopelessly pretentious. 

At the twenty five minute mark we get the first continuous drum beat. Over several minutes the (possibly) looped chord morphs into a very simple doom riff that has a bit of a stoner feel to it, and at the thirty minute mark there is a guitar solo, that is ok, doesn’t really go anywhere, but it is not bad. The riff continues for a few more minutes, before fading back to the looped chord and then silence. At this point I was quite bored and was considering billing the band for making me listen to this. 

After listening to Nazarene, I was a little nervous of what the, twelve minute longer song, Onward To Sarnath would be like. The song opens with more spoken word bollocks, before more guitar and bass noodling. After seven minutes another looped chord (or chord with sustainer effect) comes in with a simple bassline. This time there is a little more modulation and bass, and there might also be a didgeridoo in there. It’s a little more interesting than the one used on Nazarene, there is also an occasional cymbal. 

At the twelve minute mark one voice begins chanting, and a few minutes later Clea Griffin-Anker joins the party. The chanting is probably meant to be Sumerian or Mesopotamian Black Magic chanting, but what it mainly sounds like to me is out of tune. The two voices are out of tune with themselves, they both reach for notes they cannot reach, but they also are out of tune with each other, so when the two voices cross over each other it goes even more out of tune. This chanting also feels all over the place, as if they made it up on the spot, it wanders around with no purpose and in some places descends into incoherent screaming. there were parts of this section that made me laugh out loud it was so ridiculous, it also shows a total lack of self awareness, if they are ok with nearly twenty minutes of out of tune vocals, they need to be much more self critical. 

At thirty one minutes the voices (thankfully) stop and we are left with just a drone chord. Six minutes later a simple Doom riff emerges from the drone. There is another ok solo, and then there is an ok riff that feels driving and has a little purpose to it, this is the best thing on the album, and it took nearly an hour and a half to get here. At the forty five minute mark the song drops to silence for five minutes before the drone chord reappears, as does the stupid spoken word bit from the first song. The album is now finally over. 

Foolhardy! They were definitely being foolhardy. This is one of the most flabby, pretentious, self indulgent and boring albums I have ever heard. Before they accuse me of not understanding Drone, Sunn O))) are massively more sophisticated and interesting than anything on this album. This feels like a band that has heard proper drone and thought “wow, that looks easy”, and we now have everything we need to see that Drone is not easy. This is really an ok drone/doom EP, of say, 20 minutes with immense amounts of filler dumped on it. I also feel that the record company involved in this terrible album have some culpability, after all encouraging people to listen to this is extremely callous, it feels like this is setting them up to be ridiculed. An album that only masochists should seek out. It gets one point for three ok riffs, one point for two ok solos and another point for comedy value. 3/10

Dope Skum - Gutter South (Self Released) [Mark Young]

Tennessee natives Dope Skum drop their latest piece that just ambles up and out of the speakers with an unhurried pace, and an incredibly warm sound. Five songs that are just prime doom metal, all wrapped up in a 17-minute runtime. These guys are all about the riff and how well they can hammer you with it. Sometimes you just want music that is simple and unpretentious and has that righteous groove to it. 

Belly Lint has one of the best starts I’ve heard in a while, perfectly measured in how to control volume and attack. Did I mention its heavy AF? Feast Of Snakes continues in the same vein with another great riff movement. It moves along with that tidy pace and steady attack. 

Folk Magic has a Helmet vibe to it and is certainly something that wouldn’t have been out of place on the Meantime album, right down to the middle section where the pace picks up just before we drop back into a Southern style picking motif that swells into the end moment.

Interlude gives us more of that American South (Bible Belt?) style that does act as a circuit break before final track The Cycle that starts us off on a speedy trip and then goes into Black Sabbath mode with a cracking riff breakdown. This is repeated throughout and is a welcome end to the tracks here, the whole thing just wants you to get up and move to it and you would be hard pressed not too watching this live.

It’s got that classic groove to it, with simple riffs that are heavy and invite you nod along. The guitar just has a great tone, with a phaser for cool effect that somehow has been covered in honey for that sweet vibe that gives it that something which engages you. Ok, the vocals are not the strongest, but neither was Helmets back in the day. What is important here is the riff, and the song built around it and on here you have 4 absolute pearlers (Not counting Interlude, sorry Guys) that are spot on. 

If you are into doom, sludge or just generally the slower side of metal then you should check these out. They are well worth your time. 7/10

Reviews: Ruadh, Asidhara, The Shunkos, Penny Coffin (Reviews By Matt Bladen)

Ruadh – 1296 (Red Glen Productions)

Ruadh are a band so Scottish you can smell the Tartan, the only thing that would make them more Scottish would be adding narration to their concept albums from any numerous Scottish actors but my money would be on Brian Cox. All of the albums are conceptual dealing with Scottish history and the battles against the English for independence. 1296 especially is based around the English invasion and the first wars of independence, an entire decade of war, and the most famous event for non-Scots being the 1296 Sack Of Berwick, the first ‘proper’ track on this album after the triumphal intro Guardians Of Scotland. 

Now I’ve mentioned before how I enjoy the symphonic, blackened folk metal of Ruadh being a fellow Celt, the pipes, strings and synths all add to the cinematic quality of the records, with this fourth album being the best usage yet, vocally the squawks are joined by bellows as Tom Perret the creative force behind Ruadh, flexes his vocals brilliantly as well as writing, mixing and producing the record, all layovers from his time as one man unit. However with Alan Buchan (guitar), Kim Copland (bass) and Mihai Puscasu (drums) now part of the recording line up as well as the live one, there’s a bit more creative flexibility as they can play their own way against Perret’s writing, making 1296 more collaborative and exciting than previous records. 

I really enjoyed Eternal, the last Ruadh record but 1296 is better, making an impression from that intro, King Of Scots rattles out of your speakers with tremendous force, black metal blastbeating away with an untold might, while Toom Tabard airs on power/melodic death metal territory with its anthemic stride. The six songs here just feel epic, sweeping Scottish vista conjured in the mind’s eye as the sound of swords clash, anguished voices crying out in opposition to an oppressive government wanting to interfere in Scottish affairs. 

726 years have passed and nothing much has changed, however on 1296 the victory is for Scotland albeit through the development of the Longbow, perhaps not the best bargaining tool today. Put 1296 on loud and indulge in the history and histrionics. 9/10

Asidhara – Echoes Of The Ancients (Self Released)

With all this talk of the new Metallica album its’ sometime easy to forget there is still antagonistic, aggressive thrash being made. It’s even being made in your local area. Asidhara are a Cardiff based thrash band whose debut EP Echoes Of The Ancients contains the same blood-soaked battle thrash to bands such as Power Trip and High Command. Frantic, steel wielding riffs, nasty, snarled vocals and lots of blast beats come at you on tracks such as Enter The Eldritch God, before they shift focus to a steady stomp groove for some perfect cross over pitting, the solos melodic but short making a point before getting back to the savage riffs. 

Speaking of Metallica the final song The Battle Hymn Of Il A’tir has that atmospheric middle section they used to love in the 80’s where it all slows down and the guitars can solo in wah-wah reverbed glory before the noise picks back up, the production from Woodcroft Audio, fantastic. Echoes Of The Ancients in more ways than one as the lyrics hark back to fantasy and history but the music wears its influences proudly. Excellent thrash from these local lads. 8/10 

The Shunkos – The Shunkos (Lavender Sweep Records)

As the 1 minute 28 seconds of Uni Mate, the first track on the self titled EP from these Port Talbot punks gets going I was half expecting a Dee Dee Ramone-like shout of “1,2,3,4!” as The Shunkos play the same kind of four on the floor, sneering, sarcastic punk as the New York band. Coming from the same kind of urban sprawl too, their lyrics are based in reality making light of situations and characters with attitude and cheeky grin. 

Shouted gang vocals and simple riffs come on 83 (the only song about a bus route you’ll hear this year), while there’s some surf rock on Meal Deal, the second longest song here behind Beer & Gear, which rounds out this EP with some Chuck Berry-esque rock n rolling. Youthful exuberance meets an understanding of the punk scene, The Shunkos will be rabble rousing near you soon. 7/10

Penny Coffin - Conscripted Morality (Dry Cough Records & At With False Noise)

Death metal, it's a funny old thing, Penny Coffin are at the more extreme end, the concussive blasting of Bolt Thrower, Hail Of Bullets etc is the trench where they lay their bodies down. This second album is blistering from the first moment, sharp DM riffs, grinding, mechanical guitars and artillery-like drumming barrages, with vocals that are indistinguishable, it’s a load of seething metal that unleashes itself across 4, quite long songs. 

Now Penny Coffin manage to put some variation into every song so it’s never monotonous but unless you like punishing grooves Conscripted Morality maybe a little too much to handle. Also as note, due to the varied way of recording this record, in various times places and capacities according to their bandcamp, it means that it’s quite raw so if you listen to it through a 1 channel device like a phone which doesn’t have stereo speakers, you won’t hear the vocals or leads, just chugging. 

So stick on the headphones or play through a proper speaker, letting Penny Coffin bash you around the head. 6/10

Reviews: Sabaton, Joe Bonamassa, Archon Angel, Magnus Karlsson's Free Fall (Reviews By Matt Bladen)

Sabaton – Stories From The Western Front (Nuclear Blast)

The final part of Sabaton’s Echoes Of The Great War Trilogy of EP’s is Stories From The Western Front, for any historians you’ll know this is where the fiercest, bloodiest fighting in all of The Great War took place with Verdun, Passchendaele, Somme the most infamous with the highest bodycounts. Compiling together the most harrowing, songs from their discography, reaching back to The Art Of War for Price Of A Mile, while Great War, Fields Of Verdun and Devil Dogs come from The Great War; Hellfighters and Race To The Sea come from its follow up The War To End All Wars. 

With tales of fierce fighting, heavy shelling, insanity and futility these are the most epic, darkest songs included on all of the EP’s the stories of muddy, bloody trench warfare are all as you remember they are from their individual albums but the linking concept and extra bonus track has always been what makes these EP’s so interesting. On this one they’ve gone with the most emotional Motörhead song ever recorded the title track of their album 1916. Controversial at the time for using keys but it suits the Sabaton sound brilliantly, Joakim’s voice gaining more gravel to sound like Lemmy. 

They have filmed a video for this song at Black Country Living Museum, filled with Easter Eggs to Sabaton’s history as well as Mikkey Dee and Phil Campbell. It’s a triumphal sound but with Lemmy’s brilliant lyrics carrying the same weight. This final EP is about the ultimate sacrifice millions of young men and boys paid on the Western Front, something we still remember every year in November. But like with all of Sabaton’s music if the songs inspire you to both throw your fist in the air and learn more about the subject then that’s a win in my eyes. 8/10

Joe Bonamassa – Tales Of Time (J&R Adventures/Provogue Records)

Recorded and filmed at the historic Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado, Tales Of Time is a visual and audio delight for any fans who love the master of blues rock. Playing the entirety of Time Clocks, his fifteenth record in full along with favourites, I can tell you from first-hand experience (from seeing the UK portion of this tour) the show was excellent and when you watch the DV portion you get the full scope of the impressive visuals and of course the virtuoso musicianship. I’m only dealing with the CD-only portion of this multi format release, which is just the Time Clocks album in full (but in a different order) along with Evil Mama from Redemption. 

As this is a Joe Bonamassa record produced by Kevin Shirley the audio is perfect, if it wasn’t for the crowd noise and the small improvisations and shouts you’d swear it was the studio album, all the players are on top form, driving through some of Bonamassa’s best cuts, the incredible Notches and Mind’s Eye highlights for me. On the LP you get more tracks from the back catalogue and DVD/Blu Ray is the full concert, so the CD does feel a little short as it is just the album and one extra song, but I guess the point is to experience the visual part of this release which is cinematic and excellent. That scores very highly for scope, performance and vision, whereas the CD-only is just a companion piece. 7/10

Archon Angel – II (Frontiers Music Srl)

For me Zak Stevens, is one of the best singers in the metal game, having been handpicked to take over from Jon Olivia in Savatage, he then went on to form Circle II Circle which moved away from the theatricality into power metal, but still having huge vocals and the progressive metal influence of Savatage. In 2020, Stevens was paired up with Secret Sphere producer/guitarist Aldo Lonobile for the debut Archon Angel album Fallen. It had all the threads of both men’s musical tapestry and it seems that the follow up, imaginatively titled II, looks to do the same. 

Kicking off with the epic, ballad-like Wake Of Emptiness, is a risk but any fan of Savatage will know these slower songs is where they made their name. The speed and orchestral movements (from Antonio Agate) increase for Avenging The Dragon, where Lonobile gets to unleash some Criss Oliva/Chris Caffery styled guitar solos as Fortress is just pure stomping power metal, as Afterburn has a marching heavy rock riff for some variation. The union has paid dividends again, on II, Stevens’ powerful vocals are adaptable to a point but he’s extremely comfortable here where the theatrical side has been dialled up. 

Lonobile’s guitars are impressive too but the power comes from Nik Mazzucconi’s bass, Marco Lazzarini’s drums and the synths/orchestrations as Alessandro Del Vecchio adds keys and pianos (he just can’t keep away from Frontiers stuff). Yet again a match made in melodic metalhead heaven, II is the follow up you’d be expecting if you liked Fallen. 8/10

Magnus Karlsson’s Free Fall – Hunt The Flame (Frontiers Music Srl)

Swedish music magician Magnus Karlsson, returns with the fourth record from his Free Fall project. The guitarist/producer/songwriter always manages to assemble some of the best, but not always the most obvious melodic metal/rock singer around, usually from bands signed to Frontiers, to showcase them outside of their normal bands. 

This is probably because Magnus has been a writer/producer/player for the label for a long time having created the songs behind Allen/Lande, Allen/Olzon, Starbreaker, Kiske/Somerville and of course being a shredder in Primal Fear for 15 years. Outside of all the other projects Free Fall is the one that is his alone, writing all the songs and performing every part with the exception of the drums (from Anders Köllerfors) and of course the vocals. 

This time he has James Durbin (Durbin) on the classic metal of Thunder Calls as Kristian Fhyr of Seventh Crystal soars on Break Of Dawn, then we have James Robledo (Sinner’s Blood) crooning on Far From Home, the gothic Holy Ground displaying how good Girish Pradhan (Girish & The Chronicles) is. Each of the songs are written to suit the vocal style, The Lucid Dreamer in the neo-classical side for Pyramaze’s Terje Haroy, as Hunt The Flame is perfect for the AOR style of Alexander Strandell (Art Nation/Crowne) despite being melodic metal. 

Taking these vocalists out of their signature style, while keeping them in the melodic sphere has always been Free Fall’s great trick, ultimately it’s the best way to sum up Magnus Karlsson’s songwriting prowess in just under 60 minutes. 7/10