Live & Dangerous: Triaxis, Primitai, Darksite, Insuna

Triaxis, Primitai, Darksite & Insuna: Bogiez Cardiff 19/10/12

Insuna

Insuna are a Cardiff based metal band that play intelligent, progressive metal with some good female vocals. They have a sound that features lots of snarling guitars, some heavy breakdowns, big solos and a powerful vocalist in the shape of AK who is an excellent singer but did seem a bit nervous. All in all a good set of songs and  not your normal female fronted fodder, they reminded me of American band Echoes of Eternity but this is a good comparison as they two blur genre lines. 7/10

Darksite

Heavy groove metal was the order of the day for Darksite, the band had a similar style to Pantera's bruising riffage Adam Redpath doing his best Dimebag throughout, and the vocals of Robert Garlick are similar to those of Panic Cell's Luke Purdie both melodic and aggressive. This was apparently one of Garlick's final gigs with Darksite before he leaves which is a shame because he is talented singer and compliments the music. The majority of the songs were heavy barrages of groove, however there was bit of rap metal thrown in for good measure, I personally thought this didn't fit but Darksite did enough to impress me here. 7/10

Primitai

These guys seem like the band I'm destined not to see as every time they have played I have always been indisposed. But tonight was the night and am I glad I did see them in such a small venue, if you want to know what they sound like then guitarist Srjan's Sad Wings Of Destiny t-shirt summed things up. Primitai have all the hallmarks of classic Priest and NWOBHM with some twin lead shredding and some shrieking vocals from frontman Guy Miller. The band have a great set of songs with The Line Of Fire and the swaggering Sin City being set highlights. They also threw in two gut busting new tracks for good measure which bodes well for their third album. The singer is a great frontman who got the unfairly sparse crowd going (mainly by being in their midst) he like all good singers must be a frustrated guitarist because his air-guitaring was top notch and all the band seemed to be having a ball on stage. A cracking band evoking the spirit of Priest with a tiny bit of Megadeth thrown in for good measure. 9/10

Triaxis

You know a band are preaching to the converted when they open with two songs from an album that has only been out a week. (Although they have been touring these songs for a while). Both Sand And Silver and Under Blood Red Skies (which caused a pit) opened the set with some high velocity riffage and powerful hooks. Next came Gates Of Damnation before some more new stuff in the shape of the thrashy Sker Point which was followed by the majestic Some Things Are Worth Dying For this track is akin to the more modern progressive Maiden and featured some Maidenesque whoa's. This was followed by the horror break with the bass heavy ...And Shadows Creep and the evil Infected both of which come from the second album. The fact that this set was drawn heavily from the new record (and why wouldn't it be) shows how talented Triaxis are as these songs sound more mature and distinctive than those on the (still excellent) debut and they are perfect in a live setting. The set came to a close with classic rabble-rouser Lies and the headbang inducing Black Trinity which brought the set to a fittingly monstrous end with the final chords of The Trooper added for good measure. The entire band seemed to be on form with shapes being thrown by bassist Owen, guitarists Glyn and CJ had the twin guitar gallop down pat and all the while they were anchored by Giles precision smashing which rattled brain cells. As usual front woman Krissie was enchanting, bewitching and very bloody loud! (the sure sign of a good singer) All of this lead to an excellent headline set for the locals with some fantastic songs and lots of head banging. What more could you ask for on a Thursday night? 9/10  
 

Reviews: Kiss, Sacred Mother Tongue, Black Wolf

Kiss: Monster (Universal)

Is there a band more divisive than Kiss equally loved and loathed around the world it is usually their flamboyant image and Gene Simmons' penchant for putting his foot in it and his obsession with merchandising, that gets them a lot of heat form their detractors. However if you ignore the politics and the shameful self-promotion; then Kiss have always produced some absolutely awesome Rock 'N' Roll. Paul Stanley (the man who has always been the musical force of the band) stated that he didn't want the under par Psycho Circus to be the final Kiss album and because of that we got 2009's Sonic Boom which brought back Kiss' musical credibility and showed they were capable of writing great songs again (Danger Us excluded). That albums success has obviously buoyed the band as Monster is even better it's louder, harder and contains all of the classic era Kiss sound (I'm talking Black Diamond rather than Crazy Crazy Nights) this might be because of Stanley's analogue production and also that songs themselves are stripped back to just four guys rocking hard as they can. There are no ballads, no disco, no AOR just straight up hard rock. As usual the majority of vocals are split between Paul and Gene with the subtle as a brick Take Me Down Below featuring both in duet. Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer both get a lead vocal (continuing a trend from Sonic Boom) Thayer's is on the shredding Outta This World (well he is the Spaceman) and Singer's is on the bluesy All For The Love Of Rock & Roll. The rest of the album is full of big ballsy rock tracks like the explosive opener Hell or Hallelujah, Freak which is more Alice Cooper than Alice and the Simmons showpiece Back To The Stoneage which features bass as heavy as a Brontosaurus. Who could have predicted that one of the best Hard Rock albums of 2012 would come from Kiss? 9/10  

Sacred Mother Tongue: A Light Shines (Transcend/EMI)

This is an E.P from British metal band Sacred Mother Tongue. It is a four track release record with three studio tracks and one live from China. The E.P is a prelude to their second album, tipped to be called Out Of The Darkness. It kicks off in great style with the pacey single Evolve/Become which features all of the SMT hallmarks; some fantastic guitar playing from Andy James (who is a one of the best guitar players in the world), the aggressive yet melodic vocals of Darrin South and the heavy engine room of bassist Josh Gurner and drummer Lee Newell. The groove riffage of Bleeding Out  bludgeons and then breaks into a short but searing solo before the machine gun drum intro of Seven knocks your block off and makes you want to head bang and windmill throughout with its catchy riffage. The final live track hasn't really got the best production but the band still sound powerful even if the bass and drums are barely audible. This is a nice little introduction to SMT sound and it sets the tone for the sophomore album perfectly, although as with a lot of E.P's it is a bit short at just over 17 minutes. 7/10

Black Wolf: Taking Root (Self-Released)

Bristol 5 piece Black Wolf play ballsy hard rock which features some big riffs, powerhouse drumming, soaring solos and some powerful vocals. This 4 tracker shows how good the band as they create a Zeppelin groove mixed with some of the modern sound of bands like Soundgarden and the solos of Slash. The vocals of Scott Sharp are powerful and melodic and have the Percy Plant swagger to them with the slight gruffness of Cornell. Considering this is a self-produced release the production is very good and the songs sound bright and most of all they are well written and performed. The storming Seeds is definitely the stand out track but the entire E.P is a must for fans of groove-laced, funky old school hard rock. This is a band that will go on to big things with the right backing. Check them out now before they explode into arenas. 8/10 

Live & Dangerous: The Reasoning, Touchstone & Kyshera

Adventures In The City Tour: The Reasoning and Touchstone & Kyshera, The Globe Cardiff

Two for one of modern prog rock tonight with both London based Touchstone and Wales' own The Reasoning both having headline sets. First up were Cardiff locals Kyshera;

Kyshera

A three piece alternative metal band, they really didn’t seem suited to the night as they were playing slightly progressive alt metal with some very political lyrics that made them have an air of RATM about them. Don't get me wrong they did what they did very much and seemed to have an explosive amount of energy it was just that it really wasn't my thing at all and by the time there set ended they had outstayed their welcome a bit. 5/10

Touchstone

This is where the evening actually began for me with Touchstone hitting the stage with Corridors from their latest album before rocking with Zinomorph which became Shadow and then it's sequel When Shadow's Fall as front woman Elkie told us these three tracks all stem from Keyboardist/vocalist Rob's obsession with killers and assassins (a dangerous man two know obviously!) The band played a mixed set from all three of their albums with Being Hannah, Strange Days and the folky Half Moon Meadow all given an airing. The band were all having a blast on stage with the interplay and between song banter coming to them naturally and bassist Moo seeming to be the cause of most of the mischief. Elkie has developed into a great front woman and her powerful but not operatic voice is a perfect fit for the melodic keyboards and heavy guitars and drums. The band wound up their set with the wonderfully epic Wintercoast before a change over break. With the band on top form and a set of great songs Touchstone laid down a pretty impressive baton for their tour mates. 

The Reasoning

The locals were always going to end the night and as they came to the stage to the strains of the Theme From The Great Escape before launching into Hyperdrive which morphed into Dark Angel. Unlike Touchstone, The Reasoning have a new album to promote (the excellent Adventures In Neverland) so the set relied heavily on this however this not a bad thing as it is one of the strongest albums of their career. Omega Point, No Friend Of Mine and the duo of Forrest Of Hands And Teeth/Adventures In Neverland were all cut from the new record and all went down brilliantly with the guitar playing of new boy Keith Hawkins reach Floydian proportions on Forrest Of Hands... the key to The Reasoning's sound though are the unique vocals of Rachel Cohen which weave their magic over the fantastic keyboards of Tony Turrell who is the bands ace in the pack providing slick melodic keys and some excellent co-lead and backing vocals. The band invited Touchstone's Moo onstage for as Bassist Matthew Cohen put it "A beer and a song" which brought their set to an end with the classic Aching Hunger which featured Moo's shouts and cheerleading on the chorus.
 This led to a three band pile up with Touchstone and Kyshera all taking Rachel's percussion and all three bands joining in on a group sing-along of Queen's Tie Your Mother Down on which features TT on lead vocals and ended the night with a party atmosphere (what's more fun than Queen?) overall this was a great night of prog rock with two bands currently on the top of their game in a very reasonably priced package. Three bands, two headliners, a pretty packed house and everyone having a good time what more could you ask for on a Sunday night? 8/10

Live & Dangerous: Jettblack, Night By Night & Black Wolf

Jettblack, Night By Night & Black Wolf: Bogiez, Cardiff 13/10/12

Having won over many fans after their last performance in Cardiff supporting Fozzy, 80's metal revivalists Jettblack returned on their first headline show to a very packed Bogiez.

Black Wolf

First however were Bristolians Black Wolf who I personally have not seen before but I must say they left an impression, kicking things off with hard and heavy rock vibe the band certainly drew my attention with their big ballsy rock sound that had a solid blues vein to it. Both guitarists were rocking with foot stomping, four on the floor Young Brothers rhythm of Jason Cronin and the Slash-like guitar heroism of John Greenhill both equally impressive and rocking. The band were anchored by some big smashing drums and a rumbling bass line from Thomas Lennox-Brown and Ben Webb respectively. The big cherry on top for me though, were the vocals of Scott Sharp who had hint of Plant and Cornell to his delivery which made a few of the tracks have a very Audioslave vibe to them, this was helped by the cosmic, spiralling solos also, they also had some similarities to modern world beaters Rival Sons which stands them in good stead for the future. The band really impressed me with their hard, heavy professional performance and a setlist that just got better until its big rocking climax. Definitely a band to watch out for in the future 8/10

Night By Night

Night By Night are a band that bring the melodic sensibilities of AOR and merge them with the metallic crunch of modern metal. The band boast big three part vocal harmonies in the style of Def Leppard and play songs that are not too far away from the sound that latter period Avenged Sevenfold produce. The band were all proficient and had some good stage craft and some well written and well performed songs. However this mix of AOR and modern metal did give me the slightest hint of emo style rock and the band didn't really do it for me but they did seem to pull the crowd so what do I know, personally though they just weren't my thing. 6/10

Jettblack

As if the 80's never ended Jettblack stormed the stage all permed hair and no shirts and low slung axes. The band kicked things off with favourite Get Your Hands Dirty before moving on to Temptation from the new album, this was a running theme with a mix of old and new working great together and showing these songs are made to played live. The superbly named Less Torque, More Thrust was next and then the rampaging Slip It On. Vocals were split as usual between guitarists Will and Jon, who both have a similar style, there guitars were ferocious and the solos were face melting, this mixed with the drumming and bass meant that it was hot and heavy with the crowd loving every minute of the 80's revival. The very Y&T Sunshine slowed the set for the mega-ballad Not Even Love before things were rocked up again for the final furlong until Prison Of Love and the sing along Two Hot Girls ended the main set. With the pumped up crowd baying for more there was a brief break before they returned for the encore of Raining Rock (which actually caused a pit) and their absolutely fantastic cover of Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins which got the crowd shouting along like it was 1986 all over again. All in all Jettblack are a great live band providing some serious entertainment and some catchy melodic metal that looks back at rocks glory days and lets people get loose and enjoy themselves. It's not big or clever but it's rock and roll (and I like it) 9/10

Reviews: Sylosis, Cauldron, Soulicit

Sylosis: Monolith (Nuclear Blast)

Reading is for the most part not somewhere you would associate with metal, it is the home of indie rock due to the festival however the exception are Sylosis as they bring bone crushing, face melting modern thrash metal to the masses. Since the last record (the fantastic Edge Of The Earth) the band have streamlined their sound and it finally feels like they have found their true sonic pitch which is somewhere between the modern thrash of Machine Head and the classic sound of Metallica, the band are technical, aggressive and heavy as hell and on Monolith this has all been maxed out to it furthest end. The lead guitar of Josh Middleton is absolutely awesome with the progressive Behind The Sun providing some fantastic solos and lots of amazing lead breaks. The drumming also is phenomenal with A Dying Vine (which also has some sublime acoustic playing) and the metalcore title track providing the best examples.
 The album is bookended by two fantastic songs the first is the thrash attack of Out From Below which wouldn't have looked out of place on The Blackening or ...And Justice For All and final track is the crushingly heavy Enshrined which ends the album in brilliant style. There is just so much to like about this album, it encompasses everything that makes these British thrashers great, Middleton's voice is the best it has ever been, the songs vary from classic thrash to groove metal on All Is Not Well, add to this the Gothenburg sound of Paradox and even a bit of Toolesque darkness on What Dwells Within. This is a thoroughly modern metal album full of technical playing, great songs and crisp production; Sylosis are a British band doing this type of things as good as or even better than their American counterparts. 10/10 

Cauldron: Tomorrow's Lost (Earache)

Canadian NWOBHM revivalists Cauldron return with their third full length and it's a case of business of usual with the high pitched shrieks of Jason Decay over the propulsive rhythm of his bass and the drums of (the now departed) Chris Rites. The guitar of Ian Chains rips up especially on the galloping Nitebreaker which features some killer lead breaks. The band do seem to have brought a darker sound to this record with Summoned To Succumb having a very Mercyful Fate vibe to it offering an evil bass heavy sound.  This is in total opposition to the following song which is the thrashy Burning Fortune which melds the new harder edged sound with classic NWOBHM sound. They also have seemed to dropped some of the more tongue in cheek elements from their last two records and they have brought the darker themes to their lyrical content as well. As with their previous efforts this album has a very retro vibe to the production with the bass low and fuzzy and the guitars very distorted and scratchy. This is another good addition to their retro revivalist catalogue and shows that if something ain't broke don't fix it. 7/10

Soulicit: Parking Lot Rockstar (Thermal)

Imagine if you will Nickelback fronted by Brent Smith from Shinedown with Mark Tremonti on guitar, playing an album full of should be classic tracks that also bring in elements of Buckcherry on the shout along Hell Yeah and Kroeger and co on the title track and with a huge dollop of Hinder on Beauty Queen. From here the album takes on more of a Creed/Alter Bridge vibe especially on super ballad Complicated. The songs slow in place after this but they are still full of muscular riffage, some great soloing from Dan Weaver and the perfect voice of Darick Parson who has a melodic southern drawl that suits this modern American rock to a tee. Despite there being possibly a few too many slower tracks all of them are well written and great example of their genre with all of them having a purpose, none outstaying their welcome and all of them having massive arena-sized hooks. This will be massive in America and should be here too with any justice, with a few more rockers on the next album Soulicit will be one of the best in their genre. I recommend that anyone that has even a passing interest in any of the bands mentioned seek out this album immediately you will not be disappointed. 8/10

Live & Dangerous: WASP

WASP Great Hall 2 Cardiff

Thanks to Paul Hutchings for his contribution to the cause.

So on 3 October, the “30 Years of Thunder” anniversary Tour rolls into Cardiff.

According to the official WASP website this was meant to be " the biggest spectacle W.A.S.P. have ever created. The two hour show will consist of three parts. A one hour set contain songs from the first four albums. The second set will be a 25 minute shortened version of “The Crimson Idol” complete with the movie accompaniment. A third set will consist of material from the New Studio Album, older material and everything in between. This show will see multiple video screens, pyrotechnics, and elements from the early W.A.S.P. shows and Blackie’s moving microphone stand “Elvis”!"

It was with slight disbelief then that, rolling up to the Great Hall at 8:00pm, we were confronted with closed doors, and a very healthy crowd queuing in anticipation but also with an air of frustration. Doors were due at 7:00pm.

So doors finally open about 8:15pm and in we go. Crimes of Passion from Yorkshire were straight on, played a very curtailed set and to be fair, made a decent fist of it. However, they were fairly bland and forgettable; indeed, the most I can remember was the lead singer cajouling us to "treat ourselves" to their album, a snip at only a fiver. Suffice to say I didn't and wasted said cash at the extortionally priced bar.

WASP finally stormed the stage at 9:40pm, having tormented us to numerous false starts. Opening with On Your Knees, the band were musically tight, though Doug Blair's guitar was a little too quiet for my liking; at times I stuggled to pick out the solos, which was disappointing as he is undoubtedly an excellent guitarist. A string of fan favourites followed, The Torture Never Stops, a tasty cover of The Real Me ( a staple for many years) LOVE Machine and Wild Child before the pace slowed with Forever Free/Sleeping (In the fire).

The promised first section finished with a face melting I Wanna Be Somebody and then it was into the Crimson Idol part of the show. Very strangely, the band exited whilst the Titanic Overture was played on tapes, before treating us to some an excellent montage including The Idol and a breathtaking The Great Misconceptions of Me. All good, but then came the hammer blow. Blackie has, in recent years, become much less communicative with the crowd, allowing the music to do the talking. Tonight was no exception, until he announced that we had been done "a great injustice"; explaining that they had been late arriving and setting up, that there was a curfew at the venue and therefore they only had time for one more, the standard set closer Blind in Texas.

And then they were gone. No Heaven's hung in Black, Chainsaw Charlie, I don't Need no Doctor. The much vaunted two hour show reduced to one hour and ten minutes. As for the stage show, well there was no special mike stand and the video montages on three screens looked mighty similar to their last visit to Cardiff on the 28th anniversary tour. I can accept problems in setting up if the band had travelled from Glasgow the same day, but they played Wolverhampton on 1 October and had no gig the night before. UNACCEPTABLE. An huge air of disappointment at the end then, with a few boos ringing out. After recent gigs which have been sparsely populated, it was such a shame that a decent turn out was treated so shabbily. 8/10 for the music. 0/10 for the treatment of a sold out crowd.

Reviews: Muse, Simon McBride, Monument

Muse: The 2nd Law (Warner Bros)

Are Muse still a rock band? This was the main question I asked myself when I heard that they were bringing a new dubstep direction to this album (named after the famous laws of Thermodynamics). However I wasn’t surprised at this revelation Muse have never been an 'organic' band meaning that electronics have always played a major part in their sound. So to the album which yes does have some dubstep in the two part title track which I will admit is brilliantly done and the single Madness (which also has a massive Queen vibe in the solo). On the other hand they have expanded their sound in other ways, Panic Station is every 80's song in existence mashed together, Supremacy also has a lot of Queen in it, they go trance with Follow Me and then turn into U2 on Big Freeze. As for the rock there is plenty of it with the mid-section of the album classic Muse, bassist Chris Wolstenholme takes the vocals for two of the heavier tracks and the rest is the vocal histrionics of Bellamy. So are Muse still a rock band? The answer is yes but they are one with chameleon-like tendencies meaning that they can change and adapt, but they are always more than capable to pull it off. 7/10

Simon McBride: Crossing The Line (Nugene Records)

Simon McBride is now on his third record of Blues-rock and he improves on every album. He is a fantastic guitar playing and his whiskey soaked croon means that the record oozes with class and passion. This can be witnessed on the emotive No Room To Breathe which has the hallmarks of McBride's fellow countryman and guitar legend Gary Moore. However it's not just on the slower songs that he shines when he picks up the pace on the soulful organ drenched Don't Be A Fool McBride is almost untouchable. He also looks back to his last release which was a split live/acoustic record on the Celtic flavoured A Rock And A Storm. The years of touring have paid off as these compositions are his most accomplished yet, with staple leaders like Joey Bones (Bonamassa) relying more on covers than original material the mantle falls to artists like McBride to create innovative blues-rock and he does so in spades on this album, look to the horn backed Alcatraz as an example of just how good the compositions are. McBride’s smoky vocals are great truly bringing a sense of longing on the blues based ballads like One More Try (which has fantastically stirring solo in it) and a gritty croon on rockers like Heartbreaker (which surprisingly sounds like Free). This is a record for any fan of blues-rock and it is a testament to just how good Simon McBride is. 9/10 


Monument: Rock The Night (Independent)

Formed by another former White Wizzard vocalist Monument are a NWOBHM revivalist band and they wear their influences (and their studs) on their sleeves, they bring Priest thrash-like attack on the frenetic opening track (which features Richie Faulkner on guitar) and Maiden dual-guitar harmonies on the future classic Midnight Queen. The guitarists trade licks and solo's with aplomb on every track, the bass is straight out of the 'Arry playbook and the drums blast with the power of Scott Travis. This is just an EP but on these 5 tracks you can see that any full length release will be chock full of big hitters ready for any heavy metal party. The Dickinson merged with Ozzy vocals of Ellis means that this album is a cracking release that merges classic NWOBHM style songs that are bolstered by spotless production and some top-notch songs. This EP will truly Rock The Night! 8/10

Reviews: AxeWound, Royal Republic, The Reasoning

Axewound: Vultures (Search And Destroy)

Formed by Bullet For My Valentine's Matt Tuck (who handles guitar and some vocals) the band also features Glamour Of The Kill's guitarist Mike Kingswood, Pitchshifter’s drummer Jason Bowld and the former bassist of Rise To Remain Joe Copcutt, with Cancer Bats' Liam Cormier taking lead screams and shouts, Axewound were pretty good when I saw them at Download, they were fast, furious and heavy. Unfortunately on their debut is none of these things. The album is essentially metalcore that finds a groove and tends to stick to it. With tracks like the Post-Apocalyptic Party which descends into a massive breakdown and the pacy Burn Alive the band have a clear idea of what they want to sound like however they come off as generic modern metal. Despite it being his project one can't help but feel that if Matt Tuck only contributed guitar the album would be little less tedious than it is a lot of his tracks sound like BFMV with Cold  and the piano backed and slightly wimpy Collide being the prime examples, Cormier does try his best to sound menacing but against this backdrop but it's only really Victim of The System that stands out. Both vocalists are on good form and the playing is tight however the whole thing is just really generic and a bit too safe for my tastes. Disappointing 5/10

Royal Republic: Save The Nation (Roadrunner)

The Royal Republic are a band or rebel-rousing Swedes that play dirty, ballsy, Rock N Roll with a punk snarl. This sophomore album expands the angular punk with its jagged guitar riffs from Hannes Irenard and some shoutier vocals from Adam Grahn. The band have still got their big hooky tracks and silly sense of humour with Make Love Not War (If You Have To Make War - Make Sure To Make Time To Make Love In Between) and Everybody Wants to Be An Astronaut but they also are taking hints from some bigger bands to make sure they have some songs ready for the arenas they will headline with Molotov and Revolution harking back to The Clash and the Pistols, Punk Drunk Love mirroring The Ramones, and You Ain't Nobody (Till Somebody Hates You) is the Foo Fighters All My Life by another name. Since their debut the band have become a major touring draw and on this album that confidence has grown, this is a band trying to capture their live ferocity on record and succeeding but also trying to show that they have their sights set firmly on the top. On this evidence they will be there in no time! 8/10

The Reasoning: Adventures In Neverland (Esoteric Antenna/Cherry Red recordings)

Welsh progsters The Reasoning have been thought he mill as late with the sudden disappearance of their long time guitarist Owain Roberts, and while we all hold out hope that he comes back safe, the band were still in the formative stages of this album and the fact that they have now finished and released it is testament to their commitment to their craft. Trimmed down to just a 5-piece now the band have also streamlined their sound since their last record Adverse Camber. Things start strongly with the off-kilter Hyperdrive which features Matt Cohen's pulsating bass driving the track, the melodies coming from Tony Turrell's Keys and the harmonious voice of singer Rachel who soars with just a hint of beautiful frailty. The band have really gone back to sound of their first album albeit without the metal influence that was present on some of the tracks. This means that this album has more of a keyboard heavy melodic style with Marillion (Otherworld), Pendragon (Stop The Clock) and even mid-period Genesis coming to mind. The guitar playing has been handled by new boy Keith Hawkins who does an excellent job blending some very technical playing with mouth-watering solos, some of the solo's come from guest musicians, but you can't see the join. The album ends in tremendous style with the title track and shows that The Reasoning are doing what they do best which is old-school prog with nothing else to water it down. A terrific record. 8/10

Live & Dangerous: Mostly Autumn

Mostly Autumn The Gate Cardiff

Mostly Autumn are one of the best and (most authentically British) bands in the UK but they never seem to get the recognition they deserve. This was my first ever gig at The Gate and as most bands are only as good as the venue they play in and the people they play too Mostly Autumn were absolutely fantastic tonight mainly because of these reasons. The venue itself is a majestic setting for the bands folk influenced prog-rock, it's a big space with lots of room for the band to play (mainly because of its former life as a church) this also meant the acoustics were flawless and the sound was VERY LOUD! The band came on to the instrumental Distant Train which immediately drew in the crowd with bandleader Bryan Josh's soaring guitar solos at its forefront. This explosion of noise then moved into the opening track of the new album the haunting Unquiet Tears which starts out slow and develops into a symphonic monster. This was the first of many tracks from the new album with Drops Of The Sun, the rocky The Devil And The Orchestra and the extremely Rainbow/Deep Purple sounding King Of The Valley which featured a cracking organ solo from Iain Jennings. This brings me to the band themselves who were all on fire the drums rattled the, keys and electronics elevated every song. The guitar playing of Bryan Josh is the best it's ever been, and Olivia's vocals are so good, both majestic and understated, it’s like she has been there from the start. Like I have said the set was geared heavily towards great new album but they were mixed with classics like Passengers, the anthemic Heroes Never Die and the still emotional Evergreen which on par with Questioning Eyes are two of Olivia's best performances. It was also great to see early song The Last Climb featured in the set with a simmering solo flute spot from Anne-Marie Helder (who along with Liam Davidson are the unsung heroes of the group) before Bryan took over with another stunning guitar solo which he also did on new album set-piece Tennyson Mansion. The crowd do deserve a mention as although small they cheered as if they were double their number and when it came to the final song the awesome The Spirit Of Autumn Past the crowd were jubilantly chanting along and cheering the band. This was the best I had seen them, partly due to the band themselves but the importance of the venue cannot be understated. Fantastic 9/10

Reviews: Devin Townsend Project

Devin Townsend Project: Epicloud & Epiclouder (InsideOut Records)

Epicloud

Epicloud is said to be both epic and loud and to be honest that doesn't even come close. Opening with he choral Effervescent! This segues into the electronic and pulsating True North which is insistent and repetitive until it breaks into the breakdown heavy middle section before coming back and setting the euphoric tone of the album. The album flows excellent with all the tracks linking together forming a complete whole. Lucky Animals follows next and is a massive hook-filled shout along which is in opposition to the next track which is the fast and thrashy Liberation. This is Devin on gloriously deranged form bringing together all of his previous DTP offerings on one disc with next track Where We Belong coming straight off the Ki album with its ambient and acoustic presentation which demonstrates the many layers there are to this album. With the band all matching Devin's fantastic musicality the album performance is fantastic and personally it is nice to hear the supremely gifted voice of Anneke Van Giersbergen making a comeback on the majority of tracks adding to multi-tracked vocals of Devin, the gospel choirs and gang vocals. Van Giersbergen's contribution is most noticeable the electronica based Save Our Now before everything is crushed in the metallic path of Kingdom (which has been re-recorded since its original debut on Physicist) and still maintains its original power. The love-song of Divine is just that and could be the most understated and beautiful song he has ever written, however the acoustic intro to Grace is just a diversion before the double kick drum explodes any of the sentimentality that has gathered with it's almost Strapping Young Lad heaviness Townsend mixing his classical croon and scream to great effect. This album is unrelenting with every track based imbued with a sense madness and extreme talent that have become Devin's trademark, many of the tracks also have Townsend's immense sense of fun. This is shown by More! which brings to mind the pop-metal of Addicted!! there is a small rest bite with the (almost) instrumental Lessons which is the opening to the anthemic Hold On which serves as the perfect penultimate track before the wall-of-sound chorus of final track Angel grabs you by the throat before the rest of the track builds into a suitably epic (and loud) finale leaving you both ecstatic and exhausted as the final note of the choir rings out. This is truly Devin's masterpiece bringing together everything that makes him one of most talented people in music. Simply awesome! 10/10

Epiclouder

This is the bonus disc of demos that come with the special edition and it features the tracks that were left off the album in demo style. These are not really demo’s per-se as they are just the songs as they were recorded without any post-production. The Ghost-like Believe is both stripped back and laidback full of brushed drums and gentle acoustic strumming. Before Anneke's voice hauntingly floats over the trip-hop/rock of Happy Birthday, the disconcerting rock-riffage of Quietus follows and gives the album a gothic vibe with Van Giersbergen's vocals prominent on this as well before it (mental) breaks down into an off-kilter horror film pastiche. This album too features 'The Project' all playing their hearts out and even without all of the post-production of the main album. If anything this album is more varied than its big brother as the country-blues of Heatwave (which is about the joys of rain ironically) shows. The pulsing Love Tonight is one of the weaker tracks due to the fact that it is quite generic Devin but this idea is wiped away by the jazzy almost tribal weirdness The Mind Wasp which starts out slow and gains a lot of noise at its end, from here things get heavier with Woah No! which is a Strapping song under a different banner. Love And Marriage is a fighting couple set to music with a stunning guitar solo in the middle. It’s the middle-eastern opening and influence on album set-piece Socialization that makes its schizophrenic blitzkrieg assault even better; it also features another face-melting solo and drifts off into a piano lounge piece. This is all capped off by the simple acoustical jam of Little Pig which is as stripped down as Devin will ever get and is full of country bonhomie that leaves you with a smile on your face (and brings to mind Outside The Wall the final track on Pink Floyd’s The Wall.) This again is another fantastic offering and is better than a lot of other artists main albums considering it is full of songs that are just demos (albeit very accomplished demos) this is Devin showing that he even has gold in his closet and this album is as strong and more varied in presentation as Epicloud but it is let down by one or two ‘safe’ tracks. 9/10 

Both these albums need to be purchased and listened to from top to bottom to truly appreciate how good they are. Together they are one of the best volumes of music released this year, individually they are still both exceptional pieces of music well worth the time of any rock/metal lover.