Reviews: In Solitude, Twilight Of The Gods, Counterhold

In Solitude: Sister (Metal Blade)

Three albums into their career and In Solitude have cemented themselves as one of the biggest bands in occult rock and with every album they become more obscure in their dark malaise. The riffs range from Sabbath doom and early Maiden galloping with frontman Pelle Ahman bringing his bewitching vocals to every song. With bands like Ghost bringing occult rock to the masses In Solitude have focussed more on their occult influences while expanding into some overt doom on A Buried Sun, some pulsing bass led metal on Pallid Hand and Horses In The Ground which also features guest vocals from ex-Swans singer Jarboe. This third album is very good and it shows why In Solitude are seen to be one of the brightest lights in the underground scene, the production is authentically, scratchy and analogue like an old LP, the band have also tried to bolster their sound with melodic and acoustic guitars see He Comes and the 8 minute plus freak out Inmost Nigredo and they have also added vibraphone/pianos from Martin Konie Ehrencrona add some real depth to the voodoo rhythms of Lavender and shows that the band are trying to bolster their sound away from the other occult based retro-styled bands in this overcrowded genre. Yet again In Solitude have come up with the goods and with this more varied album they have set out their stall not to be the next Sabbath but the first In Solitude. 8/10

Twilight Of The Gods: Fire On The Mountain (Seasons Of The Mist)

TOTG started life as a Bathory tribute band made up of Black Metal superstars, however after a tour playing homage to the band, the five members of TOTG were offered numerous deals to re-record Bathory songs but they instead took the only honourable course of action, taking a leaf out of the Black Star Rider's book they kept the name but instead of covers they focused on writing their own material. The band are made up of Primordial's Alan Averill on vocals, Rune Eriksen (Ava Inferi) and Patrik Lindgren (Thyrfing) on guitars and a rhythm section made up of Frode Glesenes on bass and Nick Barker on drums. So because of this membership you would expect this album to one that is full of Nordic Black Metal anthems with guttural vocals and icy sharp guitar riffs. How wrong you would be as this sounds nothing like Bathory or any bands in their genre, Fire On The Mountain is an album that harks back to the mid-seventies and early 80's bringing to mind Black Sabbath (both Ozzy and Dio era's) This is glorious riff heavy retro metal in the style of Grand Magus, every song has Sabbath like bottom end, that brings the overarching doom to every track but especially on Preacher Man and the 8 minute plus The End Of History. The album is full of endless guitar licks that make you want to raise your leather studded arm in the air and bang your head furiously. Every song tells of pagan ritual and ancient warriors and it is just the kind of fodder that you want from this kind of metal, this is a heads down worship at the altar of the almighty riff that is topped by the surprisingly great clean vocals of Averill who has a brawny signing voice that fits perfectly with the music. This album is excellent for anyone raised on Sabbath, Dio and even Manowar, chest beating heavy metal at its best! 9/10

Counterhold: All Of Them Slain (Self Released)

Counterhold! No strangers to this blog have FINALLY! released their debut album, well they have at least given a copy to me so I can review it. (I am truly honoured honest). So what is it like? Well the first thing I noticed was that the production is crisp and punchy meaning that the band sound like a metal freight train kudos then to Triaxis' Glyn who took the producers chair. The band are no slouches either the drums of Ryan Salter power through like a wrecking ball, the bass of Ben Saunders rumbles with a bone shaking power. Both of the rhythm section anchor the bands melodic modern metal sound that merges the cutting guitar tones of Killswitch Engage, with the dual leads of the Maiden (Out For Dead) and the massive breakdowns of LOG (Time To Die) et al. Speaking of the guitars both Karl Silverthorn and David Birbeck do a stellar job on the six strings laying down some killer riffage and some serious fret wankery on the solo front with guest solo on Stand Or Die by Andrew Moyes (Ben's cousin.) The strong musical foundation is topped by the superb vocals of frontman Steve who has a mighty bellow and can also bring the odd scream/roar to proceedings see Hellsgates which also has a progressive thrash element which moves into the huge hooky chorus of The Beast Within the band widen their sound with the acoustic opening on the 8 minute plus mega ballad Walk On Water and live favourite Fatal Taunt is only topped in the best track category by the awesome Children Of A Lesser God however every track on here is a testament to the bands obvious talent. British (or should that be Welsh?) metal is definitely alive and well. 8/10

Another Point Of View: Fleetwood Mac (Paul Hutchings)

Fleetwood Mac – O2 Arena London 24 September 2013

 

It was time for a rare to visit to the vacuous O2 arena in London for an equally rare visit from the British-American super group Fleetwood Mac as part of my year of classic rock and oh my, were they good. The Mac are a band that I’ve lived with for a long time, with Rumours possibly my favourite non-metal album of all time. However, I’ve never seen them live before and given their history it appeared likely that I would never get to witness them in the flesh. When the opportunity presented itself earlier in the year it was just a case of making sure tickets were purchased. No easy task given the speed they sold out. We spent a while before the show marvelling at the age range of the audience. A few metal heads, many old hippies and I suppose the type of audience you would expect them to attract; a real cross section and many there for the event as opposed to real fans of the band. However, just for once I shall concentrate on the events on stage rather than the annoying fucks sat around me.

 

Kicking off with a triple header from Rumours, the band were on excellent form from the off. Second Hand Dreams moved nicely into The Chain which everyone obviously knows thanks to its use for a zillion years on Formula One racing and then a stunning version of Dreams. In between songs Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks duly entertained us with some rambling commentary and recollections. We were treated to a range of tracks from their vast back catalogue, including Sad Angel and fans favourite Rhiannon before a groan from Mrs H as they launched into a four song

selection from Tusk, not one of our favourite albums although Sara was as haunting as ever. A rare trip to the 1980s saw an acoustic version of Big Love from Tango In tTe Night which allowed Buckingham to release the ego for a bit. He’s a bit strange on stage, slightly autistic in his delivery but as we discussed after, if you were in Fleetwood Mac for all these years then you’d be a little different too. The Rumours tracks continued with Never Going Back Again and Gold Dust Woman which really allowed Stevie to prove that she still has that golden voice. There really is no-one like her. However, the highlights of the night were still to come and as the band launched into I’m So Afraid from their self titled album, it was time for the musicianship to really come to the fore.

 

Throughout the evening Buckingham’s guitar playing was exquisite and I’d really forgotten how damn good this man is on the six strings. Of course, like Beck, Hendrix and Knopfler, Buckingham doesn’t use a pick which makes his sound quite unique. I read a description of his playing recently which referred to his style as ranging from beautifully simple to almost careering out of control and that sums it up well. His solo on I’m So Afraid was amongst the finest I’ve ever seen. Backed by the rhythm section of Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, this band can rock out with the best of them. A true highlight. We were then treated to Stand Back which is a Stevie Nicks solo track and this allowed Nicks the spotlight. The swirling dress and hippy scarves were present as they always have been and her voice was quite captivating. I can see why Mrs H loves her so much. The main set ended with another from Rumours, Go Your Own Way before the encores and predictable drum solo from Fleetwood led to Don’t Stop which had the entire arena dancing and singing along. After introducing all the members of the band including those who provided backing support, we were treated to a quite spine tingling version of Silver Springs. This is one of their most delicate songs and the only one from The Dance. This song highlights just what a stunning voice Stevie Nicks really has. Just Beautiful. They finished with Say Goodbye, a duet between Nicks and Buckingham to conclude a quite stunning evening. The fact that Christine McVie made an appearance the following night does not detract from my rating of 10/10

Another Point Of View: Motionless In White (Guest Review by Neil Lewis)

Motionless In White / The Defiled / The Glamour Of The Kill – Bristol Fleece

Unfortunately The Glamour Of The Kill started their set when I and many others were still filing into the venue. As it happens though the queue for the Fleece passes right around the stage area, so we could all hear everything. By the time I got inside the band were about halfway through their second song. Their style of melodic post-hardcore was certainly a little different on this bill and I enjoyed their energetic if brief set. Their reliance on backing tracks for the "woah-oh" gang vocals however was a bit of a disappointment in this writers view; more on that later. 7/10

Next up The Defiled – a band who I personally was very much looking forward to, and they did not disappoint. Opening up with Sleeper from their very excellent and highly recommended sophomore album Daggers they didn't so much take the stage as grab it by the scruff of the neck and shake it violently. The Defiled's brand of industrial flavoured metalcore peppered with huge sing-along choruses went down a treat in the venue, with Keyboardist The AvD and vocalist/guitarist Stitch D's enthusiasm and energy being thoroughly infectious. The AvD revealed during their set that they were all hung-over from the after party of the previous night's London show and if this is what they are capable of when feeling somewhat under par then I can't wait to see what they're capable of when sober. Of the many highlights of their set, the most memorable was probably the bassist, Vincent Hyde, crowd-surfing to the soundboard at the back of the venue and back. The aftermath of their set saw The AvD leaving his keyboard in the stage area, hanging from the roof, which made for an excellent and memorable visual. 10/10

As the sounds of Rob Zombie (and only Rob Zombie, which was an interesting choice) filled the ensuing interval the anticipation for Motionless In White – on their very first headlining UK tour – was palpable. The Slipknot-esque Devil's Night heralded the start of their set, which following The Defiled's excellent performance, simply had to be very good indeed. Thankfully, it was. Blasting their way through all the fan favourites from their back catalogue (including a ferocious rendition of Abigail) as well as a generous helping of newer material from their latest Infamous long player the band put on an excellent show. Technically extremely proficient (as you would expect) my only gripe would be the unwelcome return of one of my personal bugbears – the backing track. There were two songs during which it was plain that vocalist Chris “Motionless” Cerulli was, shall we say, “assisted” in his duties. As it happens the two tracks in question (America and Infamous) are my two personal favourites from their new album, which did spoil it a little bit from my own perspective. Judging by the crowd reaction however it looked as though many others did not share my opinion. As the band are transitioning their sound from their pure metalcore origins to a more industrial, electronic driven sound it would appear from tonight's evidence that their fan-base is enthusiastically coming along for the ride. And what a ride it looks to be. 8/10

Overall this was a superb show. Every band on the bill have recently released their second (official in the case of Motionless) album which shows to this writer at least that their respective futures are very bright indeed.

Reviews: Alter Bridge, Onslaught, Venrez

Alter Bridge: Fortress (Roadrunner)

After a brief hiatus of the band which featured frontman Myles singing for the legendary Slash and guitarist Mark Tremonti releasing his first solo album, Alter Bridge are back looking to reclaim their throne as the kings of American metal. With any new AB release I always have to compare it to Blackbird which I consider their magnum opus; ABIII was cathartic for the band with Myles releasing his inner demons through music, however Fortress returns to the bands fist pumping metal sound but brings a grown up twist with more progressive elements to their sound. This progressive tinge can be witnessed from the first track Cry Of Achilles which features an acoustic intro before building in the verses and bursting into life for the meteoric chorus and the sublime solo's after Brian Marshall's bass break and also on the final title track which clocks in at over 7 minutes and twists and turns throughout. So far so good then with a great opening which is followed immediately by the thrash-like riffage of Addicted To Pain and the swinging Bleed It Dry which is a mid-paced rocker with a massive hook and a blues guitar break in the middle. Lover gives you a rest bite with a haunting acoustic melody that explodes into a majestic chorus. What is most noticeable about this album is that Alter Bridge sound more like a band on this record than any of their previous records, the guitars of Tremonti are excellent as usual but Myles' bring an extra edge to things especially on the heavy as hell tracks like the djenty Peace Is Broken and the head crushingly heavy Farther Than The Stream and the awesome Waters Rising which features Mark on lead vocals and again shows the unison between the band with the dual vocal style bringing to mind AIC. This is a fantastic album that really shows off Alter Bridges strengths mixing melodic metal with anthemic choruses, a heavy as steel rhythm section from Flip and Marshall, some amazing shredding and melodic leads from Kennedy and Tremonti and its all topped off with the best vocalist in the world, who sounds even better on this album than anything previously. So my comparison to Blackbird, well Fortress is equal to and may become better than their best album after repeated listens. 9/10           

Onslaught: VI (Nuclear Blast)

Onslaught have always had a bit of special place in my heart as they are one of the first true British thrash bands that were able to compete with the big Yanks. Well after a two year wait accompanied by relentless touring the Bristol thrashers are back with their sixth album (thus the title) and since the previous album Sounds Of Violence the band have changed very little aurally with this album retaining much of the unrelenting ferocity of the previous effort. Chaos Is King immediately sets things aflame with its blast beat drumming from Mike Hourihan and the razor sharp riffage of Andy Rosser-Davies and Nige Rockett. The album blends enough modern and classic thrash to keep fans of 'Tallica, Megadeth head banging with glee with the old-school tracks like Children Of The Sand and Enemy Of My Enemy both of which have that Bay Area feel to them. Onslaught also have enough venomous, pit inciting shred for those brought up on Machine Head and LOG; see Slaughterize and Cruci-Fiction for total pit devastation. All of the tracks are strong, full of face ripping riffage and Sy Keeler's snarling vocals which could strip paint. Another killer album from the thrash crew, which will really slay the live arena. Get ready for pain! 8/10

Venrez: American Illusion (Monarch Music Group)

Venrez are a hard rock band that are soon to be touring with Buckcherry and Hardcore Superstar so expectations of sleaze based rock was at a high when I received this album. However I was massively surprised when I heard the band's grunge/stoner rock vibe on the opening track Unforeseen. Venrez bring fuzzy riffage from the two guitarists and a driving rhythm section which creeps menacingly on the opening track before the swaggering Sanctity brings a real hard rock vibe. The band have a sound that mixes Monster Magnet and Stone Temple Pilots with some voodoo rhythms and lots of reverbed guitars, these two bands are brought to mind because of the vocals of frontman Ven who sounds a lot like Dave Wyndorf. They do have some faster tracks that bring to mind some of the American sleaze rock scene however it’s on the grungy tracks that the band do best at case in point is the excellent Intellectual Drool which is Alice In Chains by another name. A good album from Venrez who are a band still finding their style but if they continue to focus on the grunge aspects then they will definitely move further up the bill. 7/10

Reviews: Dream Theater, Michael Monroe, The Temperance Movement

Dream Theater: S/T (Roadrunner Records)

With their last album A Dramatic Turn Of Events being a big U-turn away from the heavier elements brought in by Mike Portnoy since Train Of Thought I believed that Dream Theater were trying to rediscover themselves and it seems things have continued on this album. They have returned to the prog-metal scene with their second album featuring drummer Mike Mangini. Most notably it is self-titled which is usually a sign of a band either defining or more likely when this is your 12th album re-defining yourself. Things start off simply enough with the cinematic instrumental (which features a full orchestra that I'll get to later) False Awakening Suite which does sound like something from a Hans Zimmer would write if he had a metal band after it's crescendo the first song proper is the fast and furious The Enemy Inside which kicks off with all the DT hall marks of Petrucci's amazing guitar work, Jordan Rudress' melodic and sometimes mental keyboard runs, Myung's workman-like bass and most noticeably of all Mangini's superb drumming (this is the first album he has had creative input into) finally the song has the unique and soulful crooning of James LaBrie meaning that it is the perfect distillation of DT's sound. So all in all it's a very good start and things continue in this strong vein as The Looking Glass is a homage in terms of sound to Petrucci's heroes Rush with some technical bass brought to the fore, lots of melodic guitar lines a Lifeson-like solo and shed loads of off-kilter drumming. This is not the end though as all of the tracks are very strong and they show that Dream Theater are once again a cohesive unit, they also bring some of the heaviness back with the instrumental The Enigma Machine which moves into the obligatory ballad The Bigger Picture which could have been lifted off Octavarium, more looking back comes on Behind The Veil which has evil verses and a euphoric chorus. Yes this is definitely the sound of a re-energised Dream Theater and after the amazing 22 minute plus finale of Illumination Theory which has the aforementioned full orchestra and takes you through every emotion possible (and gives you a hell of an ending!) you find yourself wanting to play the whole disc again. Welcome back guys I've missed you. 10/10

Michael Monroe: Horns And Halos (Spinefarm)

The former Hanoi Rocks frontman swaggers back into the scene with his follow up to the unanimously excellent Sensory Overdrive however this time he is sans Ginger Wildheart however he has still managed to mix glam, hard rock, punk together to form a swinging party record. The record immediately blasts out of your speakers with a snotty punk sucker punch to open proceedings, the guitars of former New York Doll Steve Conte and new boy Dregen scythe and slice through the garage rock backing of Sami Yaffa and Karl Rosqvist which is all fuzz and pop. The punk overtones are the most pressing sounds with most of the songs filled with a huge amount of attitude mainly due to Monroe's vocals which sound like they've come from the gutter however he still has the glam rock stomp with Ballad Of The Lower East Side mixing both the punk and glam to encompass the two big sounds of this city, this is followed by the bluesy Eighteen Angels which features Monroe's simmering saxophone. I've made much of the punk influence but he does widen his remit too as Stained Glass Heart shows as it is very Foo Fighters sounding Soul Surrender has a reggae/dub back beat to the verses. Monroe has done it again with a sprawling rock album that still has the genre spanning elements of The Wildhearts even without the genius of Ginger on the writing staff. Another strong, eclectic, rock n roll album 8/10

The Temperance Movement: S/T (Earache)

 From the first, soulful blues guitar licks of Only Friend this album immediately latches on to you and transports you to the sunny climbs of California by way of Alabama. Over the course of the next 11 tracks The Temperance Movement move through the highest quality blues-based rock that this island has produced in a long time. Yes you read that right THIS island, The Temperance Movement are a British band taking on bands like Rival Sons at their own game. Musically the band mix the honey toned rock of The Black Crowes if they were fronted by Rod Stewart (in his Faces days). It’s the emotion that really draws you to this album, all of the songs sound real this is a band that love their music and take pride in it. The guitars of Luke Postashnick and Paul Sayer are equally strong when fuzzy and raw, clean and melodious and even beautiful on the more acoustic numbers like Pride and the understated, stripped back beauty of Lovers And Fighters. The rhythm section is made up of Aussie Damon Wilson who handles of the percussive shuffles and flailing smashes and Nick Fyffe, who was previously the bassist for Jamiroquai so adds a liberal amount of funk, see Be Lucky. Like I said before the band sound authentically American as if they've been taken straight out of the delta and lot of this is due to vocalist Phil Campbell (no not the Motorhead one) who has a staggering voice, its gritty on the rockers like Midnight Black and croons like Willie Nelson on the countrified ballad Chinese Lanterns (which lots of tasty slide guitar). This is a superb album that features some excellent songs that are made for the live arena especially Know For Sure along with the bouncy Take It Back and its "Woah woah" refrain This is one of the strongest debuts I've heard in years, pure, authentic, rhythm and blues for the modern generation! 9/10      

Another Point Of View: Justin Currie (Review By Nick)

Justin Currie, The Gate Cardiff.

So my long… long awaited chance to see one of my favourite singer songwriters of all time finally arrived set in the perfect back drop of The Gate. A reasonably sized crowd of around two hundred filed into this old church to see the unarguable talent and sometimes-cantankerous personality of Justin Currie. First up the support.

Del Barber.

The light dipped, and to a surprisingly excitable applause Del Barber hit the stage. I guess very few (including myself) new what to expect as the clearly slightly nervous young man as he steadied himself and broke into the first few chords of his first song Love & Wine. From the very first line of this song there was an overwhelming sense that the crowd had been taken in by this young mans delightfully soothing southern voice and carefully precise guitar plucking from the get go. This continued throughout the set with well received songs such as Running On A Wire, The Waitress and what was clearly the crowds favourite The Right Side of Wrong in which most people in life could relate to. Del also had what at first, was annoying habit of rambling on between songs, this soon became quite endearing as he told stories that inspired his songs that clearly meant a great deal to him. At times he managed to bring a unified laugh or chuckle out of the crowd as he enlightened us with the story of how he came to be where he stood. As the short lived set drew to an end with the heartfelt song Everything Is Not Enough it was easy to see that if crowd weren’t expecting the main act, they’d have wanted Del to carry on singing and regaling us for hours. This young man from Manitoba Canada clearly knew his roots and had nothing but thanks and respect from where he had come from, making this one of the most gracious performances I’ve seen in a while. His voice was delicate and almost peaceful and he certainly new his way around a guitar. For me, a great all round support act that I hope to see again in the future. The crowd seemed to agree as he left the stage a loud applause. 8/10

Justin Currie

As Justin Currie walked onto the stage he immediately broke into a mini set of songs from latest album Lower Reaches. Emotive songs such as Every Songs The Same, Into A Pearl and Pricilla plunged The Gate into a looming dark shadow of thought that Justin is known for and so does incredibly well. A brief aside and Justin promised a lighter pace later on, not that many people seemed to care as the quality of his conveyance and voice was purely outstanding… despite the characteristically depressive nature of his songs. This theme continued with songs from further back into his back catalogue such as The Way That It Falls and a fan requested, and heart breaking song If I Ever Loved You. Many fans visibly tearing up as Justin delivered this anthem with pure perfection as the masses joined in. One thing to note about Justin Currie is that despite his aloof and at times grumpy personality, he fills his songs with nothing but truth an emotion and could almost be considered as an emotional outlet for the talented Glaswegian. Shortly after this, as promised the pace was picked up with a plethora of songs from Justin’s original 90’s band project Del Amitri. Classics including Always The Last To Know, Tell Her This and a personal favourite Driving With The Breaks On which contains a powerful message that every person can relate too in life were set free into the beautifully lit room. After a back and forth between the crowd Justin then settled down behind his Piano and invited a friend onto the stage, preparing himself to deliver songs from his album The Great War. Gold Dust, Half Of Me and the deceivingly cheerful song, Falsetto were introduced with new added depth with assistance slide guitarist Mark Greenshaw, as these songs were offered the atmosphere became more personal as more and more members of the crowd headed to the floor to surround the front of the stage and listen intently to lyrics that were being sung. More requests followed as Justin delved again into his Del Amitri back pocket and satisfied fans with Spit In The Rain and This Side Of The Morning both of which were supported by the fine voice of the Welsh crowd. Following this Justin informed the crowd that he would be leaving the stage, but, if we were loud enough he would “surprise” us with an encore… the crowd duly delivered as they burst out into rapturous applause of whistles forcing the man of the hour to return to the stage after a minute or so. The encore consisted of four songs, the first persistently crowd requested Little Stars to which Justin's voice added a chilling atmosphere as each word was milked of every ounce of feeling possible. Then the outstandingly well written and, what I have always thought to be the unbelievably eye opening and thought provoking No Surrender Pt 1 & 2 were delivered with the spite hatred and anguish that they emote… that was until, Justin forgot the words… oops! About 6 or 7 minutes in he jokingly suggested, “Should I start again?” Instead he returned to the guitar to give the crowd Del Amitri’s biggest hit Nothing Ever Happens to which finished with the statement “professional experience, if you f*ck up pull out your biggest hit”… to right sir! Finally the evening drew to and end as the sensationally moving song Be My Downfall was released, this a song that I have waited a long time to hear live and wow… I was not let down. Again many of the crowd were visibly tearing up as the lyrics were expertly delivered via the deep rough voice, the crowd sang along belting out every last word much to pleasure of the Mr Currie. Too soon the song finished I briefly sat contemplating what I had just heard before joining the massive applause that lead Justin off the stage.
This night was truly a roller coaster of emotion; highs, lows, laughs and poignant moments ensured the crowd and myself were left in no doubt that Justin Currie is one of the leading, but sadly underrated songwriters of our time. The Glaswegian voice with its rough undertone, together with the earlier mentioned personality meant that every song was conveyed honestly and touched the emotions they were clearly written to evoke. A brilliant night of acoustic music that I honestly cannot wait to experience again… once I have recovered 10/10

 

Another Point Of View: Nile (Review by Paul)

Nile/Ex-Deo – Bogiez

An early start to proceedings meant that I missed the opening acts (sorry but I was there by 8:00).  I am led to believe that I missed a good set from Svart Crown so that was a bit of a pisser. I blame Mr Ruddles. Anyway, just over a month since Ex-Deo stormed the main stage at BOA, Maurizio Iacono’s side project arrived in Cardiff. I have had them pretty much on repeat in recent times and have to admit that their brand of death metal is right up my street. Cramming onto the stage in Bogiez is a far cry from the space they were afforded at BOA but they got straight down to business and were greeted like conquering heroes (sorry!). One of the largest crowds I’ve experienced in Bogiez were in appreciative mood, pits opening up on a regular basis and as you’d expect lots and lots of fists in the air. Tracks aired included The Tiberius Cliffs, The Final War and the opening track to their last album I Caligvla. As we’ve come to expect at Bogiez the sound was top quality and this allowed the guitars of Stephane Barbe and Jean Francois Dagenais to feature prominently. The set ended with the anthemic Romulus and an ovation from the assembled crowd. Excellent stuff. 9/10

At 9.15 the unmistakable entrance music of South Carolina’s Nile blasted out and the band launched into one of the most brutal aural assaults that Bogiez has ever witnessed. Karl Sanders guttural vocals led the band through opener Sacrifice Unto Sebek with the technical skills of this extremely heavy band clear for all. Nile moved swiftly into Defiling The Gates Of Ishtar before personal favourite Kafir incited more pit action and much windmilling – both on stage and off. The drumming of George Kollias is quite incredible; think Mario Duplantier and then add some. There is absolutely no matching this band in terms of technique in the death metal field. Sanders and Dallas Toler-Wade are both quite brilliant guitarists and the intricate duelling between them is breath-taking at times However, in such a small venue it was sometimes difficult to see anything on stage. This isn’t often a problem but, and it this is my view, with death metal sometimes the wall of sound can become a little similar and attention can wander. Anyway, the majority of the crowd seemed very happy and Nile blasted through a set which contained tracks from a number of their albums. The Howling Of Jinn and offerings from the latest album At The Gate Of Sethu came and went and suddenly that was it. 10:10 and it was all over. I think that the band made a comment about Bogiez bringing the finish time early but I couldn’t say that for definite. A slightly confused and disappointed crowd milled around for a bit before streaming out into the evening air. I saw Nile last year at BOA for the first time and was massively impressed. Tonight it was Ex Deo who stole the show. 7/10

*Editors note* On further investigation with the venue it was bad time management from the band that meant they had curtailed set and nothing to do with the venue itself

The View From The Side Of The Room: Joe Bonamassa

Joe Bonamassa, Motorpoint Arena Cardiff

Joey Bones has been coming to Cardiff since 2008 (to the Point as he himself pointed out) and for the last few years he has headlined the Motorpoint arena by himself with no major label backing at all, which is impressive. So the question arises who do you get to support Joe Bonamassa? Well last time it was David Ford, this time it was Joe himself doing some acoustic numbers backed by Tal Bergman on bongos and new boy Derek Sherinian, who jumped ship after the implosion Black County Communion, on grand piano. When a show starts off with Joe's own Palm Trees, Helicopters And Gasoline followed quickly by Bad Company's Seagull you know that the set can only climb higher. Next were Jelly Roll and the awesome Athens To Athens before the acoustic showcase Woke Up Dreaming brought the first part of the set to a close. The crowd got their breath back and the band walked back on stage to take up their electric positions. Tal Bergman and his wild hair took his place behind the kit, Sherinian placed himself behind the massive keyboard set up he had and Carmine Rojas strolled on bass in hand filled with his infinite coolness. Joe the plugged in and kicked things off with the atmospheric Dust Bowl and then Story Of The Quarryman which immediately showcased Joe's strengths, his amazing guitar work which is at times emotive and uplifting, other times its heavy and powerful enough to knock you out. His other strength is obviously his voice which is almost unique for blues based rock; it has a mid-range delivery which is at odds with the usual gruff whiskey soaked vocals of the blues legends.

Much of the set was taken from Joe's last few albums with his usual mix of originals and covers, Howlin' Wolf's Who's Been Talking came next with its calypso back beat, before Dislocated Boy, Driving Towards The Daylight and Slow Train were all brought together one after another for a full showcase of Joe's emotive, soulful guitar playing and also his song writing as all three were originals. Three covers were next with Gary Moore's Midnight Blues and Jeff Beck's Spanish Boots harking back to the blues legends that inspired him. The final cover (of the main set) was Song Of Yesterday which is originally a Black Country Communion song so not strictly a full cover, however it fit into the set well and was another showcase this time for Sherinian who used his entire keyboard range bringing in organs, keyboards, B3's and even Wurlitzers to his solo, the band then jammed for a bit before they moved into the familiar drum break of The Who's Won't Get Fooled Again before ending the jam with that songs guitar stabs. The final songs of the main set were the stirring instrumental Django which moved into Mountain Time to end the main set on a huge high, bringing the crowd to their feet in rapturous applause.

A small break and the encore came in the shape of Joe's showstoppers, the man himself said that he has tried to drop Sloe Gin from the set however when it is delivered with as much emotion as he does I think he will be playing it until he retires, after this catharsis it was time for the blues-rock stomp of The Ballad Of John Henry which got the crowd shuffling and clapping in their seats and then went into a huge solo at the end to satisfy the fret lovers in the crowd. Again with the final chords the crowd erupted with everyone standing. Joe has a very partisan crowd all of whom enjoyed every minute of this set and Joe himself made sure that he played the best set he could and as a veteran of such gigs this was one of the best sets I've ever seen him play, it was powerful, emotional, technically perfect and immaculate (much like Joe's suit). It was a set like this that shows why Joey Bones is able to headline a venue this size on his own back and draw a big crowd. 10/10  
  

Reviews: Avenged Sevenfold, Trouble, Jettblack

Avenged Sevenfold: Hail To The King (Warner Bros.)

A7X return with their second album since the death of their drummer Jimmy 'The Rev' Sullivan and this one is not the tribute that Nightmare was this is a band finding their sound again. From the bell tolling, Sabbath-like intro to Shepard Of The Fire which bursts into a riff that Metallica would be proud of, this then moves into the first single Hail To The King which is classic A7X with some tasty guitar work from Zacky Vengeance and Synyster Gates. These similarities can be forgiven if it was one or two tracks however it does become abundantly clear that it is every track yes this is an album is full of well written metal tracks well played however it does all sound very familiar, like I said the first two tracks are Metallica, Doing Time is a G'N'R track from the Appetite For Destruction era, and the album continues in this way with This Means War being Sad But True under another name. They have the obligatory ballad in Crimson Day which is Sweet Child 'O Mine I'm afraid. So yes this has been hailed as A7X best album and it did go to number one however this might be because the album is essentially a covers album bringing together Metallica and G'N'R tracks but with different lyrics. If it was a homage I could deal with it however this seems to be an outright rip off of classic bands work. 5/10 

Trouble: The Distortion Field (FRW Records)

Doom metal veterans Trouble return with their first album of new material since 2007's Simple Mind Condition. It also sees a new vocalist at the for front long gone is the original doom monger Eric Wagner and also his ill-advised replacement Warrior Soul's Kory Clarke; in their place is former Exhorder, Alabama Thunderpussy and Trouble live vocalist Kyle Thomas who brings his burly Anselmo-esque singing to the 'White Metal' attack. So what is the first Trouble release without Wagner at the helm like? Well musically it's big doomy, Sabbath worshiping riffs that kick off with When The Sky Comes Down and move swiftly into the swinging Paranoia Conspiracy. The guitars of Rick Wartell and Bruce Franklin bring the down dirty doom riffs and Thomas does a great job on this album, I've always loved his voice and I actually prefer it Anselmo's, he brings a real Southern style to the quicker tracks like Sink Or Swim and also the mega doom monsters like One Life. Yes there are many bands doing the doom at the moment but Trouble are up there as legends of the genre. At 13 tracks you get a lot of Trouble for your money and even for fans that are late to the party this album is a notable addition to the Trouble catalogue and shows they still have it. 7/10 

Jettblack: Black Gold (Spinefarm Records)

British macho rock exponents Jettblack have released this album based around a song from their last album Raining Rock usually this would be a stopgap E.P however this album has 13 tracks made up of unreleased tracks, covers and acoustic versions two of these are versions of the song Black Gold one is the full length version and the other is an edited version that featuring Damon Johnson from Black Star Riders, if I'm honest the full version is better however the rest of the album has some real highlights. Feel The Love and Weapon are both full power electric Jettblack songs that are full of the macho almost chauvinistic lyrics that Jettblack are known for. Feel The Love has a special guest in the shape of Deep Purple's Ian Paice who provides the skins for the song, which makes it sound like Fireball. The acoustic versions of their songs are all very good as they all translate very well to the acoustic style with Not Even Love still having the emotional power of the electric version. The covers are a slightly patchier story, Let Me Put My Love Into You (AC/DC) has been previously released and is a good fit for Will Stapleton's voice as is Name In Vain (Motorhead) too which they bring the punk power of Lemmy and co, on the other hand their cover of Barracuda is well played turning it metallic but neither Will or Tom's vocals will be able to match Ann Wilson but they put their own spin on it I suppose. A good stop gap, that is a money making exercise yes, but one that will keep fans happy. 7/10 

Reviews: Volture, Lancer, Sign Of The Jackal

So I thought with this review I'd bring together a few retro/trad metal revivalists for one review, because I'm a bit of a fan of tight jeaned, bullet belted metal!

Volture: On The Edge (High Roller Records)

High Roller Records is quickly becoming the place for retro infused sneaker wearing metal with the likes of Enforcer and Axxion on its role call you can now add to that list Volture who play twin guitar infused trad-metal. The band hail from Virginia and are the brainchild of guitarist Nick Poulos and Ryan waste who plays bass in this project but most will know him as the guitarist of crossover thrash maniacs Municipal Waste. The album is full of hard hitting anthems full of scything guitars from Poulos and partner in crime Dave Boyd, rumbling galloping bass from Waste, smashing drums and some high vocals from singer Jack Bauer (no not that one). From the opening riff of the title track you know what you are going to get but this album stands above many others in this genre as the band have the hallmarks of early Maiden or Priest but with a distinctly European flavour of Enforcer despite being from America. The song lyrics as per usual with trad metal are about bikes, women and the joys of heavy metal and with song names like Ride The Night and Desert Pursuit the band focus more on the Iron Horse, with Desert Pursuit sounding like it should feature on Killers in fact it’s the early Maiden influence that is the most overriding sound on this album, yes the songs are samey but Volture deliver them masterfully meaning that this album is definitely one to pick up for retro fans. 8/10    

Lancer: S/T (Doolittle Group)

In a slight change of style Swede's Lancer are from the power/speed school of metal but they maintain the trad-metal sound of dual guitars etc. The album kicks off with Purple Sky which features a dual guitar rundown for the main riff, some cracking drumming from Sebastian Pedernera, and classic European-style vocals of Isak Stenvall who sounds a lot like Timo Kotipelto from Stratovarius and in places like fellow Swede Joey Tempest. In fact the band sound a lot like early Stratovarius albeit without the massive keyboard passages that Strato are known for. They do however fill their songs with guitar solos (see The Exiled) rampaging blast beats (Young And Alive) and even some progressive influences on the 7 minute plus Seventh Angel which is a ballad that Timo Tolkki would be proud of (and features some keys!). The production is not as crisp as Strato (and nowhere near as clean as Europe's) but with big backing choruses and lots of meaty guitar action this is a solid power metal album that will entice completists. 7/10    

Sign Of The Jackal: Mark Of The Beast (High Roller Records)

Another treat from High Roller this time with more of an occult vibe, so you need to be thinking Angel Witch, Mercyful Fate, Withcfinder General, Venom and more recently In Solitude. In a twist of (Mercyful) fate though the banshee at the microphone, is not some tall, dark stranger but a small perfectly formed woman; in the shape of Laura Coller who howls the occult lyrics over the retro metal blast. Coming from Italy the band should be well acquainted with the works of Satan and with tracks like Hellhounds, Night Of The Undead and Queens Of Hell they are defiantly in the Angel Witch school of occult metal. The album is good with lots of little B-movie references sprinkled throughout (and lots of Italian) it makes for an authentic 80's sound, obviously you know what the music sounds like but it’s the vocals that will make or break this album, you will either love them or hate them but still in the right frame of mind and with Halloween on its way this is one to put on at a party. 6/10