Out Of The Beyond 33

Virgil & The Accelerators: The Radium (2010)

Virgil McMahon is a 22 year old guitarist from South Africa who and the Accelerators are his band consisting of his younger brother Gabriel on drums and Jack Alexander Timmis on bass. He is the youngest man ever to be nominated for the 2010 British Blues Award. He and his band have been compared to Cream and from the massive guitar crescendo to the bluesy as hell Working Man (not a Rush cover Paul) you can see why, this is some amazing guitar playing from the youngster who draws on his influences of Hendrix, SRV and ZZ Top in every song to create some amazing blues rock, he is also blessed with a voice that is far beyond his years rich and sonorous with the right amount of guts and grit to it. After Working Man we move into the rocking Top-lik Refuse To Believe with more ZZ Top style naughtiness in the shape of the funky Bad Girl which is straight off the Eliminator album. McMahon's influences shine to on the dirty Rory Gallagher style blues of Backstabber and Racing With Life. For a debut album this is a great one full of some of the most accomplished blues rock I've heard since I heard and album called New Day Yesterday by a man named Bonamassa. McMahon is a killer guitarist and on the instrumental The Storm he shows that you don't need fancy solos to show that you are talented. If you like your rock full of blues swagger and your blues with a rockier back beat then The Radium is for you Virgil McMahon has all the potential to be as big as Joey B mark my words and if you want proof just check out Fell To The Floor which is showstopper of a ballad. 9/10

Blues Pills: Devil Man E.P (2013)

With all the amazing doom/retro rock bands coming out of the woodwork at the moment any band that delves into this world of voodoo grooves and occult mysticism. Hailing from Örebro Sweden The Blues Pills are a female fronted blues band that sound like Lynne Jackaman fronting Graveyard, front woman Elin Larsson has blues howl that many men cannot attain, it is pure, unrestrained and tribal in it's delivery. She is backed by some fuzzy bass led, retro riffage with Cory Berry's drums, Dorian Sorriaux's guitar and Zack Anderson's bass all providing some psychedelic, hazy and blissed out retro rock. See The River which is everything I just mentioned distilled into one perfect slab of doomy, psych rock and is followed by the distinctly Sabbath-like heaviness of Time Is Now. They then have the riff fuelled opening title track and the jazzy, percussion filled final track Dig In which ends things in a blissed out way. A nice little snippet to get you ready for their forthcoming album, it shows what this band are capable of. One to seek out before their full length debut is released 7/10

Europe: Last Look At Eden & Bag Of Bones (2009 & 2012)

Yes THAT song will forever haunt them but Europe are and have always been more than a one hit wonder. They have always been a talented band but on their two most recent albums, the second and third releases since their early 2000's reformation as a band the first being 2006's Secret Society. They have really pushed the boat out delivering possibly their two career defining albums.

Last Look At Eden

First up was Last Look At Eden in 2009 which brought a huge dollop of Zeppelin and some Whitesnake to their sound with this album. From the orchestral opening which leads into the title track which has all the glorious pomp of Kashmir with its big orchestral backing, massive guitars from John Norum big John Lord like organs from Mic Michaeli, all topped with Joey Tempest's awesome voice, he is channeling the Coverdale for the most part. In fact the entire album is very similar to Whitesnake's last few albums all of which have been very strong hard rock focussed affairs full of big riffs, massive keys and the unmistakable voice. Well if you didn't know this was Europe then you would think it was Coverdale and co see New Love In Town for pure bonnet frolicking rock balladry. The riffs come thick and fast on The Beast on which the vocals change to become more like Ian Gillan and the song has more than a hint of Black Country Communion to it as does U Devil U. Yes this is far removed from the early 80's euro metal of their early career but the sound of a band aging gracefully and maturing their sound with more blues influences throughout. 9/10

Bag Of Bones

With Bag Of Bones the band expanded their sound a little more becoming more bluesy on what is their ninth album in total, much of this blues influence may have come from guitarist John Norum who released a blues album in 2010. The album brings a lot more stripped back pure rock to proceedings do away with the orchestral pomp of the previous release, a lot of this comes from Kevin Shirley's analog style of production technique which means that everything is a little more authentic. The Ian Gillan style vocals are back with Tempest blasting it out directly from the offset, Shirley's work with BCC is prevalent throughout especially on Not Supposed To Sing The Blues which with it's "Boy you're not supposed to sing the blues where you come from" refrain could be the band's mantra on this album. Yes this album is very good with all the band playing their hearts out, Caveman (Shirley) has his imprints all over the record, which is no bad thing, Joey Bones himself pops up on the title track providing some killer slide guitar. Yes the maturity of Europe shows through and so does their songwriting skill, channeling Free, Bad Company and Deep Purple this is yet another great addition to Europes catalog of great albums! 8/10

Reviews: Crowbar, Anathema, The Algorithm

Crowbar – Symmetry in Black (Century Media) [Review By Paul]

Symmetry In Black is the 10th Album from New Orleans Sludge Metallers Crowbar, led by the formidable Kirk Windstein. This is the follow up to 2011’s Sever The Wicked Hand, which was a stomping piece of down tuned sludge. However, Windstein and his crew have pushed the bar up a couple of notches, and Symmetry in Black really smacks the previous release around the chops and tells it to sit back down.
Opener Walk with Knowledge Wisely kicks hard, with a huge drum sound and massive riffs. It also moves with surprising pace, Windstein’s trademark vocals straining along with the big guitar sound. Symmetry in White follows, delivered at a more expected pace, crushing guitars and pounding drums combining to pin you to the flow with a wall of power. Variety is not a word you'd usually associate with the sludge genre, but The Taste of Dying challenges that assumption with a number of time changes; true sludge at one point followed by some galloping and driving riffs from Matthew Brunson and Windstein’s guitars. This is a crushing album, full of robust and driving riffs with massive hooks raising up and catching you across the back of the head. Reflection of Deceit is almost doom metal with a mammoth imposing sound. Tommy Buckley’s drumming is intense with a constant pounding whilst Jeff Golden’s bass work combines to create a colossal backline.
 However it’s not all slow stuff and Ageless Decay would sit alongside the best that the thrash department can offer, powerhouse drumming and speed-driven guitar wicked all support the guttural drive that only Windstein can provide. Amaranthine provides a brief respite from the intensive crushing, with delicate guitar work and some heartfelt vocals. Indeed this is as soft and delicate as Crowbar get, but it also sits well within the overall album. The band return to more familiar ground with The Foreboding, which is very accurately titled. Mountainous and intimidating, this is a beast of a track which lumbers along stegosaurus like but with much more aggression. This album is also a bit of a grower, improving with repeated listening. However, if you don't like sludge then this won't change your mind. This is New Orleans driven metal and in Windstein and the rest of Crowbar you get a band who deliver their particular brand of music without giving a rat’s arse about what anyone else thinks.  Shaman of Belief combines elements of sludge and punk with a weighty breakdown that kicks you hard. By the time you get to Teach the Blind to See the heaviness of the album should start to create cracks in your cranium. This is tied to an anvil heavy and once again the pounding driving assault combines to blow a hole in your abdomen. Album closer The Piety of Self-Loathing finishes the job, a monumental instrumental laced with the classic New Orleans sludge sound, heavier than a blue whale dropping from 60,000 feet. Having seen these guys earlier in the year I am looking forward to seeing some of these new tunes in the live arena at BOA. Intense and enormous. 8/10

Anathema  - Distant Satellites (Kscope) [Review By Paul]

The development of one of the UK’s most underrated bands continues in stunning style with the arrival of their tenth album, Distant Satellites. Oozing with delicate layers and uplifting passages throughout, this is a work of sheer beauty and class. When Anathema released Weather Systems in 2012, it was difficult to believe that it was possible to actually improve; such was the quality of the compositions and musicianship. However, the band has progressed once more, with the introduction of electronica to their sound whilst retaining the undercurrent of heaviness which has long surged through their music. The album opens with The Lost Song Part I, a mixture of dreamy synths and swirling drums, galloping along apace. Full of introspective review, the track builds intricately to a crescendo, with Lee Douglas backing vocals beautifully complementing Vincent Cavanagh’s lead. The Lost Song Part II follows, slightly slower in the build-up, heavy on the keyboards and synth with additional string sections and the first opportunity to hear Lee Douglas’s gorgeous voice take centre stage. This is a quite breath taking track, full of sentiment and reflection. The Cavanagh brothers take a step back but provide harmonies in the chorus. "Come back to me" sings Douglas, "I can't believe it was just an illusion" as the track draws to a delicious close. This is going to be stunning stuff live. Dusk (Dark is Descending) begins in a moodier and darker style that has been trademark Anathema and as with every track on the album, builds and climbs. Although the guitars are tuned down on this album, they are in evidence throughout, with both Vincent and Daniel‘s playing prominent in parts. However, the change of tempo through the track allows Daniel Cardoso’s brilliant keyboards to take the lead. This combined with the sensitive and balanced rhythm from John Douglas and Jamie Cavanagh’s bass riffs provide a multi-layered delivery. Possibly the stand out track on an outstanding album follows. Ariel may be the most beautiful track the band have ever written, with Lee Douglas once again providing an incredible vocal performance, backed by keyboards and strings. The Lost Song Part III concludes The Lost Song trilogy with the combination of keyboards, drums, bass and Vincent’s vocals perfect.
 As I keep stating, each of the tracks build with Cavanagh and Douglas’s duet simply spellbinding. “Now that I've Found You” they sing. We then arrive at Anathema, a self-titled piece that features more melancholic musings and again combines strings and the piano to hugely impressive effect. This is intelligent music, powerful in its simplicity. Repeated chords, drum beats and Cavanagh’s uplifting vocals telling the story. Nothing else is needed in parts as the song develops with a drifting sentiment to a driving middle section, full of sweeping and descending waves of sound, guitars soloing whilst the keyboards and strings propel the track to its climax. You’re Not Alone makes a departure from the usual direction of the band with a driving electronic beat supporting the Cavanagh brothers rapid vocal delivery. A huge riff and hook in this track propel it along, allowing a brief respite before blasting forward at breakneck speed, massive drum sound and waves of keyboards washing over the listener. Firelight would sit comfortably with some of their earlier works, in particular Judgement and A Natural Disaster whilst still being totally fresh; this is a sombre instrumental piece of solely keyboards which segues perfectly into the album’s title track. Take Shelter draws the album to a balanced and fitting conclusion, allowing the Cavanagh brothers to once again provide a vocal performance of absolute quality. Once again the electronica influence is evident; a direction that the band is keen to explore and use more in future works. This whole album is delicately crafted and constructed with thought and skill. It is the defining moment of a band who has consistently striven to better themselves and who has matured from their early doom and death metal days into a tour de force in the rock world. I am so excited to be able to see these guys at Download and again at Gloucester Cathedral two days later. It is very possible that I might shed a tear or two; such is the emotion that wells up when listening to this most excellent band.  This could possibly be my album of the year.  10/10

The Algorithm: Octopus4 (Basick Records)

Rémi Gallego aka The Algorithm is now on his second album of EBM (electronic dance music for the oldies) which may make people say "Thatz not metulz" well you are dead wrong sir! Gallego mixes djent/mathcore polyrhythmic riffage with drum & bass and dubstep drops to combine a very unique style of music. His first album The Polymorphic Code took the metal press by storm and his live shows caused excitement bringing a rave-like feel to the metal concerts and festivals he appeared at, so can his second album be as successful? Well from the pumping intro to Autorun which also has a repetitive synth riff running through it which has a Kavinsky (A man who is obsessed with OutRun) or indeed Deadmau5 electronic thump but still a lot of melody to it, perfect late night crusing music for the most part with a reducing final part before it wipes out into the funky Discovery on which Gallego uses his synths to go all 80's Axel F style at the beginning before things go drum and bass and the riffage kicks in and the bass drops for a passage in this twisting turning progressive song which is a myriad of styles, the almost 8-bit _MOS follows and it is then ピタゴラスPYTHAGORAS that brings the heaviness with it's first dose of metal riffgae for an entire song and it blends seamlessly. There are very few times in music where something truly unique comes along and yes drum and bass, dubstep and electronic music has been merged with metal before with all the industrial bands dabbling in the EBM genre and Korn notably brought dubstep into metal, however none of these bands have successfully merged all the genres of electronic music and heavy metal so succinctly. Yes if you hate electronic music then you will hate this but for anyone with a wide musical palette this will appeal to them massively, personally I love Daft Punk, Deadmau5, Kavinsky and bands of their ilk, but also my love of metal knows no bounds (maybe not BVB) so I think this album is excellent, listen to it at night with headphones and it will take you on a journey!! 8/10

Reviews: Winger, Shores Of Null, Pentakill

Winger: Better Days Comin' (Frontiers Records)

Winger have always had a bit of a hard time due to the fact that they around in the hair metal era and that Beavis And Butthead used them as a butt for many jokes. So yes Kip Winger was always a pretty boy but he and the rest of the band were all amazing musicians so they always had my respect. So when they announced they were working on their sixth album and that it featured the original members of Reb Beach on guitar and Rod Morgenstein on drums I got a little excited to say the least. With the police sirens kicking off Better Days Comin' the first song Midnight Driver Of A Love Machine gets things rocking from the start with it's steam train chug and Reb Beach's supreme soloing. Things go back to the early days on the Queen Babylon which is a little funky and has a lot of hip shaking boogie as well as heavy riffage; a theme that continues on the pedal to the metal rampage of Rat Race. It's here that I want to mention the band Morgenstein's drums are great, John Roth and Reb Beach's guitars soar, sear and solo with aplomb (this could be why Beach was picked by Mr Coverdale for his band) and Winger's voice is absolutely excellent with a bluesy drawl (see the title track) and a husky singing voice that puts you in mind of Chris Cornell in parts, obviously as usual  Mr Winger provides the bass and acoustic guitars, keyboards as well as producing and engineering the album. The songs are not all full on rockers though the serious Tin Soldiers is a triumph of songwriting and as usual there is the obligatory ballad and this one is Ever Wonder which is an amazing love and loss filled song, Storm In Me is one of the heaviest tracks on it the record and leads into the more mellow final two tracks. This is great album from the glam metal survivors and brings them into the modern era as well as harking back to their glory days! Better Days Coming Indeed!! 8/10   

Shores Of Null: Quiescence (Candlelight)

With bands like Katatonia and Anathema being the front runners for dark, doomy, post metal it is always hard for a new band to break into their style of music without being compared to the top two bands in their genre. So Italy's Shores Of Null have thrown their hat into the ring in the doom stakes and from the kick off they do a bang up job with some rampaging metal on the Kings Of Null coming on full throttle but with the down tuned, melodic but with the somber mood that Katatonia provide. The vocals of Davide are excellent he has a sonorous croon in the clean passages and also a rumbling growl similar to Jonas Renske's. With tracks like Night Will Come the melancholic Ruin's Alive and the head nodding Quiescent. When the band are in their slow moving doom mode they still have the relentless riffage from Raffaele Colace and Gabriele Giaccari which seems to be present throughout the, the album is very heavy but also melodic and it does indeed reach for and ascend to the heights of Katatonia, meaning that fans will certainly enjoy this release. For a debut release this is very strong indeed full of killer, melodic black/doom metal that will destroy live, go and seek it out, you will not be disappointed I promise. 8/10

Pentakill: Smite And Ignite (Self Released/Riot Games)

Pentakill are a fake band, let me explain they are a band from the PC game League Of Legends, made up of characters from the game. Now the band's name stems from when a player kills five players at once and all of the songs are naturally about the game. Now the album as you would think is prime power metal with lots of keyboards , guitar solos and songs about might and magic. As far as information on the band I just have the characters of Sona (Keys), Olaf (Drums), Yorick (Bass), Mordekaiser (Guitar) but the vocals of Karthus are shared between real life singers, Jorn Lande and ZP Threat. As far as songs go the first two tracks are heavy power metal, with third track Ohmwrecker is a electronic filled, djent track with Last Whisper is a big, melodic song that just fits ZP Threat's vocals perfectly. This is the kind of album that would be played in the game world itself, heavy, industrial and very metal. A great little curio that has two great vocalists on it, plus it's free!! Winning!! 7/10 

The View From The Back Of The Room: Bloody Hammers

Bloody Hammers, Ironbird, Lacertilia, Full Moon Cardiff

As part of the Download warm up shows that happen every year before the spiritual meet on the hallowed turf of Donnington. This year the Cardiff visitation was from Gothic doomsters Bloody Hammers and some local support. As I arrived at the Full Moon (a venue I've never been to for a gig) I acquired a beer (cider) and settled in for the opening act.

Lacertilia

This, as I have just discovered, was Lacertilla's (plural for a group of lizards) first gig as a whole unit. Made up of members from local acts Witches Drum, Culver, Akb'al, Thorun and SBF; Lacertilia came on to little or no fanfare with the instruments kicking in to some frankly heavy as fuck riffage to kick things off, there was little movement from the band but lots of thick sludgy, psychedelic riffs that took you on a trip, possibly similar to the one that shamanistic frontman Fry was on as he arrived on stage and became one with the music. Musically the band have a lot of similarities with early Orange Goblin with lots of time shifts, trippy blissed out passages and a HELL of a lot of heaviness. There was no between song banter just riff after riff after riff with a Fry jumping in and out of the crowd and head banging with the faithful down the front. This was a wild ride of a show, full of ferocity, some excellent riffage and a feel akin to a great trip. This was a great way to start a gig. 8/10

Ironbird

Next was Ironbird and yet more stoner-like metal this time with a punkier edge, musically solid but vocally awful Ironbird really didn't do it for me at all, they had the look of 'your dad's band' and like a said the vocals were not great. I'll leave it there I think. 5/10

Bloody Hammers

So the main event and after a set up the band arrived on stage looking like a Gothic Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Western hatted Anders Manga, his wife Devallia and their band arrived on stage and started things off with Black Magic and then continued with a set drawn mainly from their very new album Under Satan's Sun with the riff heavy Spearfinger, the funeral dirge of The Town That Dreaded Sundown both coming off the new record. Manga's bass was the lead instrument driving the band along with his down tuned rhythms and his strong vocals, he is aided by the drums of Doza that smash down throughout. On top of the voodoo rhythms from Manga and Doza there are the guitars of Bill Fischer that riffed mightily and powered through the solos, the sound was filled out by the organs and mellotrons of Devallia who brought the creepy Gothic vibe to their doom rock backing. With Witching Hour coming next the crowd were in the bands hand and then the Type O Negative slow burning Death Does Us Part and the freak out of Moon-Eyed People before the set enders of Witch Of Endor and Fear No Evil. A quick off stage swap and then back again for the final two songs to a receptive audience and as the last chords of What's Haunting You rang out there were cheers all around in this diminutive venue with surprisingly good sound. I hope Mr Hutchings will check these guys out at Download!! 8/10

Reviews: Pop Evil, Elvenking, Bloody Hammers

Pop Evil: Onyx (Eleven Seven Music)

Let's get it out of the way now, Pop Evil have a terrible name. However they are an amazing band and I do not use that word lightly. Imagine if you will an amalgamation of every post millennial American rock band together in one band, now before you say anything Pop Evil were formed in 2001 and released their first album in 2008. From the onset bass opening of Goodbye My Friend you are locked in for one of the rides of your life, now Goodbye My Friend is a good song but it is by far not the best on the album but from Deal With the Devil things really kick off with it's big Saliva style riff rock, a vain which continues into the rap-rock of Trenches which has a massive electronica thump that brings to mind Korn as well. They move into Creed territory on Torn To Pieces. The band are made up of lead guitars of Nick Fuelling, the rhythm guitars of Dave Grahs, the bass of Matt DiRito and the drums of Josh Marunde and the adaptive vocals of Leigh Kakaty all of which work together seamlessly. Back to the album tracks and Divide and Beautiful both have a Papa Roach style delivery with the rapping quick-fire delivery on Divide. Silence & Scars has the same lovelorn style of Shinedown and ends the ballad portion of the album. The electronics come back on Sick Sense which is industrial at its core before the heavy as hell final part with the bass heavy Fly Away before the melodic Alter Bridge like Behind Closed Doors on which Leigh gives a hell of a vocal performance and has a killer breakdown/solo in the middle. The final two tracks (of the normal edition) are in fact the heaviest with some amazing riffage on the Disturbed sounding Welcome To Reality which has that same kind of chugging riffage as Damian and co before Flawed closes the album out in style with the albums heaviest track. Now we Brits get three extra tracks all of which are great Last Man Standing has to be a future WWE theme and the Nickelback baiting Boss' Daughter featuring Mick Mars ends the album proper. Through 15(!) tracks this album essentially takes you on the greatest hits of so called nu-metal and it is an album that left me reaching for the repeat button right after the last note rang out. Great vocals, excellent riffs and solos, amazing songs and crisp production, an absolute killer, these guys will explode in the next 12 months mark my words!! 10/10      

Elvenking: The Pagan Manifesto (AFM)

So Italian's Elvenking are now on their eighth album and yet they still remain on my periphery. I think it's time to redress the balance. As I said The Pagan Manifesto is their eighth album and it is filled with the same kind of folk/power metal that their previous seven instalments did so well. Yes this is the kind of metal Blind Guardian peddle albeit with more folk elements meaning they also have a lot in common with Korpiklaani, Turisas and bands of their ilk. With twin guitars from Aydan and Rafahel, bass from Jakob, drums from Symohn and a violin from Lethien all being the the major instruments in the band Elvenking are more authentic than most and with Damna's clean vocals they will appeal to the power metallers too with solos galore especially on the progressive twelve minute plus King Of Elves which starts(!) the album strongly with the big backing choirs, lots of solos as I said and all of the hallmarks of Elvenking's sound, as well as guest spot from Ms Amanda Somerville. If any track fully shows their sound it is this one, still there is another 10 to go and they all and on these tracks the sounds are fleshed out by bagpipes, low whistles and keyboards from Maurizio and Antonio Agate respectively. Elvenking have never relied on one genre drawing influence from many, but all have the same pagan lyrical content with songs about legions, the woods and mythical spells of all the other folk metal bands. Yes Elvenking's eight album continues their run of strong albums with the modern pop-metal of The Solitaire (replete with scream vocals), the flouncy folk of Towards The Shores and the swinging metallic chug of Twilight Of Magic. Yes they have been around for a while and they have been doing this for a while but they do it very well and if it ain't broke don't fix it! 7/10     

Bloody Hammers: Under Satan's Sun (Napalm Records)

Bloody Hammers are an American two piece that peddle a peculiar kind of Gothic, Doom-laden, Schlock-rock, imagine if you will Alice Cooper fronting Type O Negative and singing Misfit's B-movie style lyrics. Under Satan's Sun is their fourth album and from the creeping The Town That Dreaded Sundown the album takes you on a doom filled ride through the Viking-like frontman Anders Manga's spook-filled mind. On the album Manga provides the bass (his main instrument), guitar, drums and his voice which moves between Pete Steele and Kyle Thomas, the Steele is especially noticeable especially on Death Does Us Part. Manga also wrote all the songs, except one and produced the album, quite masterfully as well. He is aided by his wife Devallia on organs and keyboards, she adds the organ-grinder atmosphere to the songs with lashings of Hammond and even some Wurlitzer on the creepier tracks like Welcome To The Horror Show. For the most part this is straight up doom metal with down tuned riffs, lots of organ and tormented lyrics about death and the occult, but Bloody Hammers do it very well with the same kind of schlock and awe style of Manga's hero Alice Cooper who they dutifully pay homage to on Second Coming. So like I said this is Bloody Hammer's fourth album and one that is filled with some of the best Gothic/doom/stoner metal I've heard in a while; check out the album, see them live they should be something to behold. 8/10

World Of Metal 10: Vainaja, Doublestone, Garuda Force

Vainaja – Kadotetut (Self Released) [Review By Paul]

The debut album from Finnish three piece death doom outfit Vainaja is about as heavy a release as you will find this year. Riddled with absolutely mammoth riffs, sludgy doom passages, blasting death metal which sears flesh from bone and a vocal delivery that must have been summoned up from the kitchens of Hades. This is epically brutal, but also combines haunting effects and atmospheric build up throughout.
The album is based on Finnish folklore’s tale of an evil cult which induced chaos among followers of old Finnish religions. Led by the preacher, cantor and the gravedigger, this cult was ended by the burning to death of the three men on the church altar. The album is based on the texts of sermons found in the preserved works of the preacher long after his death.
Album opener Lankeemus is an atmospheric piece, building the tension which explodes with doom laden riff heavy Vaaran Ristin Valtakunta. A plodding beast of a track, this begins at slow tempo before picking up speed to deliver a bit of death. Haunting screams and echoing calls end the track, clearly the souls of those under the curse of the cult. This segues nicely into another massively riff laden track, Kahleiden Kantaja. Slow powerful and immensely heavy, this would crush your rib cage if it sat on you. Think Gonga with a topping of blue whale. Yep, that heavy. And so it continues, with Valon Lapset building slowly before all hell breaks loose as thing speed up. This is fast, forceful and damn impressive. Blasting drumming, changes of pace and all the while the vocals continue to rip through with sinister surges. The tempo slows completely for Henkikaste which has an eerie narrative and echoing effects. The band line up is listed as The Gravedigger on drums and vocals, the Cantor on bass and vocals and obviously the lead voice and guitar delivery from the Preacher. These guys don’t work in your local supermarket, that’s for sure. Verin Lahde resumes with pulverising riffs and crushing rhythm, although there are some quite stunningly sinister breakdowns in the middle which continue to complement the album’s theme. The penultimate track Vimeinen Tuomio extends the albums ominous feel with Celtic Frost type percussion and gloomy bass overtures before the guttural growl of the Preacher propels the listener into the depths of hell. This is a lumbering leviathan of a track, colossal riffs dropping from on high with such weight that you literally sag as you listen to it. Album closer Kadotettu is an epic doom filled epitaph which quite fittingly brings this opus to a close. A stunning piece of work. 10/10

Doublestone: Wingmakers (Levitation Records)

Doublestone are a retro styled band from Denmark playing riff filled stoner rock with fuzzy guitars and hazy vocals. Yes this is music straight out of the vinyl era with some boogie riffs and lots of hazy guitar passages that break up the riff fest. For a distilled version of their sound look up opening track Save Our Souls which speeds along nicely before breaking down into a Hawkwind style guitar freak out at the end. The next track is The Bringer Of Light which has some sprawling hammond organs and a riff straight out of the doomy end of Sabbath's back catalogue and again it just ends in head nodding riffage. The drums of Mike James B, are heavyweight smashing with the occasional piece of percussive flair to balance out the aggression, the bass of Kristian Blond rumbles, rocks and moves your headspace with its rhythms. Finally the Bo Blond's guitars and vocals are the classic stoner rock style with a guitar that riffs mightily switching between fuzz pedaled riffs, trippy psychedelic guitar breaks all topped with his great vocals that give the band a sound similar to Priestess or indeed The Sword. With the title track the bass heavy Born Under A Hollow Moon, the short sharp doom riff of Fire Down Below and the almost Southern rock vibe of The Witch Is Burning. This is a great debut album from these Danes that shows that they are destined for bigger things, equally adept to being support for Uncle Acid, The Sword and even Hawkwind with their psychedelic, hazy, drug induced, occult rock. Roll it, light it, press play and enjoy Doublestone, they are the soundtrack to your next headtrip! 8/10    

Garuda Force: Blue Sky (Defox Records)

Garuda Force are a Indonesian Neo Classical metal band and Blue Sky is their first EP. They combine the styles of Stratovarius, Yngwie Malmsteen and Symphony X. I have 2 of their songs from the EP and from what I have heard they are very good, the guitars of Jan an Iwan Stun are great with superb riffage and solos from Jay, the drums and bass to gallop along at a hell of pace with some backing keys running alongside with the guitars creating that classic neoclassical sound. Frontman Regi Weking's vocals are great considering English is not his first language although they are much better on the big balladic Bayang Malam which is full of Oriental sounds, as I said the vocals are good but lost a little in the mix but like I said still good. On the basis of these two tracks Garuda Force will give a good live showing and things look promising. 7/10

Reviews: California Breed, Absolva, Outloud

California Breed: S/T (Frontiers)

So what happens when a supergroup implodes? Well they usually go back to their day jobs and the more talented members do better. This seemed to be a problem with Black Country Communion as Joe Bonamassa had a mega successful solo career before the band and indeed still has after and Glenn Hughes is one of the few in rock who can be known as 'The Voice'. So after these two had the age old 'creative differences' off they went with Joey Bones taking Derek Sherinian fleet fingers into his band and Hughes taking is old mucka Bozo's son Jason with him. So what to do? Well they formed another band, this time a power trio, Hughes taking up position with four strings and his velvet tones, Bonham with his four sticks and thunder from the gods and new boy Andrew Watt wielding a six stringer with all the gusto of SRV and Jimi. Watt is sickeningly young and talented and slots right in to the band with the veterans. Make no bones about it this is not a Hughes vanity project, most if not all the tracks were written by the three men in the band. Hughes describes it as 'proper rock' and that it is big, ballsy, riff filled rock that ruled the airwaves in the late 60's and 70's, think Zep, Purple, The Who and The Stones and you'd be on the right track. The album kicks off with four super charged tracks that start things off in good form with rocker The Way, the funk filled Sweet Tea, the trippy Zep-like Chemical Rain and the booty shaking blues of Midnight Oil which has some soul backing vocals from Kirsten Rogers and its on this track where Watt goes for it on the solo front ending the song with a Hendrix style freak out. This leads into the melodic balladry of All Falls Down on which Hughes croons like the master he is. This is killer album and at 13 tracks you get more than your money's worth, this is the amalgamation of Hughes' and Bonham's legacies with a nice nod to the present on it in the presence of Watt who brings a hell of a guitar and indeed a voice to proceedings see Spit You Out on which he sings. So a real rock record indeed and one that could dispel any memories of the Hughes-Bonamassa unpleasantness. 9/10

Absolva: Anthems To The Dead (Rocksector)

British metallers Absolva (formerly Fury UK) return with yet another album filled to the brim with classy British metal that messrs Halford and Dickinson would recognise and approve of. The drums of Martin McNee smash, crash and burst through the speakers driving the rampage along, he is helped by the rumbling bass and roaring backing vocals of Dan Bate and finally the trio is topped off by the virtuoso guitar playing and banshee-like vocals of Chris Appleton. Absolva's first album was metal tour-de-force full of riffs, solos and some great metal songwriting. Absolva have looked to expand on this album with their second and expand they have with Anthems To The Dead having more of the same but also bringing a more aggressive tone to things. Things start off with the thrash riffs of The Devil's Mouth before the rampaging gallop of Victimiser carries on the metal assault and the trifecta is finished with the Maiden-like first single of Never Back Down which features the guitar talents of Saxon's Doug Scarratt and Iced Earth's Luke Appleton, this has the biggest number of guests but it is one of the weaker tracks on the album unless you're a guitar solo fan!! The same cannot be said for the title track which is a rampaging song with a slower chorus. The album continues in strong style from there with nods to thrash, trad and even prog metal but all of it with a virtuosity and keen ear for songwriting as well as knowing nods to their influences. Yes Absolva have created yet another good album full of British metal and as the final one-two of Soul Remains and Silent Sacrifice (a Maiden epic if there ever was one) you have experienced 11 tracks of British metal that reaffirm that we still do it better than most! 8/10

Outloud: Let's Get Serious (AOR Heaven)

Firewind offshoot Outloud return with their third album and they do get better and better, yes it's cheesy, yes it's all been done before but I doubt this kind of AOR/melodic hard rock has ever been performed with as much technical proficiency as it has with Outloud. The band is the brainchild of Bob Katsionis the guitar/keyboard foil for Gus G in Firewind, who shows here why he is no slouch himself bringing some great hard rock riffs that Paul Gilbert, Nuno Bettencourt, Reb Beach and even Neal Schon would be proud of. The guitars rock and roll, the solo's soar (with help from Jim Scordilis) the keys are powerful, furious and melodic. The drums are fast & furious with former Nile man George Kollias showing his mettle on the blast beating opener Death Rock! which ploughs onward backed by some big keys from Katsionis just fleshing out the sound. Chandler Mogel's voice is on form as usual moving between the hard rockers and crooning ballads with ease. As for the songs we have I Was So Blind, the Mr Big style A While To Go, the bouncy One More Time, Bury The Knife has a murderous sub text (and screaming vocals from bassist Sverd) the heavy as hell Toy Soldiers (featuring Mike Orlando of Adrenaline Mob) as well as the acoustic ballad It Really Doesn't Matter all show this band's talent and their cover of OMD's Enola Gay adds a new flavour to their sound. Yes this is AOR but with bands like Brother Firetribe and Reckless Love bringing the genre back it is music not to be sniffed at, the musicianship is top notch and the songwriting is strong and despite the familiarities to Journey et al they have enough of their own ideas to stop them from becoming a pastiche. Well done Mr Katsionis yet another great Outloud album! 8/10

The View From The Back Of The Room: Absolva & Babylon Fire

Absolva & Babylon Fire, Ebbw Vale Institute

Into the valleys and to the lovely Ebbw Vale Institute for a night of British metal. Seriously this venue is excellent, decked out like a church, meaning great acoustics and filled to the brim with a plethora of alcohol (shame I was driving). We were ready for the support band, we waited.....and waited....and waited. They never showed so after and hour of mingling with the limited crowd (a real shame) it was time for Babylon Fire to kick things off:

Babylon Fire

Decked out like the Sons Of Anarchy came from Manchester Babylon Fire proceeded to blow our heads off with some muscular, modern metal with the occasional hint to the past. The bands sound and live performance reminded me of Panic Cell especially the vocals and overall "I'm going to kill you!" demeanour of vocalist Mark D who roared and crooned as much as Luke ever did. This is modern American metal with a British twist, with a set drawn from their latest album it was full of fist pumping, head banging metal with songs like The Clarion Call, Darkness Draws Me In, Blood In Blood Out, the early era thrashing of Freight Train and Rise Through Babylon. despite the small crowd Mark did his best to incite excitement and a few hardcore were banging their heads with glee at the front while Rishi Mehta riffed like Wylde, Ryk Swillo rumbled his bass and Mark Cooper destroyed his drum kit. A band clearly in the wrong country Babylon Fire would be more at home tearing up the boards of America supporting FFDP. Still their chest beating macho metal went down a storm with myself and Mr Hewitt. The boys killed it laying down the gauntlet to Absolva. 8/10

Absolva

Trying to follow that was going to be a big ask but I knew that Absolva were up to the task having seen them at Bloodstock last year and right out of the blocks the band exploded with their Priest-like metal full off killer riffage from Chris Appleton. The band roared through a set made up of old an new with From Beyond The Light, Code Red, Hundred Years and the amazing Flames Of Justice along with a few tracks from the new album Anthems To The Dead. Now again despite the small crowd (there really should be a bigger crowd for a band on a Friday night) Absolva put up a good fight with some seriously great songs and a stage performance similar to the heads down knock their block off delivery of Megadeth. Martin McNee's drums are fierce, Dan Bates bass gallops and rumbles as necessary and Appleton's guitars rip you a new one with his fret melting solo's being a guitar fans dream. Still they didn't play a perfect set, well they would have if they had stopped a song short of the encore. After finishing their set of original material they proceeded to go into a cover of Powerslave now a Maiden cover immediately drops you a point in my marking criteria (there is such a thing) no matter how good, it shouldn't be done, I will admit theirs was good but still rules are rules. I could have accepted this but to then move into Heaven And Hell (possibly the most covered metal song?) to end your set bordered on silliness. For a band with two(!) albums to play two covers to end there set doesn't make any sense to me. I mean I can see if they played a Fury UK song (Appleton and McNee's previous incarnation) but Maiden and Sabbath have been done to death. I'm sorry but guys stick to your own material, you have enough of it and it is all very good you don't need the covers. 7/10

Another Point Of View: The Eagles (Review By Paul)

Eagles – LG Arena, Birmingham

There are some gigs that you always feel incredibly privileged to have been present at. Thin Lizzy’s last tour in 1983, Metallica on the Puppets tour, Dio on the Holy Diver tour, any Rush gig, Opeth at the Albert Hall and last year seeing ZZ Top and Fleetwood Mac. Well, pretty close to the top of that stellar list you can now add the Eagles. Upon arrival at the LG Arena we had our camera confiscated by the security and initially we were pretty miffed about it. I always like to get a couple of snaps as a memento, although I admit watching bands through the backlight of smart phones and cameras is often incredibly irritating. Moments before the start of the evening’s show information on the big screens and PA system requested that the audience turned off their phones, refrained from taking any kind of photography and ensured that no-one’s view was impeded before standing. It was that kind of audience. But it worked, and to be honest it was incredibly refreshing. For the entire show there was hardly any movement amongst the 10,000+ audience as we were entranced by one of the finest displays of musicianship that I have ever witnessed.
 I've always been keenly aware of how influential the Eagles are to rock history, and of course they have an absolute stack of classic songs which are familiar to everyone. This show, The History of the Eagles (and the DVD released in 2012) is part of a two year rolling tour that catalogues the history of the band and provides a small insight into how the band formed and developed their music. The evening opened in an intimate setting, with two of the founder members, Don Henley and Glenn Frey seated at the front of the stage to perform a beautiful version of Saturday Night from Desperado which produced tears of joy from several members of the audience, Mrs H included. Henley then explained about the very early formation of the band and that he and Frey were part of Linda Ronstadt’s touring band. The stories were delivered with much tongue in cheek humour. They were then joined by one of other original members, Bernie Leadon who led the trio on Train Leaves Here This Morning from their self-titled debut album. Frey makes reference to the other original member Randy Meisner, and linked this to another of Meisner’s bands Poco, which in turn allowed bassist Timothy B Schmidt (who was also in Poco) from 1978 to join the stage as they deliver Peaceful Easy Feeling. After Henley moves to use his guitar as a drum for Witchy Woman, the band were joined by the legendary Joe Walsh and they moved to a full band setting as the curtain was lifted to reveal the full rig and screens. Throughout the first half of the show Frey and Henley appeared on the screen between songs with some amusing and interesting insights into the evolution of the band. A selection of songs from Desperado followed, with some exquisite harmonies as all members of the band and the additional musicians joined in. A stunning Tequila Sunrise was my personal highlight of this part of the show. A double from 1974’s On The Border, Already Gone and a quite breath-taking Best Of My Love set up a trio from 1975’s One Of These Nights. Some deliciously delicate musicianship and quite enchanting harmonies featured here, with Lyin’ Eyes, One Of These Nights and Take It To The Limit delivered with simplicity and pure quality. A perfect end to the first half.

After a short break the second part commenced with Pretty Maids In A Row from Hotel California; although Leadon was now absent. The band focused on their more well-known material but continued to deliver humorous anecdotes and commentary about the songs and their relationship. Given that there was such an acrimonious breakdown, a 14 year gap from 1980 to 1994 where they were not together, and the huge amount of substances that this band consumed, it was, as Henley mentioned at one point, a miracle that we were watching them at all. As the second part developed, classic followed classic and this was supplemented by an impressive lighting show with big screen backdrop. However, what struck home most was just what brilliant musicians the Eagles actually are. In Walsh they possess one of the greatest guitarists to ever grace a stage. Criminally underrated in a similar way to Lindsay Buckingham from Fleetwood Mac. Henley is no slouch on the drums or the guitar, whilst Frey and Schmidt are also phenomenal players. What also sets this band apart is the rare and incredible talent that they hold in the vocal department with all of the band taking turns to deliver the lead and combining with the others to deliver those delicious harmonies I referred to earlier. Highlights from the second section included New Kid In Town, Love Will Keep Us Alive from 1994’s Hell Freezes Over with Schmidt on lead vocals, and two of Joe Walsh’s solo songs, In The City and the excellent Life’s Been Good To Me. Walsh obviously took the lead on both of these with some intricate and subtle lead guitar. Closing the main part of the set, The Long Run, a cover of the James Gang’s Funk#49 and my all-time favourite Eagles track, Life In The Fast Lane, which was quite simply awesome.

The fun didn't stop there, as Frey, Henley and Schmidt introduced the band and the additional musicians. These included the three keyboardists, Michael Thompson, Will Hollis and Richard Davies, Percussionist and drummer Scott Crago and the incredibly talented Steuart Smith, who shared lead duties on several of the tracks with Walsh. Inevitably it was soon time for Hotel California, and Leadon re-joined the band for this, which unsurprisingly had the audience singing along. An undeniably brilliant song, with one of the all-time classic guitar solos (delivered to perfection by Walsh and Smith), it produced a deserved standing ovation as the band left the stage. A final encore produced three more treats, with Take It Easy, the band’s first ever single, written by Jackson Browne and Frey, followed by a stupendous Rocky Mountain Way (another Walsh solo epic) and the beautiful and poignant Desperado closing one of the most incredible night’s music I have ever witnessed. Absolutely superb stuff and an evening that ranks amongst my top five gigs of all time. If I could give 11 I would. 10/10

Reviews: Sabaton, Gazpacho, Blatant Dissary

Sabaton: Heroes (Nuclear Blast) [Nick Hewitt]

For many years I have been an avid fan of the gents from Falun, Sweden. So needless to say the release of their 7th studio album was very much on my radar. Sabaton are unquestionably a band that appeal to a wide range of fans across many genres. For me this is due to two simple reasons; firstly they sing about fact with no deviation to the otherwise and the second… they're just plain fun! From the outset of Night Witches Sabaton inject the album with power and pace that comes so naturally to them. Filling our speakers with bouncing bass, drums and those ever so slightly repetitive lyrics we come to expect, this song is a brief but solid opener. No Bullets Fly and Smoking Snakes are up next and represent a little more of what Sabaton used to be about in the Primo Victoria days, only with a little less “oomph” if you will? Both tracks are carried with constant fast paced rhythmic backings with the ever-flawless vocals of the mighty Joakim Broden that is always a highlight of any Sabaton album. He is able to emit such a powerful and pure voice that rolls into your ears like treacle off a spoon… Inmate 4859 steps down the pace as it tells us the story of an inmate cast into darkness inside Auschwitz concentration camp. Plodding along at a slow pace the power is still ever present but it’s the lyrics and the story that really save this track from a potential black hole. Next is To Hell and Back and I can see why Sabaton chose this as their first single. This is the strongest track on the album that throws the tried and tested Sabaton formula at you with its usual success; it’s hard to stay still as you let this one into your head. The Ballad of Bull is a bit of a curve ball from Joakim and his men. Slowing down the album to a shuddering halt Sabaton present us with their first ever true ballad. Despite its heartfelt and almost thought provoking message this really isn't Sabaton. Individually this is a great song, but wrap it up in the Sabaton package and it just doesn't feel right, more so it really kills the album in its tracks. Joakim proves here that he can do more with his voice than we are accustom too, but for me they took a risk including this song and it didn’t pay off. For the remainder of the album Resist and Bite till Hearts of Iron Heroes picks up in pace again and offers us more fast paced and free flowing music delivered with care, all easing into each other nicely. Here however lies my problem with this album. Sabaton for me stand out above many bands as they hold up their middle finger to many more. The outright passion, fun and excitement they deliver these somewhat cheesy and at times repetitive songs in the past are what make us love them. Yet Heroes seems to lack all of this. To Hell and Back aside there is no stand out anthem where there used to be four or five. Excluding the ballad the album flows easily, but too easily; yes they are well produced and well delivered but there is nothing unique about these songs, which again, for me is Sabaton 101. It all seems to be a little lazy. Despite these glaring problems the album still has one saving grace… the voice of Joakim Broden. Lets face it, after all there three things in life that are certain; Death, Taxes and a beaming smile forming across your face the second you hear the voice of Joakim Broden. So, do I still love Sabaton? Yes. And will I catch them as many times as possible on their Heroes tour? Hell yes! I'll just be sticking to their first six albums for a while longer. 6/10

Gazpacho: Demon (Kscope)

Norwegian art-rockers Gazpacho are now on their eighth album and they say that Demon is the ‘most complicated and strange album [they have] ever made’. Recorded over the course of two years the album focuses on a manuscript found in an apartment in Prague, written by the mysterious previous owner, the manuscript tells of a Demon that plagued the tenant causing bad things to happen to him, the manuscript was written from several historical points of view, almost as if this man had been chasing the demon throughout history. As with any story like this it seemed too good to be ignored so the band set about deciphering the manuscript and telling the story. The album is split into 4 parts with only one track less than 8 minutes (not including the bonus track The Cage). The things start off slowly and quietly with the deliberate chords on the piano of I've Been Walking (Part 1), before an orchestral swell of Mikael Krømer's violin works the song into its guitar driven beginning before it descends again into melancholic acoustic before the final third of the track rocks things up again imbued by Thomas Andersen's mellotron and Krømer's violin ends the song with the sadness only a violin can. The Wizard Of Altai Mountains is another slow burning Muse-like song that morphs into a folk knees up at the end with lots of accordion. This album shifts through the emotional spectrum, it is dark, eerie and downright emotional, this album is the sound of a man haunted by Demons and the songs reflect that. Jan-Henrik Ohme's voice is soulful and carries a lot of weight in his restrained delivery, but as a whole the band work in superb unison, Jon-Arne Vilbo's guitar playing is staggering, mixing acoustics and electrics seamlessly, the star though are Andersens keys, they drive every song and are a key part of the atmosphere of this album. With bands like Marillion, Porcupine Tree, Anathema and even Katatonia doing this kind of neo-progressive music it's a genre where amazing musicianship is a given and Gazpacho have been doing it for a long time and they have constructed a complex, musically varied album on their eighth release. 8/10

Blatant Disarray: The Harbinger (Dirt Records)

Hailing from Raleigh, North Carolina Blatant Disarray play thrash metal with some speed metal licks that Jeff Waters would be pleased with. Fast, aggressive and full of finger shredding riffs and head banging groove. The band have the hallmarks of the early thrash legends like Megadeth, Metallica and Slayer with some angry vocal delivery from Mike Schaefer and Ryan Johnson whose voices work well together on the choruses, with Mike being the lead vocals and having more than a hint of early Arya or Megadave. These two also provide the riffage and they are firing on all cylinders with solo's galore on everyone of these 10 tracks and they ably backed by the rampaging drums of Trey McLamb. So on to the songs and well everything does sound a bit familiar (although this is the nature of Thrash) If Only could be on South Of Heaven, There Will Be Pain on Rust In Peace and Quench which is Metallica and Trivium in equal parts. Is this album good? Yes. Does it break any new ground? No. None at all, but if you want to disengage your brain and thrash till death, then The Harbinger will give you your fill. 6/10