Y&T, The Globe, Cardiff
American rockers Y&T are now in their 40th year of touring and as such they have embarked on an anniversary tour, thankfully hitting Cardiff's diminutive The Globe venue. Now myself and my compatriots opted for the pub instead of the supports (sorry) but part of me wished we had gone in earlier as when we arrived we were literally on the bar, which is at the back of the room, but still the beauty of The Globe is that the stage is high enough for a band to be seen, added to this is that Y&T are not the most visual band letting their music do the talking. The exception is guitarist John Nymann who is well up for it, but more about him later. We squeezed in next to the Y&T megafan next to us, who's love for the band was only beaten by his love for Rush, something one of number despaired at. Still the band took to the stage 15 minutes before the official start time and kicked things off with the awesome opening one two of Hurricane and Black Tiger which is Ron Burgundy distilled in a song. Because the band have been doing this for so long they have twelve albums they can draw from and they did so with L.A Rocks coming from Contagious, Lucy from Ten before the more Burgundy with Lipstick And Leather. I do kid as Y&T are from the late 70's and 80's so of course their songs will always have a hint of misogyny but this is more tongue in cheek now. What has always separated Y&T from their 80's brethren is the musicanship with a real blues rock edge coming through in the guitars of Dave Meniketti, who also happens to have a flawless voice too, his band are not to shabby either with the the rhythm section of Mike Vanderhule's drums, Brad Lang's bass (still feels weird without Phil Kennemore though) and the guitar dervish of John Nymann who ended up in the crowd at one point during a solo spot. Again we went back to Ten with Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark which Meniketti claimed many disliked, I can see that as both Ten and Contagoius are a bit poppy, not that this put off superfan who continued to sing back the lyrics to his wife during every song (I know one current Mrs that would have given him a swift kick to the gonads) Back to the old school with Dirty Girl and Mean Streak before the slightly cheesy All American Boy changed the tone again, the proto speed metal of Midnight In Tokyo gave Meniketti a chance to show his amazing guitar playing. We got one from Musically Incorrect with Cold Day In Hell before the middle of the set brought some album tracks, I'm Coming Home from 2010's Facemelter along with I Want Your Money also from their 2010 album towards the end of the set. I between the songs from the latter albums we got Rescue Me the evergreen cheese of Summertime Girls and the finale of I Believe In You which is still as anthemic as ever! 20 songs in the main set and 1 hour and 45 minutes gone by, with only 15 minutes left we got an encore of the supreme riff-fest of Forever which is very hard to follow and as the final song, Sail On By, kicked off this laid back ballad seemed to be a little bit of an anti-climax so we left. Y&T are always consistently good but they showed how strong most of their career has been on their anniversary tour. Roll on Hard Rock Hell for a second bite!! 9/10
Tuesday, 4 November 2014
Reviews: Rammstein, Lordi, Sorrow's Path
Rammstein: Dem Regen (??)
So this has appeared from out of nowhere, there is no information about the album but it seems to be a bootleg containing new/unreleased songs as well as some remixes. With the previously released songs like the still epic Mein Hertz Brennt and Mein Land (featured on their compilation album). As far as the new stuff goes we start off with Schatten Grim which does sound a lot like Sonne, Exzenter has the metallic/electro stomp Rammstein excel at with marching drums, big riffs and Till's huge vocal delivery, the title track is very electronic and harks back to the early albums, in fact the newer tracks all have that classic Rammstein sound, the anthemic Fried Eis is pounding techno metal with Till sparring with a female singer and Blunt Vaults is evil with Adios having an almost power metal riff. With Rammstein there is also an element of fun in all Rammstein songs as they give us a cover of Das Model by Germany's other premier band Kraftwerk, which they rock up in true Stein style. So with the 'normal' songs covered we are taken into the remixes part of the record first is a slower sparse electro 'funeral version' of Mein Land then we get two 'live' tracks which I'm assuming are demos as the production on them is not great but both songs are pretty cool, then there is the funky metal/trance version of Stripped as well as the remix of Mein Hertz Brennt which makes it even more unsettling. So without any information this is about all I can say about Dem Regen if this album is looking forward to the new full length album then I can say the new songs sound great, if it is an album of unreleased stuff then this stuff is very strong and if it's a bit of both it serves as a tasty little stopgap for fans. 7/10
Lordi: Scare Force One (AFM)
Finn's Lordi have always had a lot to live up too; their Monster Show album was a strong album full of schlock horror hard rock songs harking back to Twisted Sister, Kiss and even Alice Cooper, their profile was raised with their Eurovision win and their Arockolypse album which in my opinion is their finest hour. However since then they have really struggled to reach the heights of these to albums, Deadache was a bit too serious, Babez For Breakfast was far too 80's echoing the sleaze and AOR scene a bit too much for my liking putting more focus on keys than on riffs on the other hand their previous album To Beast Or Not To Beast was a little more rocking but still had a bit too much keyboard, thank fully though the very well named Scare Force One brings back the riffs in droves, this for me is a very good thing as guitarist Amen has always been very good, no he isn't flashy but he knows his riffs. The title track kicks things off with some very cool riffs, Mana's speedy drums and the occasional organ and synth flare from Hell, this has always been what Lordi have been about and it sounds like they are retuning to it, How To Slice A Whore too has some great guitars, the horror theme and shows off Mr Lordi's unique vocals brilliantly, Hell Sent In The Clowns is the only truly scary song for me but I digress. As the album progresses the riffs continue with Monster Is My Name Nailed By The Hammer Of Frankenstein and Sir, Mr Presideath, Sir. Still despite the riffs coming back in force, Lordi still rely a little heavily on the keys and they do seem to treading the same old ground lyrically. Lordi have always been more of a visual live act and this album gives them a few good tracks to add to their live set, but still bands have to keep their act fresh and give their fans new music. Scare Force One is a good album but it's nothing they haven't done before, still it will appeal to fans. 7/10
Sorrow's Path: Doom Philosophy (Iron Shield)
Sorrow's Path hail from the shores of Greece and they play a strange mix of melodic and crushing doom metal. An intro and then straight into Tragedy (no a Bee Gee's cover thankfully) but it sets the pace for the rest of the album, big slabs of doom metal riffage from the guitars of Kostas Salomidis and Giannis Tziligkakis bolstered by sledgehammer drums from Fotis Mountouris and rumbling bass from Stavros Giannakos. The band are based in doom metal but they are not the slow lumbering doom you associate with a lot of bands in this genre, yes they do have the occasional slow, brain frying doom passage but much of album is made up of faster, distortion heavy guitar passages and melodic solos giving many of the songs like A Dance With The Dead having a more classic metal feel so think Maiden meets Candlemass and you won't be far off. Much of the lyrical content is drawn from the occult as you would imagine but it is delivered by the strong European vocals of Angelos Ioannidis who has a unique voice that suits the music well, his mid range is slightly Halford-esque and he can also add a few growls too. Yes this is more than just doom, there is a lot of it present see the final few tracks of Epoasis, Clouds Inside Of Me and Darkness these are the doomiest tracks on the album with rumbling riffs galore and even some synths and organ on Darkness, which is actually a little off putting in places. The band do tend to swing more towards the classic metal style on most of the tracks with lots of galloping rhythms and melodic solos. If the thought of Candlemass mixed with Maiden or Priest excites you then Sorrow's Path will be right up your street, the mix of doom and classic metal is just right and these Greek metal warriors pull it off in style! 7/10
So this has appeared from out of nowhere, there is no information about the album but it seems to be a bootleg containing new/unreleased songs as well as some remixes. With the previously released songs like the still epic Mein Hertz Brennt and Mein Land (featured on their compilation album). As far as the new stuff goes we start off with Schatten Grim which does sound a lot like Sonne, Exzenter has the metallic/electro stomp Rammstein excel at with marching drums, big riffs and Till's huge vocal delivery, the title track is very electronic and harks back to the early albums, in fact the newer tracks all have that classic Rammstein sound, the anthemic Fried Eis is pounding techno metal with Till sparring with a female singer and Blunt Vaults is evil with Adios having an almost power metal riff. With Rammstein there is also an element of fun in all Rammstein songs as they give us a cover of Das Model by Germany's other premier band Kraftwerk, which they rock up in true Stein style. So with the 'normal' songs covered we are taken into the remixes part of the record first is a slower sparse electro 'funeral version' of Mein Land then we get two 'live' tracks which I'm assuming are demos as the production on them is not great but both songs are pretty cool, then there is the funky metal/trance version of Stripped as well as the remix of Mein Hertz Brennt which makes it even more unsettling. So without any information this is about all I can say about Dem Regen if this album is looking forward to the new full length album then I can say the new songs sound great, if it is an album of unreleased stuff then this stuff is very strong and if it's a bit of both it serves as a tasty little stopgap for fans. 7/10
Lordi: Scare Force One (AFM)
Finn's Lordi have always had a lot to live up too; their Monster Show album was a strong album full of schlock horror hard rock songs harking back to Twisted Sister, Kiss and even Alice Cooper, their profile was raised with their Eurovision win and their Arockolypse album which in my opinion is their finest hour. However since then they have really struggled to reach the heights of these to albums, Deadache was a bit too serious, Babez For Breakfast was far too 80's echoing the sleaze and AOR scene a bit too much for my liking putting more focus on keys than on riffs on the other hand their previous album To Beast Or Not To Beast was a little more rocking but still had a bit too much keyboard, thank fully though the very well named Scare Force One brings back the riffs in droves, this for me is a very good thing as guitarist Amen has always been very good, no he isn't flashy but he knows his riffs. The title track kicks things off with some very cool riffs, Mana's speedy drums and the occasional organ and synth flare from Hell, this has always been what Lordi have been about and it sounds like they are retuning to it, How To Slice A Whore too has some great guitars, the horror theme and shows off Mr Lordi's unique vocals brilliantly, Hell Sent In The Clowns is the only truly scary song for me but I digress. As the album progresses the riffs continue with Monster Is My Name Nailed By The Hammer Of Frankenstein and Sir, Mr Presideath, Sir. Still despite the riffs coming back in force, Lordi still rely a little heavily on the keys and they do seem to treading the same old ground lyrically. Lordi have always been more of a visual live act and this album gives them a few good tracks to add to their live set, but still bands have to keep their act fresh and give their fans new music. Scare Force One is a good album but it's nothing they haven't done before, still it will appeal to fans. 7/10
Sorrow's Path: Doom Philosophy (Iron Shield)
Sorrow's Path hail from the shores of Greece and they play a strange mix of melodic and crushing doom metal. An intro and then straight into Tragedy (no a Bee Gee's cover thankfully) but it sets the pace for the rest of the album, big slabs of doom metal riffage from the guitars of Kostas Salomidis and Giannis Tziligkakis bolstered by sledgehammer drums from Fotis Mountouris and rumbling bass from Stavros Giannakos. The band are based in doom metal but they are not the slow lumbering doom you associate with a lot of bands in this genre, yes they do have the occasional slow, brain frying doom passage but much of album is made up of faster, distortion heavy guitar passages and melodic solos giving many of the songs like A Dance With The Dead having a more classic metal feel so think Maiden meets Candlemass and you won't be far off. Much of the lyrical content is drawn from the occult as you would imagine but it is delivered by the strong European vocals of Angelos Ioannidis who has a unique voice that suits the music well, his mid range is slightly Halford-esque and he can also add a few growls too. Yes this is more than just doom, there is a lot of it present see the final few tracks of Epoasis, Clouds Inside Of Me and Darkness these are the doomiest tracks on the album with rumbling riffs galore and even some synths and organ on Darkness, which is actually a little off putting in places. The band do tend to swing more towards the classic metal style on most of the tracks with lots of galloping rhythms and melodic solos. If the thought of Candlemass mixed with Maiden or Priest excites you then Sorrow's Path will be right up your street, the mix of doom and classic metal is just right and these Greek metal warriors pull it off in style! 7/10
A View From The Back Of The Room: Bloodshot Dawn (Review By Matt & Paul)
Bloodshot Dawn, Seprevation, Triaxis - The Exchange, Bristol
Across the bridge to Bristol for a hell of line up featuring Wales' own classic metal band Triaxis, Bristolian death/thrash mentalists Seprevation and Portsmouth technical death band Bloodshot Dawn. There were two other bands on the bill but we missed them due to other factors, but still for £6.50 we got three excellent bands and one of the most surreal nights I've ever witnessed.
Triaxis
Welsh metallers Triaxis are going from strength to strength, they are currently recording their third album and we were promised a sneak peek of two songs from said album. Now to address the elephant in the room, this was a Halloween show with all the bands and indeed a lot of the fans in fancy dress. Triaxis went all out with the band decked out as The Zombie Village people and kicked things off with Sand & Silver the pounding drums of Giles The Builder were like skull cracking metronome and they worked well in providing the bottom end with new girl Becky's Rickenbacker bass, who in her biker with handlebar moustache get up resembled a female Lemmy (Surreal moment number 1). The riffs came thick and fast from Soldier CJ and Cop Glyn, with elements of Maiden, Priest and even thrash bands like Megadeth, the riffage was sublime, the solos of Glyn melted the fretboard and CJ's rhythm guitar just brought riff after glorious riff. Finally to top it all off were the sublime vocals of cowperson (political correctness here you see) Krissie, there aren't many vocalists that are still audible when the mic is about a foot away from them, the power this woman has is amazing. We were taken into twisting metallic rhythms of Sker Point and the excellent Some Things Are Worth Dying For which gave a nod to of what to expect on the new songs with a war theme and heavy weight music. As we collectively got our breath back and massaged our necks, it was time for the new songs, first up was Victorious which brought forth the heavier new sound and saw Krissie in full Xena mode. Finally the Welsh band left us with the the might of Death Machine which ended the set strongly. Triaxis have always been good but by mixing up the set list a little and adding the new tracks it showed that they are both progressing strongly as a band and producing some more top quality metal!! 9/10
On a personal note, the band paid tribute to a of fallen brother the Musipedia's during their set bringing a little tear to the eye of myself and Mr Hewitt. So thank you guys, we appreciate it so much.
Seprevation
Back in May I’d seen Seprevation serve notice of intent with half an hour of blistering burning groove laden thrash which was sufficient for me to purchase their debut Consumed, an album that spent several weeks on repeat in the car. Blessed with an excellent sound tonight, Seprevation turned in a performance several levels above that one in May and possibly took all the points on the night. Dressed as superheroes, well, Batman, Spiderman, Superman and of course Willyman, the Bristolians provided a thrash onslaught which once again highlighted their excellent musicianship and song writing. The band started as they meant to go on with a maelstrom of riffs, blast beats and shouts on the excellent Servants Of Suffering before rapidly moving into Slave To The Grave and Sarcophagal Chamber. The first three songs battered you like a fight with Manny Pacquiao with the band drawing most of their set from their debut album Consumed they played a relentless set of death infused thrash with everything coming at lightning speed, lots of shredding, powerhouse drumming and the semi-death vocals of Lluc Tupman combined to get the healthy crowd moshing and thrashing away. This included the surreal sight of a Ewok in the middle of the pit at one stage (surreal moment number 2) However they drop a point for their cover of Iron Maiden's The Trooper no matter how good it was, and indeed it was good. If these guys can maintain the momentum they have a great chance of progression and I’d love to see them on the Sophie stage at BOA next summer. 9/10
Bloodshot Dawn (Review By Paul)
Fresh from an impressive main stage opening set at BOA, Bloodshot Dawn has already delivered one of the albums of the year with the recently released Demons, full of high quality compositions and technical death metal. In the club environment Bloodshot Dawn are in their element and tonight they were excellent again. Buoyed by the release of Demons and a successful UK tour, and assisted by the excellent sound, newie Smoke And Mirrors kicked off proceedings in fine form with Josh McMorran and Ben Ellis soloing as if their lives depending on it. In fact, such is the shredding prowess of these two that later in the set, when asked what the audience wanted, one wag shouted out “less shred” which raised smiles all around. The Bloodshot set was a mixture of new tracks from the new album and older tracks from their self-titled first album. Vision, The Quantum Apocalypse and Archetype merged seamlessly with Unified amongst others. Technically Bloodshot Dawn are in a class of their own, dynamic structured songs with massive blast beats and a driving rhythm section and most importantly some huge hooks which leave the songs in your head for ages afterwards and after a slow start the crowd increased in both size and ferocity with Josh instigating a brief wall of death at the end of the set. One of the most important bands in the UK metal scene today, Bloodshot just keep getting better and better. 9/10
Across the bridge to Bristol for a hell of line up featuring Wales' own classic metal band Triaxis, Bristolian death/thrash mentalists Seprevation and Portsmouth technical death band Bloodshot Dawn. There were two other bands on the bill but we missed them due to other factors, but still for £6.50 we got three excellent bands and one of the most surreal nights I've ever witnessed.
Triaxis
Welsh metallers Triaxis are going from strength to strength, they are currently recording their third album and we were promised a sneak peek of two songs from said album. Now to address the elephant in the room, this was a Halloween show with all the bands and indeed a lot of the fans in fancy dress. Triaxis went all out with the band decked out as The Zombie Village people and kicked things off with Sand & Silver the pounding drums of Giles The Builder were like skull cracking metronome and they worked well in providing the bottom end with new girl Becky's Rickenbacker bass, who in her biker with handlebar moustache get up resembled a female Lemmy (Surreal moment number 1). The riffs came thick and fast from Soldier CJ and Cop Glyn, with elements of Maiden, Priest and even thrash bands like Megadeth, the riffage was sublime, the solos of Glyn melted the fretboard and CJ's rhythm guitar just brought riff after glorious riff. Finally to top it all off were the sublime vocals of cowperson (political correctness here you see) Krissie, there aren't many vocalists that are still audible when the mic is about a foot away from them, the power this woman has is amazing. We were taken into twisting metallic rhythms of Sker Point and the excellent Some Things Are Worth Dying For which gave a nod to of what to expect on the new songs with a war theme and heavy weight music. As we collectively got our breath back and massaged our necks, it was time for the new songs, first up was Victorious which brought forth the heavier new sound and saw Krissie in full Xena mode. Finally the Welsh band left us with the the might of Death Machine which ended the set strongly. Triaxis have always been good but by mixing up the set list a little and adding the new tracks it showed that they are both progressing strongly as a band and producing some more top quality metal!! 9/10
On a personal note, the band paid tribute to a of fallen brother the Musipedia's during their set bringing a little tear to the eye of myself and Mr Hewitt. So thank you guys, we appreciate it so much.
Seprevation
Back in May I’d seen Seprevation serve notice of intent with half an hour of blistering burning groove laden thrash which was sufficient for me to purchase their debut Consumed, an album that spent several weeks on repeat in the car. Blessed with an excellent sound tonight, Seprevation turned in a performance several levels above that one in May and possibly took all the points on the night. Dressed as superheroes, well, Batman, Spiderman, Superman and of course Willyman, the Bristolians provided a thrash onslaught which once again highlighted their excellent musicianship and song writing. The band started as they meant to go on with a maelstrom of riffs, blast beats and shouts on the excellent Servants Of Suffering before rapidly moving into Slave To The Grave and Sarcophagal Chamber. The first three songs battered you like a fight with Manny Pacquiao with the band drawing most of their set from their debut album Consumed they played a relentless set of death infused thrash with everything coming at lightning speed, lots of shredding, powerhouse drumming and the semi-death vocals of Lluc Tupman combined to get the healthy crowd moshing and thrashing away. This included the surreal sight of a Ewok in the middle of the pit at one stage (surreal moment number 2) However they drop a point for their cover of Iron Maiden's The Trooper no matter how good it was, and indeed it was good. If these guys can maintain the momentum they have a great chance of progression and I’d love to see them on the Sophie stage at BOA next summer. 9/10
Bloodshot Dawn (Review By Paul)
Fresh from an impressive main stage opening set at BOA, Bloodshot Dawn has already delivered one of the albums of the year with the recently released Demons, full of high quality compositions and technical death metal. In the club environment Bloodshot Dawn are in their element and tonight they were excellent again. Buoyed by the release of Demons and a successful UK tour, and assisted by the excellent sound, newie Smoke And Mirrors kicked off proceedings in fine form with Josh McMorran and Ben Ellis soloing as if their lives depending on it. In fact, such is the shredding prowess of these two that later in the set, when asked what the audience wanted, one wag shouted out “less shred” which raised smiles all around. The Bloodshot set was a mixture of new tracks from the new album and older tracks from their self-titled first album. Vision, The Quantum Apocalypse and Archetype merged seamlessly with Unified amongst others. Technically Bloodshot Dawn are in a class of their own, dynamic structured songs with massive blast beats and a driving rhythm section and most importantly some huge hooks which leave the songs in your head for ages afterwards and after a slow start the crowd increased in both size and ferocity with Josh instigating a brief wall of death at the end of the set. One of the most important bands in the UK metal scene today, Bloodshot just keep getting better and better. 9/10
Sunday, 2 November 2014
Reviews: Sixx A.M, Crobot, While Heaven Wept,
Sixx A.M: Modern Vintage (Eleven Seven Music)
The kings of the gutter LA scene Motley Crue will soon be hanging up their spurs and shelving their hairspray for good within the next year, a good job then that band leader, bassist, serial corpse and reformed hell-raiser Nikki Sixx has this project to fall back on. Sixx A.M have been Sixx's side project since 2007, their first two albums were based upon Sixx's Heroin Diaries memoir and his second autobiography This Is Gonna Hurt respectively. So Modern Vintage is the first album not to part of another project so I was wondering how well it would hold up. Well the answer is very well indeed, the project retains the same members as the previous releases with Guns N Roses axe slinger DJ Ashba on lead guitars and producer/singer/multi instrumentalist James Michael (producer for Halestorm, Meat Loaf and Motley Crue) providing the vocals, additional guitars, keys, drum programming and of course his Midas touch production. So into Modern Vintage and the title is one of the best ways of describing the album with elements of 70's glam rock and 80's sleaze mixed with modern alt-radio rock Stars is a guitar packed opener that screams of the post 2000 era but it sharply followed by football stomp of Gotta Get It Right which sound like classic Queen all backing choirs, thumping percussion and preening bravado. Ashba's guitars are excellent, he echoes the guitar heroes of old playing with a relaxed experience, Sixx is a great bass player providing the backbone to most of the songs while clearly channelling his influences, finally there is very little I can say about James Michael's vocals other than wow! There is a great mix of styles on this album with the acoustic southern influenced Get Ya Some, the chest beating Let's Go, the almost disco funk of Miracle, the New Orleans carnival feel of Before It's Over and a fantastic reworking of The Cars Drive which gets an electronic overhaul with some massive drum loops and synth fuzz. This is yet another top drawer album from Nikki and his new Crue, let's hope that we see a lot more of these guys after Motley Crue finally call it a day, with GNR's relative inactivity it is really only Michael that could stop that but I'm sure they can work it out. 8/10
Crobot: Something Supernatural (Wind-Up Records)
Pottsville, Pennsylvania may not immediately spring to mind when you think of rock and roll but this city of 14,000 people is also the home of Crobot, the heavily bearded, eight legged riff machine. The band play music that they describe as "Dirty. Groove. Rock" and they are pretty spot on they have a really soulful mix of blues based rock with a real heavy groove. In fact if you are a fan of Clutch then Crobot will be right up your street as they have a similar style of riff based rock fuelled by smokes and brews, as well as Clutch there are nods to Scorpion Child, Wolfmother, The Sword and even Soundgarden. Crobot's songs are all drawn from fantasy and the occult meaning this band will appeal to the dope smoking, beer drinking, comic reading members of the fanbase. With titles like Skull Of Geronimo, Chupacabra and even simple Wizards the band stick rigidly to the fantasy imagery. As the album kicks off with excellently titled Legend Of The Spacebourne Killer we are thrown straight into a world of blazing leads from Chris Bishop he takes you to space and back with his six string wizardry, the groove comes from the bass and drums of Jake and Paul Figueroa who are the voodoo groove of a bottom end. The percussive Nowhere To Hide follows before the honking mouth harp led The Necromancer takes you into blues territory and shows off the keen vocals of Brandon Yeagley who sounds like a merger of Chris Cornell and Myles Kennedy with a soulful croon that can explode into a sky scraping holler at any moment. Crobot do what they do, but they have crafted an album of songs perfect for the live arena, somewhere that Crobot apparently are truly electrifying. Pick up a six pack, roll some doobys and crank it up Crobot welcome you into their world! 9/10
While Heaven Wept: Suspended At Aphelion (Nuclear Blast)
While Heaven Wept have been around for a since 1989 but I will admit I've never heard of them, but on doing some research I found they have are a progressive metal band with a taste of the epic about them, now any band that has two guitarists and two keyboardists (sometimes three) is a bonus in my book. So pressed play and the classical intro Introspectus came to life with it's plaintive cello and classical guitar playing, the band are known for their emotive and personal lyrics dealing with struggle and problems so the sadness etched into this intro is the norm for the band, as the scene was set the drums clattered and the guitars kicked in with gusto, the band is the brain child of Tom Phillips and he leads the guitar charge with some technical and melodic playing ably aided by Scott Loose and the pulsing synths of Jason Lingle and Scott's sister Michelle Loose-Schrotz, while the drums are handled by her husband Trevor and the bass comes from Jim Hunter and the deep sonorous vocals of Rain Irving ties everything together. The first two proper tracks are huge in scope but the length of them is immaterial as the time flies by as you are taken of a journey with some seriously epic music, middle track is Heartburst which is a slow classical guitar piece that explodes into a searing guitar solo in the final section, from here on out the songs get better and much wider in scope with the 5th and 6th tracks amalgamating at least three different songs to create a some lush arrangements that deal in light and shade, the guitars soaring with some seriously fantastic solos see Reminisce Of A Stranger/Lifelines and rhythms that are bolstered by the the amazing keys that work together to create quite an overpowering musical adventure. Some may love this some may hate it but give it time and it will reveal itself as a great progressive album. 7/10
The kings of the gutter LA scene Motley Crue will soon be hanging up their spurs and shelving their hairspray for good within the next year, a good job then that band leader, bassist, serial corpse and reformed hell-raiser Nikki Sixx has this project to fall back on. Sixx A.M have been Sixx's side project since 2007, their first two albums were based upon Sixx's Heroin Diaries memoir and his second autobiography This Is Gonna Hurt respectively. So Modern Vintage is the first album not to part of another project so I was wondering how well it would hold up. Well the answer is very well indeed, the project retains the same members as the previous releases with Guns N Roses axe slinger DJ Ashba on lead guitars and producer/singer/multi instrumentalist James Michael (producer for Halestorm, Meat Loaf and Motley Crue) providing the vocals, additional guitars, keys, drum programming and of course his Midas touch production. So into Modern Vintage and the title is one of the best ways of describing the album with elements of 70's glam rock and 80's sleaze mixed with modern alt-radio rock Stars is a guitar packed opener that screams of the post 2000 era but it sharply followed by football stomp of Gotta Get It Right which sound like classic Queen all backing choirs, thumping percussion and preening bravado. Ashba's guitars are excellent, he echoes the guitar heroes of old playing with a relaxed experience, Sixx is a great bass player providing the backbone to most of the songs while clearly channelling his influences, finally there is very little I can say about James Michael's vocals other than wow! There is a great mix of styles on this album with the acoustic southern influenced Get Ya Some, the chest beating Let's Go, the almost disco funk of Miracle, the New Orleans carnival feel of Before It's Over and a fantastic reworking of The Cars Drive which gets an electronic overhaul with some massive drum loops and synth fuzz. This is yet another top drawer album from Nikki and his new Crue, let's hope that we see a lot more of these guys after Motley Crue finally call it a day, with GNR's relative inactivity it is really only Michael that could stop that but I'm sure they can work it out. 8/10
Crobot: Something Supernatural (Wind-Up Records)
Pottsville, Pennsylvania may not immediately spring to mind when you think of rock and roll but this city of 14,000 people is also the home of Crobot, the heavily bearded, eight legged riff machine. The band play music that they describe as "Dirty. Groove. Rock" and they are pretty spot on they have a really soulful mix of blues based rock with a real heavy groove. In fact if you are a fan of Clutch then Crobot will be right up your street as they have a similar style of riff based rock fuelled by smokes and brews, as well as Clutch there are nods to Scorpion Child, Wolfmother, The Sword and even Soundgarden. Crobot's songs are all drawn from fantasy and the occult meaning this band will appeal to the dope smoking, beer drinking, comic reading members of the fanbase. With titles like Skull Of Geronimo, Chupacabra and even simple Wizards the band stick rigidly to the fantasy imagery. As the album kicks off with excellently titled Legend Of The Spacebourne Killer we are thrown straight into a world of blazing leads from Chris Bishop he takes you to space and back with his six string wizardry, the groove comes from the bass and drums of Jake and Paul Figueroa who are the voodoo groove of a bottom end. The percussive Nowhere To Hide follows before the honking mouth harp led The Necromancer takes you into blues territory and shows off the keen vocals of Brandon Yeagley who sounds like a merger of Chris Cornell and Myles Kennedy with a soulful croon that can explode into a sky scraping holler at any moment. Crobot do what they do, but they have crafted an album of songs perfect for the live arena, somewhere that Crobot apparently are truly electrifying. Pick up a six pack, roll some doobys and crank it up Crobot welcome you into their world! 9/10
While Heaven Wept: Suspended At Aphelion (Nuclear Blast)
While Heaven Wept have been around for a since 1989 but I will admit I've never heard of them, but on doing some research I found they have are a progressive metal band with a taste of the epic about them, now any band that has two guitarists and two keyboardists (sometimes three) is a bonus in my book. So pressed play and the classical intro Introspectus came to life with it's plaintive cello and classical guitar playing, the band are known for their emotive and personal lyrics dealing with struggle and problems so the sadness etched into this intro is the norm for the band, as the scene was set the drums clattered and the guitars kicked in with gusto, the band is the brain child of Tom Phillips and he leads the guitar charge with some technical and melodic playing ably aided by Scott Loose and the pulsing synths of Jason Lingle and Scott's sister Michelle Loose-Schrotz, while the drums are handled by her husband Trevor and the bass comes from Jim Hunter and the deep sonorous vocals of Rain Irving ties everything together. The first two proper tracks are huge in scope but the length of them is immaterial as the time flies by as you are taken of a journey with some seriously epic music, middle track is Heartburst which is a slow classical guitar piece that explodes into a searing guitar solo in the final section, from here on out the songs get better and much wider in scope with the 5th and 6th tracks amalgamating at least three different songs to create a some lush arrangements that deal in light and shade, the guitars soaring with some seriously fantastic solos see Reminisce Of A Stranger/Lifelines and rhythms that are bolstered by the the amazing keys that work together to create quite an overpowering musical adventure. Some may love this some may hate it but give it time and it will reveal itself as a great progressive album. 7/10
Two Views From The Back Of The Room: Black Stone Cherry (Reviews By Paul Hutchings And Nick Hewitt)
Black Stone Cherry & Airbourne, CIA, Cardiff
We as a collective attended the Black Stone Cherry concert in Cardiff needless to say two of our number had slightly differing views of the concert. So here is something I'm calling:
The Battle Of Cardiff: Blame It On The Sound Man
First up is Paul's view:
A rare visit to the cavernous Motorpoint Arena for the visit of Kentucky outfit Black Stone Cherry. Opening the evening were Theory of a Deadman but they are shit so my review begins with the Australian nutcase outfit Airbourne.
Blasting onto the stage with a huge banner with their logo on it, Airbourne, led by the hyperactive Joel O’Keefe delivered 40m minutes of awesomeness. Yes, they are AC/DC in all but name, and yes, O’Keefe is a Angus and Bon Scott rolled into one but fuck it, they play hard and fast rock n’ roll which does exactly what it says on the tin. Opening with Ready To Rock the Aussies hit Cardiff with a storming set which included anthems such as Too Much Too Young Too Fast and the ode to all Cardiff ladies, Cheap Wine And Cheaper Women. Interestingly, when O’Keefe demanded the good looking ladies in the audience got higher in the crowd, as many men as women were hoisted onto shoulders. Only in the ‘Diff. After a solo foray into the crowd from O’Keefe ala Angus and Bon circa 1977, a final blast with Runnin’ Wild brought their set to a close. Always excellent entertainment, Airbourne play at the same tempo be it the local pub or in front of 50,000 at a festival. 8/10
And so to BSC. Many a band has struggled to make the jump to arena; think Machine Head on the Locust tour (although anyone that takes Bring Me The Horizon as main support deserves it). Opening with the powerful double of Rain Wizard and Blind Man BSC took to the stage with a glossy polished approach. All power chords and posture; particularly Ben Wells who plays rhythm and gurns for fun. Has anyone in rock got more polished teeth than him? Choreographed to within an inch of their life, BSC delivered a slick, polished performance that had everything except the energy and drive that had coursed through the Airbourne set. Me And Mary Jane was followed by In My Blood which allowed vocalist Chris Robertson to loosen the pipes. And then it just got a bit pedestrian. The god-awful Things My Father Said got the arena crowd singing along. Now in my mind, getting the crowd to sing along is a demonstration of laziness. If I want to hear BSC karaoke I’ll got to a bar or stay at home. When I see the band in the live setting I want them to sing the bloody song. Fiesta del Fuego, one of the few rockers from latest release Magic Mountain picked the tempo back up a little but the set felt pretty pedestrian with the band a little bloated in comparison to the lithe, hard rocking outfit that had torn the roof of the Solus, blown a hole in the afternoon at Download a few years ago or given Myles and co such a run for their money at the Motorpoint not that long ago. Closing the main set with obvious crowd favourites White Trash Millionaire and Blame It On the Boom Boom, BSC completed an hour and 20 minutes of perfectly competent arena rock. Now maybe it was because the notorious Motorpoint sound was about as poor as it could be, or maybe it was the fact that in the last week I had seen Opeth and Blackberry Smoke, but BSC demonstrated why the transition to arena is both right and wrong for them. For me, seeing them in a sweaty club beats this environment every day. The reaction of a far from sold out crowd suggested that a lot of people like this kind of evening. For me, a disappointing evening. I would need to be persuaded big time before parting with cash to see these guys again. 6/10
Theory Of A Dead Man.
As the set moved on things started to fall apart a little, tracks from Cherry’s most recent album Magic Mountain were delivered but despite the songs being good strong songs they are not anthems that the Black Stone Cherry are known for and this killed the flow and mood of the set also the arena. Don’t get me wrong, Magic Mountain tracks like Bad Luck Hard Love and Fiesta del Fuego were delivered with great assurance and style but the songs just don’t engage the crowd. This is a great shame as until this point the Cherry’s were on top form. Robertson’s voice on top shape, getting better every time I see him, while Young is just as skilled animated on the drums as ever, he remains one of may favourite drummer to behold live to this day. Nonetheless Black Stone Cherry finished the set in style with another run of anthems; Soulcreek, White Trash Millionaire, Blame It On The Boom Boom which again brought the crowd to loud voice and great power. Leaving the stage the crowd had been won back and there was a ecstatic chant for more, as Robertson creeped back on stage… they duly delivered, and in style; with Peace is free and the mighty Lonely Train which live is heaver than I expect every time I hear it. You can’t help but get your head down and thrash away with the person nearest to you.
Black Stone Cherry is a class act, this cannot be argued, and they are more than worthy of an arena tour. The sheer number of fans and they have and the crowd they draw is answer enough. However this means there is a lot more people to please and people will expect a little more for their money. The main problem the guys had tonight was the set list, opening and closing with a bombardment of anthems sets the mood and may send the fans home with a smile on their face, but leaves the middle of the set very lethargic and this is a dangerous line to tread. With the amount of anthems Cherry have in their back pocket they can easily afford to spread them across the set to hold the pace and energy of the crowd. Unfortunately this is not what happened in this set, nevertheless myself and the majority of the crowd had a cracking night. Black Stone Cherry deliver heavy rock with unquestionable skill and style, they just need to plan their attack a little better in the future. Personally, I hope to see them back in arenas sooner rather than later. 8/10.
We as a collective attended the Black Stone Cherry concert in Cardiff needless to say two of our number had slightly differing views of the concert. So here is something I'm calling:
The Battle Of Cardiff: Blame It On The Sound Man
First up is Paul's view:
A rare visit to the cavernous Motorpoint Arena for the visit of Kentucky outfit Black Stone Cherry. Opening the evening were Theory of a Deadman but they are shit so my review begins with the Australian nutcase outfit Airbourne.
Blasting onto the stage with a huge banner with their logo on it, Airbourne, led by the hyperactive Joel O’Keefe delivered 40m minutes of awesomeness. Yes, they are AC/DC in all but name, and yes, O’Keefe is a Angus and Bon Scott rolled into one but fuck it, they play hard and fast rock n’ roll which does exactly what it says on the tin. Opening with Ready To Rock the Aussies hit Cardiff with a storming set which included anthems such as Too Much Too Young Too Fast and the ode to all Cardiff ladies, Cheap Wine And Cheaper Women. Interestingly, when O’Keefe demanded the good looking ladies in the audience got higher in the crowd, as many men as women were hoisted onto shoulders. Only in the ‘Diff. After a solo foray into the crowd from O’Keefe ala Angus and Bon circa 1977, a final blast with Runnin’ Wild brought their set to a close. Always excellent entertainment, Airbourne play at the same tempo be it the local pub or in front of 50,000 at a festival. 8/10
And so to BSC. Many a band has struggled to make the jump to arena; think Machine Head on the Locust tour (although anyone that takes Bring Me The Horizon as main support deserves it). Opening with the powerful double of Rain Wizard and Blind Man BSC took to the stage with a glossy polished approach. All power chords and posture; particularly Ben Wells who plays rhythm and gurns for fun. Has anyone in rock got more polished teeth than him? Choreographed to within an inch of their life, BSC delivered a slick, polished performance that had everything except the energy and drive that had coursed through the Airbourne set. Me And Mary Jane was followed by In My Blood which allowed vocalist Chris Robertson to loosen the pipes. And then it just got a bit pedestrian. The god-awful Things My Father Said got the arena crowd singing along. Now in my mind, getting the crowd to sing along is a demonstration of laziness. If I want to hear BSC karaoke I’ll got to a bar or stay at home. When I see the band in the live setting I want them to sing the bloody song. Fiesta del Fuego, one of the few rockers from latest release Magic Mountain picked the tempo back up a little but the set felt pretty pedestrian with the band a little bloated in comparison to the lithe, hard rocking outfit that had torn the roof of the Solus, blown a hole in the afternoon at Download a few years ago or given Myles and co such a run for their money at the Motorpoint not that long ago. Closing the main set with obvious crowd favourites White Trash Millionaire and Blame It On the Boom Boom, BSC completed an hour and 20 minutes of perfectly competent arena rock. Now maybe it was because the notorious Motorpoint sound was about as poor as it could be, or maybe it was the fact that in the last week I had seen Opeth and Blackberry Smoke, but BSC demonstrated why the transition to arena is both right and wrong for them. For me, seeing them in a sweaty club beats this environment every day. The reaction of a far from sold out crowd suggested that a lot of people like this kind of evening. For me, a disappointing evening. I would need to be persuaded big time before parting with cash to see these guys again. 6/10
Now for Nick's take:
I and my fellow musipedians have little to no time for Theory of A Dead Man, a generic bad that on the few occasions I have seen convey their music with equal generic delivery. Needles to say we stayed in the pub for this one.
Airbourne
Leaving the pub we headed into the arena arriving just in time to see the wild-headed Ozzies enter the stage. Without a second wasted O’Keefe hit the stage running with the energy and vigour he always has. Running up and down the stage thrashing his guitar, you need to ensure your neck stretches have been completed before catching these guys live. Presenting a set predominantly filled with tracks from their debut album, pleasing hardened Airbourne fans and Airbourne virgins alike. Highlights of the set included the regular Runnin’ Wild, Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast and the cracking Cheap Wine and Cheaper Women; which live, is nothing short of brilliant. Every person young or old held their arms aloft and joined in with great delight. Airbourne are a band that will never fail to disappoint live. The utter passion and belief that the O’Keefe brothers and co have for their music is alone enough to drive any crowd along. The only disappointment, which is a recurring theme every time I see Airbourne, was again the lack of Airbournes ability to control O’Keefes vocals. The sheer power and pitch is a struggle for any microphone to take, yet they seem to ignore this every show, which is a great shame as it does detract greatly from their performance. If you are not familiar with these Ozzie nuggets vocals are important and at times they were very hard to decipher. Having said this, we all know the sound in the Motorpoint is far from brilliant, which never helps. 8/10
Black Stone Cherry
For many years I have admired Black Stone Cherry, not only for their music but also for the hard work they have put into it. When I consider where they have come from and the way they have risen to such hefty heights in such a relatively short amount of time, it truly is impressive. Now came the next step in their growth; the arena tour. I have seen these gents in many venues varying in size and an arena tour is nothing short of what they deserve. Entering the stage behind a curtain the obligatory opening of Rain Wizard kicked in to which the crowd joined in with great enthusiasm. Air guitars were scattered all over the arena as Black Stone Cherry burst into an opening furore of classic anthems including Blind Man, Me And Mary Jane and In My Blood; all of which were met with rapturous applause and a three thousand strong sing along. During this opening tirade of anthems the pure look of disbelief and humbleness was plain to see on the face of these Kentucky farm boys. Chris Robertson particularly was clearly astounded at times, considering his recent fight I'm sure this was a great boon for him. After this the pace slowed a little as other familiar songs such as Holding On To Letting Go and Such A Shame were offered with great aplomb. Next came the fan favourite and clearly a special song for the band; Things My Father Said, predominantly serenaded by the crowd Ben Wells stood high on a platform dumbstruck as he strummed away. Usually things like this annoy me as I pay to see a band perform, however there is something about this song that make it’s acceptable, it’s somehow more personal, more meaningful?
Airbourne
Leaving the pub we headed into the arena arriving just in time to see the wild-headed Ozzies enter the stage. Without a second wasted O’Keefe hit the stage running with the energy and vigour he always has. Running up and down the stage thrashing his guitar, you need to ensure your neck stretches have been completed before catching these guys live. Presenting a set predominantly filled with tracks from their debut album, pleasing hardened Airbourne fans and Airbourne virgins alike. Highlights of the set included the regular Runnin’ Wild, Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast and the cracking Cheap Wine and Cheaper Women; which live, is nothing short of brilliant. Every person young or old held their arms aloft and joined in with great delight. Airbourne are a band that will never fail to disappoint live. The utter passion and belief that the O’Keefe brothers and co have for their music is alone enough to drive any crowd along. The only disappointment, which is a recurring theme every time I see Airbourne, was again the lack of Airbournes ability to control O’Keefes vocals. The sheer power and pitch is a struggle for any microphone to take, yet they seem to ignore this every show, which is a great shame as it does detract greatly from their performance. If you are not familiar with these Ozzie nuggets vocals are important and at times they were very hard to decipher. Having said this, we all know the sound in the Motorpoint is far from brilliant, which never helps. 8/10
Black Stone Cherry
For many years I have admired Black Stone Cherry, not only for their music but also for the hard work they have put into it. When I consider where they have come from and the way they have risen to such hefty heights in such a relatively short amount of time, it truly is impressive. Now came the next step in their growth; the arena tour. I have seen these gents in many venues varying in size and an arena tour is nothing short of what they deserve. Entering the stage behind a curtain the obligatory opening of Rain Wizard kicked in to which the crowd joined in with great enthusiasm. Air guitars were scattered all over the arena as Black Stone Cherry burst into an opening furore of classic anthems including Blind Man, Me And Mary Jane and In My Blood; all of which were met with rapturous applause and a three thousand strong sing along. During this opening tirade of anthems the pure look of disbelief and humbleness was plain to see on the face of these Kentucky farm boys. Chris Robertson particularly was clearly astounded at times, considering his recent fight I'm sure this was a great boon for him. After this the pace slowed a little as other familiar songs such as Holding On To Letting Go and Such A Shame were offered with great aplomb. Next came the fan favourite and clearly a special song for the band; Things My Father Said, predominantly serenaded by the crowd Ben Wells stood high on a platform dumbstruck as he strummed away. Usually things like this annoy me as I pay to see a band perform, however there is something about this song that make it’s acceptable, it’s somehow more personal, more meaningful?
As the set moved on things started to fall apart a little, tracks from Cherry’s most recent album Magic Mountain were delivered but despite the songs being good strong songs they are not anthems that the Black Stone Cherry are known for and this killed the flow and mood of the set also the arena. Don’t get me wrong, Magic Mountain tracks like Bad Luck Hard Love and Fiesta del Fuego were delivered with great assurance and style but the songs just don’t engage the crowd. This is a great shame as until this point the Cherry’s were on top form. Robertson’s voice on top shape, getting better every time I see him, while Young is just as skilled animated on the drums as ever, he remains one of may favourite drummer to behold live to this day. Nonetheless Black Stone Cherry finished the set in style with another run of anthems; Soulcreek, White Trash Millionaire, Blame It On The Boom Boom which again brought the crowd to loud voice and great power. Leaving the stage the crowd had been won back and there was a ecstatic chant for more, as Robertson creeped back on stage… they duly delivered, and in style; with Peace is free and the mighty Lonely Train which live is heaver than I expect every time I hear it. You can’t help but get your head down and thrash away with the person nearest to you.
Black Stone Cherry is a class act, this cannot be argued, and they are more than worthy of an arena tour. The sheer number of fans and they have and the crowd they draw is answer enough. However this means there is a lot more people to please and people will expect a little more for their money. The main problem the guys had tonight was the set list, opening and closing with a bombardment of anthems sets the mood and may send the fans home with a smile on their face, but leaves the middle of the set very lethargic and this is a dangerous line to tread. With the amount of anthems Cherry have in their back pocket they can easily afford to spread them across the set to hold the pace and energy of the crowd. Unfortunately this is not what happened in this set, nevertheless myself and the majority of the crowd had a cracking night. Black Stone Cherry deliver heavy rock with unquestionable skill and style, they just need to plan their attack a little better in the future. Personally, I hope to see them back in arenas sooner rather than later. 8/10.
Friday, 31 October 2014
Reviews: Devin Townsend Project/Devin Townsend
Devin Townsend Project: Sky Blue (InsideOut)
Devin Townsend: Z2- Dark Matters (InsideOut)
Hevy Devy returns!! Yes fan boys start your fapping as the crown prince of geeky prog has come back with his new album(s). Yes folks two for the price of one as the Z2 has the new DTP album Sky Blue as well as the sequel and continuing story of the coffee seeking alien Ziltoid the Omnicient on Dark Matters. They are two fundamentally different albums, one is a DTP album the other a Devin solo effort as it continues the Ziltoid chapter. As such I'll review them as two albums:
Sky Blue - Devin Townsend Project
Sky Blue is DTP working within it's own confines, strong, anthemic music mixing rock, metal, electonica together in a melting point, but also showing a lot of of creative freedom to try new things. Rejoice has the cascading riffs, Anneke Van Giersbergen's amazing vocals and Devin doing his shouted croon on top of multi layered playing, it sets the album up perfectly following directly on from the previous album Epicloud, Fallout too merges metal with pop and allows Devin to exercise his operatic tendencies. As usual he contributes pretty much everything music wise with Dave Young on additional guitars, Bryan Waddell on bass, Ryan Van Poederooyen on drums and Mike St John on keys. They all long term members of his touring band and as such are flawless in their delivery, on this note the production too is both bold and crystalline. Midnight Sun is a slower more balladic song which shows off the special Universal Choir, this is a contribution of 2000 voices which make for the largest choir on a metal record ever, the choir contribute to both records but are at their best on Sky Blue. A New Reign is heavier than previous songs, but Universal Flame is unabashed pop with it's bouncy rhythm and the choir on top form. There is always something so cathartic about Devin's music, you can't help but smile when it comes on, you just sit back and let the music wash over you filling you with joy at the musical menagerie involved in every DTP album. Sky Blue also throws the occasional curveball with the title track itself is based on DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love by Usher and as such has a pumping electronic back beat, the whispered croon of Townsend and the ethereal vocals of Giersbergen. Silent Militia makes full use of Anneke and is a tribute to will.i.am in the style of You Spin Me Right Round by Dead Or Alive. Rain City is darker in tone and brings things back to the DTP sound (something that a lot of the time is only subjective). The nearly 8 minute Rain City starts normal enough before the finally becomes very eastern and atmospheric with a clockwork beat behind it, it is followed by the heart breaking Forever but is counteracted by the life-affirming Before We Die which all but ends the album. Sky Blue is the natural successor to Epicloud as it continues to combine all the facets of Townsend's career but it is also a progression as it indulges in a lot more sonic experimentation drawing from other artists, showing that yet again Townsend and in particular his Project are vital to the rock and metal scene. 8/10
Dark Matters - Devin Townsend
So moving on we come to Dark Matters, this is not credited as a DTP album even though it features the same band as Sky Blue, no classed is a Townsend solo record and the second part of the Ziltoid The Omnicient storyline. As such it is Townsend that handles the guitars, keys and programming with Morgan Ågren contributing percussion on From Sleep Awake (Ågren was last seen on the Causalties of Cool album). As From Sleep Awake starts we are told Ziltoid has become a megastar with all the world now revering him as a God, we are reintroduced by Captain Spectacular (played by Chris Jericho) as well as other characters such as the Poozer on Ziltodian Empire, the Queen Blattaria mother of the Poozer's on the rocking War Princess, The War Princess is played by Dominique Lenore Persi from the experimental band Stolen Babies, she has very unique but very good voice and along with Townsend and Jericho works well as one of the three lead characters. With a crazy tongue in cheek story about intergalactic war The Ziltoid concept is still as mental as ever but I'm not going to explain what happens (spoilers and all that) but what I will say is that this album has a much bigger scope than the previous Ziltoid record, with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra contributing heavily and the story being propelled by Bill Courage's narration giving a proper cinematic feel to things. Now unless you are on board with the Ziltoid story then you may think that is album is a little childish, which to be honest is, but it is also full of fun with some great, heavy music to back it up, from the rocking DeathRay, to the Samael influenced March Of The Poozers, the Soilwork speed metal of Ziltoid Goes Home and the epic Earth which takes it's cues from Peter And The Wolf. By itself Dark Matters is a worthy addition to the Ziltoid canon, but as part of the Z2 package it is pipped to the post by Sky Blue which is an album with a broader appeal than the metallic second record. Still like I said if you like The Omniscient, coffee loving alien and his intergalactic hijinks then you will over this but for me it is beaten hands down by the DTP effort. 5/10
Devin Townsend: Z2- Dark Matters (InsideOut)
Hevy Devy returns!! Yes fan boys start your fapping as the crown prince of geeky prog has come back with his new album(s). Yes folks two for the price of one as the Z2 has the new DTP album Sky Blue as well as the sequel and continuing story of the coffee seeking alien Ziltoid the Omnicient on Dark Matters. They are two fundamentally different albums, one is a DTP album the other a Devin solo effort as it continues the Ziltoid chapter. As such I'll review them as two albums:
Sky Blue - Devin Townsend Project
Sky Blue is DTP working within it's own confines, strong, anthemic music mixing rock, metal, electonica together in a melting point, but also showing a lot of of creative freedom to try new things. Rejoice has the cascading riffs, Anneke Van Giersbergen's amazing vocals and Devin doing his shouted croon on top of multi layered playing, it sets the album up perfectly following directly on from the previous album Epicloud, Fallout too merges metal with pop and allows Devin to exercise his operatic tendencies. As usual he contributes pretty much everything music wise with Dave Young on additional guitars, Bryan Waddell on bass, Ryan Van Poederooyen on drums and Mike St John on keys. They all long term members of his touring band and as such are flawless in their delivery, on this note the production too is both bold and crystalline. Midnight Sun is a slower more balladic song which shows off the special Universal Choir, this is a contribution of 2000 voices which make for the largest choir on a metal record ever, the choir contribute to both records but are at their best on Sky Blue. A New Reign is heavier than previous songs, but Universal Flame is unabashed pop with it's bouncy rhythm and the choir on top form. There is always something so cathartic about Devin's music, you can't help but smile when it comes on, you just sit back and let the music wash over you filling you with joy at the musical menagerie involved in every DTP album. Sky Blue also throws the occasional curveball with the title track itself is based on DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love by Usher and as such has a pumping electronic back beat, the whispered croon of Townsend and the ethereal vocals of Giersbergen. Silent Militia makes full use of Anneke and is a tribute to will.i.am in the style of You Spin Me Right Round by Dead Or Alive. Rain City is darker in tone and brings things back to the DTP sound (something that a lot of the time is only subjective). The nearly 8 minute Rain City starts normal enough before the finally becomes very eastern and atmospheric with a clockwork beat behind it, it is followed by the heart breaking Forever but is counteracted by the life-affirming Before We Die which all but ends the album. Sky Blue is the natural successor to Epicloud as it continues to combine all the facets of Townsend's career but it is also a progression as it indulges in a lot more sonic experimentation drawing from other artists, showing that yet again Townsend and in particular his Project are vital to the rock and metal scene. 8/10
Dark Matters - Devin Townsend
So moving on we come to Dark Matters, this is not credited as a DTP album even though it features the same band as Sky Blue, no classed is a Townsend solo record and the second part of the Ziltoid The Omnicient storyline. As such it is Townsend that handles the guitars, keys and programming with Morgan Ågren contributing percussion on From Sleep Awake (Ågren was last seen on the Causalties of Cool album). As From Sleep Awake starts we are told Ziltoid has become a megastar with all the world now revering him as a God, we are reintroduced by Captain Spectacular (played by Chris Jericho) as well as other characters such as the Poozer on Ziltodian Empire, the Queen Blattaria mother of the Poozer's on the rocking War Princess, The War Princess is played by Dominique Lenore Persi from the experimental band Stolen Babies, she has very unique but very good voice and along with Townsend and Jericho works well as one of the three lead characters. With a crazy tongue in cheek story about intergalactic war The Ziltoid concept is still as mental as ever but I'm not going to explain what happens (spoilers and all that) but what I will say is that this album has a much bigger scope than the previous Ziltoid record, with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra contributing heavily and the story being propelled by Bill Courage's narration giving a proper cinematic feel to things. Now unless you are on board with the Ziltoid story then you may think that is album is a little childish, which to be honest is, but it is also full of fun with some great, heavy music to back it up, from the rocking DeathRay, to the Samael influenced March Of The Poozers, the Soilwork speed metal of Ziltoid Goes Home and the epic Earth which takes it's cues from Peter And The Wolf. By itself Dark Matters is a worthy addition to the Ziltoid canon, but as part of the Z2 package it is pipped to the post by Sky Blue which is an album with a broader appeal than the metallic second record. Still like I said if you like The Omniscient, coffee loving alien and his intergalactic hijinks then you will over this but for me it is beaten hands down by the DTP effort. 5/10
Wednesday, 29 October 2014
A View From The Back Of The Room: Haken
Haken, Leprous, Maschine & others - Bristol Prog Invasion, The Fleece Bristol
This was supposed to be a three band tour comprising three of the brightest young things in progressive rock and metal. The Bristol date on this tour turned this into an all day event showcasing a few more young bands to partisan fans. As we arrived we had missed the prog black metal of Reign Of Perdition, but we came in just in time for Wales own Akb'al.
Akb'al
The psychedelic, shamanistic prog of Akb'al is always well received by us here at the musipedia and the band put in a consistently strong live showing. Their percussive, driving fusion of world rhythms, heavy rock and mind melding psych always gets head nodding and brains altering. The guitars of Thoby and Rob worked in unison with Floydian leads on top of Tool-like rhythm playing much of which comes from the technical bass playing of Michael and the percussion of Mic. The bands sound was not the best I've ever heard which could have been the venue (something that would rear it's ugly head later). With songs like Equilibrium Akb'al have a big future ahead of them and were definitely one of the stand outs on this bill. 8/10
Alatyr
Bristol based Alatyr are a female fronted metal band with progressive influences, they combine thrash and black metal riffage from their two guitarists and bassist, blast beats galore from their drummer and a mix of female and growled vocals. Think bands of Epica and ReVamp's ilk, the problem with Alatyr is that they are a little bit samey, the riffs were all similar making all of the songs the same. Yes musicianship was good but Alatyr on the whole were boring and the vocals of Steph Kiddle were not really to my taste. On the whole Alatyr just didn't inspire me, sorry guys. 4/10
Maschine
I was really looking forward to seeing Brighton's Maschine as I like their mix of intensely progressive rock, with a three distinct vocals harmonizing together. Unfortunately as they ascended to the stage there seemed to be a lot of problems with the sound and the instruments in general, this lasted for most of the set meaning that the band were only able to play two (admittedly long) songs, frontman/guitarist/bandleader Luke Machin did seemed a little miffed at the whole situation but the band managed two excellent songs one being the excellent Rubidium which is the title track of their album that bodes well and I look forward to seeing a full set in the future. 7/10
Leprous
Leprous have seen their profile explode in the last few years especially since their latest album Coal hit the shelves. In fact these Norwegians are possibly one of the best truly progressive bands around at the moment with a multitude of elements to their sound making genre classification very difficult. For all the Pain Of Salvation (a band they share a lot with), they also have Opeth, some black metal leanings and even some King Crimson thrown in. The band are not only their own seperate entity but they also make up Ihshan's band meaning that they have a huge amount of live experience, which shows through in every aspect of the bands show. The the heavy rifftastic guitars of Tor Oddmund Suhrke and Øystein Landsverk are the driving force of the band with the rhythm section of Martin Skrebergene's bass and Baard Kolstad's drums anchoring the heaviness and melancholy of the Coal era songs of which made up the majority of the setlist, but the instrumentation also made the earlier songs sparkle with their more upbeat melodic progressiveness. The key to Leprous' sound are the keys and unique vocals of Einar Solberg who shouts, screams, croons and generally acts like ring leader while abusing his keyboard to provide that extra edge to Leprous' musicality. The band seemed very receptive of the warm applause they received from the large crowd. With their phenomenal musicianship, infectious energy and cinematic light show Leprous are a band to catch, no matter what your taste you will find something in this band. 9/10
Haken
The main event came around, British progressive rockers Haken are rapidly becoming THE band in progressive music, their talent is beyond words with influences from all of the prog greats combining them altogether with a modern freshness. Haken are now on their third album and their recorded output seems to be getting stronger and stronger with The Mountain being both their most recent and their finest. And as The Path Unbeaten intro moved into piano driven Atlas Stone kicking off the set proper. It's the atmospheric nature of their music that makes Haken so good as they manage to combine hard rock, modenr metal and old school ethereal prog together to create some unique music. Ray Hearne's percussion and drums are excellent with jazz influences interspersed with primal power, new boy Conner Green is the rhythmic bottom end allowing the guitars of Charlie Griffiths and Richard Henshall to really show off their talents playing with some intense, intricate riffs and solos that duel with Diego Tejeida's keyboards, his keys are also bolstered by the Hen's additional keys. Tejeida also draws the eye with his madcap antics as he fights for attention with vocalist Ross Jennings who has an amazing voice that is at it's best on the crazy Cockroach King which shows off his range to the full. After Atlas Stone came the heavier tones of In Memoriam which sounds a lot like Mr Wilson and co, then a new song in the shape of Darkest Light, into the Middle Eastern Pareidoila and the finally the two epic tracks in the shape of Crystallised and Visions end the set with a blistering display of musicanship and virtuosity both songs together provided nearly 40 minutes of music and sent the prog fans home with a euphoric happiness. Haken keep on getting better and better and on this tour and this show especially they get one step closer to that stratosphere. 9/10
This was supposed to be a three band tour comprising three of the brightest young things in progressive rock and metal. The Bristol date on this tour turned this into an all day event showcasing a few more young bands to partisan fans. As we arrived we had missed the prog black metal of Reign Of Perdition, but we came in just in time for Wales own Akb'al.
Akb'al
The psychedelic, shamanistic prog of Akb'al is always well received by us here at the musipedia and the band put in a consistently strong live showing. Their percussive, driving fusion of world rhythms, heavy rock and mind melding psych always gets head nodding and brains altering. The guitars of Thoby and Rob worked in unison with Floydian leads on top of Tool-like rhythm playing much of which comes from the technical bass playing of Michael and the percussion of Mic. The bands sound was not the best I've ever heard which could have been the venue (something that would rear it's ugly head later). With songs like Equilibrium Akb'al have a big future ahead of them and were definitely one of the stand outs on this bill. 8/10
Alatyr
Bristol based Alatyr are a female fronted metal band with progressive influences, they combine thrash and black metal riffage from their two guitarists and bassist, blast beats galore from their drummer and a mix of female and growled vocals. Think bands of Epica and ReVamp's ilk, the problem with Alatyr is that they are a little bit samey, the riffs were all similar making all of the songs the same. Yes musicianship was good but Alatyr on the whole were boring and the vocals of Steph Kiddle were not really to my taste. On the whole Alatyr just didn't inspire me, sorry guys. 4/10
Maschine
I was really looking forward to seeing Brighton's Maschine as I like their mix of intensely progressive rock, with a three distinct vocals harmonizing together. Unfortunately as they ascended to the stage there seemed to be a lot of problems with the sound and the instruments in general, this lasted for most of the set meaning that the band were only able to play two (admittedly long) songs, frontman/guitarist/bandleader Luke Machin did seemed a little miffed at the whole situation but the band managed two excellent songs one being the excellent Rubidium which is the title track of their album that bodes well and I look forward to seeing a full set in the future. 7/10
Leprous
Leprous have seen their profile explode in the last few years especially since their latest album Coal hit the shelves. In fact these Norwegians are possibly one of the best truly progressive bands around at the moment with a multitude of elements to their sound making genre classification very difficult. For all the Pain Of Salvation (a band they share a lot with), they also have Opeth, some black metal leanings and even some King Crimson thrown in. The band are not only their own seperate entity but they also make up Ihshan's band meaning that they have a huge amount of live experience, which shows through in every aspect of the bands show. The the heavy rifftastic guitars of Tor Oddmund Suhrke and Øystein Landsverk are the driving force of the band with the rhythm section of Martin Skrebergene's bass and Baard Kolstad's drums anchoring the heaviness and melancholy of the Coal era songs of which made up the majority of the setlist, but the instrumentation also made the earlier songs sparkle with their more upbeat melodic progressiveness. The key to Leprous' sound are the keys and unique vocals of Einar Solberg who shouts, screams, croons and generally acts like ring leader while abusing his keyboard to provide that extra edge to Leprous' musicality. The band seemed very receptive of the warm applause they received from the large crowd. With their phenomenal musicianship, infectious energy and cinematic light show Leprous are a band to catch, no matter what your taste you will find something in this band. 9/10
Haken
The main event came around, British progressive rockers Haken are rapidly becoming THE band in progressive music, their talent is beyond words with influences from all of the prog greats combining them altogether with a modern freshness. Haken are now on their third album and their recorded output seems to be getting stronger and stronger with The Mountain being both their most recent and their finest. And as The Path Unbeaten intro moved into piano driven Atlas Stone kicking off the set proper. It's the atmospheric nature of their music that makes Haken so good as they manage to combine hard rock, modenr metal and old school ethereal prog together to create some unique music. Ray Hearne's percussion and drums are excellent with jazz influences interspersed with primal power, new boy Conner Green is the rhythmic bottom end allowing the guitars of Charlie Griffiths and Richard Henshall to really show off their talents playing with some intense, intricate riffs and solos that duel with Diego Tejeida's keyboards, his keys are also bolstered by the Hen's additional keys. Tejeida also draws the eye with his madcap antics as he fights for attention with vocalist Ross Jennings who has an amazing voice that is at it's best on the crazy Cockroach King which shows off his range to the full. After Atlas Stone came the heavier tones of In Memoriam which sounds a lot like Mr Wilson and co, then a new song in the shape of Darkest Light, into the Middle Eastern Pareidoila and the finally the two epic tracks in the shape of Crystallised and Visions end the set with a blistering display of musicanship and virtuosity both songs together provided nearly 40 minutes of music and sent the prog fans home with a euphoric happiness. Haken keep on getting better and better and on this tour and this show especially they get one step closer to that stratosphere. 9/10
Saturday, 25 October 2014
Reviews: Amaranthe, Allen/Lande, Virgil & The Accelerators
Amaranthe: Massive Addictive (Spinefarm)
Swedes Amarathne are now on their third album and this comes just over a year after their second, in that time front woman Elize Ryd has become the go to female voice for such acts as Kamelot and Timo Tolkki on his Avalon project. Also in the interim they have lost their harsh vocalist Andreas "Andy" Solveström who has been replaced by Henrik Englund who is also in Scarpoint. Most bands try to expand their sound on their third album, however Amaranthe are not one of those bands they have just continued the formula from their first two albums. So yet again we have another album of heavy metal mixed with pulsing electronic pop, this is at it's best on first single Drop Dead Cynical which is as saccharine as a honey covered cotton candy. The title track is heavy weight with an electronic backing but it is driven by a big guitar riff from mainman Olof Mörck, the following track Digital World also shows off the skills of new boy Englund and he is good having more of black metal delivery than his predecessor but he works excellently with both Ryd and Jake E Berg who provides the clean vocals. Digital World also has a huge drop in the middle making it prime club fodder, expect this as the next single, the adrenaline rush subsides on ballad True and Over And Done on which Berg really gives his all. Again Englund is the driving force behind Danger Zone. So Amaranthe's third album has all the sounds of their first 2 albeit with a slightly different vocal, still if you liked the first 2 albums, then you will know what to expect and will love this album, however if you didn't there is nothing here to change your mind. 7/10
Allen/Lande: The Great Divide (Frontiers)
Symphony X singer Russell Allen and Masterplan vocalist Jorn Lande have been steadily releasing albums since 2005 with one coming every couple of years, when you have two amazing singers like Allen and Lande you need supreme talent backing it, on the last three albums The Battle, The Revenge, The Showdown it was Primal Fear guitarist Magnus Karlsson doing all the writing and most of the instrumentation, on this fourth album it is man who doesn't shy away from a collaborative project; ex-Stratovarius man Timo Tolkki who provides all the guitars (electric and bass) and also handles production. As usual his musical compositions are great with sweet riffs and solos bolstered by his crystal clear production and aided by Jami Huovinen on drums. The romantic hard rock of Come & Dream With Me starts things off, Down From The Mountain is faster track that is prime power metal on which Lande and Allen do their best Rob Halford while Huovinen keeps the pace rapid. From then on it's your normal power metal fodder with symphonic backing. Still even with the talent of the vocalists this is all a bit generic and gets very similar very quickly, still if you've got the others get this one, if not I would keep your money for some of the other better releases out at the moment. 5/10
Virgil & The Accelerators: Army Of Three (Mystic Records)
Virgil McMahon formed his power trio with his brother Gabriel on drums and Jack Alexander Timmis on bass in 2009, their first Radium album was full of hard hitting blues rock with elements of funk, soul and even jazz, McMahon has been hailed as spoken about in the same breath as Clapton or Hendrix and has been decorated with numerous awards such as European guitarist of the year. So what about his second album well the Hendrix vibe is at full effect on Take Me Higher which features some playing that would be at home on Electric Ladyland, Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold As Love with Gabriel giving his best Mitch Mitchell and Timmis providing the funk of Noel Redding or Billy Cox. McMahon's superb playing is bolstered by his sonorous voice that betrays his age and adds to the band's classic power trio vibe. Blow To The Head rocks hard with it's "Hey Hey Hey" chant along final part. The blues runs through this album, everything is anchored by it the phrasing and feel the construction of the songs but where the magic lays in this album is how far they play with the genre moving away and adding others to create some great sounding rock music. All Night Long is a perfect example of this with it's punky riff and psychedelic middle section driven by Timmis bass. Love Aggression has an almost 80's feel to it with the lush backing synths, it moves into another rocker Give It Up which has the hip shaking groove and parping mouth harp of Aerosmith or The Cult. Through The Night is another big ballad with a hell of a solo in it, the heavyweight Stand Up is driven by lots of cowbell. Virgil & The Accelerators released a hell of a debut album but they have followed up in excellent style on this second album which is more mature, more considered work on which all three of these men give supreme performances, the spirit of Cream, The Experience, Taste and even SRV looms large on this record and because of that they have created an excellent second slice of pure British rock. 9/10
Swedes Amarathne are now on their third album and this comes just over a year after their second, in that time front woman Elize Ryd has become the go to female voice for such acts as Kamelot and Timo Tolkki on his Avalon project. Also in the interim they have lost their harsh vocalist Andreas "Andy" Solveström who has been replaced by Henrik Englund who is also in Scarpoint. Most bands try to expand their sound on their third album, however Amaranthe are not one of those bands they have just continued the formula from their first two albums. So yet again we have another album of heavy metal mixed with pulsing electronic pop, this is at it's best on first single Drop Dead Cynical which is as saccharine as a honey covered cotton candy. The title track is heavy weight with an electronic backing but it is driven by a big guitar riff from mainman Olof Mörck, the following track Digital World also shows off the skills of new boy Englund and he is good having more of black metal delivery than his predecessor but he works excellently with both Ryd and Jake E Berg who provides the clean vocals. Digital World also has a huge drop in the middle making it prime club fodder, expect this as the next single, the adrenaline rush subsides on ballad True and Over And Done on which Berg really gives his all. Again Englund is the driving force behind Danger Zone. So Amaranthe's third album has all the sounds of their first 2 albeit with a slightly different vocal, still if you liked the first 2 albums, then you will know what to expect and will love this album, however if you didn't there is nothing here to change your mind. 7/10
Allen/Lande: The Great Divide (Frontiers)
Symphony X singer Russell Allen and Masterplan vocalist Jorn Lande have been steadily releasing albums since 2005 with one coming every couple of years, when you have two amazing singers like Allen and Lande you need supreme talent backing it, on the last three albums The Battle, The Revenge, The Showdown it was Primal Fear guitarist Magnus Karlsson doing all the writing and most of the instrumentation, on this fourth album it is man who doesn't shy away from a collaborative project; ex-Stratovarius man Timo Tolkki who provides all the guitars (electric and bass) and also handles production. As usual his musical compositions are great with sweet riffs and solos bolstered by his crystal clear production and aided by Jami Huovinen on drums. The romantic hard rock of Come & Dream With Me starts things off, Down From The Mountain is faster track that is prime power metal on which Lande and Allen do their best Rob Halford while Huovinen keeps the pace rapid. From then on it's your normal power metal fodder with symphonic backing. Still even with the talent of the vocalists this is all a bit generic and gets very similar very quickly, still if you've got the others get this one, if not I would keep your money for some of the other better releases out at the moment. 5/10
Virgil & The Accelerators: Army Of Three (Mystic Records)
Virgil McMahon formed his power trio with his brother Gabriel on drums and Jack Alexander Timmis on bass in 2009, their first Radium album was full of hard hitting blues rock with elements of funk, soul and even jazz, McMahon has been hailed as spoken about in the same breath as Clapton or Hendrix and has been decorated with numerous awards such as European guitarist of the year. So what about his second album well the Hendrix vibe is at full effect on Take Me Higher which features some playing that would be at home on Electric Ladyland, Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold As Love with Gabriel giving his best Mitch Mitchell and Timmis providing the funk of Noel Redding or Billy Cox. McMahon's superb playing is bolstered by his sonorous voice that betrays his age and adds to the band's classic power trio vibe. Blow To The Head rocks hard with it's "Hey Hey Hey" chant along final part. The blues runs through this album, everything is anchored by it the phrasing and feel the construction of the songs but where the magic lays in this album is how far they play with the genre moving away and adding others to create some great sounding rock music. All Night Long is a perfect example of this with it's punky riff and psychedelic middle section driven by Timmis bass. Love Aggression has an almost 80's feel to it with the lush backing synths, it moves into another rocker Give It Up which has the hip shaking groove and parping mouth harp of Aerosmith or The Cult. Through The Night is another big ballad with a hell of a solo in it, the heavyweight Stand Up is driven by lots of cowbell. Virgil & The Accelerators released a hell of a debut album but they have followed up in excellent style on this second album which is more mature, more considered work on which all three of these men give supreme performances, the spirit of Cream, The Experience, Taste and even SRV looms large on this record and because of that they have created an excellent second slice of pure British rock. 9/10
Thursday, 23 October 2014
World Of Metal 20: Dreadnox, Viathyn, The Black Stymphalian
Dreadnox: The Hero Inside (Die Hard Records)
Dreadnox are a Brazilian metal band that have a sound based in the modern metal style with influence drawn from power and traditional metal Final Siege starts off with gunfire and sirens beckoning you into a world of rebellion, the band kick things off in style with crunchy metallic riffing, dual harmony's and powerful vocals from Fabio Schneider who has a vocal not to dissimilar to his countryman Andre Matos, as well as evoking 'Ripper' Owens and even Bruce Dickinson in parts. As I've said the band play muscular classic metal on which Felipe Curi blasts the drums like a machine gunner moving between smashing rhythms, killer fills and double kick blast beats. Dead Montana brings a bass gallop that has been perfected by 'Arry in Maiden, see finale My Judgement Day. Finally we have the guitars of Kiko Dillert brings the riffs, harmonising on top of the excellent rhythm section. Dreadnox are not all about the traditional of metal or Maiden etc through they add thrashier elements from Metallica and Megadeth see Manic Depressive and Nomophobia both of which have the thrash element, they also bring some progressive power metal on Dreamcatcher which sounds a lot like Angra and shows off Schneider's awesome vocals. So Dreadnox are not your normal classic metal band they add many elements to their sound which sets them apart from their contemporaries, they are both melodic and heavy and in true classic metal tradition they have an instrumental in the shape of DX which has some solos and riffs that would make Megadave blush. Brazil has always been the spritual heart of the heavy metal scene, they really care about metal there and Dreadnox are a testament to this with a melting pot of influences all brought together to create a great album full of strong metal songs from a band well worth checking out!! 8/10
Viathyn: Cynosure (Independent)
Canada is becoming somewhat of a breeding ground for intelligent modern progressive metal with bands such as Borealis bringing a new scope on the works of Shadow Gallery, Fates Warning and of course Dream Theater. Viathyn are now on their second record with Cynosure being an "exploration into the chaos and the beauty of the natural (and unnatural) world, with themes of discord, affliction, disillusion, enlightenment, and grandeur, as seen through the eyes of nine storytellers" so far so prog, it is this lofty ambition/concept that is met with some seriously amazing musicanship from the Canadians, with the drums of Dave Crnkovic coming thick and fast part metal/part jazz driving everything along, the bass of Alex Kot is technical and is the base (no pun intended) layer of the rhythm, the solos and leads are handled by Jacob Wright who wrings every bit of emotion out of his instrument while also showing the skill of the virtuosos associated with the genre, he is aided by the rhythm playing of Tomislav Crnkovic who also provides the powerful vocals. The band are equally at home with speed as they are with the slower songs like Time Will Take Us All which is all about the atmosphere, as they are with more rampaging romps like Shadows In Our Wake and the rollicking of Three Sheets To The Wind which has to be classed as progressive Pirate metal. As is the norm with prog metal the songs are all over five minutes but they never outstay their welcome, most are metallic, progressive songs with touches of power metal thrown in meaning that they hold your attention, as this is a concept album based on 9 points of view they all have different feel to them meaning that the album flows well with exercises in light and shade throughout. As I have said their seems to be a glut of excellent progressive metal bands coming from Canada at the moment and Viathyn is just another addition to this country's list of high calibre bands. 9/10
Viathyn: Cynosure (Independent)
Canada is becoming somewhat of a breeding ground for intelligent modern progressive metal with bands such as Borealis bringing a new scope on the works of Shadow Gallery, Fates Warning and of course Dream Theater. Viathyn are now on their second record with Cynosure being an "exploration into the chaos and the beauty of the natural (and unnatural) world, with themes of discord, affliction, disillusion, enlightenment, and grandeur, as seen through the eyes of nine storytellers" so far so prog, it is this lofty ambition/concept that is met with some seriously amazing musicanship from the Canadians, with the drums of Dave Crnkovic coming thick and fast part metal/part jazz driving everything along, the bass of Alex Kot is technical and is the base (no pun intended) layer of the rhythm, the solos and leads are handled by Jacob Wright who wrings every bit of emotion out of his instrument while also showing the skill of the virtuosos associated with the genre, he is aided by the rhythm playing of Tomislav Crnkovic who also provides the powerful vocals. The band are equally at home with speed as they are with the slower songs like Time Will Take Us All which is all about the atmosphere, as they are with more rampaging romps like Shadows In Our Wake and the rollicking of Three Sheets To The Wind which has to be classed as progressive Pirate metal. As is the norm with prog metal the songs are all over five minutes but they never outstay their welcome, most are metallic, progressive songs with touches of power metal thrown in meaning that they hold your attention, as this is a concept album based on 9 points of view they all have different feel to them meaning that the album flows well with exercises in light and shade throughout. As I have said their seems to be a glut of excellent progressive metal bands coming from Canada at the moment and Viathyn is just another addition to this country's list of high calibre bands. 9/10
The Black Stymphalian: Khaos Sigma (Self Released)
"This is a bit tasty!" that was my first remark upon hearing this the second EP from Darlington UK based The Black Stymphalian. The 'band' is made up of Jaymez Stephenson who handles all the stringed instruments providing both the guitars and the bass as well as keys etc he is joined by the blitzkreig drums of Lyle Cooper and vocalists Greg Fender and Ian Gillings, who are both from the Robb Flynn/Randy Blythe school of growls and screams. As Chaoskampf erupts from the stereo we are battered by superfast drumming and the amazing riffage of Stephenson who channels the modern thrash of Machine Head even incorporating the more recent progressive elements on tracks like Rules Of Engagement which also draws influence from American's Trivium (especially their Shougun faze). This EP is a bit special, 5 awesome tracks that show of the frankly stunning playing and songwriting of Stephenson who is a one man band in the truest sense, he has brought the dual riffs of modern American metal, merged it with searing solos, a progressive edge, crystal clear production and recruited some top notch musicians to aide him. With some great tracks like March Of A Blackened Christ, Martyr No More and the excellent closing shot of The Awakening this is an EP of top notch metal, could we have a full length soon please? 8/10
The View From Back Of The Room: Blackberry Smoke (Review By Paul)
Blackberry Smoke: The Institute, Birmingham
Another trip to England’s second capital within a week for another quite brilliant evening.
After a smooth journey we arrived at the venue with three hours before Atlanta’s good ‘ole boys Blackberry Smoke took to the stage. An interesting hostelry a short walk away caught our eye and proved to be a real treat. The Old Crown Inn reputed to be Birmingham’s oldest pub dating back to the 1300s looked warm and inviting. Serving some lovely draft ales and possibly the best burger I've ever had in a pub, we spent a happy couple of hours pre-gig. If you come this way make sure you check it out.
The Institute is a strange venue and the Google reviews are quite damning. Having spent a few hours in the smaller Library venue last week, this event was at least being held in the main hall. It turned out to be decent enough, and having squeezed our way through the crush at the rear of the hall we actually ended up with ample room and decent sight lines for once. Of course, the idiot magnet that I possess worked like a charm and once again a total tit ended up very close to us. Absolutely blasted, he became something of a distraction with his flailing arms, poorly timed jumping and general crashing around inviting the potential of a large slap from the less than amused lady behind him. Luckily his mates saw sense and moved him to the middle where he was less irritating. TWAT!!
Just after nine, Blackberry Smoke made their way onto the stage amidst a quite epic amount of incense burning. This was inspired as the whole evening was scented with the pleasant aroma of this rather than the usual farty, beerery stench which we have come to associate with gigs (and no, the burger hadn't taken effect at this time!). The band wasted little time, powering through their highly crafted Southern country rock anthems; Like I Am from Little Piece Of Dixie was followed by Testify from their first album Bad Luck Ain't No Crime. Clad in denim and sporting the most incredible chops ever seen, the Smoke were on fire and their playing was exceptional. Lead vocalist and guitarist Charlie Starr has a quite incredible stage presence, understated and yet imposing at the same time. His solos were excellent and he quickly demonstrated what a fine talent he is; he also has the best sideburns North of Billy Gibbons I've ever see.
A collection of tunes from their 2012 release The Whippoorwill followed; Lucky Seven and the sing-a-longs of Pretty Little Lie and Six Ways To Sunday had the buoyant crowd mouthing every word (and who wouldn't want to hear their baby “speaking in tongues” after a good roggering?). Unfortunately a rather unsavoury incident then occurred at the front as one of the audience was violently assaulted by another member of the crowd. As the perpetrator fled there was an air of confusion on stage, mainly as bassist and all round smoothie Richard Turner had witnessed the event directly in front of him. Charlie Starr checked that all was good and then wise-cracked about it being like back home on a Saturday night before ironically launching into Good One Coming On! Not for the poor bloke with his nose all over his face though. As the injured party was led out by ShowSec and St John’s Ambulance, the pace picked up and the track extended into a showcase of quality guitar work from Starr and Paul Jackson combined with the fat Hammond sounds from Brendon Still on the keys. A snippet of Midnight Rider from the Allman Brothers was also included and received a very warm reception before the pace slowed with a couple of bluesy numbers which culminated with the title track from their last album.
The set was perfectly paced, with ample opportunity for the band to make everything look absolutely painless and totally effortless. That is surely the mark of an excellent band, top quality on every level with absolutely ease. Up In Smoke got the crowd moving again before a departure from the usual subject matter with Ain't Got the Blues. We then got a rare treat with two booze flavoured tracks, both from their 2008 EP New Honky Tonk Bootlegs. First up the lovely Lesson In A Bottle, followed by Son Of The Bourbon, this had the diehards singing along. Penultimate tune One Horse Town maintained the audience participation levels before the band closed the evening with Ain't Much Left Of Me. A short pause as the traditional breather was taken before a final duo of Leave A Scar and Freedom Song rounded off a quite brilliant evening of top quality music. Blackberry Smoke has the confidence and ability to be headlining much bigger venues than this is years to come. Absolutely Top Drawer. 10/10
Another trip to England’s second capital within a week for another quite brilliant evening.
After a smooth journey we arrived at the venue with three hours before Atlanta’s good ‘ole boys Blackberry Smoke took to the stage. An interesting hostelry a short walk away caught our eye and proved to be a real treat. The Old Crown Inn reputed to be Birmingham’s oldest pub dating back to the 1300s looked warm and inviting. Serving some lovely draft ales and possibly the best burger I've ever had in a pub, we spent a happy couple of hours pre-gig. If you come this way make sure you check it out.
The Institute is a strange venue and the Google reviews are quite damning. Having spent a few hours in the smaller Library venue last week, this event was at least being held in the main hall. It turned out to be decent enough, and having squeezed our way through the crush at the rear of the hall we actually ended up with ample room and decent sight lines for once. Of course, the idiot magnet that I possess worked like a charm and once again a total tit ended up very close to us. Absolutely blasted, he became something of a distraction with his flailing arms, poorly timed jumping and general crashing around inviting the potential of a large slap from the less than amused lady behind him. Luckily his mates saw sense and moved him to the middle where he was less irritating. TWAT!!
Just after nine, Blackberry Smoke made their way onto the stage amidst a quite epic amount of incense burning. This was inspired as the whole evening was scented with the pleasant aroma of this rather than the usual farty, beerery stench which we have come to associate with gigs (and no, the burger hadn't taken effect at this time!). The band wasted little time, powering through their highly crafted Southern country rock anthems; Like I Am from Little Piece Of Dixie was followed by Testify from their first album Bad Luck Ain't No Crime. Clad in denim and sporting the most incredible chops ever seen, the Smoke were on fire and their playing was exceptional. Lead vocalist and guitarist Charlie Starr has a quite incredible stage presence, understated and yet imposing at the same time. His solos were excellent and he quickly demonstrated what a fine talent he is; he also has the best sideburns North of Billy Gibbons I've ever see.
A collection of tunes from their 2012 release The Whippoorwill followed; Lucky Seven and the sing-a-longs of Pretty Little Lie and Six Ways To Sunday had the buoyant crowd mouthing every word (and who wouldn't want to hear their baby “speaking in tongues” after a good roggering?). Unfortunately a rather unsavoury incident then occurred at the front as one of the audience was violently assaulted by another member of the crowd. As the perpetrator fled there was an air of confusion on stage, mainly as bassist and all round smoothie Richard Turner had witnessed the event directly in front of him. Charlie Starr checked that all was good and then wise-cracked about it being like back home on a Saturday night before ironically launching into Good One Coming On! Not for the poor bloke with his nose all over his face though. As the injured party was led out by ShowSec and St John’s Ambulance, the pace picked up and the track extended into a showcase of quality guitar work from Starr and Paul Jackson combined with the fat Hammond sounds from Brendon Still on the keys. A snippet of Midnight Rider from the Allman Brothers was also included and received a very warm reception before the pace slowed with a couple of bluesy numbers which culminated with the title track from their last album.
The set was perfectly paced, with ample opportunity for the band to make everything look absolutely painless and totally effortless. That is surely the mark of an excellent band, top quality on every level with absolutely ease. Up In Smoke got the crowd moving again before a departure from the usual subject matter with Ain't Got the Blues. We then got a rare treat with two booze flavoured tracks, both from their 2008 EP New Honky Tonk Bootlegs. First up the lovely Lesson In A Bottle, followed by Son Of The Bourbon, this had the diehards singing along. Penultimate tune One Horse Town maintained the audience participation levels before the band closed the evening with Ain't Much Left Of Me. A short pause as the traditional breather was taken before a final duo of Leave A Scar and Freedom Song rounded off a quite brilliant evening of top quality music. Blackberry Smoke has the confidence and ability to be headlining much bigger venues than this is years to come. Absolutely Top Drawer. 10/10
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