United Progressive Fraternity: Fall In Love With The World (InsideOut)
Formed from the ashes of Australia's premier progressive band Unitopia, United Progressive Fraternity features Unitopia founder member, Mark Trueback playing in a band for the first time without long-time collaborator Sean Timms who withdrew upon the collapse of Unitopia. He has taken some members of the previous band with him the most notable of which is guitarist Matt Williams, along with Williams he has drummer Dave Hopgood and percussionist Tim Irrang both coming from Unitopia. Trueback has also recruited several other progressive all-stars to the group, multi-instrumentalist Guy Manning, bassist Daniel Marsh, sax/keys player Marek Arnold and wind player Ian Ritchie all adding their skills to the group. As you may have noticed I've said UPF are a progressive group, not a progressive rock band, they incorporate all manner of sounds into their work, with orchestras, jazz, world music, rock and all manner of other styles thrown into the progressive melting pot. As the cinematic overture We Only Get One World opens the album, we can see that the almost shamanistic, hippie spirit of Unitopia still lives on through UPF as the songs are odes to the world with "thought provoking and meaningful lyrics with an emphasis on the human condition, the state of the environment and how we as the human race arrived at where we are today" so this is all very highbrow stuff but it is not pretentious, the music is melodic, inspiring and intensely musical. Choices starts off with a tabla backed beginning, some silky guitar playing, world music influences throughout, before moving into a wind instrument filled middle section and a short sharp solo from Williams before Arnold and Ritchie put their mark all over the tracks finale, before starting proceedings on the funky but rocking Intersection. Trueback's voice is fantastic, soulful and emotive carrying every lyric on his golden tonsils, this is progressive music for old-school prog fans, with elements of Yes, Spock's Beard, Pink Floyd, Pallas, IQ and even Toto. The albums two shortest songs are firstly the percussive The Water which has an environmental message about the bands drought prone country and features the unmistakeable vocals of former Yes man Jon Anderson, which goes straight into Don't Look Back - Turn Left which is nice little break from the overarching progness of it all (it is a world). The albums Pièce de résistance is the 21 minute plus Travelling Man (The Story Of ESHU) which is the best song on the album steeped in majesty. This is a truly stunning album, can I rewrite my top 20 please? 10/10
Starset: Transmissions (Razor & Tie)
Upon finding a mysterious signal from the Ophiuchus Constellation, that foretold humanities demise, the Starset Society commissioned a group of musicians and scientists to assist them in spreading the knowledge to a broader audience. This group are collectively known as Starset. This of course is the storyline (or is it?) for Starset's debut concept album and I will say they go all out with an official website dedicated to storyline, videos and updates on the official website all pushing the story forward. So with such attention to detail what is the music part like? Well the band are classed as cinematic rock and this is a very apt description of their music, for the most part the album is modern, American alternative rock, with electronic elements that make it sound symphonic and yes cinematic. The bands only named member is Dustin Bates who is the singer of alternative metal band Downplay and as the dubstep influenced First Light starts things off with an intro of sorts before the first real song is Down With The The Fallen which is pure alternative metal with heavy riffs, angsty verses and huge hooky choruses all sung with great power by Bates who alternates between melodic crooning and the occasional scream for good measure but the sound is fleshed out by the electronic elements that are present throughout. If I was to make a comparison the band sound a lot like latter period Linkin Park mixed with Muse or Biffy Clyro and Breaking Benjamin with huge measure of 30 Seconds To Mars thrown in; especially on the choruses which have the right amount of emotion and power to appeal to radio stations and harder rockers see one-two of the majestic Halo and the dirty electronic dub of Carnivore. Telescope is a bit of transition track which shows off the orchestral nature to it's fullest and straight into the second part of the record which starts with It Has Begun that is pure and orchestral and moves straight into the obvious first single the electro thump of My Demons before Antigravity once again sets a scene and splits the album in to segments with some thrusting orchestral passages that Hans Zimmer would be proud of. This is an album that will not be to everyone's taste, if you like your metal heavy then this won't be for you but fans of radio friendly American alternative rock/metal with a distinct theatrical flair then this will be for you, I for one think it's a great album and one that will get many replays on my stereo. 9/10
Black Trip: Goin' Under (Threeman Recordings)
Black Trip are somewhat of a Swedish metal supergroup with members of speed metal maniacs Enforcer and ex-members of both Exhumed and Entombed. However this album is not extreme metal neither is it leather clad speed metal, no Black Trip are stuck rigidly in the pre-Dickinson Maiden era, the songs are about dirty women, politics and the occult with Peter Stjärnvind and Sebastian Ramstedt's guitars echoing Murray and Stratton's original twin axe attack, see Voodoo Queen, Jonas Wikstrand's drums rumble like thunder and Johan Bergebäck's bass gallops like Steve Harris on amphetamines, see the bass intro on Radar. The album is engrained with classic early Maidenisms with the trademark riffs, progressive changes of pace, melodic guitar playing backed by the thumping rhythms which is especially prevalent on No Tomorrow which could sit on Killers perfectly. The early Maiden style is topped off by Joseph Tholl's DiAnno style vocals, he has gruff but strong voice that fits the music perfectly. With so many bands ploughing the NWOBHM furrow it's nice to have band not going for the siren scream style vocals but focussing on the very early days, still this album does lean more towards the pastiche than anything else albeit one that is done very well indeed. 6/10
Wednesday, 31 December 2014
Another Point Of View: Dub War (Review By Neil)
Dub War, The Bassment, Newport
It's virtually impossible to mention Dub War without also mentioning Skindred, not least because the formation of the latter was purportedly borne out of frustrations and a tricky contractual situation involving the former. 2010's The Dub, The War & The Ugly compilation I believe sorted out the contractual situation with Earache and with enough time and water under the bridge to evidently appease the remaining frustrations so it was that Dub War returned in front of a rapturous Newport crowd a mere 16 years after their “final” UK show (the aforementioned compilation states that final show took place in London in January 1998, so the promo material hyping this as the bands' “first show in 18 years” was a little out unless it referred specifically to home town shows).
Anyone who ever saw Dub War live in their 90's heyday could probably tell that the band looked to be going places. With a unique sound and a massively charismatic front man their live shows at the legendary TJ's and other South Wales venues were the stuff of local legend. Thankfully the charismatic front man has in fact gained more charisma in the intervening years and the bands live show is still as tight as a very tight thing.
Strolling on stage clutching an air raid siren and sporting a fetching top hat Benji took the crowd into the palm of his hand as usual and did not let go until the last notes of the show had echoed out of the venue. Sounding said siren (just like old times!) the band launched straight into Psycho System followed by Respected and in doing so lived up to their pre-show promise of lots of old material getting an airing. Indeed, even Crack – a song that only appeared on their début Dub Warning EP until 2010's posthumous compilation was given a rare outing here.
The venue was packed with pretty much every patron in there moving to the stage area as soon as the band came on which made getting a good vantage point to actually see anything quite difficult until things calmed down a few songs into their set – “calm” in a relative sense of course! Even though the majority of the crowd could probably not be described as young they still gave it their all bouncing and moshing their way through the set and giving off an energy that would be impossible for any band to not react to. Judging by the near-permanent grins on the faces of Benji, Jeff, Richie and Ginge it's probably fair to say that the band were having as much fun as the audience were.
As they progressed their way through what was essentially (and necessarily) a greatest hits set I started to notice that Benji wasn't his normal wise cracking, audience baiting self. No, this was a slightly different side to the man, more humble and serious than when fronting Skindred this is yet more evidence of why he is one the best (and most versatile) front men in heavy music today.
As the likes of Nar Say A Ting, Dub War, Fools Gold, Strike It and Gorrit were my own personal highlights of the set it was the closing track that stuck with me the most. That track? Over Now, with one very simple and obvious riposte from myself and every other person crammed into the Bassment to witness a gig 16-18 years in the making that we all probably thought we'd never see (10/10).
It's virtually impossible to mention Dub War without also mentioning Skindred, not least because the formation of the latter was purportedly borne out of frustrations and a tricky contractual situation involving the former. 2010's The Dub, The War & The Ugly compilation I believe sorted out the contractual situation with Earache and with enough time and water under the bridge to evidently appease the remaining frustrations so it was that Dub War returned in front of a rapturous Newport crowd a mere 16 years after their “final” UK show (the aforementioned compilation states that final show took place in London in January 1998, so the promo material hyping this as the bands' “first show in 18 years” was a little out unless it referred specifically to home town shows).
Anyone who ever saw Dub War live in their 90's heyday could probably tell that the band looked to be going places. With a unique sound and a massively charismatic front man their live shows at the legendary TJ's and other South Wales venues were the stuff of local legend. Thankfully the charismatic front man has in fact gained more charisma in the intervening years and the bands live show is still as tight as a very tight thing.
Strolling on stage clutching an air raid siren and sporting a fetching top hat Benji took the crowd into the palm of his hand as usual and did not let go until the last notes of the show had echoed out of the venue. Sounding said siren (just like old times!) the band launched straight into Psycho System followed by Respected and in doing so lived up to their pre-show promise of lots of old material getting an airing. Indeed, even Crack – a song that only appeared on their début Dub Warning EP until 2010's posthumous compilation was given a rare outing here.
The venue was packed with pretty much every patron in there moving to the stage area as soon as the band came on which made getting a good vantage point to actually see anything quite difficult until things calmed down a few songs into their set – “calm” in a relative sense of course! Even though the majority of the crowd could probably not be described as young they still gave it their all bouncing and moshing their way through the set and giving off an energy that would be impossible for any band to not react to. Judging by the near-permanent grins on the faces of Benji, Jeff, Richie and Ginge it's probably fair to say that the band were having as much fun as the audience were.
As they progressed their way through what was essentially (and necessarily) a greatest hits set I started to notice that Benji wasn't his normal wise cracking, audience baiting self. No, this was a slightly different side to the man, more humble and serious than when fronting Skindred this is yet more evidence of why he is one the best (and most versatile) front men in heavy music today.
As the likes of Nar Say A Ting, Dub War, Fools Gold, Strike It and Gorrit were my own personal highlights of the set it was the closing track that stuck with me the most. That track? Over Now, with one very simple and obvious riposte from myself and every other person crammed into the Bassment to witness a gig 16-18 years in the making that we all probably thought we'd never see (10/10).
Sunday, 28 December 2014
Reviews: Black State Highway, Khaos, Psychostick
Black State Highway: S/T (Self Released)
Former Brighton Institute Of Modern Music graduates Black State Highway are here to give hard rock a good hard kick to the balls. Formed by guitarist Ollie Trethewey, bassist Gordon Duncan, drummer Harry Bland and singer Liva Steinberga the band gigs in the local Komedia but realised they need another guitarist so quickly recruited Yonnis Crampton who gelled with the band just in time for their performance. Since then they have risen through the local British rock scene with some high profile supports and lots of press from Classic Rock Magazine and others, still as with all bands it's all about the music and with the glut of female fronted hard rock bands around at the moment, see for example Saint Jude, Blues Pills, No Sinner etc Black State Highway could fall into obscurity at any time if they didn't have the songs. Luckily as Conclusion kicks of with it's slide driven intro, propulsive rhythm section, bluesy riffage and Steinberga's holler, who exudes attitude as she tells an unnamed former lover to "Get the fuck out of my life". So far so good then and the swagger continues on Ain't Got No which really shows off Duncan and Bland's hard hitting aggressive bottom end which despite it's power also has a lot of nuances to it. The guitars ring out with huge slabs of riffage throughout on the rockier tracks like Free and Tekkers but also the solos sizzle on the slower paced Broken which oozes with class and sleaze and shows off Steinberga's voice to its full extent. For a band so young this debut is very dynamic, vibrant and very mature, the band are steeped in the 70's blues rock of Rival Sons but also they have a modern edge which stops them from getting stale and being more than just revival act. A young band with real fire in their collective bellies and a collection of songs that translate to a searing live show. Pick it up and play it loud!! 8/10
Khaos: Risen (MRR Records)
Khaos are a modern hard rock band built around guitarist Mark Rossi's sterling guitar work, he moves between intricate melodies and big hard hitting riffs. Rossi has a great line up backing him with Trevor Franklin working over the drumkit and Nic Angileri providing the rumbling bottom end. The cherry on top though are American Chandler Mogel's strong, soulful vocals, Mogel will be familiar to those who have listened to Firewind offshoot band Outloud, Mogel is the vocalist for Outloud but Khaos are a different prospect all together, whereas Outloud are 80's style AOR band, Khaos are a more modern sounding band in the style of Alter Bridge, Shinedown mixed with the slinky smooth rock of The Cult. Rossi plays like Tremonti throughout with After The Silence, Imagined Danger and Loaded Question having the heavy, melodic riffs of AB and Loaded Question also having guitar solo Slash would be proud of, End Of Daze is infused with the spirit of Ian Asbury and Billy Duffy on its snake like verses and explosive chorus, this continues on Ride The Chain. It's not all hard rocking however there are a few ballads on the record with Exalted, Hung The Moon and As FAr As We Go being three of the best. As good as the component parts of Khaos are they do try to sound a bit too much like Alter Bridge for my liking and Mogel's voice is good but he is no Myles Kennedy (but who is) and personally I believe his voice is better suited to Outloud. Still if you like muscular American rock played by the bands mention previously this will pique your interest however this might not appeal to everyone, still a nice modern rock album. 6/10
Psychostick: IV- Revenge Of The Vengeance (Rock Ridge Music) [Review By Stief]
Opening with a movie trailer-esque intro to their fourth album, IV: Revenge Of The Vengeance, Psychostick let you know exactly what you're getting into. If you're already a fan of Psychostick, then you know exactly what to expect from the band that sang a sandwich (no missing words, they literally sang a sandwich). The first song of the album, Obey The Beard gives, in this writer's opinion, sound advice. Any problems, just grow a beard. This sets up the mood of the album quite nicely and without giving too much away, they cover a wide range of topics, such as being a dog in Dogs Like Socks, Anatidaephobia in Quack Kills, how to perform the heimlich and CPR in Choking Hazard and a love of Bruce Campbell in...well, Bruce Campbell. The band are clearly comfortable being a comedy metal band and the songs are interspersed with several skits and one in the case of Dimensional Time Portal (Skit, Kinda), a mix of short bursts of metal and a small tale of how reverb can cause a rift in time. The band are solid, Alex “Shmalex” Dontre's drumming heavy along with Matty J “Moose” Rzemyk's bass, Josh “The J” Key's riffs great, all supporting Rob “Rawrb” Kersey's quite frankly angry voice. The album gives two surprises, the first in the shape of a 3 minute medley of classical music consisting of several hundred fucks and one shit. This is immediately followed by the highlight of the album, a cover of Kenny Loggins' Danger Zone which the band embrace with classic Psychostick zeal, even treating listeners to a cover-of-sorts of the chorus of Berlin's Take My Breath Away from the same film. Overall, if you've listened to Psychostick before, it's pretty much the same as always, but if this is the first time, then I'd suggest you embrace the insanity. Great metal and laughs all round. 7/10
Former Brighton Institute Of Modern Music graduates Black State Highway are here to give hard rock a good hard kick to the balls. Formed by guitarist Ollie Trethewey, bassist Gordon Duncan, drummer Harry Bland and singer Liva Steinberga the band gigs in the local Komedia but realised they need another guitarist so quickly recruited Yonnis Crampton who gelled with the band just in time for their performance. Since then they have risen through the local British rock scene with some high profile supports and lots of press from Classic Rock Magazine and others, still as with all bands it's all about the music and with the glut of female fronted hard rock bands around at the moment, see for example Saint Jude, Blues Pills, No Sinner etc Black State Highway could fall into obscurity at any time if they didn't have the songs. Luckily as Conclusion kicks of with it's slide driven intro, propulsive rhythm section, bluesy riffage and Steinberga's holler, who exudes attitude as she tells an unnamed former lover to "Get the fuck out of my life". So far so good then and the swagger continues on Ain't Got No which really shows off Duncan and Bland's hard hitting aggressive bottom end which despite it's power also has a lot of nuances to it. The guitars ring out with huge slabs of riffage throughout on the rockier tracks like Free and Tekkers but also the solos sizzle on the slower paced Broken which oozes with class and sleaze and shows off Steinberga's voice to its full extent. For a band so young this debut is very dynamic, vibrant and very mature, the band are steeped in the 70's blues rock of Rival Sons but also they have a modern edge which stops them from getting stale and being more than just revival act. A young band with real fire in their collective bellies and a collection of songs that translate to a searing live show. Pick it up and play it loud!! 8/10
Khaos: Risen (MRR Records)
Khaos are a modern hard rock band built around guitarist Mark Rossi's sterling guitar work, he moves between intricate melodies and big hard hitting riffs. Rossi has a great line up backing him with Trevor Franklin working over the drumkit and Nic Angileri providing the rumbling bottom end. The cherry on top though are American Chandler Mogel's strong, soulful vocals, Mogel will be familiar to those who have listened to Firewind offshoot band Outloud, Mogel is the vocalist for Outloud but Khaos are a different prospect all together, whereas Outloud are 80's style AOR band, Khaos are a more modern sounding band in the style of Alter Bridge, Shinedown mixed with the slinky smooth rock of The Cult. Rossi plays like Tremonti throughout with After The Silence, Imagined Danger and Loaded Question having the heavy, melodic riffs of AB and Loaded Question also having guitar solo Slash would be proud of, End Of Daze is infused with the spirit of Ian Asbury and Billy Duffy on its snake like verses and explosive chorus, this continues on Ride The Chain. It's not all hard rocking however there are a few ballads on the record with Exalted, Hung The Moon and As FAr As We Go being three of the best. As good as the component parts of Khaos are they do try to sound a bit too much like Alter Bridge for my liking and Mogel's voice is good but he is no Myles Kennedy (but who is) and personally I believe his voice is better suited to Outloud. Still if you like muscular American rock played by the bands mention previously this will pique your interest however this might not appeal to everyone, still a nice modern rock album. 6/10
Psychostick: IV- Revenge Of The Vengeance (Rock Ridge Music) [Review By Stief]
Opening with a movie trailer-esque intro to their fourth album, IV: Revenge Of The Vengeance, Psychostick let you know exactly what you're getting into. If you're already a fan of Psychostick, then you know exactly what to expect from the band that sang a sandwich (no missing words, they literally sang a sandwich). The first song of the album, Obey The Beard gives, in this writer's opinion, sound advice. Any problems, just grow a beard. This sets up the mood of the album quite nicely and without giving too much away, they cover a wide range of topics, such as being a dog in Dogs Like Socks, Anatidaephobia in Quack Kills, how to perform the heimlich and CPR in Choking Hazard and a love of Bruce Campbell in...well, Bruce Campbell. The band are clearly comfortable being a comedy metal band and the songs are interspersed with several skits and one in the case of Dimensional Time Portal (Skit, Kinda), a mix of short bursts of metal and a small tale of how reverb can cause a rift in time. The band are solid, Alex “Shmalex” Dontre's drumming heavy along with Matty J “Moose” Rzemyk's bass, Josh “The J” Key's riffs great, all supporting Rob “Rawrb” Kersey's quite frankly angry voice. The album gives two surprises, the first in the shape of a 3 minute medley of classical music consisting of several hundred fucks and one shit. This is immediately followed by the highlight of the album, a cover of Kenny Loggins' Danger Zone which the band embrace with classic Psychostick zeal, even treating listeners to a cover-of-sorts of the chorus of Berlin's Take My Breath Away from the same film. Overall, if you've listened to Psychostick before, it's pretty much the same as always, but if this is the first time, then I'd suggest you embrace the insanity. Great metal and laughs all round. 7/10
Saturday, 27 December 2014
Another Point Of View: Kreator (Review By Paul & Nick)
Kreator (December 17th 2014)
Shining & Marty Friedman
Norwegian jazz metal band Shining opened proceedings with a cacophony of noise, their saxophone driven metal was added to by the guitar histrionics of Ex-Megadeth man Marty Friedman, who really didn't add anything to the utter dirge the band were peddling. Not any good at all will be giving them a miss supporting Devin in 2015. 3/10
Arch Enemy
This was the first opportunity to see the new line up of Arch Enemy following the change in personnel earlier this year when the ferocious Angela Gossow announced she was stepping down. Her replacement, former vocalist of The Agonist, Alissa White-Gluz had already shown her quality on their 2014 release War Eternal and the very recent addition of Nevermore guitar legend Jeff Loomis indicated this could be a tidy show indeed. Arch Enemy hit the stage at full pelt with the title track from War Eternal, with White-Gluz demonstrating that she can deliver vocally in the live arena as strongly as she can in the studio. She has a different style to her predecessor, never standing still, head banging and moving around the stage offering encouragement to the crowd and focusing attention on the excellent work of Loomis and co-guitarist Michael Amott when they were shredding. Ravenous followed, an older tune which got the heads in the audience nodding with approval. After My Apocalypse the band focused on some of the newer material from War Eternal and it was at this point that proceedings experienced a slight dip in energy and momentum. I'm pretty sure that it was the less familiar tracks that slowed the momentum, with Under Black Flags We March and As The Pages Turn generating a slightly less enthusiastic reception despite the enthusiasm of White-Gluz and long standing bassist Sharlee D’Angelo. However, Arch Enemy have several top quality songs in their armoury and the double whammy of We Will Rise and Nemesis ensured that the band finished on a massive high with a huge ovation from the crowd. A solid if unspectacular set that demonstrated that Arch Enemy have plenty of life left in them yet, although I fear that it will be difficult for them to increase their popularity in the UK. 7/10
Kreator
After taking in a highly respectable performance from Arch Enemy it was now time for the moment I had been waiting for for many months now… Kreator. Hitting the stage, surprisingly without the backing of the ever trusted and impending sound of The Mars Mantra, Kreator entered with a projection show accompanied by the ever loved Age Of Aquarius backing. Without a second to lose and pleasantries deemed (as usual) not needed, the German gods broke furiously into an opening furore of Violent Revolution, Civilization Collapse and From Flood Into Fire… damn! Each of these opening tracks was delivered with the ferocity and power of a raging bull. Even the usually lighter Flood Into Fire was thrown into our ears with a blazing thump. As fellow Musipeadian Paul suggested during this opening; “they have just f**ked us in both eyes!”…This was the perfect analogy.
Shining & Marty Friedman
Norwegian jazz metal band Shining opened proceedings with a cacophony of noise, their saxophone driven metal was added to by the guitar histrionics of Ex-Megadeth man Marty Friedman, who really didn't add anything to the utter dirge the band were peddling. Not any good at all will be giving them a miss supporting Devin in 2015. 3/10
Arch Enemy
This was the first opportunity to see the new line up of Arch Enemy following the change in personnel earlier this year when the ferocious Angela Gossow announced she was stepping down. Her replacement, former vocalist of The Agonist, Alissa White-Gluz had already shown her quality on their 2014 release War Eternal and the very recent addition of Nevermore guitar legend Jeff Loomis indicated this could be a tidy show indeed. Arch Enemy hit the stage at full pelt with the title track from War Eternal, with White-Gluz demonstrating that she can deliver vocally in the live arena as strongly as she can in the studio. She has a different style to her predecessor, never standing still, head banging and moving around the stage offering encouragement to the crowd and focusing attention on the excellent work of Loomis and co-guitarist Michael Amott when they were shredding. Ravenous followed, an older tune which got the heads in the audience nodding with approval. After My Apocalypse the band focused on some of the newer material from War Eternal and it was at this point that proceedings experienced a slight dip in energy and momentum. I'm pretty sure that it was the less familiar tracks that slowed the momentum, with Under Black Flags We March and As The Pages Turn generating a slightly less enthusiastic reception despite the enthusiasm of White-Gluz and long standing bassist Sharlee D’Angelo. However, Arch Enemy have several top quality songs in their armoury and the double whammy of We Will Rise and Nemesis ensured that the band finished on a massive high with a huge ovation from the crowd. A solid if unspectacular set that demonstrated that Arch Enemy have plenty of life left in them yet, although I fear that it will be difficult for them to increase their popularity in the UK. 7/10
Kreator
After taking in a highly respectable performance from Arch Enemy it was now time for the moment I had been waiting for for many months now… Kreator. Hitting the stage, surprisingly without the backing of the ever trusted and impending sound of The Mars Mantra, Kreator entered with a projection show accompanied by the ever loved Age Of Aquarius backing. Without a second to lose and pleasantries deemed (as usual) not needed, the German gods broke furiously into an opening furore of Violent Revolution, Civilization Collapse and From Flood Into Fire… damn! Each of these opening tracks was delivered with the ferocity and power of a raging bull. Even the usually lighter Flood Into Fire was thrown into our ears with a blazing thump. As fellow Musipeadian Paul suggested during this opening; “they have just f**ked us in both eyes!”…This was the perfect analogy.
The set continued over the next 90 minutes with songs from across Kreator's back catalogue, including fan favourites Enemy Of God, Impossible Brutality, Phantom Antichrist and Hordes Of Chaos. Every single song was delivered with tight heavy pounding drums, precise and screeching guitars that dropped to deep thudding breakdowns with out a moments notice, and bass with a clout that could knock you for six by its self if needed! My personal favourite Voices Of The Dead was soon offered allowing the crowd a brief yet haunting interlude as Miland delivered the lingering opening lines before the ultimate kick of pure German thrash kicked us back in the face with full force resulting in the entire of the beaten crowd lowering their heads again and collectively banging heads and air guitaring with ultimate vigour. The set came to an end with the anthem Endless Pain that saw the crowd open up another wall of death swiftly followed by another giant pit that had opened up numerous times throughout the night. As the German legends left the stage the crowd burst out into a unified chant recalling the band back to the stage to their brilliant cover of the mighty Iron Maiden's Number Of The Beast, that once again had every individual singing on the top of their voices. Miland and Co then slid flawlessly into final tracks including surprisingly old school People Of The Lie and not so surprisingly Flag Of Hate… with the flag of hate in tow, leaving the crowd batter, beaten and bruised, but ultimately… beamingly happy.
Without question Kreator are one of the tightest live acts you will ever have the pleasure to see, they've been around for years and have adapted both on record and live to keep themselves where they are; the top of their game. Mix this with their unrelenting utterly heavy thrash that is capable of breaking both hearing and limb, and you've got a live show that will never get boring. 10/10
Without question Kreator are one of the tightest live acts you will ever have the pleasure to see, they've been around for years and have adapted both on record and live to keep themselves where they are; the top of their game. Mix this with their unrelenting utterly heavy thrash that is capable of breaking both hearing and limb, and you've got a live show that will never get boring. 10/10
Wednesday, 24 December 2014
Matt's Best Of 2014
So here we go folks Mr Hutchings has set the bar here is my (your fearless leader) Top 20 albums for 2014:
- Grand Magus: Triumph And
Power
- Amoral: Fallen Leaves And
Dead Sparrows
- Anathema: Distant
Satellites
- Rival Sons: Great Western
Valkyrie
- Dragonforce: Maximum Overload
- Unisonic: Light Of Dawn
- Opeth: Pale Communion
- Evergrey: Hymns For The Broken
- The Trews: The Trews
- Aeon Zen: Ephemera
- The Tea Party: The Ocean
At The End
- Goat: Commune
- Robert Plant: Lullaby And…The
Ceaseless Roar
- The Blues Pills: The Blues
Pills
- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers:
Hypnotic Eye
- Fury: The Lightning Dream
- Dave Kilminster: ...And
The Truth Will Set You Free...
- Vandenberg’s Moonkings: Vandenberg’s
Moonkings
- Crobot: Something
Supernatural
- Edguy: Space Police
Sunday, 21 December 2014
Reviews: Texas Hippie Coalition, Tarturis, Schysma
Texas Hippie Coalition: Ride On (Carved Records) [Review By Paul]
Ride On is the fourth release from Texas Hippie Coalition or THC. Unsurprisingly, the band originate from Denison, Texas. However, somewhat surprisingly, their sound is not just the sound of another Southern rock band but a myriad of different influences and styles.
Ride On is a solid release, featuring the powerful voice of “Big Dad Ritch”, who really dominates with the tracks. The album has a huge drum sound, very much in the Hell Yeah style of Vinnie Paul, although this sound is attributed to drummer Timmy Braun. The steady guitar work of Cord Pool combines with John Exall’s bass to provide a multitude of classic riffs. Monster In Me has elements of Down, Rob Zombie and Marilyn Mason whilst Rock Ain't Dead has all the hallmarks of Soil at their peak. However, there are many other influences which appear as the album progresses; Go Pro is almost a replica of Wanted Dead Or Alive by Bon Jovi with a much heavier edge, combined with the harder side of Molly Hatchet. Rubbins Racin has a splash of Shinedown, a dash of Godsmack and the drive of Down whilst the title track has one of the dirtiest Southern style riffs you’ll hear this year. This is decent, honest, American heavy metal delivered with quality and a vocal style from BDR which merges the grit of Anselmo with the balls of Ryan McCombs. Album closer I Am The End provides yet another reference point with some sludgy Alice in Chains guitar work and BDR’s finest vocals on the whole album. Decent stuff and well worth a listen. 7/10
Schysma: Idiosyncrasy (Revalve Records)
Blasting out of Italy comes Schysma who have arrived in my inbox with an album of 10 progressive metal tracks, with technical guitars, a heavy bottom end and rich tapestry of keys fleshing out the sound. The band are kind of an industrial/electronic prog metal band if you want to be picky as their classic metal instrumentation accompanied by some pulsing synths from Martina Bellini, much like darker Amaranthe or a more electronic Breed 77, the band fuse the two genres together well and their obvious talent shows through. The one point I would raise though are the vocals of Riccardo Minicucci who has a distinctive voice but many may find it not to their tastes, however a lot of this could be due to the less than great production. Personally I think his Paul Isola-like holler/rasp fits with the music the band behind him are producing and it shines on Heremetic which moves between the fast and slow dynamic brilliantly with some great drum work from Luca Solina. The rest of the band are no slouches either mind Giorgio Di Paola works with Solina provide a locked in rhythm section on all the tracks but they are especially effective on the heavier tracks like Pendulum he also shines himself on the bass intro and led Supreme Solution. Guitarist Vladimiro Sala provides some superb guitar work with his Eastern guitars on Migdal, the bluesy rock vibe of Need A Chance and his searing virtuoso solos throughout but most especially Time Man which sounds like it could have come from an 80's speed metal album and works well as the storming album closer. With slightly better production values this album would have be able to show off the myriad of genres better. Still that aside the album is a progressive trip through multiple facets of metal music all brought together by some fantastic musicians, if you like your music unique but familiar and played with style then Idiosyncrasy will be for you. 7/10
Tarturis: Life Lessons That Only Death Can Teach (Self Released) [Review By Paul]
Kansas outfit Tarturis are a two person project who combine elements of progressive, symphonic, thrash and melodic metal with interesting yet slightly disappointing results. Delivered in advancing year segments, Life Lessons... is a concept album with a building story from birth to death, with whispered narrative providing a haunting atmosphere to many of the tracks. Steve Hall and Craig House contribute all parts of the album, with both delivering vocals, guitars, bass and drum programming. Starting with Year 0: Exchanging Flesh For Iron, Tarturis deliver a pretty devastating opener which sounds like a hybrid of Dream Theater and Wintersun, galloping fretwork slowed by more melodic keyboard parts. Year 5: Before Life Even Began is a much calmer track before some of the most out of tune singing I've head in a long time emerges in the middle. This is a lengthy track, clocking in at over ten minutes and I have to be honest, it gets a little lost. Year 13: Placebo Salvation begins with a keyboard and drum build up over the Lord’s Prayer before driving headlong into symphonic thrash once more. The brakes are then briefly applied before all hell breaks loose with a charging onslaught, ferocious drum sounds combining with slicing guitar work and layered keyboards and much more aggressive vocals more at home to Testament than some of the other bands referred to here. Another ten minute plus song follows; Year 17: Fall Of The Iron Kingdom, which has some deliciously delicate acoustic guitar work before a more traditional metal ballad type sound leads into more progressive, symphonic style music with string elements all making an appearance. Year 22: Her continues the sedate pace with acoustic build up and atmospheric vocals reminiscent of Katatonia and Pain of Salvation amongst others. However, it is really pedestrian and to be honest just a little too far on the left of depressive melancholy for me, especially with the vocals struggling to stay in tone at places. Year 24: The Atlas Punishment opens at a blistering pace, blast beats combining with some heavy thrashing guitars but by this stage I've lost a little too much interest. So what is the problem? I think it is the fact that this album is really disjointed and difficult to follow. Sure, the musicianship is pretty good, and these guys can clearly play but the way the moods change mid-track too often, combining far too many elements of too many genres is just a little too overwhelming. In fact, the length of the album also contributes to the loss of interest, a mighty 75 minutes in total, and by the end, it’s just a little staid and boring. 5/10
Ride On is the fourth release from Texas Hippie Coalition or THC. Unsurprisingly, the band originate from Denison, Texas. However, somewhat surprisingly, their sound is not just the sound of another Southern rock band but a myriad of different influences and styles.
Ride On is a solid release, featuring the powerful voice of “Big Dad Ritch”, who really dominates with the tracks. The album has a huge drum sound, very much in the Hell Yeah style of Vinnie Paul, although this sound is attributed to drummer Timmy Braun. The steady guitar work of Cord Pool combines with John Exall’s bass to provide a multitude of classic riffs. Monster In Me has elements of Down, Rob Zombie and Marilyn Mason whilst Rock Ain't Dead has all the hallmarks of Soil at their peak. However, there are many other influences which appear as the album progresses; Go Pro is almost a replica of Wanted Dead Or Alive by Bon Jovi with a much heavier edge, combined with the harder side of Molly Hatchet. Rubbins Racin has a splash of Shinedown, a dash of Godsmack and the drive of Down whilst the title track has one of the dirtiest Southern style riffs you’ll hear this year. This is decent, honest, American heavy metal delivered with quality and a vocal style from BDR which merges the grit of Anselmo with the balls of Ryan McCombs. Album closer I Am The End provides yet another reference point with some sludgy Alice in Chains guitar work and BDR’s finest vocals on the whole album. Decent stuff and well worth a listen. 7/10
Schysma: Idiosyncrasy (Revalve Records)
Blasting out of Italy comes Schysma who have arrived in my inbox with an album of 10 progressive metal tracks, with technical guitars, a heavy bottom end and rich tapestry of keys fleshing out the sound. The band are kind of an industrial/electronic prog metal band if you want to be picky as their classic metal instrumentation accompanied by some pulsing synths from Martina Bellini, much like darker Amaranthe or a more electronic Breed 77, the band fuse the two genres together well and their obvious talent shows through. The one point I would raise though are the vocals of Riccardo Minicucci who has a distinctive voice but many may find it not to their tastes, however a lot of this could be due to the less than great production. Personally I think his Paul Isola-like holler/rasp fits with the music the band behind him are producing and it shines on Heremetic which moves between the fast and slow dynamic brilliantly with some great drum work from Luca Solina. The rest of the band are no slouches either mind Giorgio Di Paola works with Solina provide a locked in rhythm section on all the tracks but they are especially effective on the heavier tracks like Pendulum he also shines himself on the bass intro and led Supreme Solution. Guitarist Vladimiro Sala provides some superb guitar work with his Eastern guitars on Migdal, the bluesy rock vibe of Need A Chance and his searing virtuoso solos throughout but most especially Time Man which sounds like it could have come from an 80's speed metal album and works well as the storming album closer. With slightly better production values this album would have be able to show off the myriad of genres better. Still that aside the album is a progressive trip through multiple facets of metal music all brought together by some fantastic musicians, if you like your music unique but familiar and played with style then Idiosyncrasy will be for you. 7/10
Tarturis: Life Lessons That Only Death Can Teach (Self Released) [Review By Paul]
Kansas outfit Tarturis are a two person project who combine elements of progressive, symphonic, thrash and melodic metal with interesting yet slightly disappointing results. Delivered in advancing year segments, Life Lessons... is a concept album with a building story from birth to death, with whispered narrative providing a haunting atmosphere to many of the tracks. Steve Hall and Craig House contribute all parts of the album, with both delivering vocals, guitars, bass and drum programming. Starting with Year 0: Exchanging Flesh For Iron, Tarturis deliver a pretty devastating opener which sounds like a hybrid of Dream Theater and Wintersun, galloping fretwork slowed by more melodic keyboard parts. Year 5: Before Life Even Began is a much calmer track before some of the most out of tune singing I've head in a long time emerges in the middle. This is a lengthy track, clocking in at over ten minutes and I have to be honest, it gets a little lost. Year 13: Placebo Salvation begins with a keyboard and drum build up over the Lord’s Prayer before driving headlong into symphonic thrash once more. The brakes are then briefly applied before all hell breaks loose with a charging onslaught, ferocious drum sounds combining with slicing guitar work and layered keyboards and much more aggressive vocals more at home to Testament than some of the other bands referred to here. Another ten minute plus song follows; Year 17: Fall Of The Iron Kingdom, which has some deliciously delicate acoustic guitar work before a more traditional metal ballad type sound leads into more progressive, symphonic style music with string elements all making an appearance. Year 22: Her continues the sedate pace with acoustic build up and atmospheric vocals reminiscent of Katatonia and Pain of Salvation amongst others. However, it is really pedestrian and to be honest just a little too far on the left of depressive melancholy for me, especially with the vocals struggling to stay in tone at places. Year 24: The Atlas Punishment opens at a blistering pace, blast beats combining with some heavy thrashing guitars but by this stage I've lost a little too much interest. So what is the problem? I think it is the fact that this album is really disjointed and difficult to follow. Sure, the musicianship is pretty good, and these guys can clearly play but the way the moods change mid-track too often, combining far too many elements of too many genres is just a little too overwhelming. In fact, the length of the album also contributes to the loss of interest, a mighty 75 minutes in total, and by the end, it’s just a little staid and boring. 5/10
A View From The Back Of The Room: Triaxis (Review By Paul)
Triaxis: Fuel, Cardiff
The crew of the good ship Musipedia Of Metal gathered for our annual winter gathering in the Rummer Tavern with the absolute bonus of having the opportunity to take in local favourites Triaxis a mere stone’s throw away at Fuel for our final gig of a quite stupendous year of live music. Having supped a couple of scoops of the Rummer’s quite excellent selection of real ales, we left it right until the last minute before heading across the city and straight to the front of the cramped venue, leaving a few members of the party to continue the merriment.
A quick greeting with Krissie and the band and then it was time to party. Triaxis is a band that just improves with every show. Kicking off with the storming Sand And Silver, the band left the blocks with startling speed and didn't let up for the entire hour. Our last viewing was a mere seven weeks ago in The Exchange in Bristol but as headliners the band really stepped up a gear. Giles’ consistently excellent drumming propels the band forward, and his relationship with the brilliant Becky on bass continues to provide the band with a powerful rhythm section on which to build the dual guitar attack of CJ and Glyn. Krissie's voice is always stunning live, and despite the usual Fuel “sound”, her quality cut through crisply to once again demonstrate why we rate her as one of the top vocalists in metal today. Triaxis delivered a pacey set with a mix of tracks from their two albums along with three new tracks, all of which sounded very promising and will appear on the new album (which has pleasingly reached its Pledge target but there are still some goodies to be had so if you haven’t pledged yet, get on it).
Throughout the set Glyn's soloing was fantastic, ably supported by the sterling rhythm work of CJ. Becky’s talent is obvious as she wields her Rickenbacker around the stage with ease and with each viewing you appreciate how well she has made the transition to the Triaxis ranks. As well as the stunning vocals, Krissie has a warm and affable stage persona; no diva here ladies and gents oh no. Closing with Lies and then Black Trinity, all around the room the reasonably sized crowd were smiling and the faces of the band suggested that they too had enjoyed their return home. A final cover of Hallowed Be Thy Name brought the musical part of our evening to a close and the curtain down another year of hard gigging. I can’t think of a more fitting band to end the year with. Triaxis: check them out! You won’t be disappointed! Roll on 2015 and our next encounter with one of the UK’s most promising bands. We love ‘em. 9/10
The crew of the good ship Musipedia Of Metal gathered for our annual winter gathering in the Rummer Tavern with the absolute bonus of having the opportunity to take in local favourites Triaxis a mere stone’s throw away at Fuel for our final gig of a quite stupendous year of live music. Having supped a couple of scoops of the Rummer’s quite excellent selection of real ales, we left it right until the last minute before heading across the city and straight to the front of the cramped venue, leaving a few members of the party to continue the merriment.
A quick greeting with Krissie and the band and then it was time to party. Triaxis is a band that just improves with every show. Kicking off with the storming Sand And Silver, the band left the blocks with startling speed and didn't let up for the entire hour. Our last viewing was a mere seven weeks ago in The Exchange in Bristol but as headliners the band really stepped up a gear. Giles’ consistently excellent drumming propels the band forward, and his relationship with the brilliant Becky on bass continues to provide the band with a powerful rhythm section on which to build the dual guitar attack of CJ and Glyn. Krissie's voice is always stunning live, and despite the usual Fuel “sound”, her quality cut through crisply to once again demonstrate why we rate her as one of the top vocalists in metal today. Triaxis delivered a pacey set with a mix of tracks from their two albums along with three new tracks, all of which sounded very promising and will appear on the new album (which has pleasingly reached its Pledge target but there are still some goodies to be had so if you haven’t pledged yet, get on it).
Throughout the set Glyn's soloing was fantastic, ably supported by the sterling rhythm work of CJ. Becky’s talent is obvious as she wields her Rickenbacker around the stage with ease and with each viewing you appreciate how well she has made the transition to the Triaxis ranks. As well as the stunning vocals, Krissie has a warm and affable stage persona; no diva here ladies and gents oh no. Closing with Lies and then Black Trinity, all around the room the reasonably sized crowd were smiling and the faces of the band suggested that they too had enjoyed their return home. A final cover of Hallowed Be Thy Name brought the musical part of our evening to a close and the curtain down another year of hard gigging. I can’t think of a more fitting band to end the year with. Triaxis: check them out! You won’t be disappointed! Roll on 2015 and our next encounter with one of the UK’s most promising bands. We love ‘em. 9/10
Saturday, 20 December 2014
Reviews: Saracen, Panzer, Red Zone Rider
Saracen: Redemption (Escape)
The name Saracen may conjure up some good memories for older readers, Saracen were and still are a melodic/progressive rock band that came to fruition in the 1981 with muscular symphonic rock etched in the NWOBHM vein but with more melody and drama than many of the meat-and-two-veg bands that came out of that scene. Saracen is driven by Rob Bendelow's dexterous guitars, Richard Lowe's powerful keys and Steve Bettney's strong vocal, they released their first album to critical acclaim but as happens so often with these things the band split reforming in 2003 and since then they have released a comeback album and two concept albums, one Vox In Excelso being continually on my player. Their last album Marilyn in my opinion was a misstep (a bit too soft) but when Bendelow was challenged to write a 'classic' Saracen album he set about writing the tellingly titled Redemption. Has he achieved the old school sound of Saracen perfectly, as the one two punch of rock rifffests Rocamadour and Reacher finish you are immediately taken back to the bands early 80's hayday with some great rock riffs from Bendelow and Simon Roberts interweaving with huge slabs of keyboard from Paul Bradder providing the symphonic edge. Then comes the huge ballad Give Me A Sign before Purple-esque Geraldine (replete with big organs fit for Jon Lord). Steve Bettney's voice is still awesome, he has great power and range meaning he can mold his voice to fit any style. Swords Of Damascus is Iron Maiden meets Jeff Wayne where as Roads To Yesterday is once again in Coverdale realms with Bettney crooning before unleashing his scream in latter parts. In a tribute to their glory days, they have two re-recorded tracks from their debut album Heroes, Saints & Fools the epic and glorious Crusader which starts with searing guitar solo and continues in the same hands up high, shout it out loud manner, second in the rerecording is the rocking Ready To Fly which is a great ender for the album after the pop-rock of Let Me See Your Hands. With a pacier rock tracks interspersed between more progressive songs like the Floydian Catch The Wave, the poppy AOR of More Than Missing You, the symphonic epics of the title track and previously mentioned Crusader. Saracen have been quietly releasing classy, rock records for years now and with Redemption they have successfully merged their past and present on a record expertly produced by Tommy Hansen (producer of choice for power/traditional metal). If you like your rock'/metal with a real old school vibe brought bang up to date Redemption is the album for you! 9/10
Panzer: Send Them All To Hell (Nuclear Blast)
Panzer (or The German Panzer) play heavy metal machine music, don't worry though folks a Lou Reed collaboration is nowhere to be seen. No Panzer as you may have guessed from the name, are Germanic metal through and through, pitching themselves as a German Motorhead this three piece is two thirds Accept and one third Destruction; the artillery shell drumming comes from Accept's sticks-man Stefan Schwarzmann, the guitars are from the laser guided, razor sharp guitars of Herman Frank and the bombardment of bass is from Destruction's Schmier who also lends his abrasive vocals the recordings adding real menace to the delivery of these fast paced, Teutonic metal tracks. The assault and battery starts on the rampaging Death Knell which has the hard metallic delivery of German metal but also harks to Lemmy and co. The album rarely lets up in pace and blurs the line between old school metal and thrash playing to all three men's strengths. As you can appreciate their aren't any ballads on this record, most of the songs are about war, politics and death and Panzer do all these topics justice, albeit with no innovation at all, although none was expected with the trio involved. This is straight up, go for the jugular heavy metal and with Temple Of Doom, Freakshow and the thrashtastic Mr Nobrain. It goes without saying that the musicianship is flawless and any band that writes a song called Hail And Kill without any fear of DiMaio reprisals has to have some massive balls, something that this album has in spades. It's not all killer though Panzer is a rubbish song and a few others are clearly filler but for the most part this is fist in the air shout along heavy metal German style!! 7/10
Red Zone Rider: S/T (Magna Carta)
Ohh its like the 70's all over again just when you thought it was safe to put away those Purple, Zep and Free records along comes UFO's Vinnie Moore with a new band steeped in the funky, hip shaking rock these bands were known for. Now recently this kind of music was mainly the soul trade of Messrs Coverdale and Hughes but Vinne Moore has created a little trio built around his explosive guitar prowess, Scott Coogan's (Lita Ford, Ace Frehley) tub thumping and Kelly Keeling's (Baton Rouge, MSG, TSO) powerful (fretless) bass thud, humming organs and blues rasp, which is very much like Mr Hughes' and works in conjunction with Coogan's more melodic vocals to create an expansive vocal delivery. So another power trio peddling the music of yore, but they do it very well from the Purple-like By The Rainbow's End (which is a tribute to both Blackmore's bands knowing or otherwise), through the smooth organ drenched House Of Light, the blues balladry of Cloud Of Dreams which would have Mr Coverdale weeping into his silk sleeves, the booty shaking rock Save It which sounds like a Grand Funk Railroad cut Hit The Road has the spirit of Hendrix coursing through it's stop start guitar riff and There's A Knowing echoes the great Gary Moore in his old Parisian Days. All of the tracks on this album reek of the Golden era of rock music when the bands rocked hard with bluesy soulful vocals, a funky thunderous rhythm section, huge helpings of organ to flesh everything out and guitar solos galore from Moore who's guitar pyrotechnics light up every song. The three men on this record are all excellent musicians and their craft has been honed over hundreds of tours with numerous artists meaning that the songs on this record all feel, professional, authentic and most importantly they rock like hell making for a fun rock record that the oldies (physically or mentally) among you will lap up with gusto. 8/10
The name Saracen may conjure up some good memories for older readers, Saracen were and still are a melodic/progressive rock band that came to fruition in the 1981 with muscular symphonic rock etched in the NWOBHM vein but with more melody and drama than many of the meat-and-two-veg bands that came out of that scene. Saracen is driven by Rob Bendelow's dexterous guitars, Richard Lowe's powerful keys and Steve Bettney's strong vocal, they released their first album to critical acclaim but as happens so often with these things the band split reforming in 2003 and since then they have released a comeback album and two concept albums, one Vox In Excelso being continually on my player. Their last album Marilyn in my opinion was a misstep (a bit too soft) but when Bendelow was challenged to write a 'classic' Saracen album he set about writing the tellingly titled Redemption. Has he achieved the old school sound of Saracen perfectly, as the one two punch of rock rifffests Rocamadour and Reacher finish you are immediately taken back to the bands early 80's hayday with some great rock riffs from Bendelow and Simon Roberts interweaving with huge slabs of keyboard from Paul Bradder providing the symphonic edge. Then comes the huge ballad Give Me A Sign before Purple-esque Geraldine (replete with big organs fit for Jon Lord). Steve Bettney's voice is still awesome, he has great power and range meaning he can mold his voice to fit any style. Swords Of Damascus is Iron Maiden meets Jeff Wayne where as Roads To Yesterday is once again in Coverdale realms with Bettney crooning before unleashing his scream in latter parts. In a tribute to their glory days, they have two re-recorded tracks from their debut album Heroes, Saints & Fools the epic and glorious Crusader which starts with searing guitar solo and continues in the same hands up high, shout it out loud manner, second in the rerecording is the rocking Ready To Fly which is a great ender for the album after the pop-rock of Let Me See Your Hands. With a pacier rock tracks interspersed between more progressive songs like the Floydian Catch The Wave, the poppy AOR of More Than Missing You, the symphonic epics of the title track and previously mentioned Crusader. Saracen have been quietly releasing classy, rock records for years now and with Redemption they have successfully merged their past and present on a record expertly produced by Tommy Hansen (producer of choice for power/traditional metal). If you like your rock'/metal with a real old school vibe brought bang up to date Redemption is the album for you! 9/10
Panzer: Send Them All To Hell (Nuclear Blast)
Panzer (or The German Panzer) play heavy metal machine music, don't worry though folks a Lou Reed collaboration is nowhere to be seen. No Panzer as you may have guessed from the name, are Germanic metal through and through, pitching themselves as a German Motorhead this three piece is two thirds Accept and one third Destruction; the artillery shell drumming comes from Accept's sticks-man Stefan Schwarzmann, the guitars are from the laser guided, razor sharp guitars of Herman Frank and the bombardment of bass is from Destruction's Schmier who also lends his abrasive vocals the recordings adding real menace to the delivery of these fast paced, Teutonic metal tracks. The assault and battery starts on the rampaging Death Knell which has the hard metallic delivery of German metal but also harks to Lemmy and co. The album rarely lets up in pace and blurs the line between old school metal and thrash playing to all three men's strengths. As you can appreciate their aren't any ballads on this record, most of the songs are about war, politics and death and Panzer do all these topics justice, albeit with no innovation at all, although none was expected with the trio involved. This is straight up, go for the jugular heavy metal and with Temple Of Doom, Freakshow and the thrashtastic Mr Nobrain. It goes without saying that the musicianship is flawless and any band that writes a song called Hail And Kill without any fear of DiMaio reprisals has to have some massive balls, something that this album has in spades. It's not all killer though Panzer is a rubbish song and a few others are clearly filler but for the most part this is fist in the air shout along heavy metal German style!! 7/10
Red Zone Rider: S/T (Magna Carta)
Ohh its like the 70's all over again just when you thought it was safe to put away those Purple, Zep and Free records along comes UFO's Vinnie Moore with a new band steeped in the funky, hip shaking rock these bands were known for. Now recently this kind of music was mainly the soul trade of Messrs Coverdale and Hughes but Vinne Moore has created a little trio built around his explosive guitar prowess, Scott Coogan's (Lita Ford, Ace Frehley) tub thumping and Kelly Keeling's (Baton Rouge, MSG, TSO) powerful (fretless) bass thud, humming organs and blues rasp, which is very much like Mr Hughes' and works in conjunction with Coogan's more melodic vocals to create an expansive vocal delivery. So another power trio peddling the music of yore, but they do it very well from the Purple-like By The Rainbow's End (which is a tribute to both Blackmore's bands knowing or otherwise), through the smooth organ drenched House Of Light, the blues balladry of Cloud Of Dreams which would have Mr Coverdale weeping into his silk sleeves, the booty shaking rock Save It which sounds like a Grand Funk Railroad cut Hit The Road has the spirit of Hendrix coursing through it's stop start guitar riff and There's A Knowing echoes the great Gary Moore in his old Parisian Days. All of the tracks on this album reek of the Golden era of rock music when the bands rocked hard with bluesy soulful vocals, a funky thunderous rhythm section, huge helpings of organ to flesh everything out and guitar solos galore from Moore who's guitar pyrotechnics light up every song. The three men on this record are all excellent musicians and their craft has been honed over hundreds of tours with numerous artists meaning that the songs on this record all feel, professional, authentic and most importantly they rock like hell making for a fun rock record that the oldies (physically or mentally) among you will lap up with gusto. 8/10
Thursday, 18 December 2014
Review: Avenger, Astralion, Exlibris
Avenger: The Slaughter Never Stops (Rocksector)
With Hell, Satan and Angel Witch leading the way, the fashion for NWOBHM bands reforming in the present day seems to be very 'on trend' at the moment, the next in line are Avenger who gave up the ghost in 1985 after two albums before reuniting in 2005. As is the case with most NWOBHM bands their history is shambolic at best losing their first singer Brian Ross to fellow Geordie's Satan (where he remains to this day) Avenger promptly recruited Satan's singer Ian Swift to replace Ross. Like Ross, Swift is still firmly in place at front of the band his sonorous voice fitting the music excellently on Race Against Time, Fields Of The Burnt and he screams for his life on Into The Nexus. Founder member Gary Young still blitzkriegs the drums and as with most NWOBHM bands the guitars duel and the bass rumbles like cannon fire. Avenger sound like a band revitalised and they much like their revitalised peers they are unafraid to expand their sound incorporating other genres and more modern sounds Decimated is old school thrash with a Maiden-like finale something which continues on their cover of Maiden's own Killers. As good as the NWOBHM was for British metal for every Maiden, Priest and even Def Leppard there was a Hell, Raven, Satan and Avenger; bands that were followed with a passion at the time but were over shadowed and eventually forgotten, however in the intervening years these bands have become revitalised and have blasted back into the public conciousness. The Slaughter Never Stops is a testament to bands that never give up, yes they may drop out of sight for a while but musicians (especially those in the NWOBHM) never really give up so long as the music burns within them. Some may think that the music industry is dying but I think it's just pushing bands more underground meaning that older bands like Avenger are on more of an even playing field now. Grab your leather pants, hi-tops and some beers and get ready for a damn good thrashing. 8/10
Astralion: Astralion (Limb Music)
As is the norm with bands on the Limb Music roster, Astralion play rampaging power metal with a huge amount of virtuoso guitar playing thrown in echoing Stratovarius and even Mr Malmsteen with the neo-classical over tones seen from opening salvo of Mysterious & Victorious. The Finnish band have risen out of the ashes of Olympos Mons with singer Ian E. Highill and Bassist/Vocalist Dr K. Lundell recruiting a new ivory tickler, tub thumper and axe wielder to the fold to unleash some strong power metal with lots of classical influences. The keys sparkle on At the Edge Of The World which is prime Helloween in it's composition and this style continues on When Death Comes Knocking all of which have that Germanic heavy metal feel, they even dip into Dream Evil territory with We All Made Metal which is a thunderous mid rocker about how we indeed all make metal, Black Sails moves into Rockin' Rolf territory with a Pirate shanty made with added embellishments that merge it with Alestorm albeit with less silliness. Highhill's vocals are great especially on the soaring ballad To Isolde. The album moves between rampaging metal tracks like Mary (Bloody) and Five Fallen Angels and slower classically influenced piano-led ballads like Last Man On Deck. A great little album from these Finns steeped in the elements that make power metal exciting, one for fans of keyboard and guitar driven neo-classical metal that is technically precise but with a reliance on songs rather than showing off. 8/10
Exlibris: Aftereal (Metal Mind)
More power/heavy metal now, this time from Poland, unlike Astralion though Exlibris come from the heavy end of the spectrum with nods to Beyond Fear and Primal Fear this is because of Krzysztof Sokołowski's glass shattering vocals, people may recognise him as the singer for Night Mistress (reviewed earlier this year), his vocals are very similar to those of Tim 'Ripper' Owens with the crooning baritone and the screeching highs. The musicianship behind it too is heavyweight with big guitar riffs from band leader and guitarist Daniel "Dani" Lechmański, who spars with keyboardist Piotr "Voltan" Sikora throughout and they even duel with renowned Polish violinist Zbigniew Wodecki on The Day Of Burning. Like I've said this is an album that harks to the gruffer, some would say more Germnaic style of power metal with tracks like In The Darkest Hour echoing Primal Fear, Omega Point having the Teutonic rush of Accept. However the band also encompass more progressive tendencies on the piano led interlude Before The Storm which features some great female vocals before King Of The Pit slithers with some fist pumping metallic stomping before it concludes with some orchestral backed Maiden-like galloping. Closer has the epic heaviness of Evergrey and actually features the pipes of Mr Englund himself who croons majestically his voice blending well with Sokołowski's harsher tones. Exlibris have displayed real panache and flair on this album so if you like technical, intelligent power metal then Aftereal will really float your boat. 8/10
With Hell, Satan and Angel Witch leading the way, the fashion for NWOBHM bands reforming in the present day seems to be very 'on trend' at the moment, the next in line are Avenger who gave up the ghost in 1985 after two albums before reuniting in 2005. As is the case with most NWOBHM bands their history is shambolic at best losing their first singer Brian Ross to fellow Geordie's Satan (where he remains to this day) Avenger promptly recruited Satan's singer Ian Swift to replace Ross. Like Ross, Swift is still firmly in place at front of the band his sonorous voice fitting the music excellently on Race Against Time, Fields Of The Burnt and he screams for his life on Into The Nexus. Founder member Gary Young still blitzkriegs the drums and as with most NWOBHM bands the guitars duel and the bass rumbles like cannon fire. Avenger sound like a band revitalised and they much like their revitalised peers they are unafraid to expand their sound incorporating other genres and more modern sounds Decimated is old school thrash with a Maiden-like finale something which continues on their cover of Maiden's own Killers. As good as the NWOBHM was for British metal for every Maiden, Priest and even Def Leppard there was a Hell, Raven, Satan and Avenger; bands that were followed with a passion at the time but were over shadowed and eventually forgotten, however in the intervening years these bands have become revitalised and have blasted back into the public conciousness. The Slaughter Never Stops is a testament to bands that never give up, yes they may drop out of sight for a while but musicians (especially those in the NWOBHM) never really give up so long as the music burns within them. Some may think that the music industry is dying but I think it's just pushing bands more underground meaning that older bands like Avenger are on more of an even playing field now. Grab your leather pants, hi-tops and some beers and get ready for a damn good thrashing. 8/10
Astralion: Astralion (Limb Music)
As is the norm with bands on the Limb Music roster, Astralion play rampaging power metal with a huge amount of virtuoso guitar playing thrown in echoing Stratovarius and even Mr Malmsteen with the neo-classical over tones seen from opening salvo of Mysterious & Victorious. The Finnish band have risen out of the ashes of Olympos Mons with singer Ian E. Highill and Bassist/Vocalist Dr K. Lundell recruiting a new ivory tickler, tub thumper and axe wielder to the fold to unleash some strong power metal with lots of classical influences. The keys sparkle on At the Edge Of The World which is prime Helloween in it's composition and this style continues on When Death Comes Knocking all of which have that Germanic heavy metal feel, they even dip into Dream Evil territory with We All Made Metal which is a thunderous mid rocker about how we indeed all make metal, Black Sails moves into Rockin' Rolf territory with a Pirate shanty made with added embellishments that merge it with Alestorm albeit with less silliness. Highhill's vocals are great especially on the soaring ballad To Isolde. The album moves between rampaging metal tracks like Mary (Bloody) and Five Fallen Angels and slower classically influenced piano-led ballads like Last Man On Deck. A great little album from these Finns steeped in the elements that make power metal exciting, one for fans of keyboard and guitar driven neo-classical metal that is technically precise but with a reliance on songs rather than showing off. 8/10
Exlibris: Aftereal (Metal Mind)
More power/heavy metal now, this time from Poland, unlike Astralion though Exlibris come from the heavy end of the spectrum with nods to Beyond Fear and Primal Fear this is because of Krzysztof Sokołowski's glass shattering vocals, people may recognise him as the singer for Night Mistress (reviewed earlier this year), his vocals are very similar to those of Tim 'Ripper' Owens with the crooning baritone and the screeching highs. The musicianship behind it too is heavyweight with big guitar riffs from band leader and guitarist Daniel "Dani" Lechmański, who spars with keyboardist Piotr "Voltan" Sikora throughout and they even duel with renowned Polish violinist Zbigniew Wodecki on The Day Of Burning. Like I've said this is an album that harks to the gruffer, some would say more Germnaic style of power metal with tracks like In The Darkest Hour echoing Primal Fear, Omega Point having the Teutonic rush of Accept. However the band also encompass more progressive tendencies on the piano led interlude Before The Storm which features some great female vocals before King Of The Pit slithers with some fist pumping metallic stomping before it concludes with some orchestral backed Maiden-like galloping. Closer has the epic heaviness of Evergrey and actually features the pipes of Mr Englund himself who croons majestically his voice blending well with Sokołowski's harsher tones. Exlibris have displayed real panache and flair on this album so if you like technical, intelligent power metal then Aftereal will really float your boat. 8/10
Tuesday, 16 December 2014
The View From Another Country: Crippled Black Phoenix
Crippled Black Phoenix - Gagarin 205, Athens, Greece
Travelling to Greece for gig may seem a bit extreme but let me put it into context. As Paul was knee deep in brutality, I was in Greece visiting my other half for a short holiday and the British post rockers happened to be playing the final show of their tour in the city on the second night I was there. Having never been to a gig in Greece I didn't know what to expect but as myself and my gorgeous companion entered the venue we were hit by the fug of tobacco smoke in the room, this harks back to when I first started gigging and you could still smoke indoors, no there is no smoking ban in Greece folks (the government tried but the Greeks hilariously ignored it blatantly) so the dry ice the blew just as the band came on stage made surrounded the stage haze.
As founder Justin Greaves and frontman Daniel Änghede ploughed straight into stomping clarion call riff of Rise Up And Fight the excitement piqued as CBF are a band I've always wanted to see but one who tour the UK rarely. Their brand of heavy, modern, Pink Floyd-like metallic rock with lots of electronics is a very unique prospect and as the first song developed, the synths of Mark Furnevall and piano of Daisy Chapman both add atmosphere add melody to the tracks as Ben Wilsker added the percussive thump from behind the kit. Staying in heavy territory we were whisked away next on the White Light Generator which was driven by Wilsker's drums and some gut rumbling guitars from the two rhythm guitarists with a third who's name escapes me adding some Frippesque elements over the sledgehammer battering. There is a reason why I can't remember the new guitarist and indeed the bassist's name, as both were recent additions to the band, their actual bassist recently had child so a friend of their's stepped in with limited practice time, still he managed brilliantly but it meant that throughout Änghede took over the bass duties for a few of the songs, the third guitarist was picked up in Sofia, Bulgaria and had no practice time for these gig, he was stunning adding a lot of Gilmour like guitar trickery to fill out the songs.
All the band pulled together to play the heavy, stirring music for a crowd that started out as quiet, but more on that later, Greaves did most of the talking during the gaps, introducing the band members and goaded the audience to make more noise. The doom of Jonestown Martin creeped in giving Daisy Chapman the first chance to shine with her haunting vocals on the disturbing song, No! is a ringing propulsive track from their last album which moves between light an shade. Änghede's voice is good being both emotive and fractious adding a real human element to the music especially on Song For The Loved and the romantic sounding Fantastic Justice which is built on Chapman's piano riff. Because of the problems we were promised a longer show in future and then the challenge was set down, the band incite a sing along to Burnt Reynolds, a tradition that started in Athens, the song is an atmospheric track that builds to its shout along section, it was the first song to really incite the crowd, the Athenians roared at the top of their lungs for the entirety of the song and for around five minutes after the song ended which prompted the encore to start with a reprise of the track inciting yet another sing along with the crowd giving their all, the band were visibly over awed with the response claiming it to be the best on the tour, it was hard to argue, as the crowd continued after the song had finished, the smoke filled room exploded into rapturous applause once again. It was time for the finale and the last song was a short, sharp, shock in contrast to the progressive, sprawling epics that had proceeded it and with the final chord of Samhain's Let The Day Begin it was all over for another tour cycle the band were elated and relived at the smiling faces in the audience. I myself was in awe of the band who seemed to give every ounce of energy to the set. Where CBP go and what they do after this is anyone's guess but hopefully it will be more UK dates nearer me after the next album. If not I know there is always Athens! A great gig in fantastic company! 9/10
Travelling to Greece for gig may seem a bit extreme but let me put it into context. As Paul was knee deep in brutality, I was in Greece visiting my other half for a short holiday and the British post rockers happened to be playing the final show of their tour in the city on the second night I was there. Having never been to a gig in Greece I didn't know what to expect but as myself and my gorgeous companion entered the venue we were hit by the fug of tobacco smoke in the room, this harks back to when I first started gigging and you could still smoke indoors, no there is no smoking ban in Greece folks (the government tried but the Greeks hilariously ignored it blatantly) so the dry ice the blew just as the band came on stage made surrounded the stage haze.
As founder Justin Greaves and frontman Daniel Änghede ploughed straight into stomping clarion call riff of Rise Up And Fight the excitement piqued as CBF are a band I've always wanted to see but one who tour the UK rarely. Their brand of heavy, modern, Pink Floyd-like metallic rock with lots of electronics is a very unique prospect and as the first song developed, the synths of Mark Furnevall and piano of Daisy Chapman both add atmosphere add melody to the tracks as Ben Wilsker added the percussive thump from behind the kit. Staying in heavy territory we were whisked away next on the White Light Generator which was driven by Wilsker's drums and some gut rumbling guitars from the two rhythm guitarists with a third who's name escapes me adding some Frippesque elements over the sledgehammer battering. There is a reason why I can't remember the new guitarist and indeed the bassist's name, as both were recent additions to the band, their actual bassist recently had child so a friend of their's stepped in with limited practice time, still he managed brilliantly but it meant that throughout Änghede took over the bass duties for a few of the songs, the third guitarist was picked up in Sofia, Bulgaria and had no practice time for these gig, he was stunning adding a lot of Gilmour like guitar trickery to fill out the songs.
All the band pulled together to play the heavy, stirring music for a crowd that started out as quiet, but more on that later, Greaves did most of the talking during the gaps, introducing the band members and goaded the audience to make more noise. The doom of Jonestown Martin creeped in giving Daisy Chapman the first chance to shine with her haunting vocals on the disturbing song, No! is a ringing propulsive track from their last album which moves between light an shade. Änghede's voice is good being both emotive and fractious adding a real human element to the music especially on Song For The Loved and the romantic sounding Fantastic Justice which is built on Chapman's piano riff. Because of the problems we were promised a longer show in future and then the challenge was set down, the band incite a sing along to Burnt Reynolds, a tradition that started in Athens, the song is an atmospheric track that builds to its shout along section, it was the first song to really incite the crowd, the Athenians roared at the top of their lungs for the entirety of the song and for around five minutes after the song ended which prompted the encore to start with a reprise of the track inciting yet another sing along with the crowd giving their all, the band were visibly over awed with the response claiming it to be the best on the tour, it was hard to argue, as the crowd continued after the song had finished, the smoke filled room exploded into rapturous applause once again. It was time for the finale and the last song was a short, sharp, shock in contrast to the progressive, sprawling epics that had proceeded it and with the final chord of Samhain's Let The Day Begin it was all over for another tour cycle the band were elated and relived at the smiling faces in the audience. I myself was in awe of the band who seemed to give every ounce of energy to the set. Where CBP go and what they do after this is anyone's guess but hopefully it will be more UK dates nearer me after the next album. If not I know there is always Athens! A great gig in fantastic company! 9/10
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