Reviews: Burner, Kongh, The Bleeding, Suffering Quota (Matt Bladen & Mark Young)

Burner - No One Is Coming To Save Us (Church Road Records) [Matt Bladen]

The nihilism never ends as Burner have always approached their music with a slash and burn style of incendiary rage. 

On their last record If It All Returns To Nothing, they looked outwards, on this album they turn the lens inwards, looking at us the human race and the violence, destruction and division that we seem to continually create throught history. However its also about hope, how individuals are often the cornerstone to change or recovery, how sacrifice so often reaps biggest rewards.

So Burner return with another set of 11 absolute face rippers, the fast rise of Burner leading to some high profile guests vocalists such as Matthew K. Heafy (Trivium), Josh Middleton (Sylosis) and Anthony Lucero (Cult Leader), joining this record that straddles numerous genres. Death metal, hardcore, post metal and even black metal (A Shattered Visage Lies) all create these punishing atmospheres inspired by bands as varied as Trap Them, Darkest Hour, Bolt Thrower and Converge.

With The Third Revelation, Burner build the tension and then release it with some bludgeoning metal force, never fully letting you take a breath What Will You Give and Blood River both assault the senses. Harry Nott and Josh Middleton sharing the fury on the former while Matthew K. Heafy brings his unmistakable voice to Sunrise, Parabellum closing out this death/thrash trio.

A Shattered Visage Lies moves back towards an atmospheric doom crush that showcases the dynamic playing of Nathan Harlow (guitar), Finn Gannon (bass) and Jack Bryant (drums), as does the resonant and introspective The Agony Of Peace. The multi-discipline sound of Burner meaning they can move between tracks with melodic intensity and the more furious cuts seamlessly, never letting their extreme approach weaken.

No One Is Coming To Save Us? Perhaps then we should use this album as a catalyst to save ourselves. 8/10

Kongh - Dissolved In Time (Trust No One Recordings) [Mark Young]

For many, Sweden's association with extreme metal points towards a particular sound, namely the melodic death metal of bands such as At The Gates and Dark Tranquillity, and I'm no different. I had no idea there were other distinct and unique voices at play, one of which is Kongh. Who have released their fourth full-length album, Dissolved In Time, which also represents their return after nearly a decade away. I know nothing about their previous output and, as a result, will be going into this with an open mind. Three tracks stretched across 39 minutes suggests something intense, but also something that could easily outstay its welcome.

Staining The Ether is this album's big piece. Starting with a repeating guitar line that provides the base for drums and bass to come in and join, both building and adding until it really takes flight at around the three-minute mark, its sound suddenly expanding. It's unhurried and evolves naturally, changing shape and arrangement while always finding its way back to its core. It's all discord and grit, with vocals from David Johansson (who also handles guitars, bass and electronics) stamping a dense authority across the track and effectively moulding it to suit his vision.

I didn't expect it to be as melodic as it is, despite being as heavy as it is. It's a pretty perfect build in all honesty; everything sounds A1 and you can pick up on the little nuances that occur throughout, making it far more than just a hammer-and-nail exercise. If you're worried that a near 19-minute opening track might be a bridge too far, think of it as a series of mini songs glued together, all of which offer something different to the sequence that preceded them. This isn't a traditional doom song where the same riff is repeated until you instinctively reach for the skip button. It has a lot going on and genuinely needs that full running time to reach its destination.

It's a monumental song and an incredibly bold move to open the album with it because of the benchmark it sets for everything that follows. Still, putting that to one side, just absorb this for the majesty that it possesses. Epic stuff.

Guided To The End wisely goes for a quicker resolution, well, kind of. Where Staining The Ether was about having room to breathe, there is no lingering this time as the pace immediately kicks up a gear. Nothing has changed in the execution on display, it's just been given a charge. It's still heavy, but Christ, you could dance to this. Suddenly the influence of the opening track pares back a little as this one rips along, mixing clean and guttural vocals with one of the lowest bass tones imaginable.

And that central riff? Forget about it. Just top class. It's spacey, full of movement and an all-round cracker.

Which leaves us with the title track, Dissolved In Time. It starts with a thick sound and I genuinely can't think of a better way to describe it. I mean, it's absolutely massive and would probably render you with some form of injury if you heard it live. It moves with the same energy as Guided To The End, with the drums doing exemplary work in providing that little bit of sparkle that lifts the entire piece.

And then they pull the whole thing down, slowing it to a crawl.

It's ruthless in its execution. This is Sludge Metal 101 and everyone should be taking notes. It's amazing to think that Kongh had anywhere left to go after that opener and yet Guided To The End and Dissolved In Time have the same kind of impact while offering entirely different perspectives. Each track leaves its mark in a different way.

What is this like compared to their earlier material? No idea.

All I can say is that it's a magnificent album, and if this return leads to more material of this quality, fans of the genre have a lot to look forward to. 9/10

The Bleeding - Godless Communion (Redefining Darkness Records) [Matt Bladen]

There's change in the house of The Bleeding, for over a decade the London death metal crew have been unleashing steamrolling, gore-soaked death thrash that's anchored in the underground. They've become more visible outside of their local scene with the release of last album Monokrator, gaining a following of death lovers across the UK and Europe. However long time vocalist Germ stepped down from the band during the recording process, with ex-De Profundis man Craig Land brought in behind the mic to continue the next chapter of The Bleeding.

In typical death metal fashion, to avoid the delays of having to re-record everything again, Craig's vocals joined the ones already recorded by Germ to bring an as yet untapped intensity to the music. It's almost like a celebratory release with a dual vocal assault bridging what is now and what came before as band founder/guitarist Tasos, bassist Guy and drummer Davide Marini deliver more ferocious death metal drawn from the inspiration of the most vile and vital bands in the genre.

Some are even homaged here as there's cover of Cannibal Corpses' Born In A Casket which features Ryan Howes of Sodomized Cadaver, as Adrie Kloosterwaardof Sinsuter appears on Bestial Bloodlust and original The Bleeding vocalist Themis K. appears on Death Eternal, making this the first record from the band with all three of their vocalists appearing.

You could consider Godless Communion to be a 15th anniversary release for The Bleeding and it's probably them with a renewed intensity and a return to their underground sound due to the line up shift, though it's an album with a lot of experience and craftsmanship behind it. UK death metal veterans that still kill the old way. 8/10

Suffering Quota - Sisyphean Life (7 Degrees Records/Tartarus Records) [Mark Young]

There is something strangely comforting about listening to what probably best described as a twelve track sonic kicking whilst watching Last Of the Summer Wine (And yes, there are rumpled stockings, a tin bath and three old age pensioners rolling down a hill in Yorkshire). 

This is their 4th album and is inspired by the myth of Sisyphus and the eternal struggle faced with repetition in life. In any event, should you be unclear in what they are about and how they do what they do, just press play and let the punishment begin. This is a hard record, and by its very nature a difficult one to review because they are not writing long, progressive music here. This is 18 minutes worth of blistering attack, of what you could call primal grindcore. This is stripped of anything that is unnecessary, each song hammered to its truest form.

It would be utterly pointless in trying to do a song by song deep dive on this. That would defeat the object and weaken its ultimate impact. This is supposed to be enjoyed (endured?) as a whole, not to dip in here and there. Strain opens and Striving closes and between there is no discernible drop in the fury that is at hand or in the standard of music provided here. I appreciate that won’t be a lot for someone to make a decision on, so I’ll narrow that focus slightly by saying that any fan of no-frills extreme grindcore will find Suffering Quota and their music to be a welcome blast of refined noise. 7/10

Reviews: Pure Reason Revolution, Emma Ruth Rundle, Noctule, Mount Slatra (Matt Bladen)

Pure Reason Revolution - Terrifying Angels (InsideOut Music)

In a move that may shock other bands into some sort of work, Terrifying Angels is the fourth studio album since they "reformed" in 2019.

There's been a lot of line up shuffling in that time, though PRR has always been a collaborative affair, the keystone to it all is band founder Jon Courtney, who takes vocals, guitar, bass, keys, percussion and production, with this record mixed/mastered by Bruce Soord of The Pineapple Thief. He still writes and records with co-founder Greg Jong (guitar), the synergy between them still as electrifying as on those early records.

Courtney is joined by vocalist Annike Shireen and drummer Ravi Kesavaram as the core trio on this record, but because of what PRR is there's co-writes and influences from.jam sessions with Paul Mullen of Losers and Yourcodenameis:milo and Kenny Fitzgerald as well as special bass performances from Mariusz Duda (Lunatic Soul) and Kristoffer Gildenlöw (Kayak).

With all that out of the way we can focus on the record itself and Terrifying Angels takes things down a heavier route, harking back to The Dark Third, their debut record but also instilling the insistent electronics of their two pre hiatus albums. The album was written in response to the lighter style of Coming Up To Consciousness, as if to do away with any beauty with savagery.

The floaty atmospheres disappear immediately with Spin Like Fire, an electro-rock banger where Royal Blood and Kasabian are the influences, big drums, harmony vocals and fuzzy riffs with the electronic twitches, begin this new record with the right grit and riffage, instilling the idea that Terrifying Angels is going to be darker and more brooding.

From here Black-Arrow Acrobats puts breakbeat drums, harmonic clean guitars by way of Radiohead as Mariusz Duda brings his signature bass virtuosity throughout, the heavier side building into some of the more ominous Steven Wilson song craft, where they journey though a distinct journey with this epic run time, flipping between soundscapes like the titular acrobat.

The duality between the vocals is such a historically key feature of the PRR sound and once again Jon and Annike's interplay is brilliant, from the grunting rock of Haywire Heart which leads into another epic, the Title Track which is a cinematic dreamscape the floats through 12 minutes with a slightly haunting melody and those ghostly vocals.

Then the pace is pushed again by Rumination Ruin which is another fuzzy electro rocker, where they can let their hair down but it segues into Below Radiance, a full electronic offering that would fit well on a dark synth record, little oscillations and blips that pulaste behind everything,s etting the scene for the closer Hold Your Wrath.

Over 14 minutes of exactly what Pure Reason Revolution do shifting styles, beautiful harmonies, an electronic intensity that permeates through everything and clashes between ambience and heavy riffs, concluding this new record from PRR with the progressive prowess they excel at.

With Terrifying Angels, Pure Reason Revolution bring back their intensity and create a wonderous cacophony of electronic alt rock noise! 9/10

Emma Ruth Rundle - These Killing Times (Errant Child)

We're all going to die, and it's all our fault, if we don't change and do something about it.

This basically sums up the themes behind the sixth album from avant garde artist Emma Ruth Rundle, while it's also a plea for change, for intervention to save us from ourselves. Written as she watched another climate disaster take hold of the planet, Rundle decided to make a record of hope, of faith in humanity, that we would eventually see sense and do something for good.

This atmosphere of hope is cultivated with opening track Powerless, a flash of 90's alt rock, which like the rest of this record feels like lost tracks from the likes of Tori Amos, Fiona Apple, PJ Harvey, The Cranberries and even Jeff Buckley and Nirvana. Rundle working with producer Sonny Diperri (My Bloody Valentine, Trent Reznor, These New Puritans) to capture the sound of that decades "anti-patriarchal feminist rage" which made it's way into the deepest recesses of Emma's brain in her younger years.

The impact of these songs comes from Rundle using a full band for this record, unlike on her previous release where it was just voice, piano, guitar and introspection and while Don't Delay Heaven still feel stripped back to just those components there's more instrumentation present from the long time collaboraters. Making the record feel like a community all with the same goal, the very heart of what this album is about, that "the needs of the many, always outweigh the needs of the few" (thanks to Mr Spock) and we can achieve anything, but only together.

From Jess Gowrie's deft and thunderous drumming, Troy Zeiglers undulating basslines as the main recording trio, it's the addition of guests such as Nick Reinhart (Tera Melos) and Gina Gleason’s (Baroness) guitar prowess, Marissa Nadler, Lukas Frank (Storefront Church) and Amelia Baker (Cinder Well) choirs and Patrick Shiroishi’s insane saxophone that all bring that sonic power that can be felt on this record. It needs this sonic density as These Killing Times is a record with something to say and it wants you to listen, to go out and do something about environmental destruction, late stage capitalism, right wing nationalism and the many other threats posed to our existence.

While the record lingers in these harrowing, dark passageways it also offers an embrace, a reason to forget, if not for just a moment and experience collective beauty, as Humans Kindness moves into Oceans Of Time, this yearning, this love is felt warmly and helps you know that through These Killing Times, we can get better, together. 9/10

Noctule - Extinguish Thy Flame (Self-Released)

What started as a side project away from her main band Svalbard, Noctule is now the sole musical output of Serena Cherry. The second album from her black/melo-death project is inspired by the videogame Elden Ring, a game that is so intense, immersive and difficult, she credits with saving her life when going through a particularly heavy period of mental illness.

Written, recorded and performed by Serena alone, the album is a tribute not only to the video game, which Cherry fell in love with but ultimately it's about how that album gave her the perseverance to overcome her demons, and also rekindle her love of writing, but her own writing, with no interference from elsewhere just performing exactly how she wanted to.

It's the unflinching difficulty and almost masochistic pursuit of failure that is experienced again and again in Elden Ring that is reflected in this record, building your character (in game and outside) as you play, this record is just as cinematic and uncompromising as it's inspiration.

Metal and video games have always made good bedfellows and with Noctule the combination proves to be utterly majestic, the best bits of black metal and melodeath, cherry picked (if you will) to merge brilliantly and create this brilliant second record. From the screaming melodeath solos (Lord Of Blood), to the black metal blasts (Lament Of The Omen King), atmospheric passages (O'Death) and the range of vocal screams Extinguish Thy Flame acts a musical catharsis and reclamation of self for Serena Cherry.

With tracks such as Goddess Of Rot proving particularly intense. Having taken two years to finish Extinguish Thy Flame is the epitome of what Noctule is about, life affirming extreme metal delivered with incredible skill. 9/10

Mount Slatra - Fit For The Dead (Witches Brew Records)

We covered the EP from Midlands Thrashers Mount Slatra in September of last year, noting that they showed a lot of skill and promise that is often lacking in thrash. A year later they arrive with their debut album Fit For The Dead, a longer more intense slice of thrash metal that will have old heads and new fans wanting to let loose and run in a circle, but try to stifle yourself as there a lot going on with this record.

Intro piece out of the way 5x5 kicks off the record with the intensity of a band such as Testament, it's old school but technical, the inspiration of Megadeth also strong on the opener. After this we get into Fit For The Dead nodding to Slayer, as Cryptocracy builds in the same way early Metallica did, so we have three of the Big Four covered for sure.

The education these musicians have received has really paid off on this debut as Mount Slatra have a maturity that few bands achieve on their debut, their proficiency on the shifting Age Of Industry and the dynamics that come through every track here is very impressive, the thrash getting more melodic with closing track Radio Mercy which features Hannah Law on vocals.

The foursome of vocalist Ryan Darling, guitarist George North, drummer Ben Alexander and bassist Aaron Watkins all hail from the Midlands and are all alumni of music colleges in that area, as Connor Yarrington engineered and Matthew Jones mixed/mastered, Mount Slatra are a band who really showcase how fertile the grassroots scene is for musicians in The Midlands by how much care and skill has gone into this record.

Mount Slatra are destined for bigger stages, this debut is proof. 8/10

A View From The Back Of The Room: Electric Wizard (Joe Guatieri)

Electric Wizard & Magick Potion, The Prospect Building, Bristol, 16.09.26

“I hope this fucking world fucking burns away and I’d kill you all if I’d had my way!”. I don’t think that I’ve ever related to lyrics more in my adult life than these. The slog of working a job that you hate, surrounded by customers who don’t have respect for themselves or anyone else, all for a faceless company that doesn't know you exist. There is music out there made for moments like this that portray the feeling of utter dread and constant anxiety, better than a conversation ever could. The prospect of seeing THEM again makes all this stress worth it.

Wednesday 16th September was a day like any other, just thinking about that night. Taking a walk from where I work to the venue, that being The Prospect Building felt nice for once, a relief. The roads are usually full of traffic but on this night, everything seemed to float by with a lack of disturbance and the excitement filled the air minute by minute.

Arriving at The Prospect Building, it felt surprisingly empty to begin with, no queue despite a sold out show, this was completely different for when I saw Sunn O))) there back in June where there was a big queue, I went in without breaking a sweat. I then went in-line for merch, afterwards getting myself a pint and then leisurely strolled into the main room, found my place and waited.

Magick Potion (7) opened the proceedings, entering the stage with their long hair and decorative fashion from another era. Looking at their socials and music platform presence previously, it was all about channeling heavy Psychedelic Rock from the 60s and 70s. It was then a mission in my mind, these guys walked the walk but can they talk the talk.

They then started playing, beginning with some cuts that opened the opportunity for the band to jam out and show off their shredding. With their tone that was welcoming in its warmth and fuzzy nature, it felt less like “Look at what I’m doing” and more like “Come take my hand, we’re going on a journey”. This resonated with the crowd who were grooving and enjoying the band, banging their heads and dancing to it.

I thought to myself, yeah their decent, then they introduced songs with more hooky elements and showcased more dynamics, that’s the point that drew me in. They show a big influence of Cream, Hawkwind, Led Zeppelin and The Jimi Hendrix Experience on their sleeves but they aren’t trying to copy and paste what the legends before them did.

This was fun and it didn’t feel forced, many bands in this ilk and tributes especially try to reinterpret a gig from back in the day where as this was more present and in the now, these guys were up on stage just enjoying themselves. Magick Potion didn’t try and reinvent the wheel or do anything like that, they just came out on stage, had a good time and raised people’s spirits up, it was a good time!

Next we had the main event, the wait wasn’t too long for Electric Wizard (9) … The band gathered on stage through a storm of smoke and cleared, Jus Oborn bellowed “Come my fanatics!” as they launched into space with Return Trip. Played at a different tempo compared to the original recording, it felt more hitting, dare I say satisfying in the way that it was played. My fate was sealed when Jus spat out the first few words of the song, those lyrics being what I mentioned when I started this review. I hadn’t screamed that loudly in a while!

Then the notes from Dopethrone ripped out from the bowels of hell and into my soul. I had never heard Electric Wizard play it live before and this was a moment that I’ll never forget. Again like with the previous song I was hitting my fist in the air, it’s a national anthem for the misfits.

Speaking in both terms of seeing the band play it live and the studio version, it plays with your expectations, the repeated mantra of the word “Rise” just brings everything together as the poetry paints a picture of glamourising the excess in both drugs and the volume in sound. Then suddenly the puzzle pieces come together as god says “Dopethrone” and the riff is just sluggish enough to make devils dance.

Funnily enough it’s a technique like this where I will make a connection between Elton John and Electric Wizard. The fact that the song teases and teases to the chorus with Tiny Dancer, everyone always sings it at the same time and Dopethrone does the same thing! It's a thing of beauty, pure song-writing genius.

I want to point this out, their bassist, South West native Haz Wheaton was the only one on our right who wasn’t covered in smoke, it made me think, he’s one of us, he’s human and you could see it as the man was hammering away on his instrument, screaming every lyric, his energy was infectious, it was as if his soul was released from the sacrifice from the wizard and given to the people, he’s a fan.

The fourth song they played was another epic in Satanic Rites Of Drugula. That introduction was fierce and harrowing, the fact that Jus played it in the style that I love so much when he hits that forbidden note, echoing what he did at Brutal Assault at Fortress Josefov, in the Czech Republic back in 2017. It’s the most evil thing that the wizard is capable of doing and the song encapsulates its title completely, “So high, so dead”!

An unexpected treat was Electric Wizard performing Son Of Nothing from Come My Fanatics, it was the first time they played that song live in well over 10 years. It displayed the band at their most raw and loose, they could have played it for hours and the crowd would have still gone home happy, it truly puts repetition into submission.

Nearing the close of their set, it could have only ended on one thing, Funeralopolis. Nothing on earth beats hearing the introductory section, it brought everyone to a different planet. Then when the time struck, a heavy trance fell onto The Prospect Building, the jet engine of that legendary riff is a jet engine that blows everything away in its path. Electric Wizard then fled the stage, they came, killed and left!

Comparing the first occasion, seeing the band at ArcTanGent in 2024 and comparing it to The Prospect Building in 2026 is a difficult one. The first time I saw the band, I was stone cold sober for their set and everything felt like a dream, while this gig in Bristol was real and in the moment. At a festival there’s always much going on, you’ve got little time to breathe, whether with a gig, you spend the majority of your time waiting.

I guess that from seeing Electric Wizard before, it sub-consciously felt like just seeing any other band at gigs because regardless if it’s at a bigger venue, the routine is pretty similar. Now that I’ve had a chance to reflect on this, I’ve realised that I preferred this set list at the gig, whereas at the festival, I thought that they played better.

Don’t get me wrong, the solos and riffs still came across with gigantic presence but a bit of the mystique was lost. I am growing older and beginning to learn that these are just people but in an incredible band, still nasty and intense and that will never change. I loved it and I would go to see them and I do recommend the live experience. Just one more cry, just please god, release another album, I can’t polish my fangs forever!

Reviews: In This Moment, Brat, RØRY, Scene Queen (Matt Bladen)

In This Moment - Witch (Better Noise Records)

It's probably not that controversial to say that the bands reviewed after this wouldn't have the impact and possibly the attention without In This Moment.

At a a time when the NWOAHM was all the rage In This Moment exploded out of that scene with aggression and grooves, topped with the incredible vocals of Maria Brink. From the metalcore beginnings into the gothic alternative metal act they are today, In This Moment have taken many shapes but have always been the guided by the creative drive of Maria Brink.

The band is her artistic outlet, curating the lyrics, music and visual presentation of the band and this month record is still a defiant, emotionally driven collection of songs that balance fury and femininity as Brink puts it herself: "Witch is my declaration of inner transformation, it's about embracing the duality within".

Begining with the punishing Shame, Witch starts off with exactly the kind of metallic battery you may expect from In This Moment, glitchy industrial twitches against down-tuned alt metal riffs, the synths creating the introspective atmospheres on I Want To Believe which features Dayseeker.

One of three guest on the record which includes Kim Dracula on the furious Heretic and Kat Von D on their cover of Pink Floyd's Another Brick In The Wall. It's their own tracks that punch through with Crawl right up there with beats of NiN, Sleeping With The Enemy features Brink's magnetic vocal delivery and cleverest lyrics as Father brings synth wave elements to the balladry.

In This Moment still dwell in their own electronic darkness on Witch, introspective and thumping, with those unique vocals just capping everything off, it's modern alt metal with gothic feminine overtones that still manages to impress. 8/10

Brat - Manslayer (Prosthetic Records)

Brat return with their new release Manslayer.

The title is self explanatory I should think, revenge, women taking back their power and their bodies from men who have taken that away, doing so at the end of a knife, the barrel of a gun or a stiletto heel through the face like the album cover.

Drawing influence from the lyrical content of country music, where women get revenge on this who have wronged them but Brat do it with a gore soaked death metal and grindcore assault, so the imagery is dialled up to slasher movie levels.

In fact the movie theme is present on the first half of this two part record. It's the struggles fond themselves having to combat in the world of the interweb and 'celebrity' they display these struggles however through some horror movie themes, including body horror, nightmares and serial killers.

It's Brat becoming more violent, channeling the sheer intensity of their live show into a record which has influences from bands such as Nails or Full Of Hell, once where metal and grind aren't genres, they're ways onomatopoeic ways to hurt you as you listen. Disgusting barks and growls, over abusive riffs and blastbeats, death metal, grind, thrash and much more from the 'extreme' side.

The second half of the record is where the real bimboviolence happens, everything before the interlude is traumatic, an event that causes what happens after it, tracks such as Femicidal Vengeance, which features solos from David Davidson from Revocation and Ways To Kill Your Husband are drenched in murder and bloody vengeance. As is Blistered Tongues which has Candace Buckingham from Walls Of Jericho adding her insanely vicious vocal to the whirlwind of aggression, the two frontwomen delivering and intensity and terror.

Manslayer moves Brat away from being genre tag into a more brutal and ferocious force of female anger, beware the Manslayer. 8/10

RØRY - Bloodletting (Sadcøre Records)

First emerging as an online advocate for understanding ADHD and neurodivergence through viral social media page ADHD Love and as the co-host Late Bloomers Podcast, doing both alongside her partner Richard Pink, Roxanne Emery has become one of the premier voices for mental health in this new influencer led world.

However after so much turmoil in her life a new found sobriety, love and family around her pushed her to have another go at music. Re-entering the music world as RØRY, her previous album went to the UK Top Ten and took her to stages such as Download Festival, these songs of sadness striking a chord with listening public and now RØRY returns with album number two, Bloodletting.

The sadness has been replaced by anger, therapy forcing her to confront decades of suppressed emotions, “I realised I was sick from being nice. I’d spent so much of my life being the bigger person" she says and on Bloodletting she confronts the emotions of rage, resentment, jealousy, revenge and hatred, writing the heaviest and most intense music yet.

RØRY even took vocal lessons and learned to scream to really hammer the aggression of this record home, it can be felt as [the death of a people pleaser] leads into the Kids These Days which I'm sure fans of Nigel will love, but that's the point, confronting toxicity, in all it's forms, be it what were surrounded by today or from her past on Dead Girl Walking, yet holding a candle to where you're from no matter how complicated on Hometown.

It's a record that balances rage and retribution, confronting all these things that had been buried for long, pouring out these emotions in the music, as lost loved ones are honoured on the heartbreaking A Cure For Cancer and the choice is made to live on Strange and [do you want to live?] closing the album on a defiant sting that tugs at the coldest of hearts.

RØRY moves from sadness into catharsis, apologies into rage, but importantly shows RØRY developing as an artist with her most diversely offering yet. 8/10

Scene Queen - Metalicious (Hopeless Records)

From Bimboviolence to Bimbocore its the new EP from Scene Queen

While I'm still not quite on board with the tag 'bimbocore', though it's reclaiming that term, you can't fail Scene Queen for using to describe her music. Pink, glitter, club mentality meets crushing modern 'core' music, taking aim at the often misogynist metal genre.

Especially the bands where the guys wear deep V-necks and run on the spot, or the ones with backwards caps and baggy jeans, Scene Queen does this from the opening of Pink Flip Phone which is a nu metal trapped in a glitter bomb, ready for the Millennial audience who remember Y2K and the Motorola Razr.

From here it's electronic pulsations on Manicure, which moves from club beats to sickening deathcore breakdowns on this rage fuelled threat to anyone that abuses women. It's beginning of Scene Queen showing off a more hybrid style than in her debut.

The songs get much heavier, the vocals having much more harsh screams than before on Tracksuit and the title track which features Left To Suffer, there's also a strong pop influence on tracks such as Shopaholic, which refences Destiny's Child or the bounce of Tits Out At Brunch.

More extreme, more pop, more bimbocore as Scene Queen follows up Hot Singles In Your Area with something more Metalicious. 7/10

A View From Across The Pond: Mastodon (Rich Piva)

Mastodon, Deafheaven & Alcest, Hard Rock Live, Orlando, FL 16.09.26



The opening night of the Mastodon tour! If you don’t count the secret Atlanta warm up show that is, which got everyone even more excited for the tour given that Baroness’s main man John Baizley  would be joining Mastodon during the tail end of their set to play some of the older, classic material. How was it? In a word, amazing. Mastodon blew me away. I know everyone misses Brent, and I do too, but this band, in this form, is on an entirely other plain.

Let’s start with the French black/shoegaze band, Alcest (8), who went on first. I was super excited to see them for the first time and they did not disappoint. You get blasted by a wall of sound of guitars for 40 minutes, except for the minimal, very polite, interaction. The music filled up the whole room, heavy and beautiful, even if I don’t speak a lick of French. I think they gained some new fans on this day and I would love to see a headlining Alcest set. 

Deafheaven (7) was up next. I had seen them before at Welcome To Rockville but they got more time in the second slot on this night. I am stealing this from someone, but I love the “Warped Tour Black Metal” description of the band. The lead singer has a ton of passion, almost too much and a bit too “how you doin’ Orlando???” for my taste, but they were fun, energetic, heavy as hell, and the crowd was down for it, given the pits and the crowdsurfing. I preferred their Joy Division clone era, but that is me. I am never going to sit and listen to a Deafheaven record, but I would watch them on any bill they were on. 

Now, Mastodon (10). I got to see them playing a short festival set, but this was the first time in a long time as headliner. This was easily in the top 5 shows I have seen this decade. The energy, the crowd, the imagery on the screen, the stacked setlist, all of this. The band seemed like they were genuinely having a great time, and the crowd ate it up. Nick Johnston is not Brent, but he is a super talented, next level player who fits in perfectly with the other guys in the band. He is a super nice dude too, as I got to chat with him for a couple of minutes. He did everything he should, stepping into a tough role, and he nailed it. Troy sounded great, and the band was super tight. 

They played a nice mix of their discography, including a few from the new record, Marrow Deep (it rules). and the fans not only enjoyed it but sang along. Not gonna lie, I fanboyed out when Baizley mosied onto the stage mid song during the live debut of Snakes For Dinner. He got a proper intro from Troy and promptly broke into the classic Curl Of The Burl. The last half of the show was epic, with Baizley adding his guitar and vocals to some of the band’s biggest songs, like Oblivion and The Czar, closing the set with a gigantic pit-generating Blood And Thunder.

Go see Mastodon. They are in their prime, the new material is great, they are playing an amazing, wide ranging set, the guys are having fun, and John Baizley. A great night with possibly the world’s best metal band.

A View From The Back Of The Room: Voyage 35 (Matt Bladen)

Voyage 35 & Violeta Vicci, O2 Academy Bristol, 15.09.26



I've been a huge fan of Porcupine Tree since I was 14 years old, in that time I've seen them 12 times in that 'classic' long term live of format of Steve Wilson, Richard Barberi, Colin Edwin, Gavin Harrison and John Wesley but after they went on long term hiatus I thought that wasn't going to happen again.

However their revival four years ago brought new music and a new tour this time without bassist Colin Edwin and guitarist John Wesley, what the reasoning behind it was I don't know but of course I loved the show that I saw in London but there was a lot from their sizeable discography left out. The set was almost exclusively drawn from In Absentia onwards leaving off much of their Lava Record releases and all of the early Delirium offerings.

Fast forward to 2026, and bassist Colin Edwin and guitarist John Wesley have formed Voyage 35, their own band that focusses on those "lost" albums, similar to Nick Masons Saucerful Of Secrets. 'The next trip' features the Englishman and the American joined by two Italians; Edwin's O.R.k compatriot Lorenzo Esposito Fornasari on keyboards and Alessandro Vagnoni on drums to form a tight knit foursome, joined by the projectiond and original Fruit Salad Lights from those early days, even bringing Chris Maitland in on drums at the Shepherd's Bush show. 

How any of it works with PT I don't know but it does seem like an amicable offshoot. So for a long time fan like me it was a real treat to be able to hear more than one cut from Lightbulb Sun and Stupid Dream. As well as plenty from Signify and early psychadelic moments like Up The Downstair, Sky Moves Sideways and On The Sunday Of Life, as I got in to the band at a time when music of these albums were phased out.

Voyage 35, rightly have chosen the songs that have the loudest live delivery, the ones with heaviest basslines and guitar parts so both Edwin and Wesley can stretch their virtuoso muscles. Hatesong proving to be particularly intense while Sky Moves Sideways evoking the dreamier psychscapes of the material and Fadeaway just brings guitar escapism.

Wes, LEF and Alessandro share the vocals, bringing those harmonies that are such a key part of the PT sound since the beginning, on Even Less and Shesmovedon. However quite a big chunk of the set was instrumental with Up The Downstair, Sky Moves Sideways and Voyage 34 the three epics that form the foundation of the set, but rather than just copying the songs, Voyage 35 play them in their own way, bringing these often 20+ year old songs into 2026.

They weren't alone though as setting the tone for an adventurous evening was Violeta Vicci an experimental classical artist based in London but inspired by her Catalan-Swiss heritage. She has done extensive field recordings of the natural world in Switzerland and builds the music around that on stage with looper/effects pedals, a violin, vocals and a laptop to bring it all together and sync it with the breathtaking visuals.

The sound engineer in me was very invested in the technical parts but as a listener it was a very evocative experience which may he been jarring for some of those that turned up early but was appreciated by anyone that loves experimental music.

So my annual trip to O2 Academy Bristol was for a show I deemed 'Can't Miss' a trip to The Nostalgia Factory but seen through the clarity of the present rather than Rose-Tinted or in this case Fruit Salad- Tinted spectacles. I hope there are plenty more shores to visit with Voyage 35! 10/10

A View From The Back Of The Room: APF Fest (Mark Young)

APF Fest 2026, Rebellion, Manchester, 12.09.26

The APF festival returns to a suitably damp Manchester for another full day of crushing UK heavy metal. The APF label is home to some of the best the UK has to offer, and the line-up today goes a long way to cementing that. Each of the bands here are different from the others but still remain within heavy metal.

Proceedings kick off not with a live band, but with the Spider Kitten listening party ahead of the release of their new album. God Don’t Sleep is out on October 2nd and I’ve got to say there is something inherently unsettling about an empty stage bathed in eerie green light while this frankly stunning LP plays out over the PA. The album itself is fantastic, and it’s a genuine shame the band couldn't be here to perform it live.

If this introduction is an eerie calm, what follows is the storm. The bands on today’s bill represent the incredible, multifaceted depth of the APF roster, proving that "heavy" is a spectrum, not a single note.

Praetorian just detonate, Tom is shirtless and instantly stomping out into the area in front of the stage. This is a band whose pure live sound and fury translates perfectly to the stage—it's dense, driven by low, guttural vocals, and frankly, more people should have been in the room to witness it. If you want a band to properly kick a festival into gear, it’s these guys. The vocalist commands the floor, making his own pit with zero fucks given. 

Despite early delays forcing them to play longer, they remain tight, ferocious, and armed with a great sense of humour. No matter the time crunch, there is absolutely no let-up. They set an incredibly intense bar for whoever has to follow. I reviewed Pylon Cult and it was one of my albums of 2025 and seeing them up close is just something else. Unhinged, in the best way. And definitely speak to them about drum and bass.

Trevor’s Head are up next. The three-piece occupy a completely different sonic space. After a fairly tortured soundcheck, they kick off later then they would have hoped. To be fair, the audience is pretty forgiving, allowing them to delve into a more melodic brand of metal, ensuring that there is something more on the bill than just extreme metal. 

They are a different beast altogether, leaning heavily into progressive areas rather than the visceral, blunt-force trauma of Praetorian. It’s a smart placement on the bill, offering the crowd a much-needed aural palate cleanser. More rock-adjacent than pure metal, they successfully rise above their early technical frustrations to deliver a stellar, engaging set which both they and us loved.

By this point, we are behind schedule and hunger is setting in. A quick changeover sandwich is ordered and consumed at speed before Nxmad take the stage. The four-piece show yet another facet of the APF label, one where there is a competent and comfortable stage presence where on the surface, their approach feels more streamlined and straightforward, but the end result is just as devastating as a mix of speed and energy bring the energy levels up in front of a floor that is slowly filling up now with bands and punters alike, and Nxmad are enthusiastically received. 

They trade in a more hardcore-adjacent sound with a heavy concentration on delivering hard-edged, massive riffs. With a frontman channelling a Randy Blythe-Esque energy, their set is all about the bottom end—which hits exactly where it should. To top it off, they walk away with the prize for the biggest breakdown of the day.

Tides Of Sulphur come armed for absolute war. Their isolated bass sound alone during soundcheck is enough to level buildings. Following a brief sample, they launch into a set that feels like the apocalypse sitting in your front room and asking you to put the kettle on. The sound is colossal, and the atmosphere shifts into much darker territory. Like Praetorian, there is an innate intensity here; it feels genuinely unhealthy when played slow, but once it picks up speed, it is horrific in the best way possible. It helps that they sport a flying V. 

All of this is available from just their first song, which separates the audience like a scythe. If Trevor’s Head was a light cosmetic procedure and Nxmad was the setting of a bone, then Tides Of Sulphur are the pathologist cutting and carving. When they ask if the room wants a fast one, the answer is a resounding yes. That coruscating tone never wavers, and by the time they wrap up, it’s a mercy—collectively, the room is done.

That heavy tone of aggression carries directly into A Horse Called War. Once again, a magnificent, isolated bass whips through the setup so they can get going. They offer a different flavour of heavy—more mobile and hardcore-centric, drawing back inside the crowds who had left for the longest smoke history. It’s a sound capable of stripping the enamel from your teeth, led by a frontman Shane pouring every ounce of his soul into the performance. It’s difficult to adequately describe; it is undeniably heavy, but there’s something deeper at play as that weight is funnelled directly through the vocalist and unleashed onto the crowd.

Wall, who share members with Desert Storm, are our next stop. Setting up with just a guitar and drums, this configuration brings a completely new dynamic to the afternoon. A wave of feedback gives way to a mighty tone that makes you pause and think, 'Oh, hang on a second.' What follows is a fleet-of-finger display married to a killer sonic profile. The first track is an instrumental blast, and the second is replete with jagged, complex lines. Realising that a full set of heavy instrumentals is about to hit me, it feels like the perfect time to sit, type, and rest my legs. Nothing against Wall, but the boss knows that I’m not that fond of instrumental metal.

Next up are Gandalf The Green, arriving with the kind of expansive introduction you would rightfully demand from any band carrying that name. It’s a spacey, echoey attack that effectively marks them out as different from everyone else on the bill. They bring a more restrained vibe at first, before dropping a riff set that trades typical, warm stoner fuzz for a rougher attack on the verge of decay. It feels intentionally roughened up—abrasive, even. Driven by full bass and slow, crashing cymbals, their doom/sludge trek arrives like thunder. 

Heads are nodding now, not in fury, but in perfect sync with those leaden beats. The fact that this marks their first gig in two years—and that they successfully debuted a brand-new song to such a massive reception—is near-miraculous. The theme of the day remains "something different again," and Gandalf the Green seize the opportunity. Where others went fast, they slow things down, though they refuse to stay strictly in one lane, breaking out a fabulous lead section. Even if you aren't a massive fan of the style, you can't help but get swept along, especially in the closing moments of their set.

Finally, it’s time for headliners Desert Storm. By the time they set up and go, gig fatigue has fully set in. I appreciate that bowing out just a song or two into their set isn't exactly cricket, but I'd rather give an objective review than one compromised by exhaustion. Out of all the bands on display today, they are probably the most "traditional" in how they go to work. That doesn't stop it from being effective live, because good riffs never go out of fashion. It’s a mighty noise—crisp, clear, and boasting standout vocal harmonies. The crowd is highly receptive, heads are nodding, and it’s really all you can ask for at the tail-end of a solid day of extreme metal.

Ultimately, each band may share common DNA in that they play heavy music—and some share even more in their specific genre leanings—but every single act remains entirely unique to themselves. As a curated day of extreme music, APF 2026 has put an incredible breadth of talent on display.

The amount of words committed to each band here does not mean one is more worthwhile than another; it is simply that some provided more immediate fuel for the notebook, and naturally, my tastes lean toward certain styles more than others. It is a true testament to APF that they have built such a diverse roster of artists, all of whom turned up and dropped scorching sets. In turn, they've made a dismal, damp Saturday in September a whole lot brighter.

10/10

Reviews: Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats, The Fierce & The Dead, Kai Hansen, Dead Sea Apes (Matt Bladen)

Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats - Shapes Of Midnight (Killer Candy Records)

Cambridge occult rockers Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats emerge from their imaginary Italian thriller soundtrack with a new album of guitar focussed ghoulish proto doom.

Their last record Nell' Ora Blu, saw them embrace the stylistic choices made by Giallo, Argento and Mario Bava, as they brought the synth driven style of Goblin to their own conceptual record. It probably took a lot by suprise as these influences of course have always been there in the 'Evil Beatles' music of Kevin Starrs, but on Nell' Ora Blu it took over in glorious macarbe technicolour for their 'audio film'.

With seventh album Shapes Of Midnight, the band still drive a conceptual route, this time it's the modern world and The Masque Of The Red Death by Edgar Allen Poe that are the touchstones, but now the guitars have returned for some hook laden, pop forward, fuzz drenched riffage, all caught live and impatiently over three days in Abbey Road by Chris Bolster.

He along with the band wanted it to sound like it had been recorded in 1968 just as the Fab Four broke up, using era appropriate equipment Shapes Of Midnight has that authentic hiss of the compression needed for vinyl releases, never trying to enter the loudness war, but capture authenticity an the returned intensity as guitars and organs duel on House By The Grave.

It does feel right for the guitars to return here, for me Uncle Acid are all about these retro riffs from a parallel world where The Beatles got into voodoo rather than transcendental meditation, meaning everything that came after was just a little twisted. Be it the glam scene (Don't Let Control You), NWOBHM (Shapes Of Midnight) or Thin Lizzy on I Won't Sleep ('til You're Gone).

Don't worry though as Psycho On The Loose and When Evil Wakes tell you that Black Sabbath were still the same even in this universe. That's the sum Shapes Of Midnight as it's always been for Uncle Acid, Sabbath Worship and Beatle Worship hand in hand with the supernatural weirdness amplified through analogue amps, still spooky, still great, long live Uncle Acid. 9/10

The Fierce & The Dead - Regional Theatre (Spencer Park Music)

Dont worry there's no touring version of Shakespeare featuring and all semi-pro cast here.

No Regional Theatre is the fifth studio album from London psychadelic post rockers The Fierce And The Dead, having started out as an instrumental band, since their last album, they now feature vocals from bassist/producer Kevin Feazy.

Opening up a whole new audience to their sprawling, multigenre hopping style of dystopian post rock that exudes a kind of forced joy that comes from years at the grindstone. The band is the outlet, the way for a group of outsiders to come together and create weird music. 

TFAD cite bands such as avantgarde heroes like Faith No More or the Flaming Lips, heavy desert riffers like Kyuss or QOTSA and shimmering post rockera like Slowdive or Oceansize as influences and you can pick out each if these on Regional Theatre.

From the off-kilter stomp of Mr Homme and co on Shake Hands & Exit and the Hey Nightmare through the dreamscapes of Somehow, there's more of a shift towards the alternative rock/noise on album five, though it's mushed in there with the experimental approach of TFATD that rarely leaves a genre alone. 

Psychadelic indie jangling and shoegaze gets more potent with this album as well, the addition of Tom Hunt on keys, percussion and backing vocals bringing Somehow the 90's hypnotics of The Charlatans or the psych indie piano of Super Furry Animals on Superbia, the vocal harmonies of this record build on their introduction from the last.

Beneath that though still beats the heart of band who spent a long time speaking without words the guitar playing of Steve Cleaton and Matt Stevens, melds these genre shifts with dynamism and distinction. Putting distortion into Dream Sequence and post-punk drive into Thrash, the basslines of Feazey throbbing furiously here and rumble while drumming of Stuart Marshall is broad and spacious, bringing the power of Mastodon to Hypernormalisation.

Regional Theatre dives into the experimental sound of The Fierce & The Dead, from their post rock beginnings, they took a leap with vocals last time and with album five, the band have expanded sonically once more, making another amazing record from this innovative band. 9/10

Kai Hansen - Born With A Hammer (earMusic)

Born With A Hammer is the first solo record from Kai Hansen since reforming with Helloween and taking the world by storm once again in the "Pumpkins United" format.

If you're entering with the expectation of Helloween or Gamma Ray, or the German speed metal that Hansen has been an originator of then I suggest going somewhere else as this record is ten tracks that wouldn't fit in any of his other projects.

From the pop punk meets country meets reggae of Welcome To Life, the pulsating Europop of Don't Care and the industrial thump of Wait And See, there's a lot of genre deviation here linked by Hansen's gritty sneering vocals. The vocals as well become more diverse than they have before. 

Recorded with Eike Freese on guitar, Alexander Dietz (Heaven Shall Burn) on bass, drummer Dan Wilding (Carcass) and guitarist Tim Hansen (Induction), these younger members of the band have clearly inspired Hansen to flex his creative muscle away from what you may expect.

Going full Savatage balladry on the Title Track, Triple Trouble coming from the likes of Van Halen/Mr Big however there is a few tracks you may feel more at home with as End Of The Road brings the melodic drive of Gamma Ray, and Invaders is a homage to B-Movie sci fi, all wrapping up Born With A Hammer more traditionally.

It's an odd album but then with the power metal flexed with Helloween, Kai Hansen's solo stuff can be more experimental, it may come as shock to some though. 6/10

Dead Sea Apes - Psychic Tension (Cardinal Fuzz/Feeding Tube Records)

Some instrumental noise now from Dead Sea Apes, and album called Psychic Tension was never going to be an easy listen and this Manchester based trio revel in making a sonic attack that blends the fringes of rock music together.

There's psychedelic flights, noise walls, repeating krautrock rhythms, dub, Japanese psych and even jazz, thrown in a blender and blared out of your speakers to help you find catharsis from the constant attack on our eyes, ears, ideologies.

Politically motivated, musically intense Dead Sea Apes aren't here for fun and frolics, this is squealing riffs, hypnotic bottom end and a constant motion that keeps you locked in while listening.

Continuing where their last album left off, Brett Savage (guitars), Jack Toker (bass/guitars) and Chris Hardman (drums), use their decades of experience in heavy and experimental bands to fill this record and their TEN previous records with the kind of music not many other bands are doing.

Captured with a live-in-the-studio insistence, the record has a brilliant flow to it from the slow burn Damn Your Eyes to the build and release of Deathless, Dead Sea Apes are an interesting prospect as a band and while they sail away from the mainstream there's some great stuff here for the musically adventurous. 7/10

Reviews: Anthrax, Villagers Of Ioannina City, Playgrounded, Game Over (Mark Young & Matt Bladen)

Anthrax - Cursum Perficio (Nuclear Blast/Megaforce) [Mark Young]

Just so you know in the interests of objectivity that Anthrax have remained in my top 5 bands, well since 1987. 

They sit with The Beatles, Grand Magus, Slayer and Mastodon as bands who can do no wrong in my eyes. Just thought I’d share that. I admit that whilst the last two albums (Worship Music and For All Kings) each had some sparklers among their songs, others were clunky and repetitive. 

And yet I still loved them, just not as much as I’d liked and to be honest it felt that they entered this final phase in the same way that the others in the Big Four had done with differing results.

It seemed that it was a hangover from the way they approached music with John Bush, plus the whole Dan Nelson debacle, it was like they didn’t know who they were writing for, or maybe they were afraid to write what they wanted to. 

In any event, Cursum Perficio is the best thing they have done since Persistence Of Time back in 1990. This is a band who have thrown off whatever shackles were binding them and have dropped one of the albums of the year. 

I know that there are Bush fans who won’t tolerate Joey, that’s fine, and nothing I say will change that but here we finally have an Anthrax album that remembers it needs to have each component part on it’s a-game, from drums through the bass onto the leads and finally the voice. 

It’s like they aren’t embarrassed any more by having someone who sings, which is one of the reasons I was drawn to them originally. I loved the Bush era, but it wasn’t Anthrax.

What we don’t get is a re-run through past riffs or ideas that have been recycled, they go straight for you with banging riffs and some of the best drumming you’ll hear from Mr Benante. 

Everyone is given equal space to breathe, especially Joey. The material is tailored to suit him and each track works in his favour, in a way that is completely different to the shoehorned songs of the last two albums.

We know that they aren’t thrash any more, how could they be? They haven’t been in that headspace since before Joey was sacked and it’s a good thing too. 

Rather than revisiting the 80s, they've looked honestly at where they are as musicians. Realising they're closer to the end than the beginning, they've somehow pulled a career-defining album out of the bag.

For the first time in a long time its an album where each song is interesting, is different and from a player’s perspective this is gold. You want to learn how to play them and if you throw in those leads by Jon Donais, its spectacular stuff. 

Instead of going full on from the start, they drop The Long Goodbye which is a perfect example of their confidence in the material here, its just a great song that is heavy and melodic with a hook that burrows into your brain. 

The single It’s For The Kids hits next and hits that combination of both once more, with a peach of a progression and some brutal riffing that has been missing for a while. I’ve sat with this now for a day or more, and I can’t find anything on it that I don’t like or feels like a misstep. 

You might not like them with Joey’s voice and I’ve seen some online posts that suggest that they should have kept Turbin which is just insane. 

If you think that we have recently had new music from Metallica and the last one from Megadeth, neither of them get anywhere near this. It’s the sound of a band who have finally rediscovered what made them tick and have just gone for it. 9/10

Villagers Of Ioannina City - Venceremos (Napalm Records) [Matt Bladen]

The much lauded, culturally important, Villagers Of Ioannina City arguably broke out of the Greece with their previous studio record and the live album that followed it. My Greek wife informs me that they are one of the most popular bands in the country.

This is due to their fusion of progressive rock, stoner rock and traditional Greek music, specifically from the Epirus region. Just as likely to use clarinet or bagpipes as a lead instrument as they are a guitar, VIC have become a band that are the future and the past of Greek music simultaneously.

Their new album Venceremos expands on Age Of Aquarius with a sprawling conceptual release concerning a dystopian future and a fight to reclaim hope and future, it's ultimately about freedom and for a band who have covered traditional Greek songs of rebellion and resistance, these themes are well worn in the minds and hearts of the band.

Home begins the story properly after an intro, and it sets the tone for VIC as a band, layered polyphony where the riffs and drums are used hypnotically to drive the rhythms allowing the wind instruments to create the melodies and yearning vocals to deliver these impassioned lyrics. It's a ritualistic beginning that bridges from Age Of Aquarius, psychadelic building blocks to set the tone.

The pace quickens on the swashbuckling folk metal of Ghosts In The Sky where the gallop of pirate metal is fused with synthy 80's metal and simple "Run" chorus that has to be inspired by Pink Floyd. It's something a little different, but not only fits the concept but presents this next phase for VIC, it's also going to go nuts in a live setting.

Recorded and produced by Alec Karametis, Venceremos was mixed and mastered by Jacob Hansen and it has his clarity all over it, with the pace staying high on the hopeful Title Track as The Ruiner begins with a modulated bagpipe and goes back to the more progressive folk infused sound though keeping the atmosphere dark.

This feeling of heaviness translates not only to the way these songs are written, it's probably the most downtuned and metallic VIC have been but also the overall feeling of this concept is heavy and ominous, No Fear hammering that home with the massive drum sound and plenty of thrashing blast beats. 

Here And Now adopting the psychadelic grooves of the VIC bedrock with a prog rock epic that's got some serious rock star credentials to it but then brought back to Earth with the pastoral sounds of the χωριό on Epitaph before the final chapter begins and we close this futuristic tale with 7+ minutes of Requiem.

The reformatting of VIC is completed through the futuristic western motifs of the final track and the genre pushing approach of the whole of this concept album, Age Of Aquarius introduced them to a wider audience, Venceremos defines the band Villagers Of Ioannina City are. 9/10

Playgrounded - A Flower To Water (Pelagic Records) [Matt Bladen]

Athens formed, Rotterdam based, band Playgrounded have been carving their own path through the forest of modern progressive metal for over 10 years and their third full length, A Flower To Water, their second in Pelagic Records, again evolves what they do with an even deeper exploration of sound and boundary pushing.

The five piece intersperse metallic heaviness with electronic ambience, progressive expression with the dissonance of the entire 'post' scene. It leads to music that can be introspective and audacious, the inspiration learned from patience and understanding past mistakes through grieving.

The journey of Playgrounded has brought them to this point as with every release these skilled musicians build on their foundation, instilling layers to each release as they fought with what they wanted to be as a band, always impressive but constantly in flux as to how to utilise all of their influences properly.

With their previous record they managed to lock down their definitive sound, through modern prog metal that combines post metal and industrial crushes, the synths and samples are vital to the cinematics and often oppressive approach Playgrounded favour. 

This isn't music to feel safe with, rather it's an outlet for fear and discomfort, and A Flower To Water again drives these messages home but offers salvation, that even in the darkest depths a flower of release can flourish.

With this record Playgrounded play with silence, like the best composers, it's the moments between the next passage, between the next note that often carry the most weight and the band isolate these moments to make sure they play a vital role.

Acoustic beginnings slow burn on A Flower..., that space audibly bringing a pathos that increases when the guitars get heavier and the electronics start to pulsate, carrying into the opening rush of Counting Embers which peels off into oscillating, low frequency rhythms and softly spoken vocals in the same vein as past tourmates Katatonia.

Through Someone the nocturnal presence of Trent Reznor can be felt, undulating blips, jarring guitar stabs and just general feeling of being uncomfortable is merged with the anthemic chorus, that unnerving throb remaining on the darkwave of Snow, acting as a conduit for the proggy Karnivool build on Of Air And Metals.

A Flower To Water closes out with ...To Water the other side of the opener, bookending the record as this last track lets loose with all manner of glitches over the chugging riffs and yet more evocative vocal crooning, there's no real closure on this track no massive expulsion of emotion.

That's deliberate as on this record Playgrounded have used allegories from the natural world as ways to cope with intense emotions and fears, through cutting edge music that spans progressive and electronic music. 9/10

Game Over - When Darkness Falls (Scarlet Records) [Mark Young]

By rights, I should be onboard with this mob. 

After all, it’s thrash that takes a lot of influence from Horror films and social issues, which has been one of the main pillars of this music since forever. There is nothing wrong with their effort here, it does everything you expect and want but there is something that is stopping me from really digging it. 

On a surface level, I can appreciate the riffs, the speed, leads all day long, but it just feels too clean. Its precise, guitar work is razor sharp and when the leads break in, they come in exactly the right spot and are built to suit each song. 

The opener is just the sort of start you would want to hear, Two Souls One Flesh all speed and bombast, quickly followed up by Break Away which has that fist in the air quality to it, underpinned by an undeniable 80’s vibe to it. 

The issue is that it doesn’t thrill me the way that thrash is supposed to do. When I listen to Old school thrash, that thrill is still there, although its more of a muscle memory now. Its missing here, at least for me. 

That lack of feeling is felt strongly on Fight For Your Mind, its build and ultimately its attack leans towards a lighter way. And I think that is the thing; The overall tone is off.

That tone stays in place right through which is unfortunate because once I’ve picked up on it, I can’t move past it, in much the same way that I only liked a certain sound of thrash growing up. Buts that just me, and you shouldn’t let that put you off here. 

Unless you are cut from similar cloth. In any event, its 10 songs that know exactly what they are about, which is to make sure that each one has enough riffs, has a blinding solo so from that perspective its decent enough. 

I’d rather concentrate on its relative positives as opposed to writing a snarky review when it isn’t warranted. What I would say is this is possibly tailored to those who like their metal a little cleaner than most. 7/10

A View From The Back Of The Room: Dance Gavin Dance (Alex Tobias)

Dance Gavin Dance, As December Falls & Dwellings, The Prospect Building, Bristol, UK 09.09.26



Tonight I’m off to Bristol, not only to get my first taste of The Prospect Building, but to see Dance Gavin Dance on the UK leg of their European tour, supported by As December Falls and Dwellings.

I’ve arrived early to get my bearings, as I haven’t been to The Prospect Building before and wanted to check it out. The outside area has some great chill-out spaces, plenty of food wagons and a huge bar to relax in before, during and after the gigs. Inside, it’s essentially an old plastics warehouse that has been converted into a live venue, and they use the space well. So, let’s get inside and check out our first band of the night.

Not quite at full capacity yet, Californian Dwellings (7) natives take to the stage to big cheers from those who arrived early to check them out. From song one, we get pure talent. No matter what influence you hear in each song, there is something interesting going on, from the emo yet soulful vocals of Isaac Wilson to the post-hardcore drumming of Thomas Reilly.

Being my first time seeing Dwellings, I’m immediately struck by the number of different grooves the band manages to work into their songs. Isaac takes time between songs to thank Bristol, saying, “The best place so far in the UK, as it’s our first time here.” Not that the crowd needs any more encouragement, as they’re already singing along and happily bouncing away.

A standout song for me is actually the first song the band released back in 2016, Lemonade. It’s filled with dreamy vocals and that great post-hardcore guitar sound, with plenty of atmospheric detail. By this point, both the band and crowd seem to be locked into a kind of slow-motion mosh.

The band have a great way of taking you down with almost R&B-inspired beats before suddenly changing structure and launching into math-rock madness. It’s a great start to the night, and I really enjoyed my first time seeing Dwellings.

Drinks and a little breather later, we’re back inside to catch the next band of the night, As December Falls (7). Unlike the other bands tonight, they’re from Nottingham, so they’ve played Bristol a few times since forming in 2014 and know what to expect from a Bristol crowd on a Friday night.

The band walk onto the stage with beaming smiles and get straight into things with big energy from note one. It would be a crime to simply describe this as a pop-punk band, as you can hear so much coming through in every song. There are nice touches of pure rock riffing, alongside great melodies from vocalist Bethany Hunter.

Hunter has a very strong and powerful voice that could easily match Hayley Williams for range and dynamics. Everyone here seems to bounce along to every song coming from the stage for the next 45 minutes.

A standout song for me is the track the band created for the video game Muse Dash. It has lots of nods to old-school video-game sound effects, but it’s also a great driving song that gets your feet moving and your head moshing. Chunky guitars and really good electronic-infused samples run throughout, while the band still manages to keep its pop-punk sound going right up to the final note.

The band have really good chemistry on stage and feed off each other extremely well. Another good set from a band I haven’t seen before, but would happily see again.

Time for tonight’s headliners.

I started listening to Dance Gavin Dance late, during the great toilet-paper shortage of 2020, but since then I’ve grown to really enjoy putting any of the band’s albums on while I’m doing things. There’s such variety and pleasure to be found in their music that I never quite know what I’m going to get when I press play.

By the time Dance Gavin Dance (8) walk onto the stage, The Prospect Building is absolutely packed. The crowd goes wild, and they go even more crazy when we kick into the first song, Animal Surgery, from the band’s latest album, Pantheon.

The band go back and forth throughout the night between older material and the new songs from Pantheon, which provides a very nice balance for both old and new fans alike. At the end of the first song, vocalists Andrew Wells and Jon Mess demand, “Let’s open up the pit!” The crowd happily obliges.

We go all the way back to 2007 with Lemon Meringue Tie from the band’s album Downtown Battle Mountain, and it sends everyone here crazy. Beforehand, Andrew tells everyone that he has had permission from security for crowd surfing. Before he’s even finished his sentence, I think we already have someone on their way down to the front as the band launches into the song.

The immense sound of DGD live certainly confirms to me why I like this band. I love the sudden changes of pace in their unique post-hardcore sound. We get progressive guitars that blend softer touches with all-out fast chugs, alongside drums that will have your head confused about what mosh pace you’re supposed to settle on. It’s all sprinkled with evil screams and powerful, strong melodic vocals.

A standout song for me is Speed Demon, released as a single in 2024. The melodies are pure bliss, with strong solo playing from guitarist and founding member Will Swan, before the song kicks into a heavy ending that keeps everyone jumping straight into the next song.

The band eventually bring the night’s set in Bristol to a close with another track from Pantheon, the crazy All The Way Down. Then, for the final song, we get the last track from the band’s 2018 album Artificial Selection, Evaporate.

Dance Gavin Dance have taken this crowd to the limits tonight with their brutal yet soulful mix of progressive post-hardcore, proving exactly why the Sacramento natives are one of the very best progressive post-hardcore acts around — and have been for a long time.

A very strong night from all three bands, with each bringing something different to The Prospect Building. Dwellings provide the technical and atmospheric opening, As December Falls bring huge energy and infectious melodies, and Dance Gavin Dance finish the night by completely tearing the roof off the place.

Three very different takes on modern alternative and post-hardcore, but a combination that works extremely well on one bill. For a first visit to The Prospect Building, Bristol certainly delivered.