Gotthard are one of those bands who have been going for 26 years yet don’t have a huge following outside of their native Switzerland where they have had 11 number one albums. The band have put out 12 albums of stadium worthy hard rock and have overcome tragedy that would absolutely derail a band ten times their size but they have persevered and here we have Defrosted 2 an acoustic live album and sequel of sorts to the original D Frosted live album released in 1997. Acoustic albums give the band a chance to rework songs from their discography and Gotthard have risen to the challenge here with a tracklist which absolutely spans their 26 year career. The band are absolutely riveting form with frontman Nic Maeder sounding absolutely phenomenal.
Highlights included the honky tonk stomp of Sweet Little Rock ‘N’ Roller, the anthemic Stay With Me and the classic Lift U Up. The band also pay homage to Deep Purple with fantastic renditions of Hush and the legendary Smoke On The Water. We also get a couple of new studio recorded songs as the end with Status Quo’s Francis Rossi making a guest appearance on the Quo inspired Bye Bye Caroline. I’m not the biggest Gotthard fan but it’s hard to deny that Gotthard have raised the bar for live acoustic albums with Defrosted 2. It’s a fantastic career retrospective though if you are new to Gotthard you are probably better off starting with one of their studio albums to get a true sense of what the band is about. A great live album but one really only for the fans. 7/10
Eric Church: Desperate Man (Snakefarm Records) [Matt]
Desperate Man is the new album from 2 x CMA ‘Album of the Year’ winner and 7-time Grammy nominee Eric Church. Released on Spinefarm Records country imprint it's his sixth record and it shoots from the hip about the desperate times we live in. Check out The Snake the album's slithering moody opener where Church whispers about a "Copperhead" Rattlesnake which could be a thinly veiled reference to POTUS and makes this album smolder, it's Hanging Around that gets the fire burning though with the hip shaking boogie as Church sneers over some juddering Fender Rhodes. It's a blend of country and rock but there are only a few stadium barn burners on this record, it's a bit more understated but still has that emotion that Church has been known for, see the reminiscing on Hippie Radio. However I will say that this album does tend to lump all the slower tracks together meaning that the middle of it sags and in places the Church lyrical magic does seem to be lacking relying more on tired and tested themes and rhymes than the Springsteen-esque creativity he's always been said to have, also Desperate Man has nicked the rhythm from Sympathy For The Devil. I'll admit I'm not a huge Church follower but I know enough about him to say that this album is a reasonable reflection of Church's talent. 7/10
Fleshless: Doomed (Rotten Roll Rex) [Rich]
It’s been a while since I heard anything from Fleshless. The last album I heard by them was some fairly unrefined deathgrind so it was a complete surprise listening to the ninth album by the Czech death metallers to hear a very refined and bruising death metal release. Doomed sees the band sounding tighter than ever before with a very subtle melodic sensibility interwoven throughout the album. Don’t get me wrong this album is heavier than a jackhammer to the face with crushing numbers such as Human Debris, Ninety-Seven Pieces and Castrate guaranteed to have you crying for your mother. The difference I hear between this and the previous Fleshless albums I have heard is the increased maturity in the writing and the compositions with some gargantuan guitar riffs matched with the machine gun drumming making for a highly devastating yet utterly enjoyable listening experience. 8/10
Conception: My Dark Symphony (Conception Sound Factory) [Matt]
Norwegian power/prog metal band Conception return with their first new songs since 1997's Flow, after the release of that album the band split up as singer Roy Khan went to become the voice of Kamelot, Khan left Kamelot in 2010 citing illness and burnout he retired from music enjoying a quiet life. However in April of 2018 Conception returned with founding guitarist Tore Østby bringing back bassist Ingar Amlien to the band along with getting drummer Arve Heimda and Roy Khan out of retirement. So what's the EP like? Well it's pretty much what you'd want as a Conception and even a Kamelot fan, swathes of keys, passionate vocals and progressively tinged compositions decisively led by the guitars of Østby. Quite Alright is probably this EP's stand out track but theres a nice mix of heavy, melodic and the tender moments that Khan does so well vocally. It's great to hear the man back behind the mic again and with Kamelot now in much more OTT realms those harking back to the early days of the band should be picking up My Dark Symphony. 7/10
Eric Church: Desperate Man (Snakefarm Records) [Matt]
Desperate Man is the new album from 2 x CMA ‘Album of the Year’ winner and 7-time Grammy nominee Eric Church. Released on Spinefarm Records country imprint it's his sixth record and it shoots from the hip about the desperate times we live in. Check out The Snake the album's slithering moody opener where Church whispers about a "Copperhead" Rattlesnake which could be a thinly veiled reference to POTUS and makes this album smolder, it's Hanging Around that gets the fire burning though with the hip shaking boogie as Church sneers over some juddering Fender Rhodes. It's a blend of country and rock but there are only a few stadium barn burners on this record, it's a bit more understated but still has that emotion that Church has been known for, see the reminiscing on Hippie Radio. However I will say that this album does tend to lump all the slower tracks together meaning that the middle of it sags and in places the Church lyrical magic does seem to be lacking relying more on tired and tested themes and rhymes than the Springsteen-esque creativity he's always been said to have, also Desperate Man has nicked the rhythm from Sympathy For The Devil. I'll admit I'm not a huge Church follower but I know enough about him to say that this album is a reasonable reflection of Church's talent. 7/10
Fleshless: Doomed (Rotten Roll Rex) [Rich]
It’s been a while since I heard anything from Fleshless. The last album I heard by them was some fairly unrefined deathgrind so it was a complete surprise listening to the ninth album by the Czech death metallers to hear a very refined and bruising death metal release. Doomed sees the band sounding tighter than ever before with a very subtle melodic sensibility interwoven throughout the album. Don’t get me wrong this album is heavier than a jackhammer to the face with crushing numbers such as Human Debris, Ninety-Seven Pieces and Castrate guaranteed to have you crying for your mother. The difference I hear between this and the previous Fleshless albums I have heard is the increased maturity in the writing and the compositions with some gargantuan guitar riffs matched with the machine gun drumming making for a highly devastating yet utterly enjoyable listening experience. 8/10
Conception: My Dark Symphony (Conception Sound Factory) [Matt]
Norwegian power/prog metal band Conception return with their first new songs since 1997's Flow, after the release of that album the band split up as singer Roy Khan went to become the voice of Kamelot, Khan left Kamelot in 2010 citing illness and burnout he retired from music enjoying a quiet life. However in April of 2018 Conception returned with founding guitarist Tore Østby bringing back bassist Ingar Amlien to the band along with getting drummer Arve Heimda and Roy Khan out of retirement. So what's the EP like? Well it's pretty much what you'd want as a Conception and even a Kamelot fan, swathes of keys, passionate vocals and progressively tinged compositions decisively led by the guitars of Østby. Quite Alright is probably this EP's stand out track but theres a nice mix of heavy, melodic and the tender moments that Khan does so well vocally. It's great to hear the man back behind the mic again and with Kamelot now in much more OTT realms those harking back to the early days of the band should be picking up My Dark Symphony. 7/10
State Of Salazar: Superhero (Frontiers Records) [Rich]
Superhero is the second album by Swedish melodic rockers State Of Salazar. Following the release of debut album All The Way keyboard player Stefan Mårtenson departed the band to be replaced by Kevin Hosford who also took on the lead vocals and the majority of the songwriting for this album. Superhero has a sound that is very reminiscent of late 70’s/early 80’s AOR with the band clearly taking influence from bands such as Toto, Journey and Survivor especially evident in songs such as My Heart Is At War, Masquerade and the title track. The performances throughout are rock solid and the production is suitably slick.
Superhero is the second album by Swedish melodic rockers State Of Salazar. Following the release of debut album All The Way keyboard player Stefan Mårtenson departed the band to be replaced by Kevin Hosford who also took on the lead vocals and the majority of the songwriting for this album. Superhero has a sound that is very reminiscent of late 70’s/early 80’s AOR with the band clearly taking influence from bands such as Toto, Journey and Survivor especially evident in songs such as My Heart Is At War, Masquerade and the title track. The performances throughout are rock solid and the production is suitably slick.
This is a decent piece of AOR though it is very much lacking in originality with the band wearing the influences a bit too clearly on their sleeves. I enjoy a good bit of AOR as a counterpart to all the violent and chaotic music I generally listen to but I found this album just a bit too saccharine for my tastes and there are just that bit too many ballads throughout as well. That being said there are some quality tunes throughout and if you are a massive Toto fan you will definitely love this. 6/10
Needful Things: Deception (Psycho Control Records) [Rich]
Needful Things are a grindcore band from the Czech Republic and Deception is the third album from the grind quartet. This is very much rooted in the classic grind song so this release is short but completely savage and uncompromising with 15 songs in just over 23 minutes. All the classic components of grind are in place - throat shredding vocals, ripping guitars, chunky bass and a barrage of blasts from the drums all ably assisted by a mix that’s completely in your face. Most of the songs shred out of your speakers, smack you about a bit and then they are over.
Needful Things: Deception (Psycho Control Records) [Rich]
Needful Things are a grindcore band from the Czech Republic and Deception is the third album from the grind quartet. This is very much rooted in the classic grind song so this release is short but completely savage and uncompromising with 15 songs in just over 23 minutes. All the classic components of grind are in place - throat shredding vocals, ripping guitars, chunky bass and a barrage of blasts from the drums all ably assisted by a mix that’s completely in your face. Most of the songs shred out of your speakers, smack you about a bit and then they are over.
It’s not all a million miles an hour though as there are occasions where things slow down to a very satisfying groove reminiscent of Finnish grind heroes Rotten Sound. These slower groovier moments are few and far between and are just a brief respite from the blast beat ridden onslaught. There’s not much more than can be said of this release. If you don’t like grindcore then avoid at all costs but if you love your grind this is a damn good release. 8/10
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