Firewind: S/T (AFM Records)
Yet again we have another Firewind album and yet again it sees another set of line up changes. Gone is long time keyboardist Bob Katsionis (perhaps a little swamped with all of the other work he does) and gone to is Henning Basse who only joined the band for their previous album replaced by Herbie Langhans (Avantasia, Radiant, Seventh Avenue) behind the mic. Of course Firewind has always been the vehicle for the virtuoso guitar stylings of guitarist Gus G and on this album Gus explained that they chose Herbie due to his similarity to "Stephen Fredrick (Firewind's) first vocalist". But does it sound like Firewind's first album? This also didn't have the keyboards in it but it was full of meaty speed metal. Firewind does have the atypical Gus G guitar playing that made Ozzy want him, this can be heard on opener Welcome To The Empire which kicks things off with blasting heavy metal assault, the heaviness is retained on Devour, Langhans' vocals gruff and gritty while Petros Christo (bass) and Jo Nunez (drums) add bounce to Rising Fire.
It's from Rising Fire that the sound shift into the more melodic realms of Gus' solo albums, Break Away brings synths (played by Gus) similar to 80's influence on Bob's other band Outloud. There's a three part story on the record beginning with Orbital Sunrise through the saccharine ballad Longing To Know You. The second part of this album evolves into a hard record with riffs stolen from Dio, Ozzy and Maiden (All My Life) moving away from their normal heavy/power metal sound. From the info this change of sound is a deliberate move as it does suit Langhans' style more, unfortunately I feel that it's a little bit safe and really can now be seen as another Gus G solo record really, alas not his excellent 2018 release Fearless. 6/10
Pattern Seeking Animals: Prehensile Tales (InsideOut Music)
Spock's Beard off shoot Pattern Seeking Animals return with their second album in a year, yet again the four piece of SB members Ted Leonard (lead vocals & guitars), Jimmy Keegan (drums & vocals), Dave Meros (bass) and long time SB contributor John Boegehold (keyboards) have made an album of songs that have wider palate than the classic prog rock sounds of SB. The debut was very much in the realms of art rock with washes of acoustic phrasing and poetic lyricism that, if could make a Marillion comparison, moves them from Fish into Hogarth. Prehensile Tiles takes things further with the addition of more classical string elements along with flute, trumpet, sax and pedal steel. Keeping things the same as the debut it was produced by Boegehold and mixed by Rich Mouser but with a wider scope of sound influences adding to the debut.
Prehensile Tales is only 5 tracks long but when the shortest on the record is 4:30 and the longest is a mammoth 17:20, there is a hell of a lot of music to enjoy Prehensile Tales opens with Raining Hard In Heaven, a jazzy number with lots of tinkling ivories and synths out of a 50's Sci-fi B-Movie met with finger bending bass from Dave Meros, it's a catchy start with a huge repetitive chorus that sticks in your brain. It's followed by Here In My Autumn which is layered with acoustic guitars and strings showing why I personally think Ted Leonard is one of the best vocalists in progressive music, he's got a unique sound I've enjoyed since his tenure in Enchant (a band I believe he is still in along with SB).
Here In My Autumn is grandiose while Elegant Vampires is almost akin to a folk pop number with some great percussion from Jimmy Keegan. Leonard. Leonard shows he's also a very good guitar player on Raining Hard In Heaven but also on Why Don't We Run a song that's a potent mixture of Ennio Morricone and Carlos Santana. This serves as an appetizer for the monumental Lifeboat the albums prog epic, having a touch of Yes at the beginning before the sax adds some Van Der Graaf Generator vibes. For any prog rock fans listening to the album this song you will naturally be the one you gravitate too, it's a slow burner for sure but oozes virtuosity out of every note but it's not over yet as the album closes with the 12 minute Soon But Not Today which has some 60's grooves, a lot of Jethro Tull-esque flute, Brian May leads, some reggae and trumpet making it the albums most intriguing number. Once again Pattern Seeking Animals explore what the term 'progressive' really means and if intricate artistic, hooky prog rock is right up your alley then I suggest investing in Prehensile Tales. 8/10
Horisont: Sudden Death (Century Media Records)
Sudden Death is Horisont's sixth full length record, no it isn't a tribute to Jean Claude Van Damme's hockey based action movie. No they are a Swedish retro rock band (yes another one) and as such do it as well as if not better than some of the originators. As far as decades are concerned Horisont are unashamedly 70's though they askew the Sabbath and Purple worship of Graveyard or Witchcraft, rather they fill their album with more poppier sounds of the 70's in particular the piano driven glam rock stomp of The Sweet and David Bowie channelled through the quirkiness of Blue Oyster Cult and ELO. Sudden Death is a collection of scary monsters and super creeps with more than a nod to Thin Lizzy on Pushin' The Line while the strains of Ziggy comes through liberally on Revolution, though the freewheeling Into The Night and into the acoustic scrubbing of Runaway you can hear why Sudden Death has been in the works since 2013.
Horisont have tried to stretch the boundaries of the 'retro rock' tag here by paying homage to the sounds of that era not often visited by many of their Swedish brethren (lets face it most of them are Swedish), consider this record an homage to the those glam, americana and blues influenced bands from the 70's, it's music that has been slaved over to make it sound as authentic as possible. Just listen to Breaking The Chains and not think about Moroder jamming with the Doobie Brothers, or Archaeopteryx In Flight without being haunted by the horror themes of John Carpenter, I dare you. Sudden Death like the JCVD film it's named after is a fun filled romp through one of the most vibrant times for music, grow out that moustache and get into the groove. 7/10
Toledo Steel: The First Strike Of Steel - The Early Years Anthology (Dissonance Productions)
This album is the 2013 and 2015 EP's from Bournemouth NWOTHM band Toledo Steel, after their full length album No Quarter received rave reviews in 2018 especially from me it was probably time that fans who loved that record were able to hear the early releases from these leather clad purveyors of galloping metal. The first three tracks are from the Toledo Steel EP and are rawer/punkier tracks the bass heavier in the mix and the compositions a little simplistic, but they show where the band were heading, it's with Zero Hour the remaining six tracks that we hear more of the Toledo Steel sound those that picked up No Quarter will be familiar with.
Kicking off with a synthy instrumental it's a much more polished sound with stinging dual leads from Kyle House (no longer in the band) and Tom Potter, with a pounding rhythm section of Matt Dobson (drums) and bassist David Lovell (also no longer in the band). However the main linking component is that Rich Rutter's trad metal shriek, his vocals soar higher than any Elon Musk satellite and on the Zero Hour material you will hear it at it's best. An ideal way of introducing new converts to the band to their older material, if you have them then nothing is different but if you missed them the first time round this is an perfect one disc collection. 7/10
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