Reviews: One Morning Left, Kaonashi, Head Of Jeddore, Hellryder (Reviews By Zak Skane, Liam True, Matt Bladen & Paul Hutchings)

One Morning Left - Hyperactive (Arising Empire) [Zak Skane]

One Morning Left are a European Metal-core band that formed around 2010. Since their music video debut !liaf cipE (Epic Fail!) the band have infused electronic and quirky elements that you would get from bands like Attack Attack and old The Devil Wears Prada. In the past ten years the band have been infusing pop elements into their sound, especially with their synth sounds and clean vocal stylings. Fast forward to 2021, now signed to Arising Empire the six piece have released an 80’s infused metalcore album Hyperactive. In the first minute of listening to this albums opening track Ruby Dragon I was very impressed with the analogue synth and arpeggiator sounds that this band have captured to replicate the pure 80s sound. 

When listening to the vocals and the lyrics, I really admired the timbre of the clean vocals as well as the lyrics that take influence from the 80s classic film The Never Ending Story. Just from that first track I was sold on the bands 80s laced metalcore sound. The momentum carried on with Neon Highway where the guitars a take on a more technical approach. When it’s accompanied with the keyboards it’s reminds me of to old school shred and prog bands like old school Steve Vai and Dream Theater. Again with the 80’s inspired clean vocals mixed with the harsh vocals really help join the two worlds of modern and old school metal. 

These moments are best performed on songs like Drowned God where we get this awesome dreamscape sounding synth and arpeggiator start the song before the guitars, bass and drums come in. Creatvres has this cool swinging rhythm that’s provided by this shuffle drum beat which (to me) takes a nod to the 80’s pop music like Tears For Fears’ song Everybody Wants To Rule The World and some Songs by Michael Jackson that came from that era. Worry Less Dance More where there are some good call and response moments between the clean and harsh vocals and I also admired the clean 3/4 Jazz sections more dynamics to the bands sound. My main criticisms that I have with this album is that they’re songs like Downfall (despite the awesome clean vocal harmonies) and Hyperactive, which lose it’s essence of 80’s infused metalcore and start turning into just metalcore with keyboards in it. 

There’s some moments on the album where the structure of the good cop, bad cop or should I say bad cop, good cop (if I want to specific about the order) in where the song starts out with harsh vocals and then clean sung in choruses are rinse repeated throughout it the end of the song. Mostly I find that some of the songs on the album lack that fun element that could help their listeners have a more enjoyable experience, for example there could of some sections of the where could have breaks where it could a have been a simple kick drum pounding on the downbeat accompany the synths only sections to give it that live energy. A recent example would Eskimo Callboys Hypa Hypa or MC Thunder where you can tell they will be well received with a live audience.

In conclusion I thought this album was a fun listen. The production nailed the 80’s sound melded with modern metal sounding guitars, drums and vocals really well. The harsh vocals were performed with great energy, the clean vocals sounded powerful and the accompanying harmonies were well orchestrated. Overall if you are fan everything 80’s and metalcore this is definitely worth a listen. 7/10.

Kaonashi - Dear Lemon House, You Ruined Me Senior Year (Rude Records/EV/Unbeaten) [Liam True]

Emo Mathcore is a genre I'm not familiar with in anyway shape or form. Yet it’s captivating while somehow catchy and repulsive at the same time. The technicality of the band rages through the album as they create furious and angsty music as frontman Peter Rono wails and screeches his way through the 47 minute assault on your senses. Much like their musical style and sound, the album itself is quite complex, as in the way that it sounds both very good and extremely horrid on times. The musical ability of the band is unmatched. Whether it’s duel guitarists Roger Alvarez & Alex Hallquist using their riffs and short bursts of energy to flavour and sweet the songs while the bassist August Axcelson beats his way through the sound of the band. Drummer Ryan Paoilli is in a league of his own as he demolishes the background of the band to break any silence the band ease into through their foray into the world and educational landscape that is Lemon House. 

While the songs are up and down, the main focus point for myself is An Evening Of Moving Pictures With Scooter Corkle as it encompasses the bands sound while bringing their song writing and chorus abilities to the forefront of the album. It then all falls a bit flat until A Recipe For A Meaningful Life kicks in, especially with that beautiful guitar solo toward the end. Even the final three songs, known as The Underdog Trilogy isn’t all that good. Granted Underdog Part ll is an acoustic dream but it still hits soft and doesn’t make an impact. It’s a decent album all round but it misses the mark on more than a few occasions. I must admit it is an acquired sound that’s not for me, but some songs are better than most. But still hits flat for me. 4/10

Head Of Jeddore - How To Slaughter A Lamb (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]

There must be something about Canadians. They seem to excel at weird, mind-melting, Schizophrenic metal. The key example of this is obviously Devin Townsend but coming from one of Greg Dawson one of the minds behind Canadian Doom metal band Olde, is Head Of Jeddore an avant-garde metal project that is much more aggressive and ferocious than Olde, which languishes in the doom realms. How To Slaughter A Lamb is the debut album from Dawson in this guise drawing from the outright madness of Devin (in full Ziltoid on The Tragedy Network) but also bands such as the maddening and eclectic Mr. Bungle though Into The Well sounds like a extreme metal Captain Beefheart song. 

Part-thrash, part-stoner with lots of death metal and also some early 2000's metal ala System Of A Down (check out the vocals on the title track and Kathmandu). Along with Dawson (who recorded/produced/mastered/engineered the record) he has numerous musicians contributing to the record, including members of Fucked Up. The 10 tracks on this record continually keep you guessing, living in the extreme metal style for the most part, there's plenty of other musical styles that are literally thrown at you, seemingly at random but they are all part of this avant-garde sound. Throw Mike Patton, Devin Townsend and Serj Tankian into a blender and you'll come out with something close to How To Slaughter A Lamb. 7/10

Hellryder – The Devil Is a Gambler (ROAR! Rock Of Angels Records) [Paul Hutchings]

Badged as a German heavy metal supergroup, Hellryder’s credentials stand up to initial scrutiny. Featuring vocalist Chris Boltendahl, the voice of Gravedigger since 1980 and Axel Ritt (guitarist with Gravedigger for over a decade), drummer Timmi Breideband (Gregorian, ex Bonfire, ex Freedom Call) and bass player Steven Wussow (Orden Ogan, ex Domain, ex Xandria). This debut record is big, bombastic, and about as Teutonic metal as they come. The riffs are thick, the engine room locked and loaded, powering the songs forward and Boltendahl’s gravel-soaked vocals are unmistakable. It’s a combination of all things stereotypical in German metal, with the Accept feel of the title track a crunching, denim and leather clad beast which will go down a storm with their countrymen. It’s uncompromising, straightforward heavy metal. 

The opening trio are fast paced, with the searing Hellryder probably the pick of the three. There’s plenty of speed, with the likes of Harder, Faster, Louder, Jekyll & Hyde and the muscular Chainsaw Lilly (if you can ignore the simply dreadful chorus) pounding along. There are also some stinkers with Faceless Jesus and the horrible Passion Maker really causing a smell. In fact, this is never going to be an album with thought provoking lyrical content, and it’s probably best to try not to listen too hard. I could go on but if you haven’t got the idea by now then you probably won’t be interested anyway. This is burly, masculine metal for denim clad metalheads who want no-nonsense, 80s heavy metal with no strings. It batters, it hammers and it’s about as subtle as a kick in the nuts. 6/10