Mammoth WVH – Mammoth WVH (Explorer 1 Records) [Paul Hutchings]
The debut record from Wolfgang William Van Halen, son of the great Eddie Van Halen. Named Mammoth as it was the name used by Van Halen before they became Van Halen in 1974, Wolfgang already has a solid track record in the recording world. Two albums and 14 years with Van Halen before his father’s sad demise, along with a brace with Alter Bridge guitarist Mark Tremonti (Cauterize and Dust), all before he reaches the grand old age of 30. The musical style is very much in the modern hard rock vein, with plenty of melody, harmonies and a gentle style that gets the foot tapping at every opportunity. WVH is an amazing talent, playing and singing every note on the album. Technically the album is superb, with his guitar playing shining through. He also has a great clean vocal style, rich and warm.
There are hooks galore, as songs like raucous opener Mr Ed with some familiar double tapping lead work, and the anthemic Don’t Back Down demonstrate. Music that will appeal to the wider tastes of the hard rock fan, there’s probably enough to tempt a listen from those whose tastes are either side as well. There’s some gentle variation, such the lighter blues feel of Resolve, the punchier riffs of You’ll Be The One, the emotion of Circles or the melodic rock of Mammoth. It’s crafted, polished stadium rock by numbers at the end of the day. There’s little in the way of danger or challenge, the music sitting in the same ballpark as the Foo Fighters or Alter Bridge, prime for the MOR rock stations in the US, and Planet Rock in the UK.
Expect to see Mammoth WVH arrive on the bills of Download and Ramblin’ Man Fair in 2022, for this is the audience he is surely targeting. The good night out for those who like it with guitars but “not too heavy”. It’s well performed and composed, a little too long and ultimately maybe a little routine and safe. But the giant crab on the album cover certainly gets the thumbs up! 7/10
Thy Kingdom Will Burn - Thy Kingdom Will Burn (Scarlet Records) [Zak Skane]
Hailing from Kouvola Finland, Thy Kingdom Will Burn are a four piece melodic death metal band that have Brutal Death Metal roots. Now signed to Scarlet Records with a worldwide deal, the band have released their ten track debut album. Starting with the opening tracks tribal drum patterns and acoustic guitar melodies I knew I was in for a good slice of Melodeath. The following track Alone I Stand starts out slapping me in the face with this classic Melodeath pedal tone riff that you would hear from classic bands of this sub-genre like In Flames and At The Gates before the song greets me with blasts beats and one of the first but many catchy choruses from this album. The choruses sung from the vocalist/guitarist Sami Kujala gritty baritone voice reminds me of the vocalist from the band Panic Cell which puts a unique twist to the Melodeath sound.
The momentum is carried on with Follow The Fallen and Rise Against, Rise Against provides us with this swing groove filled guitar riff that uses a Digitech Whammy (yes the same effect that Rage Against The Machine use) but in a tasteful manner that will still please the Amon Amarth fans. The Black River tones down the dynamics by showing us the bands more Celtic Battle Metal influences (for fans of Ensiferum), that classic 6/8 waltz feel combined with acoustic guitars and clean sung verses before the band kick back in with anthemic distorted lead sections in the choruses. The band pick up the pace and again with the follow up songs like In Company Of Wolves where the band combines catchy melodic riffs and lead lines with blast beats, Unclean shows the bands groovy side with the opening riff taking influence from bands like Megadeth, Metallica and Gus G era Ozzy Osborne before it takes you down a trip of catchy choruses with Pantera swagger.
Through The Storm brings out the bands symphonic and orchestral side, opening up the song with these haunting string sounds before they accompany the band instrumentation and War! is another Battle Metal inspired tune that will make you want to whip out your sword and shield and pledge your allegiance to Valhalla. Finally their closing track Season Of Sorrow brings out the bands melancholy side, taking influences from bands like Insomnium and Paradise Falls. The band use layers of additional guitars and orchestral instruments to build atmosphere to lead this album to its gracious swan song.
In conclusion this is an amazing melodic death metal album. The production on this album is astounding all credit to Juho Raiha of Soundspiral Audio (To/Die/For, Swallow the Sun and Wolfheart) who engineered and produced the album, did a great job mixing down all those sonic layers to aid the bands sound. The bands songs and instrumentation is well structured and the track listing is gratefully arranged. The only criticism that I could only point out is that some of the lyrics sounded a bit shoe-horned especially in the song Alone I Stand and I felt like the intro section to Follow The Fallen strayed on a bit too long. Other and that I give this album sold 9/10
Dim Gray – Flown (Grim Day Records) [Alex Swift]Beautifully intertwining Nordic folk textures with serene experimentation, listening to Norway’s Dim Gray makes for a fascinating and intriguing journey. Inspired by loss and solitude, the piece feels like an exploration of the human response to grief, be that personal or social. Flown is grand sounding yet also cerebral and atmospheric and a range of sound palates are employed from the menacing growl of guitars to the rush and swell of orchestrals. So that everyone is in no doubt, this piece is brilliant in its emotional depth, while being instrumentally layered and diverse as to keep the listener enthralled.
“Are you listening. The story begins at the end” flows the first line like a gentle breeze that soothes yet also chills you. The reverberating vocals accompanied by the haunting timbre of guitars and strings convinces you of the sadness contained within the opener. Abundantly beautiful is the way the layers of orchestrals and melodies swell, influencing and understanding the sensitive state which the first few minutes of this album inspires in you. The Wave We Thought We’d Ride Forever places at its centre a ceaseless thud like that of a heartbeat that’s sustained through a lifetime of colour and experience, represented here by the myriad of joyous instrumentals that spring to the forefront in moments of pure liberation from the concepts of decay and temporality which underline the storytelling.
Rath proves far more classical in composition, seeing our narrator sooth their melancholy and begin the journey to a place beyond that, the galloping beat, and ambitious outpourings of emotionally enthused textured carrying the piece forward eloquently. This leads us to Wandering. “I’m hearing old whispers in my ear. I’m leaving out those eager sounds, though I fear they know here I am” sound the first few lines in this emotive piano ballad about trying to move on from tragedy, in spite of the fear of a life after that. Although plenty of songs provoke a response in me, it’s a great song that can provoke tears on first listen like this one did. Incidentally, while an interlude such as Flown might do little for me on a less considered and thoughtful album, here it’s the perfect moment of quiet contemplation that allows the listener to comprehend everything they have heard thus far.
Light Anew proves introspective and nourishing – despite sounding akin to a stream of consciousness in musical form, the piece leaves its mark as your left contemplating how a song with so much otherworldly quality can so easily resonate with the way your own feelings often sway and change upon something as simple as a change in the light or shift in your plans. Song For E. by contrast, is far more humble yet no less moving, Despite probably being dedicated to someone in particular, lines like “you left me behind and I’m tired and afraid” are still incredibly relatable to anyone who’s ever wished they had a friends company to aid them in their life endeavour. Again, making the record varied and intriguing is Dreamers Disease which fuses bluesy composition with roaring guitars in a way that is guttural yet exhilarating at the same time.
And yes, the closer does encapsulate and provide resolve to Flown. Brilliantly played yet reflective, dramatic yet heartfelt and most importantly coming from a place of sincerity and respect to the subject matter, by the end of this song and indeed this album I felt conscious of the journeys I’ve taken in understanding my own feelings of loss and desolation, and being able to deal with them. “read like the pages of a book. Understood”. I hesitate to say this for fear that Dim Gray may do something even more impactful in the future, but a better debut could not have been hoped for. In Flown they have created something truly affecting. 10/10
Founded by Wade Black, who gave the histrionic vocals to American heavy metal acts Crimson Glory/Seven Witches/Leatherwolf, Chalice Of Sin was created in conjunction with Frontiers in-house knob twiddler Alessandro Del Vecchio, he takes bass and keys, Martin Jepsen Andersen has guitars and Mirkko De Maio is behind the stool, for this classic American heavy metal sound akin to Metal Church and of course Crimson Glory due to savage, multi-octave voice of Black, who sings with mixture of Biff Byford and Rob Halford, rubbed in grit and has been a vocal coach for many years. So everyone involved is talented but the album itself…well it’s pretty standard heavy metal. There are bands like Savatage and Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens that do this better, Chalice Of Sin does also suffer from some mid-paced bloat, Miracle and Whiskey being the two worst, the latter having some corny lyrics as well. There are some good bits as Ashes Of The Black Rose is decent but unfortunately it’s followed by the horrible Through The Eyes Of A Child. At 48 minutes it’s probably not going to win over anyone who has never listened to a band Wade Black has been in, and his vocal style while technically proficient can be a little annoying over long period. Fans will check it out others may not be as eager. 5/10
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