Reviews: Wayward Sons, Misanthur, Eclipse, Skeletoon (Reviews By Matt Bladen & Paul Hutchings)

Wayward Sons – Even Up The Score (Frontiers Music Srl) [Matt Bladen]

If ever there was a band that could be considered to be a British rock band it’s Wayward Sons. The politically charged hard rock has seen them gather quite a following since their debut album Ghosts Of Yet To Come. Much of this is due to the very aware, some may even say ‘woke’ song writing of Toby Jepson, who is a modern troubadour, rallying against oppression, stupidity and privilege with his songs, filtering this ideology through a fiery mix of hard rock swagger and punk rock attitude. These themes were explored much more on second record The Truth Ain’t What It Used To Be, although there things felt a little bit hopeless, on this third release there is a defiance, Jepson leading his band as a rallying cry about our current state of affairs as a country. 

Jepson has said that Faith In Fools, the first single, is about social media/media and their control over the information we digest. This has never been more direct than during the pandemic where false information was the real virus, it’s tackled head on Faith In Fools but not to a maudlin degree as Nic Wastell (bass), Phil Martini (drums), and Sam Wood (guitar) bring big, old fashioned rock riffing to the opening duo of Even Up The Score and Big Day, both taking the boogie rock ethos of AC/DC and Status Quo while Sign Of Times is full of punk rock thunder. As I said at the beginning of the review there’s innate Britishness to the record, whether it’s Toby’s snotty vocal on Bloody Typical, the twin axe attack on Downfall. 

Or you have the Deep Purple-like riff at the beginning of Fake, the Queen guitar sound on They Know or the 70’s rock stomp of Looking For A Reason, where Dave Kemp’s keyboards really get to really shine, though I will say They Know is a bit American sounding. It’s like a whole load of 70/80’s rock bands rolled into one, this third album being better-rounded than the previous two. Even Up The Score sounds like Wayward Sons’ establishing themselves as a force that is here to stay, the most recent member of the a long line of rock n roll royalty. 8/10

Misanthur - Ephemeris (Season Of Mist) [Paul Hutchings]

Misanthur’s darkness is all enveloping. Their inspiration, a range of metal and non-metal genres. Their music, a combination of trance percussion, harrowing guitars, mesmerising bass lines and clean vocals interspersed with hellish roars. The tempo ranges from crushingly heavy to almost lounge room cabaret. The result? 55 minutes of exhilarating and bewitching post-black metal that weaves and binds.

Formed in 2015 in Częstochowa, Poland, the band comprises two musicians, Hellscythe and Draugr. Their songs are long, with only one track on this release under six-minutes in length. But that doesn’t detract from the creativity that is on display. Opener Enter The Void sprawls at just under eight minutes, a lumbering piece that switches from deep doom to more in your face tremolo riffing through to melancholic passages that search deep into your soul. The malevolence that lurks under the glacial shift of Dense Mental Trace is substantial. A grinding, ever decreasing pace which decreases to gut wrenching ambiance. That’s all blown away with the dramatic frenzy of more traditional atmospheric black metal in the storm that erupts On the Heights Of Despair, Black Clouds & No Silver Linings. The blackened blast beats are aggressive and punishing, the walls of riffs crystal clear.

Written with the aim of capturing the concept of personal degradation, you should expect a journey into the darkened recesses of the consciousness. It’s a revealing process, with shimmering soundscapes that flow in cinematic style. Essence sees female vocals incorporated into the sounds, bringing an ethereal dimension that echoes, haunts, and captivates in equal measure. The style flips to more alternative, Gothic tones challenging the stereotypical views and chucking more intriguing and intricate variation into the mix. The nine-minutes of The Serpent Crawls throws more sinister darkness, a disturbing, repetitive riff echoes wildly, backed by a cacophony of drumming. It’s all overwritten by some instinctive tremolo work. Captivating, intriguing and spellbinding, this latest release from Season Of Mist provokes misery, sadness, and anxiety. It’s worthy of a listen. 8/10

 
Eclipse – Wired (Frontiers Music Srl) [Matt Bladen]

Swedish Euro-rockers Eclipse return with their eighth studio album, following up from their most successful album so far, Paradigm in 2019. It seems that in recent years this band have found a global audience as one of the most enjoyable, upbeat rock bands Sweden has produced. I honestly believe it a track such as first single Saturday Night (Hallelujah) was entered into Eurovision it would win! However that is just one of the sing along anthems on this record, it’s what founding members Erik Mårtensson (vocals) and Magnus Henriksson (guitars) write so well. From the opening moodiness of Roses On Your Grave, to solo filled bounce of Run For Cover through ballads like Carved In Stone, Wired is packed with upbeat melodic rock anthems that are guaranteed to make you smile. 

Eclipse are currently still riding high on the success of their previous record so they don’t they to take any risks here, it’s very similar in delivery to Paradigm, but after 20 odd years of playing to finally getting to open for bands such as The Scorpions as well as being in demand at rock festivals all over the world due to your stage show, why would you change? Erik has a perfect melodic vocal while Magnus writes a guitar hook that is part Def Leppard, part Van Halen as the back room of drummer Philip and bassist Victor Crusner add that arena ready beat of We Didn’t Come To Lose. Wired is Eclipse capitalising on their momentum, and while the pandemic slowed them a little Wired is pretty much the ideal post pandemic record as it’s an uplifting, smile inducing listening experience. 7/10

Skeletoon - The 1.21 Gigawatts Club (Scarlet Records) [Paul Hutchings]

A concept album based on ‘Back to the Future’. What could possibly be wrong about that? Well, quite a lot as it transpires. I suppose if you enjoy the cheesy Europop power metal that Skeletoon bring to the table, then this album, with its Cheshire cat grin and hideous hooks may well get a tick in the box. It’s a combination of 80s AOR with a more metallic background. Their third album, it’s summed up by the ghastly ballad Enchant Me, which might be the most saccharine coated song I’ve heard for many a year. It’s bile in the back of the throat for sure.

Skeletoon have incorporated choirs, synths, and several special guests as part of this 49-minute ride from power hell. Many of their fans will also be huge fans of the movies that starred old Marty McFly and the Doc, but I wasn’t over enamored with the movie when it first came out and it certainly is the domain of the nerds, which is just as well, because that’s what Skeletoon claim to be. Having already celebrated the myth of the film ‘Goonies’ in their previous release, what else would you do?

There are a few moments on here that work. In typical bombastic Helloween style, We Don’t Need Roads (The Great Scott Madness) simply powers along, the high pitch of vocalist Tomi Fooler hitting Kiske heights. Similarly, Pleasure Paradise (Oh Là Là) delivers in similar energetic fashion. And when the band do get going, then their power metal works reasonably well. The problem is that there are bands that do power metal so much better. So, whilst those whose tastes enjoy everything covered in sugar may enjoy this album, it’s unfortunately not one that I’ll be coming back to in a hurry. 5/10