You know just recently I had rediscovered Def Leppard’s landmark Hysteria release, by amazing coincidence, having not listened to it for decades. It may have been done to death in its day, but it was a huge part of my teenage years and it’s still strong enough for at least one of my own teenagers to actually be complimentary about when we driving recently. The issue that I have had with Def Leppard in recent times, is the band that recorded that hard rock classic seemed long gone and the soft rock act using the name and logo was a shadow of that former self.
The problem is that that’s just my opinion and although they never scaled the heights of their mid-80’s peak again (and let’s face it few did in the decade that followed), but they did retain an audience with the more US soft rock radio station friendly era that started with Retro Active. I’ve dipped in and out ever since, but haven’t really felt as engaged, so I approached Diamond Star Halos with some trepidation - given that it’s name evoked the lacklustre Songs From The Sparkle Lounge. But that’s the thing with this reviewing lark – for every release that fails to deliver against expectations, there’s something else that comes along and unexpectedly exceeds it.
This line-up of Sheffield (and Belfast’s) finest has been going for a long while now and is comfortable, but absolutely not complacent today. This record kicks right off with a trio of positive belters in Take What You Want, Kick and Fire It Up´ the like of which have been missing on this band’s studio offerings for far too long. Now don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of slower, acoustic and balladry material on here, as well as some more almost symphonic moments, but fundamentally this is the first Leppard album that is more hard rock than not for a very long time. Now most of this stuff is front loaded, and the album definitely gets more thoughtful and easy-paced as it goes but it doesn’t feel unnecessarily syrupy and clichéd, instead coming across as mature and thoughtful, but with enough of a hard edge under the water line to keep it credible.
The band clearly dip their toes back towards their heyday, but there’s also an early 70’s Glam Rock vibe to tome of the rhythm work in here, that’s more T-Rex than NWOBHM – the anthemic U Rok Mi, with its Bolan meets The Sweet clap-a-long drum sound and a good catchy solo-riff that would not have been out of place on Pyromania. One negative point though, is that it is quite a lengthy, with the seventeen tracks (albeit two of which are bonus remixes) clocking up over an hour and ten minutes of material. Your money’s worth for sure, but some pruning would have made for a very punchy package, and this length does wear a little.
That said, this is a band taking a trip through the things that their long career has proven to work and knitting it together in a package for this decade - and those are words I really did not expect to be writing about Def Leppard in 2022. The more you listen, the more you want to, and that’s a damn good sign. 8/10
Time Dwellers - Novum Aurora (Argonauta Records) [Matt Bladen]
Despite forming in 2017, you could easily think that Swedish group Time Dwellers were born in the heady days between 1967 and 1977, when progressive rock was at its peak and the titans of the genre made all of their best albums. Time Dwellers indeed as their progressive rock style is filled with the hallmarks of that 10 year period, elongated songs that feature plenty of 12 String Guitar playing that was a staple of Jethro Tull and Genesis, to the oscillating mellotron of King Crimson and Tangerine Dream, piled on top of this, swathes of analogue synthesisers swirl throughout this debut record, matches by some fluid, Floydian guitar playing and vocals that owe a lot to the poetic delivery of Ian Anderson.
The problem is that that’s just my opinion and although they never scaled the heights of their mid-80’s peak again (and let’s face it few did in the decade that followed), but they did retain an audience with the more US soft rock radio station friendly era that started with Retro Active. I’ve dipped in and out ever since, but haven’t really felt as engaged, so I approached Diamond Star Halos with some trepidation - given that it’s name evoked the lacklustre Songs From The Sparkle Lounge. But that’s the thing with this reviewing lark – for every release that fails to deliver against expectations, there’s something else that comes along and unexpectedly exceeds it.
This line-up of Sheffield (and Belfast’s) finest has been going for a long while now and is comfortable, but absolutely not complacent today. This record kicks right off with a trio of positive belters in Take What You Want, Kick and Fire It Up´ the like of which have been missing on this band’s studio offerings for far too long. Now don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of slower, acoustic and balladry material on here, as well as some more almost symphonic moments, but fundamentally this is the first Leppard album that is more hard rock than not for a very long time. Now most of this stuff is front loaded, and the album definitely gets more thoughtful and easy-paced as it goes but it doesn’t feel unnecessarily syrupy and clichéd, instead coming across as mature and thoughtful, but with enough of a hard edge under the water line to keep it credible.
The band clearly dip their toes back towards their heyday, but there’s also an early 70’s Glam Rock vibe to tome of the rhythm work in here, that’s more T-Rex than NWOBHM – the anthemic U Rok Mi, with its Bolan meets The Sweet clap-a-long drum sound and a good catchy solo-riff that would not have been out of place on Pyromania. One negative point though, is that it is quite a lengthy, with the seventeen tracks (albeit two of which are bonus remixes) clocking up over an hour and ten minutes of material. Your money’s worth for sure, but some pruning would have made for a very punchy package, and this length does wear a little.
That said, this is a band taking a trip through the things that their long career has proven to work and knitting it together in a package for this decade - and those are words I really did not expect to be writing about Def Leppard in 2022. The more you listen, the more you want to, and that’s a damn good sign. 8/10
Time Dwellers - Novum Aurora (Argonauta Records) [Matt Bladen]
Despite forming in 2017, you could easily think that Swedish group Time Dwellers were born in the heady days between 1967 and 1977, when progressive rock was at its peak and the titans of the genre made all of their best albums. Time Dwellers indeed as their progressive rock style is filled with the hallmarks of that 10 year period, elongated songs that feature plenty of 12 String Guitar playing that was a staple of Jethro Tull and Genesis, to the oscillating mellotron of King Crimson and Tangerine Dream, piled on top of this, swathes of analogue synthesisers swirl throughout this debut record, matches by some fluid, Floydian guitar playing and vocals that owe a lot to the poetic delivery of Ian Anderson.
Born from the mind of ex-Gravitators guitarist Martin Fairbanks, these mellow, flowing audio journeys are a long way from his stoner metal roots. Joining him in the band are Multi-Instrumentalist (though mainly keys)/vocalist Kristofer Stjernquisy and drummer Henrik Bergmanand, this trio responsible for a kaleidoscopic musical display. At nine minutes, opening song Rising: Dawn/Awakening/Metamorphosis brings what Time Dwellers do to you as vividly as possible, a track divided into three parts, with cinematic opening building into a euphoric conclusion that shifts into the gloomy, jazzy main part, the deft drum beat and ghostly vocals keeping the intrigue until towards the end the fuzz from the guitars and the repeating synth feels almost like a Stranger Things episode.
This ominous sound is washed away by At Least We're Having Fun, an acoustic jaunt that goes all Fat Old Sun, if you know what I mean, I mean lyrically it's still about the apocalypse, as the entire album is, but this jaunty interlude, gets us to Seasons Change which is a track reminds me very much of today's retro rock revival, with hints of Camel but also Opeth, Von Hertzen Bros and Ghost if they stopped living in the 80's. That being said Seasons Change feels like the most like the 80's than anything else, possibly due to that Survivor-like synth pump, as it reels off into a elongated guitar solo, the proto-doom of What's About To Happen brings us back to Earth with a bump, what sounds like a mandolin adding an impressive melody to this darker offering.
This doom-laden style continues on Sound Of The Apocalypse which shifts between folksy whimsy and outright world ending power. It's here the Von Hertzen Brothers similarities are writ large, though once we get to Surfing With Greta, we're firmly in Vangelis (R.I.P) territory and the closer Tabular Balls is definitely a forgotten Rush song, though also has some Yes in it too. If I was to say one thing about Novum Aurora, is that like the band you'll have to give it time, not a lot, one or two listens and you'll see hear that it's one of the most authentic and entertaining prog albums of the year. 9/10
The Cruel Intentions - Venomous Anonymous (Indie Recordings) [Simon Black]
The bastard child of Rock ‘n’ Roll when I was young was the Sleaze scene. Sandwiched somewhere between The Rolling Stones and the horrendous Glam Metal scene, Sleaze was always the more down and dirty end of the spectrum, with players looking like they had only just woken up at all times of the night and day and with a dangerous edge and pallor that made parents uneasy and young ‘uns want to be them. At least for a while…
Sleaze cranked out some great acts at the time, but like the Glam and Hair scene, largely self-destructed before the 80’s had even burned themselves out. So over thirty years later, I am always bemused that the embers of that once great fire still smoulder in rock bars the world over, but as the younger generation wander back through their parents (and indeed grandparents) record collections, a lot of stuff from this era is getting a revival. For old acts desperate to revive a career, it feels false and forced, but it’s bands like Sweden’s The Cruel Intentions that prove that there may be some real signs of life in there yet.
One of the challenges the original scene suffered from was that most of its key progenitors were so off their tits most of the time, that song-writing was a hit and miss affair and a quality live show entirely dependent on their proximity to their regular dealers’ supply lines and pre-show hit timing - so much so that when we saw these acts over here in the UK, they frequently sucked live being at that point a couple of days into cold turkey. Why is this relevant? Well, these boys not only can clearly play and very tightly too, but they know how to craft a tune in the cold and sober light of day. It really helps that these chaps are all highly experienced musicians, if not necessarily old hands, with singer/guitarist Lizzy DeVine having cut his chops previously in the well-respected Vains Of Jenna in L.A. itself.
Musically this is very Sleazy and solid Hard Rock, but with a very modern and punchy twist. Reapercussion explodes things well from the get-go, with fast and furious delivery, rough and ready vocal lines but incredibly tight musical interplay between the four instrumentalists, with the kind of technical proficiency that this scene is frankly not exactly famous for in its historical annals. The title track keeps the pace up and I also really enjoyed the slightly retrospective Sunrise Over Sunset, which evoked memories of my time living in L.A. in 1989, when one stumbled out of a club only to discover that morning had broken and my sunglasses were still in the hostel. Or maybe someone else’s hostel…
What makes this album work is that alongside the tight musical delivery, there’s some good old fashioned catchy melody lines – Goddam Monday, Casket Case, Chemical Vacation and Bad Vibes all have the kind of singalong melodies that this scene did best, meaning simplicity and complexity dovetail side by side exceedingly well. It’s an homage to the past, but of this time first and foremost, which is quite an achievement. I did not expect to like this album at all. In fact I was expecting to go full on 80’s Kerrang! Mode, as I have recently with some older hands who should have known better, but this baby is bright, fresh and relevant. And fun, oh yes, fun. 8/10
Fortis Ventus - Vertalia (Rockshots Records) [Matt Bladen]
Vertalia is the debut album from Greek symphonic metal band Fortis Ventus, who formed in 2015 but changed their line up in 2018 leaving George Halliwell (keys/compositions/arrangements) and vocalist Nancy Mos as the creative force behind the band, guitarist Gregory Koilakos joining shortly after That to me sounds very similar to the Nightwish style of songwriting with keyboardist/composer, operatically trained vocalist deciding on the musical direction of the band. Perhaps not coincidentally, it's not the only thing Fortis Ventus have in common with Finnish symphonic metal leaders. You will definitely think as if this record was written and recorded in the latter part of the 1990's as it sticks to that cinematic film score meets metal sound employed on those first few, Tarja-fronted, Nightwish records.
Vertalia is a concept record based on the planet of the same name, so the cinematic and theatrical elements are used to create a score for this fairytale adventure around the search for inner peace. It means that Halliwell can create music that is stirring, emotive and grand in scale owing much to Hans Zimmer and also more gothic styles of Danny Elfman, most of the tracks full of choir vocals and strings to counterpoint Nancy's soprano, Gregory's metal riffs and drum recordings of Gregory Giarelis. The only thing that differs from Nightwish is the lack of male vocals but Illusory's Dee Theodorou, gives his pipes to Between Love & War completing their transformation into a band that owe pretty much their entire sound to Nightwish and Epica. It's a sound that has been often repeated but one that is possibly now a little outdated as even the names mentioned have moved on. 6/10
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