I love The Cult. Every musical version of them. From the goth/new wave to the heavy rocking, hair band touring, to the more soulful, Native American influences, to the more mature version of the band, which is on full display on the new record, Under The Midnight Sun, which is the perfect title for the vibe of this record. Like a few bands that put out new albums this year (see: King’s X) a new album from The Cult should be an international holiday, and rarely does this band disappoint and Under The Midnight Sun is no exception. Ian and Billy, while a bit more chill and much darker than some recent releases, have another excellent addition to their discography with album number eleven.
At a crisp eight tracks over 35 minutes, Under The Midnight Sun is easily consumable and made for multiple listens. This is some vintage Cult stuff with some of the best tracks you have heard from these guys in decades. The opening track, Mirror, right off the bat hits you with that unmistakable Billy Duffy guitar and Ian Astbury’s always killer voice. A Cut Inside may be my favorite track and is the perfect example of a rock band that has been around, honed their craft, and can still write some of the best hard rock songs out there today. Vendetta X has the band harking back to the old days when the goth kids clamed the band as their own, combining Billy and Ian with some synths for some modern-day dark wave, Cult style.
The Cult fans rejoice! The band is back and in top form for sure. Under The Midnight Sun is a fine addition to their cannon and is just dark enough to please the fans of the early stuff and rocks just hard enough to please everyone else. Another excellent album from The Cult, but at this point what did you expect? 8/10
Queensryche - Digital Noise Alliance (Century Media) [Rich Piva]
I am all for a new Queensryche record. I know there are those who clamour for the days when Mr. Tate was hitting all those unearthly notes for the band, but the current incarnation of the band is a super strong one, and this is very evident with their latest and sixteenth studio album, Digital Noise Alliance, where we find twelve tracks of what even to the casual listener, sounds like Queensryche, even with only two remaining original members. This also is the best Queensryche record of the Todd La Torre era of the band.
The aforementioned Mr. La Torre is an excellent lead vocalist, and Digital Noise Alliance may be his best performance as part of the band. He has been on a nice roll with this and his solo record from last year. As for Digital Noise Alliance, the first three tracks are patented rapid fire Queensryche goodness, a perfect way to kick this off. The vocals are excellent and the band sounds as tight as ever. All three could be solid Queensryche singles and if this was the right year get some serious airplay. Sicdeth is one of the heavier Queensryche track in a while and has Todd’s voice on full display.
There has always been a lot of big praise heaped on Birds In Row and their career to date has been almost a decade long and so far, I have heard a couple of tracks but never really got fully involved for some reason? Well, now they are about to release their third full length Gris Klein, so I think its about time to strap in and fully find out what all the fuss is about!? Bounding forwards with opener Water Wings you are greeted with an energetic and ruthless hardcore assault that is chaotic but at the same time measured and also takes the time to be unpredictable and dangerous all at the same time, following on from this we have more beautiful chaos on Daltonians which is an all out punk assault but mixes in some nice loud/quiet dynamics and is a great way to crash directly into next track Confettis which in comparison is almost subdued in its delivery and adds a dense and almost claustrophobic feeling that shows that it doesn’t all have to be chaos to create heaviness.
At a crisp eight tracks over 35 minutes, Under The Midnight Sun is easily consumable and made for multiple listens. This is some vintage Cult stuff with some of the best tracks you have heard from these guys in decades. The opening track, Mirror, right off the bat hits you with that unmistakable Billy Duffy guitar and Ian Astbury’s always killer voice. A Cut Inside may be my favorite track and is the perfect example of a rock band that has been around, honed their craft, and can still write some of the best hard rock songs out there today. Vendetta X has the band harking back to the old days when the goth kids clamed the band as their own, combining Billy and Ian with some synths for some modern-day dark wave, Cult style.
Give Me Mercy is a solid late career The Cult track with a killer Billy riff and a kind of a dark shadow that hangs over all the eight tracks. Outer Heaven is a gigantic sounding track with strings and all the great stuff that makes you a fan. Knife Through The Butterfly Heart (which is a great title) starts with some Billy acoustic bluesy strumming into another huge sounding, mid-tempo The Cult classic that they have been know for over the past 40 or so years. Billy’s work is also on full display here. He never needs to be flashy; but everything he does is pretty much perfect. The liberal use of keys on this record takes it up a notch, a perfect example being this track. Impermanence is a perfect The Cult album track; they rarely have a clunker on any of their records, but there are always some songs that work to make their records cohesive and required listening front to back. The closing title track is a stings driven dark love song that only The Cult can do so perfectly.
The Cult fans rejoice! The band is back and in top form for sure. Under The Midnight Sun is a fine addition to their cannon and is just dark enough to please the fans of the early stuff and rocks just hard enough to please everyone else. Another excellent album from The Cult, but at this point what did you expect? 8/10
Queensryche - Digital Noise Alliance (Century Media) [Rich Piva]
I am all for a new Queensryche record. I know there are those who clamour for the days when Mr. Tate was hitting all those unearthly notes for the band, but the current incarnation of the band is a super strong one, and this is very evident with their latest and sixteenth studio album, Digital Noise Alliance, where we find twelve tracks of what even to the casual listener, sounds like Queensryche, even with only two remaining original members. This also is the best Queensryche record of the Todd La Torre era of the band.
The aforementioned Mr. La Torre is an excellent lead vocalist, and Digital Noise Alliance may be his best performance as part of the band. He has been on a nice roll with this and his solo record from last year. As for Digital Noise Alliance, the first three tracks are patented rapid fire Queensryche goodness, a perfect way to kick this off. The vocals are excellent and the band sounds as tight as ever. All three could be solid Queensryche singles and if this was the right year get some serious airplay. Sicdeth is one of the heavier Queensryche track in a while and has Todd’s voice on full display.
This could be a track from The Warning sessions. Yes, I said that, and did I mention Todd’s vocals on this one? Great stuff. There is a modern prog metal feel on Digital Noise Alliance, fitting in nicely with the recent Fate’s Warning offshoot bands that put records out this year. Behind The Walls has some of that proggy feel and some nice crunchy guitars too. Another standout track is Nocturnal Light, which is so very Queensryche, you will know what I mean when you hear it.
The record did feel a bit long and we certainly did not need the Rebel Yell cover, but outside of those gripes Digital Noise Alliance is an excellent addition to the Queensryche discography and is worth your time if you are a fan of the band. La Torre’s voice is as strong as ever and he is using the entire range to its fullest here. That plus the signature Queensryche sound makes Digital Noise Alliance a strong latte career addition to the catalogue. 7/10
Birds In Row - Gris Klein (Red Creek Recordings) [GC]
The record did feel a bit long and we certainly did not need the Rebel Yell cover, but outside of those gripes Digital Noise Alliance is an excellent addition to the Queensryche discography and is worth your time if you are a fan of the band. La Torre’s voice is as strong as ever and he is using the entire range to its fullest here. That plus the signature Queensryche sound makes Digital Noise Alliance a strong latte career addition to the catalogue. 7/10
Birds In Row - Gris Klein (Red Creek Recordings) [GC]
There has always been a lot of big praise heaped on Birds In Row and their career to date has been almost a decade long and so far, I have heard a couple of tracks but never really got fully involved for some reason? Well, now they are about to release their third full length Gris Klein, so I think its about time to strap in and fully find out what all the fuss is about!? Bounding forwards with opener Water Wings you are greeted with an energetic and ruthless hardcore assault that is chaotic but at the same time measured and also takes the time to be unpredictable and dangerous all at the same time, following on from this we have more beautiful chaos on Daltonians which is an all out punk assault but mixes in some nice loud/quiet dynamics and is a great way to crash directly into next track Confettis which in comparison is almost subdued in its delivery and adds a dense and almost claustrophobic feeling that shows that it doesn’t all have to be chaos to create heaviness.
Next is the brooding beast known as Noah which begins with a calmness that has so far not been on show and adds more to the puzzle that is the sound of Birds In Row, midway there is the threat that it will all explode into a frenzied chaos yet they don’t do this and continue to menace and threaten us for the entirety of the song and it leads directly into the next song Cathedrals which brings back the urgency and fury back but again this is done without having to go into all-out attack mode because that is saved for Nympheas which is a cacophonous assault of thick and devastating noise and savage hardcore punk which continues on with Grisaille before sliding into a serene and flowing sections which keeps the unpredictability quota high before an explosive ending that is more relentless and ruthless noise.
In another complete left turn Trompe I Oeil is then a harmonic and heartfelt show of beauty that I didn’t really expect to hear on an album this relentlessly punishing and once again shows that you can never predict what will be coming next because just as you finally almost relax and feel at ease they then absolutely destroy you with some more utter brutality that is mixed in with absolute perfection and precision after this Main Master has an electronic and uneasy feeling running all the way through and builds the tension and dread expertly before Winter Yet smashes you back into the room with more brutal hardcore savagery which mixes ugliness and beauty to brilliant effect and the album closer Secession is another song that builds and makes you feel uncomfortable and uneasy in the best way before it all ends and fades away on waves of feedback and you are finally free to breathe easily again.
After listening to Gris Klein, I can now fully understand where the praise for Birds In Row comes from and appreciate why so many people love this band because this album is a truly remarkable and beautiful beast, full of beauty, pain, horror and unpredictability in equal measure and will always keep you guessing what is coming next. This is truly remarkable and masterful piece of work. Do not miss this. 9/10
Exist Immortal - Exist Immortal (Seek & Strike) [GC]
UK based Exist Immortal mix metalcore with tech-metal and pop influences is what I have just read in the promotional material, and I am not sure really what to make of that mix, so here goes nothing.
It all kicks off on the tech-metal side of things with Behind The Eyes which is full of jagged djent riffs and some nice metalcore beatdown sections and the vocals sway towards the pop influences mentioned, Signal Fire injects a bit more urgency and more crunchy angular riffs and it also feels like some power metal type rhythms are being introduced to add more texture into the sound.
Exist Immortal - Exist Immortal (Seek & Strike) [GC]
UK based Exist Immortal mix metalcore with tech-metal and pop influences is what I have just read in the promotional material, and I am not sure really what to make of that mix, so here goes nothing.
It all kicks off on the tech-metal side of things with Behind The Eyes which is full of jagged djent riffs and some nice metalcore beatdown sections and the vocals sway towards the pop influences mentioned, Signal Fire injects a bit more urgency and more crunchy angular riffs and it also feels like some power metal type rhythms are being introduced to add more texture into the sound.
Flare then opens with some beautiful vocals that segways into a delicious djent beatdown before more soaring vocals from the impressive Meryck de la Fuente seep back into a glorious mash of guitar chugs and virtuoso heroics from Kurt Valencia & Mikey Gee which closes on a soaring end passage where the low end of Charlie Bines drums and the bass of David Billote get the chance to shine, following this is Shelter which is a more straight forward number and slightly drops the pace gathered so far but then White Noise picks it right back up again with some more power metal mixed with djent rhythms and another big vocal delivery to re-energize and re-focus the flow.
Yours To Define is a sprawling and dynamic affair combining some nice atmospheric sections into the mix to again add new textures to the overall sound but still maintains the same rhythm and urgency of previous songs, All The Same has a nice groove infused beginning that slides back into the more familiar territory on the verse with the mix of big vocals and shredding guitars. One thing I will mention on the vocal side is that it would be good to hear some harsher vocals added into the songs to give us more variation into them. On The Wire drops the pace again with some more atmospheric verse and measured and subtle guitar work and I just feel like I can connect with this as much as the rest of the songs as it just feels a bit, aimless and meandering and loses my attention because of this BUT it does add in some harsher vocals just a shame it’s on a song I don’t really like!
Trapped Inside opens with an almost pop-punk style which the drops into an emo heavy riff that mixes in some more rough guitars that takes me back to the MySpace era metal and is brave attempt to mix it up again but is not to my liking and its feels like all the momentum built up is drifting away and ending on a slightly underwhelming fashion as Emerge is another heavy pop-punk influenced song and it kind of stumbles along and doesn’t do much and then before you know it its onto final song, Casting Eyes which thankfully is more urgent and adds in a nice mix of all styles previously and adds a final drop of heaviness into our ears and has some lovely guest vocals from Luke Griffin of Acrania fame which is a nice touch and adds that little bit of chaos needed to end on a high.
This has been an interesting listen and mixes a lot of different influences and styles to beneficial effect in places, I just feel a bit more urgency would be needed as some of the middle section tracks lost focus and therefore made me drift out a bit but overall, it was a decent album and is well worth a listen. 6/10
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