Jaded Heart - Heart Attack (Massacre Records) [Matt Bladen]
Heart Attack is Jaded Heart's 15th album, released just two years after their previous record and it looks like they still producing melodic metal for the masses even after all these years. Heart Attack doesn't vary from the template too much, you get sophisticated guitars, great vocals from Johan Fahlberg and anthemic songs. Starting off at the heavier end, though most of this album is at the heavier end as with Blood Red Skies, Sweet Sensation and Heart Attack all get the blood pumping while they slow down with the chunky Harvester Unknown which goes down the metal route as does Midnight Stalker.
I'll admit I hadn't heard Jaded Heart for a while but I forgot they were this heavy if I'm honest, Heart Attack giving off classic metal at every turn. Even the pseudo ballad Remnants Of Before is moody and introspective but carries weight to it. The guitar duo of Peter Östros and Masa Eto bring a lot of Teutonic riffage as Michael Müller brings meaty bass to Right Now drummer Bodo Stricker hitting his hardest on Bridges Are Burning. I was pleasantly surprised by this record. I expected a lighter side of rock for some reason but I got some muscular melodic metal that verges on trad metal throughout. 7/10
Grand - Grand (Frontiers Music Srl)
Grand, the debut album by Grand, opens with a song called Caroline, unfortunately it's not a Status Quo cover, instead it's a shining AOR, with slinky rhythms and shiny melodies. Formed by Swedish singer Mattis Olofsson, who has been singing for 20 years, it's the realisation of his dream to front an AOR project, gaining guitarist/producer/bassist/keyboardist Jakob Svensson (Wigelius) and drummer Anton Martinez Matz in his quest, the trio forming Grand in 2020.
Now any band that say they are inspired by Starship, immediately puts me on edge as the 80's iteration of the Jefferson Airplane/Starship band, are the culprits behind one of the worst songs ever written We Build This City. But luckily there's no such abomination here, just the lightest form of AOR, the kind brought by Giant, Dare, and Heartland , that edges closer to pop and was huge on FM radio in the 1980's. Case in point Make It Grand sounds like Roxette with it's "nah nah" vocal refrain, while Once In A Blue Moon has a similar style to Mike & The Mechanics.
Grand is a decent debut album for AOR fans, Olofsson is a good singer but nothing on the record really grabs me long enough to really be more than just a passing interest. 6/10
Elephant Takedown - Duck & Cover (Headline Records)
I'm not sure why there are Elephants roaming the Cambridge countryside or why they need to be taken down but hey I guess it's a unique band name. 'Punk metal' band Elephant Takedown release their debut album called Duck & Cover and it's packed with riffs and riot, barrelling through everything in about 31 minutes. Musically this foursome sound a lot like Therapy? on Fresh Blood, The Misfits on lead single Don't Spoil My Fun and Unto Others, especially on opener Pull The Pin. So really it's much more in the alt-rock realms than anything else, of course that's a genre that takes numerous forms so having a broad range of sounds is natural.
I'm not sure why there are Elephants roaming the Cambridge countryside or why they need to be taken down but hey I guess it's a unique band name. 'Punk metal' band Elephant Takedown release their debut album called Duck & Cover and it's packed with riffs and riot, barrelling through everything in about 31 minutes. Musically this foursome sound a lot like Therapy? on Fresh Blood, The Misfits on lead single Don't Spoil My Fun and Unto Others, especially on opener Pull The Pin. So really it's much more in the alt-rock realms than anything else, of course that's a genre that takes numerous forms so having a broad range of sounds is natural.
The first four tracks here are all speedy before things get a bit slower with Deceiver and it's from here that the wider influences become more pronounced with Ben Wilson and Phil Bartlett giving us some biting guitars, Bartlett taking the leads and Wilson on rhythm. Wilson also is the vocalist snarling and shouting out their lyrics based around human condition, cult mentality and conspiracy theories. Bright Blue Eyes, brings some fuzzy bass from Alex White, but then My Heroine comes from the woozy desert rock scene, Simon Philpot and White really boosting the haunting Sleep. This Cambridge band do a lot of things here and are successful at most of them. Vibrant alt rock from this four piece. 7/10
Deer Lord - Witches Brew/Psychedelic Roadkill (Self Released)
Releasing this 2 track EP in time for Halloween, Sonoma County California riffers Deer Lord continue to tap the vein of psychedelic dooming with Witches Brew and Psychedelic Roadkill. The trio of Sheafer McOmber (guitar/vocals), Jared Marill (bass) and Ryan Alderman (drums), make a racket that at all times threatens to blast off into the outer reaches of space. Having been called "extraordinarily loud" it's perfectly evident that Deer Lord love feedback, reverb and all the sounds that were pioneered by bands such as Sleep and Kyuss. Witches Brew is a seven minute slog through haze and fuzz, while Psychedelic Roadkill is shorter but like a chugging Electric Wizard cut. Just two songs in length this ideal spookiness for the season. Play loud! 7/10
Deer Lord - Witches Brew/Psychedelic Roadkill (Self Released)
Releasing this 2 track EP in time for Halloween, Sonoma County California riffers Deer Lord continue to tap the vein of psychedelic dooming with Witches Brew and Psychedelic Roadkill. The trio of Sheafer McOmber (guitar/vocals), Jared Marill (bass) and Ryan Alderman (drums), make a racket that at all times threatens to blast off into the outer reaches of space. Having been called "extraordinarily loud" it's perfectly evident that Deer Lord love feedback, reverb and all the sounds that were pioneered by bands such as Sleep and Kyuss. Witches Brew is a seven minute slog through haze and fuzz, while Psychedelic Roadkill is shorter but like a chugging Electric Wizard cut. Just two songs in length this ideal spookiness for the season. Play loud! 7/10
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