Reviews: Savage Hands, Ashrain, Red Rum, Raider (Reviews By Zak Skane, Matt Bladen, Erick Willand & James Jackson)

Savage Hands - Rock Bottom (Sharptone Records) [Zak Skane]

The band opens up with Angel Dust which starts with some Nine Inch Nails sounding electronic loops before we get some classic half time groovy hardrock riffage that every modern metal/rock bands have being using since the release Of Mice Of Men's restoring force which came out in 2014….jeez I feel old, but anyways the element that really pricked my ears was the vocalist singing style. 

The swaggering vocals sound like a mix of the grungy dirt of Layne Staley and hints of Kurt Cobian angst whilst having this modern British pop polish to flow over this top over the metalcore and electronic arrangements. Black Clouds does what it says on the tin, dark sounding low tuned industrial sounding guitar riffs mixed with 2000’s nu metal groove, the singer exploring into more Sam Carter from Architects delivery with the harsh vocals delivering mental health themed lyrics, whilst keeping our spirits lifted with poppy choruses and hearts pounding with heavy dropped breakdowns that comes straight from Bad Omens play book. 

I feel there is a bit a theme here because Rock Bottom again does what it says on the tin, the overall ballsy mantra of this track is a straight up rock track with low rumbling punch and swinging rhythms that would gain approval from any Bring Me The Horizon fan. The moving arrangements of Halo showers the listener with waves of layers from sampled vocals, emotional strings and acoustic guitars whilst their closing track Smile gives us awesome yin and yang pop rock with major scale structured riffs pop punk and vocal trade off with the Maria from Future Place laced with dark lyrics. 

For a five EP the band have show their full colours from the hard rocks rhythm riffs driven tracks of Angel Dust and Black Clouds to the more pop infused songs like Rock Bottom and Smile this does it all, but what made this band unique was vocals. If you are fan of your metalcore being on the mainstream side with bands like Bring Me the Horizon and Bad Omens this album is for you. 7/10

Ashrain - Requiem Reloaded (Metalville) [Matt Bladen]

Formed by noted guitarist/producer Nozomu Wakai, who performs with Destinia, Shortinio, Alcatrazz and Sigh, Ashrain are a power metal band for power metal fans. Taking the usual route of a guitar hero collecting a talented band, Wakai teams up with bassist Peter Baltes (ex-Accept), singer Iuri Sanson (ex-Hibria) and drummer Andy C (ex-Lords Of Black) for 10 power metal tracks that will delight the most hardened fan. Elyes Bouchoucha's keys opening Symphony Of Despair as Wakai's guitars bring some galloping riffs along with Baltes' big thumping bass, the keys used well in between. 

Musically on the tougher edge of power metal with the neo-classical style overarching as Wakai shows off his virtuosity with a guitar, there's Ring Of Fire, Malmsteen and others that all influnce the music here. It's not all about Wakai though the rest of the band are just as talented; Baltes having years of experience in guiding a track with bottom end, Andy C locking down with powerhouse drumming on tracks such as No Surrenders and We Fight To Win and in Iuri Sanson they have winner of a vocalist, perfect for some European sounding power metal, able to reach sky scraping highs but not totally reliant on it. 

Mixed by Simone Mularoni (DGM) Requiem Reloaded is a power metal delight from a collection of great musicians. 8/10

Red Rum - Book Of Legends (Trollzorn Records) [Erick Willand]

This is Pirate Metal. If the name, art or song titles didn’t make that very clear to you, there it is, I said it. Most of you may not have even finished reading that sentence and I get it, I do. This sub genre gets maligned on the regular and to be fair it is kind of silly. But that is what I actually enjoy about it. If you’ve read my other reviews then you know I’m a fan of theatrics, of costumes, of a committed schtick. I can’t help myself.

Red Rum hails from the UK and first set sail in 2011 and this, Book Of Legends is their second full voyage in search of fame and riches and opens with the proper atmosphere. We hear crickets, campfire and strummed acoustic guitar over a tale of lost treasure and a plan to get it. And we go right into Drunk And Disorderly, drums and of course, an accordion blast this ale house rouser. Sing along chorus, check, list of alcoholic liquids consumed by the crew, check, me lifting a glass while sitting at my desk signing along, check.

Now for the sake of time, how much ale I have, and the fact that this review is already late I’m going to fire this off like a broadside cannonade. 50 Gallons Of Ale keeps the ship sailing true and continues the story, the captain delivers a solid vocal performance here. We Pirates opens with a guitar scream in and we’re off over the waves instantly, this is clearly the band's anthem and I can see it as a festival crowd pleaser for sure. Liar’s Dice is a more folky, jaunty song with fun lyrics and I’d bet a pint or two this sounds awesome live. Enough games, back to drinking with The Greatest Drink (In All The Land), a bit repetitive lyrically this track is saved by its speed and short time span, it feels like filler.

Rekt follows and we’re back to sea proper again with this crew's epic 5 minute and 47 second long tale of getting Rekt on a pirate ship! I’m not that bothered here though, it’s rowdy, fast and I can sing along. They’re pirates, they break rules. Captain’s Command is back to the format of the first half of this album, shorter, rocking not thrashing and crew chorus fun, high seas at full sail.

Last two tracks tie up this booze soaked tale of pirate mayhem with Drunken Pirates (Ahoy!) and Make Port, Drink Port, the former a more epic almost Power Metal tale and the later a short just over 2 minute accordion filled punky banger about getting hammered once you hit port. Of course.

Back in my port I reflect on this voyage and despite a few mis-steps along the way I enjoyed the journey, quality musicianship, clean production, and commitment to the ‘brand’ made for a fun listen. The cover art is clearly not Ai and is loaded with nods to the songs, extra points for that. Finally, I make no apologies for the nautical jokes in this review. All the gold and loot is counted, 7/10                

Raider - Trial By Chaos (Self Released) [James Jackson]

According to the band’s bio they’re a Thrash Metal outfit but there’s also a definite Death Metal aspect to the Ontario based Raider’s sound; whilst at times vocally, there’s a similarity to that style quite often used in Black Metal.

Trial By Chaos is the band’s second full length album, following Urge To Kill their debut release in 2018 and a full length album, Guardian Of Fire in 2020.

The first track is also the title track, Trial By Chaos and it opens with a very Thrash like section before the vocals kick in, as I’ve said the vocals are more on the Black Metal vein, not quite the bloodcurdling screech found on most Black Metal albums but it’s not the usual deep and guttural style found on Death Metal tracks either.

Rite Of Conquest has a very Morbid Angel styled riff to it, quite particularly that found on their Covenant album, there is a particularly Old School Thrash and Death Metal vibe to the album as the guitar part to the intro of New Dominion sounds very similar to the early Sepultura.

By now I’ve decided that I’ve heard enough, I had my day of Death Metal and once owned (now) classic albums by the likes of Obituary, Deicide and Cannibal Corpse, my fondness for Thrash only really got as far as Megadeth, whilst trying other similar artists, but it’s some of their more divisive work that I like the most.

Point is this, for all of the talent that’s on display here, it’s just not that new; there’s nothing here that I haven’t heard before or that hasn’t been done better; it must take great effort and dedication to be able to write and play this style of music but I’d actually prefer for it to change, to offer a glimpse of something a bit more than fast riffs and fast drum beats, there are moments that hint at something more but it’s just not enough for me.

This one is for the diehard Old School, if you’re still listening and enjoying Schizophrenia-era Sepultura then this one’s for you; though that classic lineup would have done it better. 4/10