Reviews: The Awesome Machine, Domination Campaign, Russell/Guns, Scanner (Reviews By Rich Piva & Matt Bladen)

The Awesome Machine - …It’s Ugly Or Nothing: Beneath The Desert Floor Series (Ripple Music) [Rich Piva]

There is so much awesome music out there. Some of that awesome music, that really should be heard by all, is lost to the masses for whatever reason, be it label or rights issues, money, or just general apathy to a project that really should be widely available for all to enjoy its underrated genius. Riding Easy Records has been great with this, exposing me and lovers of proto and/or excellent late 60s and 70s rock via their Brown Acid series and subsequent releases or represses of lost gems from long ago. So, you can imagine my excitement went when Ripple Music, the best label in heavy rock, decided to get into the reissue game officially with the Beneath The Desert Floor series which takes out or print or long lost 90s-00s stoner/desert/doom/proto underrated classics and gives them new life via digital and next level vinyl presses. 

The names that have been mentioned bring all sorts of excitement, but let’s start with volume one of the series, the Swedish hard rock band The Awesome Machine and their 2000 album …It’s Ugly Or Nothing. I had heard some TAM stuff before, but not this one as my usual listening channels did not offer it, until now, and whoa baby was it worth the wait, because …It’s Ugly is a glorious hard rock romp with keys and even some harmonica. Produced (and a guest guitar spot) by King Diamond’s Andy La Rocque, this one is killer and needs to be experienced by those who love this kind of early stoner rock stuff or grunge.

I mean just listen to the track How Am I To Know, and this alone will tell you why this album should have been huge. Grungy, early stoner rock with an awesome riff and cowbell, this can hang with anything that came out in 2000, both before and after. Did I mention the harmonica? This song rules, and this is just one of the eleven amazing tracks from TAM. How about that distorted riff of El Bajo? If you think Kyuss was where early stoner was at, this is for you. 

The sound on …It’s Ugly is pretty much perfect as Mr. La Rocque captured the band’s sound perfectly. Want some Soundgarden-esque riffing, try Son Of A God. The tuned down tone of TAM is just so great. Other standouts include the ripper and aptly named Supernova that will melt your face, the doomy Sabbath meets Soundgarden of Looking For Sweet Opium, and Used To Be with its heavy stoner groove that never lets up. The best track is the ten-minute epic No Share, with all of it’s keyboard solo glory, a track that needs to be experienced by all.

If …It’s Ugly Or Nothing came out today it would be high on our album of the year lists and number one on the Doom Charts for January instead of needing Ripple Music to save this classic from oblivion. The Awesome Machine live up to their name, and let’s all give Todd from Ripple a round of applause for the work he is doing to bring these albums to 2024. If the names I have heard are correct, Beneath The Desert Floor volumes are soon to become some of the most anticipated releases in the scene today. If you don’t know The Awesome Machine, let Ripple Music introduce you, it is sure to blow your mind. 9/10

Domination Campaign - A Storm Of Steel (Prosthetic Records) [Matt Bladen]

The second Domination Campaign album has been mostly complete since 2021's Onward To Glory the collaboration between Psycroptic vocalist Jason Peppiatt and fellow Psycroptic member Joe Haley, this partnership has already birthed a successful album so it's probably a given that the follow up will be just as good. Peppiatt recorded vocals, guitars and bass while Haley has drums, mixing/mastering, so what do Domination Campaign actually sound like well their lyrical content is based around war and aggression, musically they're murky and grimy, death metal in the style of Bolt Thrower or Deicide, so not the technical wizardry of their day job but a style that is a bit more old school and abrasive.

The groove is thick and sludgy, the guitars cutting like a buzzsaw underwater, grinding away with unrepentant riffing which is augmented by an increase in melodic touches and even a solo on D-Day and Death Landing, increasing the technicality fans of Psycroptic will welcome. Not that the record needs that though as it's a good listen if you like the more blunt and brutal side of the music these two men have given their lives too. Grind, death and groove combined, A Storm Of Steel is a visceral depiction warfare with music so soupy it’ll give you trench foot. This Domination Campaign continues unabated. 7/10

Russell/Guns - Medusa (Frontiers Music Srl) [Rich Piva]

Frontiers Music loves to release these Marvel Team Up albums, pairing up start from the 80s and early 90s hair band/hard rock scene like Marvel did in the comics back in the day. You would get all sorts of weird combinations with those books, some that made sense (Spider Man and Man Thing ruled for instance) and others that didn’t work at all (Spider Man and Howard the Duck was ridiculous). Similarly, the team ups that Frontiers backs are a mixed bag, with some working very well and having chemistry and some not so much.

I was not sure where the latest tag team of Jack Russell of Great White fame and Tracii Guns of LA Guns would land, given Russell tends to excel in the more bluesy/Zepplin worship side of things where Mr. Guns is a bit heavier and sleazier. I am happy to report that this team up falls into the former category, as their album, Medusa, is an enjoyable listen. This record is not going to blow minds, but it is a solid hard rock record with some excellent guitar work and Russell’s voice sounding great, but in some parts unrecognizable to what he was known for in Great White. 

Medusa is a straight-ahead hard rock record with great playing and decent songwriting. The addition of keys makes this record a bit different, and better, than a lot of the other Frontiers team ups and keeps the songs somewhat familiar to the listener who was expecting some Great White love on Medusa. What is not familiar is Russell’s voice. To me, back in the day he was one of the most distinguishable voices in rock. He doesn’t sound bad on here, just different. I don’t think I would have been able to pick him out as the singer on the first track, Next In Line, a catchy hard rock number with a bluesy feel that fits nicely into the wheelhouse of Russell. 

The standout on this one, as it is on all of Medusa, is the absolute shredding by Guns. He is the star of this record for sure. Tell Me Why may be the heaviest song I have heard Russell sing on, even if it doesn’t sound like him, and he hangs nicely, but Guns absolutely rips it up on this track which is the best one on the album. Coming Down is another strong track, driven by Guns riffs and those keys. Another heavy one that Russell does fine on and one where he is a bit more recognizable. The next two tracks are very much in the wheelhouse of Russell. Where I Belong and For You are closer to Great White than anything else on Medusa and are a fun one two punch of rock, made better by the inclusion of the keys. 

There had to be a ballad on here, and Living A Lie is it, with Russell crooning like this was a B-Side to House Of Broken Love or something. They are not all winners however, and the album could have done with some editing, perhaps leaving out tracks like In And Out Of Love and Back Into Your Arms Again. The title track, however, is great, led by Tracii’s signature playing and Jack’s vocals that fit perfectly with this song. The closer is strong too, as I Want You is another fun hard rock track leveraging the strengths of both guys perfectly.

As the guy who reviews a lot of the 80s and early 90s hard rockers who put out music today, this was inevitably going to fall into my queue and in this case, I am happy it did. It is in no way a perfect album, but Guns guitar work and Russell’s vocals gel well together to create a fun and enjoyable listen for fans of either or both rock legends or anyone who digs a well-executed straight-ahead hard rock record. 7/10

Scanner - The Cosmic Race (ROAR! Rock Of Angels Records) [Matt Bladen]

Nearly 10 years since their last album German heavy metal band Scanner have returned with their seventh studio album. Led by the guitars of founder member Axel Julius, they take a step towards their fourth decade as a band with The Cosmic Race, a sci fi dystopian concept album based around their Scanner character in a massive universe of convoluted storytelling that you can read about for yourself. We're about the music here though and The Cosmic Race is Teutonic power metal that runs at full pace from opening gallop of The Earth Song (not a Michael Jackson cover) to the closing head nodding (Priest-like) closing track The Last And First In Line. 

Mixing the styles of Accept/Udo with early Blind Guardian, Scanner retain their old school mentality, not shifting what they do into the modern age at all, keeping their sound deep in the 80's metal galaxy, both in the songwriting and the production. Julius' wrote recorded and produced the record so it's his vision going forward but it's delivered well by him on guitar, Jörn Bettenrup on bass, Boris Frenkel on drums and Efthimions Ioannidis on vocals. If it ain't broke don't fix it and Scanner still seem to be working just fine with their conceptual German power metal. 7/10