Reviews: Infected Rain, Petrification, Revolution Saints, Smoking Snakes (Reviews By Matt Bladen)

Infected Rain – Time (Napalm Records)

Infected Rain are on an upward trajectory, especially since the release of their previous album Ecdysis. It saw them tour over the world, gain kudos from the music press and stake their claim as one of the most interesting bands around. They look to continue this positivity with sixth album Time, keeping almost the same personnel as the last album, only bassist Alice Lane is new, the core membership of Vidick (guitars), Eugene Voluta (drums), Lena Scissorhands (vocals) return along with producer Valentin Voluta, so I’d expect more of the same industrial driven extreme metal as there was on Ecdysis.

From Because I Let You that’s what you get, heavy electronics matched only by heavy riffs, it’s Korn on steroids, the schizophrenic shifts between crushing metal and ambience can be jarring but it’s part of Infected Rain’s appeal as a band, it’s groove metal riffs that are shocked into EDM, there’s even some Italian used on Paura. The album continues by being very percussive, the drumming a major feature as are the keys, the guitars often kept playing the same djent riffs as Lena displays a wide vocal range.

The singing being another talking point when it comes to mentions of Infected Rain, Never To Return brings some Middle Eastern influence, Enimity brings several types of electronic music to the melodeath, Game Of Blame meanwhile is the record most emotive moment as Lena gives her most introspective vocal performance. Time doesn’t play too much with the Infected Rain blueprint, riffs and beats meshed into something you can bounce too. Watch these get lots of airplay at festivals over the summer. 7/10

Petrification – Sever Sacred Light (Svart Records)

Portland, Oregon’s cosmic death metal journeymen, return with their second album a full 6 years after Hollow Of The Void in 2018. Sever Sacred Light is beefed up occult, galactic death, steamrolling out of your speakers with the grinding, deafening approach of Bolt Thrower, Autopsy, Dismember and others who aren’t always choosing to rely on outright speed, Petrification prefer to linger, long slow phases of crushing dissonance, distorted guitars that pile layer up on layer of filth on top of you, keeping you suspended in animation much like their namesake. It’s the oldest school of old school death metal but brother it definitely f*cks!

They do of course bring some speed building up to it on Cadaverous Delirium, which has dive bomb guitar solos too (nice), fusing punk with death, but they also bring concrete slabs of doom with tracks such as Twisted Vision Of Creation and Transmissions Of The Unseen, many of them shifting between each style (fast/slow) in one song, the vocals never changing from a gruff growl. You can smell the camouflage shorts from here as these 8 unholy honorifics, strike like a jackhammer to the cranium, blistering heaviness, Eldritch horrors and gore soaked visions of an unstoppable descent into total madness, Sever Sacred Light brings the occult rolling in to your home on a wrecking ball and that album cover is the dogs danglies. 8/10

Revolution Saints – Against The Winds (Frontiers Music Srl)

Revolution Saints return once more in their newest formation. Put together by Frontiers label boss to showcase the vocals (and drumming) of Journey sticksman Deen Castronovo, the first version of the band was trio along with Jack Blades (Night Ranger) and Doug Aldritch (ex-Whitesnake), they released three albums featuring the sort of radio friendly melodic rock/AOR you’d want from all involved. Then there was a hiatus but Revolution Saints MK II are ready to return with this fifth record. 

Produced once again by Alessandro Del Vecchio (who also plays keys), they are now a foursome with Del Vecchio and Castronovo joined by Joel Hoekstra (Whitesnake, ex-Night Ranger) on guitars and Jeff Pilson (Foreigner, ex-Dokken) on bass. With new membership, comes the same ol’ song and dance (to quote Aerosmith), Against The Winds is stuffed with melodic rock all driven by the great vocals of Deen, which anyone who has seen a Journey show will attest to. He is in full flight here, the gritty delivery perfect for the anthemic rock tracks they write. 

There also seems to be a heightened sense of unity with this band, the drums lock in with Pilson’s technical bass playing while Hoekstra is ever the hotshot on tracks such as Fall On My Knees, even on the ballads things seem tighter than before, Castronovo’s return to Journey putting him in a better place creatively. Melodic rock that comes from a set of veterans, Revolution Saints are back with a bang. 7/10

Smoking Snakes – Danger Zone (Frontiers Music Srl)

Taking that highway Mr Loggins sang about, Sweden’s Smoking Snakes get ready for Danger Zone, their debut album of sleaze rock. When the dirty riff and snarling vocals of Angels Calling burst out of my speakers I honestly thought this was a new album from Mr Lawless and co. Yep it’s very W.A.S.P, very Dokken, no reinvention just a faithful homage to that often maligned style of 80’s rock music. 

Sole Survivors struts with some Ratt, while Run For Your Life brings a little modernity and a lot of lead guitars. The enjoyment of this album is greatly influenced by how much you like the sleaze genre, while I understand why it’s popular and that Smoking Snakes do it authentically and with talent, I’ve never really liked listening to it so unfortunately Danger Zone for me is just a little less dangerous than it should be. 6/10