Reviews: Terminal Nation, The Milk Men, Shadowcloak, Beyond The Pale (Reviews By GC, Paul Scoble, Mark Young & Paul Hutchings)

Terminal Nation - Echoes Of The Devils Den (20 Buck Spin) [GC]

It’s been a couple of years since Terminal Nation released their debut album and since then they have been steadily building momentum to become one of the most exciting bands on the scene, they mix elements of hardcore and death metal and are currently on one of the hottest labels around in 20 Buck Spin, so naturally I am all over this one!

It all starts with Echoes Of The Devils Den which creeps up with a dark, slow and menacing build, before some vicious vocals kick in and introduce a hardcore stomp that is then dragged through some slow and low death metal and it all sound suitably vicious and really sets the tone nicely, Written By The Victor is full of beautiful sounding old school death metal influences while also mixing in the more modern feel of hardcore perfectly, the added vocals of Todd Jones from the mighty Nails are a masterstroke as well! 

The Spikes Under The Bridge starts off with a sludgy and crawling riff that then kicks into a perfectly executed hardcore section that will undoubtedly sound immense live as it really pushes the song forward with a savage power and force, No Reform (New Age Slave Patrol) is another gloriously old school death metal song that is fuelled with spite to create another absolute killer track and the closing verse is a thing of absolute venomous beauty! Empire In Decay has another wonderful beginning that is slow, measured and relentlessly heavy before exploding info life with the now familiar and welcome hardcore mix but here it has more grandiosity added in with some epic sounding guitar fills but you are never far from it all descending into full on fury mode. 

Now we get a totally different feel from Embers Of Humanity its almost feels like their Unforgiven in a way, its not really a ‘’ballad’’ as such and it is fully instrumental but it’s a paired back and shows an emotional side of Terminal Nation, before Merchants Of Bloodshed is back to the real business of scathing death metal that is stomping and arrogant but mixed with straight up metal in places before the guest vocals of Killswitch Engage’s Jesse Leach kick in and add another layer of intelligence to show that you cant pin these guys down to one style very easily, Bullet For A Stone is a probably my least favourite track as it just feels a bit too mid-paced compared to everything else, not saying its bad by any means but feels like it just missing something to take it to the next level. 

Dying Alive shakes of any cobwebs and is back to the business of nasty death metal goodness that is another perfect example of how to sound old school and current at the same time, Cemetery Of Imposters is a short, sharp stomp of thunderous drums and chugging hardcore riffs and more nicely placed guest vocals from K Kennedy of Sex Prisoner mixing really well and adding a proper old school hardcore feel to this track. Immolation Of Mother Nature once again goes for the mid pace opening that creates the atmosphere and the explodes into life with more wonderfully executed hardcore fury its all melded together and creates a feeling that you could run through a wall and not be bothered! 

Release The Serpents has the unmistakable vocals of Dwid Hellion from hardcore legends Integrity opening the track and mixed through the whole song and because of this we get one last blast of sludgy hardcore infused death metal with riffs so thick you could spread them on toast, and it’s a beautifully unhinged and savagely heavy way to end the album.

Another week, another perfect 20 Buck Spin record, there were a couple of bits that weren’t exactly 100% to my liking but these tiny, little minus points are nothing and will not make me say that this record was unbelievable, and I think its blatantly obvious that if I give this record anything but a perfect score, I am just kidding myself and you the reader! I am saying this again but if this isn’t high on the album of the year lists then there is no justice in the world!!10/10

The Milk Men – Holy Cow! (Self Released) [Paul Scoble]

Winners of Five British Blues Awards, The Milk Men have made quite an impact since their forming in 2010. The band is made up of Jamie Smy on lead vocals, Adam Norsworthy on guitars, backing vocals, keyboards and percussion, Mike Roberts on drums, and Lloyd Green on bass, and Bennett Holland plays Hammond organ on Don’t Trust My Life. 

In the time they have been together The Milk Men have released four albums and an EP before Holy Cow! The style of blues that The Milk Men play is firmly rooted in Boogie Blues in its various forms (Rock and Roll, Blues Rock, Southern Rock) and any other style they like. Most of the material feels like a mix of late Fifties/early Sixties Boogie Blues, and seventies style Southern Rock, Glam Rock or Hard Rock. In some ways it’s a bit like ZZ Top playing Eddie Cochran covers.

 
The album opens with the song One Man Band an up-tempo piece of Boogie Blues with a great main riff, a fast walking pace that will keep heads nodding and a great guitar solo. It’s a cracking way to start the album, it kick starts everything with a great positive energy. Next comes a tale of drinking and debauchery on a school night. Hungover has a bit of a Southern Rock feel to it, and a great chorus with really good backing vocals.

 
Give A Little Love is funky as anything and is based on a great clean guitar riff. The great, pulsing tempo will make you strut, and again the song boasts a very good guitar solo. Wild Girls has a taut verse, and a bigger, singalong chorus. The song has a great melody lead filling it with tunefulness, and a wonderful ending with great backing vocals and handclaps.

 
Easy Touch is poppy measured Blues Rock, it reminds me of late Fifties/early Sixties Pop music, the double handclaps accentuate the Rock and Roll feel, and makes me think of Leader Of The Pack. As with most of the songs on this album, Easy Touch also features a very melodic guitar solo. 

Next up is Bad News Blues, an absolutely brilliant piece of Boogie Blues that is quite seventies in feel. It is reminiscent of early (first two albums) AC/DC, Dr. Feelgood, and in a couple of places ABBA’s song Does Your Mother Know? It’s a great piece of Rock music with a wonderful chorus that will get into your head. Fill Her Shoes is a great piece of Boogie Woogie Southern Rock. The verse is restrained and tight as anything, the pacing is measured but has an unstoppable and relentless feel, partly due to a great driving bassline.

 
Fool For Loving You is a Fifties Rock and Roll ballad, it’s perfect for slow dancing and would have fitted in a fifties School prom perfectly. It’s the kind of track that Roy Orbison was so good at, as soon as you hear it you are lit by glitter balls. After Fool For Loving You comes Misty Road, a driving up-tempo piece of Blues Rock, it’s got a great boogie riff in the verse and an expansive chorus. The juxtaposition of these two feels works very well.

 
Holy Cow! comes to an end with a big power ballad, Don’t Trust My Life. The song has a distinctive Melody Lead that is repeated, and a very emotive chorus. The song is full of emotion and melody and is a very effective way to end the album.

 
Holy Cow! is a great album of Boogie Blues, Rock and Roll and Seventies Rock. The album is full of great choruses, fantastic riffs, brilliant vocals and across the board great performances. What this album does best is put a huge smile on your face, it is so much fun. If this album doesn’t make you smile, then you are probably already dead (or at least dead inside). 

I’ve enjoyed listening to it hugely and have been listening to it whilst walking to work for the last few weeks and have found it’s a great way to kick start your day in a very positive and fun way; strutting to work is always more fun that simply walking. 9/10

Shadowcloak - Shadowcloak (Self Released) [Mark Young]

The North Carolina natives drop their debut EP, with 5 songs that attempt to add something extra to that sludge/post-metal genre by way of weaving in of subtle textures via some understated synth work.

Don’t worry, they don’t forget to bring the riffs too, Kicking off with Dark Days with a drum intro that reminds me of Woman From Tokyo (Deep Purple, just in case) that evolves and grows as the guitars come in. It’s a simple riff but it does the trick, allowing the song room to breathe. The synths come in as a means of filling their sound prior to them closing the song out, breaking out a restrained solo against a meaty guitar line that doesn’t rely on being super low in order to be heavy.

Night After Night follows up with a storming melody line, replaced by a straight-ahead measure that is built for head banging. The song build isn’t content to stay in one zone, moving from riff to the next with ease. Each section compliments the one before without being a rehash and for me is a great pointer to the tools they have at disposal. For example, it picks up the pace for the final third with a solo that fits the riff behind whilst staying true to the overall theme of the song. It all fits together so well that as each part finishes the next comes in and is a perfect fit to it. 

Leave Me My Name leans into doom-gaze with an elongated opening, soon to be crushed underfoot by the main body of the song, with guitars dropping into discord and riffs that are stretched to suit. One thing that they don’t do is ape the typical sources of influence – Black Sabbath et al, here this is all about having songs that move, that will get you going live which is what Everything Is Gone attempts. 

Injecting urgency into the opening moments gives them a great dynamic to work with as they opt to go with clean singing and guitar to suit. You know that they will bring the heavy so when it does land its instantly effective. It’s one of those songs where it would be a blast to play through because they don’t stay in one part of the neck. I should also mention that there is some cracking drumming going on, ranging in attack from subtle to full on.

Last track, Discomfort/Disorder instantly reminds me of Leviathan, the way the two guitars sit together in their harmony parts. Deploying the discord once more this one motors onward. The middle offers more melodic flourishes, with an ace bridge that comes together with a heavy outro that is quality. Whether they cite Mastodon as an influence, I can certainly hear it in their sound.

This is not a hastily thrown-together collection of ideas, it’s a well-built set of songs that show a wealth of ideas at their disposal. Vocals are suitably extreme sounding, without being over the top and the clean moments add to the atmosphere when they are used (Kudos to Dave Gayler and Adrian Lee Zambrano for the vocals here). They don’t overplay that grit/clean approach used by others and the guitar work is top-class. As I’ve said they have the songs that you want to play yourself because there are no dull moments. 

I hope there is more to come from them, just to see what they do next because this is a great introduction to Shadowcloak. 8/10

Beyond The Pale – Monument In Time (Self Released) [Paul Hutchings]

Recorded as a tribute to their guitarist and band founder Jeroen van Donselaar, it’s difficult to be too critical of this release. The man died from a cardiac arrest halfway through their debut show in 2022 for flips sake! Formed in the latter days of the pandemic, the Dutch outfit regrouped, and Monument In Time was released two years after that fateful day.

Led by the formidable and ferocious vocals of singer Janneke de Rooy, this six-track EP is a fiery affair. The combination of thrash riffage and death metal ethos results in some brutal tracks that should be lapped up by those who fancy an aural onslaught.

Liberation For The Damned kicks things off, and the tempo is relentless from there on. There’s little variation in style, thunder house drumming and snarling singing seem to be the pattern for Beyond The Pale. De Rooy has the typical savage delivery, dropping into a deeper growl on Storm en Drift but otherwise maintaining a similar presence elsewhere.

The absence of variety makes Monument In Time something of a chore to listen to. The music is solidly executed, the playing clearly well done, but there’s something a little repetitive about this release. Facts and Figures and the final track Payback Is A Bitch are both effective enough but there’s little here to genuinely excite. 6/10