Reviews: Sinner's Blood, Coffin Rot, Kant, Awake The Dreamer (Reviews By Matt Bladen, Mark Young, Rich Piva & Zak Skane)

Sinner's Blood - Dark Horizons (Frontiers Music Srl) [Matt Bladen]

Sinner's Blood return with their second album Dark Horizon's, again it's another chance to show the talent of collaborators James Robledo (vocals/production) and Nasson (multi-instrumentalist), the two conceiving pretty much everything on this band while also showcasing the Chilean metal scene as a whole. With one previous record and Robledo having two solo albums on Frontiers, they are veterans of the label so it was walys a given another Sinner's Blood album would be coming.

Thankfully it's another banger, Robledo's vocals so similar to Symphony X's Russell Allen or Masterplan's Jorn Lande, singers who helped establish Frontiers label as players in the scene. Nasson's experience in the scene and his performances with Chaos Magic make sure that the musical backing for this project has more depth than just heavy, progressive metal. The bottom end of the band are bassist Nicolás Fischer and drummer Guillermo Pereira who have both been members of the prog metal scene for a while.

With the title Dark Horizons, you can expect there to be perhaps a darker edge to the riffs etc but nothing that Symphony X or Evergrey don't have. It's melodic, progressive and keeps things heavy when needed, Sinner's Blood are another quality metal band from South America who are getting their dues from Frontiers. 8/10

Coffin Rot - Dreams Of The Disturbed (Maggot Stomp) [Mark Young]

It is suitably grimy, oppressive and takes a lot of cues from when death metal was a new and exciting assault on your senses. This is their second full length release but have been kicking around since 2017 and with this, the Portland natives have dropped what could be the death metal equivalent of a comfortable pair of slippers. Pipe and jacket are optional.

Slaughtered Like Swine has everything you want and would expect, from the guttural vocals, deep breaks and an irresistible momentum despite it not being the fastest track. They make it move and it covers a lot of ground in what is a relatively short song. What it does is give you an overview of what the album is about, what they are about which is bringing dense riffs, those deep vocals and atonal lead breaks. 

Which basically equates to if you liked this, then the rest will hit as well as this. Perverted Exhumation follows the same build as Slaughtered but ups that pace to suit. The arrangement works better at speed and on here there are signs of those little touches that elevate their music above others. The chords under the lead break are spot on and the break down with that guitar and loowwwww vocals coming in are royal. 

Lurking In the Cemetery settles in for that more controlled tempo, which is apt for moving slowly around a cemetery at night until they kick it up at the end whilst Unmarked, Shallow Grave fizzes into life (death?) and runs with it, the song progressing through a number of twists, from labyrinthine guitar lines to pummelling riff and a lead break that is straight from the Cannibal Corpse school of death metal. And I suppose its this that makes it so comforting. Musically, it is exactly what you expect, and delivered in the way you would want it. 

They handle each song well, knowing when to slow and when they need to pick that pace up and a fine example of this is on Living Cremation where that foot is kicked through the floor in the final moments and tees up the opening to Hands Of Death which is glorious, that mix of the palm muted and then into the trem picked sections is again another example of knowing how to put the two together to ensure it avoids being a one-note exercise.

The real beauties come in at the end, Predator Becomes Prey is a monster, coalescing their best ideas into one spot. It has everything that they do incredibly well on here and it is fitting that they placed it in the penultimate position. The Howling Man, with its thunder and lightning sample segueing into their most immediate track on here. As Predator pulled their best together, this one takes that idea and goes further, providing that balance between speed and power. Riffs seemingly come from all angles, ever changing but staying within that brutal arena. It can often sound a little cringe when you hear ‘saved the best for last’ but I truly believe that to be the case here.

At the start I said ‘comfortable slippers’ and that opinion has not changed. I should try to explain that this is a good album with just the sort of no-fills death metal that would be well received in any era. It does what it needs to, and it does it well. 8/10

Kant - Paranoia Pilgrimage (SOL Records) [Rich Piva]

Kant is a band I knew very little about going into writing his review, but I cannot resist a band and album listed as “heavy psych rock” in the promo folder, so here we are, with me reviewing their new record, Paranoia Pilgrimage, and I am oh so happy that I am. That little tag is a great start for what to expect, but there is more to Kant, as the band has really come to play with their second record.

You get killer, swirling psych guitars on tracks like the opener, The Great Serpent, paired with reverb-y fuzzy vocals and a classic old school psych vibe that a lot of bands try for but miss. The band has the riffs too, like on Baba Yaga, which to me sounds like My Morning Jacket if they went more heavy psych leaning, which is a very interesting listening experience. You want to chill and stare at the clouds too? Then check out the track Book Of Creation where you get that vibe until the flute kicks in and you start your interpretive dance. 

These crazy Germans can certainly rock too, using Traitors Lair, Occult Worship, and the title track as examples. I especially love the latter, as it incorporates some killer heavy psych guitar. The frantic heavy psych of Lord Of The Flies is my favourite track, as the singer tests his range with excellent results on this one. I really like the closer too, as Rainbird is eight plus minutes of bluesy heavy psych that brings the fuzziest crunch on all of Paranoia Pilgrimage. Paranoia Pilgrimage is really good and fans of that opening simple description will totally dig this. 

Kant certainly Kan, and they really rock and bend some minds while doing so. 8/10

Awake The Dreamer – Holocene (Arising Empire) [Zak Skane]

Awake The Dreamer Holocene brings in a mixed bag of nostalgia from it’s mid 2000’s era Metalcore clean vocals and electrical passages it’s early 2010 styled low tuned djentcore riff assaults and harsh vocals.

The opening track Future Fades in with some classic 2010 production with it’s low pass filtered swells to it’s electronic layers, especially, in the choruses that reminisces of Joey Sturgis production with bands of that era such as Asking Alexandria, old school The Devil Wears Prada and I See Stars, the comparison comes in strong when the classic binary chugs come in. The vocal delivery brings in the some of the classic noughties vibes with the harsh melodic vocals sounding like Anders from In Flames Sounds Of A Playground Fading era, whilst the clean vocals reminisce of Dead By April. 

The following track Tides continues this momentum by pushing the electronic elements front and centre whilst the pounding chugging grooves from the drums and guitars carry the song. Tracks like Burns show the band taking a more post hardcore route trading in the Northlane styled djent riffs for big sounding strummed guitar chords whilst up beat drum grooves and electronic drum and bass sections accompany the melodic vocals. 

The melancholic track Violence continues the post-hardcore melancholy whilst bringing back the ambient layers of the synths and reverbed guitars whilst their closing track Echoes ends the album with more vocal hooks than a butchers workstation whilst bringing back the thundery low tuned djent breakdowns. The electronic layers are more bombastic with the electrical layers consisting of ponging synth appreciators, ambient delayed guitars and even some delicate twinkles with the piano. 

Tracks like Take My Hand, Alone, Labyrinth and Holocene take the album into heavy territory with it’s djenty technical riffs, fret tapping melodies and foot dancing double kick grooves, but I feel like these tracks are the weaker moments on the album because they come off more formulaic that bands like Singularity-era Northlane and In Hearts Wake have mastered 10 years.

Overall Awake The Dreamers' Holocene in a sold release that brings in two decades of nostalgia in the space of ten tracks. For fans of old school Northlane, In Hearts Wake and We Came From Romans. 6/10

Reviews: Weather Systems, Lizzard, Swamp Coffin, Magnetar (Reviews By Matt Bladen)

Weather Systems - Ocean Without A Shore (Music Theories Recordings)

Before the world locked down Anathema's Daniel Cavanagh was writing the follow up to The Optimist, immersing himself in his writing, when the global pandemic hit, Anathema decided to go on hiatus, a move that continues to this day and while Daniel's brother Vincent has returned with the The Radicant, Daniel was working on the songs that would become Oceans Without A Shore. 

Alongside the Anathema co-founder is former Anathema drummer and producer Daniel Cardoso the duo re-christened as Weather Systems, named for what is probably Anathema's best album. Signing to Music Theories Recordings, Ocean Without A Shore is Cavanagh using music as catharsis for himself and the debited fandom his previous band had, it's highly emotional, there was often times when fans would weep at Anathema gigs so with Weather Systems it was about continuing this symbiotic relationship with fans.

This connection to their fans and to the past, is obvious from the fact that there's is a third part of the song Untouchable, parts one and two were the masterpieces that appeared on Weather Systems record, the third piece more like a conclusion, as the atmospheric string arrangements are put with introspective piano and acoustic guitars and Cavanagh's keening vocals. There is also a second part of Are You There, the first part appearing on A Natural Disaster, which is full of Floydian touches and more strings. Both are worthy additions to these suites, though for my money opener Synaesthesia musically reminds me more of Untouchable, with the repeating synth/guitar lines in sync with those songs. 

Cavanagh performs guitar, keys, piano, synths, bass and takes lead vocals while Cardoso is behind the kit and will be the live musical director, produced with Tony Doogan who produced The Optimist, there are a host of extra vocalists that join, Soraia and Oliwia Krettek taking the role Lee Douglas did in Anathema as female lead and harmony vocals on tracks such as the driving Do Angels Sing Like Rain? Petter Carlsen and Paul Kearns (formerly of Solstice) filling in the Vince role. Still this is Daniel Cavanagh's project, his Anathema, musically similar because it carries his expressive signature, it is a continuation of the band he co-founded. 

The electronic/organic beats on Ghost In The Machine, reminding you of the style Anathema started to incorporate from We're Here Because We're Here, influenced obviously by Depeche Mode, as Ocean Without A Shore builds with more oscillating, repeating synths, Still Lake is a massive rocker placed perfectly in the middle of the album segueing into the joyous Take Me With You, though Ocean Without A Shore ends on esoteric The Space Between Us which feels a little like a Devin Townsned track. 

Weather Systems is the next chapter in the story of Daniel Cavanagh, from death doom pioneer, to progressive rock magician, the name is different but the song remains the same. 9/10

Lizzard – Mesh (Pelagic Records)

Prog, yeah I like it and when I saw Welsh proggers Godsticks were supporting a band called Lizzard I had to check them out. It turns out the Anglo/French trio have been around for a fair few years (2006), having released four previous albums and have worked with Rhys Fulber, High on Fire, ORK, The Pineapple Thief and the devil himself Terry Bozzio (extra points if you know what the hell I’m on about). 

Now I’d never heard those albums so I approached their fifth with open ears and liked the noises I was hearing. Collaborating with produced Peter Junge again, Mesh is an optimistic record, true it uses many of the same musical queues of 90’s post punk or someone like Steven Wilson does on Mat Hatters which points the lens at those in power.

The bass throb of Will Knox setting the bottom end for this dreamy but defiant number, as it gets heavier for The Unseen, on which Katy Elwell’s technical rhythms are perfect, the dexterity of her playing also evident on closing track The Beholder. So it’s prog but with a modernity to it, driven by the jangly art rock guitars and soaring vocal melodies from Mat Ricou, there’s a similarity to another Welsh band, The Manic Street Preachers or The Cure on Home Seek. His voice is emotive and his guitar playing soulful, the ideal melodies to such a tight engine room. 

Having toured with The Pineapple Thief, ORK and now Godsticks, Lizzard present their Mesh, which will appeal to fans of all of these bands. 8/10

Swamp Coffin – Drowning Glory (APF Records)

The architects of “The World's Slowest Wall Of Death” have a lot to get off their chest, the songs on their 2021 debut Noose Almighty and 2019 Flatcap Bastard Features EP were inspired by the death of Jon Rhodes (vocals/guitars) brother-in-law. In 2017, then a house fire left him and his family homeless, as Noose Almighty was launched released bassist Martyn White attempted to take his own life and when it was finally released Jon’s mother-in-law and Martyn’s father passed away. So if you’re looking for the reason why Drowning Glory feels like it’s comprised of just pure pain and anguish then this will be why.

They did think they were cursed but set about embracing it by cursing anyone who listens, like a Pharoah disturbed in his tomb, unleashing a virus that peels the flesh of grave robbers, Swamp Coffinw want you to feel their pain, uncompromising, unquestionably heavy noise. I say noise, not music, not metal, not sludge, not hardcore because Swamp Coffin play their instruments as if it’s the last thing they’re going to do and they want you to be on edge, to be uncomfortable when songs such as the title track just shout you down against a gloomy backdrop. Topics of mental health and grief mean the record is as honest as it can be, the trio drawing on those personal tragedies to make their way through the mental process associated with them.

Jon told everyone that his only goal was “didn't want anybody to have even the slightest chance to catch their breath”, single This Was Always Going To End In War especially visceral live, the anger and rage of a tumultuous period in their personal history wrought through this second album. The result is the best music of their career so far, it’s so brutal and angry and violent, music that wants you to be intimidated by it. You know you see the meme that reads *slow heavy metal music playing* as someone looks devastated? Swamp Coffin are the soundtrack to that. Be prepared. 9/10

Magnetar - There Will Be No Peace In My Valley (Vendetta Records)

The North West is a hot bed for metal, Winterfylleth especially are the leading lights in that scene, featuring members who also form Ard, Atavist and Necronautical, the latest addition being Magnetar, a band influenced by the Swedish melodic black/death, American and South American thrash/death and British classic metal all coming from the mind of Winterfylleth bassist Dan Walmsley.

Here he plays everything except drums, including clean vocals, with main harsh vocals from Nick Wallwork and drums from Rob Harris. It means that Adorned In Flame is reminiscent of the second wave of black metal, though SCUM which opens the album with some blistering thrash and squealing solos, the black metal storming through on The Shadow Mountains and the chugging To Render The Soul.

Another branch of extreme metal from the Winterfylleth tree of life, one that throws back to a time where metal was political, lean, raw and nasty. 8/10

Reviews: Psychlona, Marche Funèbre, Turbokill, Jaded Heart (Reviews By Rich Piva, Mark Young, Matt Bladen & Simon Black)

Psychlona - Warped Vision (Magnetic Eye Records) [Rich Piva]

Psychlona has to be the most consistently awesome band of the 2020s and maybe my favourite, considering their second album, Venus Skytrip, was my number one album of 2020 and their third, Palo Verde, was my number two for the year 2022. So, if we keep up with this pattern, the latest Psychlona masterpiece should be dropping right about now and should be somewhere in my top 3 for 2024, right? Right, because Warped Vision rules and continues to show why Psychlona is the premiere stoner/heavy psych band of this decade.

Why is Psychlona and therefore Warped Vision, so great? The band’s sound is unique to them as you can always tell when it is a Psychlona song blasting. Yeah, they have the influences you would expect and you hear on the eight tracks making up Warped Vision, but their tone and sound are so specific to them. Be it the vocals, how the songs are produced, or their attention to melody that allows them to create the most earworm-y stoner psych songs compared to just about any band, like ever, in the genre. These dudes can play too. Just listen to the solo on the heavy and trippy Kaleidoscope. The band always kicks off records strong, and I knew from the second the opener, Jasmine, started we had another AOTY candidate on our hands. 

The riffs and the Psychlona sound are all there, and I love the guitar work on this one. Psychlona, whether the try to or not, create stoner psych anthems on their records, and Let’s Go is Warped Vision’s example. The build up opening to the killer riff, combine that with the catchiness and you could play this during a kick off at a football game or whatever your sport of choice is. Oh, and cowbell. I also love when Psychlona gets all chill on us, like on the slow burn psych drenched Smoke, but the chunky riffs still show up to the party when the pace picks up towards the end and the band starts ripping it up, in maybe the most amazing way on the whole record. The call and response on the killer Cut Loose rules, and so does that guitar work. 

A ten record can have no filler, and Warped Vision has zero, with songs like the slower but heavy as hell Topanga (love when the pace slows even more towards the end) and Split, which just shows even more that Psychlona are masters of the loud soft fast slow dynamic. I love the closer, Magic Carpet, too, as this is the most drop out track Psychlona may have in all of their discography and I could not be more here for it, but they would never close a record without rocking the f out, which is exactly what they do on the second half of the song.

 
This is another perfect record from the best stoner psych band of the 2020s. If they keep giving us amazing records every other year Psychlona will go down as one of the all-time greats. I do not think I am overstating this because everyone I know who listens to this band thinks something similar. Warped Vision is a top 5 or higher on my year end list in an extremely top-heavy year. Psychlona rules and if you don’t know this find out. 10/10

Marche Funèbre - After The Storm (Ardua Music) [Mark Young]

Now a touch of doom, courtesy of Belgium’s Marche Funèbre and their 5th full length album After The Storm. Formed in 2008, they have been a constant presence since their debut release Norizon in 2009. A first for me, and again it is always good to be exposed to new bands, no matter what their genre is. Now this is 6 songs in 44 minutes so that gives you an idea of track length (all 7 minutes or above) so it’s either going to be songs that fly or ones that drag.

In A Haze, well it’s a melodic start, with plenty of grit too. The death vocals are deep, without losing clarity in delivery and are delivered by Arne Vandenhoeck like a hammer hitting a wall. In A Haze is all about mighty riffs, and a surprisingly effective clean vocal by Kurt Blommé which when it comes in fits the overall tone well. The good thing here is that they are pushing forward and avoiding any drop in energy, even with the pre lead ‘quiet’ moment that is used to then give the closing section as much of an impact as it can get.

You can’t dismiss it that once they have zeroed on a decent riff build, they stay with it. Its pretty solid and is a good start. Palace Of Broken Dreams offers a more mournful track, the clean vocals and arrangement flows along, and you know that the heavy will come in to give it the required kick and when it does, they do it well. The heavier sections still provide that mournful touch, and its apparent that they know how to get as much as possible out of a minimal set of ideas, maxing out what they can do with it. It gives the song that organic flow so that when it grows it is staying true to what has gone before.

The way they use the cleans is done very well. There is no sense of them being shoehorned in, and they are used to suit the song rather than trying to be something they are not. Also, don’t forget that their riff choices are spot on and just from these two songs you can see why they are held in high regard. Do I detect a nod to Iron Maiden? Well, that might be a stretch but Devoid Of Empathy’s opening sequence has a cheeky little run that sounds like something Maiden might do. It is another strong song, with a melody set that would be fun to play.

It is interesting and engaging, giving the listener something to hang on to as opposed to it being just a bunch hammered out power chords. The subtle shift in pace towards the end of the song is fantastic. Its not that they achieve high speed, its just a little touch that gives the song a lift. When you have this kind of music the run time fades because it engages so well and suddenly you are half-way through!

Enter Emptiness goes for the melancholic with a restrained opening passage and as it stands this feels more in tune with atmospheric doom – the rising chords and subtle lead break. Ponderous and measured in application, it is no less engaging as it breaks free, and they pick that pace up once more dropping in the double bass as those crystal clean vocals come in. Watch for those subtle changes in attack near the end, just like they did with Devoid, it gives the song the necessary twist before they loop back to the main arrangement.

The opening to Stranded is almost happy. Not too happy, but it shows them changing their attack once again. Riffs are moving freely, with some solid lead playing and it has the air of a song that wants you to move. What you find is that as we head for the end, they have dropped 5 songs that weave in and around the death/doom genre without being anchored to one particular sound.

After The Storm is the final piece, the dessert after what has been a rather delicious meal. I still get an impression of Iron Maiden from them, I think it is the harmonies they deploy on the guitars, it is so subtle and yet it cuts through so well. The combination of the dirt and clean vocals again is served up at the right time to suit the song, showing that everything they do is measured so it hits with maximum effect. There is a superb melody line running this one that is worth the price of entry on its own.

The melody, set against the rhythm parts evokes the right emotional heft from it, and it carries the song so well. There is a transition into the last two minutes where the mood changes, they throw everything at you – the cleans, the dirt, the melody breaks as a means of a triumphant closing statement. And it is fantastic, it’s the just the sort of song that could close any show. 8/10

Turbokill - Champion (Steamhammer/SPV) [Matt Bladen]

Formed after Stephan Dietrich left classic metal band Alpha Tiger, Turbokill wanted to do something different so they are much more akin to the bright breezy sound of European power metal, it's a style that many German bands do so well, in some respects being the originators of the sound, but much of it has come from outside of Germany recently so Champion and Turbokill's previous album could be seen as part of reactivation of sorts for this particular genre. 

Fusing modern metal production, with the sound of late 80's early 90's power metal Champion is an album that brings the best of all worlds, Turbokill tweaking everything they established on their debut to make it better. The songs are more progressive, and varied, the performances tighter and much of the record hits that sweet spot for fans of Teutonic power metal

The major factor of the band is Stephan's vocals, they soar high above the galloping rhythms from Ronny Schuster (rhythm guitar), Marco "Fox" Grünwald (bass) and Kevin Käferstein (drums), encouraging sing alongs like bands such as Freedom Call (Power Punch) or Helloween (Sons Of The Storm). Dietrich's vocals extremely similar to one Mr Michael Kiske, this is immediately evident on opener A Million Ways, the Helloween influence staying strong for most of the record. Time To Wake though has a folky touch of Blind Guardian, as Go Your Way begins with some Priest-like lead guitar from Daniel Kanzler.

Joyous power metal that's etched into the fabric of these musician's heritage, Turbokill have declared that are they want to be Champions of power metal with this second album. 8/10

Jaded Heart – Intuition (Massacre Records) [Simon Black]

You know the beauty of this reviewing lark is you get to discover a whole bunch of music that you might not otherwise get a chance to without intervention. Most people lock their music tastes and preferences in early, with relatively little drift and introducing new stuff is a combination of recommendation, accidental live exposure or, more recently. things like Smart Shuffle features that fiddle around the edges of your streaming playlists.

I got back into all malarky a few years back for exactly that reason that I wanted to hear new stuff, and whilst I expected to focus on finding new young bands, I’ve also discovered a shit tonne of much older bands that were completely new to me. Jaded Heart are a great example of this.

They’ve been around since 1994 during my own wilderness years, but like many Euro acts from this time haven’t done much in the UK anyway, despite having a healthy following and a fifteen-album discography to back them up. This EP is primarily a vehicle for opening track Intuition, with the remaining three being either covers or live renditions delivered with their traditional Euro-Metal style.
Intuition is a good straight ahead metal track, which highlights the skills of the players well, has a nice catchy melody and switches groove enough times to work well in a crowded live setting.

Things switch up a gear with a cover of Ghost’s Square Hammer, which as everyone who hates Ghost will tell you, sounds a lot better with a bit more metal beef added to it. To be fair, Ghost always sound way heavier live instrumentally anyway, but Johan Fahlberg has way more power in his voice and it uplifts the track very well. Europe’s Dance The Night Away is the second cover, and again has way more welly than the original and benefits from a much more up tempo in your face delivery than anything the song’s originator ever churned out.

Closing with a live rendition of Love Is A killer from their last full-length I am left with two opinions. One, that Swedish Euro Rock sounds much better done like this (sorry Europe and Ghost), and that this is a band I need to listen to more of. 7/10

Reviews: High Parasite, The Black Dahlia Murder, Serious Black, Cutlass (Reviews By Rick Eaglestone, Mark Young, Simon Black & Matt Bladen)

High Parasite - Forever We Burn (Candlelight) [Rick Eaglestone]

There is a new dawn approaching laden with dark, atmospheric, and sinisterly melodic tones, High Parasite have formed with some formidable creators to bring their debut creation to fruition with Forever We Burn.

The albums begins with a huge statement of intent with title track which is where the combination of this collective really showcases the musicianship first up is the guitar work and overall structure with has the immediate heartbeat of producer Paradise Lost’s Gregor Mackintosh which then burst through with vocals of longstanding frontman with doom metal maestros, My Dying Bride – Aaron Stainthorpe which are complimented with the ethereal tones of Tapping The Veins Heather Thompson.

This is followed the heavier delivery of My Syndrome before the Gothic post punk tones of Grave Intentions fires through adding another force in the form of bassist/vocalist/songwriter Tombs – a key player in the creation of High Parasite. This collaboration then moves into the narrative nature of Wasn’t Human into death-pop with Concentric Nightmares which delivers a slightly different soundscapes which immediately took me back 24 years as it’s reminiscent of Atrocity’s Taste Of Sin.

Providing the most atmospheric tones on this incredibly impressive debut is Hate Springs Eternal, which is complimented with an ominous nature on Parasite, I can see this being a future live favourite for sure. “This is not a side project. It’s a new touring and recording band, and with Forever We Burn, our debut studio album, we’re showing our love for all things gothic and grand, along with a collective belief that dark music doesn’t have to be confined to the shadows.” – Aaron Stainthorpe

Moving to Let It Fall is once again another demonstration of musicianship falling into place effortlessly before another unveiling of creative genius in the form of Widowmaker which contains my favourite vocal collective.

The album concludes with an industrial like anthem, We Break We Die with once again is flooded with influence and is a track that is not only catchy but is a track I am drawn to increasingly to which each listen. I do not think at this time it is no surprise to learn I am absolutely enamoured with release, it’s structured and produced so well with tracks that will no doubt prove timeless.

Absolutely brimming with brooding gothic overtones. 10/10

The Black Dahlia Murder - Servitude (Metal Blade) [Mark Young]

The Black Dahlia Murder is another band that I have never listened to and digging into online sources this is their 10th studio album and their first since long time frontman Trevor Strnad had passed away. Sometimes, not having listened to a band’s back catalogue means you can judge a release on its own merits or flaws especially in the instance where a band loses a member in this way. I’ll leave comparisons to their previous releases to others as I am sure there will be plenty of that online.

Servitude starts with Evening Ephemeral, a graceful piano segment bludgeoned to death by a death scream and a full-on metal assault. Its heads down and off, as they scorch the earth in front of them with an intensity that belies the fact that this is their 10th album. It provides melody as well as keeping the heaviness in place, suitably balanced and gives the album a great springboard from which to start from. Which it does, Panic Hysteria is next up and takes the baton and sprints with it to the finish line. Those melodic touches on here are royal, twined with some next level drumming that show off both speed and finesse. 

Now if they can avoid the overly slow third song, we are laughing sandbags. Of course they do, with Aftermath blowing in like a tornado. Dropping three songs like this shows that they are here to rage, and to bring some next level heaviness with them. It absolutely flies along, without becoming ludicrous in approach. It is full-on and I love it. What is does mean is that there is a danger of blowing themselves out, which they avoid on Cursed Creator which is more direct in the main but possesses a storming middle section and an outro passage which is has an emotional feel to it (you will get it as soon as you hear it) and sounds like it would be fun to play. There is a joy on display here, each of these tracks so far have been arranged with their best feet forward with each one adopting a melodic style that sounds fresh.

An Intermission, which is nice.

Let’s see if they can continue with the high quality following the intermission as Asserting Dominion is teed up. It has the necessary guitar work, including the mental early solo but it feels a bit thin when compared to the first 4 tracks. I must point out that on its own, it pelts along at a dent rate and isn’t bad at all but feels somehow lighter. Whatever was missing returns on Servitude, and it is not something that I can readily put my finger on. The title track goes for discord amongst the melodic flourishes as they leave no part of the guitar’s neck untouched. It feels that riff lines are coming from all angles here, all underpinned by those supreme drums. 

Entering the final third, Mammoth’s Hand starts with an almost whimsical feel, and they give themselves a little breather (well, relative to the speeds they have attained earlier) whilst still hitting those sweet spots required for this genre to sound good. There is a similar approach on Transcosmic Blueprint, and it is remarkable that having got to this point they are still dropping bangers of this quality. There is an extended lead section that borders on virtuosity without sounding twee. It is the sound of a band that is on fire, and with Utopia Black they reach the end of that journey having provided 9 (the acoustic intermission is not counted) songs that show they have the ability to sustain a high level of craft right through. 

Melodic death metal is a difficult genre to stand out in, there are bands who fall into the trap of repetition but not here. Possibly they had a point to prove that they were not done, I’m not sure. What I do know is that this is a damn fine album, one that should be played loud. 9/10

Serious Black - Rise Of Akhenaton (AFM Records) [Simon Black]

Power Metal Supergroup’s are getting hard to keep track of nowadays. You can see the attraction – either as side projects from the main event when the big names are on hiatus, or as a way of former members to keep earning a living when no longer a part of them, these collaborative projects have been coming thick and fast over the last decade or so. 

I blame Tobias Sammet, although to be fair his Avantasia project has now put the now defunct Edguy that spawned it into the shadows, but there have been hundreds of similar projects, mostly revolving around Helloween, Blind Guardian, Masterplan and the revolving door of contributors therein (and there’s a one in four chance that Ralf Scheepers or Ripper Owens will grace them with a vocal contribution at some point, so nepotistic is the scene). There’s a whole label in Italy doing nothing else but putting these sorts of collaborations together, so there’s clearly a market for it, although here in the UK, the whole Power and Melodic Metal scene is very much a niche taste.

Serious Black have been at this for a decade now, with a respectable seven album discography to back them up and a stable line-up since 2021, but this is the first time they have come across my review platter. A bit of a scan over the back catalogue shows that this is a band that has struggled with consistency and quality, but to be fair I can only judge what I am hearing for the first time, and I’m not hearing anything to complain about.

Quite the reverse indeed. The eleven songs on here show a mature and reliable song-writing team at their heart, with each track standing out as a well-structured, catchy and anthemic bit of power metal. The musical performances are all robust, and I’m particularly take with Nikola Mijić’s vocal performance, which is believable, charismatic and holds the attention well. The guitars are a little too far back in the mix, and dominated by the rhythm section at times but the songs all stand on their own. Sadly, the songs may all stand alone well, but the highlights seem a bit thin on the ground when taken as a whole. 

Syrupy ballad When I’m Gone is best glossed over entirely, but Silent Angel is a real standout moment and album closer Metalized comes close, but this is still a strong offering from a band now settling into their sound. 6/10

Cutlass – Walk The Plank (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]

The band FKA Pirates Of Metal now go by Cutlass, which is a much better name, evoking the early days of NWOBHM, their music too does the same thing as this debut album is all too keen to highlight. Formed by vocalist Ewan Mackay and guitarist Alistair Hodgson, they recruited Primitai shredder Srdjan Bilić and Milan Jejina recorded drums. This is the line up for the album as Radek Koval has joined as bassist, Bilić playing it on the record itself. But enough about whose in the band, what do they sound like? Well do you like gritty early-Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, the early days of thrash and of course Running Wild?

Well you’re going to love Cutlass’ heavy metal from the privateer age, there’s much less of the silliness given by BeerTyphoon (work it out), but the songs still give you a big fat grin and get your fist in the air the way Red Rum and Tailgunner, two bands Cutlass will be/have been touring with this year. Hailing from London, their rebrand is due to the band wanting to move away from the stereotype of ‘Pirate Metal’ too the early days when it was speed metal/proto-thrash but with lyrics surrounding one topic.

Not afraid to be realistic or bloodthirsty tracks such as Buried At Sea, Blood In The Water and No Escape see the twin guitar harmonies slicing like the curved sword of their namesake, the rhythms careening like a brigantine at full sail, while Mackay gives a throaty cry to warn of the Jolly Roger. If you think there’s been a lack of speed metal piracy recently then Cutlass are set to join the raiding party started by Rock ‘n’ Rolf nearly 40 years ago. 8/10

Reviews: Paul Di'Anno, Vicious Blade, Nehoda, Mechanic Tyrants (Reviews By Simon Black, Paul Hutchings, James Jackson & Mark Young)

Paul Di'Anno - The Book Of The Beast (Conquest Music) [Simon Black]

The fortunes of the erstwhile Maiden front man Paul Di’Anno have waxed and waned over the years, which is a damned shame. His contribution to the whole genre is both worthy and significant, but the reality is most Metal fans only know him for those first two landmark Maiden records. It’s easy to get a project off the ground when you are the ex-Irons guy, but making a success of anything he’s turned his hand to since seems to have eluded him. 

I had to dig around to find them all, but the list of projects is extensive from the initial Di’Anno in 1984, the never quite getting off the ground Supergroup project Gogmagog (with one Janick Gers), Battlezone, a Japanese reboot of Praying Mantis, Killers, Nomad, Di’Anno (again), RockFellas and just plain Paul Di’Anno I count more than thirty studio and live albums post-Maiden, and that’s not included the dozens of other projects he’s contributed to as a guest artiste. And he’s still going, recently seen around the UK belting it out from a wheelchair, completely retaining the power and energy that he kicked the NWOBHM door down with in 1979. 

The trouble is a lot of his back catalogue is locked up somewhere in rights hell, having bounced around numerous labels over the decades, so this much overdue compilation is a worthy achievement since it has managed to nail down a really broad range of tracks from many of those projects, some of which I had never heard before. Best of all, the masters have been located, and these gems have all been given a thoroughly good rinse and wash and sound a lot better than they probably would even if someone did manage to track down and reissue his whole, rather extensive back catalogue.

Di’Anno was heavily involved in this compilation to boot, so it’s a choice of the songs he personally thinks represent his finest hour and a half, and I can’t fault his choices. From the not-trying-to-be-Pantera-in-1994-really moments of Die By The Gun to the subtly moody Nomad there are plenty of surprises hidden in here, and it’s probably worth investing in just for the chance to hear the sheer range of the material. 

Inevitably Maiden has to get a nod or two, but rather than pad the release out with live or straight re-recordings, Di’Anno has opted to re-record just two of those songs, but as a duet with a combination of Tony Martin, Lidya Balaban and ZP Threat (although you will probably have to splash out on both the vinyl and CD editions if you want to hear them all, as different versions are covered on different formats.

Is the Beast back? Well, he never really went away, and long may he continue. 8/10

Vicious Blade – Relentless Force (Redefining Darkness Records) [Paul Hutchings]

Everything about this band screams thrash/death metal and one minute into the howling solos of the title track and you are reassured that your knowledge is at least okay when it comes to the genres you review. 

Coming at you from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the outfit don’t leave much to the imagination and instead smash everything out of the park with every sinew they can strain. A fiery quintet led by the demonic vocal delivery of Clarissa Badini, this is as intense and in-your-face work out as you’ll get. 

It’s not long. Nine songs over 27 minutes puts it in Reign In Blood territory, and unsurprisingly, there are more than a few comparisons with the legendary four-piece. The title track is almost lifted from Show No Mercy, but it’s a song with more clout and a bit more dynamic power. In other words, this is the start of a brutal aural assault which doesn’t relinquish its stranglehold in anyway whatsoever. 

Alongside Badini’s gruesome growls and snarls stands the dual guitars of Erik Wynn and lead axeman Jeff Ellsworth, which slice with feral finesse. Drummer Kevin Parent does a fine job whilst new bassist Justin Pelissero anchors the low end, allowing the band to bring the chugging guitar work in style.

There’s nothing massively original about Relentless Force, but the sheer savage delivery of songs such as Visceral Weakness, Mistress Of Death and Blasphemous Conjuring make them all worth a listen if you like your metal coming at you with a jagged edge and a power that is conjured straight from hell. Sometimes something gnarly, aggressive and pounding is all that you need. If that’s the case, then this debut full-length should tick every box. 8/10

Nehoda - Nehoda (Gotta Groove Records) [James Jackson]

Nashville based trio Nehoda are Patrick Nehoda on vocals and guitar, Grayson Papa on bass and Chris Heard on drums; there’s is a blend of Blues infused grunge/rock and Nehoda is the band’s second full length album since the band began in 2018.

Album opener Bells channels a Foo Fighters vibe, honing in upon that grunge/rock style with a fuzzy guitar riff that instantly sets the tone of the track, it’s quite laid back and Nehoda’s vocals are just as mellow, the lyrical message positive but in a chilled relaxed manner.

Hot Blooded Woman has that country rock/blues groove stamped on it from the opening riff, it’s a low slung dirty riff that channels the Deep South with a sway that Black Stone Cherry would be proud of. Fingertips dials it down but with no less urgency, it’s closer and more personal within it’s lyrics and in its execution, it’s another Bluesy riff that carries a hypnotic, smoky bar feel to it.

Bloody Blues follows a similar path and it’s these more soulful tracks that I feel that Nehoda are at their strongest, the grunge rock of opener Bells worked well but these slower, more groove driven tracks are where the heart of the band feels more vibrant and intimate.

Always Jealous is haunting, a solemn melody forms the backbone of the song, as the track builds it offers that keen sense of urgency I found in other tracks, the lyrics are desperate, a personal condemnation of the right person, wrong time chapter in the protagonists life, something that speaks volumes despite the almost whispered tones; keys add a further layer of tense emotion - possibly my favourite track of the album. 

Screaming Out Your Name opens with as melancholy a melody as Always Jealous did, again lyrically it’s hugely emotive, soulful and personal. This six track album came with little indication that it would hit as hard as it does, that blues inspiration allows a groove to the rock riffs, that Southern feel offering soul and style, a depth of emotion that is only made more poignant through the lyrics. 8/10

Mechanic Tyrants - St Diemen Riots (Jawbreaker Records) [Mark Young]

I think that if someone asked me to name a band that took inspiration from an earlier time and then made an unashamed love letter to it, I would probably say Mechanic Tyrants. And it is most definitely a love letter, written to a time in metal when riffs were fast, and the guitar solo was king. From their bio, there is nothing to suggest that this is anything other than a serious endeavour, other than noting that we should take Speed Metal Guerrilla as a tongue-in cheek celebration.

I would think that the amount of enjoyment you derive from this would be relative to how you feel about any of the music that came out during the 80’s. Again, they do not namecheck that decade but from the first listen of Tower 42, its all-frenetic thrash and high register vocals that will plant you back in that decade, subject to your vintage. To be fair it is how you should start an album of this type, front foot and barrelling forward whilst you bring your best facemelter into play. And it does, with Murder At The Barricades following up with a traditional one-two punch. This leans more to the lighter side, I’m thinking of Maiden and that ilk, and is breathlessly enthusiastic but, I stress that if you aren’t that fond of that style, then another 8 songs might be a stretch. 

St Diemen Riots completes the opening trio, upping the tempo and blowing through like a tempest. You can’t fault it for its build or speed, or that it is a nifty track in its own right with some truly epic leads on it. With that in mind, you know it will appeal to those who love this kind of music, no matter the decade it was produced in.  Any sense of momentum is then lost with the inclusion of Madrugada, an instrumental. I think I have said enough on instrumentals this year, so onto Ruins Of The Past which channels Iron Maiden, around 85 with its high energy and harmony parts so if you are going to ape someone, ape the best.

Speed Metal Guerrilla comes in like classic thrash, you know it does its thing and leaves and Sons Of Evil has an Ozzy flavour to it, which is possibly too much of a blanket statement but what I’m trying to get across is that it has that feel to it and you can imagine the video that would accompany it – feet on monitors, hair blowing and probably a black and white segment. Those Maiden flourishes are still present and correct, and although it has all the right ingredients it’s just that I’m ambivalent to it. The remaining tracks come in thick and fast, all high energy and incendiary fretwork. Above The Law is standard speed metal, and Bad Seed has a party feel and they both are decent songs but as I reach the end, they haven’t really embedded with me, and I suppose that I can’t love everything. 

The title track, Mechanic Tyrants is our final track and is reflective of the album as a whole, bringing together all the key parts that they do well, and it is done well. As I said earlier, you will love or hate this depending on your appreciation of a certain decade and the metal released within it. I’m not completely keen on that period by any means, and as noted they have not come out and expressly said ‘it’s the well we go to’ but it would be hard to argue otherwise. You can hear that they are going for it on each track, but there is something that I don’t like and I cannot put my finger on it. So, I’ll end it on by giving it a score and move on. 6/10

Review: Heriot By Mark Young

Heriot - Devoured By The Mouth Of Hell (Century Media) [Mark Young]

I cannot say just how much I have been waiting for this. I’ve been lucky enough to catch them live, both as support and as headliners in their own right. Garnering a deserved reputation as one of our exemplar metal bands the UK has, they have been methodical in getting themselves to this point. Everything they have done has been focused to make sure that this debut release for Century Media lands with as much explosive force as is possible. 

Going out on a limb right now, they have released what is possibly the album of the year, such is the ferocity, the breadth and the leap in songcraft between this and their last collection, Profound Morality. Don’t forget, that was a monster in its own right but this is a whole new animal, a new way of doing things that keeps their core essence in place whilst they raise their game to a new level.

Foul Void is the start of a 34-minute kicking. Tight guitar, with those super heavy riffs banging in whilst shredmeister Deb’s snarled vocals nail it to the floor. What hits you is just how good it sounds; I mean it sounds incredible. Jake’s guttural roars cutting through and that breakdown around 3.30 is the sound of hell opening up. They have also expanded their sonic armoury with swirling background noise that adds to an overall feeling of unease. In just over 4 minutes they have dropped their first bomb that sets the tone for what is to come next. It captures their live feel, which was slightly muted on earlier releases and if you have seen them live you know exactly what I mean. 

It gets better, Harm Sequence is a blast of super aggression that should cause spontaneous circle pits to open. Julian’s drumming here is all controlled fury, with Erhan and Debbie combining to break your neck. Two songs in, two absolute crackers. Opaline is where they show off their growth and confidence in their ability. A subdued pace, ethereal vocals and a gradual rising of an incoming storm of a monster riff and a masterclass in tasteful lead playing. I’ve said before that if a song makes you want to play it then it must be doing something right and it’s the case here. If anything, the restrained pace makes it heavier, and suddenly you are looking at the best opening statement of the year.

Siege Lord is where they kick it up a gear. Its just furious, immediate and causes the hairs on the arms to rise. Anchored by vocals and bass early, it becomes huge once the guitars kick in especially with that ambient noise swells as the hard as rock riff come to the fore. It gives you everything you want in metal and makes it sound brand new. The chunk is obscene here, just as the grind on Sentenced To The Blade will strip the enamel from your teeth. It must be obvious by now that I’m having a blast with this. Sentenced keeps that efficient song build going, with no fat wasted at all. Its skull crushingly heavy, and what I love on this is when Jake and Debbie’s dual vocals come together, they act in unison, with one purpose which is to crush. 

Solvent Gaze dials back to allow a vocal driven start, bass fuelled with the cried of anguished and lost souls acting as their backing. When they do kick in its quick, but no less effective in moving the song along. Its this, along with Opaline that shows there is so much more to them than just battering you with riff after riff. Lashed, has an industrial feel to it, and reminds me of when the likes of Ministry/Nine Inch Nails would introduce elements of electronica to their sound. It leans into to the noise drops they do live but as a fully fleshed out story. It’s the sort of song that would fit in with any dystopian tale of future woe and acts as a reset before the low-down dirty riffing of At The Fortress Gate, which is unashamedly old school in execution. Its solid, fist to the face with those top class fills by Julian. Listen for the break at 1.50, slow stabs of guitar, pinched harmonics and those diamond hard combined vocals again hitting you like a brick in the face. Its heavy, but with such clarity and suddenly we are near the end.

Visage, with epic cleans and a soundscape that builds around them is just haunting. It once again points to how far they have come in being to write the music they want to write. The guitars here are just glorious, their arrangement matching these mournful lyrics, completely in synch and providing that metallic edge without overshadowing the dark beauty that came before. Mourn is our last song, a lumbering beast that gives Jake opportunity to spit venom. Rather than just throw a one-dimensional banger at us, they lull with that slow opening, and then BAM here we go, pace is picked up and now we have a closing statement that is as strong as the opener, and it’s over and out.

Having the opportunity to review this has meant repeated listens, and you know sometimes it gets samey as you try to get under the skin and pull the words together. Not on here. It’s a magnificent debut for them, with songs that you will be able to come back to again and again. It is light years beyond anything they have done, and by rights it should cement their position as the de facto face of extreme metal. All I can hope for is that they continue with this ascendancy and continue to grow as artists. Because they truly deserve it. 10/10

Reviews: Warlock A.D., Penny Rich, Saur, Matt Finucane (Reviews By Matt Bladen)

Warlock A.D. - Book II: The Valley Of Vâgené (Rockshots Records)

Epic fantasy metal? It's all a bit silly isn't it? Especially bands such as Rhapsody (whichever one you want), the massive concepts, dragons, goblins, warriors and journeys are all overblown and pompous but it's supposed to be. So while Warlock A.D have written an album about their journey to The Valley Of Vâgené, the follow up to Book I: The Reserrection, that is full of innuendo and genitalia jokes but the music is serious. 

Orchestrally dense, synth-laden power metal that is epic and anthemic. Inspired by Angus McSix, Beast In Black, Devin Townsend/Ziltoid and any of the storyline bands you can name, Warlock A.D. are the real deal musically, power metal of the most epic variety.

Be it the bouncy title track, the more extreme notions on Nanum Imperium or the full on EDM of Ancient Dragon Of Storms Flüffir Mighty Guardian Of Valley, there's a lot of variation but build around a solid foundation of epic, folky power metal such as Rothgar Warsong and As One, We Stand!

As well as a talented band there's a host of guest who lend their voices to the extra characters in this open world musical adventure. As they continue their quest towards the Valley Of Vâgené, they will surely encounter more weird and wonderful characters and lots more innuendo too, for now though you'll just have to take Warlock A.D's. long hard metal shaft into your virgin ears. 8/10

Penny Rich - EP (Self Released) 

For fans of Metz, Tunic, Big Black, Dead Kennedys, Penny Rich are a hardcore/punk/noise band from Cardiff. Apeing the Sub-Pop bands from the 1990's this EP tries to distil their live show onto a disc, it's brash, bold and latches on to fear, insecurity and just not really knowing what to do with yourself. 

A thick bass riff opens Fundamentals, the brain mushing psychedelics of the Chris Hampson's bass throb a lead instrument here as Tobias O'Reilly's drums are distorted and have that garage sound in the mix. With this rhythm section taking their cues from the early garage/grunge/noise bands Anthony Birdseye's guitars contain plenty of feedback and aggressive atmospherics.

Taking about aggressive Chris and Anthony trade vocals shouts, most effectively with the surf rock meets alt punk track On And On, clean sneers and angry shouts counteracting each other. Written directly after their debut full length, this EP takes more of a potpourri of influences writing tracks that still have very personal lyrics but may shift them slightly away from what they established with their debut. 

Penny Rich's new EP keeps it raw and ready but also more progressive as they move further into the Sub-Pop discography. 7/10 

Saur - EPs Are A Dead Format (Self Released)

Midlands punx Saur have a tongue in cheek attitude to releasing materials but their songs do carry a message as all good punk rock tracks should. Be it Incel behaviour on Never Ever (Gonna Fuck You) or unwanted attention on Dicks Picks (Unsolicited) they are aimed very specifically at the knobheads in society. 

As it's punk it's pretty simple four on the floor riffs, though they put a solo in Never Ever. It's a four track EP (a dead format) with three speedy originals and one cover, Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah given a Ramones-esque revamp and a "Hail Satan" refrain. I suggest you listen to EP's Are A Dead Format if you like your punk fast, furious and funny, put away the cream as it won't leave you Saur (Get It?). 7/10

Matt Finucane - Bang Bang Exorcism EP (Eyeless Records)

Inspired by Lou Reed, Mark E Smith and anyone who makes a weird set of noises, Bang Bang Exorcism is his new record from Matt Finucane and artist who has been trawling the dark and dingy baseman circuit ls for a while now, primarily an acoustic player this is an electric album with Matt on vocals and grimy guitar riffs and Barney Guy on drums. 

It's pretty primal, with themes about isolation there's a deliberate attempt to make it weird and strange. Unfortunately it does nothing for me at all, I was bored when it began and I stayed bored throughout it. Shame as I'm sure there are people that will love it but not for me. 5/10

Reviews: Vision Divine, Even Flow, Phantom Hound, Kublai Khan TX (Reviews By Zak Skane, Matt Bladen, Rich Piva & Mark Young)

Vision Divine – Blood And Angels Tears (Scarlet Records) [Zak Skane]

Visions Divine have released their conceptual prog tinged 11 track release Blood And Angels Tears. From start to finish the band show no sign of stripping down it’s approach. 

For example, the guitars go more all out in comparison to previous releases with Olaf and Andrea doing some whammy bar trickery on the opening song The Ballet Of Blood And Angels Tears followed by frantic pedal tone riffs that are locked in with the rhythm sections. 

These frantic riffs continue on songs like the following track Once Invincible and The Broken Past, but the virtuoso duo change it up with the heaviest track on the album Preys where the guitars sound more darker and thicker trading the heavy use of pedal tone riffs for palm muted galloped riffs and sustained chords. 

The track When Darkness Comes replaces the electric guitars for the delicate approach with acoustic guitar arrangements that consist of peaceful sounding arpeggios and heavenly chords being to the great Matt Puruzzis grooves. 

Speaking of which, Matt's performances on this album really steal the show for me with his intricately placed drum fills that perfectly accompany other instrumentation that does not competes with Ivan's vocals. Throughout the album Matt proves to be a drum god that needs more credit then he deserves. 

From the colossal drum fills in the first song, The Ballet Of Blood And Angels Tears making those toms sound like a artillery of firing cannons whilst the following track Once Invincible brings in some thunderous double kick action. 

The track Go East shows a brilliant marriage of Matt's grooves bouncing off of Andreas bass lines whilst Ivan soars through the arrangements. Throughout the 11 tracks Ivan proves to be another musician that deserves more credit in the metal word, the frontman is painting pictures with the narrative sections in the intro track War In Heaven to sung stories on The Broken Past. 

Songs like Once Invincible shows how Ivan bring in the intensity whilst bringing these angelic highs, whilst being able to sooth you with their softer tracks like When Darkness Comes and their closing track Lost where Ivan soothing tones match with Alessio's blissful arrangements. Following this, through out this whole album Alessio's has proved to be the bands secret weapon. 

From the classic orchestrated efforts on the closing track Lost, A Man On A Mission and the verse sections in Prey to just adding walls of Sci-fi tinged atmospheric layers on the track Once Invincible, it proves that Alessios parts a vital roles in this bands sound. Throughout the 11 track conceptual journey, Vision Divine has upped the anti with the production on their 9th full length release. 

They have kept what makes them the one to see modern power metal bands, with their power high range vocals, technical guitar wizardry and colossal sounding drum parts, but wrapped in an extra layer of modern production.

Soundscapes that really captures the fantasy concepts with the use of sci-fi sounds on Once Invincible and the sounds designs of the opening track War In Heaven. For fans of Dream Theatre, Gloryhammer and Blind Guardian. 8/10

Even Flow - Rinascimento (Lucky Bob Records) [Matt Bladen]

Italian melodic progressive metal band Even Flow return with another full length album, it's been 2 years since their last EP Mediterraneo, but when your guitarist/drummer brother combo have another band on the go, your bassist has five and your singer is in about eight it's difficult getting everyone together.

So with all four of them now in the studio again it was time to record their third album their second in this formation. Rinascimento, which means rebirth in Italian, sees them coming back with more brilliant melodic progressive metal. Luca Negro's bass is thick, full bodied and fleet fingered, even on the poppier Winter Sun or ballad Maloa.

Pietro Paolo Lunesu's guitars are bright and fluid, shredding and anthemic on the title track when set against the synths/keys on the title track, as Giorgio Lunesu's drums give the building rhythm space, climaxing in a scintillating solo/outro and there's a strong 80's vibe on Back On The Street and Pieces Of A Picture.

Marco's vocals are soaring, he's one of my favourite singers out there, he's got a brilliant range for any sort of melodic/power/prog so he is able to handle any shifts in tone well. Rinascimento is another record that shows how good the Italian power/prog scene really is. 8/10

Phantom Hound - From Boom Town To Ghost Town (Glory Or Death Records) [Rich Piva]

Jake Navarra has been the driving force in Phantom Hound for a number of years now, with various events getting in the way of the band taking the next step. 

After years of playing, not playing, personal stuff, and all other things life throws at you, the band put out the excellent debut album, Mountain Pass, in March 2020, just in time for the world to collapse. But the band persevered, boosting their creativity during those dark times, and the result could not have been better, because their second album, From Boom Town To Ghost Town is breath taking.

Navarra is a history buff and loves his native Bay Area in California, so it makes sense that he wrote an album about the California gold rush. While not quite a concept record, the songs are all thematically related, creating an excellent flow to the sequencing of the record. The other big change to the Phantom Hound sound is the addition of synths to the mix. 

Introduced by bass player Stephen Rogers after hearing what bands like King Buffalo do with them, Navarra was initially sceptical but after hearing what can be done using the instrument he was all in, and the bigger, fuller, more complex sound of album number two really brings From Boom Town To Ghost Town to the next level.

King Buffalo is a good benchmark here, but Phantom Hound rocks more, making them more Alice In Chains with synths then the more jam band leanings of King Buffalo. I may get killed for that comment but it is true. Also, I love King Buffalo. The other noticeable change is how much Navarra has improved on the guitar. 

Just check out how he shreds and rips it up on solos on the last two tracks, Waterways (The Motherload) and Hooch’s Skull, which really brings the heavy. I found it very interesting to start the record with a six-minute instrumental, but after talking with Jake and thinking about it, it does make sense, as the new direction and approach with the synths is introduced via that first track, Eyes Upon Riches.

The one-two punch of The Locksmith and Gold Fever is just amazing. Drummer Jack Stiles adds more background vocals this time around, with excellent results, as you can hear on these two tracks. 

Claims & Prospects leans the most towards Navarra’s grunge love, as you can hear all sorts of Seattle in this one, in all of its fuzzy glory. Love the vocals on this one too. The title track is killer, with an acoustic feel to start and a nice change up before the final two rippers mentioned above close the story out.

With all the amazing stuff that has come out in 2024 and specifically in September, an album like From Boom Town To Ghost Town has a chance to be overlooked, but I will make sure everyone hears me screaming from the rooftops about this one, as Phantom Hound’s patience has paid off. The result is their masterpiece, which shows a love of music, the passion to create, and perseverance wins the day. 9/10

Kublai Khan TX - Exhibition Of Prowess (Self Released) [Mark Young]

I’d heard the name but had not heard their music before the boss threw it my way for review this week. Doing some digging online, the band have built a reputation for no nonsense, straight forward music that comes and stomps a great hole in you without overstaying their welcome. 

Indeed, Exhibition Of Prowess clocks in at just under 24 minutes, which should give you some indication of the brutality that is about to be dropped upon you. And it is brutal, there is no doubt about that. Its heavy, its shouty and does all the things you expect from them, and from this genre but it is entirely possible that I am not seeing/hearing what everybody else is hearing. I can appreciate it as a work of heavy art, but I just didn’t care for it. 

I have mentioned before that I pull all the albums together as a review playlist and then use the commute to work as a barometer of how well those albums landed. Did I skip any? Were they too aggressive to drive to? That sort of thing because you get precious little time to listen with intent at home. It starts with a blast, Supreme Ruler, a short blast of aggression and then we are off, with each track giving you more or less the same approach – stabbing guitars, hardcore vocals and it gets dull very quickly.

 
I feel quite sad about this really because online, I read so many positive comments about them, and their music so that when I pressed play, I found that I just couldn’t get into it and it felt that it was just one long (or short) shout fest set within an admittedly crushing sound. It is heavy, I mean really heavy but without any real variety from song to song. And without that variety, it’s just boring. 5/10

Reviews: Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Eclipse, SteelCity, Avernus (Reviews By Matt Bladen)

Kenny Wayne Shepherd - Dirt On My Diamonds Volume 2 (Provouge Records)

The follow up to 2023's Dirt On My Diamonds Volume 1 (obviously), Volume 2 is the other side of the recording sessions at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, that blues guitar sensation Kenny Wayne Shepherd, creating a distinct flavour of each disc of this double album. Unlike Guns N Roses, KWS opted to released each part separately so people can digest it better.

So what have we got here then, well it's more traditional blues mixed with modern blues rock, throwing in a bit of funk, soul and gospel too, soaking up the Alabama history on tracks such as The Middle, with parping horns, a slathering of funk and a killer guitar solo, while My Guitar Is Crying is a smoky ballad on which Shepherd puts all a load of soul into the solo.

These are much more traditional in their approach while Long Way Down is very modern and will be played on rock radio near you (if it isn't already), Never Made It To Memphis which features some great female co-vocals and Watch You Go has a New Orleans strut while She Loves My Automobile is a throw away blues party to end the album.

A concise eight tracks of blues from a master of the genre, played together Dirt On My Diamonds is a creative showcase for Kenny Wayne Shepherd but can easily be digested in two parts. 8/10

Eclipse - Megalomanium II (Frontiers Music SRL)

Swedish rockers Eclipse bring the second part of their Megalomanium record a year after the release of part one. The first one took them down a slightly different road, the title a double edged sword as they are one of Sweden's top rock exports so have every right to feel megalomania however the title also refers to more of the political systems around the world driven by ego and personality rather than policy.

While part 1 took a few risks, part 2 doesn't this is Eclipse by the numbers, there's occasionally a change of pace or sound away from slick melodic rock but not often. You get forty minutes of big choruses, expert guitar playing and hard rock grooves that will make your head nod. It's not big or clever but it does the job and shows once again why Eclipse are so popular, especially in the last few years where they have been showcasing themselves across the globe.

The energy they put into their live show is obvious on Megalomanium II, hard rock and AOR merged well, from the 80's blast of Apocalypse Blues, the Eurotastic Scorpions-like Falling To My Knees and Divide & Conquer bring the rock and roll but in terms of slower/ballads Still My Hero is very Bon Jovi, there's the emotive Until The War Is Over and To Say Goodbye is a sure fire live stable.

Eclipse doing what they do is always a winner and it's clearly gone to their heads! 7/10

SteelCity - Reverence (Frontiers Music SRL)

Reverence is self described as an "unabashed homage to the golden age of bard rock" it's the third album from American rockers SteelCity, who owe a lot of their sound to Winger, Mr Big and Hardline.

It all comes from the guitar prowess of Mike Floros, who founded SteelCity as a solo project in Ohio, he then got a band together, adding Roy Cathey of 90's rockers Cold Sweat behind the mic, bassman extraordinare Jason Cornwell, former Cold Sweat sticksman Anthony White and keyboardist Tony Stahl close out the band.

As I've said this is a third record and it's probably their most accomplished, an impressive collection of American melodic rock, bluesy vocals, some questionable lyrics, chunky organs and very guitar driven. A track such as Hammer Fallin' will give you a solid idea of what they do, with a strutting riff that moves into gallop.

No Angel is a bit sleazier, Dizzy gets choppy, while Walk Away is similar to Motley Crue and not just because of the "motorbike" guitar sound. Most of the record is upbeat and rocky, with Floros impressing with his lead skills, even on the singular ballad The Journey, he shreds. If the bands I mentioned are up your alley then there's lots to like on SteelCity's Reverence. 7/10

Avernus - Grievances (M-Theory Audio)

In this "job" you come across albums that are so up your street that they park outside your house. Grievances, the first album after 21 years from Avernus is just that kind of album. Releasing their debut in 1997, though established in the early 90's Avernus never really made waves they perhaps should have but now returned with the monolithic second record.

Over two decades in the making its a real audio journey, written and performed by the core membership of vocalist/guitarist Rick McCoy, guitarist Erik Kikke, guitarist James Genenz and drummer Rick Yifrach, this Chicago band deal in cinematic/atmospheric death/doom so the songs are long, weaving sonic tapestries that unravel slowly and deliberately, the vocals guttural and introspective as an overall maudlin atmosphere is created, synths stitched throughout.

The fully electronic Abandoned segueing into Quietus, which shifts from death doom into dreamy textures. Nemesis, which was the first track released from this album, is the epitome of slow build 9 minutes and 33 seconds of beauty and blasphemy as the huge doom riffs shift into chugs, Exitus a proper doom experience, The Burning Down heavier again. For me though if you're a doom fan then Return To Dust should be on your playlist, it's simply devastating in it's simplicity and scope.

As I said Avernus' Grievences has full permission to park outside my house and rifle though my garage it's so good. Well worth a 20 odd year wait. 9/10

Reviews: Michael Schenker, Blighted Eye, Bragging Rights, Soulride (Reviews By Matt Bladen)

Michael Schenker - My Years With UFO (earMusic)

Let's clear this up: UFO were a band before Michael Schenker joined and they were a band after Michael Schenker left. It just so happens that their most popular period was when Schenker was in the group, so with UFO no longer a band, The Mad Axe Man looks to capitalise on his legacy with this star studded tribute album.

Entitled My Years With UFO it's exactly that, the best songs from the period Schenker was in the band (1972-1978). Joining him in this band are Derek Sherinian on keys, Brian Tichy on drums, and Barry Sparks on bass, while there's a cavalcade of guests who come to join. The most high profile being Axl Rose and Slash, the former singing Love To Love and the latter joining in on the bluesy Mother Mary featuring vocals from Erik Grönwall (who'll be behind the mic when this record goes out on the road). Rose's involvement is strange as he doesn't sound himself, while Stephen Pearcy of Ratt sounds more Axl than Axl on Shoot Shoot.

Elsewhere there's some odd choices and some inspired ones. For the odd Dee Snider turns Natural Thing creepy, Biff Byford makes This Kids into a Saxon track, but on the inspired side Joe Lynn Turner taking Doctor, Doctor and Too Hot To Handle, Jeff Scott Soto getting Lights Out and Joey Tempest on Only You Can Rock Me all sound like they belong singing these tracks.

It's not just singers though as Schenker has some extra instrumental fire power from Roger Glover, John Norum, Joel Hoekstra, Camine Appice, Adrian Vandenberg and Kai Hansen who sneers and shreds through Rock Bottom. The unsung hero though is Michael Voss who's sings Let It Roll and co produces the album with Schenker. Ah yes the production, it's a bit all over the place, some songs a very definitely studio ventures but others almost sound live.

Still My Years In UFO is an album of the legendary rock bands best songs, with some extremely talented people playing on them. If you can get of the whiff of this being a cash in then there's lots to enjoy. 8/10

Blighted Eye - Agony's Bespoke (Beyond The Top Records)

Inspired by the tragic 2018 Australian film Nightingale, Agony's Bespoke is similarly devoid of laughs. It's a concept surrounding trauma about the power of violence and revenge in a person's psyche. 

The town of Seattle is known for creating bands who dwell in introspection, it was the root of the grunge scene but Blighted Eye don't wear baggy jumpers and play fuzzy riffs, no they weave a more intricate, esoteric and progressive sound like Swallow The Sun, Opeth and modern day Rotting Christ.

It's somewhat of a sad (in a good way) supergroup featuring current and former members of Aethereus, Mesmur, and Pantheist it's an hour of mesmeric extreme music that transitions from beautiful atmospheres to cataclysmic blasts of black/death metal. Tragoedia is the first introduction to the Opeth similarities, lead guitars that take the song between melodic and malevolent moments.

The Wounding just relies on it's heaviness, the gloomy keys coming behind a repeating riff while In Enmity adds the Rotting Christ comparison with the pace and the snarling vocals. Agony's Bespoke captures an epic sound, layered and progressive but with focus on getting the metallic heaviness at the core it really does remind me of the bands mentioned.

However it does feel that they either need more variation in the songs they have or fewer songs than run longer to get a broader soundscape. That being said tracks such as Howls From Beyond The Mist, Paillid and the title track show exactly what Blighted Eye do very well. Agony's Bespoke is a record that you'd want from who is involved, atmospheric doom driven black/death metal bleakness. 8/10

Bragging Rights - Small Gods (Self Released)

Sludge-infused progressive death, ok let's check that out then. Bragging Rights is a solo project that has been evolving for a while now. Coming out of the sludge/hardcore sound, there's now a much wider style of death metal abound. Because it's from a solo artist and can't be performed in a live setting, it means that the records can be more experimental.

The rage begins with Feet Of Clay and Loves Coffin both having the technical battery of Gojira while Breaking In Kings and Call Me When You Get There both go very abrasive. Musically it's good the guitar playing and vocals especially show the skill on display here. It seems that track seven A Voice is a deliberate shift in the soundscape as we move to the more melodic structures on Cosmonaut which brings Tool and Deftones influences to the record that continue through the middle section of the album.

So yeah at 14 tracks is pretty hefty but Small Gods is a good heavy album from this one man project. Though it's got the most unnerving album cover you'll see all year. 7/10

Soulride - Murder Act (Self Released)

Soulride was formed in November 2008 but three Poles who began to record together playing thrash metal. Based in Coventry they have played gigs all over and released music too, in 2022 they rejigged the line up and set about recording Murder Act, their debut album, it's at the heavier end of the thrashsphere, adding death metal muscle and trad metal melody.

Going as far as their own mascot ala Megadeath's Vic Rattlehead but it's about the songs ultimately so let's get to it. Aleksander "Shopen" Sadowski and Adam "Vrona" Wroniak trade off guitars from the off with blistering leads and thrash rhythms, the engine room of Dariusz "Darion" Klapucki (bass) and Marcin "Ozzy" Komorniczak (drums) pounding away on tracks such as Three Witches, but there's lots of straightforward thrashers and classic metal on this ten track record.

Featuring by guest performances by Kristian Harvard (Xentrix), Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens and former vocalist Kamila Schmidt, Murder Act is an accomplished debut album if you like a bit of variation to standard thrash. 7/10

Reviews: Demon Head, Pink Panther Project, Crimson Veil, Envy (Reviews By Rich Piva, James Jackson, Matt Bladen & Liam Williams)

Demon Head - Through Holes Shine The Stars (Svart Records) [Rich Piva]

Copenhagen, Denmark’s Demon Head sound like if the Sisters Of Mercy were a proto metal band. Or like if The Damned sounded a bit bigger. Or like if a goth, a punk, and a metalhead got into a fight by the smoking doors in high school and morphed into one, way more awesome, being. However you describe them, the band sounds excellent on their latest record, Through Holes Shine The Stars, which gives us eight tracks of occult tinged goth proto punk metal goodness.

The songs on Through Holes Shine The Stars are both dark and huge, with some influences across multiple decades, from the 70s through the 90s. The opener, The Chalice, reminds me of Siouxsie And The Banshees but with the guy from Sister Of Mercy singing, and that’s a combo that works for me. The bass drives this one, and I love the higher background vocals that goes with the deep, upfront voice of the lead singer. 

Draw Down The Sky is another big sounding track and is where I see the proto version of The Damned appear, especially with the chugging guitar and that solo. I love the layered vocals on this one too. So good. There’s definitely a post punk thing going on here, especially with track three, Our Winged Mother, and it is glorious. The epic, eight-minute Every Flatworm is dark and sinister, with a seriously evil opening riff with vibes of a ritual sacrifice. I love the tempo change when things get all frantic. Church organ blares at the opening of Wildfire, which reminds me of more contemporary bands like Unto Others and Rope Sect. The musicianship of the band shines on this one, especially the guitar. 

Deeper Blades slows the pace and really highlights the male/female vocal dynamic and is the most goth rock track on Through Holes Shine The Stars. Once again, the guitar work shines, especially on the solo. The closing one two punch keeps up the quality and stays closer to the goth side of things, with both Frost and This Vessel Is Willing keeping it dark and their version of heavy, with the former an up-tempo goth rocker and the latter closing with urgent vocals, sparse music, and serious Bauhaus but heavier vibes.

I have a soft spot for 80s goth, I love 70s proto, post punk is great, and bands keeping this stuff alive like Unto Others are in my regular rotation, so there is no surprise that I love the new Demon Head record. Put on your black and be ready to rock out as only goths can with Through Holes Shine The Stars. 8/10

Pink Panther Project - Intoxicating Embrace (Marian Whores / The Circle Music) [James Jackson]

Incorporating Dark Pop with EBM and Industrial is the main focus of London based Electronic outfit Pink Panther Project or PPP as they call themselves. Intoxicating Embrace is their debut album, the band, formed in 2023, consists of female vocalist, songwriter and founder Uela, joined by Alex K and Ether Mu.

One thing you expect from anything EBM and Industrial inspired is hard hitting electronic dance beats and synth laden hooks, PPP have done that but adding the softer Pop influences has broadened the horizon for the album and PPP lean nicely into the possibilities.

There’s a conscious effort from the band in the song writing, to create a diverse and engaging mix of their chosen genres within the album and the tracks themselves, producing a vibrant collection of songs that have captured my interest from the first synthesised drum beat. 

This version of the album has 13 tracks on it but on streaming platforms there’s actually a double “disc” edition containing a further ten tracks which I’m currently downloading, plus another record by the same lineup under the name of Virgin Vampires which I fully intend to check out. 9/10

Crimson Veil – Hex (Reigning Phoenix Music) [Matt Bladen]

I will level with you dear reader that when I first saw the words “UK dark occult band” I did fear that it may be another Dani Filth project but no, Crimson Veil is the more sinister, evil evolution of the acclaimed, TV featured dark cabaret band Birdeatsbaby, categorized as a band who fused heavy metal with klezmer, with songs about; religion, alienation, sexual orientation, obsession and animal rights, I’m not sure if Crimson Veil is a new band or just a name change of the old one, either way that avant garde, sound still permeates on Ribbons and Finch, the former a haunting, unnerving soundscape while the latter weaves a tainted web of violin’s and dreamy psych between crunchy industrial metal.

Definitely progressive in most senses, the tracks vary wildly, the use of death vocals, needed to bind the clashing soundscapes. Mishkin Fitzgerald’s vocals impress, be it her fragile classical cleans, sultry middles or death growls, whatever is needed she handles with ease, like a combination of both Siobhan Fahey and Marcella Detroit by way of Courtney Love and Shirley Manson. Also a classical pianist Mishkin plays both this and accordion on the record joined by guitarist/bassist Garry Mitchell, violin/cello/harp player Hana Piranha and drummer Anna Mylee, they have a very distinct visual image which saw them go down well supporting Lordi recently, but musically the two bands couldn’t be more different.

Hex bombards you with a clash of styles similar to their previous name but with additional metal crunch. 8/10

Envy – Eunoia (Pelagic Records) [Liam Williams]

Here is an interesting album by Japanese Post-hardcore group envy. After listening to all 8 tracks a couple of times, I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about this album. It’s definitely something different. There is a lot going on and it jumps from chill and ambient to absolute chaos throughout, to the point that it can become quite difficult to try and keep up. 

At times, the mix is pretty good and you can hear each instrument being played quite clearly. But then other times there is so much happening that it’s difficult to make out anything distinctive. There are very few singing parts since the vocals mostly consist of spoken word and screaming. The few times where there are singing parts are some of the best moments on the album and I feel that the album could have done with more of this, or maybe could have worked better being more of an instrumental piece.

Piecemeal is a really nice ambient intro track only lasting a minute and a half. The clean guitars and string section work really well together and you can hear a distorted guitar slowly creeping in. The spoken word vocals actually work well with this track. Imagination And Creation has a great intro but it’s when the first verse kicks in where the mix starts to get a little bit too busy. 

The chorus is fantastic and the blast beats in the bridge section work really well before the chill clean guitar part that plays before the final chorus and outro. The Night And The Void starts with another nice ambient sound with the slower drums and more clean guitars. Halfway through it starts to build up heavier and keeps the energy up until the acoustic/clean calmer outro. Beyond The Raindrops switches between calm and heavy throughout. 

This song has some great singing parts and perhaps my favourite guitar parts on the whole album. Whiteout is loud and energetic. There’s a nice clean section before the second verse kicks back into full pace chaos. This song has some really good drumming and the guitars also sound great when you can tell what’s going on. Lingering Light is more of an interlude track. Featuring some very haunting sounding guitars and more spoken word vocals. 

This track is a good build up to the following track. Lingering Echoes is easily my favourite track on the album. It’s very progressive and cinematic sounding. This track displays the best playing of the guitars, bass and drums. Although again, I do think this track might have worked better as an instrumental. January’s Dusk has a sort of triumphant sound to it. I’m not really sure what else to say about it other than that but it is a good song to close the album on.

There are a lot of interesting ideas on this album which work well sometimes but then not so much at other times. The flow and pacing is a little bit all over the place. At times the direction can be a little bit confusing and may throw you off. And the mix could have had a little more work in certain parts. But with all that being said, it’s definitely not boring to listen to. It’s well worth listening to at least once or twice so that you can make up your own mind about it. 7/10

Reviews: Brant Bjork Trio, Daufodt, The Flying Norsemen, Paradis (Reviews By Rich Piva & GC)

Brant Bjork Trio - Once Upon A Time In The Desert (Duna Records) [Rich Piva]

Brant Bjork is obviously desert rock royalty (dude was a founding member of Kyuss and in Fu Manchu, doesn’t get much more royal than that), but even with that high status he does not rest on his laurels, because this dude is busy. There is no slacker in this Stöner, as Bjork seems to have something from one of his projects dropping seemingly every couple of months. 

There is a Stöner live record coming out imminently and then there is this fun little chill desert rock record, Once Upon A Time In The Desert, under the Brant Bjork Trio moniker. This version includes long time collaborators Mario Lalli on bass and his usual go-to drummer for his solo material, Ryan Güt. As I mentioned, Bjork has a lot of material, but I can safely say, for me, this is one of my favourite records he has done in a while.

Why you ask? First off, the overall vibe of this record is excellent and shows that you can be chill and still rock, no need to compromise on one or the other. Second, the production of this record is spot on. The band sounds great and the “desert” feel is ever-present. Bjork’s voice sounds great and the guitar tone is wonderful. Songs like the opener, U.R. Free shows all of this, including a nice and fuzzy fun little riff to kick it off. There is such a groove to the nine tracks on Once Upon A Time In The Desert, just check out Backin’ The Daze for proof. Higher Days too. Love the little riff on this one as well. 

The trio sound so great together on all of the tracks, but my favourite jam moment may be on Down The Mountain. Desert earworms abound on Once Upon A Time In The Desert, as tracks like Magic Surfer Magazine and Sunshine Is Making Love To Your Mind stays with you throughout the day after listening. We get some desert psych too on Rock And Roll In The Dirt, where Bjork shows off some soloing skills. I also love the way the record ends, with some more desert groove with Do You Get Some Fire, which will be a killer live track as well.

I am not sure I would say I am surprised that I love the new Brant Bjork Trio record, but I will say I didn’t think it would stand out to me a so good and his best stuff in a while. Once Upon A Time In The Desert is worth your time, get ready to simultaneously rock and chill out to these nine tracks. 8/10

Daufodt - Glitter (Fysisk Format Records) [GC]

Every now and again I like to just take a random pick to review, as always reviewing the same style of music can get slightly repetitive and you can just think why am I bothering so I have taken a wild grab and gone for the latest release Glitter from Norwegian four piece Daufodt, and I have no idea what to expect.

Title track and opener Glitter is a real eye opener, there are undertones of grunge that mix with sludgy noiscore and the grinding, repetitive music definitely gives you an uncomfortable feeling while listening and the vocal approach lends heavily from black metal and adds a wonderful darkness on top of the challenging musical approach and then on Stemmene I Hodet we get just under 2 minutes of scuzzy, lo-fi punk rock attitude and already we’ve had so many different styles and they have all sounded fantastic! 

Toxic is a little more straight forward sounding and doesn’t mix 800 different variations together here we get more lo-fi scuzzy sounding punk but its more of an 80’s post punk style that with the extreme vocals added on top really stands out and everything compliments everything else perfectly. Jeg Vil Bare Hjem carries this sound forward and a clearer picture of their sound is starting to form. 

This is once again a riotous punk rock blast of anarchic goodness, shame I don’t know what they are singing about, cos Norwegian but once again the vocals are a real high point, Over Ende throws in another 1 minute blast of hardcore punk that is over and done with before you really get a chance to pay attention, on repeated listens you get the full enjoyment of this track and appreciate the way the short, sharp shock tactics break up the album.

Then you are confronted by the monstrous 9:32 beast that is Falske Vekkelser which starts with another 80’s post punk influence and ratchets up the sludge toning to 11 and is full of off kilter feed back and a riff that just gets under your skin and stays there the song builds from about 2 minutes in and has control of you in an almost hypnotic way there are all sorts of weird and wonderful sounds interweaving and fighting for your attention, I usually cant deal with tracks this long but this one just keeps getting better as it goes there is no lull or parts you think could be missed out because all the various bits make this an enthralling listen and if any parts were missed it could sound like a completely different thing which would be a real shame. 

Both Verre and (Sote Hunder) Verden Gar Under shake you violently back into life with vicious hardcore punk attacks that has been building and always threatening to be unleashed and now they have it’s a glorious cacophony of noise that jostles you back from the edge of a breakdown that the previous song almost causes, Skjelvet seems to then feel a bit anti climatic, I was just getting into the hardcore groove and this is a dialled back more atmospheric sounding track, its very good sounding but I just wanted more from it? 

Myriaden is a bit of a le town, just a couple of minutes of noise and feedback that you would get at the end of a gig put into a song, not needed and a bit annoying to be honest!! Then Klokka for one last time kicks you directly in the teeth and is the final blast of hardcore punk influenced noise and it’s a welcome way to finish what has been a most welcomely brilliant surprise of an album!!

Now I have picked my jaw up off the floor, I can safely say I really was not expecting this randomly picked album to be an absolute triumph! The mix of styles on show here are truly eclectic and all work together in a beautifully grim way to create what is quite frankly a stunning piece of work! If you do yourself one favour this week you will give Glitter all the attention it deserves! Astonishingly brilliant stuff. 9/10

The Flying Norsemen - The Flying Norsemen (Apollon Records) [Rich Piva]

The Flying Norsemen are from Norway. This makes sense. The debut, self-titled, record from these veteran musicians is four epic tracks leaning deep into the proggy and psychedelic 1970s, that sometimes make no sense, in the best kind of way. There is a lot going on in these four songs. Oh, and also it is sung in Norwegian, which makes it even more wonderfully confusing for this reviewer. No matter what the Flying Norseman are saying, I am digging their very out there proggy groove and mind-bending crazy song structures. Get ready for an experience.

All of the four tracks clock in at over eight and a half minutes, and all four tracks go in all sorts of directions, so this is not a casual listening experience, but it certainly is rewarding. The opener, Norseide, has it all. Some great guitar work, keys that help drive the song, a rhythm section recorded exactly how I like it, and the band going all over the place but never scattered. There is a plan here, as crazy as that plan may be. 

Lystens Begjær II is track two and is just as excellent and out there as the first, except you get a bit of Sabbath in this one, and it somehow fits perfectly. I love how the synths and guitar float around together on PoseidJohn and I really love when the pace picks up a bit and the vocals kick in, especially how the background vocals work. So great. The different changes on this one are executed excellently. The heavy psych looms large on Lystens Begjær, with the synths and layered vocals leading the way until the big riff hits and everything falls off the cliff into the cold Norwegian waters.

To say I am surprised at how much I love this is an understatement. I usually struggle with vocals not sung in English but I have zero issues with the Flying Norsemen. Their brand of heavy proggy psych soaked in the 70s and beautifully all over the place is one of my surprise records of the year and another killer debut. 8/10

Paradis - Paradis (Self Released) [GC]

My eyebrows always slightly raise when a band’s PR material claims them to be ‘’highly rated’’ like, by who exactly? This is what I was greeted with for the EP from London metalcore band Paradis, but I suppose that’s a PR’s job to big their clients up and I’m just a miserable old cunt. Aaaaaaannyway, let’s see what it sounds like shall we!?

There is an ominous build up to opener Boneyard and when it does start its what you would expect really, some nice riffs that has the trademark metalcore sound but it’s not really straightforward metal and it has enough bounce and body to make the song a passable effort but I can’t get past the way some of the lyrics are done and the mix is a bit all over the place for me as well. 

An ok start that then gets slightly better on Reflections which has some lovely guitar work and is full of grooving earworm riffing that make the song sound better than it should because as before I’m just not getting the vocals the harsh parts all sound good enough but there’s some form of singing added in here and I do not like it one bit, it just sounds annoying and midway it all gets a bit to nu-metally for my liking also and towards the end of the song it just feels like they have run out of ideas?!. 

Immortal has a melodic death metal feel to the song to start with but doesn’t take long to re-introduce the standard sounding metalcore you have heard so many times before and its not that its particularly bad or anything it just doesn’t do much for me is all and the atmospherics added into this song are a bit over the top and sound more like Nightwish then Bleeding Through and it does nothing for the sound, Storm is once again just ok, it does have more of a padded out verse and once again has some decent riffs and guitar parts but now I just feel like that’s all I am concentrating on because the rest is just a bit meh? 

And I just cannot deal with a mid-song HEY, HEY, HEY!! Walking Aberration is the single and its clear to see why, because it’s the best song on here, everything they have been trying to achieve so far all comes together here and the vocals lead the way, backed up by another nice guitar display and the dark electronics compliment the sound as opposed to just sounding like they were just added in at the last minute and we get to finish on a high!!

As EP’s go this was just ok for me, there were some decent bits but the bits that I didn’t like seemed to outnumber them and I am sure with a bit more focus and thought Paradis could come up with some really good song. Out of the 5 songs on here only really 2 had me interested all the way through and that’s not really what you want with an EP, you expect it grab you from the very beginning and make the most of the short run time, alas here they did not. 5/10