Neckbreakker, spelt with two K’s to separate it from the pro wrestling move of the same name, have just the same amount of impact and flash as that lauded finish used by Rick Rude. This of course is bullshit as the band name is just an anglicised version of the Danish spelling Nakkeknaekker, though Rude’s move is still classic. I digress as this Neckbreakker play death metal, gory, bone breaking death metal, the sort of death metal that grabs you by the throat and throttles you in submission. This sort of reaction being the correct one for a death metal album.
Inspired by the Scandi DM and US DM scenes. It’s brutality to the maximum, the vein of frenzied hardcore sitting behind the maelstrom of blastbeats. This fusion of extremity is done very well by Neckbreakker, one moment they’ve got an Entombed grind on the brilliant Nephilim, then another break down at the climax of Shackled To A Corpse. The next minute it’s a Cannibal Corpse battery (Absorption) or movements into and it all feels raw and rough edged but there’s modern production values to make sure it batters you with a full sound of their rampant death metal.
From the whirling ferocity of Horizon Of Spikes you know what to expect from these youngsters, the opening part of the track beats you around the head savagely and then like anything with hardcore edge, the tone shifts and it’s a breakdown to close. It’s not long before the violence is unleashed again with Putrefied Body Fluid, this second track adding a bit more of the American scene with plenty of lead guitar breaks and solos, a whirlwind of mechanical modernity especially in the bass playing, that razorsharp modernism coming too on Purgatory Rites, the guitars sounding like their fighting each other against the punishing rhythm section and constant shifts.
As the year comes to a close you may miss this record as you think about AOTY and things but with youth on their side and clear vision of what they want to be, Within The Viscera is a monstrous debut from Neckbreakker. It will make some peoples year end list as a Rude Awakening. 8/10
Subway To Sally - Post Mortem (Napalm Records)
“The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated” – Mark Twain
Seemingly the same can be said about German folk metal band Subway To Sally, their 2023 record Himmelfahrt was behind closed doors intended to be their last, 14 albums and out, however due to the infectious nature of that record, the corpse still kept kicking, a re think was had and 20,000 volts put through the neck bolts to reanimate the corpse.
Inspired by the Scandi DM and US DM scenes. It’s brutality to the maximum, the vein of frenzied hardcore sitting behind the maelstrom of blastbeats. This fusion of extremity is done very well by Neckbreakker, one moment they’ve got an Entombed grind on the brilliant Nephilim, then another break down at the climax of Shackled To A Corpse. The next minute it’s a Cannibal Corpse battery (Absorption) or movements into and it all feels raw and rough edged but there’s modern production values to make sure it batters you with a full sound of their rampant death metal.
From the whirling ferocity of Horizon Of Spikes you know what to expect from these youngsters, the opening part of the track beats you around the head savagely and then like anything with hardcore edge, the tone shifts and it’s a breakdown to close. It’s not long before the violence is unleashed again with Putrefied Body Fluid, this second track adding a bit more of the American scene with plenty of lead guitar breaks and solos, a whirlwind of mechanical modernity especially in the bass playing, that razorsharp modernism coming too on Purgatory Rites, the guitars sounding like their fighting each other against the punishing rhythm section and constant shifts.
As the year comes to a close you may miss this record as you think about AOTY and things but with youth on their side and clear vision of what they want to be, Within The Viscera is a monstrous debut from Neckbreakker. It will make some peoples year end list as a Rude Awakening. 8/10
Subway To Sally - Post Mortem (Napalm Records)
“The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated” – Mark Twain
Seemingly the same can be said about German folk metal band Subway To Sally, their 2023 record Himmelfahrt was behind closed doors intended to be their last, 14 albums and out, however due to the infectious nature of that record, the corpse still kept kicking, a re think was had and 20,000 volts put through the neck bolts to reanimate the corpse.
So this is Subway To Sally Post Mortem, album number 15, over 30 years in the business and still alive (said in the style of Igor).They head into their afterlife with a new record that is perhaps darker than their predecessor, that one was intended to be a celebration to see out their career, this one deals with many socio-political issues, showing them as a band who have their finger on the pulse and one who can play folk metal without resorting to the tropes of the genre, exploring the links between Nero, Oppenheimer, Putin and Prometheus.
Melodic, driven by traditional instruments such as flutes, bagpipes, violin, hurdy gurdy on Herz In Der Rinde or but tinged with melancholy on Kummerkind and Eisheilige Nacht. There’s also a lot more metallic moments, cranking up the amps for Nero, the victorious Unter Dem Banner and the triumphant Stahl Auf Stahl which features Warkings. It’s an album that dissects the past and how these things can influence the present, conducting a Post Mortem on our modern era through historical moments and the heaviest music the band have produced, sung as normal in their native German, with the exception of the chorus for Stahl Auf Stahl.
Post Mortem revives Subway To Sally not as a slow moving zombie but with a fresh outlook on the world and their music. 7/10
Dom Martin – Buried Alive (Forty Below Records)
Belfast born bluesman Dom Martin treats his fans and newcomers alike to a double live album through Forty Below Records. Drawing songs from all three of his studio albums the UK blues hall of fame inductee wants to show what you missed if you didn’t catch him on his last tour, or if you did remind you of that evening when one of the most authentic songwriters and players around hit the town.
Dom Martin – Buried Alive (Forty Below Records)
Belfast born bluesman Dom Martin treats his fans and newcomers alike to a double live album through Forty Below Records. Drawing songs from all three of his studio albums the UK blues hall of fame inductee wants to show what you missed if you didn’t catch him on his last tour, or if you did remind you of that evening when one of the most authentic songwriters and players around hit the town.
Despite being on this side of the pond, Martin’s musical influences stems from small town USA, blue collar Americana when the blues, country and bluegrass matters, slide guitars are all the rage and the vocals have the whiskey hued smokiness that Martin has in spades.
Beginning with Daylight I Will Find, the live recording does a lot to show you how talented Martin is as a singer and performer, there were a few times the hairs on the back of my neck stood up, mainly on the atmospheric Government, which is only the second song of the ‘electric’ portion of this record, both sides have been recorded live but the first half is electric, the chugging Howlin’, the searing rock of Unhinged or the slide driven 12 Gauge expressing those blues guitar chops the best.
The second half of the album though is the ‘acoustic’ portion of the record, filled with nods to SRV and ZZ Top it’s some top quality blues rock. But for me Dom Martin is at his best when he’s at the acoustic part of the show, his rugged vocals and layered approach to the ‘acoustic’ tracks really take you back to the early blues artists such as Robert Johnson, Bo Didley, Howlin’ Wolf et al.
There’s some repetition but this only because some of the songs are merged together. Buried Alive is a bit like Zeppelin III merging electric and acoustic well keeping one foot in the traditional but in the modern era. Buried Alive has made a fan out of me. 8/10
Marcus Trummer – From The Start (Gypsy Soul Records)
Closing out 2024 with a bit of the blues, this record only just reached us but when it’s 10 tracks of slinky, soulful blues then there’s always time to get it playing. Canadian singer/guitarist/songwriter Marcus Strummer’s new album From The Start is a must for anyone that loves a bit of ‘true blues’ swaggering breezy guitar lines, soulful vocals, Hammond organ and a brass section inspired by the New Orleans sound.
Marcus Trummer – From The Start (Gypsy Soul Records)
Closing out 2024 with a bit of the blues, this record only just reached us but when it’s 10 tracks of slinky, soulful blues then there’s always time to get it playing. Canadian singer/guitarist/songwriter Marcus Strummer’s new album From The Start is a must for anyone that loves a bit of ‘true blues’ swaggering breezy guitar lines, soulful vocals, Hammond organ and a brass section inspired by the New Orleans sound.
From The Start is debut record and was produced by The Commoners’ guitarist Ross Hayes Citrullo and Renan Yildizdogan who has produced records for The Commoners and Bywater Call. Together they give this debut a warm, rich feel of the late 60’s early 70’s sound it’s emulating.
The Commoners link goes deeper as both Miles Evans Branagh and Adam Cannon provide keys/piano and drums, they join Silas Trummer (drums) and Stacey Shopowitz (bass) and a horn section comprised of Tom Moffett (trumpert) and Andrew Moljgun (sax), the keys and brass delivering authenticity throughout but especially on the smoky Hard Time or Waiting For A Change.
It’s Marcus’ record, he’s been nominated for many awards in his native Canada and it’s easy to see why, much like John Mayer he’s got old bones, his vocals come from the classic soul era while his guitar playing is deft and emotive made for songs about love, loss and redemption. Now this isn’t blues rock, there aren’t many moments where there’s a big rock n roll blow out, Trummer’s music is slow burning and understated with plenty of soul, a dash of funk and gospel reverence.
In recent years the blues has become a place for young artists and Marcus Trummer carries this burden of the blues brilliantly with his debut record. 8/10
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