Reviews: Heaven Shall Burn, Deadguy, Electric Citizen, Transcendence (GC & Matt Bladen)

Heaven Shall Burn - Heimat (Century Media Records) [GC]

When it comes to metalcore/deathcore royalty, Heaven Shall Burn are easily in the top 5 and they have released some of the most intense and at times emotional albums in the genre, and with their Antigone album completely defined an era their sound is instantly recognisable and always hits the mark! Its always exciting when they release new music and I cannot wait to hear Heimat

We get a soothing and relaxed opening with intro Ad Arma which builds an atmosphere and rolls perfectly into War Is The Father Of All with its tense build up full of operatic vocals that then doesn't explode into life but has a more mid paced approach but the way they can grasp hold of you in this way and still demand your attention is a special talent that only the best bands possess and when they do get into their full flow this track is an utter delight.

When I first heard My Revocation Of Compliance I thought it was a perfect distillation of the HSB sound and I still stand by that, huge guitars and drums duel with each other and the vocals sound utterly furious and indignant it is a perfect track and the fact they can still bang out tunes like this makes me so happy! Cofounder is another quintessentially HSB sounding track and the fact that there is that feeling to it makes you realise just how important and essential they have been and still are, its driving and anthemic without sounding forced or tired its just an immense show of musical talent.

Empowerment is a slight slowing of pace and and has the melodic death metal influences that you come to expect and while most bands may not use this wisely here its implemented to precise and devastating perfection, the force continues into A Whisper From Above and again the way they combine melody and aggression is something that should be studied as they absolutely nail it and the song is just just total perfection to listen to, we then get an unnecessary mid-album interlude with Imminence which I could fully do without but its instantly forgotten with Those Left Behind which is a blitzkrieg of savage riffs and righteous anger that is a demonstration of how to mix slower sections with more driving parts to crushing effect. 

Ten Days In May is a thundering steamroller that has such an emotional feeling that can sometimes get lost in this style of music and takes a special talent to unleash it and of course that's just what happens here in spectacular fashion! Now here we get to a bit of a sticking point, with Numbered Days they are covering Killswitch Engage and it isn't really what I was expecting and while it is fine to pay homage to another legendary band and even get Jesse Leach to guest on it, they try and make it sound like their own track and it doesn’t really work for me so could probably do without this track in all honesty?!

Dora wipes away the dissatisfaction and pounds and smashes you firmly back into life and is another wonderful example of how to do emotionally charged and devastating heavy music, A Silent Guard starts by dropping the pace a little too much for my liking and does take a bit too long to finally get going and it is slightly disappointing when it finally kicks in as its all just to slow for my liking we get a fully instrumental ending with Inter Arma which again is disappointing as it just feels like the album just fizzles out and ends frustratingly with a bit of a whimper!

So predictably there was a whole lot I loved about Heimat but, there was also parts that disappointed me. I'm not here to tell Heaven Shall Burn what to do or how to write their music by any means but as a fan I expected a little more in places! It is a great album and I am not saying otherwise there was just some missed opportunities in places! Even with the negative points Heimat is still an undeniably brilliant record and I would highly, highly recommend you take time out to listen to it! 9/10

Deadguy - Near Death Travel Services (Relapse Records) [GC]

When you think of iconic hardcore bands there are only a few that are genuinely, really, actually iconic and one of those bands in undoubtedly Deadguy, they pioneered the metallic hardcore sound in the very beginning on their classic album Fixation On A Co-worker and since I heard that record I have been a fan and so many bands you probably love will also be fans and owe them so much, unbelievably they are now back with their first album in THIRTY FUCKING YEARS Near Death Travel Services yes, 30 years is a very long time but I do not apologize one bit when I say I cannot fucking wait to hear this record!!

After such a long time away, you fear that some of the intensity of old may be missing, there is no such fear of this when Kill Fee kicks the album off, the old flame still burns hard and heavy here and the unmistakable sound of old is still there, mixing furious hardcore with the sludgy metal sound that made these guys such ground breakers back then and showing they can still cut the mustard now, Barn Burner builds on this and has a slow build up that then spills into the punk/metal/hardcore hybrid that if you know what to expect fills you with nostalgic goodness but this isn’t a re-tread of old glories this is an introduction to newer fans and shows that the old guys can still cut it, its refreshing to hear something done so perfectly with no hype or bullshit just pure adrenaline fuelled metallic hardcore greatness. 

New Best Friend hones in on the slower and more menacing version of the sound and with the track going over 4 minutes allows for more blending of styles, we get the hardcore that we all want but we also get the metal we expect and it’s all wound together in a tight and precise attack that doesn’t disappoint and is bound to please fans old and new! Cheap Trick is Deadguy 101, start with a flurry of noise and chaos and breaking down into more menacing sections, mix it together and then repeat for just over 2 minutes, it sounds simple, and you know what it is but if you can do it this well why would you want to change a winning formula? 

The Forever People is another 4 minute epic, that once again manages to mix the unique sounds that made them so unique and able to stand out from the crowd so brilliantly because you get that it has a metal influence but it’s not that straightforward, it has stoner elements and the guitars have that scuzzy and lo-fi grunge element that never just makes it metal it takes cues from so many different styles and manages to incorporate them altogether in such a brilliant way, I almost forget they have been away for so long! 

War With Strangers highlights my point again, the way they put in actual riffs that have groove but also hang in the air with a thick and fat sound just sets them apart, metallic hardcore gets lumped in with metalcore and songs like this should really put an end to that nonsense once and for all, nothing here sounds over produced or flashy it’s just old fashioned heavy music played with feeling and passion and I absolutely fucking love it! 

Knife Sharpener reminds us that they don’t always have to incorporate so many differing sounds to be effective, here they do what they do best and just play some furious hardcore that of course throws in punk and metal influences as expected and it’s a glorious cacophony of noise and anger distilled into to just over 2 minutes of music. 

The Alarmist is probably the perfect example of what such accomplished and revered bands like this are really capable of when they flex their musical muscles and mix everything together, the riffs are contagious, the anger in the vocals is rabid and the song as a whole is just about dam near perfectly executed.

The Long Search For Perfect Timing is probably a bit of a more straightforward sounding track and would maybe normally put a bit of a stop on things pace wise but it is actually nothing of the sort as once again you can feel that the passion and energy that is injected into the track that comes with 30 years of building up towards something and finally being able to get it out!

All Stick And No Carrot is a bit mid paced to be right at the tail end of the album and probably should have been a bit earlier in the track list for me as I want everything to end with chaos and unpredictability but it’s a more measured and cautious approach here, which is fine who am I to tell these guys what to do, and actually from about 2 minutes in the track is exactly what I want it to be so it shuts me right up! 

And so, it’s down to Wax Princess to finish proceedings and of course they do so in the gloriously chaotic and unpredictable fashion we fans have come to love and new fans should grow to love, they have jagged metal driven hardcore crashing with big chugging stoner-esque riffing and it’s all tied together in the best way and is a great way to finish a predicably fantastic and long awaited album.

Look, I told you I was a fan right at the very beginning! There was never a doubt I wasn’t going to love this album and have waited most of my life to hear this record and would have been devastated if it wasn’t up to scratch but of course there was no danger of that happening! We have had some breathtakingly good hardcore records released in 2025 and this is yet another one to add to your must hear list and also one to add to that AOTY short list as you know it is 100% on mine. 10/10

Electric Citizen - EC4 (Heavy Psych Sounds) [Matt Bladen]

Cincinnati proto-metal riders Electric Citizen present their fourth record, the imaginatively titled EC4, it's another record that's stuck in the past for good reason, drawing from Blue Cheer, Coven and Uriah Heep, it's been seven years since Electric Citizen brought some shocks to the works and with their fourth record they deliver another buzzing selection of organ drenched, riff heavy, stomping rockers that straddle classic rock and early doom. 

Upfront Laura Dolan's vocals have matured, she's got grit and soul to her singing, carrying the lyrics with her own style. Her husband Ross Dolan is not only the riff-meister but the main writer of the band, crafting the bulk of the songs as vocalist Laura, bassist Nick Vogelpohl, drummer Nate Wagner and keys player Owen Lee all added to their skills to make this the most powerful 9 tracks in EC's catalogue. Working with Mike Montgomery, John Hoffman (production) Collin Dupuis (mix) and JJ Golden (master) the band deliver their best sounding album, son totally superior to their first three, they play the retro route but with modern style. 

EC4 kicks off with the organ drenched Mire, those influences of Blood Ceremony and Coven permeate through before Static Vision and Smokey kick up the pace with choppy guitars and bouncy riffage, the vocals of Laura, haunted and dreamy. EC4 brings a depth to Electric Citizen’s music, it’s more mature but still sits well with their influences of proto-doom, psych rock and riff-based rock, and of course Sabbath on a track such as Lizard Brain. But here they also add some acoustics and strings on Tuning Tree, drowsy psych on Moss and the woozy Other Planets which reminds of Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun by Syd Barrett Floyd. 

The whole second half of this record takes Electric Wizard’s sound in a more progressive dimension than their three previous records. EC4 adds some new wrinkles to the riffs of this Cincinnati band. 8/10

Transcendence - Nothing Etched In Stone Pt.1 (Cosmic Fire Records) [Matt Bladen]

Returning with new music for the first time in 22 years! Transcendence may have a similar release schedule as Pink Floyd but musically they are resolutely stuck in the US style of progressive metal pioneered by Dream Theater, Queensryche, Fates Warning and Shadow Gallery. 

Nothing Etched In Stone PT.1 is obviously the first part of a concept record, the second half arriving next year, the story concerning an “artist’s journey through pain, loss and redemption” it goes from here into a political thriller as the artist sees his creativity stifled at every turn by a huge personal loss and addiction. It’s Transcendence’s storytelling approach that makes this album so potent lyrically, new vocalist Brian Dixon an emotional powerhouse in the vein of Geoff Tate with tracks such as Last Solstice where he showcases his full range. 

Dixon has replaced original singer Greg Drew and if you haven’t heard their 2001 debut then you wouldn’t really hear the difference as Dixon will be their frontman going forward, this Dallas band now reactivated properly with this second album. The rest of the band remains original Jeff Ford on guitars, Kirk Wood on bass, John Howser on keys/piano and Derrek Edwards on drums and they stick to that 90’s American prog metal sound where technicality is rife but never sacrifices the songs themselves.

Bringing drama to The Edge Awaits and Shades Of Winter, heaviness to Infect The Nations and the anthemic to Voices In The Dark. I will say that Nothing Etched In Stone Pt.1 does feel a little unfinished, but I guess that is the point as it is a part 1 of 2. Transcendence returns after over two decades and keep their trademark sound intact. 7/10

A View From The Wreckoning: Day Of Wreckoning 2025 (Simon Black)

Day Of Wreckoning – Patti Pavillion, Swansea, 21.06.2025

It’s hot. Correction: it’s really fucking hot!

Even here with the Swansea sea front overlooked by the Mumbles nearby, there is precious little cooling effect coming from the Irish Sea. We are somewhere in the high and very humid 20’s outside; inside you can add half the same again and turn it up to eleven, because this old listed building does not have the concept of ventilation - let alone air conditioning (although to be fair half the problem is some stubborn old codger living behind the venue who complains about everything, forcing all exterior doors to remain firmly shut when the stage is in use, which is why the Patti Pavillion has the quietest bingo callers in the UK).

This is a day of two halves, the first the all-important final for six acts in the South Wales Metal 2 The Masses competition, the second an equal number of professional bands. The heats, semi’s and quarter rounds have run half in Swansea and half in Cardiff, with this being the final coming together of the three finalists from each end of the M4 with a one day festival thrown in for good measure. 

It’s an ambitious and successful project into its second year in this venue, and it doesn’t seem to be all that long ago that we were holding this event entirely in Cardiff’s Fuel bar, which has a capacity of about 150. This place is a barn in comparison, and feels about half full, which when you consider how many musicians are also here is still impressive.

Having watched most of the rounds leading up to this event from the Cardiff side, I knew that it was going to be hard for those bands that have ground their way through it, but I’m seeing the three from the Swansea side for the first time today. And here’s the rub – all six are really good, which is why I’m really glad I only have to review this and not have the pressure of deciding who cuts the mustard for Bloodstock...

First up are Adfellion, who left me speechless, because frankly I did not see that coming. This five-piece look like they fell out of the title sequence from the 80’s incarnation of Robin of Sherwood (with that show’s Clannad soundtrack definitely an influence). It’s moody yet subtle; ambient yet heavy - with a huge dollop of the progressive on top for good measure. 

The fact that an entirely instrumental act has got this far in the process gives you a clue as to how unique they are. And yet they aren’t, because for my money they feel like the most totally Welsh thing I’ve seen in ages, and I can see them working equally well somewhere like Green Man festival, as anything more Metal inclined like Bloodstock. That’s a good start to a long day…

Kill By Mouth were by all accounts the one to watch from the Swansea side today, and certainly exuded a bucket load of confidence as they hit the stage. Worshipping at the altar of Pantera and the movement it spawned; these boys hit Hardcore more than Groove and turn the temperature up in the room another few degrees as they get the floor moving. 

They are working it hard, because this is their second year running in this venue at this event, which is one of the reasons this process is so tough, because the competition is so fierce. They probably had the biggest following in the room, but will it be enough? There can after all, be only one…

Cardiff’s Akuma are a local supergroup revolving around the staff of Fuel, taking their influences from the plethora of sub-genres which nowadays we refer to as ‘Modern Metal’. Although only recently formed, they’ve got a lot of experience in their mix and stole the fan vote every time in the heats, and with good reason, because they know how to deliver a show. 

Scaling up to this larger stage was effortless for them, and within no time the audience, the bulk of whom were also seeing them for the first time were onside. The energy level is intense, but it’s done with a controlled and effortless grace from an act that feel like they’ve been together for a long time, despite it being mere months since their inception. Phew!

Cwmbran’s Exaust have been hugely refreshing throughout this whole process. Many acts these days have been banging at the M2M gong for a few annual cycles, but these guys are first timers. They absolutely stole the show at their first heat with their intensely energetic brand of very traditional Old School Thrash, which made old farts like me who lived through it first time round as a teenager feel rather nostalgic. 

So young are they in fact that I jokingly referred to them as ‘Still At School Thrash’ until singer Dewi told me off (so let’s settle on ‘Just Left School Thrash’), but you get the point – they’re very young, they’re just getting going, and no-one saw them coming in a competition full of much more experienced hands. The Gods of Audience engagement were not with them today on stage sadly, as the oppressive heat meant a lot of people were desperately in need of cooling down outside when they were on, but they clung on and worked it until people came back and got the message. 

They are a remarkably tight and professional sounding unit, who have already chalked up an impressive set of shows outside the area and whom I think have a promising future, whatever happens here today.

Karmen Field are also no strangers to M2M finals. Having seen this act before this M2M cycle, it’s great to see how massively they have improved over time. They’ve been a tough act to beat in this process and have glided through the preceding rounds. Seeing them have the chance to flex on this much larger stage is a joy, because they do it so effortlessly. Their eclectic brand of alternative / grunge infused metal crosses the aisles perfectly, and I have long felt that this band can go far. 

Singer Molly is a charismatic ball of energy at the best of times, but today she turned it up to eleven and had everyone engaged in the room. Then there’s that voice – imagine a highly caffeinated Amy Winehouse channelling Courtney Love with a touch of the Howling’ Wolf delta Blues (but armed with squeezy bottles of strawberry jam for the audience) and you have Molly, backed by a band with a lot of skill and fluidity that can work in almost any setting. Bang on the money for me.

Struggler close the competition half of the day and are the second act today that I would put into the Modern Metal category, with more of a melodic twist to their instrumental sound than Akuma but a way more brutal vocal delivery from frontman Ieuan who leaps around the stage like a man possessed. This act have been honing their things the length and breadth of the country and there’s clearly a lot of love for them here in the room, even if most of the people by this stage are ready to pass out. 

They may be wearing their influences loud and proud compared to some of the more eclectic styles of music on offer today, but what they do they do very, very well, with a tight, punch precision that doesn’t waste time on unnecessary flourishes and goes straight to the point.

There’s a short break between the next half (as the stage crew are also playing), but that’s when things start to fall apart in terms of the venue. As well as the blistering heat, total lack of ventilation and minimal space outside for people to cool off, the building owners made some business decisions here today that are frankly mind-boggling. Without telling the promotors, the venue decided that if you left the premises, you would not be allowed back in.

If you are going to run and event last eleven hours you want to maximise your takings, I get that, but in that case you need to make it possible for people to stay. Basic hygiene factors like catering were a complete failure, because let’s face it people want a little more choice than a couple of over-priced and miniscule burgers, or a choice of two tiny pizzas that had long since ran out by lunch time. 

By this point of the day there was hardly anything left (and if you were a vegan you had nothing at all from the start), so people quite rightly went in search for sustenance, but to come back and be told that ‘no, you can’t spend any more money in this venue because we had not thought this through’ is frankly insane. People vote with their feet, and in quite large numbers, which is a real shame, and so easily avoided.

Opening the second half, Ofnus are another local Supergroup (a summary of whose music sounds like the shipping forecast on Radio 4 “Mostly sad; black - occasionally progressive”), but frankly they always put on a fantastic performance with today being no exception. Although it feels really strange watching them in daylight on what ironically I is the longest day of 2025, they completely lull what remains of the crowd into the mood with the intense, focussed power of their show. Their latest album Valediction is a masterpiece of Black Metal, and I get the feeling they walked away from today with a bunch of new fans. They will go far…

Inhuman Nature are one of the acts I had no exposure to prior to today, so I’m really pissed off to have missed a large chunk of their set for logistical reasons, and it’s so frustrating for them that the crowd had thinned so much by this point in the day as the oppressive heat hit its nadir at the back end of the afternoon. 

This London quintet play a blend of the kind of classic Thrash Metal / Crossover / Hardcore that never goes out of fashion and which always floats my boat. Energetic, brutal and so angularly tight that you might cut yourself, what I did catch of their set tells me I have some catching up to do.

South Wales’ King Kraken have done really rather well for themselves since they formed in 2018. Their most recent album March of the Gods is frankly a triumph, and if you haven’t come across them yet imagine the heavy end of Hard Rock with a melodic metal tinge, spliced with Amon Amarth lyrically. This band may be longer in the tooth than many onstage today, but that experience pays off well, and despite their evident frustration at the fact the audience has been thinned so badly by events outside of everyone’s control, they deliver a solid performance.

I’ve not come across Red Method live before, but this fusion of members of The Defiled and Meta-Stasis have built a solid reputation since their debut album hit in 2019 and they reap the benefits of a sudden air-clearing cloudburst outside. Whenever experienced bands like this form, they always get to shortcut many of the hurdles that acts in the first half of the day have to overcome as they drag themselves up by their bootstraps, but that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve to reap the rewards of all that experience. 

I’m getting the fusion of Death and Industrial influences, and it’s delivered with energy, mood and sheer aggression, with frontman Solomon J totally owning the audience, which is probably just as well given that their oversized drum kit not only messed the schedule up but left the remainder of the band very little room to manoeuvre on stage. This isn’t bothering anyone in the crowd (even if the stage crew are spitting feathers) and the band remain a tough act to follow.

“Right you lot, we haven’t travelled all this way to play to an empty room. Get your arses back inside!”. So sayeth Acid Reign’s H, having leapt off stage, mike in hand during the band’s intro to admonish all of us still standing outside desperately grabbing a bit of post downpour cooling air. Acid Reign are one of the erstwhile Big 4 godfathers of British Thrash, but an act that spent a lot of time out since the 1990’s. It seems an eternity since I saw them play at Trent Polytechnic in my home town of Nottingham in the late 1980’s, and with only frontman H remaining from that original line up that was revived in 2015, I wasn’t sure whether this was going to work, and I have to confess I really haven’t listened to the new material released since then (sorry H).

I need not have worried.

Exploding on stage seems too small a description for the human fireball that is frontman H, who covers every inch of the boards. Not to mention the rather wobbly speaker stacks either side of it that no-one thought to strap down, the arena and seating tables therein and even racing up and down the length of the bar, singing as he goes. It’s also the first time I’ve ever seen a frontman go to the bar whilst still singing a number, buy a round and carry it on a tray to his bandmates without dropping a beat, but that’s what you get with Acid Reign – energy, energy, energy… and a huge dollop of silliness, because these boys are here to entertain you. Which they do relentlessly for the next hour and a bit.

Musically they are as tight as it goes, with the hilarious antics and banter from H bringing everyone with them, as well as that uncertain edge that anything might happen (whoever is responsible for health and safety in the venue was probably having kittens by this point). This band may have only had half of the original audience to play to, but each and every person in this sweatbox came away loving their performance. With the promise of a new album and a festival tour on the horizon next year, Acid Reign nailed it tonight and bring to a close a fantastic set of performances.

The only thing left was to announce the M2M winner, with Adfellion seizing the prize of a slot on the New Blood stage at Bloodstock. That must have been a hard call for the judges to make, because all six bands today were top notch, but South Wales is being represented by something quite unique this year.

Reviews: Spider Kitten, Goblinsmoker, King Potenaz, Aceves (Matt Bladen & Rich Piva)

Spider Kitten - The Truth Is Caustic To Love (APF Records) [Matt Bladen]

Everyone's favourite hard to classify doom(?) metal cats Spider Kitten return with their new album The Truth Is Caustic To Love, released through APF Records, it's another auditory trip through the discontent, as if Alice In Chains jammed with Electric Wizard after doing all the brown acid, difficult to get a fix on what is actually happening but all the while intoxicated by the thick smog of bong smoke and distorted fuzz. Spider Kitten don't do nice, it's not upbeat anthemic music, they create noise to aid with catharsis, to piss you off and stress you out. 

Band founder Chi Lameo, puts his pain to paper, exploring his own mortality with the honesty often only reserved for a shrink be it addiction, mental illness the continuing disillusionment with planet earth and it's inhabitants, Chi sings as if he's totally lost the will to exist and that this music is his only way to feel human, his grungy vocals and thick soupy guitar lines craft slow, disquieting, salvos that shift into aggressive picking, atmospheric weirdness and even some country style moments (Febrile & Taciturn). 

All three members of Spider Kitten contribute more than one instrument, Chi handling most of the vocals and guitar but bass and piano too while Chris West, who is first and foremost a brilliant drummer, playing with deftness and spacial awareness but with the power of jackhammer, also adds bass, vocals and guitar. While former member Rob Davies returns to play bass but also adds his former position with some guitar. 

The collaborative, multi-instrumental nature of Spider Kitten showcases the focus they have had since 2021's Major Label Debut, the thirty releases before that were quickly concieved and executed expressions of a broken mind but since 2021 and now moresow with their two albums for APF Spider Kitten feel as of they're more focussed, their stupidly eclectic, ultra heavy, psych/prog/doom/thing has a place to exist and The Truth Is Caustic To Love is an album for just that, existence, we may not thrive but we're not dead yet, spending our lives in a void of media influence and chemical escapism.

Spider Kitten is the soundtrack to the end times but gives no indication of when that will be, so just crank up the volume and settle in. 9/10

Goblinsmoker - The King's Eternal Throne (APF Records) [Matt Bladen]

The Toad King story comes to an end with The King’s Eternal Throne, the new record from Durham sludgesters Goblinsmoker, the monarchs of all things heavy APF are releasing this climactic record as both previous parts have come on Sludgelord records. 

Though never intended to be played live, Goblinsmoker have been blowing up P.A’s and shaking foundations across the UK and Europe with appearances at Bloodstock, Desertfest, Doomlines, going to Poland for Red Smoke Festival this summer, everywhere they go they spread the gospel of The Toad King and his goblin subjects that allow themselves to be smoked by their leader. 

Part three of this blackened doom concept trilogy finds him cast out and bitter, slaying the ruling toad class and now sits in place of them as the one true king, his loyal subjects still offering themselves up to be put between paper and smoked so the king enters a drug induced haze. However, with the saga coming to an end the goblin shaman has hatched a plan to ultimately kill the king and let the goblins live free from all tyranny. 

There’s a huge amount of complexity and lore in the concept of these record, but the music Adam Kennedy (vocals/guitar/bass) and Michael Guthrie (drums) make is mostly without any frills, prehistoric knuckle dragging sludge with visceral vocals, the final moments of the Toad King explored through 3 extended cuts of crushing heaviness

The finale of the title track bleeding into Toad King played in a ‘dungeon synth’ style to add a bit of a dramatic closure to the whole story. All three of their albums were dedicated to their founding drummer/bassist Calum Young and this one is no different, the trilogy inspired by him, so I see this as fitting eulogy to his memory. 

The King’s Eternal Throne closes a chapter on Goblinsmoker, with The Toad King now dead and the comfort of having a concept to draw on where do they go from here but for now Goblinsmoker’s APF debut is every bit as impressive as its predecessors. 8/10

King Potenaz - Arcane Desert Rituals Vol.1 (Majestic Mountain Records) [Rich Piva]

Italian trio King Potenaz’s new record, Arcane Desert Rituals Vol.1, is four songs over 40 minutes. That right there will eliminate some listeners, but let’s focus on those of us who have a longer attention span. Generally, these guys bring some heavy stoner doom to the party, and that is what you get with these tracks. 

This album is a slow and plodding trip that I think some will bail on because these songs are not exactly filled with tempo changes and different musical directions. What they are filled with are riffs, cool psych guitar work, echoey vocals, and some serious heavy atmosphere.

Electric Wizard? Check. Black Sabbath? Check. Sleep? Check. All the things they say in their bio comes out in the four tracks on Arcane Desert Rituals Vol.1, and all of it is cool, but even for a guy who enjoys long songs and dirges, these tracks can be a lot. I could see all of these songs cut by 2-3 minutes and still build the doomy mood and killer atmosphere that they create, without losing some of the impatient listeners. 

You cannot deny the riffs are there, and the drumming is killer, and when the pace picks up these guys can rip it up, like towards the end of Rivers Of Death. A very cool song that could have been seven minutes instead of ten. The Empty Hand opens up with a killer bass line and that riff, but again may have been helped by just a bit of editing, but it is still excellent doomy psych. 

At just under six minutes, Sabbatum Sanctum is the shortest of the four tracks, but is also the slowest and most plodding songs on the record, with a serious occult psych vibe that scared me when I first heard it. Cool. 

From the shortest to the longest, the almost fourteen-minute Ariadne, The Serpent Witch, which again continues the trend of having some killer parts that could have been pared down and is also scary as hell. The addition of the female vocals as Ariadne is a killer and takes this track to another level.

Arcane Desert Rituals Vol.1 lives up to its name, but a bit of editing may have helped broaden the listening base of the record. I’m not sure King Potenaz really cares about that. These guys just want to doom it up and bring some mind altering and frightful atmosphere to this black mass, so in that aspect, mission accomplished. There are some really great moments on this record. 7/10

Aceves - Magnum Dopus (I:And:I Recordings) [Rich Piva]

Bassist from legendary band Zed, Mark Aceves, has been through a lot over the past year or so suffering some serious personal loss, some of which you may have heard about if you are a fan of his band. While the weight of such close loses could bring a man down to his knees. 

Aceves instead let his pain open up a creative spurt that he had never experienced before, resulting in what is his first ever solo record, Magnum Dopus, under the name Aceves Now, given all that he has been through, you may think this record would be chock full of sadness and doom, but instead, choosing “live life to its fullest” instead of “wallow in self-pity” as a theme.

Magnum Dopus is a fun, personal, therapeutic, and kick ass party down record that you would never get from the band he is most known for which makes this record even more fun.

Opening with a very relevant excerpt from his late bandmate’s podcast, Mark recommends the listener to shake their booty and ass with the good time rock and roll of The True And Indisputable Meaning Of Rock And Roll, which sets the mood of Magnum Dopus perfectly. Still Aint Dead is like stoner, DIY Motorhead, and is wonderful. 

Taxi Driver is a fun little punk ripper and one of two odes to his wife, doubling down of the personal aspect of the record, without it being a sappy ballad (don’t worry, there is one of those later). 

Love In The Time Of Apocalypse shows how Aceves understands atmosphere in his songs while Hail Mary exists just to rip shit up and bring a very cool vocal melody to the party. Just Your Disguise leans towards his love of 90s alt rock while being chunky at the same time. I love his layered vocals on this one. I mentioned melody and 90s earlier, which is what we get with Daisies, leveraging his love of Nirvana, Dinosaur Jr., and lullaby earworms to create my favorite track on the record. 

A heavy Lee Fields cover? Yup, and it fits perfectly, and is also super personal and meaningful song he picked to cover. I mentioned that sappy ballad, and maybe sappy is not the right word, but the acoustic driven For My Children that ballad, and is a great way to close out this deeply personal journey.

Mark Aceves wants to hear fun in his rock and roll again, so that’s exactly what he created with Magnum Dopus. These are nine tracks of a man working though his stuff, coming out on the other side with as much of a sunny outlook on life as possible as well as a super fun, all over the place in the best sort of way, rock and roll record that is one of your soundtracks to the summer. 8/10

A View From The Back Of The Room: Savatage (Matt Bladen)

Savatage, Madness Reigns Tour, Shepherd's Bush Empire London 16.06.25

I've been very lucky to attend some 'once in a lifetime' gigs but there are still a few active bands to tick off the old bucket list. One of those bands has been Savatage, the American pioneer of bombastic, theatrical heavy metal have had a chequered past due to health issues, deaths and many of the members other commitments such as their 'sister' band Trans Siberian Orchestra.

Couple this with their instance to tour just North and South America or the occasional festival, the chances of seeing them in Europe were getting slimmer and slimmer. They have been on hiatus for a decade but in 2024 it was announced Savatage were back with a full tour kicking off in Brazil and South America before finally returning to Europe and even more importantly London. This was a must for myself and one of my best buddies scoring tickets early. Luckily I also managed to get one of MoM's extremely talented photographers to capture the show too so look out for those on the page too.

Staying in Hammersmith we took a tour of a few local watering holes before the show but managed to keep a clear enough head to arrive in time for supper band Induction (8) this Czech metal band are inspired by the early German power/heavy metal scene, formed in 2014 they have released two albums and an EP playing a mix of all of these. The Germanic influence is strong probably due to guitarist Tim Hansen being the son of Helloween/Gamma Ray founder Kai Hansen. The rest of the band seem to have joined quite recently so I assume this is the first sort of tour in this new guise but Induction managed to win over a hardcore fan base with their anthemic choruses and heavy metal thunder.

If Induction were the beckoning thunder then Savatage (10) were the full storm, a setlist primarily drawn for The Wake Of The Magellan (7 songs) we also got tracks from Handful Of Rain, Dead Winter Dead, Hall Of The Mountain King, Streets: A Rock Opera, Edge Of Thorns, Gutter Ballet and Power Of The Night leaving no stone unturned in their repertoire, except for perhaps When The Crowds Are Gone but it was still a fantastic, nostalgic set list, packed with virtuoso moments and stunning visuals from their LED screens.

The band consists of Chris Caffery and Al Pitrelli on guitar, Zak Stevens on vocals, Johnny Lee Middleton on bass and Jeff Plate on drums, these returning members having used their South American shows to hone this line up which also features keyboardists Paulo Cuevas and Shawn McNair. You read that right keyboardists, two men to the job of one as unfortunately Savatage founder Jon Oliva wasn't able to head out on this tour with the band having suffered a T7 vertebrae fracture complicated by multiple sclerosis and Ménière’s disease.

However the creative talisman of the band did appear via pre-recorded video, sat at the piano and belting out the tear inducing Believe as the live band and the whole of Shepherd's Bush Empire joined in with him. There was also a tribute to Jon's brother and co-founder Criss Oliva who passed away while Savatage we're going concern but is always part of the band through his amazing guitar playing on the early tracks. This was about the Savatage as they are now and Caffery and Pitrelli trade off riff after classically influenced riff, that powerhouse rhythm section made sure our ears were ringing, though their full impact was dampened a little by the Empire's ancient sound system.

Everyone has a favourite era of Savatage but with a career spanning set such as this encompasses classic metal, thrash, speed, AOR, sleaze and countless other genres showcasing just how important they are to the metal scene while also showing why Zak Stevens was the perfect man to take over vocals from Jon in 1992 as his live vocals is spine tingling, like Geoff Tate but with a greater range the performances on Handful Of Rain, Dead Winter Dead, Gutter Ballet and Edge Of Thorns were spectacular, though the rest of the band were on top form too, not a note was wasted all night.

I'd been waiting years to see Savatage live and this magical night in London in their presence alongside one of my best friends is one I'll cherish forever and as we sung our lungs out to Hall Of The Mountain King and air guitars to 'that' riff it was reminder of just how lucky I am to do this, but also how Savatage are vital part of heavy metal history.

Reviews: Reflection, Black Path, Hand Of Fate, Kokkinià (Matt Bladen)

Reflection - The Battles I Have Won (Pitch Black Records)

Eight years and there are new battles to be fought as the veterans of the Greek heavy metal scene Reflection come back with fifth studio album The Battles I Have Won. 

Has much changed since their previous record Bleed Babylon Bleed? No but then as Reflection have been leading the charge of the Greek heavy/classic metal revival since 1992, the brothers Pavlantis still the captains of this unit Stathis on guitar and George on drums they are not unlike Rotting Christ's brother combo, anchoring what Reflection do. With this album they still have long term bassist John Litinakis steering the epic metal gallops while behind the mic there has been a change as Kostas Tokas is the clarion call of these battle anthems. 

The perfect word for these tracks is anthems, as they seem to expand their scope with their fifth record leaning on their experience as a band, the cinematic production techniques from Stathis aided by the orchestrations of guest Kostas Rekleitis. Reflection's epic heavy metal will appeal to fans of Iron Maiden, Manowar, Manilla Road, Virgin Steel and Cirith Ungol, glorious, chest beating heavy metal. Only The Swords Survive begins with speedy gallop, histrionic vocals and full speed metal prowess, leading into the epic title track which goes down the route of Dio in a mid-pace metal though Grand Magus would also be a great comparison. 

Lyrically there's inspiration from Greek mythology in March Of The Argonauts, Homeric epics on City Walls Of Malta - The Great Siege and a general love of battles, fantasy and warfare driven by some fists up high riffs and melodic leads. A document of their power and passion, The Battles I Have Won is a heavy metal in the purest form. 9/10

Black Path - Of Paint And Ash (Self Released)

Dark Souls (the videogame) inspired heavy metal, more specifically for all you game nerds, Of Paint And Ash is inspired by Slave Knight Gael and the Painter who is at the end of the Dark Souls Trilogy of games. Athens band Black Path use this extremely difficult, dark and bloody series to inspire their music, the themes of despair, desperation and the pursuit of meaning are all part of the record and the game, the overall atmosphere creating the often miserable world of Dark Souls with harp (Maria Malafi), keys (Angelos Maniatakos) and female vocals (Iren Engel) used to swell their musical offerings into the semi-theatrical.

What's interesting to me is that Black Path is comprised of two men: Kostas Mexis (vocals/bass) and Jon Kaneris (guitar), they wrote, composed, produced, engineered and mixed this album with George Nerantzis mastering and Defkalion Dimos playing drums, though the bulk of the work comes from the two Kostas and Jon and has done since they formed in 2011, though they have only released one album and one EP to date, so with this second full length the band look to cement their reputation as a strong new force in the technical/melodic death scene.

Leaning heavily into the tech side of things with the odd time signatures of Cynic, mixed with the virtuoso melodic flourishes of Children Of Bodom (Born Of Betrayal) and the aggression of At The Gates meaning a track such as Endless Madness will get tech metal nerds salivating, all thick bass runs, fast changing riffs and savage, adaptive gutturals (Evermore). Clearly the duo are both gifted musicians but the way they use their abilities within the songs themselves is what makes it more than just finesse for its own sake.

Of Paint And Ash steps up the sonic attack of Black Path, brimming with low end intensity, melodic ferocity and even some sax on Izalith, it's a technical masterclass from start to finish! 9/10

Hand Of Fate - Five Heartbeats (Self Released)

Thessaloniki based symphonic metal band Hand Of Fate deliver their second album Five Heartbeats, their debut Messengers Of Hope was released in 2017 and we commented then that the band would have to improve their songwriting with any future releases, but also that not long after the release of that record they gained a new drummer and a new singer, so I approached Five Heartbeats with a mix of cautious anticipation. 

That caution disappeared when the first strains of Distant Shores began and I was whisked away to those early days of Nightwish and Epica where the riffs were potent and metallic but the bands were popular due to the orchestral moments and the operatic vocals of the singers. Hand Of Fate have both with Harmonic Madness and No More showing the range of singer Alexandra Anagnostopoulou while the latter thumps with buzzing electronics to which are which also permeate on the brooding duo of The Other Me and Evergrey which has a chuggy riff worthy of the band it shares a name with. 

Five Heartbeats then is an improvement on the debut, the songwriting is at a higher level, as are the performances as Hand Of Fate make a great throwback record that fans of Nightwish, Tristiana and Enemy Of Reality will enjoy muchly. 7/10

Kokkinià - The Last Are Lost From The List (Bitume Records)

Kokkinià are a heavy prog band from Piraeus, they're a four piece live but a trio on this record consisting of Savvas on drums, Vangelis on vocals and Marinos on guitar/keys, and The Last Are Lost From The Lost is their debut album. They recorded the this with engineer/mixer/masterer David Prudent who plays the bass on this record, but Andreas Moutsis is their live bass man. 

Kokkinià's sound is progressive but has a lot of danceable grooves with plenty of hand claps and lute (from Manos Kateris) as they often shift between post punk drive and psychedelic moments that begin as soon as you press play on the grungy Whoami. Inspired by their industrial surroundings the band have delved into existentialism, fractured identity and their disconnect with modern Greek culture.

Stachtee takes Mellotron that bleeds into the percussive beginnings of Blue On Black which slow burns into doom-like riffs that has distorted riffs and harmonic moments too. Like bands such as Deftones, Soundgarden and even Tool, Kokkinià's style of prog is downbeat, introspective lyrics with lots of low end groove which is ripped from the alt metal scene, check out the dissonant Shelt3r or the oddly grooving Arboreal. 

On the other hand they have blissful passages such as Syopee or the acoustically laced Lethe which also has lots of Mellotron to it. So Kokkinià's debut shows a load of promise of you like your music experimental, heavy and filled with groove. 8/10

Reviews: Helms Deep, Deciduous Forest, Kokeshi (Matt Bladen, Spike & Mark Young)

Helms Deep - Chasing The Dragon (Nameless Grave Records) [Matt Bladen]

They're called Helms Deep. They. Are. Called. Helms. Deep. So it's battle metal, but the early days of battle metal as 70's dinosaur rock gave way to 80's speed metal, the music that was popularised by the likes of Judas Priest, Savatage (Necessary Evil), Riot, Virgin Steele and Manowar and Helms Deep do it bloody well indeed. 

Chasing The Dragon is their second album and it's not about that (you know what I mean), it's very literally about chasing dragons and various other fantasy inspirations and metal clichés and space (insert Tim Curry voice) on Red Planet. It's different from Raven, who bassist John Gallagher is a founding member of, this has a much more epic side to it and while Raven drummer Mike Heller who was on their debut Treacherous Ways, has now been replaced by Hal Aponte, the thick basslines of Gallagher stick around as the foundation for Helms Deep founder Alex Sciortino. 

Alex's has newly improved range in his vocals in the mould of Rob Halford and Jon Oliva and but also plays electric, acoustic and 12-string guitar joined by his old guitar teacher Ray DeTone who comprises the other side of this guitar duo. As Helms Deep love the more classic style of metal the record was recorded in an old school way with DeTone and Sciortino in each speaker as the rhythms bleed into both. 

With their rapid grooves of Black Sefirot, the street, speed metal of Flight Of The Harpy, the classical influence of Craze Of The Vampire, the strutting Cursed or the epic instrumental finale Shiva's Wrath which features tabla and erhu and showcases that Helm's Deep can broaden their approach musically from just straight speed metal. Not that there's anything wrong with that as Helms Deep do speed metal with style! 8/10

Deciduous Forest - Fields Of Yore (Gutter Prince Cabal) [Spike]

Deciduous Forest isn’t a band that shouts for attention. It doesn’t need to. Fields Of Yore quietly pulled me in and hasn’t really let go since.

Snjór, the one-man force behind this Australian project, has crafted something that feels more like a memory than a record. Across five tracks, he blends atmospheric black metal with just enough melody and texture to create something deeply affecting and sometimes even beautiful, in that bleak, weather-beaten way the best atmospheric metal can be.

Opening track The Formless Dark sets the tone: restrained, mournful, but confident. It doesn’t rush. The riffs drift in like fog, underpinned by ambient synths and pained vocals that are more felt than heard. It’s not trying to be brutal, it’s trying to make you feel something. And it succeeds.

Ghost Of Lies and the title track Fields Of Yore build on that with more variation and layering. These tracks stretch out without losing focus. There are moments that reminded me of Panopticon, others that wouldn’t be out of place on a Wolves In The Throne Room record, but the identity is all Deciduous Forest, nostalgic, introspective, and very sure of its direction.

The standout for me, though, was Ages Past. It’s the longest track on the album and feels like the emotional heart of the whole thing. At over thirteen minutes, it manages to explore doom, post-black atmospheres, and acoustic passages without ever feeling indulgent. Everything has a place, everything serves the mood. I listened to it twice back-to-back on headphones and caught something new each time.

Anemoia closes the album in a softer, more reflective tone. It’s a gentle goodbye rather than a finale, and it suits the overall feel perfectly. Fields Of Yore is an album I’ll come back to — probably alone, probably on a grey day, and probably when I need reminding that not all heaviness has to come with aggression. Sometimes, it’s in the weight of silence, of memory, of the spaces between the notes.

For fans of atmospheric black metal with emotional depth and a genuine sense of space, this is awesome. 9/10

Kokeshi - Doukei (Moment Of Collapse Records) [Mark Young]

In the latest episode of ‘I am so late with this review’ our hero grapples with the re-release of Kokeshi’s debut album, Doukei which is available for the first time in Europe (physical and streaming) following an independent release in 2020. Self-labelled as ‘brutal-blackgaze’ which means I have no idea what I’m stepping into.

It starts off with what I can best describe as being a gentle melody with a narrative that has a traditionally oriental arrangement to it, now the problem I have is that the track listing is in Japanese, so unfortunately, I’ll have to describe it as ‘track 2, 3’ and so on. I appreciate that may sound lazy (it probably is, but its warm and anyway you don’t come here for the song titles, you want to know if it’s good) so as Propaganda fades track 2 comes steaming in and it is a massive gear change. 

It cherry picks from a number of genres and pulls those threads into one cohesive ball, including one section that sounds like Knocked Loose before they did it. It’s such an irresistible sound, changing with speed and doing it in a way that is just completely natural. It’s heavy, melodic and not what I was expecting at all. It’s followed by some of the most cathartically sounding screams I’ve heard in ages, with a build that seems to be the follow-on twin of track 2. Black metal screams give way to death metal growls amidst the blast beats, and then they change it around again, moving at speed whilst delivering an authentic experience. The riffs are rooted in tradition, you can just about make that out and as a result of that makes this a unique form.

Kairai takes those traditional forms and sets them on fire. They are incredibly simple but super effective at hammering you, and again the vocals are something else. This is like turning the tap on and never-ending flow of pain is spewed forth. They have to dial it back otherwise they would blow themselves out but they were merely taking a breath as they step it back up again. You can see where that ‘brutal-blackgaze’ comes from because as they detonate the vocals on you, there is an almost gentle melody behind it that provides a great counterpoint. 

The use of traditional melodies in their music adds another layer, as it is completely limited to them. That gentle theme is blown to bits with the last two tracks that mix in those gorgeous melodies again but with some high-quality riffing. The guitar sound on these is exceptional, providing a crunching bottom end with a clarity so that everything shines through. 

As an independent/self-released album, this has an incredible level of production to it and if you are new to Kokeshi, as I am then you should jump onto this immediately. 9/10

Kokeshi - Reikoku (Moment Of Collapse Records) [Mark Young]

On reflection, it might have been easier to combine both Kokeshi reviews into one, but as similar as Reikoku is, in comparison to their re-released debut Doukei it would have been doing both albums a grave wrong. It does continue to provide that ‘brutal blackgaze’ that was delivered so efficiently on the debut but rather than trying to go off in a different direction they simply pick up where the former left off as if this constitutes part 2 of a double album. Its practically seamless too, as the ending of one will segue into the next. And this is what is giving me a problem. A nice problem, but a problem, nonetheless.

Again, I don’t have the translations for some of the tracks and it feels quite poor on my part that I am unable to find them, but if you look at the album as a whole it has that vibe that there has been subtle tweaks here and there which make the songs hit that much better. And there hasn’t been a backward step in how it sounds. When the opening tracks explodes, you can pick everything up from the guttural into the screams into the crunching guitar which has this warm timbre. As this one warps its way to the end it is like they threw caution to the wind and just freaked out. 

Those turn on a penny changes are here once more, meaning that you don’t get chance to settle on one pattern and it makes for an unsettling experience. Track 2 decides that now, all bets are off and that they will drive the song where they want it to go. Black metal, sure. Muscular groove? Ok. Subtle introspection, definitely. It shouldn’t work, absolutely shouldn’t and by rights I should abhor it but I don’t. Go Figure.

I could go on in trying to describe the twists and turns that each song takes but that would be largely pointless. What Reikoku has is more of a leaning into the heavier, discordant side. Melody lines vibrate like flies caught in a spiders web and then they are cut free as they drop prime extreme metal on you. This is a vocal performance for the ages, pitched to suit each riff. I can sum it up by simply saying that if you haven’t come across Kokeshi yet, then you need to change that very quickly. 

Don’t let the term ‘brutal blackgaze’ put you off. Instead, prepare yourself for a 40-minute battering, rammed full of some of the most vocal performances you will hear this year. Even better, listen to both of the albums together. Just make sure you check them out. 8/10

A View From The Back Of The Room: SatchVai Band (Duncan Everson)

SatchVai Band – Wolverhampton Civic Hall 18.06.25

** HEADLINE – Wolverhampton Police want to speak to two men in regard to alleged public displays of extreme Tremolo abuse **

I had a few preconceptions going into this gig and it didn’t get off to a good start with a mix up about shooting the gig I won’t bore you with here, but all my own fault as I can’t read communications properly it seems! Anyway , this means I didn’t catch the support slot from Ned Evett who was a guitarist/singer solo act, but I did speak to several people who all said good things, so would be worth checking out as I’d expect this crowd to be pretty knowledgeable about that kind of thing.

So, onto the main event – just what is my damn issue then, eh? Well, it’s the title basically. SatchVai Band. Band? Really? (Insert John Cena “Are you sure about that?” meme here). Two songs written and performed together doesn’t really make a band, does it? Well, read on to see what I think now the dust has settled.

I have to say, things have changed since I last saw Joe Satriani live. That must have been all the way back in the 90s I think and at that time that sort of music had a very distinct kind of audience. I was amazed to see how much things had changed, and the stereotypes had been dispelled. There were quite a number of women at the show! One of them was even pregnant, so that’s two stereotypes gone straightaway ;) There was dancing taking place and everything, how times have changed indeed – it was wonderful to see. And Satch Boogie will do that you, you know so it wasn’t that much of a surprise really – the dancing bit I mean.

Joe and Steve both came out for the first two songs, the aforementioned new ones they’ve written together. Opening with I Wanna Play My Guitar, Marco Mendoza on vocals and bass taking the legend Glenn Hughes’ place from the record and doing a very fine job too. This was the song that made me want to be at the gig in the first place, I was sent the link to the video by a mate and immediately said I wanted to go because I absolutely love this song. Just simple (for them) guitar driven rock music with the widdling kept to a fairly low level, it really works well, I think. This was a very faithful version and the same can be said of the next one, Sea Of Emotion, Pt1, although the riff on this is a much heavier beast that the recorded version and really stands out well. I very much enjoyed the comedic video shown too.

Now Joe stepped off stage and left Steve to perform a couple of his songs. During Zeus In Chains, Pete Thorn, the third guitarist on stage provided some great harmonic lines to go along with Vai, proving his worth and why he’s there on the tour. Together they sounded just like the record once again. Ok, this is all good and all, but this was what I was concerned about – is this just basically the G2 tour rather than a band? 

After Vai then performed Little Pretty, Satriani came back on and after asking Steve to rejoin the stage because he’d wandered off, forgetting where they were in the setlist to much hilarity, he introduced, “a little mash-up of theirs”. This was Ice 9 of Satch’s and The Crying Machine blended together, with both of them playing parts of both songs’ solos. This was what I wanted to see and really hoped they’d do – there can’t be many people good enough to play this stuff and it was fantastic to hear old classics simultaneously being played faithfully AND being given a new slant from one of their few peers. 

I don’t know if they did this on the G3/4 tours, but I haven’t ever seen one, so it was new to me, and I absolutely loved it. This happened several other time throughout the night where they joined together to play each other’s songs, such as next up, Flying In A Blue Dream, where both main guitarists harmonised incredible squealing guitars showing amazing control before the whole band closed out the song together with a marvellous “trash-can” ending, everyone watching everyone else before ultimately turning to Kenny Arnoff on drums to signal the close. Wonderful stuff.

It was great to see that on a number of occasions Pete Thorn was given the chance to have a few little solos for himself as well as harmonise with the others on occasion but, personally I’d like to have seen a bit more of Mendoza and Arnoff in the spotlight, maybe a bass/drum solo section for next time?

There were a few potential negatives though, but minor and possibly just personal. For me, the setlist was near perfect as I hadn’t seen either of the main men for a good number of years and a greatest hits collection plus a few new ones was perfect, but if you were a fan who went to every tour by both, maybe not so much. 

Bit like a Maiden fan hearing Iron Maiden for the hundredth time really. The encore of Enter Sandman was a strange choice for me but judging by the reaction from the crowd, I was definitely in the minority and as Joe did teach Kirk Hammett, he’s sort of got the right to play one of his songs if he wants. During the ending, when it was all starting to devolve into completely loopy squealing guitars and noise, Arnoff was solid at the back and brought everything back in line by re-introducing the familiar drum pattern, which was a really great “band” moment again.

So, is this really a band? Yes, it is. One that’s in its early days as a band and with only a couple of songs to it’s name so far, but when they are as good as those two are and with gigs like this already, this is a band I really can’t wait to hear more from and will be keeping an ear out for. 8/10

Reviews: Leverage, Professor Emeritus, Byonoisegenerator, King's Hammer (Matt Bladen & Mark Young)

Leverage - Gravity (Frontiers Music Srl) [Matt Bladen]

Leverage have been a name on the melodic metal scene since 2002, they've got five albums behind them at this point and their fair share of turmoil too. But they do seem to consistently produce records that stand alone. 

Not quite AOR, not quite power metal, but something in between where they can sip into either and not sound forced. Gravity is their sixth record and their first with new singer Paolo Ribaldini who took over the mantle from Kimmo Blom who tragically passed in 2022 and also the album debut of violin player Lotya-Maria Heiskanen.

So this is Leverage Mark 3 and while Ribaldini's vocals give Leverage their third excellent singer in a row it's Heiskanen who adds a new dimension to tracks like Moon Of Madness where they're used as part of the melodic trio with Marko Niskala keys and Tuomas Heikkinen's guitars. Rounding out the band are drummer Valtteri Revonkorpi and bassist Sami Norrbacka, their bottom end giving the band their anthemic drive, be it all out power metal or bouncy AOR.

Recording six albums in over 20 years is no mean feat but on Gravity they evolve their sound with the addition of violin, as one of the lead instrument, it means they can bring some Middle Eastern promise to Eliza or when they go off on a Rainbow-like flight in the middle of the swaggering heavy rock of All Seeing Eye. 

Leverage are a band who are always just out on their own, there's a plethora of bands signed to Frontiers who have tried to emulate their power AOR metal but the originals still have the ability to advance their style. 8/10

Professor Emeritus - A Land Long Gone (No Remorse Records) [Matt Bladen]

Chicago’s Professor Emeritus (the science loving brother of Ghost’s former frontman/) are what would of happened if, when Bruce Dickinson left Iron Maiden in the early 90’s he joined an epic doom band like Candlemass. 

Esteban Julian Pena has a voice that often moves into the realms of the ‘Air Raid Siren’ be it on the beefy opener A Corpse’s Dream, or the Grand Magus chug of Passage, he puts the epic into this epic doom but this Professor has a PhD in riffs and Lee Smith (guitas/keys), Jose Salazar (bass) and Tyler Antram (lead guitar) keep them coming with the chunky Pragmatic Occlusion and Defeater, the latter driven by Chris Avgerin’s drumbeats. 

They don’t just languish in heavy though as the psychedelic Zosimos has some scaling leads while Hubris takes acoustics into Blind Guardian moments, the band balancing the NWOBHM gallops with the slow, wall shaking doom riffs on tracks such as Kalopsia Caves. In the past few years the ‘epic doom’ tag has gotten more and more traction but Professor Emeritus take it back to the beginnings with nods to Candlemass, Cathedral and also bands such as Grand Magus (pre-Iron Will). 

If Bruce had done this instead of Skunkworks, perhaps the world would be a different place, still that’s A Land Long Gone and we have a vision of it from Professor Emeritus’ second album. 8/10

Byonoisegenerator - Subnormal Dives (Transcending Obscurity) [Mark Young]

Well, I think I’ve just listened to the most out there, batshit, mental album I’m likely to hear in 2025. I know that is a bold statement but by the cringe, any other band would have to go a far distance to go anywhere near the levels of madness on display here. This is going a relatively short review; in that I don’t think I have the required levels of verbosity to do it justice. Returning after 7 years with what they term as an album of Jazzgrind and it is as unhinged as you might think. 

Rather than try to talk through each of the tracks in isolation which wouldn’t even scratch the surface of what they do on here you should take the whole album as being something that shouldn’t work and that on paper should absolutely detest but it’s a fantastic 23 minute long torture device that is designed to blow your mind. 

Each track is a fully contained explosion of creativity where nothing is off the table except that it has to hit hard. And it does, with wave after wave of destructive noise that fully brings jazz into the conversation. This isn’t a case of paying lip service to the idea, it’s a full-on embrace and the nearest frame of reference I have to anything like this is Mr Bungle who explored similar themes on Disco Volante and saying that it wasn’t as focused as this, having more of a shotgun approach to it.

What is apparent is that this is not coming from a place where its being done as a novelty item, its driven by a love of what they do and the fact that they have the technical ability to back it up makes this a unique experience. I’ve no idea who to recommend this to; Do grindcore fans like a bit of sax? Who knows, but this is one of the most original releases you will hear this year. If you consider yourself to be someone who likes to try new things then you have to give this a go. 8/10

Kings Hammer - To Speak in Tongues (Rottweiler/Broken Curfew Records) [Mark Young]

And from one extreme to another as King's Hammer steps up to the oche with a 5 song EP that see’s the sole member (Chuck Weatherman of Shovelhead A.D.) step away from that band to show off his skills in a different, but no less extreme area of metal. What I can say about this straight from the off is that it has a certain sound to it, almost like there has been a conscious effort to approximate a particular feel or possibly an era. 

Whatever the approach, its not quite lo-fi but in the same manner it doesn’t possess the same level of clarity you might expect from modern recordings. Actually, that is probably doing it a disservice. You can hear everything, its just that it seems to be compressed to the point where it feels like all life has been squeezed out of it. Putting that to one side, it’s a decent set of songs that fit within the death metal arena quite well. 

The War In Heaven has an ominous start with a crawling riff that keeps it on a steady footing until a switch is thrown and a little pace is thrown into the mix. Even in the speedier sections there is a tight focus, with everything played out in a controlled fashion. Going back to my comment on how it sounds, it reminds me of 90s death metal in that there was sometimes an overall vibe of the recording hitting you in the face like a brick, a solid force if you will. 

That is what I’m taking from this and as Vehement Zeal kicks in with its stop/start sequences it does take you back to that time. Whether that was a conscious decision on Chuck’s behalf, I’ve no idea but there are a ton of little touches in its run time that shout back to that time. What you have is a song that mixes in the slow crushing steps with faster moments and it’s done well without being anything you haven’t heard before.

Wrath Descends keeps the action coming and it is more of the same, which again sounds like I am being unfair. It keeps the same level of intent generated and has the same set up as The War and Vehement and it just does its thing, staying within the death metal staples we love. That is the thing, I don’t believe that this is an exercise in trying to do something new, its more for Chuck to be able to spread his wings and do something that is personal to him and its stamped all over here. Crusade IX and Witches Bvrn both stay within the parameters established and do what they need to do. 

That old school vibe is alive and running through everything and to be honest it is refreshing. Here is a set of songs that have been written that you can just listen to, its not asking you to get onboard with super low tunings or flavour of the month production. It is an honest and in a lot of ways authentic, traditional death metal release. Its not expecting to set the world on fire or be lauded as something new. Fans of old school death should check it out because it does everything you want from that era, low vocals, speedy riffs, double bass all wrapped up in quick order. 8/10

A View From The Back Of The Room: Lung, Thrakian & Hora (Llyr Williams)

Lung, Thrakian & Hora, Fuel Rock Club, Cardiff, 14.06.25

A long day spent at Bute Park’s Tafwyl Welsh music festival had me craving something closer to my heavy preferences when the summer evening turned its beautiful humid head. I had something lined up over the road that would quench my thirst for a more reasonably-priced pint and sate my hunger for a satisfying headbang: an evening of 3 varied doom/sludge acts, what more could I ask for?

Having sadly missed this lineup as part of the Temple Of Doom all-dayer at Moor Beer in Bristol recently, I was glad to be able to catch Lung, Thrakian and Hora bringing the sludge to Cardiff as a follow-up.

Kicking off the evening, Hora deliver a set soaked in fuzz and atmospherics. This is a band that I’ve until now unfortunately not gone out of my way to listen to. Following the gig on the walk home, I couldn’t help but digest their debut Witch Trial Sessions EP. 

Hora used their Crowbar-esque elements to pry open the door to my brain and filled it with so many riffs and psychedelic atmospherics that they may as well have left me no longer needing another pint. The crowd felt fully present for every riff, ensnared by the grooves the band was putting across, but before long the final song comes swooping in with a riff that’ll take your head off. If you get a hankering for this brand of sludgy sonic excess, be sure to mosey on down to one of Hora’s gigs.

Thrakian are the band that I am most familiar with going into the evening. I’ve been absorbing their intense, unyielding atmosphere for years now since first sharing the stage with them in 2023, however this show brings with it something quite unique for the band. 

Sadly their lead guitarist Kris has quite a nasty injury which despite his presence helping out on doors and merch means that he will have to step down from performing. This is not to say that the remaining trio suffered however, as they carry through an absolutely crushing set of post-metal rife with intense dynamic changes and an undeniably tough stage presence spearheaded by their vocalist/guitarist Atanas.

Despite only having two songs released at the moment, I am somewhat familiar with their upcoming material after being to a few of their gigs. I am pleasantly surprised to see the band open with through and through banger A Path To Demise followed by 2 songs with a very strong folk influence befitting some of the music going on at the park and the themes of Bulgarian folkore and heritage in their lyrics. 

Closing track Ancient Glory takes the crowd through an absolute maze of musical arrangement, and on top of this incredible composition serves as an absolute showcase for their drummer. This is a band on the rise, and I am excited to see where they go.

Thinking my neck could handle no more, local headliner Lung takes the stage. I was introduced to this behemoth of doom at a Bossk show at The Globe a few years back, and despite having abstained from the devil’s lettuce recently, I am transported straight back to that feeling of being just a liiiiiiittle too stoned during their set. 

Every song is a study in how to make a ‘simple’ stoner doom riff into a crushing weight of grime and grossness. With the guitar and bass treated much like synths by being pushed through octave fuzz and massive wah pedal sweeps, and enough missiles swing in the drumming to leave Bill Ward proud, I feel that I am treading through the endless dreams of the Weedian.

Whilst Lung’s vocals are comparatively sparse, they certainly don’t feel held back. The space for the instrumentals to show off just how heavy they can get allows the throat-shreddingly disgusting vocal to really make its impact, and I just find myself looking forward every time their mildly unhinged vocalist/bassist approaches the mic.

The night ends with the announcement that they’re going to crank the absolute sh*t out of their amps for closing track Obsidian Bong Monolith. The volume and groove leaves the crowd satisfied and ready to head out into the night ready to brave the inevitably stiff necks the next day.

Overall, this was a feast for the ears. The disregard for volume bought by post, doom and sludge will always strike a chord with me, and I’m glad to see so many people out to partake in this scene locally. If you have the chance to see any of these bands, be sure not to give them a miss. 9/10

A View From The Back Of The Room: Foxing (Alex Swift)

Foxing - Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff, 06.06.25

Foxing is associated with the Midwest emo movement. And yet, they have long since surpassed the label in terms of experimentation. Their new album acts as a cry of anguish towards the world. An expression of hopelessness in the face of catastrophe, set to ethereal shoegaze, glitchy electronics and wailing guitars.

In fact, it's that self-titled work that they mainly draw on tonight, as they work to capture the experience of hearing an album unfurl, in a live setting. “Croseo, diolch” frontman Conor Murphy greets fans, in his distinctive Missouri accent. I have to admit, it's gratifying to hear the band acknowledge on a few different occasions that this is their first time performing in Wales.

At one point, lead guitarist Eric Hudson turns around and awkwardly tries to pronounce the words Clwb Ifor Bach. Even still, they're joining a long line of acts who have hauled their equipment to the top floor of the venue, to perform for their Welsh fans. It's an honour to have them here!

Starting on Secret History, the audience soon gets an idea of the band's skill as performers. The morose lucidity of the song's verses is brilliantly contrasted by the visceral screams that sear the serenity, giving space to chaos.

The band continued in this vein for just over an hour. The visceral Spit, and the unconventional yet daring Gratitude, both provoke enormous crowd responses, seeing some wail the lyrics back at the performers, and others take part in ensuing circle pits.“SUFFER TILL’ THE END, MASOCHISTIC TREND, CARSON MTV, BIZKIT NYE, FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!!!!” - 

Seeing fans attempt to scream those words, as the band launches into Hell 99, is frankly hilarious, but is part of a wider experience that runs the gamut of emotions, from shared anger to collective grief.

One moment that struck a chord with me is Barking. Perhaps one of the saddest songs in Foxing’s discography (quite an achievement, in a catalogue full of sad songs), the piece reflects on the loss of a pet, and the way that the world can feel more empty afterwards. The cry in the chorus of “Kissing yourself! To prime the rain” is one of those lines that resonates with me, in spite of its ambiguity, as does the sombre admission of “I can hear the clouds yelling back. I can feel the age in my voice”. 

The first time Foxing ever played this, Conor introduced it with the words “here’s a song about the worst day of my life”. To many of their fans, myself included, it's also a song about the worst day of theirs.

Finishing on Rory from the band's first album, they bring the set to a triumphant close. Being a subdued, mournful ballad, this isn't the first song you'd choose as a ‘grand finale’ moment. And yet, in a live setting it's transformed into a glorious send off, as Murphy gets out a trumpet and plays the lead melody alongside roaring guitars and clattering drums, as the song reaches a vivid crescendo. It's one of the best ways I've seen anybody end a live set, in a small space.

There has been a lot of speculation based on the way the last Foxing album ended, that they may not be a band for too much longer. Touring and recording takes a mental and physical toll, that for some needs “shutting down and locking off”. If it indeed turns out to be the case that this is their last tour, this show will stand out in my memory as a beautiful outpouring of emotion, shared and nurtured by fans, who find solace in the songs! 10/10

Reviews: Sleek, Panic Alarm, Explosive Aggression, Faceless Envoy (Matt Bladen)

Sleek - Still Hurts (Good Time Music)

Sleek are a hard rock band from Athens and they take a 90's approach to the style with influences stated as Dokken, Bon Jovi and the UK's own Thunder, you can hear Danny Bowes in the vocals especially, as well as Damian Wilson, from the first moments of the title track. 

Despite forming in 2021, this is Sleek's debut album and tries to capture their live sound on record. Still Hurts is a nostalgic ride through the last years of the hard rock explosion before grunge put pay to it.

Now it's a good debut, there's a lot of melody, some big choruses, slickness on the slower track such as Gold, while Empty adds a touch of bluesy The Stones swagger. 

This definitely a throwback record, they settle on a particular era and stick to it, never really shifting from the sounds of Mr Big, Extreme or Tyketto, Sleek manage to do these bands justice on their debut record, if you like your rock n roll with a lot acoustic flourishes then you'll love Still Hurts. 7/10

Panic Alarm - Panic Alarm (Self Released)

The sound of an alarm and this trio get going with the title track from their self titled album, unfortunately they don't really go much further than a simple riff and shouts of "Panic", I'm a little worried as I was expecting something a bit more impressive from this Greek band founded in 2022 by Alex Kollias. Surrendering Death shows promise, but it's not long until Panic Alarm just revert to simple thrash riffs once again.

The obtuse beginnings of Mr Panic lead into a long instrumental section but the vocals are neither here nor there to be honest, they're buried in the mix, use the same shouts and don't add anything to the songs for me. If I had to make a comparison then I'd say Panic Alarm make me think of Alien Weaponry, these Greeks don't have the folk elements the Kiwis do.

However they unfortunately have the same kind of thrashy groove metal that doesn't excite me as much as it should. 6/10

Explosive Aggression - Subliminal Violence (Self Released)

From groovy thrash to just plain thrash, well crossover thrash if you want to be a pedant as Explosive Aggression feels like early Anthrax, Suicidal Tendencies along with more modern proponents such as Municipal Waste or Gama Bomb. Attack Line explodes with blitzing speed, choppy riffs and those rabid vocals before leading into a chunky middle break and pressing the gas again.

It's breathless and bloody good, a classic thrash sound, produced as if it's the 1980's all over again. I can imagine the bodies flying to Lord Of Terror, the circle pits erupting as only the white hi-tops can be seen on the crowd surfers. Subliminal Violence is an EP that captures a mood and this is the back to basics fun of thrash metal. 

Descend To Hell embraces technicality but then we're back in the maelstrom for Adrenaline Rush. Fiesty, furious thrash from Thessaloniki, more please! 8/10

Faceless Envoy – EP (Self Released)

Mixed and mastered at Bob Katsionis’ Sound Symmetry Studios in Athens, this debut EP from Faceless Envoy is a four song blast of pure aggression. The melodic death metal band from Athens are influenced by the likes of Nightrage, Nightfall and Septicflesh as they blend the brutality with melody, letting the modern, mechanical sound come from the massive drums and biting guitar riffs as they break their first track Ga-Ra down at the end. 

A meaty way to start but then on Indulgentia they flex their prog muscle with a seven minute masterclass in pace, coming from a slow build opening into a steamrolling mid-pace chug, the speed picks up into the chorus and solo section right until the end, the distorted rhythm guitar of Anastasis Iliopoulos a constant factor in the relentless riffs of this band. I’d hazard a guess that if he could he’d just riff forever with Panos Platanistiotis (drums) and Orestis Oulkeroglou (bass) beside him. Lead guitarist Kostas Gialitsis does force his way on to the record with some solos and leads though. 

This debut EP shows a lot of promise but there’s a little too much of that one rhythm guitar sound on the EP but that can be rectified on later releases for sure. 6/10

Reviews: Malevolence, Nad Sylvan, Death Pill, The Medea Project (Spike & Matt Bladen)

Malevolence - Where Only the Truth Is Spoken (MLVLTD/Nuclear Blast) [Spike]

This one hits hard.

Malevolence aren’t exactly newcomers to the scene, but Where Only the Truth Is Spoken feels like a step up in every direction it's heavier, sharper, and a hell of a lot more focused. I had this on in the car and found myself involuntarily speeding up. Not advised, but understandable.

Right out of the gate, Blood To The Leech sets the tone with it's gnarly groove, chug-heavy riffing, and that voice. If you’re already a fan, you’ll feel at home. If not, this is a pretty brutal introduction. These songs don’t muck about. They hit you square in the chest and don’t stop swinging. Standout for me was If It’s All The Same To You. There’s something in the pacing and the vocal phrasing that sticks. It leans just enough into melody without losing its bite, and the breakdown lands with that perfect weight, not flashy, just right.

Malevolence walk that fine line between beatdown hardcore and groove metal with confidence here. You can tell they’ve put serious thought into keeping things both aggressive and listenable. There’s weight and anger, sure, but it’s channelled through well-crafted structures. They’re not just throwing riffs at a wall and hoping it sticks. Another high point is the guest spot on In Spite Randy Blythe’s voice brings extra venom, and it’s one of those perfect collaborations that doesn’t feel bolted on. There’s an added snap in the rhythm section and a sense of movement that gives the song teeth.

What I appreciated most is that while there’s clearly a polish to this release, it doesn’t feel overproduced. The drums hit hard, the vocals stay front and centre, and the guitar tone is thick enough to swim in. They’ve made a record that feels huge without overcomplicating it. Where Only the Truth Is Spoken isn’t breaking new ground, but it’s not trying to. It knows exactly what it is, a loud, heavy, honest metalcore record that doesn’t pretend to be anything else. It’s well executed, tightly delivered, and sounds absolutely monstrous live, I bet.

This one’s going to stay in rotation for a while. 8/10

Nad Sylvan - Monumentata (InsideOut Records) [Matt Bladen]

Nad Sylvan is the vocalist for Steve Hackett, anyone who has seen the Genesis guitarist and long-time solo artist live will recognise Sylvan’s voice as an integral part of the Hackett band. Nad has a similar timbre and tone to Peter Gabriel, rich in soul but perhaps a bit more nasal, I’d add a bit of Glenn Hughes in there too in the lower moments. 

As well as being a vocalist for Genesis Revisited, he’s performed with The Flower Kings/Roine Stolt, Agents Of Mercy and he’s also a solo artist and multi-instrumentalist musician in his own right, with seven solo albums to his name so far. Monumentata is his eighth solo record and is his most personal to date, Sylvan reckoning that “75% of the lyrics are directly about my life.” The title track being particularly poignant, with just piano, vocals and some atmospherics. About 75% of the music is him too playing keyboards, guitar and bass alongside singing, so there’s a lot that’s solo about this record.

Now of course there’s a lot of prog on this record but not always Genesis, That’s Not Me swirls with the keys and harmonies of Yes, as Monte Carlo Priceless shifts toward the pastoral prog of The Flower Kings, introspective and beautiful with a modernity to it as well, Flowerland continuing in this vein with a bit of 60’s psychedelia to it as well. With I’m Stepping Out brings some left field quirkiness. 

He’s not all alone on Monumentata, Sylvan reaches into his extensive prog address book to recruit guitarists Randy McStine (Porcupine Tree/Steven Wilson), David Kollar (experimental/film score artist), and Neil Whitford (Canadian session player). Drummers Marco Minnemann (The Aristocrats/Steven Wilson), Mirko DeMaio (The Flower Kings), Felix Lerhmann (Steve Hackett) and bassists Jonas Reingold (Hackett/The Flower Kings), Nick Beggs (The Aristocrats/Steven Wilson), and Tony Levin (Peter Gabriel/King Crimson) all join the ranks too. 

As tracks such as Make Somebody Proud, draws from the AOR/Prog hybrid of Asia featuring Sheona Urquhart and Jade Ell on soulful backing vocals and Unkillable has the world rhythms of a Gabriel solo record, Nad Sylvan’s eighth solo album displays his skills aren’t just limited to Genesis. 8/10

Death Pill - Sologamy (New Heavy Sounds) [Matt Bladen]

Politically charged and socially conscious trio Death Pill return with their sophomore studio album. Mariana (guitar/vocals), Anastasiia (drums/vocals) and Nataliia (bass/vocals) have overcome periods of separation between them due to being in different countries (Spain, Australia & Ukraine) and the conflict in their native home of Ukraine affecting, Mariana the most as she was based in Kyiv, facing power cuts, air raids all caused delays, the band unable to meet, to actually play through these tracks together while writing.

As did losing their artwork guy to national service, but they fought through this, creating a record that is an ode to empowerment and a triumph over adversity, but for the first time unveils a more sensitive and vulnerable side, as the band sum up their power pop single Phone Call "We are opening our hearts, hoping that someone else is also willing to share the journey with us." I beseech you come on this journey with them as Sologamy sees Death Pill evolving from their Riot Grrrl beginnings into a more complex beast. Adding strings and synths and shifting time signatures to their songs they beyond punchy punk sounds (Ugly Me) into grunge, thrash (Listen To Me, Sister), emo and of course pop (Don’t Say It So) in several guises.

Everything sculpted to embolden their message of self-care, the title, the songs, the evolution of their song writing all comes from a sisterhood committed to being supportive of each other’s happiness. While their resolve was tested with their debut, their recent touring activity and the positive response everywhere they went surely put them in a headspace to give this album everything, and everything is what you get. The changes of pace in the album are what keep it frothing along with excitement, be it Craterface’s snarling hardcore, the dreamy shoegaze opening of Hey, Man or Monsters (In My Brain) which owes a lot to Mr Bungle, Sologamy never sticks to a pattern or a style too long, the entire of wealth of influences knitted together so no two songs of the ten sound alike.

Sologamy is an album crafted with technically across continents but completed by the burning ambition and bond of between these three women. 9/10

The Medea Project – Kharon (Self Released) [Spike]

Now this is something else entirely.

Kharon by The Medea Project is bleak, slow, atmospheric and absolutely nails what it sets out to do. I first gave it a spin at home with headphones, and then again late at night, and both times I found myself completely pulled in. This is music that creates a space around you and drags you into it, whether you're ready or not.

Absence, In Loss builds with that doomy patience, very much not in a rush, not trying to impress. Just wallowing, beautifully. There’s a grim elegance in the layering, and the vocals are more like howls from somewhere deep under the floorboards. Not immediate, but very effective. The track that really stuck was Upon Your Bones (Stygian Surf). It's got this ritualistic crawl to it. It's soaked in atmosphere, then twisting into something heavier just when you think it’s about to stop. It’s dark, compelling stuff, the kind of song you want to go back to because you feel like you missed something in the shadows.

What I admire most here is that nothing feels forced. The band are happy to let things breathe. There are long, haunting passages where little happens but that space is part of the sound. It builds tension and unease without relying on big riffs or fast tempos. This is doom with a cinematic streak. Production-wise, it’s got that rough edge I like. You can hear fingers on strings, breaths between vocal lines. It feels organic, alive. There’s a human weight to it all, and a sense of vulnerability that cuts deeper than volume ever could.

Kharon isn’t an easy listen and I love it for that. This is the kind of record that reveals more on each play. It’s not about hooks or instant payoffs. It’s a slow burn, a descent. But for those willing to make the journey, it’s an incredibly rewarding one.

One to sit with, not just skim. 9/10

A View From The Back Of The Room: Mclusky (Dean Palmer)

Mclusky, Electric, Bristol 31.05.25

A rare Saturday gig in a big city centre venue in Bristol meant, of course, that the show started pretty early and (sadly) meant that I walked into the venue just in time to hear the very last note of support band Klämp, which is a great shame as they consist of numerous members from other noisy bands and I had hoped to catch them. The final note was pretty good and had some nice feedback as they left the stage. I won’t give the feedback a score, but I feel I missed something pretty good here.

The one thing I did note was that Electric Bristol (formerly SWX, internally unchanged) was pretty sparsely populated at the point the support left the stage, unfortunately that remained the case throughout as by the time the headliners arrived on stage the venue was roughly 50% full.

Thankfully 50% is more than enough for Mclusky (8) to create a suitably bonkers party and that is precisely what happened as they tore through usual openers Fuck This Band and the always rather good Lightsaber Cocksucking Blues, as the crowd did a fine job filling the space by throwing itself around in a suitably bonkers manner.

McLusky has always been a bit of a marmite band, musically refusing to tone down the abrasiveness and lyrically being as out there as they damn well please. Those who love it, love it and those who it doesn’t mesh with just dislike it, but thankfully those who go to McLusky gigs are there because they love the band and it is clear that’s the case tonight.

Stage banter is, as always with the band, hilariously off-beat and nonsensical as leader of the pack Andy Falkous happily makes irreverent comments between tracks from their latest album The World Is Still Here And So Are We, as they reel through Unpopular Parts Of A Pig and Chekhov’s Guns in close succession.

Nobody ever feels short changed at a McLusky gig, as whilst their tracks are generally pretty short, they plough through a good 20 songs before the lights went up, including highlights Alan Is A Cowboy Killer and the always good to hear dusted off The Man Will Not Hang before closing out with To Hell With Good Intentions to send us out into the Bristol early evening with smiles on every face in the room.

It’s great to have McLusky still around after all these years, and even greater that they refuse to calm down with old age. Worth a watch if you like that sort of thing.