When my teenage daughter heard that I was reviewing something by Yungblud, eyebrows were most definitely raised. To be honest my own were doing a full-on Roger Moore’s impression of a car’s windscreen wipers in a heavy thunderstorm when I saw that this collaboration with Aerosmith had been released, for a whole bunch of reasons.
Of which the largest is it’s been thirteen very long years since Aerosmith released anything new, and I have to say that Music From Another Dimension was the weakest album since their mid-80s’ comeback properly kicked in from the superlative Permanent Vacation. Not the best record to end a recording career on for sure, and perhaps it left a sour taste in their collective mouths, as they’ve only come out to tour and effectively become their own tribute act ever since.
Then there is Yungblud, a man whose music has jumped around stylistically during his short but thus far highly successful career, as is often the case for a musician more well-known in the poppier end of the musical spectrum. I had noted that he had been perhaps missing his calling as a rock singer from recent bits I have seen on mainstream TV shows over the last year or so, but the fact that he is even on prime time stuff like Graham Norton left me with the overall message that he was perhaps just moving onto a brief Rock phase for this album cycle, and would no doubt shift to his Techno / Country / R&B phases in due course like so many pop stars do.
Then there is Yungblud, a man whose music has jumped around stylistically during his short but thus far highly successful career, as is often the case for a musician more well-known in the poppier end of the musical spectrum. I had noted that he had been perhaps missing his calling as a rock singer from recent bits I have seen on mainstream TV shows over the last year or so, but the fact that he is even on prime time stuff like Graham Norton left me with the overall message that he was perhaps just moving onto a brief Rock phase for this album cycle, and would no doubt shift to his Techno / Country / R&B phases in due course like so many pop stars do.
He’s been persistent here, cropping up with a spectacular performance for Ozzy’s farewell in Birmingham and now this collaboration with the mighty Aerosmith, a band for whom I once spent three months trekking across the USA in search of their 1970’s vinyl back catalogue which was impossible to buy in the UK in the mid-1980’s, shortly before the advent of the Compact Disk and the concept of re-releases made that all seem a rather expensive extravagance. So yes, I have emotional skin in this particular game.
The five tracks on here do not disappoint. The most commercial of which, opener My Only Angel is clearly one that Yungblud’s fan base are not going to be turned off by, and it’s a more subtle way to introduce them to Aerosmith for sure.
The five tracks on here do not disappoint. The most commercial of which, opener My Only Angel is clearly one that Yungblud’s fan base are not going to be turned off by, and it’s a more subtle way to introduce them to Aerosmith for sure.
Most duet’s work by counterpointing the usually differing styles of their vocal contributors, but Yungblud and Stephen Tyler have remarkably sympatico vocal delivery styles here, and the Demon Of Screamin’ clearly has his match here, to the point where it is sometimes difficult to tell which of them is which.
When they harmonise, things go up a level or three however, as the much heavier Problems illustrates, and also becomes the point where this really feels like the backing band is truly Boston’s finest.
The more bluesy Wild Woman is more traditional Aerosmith territory and wouldn’t have been out of place in their Honkin’ On Bobo period. It wouldn’t be a modern Aerosmith record without the anthemic power ballad, of which A Thousand Days may be one of their finest, but for me the pièce de résistance is a new version of the classic Back In The Saddle which dates back to 1976’s Rocks album (the release that allegedly saw Slash want to pick up a guitar for).
The more bluesy Wild Woman is more traditional Aerosmith territory and wouldn’t have been out of place in their Honkin’ On Bobo period. It wouldn’t be a modern Aerosmith record without the anthemic power ballad, of which A Thousand Days may be one of their finest, but for me the pièce de résistance is a new version of the classic Back In The Saddle which dates back to 1976’s Rocks album (the release that allegedly saw Slash want to pick up a guitar for).
This track is a belter, but that original studio recording was not the greatest, although there’s plenty of higher quality live versions, but doing this track anew with Yungblud works perfectly. This should not have worked as a collaboration, but it categorically does and I am smiling like an idiot each and every time I spin it. 10/10
Bloodbound - Field Of Swords (Napalm Records) [Matt Bladen]
Swedish power metal act Bloodbound ride back into the melee with their new record Field Of Swords.
Bloodbound - Field Of Swords (Napalm Records) [Matt Bladen]
Swedish power metal act Bloodbound ride back into the melee with their new record Field Of Swords.
The Twenty year veterans unleash another set of historically themed tracks that draw lyrical inspiration from the Middle Ages and the evolution of weaponry that in turn led to the bloody battles of The Crusades. Now they may be known for doing bouncy power metal but on tracks such as Empires Fall they shift into from thrashy riffs into a fist pumping chorus.
Now this probably quite a controversial part of history and as crusaders make their way into the Holy Land on Defenders Of Jerusalem, the historian in me really wants to start debating that the English aren't the heroes in this story. However Bloodbound still retain some of the difficult parts of history on tracks such as Teutonic Knights, showcasing the fighting on both sides.
The epic style of Bloodbound's music does make you forget about all that framing it like an epic quest as the songs on this album take Bloodbound into a faster and heavier style, the galloping title track kicking off the record with what you want from these Swedes. There's flutes on The Code Of Warriors, blasts of synth-metal on the Forged In Iron, Euro Power metal of Pain And Glory and there's even an appearance from Brittney Slays of Unleash The Archers on closer The Nine Crusades.
Bloodbound do it again as Field Of Swords leaves you in no doubt that you've probably heard the power metal record of the year! 9/10
Jethro Tull - Aqualung Live Remaster 2025 (InsideOut Records) [Simon Black]
This is going to sound heretical to some, but despite being rather fond of Folk Rock and Metal crossover bands, I have never really got Jethro Tull. I thought that perhaps it’s the fact that there is a bit of Jazz Fusion in the mix which predates the folkier elements that was turning me off all these years, but listening to this record brought home to me the reasons why I have always struggled with this band.
Now this probably quite a controversial part of history and as crusaders make their way into the Holy Land on Defenders Of Jerusalem, the historian in me really wants to start debating that the English aren't the heroes in this story. However Bloodbound still retain some of the difficult parts of history on tracks such as Teutonic Knights, showcasing the fighting on both sides.
The epic style of Bloodbound's music does make you forget about all that framing it like an epic quest as the songs on this album take Bloodbound into a faster and heavier style, the galloping title track kicking off the record with what you want from these Swedes. There's flutes on The Code Of Warriors, blasts of synth-metal on the Forged In Iron, Euro Power metal of Pain And Glory and there's even an appearance from Brittney Slays of Unleash The Archers on closer The Nine Crusades.
Bloodbound do it again as Field Of Swords leaves you in no doubt that you've probably heard the power metal record of the year! 9/10
Jethro Tull - Aqualung Live Remaster 2025 (InsideOut Records) [Simon Black]
This is going to sound heretical to some, but despite being rather fond of Folk Rock and Metal crossover bands, I have never really got Jethro Tull. I thought that perhaps it’s the fact that there is a bit of Jazz Fusion in the mix which predates the folkier elements that was turning me off all these years, but listening to this record brought home to me the reasons why I have always struggled with this band.
On paper they should be right up my street, fusing folk, prog rock, classical and Hard Rock as they do, but even now this, a remastering of a twenty-year-old full live rendition of their best-selling album is for me at least, still a puzzlingly hard listen.
Don’t get me wrong, the fans will be happy with this, as the recording has been lovingly enhanced if you compare to the older version on streaming platforms, with the instrumentals in particular benefiting from a much more clearly defined and layered sound than the more blended original, but then twenty years has seen some huge improvements in software to help clearly differentiate sounds and unpick sounds that got blended across a live microphone mix.
Don’t get me wrong, the fans will be happy with this, as the recording has been lovingly enhanced if you compare to the older version on streaming platforms, with the instrumentals in particular benefiting from a much more clearly defined and layered sound than the more blended original, but then twenty years has seen some huge improvements in software to help clearly differentiate sounds and unpick sounds that got blended across a live microphone mix.
It’s this aspect that works for me, as I have a huge respect for the musicianship here. These are incredibly skilful musicians and to be honest I think the later line-up that formed around the time this was recorded was one of their strongest.
For such a landmark album getting a live airing at what was at the time more or less in honour of the thirtieth anniversary of its release, it doesn’t seem to have a large and loud crowd though, sounding instead like a small and intimate theatre space than the kind of big halls these gentlemen are more than capable of filling, and actually that helps the material, as the plethora of acoustic renditions here benefit from the more subtle live environment.
The other thing that stands out is the songwriting craft, which skilfully explores themes around the often-contentious difference between the concept of a god, and the antics of the religions that worship it. It’s a thematic concept rather than a story-based one, but the lyrics skirt topics that have caused no small amount of controversy in their time, and they are still effective fifty-four years later.
What’s less effective for me is what happens vocally. Don’t get me wrong – Ian Anderson is an incredible songwriter, and a phenomenal flautist and live footage of him hopping about the stage without dropping a note on the flute deserves praise in and of itself, but it’s the timbre of his voice that I have always been unable to get past.
For such a landmark album getting a live airing at what was at the time more or less in honour of the thirtieth anniversary of its release, it doesn’t seem to have a large and loud crowd though, sounding instead like a small and intimate theatre space than the kind of big halls these gentlemen are more than capable of filling, and actually that helps the material, as the plethora of acoustic renditions here benefit from the more subtle live environment.
The other thing that stands out is the songwriting craft, which skilfully explores themes around the often-contentious difference between the concept of a god, and the antics of the religions that worship it. It’s a thematic concept rather than a story-based one, but the lyrics skirt topics that have caused no small amount of controversy in their time, and they are still effective fifty-four years later.
What’s less effective for me is what happens vocally. Don’t get me wrong – Ian Anderson is an incredible songwriter, and a phenomenal flautist and live footage of him hopping about the stage without dropping a note on the flute deserves praise in and of itself, but it’s the timbre of his voice that I have always been unable to get past.
In many ways the intimate sounding venue probably doesn’t help, because it’s clearly not the place to belt out at the top of your voice, but having to go through this a couple of times nails it for me that this sadly is the thing I can’t make work for me, and why I have never been able to listen to a Tull record end to end. But, for many, his performance is the unique selling point and the studio version of this shifted seven million copies, so what do I know?
On a positive note, I have come out of this with a stronger overall impression of the band, and in particular Anderson’s superb lyrics, even if other elements of his formidable contribution jar personally. Sorry Ian. 7/10
When Nothing Remains - Echoes Of Eternal Night (The Circle Music) [Matt Bladen]
Death doom from Sweden now as When Nothing Remains deliver some maudlin, epic music with a penchant for sadness and introspection. Echoes Of Eternal Night is their first album since 2016 and sees them delivering another set of melodic death doom anthems on The Circle Music.
On a positive note, I have come out of this with a stronger overall impression of the band, and in particular Anderson’s superb lyrics, even if other elements of his formidable contribution jar personally. Sorry Ian. 7/10
When Nothing Remains - Echoes Of Eternal Night (The Circle Music) [Matt Bladen]
Death doom from Sweden now as When Nothing Remains deliver some maudlin, epic music with a penchant for sadness and introspection. Echoes Of Eternal Night is their first album since 2016 and sees them delivering another set of melodic death doom anthems on The Circle Music.
A band who have been bringing the sad since 2010, this new album continues the concept of their last record, featuring as story of a girl l left at a desolate lakeside with this record she is negotiating life as a search for meaning, a record that dictates that death is not the end but a new beginning.
This new beginning is a darker tale, When Nothing Remains increasing the drama with plenty keys and organs that work their way through A Glimmer Of Hope and also on the 10 minute doom crawl of Everything Ends, one of the many tracks that shows off the dual harsh/clean vocals.
If a melodic/synth/keys driven death doom stirs your miserable soul then you should be checking out When Nothing Remains. 8/10
This new beginning is a darker tale, When Nothing Remains increasing the drama with plenty keys and organs that work their way through A Glimmer Of Hope and also on the 10 minute doom crawl of Everything Ends, one of the many tracks that shows off the dual harsh/clean vocals.
If a melodic/synth/keys driven death doom stirs your miserable soul then you should be checking out When Nothing Remains. 8/10
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