Cambridge occult rockers Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats emerge from their imaginary Italian thriller soundtrack with a new album of guitar focussed ghoulish proto doom.
Their last record Nell' Ora Blu, saw them embrace the stylistic choices made by Giallo, Argento and Mario Bava, as they brought the synth driven style of Goblin to their own conceptual record. It probably took a lot by suprise as these influences of course have always been there in the 'Evil Beatles' music of Kevin Starrs, but on Nell' Ora Blu it took over in glorious macarbe technicolour for their 'audio film'.
With seventh album Shapes Of Midnight, the band still drive a conceptual route, this time it's the modern world and The Masque Of The Red Death by Edgar Allen Poe that are the touchstones, but now the guitars have returned for some hook laden, pop forward, fuzz drenched riffage, all caught live and impatiently over three days in Abbey Road by Chris Bolster.
He along with the band wanted it to sound like it had been recorded in 1968 just as the Fab Four broke up, using era appropriate equipment Shapes Of Midnight has that authentic hiss of the compression needed for vinyl releases, never trying to enter the loudness war, but capture authenticity an the returned intensity as guitars and organs duel on House By The Grave.
It does feel right for the guitars to return here, for me Uncle Acid are all about these retro riffs from a parallel world where The Beatles got into voodoo rather than transcendental meditation, meaning everything that came after was just a little twisted. Be it the glam scene (Don't Let Control You), NWOBHM (Shapes Of Midnight) or Thin Lizzy on I Won't Sleep ('til You're Gone).
Don't worry though as Psycho On The Loose and When Evil Wakes tell you that Black Sabbath were still the same even in this universe. That's the sum Shapes Of Midnight as it's always been for Uncle Acid, Sabbath Worship and Beatle Worship hand in hand with the supernatural weirdness amplified through analogue amps, still spooky, still great, long live Uncle Acid. 9/10
The Fierce & The Dead - Regional Theatre (Spencer Park Music)
Dont worry there's no touring version of Shakespeare featuring and all semi-pro cast here.
No Regional Theatre is the fifth studio album from London psychadelic post rockers The Fierce And The Dead, having started out as an instrumental band, since their last album, they now feature vocals from bassist/producer Kevin Feazy.
Opening up a whole new audience to their sprawling, multigenre hopping style of dystopian post rock that exudes a kind of forced joy that comes from years at the grindstone. The band is the outlet, the way for a group of outsiders to come together and create weird music.
TFAD cite bands such as avantgarde heroes like Faith No More or the Flaming Lips, heavy desert riffers like Kyuss or QOTSA and shimmering post rockera like Slowdive or Oceansize as influences and you can pick out each if these on Regional Theatre.
From the off-kilter stomp of Mr Homme and co on Shake Hands & Exit and the Hey Nightmare through the dreamscapes of Somehow, there's more of a shift towards the alternative rock/noise on album five, though it's mushed in there with the experimental approach of TFATD that rarely leaves a genre alone.
Beneath that though still beats the heart of band who spent a long time speaking without words the guitar playing of Steve Cleaton and Matt Stevens, melds these genre shifts with dynamism and distinction. Putting distortion into Dream Sequence and post-punk drive into Thrash, the basslines of Feazey throbbing furiously here and rumble while drumming of Stuart Marshall is broad and spacious, bringing the power of Mastodon to Hypernormalisation.
Regional Theatre dives into the experimental sound of The Fierce & The Dead, from their post rock beginnings, they took a leap with vocals last time and with album five, the band have expanded sonically once more, making another amazing record from this innovative band. 9/10
Kai Hansen - Born With A Hammer (earMusic)
Born With A Hammer is the first solo record from Kai Hansen since reforming with Helloween and taking the world by storm once again in the "Pumpkins United" format.
If you're entering with the expectation of Helloween or Gamma Ray, or the German speed metal that Hansen has been an originator of then I suggest going somewhere else as this record is ten tracks that wouldn't fit in any of his other projects.
From the pop punk meets country meets reggae of Welcome To Life, the pulsating Europop of Don't Care and the industrial thump of Wait And See, there's a lot of genre deviation here linked by Hansen's gritty sneering vocals. The vocals as well become more diverse than they have before.
From the off-kilter stomp of Mr Homme and co on Shake Hands & Exit and the Hey Nightmare through the dreamscapes of Somehow, there's more of a shift towards the alternative rock/noise on album five, though it's mushed in there with the experimental approach of TFATD that rarely leaves a genre alone.
Psychadelic indie jangling and shoegaze gets more potent with this album as well, the addition of Tom Hunt on keys, percussion and backing vocals bringing Somehow the 90's hypnotics of The Charlatans or the psych indie piano of Super Furry Animals on Superbia, the vocal harmonies of this record build on their introduction from the last.
Beneath that though still beats the heart of band who spent a long time speaking without words the guitar playing of Steve Cleaton and Matt Stevens, melds these genre shifts with dynamism and distinction. Putting distortion into Dream Sequence and post-punk drive into Thrash, the basslines of Feazey throbbing furiously here and rumble while drumming of Stuart Marshall is broad and spacious, bringing the power of Mastodon to Hypernormalisation.
Regional Theatre dives into the experimental sound of The Fierce & The Dead, from their post rock beginnings, they took a leap with vocals last time and with album five, the band have expanded sonically once more, making another amazing record from this innovative band. 9/10
Kai Hansen - Born With A Hammer (earMusic)
Born With A Hammer is the first solo record from Kai Hansen since reforming with Helloween and taking the world by storm once again in the "Pumpkins United" format.
If you're entering with the expectation of Helloween or Gamma Ray, or the German speed metal that Hansen has been an originator of then I suggest going somewhere else as this record is ten tracks that wouldn't fit in any of his other projects.
From the pop punk meets country meets reggae of Welcome To Life, the pulsating Europop of Don't Care and the industrial thump of Wait And See, there's a lot of genre deviation here linked by Hansen's gritty sneering vocals. The vocals as well become more diverse than they have before.
Recorded with Eike Freese on guitar, Alexander Dietz (Heaven Shall Burn) on bass, drummer Dan Wilding (Carcass) and guitarist Tim Hansen (Induction), these younger members of the band have clearly inspired Hansen to flex his creative muscle away from what you may expect.
Going full Savatage balladry on the Title Track, Triple Trouble coming from the likes of Van Halen/Mr Big however there is a few tracks you may feel more at home with as End Of The Road brings the melodic drive of Gamma Ray, and Invaders is a homage to B-Movie sci fi, all wrapping up Born With A Hammer more traditionally.
It's an odd album but then with the power metal flexed with Helloween, Kai Hansen's solo stuff can be more experimental, it may come as shock to some though. 6/10
Dead Sea Apes - Psychic Tension (Cardinal Fuzz/Feeding Tube Records)
Some instrumental noise now from Dead Sea Apes, and album called Psychic Tension was never going to be an easy listen and this Manchester based trio revel in making a sonic attack that blends the fringes of rock music together.
There's psychedelic flights, noise walls, repeating krautrock rhythms, dub, Japanese psych and even jazz, thrown in a blender and blared out of your speakers to help you find catharsis from the constant attack on our eyes, ears, ideologies.
Politically motivated, musically intense Dead Sea Apes aren't here for fun and frolics, this is squealing riffs, hypnotic bottom end and a constant motion that keeps you locked in while listening.
Continuing where their last album left off, Brett Savage (guitars), Jack Toker (bass/guitars) and Chris Hardman (drums), use their decades of experience in heavy and experimental bands to fill this record and their TEN previous records with the kind of music not many other bands are doing.
Captured with a live-in-the-studio insistence, the record has a brilliant flow to it from the slow burn Damn Your Eyes to the build and release of Deathless, Dead Sea Apes are an interesting prospect as a band and while they sail away from the mainstream there's some great stuff here for the musically adventurous. 7/10
Going full Savatage balladry on the Title Track, Triple Trouble coming from the likes of Van Halen/Mr Big however there is a few tracks you may feel more at home with as End Of The Road brings the melodic drive of Gamma Ray, and Invaders is a homage to B-Movie sci fi, all wrapping up Born With A Hammer more traditionally.
It's an odd album but then with the power metal flexed with Helloween, Kai Hansen's solo stuff can be more experimental, it may come as shock to some though. 6/10
Dead Sea Apes - Psychic Tension (Cardinal Fuzz/Feeding Tube Records)
Some instrumental noise now from Dead Sea Apes, and album called Psychic Tension was never going to be an easy listen and this Manchester based trio revel in making a sonic attack that blends the fringes of rock music together.
There's psychedelic flights, noise walls, repeating krautrock rhythms, dub, Japanese psych and even jazz, thrown in a blender and blared out of your speakers to help you find catharsis from the constant attack on our eyes, ears, ideologies.
Politically motivated, musically intense Dead Sea Apes aren't here for fun and frolics, this is squealing riffs, hypnotic bottom end and a constant motion that keeps you locked in while listening.
Continuing where their last album left off, Brett Savage (guitars), Jack Toker (bass/guitars) and Chris Hardman (drums), use their decades of experience in heavy and experimental bands to fill this record and their TEN previous records with the kind of music not many other bands are doing.
Captured with a live-in-the-studio insistence, the record has a brilliant flow to it from the slow burn Damn Your Eyes to the build and release of Deathless, Dead Sea Apes are an interesting prospect as a band and while they sail away from the mainstream there's some great stuff here for the musically adventurous. 7/10
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