For a band everyone supposedly hates, Nickelback have released ten studio albums, play sell out arena tours, have received multiple GRAMMY® Award nominations, alongside major international awards, tens of millions of plays and induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.
Hell they've even got a Netflix documentary about them which brought a renewed interest from those that may only know them from How U Remind Me or Rockstar, it does seem to me at least, someone who has always been a fan of the band, that Nickelback have started to be liked deliberately rather than ironically.
Which I'm all for as they write bangers, yeah their radio ballads are often saccharine and schmaltzy, but they feature on most wedding play list and the juxtaposition between those and the rockier side of the band is still a little odd at times, but that's part of their charm.
They've got songs your mum would listen to, songs your sister can dance to and songs you can bang your head to and they open this eleventh album with two of them, Rattle The Cage features John 5 on guitar and shows that Nickelback can get heavy, these towering riffs carrying into Bones For The Crows.
Then it's the first bit of introspection with the nostalgic I Already Know, a radio cuts for sure made for singing along to, while Leave Me Behind, If I Don't Go and Make Me Love You both are full of storytelling and the blue collar balladry that Nickelback have always done so well and taken up the charts, however all groups together it does give the record a lull in the middle.
The riffs return for Chasin' Famous but they quickly disappear again shortly after, it means that Everything Under The Sun is enjoyable if you're a fan of the slower, more emotional side of the band but if you're here looking for heavy rock then I'd suggest diving back into their early work as it seems like their going through the motions.
No matter my thoughts though they're going to pack every date on their upcoming tour and bucket loads of this record. 6/10
Asomvel - Set Your World On Fire (Self Released)
There's a temptation when reviewing Yorkshire four piece Asomvel to just say "sounds like Motorhead" and leave it that, but that would be lazy journalism and it would be inaccurate. Asomvel do sound like Motorhead, but they also have musical similarities to AC/DC, Status Quo and any of the 70's dinosaur rockers that played their music through huge speaker stacks, at excessive volume and clad in dirty leather jackets.
Asomvel are a rock n roll brotherhood, a family, formed by vocalist Jay-Jay Winter and his guitarist brother Lenny Robinson, after Jay-Jay's passing Lenny was joined by his sons Ralph on bass/vocals and Stel on guitar to carry on the legacy of Asomvel and bring volume to the UK rock scene. This current line up, including Ryan Thackwray on drums has been in place since 2024's Born To Rock N Roll and on the back of that record they have been hitting stages across the UK and Europe, playing alongside the likes of Airborne and at numerous festivals.
Their music is built for the road hogs they are, honed for maximum impact this is pure distilled rock n roll made to be played live, from the moment King Of The World erupts from the stereo speakers, we're on a rampage of raw rocking, the thunderous drums, rampant bass, the searing guitar riffs and the snarled vocals.
They're a band who stick to the idea of "don't bore us get to the chorus" tracks such as Lone Wolf, I'm Back From The Dead, Blood Runs Cold all rely on repetition that is made for crowds to shout back. Though Asomvel aren't just dealers of anthems they show their diversity with the bluesy title track, the dramatic, politically charged World At War and the joyous bounce of If It's Too Loud, You're Too Old.
Rock n roll played at high speed and high volume, Asomvel will be on a stage near you soon bashing out these tunes to Set The World On Fire. 7/10
Soho Dukes - Don't Spare The Horses (Duchess Records)
On the back of their album Nighthawks, Acrobats And Everything Under The Moon, Soho Dukes show off the band they really are with their live album Don't Spare The Horses.
The Dukes thrive on the live stage from the vaudeville intro into the punky rock n roll of Home Sweet Camden Town, this a band who live and breathe the London scene so with a hometown audience hanging on every word, Soho Dukes deliver a rollicking good time at Esquires in Bedford.
Consisting of a 13 song set drawn from three albums, this is Soho Dukes in their natural habitat, opening for The Quireboys, they share a lot of similarities to their compatriots, theres influences from Mott The Hoople and The Faces as boogie woogie piano meets bluesy guitars and clever lyrics on tracks such as Elaine.
Their friendship with The Quireboys is easy to see, mainly as they recently supported them on their tour too, but when Spike joins them for A Stone's Throw, it's obvious that everyone is having a ball and you do feel a little left out for missing out the first time, however Don't Spare The Horses takes right into the front row of a Soho Dukes show! 8/10
Shogun Mojo - Shogun Mojo (Frontiers Music Srl)
Another Frontiers collaboration, this time it's called Shogun Mojo and features Kiss guitarist Tommy Thayer and Dan Reed of Dan Reed Network and it opens with some funk rock, Dan doing a lot of what he's good at with Funk Party, his vocals still as unique as they've always been.
Musically Shogun Mojo is a continuation of the funk rock sound Dan and his Network helped perfect, back in the late 70's and early 80's, with drummer Robert Ikiz and bassist Bengt Jonasson handling the groove and Dan up front you may feel that Thayer may be a little left out.
However with tracks such as Gonna Raise Hell, that overspill from having played I Was Made For Loving You and Strutter so many times lingers, Thayer more than handles the funk with waka waka riffs and a solo on every track even an absolutely horrendous version of In The Air Tonight (yeah that one), in a funk rock style
How much you enjoy this album, depends on how much you like Dan Reed Network, for me the cover is unforgivable but the rest of the album is just ok analog funk rock, which doesn't do much more than anything else involving Reed. 5/10
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