A View From The Back Of The Room: Bad Omens (Live Review By James Jackson)

Bad Omens, Ghostkid & Oxmorrons, The Mill, Birmingham 01.03.2023

I’ve arrived in Birmingham uneventfully, which makes a welcome change and parked my car, whilst I enter my details into the app I have been offered extra insurance in case of dents, scratches, etc; I am bemused and concerned in equally terrifying measures.

One of the things about going in blind for support acts is that you never quite know what you’re going to get and whilst I’ve had tickets to see headline act Bad Omens for awhile, I’ve not yet had the chance to check out the support.

Oxymorrons (8) (2R’s not 1 - there’s a story behind this) open the show to a packed room here at The Mill in Birmingham and they are killing it, their blend of Hip Hop and Metal is reminiscent of RATM; brothers Dave and KI take on the vocals joined by Jafe and Matty on guitar and drums respectively.

I’m not a great fan of Rap but blended with Groove laden Rock/Metal riffs and Hip Hop styled drum work, it all comes together really well; the band’s onstage sense of fun is contagious and I’m certain that they’ve made a few fans here tonight.

I must admit that Ghostkid (7) started off a bit flat for me, after the energy of the opening act it seemed like things were going to stall.

Fortunately my fears were undeserved as the crowd and band soon warmed up and all hell broke loose, to quote vocalist Sebastian Biesler formerly of Eskimo Callboy (he left before the name change) “ I’ve never seen so many security guards in the mosh pit”, the reason for such a heavy security presence was the arrival of the guitarist and bass player entering the pit.

Understandably so the hi vis jackets were everywhere as the band played on undeterred and obviously in their element; more shenanigans from the bassist amuse the crowd as he plays a song from on top of the bar, I believe Sebastian mentioned that this was the bands first visit to the UK and they’ve left a huge impression on us here. They’ve warmed an eager crowd and from the applause and cheers as they leave the stage it was all worth it and they’ll be welcomed back.

Although Bad Omens (10) have been around since 2015 it’s only recently that I discovered them and like many, it’s due to that most divisive of social media platforms Tiktok, amidst the dodgy dance crazes and scantily clad wannabes all clambering for attention, was an influencer listing her Top Ten favourite Metalcore tracks.

 
I don’t remember what else was on there, perhaps some Beartooth and I Prevail but the band that really got my attention was the one that has brought me here tonight and their song The Death Of Peace Of Mind.

Since then the album, The Death Of Peace Of Mind has been on heavy rotation and I’m hoping that the transition from studio to stage is going to fulfil my expectations.

In short it does, both visually and sonically the band deliver flawlessly, front man Noah Sebastian is a born performer, simultaneously alone and amongst friends as he woos the crowd, particularly the female members of the audience as he goes through a number of wardrobe changes.

The majority of the set is obviously in support of the latest release but we are treated to a few older tracks Dethrone from 2020’s album Finding God Before God Finds Me, for example.

Bad Omens are on form and in a sold out venue, on what I understand to be a pretty much sold out UK tour, they have put smiles on everyone’s faces, had I been on the fence before I saw them tonight then this evenings performance would have put any doubts to rest, as it is they’ve solidified their position as one of the most diverse and exciting bands I’ve seen and heard recently and I will hopefully see more of them in the future.

Now, as I leave the venue wondering whether those merch prices are legit or part of the ongoing trend of venues hiking prices, I’m hoping my car is in one piece when I get back to it, if not it’s going to be a long walk home.

Reviews: Enemy Of Reality, Thy Darkened Shade, Ecollapse, WiderSin (Reviews By Matt Bladen)

Enemy Of Reality - Where Truth May Lie (Vinyl Store.Gr)

The highly anticipated third album from Greek symphonic metal band Enemy Of Reality is another concept album that is based on a fictional story (unlike the historical one from the last album) of a priest in Ancient Greece, and the loss of faith and trying to rediscover what the answers are. This involves Satyrs and their belief that real truth is not religious but can be found in music, dance, wine and pleasures of the flesh. (Sounds like a good time!). To really hit home with these Ancient Greek themes they have utilised Pontic and Cretan lyras, and avlos (Greek wind instrument).

The cinematic quality of their music has always been the major factor in why Enemy Of Reality have been universally applauded, and also why they seem to be in a class of their own when there are so many bands in the symphonic realm that sound alike. Frontwoman Iliana Tsakiraki is a wonderful singer, her soprano voice in that soaring Tarja/Simone Simmons style from the glorious early days of the symphonic metal genre. Obviously her classical training makes for a well rounded performance so she is album to slot in perfectly at all times, from the heavier end of the scale with Downfall, and the thrashy Baptised In Fire to songs like At The Edge Of Madness which are more folksy.

The orchestrations used brilliantly on the tumultuous Serenade Of Death, which also has lots of electronics, traditional instruments growled vocals and a guitar solo too from Steelianos Amoiridis (he goes on to have plenty of those). Serenade Of Death and it's follow up Ever Lusting, signal an increase in the melancholy and the wickedness, the riffs getting heavier, the orchestrations more dramatic and the bottom end turned up to 11, Philip Stone's drumming formidable linking in with the durable bass of Thanos, their robust bottom end directing tracks such as Long Forgotten and the groove-driven Goat-Legged Deceiver. 

Where Truth May Lie has been a long time coming but Enemy Of Reality, much like collaborators Septicflesh, are in a league of their own when it comes to symphonic metal, this is the proof of their might. 9/10   

Thy Darkened Shade - Liber Lvcifer II: Mahapralaya (World Terror Commitee)

In the very expansive world of black metal there are bands that will you know nothing about and after one listen will want to dive into everything they have ever done. For me Liber Lvcifer II: Mahapralaya is one of those albums, when the opening bars of Luciftias hit me with technically precise instrumentation of bands like Archspire, intense guitar workouts that melt fretboards and minds with their complexity, the bass playing to intricate and progressive, it's even more impressive when you consider that the guitars and bass are just one person, Semjaza, along with vocalist The A, they make up the core duo of this band. 

They manage to stay firmly in the black metal sound despite this virtuosity with the guitars as the drumming of session sticksman HG, believes in blastbeats and nothing but blastbeats, though with tracks such as Typhonian Temple, he shows impressive restraint that comes from the doom realms. Similar to the Satanic atmospheric, symphonic, choral black metal of Emperor (choirs by guest Herc) or their countrymen Rotting Christ and Acrimonious., Thy Darkened Shade are part of the Hellenic black metal scene but unlike so many bands they truly believe in their subject matter, their lyrics based on "Gnosticism, Spirituality, Occultism, Anti-Cosmic Satanism" so the this belief translates into authentic worship of all things occult.

The album is a follow up to their last studio album 2014's Liber Lvcifer I: Khem Sedjet and it's an improvement in all respects, not a huge leap as by going back you see that Thy Darkened Shade have been riding this train of technicality since the early 2000's, but on this third full length they have fully realised their potential. From the raging mechanical Sacrosanct Pyre to the slithering evil of Sathanastasis and the atmospheric build of Qelippot Epiphany, Liber Lvcifer II: Mahapralaya wowed me from the first listen and kept doing so time after time. Black metal that is this good deserves your time. 9/10

Ecollapse – Dying With The Wolves (Self Released)

The third album from Ecollapse has been in the works since their 2016 record Humanity, as this one had a long gestation period it has meant this death/thrash/groove metal band have been able to write the most aggressive but most melodic release yet. Much of the aggression coming from new singer John Seviloglou’s guttural growls, he sounds a lot like Bolt Thrower man Karl WIllerts or John Tardy here especially on the slow, steady grinders such as L.A.D or Cassandra’s Dream.

Coming from Kozani in North West Greece (not far from where my wife is from), this foursome use their angry, heavy, technical music to play songs inspired by war, modern life and existentialism. The production of the album lets you hear how the band have managed to expand their soundscapes with acoustic guitars (Our Wine), keys/piano pieces (title track) and intricate basslines that are used as lead instrument on tracks such as Leviathan and The Rise, The Fall, the guitar so often the rhythm, until a solo comes out on the thrashier tracks such as Evil Empire.

Having had multiple members and various shifts in genre, Dying With The Wolves is the most complete Ecollapse album yet, it grabs you by the collar and ragdolls you around with the persistent riffs of Many Soldiers and Bloodless Skin. With Lamb Of God, Kreator and Obituary all influences on their style Ecollapse have followed up their previous record with their most consistent one, hopefully the line up changes and experimentation will stop and they can continue to play this style of riffage for a while. 7/10

WiderSin - Lost In Gray (Self Released)

Remember those final Queensryche albums with Geoff Tate? Dedicated To Chaos and Frequency Unknown (I'm counting that as Queensryche). The ones where the musical style varied widely, even using horns and electronic instruments? Yeah well it seems that Athens based WiderSin have gone fore something similar on Lost In Gray. With numerous genres covered from gothic rock on Into The Light, riff fests on Cross The Line, psych grunge on 1000 Passwords and blues on Stone it's all over the place, like Geoff Tate trying to be Bowie. 

This sounds like a criticism but isn't as WiderSin play all the styles with conviction and lots of musical prowess, the guitar playing is a highlight and their singer has a wide range like one Mr Tate, so it means that even when the songs are a little one dimensional (Martyrs) your attention is kept. It could have been a failed experiment like the Seattle bands tumultuous period, but WiderSin manages to keep the rock alive, no matter what style they play. 7/10 

Reviews: Siege Of Power, Death Pill, Venomous Concept, Mur.Doc 104 (Reviews By Matt Bladen & Erick Willand)

Siege Of Power - This Is Tomorrow (Metal Blade Records) [Matt Bladen]

When Chris Reifert (Autopsy), Paul Baayen (Asphyx), Theo van Eekelen (ex-Hail of Bullets),
Bob Bagchus (ex-Asphyx) get together you can expect nastiness. So when Warning Blast dropped as exactly that in 2018 as the four buddies jammed and cranked out dirty death metal, pissed off punk and dirgy doom too, this was the shape of things to come and on This Is Tomorrow they have one thing they didn't on the debut. Intent. 

The intent to be more serious in their songwriting and make a cohesive record that pays homage to their influences in Venom (The Devil's Grasp), Slayer (Sinister Christians) and even going back towards Bathory but with death metal assault all four men are used to, Asphyx, Hail Of Bullets and UK legends Bolt Thrower especially rearing it's slow moving, caterpillar track crushing groove on No Salvation. They've tried to keep the production as raw as they can, that level of roughness adhered to by their influences as well. It means that This Is Tomorrow has slicker songwriting than the debut but feels dirtier, darker with a dystopian retro. 

It's an album that probably needs to be enjoyed on cassette, in an old Ford full of the yellow/orange polystyrene McDonald's packaging as you toke on your buddies bong. The title track shifts from death metal to Sabbathian Doom (tolling bell and rainfall), that epic feel contributing to Ghosts Of Humanity as well. Scavengers is loud and groovy but Zero Containment goes full on death blasting, counteracted by the sludgy, glacial doom of As The World Crumbles. 

What started out as a jam session between friends has gained momentum and now feels like a fully fledged band with a collective vision. I'll be interested to see where they go from here, wherever it is in sure it'll be vicious. 8/10

Death Pill - Death Pill (New Heavy Sounds) [Erick Willand]

Death Pill is an all woman 3 piece power punk rage machine hailing from Ukraine, so there’s a bit of anger and urgency here, understandably. Combining elements of different punk movements and maybe even a touch of Thrash to spew forth a fast little self titled stomper sure to produce some nasty and very sloppy mosh pits.

First track Dirty Rotten Youth is indeed a proper banger of a song, good build up leading into a ripping little riff and some raw, sore throat vocals like a witch casting a spell in some deep dark urban sprawl. And no mercy is given here as Rotten Youth slides head first into Miss Revolt with its quick angry jab to the face of noise and no apologies Riot Grrrl vibe. Die For Vietnam opens with a very competent drum beat into the first example of some ‘clean’ signing. This song clearly got a fair amount of work put into it as the song structure and musicianship on display just feels like a step up in skill from the two opening tracks. No idea what it’s about though…

Apyr is sung in Ukrainian so I have no idea what’s going on but the song itself is a blast. Punchy and fierce, it's quick and powerful as it should be. It’s A Joke is a pointed little jab that I suspect is aimed at someone the band knows personally and not in a good way. Song starts off with some sounds of walking that escalates into many boots running, it’s a cool effect. Go Your Way feels like it ties in with It’s A Joke but again, I’m just guessing here. 

This track sports the best drum lines and the biggest moshy thrash bits yet, I’d mosh to this. It also has the most aggressive vocal delivery yet, raw and completely in your face in the best Punk Rawk way. Speaking of Thrashy bits Kill The Traitors is a thrash song make no mistake, like a forgotten hymn from the late 80’s you can feel the young urgency and straight out anger. Safe to say this song was born of current events and I believe track 8 is the same even though the song title and lyrics are all in Ukrainian the band is clearly angry and with good cause.

Closing track Would You Marry Me is the only weird inconsistent spot on this album and I suspect it’s either a cover or a joke song, the whole vibe and vocal delivery is…off. Overall though this is a short punchy little album with a lot of heart, fun and Riot Grrrl vibes. The songs are well placed and crafted, not one runs too long. I wasn’t bored at all, which if you haven’t guessed is how I judge most things. Anyway, the cover art is a comic book style punk girl with a bloody switchblade and is dangerous yet also somehow classic, I dig it. 6/10

Venomous Concept - The Good Ship Lollipop (Decibel Records) [Erick Willand]

This Venomous Concept has gone through some changes since Politics Versus The Erection back in 2020. Replacing a few band members which all hail from a list of bands, and though Napalm Death is at the top of that list, don't expect blast beats and short songs, this is grown-up post-punk done quick and catchy by a crew that clearly knows what they’re doing. Lets jump aboard this ship and see where it’s sailing too.

First track is the title track and I have to respect that, it’s straightforward and to the point, no goofing around. Opening with a strange little clip I think comes from an old TV show the song wastes no time getting into it. Punching and urgent with a fun gang chorus. I dig it and it ended up in my playlist at first listen. Timeline is faster and more aggressive with some really fun guitar work and a crash heavy video that carries right over to Slack Jaw which opens with some sick guitar peels that clearly live in the same neighbourhood as Timeline. I can’t help but sing along with this one too. 

Pig has a great beat and gets your head moving quickly and keeps it moving with just a touch of early GWAR I kid you not, also another good chorus sing along. Clinical feels like a radio song, the only track so far that just doesn’t have the same punch as the other songs. Like the teeth are missing from this one. Fractured brings back a bit of the bite but adds some pop melody and clean vocals that almost have an 80’s kind of vibe.

Voices is the 7th track and clearly marks the midpoint here as the vibe of this song leans more hardcore gang sing along and would play well to a crowd into karate move mosh pits. Next track So Sick confirms this theory with all the aggression held over from the first half of this album packed into this short jab of angry punk energy. Then Flowers Bloom comes in with some real rock swagger and an interesting guitar and vocal shift that make this track stick out, and with added easy chorus this track wins for repeatability and memory hook. 

Humble Crow is a fast driving song that would have fit much better if it had been placed before Flowers Bloom and that goes for Can’t Lose as well. Quick punchy punk tracks that should have been placed closer to the middle of the album with the other quick punchy tracks. As a result the last two tracks here, Everything Is Endlessness and Life’s Winter almost feel left out and clearly share a closer vibe and tone to Flowers Bloom or The Good Ship Lollipop.

All told, The Good Ship Lollipop is an enjoyable little trip down a semi-paved post-punk/punk-rawk road marked by quick, catchy songs with just enough hooks to land a few choruses in your brain's memory bin. A reshuffling of these songs would have made this a stronger album since some of these songs just do not flow well back to back. I would also have rethought the album cover as the lollipop with a weird face on it is creepy for sure, it feels like an interior idea and not a cover piece. 6/10

Mur.Doc 104 - The Undying (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]

Maltese Thrashers Mur.Doc 104 cute their influences as the second wave of American thrash with Exodus, Death Angel and Forbidden mentioned a lot. To me these have always been the most interesting bands in the thrash seen so I was keen to hear whether Mur.Doc 104 would impress me more than other thrash bands (a genre I struggle with). 

Founded back in 2015 The Undying is their debut EP, the five piece having played a lot of gigs and released a couple of singles before then. This experience punctures the idea of it being a debut album as it's just their first release, but the songs have been honed to be snarling, shit kicking thrashers that bring groove on tracks such as Ignorant Masses and the final offering Thrashing The Boat which stomps.

Luke Debono's vocals are in the vein of Steve Souza or Bobby Blitz while the riffs are nasty and have a retro production style that adds authenticity. If gnarly second wave thrash is your thing then you'd do well to check out these Maltese metalheads. 7/10

Reviews: Temptress, Witchthroat Serpent, Woewarden, Ravenstine (Reviews By Rich Piva, Paul Scoble, Rick Eaglestone & Simon Black )

Temptress - See (Metal Assault Records) [Rich Piva]

The veteran musicians from the Dallas, Texas band Temptress unleash their siren song on the world in the form of their debut full length, See, and just try not to be mesmerised by their haunting calling of doomy stoner psych heaviness. With duelling male/female vocals, killer riffs, and an element of looming danger, See is going to be one of the most remembered debuts of 2023.

The trio of musicians in Temptress have been around in the scene for a while, but I think they have found their winning formula together on See. I love the riffs and doomy breakdown in a song like Waiting, as well as the very cool call and response male/female vocals. Death Comes Around is an excellent opening track, reminding me of Hippie Death Cult or perhaps Ruby The Hatchet, catchy and heavy. The band goes full on doom with the track Cry, leveraging the killer haunting female vocals combined with the lumbering doomy, psych-tinged riffs for perfect results. 

Serpentine is a doomy epic track with chant like vocals and is the true siren song of this album, calling you to the evening’s ritual where something sinister will go down for sure. The closer, Hopeless, is more riff filled goodness, with the male vocals leading the way, sounding like a deranged preacher of doom spreading the word that the end is nigh. A killer way to close out the record.

Temptress is living up to their name on See. Try not to be sucked in by the six tracks of gorgeous heaviness on this next level first full length. I am always here for the beautiful heavy, and Tempress brings just that. Great stuff and will be one of the debuts of the year. 9/10

Witchthroat Serpent - Trove Of Oddities At The Devil's Driveway (Heavy Psych Sounds) [Paul Scoble]

Hailing from France, Witchthroat Serpent have been making huge and very doomy music since 2011. The Toulouse based band is made up of Niko Lass on Drums, Fredrik Bolzann on vocals and guitar, Ügo Greifengeier on bass and Djé on guitars. In the 12 years the band have been together they have released 3 albums and 1 EP; They released their self titled debut in 2014, two years later in 2016 came their second album Sang-dragon, next in 2017 Witchthroat Serpent released an EP called Striped Dragon and a year later they released Swallow The Venom their last album before Trove Of Oddities At The Devils Driveway. The band have taken a little longer to release this new album, have the extra years added to this new release.

 
Witchthroat Serpent’s style is about halfway between occult and stoner doom, there is a similarity to Electric Wizard but then they’re so influential now who on the Doom scene isn’t influenced by Electric Wizard? The style on Trove Of Oddities At The Devils Driveway (love the title by the way, sounds like Satans having a yard sale) has a slow and slithery feel to it, the vocals are clean, clear and fit beautifully with the music. The riffs are slow and heavy, they’ve managed to find that tempo that is unhurried and yet still makes your head nod, and they have a talent for the slow build.

 
The album opens with Multi-dimensional Marvelous Throne, which features big slow walking pace riffs, has great clean vocals and a really good Wah-Wah heavy solo that fits with the song and definitely adds to the it. Nosferatu's Mastery is more minimal and introspective at the beginning, has a great expansive section mid-way through which leads to second half of the song building in belligerence to drive the song to it’s end.

 
Next comes a short instrumental called The Gorgon, its made up of guitar noises and spooky horror film samples. The Gorgon takes us into the next track, the wonderfully titled The House That Dripped Blood. The House That Dripped Blood is slow and insidious, kind of Horror doom that slithers and slinks along in a deeply unhealthy way, the song feels heavy and threatening. The track has some great sample use, and another really great Wah-Wah solo.

 
Next up is Yellow Nacre. This track feels slow and sickly for the first half, before the song builds in power and drive to be Heavy and pounding, the drumming is very good, and yet another great solo. Trove Of Oddities At The Devils Driveway ends with Mountain Temple In Bleakness which has some great heavy riffs and really great pacing, the song has a swing to the tempo that nods your head and makes walking a lot of fun. As the song progresses it builds to be powerful and relentless and is a very strong way to end the album.

Trove Of Oddities At The Devils Driveway is a great album. The style they play has its origins back in the late Sixtes, but as long as they can make music this enjoyable, affecting and heavy, and can keep on adding new ideas to it then it will never become stale, and will always feel original. The album is full of really great riffs, tunes, vocals and solos, I liked it the first time I heard it and every subsequent listen I found more and more to like. 2023 is already looking like a great year for doom, this is another great doom album to make this year sound huge. 8/10

Woewarden – In The Art Of My Caged Existence (Bitter Loss Records) [Rick Eaglestone]

Perth’s purveyors of mournful feelings Woewarden are once again weave desolate tapestry of
torment and despair with latest release In The Art Of My Caged Existence. Immediately from the album’s opener Ravelled it’s apparent that the listener is going through a journey through nine tracks of depressive and atmospheric black metal which is very much highlighted in early stand out track Prisons Within Prisons which also has some wonderfully dark and bleak vocals. 

If there was any track that was to perfectly encapsulate the aesthetic it would absolutely be Excised the atmosphere spirals through the varying tempo’s effortlessly, this is followed in similar fashion by The Name Of Suffering The most enjoyable part of the album is the trio of Wreath Of Viscera, Degenerate and Alexithymia which also containing slower, despairing elements which are wonderfully embedded into chaos. 

Continuing with this amalgamation of rage and beauty is The Blade Draws More and concludes with the longest and title track In The Art Of My Caged Existence which has some of the album’s most atmospheric parts as well as its most piercing vocals and is the perfect choice to close with. Woefully dark and hypnotic. 8/10

Ravenstine – Ravenstine (ROAR! Rock Of Angels Records) [Simon Black]

If old fashioned traditional heavy metal is ancient history, why does it still survive and thrive? Because like very few forms of popular music hailing from the 20th Century, it’s because it’s a massive part of our cultural furniture. We are still relatively lucky at this point in our artistic history in that some of its architectural progenitors are still around, recording, touring or all three. 

Whilst that statistically cannot continue for much longer, these decades old bands have not only spawned offspring in the form of more sub-genres than I can realistically keep track of, but the original form of the music continues to inspire new acts to take the root style as the starting point, brush it down for the current decade and make it their own. Hello Ravenstine…

Ravenstine started life as a lockdown project from Martin Sosna, pulling in contributors through that period from more established acts and taking that metal root as the starting point and like many lockdown projects utilised remote recording to compensate for the diaspora of locations around Europe of its various contributors. 

Not quite a supergroup, given that not everyone in the band is a familiar name, but a project from a bunch of friends that started as a way to keep sane in lockdown, and actually turned out to have some serious legs. After cranking a demo, a full album has now come to pass, and I have to say I’m rather enjoying it. The press release waffles that this is neither a studio project nor a full band, which I guess is evasion speak for “we’re not sure if we can tour this yet”.

When you’re not writing with that sort of end goal of live audiences and full time commitment in mind, that allows for a little experimentation to creep in and despite the very traditional HM template for foundations, there’s plenty of that going on which means the style shifts around enough to be interesting. 

Opening with traditional fist-pumping metal bangers, the album doesn’t lose pace and this experimentation just illustrates the not inconsiderable skill and experience in the ranks here. When they play around, such as the slightly odd Still Alive, which makes you think it’s going to be instrumental, roping in all sorts of instrumental oddities such as a trumpet before actually deciding to give you some lyrics after all… in Klingon! It should stand out for the wrong reasons, but actually it works because it’s handled with the right sense of humour and some damn fine technical playing and writing.

Performance-wise this is pretty much bang on – with vocalist Zak Tataji presenting a strong and powerful range, with a very charismatic delivery to boot. He’s also happy to move away from the traditional clean style to something more guttural in places, so I’m guessing he’s the guy who can speak Klingon… Chon! The guitars demonstrate some workmanlike weaving from Martin Sosna and Ian O´Sullivan – nothing too flashy but soulful, emotive and tight as you like, with a pounding rhythm section in bassist John A.B.C. Smith and Mystic Prophecy’s drummer Hanno Kerstan. Add in a fine production job from Smith, and the fifty-five minutes of run time breezes by faster than you would think.

Most of the songs are very much the raise your fist and yell style of metal, and I’m absolutely fine with that. The album closes with a couple of very precise covers of Ozzy Osbourne’s I Don’t Know and Pink Floyd’s Run Like Hell, which are actually two rather tough songs to attempt covers of, let alone ones which really are very close to that of the originals, but to be honest I would have preferred more of their own material despite who blisteringly accurate these renditions are. 8/10

Reviews: Haken, Lunar, Trench Dogs, Reboot The System (Reviews By Matt Bladen)

Haken - Fauna (Inside Out Music)

Returning to having a previous member in your band could be a recipe for disaster but on Fauna, the seventh album by British prog kings Haken, the return of original keyboard player Pete Jones was probably the only choice as he has been adding additional keys and drum programming to Haken's last two records alongside Diego Tejeida who left the band in 2021.

So with Jones behind the keys have Haken's sound shifted in any major way? Well Virus and Vector upped the heaviness of the bands music after the Eighties-tastic Affinity but it seems that with Fauna they are leaning on their prog rock influenced early days. The palm muted, start-stop riffs still drive first single Nightingale, making for the 'iconic' Haken sound of Richard Henshall and Charlie Griffiths' girthy riffs.

This is a Haken album though and The Alphabet Of Me shifts the tone to a breakbeat, electronica driven track Jones' sound design and closes with sax. Yep it's a prog record as genre shifts happen often but are never startling, you just ride along with them, the virtuosity and composition keeping you grounded in their own Hakenverse. Ross Jennings vocals are so unique and identifiable, he is the strong melodic edge to any heaviness while he interweaves with the lighter moments, blurting our complicated lyrical wordsmithery that is inspired by the Philip K Dick novel Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? which became the film Blade Runner. The philosophical ideas explored in the book and the film(s) about what makes us human heavily influencing the concept of Fauna, as I'm sure does Darwinian theory, from the cover and title.

Now it is a loose concept, like their their album The Mountain, and for me Fauna similarly attempts to explore new realms while keeping a familiarity; Sempiternal Beings an 8 minute observation in tone, the drumming of Ray Hearne particularly dexterous and dense both here and on the jazzy Beneath The White Rainbow, the most off-kilter proggy moment on the record that backroom augmented by Jones' impressive keyboard wizardry. Beneath The...reminds of the first two Haken records where the genre-bending was jarring and in your face, here though it has been treated by a band with lots more experience than they had on their debut. The basslines of Conner Green are the primary component of the dreamy Island In The Clouds.

As the last few songs of the album come close Lovebite is a fun little distraction musically similar to a metal band playing Phil Collins or Hall & Oats poppy love songs but with gore-soaked lyrics, it is the shortest song on the record by whets the appetite for the colossal Elephants Never Forget. Fighting for prog moment of the record with Beneath The... but here it's like a Yes epic, hooked by those Griffiths/Henshall riffs, as another audio journey unfolds. Fauna finishes with Eyes Of Ebony, a menacing, manipulative, insistent track with lots of layered repetition that owes as much to Soundgarden as it does to King Crimson. 

As much as I liked Vector and Virus, Fauna feels like the continuation of what Haken did pre-Affinity, but also where they are now as a band. It's a wonderful thing that deserves your full attention and time. 10/10

Lunar - The Illusionist (Self Released)

More progressive metal as Sacremento band Lunar shook off the often career curtailing circumstances of a death of a founding member by returning with their third full length album a concept around The Illusionist in the title. Founded by drummer Alex Bosson and singer/guitarist Ryan Erwin, they last released and album in 2019, the mighty Eidolon, which was the first without Ryan Erwin who passed away in 2018. Bosson continues to honour his friend with each Lunar album, sticking to the songwriting style they had together, influenced by Opeth, Cynic and anything Dan Swåno, the classic prog and extreme metal styles colliding, but played without any sort of constraints so they can experiment within the songs themselves. 

Maintaining the same band as on Eidolon, Bosson is joined by guitarist Balmore Lemus, bassist Ryan Price and keyboardist Alex Nalsa as Brian Lewis growls against Chandler Mogel's clean vocals, this experience working together pays dividends with some of the most complex, heaviest music of Lunar's tenure as a band. The concept is I think built around the 2006 film The Illusionist, dealing with love, betrayal and possible necromancy, it's actually quite a good watch but this album is better. There's a lot of guest on this album as there were on their last ones Gleb Kamasevich's clarinet on the intro, Patrick Corona (Cyborg Octopus/Ex- River Of Nihil) and Jørgen Munkeby (Shining) giving brass to the title track and the throb of Disassembled respectively, Andy Gillon (ex-Mors Principium Est) shreds on the title track too. 

It's not all guest dependent though as the Persian strains of Worship The Sun has no guests and is a great prog metal track with Orphaned Land/Myrath style, For My Next Trick too is just the core instrumental membership. Bossons drums are of course the linchpin for these songs Turn Off The World for example is all about the shifts in the percussion before evolving into a synths solo from Nasla, his presence is really felt on this album making it keyboard heavy in places. and guitars solos from Lemus and Caligula's Horse man Sam Vallen, increasing the prog productivity. 

The galloping Showtime features Paladin six stringer Taylor Washington, Ryan Price's bass locking down with Bosson's expansive drumming. The Illusionist uses its concept well, with similarities to Haken on a track like Juggling Chainsaws, guest solo by Eternity's End man Christian Münzner, the jazz breaks typical of the British band, another British prog influence comes on the final Now You See Me, as it's very Pink Floyd or Camel from the guitars, though the dreamy vocals and violin/viola from Ben Karas (Thank You Scientist) also makes me think of Kansas in their introspective moments until the final moments of extreme metal blasting.

The Illusionist again is at the highest level of the progsphere, Bosson's continuation of the Lunar name, honouring his co-founder and friend, through the medium of progressive metal, is an advantageous endeavour. 910  

Trench Dogs - Stockholmainia (Wild Kingdom)

The second album from Swedish band Trench Dogs is ruined by the faux nostalgia, it's an audio Pepperidge Farm advert that constantly nudges you as if to say "remember the good old days" the biggest culprit being Pumpkin Soup which tries to be an Ian Hunter-like ballad but fails to have any substance to it. The rest of the album heavily apes the styles Sweet, Mott The Hoople, The New York Dolls and Hanoi Rocks, the affected sneer of Andy Hekkandi trying to be Bowie but as much as an Australian living in Sweden can be. 

Formed in 2013 and having released their debut full length in 2018 Trench Dogs have got a pedigree behind them for sure but this frothy, filthy, rock n roll becomes a little faux. I know they're serious and I know they probably care about what they do but I don't need any more glans rock songs about drinking a lot of wine and feeling fine. It's great if you're glam/sleaze rock fan but it won't get much more attention than passing listen from me. 5/10

Reboot The System - The Fall (Self Released)

Sweden's long history with death/thrash metal is noteworthy enough to fill many books on the subject. Words like Swedeath or Gothenburg Scene are frequently used by journalists to describe the genre, so from the heart of Gothenburg Reboot The System release their debut album with At The Gates, In Flames and Soilwork all inspiring the songwriting as Matthias the creative brain behind the album, uses blastbeat flurries, melodic leads and death metal grooves to highlight that this my friends is HM-2 Swedeath, with a few tweaks that add Sepultura to the first two tracks. 

He even goes as far as having Björn Strid of Soilwork on the industrial title track and All Is War/Nightrage growler Ronnie Nyman on the thrash assault of Bloodshed. The Fall is an album that deals with some quite depressing themes but that usually is the nature of this melodeatb/thrash sound, the world we live in and societal problems coming through the lyrics. Reboot The System is not different and it uses the Swedeath formula to build on with groove (Hourglass) and thrash metal, all in all a strong debut album from this Swedish band which avoids loading up in safe mode for the most part. 7/10

Reviews: Entheos, Giffromgod, Connor Selby, Kardinal Sin (Reviews By Mark Young, GC, Matt Bladen & Simon Black)

Entheos - Time Will Take Us All (Metal Blade Records) [Mark Young]

Good Lord!! This is something else. Belting off with a deep growl and a spidery guitar line and some fierce drumming, Entheos come straight for you. There is no messing, no quiet moments of introspection, they are here to kick you all over the place. This is their second release, the first as a two piece and it is just…GAK...it is absolutely spot on. I have no idea what you could call it except exceedingly heavy. Luckily, we have social media to assist: Technical / progressive death metal.
I just know It demands your full attention from the off.

Absolute Zero just pummels you from the off, taking cues from what appears to be a myriad of that is not limited to death metal as the song just moves through different genres just because its what they felt would serve the song. This theme continues right the way through as every possible type of heavy music is ripped apart and rebuilt to serve them. This is especially apparent at the end of The Interior Wilderness where growls and clean vocals are combined to give it an almost mechanical feel that then runs into Oblivion where the acoustic line continues but twinned with later stage Death bass lines. 

It is an absolute mind wipe because it is just so different, there is everything you expect from a “death metal” record but this so far away from the traditional style It feels closer to Mastodon in the way the songs are constructed. There are complex passages where you are scratching your head and then just brutal parts, often in the same song but they sit together so well its not until the song has finished that you go What did I just listen to?

Did I mention the vocals? These are something else, courtesy of Chaney Crabb. In one song she navigates old school death vocals, clean singing and black metal styles which is some of the strongest stuff I’ve heard anywhere as she just spits the lines out with total conviction.

Music wise, it is wild, just absolutely wild. If you have ever tried to write music, you will understand just how difficult it to write something unique to you and to possess your voice. They have done it here and it is special. I don’t think I can do it justice other than to recommend it to you, especially if you lean towards the more technical side because it delivers that in aces. Brutality? Yep, that’s covered too. Bonkers song arrangements? Naturally. We are being really spoiled this year in terms of releases, there has been some absolute crackers come out and this is one of them. 9/10

Giffromgod - Digital Red (Prosthetic Records) [GC]

Screamo, that word always reminds me of times back in the mid 00’s when everyone wore clothes that were 2 sizes too small for them, had white studded belts, converse all-star shoes and hairstyles that prohibited them from seeing what was directly in front of them, basically everyone looked like a grade A twat and most bands had song titles that were almost a paragraph in length to deter form the total shitness of the content! It does however also remind me of some fucking amazing albums that are still on rotation today so, swings and roundabouts I suppose?? Anyway, with that ringing endorsement of the screamo scene today I have the new EP from up-and-coming and award for stupidest name winning sextet Giffromgod.

Knife Goes In Guts Come Out (Excellent Simpsons reference I must say), starts with wailing feedback before some big beefy down tuned guitar lumbers into view and collides with a snare that sounds so tight its might only be one hit away from snapping, it all then descends into chaos with stabbing and sharp guitars mixing into very raw production and that snare sound is just everywhere but despite the dirtiness of the sound it’s all just on the edge enough to not be a letdown. 

A Kiss For Every Hornet continues the chaotic approach and the down right disregard for song structure its more noise than screamo and it’s a joyous and savage noise with the vocals really cutting through and taking center stage before fading out with a melodic and sparse guitar BUT that snare is a bit much, it’s not St Anger levels of annoying but it is still annoying none the less! The Cows Meow is an unruly whirlwind that mixes beatdowns with almost grind like intensity and has some Djent patterns and on this song seriously the vocals are mad, they absolutely are the standout part for me there is even a mid-section bass led part that lets you gather your thoughts and prepare for the final onslaught which adds a decent depth and mixes it up nicely. 

Youth Medium Child Psychic is my least favorite of all things a pointless noise interlude that offers sod all and on an album it would be annoying but on an EP? Leave it out!! Meet_Man Meets Man continues on with the ‘’wacky’’ song title theme and is a decent mix of grindy style chugga chugga and the chaotic unstructured nature of what has preceded and has a deliciously unhinged breakdown that really gets under your skin and the fade out is just a full-blown glorious nightmare of horrible sounds! Closing us out is Dream Features and it is crammed full of off kilter breaks, and big juicy riffs that carve their way into your brain and manage to twist and contort and then it’s all over.

This was a decent little EP, and I enjoyed the mentalness of it all and would be interested to see how they pull it off in a live setting, it’s not ground breaking or anything but it is certainly worth your time if you enjoy your music to be ugly and chaotic and have a suitably lo-fi and dirty production than this is for you! Well worth a listen. 7/10

Connor Selby - Connor Selby (Provogue Records) [Matt Bladen]

British bluesman Connor Selby has already had a glittering career and he's really just getting started. In the last few years he's supported The Who and was at Pearl Jam's Hyde Park gig along with Stereophonics and Johnny Marr, and it's this sort of eclectic mix of music that Selby imbues his music with.

I said bluesman but Connor has been immersed in all facets of American Roots music no matter where he was in the world, and he extensively travelled in his younger years. Selby became obsessed not just with the music but the history with artists like Clapton, Dylan, Sam Cooke and even Ray Lamontage all influencing his songwriting.

This album was originally released in 2021 by Connor himself but signed to Provogue, the UKs premier blues/roots music label it now has four additional songs, three new and one cover, the cover of Ray Charles' parping My Baby Don't Dig Me is given the right amount of stank, while Love Letter To The Blues is exactly that, I Shouldn't Care a frustrated piece of Chicago blues while The Deep End closes out the record with a bit of slick blues rocking.

The original album though is just as good as the bonus tracks from the Fender Rhodes based gospel of Falling In Love Again, to the brass driven soul of If You're Gonna Leave Me which along with Show Me A Sign there's a lot of Stax influences. Selby is a bit of a blues troubadour but as I alluded to earlier it's not just the blues he deals in the acoustic singer/songwriter style on Hear My Prayer.

From here the blues dissipates into different styles, the laid back Waitin' On The Day while the original closer Starting Again feels like Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac with it's washing guitars and keys. Having been played on mainstream radio and with a support slot to Beth Hart confirmed for this year, Connor Selby is a star on the rise and his passionate, authentic style of songwriting will definitely make him huge. 8/10

Kardinal Sin - S.A.L.I.G.I.A (Massacre Records) [Simon Black]

It’s been six years since Swedish melodic power metal outfit Kardinal Sin released their sophomore record Victorious, so this one has clearly been cooking for a while. The most noticeable thing from opener They Crashed In The Storm is that this is a step into a darker and moodier direction, adding some moody Symphonic strains to their overall sound whilst still retaining the accessibility of their traditional heavy and power metal influences. And let’s face it, the genre needs it, given that the thousands of bands currently active within it are sometime a little pushed when it comes to originality.

What that means here is for everything where the envelope is pushed a bit more technically such as the opener, then equal space is retained for some traditional fist-pumping anthemic material to get a live crowd going. As is so often the case, the record is a concept piece with a post-apocalyptic story line no doubt influenced by recent global events, which to be honest is a lot easier to unpick than some of the forced and strained epic fantasy/pseudo historical stuff that crosses my desk. More importantly the songs stand on their own two feet individually independent of the larger arc, which is a sign the band have thought about this a little more carefully. That accessibility is one of the overriding reasons why this piece works quite so well as it does, as the story arc is an extra layer for the more patient listener, rather than a barrier to the more casual one.

The band gel well together as a cohesive whole, but the keyboard work from Thomas Geson needs drawing out, as it’s complex whilst deceptively accessible and subtle yet structural fundamental. In addition, the vocal performance of Danne Wikerman stands head and shoulders over many of the genre. Whilst I love some good clean singing, the Power genre just has too many operatic clean voices in it, but Wikerman’s voice is more also has a more gutsy and rock ‘n’ roll touch to it as well as being able to hit and scale the high and clean notes, and when he has a chance for a vocal duet on Siege Of Jerusalem things jump up a couple of notches further, and it’s definitely one of the strongest songs on here. 

There are some obvious power tropes too though and Reveal The Sinner’s Soul is the most blatant attempt at a catchy anthem in the Axel Rudi Pell mode, but to be honest it works because it’s as catchy as fuck and relentlessly heavy to boot (well, for the genre). Strong and reliable and a welcome return to the fold 7/10

Reviews: Enslaved, Stoned Jesus, Villagers Of Ioannina City, Acres (Reviews By Mark Young, Rich Piva, Matt Bladen & GC)

Enslaved - Heimdal (Nuclear Blast Records) [Mark Young]

Heimdal is their 16th release and shockingly I have never come across them before on my travels. Described as being exponents of avant-garde black/progressive/viking metal and hailing from Norway, I wasn’t sure what to expect because that is a lot of tags which suggests them as being all things to all people. The fact they have released something so vital sounding in what is their 30th year is nothing short of astounding.

Of the seven songs here, each one is different from the one before with tracks starting off before transitioning into something else within the same song with riffs and vocal lines sometimes coming in what sounds like 90 degrees to everything else. I’ve listened to this now four times and I still cannot find anybody else to compare it too apart from maybe later stage Opeth with how they subvert the vocals but that is it. 

It just grabs you and then that’s that, you are strapped in, waiting to see where the next one takes you, be it from speedy riffs to ponderous bass to clean vocals to death growls to all points in-between. It doesn’t feel self-serving at all like it has been written just to show how good they are, its simply that it is a band that has managed to put together a barn-stormer set of songs that are heavy without being so down tuned you can’t make anything out.

Kingdom for example is one of them that just segues between different sounds and is just royal. The Eternal Sea conjures up images of a Viking crossing without descending into any parody. The songs range in length but do not feel too long so you reach for the next button. Riffs are economical and sharp and there some epic moments that will translate into something else live. The use of sound effects for gusting winds, lapping waves are used extremely well especially Caravan To The Outer Worlds which uses them to lull you into a false sense of security and then it just takes off to imbue you with an audio description of space travel.

The final track starts with an almost Meshuggah type guitar line and seems the darkest of the tracks on here. But this is not a facsimile of that sound as they present this final offering which is based upon Nordic mythology and the gatekeeper of the nine Norse realms. It changes halfway through into a more traditional Viking metal song with the uplifting guitar lines challenging you to nod your head.

It is unbelievable to think that we are now in March and here we have another possible contender for album of the year. This is a rich release in which you will discover new things upon every listen and if you are fan already you should not be disappointed by this. If you are like me and never come across them before, it is an exceptional starting point for jumping on with and they are now on my radar for any UK dates they have. 9/10

Stoned Jesus - Father Light (Season Of Mist) [Rich Piva]

Stoned Jesus have been around for a while, providing killer stoner doom with experimental elements for over a decade now. Given what is happening in their home country of Ukraine, a new album from the band was never a sure thing, but the announcement of their new record, Father Light, had their loyal fanbase rejoicing, and I do not think anyone will be disappointed with the final product that is a very deep, introspective, and personal point of view from the band that is obviously going through some shit given the state of the world today.

Fuzzy, groovy, and doomy jams with riffs for days and clean, killer vocals is what you get over the six tracks on Father Light, with the exception being the acoustic title track opener that may make you weep. But after that you get a slogging killer fuzzy doom track, Season Of The Witch, that drags you through the bog until the middle, where a life raft offers some, dare I say, funkiness, until the seas calm and you are back on shore. An almost twelve-minute epic adventure that never gets boring. Excellent stuff. 

Thoughts And Prayers is heavy in a couple of different ways given what’s going on in their homeland and is a track that must be checked out and is probably their deepest song lyrically, practically a call for help and reinforcements for their countrymen. Porcelain starts out as a minimalist dirge until the crunch kicks in and the riffs knock you right upside the head, until things calm down and you do it all over again. And the guitar work at about the six minute and thirty second mark is just excellent. CON is the most straight ahead stoner track on the record, but still has some unique vocal patterns and background vocals. The nine-minute closer, Get What You Deserve, is a riff filled doom psych journey and an excellent way to wave their victory flag for the amazing win that is Father Light.

It is hard to find anything wrong with this record, other than occasionally the songs being a tad long, but overall, the new Stoned Jesus record is here to scream for help side by side with you and their fellow countrymen while standing strong and never backing down. The most personal and heavy for many reasons album from an excellent band that never disappoints. Stoned Jesus channels all their pain and anger into Father Light to create one of the most epic albums of the year. 9/10

Villagers Of Ioannina City - Through Space And Time (Alive In Athens 2020) (Napalm Records) [Matt Bladen]

Another record that has already been released previously as a digital album on their bandcamp and the full show was put on their YouTube but is now on a major label, with a CD/Vinyl releases planned. Through Space And Time is the first live album from, Epirus masters of atmospheric, environmentally conscious, psychedelic/folk rock Villagers Of Ioannina City (or more commonly VIC). 

Recorded in front of a baying Athens crowd in February 2020 at the Faliro Sports Pavilion Arena just before the global pandemic it was originally released it in 2021 digitally but as the warmer weather starts to creep in they have brought it to Napalm Records so more people than just fans like me can hear it.

Based around their 2019 album Age Of Aquarius; Through Space An Time is an audio-visual feast that of course features some earlier offering sprinkled throughout, but it's unique in that they play all of Age Of Aquarius in full. Using the unique combination of heavy guitar riffs and traditional Greek wind instruments such as clarinets, bagpipes, kaval, they have amassed a cult like following in their own country and of there was any justice they'd get the same everywhere as there's a primeval quality to their music that brings an intensity that can result in frenzy. 

Just listen to be crowd when they play Zvara, the clarinet is used as a lead instrument and the audience go absolutely bat shit, they start lighting flares and everything (an integral moment at Greek outdoor gigs no matter what Bruce Dickinson thinks).

A two hour showcase of VIC's cacophonous, polyphonic and psychedelic music that builds into mountainous peaks and deep valleys, an exercise in how to build a live show, handpicking the songs that will give you the best journey. Old and new in unison as Age Of Aquarius is the first sign of how powerful they are on stage, Perdikomata resets the pace with a slower track following some immensely powerful songs to begin with building up again with the clarinet and a repeating heavy riff that segues into the brilliant, building, bubbling Skaros as heavy Father Sun comes in the second 'up' section.

Through Space And Time (Alive In Athens 2020) is not only a wonderful live album performed infront of a rabid home country crowd, it's also the ideal entry point to who VIC are as a band. Buy this album and settle in for 2 hours of pure expressionism. 9/10

Acres - Burning Throne (A Wolf At Your Door Records) [GC]

Post Hardcore is a bit of an off-putting tag when you hear it, what does it really mean? And some of the bands that have been labelled this over the years have been terrible and some have been exceptional and there isn’t really a nailed on ‘’Post Hardcore’’ sound so with this in mind today I have the new album Burning Throne from UK Post Hardcore band Acres. Really not sure what is going to come out of my speakers on this one!

First song Nothing spills out of the speakers drenched with textured guitar tones that are full of atmosphere and depth and a rumbling bassline before the soaring vocals are introduced and mixed with a nice sense of occasion and the harsh vocals mix superbly and this is an absolutely stunning opening track that really took me by surprise, Burning Throne is full of epic soaring vocals and a more stripped back verse structure but the bass rumble permeates throughout this track and when the guitars do kick in they are huge and the riff at the midway point is HUGE. 

Hold On is slow and precise and the ambience they create makes everything feel warm and welcoming, but they are never far away from chucking in a massive vocal and guitar part, and everything just feels so measured and on point its breath takingly beautiful at times and the raw and powerful emotion they manage to put into every note they play is genius! The Death Of Me then continues with the general feel of the album a soft and thoughtful beginning that is so genuine and heartfelt it hurts my soul but this song doesn’t stray from the soft and slow approach until about hallway through when it as expected explodes into a huge vocal and epic guitars that then get mauled with the harsh vocals in a perfect mix of light and dark which continues until then end of another stunning song. 

These guys are special, and they might just be one of the best kept secrets we have in the UK right now! Visual Hallucinations is an electronic and ambient chill out that drifts into your ears soothes you and the just as quickly leaves, usually not my sort of song and I moan about them endlessly but when it is done this well you can’t help but enjoy it, this then leads into My Everything which has a big chugging riff that powers directly into an main body that drips with atmosphere and low end rumble and it is almost impossible not to just close your eyes and get lost in the soundscape that is being created, truly remarkable song writing.

Feel Anything then tears out of the blocks and feels full of anger and frustration but also the beauty and emotion which proceeds to drown you and immerse you fully, so far there has not been one wasted second on this album, it is just so well thought out and utterly devastatingly beautiful. Into Flames continues the perfect run and is another song full of big guitar and again the low end takes control of the main verse and leads everything along brilliantly the mix of soft & harsh vocals are again a main point on this song and it works superbly. 

The end verse is so beautifully executed the album could just end there and I wouldn’t complain but it doesn’t and When You’re Gone bathes us in a wave of soft and subtle sounds that intertwine with the vocals and carry us into the type of verse that most bands would kill to be able to write before sinking back into the soft ambience that has served so well and this soft/explosive dynamic continues all the way through before its last track Lost In Our Own World which for one more time bathes us in beauty and warmth and closes the album in the most beautiful way you could ask for its soaring and atmospheric and most of all perfect and that really sums it all up for me.

I am completely and utterly shocked at what I have just heard! The UK has an absolutely amazing heavy music scene at the minute and Acres have just put forward their case to be one its leading lights, this album is total perfection and there is not one missed opportunity or bad song. Burning Throne deserves to be heard by everyone and if it doesn’t make Acres huge there is no justice in this world. This album is Stunning, Beautiful, Devastating, Moving, Powerful its basically everything you need it to be, do yourself a favour and listen to this album now, then when its finished listen to it again and again until you have really taken it all in, you will not regret it. 10/10

A View From The Back Of The Room: Pyrogaric (Live Review By Matt Bladen)

Pyrogaric, The Little Tap House, Newport, 24.02.23

I've seen bands in some odd venues, in fields, churches even a KFC but most of the time you're in a basement somewhere, usually as the band are setting up. This was the exact situation for Pyrogaric (8) when we arrived at Newport's newest craft beer venue The Little Tap House, having grabbed some very good beer, we went down into their basement area, usually the home of retro gaming consoles and screens for some drinking entertainment, for an evening that promised to be a bit louder. Having seen the band opening for Pantheïst at Fuel Rock Club before Xmas, this second viewing came at the princely sum of £0 and of course an excuse to visit some fine establishments with my favourite Newport resident (sorry Richard you're still not fully Newport yet). 

Kudos to The Little Tap House for supporting local and live music, but as we entered for showtime drummer/vocalist Jamey-Leigh Butcher was staring quizzically at a laptop while guitarist Keelan Deri Powell tuned his guitar. After I helped by turning it off and on again (I'm an engineer you know), the psychedelic visuals were back and quickly Jamey-Leigh went behind the drums ready to begin. Retro-tinged psych rock is what Pyrogaric bring, the fuzz soaked riffs of Keelan peel off in that style of Kadavar/Graveyard, shifting from woozy atmospheres to direct, low strung riffs as the set unfolds. Behind the drums Jamey-Leigh beats the hell out her kit, the changing visuals projected over her as she played. 

The beating the skins took so bad that they began to move towards the end of the set (nothing a Persian rug won't fix), the seismic activity meaning that during Don't Open The Door the mic also moved away from her mouth but luckily her voice is powerful enough to not really need a mic on this... 'intimate' venue. Consisting of songs from their 2022 EP Far Away and their upcoming as yet unnamed album, Pyrogaric played a set that could easily win over a bigger crowd than was in that fateful basement.

Well done for patrons of the bar to come down and check out the band, well done to the band themselves to rocking the basement so well and lastly I hope The Little Tap House book more local acts to play their venue, beer and music as we all know are a match made in heaven, so hopefully we'll be seeing a few capacity shows here soon. 

Reviews: Godsmack, Lovebites, Pist, Air Raid (Reviews By Matt Bladen)

Godsmack - Lighting Up The Sky (BMG)

According to main writer and band founder Sully Erna, Godsmack's eighth album Lighting Up The Sky will be their last. Well for now anyway. It's intended to be their last recorded output though they are not splitting up and will continue to tour. The reason why this is will be their last, is that Erna believes it's the best album of their career, he has stated this multiple times in interviews so after a gap of five years since their last album, is Lighting Up The Sky the definitive Godsmack album? 

Well it's an album that has done away with most of the alt rock/grunge/nu metal trappings from their early years, the band now a classic hard rock act still have a dept to Alice In Chains (Growing Old) but they a hard rock band now, Tony Rombola given as many chances to rip out a guitar solo as possible, Hells Not Dead and a few others to be honest feeling like Volbeat in places. There's still that rhythmic heart Godsmack have always had though the years on Let's Go that's guided by the drums of Shannon Larkin and bass of Rob Merrill, it undulates and throbs into yet another solo. 

Erna's rhythm guitar, his vocals, his production and everything else he does is just as great now as it was back in 1995, though probably more honeyed and worn than it was back in those early days, but that is a very good thing as he carries the emotion of these songs that all have a sense of finality about them. A strong to note to end their recording career on, Lighting Up The Sky is probably the best Godsmack album so far. 8/10 

Lovebites - Judgement Day (JPU Records)

Japanese symphonic metal shredders Lovebites return with their fourth studio album Judgement Day, having recruited new bassist Fami, the five piece enter a new chapter with the same cinematic, virtuoso passion and drive that brought to life their last three albums and has seen them tour with major acts such as Dragonforce.

Shred music is massive in Japan as I've mentioned before and Lovebites take inspiration from the early Shrapnel artists as Midori and Miyako counterpoint each other with plenty of twin harmonies and electrifying solos as Miyako builds walls of synths and orchestration to make their music very broad in scope.

As it has always been drummer Haruna blastbeats with intensity while Fami brings a slap bass playing style that gives Judgement Day a fresher approach, with bassline on Stand And Deliver (Shoot 'Em Down) going a bit Motorhead. The triumphal We Are The Resurrection, melding the Japanese shred scene with the European power/melodeath sound as Mikko Karmila and Mika Jussila's mix and mastering give it a bite.

It's quite European sounding record actually, more than before, but obviously Asami's vocals still very Japanese but the title track is very Symphony X, The Spirit Lives On going onto a wild Stratovarius rampage as Wicked Witch takes a more Germanic route with the Teutonic touch of Helloween. Lovebites are quickly making a name for themselves outside of their native Japan and Judgement Day is their most European sounding album to date with all of the flare of their shred metal heritage. 7/10

Pist - The Bleak Unrest (Self Released)

Bury bruisers Pist, slap themselves across the face and bring more Transylvanian Chunder on their first album since leaving APF records. The change of label means nothing as what they still have Chris Fielding recording it, Joe Clayton mixing it, Russ Russell mastering it for full audio brewtality. 

At just 38 minutes of dirty blackened, stoner metal The Bleak Unrest is prime Pist, Dave Rowlands' snarling, spiteful vocals, spewing venom over heavily distorted riffage from John Nicholson and Jack Trelawny, tremolo picking, pinched harmonics and pneumatic drill grooves as the songs morph from the hardcore thrash inspired violence of Death To All, the doomy sludge of Their Voice Is Not Mine, into groove-driven Pantera-esque sounds of Life's A Lie and even some skin shredding death metal on Chorus Of Nothing with ease. 

Pist do have melody, it's not all violence, there's acoustics on Until This World Has Fallen Apart, which mixes black metal, Mastodon and Iron Maiden, it's just the melodies are concealed like a flick knife against their usual sledgehammer approach. Mike Collins' bass grinds your bones on Sharpen The Knife, Andy Hunt's punishing drumbeats bolster the outro and give us full black metal blastbeats on Embrace The Grey. Self released and more pissed off and nihilistic than before The Bleak Unrest is Pist putting down the beer can and joining the picket line to shout at scabs! 8/10

Air Raid - Fatal Encounter (High Roller Records)

It seems like the NWOTHM shows no signs of stopping, much like how bands from the original wave are still releasing albums, many of them still sticking to the tight jeans, bullet belts and high tops. This second coming of 80's inspired classic/trad/speed metal has produced some modern day classics that stuck to their inspiration. Air Raid I would consider to be on of the first bands to try to bring back that NWOBHM sound along with Screamer and Enforcer, this Swedish band are the Saxon to their Priest and Maiden, part of a triumvirate that makes up the Swedish contingent of the NWOTHM. 

This of course is why they are on High Roller Records, the modern day equivalent of Sanctuary records. Press play on their fourth album and you'll probably be transported back to the days of the Tommy Vance rock show where heavy metal ruled the world, but Air Raid's music here is a little more refined than some of the fellow bands. Yes there's gallops everywhere (See The Light), twin guitar harmonies and more hooks than fisherman's tackle box, but they stray into using synths on In Solitude where one Mr Schenker is an influence as much as Mr Malmsteen is on perky instrumental Sinfonia/speedy One By One and Gary Moore (Run For Cover/After The War/Wild Frontier) is on Edge Of A Dream. 

Fatal Encounter looks further West than many of the bands playing this type of music, while they stay largely to Europe and The UK, Air Raid go for the American slickness on tracks such as Let The Kingdom Burn (though you could also say Magnum), though they head East with a cover of Make-Up's Pegasus Fantasy in Japanese! Retro heavy metal worth throwing your horns too but with melodic phrasing from the Pacific coast, Fatal Encounter is the best of a trio of continents. 7/10

Reviews: Naut, Heidevolk, Jack Harlon & The Dead Crows, Idolatrous (James Jackson, Mark Young, David Karpel & Zak Skane)

Naut - Hunt (Season Of Mist) [James Jackson]

Naut are vocalist/drum programmer Gavin Laubscher, guitarist Jack Welch, bassist Andi Effe and Laura Taylor on synth/keys and this year sees the release of their first full length album Hunt.
Hailing from Bristol, the band’s roots go back to 2016 and whilst their influences are quoted as classic rock and metal to me I’m getting that goth rock atmosphere.

They’re also fans of the post punk movement, though not a fan of punk itself, the move from traditional style punk to something more experimental is something I can relate to and if that’s the main inspiration coming through on the 8 tracks on offer here then I may need to delve into that genre a bit further.

But for now it’s The Sisters Of Mercy; a band that I’ve always associated with in a more goth sense and style than anything else, though I believe their music is also considered to be post punk; that come to mind as the first verse of Dissent begins and a vocal performance that screams Andrew Eldritch, that baritone, almost distant echo of a vocal style that is instantly recognisable.

The whole album is a nostalgia trip for me, taking me back to the early 90’s when I was first introduced to The Sisters Of Mercy through the compilation album A Slight Case Of Overbombing, when life wasn’t the steaming pile of bills, debt, receding hairlines and expanding waistlines that it is now.

 
Each track is as haunting as it is catchy and I’ve soon found myself humming along (I’ve a terrible singing voice - just ask my neighbours) as I’ve left the album on repeat.

I can’t point out any stand out tracks as they’re as equally strong as the rest though Damocles has probably caught my ear more if I’m completely honest. I can only hope that Naut go places on the back of this album, they’ve already had a good run over the few years they’ve been around, surviving the pandemic where others have unfortunately fallen. Time to get out the smoke machine, don my blackest clothes, touch up the equally black nail polish and play this loud, the whole street needs to be dancing like Wednesday Addams on Prom Night. 8/10

Heidevolk - Wederkeer (Napalm Records) [Mark Young]

Forming in 2002 and hailing from Arnhem these Dutch folk Metalists have been building and bringing more Dutch Pagan metal and here is their latest – Wederkeer. Apologies to Matt for this extremely late review, let’s get straight into it and see how it fared.

Disclaimer – Folk Metal: I know NOTHING about this genre, have not sought it out and it has never been on my bucket list of music to sit and listen to. As you know I will give anything a fair shake and I am going in extremely blind.

Did I mention they write and perform in Dutch?

Hagalaz starts with ethereal chants, the sounds of rain and a soft arrangement and then goes straight into the traditional melodic metal established by Maiden and continually aped by others and its ok. It just sidles across at a steady pace without igniting. Drink met de Goden (Walhalla) comes in with more of the same, its competent and has the classic quiet/loud/quiet sections and again its ok. Klauwen Vooruit brings more, with some neat intertwining guitar parts and bobs along but I think you can see where I’m going with this.

Each of the songs here are written, arranged, and performed in an extremely competent manner. The problem (for me, maybe not others) is that it does absolutely nothing for me and does not make me want to search out other music from them. I could be missing out, but I’ll never know. I also think that I am being ignorant of another’s language and culture, of writing and celebrating where they spring from as well using nature as a creative springboard. I can hear that it is vocally delivered in an earnest and serious manner and there are some inspired bits of music within the album and to be fair kudos to them in singing purely in Dutch.

So, to give it a score. I want to avoid being mean just because I don’t like it. Sorry but I just don’t but as I will explain there are fans of this music. Checking their socials, they have a healthy following and there is considerable expectation for this release. With this in mind, I am going to give it a rating based on: How it sounds, Is it played well? I’ve already said it takes the Iron Maiden blueprint and just gives it a European shine, but it is probably too clean for the subject matter of the songs. 6/10

Jack Harlon & The Dead Crows - Hail To The Underground (Blues Funeral Recordings) [David Karpel]

My first introduction to Melbourne, Australia’s Jack Harlon & The Dead Crows was 2021’s The Magnetic Ridge, a dense album of dusty, fuzz-drenched desert riffs that captured my imagination and demanded repeated listening. And I certainly wasn’t the only one so affected. A serious achievement for a sophomore full-length, its follow-up on Blues Funeral Recordings has been highly anticipated by fans. The good news is that despite the fact that this is an album of covers, it satisfies–at least for now–that anticipation with panache.

As a series of flash pandemic lockdowns gave rise to all kinds of opportunities for creativity two years ago, Tim Coutts-Smith, JHDC’s singer/guitarist, began “messing around with some of my favourite old songs that I felt weren't originally done justice by their recording quality." This eventually led to bringing their fans in on the project, with an invitation to suggest "any old underground songs they'd like to hear Harlon-ified." The result is a romp through a collection of covers that honours the originals either through staying mostly faithful or by giving it such treatment as to sound like a JHDC tune that maintains the overall tone of the original. 

That treatment is the consistency–the Jack Harlon & The Dead Crows sound–that ties all of these songs together. Before I listened to the album, though, the first thing I did was to make a playlist of the originals to understand why these songs fit together and, as a matter of professionalism, to know how the new versions compare or contrast to the originals. While I’m familiar with the Melvins, My Bloody Valentine, Butthole Surfers, Joy Division, and Bauhaus, I am not familiar with God, Hambone Willie Newbern, or Amon Duul II.

My Pal, by God, sounds like a gritty Velvet Underground song, which is fitting. The mix is fuller than the original, and while the vibe is faithful, this rendition has muscle and the solo comes singing over everything like lightning strung over the hills of a foundational riff. Next up, Copache, by the Melvins, stays faithful to the menacing riffs of the original, but adds a fun element of camp, with recordings of gunshots and neighing horses thrown in the mix. 

The tone established, their version of My Bloody Valentine’s You Made Me Realise shoe gazes with a Sonic Youth-like stomp and snarl that devolves into a glorious noise jam by the close. Dust Devil (Butthole Surfers), Day Of Lords (Joy Division), and Dark Entries (Bauhaus) do much of the same by rendering the originals with more power, more volume, more fuzz, and more psychedelia–in other words, Harlon-ified.

Roll & Tumble (Hambone Willie Newbern) is originally a traditional folk blues song that JHDC redo much in the way Zeppelin redid some Willie Dixon and others. It’s charged with boogie energy and, again, totally fits their oeuvre. Much the same can be said for their rendition of Eye Shaking King, a song originally performed by Amon Duul II, a wildly infectious 70s German psych band worth your time to check out. 

The JHDC interpretation is a tune with huge swaggering jams that quiet for lyrics, eventually devolving into spacey psychedelia which picks up again to kick out an appropriately bombastic, fuzztastic end. Hail to the Underground plays like a loud love letter to a cross-section of sounds that have played a part in influencing Jack Harlon & The Dead Crows. While echoes of the originals remain, the band updates them with their brand of stoner desert fuzz, and the result is a heady concoction of rock and roll glory. 8/10

Idolatrous - Sorrow On Midgard (Wormholedeath Records) [Zak Skane]

Hailing from the Pacific Northwest the battle influenced Melodic death metalers have come to side with us in battle with their arsenal of tribal inspired drumming, melodic harmonies and their spell casting of anger and sorrow through their tales of Sorrow of Midguard.

After the beautiful arrangements of the intro track cast their spell of courage through their use of moving string sections, heart beating drums and majestic piano arraignments we charge into war with their first track Predecessor. Predecessor arms us with triggered precise kicks and razor sharp tremolo picked riffs which eludes us of their emotion before the god of war Michael Priest thunders with his tales of anger and revenge delivered through rumbling growls whist a hark of angles sing their melodies of beauty and sorrow. 

The battle pauses for a while whilst the guitarist draw up to build us up with their intro riffs to lead us to into the next song/tale The Harrowing Reprisal. The pounding drums leaves us marching on with our fist pouching in the air whilst the guitars still keep grinding their tremolo riffs until the god of thunder comes rumbling in with the impressive slap bass playing. Eternal keeps our chest pounding whilst keeping the pace slow and steady whist spells of melodic riffs and soaring orchestrating whilst our god of war Michael Priest commands to keep attacking. The Wolfs Ghost brings the orchestra to the frontline casting their spell of morning and sorrow whilst the spirits of the past and the present are summoned to bring metallic grooves and breakdowns and galloping rhythms unite. 

The heart of Amon Amarth and Marcus Miller rings true with the track Asgard embracing the tribal sounding drums and the return of the god of thunder providing some earth shattering bass. The battle still continued on with the moving symphonic breaks of Prophecy and grinding emotional picking during the Sorrow Of Midgard and seeing the spirit of Amon Amarth return for the final assault in The Smoke Settles with the galloping rhythms and the descending harmonized outro. Looking back upon the Sorrow Of Midgard it was a glorious battle that was told exceptionally well by the God Of War Michael Priests’ low growled vocals. The hark of angelic choirs laced and armed with strings sections to help add a more emotional cinematic layer to the grinding guitars and pounding drums. 

The only aspects that I feel have put a curse on the album is that it is very influenced by Amon Amarths’ teachings which is good if you are a fan of the band but it really doesn’t strive for anything else also with amazing orchestration that is featured through this journey I found that the production was a bit on the dark sounding side with the guitars sounding a bit on the muddy side which masks Micheals low growls whilst the drums sound too programmed. 6/10