A slightly slower week for new music, but that doesn’t at all mean the quality is lower! Check out this weeks new albums with us!
All Time Low: Tell Me I’m Alive
For those old-school fans who just got excited from seeing the name, calm down just a little. Don’t go into this expecting to hear ‘Weightless’ or ‘Dear Maria’. It’s more like Panic! At The Disco, My Chemical Romance or even Twenty One Pilots. However, that doesn’t mean it’s not awesome.
The album’s opener and title track sets the tone perfectly, dark yet infectiously catchy and melodic. ‘Are You There?’ is probably the closest to their old sound, a fun pop-punk track filled with chunky guitar chords and a higher tempo. ‘Kill Ur Vibe’ also has a similar feel. Meanwhile ‘Calm Down’ is a great ballad. These weren’t the only good tracks on the album as I honestly liked so many of them. It felt different, a combination of a modern indie sound with a sprinkling of their heavy punk roots. My only ever so slight issue is that it maybe went on a tad too long. I found myself drained when trying to listen to it all the way through at once, it’s a lot of similar stuff. Still, 8.5/10, this was great!
Theory of a Deadman: Dinosaur
A band I was a big fan of in my teen years, I dropped off pretty hard with the release of Wake up Call in 2017. Their last two albums haven’t been my sort of thing at all. However, thank god, this gets the band back on track in a big way.
The album’s title and opening track is a little darker than their earlier more light hearted stuff, but is at least a straight up rock track and is massively catchy. ‘Medusa’ is an amazing slower rock track and a huge highlight. Tracks like ‘Get in Line’ and the country-ish ‘Head in the Clouds’ were also awesome.
It’s not all amazing. Their ‘Two of Us’ rendition was more cringy than anything else. And while the heaviness and riffs for ‘Ambulance’ was good, the lyrics and vocal melody had the same effect as the aforementioned track. ‘Hearts too Wild’ is also infuriating since there should be an apostrophe there. But that’s just my analness.
Overall, there’s more good than bad. It’s a fun collection of songs that bring the band closer towards their rocky roots again. A few tracks made our playlist and I’ll be listening to it a fair bit going forward, I’m sure. 7.5/10
Kamelot: The Awakening
We’ve already reviewed this power metal awesomeness. Check it out here.
Chelsea Grin: Suffer in Heaven
The second part of the band’s two part Suffer series, we gave Suffer in Hell a 7.5/10 (find here). Does part two live up to that standard?
Well, it’s certainly just as heavy. It’s the king of music I feel like I’d appreciate live more than on track, where I can bounce around and feel the heaviness and emotion. However, there are still elements and tracks here that I love. ‘Orc March’ in particular is incredible, showing plenty of layers and dynamics when featuring Filth. And it feels the most modern deathcore track on the album, drawing clear inspiration from Lorna Shore’s ‘To The Hellfire’ with the outro. ‘The Mind of God’ is also SUPER heavy and I love it.
Overall, while some of it isn’t quite my thing, it’s a damn good part two to the pair of albums. It’s insanely heavy at times, and while it doesn’t ease up really at all, it’s only eight tracks and under half an hour so never felt like a slog. Another 7.5/10 from me!
Pop Evil: Skeletons
Another band that I’ve loved from my teen years, it’s insane that Pop Evil are on album six. It makes me feel old.
The album itself it’s pretty great too. It’s a little heavier than I was expecting, with a few growls and breakdown riffs sprinkled in for good measure. Still though, there’s enough radio-friendly, stadium filling melodies and huge choruses to keep everyone happy. It almost reminds me of a lighter, hard rock version of something like Sempiternal; heaviness contrasting perfectly with pop melodies. Tracks like ‘Eye of the Storm’, ballad ‘Worth it’ and the heavy, Fit For A King featuring ‘Dead Reckoning’ are all massive highlights of the album.
I’m loving this heavier slant the band have taken in recent years, and the guests added perfectly to that. Some of the tracks are up there with my favourites from the band, so anything less than a 8.5/10 would be insane!
The Answer: Sundowners
We treated you this week with a second big review, this time of Irish hard rockers The Answer. Read it here!
John Diva & The Rockets of Love: The Big Easy
The band have come out of nowhere in recent years, this being their third and in only four years. They are very much a throwback to the sleazy LA strip of the 80s, be it Bon Jovi, Whitesnake or Night Ranger. It also reminded me a LOT of E’Nuff Z’Nuff, it has a similar stomping rhythm and huge, harmony filled choruses. Tracks like the title one, ‘Runaway Train’ and ‘Boys Don’t Play with Dolls’ are all amazing and big highlights. However, the whole album is great, there isn’t a bad track on it.
Much like the Trench Dogs album a few weeks ago, this is an amazing slower, punkier sleaze album. It’ll be staying in heavy rotation for me, I’m sure! 8/10
Doug Paisley: Say What You Like
Finishing off this week on some country, the Canadian’s sixth full-length album is a fun one. It’s pretty simple and stripped-back, being little more than some clean guitars, simple drums and bass and Doug’s great vocals. It really highlights his strengths and man, this feels like a ‘proper’ country album. It’s something I could hear Hank Jr and that generation putting out. It’s chilled out and a really relaxing album to listen to. ‘Wide Open Plain’ was my favourite, but honestly if you like country or more lighter stuff, I’d recommend the entire album in a heartbeat. And at only 40-minutes in length, it’s not too long for a country album too! 8/10