Considering this is such a busy, big week for new music, and the last Friday before the spooky day, there is very little Halloween released releases here. Shocking, but there is still plenty of awesomeness for us to sink our teeth into, I’m sure! Let’s look at it all!
In This Moment: GODMODE
The eighth album by the Californian alt metallers is finally here. There’s been a lot of hype surrounding this release, and around this band as a whole recently. Maria Brink and Co have rode this new wave of radio-metal towards the top of the scene in the US, and their live shows more than deserve it. I have to admit, I’ve never managed a whole album by them. I like their sound and the ideas behind the band, but outside of a few tracks I’ve never sat down and listened to anything for longer. So I’m curious to dive into this!
I was a little let down, not gonna lie. It’s not bad by any stretch, but it’s incredibly average. It all sounded pretty similar, with a steady, plodding pace throughout. I honestly couldn’t have told the difference between tracks, half the time. And none of it quite had the punch and massiveness of tracks like ‘Whore’ or ‘Blood’.
Of course the highlight track is Maria’s duet with INK frontman Spencer Charnes. He seems to be the modern day Corey Taylor, guesting on so much this year, but it works perfectly alongside In the Moment’s dark, gothic sound. ‘THE PURGE’ was also a pretty fun track. However, overall, nothing really impressed me all that much. Not bad, but I won’t be revisiting any time soon. 6/10
The Gaslight Anthem: History Books
What a fantastic album this is. I was a fan of this band during my teen years, around the time of ’45’, but for some reason they kinda dropped off my radar over the last few years. Either way, this at least feels like it’s been marketed as a grand return album, and if that is the case, then it’s the perfect album for that!
The New Jersey-based band made it big in the UK a decade or so ago, which is rather surprising given a lot of typically US sounds that they adopt. From soft rock to acoustic to punk to indie to even Americana and roots stuff, there are so many sounds seamlessly blended together throughout this album. And it makes for a really interesting listen! Typically it was more slower paced than not, and the last few tracks were a bit of a slog (even if that heavier riff in the penultimate track was sick). But overall, it’s a fantastic album within the various genres Gaslight Anthem appeal to. Tracks like ‘Positive Charge’ and ‘Little Fires’ are incredible and would easily be up there with their greatest hits. If you’re into indie or soft rock or Americana, you’ll love this! 8/10
Bonafide: Are you Listening?
We’ve already checked out this awesome album! Read the full review here.
Dallas Smith: Self-Titled
Country time, this time with Dallas Smith’s fifth album. It’s another great album. He has one of the most powerful and genuinely interesting vocals in the rather saturated genre these days. It almost has that early 2000s radio rock twang to it, like Brent Smith or Aaron Lewis. Plus, he is one hell of a songwriter. Tracks like the opener, ‘Singing in a Beer’ and ‘Bring it On’ are all massive highlights.
Honestly, it’s one of my favourite albums of the year, which is saying a lot as there’s been a lot of great stuff this year! It definitely has a slightly darker, more rock edge than a lot of country currently, having plenty of lead guitar and a generally less up-beat feel. And it’s not even that long! Score! There’s a lot to love about this release, and if you’re into the genre at all, check this out! 8.5/10
Doro: Conqueress – Forever Strong and Proud
German metal royalty is back with her latest studio album, and first since 2018. I’m a fan of a lot of her stuff and saw her live coming out of Covid and have to say was pretty damn impressed (review here). So, I’m excited to check out this album!
It’s just as good as the rest of her stuff. Her NWOBHM/power metal sound is unchanged in decades and has become iconic at this point. However, she also does it so well that it doesn’t feel overdone and is still great fun to listen to. Tracks like ‘Fire in the Sky’ and ‘All For You’ are up there with any of her greatest hits, in my opinion. My only complaint is that cover of ‘Living After Midnight’. It still features Rob helping out on vocals, but doesn’t really add anything to the track and just waters it down. And people need to leave that track alone now, I hear so many covers of it!
There is far more good than bad on here, and if you’re a fan of Doro or 70s/80s metal, check this out immediately. 8/10
Wargasm: Venom
I have such mixed feelings about this album. I HATED the live videos I saw of this hand from the last couple of years, so I came into this review ready to hate this album. Then the title track opened it up and damn, it went hard. Some heavy riffs, awesome screams and enough dynamics that the drops hit like a mac truck. I think it made me a fan of the band. Because you know what, ‘Minigun’, ‘Outrage’ and ‘Bang Ya Head’ (featuring God himself, Daddy Durst) are all fucking sick.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not all good. I’m still struggling to get into Milkie Way’s clean vocals sometimes. They grate on me kinka like Poppy’s, and I much prefer her harsher, more attitude filled style. And when the band go for the more drum & bass/electro side of their sound on tracks like ‘Death Rattle’ and ‘Do it So Good’, I lose interest. Even the more Prodigy style ‘Do it So Good’ didn’t hook me.
Overall, such very mixed feelings. There’s a lot more good than I was expecting on the album, but it certainly wasn’t all good. Still though, I’m excited to see where this band goes from here, and I’d love to see them live if they play predominantly the heavy stuff. 6/10
Dokken: Heaven Comes Down
This is a lot more slower-AOR than I was expecting it to be. I know that’s kind of exactly what Dokken are known for; clearly I’ve been listening to too much Lynch Mob lately. It’s not bad by any stretch, and tracks like ‘Gypsy, ‘Just Like a Rose’ and ‘Saving Grace’ are fucking awesome. And overall there are is some typically awesome guitaring from George Lynch (I think? Wiki was unclear), and some catchy, if meh vocals from Don himself.
However, it all kinda blended into one the more I listened. It’s not an album I’d go back to often, but I had a good time listening to it and wouldn’t turn it off if a song or two, or even the whole thing, came on again. And I’d LOVE to see it live, I think it’d make it all 10x better still. 7/10
Sorcerer: Reign of the Reaper
Sorcerer are an ‘epic doom band’ according to their Wiki. That already has me excited. And I have to say, after listening to just the opening track, ‘Morning Star’, I can confirm they are both epic and indeed doomy. However, the vocals are that powerful, massive and catchy that it has a real radio edge to it all too, which is awesome. It has an almost power metal/NWOBHM vibe going on amongst the other sounds, too.
This sound and feel continues throughout the whole album, too. At nearly 50-minutes across just eight tracks, it’s certainly a doom album, and the title track is the prime example of it. The middle bridge with the spoken word and keys was the closest thing to Halloween we have on this list, and I love it. It’s easily a highlight track. As is the shorter, heavy awesomeness of ‘The Underworld’. It’s a solid album though, without a bad track on it. Don’t get me wrong, all eight tracks are fairly familiar, yes. However, it’s hard to complain when they are this good! The band certainly have a new fan in me! 7.5/10
Taking Back Sunday: 152
The emo/alt rock band are back with their eighth studio album, and first since 2016. One of the longest hold-offs from the Pandemic era, this album started its life in the studio in February 2020. It’s insane that nearly four years after that it’s finally out. However, coming out of the lockdowns, the band instead did massive tours with the likes of Alkaline Trio and My Chemical Romance, so it’s hard to blame them! I have to admit outside of the big early singles I don’t kn ow much by them, so I’m curious to see how they sound nowadays!
Overall, lighter than I expected, honestly. While tracks like ‘S’old’ and ‘New Music Friday’ (lol) channel the more upbeat, heavier rock that brought the band to the mainstream dance back in the day, a lot of it is slower, more acoustic numbers. Heck, opener ‘Amphetamine Smiles’ is one hell of an anticlimactic acoustic ballad, and a very odd choice to start the album off with. Tracks like ‘The One’ and ‘The Stranger’ are similar to this, too. Both are good tracks, with the former actually being a highlight track of the album, but it’s closer to indie/soft rock than anything else.
What started out as an interesting, relatively original emo-punk sound a decade and a half ago has now just descended into the most generic of US indie music. It’s a shame, really. If this had a little more to it, something more like their rockier old sound and ‘edge’, I’ve have probably loved it. Hopefully fans of the band are at least into this, and that it was a gradual transition into snore. But for this writer, it can’t get higher than 3.5/10
Wayfarer: American Gothic
This is a fucking sick album. Enough said.
You want more? Fine…
Right from the gothic folk/country slide guitar intro to it all, building more and more into an epic black metal soundscape, I was a little obsessed. Regular readers of this series will know that typically I’m not the biggest fan of black metal. However, adding the folky, gothic atmosphere to it was a stroke of genius and kept me hooked throughout.
There isn’t a bad track on this album, but I honestly loved the proggier opening two over the others. ‘The Cattle Thief’ is fucking incredible and a must-listen for any heavy music fan. Having said that, single ‘To Enter My House Justified’ is also a banger. So is the other single, ‘False Constellation’.
Every time I feel like I give up trying to ‘get’ black metal, a band like this comes along and completely wins me over, turning my opinion very much on my head. This band has a big new fan in me, and I’mma have to check out their old stuff, as well as see all this live! 8.5/10, great stuff!