A hugely stacked week of NMM this week, featuring plenty of rock, country and metal. Let’s dive right in!
Brantley Gilbert: Tattoos
The country-rock powerhouse returned with his seventh studio album over the weekend. I remember checking out his last album a couple of years ago, and not liking it all too much. It has grown on me since a bit, but it still doesn’t hold up against his earlier stuff. This album, thankfully, is a bit better than that. It’s more upbeat and more rock than So Help Me God was, which of course I preferred. And the lyrics throughout were fantastic, a real personal reflection of where Brantley is at in his life. Songs like the awesome duet with Ashley Cooke, ‘Over When We’re Sober’, ‘Out Here’ and the best song on the album, ‘Off the Rails’, are all big highlights. However, there isn’t really a bad song on the album, and at only 10 tracks and 33-minutes it’s pretty short and easily-digestible for a modern country album. Heck, even the more hip-hop, guest-heavy ‘Me and My House’ was at least interesting! There’s maybe still one too many slower tracks on it, but they do a good job at breaking up the album and as I said, none are bad. He still has one of the best voices in the genre currently, and this will be another massive album for him, I’m sure. 7/10
Snow Patrol: The Forest is the Path
This is a real blast from the past, for me. Bands like Snow Patrol, Razorlight, The Killers, The Calling etc were all over the radio when I was younger. Heck, the likes of ‘Chasing Cars’ and ‘Run’ are still on heavy rotation on my playlist to this day. However, I haven’t listened to anything new by them since 2008, so I’m actually kinda excited to check out more by them after missing a couple of albums.
Honestly, it’s pretty good, and filled me with nostalgia. It’s excellent, moody pop/indie rock, and you can tell just how much it influenced the likes of Hosier and even Biffy Clyro. Tracks like the opener, ‘Your Heart Home’, ‘This is the Sound of your Voice’ and ‘What if Nothing Breaks?’ are all excellent, but honestly the whole album is pretty stellar. It flowed together pretty perfectly too, and didn’t feel 50-minutes at all. There is a certainly lull in the middle, but it was still damn enjoyable. This certainly won’t be for all of our readers, but if you’re into any of the bands I’ve mentioned already, or their older stuff, you’ll love this just like I do. I’ll be listening to this a lot in the coming weeks and months, and it’s an easy 8.5/10
Where’s My Bible: KAVE
We’ve already checked out this awesome album! Read the full review of it here.
Crobot: Obsidian
The Pennsylvanian stoner/hard rock band are back with another incredible album. We loved their last album, and this is feels like a more than worthy follow-up. It’s a bit heavier than that last release, definitely leaning into the stoner sound more, almost bordering on doom and desert rock at times. It has airs of everything from The Sword to QOTSA to Green Lung even at times, and I love all of it. The album name and artwork also hint at the general change in sound perfectly, too.
Between the awesome opening two tracks, the more radio-hard rock (like the last couple of albums) ‘Nothing’ to the heavier, sludgier likes of ‘Disappear’ ‘Head of the Beast’ and ‘The Flood’, and even a Motörhead-like number in ‘Metal’ and an amazing acoustic ballad to close things out, there is so much to love on the album. Honestly, there isn’t a bad track among the collection. It feels almost like a culmination of all their previous sounds and styles, combining it all together perfectly. I would recommend this to absolutely any rock fan out there, as I think it somehow even surpasses Feel This. 9.5/10
Drew Holocomb and the Neighbours: Strangers No More, Vol. 2
We’ve reviewed this one too, aren’t you lucky! Read the review here!
Delilah Bon: Evil, Hate Filled Female
I went into this not knowing what to expect and still I was surprised. She’s like a heavier, rockier Eminem, and I kinda love it. It takes an immense amount of talent to be able to write and perform like this, and Delilah has it in spades. I didn’t even realise she was from Hands Off Gretal until I Googled her either but damn, I used to love them back in the day!
Right from then opening track I was hooked. Add to that songs like ‘Mavrick’, ‘The Internet’, ‘Drop Dead Delilah’ and ‘I Am the Best’ and there are plenty of massive highlights on here. Honestly though, every song is pretty amazing. My only ever so slightly issue is it’s repetitiveness. It’s 14 tracks and over 50-minutes, but every track has a similar sound and feel, and every single one hammers home the same point over and over. It’s a fantastic, warranted point that Delilah pulls off perfectly with her attitude-filled, insane vocals. I just kinda see where she can push with it. There’s a couple of amazing screams tucked in around the 90s style rapping and R&B, and a little more of that with some heavier instrumentation could have been a lot of fun.
Still, it’s an incredible album from front to back. She clearly has taken a lot of inspiration from Slim Shady, but arguably does the style much better and more successfully than his album this year. It’s a homage to 90s/early 2000s hip-hop, but modernised, heavied up and flipped on its head. I cannot recommend this whole album enough; it’s an incredible listen from front to back. And as a straight white man, I can honestly say it got plenty of chuckles and agreement out of me; I can’t blame her at all for her words and her opinions, men suck. Even if you aren’t a rap fan, check this out, it deserves to be heard, and needs to be pushed as hard as the Slim Shady EP. 9/10
Flotsam & Jetsam: I Am the Weapon
Time for some more thrash. Two weeks in a row too on NMM, aren’t I lucky?! The 15th studio album from the criminally overlooked US thrash band is yet another fantastic stop in their impressive discography. The opener, ‘A New Kind of Hero’, lays out the bands sound and style perfectly, and is an easy album highlight. The awesomeness continues from there though, with tracks like ‘Primal’, ‘Burning my Bridges’ and ‘Cold Steel Lights’ being more highlights on an album packed to the brim with them. If you’re into old-school thrash, this is certainly the album for you, and I certainly loved it! Every song is awesome, and it’s a full thrash assault for 47-minutes, not slowing down once. However, it certainly didn’t feel that long, and went by in a flash despite it all being similar. I’d put this up against any album the Big Four have put out recently, it really is that good. I’mma be spinning this a lot moving forward, and it’s an easy 9/10 from me! Plus, the artwork is fucking sick, so epic.
Miranda Lambert: Postcards from Texas
The modern country legend is back with album number nine. Outside of her big songs I’ve not listened to much, this will be my first full album listen-through. And at 45-minutes and 14 tracks, it’s a pretty full reflection of her fun, great sound and style in 2024. Between classic country like the opener and ‘Alimony’ to classically 2000s country like ‘Dammit Randy’ and ‘January Heart’ , there’s a lot of great stuff and plenty of variety to keep me entertained throughout. Meanwhile, ‘Wranglers’ is a darker, radio-country-rock banger in the vein of Lainey Wilson, and is an easy highlight of the album. Don’t get me wrong, it was still kinda long for me, and isn’t quite one of my top country albums or anything like that. However, it’s a damn good release, and it’s easy to see why she’s so big. It’s an easy 7.5/10 from me!
Satan: Songs in Crimson
The NWOBHM legends return with their seventh studio album, following up 2022’s Earth Infernal. I shockingly forgot I even reviewed it back when it was released (I know, sack me) and even more shockingly was rather indifferent to it (sack me again). However, clearly I’m gonna have to go back and give it another shot, as I found myself really enjoying this! ‘Frantic Zero’ is one hell of an opening track, while songs like ‘Sacramental Rites’ and ‘Captives’ are both awesome tracks and clear highlights for me. It’s a solid NWOBHM release. The vibe and lyrics do feel a bit off these days, it being rather light music compared to the band name, lyrics and imagery around it, but at the time it probably fit a lot better. If you’re into that old-school 70s metal style, this is worth checking out. And I for one certainly enjoyed it more than their previous album. However, I don’t think I’ll rush to listen to it much again, if I’m honest. It gets a solid 6.5/10 from me. It’s a fun throwback and a couple of great songs, but so many bands have done the style better.
Lakeview: Self-Titled
Oh boy, strap in ladies and gents…
I’m in such two minds about this album. When I got the pitch of ‘it’s country meets metal’, I don’t know why I got so hyped and expected something different to this. This album is exactly what you’d expect from that pitch. It’s bro country with some chunky, ADTR-style guitars and drums behind it. Outside of the odd fully country acoustic ballads, that’s it. For NEARLY AN HOUR. Yep, this shit is looooong, and most certainly a slog. 18 tracks is too long for an album, especially when it’s nine songs before the pace changes. All of it is the less interesting/crestive sides of Hardy’s mockingbird album. And, the worst part, it doesn’t even have any breakdowns! Why do the ADTR sound if you’re not gonna throw at least one in in an hours worth of music?
However, having said all of that, I found myself enjoying a good lot of it. Songs like ‘Dying Breed’, ‘Son of A’ and ‘Rock Bottom’ are all a lot of fun, if similar. Also, it’s insane how close tracks like ‘Wrong Side of the Track’ sound to Nickelback at times, showing how genre-combining and ahead-of-the-curve the legends truly are.
Lakeview are doing something at least a little innovative and interesting, even if I find myself comparing them to multiple other artists, from Hardy to Burn Halo to Nickelback. Yeah, there’s a good maybe third of this album that I really enjoyed, almost in a guilty pleasure way. It’s not a bad listen at all, and it will certainly have a lot of fans (including me). But yeah, it’s too damn long, needs a couple of breakdowns and just something else, though I can’t quite put my finger on what that is. No pressure for the next album, lads… 7.5/10
Okay, 2026 Joe here. So looking back on this review after reacting to a recent single, I do have to say this album has grown on me. It’s a lot of fun. It’s still too long, but better than I gave it credit for. I shan’t change the review, but the score is higher for me now, don’t you worry!
Blue Nation: The Ordinary People
The heavy-blues return with their first new album in six years, and a real renewed sense of passion and direction, it feels. And, with all of that, comes a pretty sick album! It’s moody, groovy, and packed full of some of the best riffs I’ve heard in a while. It almost has a stoner feel to it, which is not at all a bad thing. Like Monster Magnet meets The Darkness meets Deep Purple, with a healthy dose of NWOCR injected into it too. It’s almost impossible to pick highlights too, as the whole album is fantastic from front to back. I cannot get over the funky groove throughout, it making the heavier and lighter tracks equally melodic and bouncy. And damn, some of these choruses are gonna be stuck in my head for days. I know they’re doing a good few UK shows and festivals next year, and I’mma have to go along as I HAVE to see all of this live (that’s a request too, okay guys…?)! And, as someone in a blues rock band, this makes me so happy, to hear this music really taking off again in another revival. If you are a rock fan at all, of any subgenre, check this out immediately, you won’t be disappointed! It’s yet another strong 9/10 from me, what a week for excellent releases!