Yet another massively stacked week of new albums for us to check out, from tech-death to country. Let’s dive right in!
Trash Boat: Heaven can Wait
The melodic hardcore Brits are back with the highly anticipated follow-up to 2021’s Don’t You Feel Amazing?. Now, I didn’t particularly like that album when it was released, and my feelings sadly haven’t changed with time. However, fear not, Trash Boat fans, as I did enjoy this one more! The band feel a little heavier with this release, channelling vibes between Architects and Deftones. However, they certainly have that poppier edge to them still, arguably lighter than the bands I mentioned previously, even if they do certainly go harder than they did on their last release. And shockingly, the tracks with heavier guests aren’t even my favourites, as ‘Are you Ready Now?’ and ‘The Drip’ were my favourite tracks on the album. Having said that, Eric Vanlerberghe absolutely tears ‘Be Someone’ a new one in the best way. It’s a solid almost metalcore album, and one that I didn’t mind listening through a few times over the weekend. Hopefully they can stick to this sort of sound, as I’ll definitely be spinning this more in the coming weeks! 8/10
FEVER 333: DARKER WHITE
It’s no secret that I love this band. I gushed all over their last album (it’s not an EP, goddammit!) at my old place, and have been impatiently waiting for this release ever since they got to putting out new music for it last year. And, despite Jason not being in a good mental space to tour it currently, my anticipation for this release has been at an all time high this week.
Shock horror, I really enjoyed this album. Opening with the rappy, punk-tinged awesomeness of ‘NEW WEST ORDER’, through the anti-racism protest of ‘NO HOSTAGES’ and the catchy radio ear-worm ‘$WING’ to the awesome closing two tracks. It’s more hip-hop inspired than WRONG GENERATION, especially in the back half, and while still an angry-ass album, it’s understandably less focused on one issue as that last release was. It’s different, and I do think it’s going to take a bit more growing than some of their previous discography. However, it’s not because it’s bad by any stretch; I love hip-hop and rap too and the band do it just as well as rock. But to come off a pretty heavy, punky, almost metal last album, and some pretty heavy singles, having a predominantly more hip-hop based album is a bit of a shock to the system. Still, there is so much awesomeness on this album, Jason performs his ass off throughout, and it will certainly grow on me with more listens. And I feel like I need to see it live and feel his infectious energy to really get it. But still, as I say it’s a solid album, just not quite as good as the last in my immediate reaction, so it gets an 8.5/10 from me!
Coldplay: Moon Music
I know I know, but they are technically (loosely) classed as ‘rock’, so we felt like we had to. I’ll keep it brief though, don’t worry. It’s shit. It’s the lowest common denominator, boring pop music out there. It’s soccer mom music, through and through. One of the track titles is just a rainbow emoji, for fuck sakes. It’s honestly embarrassing that this band is ever associated with rock music. I’m sure there are plenty of people who enjoy this sort of thing, and I almost would have at least respected it if it had all been the spacey, atmospheric stuff, but I’m not one of them. It’s 45-minutes of nothingness with a couple of admittedly fairly catchy choruses from the self-obsessed Martin. But yeah, unless you’re a particularly big fan of their specific brand of noise, don’t waste your time checking this out. 2.5/10. The closest thing to good is the track below. Brief enough?
The New Roses: Attracted to Danger
We’ve already checked out this awesome album! Read our full review here!
Blood Incantation: Absolute Elsewhere
So the last time I checked out this band was their last album when they went all Devin Townsend and gave us a synthwave collection of nothingness. However, unlike Heavy Devy, the band made us wait a year and a half before we got anything actual metal again with Luminescent Bridge, and a further year after that still before we got this next full length release. It’s an odd strategy for sure, but as I said, we’ve finally got some more prog tech-death from the band. And said album is two epic tracks split into three acts each. While it’s not especially my sort of thing, it is mighty impressive and the band are insanely talented for pulling something like this off. And it’s certainly better than Timewave Zero! My favourite track on here is the third part of ‘The Stargate’. However, I find ‘The Message’ to be the stronger of the two full tracks. If you are a prog-death fan or into some real weird ambient stuff alongside your heavy tastes, this may be the album for you! I cannot deny that as one solid piece of music it’s damn impressive. 6.5/10
Nate Smith: California Gold
The sophomore album of the modern country megastar has a lot of pressure on it if it’s going to live up to his widely praised self-titled debut. I really enjoyed that album (though I didn’t end up reviewing it) and the EP he put out earlier this year was also real good, so I’m curious to see where he goes with this to keep his momentum going.
The answer is: put out another similar, arguably too long album to his debut and to a lot of the popular country music these days. And honestly, there’s nothing wrong with that. Sure, it doesn’t stand out among the massive amounts of other alike country albums we’ve checked out here this year, but that doesn’t stop it from still being good. There’s a touch more rock to most of it, at least a little more distorted guitar than the pop-country that is popular these days. Heck, we even get some pretty decent guitar solos sprinkled throughout. Tracks like ‘Want me Back’, ‘Goodbye Again’, ‘Bulletproof’ and the folk/Americana-y ‘Gave it All’ are all awesome. Plus, his raspy, powerful vocals on the ballads was a real highlight throughout, and even offset the questionable inclusion of Avril Lavigne on single ‘Can you Die from a Broken Heart’.
As I said, it’s certainly not as stand-out as other country releases we’ve checked out recently. But it is an incredibly solid release and an enjoyable country album. And shockingly 51-minutes went by rather quickly, even if it does dip in energy a bit in the middle. He’s got a big future ahead of him, and this is as solid a second album as he could have put out to reinforce that. If you’re a modern country fan, check this out, it’s certainly worth a listen! 7.5/10
Thrasherwolf: Inside the Sickened Mind
We’ve also checked this one out in full this week, aren’t you lucky?! Find it here.
Wind Rose: Trollslayer
The dwarf-themed Italian power metal band exploded in popularity in. 2019 with the infinitely silly ‘Diggy Diggy Hole’, which has somehow continued to pop off every few months or so for the five years since. Now on their sixth studio album (the last of which we loved), the band almost feel like they have something to prove, given the roll they have been on as of late again. I do feel like they prove whatever that is though, as this is yet another incredibly solid power metal album. The band have shown that they are certainly not one hit wonders and that they are very good songwriters when it comes to this sort of style. Don’t get me wrong, it fits in similarly with a lot of other power metal coming out currently, but even still they are high up that group where quality is concerned. Tracks like ‘Dance of the Axes’, ‘Rock and Stone’ and the epic closing track are all fantastic, but honestly there isn’t a bad track on the album! It’s a fun power-folk metal album, and a must for any heavy music fans. The band don’t take themselves too seriously but that doesn’t overshadow their talents in playing and songwriting at all! This gets an easy 8/10 from me!
Kasey Chambers: Backbone
The Australian country singer-songwriter is back with her first new album in over half-a-decade. And honestly, for those who like the slower, more chilled-out country/Americana music, like Julian Taylor last week, you’ll love this, just as much as I do! It also has plenty of folky vibes to it, giving off vague Stevie Nicks vibes alongside the country and Americana. Her voice is incredible and clearly so is her songwriting ability, as this thing is absolutely packed to the teeth with awesome track after awesome track. From the opening two tracks to the almost spooky banjo time ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ to the fun duet with Shane Nicholson to the upbeat ‘Take Me Down the Mountain’, there is so much to love. However, every track is amazing, and went by in a flash, not feeling like an hours worth of music at all! I’d never heard of her before but she certainly has a big new fan in me, and I’ll certainly be checking out her older stuff this week! Any fans of country or folk reading this should definitely check out this album. It gets an easy 9/10 from me!
Fahran: The Hope That Killed Me
A band I have loved for a decade at this point, ever since gigging with them back as a teen. I was so glad when the band returned after a nearly five year studio absence with single ‘Hate Me’, especially with the bands seeming renewed focus and a slight new heaviness to their sound. Since then, every single has been just as good as the last, hyping this album up massively. And my god, does it deliver. There are so many highlight tracks, from the aforementioned one to ‘Marizion’ to ‘Inside the Fire’ to ‘Pressure’, and plenty in between too. Then you have slower tracks like ‘All the Things I’ve Never Said’ (an absolute masterclass in vocals from Matt), the epic closer or the BFMV ‘The End’-like title track, adding some much needed variety between heavier tracks.
The whole album is fantastic, and the nearly-hour went by in a flash. Matt’s voice is arguably better than ever, while the addition of some screams in parts only add to the tracks, and in a massive way! Meanwhile the rest of the band are riff machines as per, putting out heavy, technical awesomeness like they’re some sort of djenty Alter Bridge. I have to admit that I wasn’t all that into Vapours a few years back, though I haven’t given it much of a chance again recently. But I still spin Chasing Hours pretty regularly a decade on, and this album is up there with that one for me. It’s the perfect return by the band, and will surely push them to the next level in the hard rock/metal scene. I’mma be listening to this a lot in the coming months, and I’d recommend it to any rock or metal fan! 9/10
Tantrum: No Place for the Damned
One of the many, many artists of the same name, the Scottish NWOBHM band returned with their third studio album this last Friday. To the surprise of I’m sure no one who’s familiar with them, it’s an excellent album. From old-school Iron Maiden to Judas Priest, the band very much wear their inspirations on their sleeves. However, there’s just a touch of power metal feel to it too, like a sprinkling of Hammerfall. It’s also almost impossible to pick highlight tracks, as this album is packed full of awesome songs. I’m sure our playlist will be packed full of songs from this. And while it is an old-school sound and style, the band still have a modern edge and feel to them; this doesn’t feel dated at all. The production on it is amazing, and the band themselves all perform their arses off throughout. It’s balls-to-the-wall heavy metal for close to an album, and it’s truly glorious. It’s a style that I grew up with and it is performed to perfection here. The band have a huge new fan in me, and I can’t not give this a 9.5/10!
Clayton Mullen: Start at the End
The second album from the country-pop rising star is exactly what you’d expect from the genre, honestly. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with it, but it does follow a pretty generic formula in 2024, and a lot of the 13-tracks sound vaguely similar. Songs like ‘Miss Somewhere’, ‘Good Trucks Rust’ and the clear standout of the album ‘Things a College Town Taught Me’ are all personal highlights. The rest of it isn’t bad by any stretch, but it’s certainly fairly similar to these tracks but a step lower. If you’re a fan of the modern radio-country sound, think Russel Dickerson or Tyler Hubbard, you’ll find plenty to enjoy here. As for me, I’ll give it a 6/10
Mexican Standoff: Raiders of the Dutch Rudder
Considering I had no idea at all what to expect heading into this, it was a damn fun punk album! It has a fantastic 90s sound to it that I love, clearly incorporating that skater punk style and very much wearing their inspiration on their sleeves. Having said that, their guitar tone is heavy, and some of the riffs are far more stoner/post-hardcore/hard rock than they have any right to be, it fitting surprisingly perfectly with their general sound. It’s all like the perfect combination of Pennywise, Rancid and The Wildhearts. Tracks like the opener, ‘Anthrax Empress 2’ and ‘Bloody Summer’ are all huge highlights. However, if you’re a punk fan like I am, you’ll love all of this. Shoutout to their heavy, incredibly fun cover of ‘Proud Mary’, too. It’s only half-an-hour across 10 tracks, and is an incredibly easy-to-listen-to album. It’s an easy 7.5/10 from me!