Another massive week of new music, as usual these days! Let’s dive right in!
Ensiferum: Winter Storm
The folk metal titans are back with their first new full-length release in nearly half a decade. I’ve been a big fan of the band for a few years now and it’s awesome to finally be able to review something from them. They certainly haven’t disappointed with this release, either. It’s 43-minutes of power/folky metal goodness. It’s heavy, epic and filled with memorable moments, be them riffs, screams, choruses or solos. It’s also almost impossible to pick a highlight track or two, as they’re all so darn good. However, if you want one to try and dip your toes in and see what it’s like, the epic ‘From Order to Chaos’ highlights the bands strengths and talent perfectly. And damn if the whole album doesn’t all flow together perfectly. The band are all insanely talented players and songwriters, and if you have even a passing interest in power metal, folk metal, heavy metal or anything even close to any of them, you HAVE to check out this album! I’m certainly going to be spinning it a lot in the coming months, and a fair bit of it ended up on our playlist! 8.5/10
Wyatt Flores: Welcome to the Plains
We’ve already covered this awesome album! Check out the review here!
Rag’n’Bone Man: What do You Believe in?
The English soul-pop singer is back with his first new album in three years. I, like everyone else seemingly across the world, was obsessed with ‘Human’ and ‘Skin’ when they released. I enjoyed the whole Human album, honestly, which makes it even worse that I never had the chance to check out Life by Misadventure. However, I’m here to redeem myself by checking this out and letting y’all know what I think!
It’s fine. His voice is just as phenomenal as before, his power and rasp being so incredibly impressive. However, as I suspected, there isn’t really anything on it that lives up to Human. Single ‘What Do you Believe In?’ is probably the closest and the biggest highlight track of the album, but ‘All I Know’ and ‘Chokehold’ are also pretty good! There’s a fun jazz/funkiness to the soul-pop too, which really added a lot to the songs. And non of it is bad by any stretch, it just all felt rather one-note, as good as that note was. I almost didn’t cover the album, but for some reason he’s classed as alternative still and I knew I’d be checking it out anyway. If you want a nice chilled-out album to sit back and relax to, this is certainly one for you. And who knows, maybe it’ll grow on me. But for now, it gets a 6.5/10!
Jerry Cantrell: I Want Blood
The Alice in Chains guitarist and main man is back with another solo effort. We loved his last release back in 2021, so I’ve been impatiently waiting for this release since it was announced. To say it lives up to the hype is an understatement. Don’t get me wrong, this is coming from a massive AIC fan; I imagine if you aren’t it maybe doesn’t hit as hard. But damn dude, this is sick! From the opening one-two-punch to the likes of ‘I Want Blood’, ‘Echos of Laughter’ and ‘Held Your Tongue’ there is so much killer and no filler at all. It’s another grunge masterpiece from a criminally underrated songwriter, vocalist and guitarist. And the vocal harmonies are still there for the AIC fans too. It’s a slight shame that we’re getting this almost at the expense of more original Chains music, but it’s hard to complain when either way, we’re getting excellent releases! If you are a fan of his, his other band or the genre in general (or heck, just rock in general) this is well worth checking out! It’s another solid 9/10 from him!
Riley Green: Don’t Mind if I Do
God-fuckin’-damn, that was a slog. I thought I was a Riley Green fan, but if I was before, I don’t think I am any more. This was over an hour of slow-ass country music. Don’t get me wrong, the style certainly has its place, and there are some songs that I don’t mind by any stretch, but did we really need 18 tracks of the same crap?! Stuff like ‘Change my Mind’, ‘Waitin’ All Day’, ‘Chip off the Ol’ Block’ and ‘Good Morning from Mexico’ I imagine I’d enjoy a lot in isolation. But when they are surrounded by multiple other average-at-best (boring-at-worst) songs, it makes me enjoy them less. Heck, I’ve never been more underwhelmed as seeing Ella Langley had repayed the favour on ‘Don’t Mind if I do’ and it’s so much worse than ‘you look like you love me’. I know this is certainly some people’s style of country, clearly as he currently has over 10 million monthly listeners, but I definitely don’t fall into this category. It was a slog and a half; could have been half as long and would have still been boring. I can’t give it any more than 3.5/10
Frozen Crown: War Hearts
This is the most power metal thing to ever power metal. From the heavy riffing, soaring, powerful vocals, MASSIVE choruses, orchestral bits in the mix and the general hugely epic feel, it does the genre excellently. I fucking love it. I legitimately feel like I could go and fight a dragon after listening to this. And every track is so well crafted and put together, with each element given chance to shine through in just about every song. It’s like the perfect blend of Hammerfall and Dragonforce, and is awesome. Tracks like ‘Steel and Gold’, ‘On silver Wings’ and the expected epic-length closing track ‘Ice Dragon’ are all huge personal highlights. However, every track on this thing is exceptional. Heck, we even get a full-lenth orchestral-folk interlude track in ‘King of the Dragon’. This is a damn good power metal album that any fan of the genre needs to check out! 9/10
The Outlaw Orchestra: La Familia
We also checked out this in full too, aren’t you lucky? Check it out here!
MC5: Heavy Lifting
Right from that fuzzy, blues, grungy riff of opener ‘Heavy Lifting’ I was hooked on this album. And I honestly had no idea how the ‘Kick Out the Jams’ original band would do putting out a studio album over half-a-century after their last would do. Especially when the album had been delayed for two years leading up to its release, and sadly the final original member of the band, Wayne Kramer, passed away earlier this year. However, it’s a damn good blues/hard rock release, and a fitting tribute to him. Think Electric Boys but heavier, and not at all what I was expecting from the band given their old style. Tracks like the jazzy ‘Twenty-Five Miles’ and the punky, driving, Slash/DuVall featuring ‘The Edge of the Switchblade’ sit alongside the opener as other huge highlights. However, the album as a whole is great and a damn fun listen! I’d recommend it to any more blues-oriented rock fans out there! 8/10
Japandroids: Fate & Alcohol
The punky alt-rock Canadian duo are back with their fourth album, and first in seven years. I’d not heard of the band before but damn, I really enjoyed this! It’s 36-minutes of feel-good, pop-punk goodness, with a splash of grunge to add an edge to it. It’s a real good album to sit back and relax too, while also having some pretty deep lyrics if you take the time to listen. It’s another album where it’s very hard to pick highlights from, as they’re all of equal quality and a similar level. That’s hardly a complaint when the album is of this high quality and short length, though! If you’re a fan of any of the genres I’ve mentioned already, I’d definitely recommend checking this out! I’m certainly gonna be listening to it a lot moving forward, and the band have a new fan in me! 8.5/10
Austin Gold: Ain’t No Saint
Gold is causing quite the stir in the NWOCR scene currently, so this third album couldn’t be any better timed. Following on from 2022’s stellar Those City Lights is no easy task, but one that Austin achieves with style and attitude. His particular blend of blues and AOR/sleaze makes for an infectiously fun listen, and his songwriting has somehow taken yet another step up in the last two years. The riffing is awesome, the vocal melodies catchy and huge-sounding, and the solos throughout are incredible. Tracks like ‘The Wire Defines’, ‘Down & Outs’ and the amazing ballad ‘End of Our Song’ are certainly highlights for me. It’s been a little while coming, but this really feels like a coming out party for Austin, an announcement that he’s here and here to stay. He’s gonna be a big name in the NWOCR scene in the years to come, and this album will be a big reason why! It’s an easy 7.5/10 from me!