A typically stacked week of New Music Mondays this time, featuring plenty of rock, metal and country albums to sink our teeth into. Let’s get right into it!
Coheed and Cambria: The Father of Make Believe
The third and final part of the Vaxis trilogy of course goes kinda hard, but also not quite as hard as I’d like to at times. However, what it makes up for in big riffs, it more than makes up for in sheer beauty. I mean, just listen to Meri of Mercy and try to tell me that shit isn’t gorgeous. And then to follow that up with that riff and scream on ‘Blind Side Sonny’… DAMN. Okay, I take it back, this does go hard, it just takes a little to get going. It’s surprisingly modern-punk at times, and I’m all for it! The variety on this release is off the charts, and makes for an insanely interesting listen and plenty of repeatability. It’s a solid undertaking, very close to an hour across 14 songs, but it is very much worth it. What’s even more worth it is doing all three on the trot, which I somehow managed to do this weekend and FUCK, amazing!
It’s so hard to pick highlight tracks, too. The two aforementioned tracks are certainly up there, as are ‘Someone Who Can’ and ‘The Father of Make Believe’. And of course all four parts of ‘The Continuum’ are phenomenal, together and apart, specifically I. And while the opening three tracks didn’t hook me as much as the rest of the album, none of them are especially bad. If you are a fan of the band, or even if you aren’t, I can’t recommend this release enough! I LOVED the last record (clearly), but this may top it. Heck, I’d put this up there with Good Apollo, honestly, it’s just that good. I’ve already spun this twice this weekend and will be listening a lot more in the coming weeks and months. If it wasn’t for my initial impression, it’d get top marks. It may still go up, but for now it’s a very solid 9.5/10!
Dorothy: THE WAY
The modern blues rock goddess’ fourth album may honestly be her best yet. The riffs are bigger, better and heavier than ever, her voice is just as powerful and impressive as it always is, and the songwriting feels like it’s somehow taken another seemingly impossible step up. Honestly, her vocals are some of the best and most underrated currently out there, in any genre! I very much enjoyed their last album, but this, as said, is a step up from that. It’s almost impossible to pick highlight tracks as they are all so good. And at only 36-minutes it’s so easily-digestible. Honestly I don’t know what else I can say about it without just repeatedly gushing over and over. If you are in any way a rock fan, you have to check this out immediately. It’s her best album to date and, I’ll make the call again, this should be the release to finally send her to the very top of the rock world. It’s another very solid 9.5/10 in a row!
Charley Crockett: Lonesome Drifter
Yet another studio album from the country musician, marking his 14th in the last decade and second in 11 months. He’s clearly learnt his work ethic from artist like Neil Young and Willie Nelson, that’s for sure!
However, having heaped all that praise on him, this album was kinda average to me. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t bad by any stretch. His brand of neo-tradional country and Western music makes for a good listen, especially if you are into things more old-school. And tracks like ‘Game I Can’t Win’, ‘This Crazy Life’ and ‘Never No More’ are all personal highlights. However, it doesn’t quite hold up to the same quality and interesting listen to $10 Cowboy. It’s even more stripped-back in a lot of places, and I do feel like generally it’s a little less memorable. But, having said all of that, I do think the album gets better the longer it goes on. The second half, in my opinion, is a lot stronger and more enjoyable than the first half.
If you’re a fan of traditional country, or more soul/blues infused, chilled-out Western music, it’s still certainly worth checking out. It’s still a solid 7/10, and I will certainly be listening to a few of the tracks a lot moving forward!
Ricky Warwick: Blood Ties
The Almighty/Black Star Riders legend is back with another solo release, following up 2021s When Life was Hard & Fast. Honestly, if you’re a fan of any of his previous work, you’ll know almost exactly what to expect heading into it, and it very much delivers on that. Tracks like the opener, ‘Don’t Leave Me in the Dark’ and ‘Crocodile Tears’ are personal highlights and up there with any of his solo or recent Riders work, honestly. It’s truthfully a little hard to come up with things to say about it as it’s just a good straight-up rock album. It combines elements of his Thin Lizzy influence and his own Almighty style together perfectly, and is a surprisingly chilled-out release that doesn’t feel like it’s 40-minutes in length at all. It’s not something I’d revisit often, but I will definitely be listening again throughout the year, and certainly wouldn’t turn it off if it came back on again. It is just a touch of background music, but that is hardly a bad thing, it just means I have less to analyse! It’s a solid 7.5/10 from us, and I’d recommend it to any rock fan reading this!
Warbringer: Wrath and Ruin
The modern Californian thrash band are back with album number seven, and their first since 2020. And honestly, I’d put this up there with any of their critically acclaimed mid-2000s stuff, proving that, much like their contemporaries Evile, the thrash revival is coming back with a vengeance. All eight tracks here are awesome and really are a full-frontal assault from start to finish in the best way possible. However, ‘A Better World’, ‘Neuromancer’ and the more blackened death ‘Through a Glass, Darkly’ are personal highlights, I have to say. The band are all fantastic songwriters, the lyrics being surprisingly awesome for the genre, and are clearly absolutely incredible players. And, on top of all of that, it’s a double album with a stacked set of live shows on the second disc, demonstrating just how awesome the band are in that setting, too. It’s no secret that I’m a massive thrash fan, and this was right up my street, feeling just as fresh and modern as it did when the band started 20 odd years ago. If you like stuff heavy, check this out, you won’t be disappointed! It’s a solid 7.5/10 from me!
P.S. this artwork goes hard. Damn.
Warren Zeiders: Relapse, Lies & Betrayal
The modern country megastar is back and taking no prisoners with this release. Now, don’t get me wrong, it is a deluxe version of his 2024 album Relapse, but we somehow didn’t check that out on here, and it adds more than double the amount of tracks to the release, so we thought it was only fair to give it some love now!
Firstly, I think it’s interesting that the tracks are rearranged somewhat. Though both versions open on the titular track, outside of ‘Betrayal’ the rest of the original album is at the back of this release. I kinda like it though, as ‘Lies’ fits pretty perfectly between the other two songs and sets the tone of the album pretty perfectly. Then you have new tracks like the beautiful duet with Lanie Gardner, ‘Crying Whiskey’ and ‘Take it to the Grave’ that are just as good as anything he’s put out, honestly. There’s a lot of great stuff in the new half, and it’s definitely made a very solid case for it all being released. Such a good case, that I feel like it should have been another album. I completely get feeling like it’s all one project from an artist perspective, as they were probably all wrote and recorded in similar sessions. But, it’s also an hour plus of similar-ish, slower modern country music. And I would still say the main album tracks are still better and more interesting. There isn’t a bad song on the collection, but there are certainly better songs than others, and even Warren’s utterly fantastic vocals and lyrics can quite change that. ‘Intoxicated’ and ‘Stone’s Throw Away’ are still my favourite tracks on the album. It’s worth a listen if you’re into him or country in general, but I won’t be rushing back to the extended cut all too much. Still, it’s a solid 7/10!
Black Spiders: Cvrses
The British hard rockers put out their fifth studio album after their triumphant return to the studio with their self titled and Can’t Die, Won’t Die back in 2021 and 2023 respectively. As you can tell, I quite liked their last album, and have been a fan of the band for years now, so go into this pretty damn hyped! For the most part it lives up to said hype, too. To no surprise, this is a damn solid rock album. Songs like the opener, ‘Idol Hands’ and ‘No Superman’ are personal highlights, though the whole album is pretty great! There’s more of a Wildhearts feel to a lot of it which I love, and makes for a lot of fun to listen to. Don’t get me wrong, it’s certainly long, and 14 tracks does feel a touch bloated, but I honestly wouldn’t know which to cut to trim the fat a little. It flows really well together, too. It’s a damn good follow-up to their previous release, and honestly I may even put this slightly higher in the ranking than it. But, much like our last review, I don’t think it quite lives up to those first two stellar albums from them. I also think it doesn’t help that it’s released into such a saturated market for this sort of music these days, and does very little out of the ordinary or to stand out. Still, it is a good album, and gets a solid 8/10 from us!
The Davidson Trio: Cougar
The debut album of the English power blues rock trio is fantastic, and a lot of fun to listen to! Right from opener ‘Medusa Touch’ to the lead single/title track and the plodding ‘Blue River’ to the epic closer, it’s 35-minutes of sheer blues awesomeness. It’s all just amazing riffs and catchy vocal lines, performed by three people very clearly at the top of their craft. Being in a blues-inspired band has given me a huge new appreciation for the style, but even if it hadn’t, I have a feeling I’d still love this! If you’re a fan of the likes of Hendrix, Bonemassa or even bands like ZZ Top or Quo, do yourselves a favour and check this album out, you won’t be disappointed! The band have a huge new fan in me, and with them being so local hopefully I’ll get to see them live soon! It’s a solid 8.5/10 from us!
An Evening With Knives: End of Time
Another absolutely SICK album artwork, first of all. Secondly, the third studio album from the Netherlands-based trio is utterly fantastic. Masterfully combining everything from post-metal to psychedelic to doom metal, the band have really constructed an epic soundscape that deserves to be listened to in full 38-minute listens just as much as individual tracks. ‘Pride of Lions’ is an excellent opener and single which channels big Mastodon vibes, though more stoner. Then you have the epic, almost prog ‘Death’ and both other singles that are just as excellent. However, as I said, every single track here is awesome, and it all fits together like a perfect puzzle. I cannot get over how good this is, and is a very welcome surprise. Doom-like metal is so good at the minute, and this band are certainly one of the many carrying that torch and setting an example as to why. Yet again, the band have a huge new fan in me, and no matter what sort of music you are into, I cannot recommend this release enough, go and check it out now! I can’t give it any less than 9/10, awesome stuff!
Giovannie and the Hired Guns: Quitter
Another album on this list that I wasn’t expecting to love anywhere near as much as this. I’ve somehow never heard of this band before, but damn, I love them! It’s very much a nod to the early 2000s pop/skate punk scene, but has that heavier edge that the likes of ADTR added to it, though these guys didn’t lose that fun element when doing so! I was hooked right from the awesome opener, the titular Giovannie’s vocals throughout being incredible, be it catchy singing or surprisingly heavy screams. That’s the followed by the HUGE single/title track and a fantastic cover of ‘Talk Dirty’. It’s safe to say the album opens incredibly strong, and continues the same quality and energy throughout. ‘Chiquita’, ‘Pineapple Sunshine’ and ‘Land of the Lost’ are all huge personal highlights on an album packed full of them! It actually has just an air of HARDY’s latest stuff, so that makes sense as to why they get the ‘country rock’ description I guess. I know I wasn’t a fan of that when it came out, but it feels a lot more natural from this band!
I honestly can’t state enough how much fun I had listening to this, even when the album gets a little slower and more reflective. It’s a fantastic album from start to finish that didn’t feel like nearly 45 minutes at all. I love this sort of style, all of them, and the band do it better than few others. I’ll be listening to this a lot moving forward, and it’s another album I’d heavily recommend to anyone reading this. It’s another incredibly solid 9/10 from me; what a week!
HoneyBombs: There is an Elephant in the Room
This release from the underground Italian punk/rock/metal titans has been a long time coming, being first put off due to the pandemic ruining everything, and then it taking a couple of years to record and get out. The wait was probably worth it, as this is a good, interesting release! It combines so many different sounds and influences, and is anything but boring. From punk and metal riffing to even some glam/AOR in the choruses, it wears its heart on its sleeve fantastically. In fact, AOR is honestly the perfect way to describe this album. Songs like the opening two, ‘Spit on You’ and the epic ‘Ascension’ are awesome, and very much highlights. Don’t get me wrong, it’s long, over an hour. However, it shockingly doesn’t feel that long when listening to it, and I came away from it wanting to dive right back in again. The band are insanely talented players and songwriters, and it makes it all the more enjoyable. It’s certainly not going to be for everyone, but I thoroughly enjoyed this album and if you’re into the proggier side of things, I’m sure you will too! It’s a solid 8/10, and the band have a new fan in me!