A typically stacked week for new albums, with everything from rock to country to metal having some awesome releases! Let’s check it all out together!
P.S the awesome Trouble County have released physical copies of their debut album this week, check out how much we loved that here.
Bleed from Within: Zenith
As little as the band seems to stand out to me live, there is no denying Bleed from Within slap on track. This album is more of the same too, and exactly what I expected from them in the best way! Firstly ‘God Complex’ may be not only the best song the band have ever done, but a strong contender for one of the best modern metalcore songs. And, following it with the equally incredible ‘A Hope in Hell’, and Bleed from Within are not fucking around on this album. And that’s not even mentioning the likes of the opening track or ‘Known by No Name’ or the epic closer. This album is packed full of awesome tracks, and there isn’t a bad one on here! While I don’t think it’s quite as impactful on me as their previous release, it is a damn good followup to Shrine. It’s a fantastic release from one of the most consistently great metalcore bands of this generation. It’s insane to me that they still aren’t getting the recognition I feel they deserve, but hopefully this release does just that for them! I’ll certainly be spinning it again, and it gets a solid 8.5/10 for the Scots!
Parmalee: Fell in Love with a Cowgirl
We’ve already reviewed this awesome release! Check out what we thought here.
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs: Death Hilarious
The Scouse stoner metal titans are back a follow-up to their 2023 banger Land of Sleeper. We enjoyed that album when we checked it out, and while this is more of a similar thing, for some reason it didn’t quite hook me in as much. Stuff like the opener, the almost Sword-like, riff-heavy ‘Stitches’ and ‘Carousel’ are still awesome and big personal highlights. However, some of it, especially the vocal delivery, felt a little too Soft Play and hardcore/punk-esque for me. The instrumentation even felt a touch stripped-back at times, not so much of a focus as a lot of it was pretty simple stuff. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a big fan of the band or anything, so I imagine this is pretty par for the course and that big fans of them will love this. It’s certainly not bad, either. But, for reasons so-far unknown, it isn’t grabbing me as much as I hoped it would. As I said, fans of the band will probably love this, so I’d heavily recommend it to any reading this, or if you’re heavily into the stoner metal kinda vibe. I do think I’ll have to revisit it at a later date to see if I still feel the same, but for now it gets a 7/10. Still good, but I hoped for slightly more.
Unbound Terror: Something is Wrong with Humanity
The Spanish death metal legends are back with their fourth studio album. It’s about as straight-up, old-school death metal as you can get, so if you’re into that sort of thing I’m sure you’ll love it! Heck, it’s not fully my sort of thing, but even I found myself getting won over by the sheer brutality of the riffs and the awesome instrumentation throughout. The guitars, bass and drums go hard, and I love it. My only issue comes with the growls, and even then I think it’s more of a typical death metal mixing issue than it is anything about how they sound. If it didn’t feel quite so grating, I’d probably love it. Still, tracks like ‘Destiny of Evil’ and ‘The Disappointment’ are personal highlights. If you’re into this particular brand of metal, you’ll probably get a lot of enjoyment out of this. And, given that it’s only just over half an hour, it’s a pretty easy listen! It’s not particularly something I’ll be revisiting much, but there is no denying that what it is is a damn good death metal album. It’s a solid 6.5/10 from us!
All for Jolly: Self-Titled
It’s pretty rare we get new celtic punk these days, it being very much a late 90s/early 2000s sound, so whenever we get some I am genuinely excited. The pirtatey band’s sophomore album, following up their 2020 debut, was my first foray into the band, but they instantly have a big new fan in me! Hailing from Penzance, the theming and style makes a bit more sense, even if it is still a little odd for me to hear this sound without hearing a vaguely forced/exaggerated Irish accent (or Scottish in Alestorm’s case). However, after taking a little to get used to it, as well as the songwriting being that damn good that it quickly won me over, I got a little obsessed! The more I listened the more I fell in love, every song being just as good as the last. There’s a lot of different pacing and sounds, from acoustic folk stuff to all out punk and even edging on metal, making it constantly interesting.
And, it’s impossible to pick out highlight tracks, as all are so good and so many of them made my personal playlist! However, I did like the cameo of (I think) Mr Sweetchunks himself on ‘Spanish Galleon’, though! However, if you are into more light-hearted, piratey, folky punk/hard rock, I cannot recommend this enough! It’s a hell of a lot of fun to listen to, and I’ll be doing so a lot in the following weeks and months! It’s a solid 9/10 from us, and the band have a big new fan in me!
Katie & The Bad Sign: Revolution
The classic/blues/hard rock woman and her band released their highly anticipated debut album last week, and it is every bit as great as everyone was expecting it to be! It somehow gives off equal parts Rolling Stones, Rod Stuart, Heart and Joan Shaw Taylor, yet also feels like a modernised combination of all of them. ‘Wolf at the Door’ is a fantastic, fitting opener, showcasing her incredible sound and lyric-writing prowess. Then you have the likes of the stomping, bluesy ‘Shake Me Down’, the beautiful ballad ‘The River’ and ‘Taste the Dirt’ that are all also big highlights. However, every song is awesome, there isn’t a bad one on the release! It’s 40-minutes of straight-forward, incredible classic rock that doesn’t overstay its welcome and leaves you wanting more. I can’t recommend this enough to anyone who’s a fan of any of the artists or genres I’ve mentioned above, and it really is no wonder she’s gathering so much steam in short order. It’s a solid 8.5/10 from us!
Emily Saunders: Moon Shifts Oceans
This is… certainly something… blending together jazz-fusion, soul, folk-pop and plenty of other styles too, it is anything if not ambitious. The third album from the singer-songwriter comes nearly a decade after her last, so could certainly be classed as anticipated. It’s interesting and quirky and creative… but I’m not sure I ‘got’ it. Maybe it’ll take a few more listens to get into, but I also understand this very much wasn’t made for me. It was a bit of an odd one for us to be sent through, honestly. She clearly has a very dedicated fanbase and has a very specific style, so if you like her other stuff you’ll likely enjoy this a lot, too. But yeah, this was 26-minutes that I struggled to enjoy, as fascinating as it was. ‘Rugged Waves’ was the closest to a highlight for me, so if you’re going to check out anything, let it be that! As I said, I’ll try again in the coming weeks, and this is purely my opinion, but for now I can’t give it any more than a 3.5/10. Sorry.
Living Tales: HADES
The proggy, symphonic metal band out out their first new album in three years this last Friday. It is everything as epic, technical and heavy as one would expect and hope for. I wasn’t actually familiar with the band heading into this review so had no idea what to expect, but they have a bit new fan in me! More and more of it kept ending up on my playlist and, even though it is over 50 minutes long, I cannot recommend listening to the whole thing enough. It flows perfectly together, and there really isn’t a bad song on the release! From the insanely technical, mind-blowing riffing to the sick drumming to the soaring, powerful vocals to just the songwriting in general, it’s all top-notch. It tells a brilliant story and everyone involved, from playing/singing to writing to mixing and mastering, are so very talented. Heck, even the exceptional bass playing (namely on the Tool-like ‘Persefone’) puts this fellow bassist to shame! I cannot recommend this enough to anyone into the epic side of metal, and I’ll certainly be going back and checking out their earlier stuff. It gets a very easy 9/10 from us!
Black Country, New Road: Forever Howlong
The third album from the experimental/post/art rock six piece is as quirky and light-hearted and interesting as fans of the band would come to expect. I feel like readers may be a little shocked to hear this due to my harsh words about Emily above and my vocal ‘meh’ feelings towards stuff like The Last Dinner Party, but I really enjoyed this! It blended the folky and jazzier elements with the soft rock perfectly, and the vocals and melodies and harmonies were all top notch! It’s a really good album to sit back and chill-out and really get absorbed into, and it’s a real testament to the six people involved’s incredible talent. Songs like ‘The Big Spin’, the theatrical ‘Happy Birthday’ and the title track are all awesome. However, there isn’t a bad song on this release, and they all flow together seamlessly. I don’t know if it was just because it was a nice sunny day here, but I had a great time listening to this, and would recommend anyone into the softer side of music to check this out, as I’d imagine you would too! I’m definitely going to have to check out their earlier music, but for now it gets a solid 8/10 from us!
Messiah Paratroops: Legions of Tomorrow
The LONG-awaited debut album from the Finnish death metal legends is finally out, and it’s a pretty great classic-style album in the genre! It’s fast, heavy and packed full of awesome riffs, drums and screams. It’s exactly what you’d expect from a death metal band formed back in 1989! Tracks like the opener, the bands namesake track and ‘Murders of the Lake’ are all personal highlights, but if you like the genre you’ll love it all, just like I did! It’s honestly hard to say much about, as it’s exactly what you’d expect, and base death metal is such a straight-forward, no-nonsense genre that I don’t want to repeat myself too much. It’s fun, and something I’d love to see live, as I can imagine it popping off! It’s a solid 7/10 from us, and is one of the best albums in its vein this year so far!
Filthy Hippies: A Colourful Trip Through Melancholy
The psych/shoegaze South Africans put out an interesting release this last Friday. It’s again a genre I’m not too into or even familiar with, but I certainly didn’t have a bad time listening to this. It was fun and interesting and well created. It almost had an air of early punk to it too, which I certainly can’t complain about! It’s not something I’d revisit all that often, but it’s a damn good album to sit back and chill with in the background. Songs like ‘Wilt’, ‘Fuzzbox’ and the almost Southern-feeling, acoustic ‘Smells like Rehab’ are all awesome and definite highlights. However, it’s a fun album to just get lost in, and there really isn’t a bad song on it. The band are extremely talented, something that honestly feels understated given the genre. My only slight issue is the mixing; I’d personally prefer the vocals a little louder and more prominent, though I feel that comes with the genre, maybe? Either way, it’s a good release that I enjoyed more than I thought I would! It’s a solid 6.5/10
Cry for Mercy: The Machine
The third album from the powerhouse-blues rock trio is just as good as their previous two releases. ‘A Thing About Me’ is an utterly incredible opener that sets the tone for the rest of the album perfectly. Then you have tracks like ‘Walking With the Enemy’, the beautiful ballad ‘Nothing at All’ and ‘Sometimes’ that are all just as awesome and other big highlights. However, it’s all great, and somehow is 50-minutes long and doesn’t at all feel like it overstays it’s welcome. There is plenty of variety and tempo changes throughout, keeping it consistently interesting. At a time where blues seems to be on the up again, this band are doing it better than almost all of their peers. How I haven’t listened to them much, or how they’re not a massive name in the UK scene by now, is insane to me. I’ll be listening to this a lot in the coming weeks and months, and I’d recommend it to anyone! It’s a solid 8.5/10!