A MASSIVE week of new music for us this week, with everything from rock to metal to country getting awesome releases! Let’s check it all out!
AFI: Silver Bleeds the Black Sun…
I clearly haven’t listened to AFI in a while. Where is the punk? Where is the edge? This is just straight up The Cure or Pulp. It’s still emo, but very much in a more soft rock/pop vein than I was expecting. Don’t get me wrong, tracks like ‘Holy Vision’ and ‘Ash Speck in a Green Eye’ are good and definite highlight tracks, but this is completely different compared to the band they used to be. I have read that Davey has struggled vocally recently and had to change up their setlist and style live, but I wasn’t expecting the instrumentation to shift to a much lighter style to coincide with that. Even going back to visit Bodies, sure it’s less punk than their early days, but it still feels like the same band, just progressing and aging. I guess after hearing Bodies Bleeds… makes more sense, as it feels like a less jarring change. However, I remember enjoying their self-titled release back in 2017, and this is a far-cry from that, for sure.
It’s not a bad album, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not what I expected or wanted to hear from AFI, that’s for sure. This kinda sound is coming back a bit, but at least when Creeper do it they add their own twist on the style, don’t just release a Cure/Billy Idol retread. If you go into this release as a fan of their early stuff, like me, be prepared for it to not meet your expectations. Though, I’m sure there will be plenty that love this album! It may grow on me, but for now I can’t give it much more than 6/10
Waylon Jennings: Songbird
The third posthumous studio album from the outlaw country legend continues his legacy rather perfectly, and shows just how fantastic of a musician and songwriter he really was. The fact that these were written at the height of his popularity and I guess never deemed good enough to make it onto a release back then is insane, given how great all this is! From the title track to ‘I’d Hate to go Searchin’ Them Bars Again’ to ‘After the Ball’, there are tracks on here that I’d put up there alongside some of his best work, honestly. The whole album is good too, it being an easy, chilled out 30-minutes of awesome traditional country music. It certainly won’t be for everyone, especially with how the country scene has gone since these were written, but if you are at all curious I cannot recommend it enough! It’s a damn solid album, and a damn solid 8/10!
Orbit Culture: Death Above Life
Album five from the Swedish melodeath band sees them take on the tough task of trying to follow up the utterly incredible Descent. As you can see, we adored that album, so I’ve been pretty hyped for this since it was announced. And, thank god, it very much lives up to my hype, that’s for sure! The band have found the perfect balance of crushing heaviness and catchy melody, and have once again put it on full display with this release. I’ve honestly found it impossible to pick highlight tracks as well as it’s all SO good. Almost all of it ended up on my personal playlist. How the band aren’t one of the biggest names in the metal world already I will never understand, as they are easily one of the best. Their talent for playing and writing is off the charts, and I’m just shocked/blown away that they managed to follow-up their last awesome release with another banger! Its nearly-hour runtime goes by in a flash and I honestly cannot recommend the album enough to anyone even slightly into metal. They’ve done it again, another 10/10 from me!
Thrice: Horizons/West
The long awaited sister album to 2021’s East finally dropped last Friday. I never quite ‘got’ Thrice, but I have to admit this is quite a banging album! It’s the perfect blend of alt rock and hardcore and industrial, and makes for a fun listen from start to finish. I love tracks like ‘Gnash’ and ‘Holding On’ but honestly, the whole album is definitely worth a spin in full. It has a really great flow to it, and definitely all feels Thrice! It’s dark, heavy and even beautiful at times, and I’m so glad they’ve returned with this as it’s made me want to go back and try their previous work again. If you are at all curious, check this out, you certainly won’t be disappointed! 8/10
Evil Scarecrow: Silicon Tea
The return album from ‘one of the UK’s most absurd yet standout heavy metal acts’ kinda came out of nowhere for me. The band’s fifth album was announced alongside single ‘The Future Machine’ back in August, yet little fair was made about it online aside for another single dropping last week. Still, the album released on Wednesday and, being a big fan of the band as is, I dove right into it on the day!
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a damn good silly death metal album. The band are incapable of writing a bad one at this point, let’s be honest. However, out of the nine tracks on it, five have been put out as singles, one of which has been out for nearly four years now. It definitely makes the release feel a little disjointed and, sadly, rushed out, somehow. But, as I said, it’s still great, with tracks like ‘Shred the Evidence’, the incredibly silly, doomy ‘Shoptimus Prime’, the now old-school ‘Master of the Dojo’ and the unnecessarily ‘Welly in the Mud’ being big personal highlights. None of the tracks are bad by any stretch, though. The comedy is maybe a touch too on the nose at times, especially when they’ve been doing this for 20+ years now, but it still got a few laughs out of me! If you like heavy, death/doom metal and music that doesn’t take itself too serious, this is definitely a release you need to check out! I had a good time listening to it and will definitely be doing so again a fair bit in the coming weeks and months! 7.5/10
Cory Marks: Sorry for Nothing Vol. 2
I very nearly missed this, which I’d have hated as I LOVED Vol. 1 at the back end of last year. This is a pretty fantastic sequel to that release, being the perfect mixture of country, southern rock and early 2000s post nu-metal alt rock! ‘Hangman’ is the perfect opener, setting things up excellently, and is followed up by half an hour of banger after banger! Tracks like ‘Change the Game’, ‘Wild Ride’ and ‘A Different Kind of Year’ are all personal highlights, but there really isn’t a bad song on it! And it’s pretty short and sweet, making it the perfect release to pair up with its sister album. Both very much feel like the same project, and I can wholeheartedly recommend listening to them both together! It’s great that Cory is finally getting the attention and love he deserves, and it’s because he keeps putting out awesome albums like this! 9/10
Michael Schenker Group: Don’t Sell Your Soul
I have never been album to get into Schenker’s solo stuff. I’ve even seen it live a couple of times over the years and it’s still not done much for me. This release sadly has not changed that. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fine, but it’s a touch… bland… dated, almost. I completely get his huge influence on the world of rock music today and have a huge amount of respect for the guy, but he’s never really evolved as a songwriter or player, it feels. Like this could be any 70s/80s AOR band. If that’s all you listen to you’ll probably love this, but there has been so much awesome music in that style over the last 50 years, and this isn’t quite up there with all of it. ‘Danger Zone’ and ‘It’s You’ are personal highlights, but outside of those I did sadly get a little bored and restless while listening to it in full. I’m sure plenty will love this release, and as I said, it’s not bat all. It’s well written, performed and crafted, it just little for me. 5/10, bang average.
Adam and the Hellcats: 9 Lives
The third album from the UK underground, rising hard rockers is a fun 40-minute listen, that’s for sure! The band have a great combination of the modern rock revival sound and a more old-school punk vibe, especially with the duel male and female vocals. It’s channels everything from Wildhearts to X to Rancid to White Raven Down. The trio of ‘Another sad song’, ‘Made in Bristol’ and ‘The Dead are walking’ is incredible and one of my favourite 12 minutes of any album this year. Don’t get me wrong though, the rest of the album is also awesome! I’m seeing the bands name all over the place currently, and their output is a great reflection of why that is! If I had one ever so minor complaint, the mixing at times takes me out of it. However, that’s almost part of the charm with punk music, and it’s barely an issue for the most part. If you are at all a fan of any of the genres or bands I’ve mentioned previous, I cannot recommend you check out this album enough! 8.5/10
Erotic Secrets of Pompeii: Pitchfork Libra
The sophomore album from art rock/post punk quintet comes barely 18 months after their debut, and continues the same fun, chaotic energy from that release! ‘Ten Ton Delirium’ sets the insane tone of the album perfectly, while tracks like ‘Zygote’ and the Dead Kennedys-esque ‘Speak Medieval’ that are also big personal highlights. The whole album is Damon solid though, and worth a full spin at least once. It’s like a combination of Mr Bungle and The Hives, and makes for an incredibly fun listen! We don’t get enough bands that are this sort of style any more, and I’m already a little obsessed with them. They’re all incredibly talented musicians and songwriters, and have a huge new fan in me! It won’t be for everyone, but if you are into the quirkier side of rock/punk music, this is certainly worth a try. It gets a very solid 8/10 from us!
The Mansters: Snapshots from a Shitshow
What an old-school punk/hardcore masterclass this is! It’s barely even an album, it’s just 18-minutes, even spread across 13 tracks. However, it is a balls-to-the-wall release packed full of fast riffs and drumming, aggressive vocals and enough great messages and lyrics to keep me obsessed throughout. From the cheeky ‘Badeland Hardcore’ to the skate-punk ‘Lessons in Giving Up’ to ‘Panicboy 2’ and ‘No Money, I’m Worried’, there is plenty to love, especially with the run-time being so short! The band have a great talent for crafting their style of songs, transporting the listener back to the late 90s/early 2000s in the best way. We don’t have enough new music like this, as even the greats have slowed down drastically in their output in recent years, so any time I get to hear some more of it I can’t not love it! If you are at all into punk, you need to check this out ASAP. It’s a lot of fun and something I’ll definitely be revisiting plenty in the near future! 8.5/10
Carter Faith: Cherry Valley
The debut album from the young, rising country star had a lot of hype behind it when it dropped on Friday, and it’s safe to say it more than lives up to said hype! She’s got an absolutely fantastic voice, and it fits perfectly with the neo-traditional country music she performs. It gives off big Kaitlin Butts or Willow Avalon vibes in the best ways! From ‘Sex, Drugs & Country Music’ to ‘Bar Star’ to ‘Betty’ to ‘Drink Up, Baby’ and ‘Burn my Memory’ there is so much to love. The whole album is amazing though, and doesn’t feel it’s nearly hour-long runtime at all! It’s easy to hear why she’s gotten to be such a big name over the last few years, and I truly believe that this release will set her up for HUGE things in the coming years to come. If you are all into old-school country music, you need to be listening to this immediately! This is front-to-back amazing, and one of my favourite country release of the year, easy! It gets a very solid 9/10 from us!
Unmaker: Status Zero
The Irish modern death-thrash metal band released their sophomore album this last Friday, and honestly blew me away with it! It goes hard from the very first second, not slowing down in pace or energy for its entire near-hour runtime. From the guitaring to the drums to the screams, it’s all some of the best I’ve heard all year; the band are insanely talented! Tracks like ‘Head of the Snake’, ‘Kill the World’, ‘Napalm’ and the Gojira-y ‘Katmuda’ are personal highlights, but the whole album really is incredible! The whole thing is very Kreator, but also has just a splash of the likes of Machine Head or Alien Weaponry too, an amazing blend that works perfectly together! I’d never heard of the band before now but they are another on this list this week that now has a massive new fan in me! I cannot recommend it enough to anyone even slightly into the heavier side of metal. Hopefully they are able to come over here to tour soon, as I NEED to see this live. An incredibly solid 9/10 from me!