The UK’s premier heavy festival concludes this years return edition today, but they are already looking to the future for next year. Announcing 17 bands already, including two of the three headliners, the hype is well and truly building already!
Headlining the Saturday will be the band who were supposed to have that slot this year before having to pull out, Mercyful Fate. The band usually deliver one hell of a stage show and frontman King Diamond says, “This time we are going to bring the Devil himself.”
Headlining one of the other days are groove metal legends Lamb Of God. The band previously headlined back in 2013 and it has been far too long since they did a big show over here. Frontman Randy Blythe had this to say: ‘It’s been way too long since we’ve rocked the festivals of Merry Olde – what better way to announce our return than a headliner slot at Bloodstock. Until then, pack your wellies and stay safe, England – LAMB OF GOD will see you Summer 2022!”
The final headliner is yet to be announced, but they gave us plenty of other incredible bands to get excited for while we wait. Filling up the main stage are bands such as Dimmu Borgir, Testament, Exodus, Black Dalliah Murder, GWAR, Bury Tomorrow, Life of Agony and Butcher Babies. They also have a few of the bands who had to pull out of this year due to travel issues, such as Sacred Reich, Vio-lence, Bloodywood and Phil Anselmo & The Illegals performing their blistering Pantera Set.
That’s not all, headlining the Sophie Lancaster Stage on the Thursday are Night Flight Orchestra and closing it out on the Sunday is industrial metallers Static X with their only UK show of 2022.
Are you as excited as we are for this so far? We’ll keep you up to date on any more announcements over the coming months, be sure to keep an eye on our Instagram here.
Perhaps better known by some as the “dudes with bowls on their heads doing rock stuff”, Adam and the Metal Hawks have found the gap between classic 60s, 70s and 80s rock and today’s younger generation. Gaining nearly 3 million followers in roughly six months, the American rock band became a viral TikTok sensation for creating quirky music videos which show off their down-to-heart personalities and have even gained the attention of lovable legend Jack Black.
From covering classic rock tracks like ‘Crazy Train’ ‘Black Dog’ and ‘Back In Black’, to trending TikTok songs like ‘Beggin’ and both iconic and nostalgic songs like the Pokemon theme song, Adam and The Metal Hawks know how to capture their audience whilst staying true to their roots.
Full interview here:
The band features vocalist Adam Ezegelian, bassist Ryan Daversa, guitarist Johnny Barry and drummer Alex Hertler. A few years on after only becoming a foursome in 2019, the tight-knit group were clearly meant to be.
Adam featured on American Idol in Season 14 in 2015 before meeting the group of three named The Metal Hawks. He has clearly mastered the ability to bring personality to performance without taking away from his distinctive vocals – somehow reminiscent of both Jack Black and the likes of Steven Tyler and Dio in one sound.
Ryan, Johnny and Alex met through middle school and a music store where Johnny and Alex took music lessons. After a few years together as a trio, their management introduced them to Adam who was working on his solo career at the time.
Adam and the Metal Hawks released their debut self-titled album in 2020, featuring their quarantine track ‘Wastin’ Time’.
Adam and the Metal Hawks only joined TikTok in January 2021 and in less than a year they have blown up with viral video after viral video. They initially joined the social media platform after a festival in Switzerland was cancelled due to the pandemic and their Europe tour had been delayed.
How did you start off on TikTok?
Adam: “We actually just joined the platform this year in January and before the pandemic and lockdowns, we were doing shows. We actually had a festival on the calendar for Switzerland and we were going to come over to Europe for a whole tour, it would have been awesome and of course it got pushed back and delayed. And so we decided alright we can’t do shows so we got to jump on TikTok – everybody’s doing it. And we knew we couldn’t just do our original music and pray. We found the platform has a lot of trends and a lot of memes, so we threw our hat in the ring with a little bowl video and put some bowls on our heads and hit them with water bottles and it just kind of blew up. We got over 100,000 followers in our first week of doing it and after that we did our Jack Black duet thing trying to get Jack Black to notice us and that worked out great.”
How does it feel to almost be an overnight sensation? You formed in 2019 and released your first album in 2020 so in the grand scheme of things you haven’t been together that long but you’re now producing viral videos.
Ryan: “I think it’s honestly just a lot of creativity like Adam said, it’s kind of a necessary evil to blow up on TikTok to have some sort of gimmick or a meme. That’s how it was with the bowls, that’s how it was for the Jack Black videos and stuff like that but now with all of the new music we will be releasing at the end of the summer (we’re going to have a single and hopefully an EP or an album next year) we’re hoping that resonates with people. You have a certain percentage of those followers that came for the meme who will also stay for the music.”
Are there any plans for Adam and the Metal Hawks and Jack Black?
Adam: “We’d love to play a show with him, maybe open up for his band Tenacious D that would be sick. Maybe make a School Of Rock 2!”
Alex: “We could do some songs for the new Jumanji movie, that would be cool.”
How hard is it to get into the mind frame of writing originals when the covers do so well on social media?
Ryan: “When we have rehearsals lately it will be like ‘oh let’s make some TikToks’ but now we’re starting to have some gigs again, we’re learning how to be a real band again. But I think if you go into the meeting knowing what the practice is going to be like, like ‘okay this practice we’re going to focus on TikTok’ or ‘this next practice we’re going to focus on our live stuff.’ If you come in with the mind set, I think we can just stick with it. “
Adam: “It’s been kind of weird. Before TikTok, we would just come to a practice with ‘hey i have this idea why don;t we work on it’ or ‘I have an idea for this riff, lets try and build it out into a song’ and it’s pretty similar now but we don’t really have those practises where we can just play. We have a lot more structure to it where it’s ‘okay we need at least three TikToks today so we’re good for the rest of the week’ and going live on TikTok is also important for us – they’re like our only shows, our livestreams. We still come to practice with ideas but it’s more spaced out.
Alex: “Everything is just way more scheduled. Now we have to figure out our interviews, now we’re dedicating our day for this interview. It’s a lot of scheduling … we should all have a calendar?”
What’s next for Adam and the Metal Hawks?
Adam: “We’re planning on releasing at least a single and music video by the end of this summer that will be an original and it’ll be the first song that we’ve released since all the TikTok fame and stardom and all these new fans that may not even know that we’re a real band. A lot of people see us on TikTok and they get a nice chuckle or they just get some good vibes for the day but if they do a little bit of digging, which a bunch of people have already done, you can see on our YouTube we have some music videos up there that are starting to climb and we’re just trying to build up the hype for when do release our new music.
“So the song is called ‘Backwards’ and the music video’s going to feature a lot of cool shots that are played in reverse and it kind of has a party vibe to it. We’re really excited and it’s also something that’s more ‘pop-y’ on the side of pop-rock which is something that we don’t have really have in our previous albums so it’s going to be cool. We’re really excited to see people’s reaction to it.”
With new music in the works and the success of Jack Black’s reaction video, maybe a tour supporting Tenacious D could be on the cards.
Brazilian heavy metal band Icon of Sin has been stirring up quite the praise over the last few months or so, exploding onto the scene this year with their debut self-titled album. I have to admit that I know very little of them, having found out about them from an ad on my Facebook and thought they sounded good so I added them to my list to review… and here we are. So, after only hearing that snippet of one song, let’s dive into their whole album!
‘Icon of Sin’ by Icon of Sin off the album entitled Icon of Sin starts us off. The opening reminds me a lot of ‘Still of the Night’, but it soon builds into a more traditional heavy metal riff, think Iron Maiden or Judas Priest. It builds up nicely into a quick riff before dropping out to mainly drums and clean guitar chords. The lead vocalist comes in over the top, the Bruce Dickinson inspiration being clear as I thought I was actually listening to a Maiden song at first. The Bruce-ness continues throughout, honestly blowing my mind a bit as he hits similar low and high notes. The guy would be AMAZING in a tribute band. It almost distracts me from the rest of the music for the first verse though, but from what I could tell it was still all great. The chorus is pretty good, catchy, and more reminiscent of Priest in terms of its structure. They actually remind me a lot of another Brazilian metal band I used to be a big fan of, Painside. They have a similar sound and love for the older British bands. A slower bridge leads into a great guitar solo, full of technicality and feeling. It then heads into a final chorus to finish off a pretty great opening song!
‘Road Rage’ opens at a blinding pace more akin to the likes of Motorhead. It has a lot of punk vibes to it and the drums are lightning quick. It’s pretty interesting to hear this sort of voice over more punk stuff, and I’m finding myself really enjoying it! It’s balls to the wall throughout, the chorus not slowing at all yet managing to be even more catchy and enjoyable than the previous songs. A short, sweet solo and final chorus finish off a short, sweet song, and a very enjoyable one at that!
‘Shadow Dancer’ gets back to the heavy Maiden vibes again, from the riffs to the soaring vocals. This is the song I had heard before, as I recognise the massively catchy chorus. It’s a great song, the riffs and general instrumentation being amazing while the vocal melodies just remind me so much of the last two or three Maiden albums that I cannot help but love it. The guitar solo is another fantastic showcase of talent, especially when it plays around with the chorus’ melody. We again then get a final chorus to take us home. I see why this was one of the singles, it was awesome, and easily made the playlist!
‘Unholy Battleground’ and ‘Night Breed’ are both great songs in their own right, but don’t add too much different than the likes of the opener and ‘Shadow Dancer’ have already done. Both are great songs, catchy choruses, and some fantastic riffs, but they are both that similar that I’d struggle to say that much about them that I hadn’t already brought up. Heck, even ‘Virtual Empire’ feels fairly similar, but at least it’s a little faster than the previous two songs, making it stand out a little at least.
‘Pandemic Euphoria’ is at least pretty relevant given the world’s ongoing situation, and the lyrics handle it all pretty well. It’s also maybe the catchiest chorus on the album, which is saying a lot given the song-writing talents of these guys. It’s another great solo as well, but it feels like it is getting redundant saying that at this point, as they have all been fantastic solos and will most likely continue to be awesome, too!
The band’s epic, ‘Clouds Over Gotham’, is up next. At eight minutes, it’s the longest song on the album by a good two and a half minutes. And, in case you didn’t guess, it’s Maiden as F**k. The slow, quiet intro leads into a great heavier riff and reminds me a lot of the likes of ‘Starblind’ or ‘When the Wild Wind Blows’. It takes nearly two minutes to make it to the first chorus but it’s worth it, it’s massive and catchy and does something that Maiden doesn’t utilise enough on their studio work, some great backing vocal harmonies. They add so many layers to it, as does the synth that comes in over the top, adding a real epic Phantom of the Opera vibe to it. The guitars following the same melody mere seconds afterwards somehow make it all feel even more epic, too. It drops out to just bass for a second after the second chorus, adding a fun little dynamic, before bursting into a long, AWESOME duelling guitar solo. It then heads to some beautiful acoustic guitar chords with vocals over the top, adding even more great layers to the song. It all builds perfectly into a HUGE final chorus. This was utterly fantastic, and more of what I was hoping for from a modern Maiden-style band. It was an eight-minute epic of fantastic musicianship, and it has instantly made every playlist I could put it on.
Unfortunately, as was most likely to be expected, the following tracks don’t quite live up to the lofty awesomeness of the previous one. ‘Arcade Generation’ has a great AOR-style riff running through it and the chorus is pretty decent. ‘The Last Samurai’ is a faster, punkier jaunt again, packed full of quick drumming and awesome riffs. ‘The Howling’ is somehow a pretty good combination of both of them. Meanwhile closing track ‘Survival Instinct’ is a straight-up Maiden-inspired hard rock track, and it’s awesome. As I have said in other reviews though, they are pretty similar to other tracks on the album so I struggle to have much to say about them. All three are fantastic songs on an awesome album though, I assure you!
Overall: I loved this. I always love discovering new music, especially when it’s a revamp of an older style and of this insanely high quality. I’ll be blasting a lot of these for weeks and months to come and I’m excited to hear where the band goes next. They have the potential to be megastars!
Overall: 8/10
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Floridian metal band Trivium have been a staple of the metal world since their album Ascendency exploded (especially here in the UK) back in 2005. Since then they have released a further seven albums, all of them being absolutely fantastic in their own way. So, imagine our excitement today when the band announce a brand new album less than two years removed from 2020’s incredible ‘What the Dead Men Say’.
‘In the Court of the Dragon’ is set to be released October 8th, with the title track having already been dropped last month. To accompany the announcement, the band dropped another single from it, ‘Feast of Fire’.
Bassist Paolo Gregoletto had this to say about their latest track:
‘There’s always that one song you aren’t expecting when you begin writing a new album. It could be a riff written on the spot in the rehearsal space, a lyric that pairs just right with a melody, or in the case of ‘Feast of Fire,’ sitting right there in front of us in the middle of a demo that Corey brought in. We were well into pre-production at Full Sail when we all decided that something about the demo we had tracked was good but could be even better. Our producer Josh Wilbur even had in his notes: ‘Bridge is special, maybe so special it needs its own song.’ We tore the song apart and began again on the spot.‘
The track, featured below, is up to the same insanely high quality that the band have maintained throughout their last two albums now. It’s significantly lighter than the album’s title track, featuring a lot more clean vocals as opposed to screaming, but it still has some heavy riffs and stomping rhythm. On top of that, the solo is again fantastic, and the chorus may be up there with some of the bands’ best.
On top of all of that, the band have announced a European tour in November, including four dates in the UK.
We personally cannot wait for to hear the rest of the album, and will keep up to date with the band as much as we can in the leadup!
Keep up to date on all of our news from our website here.
Chevelle is a band of many styles, be it alternative rock and metal, post-hardcore, post-grunge, and even some nu-metal thrown in there too. The band’s closest comparison has been Tool, and they are clearly a pretty heavy inspiration on the band, yet their music takes those ideas and heavies them up a little. All sounds good so far, and like something I should damn well enjoy. However, I have to admit that given how much this band should appeal to me, I haven’t listened to a lot of them, merely not having the time to. This all changes today, though, so let’s get on with listening to their latest album, NIRATIAS. I’m rather excited!
‘Verruckt’ immediately starts on a great riff, backed up by an awesome drum roll, and the Tool influences are present immediately. Said riff keeps building until it evolves into a newer variation of it… and then does it again. It was at this point that I realised this was to be an instrumental track, a ballsy move to open an album on but one that more than pays off. Every riff here is insane, and I especially love both the guitar and bassy tones; the odd little bits of wah here and there sound incredible and the lead channel for the solos is great. It reminds me a lot of a combination between Mastadon and Metallica’s ‘Suicide and Redemption’. Opening on a showcase of the band’s instrumental talents was a great choice as this was 3:30 minutes of solid sludgy awesomeness. A great start.
In contrast, ‘So Long, Mother Earth’ opens straight into vocals. They’re pretty high and sound awesome over the quick guitar riff. The drums and bass soon come in over the back, twice as slow as the guitar which is a nice touch. It soon heads into what I think is the pre and then the chorus and the guitar occasionally follows the vocal line, again sounding great. The chorus itself has a great high vocal line that is still pretty catchy, even if it is lost in the mix ever so slightly. The band very much reminds me of what I wish Deftones were; they have that same level of heaviness and instrumental prowess, but the songs are ACTUALLY GOOD AND CATCHY. Actually, the more I hear that chorus, the more I fall in love with it. It’s fantastic. It drops down a little into a bridge out of the second chorus, the guitars sounding very reminiscent of Adam Jones’ style. The vocals come back in to lead quickly back into the chorus again, this one ending with an incredible scream from Pete Loeffler before it enters into a short, heavy outro. I loved this, it was everything I could have wanted out of a band like this; huge sounds, heavy guitars, a catchy chorus, and some of the best mixing around. Playlisted.
‘Mars Simula’ opens on another huge, heavy guitar riff, bridging the gap between the intro and verse with some awesome strumming. The verse is again very ‘heavier Tool’, the guitars and bass lower and palm-muted behind the higher, quickly delivered vocals. However, this time it soon explodes into a HUGE, open chorus, the riff giving off more early 2000s industrial metal vibes to me, think Static X or Dope. Having very few vocals during the chorus was a great choice too, the insane riff does enough talking for itself. A short bridge builds up more, adding higher pitches and speeds before exploding, everything dropping out momentarily before the awesome riffs come back in. The drums and bass sound amazing here behind the lead guitar, and I really can’t emphasize enough just how good the mixing on this album is. We get a final, double chorus afterwards to finish stuff off, and this is yet another incredible song. Why haven’t I listened to these guys sooner?
After a short interlude/instrumental track, ‘Sleep The Deep’, we reach the first and lead single on the album, ‘Self Destructor’. It again opens on vocals, this time Pete going at it alone as he sings over an awesome little guitar riff. It soon drops nicely though, the drums coming in and filling out the track perfectly. I had to stop writing after the chorus during the first time I listened to this track, stopping to appreciate this for what it is; a fucking incredible song. It’s pretty basic compared to the previous few songs in terms of instrumentation, the first half of it feeling more like a radio-friendly single. However, the vocals definitely get a little harsher after the second chorus during ALL OF THE BRIDGES AND STUFF, and the fact that it is nearly six minutes in length kind of un-qualifies it for the radio these days. But holy cow, this song blew my mind. From the opening notes from Pete to the beautifully contrasting piano outro, this was incredible from start to finish. It is easily playlisted and is my new favourite song on the album by quite a stretch. This doesn’t even feel like a song made for musicians either, the type I usually gush over, this is just a damn good song. Check this out, please.
‘Piistol Star (Gravity Heals)’ feels a little slower and calmer than the previous songs so far, but that by no means insinuates it’s bad. The riff is slow and sludgy, and when it gets some wah added to it building into the chorus it sounds somehow even better. The chorus is another very catchy one and the verse is a similar sort of deal to the previous song’s ones. This is another incredible song, but after the sheer amount of gushing about the last few songs, I’m gonna say that this is ever so slightly worse (we’re talking like 1% worse). And if I’m honest, it’s mainly because I cannot possibly put 4 songs in a row on the playlist, it feels too much like favouritism. Still, this is damn good too.
‘VVurmhole’ is another very short interlude before we head into another single, ‘Peach’. They do that thing I love where they blend the end of the one song into the start of the next too, just an added little bonus that makes albums better than constant singles, and given the concepty/spacey themes they are going for, it works perfectly. ‘Peaches’ fades in with an awesome guitar riff, soon adding a drumroll over the top before the riff opens out, the drums being slow and pretty basic but they make it massively heavily. The drums drop back out for the verse, the guitar being palm-muted and the vocals little more than a distorted whisper, adding some great dynamics to the song. The drums slowly get built back in when the vocals get a little higher before a MASSIVE, distorted guitar riff explodes in to break up the sections. This one is reminding me more of A Perfect Circle than Tool, not that that is in any way an issue. The heavy, catchy chorus again is incredible, a simple vocal line over a fairly simple guitar riff but it all works so damn well together, being heavy and melodic and emotional all at once. The little guitar solo in the middle was also great, and lead to an awesome little verse with some incredible vocal harmonies. This is another song I could gush over forever it feels so I’m just going to cut this short and say to check this one out, too.
While ‘Test Test… Enough’ does have vocals in it, it very much still feels like an interlude, just being Pete singing over his guitar for a couple of minutes. It is beautiful though, and the little runs he goes on in the middle when he’s not singing sound insanely good. It leads perfectly into ‘Endlessly’ too, said song opening quietly with a low bass and some simple guitar notes and high vocals over the top. It stays slow too, the drums coming in light and quietly over the top. It’s such a perfect showcase of Pete’s vocals; they sound beautiful and haunting and so much like Maynard James Keenan’s in the best possible way. It keeps building up and leaving notes hanging, making me constantly be expecting a drop. However, the fact that it never actually comes makes the song even better; it is a true emotional ballad. Between the powerful lyrics, double-layered vocals for the final chorus, and even the subtle edition of the bells on each big drum hit, all of this was excellent. Wow.
We finally reach the final single, ‘Remember When’. It opens on a now typically great guitar riff before stripping back down a little into the verse and exploding into another huge, heavy chorus. It’s a little formulaic of this album at this point, but it is still done so well and at such a high quality, especially for just two band members, that it is hard to complain about the similar structure at all. I have also realised that at times they also sound like heavier Alien Ant Farm; another fantastic, criminally underrated band. This was damn good but arguably the weakest of the singles.
It again fades straight into the next song, ‘Ghost and Razor’, and has maybe the best riff on the whole album open it up. Pete’s distant vocals sound great over the start of it too, and when the drums come in too it somehow ends up sounding even better! It’s a heavy, slow, sludgy song in all of the best ways. I’m honestly running out of ways to praise and gush over this band, but every single riff in this song is incredible and fits perfectly with Pete’s vocals over the top of them. It’s another one that easily made the playlist. I do have to give special credit to the dropout to just bass in the middle, building up more and more until Pete does his best Maynard scream over the top of a sick solo guitar riff. It gave me such good Know Your Enemy vibes, I loved it.
Finally, we reach the final track ‘Lost in Digital Woods’. This one just decides to push the boat out and be completely different from everything else, and I for one am all for it. It’s essentially just Pete playing the piano while reading out some poetry all Lou Reed style, weird timings and all. There is some still silence afterwards before some strange guitar sounds take us out. This feels INCREDIBLY Tool, finishing on a weird note, and almost feels like some sort of Holy Gift-type troll. However, it is very fitting for this album and the lyrics were fantastic. A pretty good end!
Overall: This was f’ing incredible. Everything about it was awesome, from the song-writing to the lyrics to the instrumentation, heck, even the album order. All of it felt purposely done and all of it worked so well. I have no idea why I haven’t listened to these guys much before, or at least not outside of their first couple of albums, but damn, I’ll be going back and checking out their last few immediately after finishing this writeup. This has leapfrogged all others to become my album of the year so far, and I think anyone else will have a very tough time knocking it off that spot. Check this out if you are in any way into rock music or just music in general, you will not be disappointed.
AOR legends Night Ranger is one of the more consistent bands to have risen to success among the 80s California hair metal scene. Having 13 studio albums under their belt including this year’s ATBPO, it is even more of a rarity that their outputs have been at a consistently high quality.
I caught them at Hard Rock Hell and I’ve been a fan ever since so I’ve been excited about this release for a while!
Launching hard and heavy with a fantastic guitar riff and a heavy drumbeat to back it, ‘Coming for You’ is a fantastic opener. The dropouts for the verses were great, especially with the low, fuzzy bass filling the gaps in the guitaring. The harmonies in the second half of the verse and pres build up perfectly to a huge, very catchy chorus. The backing vocals add so many layers to it but, given that they are saying the song title, they may be a little quiet. I also have to say that the lyrics for this song did feel a little cringy, a little basic and unlike them. It’s easily forgiven though given how great the instrumentation and catchiness it is. The bridge incorporates some acoustic guitar into the mix as it slows stuff down, adding a great further layer to it all and bringing back more classic Night Ranger feels. The solo is also fantastic, technically great and it fit with the song perfectly. We get a final big chorus and another awesome outro guitar solo to take us home. This is how you start an album!
Single ‘Bring it All Home to Me’ opens on some Bryan Adams style power chords and vocals before the drums explode in perfectly behind them. The fun pre leads to a VERY glam chorus, the harmonies and catchiness giving off massive Poison vibes. They have a similar bridge again after the second chorus that emulated the chorus but also had some very Queen-like harmonies. Another ripping, duelling solo follows, somehow even better than the previous one. I cannot get over just how catchy the chorus is with the harmonies, one of the biggest, best choruses I’ve heard all year so far. Another brief, awesome guitar solo takes us home again, and this track was even better than the first, easily making the playlist!
Lead single ‘Breakout’ opens on the most Night Ranger riff I’ve ever heard, and it’s f’in awesome. The verse is quick and punching, it all sounding very 80s with the synth but also uplifting in both the sound and lyrics. The pre leads to the chorus, the intro riff being the main part of it aside from the song title being shouted between bars. Another solo follows directly after the first chorus and it’s awesome, though I was spoilt by the last one so it didn’t stand out as much. The riff just before the last pre was awesome though, I have to say. The second half of the final chorus was also incredible, the guitars working overtime with an awesome riff, maybe my favourite of the album so far. This whole song was awesome, and another that makes the playlist, more for the guitar work than anything else!
‘Hard to Make it Easy’ goes almost country/blues rock after the opening AOR riff, the beat being bouncy and full of crunching guitars and a lot of awesome piano. The chorus comes out of nowhere but was great and catchy, this one giving off lots of Status Quo vibes. It’s just a fun song all around. Although I have to admit, it did feel a little repetitive by the end, there wasn’t much variety in it. It’s a small gripe when it’s so enjoyable, though.
The final single for the album, ‘Can’t Afford a Hero’ is a slower, ballad-y one. The acoustic guitar is broken out fully, a weird opening riff that I’m not sure I’m a fan of dropping away into beautiful chords through the verses and choruses. It somehow gives off both Bon Jovi and Oasis vibes, an odd combination that works a lot better than it should! The chorus is pretty catchy too, though maybe the least so of the tracks so far. There isn’t much more I can say about it, it’s a fun ballad that’s worth a listen if you’re into the slower music.
Unfortunately, the following three tracks, ‘Cold as December’, ‘Dance’ and ‘The Hardest Road’ don’t do much to pick up the pace again. While the first is a little heavier and has a great riff hidden in there somewhere and gives off some Cult vibes too, it doesn’t stand out too much. It definitely feels like an album track. ‘Dance’ straight-up steals from ‘We Will Rock You’ to open, be it a homage, unintentional, or something more sinister, who knows. But outside of that, it gave off ‘Stripper Girl’ (Steel Panther) vibes, which is bad when the parody band makes a better song out of it. But heck, it has a huge, stadium-filling chorus, so it can’t be sniffed at all too much aside from the opening few seconds. Meanwhile ‘The Hardest Road’ is generally just boring, it adds very little to the album and is simply a sign that it has ground to a halt. Maybe it’s just badly arranged, as the first half was pretty steady and enjoyable. I have nothing at all against ballads, but having four slower songs in a row feels a little unnecessary when the first three songs were pretty quick. Hopefully, the last quarter can pick up the pace and quality again.
Thankfully ‘Monkey’ picks up the pace again with one of the best, heaviest opening riffs of the album. The verse keeps up the quick pace, the drums being solid and awesome behind the basic guitars. The pre ramps the song up perfectly into a huge, open chorus, not quite as catchy as some of the others but the half-timing made it sound awesome. One of the best solos I’ve heard in a LONG time bridged the gap between the choruses, long and technical, the perfect showcase of Brad Gillis’ extraordinary talents. Another chorus and an awesome closing solo finished it off. This was a guitar player’s dream, and another to make the playlist!
Unfortunately. the last couple of songs on the album, ‘A Lucky Man’ and ‘Tomorrow’ don’t quite live up to ‘Monkey’ for me. They are another couple of mid-tempo, ballad-feeling songs. There is absolutely nothing wrong with them, and on their own I would probably love them. But, after so many slowish songs on the album, I’ve gotten a little bored of them. I’d happily listen to them again, but they don’t feel all too special to me like some of the others.
Overall: This was a pretty good album, in all. While it doesn’t quite measure up to some of the best albums of the band’s discography, or some of the best albums released this year in general, it is a solid release with a few great, standout tracks. It may grow on me with more listens, as is the case with some of this band’s work, but for now, I shall give it…
Score: 7/10
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Over the past few days Halestorm fans have been going crazy over the band’s latest social media teasers.
Halestorm have completely archived all of their Instagram posts and replaced their feed with one singular image that fans are trying to read into for an explanation.
Front woman Lzzy Hale hasn’t archived her feed but she has posted a strip of the same image, suggesting a divide between the ‘old’ and ‘new’ Halestorm eras. This was then followed by another post of the same image but this time it was captioned “Day 1”
DAY 1 OF WHAT??
“Day 2” is today and we are no closer to finding out the answer.
Lzzy Hale then tweeted a link to the official Halestorm website as the link reads “Tombstone Splash Page – Back From The Dead” with the caption “Halestorm….Coming Soon”
Fans are speculating trying to guess whether the artwork suggests a single or album – whatever it is, it’s got to be new music … right? With the band currently on tour in the US with plans lined up with Evanescence, it begs the question whether the two bands will come together once again for a hit single or if Halestorm are creating suspense for a new album.
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Yep, you read the title right. Hard rock legends Guns N’ Roses have released their first new music since 2008’s ‘Chinese Democracy’, and their first with Slash and Duff McKagan since the early 90’s.
NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 11: Slash and Axl Rose of Guns N’ Roses perform onstage during the “Not In This Lifetime…” Tour at Madison Square Garden on October 11, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Live Nation)
The track, ‘Absurd’, is a reworking of ‘Silkworms’, a rare track that has been floating around for some time. The band debuted it live at their gig in Boston on Tuesday and have subsequently this morning released the studio version of it.
Let us know what you think to the track on our socials! I thought I’d let you guys check it out before I said anything because… well… it’s pretty terrible, isn’t it? When it popped up on my YouTube recommendations this morning I got so pumped, being a lifelong GnR fan, but this was a huge let-down. The riffs are basic and for some reason Axl is putting on a faux british accent, although it’s hidden behind a fair amount of vocal effects. My only hope is that it’s some sort of comedy track, much like ‘My World’ was on ‘Use Your Illusion II.’
The live version sounds a little better, featured down below, but it is still an odd track overall. The band have been teasing an album the last couple of years now so hopefully we soon get some more releases that are simply better than this. Fingers crossed!
Leeds-based band Blue Kubricks have been bringing their fun brand of funk/alt-rock to the UK underground scene for the last few years. The quintet has begun to amass quite the following from their various singles released from 2019 onwards, as well as some impressive gigs both live and on stream. With just five singles released so far, the band are already making an impression on the UK scene.
Starting with their debut track, ‘Incomplete’, it opens on an almost 90’s pop-rock style acoustic guitar chord progression before the rest of the band join in over the top that keeps the mood light and fun. The vocals come in and don’t change the feeling at all, sounding like a British Eddie Vedder or Scott Stapp. I’m a sucker for this style of music, both for the style and nostalgia. There isn’t too much to talk about in terms of structure or changes in this song; it’s just a straight-up pop-rock song featuring catchy, soaring vocals and some simple but awesome instrumentation behind it. There is a brilliant little guitar solo towards the end too. A great song!
‘Heroin’ opens on some instrumentation more reminiscent of Red Hot Chili Peppers or even Reef – the guitar playing being fantastic and working so well over the slightly simpler drumbeats and bassline. The vocals fit perfectly over the top of it all too, having such a great tone and style to them. There again isn’t too much in the way of dynamics in the song, but the genre and type of music almost excuses that and it doesn’t need too many massive transitions as the entire song is catchy and entertaining. It does mean it’s a tad hard to hear where the choruses are though, I have to admit. Another awesome solo follows what I think is the second chorus, this one definitely channels some heavy John Frusciante vibes. I enjoyed this even more than the first one and it makes the Overtone 2020 playlist!
‘You’re a Beach’ definitely lives up to its title with its opening riff, it feels like it would fit straight in on the Hawaiian coast! It impresses me that the band can seem to change their style a fair bit between each song while also maintaining their own sound throughout too, something that even big mainstream bands struggle with a fair bit at times. It also has the most indistinguishable chorus of all of the songs so far, it sounds awesome and the backing vocals making it sound even more catchy than it already was. There’s also a little funky bass fill before a guitar solo, both of them sounding fantastic and again very RHCP-y! Another final, catchy chorus ends another great song.
‘Jermaine’ mixes things up, opening on a great piano melody instead of guitars and somehow gives off even more of a 90’s vibe than their debut. It took me far too long to realise that this was going to be a completely instrumental song, getting to nearly a minute into a two-and-a-half-minute track before realising I hadn’t heard any vocals yet. This is, however, an excellent song – a calm, slow showcase of some simple yet emotional, impactful piano melodies backed by minimalistic drums and some strings towards the end. It’s a fantastic little track that would work perfectly in an album setting, even if it is a little odd for a standalone single.
The final single, and the most recent, is ‘Latin.’ It is obviously the heaviest song the band has released so far – the vocals opening it up with a slightly harsher tone before a pretty great guitar riff comes in behind, accompanied by some cymbal heavy drums. It quickly builds into the catchiest, biggest and best chorus they have I’d say. We also get another fantastic guitar solo before the final chorus, it sounding technically difficult and pretty damn impressive. The band go balls to the wall for the whole three minutes of this track and I love it, giving them a harder edge and changing their style yet again. It may be my favourite song by them, but it’s a pretty hard choice!
Overall: I honestly loved each and every one of Blue Kubrick’s songs. They were all interesting and different in their way and, while slightly indie in their mixing, they were different enough from the dozens and dozens of Artic Monkeys clones in this country that it made me like them so much more. Their sound is an amalgamation of so many different bands who I already like and I honestly cannot wait to hear more, and not just to see what style they come out with next!
Score: 8/10
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Evanescence was one of the biggest bands of the early 2000s, with their debut selling over 17 million copies and even winning two Grammys. However, since then they have slowly dipped in support and buzz – though I have to admit I have no real idea why. ‘Fallen’ was an incredible album, sure, but their three following albums were also pretty impressive. With their latest album, ‘The Bitter Truth’, they look to try and recapture the magic some feel they have lost by bringing their form of American symphonic rock/metal back after a four-year absence. I have been a pretty big fan of this band for pretty much my whole life, ever since hearing the terribly misplaced ‘Bring me to Life’ in the Daredevil movie as a kid. It made the movie even more cringe as a result and didn’t fit at all, but the actual song is a banger.
‘Artifact/The Turn’ feels like an intro track to the album, opening on some simple electronic notes and Amy Lee’s beautiful, signature vocals. It’s simple yet haunting, setting the tone for the album perfectly. The electronics pick up the pace a little around the midway mark, having some more ambient noises fading in and out which builds even more atmosphere and anticipation to the proceedings. What a great way to open an album!
It fades perfectly into the first “proper” song, ‘Broken Pieces Shine.’ An almost industrial metal feel opens this. Huge, simple drums and a chuggy, sporadic guitar riff sound fantastic beneath Lee’s high, effortlessly powerful vocals. The verse still feels like a build-up before it explodes into a huge chorus – full of lofty, catchy vocals and some great, heavy guitar chords behind it all. It keeps the industrial style throughout over their token metal style with a great bridge between the second and final choruses, filled with subtle backing, synth and some more awesomely catchy vocals. Well worth the four year wait!
We reach the first single on the album, ‘The Game is Over.’ It opens on another slow drumbeat, the low bass coming in intermittently at the same time as Lee’s vocals. The instrumentation is a fantastic low driving force to contrast the higher vocals, especially when the guitar does an awesome slide to come in on and join in. A great pre leads to another HUGE chorus, Lee’s vocals being just as strong and melodic as ever on top of the simple guitar chords. My only issue is that it could have done with being a little longer, maybe double the length; that first one felt a little short for the amount of build it got. They rectify this just moments later when we reach the second chorus and, like I’ve said, they double it up. We get some dynamics with it too, the guitars shifting to a riff over simple chords and the drums providing a faster more cymbal-heavy beat, making it all sound even better and bigger. The breakdown riff after the second chorus is heavy and the opening part of it when they alternate between drums and guitar is fantastic. It again is a tad short for my liking, but that is more just personal preference. We get a short build into another final chorus that finishes things off in a suitably epic dead end.
The following single ‘Yeah Right’ opens straight into the verse and feels almost pop-like with Lee’s vocals singing quietly and fairly reservedly over a synth track behind her. I, for one, am all for it. The chorus is catchy, easy to sing along to and a lot more like their more nu-metal days than the previous two songs. There’s an awesome bit midway through the second verse where the cymbals and bass follow each syllable of the vocals before everything drops out for a second. It’s sections like this that I love, keeping it interesting by putting in little extra bits throughout each verse. It makes for a much more rewarding and fun listen. We get a short bridge before a simple yet hugely fitting guitar solo, a rarity for the band. We get a final massive chorus before it drops down to just piano and vocals for the outro. I loved this and honestly cannot praise it enough. One hell of a radio rock song and a great choice for a single. Playlisted!
‘Feeding the Dark’ opens on some tribal-sounding drums. Lee’s voice again comes in over the top of them, her and the guitars building up perfectly into a fantastic, heavy riff. The great, riff continues through the verse, this again giving off more old-school Evanescence vibes – perhaps the closest thing to ‘Bring me to Life.’ It heads into another huge, stadium-filling chorus as the vocals soar over the top of the heavy guitar chords. We get another beautiful bridge after the second chorus and it stays kind of heavy but the added keys add a striking layer on top of it all, pairing perfectly with the vocals.
‘Wasted on You’ is perhaps the biggest single from the album. Opening on Lee’s beautiful vocal and piano work immediately reminds me of ‘My Immortal’ or ‘Call me When You’re Sober’, two of my favourite songs by the band. Again, the subtle harmonies make this somehow even better and more beautiful than they would have been without them. An electronic drumbeat and some quiet synth build into it, adding to the beautiful atmosphere. It then explodes into another HUGE chorus, another fantastic one with incredibly profound and well-written lyrics and a fantastic vocal melody. The rest of the band brings the rock behind the chorus too with distorted guitars. It’s a power ballad in the best possible way and it’s utterly fantastic, one of the best they have done and one of the best to come out of this millennium. I can’t get over how fantastic the first couple of lines of the chorus are. If you like emotional, slower songs, check this out now! Playlisted!
The most recent pre-release song, ‘Better Without You’, opens on the sound of a music box before a heavy guitar tone rings in the verse. The structure of the verse, having the instruments play in the gaps between the vocal lines, is always a great choice. The instruments come in with a simple yet nicely heavy guitar riff that continues through the rest of the verse. The chorus is a pretty standard affair at this point for the album – huge and anthemic but nothing to write home about after the amazing tracks that proceeded it. Despite following a similar formula, it’s still an enjoyable song.
As if she heard this herself, Lee gets her piano back out to open up ‘Use My Voice.’ Another beautiful intro and a damn catchy vocal melody sees the band really lean hard into their symphonic metal roots. The verse afterwards is fantastic; the tribal, slow drums coming back on their own behind the vocals and letting Lee go for it vocally. Lee’s vocal lines almost sounding a little like something Maynard James Keenan would come up with. Thinking about it, damn do I want to see an Evanescence/Tool collab, how good would that be?! After the chorus, the track drops down again and we get some building of various vocal harmonies that almost give an acapella effect behind Lee’s main vocals. This was another fantastic song and is up there in contention for my favourite on the album. Playlisted!
‘Take Cover’ starts fast and heavy with a huge drum and guitar line, but quickly drops down into a slower rhythm for Lee to sing over for the verse. It felt just a little disjointed, a running theme throughout the song. I loved the chorus for it, but it didn’t fit that well after the verse. All three parts so far sound like they are from different songs. The heavy bridge before the last chorus was short but a definite highlight of the track.
‘Far From Heaven’ is another beautiful, slow piano ballad. It is truly beautiful and maybe one of Lee’s best-ever vocal performances. It gave me goosebumps the first time I listened through it, a feat very few songs can do these days. This is like Disturbed’s ‘Sound of Silence’ levels of beautifully haunting and hauntingly epic. Check this out if you haven’t heard it yet or, even if you have, put it on right now; I won’t take no for an answer.
‘Part of Me’ picks up the heaviness again, bursting straight into a heavy guitar and drum lead verse and Lee’s vocals fitting perfectly in over the top as usual. This is another case of the song following the same sort of formula of others on the album before, though. Again, it’s a fantastic song, and one I’ll be listening to a lot more after this, but I just don’t have anything different to say. The same could be said for the last song, ‘Blind Belief.’ Another fantastic song, but nothing I haven’t heard already at times throughout the album – at least it wasn’t a whimper of a closer!
Overall: This album is fantastic. I am honestly blown away by a good four or five songs on this album, something that I wasn’t expecting but I was happy to experience. This may actually be their best album since their debut and yes, you can quote me on that. I’ll be happily listening to The Bitter Truth on repeat over the next few months so that should say it all really.
Score: 8/10
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