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new music mondays

New Music Mondays: Chris Janson, Fit For a King and More!

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A wild week of new releases for us to check out this week, featuring some huge names in country, metal and rock. Let’s dive right in!

Chris Janson: Wild Horses

So, any long-time readers of this site will know how much I loved and raved over Chris’ last album, even when commercially it didn’t do incredibly. So, I was pretty hyped for this release heading into it. Honestly, I’m not quite sure what to feel about it after a first listen. It’s slower than I was hoping for, more of a Tim McGraw or Kenny Chesney over the more rocky, swagger-dripping sound of his last release. There are certainly good songs on here, like ‘Me & a Beer’, ‘Up to You’, ‘What I’m For’ and ‘Hung Up On’. However, this thing is 15-tracks long and there is a lot of slower songs that all have a similar vibe to them. The slower tracks aren’t bad at all either, but there is so much out there at the minute doing the slow, radio-bait McGraw thing, and Outlaw Side of Me felt like a breath of fresh air in the mainstream country scene. I miss the southern rock for a lot of this, and while it’s a damn solid country release, it has disappointed me a little. For that, it gets a 7.5/10. The good songs are GREAT, but I don’t see myself revisiting the album as a whole much at all.

Fit for a King: Lonely God

Another release where we loved the last one and feel like it doesn’t get nearly enough love; the Texan metalcore collective are back with album number eight. Having checked out the singles beforehand, this feels like a safer bet of something I’d love and will live up to the hype. And yes, it does in fact live up to said hype. It’s a very modern sound, the production being massive and there being plenty of synth filling out the sound. It very much feels like the next step of evolution to the ground-breaking Sempiternal, yet a step down a different path to the likes of Spiritbox. And while the cleaner bits are good, the high points of the album for me are where it goes heavier, and especially the breakdowns. The contrast between both parts honestly make both better, too. Songs like ‘The Temple’, ‘Extinction’ and the title track are all awesome and great examples of what I was on about. Plus, we also have not one, but three incredible guests that also make for massive highlight tracks. From Alpha Wolf (their closest neighbouring band) to The Plot in You to Chris Motionless, they all add so much to already fantastic songs!

So yeah, safe to say I loved this! I would say there were a couple of tracks that felt a touch weaker than others, but there are so many incredible standout songs that it’s still a very solid album overall. While I wasn’t quite as blown away by this as The Hell we Create, I think it’s more to do with heading in with that expectation over it being a quality issue. There is so much to love here, and I’d put a lot of it with some of the bands very best songs. If anyone is even passingly into metalcore, check this out immediately! A very solid 9/10 from us!

Luke Morley: Walking on Water

The sophomore solo album from the Thunder guitarist is a fun, varied listen that goes by in a flash. Combining elements of blues, soft rock and even stuff like Brit-pop and country at times, each song feels different yet still distinctly fits together. It feels like it’s a cross between Thunder, Enuff Z’Nuff, Quireboys and Dead Daisies, in the best way possible! Songs like the opener, ‘Texas’, ‘Always a Saturday Night’ and ‘Bullets’ are all person highlights, but there really isn’t a bad song on the whole thing! It fits in pretty perfectly with the current NWOCR and rock revival scene in the UK, and is a real awesome entry in Luke’s already fantastic discography. If you’re into rock in any capacity, this is well worth checking out! It’s simple but a lot of fun, and is a very solid 8/10 I’d say!

Harvested: Dysthymia

The debut album from the Canadian death metal group follows up their 2022 self-titled EP pretty perfectly. It’s brutal, technical death metal at its very best, and immediately this band needs to be bigger than they are! From the bands title track as an opener through ‘Unending Madness’ and ‘Voices of the Void’ to the huge closer, it’s just over half an hour of brutal heaviness and insane pace. It’s certainly not going to be for everyone, but if you’re into the heavy stuff it is well worth a listen. The band are all incredibly talented and I have no doubt this album is going to push them to the next level. It’s straight up classic death metal, but with a great modern-production edge. A solid 7/10

Eli Young Band: Strange Hours

The first new studio album from the Texan country band in three years , and it’s a bit of a banger! Not that I ever thought it wouldn’t be, but it’s nice to have such a strong release from a band over two decades into their career. It’s 43-minutes of southern rock-infused country awesomeness, and is so hard to pick highlights as it’s all so good! The band have been on a hot streak over their last few releases, and this very much continues that in the best way. From slower ballad tracks to more boot-stompin’ numbers, this release has it all and is arranged rather perfectly. If you are in any way a country fan, check this out immediately! I’ve been a fan of them for years at this point and this very much lived up to my hype for it, being up there with one of their best releases. It gets a very easy 9/10, and is going to be something I’ll be spinning for months to come!

Lloren: It’s Always Sunny in LA

Though not the sort of stuff we normally cover here, this is an incredible slice of pop rock! It’s stadium-filling, infectiously catchy, precisely written and highly produced pop music, but has enough edge and alternative-ness to it to keep it fun and interesting. It gives off vague modern Taylor Swift vibes, yet is also more varied and interesting than that. In that vein, there is a slight country feel to it, at least in terms of the tracks’ arrangements and vibe. Songs like the opener, ‘Like This’, ‘Like I Need’ and ‘Lonely Hearts Club’ are all personal highlights. It’s definitely not going to appeal to every reader here, and is certainly pretty slow for the most part. However, there are some good tracks on here, and overall it’s a very easy release to listen to, even just in the background! It’s very Taylor, very Chapel Roan, very Jonas Brothers, but also something else in there rather unique and individual that hooked me in when I very first listened and wanted to write about it. A solid 7/10 from us!

The Armed: THE FUTURE IS HERE AND EVERYTHING NEEDS TO BE DESTROYED

So, firstly, in regards to the title the title… mood.

The fifth album from the hardcore punk collective goes expectedly hard, though isn’t really my sort of thing. I get that the whole point is the messy, abrasive nature, but when even the ‘catchy’ melodies can also grate a little, and the heaviness is more of a wall of sound over any sort of major riff or breakdown, none of it really appeals to me. There are sections of vocals that I think are choruses in stuff like ‘Purity Drag’ or ‘Gave Up’ that are almost melodic and enjoyable, but something around it stops my enjoyment. The closest thing to a “good” track for me was ‘Broken Mirror’, and I feel like a lot of that is due to a guest artists called ‘Prostitute’. ‘I Steal What I Want’ was okay too, but still isn’t something I’d optionally choose to listen to often. I completely get the sentiment and the attitude and feeling behind this, but I will never get the actual sound. I never thought I’d get into black metal more than the more hardcore side of things! If you like this then that’s fantastic. They clearly have a pretty solid fanbase. However, though I feel like an old person just typing this… it’s just a lot of loud, angry noise! 3.5/10, I’m sorry!

Ashes of the Sun: Gods With Machines

The debut solo album from the Freya and The Last Season bassist was done completely by him, from the instrumentation to the artwork. The only thing that he had some help on was the mixing and mastering, done by Jason Randle. It’s an insanely impressive achievement, especially when the album itself is damn good, too! The descriptor of Metallica and Megadeth meets Alice in Chains and Shinedown is a very accurate one, and makes for a pretty interesting listen! ‘Sophisticated Clowns’ has a great intro and sets the tone for the rest of the album perfectly. Then you have tracks like ‘Save the World’, ‘A New Way to Die’ and ‘The Lost Ones’ that are all big other highlights of the release. It’s easy to see why these tracks didn’t make it onto his other bands’ works, they wouldn’t quite fit in, but I’m so glad they’ve finally gotten to see the light of day and given the chance to shine! Ethan is clearly an insanely talented musician, and has crafted something that I’d recommend any old-school metal-fan check out! It’s heavy and got elements of everything from doom to thrash to grunge, and definitely feels pretty unique. It gets a solid 7.5/10 from us!

La Nouvelle Musique: Self-Titled

The second album from the husband and wife psych-folk duo just this year, the band have not hesitated to make an immediate stamp on their niche side of the music scene. It’s quirky and not typically my sort of thing, but there’s something about the way that it’s written and arranged that really hooked me in and kept me interested. It’s dark at times, but also has an early punk/new wave edge to it, too. Songs like ‘New Blood’, the epic ‘Spirit Level’ and ‘Still Life’ are all personal highlights. The pair are clearly very talented songwriters and musicians. It’s not something I’d revisit often, but it’s a damn solid release and I very much see the appeal of it for others! If you’re into either psychedelic or folk music, this is certainly worth at least checking out! It feels rude giving it a 6.5/10, but honestly if I liked this genre it’d definitely be a lot higher, trust me!

Zandi Holup: Wildflower

The debut album from the rising country star is really a tale of emotion; be it from her powerful, interesting vocal delivery to her absolutely phenomenal lyric writing. It’s all pretty slow and stripped-back, very much a neo-traditional release. But whether it’s empowering tracks like ‘Go Find Less’ and ‘Dirty Wings’ to heartbreak songs like ‘Doing the Time’ and ‘Cowgirls Don’t Cry’ there is so much goosebump-enducing emotion throughout this entire release. And it’s hardly those four songs to rave about either. Nearly every track on this thing is a highlight in their own right! It’s somehow familiar while also feeling rather fresh, and a lot of it is down to her instantly recognisable vocals. It’s an incredible debut release, especially when before now it’s just been singles leading up to this album. She’s going to be a big name in the country scene sooner rather than later, and I already can’t wait to hear where she goes from here! For now though, it’s an easy 8.5/10!

Vertebra: The Same

The brand new album from the thrash/death metal band is about exactly what you’d expect from the genre. It’s very old-school in its influences, definitely reminding me of early Exodus and Death. The talent of the members is off the charts, everyone working their asses off and having their own times to shine plenty throughout. And the mix, while a little harsh, is very well done, with everything being heard on every track; it’s fittingly agressive-sounding. Tracks like ‘Humanity’, the epic ‘Overcoming the Void’ and the closer are all personal highlights, but there isn’t a bad song on the whole release! Heck, the bass on ‘Blessed Are the Forgetful’ is that good it actively makes me feel like I should never touch mine again! If you are an 80s thrash/death fan, I can’t recommend this album enough. It’s a fun, heavy, balls-to-the-wall 45-minutes, and well worth a listen as I’ll certainly be revisiting it again in the weeks and months to come! It gets a very easy 8/10 from me!

new music mondays

New Music Mondays: Alice Cooper, Cody Jinks and More!

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Another stacked week of New Music Mondays for us to check out, with massive, great albums in the rock, metal and country scenes. Let’s dive in!

Alice Cooper: The Revenge of Alice Cooper

This is the first Alice Cooper band, not solo release, in over half a century. An absolutely WILD thought that I also never thought would happen, so it certainly has a fair bit of hype around it! Four of the original members getting back together is an exciting prospect, and this marks Alice’s 30th studio album, with 22 of them being his solo work. I have now run out of insane facts, so let’s get into the album…

It certainly feels like old-school Alice Cooper, and in the best way possible! It’s dark, gritty, swaggering blues with a horror edge, and is fucking awesome! I’ve loved his previous solo albums, but this just has something about it that I love; the cheesiness of the horror-aura adds so much to his music that does feel relatively lacking in some of his newer stuff. Songs like single ‘Wild Ones’, ‘One Night Stand’, the more light-hearted ‘Crap that Gets in the Way of your Dreams’ and ‘Intergalactic Vagabond Blues’ are all personal highlights. And, even with this thing being 14 tracks and nearly an hour long, it goes by in a flash and is a very easy, fun listen! I’d argue it’s honestly up there with some of their best work, and it’s so nice to hear the quartet working together again after all these years. It’s insane that pushing 60 years into their careers, they are still putting out music this good! I’d recommend to anyone who’s a fan of Alice’s work, and it’s a solid 8.5/10!

Cody Jinks: In My Blood

The fastest turnover Cody has had for studio albums in a while now, it comes just over a year removed from Change the Game. It’s very clear that I’m a big fan of the guy, and have been excitedly anticipating this since he first announced it. It didn’t disappoint either, as this is nearly 50 minutes of awesome emotion-filled, neo-traditional country music. Crazily, my favourite tracks seemed to be the alternate ones, too. Don’t get me wrong, every track is great, but from literally ‘Lost Highway’ onwards, every alternate song stood out to me and hooked me in. That’s a lot of huge highlights on an 11-track album! His vocals are just as good as ever, and his lyric writing at times is up there with some of the best modern artists; the amount of emotion and vulnerability is insane. While I don’t think there is a single song on this as strong as ‘Change the Game’, I do believe as an album as a whole, I do prefer it, and it’s growing on me more still with each listen! A must for any country or even blues-infused rock fan reading this, and another incredibly easy 8.5/10 from us!

Tim Minchin: Time Machine

One of my favourite comedians of all time put out his second solo studio album this last Friday, following up 2020’s Apart Together. It begins as another release on the more serious side, as he has been gravitating towards in recent years. It’s very much on the soft rock side, a lot of acoustic guitar and piano, but is full of emotion, typically fantastic lyrics and some really epic arrangements. And what’s nice was that we got some older songs finally recorded in the studio, like personal favourites ‘Darkside’ and ‘Rock n Roll Nerd’.

That was when I looked into the album and realised the whole thing is songs Tim wrote just before he broke out two decades ago. That explains the mixed bag of emotions, as well as some slightly dated ideas. The classic comedy-set tracks are amazing as ever, and awesome to hear studio versions of. ‘Song of the Masochist’ is also a great addition which makes you wonder why it was never released before now. Plus, slower stuff like the opener and the jazzy ‘Moment of Bliss’ (mainly for the soloing) are also amazing songs in their own right, and fit well on this release. However, others, ‘Ruby’ and ‘Pop Song’ spring to mind, that feel off; like they’re performed so straight-faced and seriously, not letting his keen wit and huge personality shine through them.

And that’s where my issues with this release lie. It’s not a bad album, by any stretch, but Tim is so adamant on not being labeled as a ‘comedian’ any more (I get it, it can get to novelty act teritory) that it has resulted in this whole release feeling overly serious and neutered, even in its more light-hearty moments. There is no denying the sheer force or nature that is Tim’s talent, but the songs we’ve heard before pale in comparison to their more fun live counterparts, and for a large part the new stuff is forgettable, aside for ‘…Masochist’. As I said, not a bad album, and it may grow on me more with another listen or two, but not what I’d hoped for after five years of no new releases. 7/10

Tyler Childers: Snipe Hunter

The seventh studio album from the modern country megastar is a fun, rock-infused nearly hour of awesomeness. There’s a slight 2000s indie rock edge to it too which was a nice addition; Tyler having a pretty unique sound for sure. It’s like Neo-traditional mixed with Hootie and the Blowfish, which is awesome! I was somehow not too familiar with him, having missed his last album or two that released since we started Overtone, but I enjoyed a lot of this! From the opener to ‘Bitin’ List’ to ‘Down Under’ to the title track, there are plenty of high points! Yeah, it’s a little on the long side and there were probably a couple of tracks that I would have cut personally, but Tyler’s vocals have so much weight and emotion to every type of song he delivers, it’s hard not to get wrapped up in it all. It’s very traditional, but definitely in a good way. If you’re into your old-school country, this is well worth a listen, and I’ll certainly be spinning it again over the summer! 8/10

Shadecrown: 0

We’ve already checked out this awesome album! Read the full review here.

The Dirty Nil: The Lash

The Canadian alt rockers follow up Free Rein to Passions with yet another amazing studio release! ‘Gallop of the Hounds’ is a phenomenal, perfect opening track, setting the tone for other bangers like ‘Do You Still Want Me?’ and ‘Hero Narrative’. The bands unique blend of alt rock, punk and Midwest emo is amazing, and this album makes me remember why I fell in love with their previous album after not listening to it in so long. It’s a short, sweet album that doesn’t overstay its welcome and certainly leaves me wanting more. It’s a lot of fun to listen to but is still packed full of emotion, as well as some killer riffs. It’s not going to be for everyone, but I love this sort of thing and it gets another very easy 8/10 from me!

Roulette: GO!

The Swedish AOR legends put out their highly anticipated follow-up to 2019’s Now! the other day, and added another awesome chapter to their legacy. As a big fan of this style of music, of course I loved this, and Roulette do it better than almost anyone in 2025. From the incredible opener to ‘Strangers’ to ‘Don’t Be Sorry’, there is plenty to love here, and there really isn’t a bad song on the release. It’s 35 minutes of old-school, melodic rock goodness, and should be checked out by any rock fan out there! The band have been going a while but didn’t release much studio stuff until recently, but are quickly gaining a global following and it’s easy to see why! They’re hugely talented songwriters and players, and the album is produced perfectly. They have a huge new fan in me, and this gets a very easy 8.5/10

Patty Griffin: Crown of Roses

The folk/Americana legend put out her 12th studio album this last Friday, and once again gave us a fantastic, chilled release. It’s slow, for sure, but is another short release at only eight songs, and each is great in its own right. The strings swelling on ‘The End’ in particular gave me goosebumps, especially with the emotional lyrics on top of that. Patty has always been an acquired taste and, while it’s not an album I’d revisit all too often, I completely get the appeal and the talent on display. It’s exactly what her fans would expect from a release, and is another great addition to her discography. A very solid 7/10!

Enuff Z’Nuff: Xtra Cherries

The whopping 18th studio album from the glammy hard rockers is about what you’d expect from this at this point in their careers. Firstly, massive props for being so insanely hard working; very few bands have this consistent an output across five different decades. Having said that, you’d think a band having been going so long would think a piano ballad to open one of their albums is a bad idea. ‘Heartbeat’ starts things off on an odd note here, but ‘No Cold Feelings’ gets everything on track again pretty quick! Songs like ‘Heavy Metal’, ‘Take it or Leave It’ and ‘Star Star’ are all big personal highlights, too. It’s a fun, light, sleazy hard rock album. I also enjoyed it far more than their previous album, clearly the time off between releases helped! If you’re into anything from Quireboys to Oasis, check this out, it’s a fun listen! A pretty solid 7.5/10 from us!

Paul Weller: Find El Dorado

The legendary Jam guitarist is back with yet another solo album, following up last year’s 66. I really thought I’d reviewed said album as I remember the artwork and listening to it, but clearly I didn’t type it up. I wasn’t hugely into his last release, but for whatever reason I got into this one more. It’s yet another slow acoustic folk/soft rock release this week, but it’s well written and performed, and was nice and chilled to throw on in the background! It’s definitely too long at 55 minutes, but tracks like ‘El Dorado’ and ‘Pinball’ are still great. It could have easily been a pretty great EP for me, but like with Patty Grffin, I fully appreciate why this will have a lot of love as a whole as it’s very well written and played. It all just blurred into one for me pretty quickly. Not something I’ll be revisiting personally, but it isn’t bad by any stretch and I didn’t have a bad time listening. 6.5/10

No Shelter: Remission/Resolve

This is a pretty interesting release! The third album from the German band combines hardcore with death/black metal in a way I haven’t actually heard before. It’s dark but still has that edge of anger and dangerousness that comes with hardcore. It results in some truly awesome riffing and breakdowns throughout, and the screams fit it all perfectly. It’s another short and sweet release, being the perfect 30-minute assault to the senses, and while there isn’t a bad song on it, personal highlights for me included ‘Voice of Madness’ and ‘Doomed’. I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it heading in as the production and mixing felt a little grating, but by the end it felt like even that was a fitting design choice that only added to the album. While it won’t even be for all fans of heavy out there, if you’re at all curious I’d highly recommend checking this out, you might love it as much as I do! One of the most surprising 8.5/10’s I’ve ever given, good stuff!

Julia DiGrazia: All In

The debut album from the young and fast-rising country star is honestly amazing. Opener ‘Rollercoaster’ sets the tone and pace of the album perfectly, and is a huge highlight in its own right. It’s a rock-infused banger, just like ‘With You’ is. Then you have more bluegrass stuff like ‘Leave You Behind’ and the Americana duet of ‘Two Truths and a Liar’. Heck, ‘Life’s Been Good Lately’ is almost a 2000s, early Taylor Swift country-pop banger. It’s all centered around the country sound at her core, but Julia keeps it consistently interesting and fun. It’s a true testament to Julia’s fantastic songwriting ability, even at such a young age and newness to the scene. Heck, I’ve named a solid half of this album by name and they are by far the only good tracks on the release; every song is incredible. I went into this album completely blind and was absolutely blown away from start to finish. An absolute must for anyone into country or its adjacent genres. Julia has a huge new fan in me and I’m definitely going to be spinning this a lot in the coming weeks and months. A very easy 9.5/10, she’s going to be a HUGE name sooner rather than later!

new music mondays

New Music Mondays: Slaughter to Prevail, Dylan Gossett and More!

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An absolutely stacked week of New Music Mondays, featuring some massive names in the metal, rock and country world for us to check out!

Slaughter to Prevail: GRIZZLY

The highly anticipated third album from the Russian deathcore band finally dropped this last Friday and, spoiler alert, it’s a bit good! It’s 50 minutes of brutal deathcore goodness, and is a lot of fun to listen to! It’s was also well worth the wait. From the crushing riffs and breakdowns to Alex’s brutal screams and Evgeny being one of the most underrated modern drummers, the musicality is off the charts. Like that breakdown at the end of ‘Banditos’ should say it all really… DAMN. It’s a massive early highlight track, as are the likes of the stomping ‘Babayka’, ‘Lift that Shit’ and the epic ‘Behelit’. However, there is hardly a bad song on this thing. The closest thing to ‘bad’ is the track featuring BABYMETAL, but that’s mainly because I sadly just don’t think the two bands fit together all that well. However, they rectify the guest issue by having an absolute blinder of a song with Ronnie Radke, ‘Imdead’.

My only real issue with the album is that we’ve heard over half of it before its release, with the first single having released nearly three years ago. Still, unlike the pitfall Falling in Reverse had, the album tracks around the older sings are still pretty fantastic, sometimes actually outshining some of the bigger songs. It somehow lives up to the lofty expectations that it had been set, and solidifies the band up to be one of the biggest in the heavy scene. If you are a fan of anything death or core-y, this is most certainly the album for you, and it will certainly be high on our albums of the year come December. An incredibly solid 9/10!

Dylan Gossett: Westward

The modern country star releases one of the highest anticipated debut albums of the year; an insane feat given that he’s already sat on nearly five million monthly listeners. His rise has been something to behold, his first release only coming three years ago, so the pressure is on quite a lot for this release. It’s a very good album, that’s for sure. It fits in pretty perfectly with the current scene too, being reminiscent of the likes of Zach Bryan, Wyatt Flores and Evan Honer. It’s Mumford and Sons-like, folk-pop infused country with fantastic, emotion-filled lyrics and fantastic delivery of them, a far-cry from the bro-country scene that preceded this movement. It’s chilled out and beautiful throughout. It’s packed full of awesome songs too, from ‘Cicada Choir’ to ‘Snake Eyes’ to ‘Roll of 35’. I firmly believe it’s impossible for a song to be called ‘Adeline’ and be bad, too. There isn’t a dud on the whole release, honestly. However, it is a touch long. Just over an hour of 17 pretty similar tracks is a little more for this easily-distracted writer, even if he enjoyed every song in its own right. It’s still an incredibly solid debut album, though, and firmly establishes Dylan as not only someone with staying power, but a future megastar in the scene. I’ll certainly be listening to this again, and I feel it will grow on me even more. For now though, it gets a still-solid 8/10

Bush: I Beat Loneliness

The tenth album from the London-based alt-rockers continues their run of form of pretty-decent-if-slightly-bland releases. We quite enjoyed The Art of Survival, and this very much feels like more of the same; a slightly darker and heavier version of their 90s sound. It’s fine, and worth a listen if you’re into the band or the style/genre, but it’s nothing groundbreaking or really too memorable. Tracks like the title one, ‘I Am Here to Save Your Life’ and ‘Footsteps in the Sand’ are all highlights personally. However, I did feel like I practically listened to the same song on repeat for 46 minutes, aside for the occasional stripped-back one. If you’re a fan of the band I’d recommend checking this out, you’ll probably like this too. But if you aren’t, I’d steer clear, as it’s very much just more of the same. Slightly disappointing that it all blurred into one for me, but it still gets a 7.5/10 from us.

Daron Malakian and Scars on Broadway: Addicted to the Violence

The first album in seven years from the System of a Down guitarist and his solo band, yet it somehow still isn’t the longest gap between albums. Still, a lot has changed since 2018’s Dictator, with System even having released new music (even if it was just two tracks for charity). However, Daron and co are no less quirky and angry, producing something that very easily could have been released alongside their debut nearly two decades ago. It’s a brief 36-minutes too, and goes pretty balls to the wall throughout. Tracks like ‘Satan Hussein’, ‘Destroy the Power’, ‘Your Lives Burn’ and the very SOAD ‘You Destroy You’ are all person highlights, but there isn’t exactly a bad song on this thing! The album is packed full of awesome lyrics, quirky vocals and so many great riffs. It’s punk but with Daron’s flair from SOAD, just like their previous works. And, unlike Bush above, the band don’t exactly have an extensive back catalogue, so adding to the sound they have built still feels interesting and fresh. It’s not something I’ll revisit as a whole often, but it is certainly far from bad, and if you are a fan of the bands previous stuff you’ll love this. It gets a pretty damn solid 8/10 from us!

Florence Sommerville: Endless Horizon

We’ve already checked out this awesome country release! Check out our review of it here.

Joe Bonamassa: Breakthrough

The blues master is back with his 17th studio album and follow-up to 2023’s Blues Deluxe sequel and is just as fantastic a player and songwriter as ever! Anyone who knows me knows I’m a big blues guy, and this is the very best of the very best, insane for someone two and a half decades into his career. From the title track/opener to ‘I’ll Tale the Blame’, ‘Life After Dark’ to ‘You Don’t Own Me’, there is so much to love. From the foot-stompin’ rocky numbers to more slower, smoother stuff, he’s a true master of his craft and does it all so well. From the incredible riffing and soloing to his perfectly-fitting vocals and lyrics, to his band that are far from slouches too, it’s all amazing. I do have to say it’s not quite as good as Deluxe 2, but that shouldn’t reflect at all negatively on this album, it’s still awesome. It’s so fun and easy to listen to, and is an album I’ve already revisited a couple of times this weekend, let alone moving forward. No matter what you are into, if you are a musician, check this out immediately! 8.5/10

California Irish: The Mountains Are my Friends

The debut album from the Answer frontman Cormac Neeson’s side project finally dropped this past Friday. It’s far more chilled out than his main bands work, and gives off much more Americana/folk vibes; expected given the band and album title. And honestly, as a full album to throw on and relax to, it’s perfect. It’s a fantastic road-trip or cooking album, that’s for sure. However, it’s 40+ minutes of pretty samey songs, and does get old about halfway through for me. Even a track called ‘Something Different’ is ironically the same slow paced, Fleetwood-esque folk as the other nine songs. The closest thing to a standout track for me was single ‘Julie Ann’. ‘Sunday Morning’ isn’t bad, either. Overall though, it’s not an album I’d revisit often unless I wanted something like this as a full listen. I wanted to like it more as I am a fan of Cormac’s work, but my tiny attention span sadly had other plans. If you’re a folk fan I’d definitely recommend giving this a listen, but it was sadly a bit much for me. And it’s very much a me issue over anything else, the band have produced something awesome here and they are all clearly talented players and songwriters. Still, a solid 7/10 from us!

Cam: All Things Light

One of my biggest ‘sad white girl music’ guilty pleasures is up next, with Cam putting out her fourth album, continuing her five-years-between-releases trend. Coming off the back of the huge success of her help writing COWBOY CARTER, as well as her giving us one of the best sets I’ve ever seen at Long Road a couple of years back, anticipation for this release has been pretty high in the Overtone camp.

I think it’s taking a couple of listens to get into, but I think I’m definitely getting into this release in a big way. I don’t think it helped that I’m not into the opening track; it doesn’t make an impact in any way. And also, overall, I don’t think it has a big heavy-hitter of a standout single like ‘Burning House’, ‘Dian’ or ‘Otherside’. However, that’s not to say there aren’t great songs on here. Single ‘Alchemy’ has grown on me massively since my first listen, ‘Slow Down’ is an utterly beautiful throwback track, ‘Kill the Guru!’ is great, and ‘Look at the Pretty Girls!’ is maybe the standout on the whole album. The rest of it is a little slower and, while beautiful, is taking just a little getting into. Heck, it took me seeing her live to get into a lot of her stuff the first time, and now I’m obsessed, so clearly I just need her to come back over here for a tour! The harmonies are a huge high point, and Cam’s vocals and lyrics are incredible, too.

So, all things considered, I think it gets a tentative 8/10 from us. I really wanted to give it higher because of how much I loved her previous stuff, and it may very well grow on me more and get higher with more listens. But for now, it’s a solidly good album, but doesn’t quite live up to her previous two.

Margarita Witch Cult: Strung Out In Hell

The sophomore album from the Birmingham stoner/sludge rock trio very much does what the band promised; turns everything from their debut up to 11. Of course everything from the riffing to the soloing is incredible, but the rhythm section is also working overtime throughout, everyone playing their asses off. And, while the vocals can always be a bit hit and miss in the genre, they knock it out of the park on this record – sounding great, fitting the tracks perfectly and providing some catchy moments. Tracks like the opener, ‘Witches Candle’ and ‘Mars Rover’ are huge highlights. However, there isn’t a bad song on the album, and if you like this genre you’re going to love this as much as I did! The band have gained a lot of traction over their short careers so far, and for good reason, and this album will surely push them to the next level yet again! It’s heavy and melodic and swampy in all the best ways, and gets a solid 8/10 from us!

Styx: Circling From Above

The prog rock legends return with their first new album since 2021s Crash of the Crown. And, honestly, I loved it. Though I am objectively ‘too young’ for this band and type of music, I had plenty of family who were big into it so it definitely has a nostalgic edge to it for me. I mean the fact that the band are over half a century into their career and still have enough juice in the tank to write and play and sound this awesome is truly incredible. It’s just a damn full album packed full of awesome riffs and melodies and percussion, showing that the seven-piece really are at the top of their craft. Songs like ‘Build and Destroy’, ‘It’s Clear’, ‘Everybody Raise a Glass’ and the folk-infused ‘Blue Eyes Raven’ are personal highlights, but the whole album has a great flow to it and there isn’t a bad track on it. Also, it somehow feels like both a perfectly long album, while also only being 40+ minutes; there’s not a single song I’d cut or even rearrange. I love this from start to finish, and if you’re into the style they play I really can’t recommend this album enough. It’s fun, technical, catchy and just plain awesome, and a true showcase of one of the best bands of all time a whopping 18 albums in. I can’t give this any less than 9/10, amazing stuff!

Trisha Yearwood: The Mirror

The country legend returned with her first new album in six years last week, and showed that after 34 years she hasn’t lost even half a step. ‘Bringing the Angels’ is a great, uptempo, rock-infused 2000s country track like only Trisha can make, and sets the tone for the album, perfectly. Then you have tracks like the boot stompin’ ‘Little Lady’, the beautiful rock ballad ‘The Record Plays On’ (duetted with Charles Kelley) and the fun, Jim Lauderdale-featuring ‘The Shovel’ that are all massive highlights in their own right. Don’t get me wrong, it does feel a touch long, and there are many one or two too many slower tracks on the album. However, for the most part, it’s arranged pretty well in that I didn’t feel the length aside for a couple of points towards the end. It’s a great release from an icon in the genre, and a fitting continuation of a career that no one would blame her for retiring from. Some good, fun songs, and even the slight mixed-bag nature of it still warrants a solid 7.5/10 from me!

Ba’al: The Fine Line Between Heaven and Here

If you hadn’t already guessed by the band and album title, this is epic, atmospheric black metal, and done to perfection! Long time readers here will know this isn’t particularly my sort of thing, but it’s done so well that I can’t help but enjoy and appreciate it. Heck, the epic, proggy, 13 minute opener is a masterpiece of the heavier end of metal, and there’s still another five tracks after that! It’s heavy and dark throughout, but also has some pretty killer riffs and some quieter parts of levity too. The dynamics of the whole album are great, and it really begs for this thing to be listened to in full at least once. It’s not something I’d revisit the individual tracks for often, but the album as a whole is definitely worth spinning and checking out if you are at all into the genre. And the emotion on display throughout is incredible, it really making you feel and leaving an impact. Shocking even myself, it gets a solid 7.5/10, good stuff!

Virgin Vampires: Whores and Judaism

The sophomore album from the dark, electro-gothic trio comes less than a year after their debut, and develops their sound even further, really carving out their own niche within the scene. They feel more confident in their direction with this release, with songs like single ‘At the Cemetery’, ‘The Curse of the Pharaons’ and ‘Medusa’ being favourites of mine. However, much like Ba’al above, I’m not the hugest fan of this style, so while I can very much appreciate it being great, it does go a little long for me. 40+ minutes of very similar music, especially in this genre, doesn’t work for my tiny attention span! Plus, the production of the album took a little getting used to, it being rather quiet and compressed, with their debut arguably sounding better on that front. Still, it’s not a bad release by any stretch, and if you’re into anything like The Cure or Birthday Party Massacre or artists like that, this is worth checking out! 7/10

P.S. the artwork is AMAZING.

The Island: LIMINAL

Another sophomore release, this time from the Manchester-based post-Tool band. They have plenty of elements of alternative, grunge and prog, but the closest thing I found myself immediately associating it with is Tool. That’s hardly an issue either, as both them and this album are amazing! It also reminds me a little of some of the quirkier stuff from the HARDBALL a couple of hers ago, which I also loved! The faster stuff definitely has more of a grunge or even stoner vibe, which is sick. From the incredible opening track to ‘The Irascible’ to the chaotic ‘The Crucible’ to the slower, epic closer, there is so much awesomeness here from a band that don’t take themselves too seriously. It’s certainly not going to be for everyone and is (potentially purposefully) a little rough around the edges, but it’s a lot of fun to listen to, and I’d highly recommend checking it out if you like the quirkier side of things! 8/10

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New Music Mondays: Wet Leg, Brent Cobb and More!

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An interesting week of new music this time, covering everything from crazy heavy to traditional-styled folk, and plenty in between! Join us in checking it all out!

Wet Leg: moisturiser

One of the biggest up-and-coming bands in the world returned with their sophomore album this last Friday. We didn’t end up checking out their debut for whatever reason, but I’ve seen someone describe the band as ‘music for people who hate music’ and I honestly think that’s a pretty perfect. It’s for Glastonbury, trust-fund girlies to feel edgy for listening to a ‘rock’ band. From the pretty terrible lyrics to the bored, effort-lacking vocal delivery to the paint by numbers indie-punk riffing, it’s honestly all pretty grating. It’s low-effort music through and through and feels like it’s trying to be far too arty than it actually is.

However, having said all of that, I didn’t actually have a bad time listening to some of this. I don’t know if they triggered some sort of Velvet Underground childhood nostalgia for me or what, but tracks like the opening three and ‘pond song’ I found myself at worst not-hating and at best kinda-enjoying. I don’t think I see the appeal from the intended or usual angle, but I at least got something out of some of the tracks, which is better than expected. The rest of it did kinda suck, though!

If you like the band and style and this album, more power to you. Some of this is okay background music to me, but I shan’t be rushing to revisit it a lot any time soon. I still don’t fully get the appeal or the drastic rise to where they are, but I respect the hustle a lot. Still, I can’t give it any more than a 4.5/10

P.S. those nails on the front cover creeped me out. Did not like that.

Brent Cobb & The Fixin’s: Ain’t Rocked in a While

I barely know how to describe how this sounds, other than awesome. It reminds me a lot of TC3’s Tabasco and Sweet Tea, and has elements of everything from Elvie Shane to Luke Dick to the Steeldrivers. Like it’s still rooted in country, but is a lot more light-blues-rock, focusing on the riffs and having a generally fun, bouncy feel to it throughout. It just makes for an easy, chilled out, and incredibly enjoyable listen. Songs like the title one, ‘Even if it’s Broke’ and ‘Take Yer Meds’ are personal highlights, but there really isn’t a bad song on the album. I’ve listened through this full thing at least three times this weekend and it has always gone by in a flash. It’s certainly not going to be for everyone, but if you like some light rock infused with country, Southern and blues vibes, I feel like you’ll love this as much as I did! A very solid 8.5/10 from us!

Born of Osiris: Through Shadows

This slab of angry , proggy djentcore is fucking awesome. It’s nearly 50-minutes of technical, brutal heaviness that doesn’t let up at all for its entire runtime, and I love it for that. Don’t get me wrong, there are catchy, melodic moments and some clean vocals scattered throughout, but part of me was a little worried the band would have gone the Bad Omens way of incorporating the heaviness with large swaths of synth pop. There was still synth and electro stuff, but it was more to add beat and compliment the awesome, heavy instrumentation around it. And said instrumentation was phenomenal, everyone in the band being technically brilliant and working their asses off throughout. It’s like a more djent-infused Bleed From Within, which is an awesome sentence in of itself! From the opener to the more ‘ballad-like’ ‘Through Shadows’ to ‘In Desolation’ to the Spenser Chamberlain-featuring ‘Activated’ (y’all know how I feel about sax) are all awesome and big personal highlights. However, there isn’t a bad track on the album by any stretch. Even the legitimately and typically-for-the-genre slower, proggy track to close is awesome, feeling and sounding EPIC and drawing the album together perfectly. I can’t recommend this enough to any heavy fans out there, and it gets a very easy 9/10 from us!

Amy Macdonald: Is This What You’ve Been Waiting For?

The legendary Scottish folk-rock singer returned with her first album in half a decade last Friday. I have to say that while I am a bit of a fan of her, she’s very much been a name that has escaped me for the most part, me only hearing the bigger hits. I love them and have always meant to check out more, so I’m excited to finally be checking out a full release from her!

Firstly, the electronic drums and elements were an interesting touch, clearly fitting with the albums 80s throwback theming. I think for the most part they paid off, adding to Amy’s typically grandiose folk styling and somehow modernising it while also adding a nostalgic feel. It also makes everything sound massive. Songs like ‘Can You Hear Me?’, ‘The Hope’ and ‘Forward’ are all fantastic, but there isn’t a bad song on the album, honestly. It felt a little bit of a slow-starter at first for me, but on a second attempt it’s a really easy, chilled out listen, and a lot of fun to whack on and get lost in, or dance around to while cooking. While I wouldn’t say any one song measures up to her biggest hits, as an album as a whole it’s incredibly solid, and a must for a fans of her music or style. I’ll definitely be spinning it more this summer, and it gets an easy 8/10!

Ward XVI: Id3ntity

We’ve already checked out this awesome album! Read our review of it here.

Gregory Page: One Hell of a Memory

The seventh album from English-American singer-songwriter feels like it pulls together his entire career up until now. Packed full of guests that he’s worked closely with in the past in Jason Mraz and Cindy Wasserman, as well as being packed full of amazing tracks, it almost feels like the culmination of his journey in music until this point. It mixes Americana and country with more English folk music perfectly and feels pretty unique, honestly. From the opener to the old-school folk ‘A Place in the Choir’ to the closer, there is a lot to love on here. Gregory and Jason’s vocals work so well together, creating some amazing harmonies throughout. Honestly, parts of it felt kinda Lord of the Rings-y, and I can’t help but love it. It won’t be for everyone but well worth checking out if you’re curious. An easy 7.5/10.

Stygian Fair: The Hidden Realm

The fifth album from the Swedish NWOBHM revival band follows pretty perfectly on from Aradia. It feels like all generations of Iron Maiden blended into one solid sound, and it’s pretty awesome! And the band are all hugely talented, this thing packed full of awesome riffs, catchy melodies and some amazing soloing. Personal highlights include ‘Abide Your Master’, ‘Peel the Layers Off’ and ‘Meteor’. It’s honestly insane to me that this band aren’t far bigger by now, especially a few albums in. They’re amazing songwriters, the production is great and it all has a real epic feel to it. If you are into this sort of heavy metal/AOR type style, I’d definitely recommend checking out the band if you haven’t already! It’s 47-minutes of mid-tempo, epic, heavy awesomeness, and gets a solid 7.5/10 from me!

Tanner Usrey: These Days

Tanner’s sophomore album is an awesome boot stompin’, rockin’ country release. Whether it’s the mor higher energy and tempo songs or the slower ballad-like tracks, it’s all amazing. Honestly, the slower stuff reminds me a lot of Wyatt Flores, which I LOVE. From ‘If you Call Me Again’ to ‘Smoke in the Air’ to the blusier ‘Bad Love’ to the almost War & Treaty-like ‘With You’, there is so much to love on this thing. Tanner’s vocals are absolutely phenomenal throughout the release, and some of his lyrics are bittersweet and excellently written; horribly relatable. It’s easy to hear why he’s becoming a big name in the scene already, and I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to hear of him before. He fits so perfectly into the current country music scene, and firmly establishes himself as a major player in the future with this album. I really loved this and I’d be shocked if it doesn’t end up high on our list of albums of the year come December. However, for now, I can’t give it any less than 9/10!

Mosara: Rumour of a Funeral

The fourth album from the Phoenix-based doom band is exactly what you’d expect from a band of their style. Sludgy, stomping, evil riffing, solid drumming and interesting, perfectly-fitting vocals is the aim of the game here, and the band bring it all in spades. And I also absolutely love the fact that it’s an album of only four tracks, but spread across nearly 40 minutes; perfect for doom. The band are clearly talented players and songwriters, and it immediately makes me want to hear it live! However, that may have been a little down to the mix, as it was sadly so very hard to hear the vocals sometimes. Still, that’s almost part of it with the genre, right? And it’s still a damn enjoyable album even with that. If you like doom, you’ll definitely like this release. It got a touch long in the teeth for me by the end, but with my tiny attention span I don’t think I’m quite the bands target audience. Still, it’s a damn good album, and gets a solid 7/10 from us!

Danno Simpson: The Kill Joy

Debut album time now. The darker, red-dirt country star follows up on his string of EPs excellently with this release. It’s not unlike Tanner up above, but also gives off vibes of Pinegrove and even a touch of Counting crows in the more upbeat moments. And of course, the comparisons to Stephen Wilson Jr are obvious, too. I love it! Danno is a fantastic songwriter and his instrumentation, lyricism and melodies shine bright constantly across this 36 minutes. It’s packed full of emotion and gave me goosebumps on multiple occasions listening through. It went by in a flash and honestly, there isn’t a bad track on this whole album. I had to stop myself from adding nearly this whole album to our playlist, it’s that good. My only slight complaint is that the weakest track on the album is the opener, but even then it isn’t really a bad song! If you are a fan of any of the artists I’ve mentioned previously, or just a darker, depressing folk-Americana sound in general, I honestly can’t recommend this enough. Even with Danno having some EPs out prior, it is still one hell of a debut full-length. It’s yet another incredibly easy 9/10 from us!

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New Music Mondays: Dropkick Murphys, Warkings and More!

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A pretty quiet week for new music, but what we did get is all awesome! Let’s check it all out!

Dropkick Murphys: For the People

Firstly, I’ll stand with you, Dropkicks! Ken for President!

But no, in all seriousness, this was exactly the sort of album the world needs right now. And, with it being an incredibly quiet week for new releases, it almost feels like a sign for everyone to listen to it! Whether it’s punkier stuff like the opener, ‘The Big Man’ or ‘Kids Games’ or more Celtic-folk stuff like ‘Chesterfields and Aftershave’ and the closer, there is so much awesome stuff on here. We also got a FANTASTIC reappearance of legend Al Barr on ‘The Vultures Circle High’. After two other albums, it was nice to hear him back, even just for a singular track. Having reviewed Ohemah Rising on this site a couple of years ago, as well as being pretty familiar with their couple before that (as well as their big ones), I have to say this might be my favourite release from them since SIGNED and SEALED. It feels the most confident and sure of itself; the most classic Dropkicks album yet still feeling modernised. There isn’t a bad song on the album and it’s consistently interesting and fun through its 43-minute runtime. If you’re a fan of the band, the Celtic style or just punk in general, I cannot recommend this enough! I’ll definitely be listening to it plenty over the next few months, and it could end up pretty high on our list of albums of the year, come December! 8.5/10

Warkings: Armageddon

We’ve already checked out the awesome album! Read our full review of it here.

Jesse Welles: Pilgram

The third album from one of the hardest working folk/country rock artists around just this year dropped last Friday. It marks his 18th across the 13 years he’s been actively releasing stuff, a hugely impressive feat. What makes it even more impressive is that the quality is still there; this is a great release! From tracks like ‘Change is in the Air’ to ‘Forever, Whatever’ to ‘GTFOH’, there are so many powerful, impactful and unique tracks that are definitely highlights! Then you have his tracks with guests; both Sierra Ferrell and Billy Strings do awesome and add so much to the already awesome songs they are part of. I discovered him earlier this year through TikTok, reminding me a lot of a big favourite of mine, Beans on Toast, and I have to say that the first full album I’ve managed to check out has impressed me massively. His lyric writing is incredible, as is his vocal style, and the simplicity of the tracks only make them more impactful! The folky style isn’t for everyone, but I cannot recommend this release enough to anyone. I loved it and will certainly be listening to a lot of it plenty again. Another 8.5/10 from us!

Rimmar: Raises

The debut album from the Italian visionary guitarist Marco Rinaldi is a solid first release! Not only written and arranged by the guy, but also produced by him too, it’s a testament to the sheer talent of the man. And the quality of the album, an epic concept centred around rebirth and transcendence, combining classic and prog metal with synthwave and electronic elements, is damn high! It feels like the perfect blend of Iron Maiden and Queensryche, but modernised at the same time, and really takes you on a journey from the first note until the last. Songs like ‘Mighty Messenger’, the stomping ‘Planet Mars’ and the more industrial ‘Vortex’ (feat. Fabio Lione) are all personal highlights. However, the whole album is pretty great, and fits together perfectly as a whole concept. If you are at all curious it’s well worth checking out, it’s a fantastic album and yet another amazing debut release! Marco is a very talented guy and has put together something special here. I can’t wait to hear where he goes from here, but for now this album gets a solid 8/10 from us!

We as a Company: First Summer

The Italian stoner/doom/indie rock band made the executive decision to not have this release, or any of their stuff, on Spotify, which given the current climate is admirable. And so, while none of it will end up on our playlist, it is still a damn solid release. It’s like if stoner/doom met Oasis or Enuff Z’Nuff or even Pinegrove, and I’m kinda all here for it! Songs like the opener, the heavy ‘Tears Away’ and the beautiful closer are all personal highlights. However, the whole album has a great flow and arrangement to it, making for an incredible easy full listen. It’s not going to be for everyone, but I found it a fascinating combination of styles and will almost definitely be revisiting this at least once or twice again soon. I’d probably recommend it to an indie fan more than the rest, but if you are at all curious, do yourselves a favour and give this a listen! A solid 7.5/10!

Wytch Hazel: V: Lamentations

The medieval-inspired NWOBHM revival band put out, surprisingly, their fifth album this last week. Honestly, it’s damn good! And while yes, it has elements of early Priest or Maiden, it shares more DNA and sound with the likes of UFO or Uriah Heep. Heck, with the folky elements involved from the old-school theming, it even has riffs and elements that resemble Fleetwood Mac or even Jethro Tull. It makes for a really interesting, unique combination, and an incredibly easy listen. The band are amazing songwriters, the huge choruses in particular being fantastic. Songs like ‘Run the Race’, ‘Elements’ and the epic ‘Elixir’ into ‘Woven’ are all personal highlights, but there isn’t a bad song on the thing! I can’t believe it’s taken me five albums to finally hear this band, but they certainly have a big new fan in me! 45-minutes went by in a flash, and I’ve already listened to it multiple times this weekend. A very easy 8.5/10 from us!

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New Music Mondays: Cole Swindell, Heaven Shall Burn and More!

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A quieter but still excellent week for new music this week, with ten country, metal and rock albums for us to sink our teeth into! Let’s dive right in!

Cole Swindell: Spanish Moss

The fifth album from the modern country star is a pretty interesting release. On the one hand it’s exactly what you’d expect from this generation of country star; a mix between Blake Shelton’s more traditional roots and Russel Dickersons more pop-leaning style. And it’s a Warner Nashville album, so of course it’s an hour plus long. However, none of that is inherently bad (aside for the length making my weekend harder). I honestly think my only issue stems from the arrangement of the thing. I didn’t mind it to begin with, but it felt incredibly average and I was struggling to get into it. However, then I reached ‘Lost Heart’ and it genuinely felt like the album shifted in tone and quality, and from then on out I found myself having a much better time. It had a bit more of a rock feel to it, giving much more Randall King vibes, which I loved. That and the slower ones like ‘Country Boy Can’t Survive’ are so very Drake Milligan. Like from ‘Lost Heart’ to ‘One Day’ is a run of eight incredible songs, most having a bit more stomp and intrigue to them. The rest of the album isn’t bad, by a long shot, but the latter seven songs were definitely where I felt the length. Spreading the eight tracks may have helped break up the monotony a little, and cutting the fat a little may have done Cole even better!

As I said, it isn’t a bad album by any stretch, but there are certainly better songs on it than others, in this writers opinion. Said tracks should be checked out by everyone, but if you’re into Swindell or country music in general and have a spare hour I’d definitely recommend giving this a listen. A lot of this has ended up on my personal playlist, and I’ll certainly be spinning it a lot in the coming weeks and months. A very solid 8/10 from us! We at least liked it more than his last one!

Heaven Shall Burn: Heimat

The German extreme metallers are back with album number 10, and go just as hard as ever before! I’ve been a fan of them for years at this point, and instantly fell in love with this album, especially the more I listened to it! It’s been a long five years between releases but is more than worth the wait. The band maintain their heaviness and full-on nature, but add in so many other styles throughout too, keeping the music constantly fresh. From the epic, atmospheric black metal opener to the almost Parkway-like ‘Empowerment’ to the Jesse Leach-featuring Killswitch cover ‘Numbered Days’, there is a lot of variety and so much to love, the album being packed full of highlights! It’s like vaguely radio-friendly extreme metal, and I loved every second of it. The mix on a couple of the tracks was a little weird, coming across more of a wall of sound than something I can pick apart, and it was incredibly hard to hear the bass throughout, almost giving off …Justice vibes. But it certainly isn’t enough to at all put me off; the album is an amazing heavy release. And heck, we even get an awesome second bonus disco with a few more guest vocalists and some in the bands native tongue.

If you are at all into the heavier side of metal, I cannot recommend this enough. It continues the bands run of amazing albums, and is a must for anyone even slightly curious! And it gets a very solid 8.5/10 from us!

P.S. that album artwork… AMAZING and gut-wrenching all at once.

Parker McCollum: Self-Titled

The second massive country album to be released last week; Parker keeps it pretty chill on his namesake fifth release. Honestly, it’s good, but it’s not really for me. It’s weird too, because there are artists that I like with this general style; everyone from Zach Bryan to Counting Crows to Pinegrove to Koe Wetzel. However, this is a very slow album with very few peaks and troughs and little variety, making it a sadly tough nearly-hour listen. Don’t get me wrong, I very much get the appeal, and Parker is fantastic at the style he plays, but it isn’t for me. Songs like ‘Solid Country Gold’, ‘Come On’ and the slightly Southern-rockier ‘What Kinda Man’ were personal highlights, and about the only tracks that stood out to me. The album has a great flow to it and works perfectly as a whole piece, but there were very few individual tracks that stood out much. It’s fantastic, chilled-out background music. If you like it that’s awesome, and if you’re a country fan I’d definitely recommend at least giving a try! However, I can’t give it much more than a 6.5/10… sorry!

Sodom: The Arsonist

The German thrash legendary are back with their first new studio release in half a decade. Despite the band being around for over four decades at this point, they prove here that they have not lost a single step. It’s exactly what you’d expect from German thrash in 2025, and I loved every second! It’s the perfect blend of Kreator and Slayer, and is 48-minutes of thrash metal goodness. Songs like ‘Battle of Harvest Moon’, ‘Witchhunter’ and ‘Twilight Void’ are all personal highlights, but there really isn’t a bad track on this! My only slight complaint is that it’s all pretty similar. I know thrash fans are hardly going to complain about that, but I always found my favourite albums from the likes of Metallica, Slayer and even Evile are ones with a bit of tempo shifting and variety. Still, it’s not much of a complaint when it’s all of this high quality! It’s a solid 8/10 from us, and a welcome return from one of the best thrash bands to ever do it!

Royale Lynn: BLACK MAGIC

This is a damn interesting debut album, to say the least! I got turned onto the band a couple of months ago from TikTok, and have been rather curious about what a full album would sound like. The answer: pop music with chunky guitars behind it. It’s… fine. It clearly takes a lot of inspiration from the likes of Poppy, Spiritbox and even Skynd, but misses out on the sauce that makes each of those bands special and unique. What’s wild is that it used to have said sauce. Her early stuff had a country infusion to it that reminded me of HARDY or Lakeview, feeling pretty fresh and interesting. It had that heaviness but brought other stuff to the table and made for genuinely interesting country singles. This is just like my least favourite parts of Poppy and Spiritbox stretched out across a 34-minute album.

I hate sounding so negative, as it isn’t a bad release by any stretch. There is some good riffing throughout and Lynn clearly has a fantastic voice and range. Songs like ‘PANDORA’S BOX’ and ‘WHEN WE DIE’ are damn good and certainly highlights. But generally it all sounded pretty similar and it wasn’t the stand-out album I had somewhat hyped it up to be beforehand. It will certainly have plenty of fans and she’s surely primed to be a huge name, but it isn’t fully my sort of thing. It just felt slightly too polished and pop and safe. Still, an easy 7/10!

Shadow of Intent: Imperium Delirium

Firstly, another SICK album cover from the metal side of things offered up this week, damn. Like, may be artwork of the year for me, that’s that damn cool!

The fifth album from the deathcore quartet also lives up to the awesome artwork too, as this is a stellar heavy release! It’s crushingly heavy, epic and technical all in equal measure, and is fantastic for its full nearly-hour. Songs like the opener, ‘Infinity of Horrors’, the epic closer/title track and the Corpsegrinder-featuring ‘Feeding the Meatgrinder’ are all awesome! Heck, that outro on the latter is utterly FILTHY. However, there really isn’t a bad track on this thing, even the intro and instrumental track are amazing and give the album a great vibe and flow. Don’t get me wrong, it certainly isn’t going to be for everyone. However, it’s an absolutely fantastic technical deathcore album, and everyone in the band is a phenomenally talented musician and songwriter. If you are at all into the heavier end of metal, this is one for you, that’s for sure! And it’s another easy 8.5/10!

Willi Carlisle: Winged Victory

This thing is wild, from the music to the lyrics, mixing to the artwork. It’s like a Napoleon Dynamite-style fever dream of great, folky bluegrass movie, and I’m kinda here for it! It’s simple and stripped-back, mainly just being strings, the accordion and vocals, the lack of drums always being a strange choice to me. However, it’s a fun, easy listen, and the lyrics and message behind them is fantastically poignant, despite the sometimes ridiculous presentation. From the opener to the title track, ‘Work is Work’ to ‘Big Butt Billy’, there is some really great songs on this! After ‘gathering together all the world’s weirdos and misfits under the big tent’ with last year’s Critterland, Willi follows it up perfectly with this release. It reminds me a lot of Adeem the Artist, which is very much a compliment in my book, and if you’re at all curious and haven’t heard him already I’d highly recommend giving this a listen! He has a new fan in me and I already can’t wait to hear where he goes next. A very solid 8/10 from me!

Lord Belial: Unholy Trinity

The Swedish black metal legends return with album number ten, and their second after their return. If anyone knows the band or the genre, this is exactly what you’d expect! The mix is pretty great for the genre, which is nice to hear. And I liked it when it got a little darker and more extreme metal, like in ‘Serpent’s Feast’. However, overall it’s just your typical 90s black metal band, for better or for worse. If you are into that, awesome, you’ll love this! It’s a great album as whole, and definitely one that’s probably worth listening to in full! It’s not my favourite genre by any stretch, but I can fully appreciate how good this is, and definitely enjoyed my listen of it. A solid 7/10, I’d say!

Indemon: Reclaiming Chaos

The debut album of the Finnish thrash band is honestly fucking awesome! Right from the opening song I was hooked, and the band didn’t let me go until 32 minutes later. There are so many good songs on this thing, from the opener to ‘Passenger’ to the acoustic-featuring, slower and more menacing instrumental ‘Ruoja’. However, all eight tracks on this thing are incredible! I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to discover this band, and they have a massive new fan in me immediately. This is a damn amazing thrash album, and one I’d recommend to anyone even slightly into metal. The band have a massive new if future ahead of them if this album is anything to go by, and I cannot wait to see and hear where they go from here. For now though, it’s a very easy 9/10 for this!

Lily Fitts: Getting By

This is a fantastic half an hour of indie-folk music from one of the best young artists in the game. And the fact that this is somehow her debut long release, especially when she’s only been putting singles out for a couple of years. Her voice is incredible, and her lyrics and songwriting are both far advanced for her age. Every single one of the singles are amazing, but the album tracks are just as good! I love this side of the wider country genre that the scene seems to be shifting towards; it’s got a slight rocky edge to it as well as the folk and Americana and pop, and every song has such a great hook to it! It’s impossible to pick highlights as every song is so damn good, and I can’t recommend this enough to anyone even vaguely interested in country music! She’s another artists on this list with a huge new fan in me, and I’ll certainly be spinning this a lot in the coming weeks and months. I can’t give it any less than 9/10, amazing stuff!

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New Music Mondays: Benson Boone, Alestorm and More!

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A pretty huge week with some massive new albums out, alongside some great smaller ones too. Let’s do this!

Benson Boone: American Heart

The pop-rock overnight sensation singer-songwriter exploded HUGE last year with ‘Beautiful Things’ being a massive TikTok hit, and he looks to follow on that success with his sophomore album just 14 months later. It has a very epic air to it, like a mixture of Marianas Trench, modern Panic!, and Jonas Brothers. And while it is rather light on the rock side of things, this is definitely no all-out pop record, it definitely has a bit more of an emphasis on the instrumentation and just a bit more alternative edge to it. And it’s… fine. I’m certainly not against music like this, and songs like ‘Mr Electric Blue’, the epic ballad ‘Momma Song’ and ‘Wanted Man’ are all great and big personal highlights. However, it’s somehow both too short and too long. It’s only 30-minutes, which is wild these days, especially in pop music. But, it does all sound pretty samey for that half an hour, aside for an exception or two. There is no refuting Benson’s incredible vocal talents, and the songs are all well written, but something about this didn’t quite click for me as being by one of the biggest artists around currently. It’s not bad at all, and will surely be a massive album this year, but for me I can’t give it much higher than 7.5/10. Still, that is hardly a bad score!

Alestorm: The Thunderfist Chronicles

We’ve already checked out this awesome album! Check it out here.

Brett Young: 2.0

So, anyone who read my review of Brett’s last album in 2023 knows I was NOT a fan. However, my tastes have changed over the last couple of years, so maybe (hopefully) I’ll enjoy the guy’s fifth album a little more!

Thankfully, I did! ‘Drink With You’ is a great song and a fantastic opener, a massive, catchy song. ‘That Ain’t Yours’ and ‘Say Less’ are also both awesome modern country-pop songs designed to play to huge stadium and festival crowds. Plus, the duets with the likes of Lady A and George Birge are awesome, both acts adding so much to Brett’s sound. However, the album does have a bit of a similar issue to the Benson Boone one for me. It’s short and sweet, but also kinda samey throughout. Brett has clearly found a style that works well for him and plays to it incredibly well, but it resulted in nothing on this standing out aside for the odd different vocalist and some that I’d say are higher quality than others. However, the album does close on let’s be honest, an upgraded version of his classic ‘In Case You Didn’t Know’, the piano, strings and Hannah McFarland’s beautiful vocals adding so much to the track.

The album certainly isn’t bad as a whole, and is certainly an improvement over his last, in my opinion. It’s a fine album to stick on and relax to, for sure. However, in a genre so saturated with incredible releases over this year alone so far, it sadly doesn’t stand out much. If you are into Brett or country, it’s still worth checking out though, especially due to its length! 7/10

Malevolence: Where Only the Truth is Spoken

GODDAMN. This was exactly the shot in the arm of pure anger I needed this morning. We loved 2022’s Malicious Intent, but if that was the band’s coming out party to the mainstream, this is the album that firmly roots them as one of the future titans of heavier metal. It once again feels like a style that only Malev can play in, the perfect blend of melodic, hardcore and thrash and is 42-minutes sheer awesomeness. It’s so hard to pick highlight tracks as it’s all SO GOOD and almost all of it ended up on my personal playlist. Whether it’s Hatebreed, Machine Head, Lamb of God or Parkway Drive, the band wear their inspirations on their sleeve and blend it together so well! It is packed full of some of the best riffing in years, and Alex’s and Josh’s vocals are somehow better than ever before, both screaming their hearts out! And heck, the production on this thing is really top notch, everything hitting hard and sounding massive. If you are a fan of the heavy stuff in anyway, you need to check this out immediately. There aren’t many bands out there as consistent as Malevolence, and even fewer that are getting better each time! 9/10

YUNGBLUD: Idols

Another massive name in the pop-rock sphere, the Brit is back with his fourth studio album. I have to say I’ve not really been a fan of him in the past. This album didn’t change my mind. It’s not bad, I suppose, but it feels like ‘Blud has tried to hop on the Benson Boone train, playing Queen-like, epic rock music, yet still doing it with an incredibly large lean into pop. Sure, the opener is seven minutes long and has a guitar solo, but it is by far the best track on the album. The rest feels like it draws in obviously elements of Blur, Oasis, Billy Idol and even Incubus, all of which have made big returns recently. Coincidence…? None of it feels fresh or genuine, all just cheep imitations of other songs and bands. I’m not asking for something groundbreaking either, I love the NWOCR scene for Christ sakes, just something that doesn’t feel quite so forced. The closest to another good track I felt was ‘Fire’, but some of the lyrics were questionable.

He very clearly has a massive fanbase so is clearly doing something right, and there will be plenty of love for this album, but not from me. He’s a good vocalist but his voice honestly grates on me a little too, and some of his lyrics are very cringy. If you’re a fan of the guy, you’ll probably enjoy this a lot, but it’s a no from me, dawg. It sadly gets a 4.5/10 from us… sorry. Please don’t come for me if you’re pissed at that!

Black Majesty: Oceans of Black

The Australian power metal band have been going for over two decades now, and are on album eight, continuing on their legacy with another fantastic release! It’s power metal at its most grandiose and epic and technical, sitting pretty perfectly somewhere between Hammerfall and Dragonforce. Songs like ‘Set Stone on Fire’, ‘Lucifer’ and the epic ‘Get a Hold On’ are certainly highlights, though the whole album is pretty damn solid. If you like power metal, you’re bound to like this! However, it does feel just a touch generic these days, as it’s another genre with so much awesome stuff coming out of it these days. Still, the band are hugely talented and I had good fun listening to this! It’s a solid 7/10 from me, and I’ll definitely be listening to this again soon!

HAIM: I quit

The fourth studio album from the Californian female trio has been a long five year wait. Not for me, but probably for at least some of their fans. I am not one of those fans. ‘Gone’ is a pretty terrible choice for an album opener, and is a pale imitation of the songs it’s both sampling and inspired by. However, the rest of the album sadly isn’t much better. I know they’re a massively popular band and I really want to like them, but it seems like a disingenuous attempt at recreating late 90s country/folk-infused pop rock. Like Gilmore Girls/Dawsons Creek style music, if anyone gets what I’m talking about. Except they felt like a product of their time, while this feels more like a dull, rehashed cash-grab. Interesting that so many of the same feeling albums came out in the same week, I have to say! I listened to the full nearly-hour of this thing in one sitting and have no desire to go back and revisit any of it again. As I said, the band are massive so there are going to be plenty who are big into this album, but I found it incredibly dull, and just about passable as background music. The trio are talented vocalists, but the music behind it is damn boring. 3/10

P.S. It also annoys me that only the first word of each song title is capitalised, each other word isn’t, but that’s just a me thing I imagine.

Lukas Nelson: American Romance

One of Willie’s eight children, and the first solo release away from his Promise of the Real band, Lukas has a bit to prove with this release. It’s a good thing, then, that this is a damn solid neo-traditional country release! Honestly, the more I listened through it, the more I enjoyed it, too! From pure old-school country stuff like ‘Pretty Much’ and ‘Outsmarted’ to more folk/Americana stuff like ‘Make You Happy’ to almost blues rock hints in ‘The Lie’, there is plenty of variety and intrigue throughout. We also get two incredible duet tracks with Stephen Wilson Jr and Sierra Ferrell, both of which are also big highlights on an album packed full of them! It’s not a release for everyone, but I loved it! It’s 43-minutes of chilled-out, emotion-filled country-Americana music, and if anyone is into this style I cannot recommend it enough! His solo work has definitely started off strong, and I already can’t wait to hear where he goes from here. It’s a very solid 8/10 from us!

The Cheats: Old Rats on a New Ship

The Pittsburgh modern punk legends are back with their first album in a couple of years. I wasn’t too familiar with the band outside of a song or two I’d been sent, but I really loved this album! It’s fast paced, fun, pretty heavy and short and sweet, straight to the point! It’s 80s/90s punk at its very best, but with some awesome production to boot. Tracks like the opener, the hilarious ‘Only Thing I’m Fucking is Up’ and ‘Stuck on You’ are all personal highlights, but there really isn’t a bad song on the album! If you’re a fan of anything from Rancid to Pennywise to even older stuff like Anti Nowhere League or more out there stuff like Wildhearts, I truly can’t recommend this album enough. And, at sub-30-minutes, it’s an incredibly easy listen. It’s just a good fun album, and something we don’t get nearly enough of these days! I can’t give it any less than 8.5/10, and the band have a big new fan in me! I’m immediately going back to listen to some of their older stuff.

Letters to Burn: Shadows

This is a pretty fantastic metalcore debut sadly let down just a little by its production. All of the components are there; awesome riffing and drumming, catchy, melodic clean vocals and some great, occasional screams. It reminds me a lot of stuff like Painside and other nu-metal and melodeath combined bands of a similar sort of time. And there are plenty of awesome tracks on here too, from the opener to ‘The Key’ to the Rox Capriotti-featuring ‘Out of the Shadows’. However, the tracks don’t pack quite as big of a punch as I feel they could with a massive production behind it. Still, as a debut album, this is excellent, and I’d love to see it all live! The band are clearly talented and have a big future ahead of them, so if you are into metalcore or melodic metal at all, give this a try, I’m sure you’ll love it like I do! A solid 7.5/10 from us.

Badflower: No Place Like Home

I completely forgot we checked out this bands last album on one of the first iterations of this series back in 2021 until I saw the artwork. It feels like it must have been a long four years for them, as I haven’t heard the bands name since doing that review. It doesn’t quite stand out to me as much as the previous album did, either. I like the sinister feel and plodding nature of the opening track, the big riffs adding a lot to that. Stuff like ‘Snuff’, the punky ‘Swinging Hammer’ and to my surprise the likes of ‘Don’t Me a Stranger’ and ‘Paws’ were all big highlights for me. Yeah okay, this album is growing on me. It combines a lot of different styles under its alt-rock umbrella, and is constantly interesting for its 50-minute runtime. And it has certainly stuck with me more than their last release, me listening to this multiple times over the weekend. The band are insanely talented songwriters, and the arrangement of this album is fantastic. If you’re into the quirkier side of radio rock, this is certainly the album for you! I’ll be listening to this more in the coming weeks and months I’m sure, and I finally understand this band now! A very easy 9/10!

The Damn Shames: Trailers on Bricks

We checked this album out off the recomndation of our good friend Kyle Daniel, and I’m so glad we did! This is a fantastic Southern rock/country album very much along the same Vein as Kyle or the likes of Blackberry Smoke or A Thousand Horses. It’s packed full of amazing riffs and huge, uplifting, catchy choruses just made to be played to huge festivals. It’s also almost impossible to pick highlights as it’s all SO GOOD. From ‘Who Killed Rock n’ Roll’ to ‘Another Spoke in the Wheel’ to ‘Quittin’ Time’ and everything in between, there is plenty to love and relate to. It’s the perfect album for the summer, being upbeat and chilled out and having just enough pop hooks in the country to ensure it could be absolutely massive. If you are at all into any of the genres I mentioned, check this out immediately. The band have a big new fan in me, and it’s a very easy 8.5/10!

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New Music Mondays: Dierks Bentley, Buckcherry and More!

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A typically stacked week of new albums for us to check out, from country to metal. Let’s sink our teeth into them all!

Dierks Bentley: Broken Branches

The 12th solo studio album from the modern country legend, following up 2023’s Gravel & Gold. I’m just going to put it out there now, maybe slightly controversially, it’s not as good as that album is. I do, however, think it’s a grower. I’ve listened to it a couple of times over the weekend and it’s better for me the second time round, I think. Songs like ‘She Hates Me’, ‘Well Well Whiskey’ and the guest-featuring title track are awesome, and definite highlights. The more upbeat tracks are definitely preferred by me, and the start of the album is lacking a touch in that department. However, as an album overall, it’s another damn good offering from a guy who really can’t miss these days. If you’re a fan of Dierks or his brand of country music, it’s certainly worth checking out, but it’s sadly not something to massively write home about. A solid 7.5/10 from us!

Buckcherry: Roar Like Thunder

The 11th album from the Californian sleaze-revival band came out last Friday and honestly surprised me a little. I don’t mind their big songs but have never been the biggest fan, so went into this with Hinder-like low expectations. This album certainly beat them! The opener/title track is honestly one of the best songs they’ve ever done, while stuff like the AC/DC-esque ‘Come On’, ‘I Go Boom’ and ‘Hello Goodbye’ are all awesome too. Don’t get me wrong, there’s the typical cringe from the band too, like ‘Talkin’ Bout Sex’, but it wasn’t as present as I was expecting! And at just 10 tracks and barely half-an-hour, it’s short and sweet and way more killer than filler! If you’re a fan of the 90s-early 2000s era glam/sleaze/hard rock, it’s definitely worth checking this out, as it’s maybe the best thing they’ve put out in 15+ years! It’s not something I’ll listen to often, but it’s a fun release that I’ll definitely revisit at least a few times. A solid 8/10!

Sun After Dark: Tatkraft

The debut album from the mind of Benjamin König (former Lunar Aurora) is a damn interesting listen! Combining black metal with modern elements and dark tones, sounding almost as epic as Rotting Christ at times. Plus, it’s also sung in English, German and Bavarian, which honestly makes for an even more awesome time listening! Songs like ‘Waidmaans Hoffnung’, the chaotic ‘Schlittenfahrt’ and ‘Burning Blue’ are all great and personal highlights. However, the whole thing is great and has a fantastic flow to it, begging to be listened to as a whole collection over individual tracks. It’s a shame the duo have no plans to play the stuff live, as I could see this being a real epic experience to hear in a dark room or tent somewhere. It won’t be for everyone, but if you’re into the more prog-like dark, heavy stuff, this is definitely worth a try! It gets a solid 7.5/10 from me, and I feel like it’ll grow even more with subsequent listens!

Neil Young: Talkin to the Trees

It’s another Neil Young album, what more do you want me to say at this point? It’s the second we’ve checked out this year alone, and his apparently 45th overall. And this sounds exactly like anyone would expect a Neil album to sound in 2025. I suppose we get the Chrome Hearts with him on this album, which certainly added to the rockier highlight tracks like ‘Dark Mirage’, ‘Lets Roll Again’ and ‘Movin Ahead’. However, considering he has a band backing him throughout, a lot of it was still slower, traditional country stuff, much like his previous release. It’s not a bad release at all and certainly has some fun moments and songs, but do we really need more Neil in 2025? I would say it’s a step above Oceanside Countryside, but it’s hardly a career resurgence or highlight or anything like that. It’s just average, fine Neil Young, like he’s been putting out for decades at this point. If you’re a fan of his work it’s worth checking out, but if not I certainly wouldn’t be rushing to do so. 6.5/10

Star Circus: From the Wreckage

We’ve already checked out this awesome album! Check out our review of it here.

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard: Phantom Island

You never know what to expect from the Aussie rockers, but given the album artwork I wasn’t expecting a jazz infused 60s rock album. It’s good, and the whole thing has such a massive sound to it; all the instruments and the production on it working to produce a truly epic soundscape for the full 46-minute runtime. The band are so insanely talented they can make anything work, too. The horns throughout are a massive high point, making good, simple rock music simply great. It also follows on pretty perfectly from last year’s Flight b741, and y’all know how much I loved that album! It’s got a little bit of Lawrence to it, which is impossible not to love! It’s like what you’d imagine The Beatles would have evolved into by now. Songs like ‘Deadstick’, the ethereal ‘Spacesick’ and ‘Silent Spirit’ are all personal highlights, though there really isn’t a bad song on this thing. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love it if they went heavy again, but this is a damn good release that is impossible to hate, so I’m fine to have this while I wait! Shock horror, it’s another good album from King Gizz, a band that somehow never miss no matter the genre they release. It’s a solid 8/10 from us!

Deathgoat: Dragged Into Realms Below

I love the description the band use for themselves: Filthy, rotten and unholy old school death metal. This album does exactly what it says on that tin. The Finnish bands sophomore album is an exercise in heaviness and brutality for its entire 35-minute runtime. It is slightly blackened with some of the riffing and atmosphere too which I appreciated. However, it is mainly just late 80s, early 90s death metal with slightly better production. If you like Barnes-era Cannibal Corpse, you’ll like this! It was a little repetitive for my liking at times, definitely feeling like I’d heard all the album had to offer by the halfway mark. And I do think the vocals could be a bit louder. However, both are pretty much staples of the genre at this point, so if you are into it you’ll surely love this. Highlights include ‘Dying to be Dead’ and ‘Clinically Undead’, with the riffing in both being big highlights. As it’s not fully my thing, but it is still very good, it gets a solid 6.5/10 from us! Nothing new but a damn good entry into the genre!

Ruth Lyon: Poems & Non Fiction

This was a cool, interesting release that I wasn’t expecting to like anywhere near as much as I did. Don’t get me wrong, it took me a little getting into; the first couple of tracks were good for chilling to but not especially my thing fully. However, as we reached ‘Books’ it felt like the sound was evolving and growing, me loving all the extra bits around her vocals, making it all sound surprisingly massive. By the time I’d hit the awesome, jazz-infused ‘Confetti’ I was all the way in on this album. It’s a very easy 36-minutes of a listen, being a relaxing, pop/soft/indie rock record. There is no denying Ruth is a talented musician and songwriter, and she proves it time and time again throughout. It’s not going to be for everyone, but it’s a damn good album and well worth checking out if you’re curious! A solid 7.5/10!

Still Dusk: Chronicles of Dystopia

The debut album from the Greek alt metal band is a really interesting release! Whether it’s awesome riffing, solid drumming, heavy breakdowns or the melodic, catchy vocals, the album is a blend of the very best bits of the genre. It’s packed full of awesome songs, too! From ‘Born to Believe’ to ‘Into Fractions’ and closer ‘Sugar’, there are some massive highlight tracks on here. Even the slower, ballad songs like ‘Midnight Run’ are awesome, breaking the album up perfectly and showing some great variety in the bands writing talents. It’s a damn strong offering as it is, never mind for it also being a debut album! If you are into anything vaguely alt metal, heavy metal or metalcore, this is certainly worth checking out, and the band certainly have a new fan in me! It gets a very solid 8/10 from us, and I already can’t wait to hear where they go from here!

Crow Black Chicken: Ghost Dance

My god, THE RIFFS. How is this the bands fifth album and I’m only just hearing of them? This is right up my street, and I fucking LOVE this album! A stonery, Southern blues rock record combining everything from Clutch to Skynyrd to Hendrix to Zeppelin to The Sword… pump this into my veins! From the incredible opener to more blues-centric stuff like ‘Fire and Blood’ and ‘The Longest Time’ to epic stuff like the closer, it’s nearly 40-minutes of awesomeness and packed full of highlights. My only slight issue is that nothing quite goes as hard or heavy as the opener; I’ve have loved another upbeat track somewhere throughout!

The band are all insanely talented players, and have crafted something truly special with this release. They have a big new fan in me, and I’m going to immediately have to go back and check out the rest of their stuff after this. If you are at all into any of the artists or genres I’ve mentioned previously, check this out immediately! The riffing and soloing alone is incredible, but everything else is to a hugely high calibre too. I can’t give this any less than 9/10!

Byzantine: Harbingers

The first studio album from the NWOAHM band in nearly eight years goes far harder than I think anyone expected it to! It’s heavy, epic and melodic all in perfectly equal measure. It has elements of metalcore, power metal and even a hint of black and death metal at times, making for an incredibly interesting listen. Songs like the Trivium-esque ‘Floating Chrysanthema’, the heavy ‘Riddance’ and ‘Harbinger’ are all massive personal highlights, but there really isn’t a bad song on the album. With all the changing styles and genres too, from straight up NWOAHM to more melodeath stuff to slower parts, it’s constantly interesting, and 42 minutes goes by in a flash! I cannot recommend this enough to anyone into the heavier side of metal, and it’s very quickly becoming one of my favourite releases from the band. It’ll surely make our albums of the year come December, and I can’t give it any less than 9/10!

Dillon Carmichael: Keepin’ Country Alive

The third album from the rising country star has felt like a long time coming, it being almost four years since his last offering. However, it very much lives up to every single bit of hype around it, it’s a fucking awesome country album! ‘Raised Up Wrong’ is the perfect opener, and then you have songs like ‘When She’s Drinkin’’, ‘No Matter How Hard I Try’, ‘Tiny Little Fiddle’ and ‘Heartbreak Waiting to Happen’ that are all massive other highlights. However, the whole thing is incredible and goes by in a flash, there not being a bad song on it. It’s just the perfect amount of rock in my country, and balances the more upbeat stuff with beautiful ballads perfectly. It’s exactly the kind of country album I always want, and it’s written and performed masterfully by Carmichael here. I have nothing negative to say about this, if you are all into country music, check this out as soon as you possibly can! I’m going to be obsessed with this album throughout the entirety of summer, I can already feel it, and it gets an incredibly solid 9.5/10 from us!

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New Music Mondays: Volbeat, Turnstile and More!

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Another stacked week of new albums, this time featuring some epic returns in the rock and metal world. Let’s check them all out!

Volbeat: God of Angels Trust

The legendary Danish hard rock/metal titans are back following a few years much-needed rest. Between losing their guitarist and Michael having some vocal issues, I was starting to worry about if we’d ever get the band back, especially after 2021’s return to form. However, the band have had a run of amazing singles this year, and brought them together into one hell of an album. It really feels like an amalgamation of all their previous stuff, too. Whether it’s the more old-school, Beyond Hell opening couple to the more Seal the Deal-esque ‘Acid Rain’ and ‘Time Heal’ to the Servent of the Mind-like ‘Demonic Depression’, it really feels like a culmination of their sound, in a sense. And of course they return to the punky, almost Dead Kennedys vibe with ‘Better be Fueled Than Tamed’, for good measure. Honestly, I fucking love it all! Every song I’ve mentioned already is a big highlight, but honestly there isn’t a bad track throughout thus entire release. It’s 44-minutes of epic riffing and catchy, massive melodies like truly only Volbeat can do. The boys are very much back, and I’ve listened to this a LOT over the weekend, with no signs of slowing down any time soon. Expect it to end up high on our list of albums of the year come December, that’s for sure. A very solid 9/10!

Turnstile: NEVER ENOUGH

I have seen a lot of people super hyped for this release. However, even after seeing them live, they are simply just not a band I seem to ‘get’. And, though I do prefer it on track, it’s still not really my sort of thing. The hardcore punk elements are good, but don’t quite have the edge and grit of their contemporaries due to the crisp production, massive sound and alt rock electronic elements. It’s like they’ve tried to smash together Twenty-One Pilots and Black Flag to… interesting… results. I didn’t mind ‘SOLE’, ‘DULL’ and ‘SLOWDIVE’, but there was also a handful of the more atmospheric, more ambient tracks that I could leave. The riffing was the biggest highlight of the album; I think if it wasn’t for the fuzzy guitars I’d have been fully out. I also kept thinking I’d heard them before but I hadn’t, which is arguably a bad thing as it means a good few of them sound samey.

I completely get this band have a lot of fans and why that is. This will be loved by a lot of people. They are a damn talented collection of musicians. But this really wasn’t my sort of thing. Outside of a couple of songs that I’ve mentioned already, I won’t be revisiting this album. So, for that, it sadly gets a 4/10. Please don’t come at me, I’m sorry…!

Mother Mother: Nostalgia

Just a year removed from their incredible last release, the indie rock Canadians are back with their 10th studio album. As much as I loved that album, I’m struggling to get into this one a bit. Don’t get me wrong, it took me a little to appreciate The Grief Chapter fully, but this is taking even more. It’s a lot more indie than their previous release; where are the RIFFS?! Stuff like ‘ON AND ON’ made me feel that same love for the band, but it was fewer and further between than I’d have liked. Songs like ‘Make Believe’ and ‘FINGER’ are also good, but not in the same ways. Maybe this is what the band always sound like and I just jumped in at a time that did it best for me with their last album? Either way, it’s not a bad release by any stretch, but it’s certainly not what I hoped for heading into this. If you are a fan of the band or genre, it’s worth checking out, and it may grow on me. However, for now, I can’t give it any more than a 5/10

Crowe Boys: Made to Wander

The debut album from the Americana/country brothers is honestly incredible, especially for a first release. The pair are plenty experienced, living on the road with their family in a gospel band. However, that shouldn’t necessarily translate across to writing music, especially music THIS GOOD. ‘Bootstraps’ is an absolutely amazing song, and sets the tone for the rest of the release perfectly. Then you have songs like ‘Debris’, ‘Bonfire in my Soul’ and ‘Lucky to Be Alive’ that are also absolutely massive highlights. It’s like Mumford and Sons meets the likes of Wyatt Flores and Zach Bryan, making for an interesting, epic sound. My only issue is that it does feel like it loses momentum a little in the middle. However, at only 10 tracks and 37-minutes, it’s a fantastically easy listen, especially in one sitting. It’s certainly worth checking out if you are at all curious or into the style, you’ll surely love it as much as I do! I already cannot wait to hear where the band go from here, but for now I’m going to be listening to this album a lot, I’m sure. It gets another very solid 9/10 from us!

Katatonia: Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State

We’ve already checked out this awesome album. Find our review of it here!

The Ting Tings: Home

A band that I’ve loved since my childhood, and another that have returned in a massive way, popping back up out of nowhere after years with that song that has popped off on TikTok. The rest of the album very much follows the same Fleetwood Mac-esque vibe too, having that acoustic/folk/pop/rock blend that the band coined so well back in the day. Of course ‘Dreaming’ is a banger, but so are the likes of ‘Home’, ‘Danced on the Wire’ and ‘Mind Thunder’. It’s a great album to just stick on in the background and just sit back and relax to. We don’t have enough folk like this, or at least not in the mainstream, so if a band like this are going to take a dip into this sound hopefully others follow suit. It’s certainly not going to be for everyone, but I enjoyed this and will certainly have a few tracks in my rotation moving forward. If you are into folk in any way, check this out, you may end up loving it! It gets a 7.5/10 from us!

Inglorious: V

The returns continue this week! Over four years after their last album and subsequent hiatus, Nathan James and his classic rock machine returned with a vengeance back in March with single ‘Testify’. Y’all know I liked that one, and anticipation for this album has been high not just from me, but across the whole scene.

I’m happy to say that I think it lives up to the hype! Of course the singles are bangers, but then you have the likes of the beautiful, epic ‘Believe’ and the faster, sleazier ‘End of the Road’. And, of course, you can’t forget ‘In Your Eyes’, a sound more like something Nathan would have been doing on the musical circuit the last few years. However, the whole album is great; a solid, tight 10 tracks and 40 minutes without a bad one in the batch! It feels very much back to the bands roots, pulling a lot of sound and inspiration from I, while also adding in elements from the albums that proceeded them too. Rich does some incredible work on guitar, a far cry from his other projects in Cradle of Filth and Emperor Chung. Meanwhile, other newcomer Henry Rodgers does great on the drums. And, the writing pairing of Nathan with former-and-current bassist Colin has very much reinvigorated the band, producing something that feels truly special and exciting. The band were once one of the shining leading lights of the NWOCR scene, and this album puts them right back in that conversation again! I’ll most certainly be listening to this again, and it gets a solid 8.5/10 from us!

Pulp: More

The first studio album from the legendary Britpop band in a LONG 24 years is finally here! It’s been a long time coming, with the bands second reunion coming a couple of years ago and them debuting live music at their shows. I haven’t heard any of them so far, going into this completely blind, so let’s see if it lives up tp the hype!

Honestly, it very much lives up to their 90s peak! I was never the biggest fan of the band to begin with, but love the odd song here and there. This is the same. I probably won’t listen to the album front-to-back much, but I love some of the songs throughout and there is no denying it’s all very well written and performed! Songs like the opener, ‘Grown Ups’, and ‘Got to Have Love’ I’d honestly put up there with their greatest hits, they’re that good. It’s another album that’s just damn fun to listen to, and if you’re into the band and somehow haven’t already checked this out, I can’t recommend this enough. There is no one in the business like Jarvis, and it’s so nice to hear him back with the others, making music again! Despite me not being the hugest fan, I really enjoyed this, and it gets a solid 7.5/10!

Tooth Gore: For Losers, By Losers.

The sophomore album from the surf punk Brits follows up Halloween just over a year ago, and arguably builds and improves on the sound perfectly. Opener ‘Uncomfortable’ is a fantastic opener and is going to be stuck in my head for days to come. Then you have the likes of ‘Fungus, Actually’, ‘Black Cat’, ‘No Fighting in Doo-Wop’ and the more ska-punk ‘So?’ that are all also fantastic songs and big highlights. However, there really isn’t a bad song on here! It has as much British indie in the sound as the punk elements, making for a really interesting and referencing sound. Between that and the band clearly not taking themselves all too seriously and having a lot of fun with the music, it makes for a damn enjoyable experience to listen to! We sadly didn’t get the chance to review their debut but I have checked it out since and really enjoyed it, so believe me when I say that this is somehow even better! The band are building a great name for themselves in the underground scene, and this very well could be the release to push them easily up a couple of levels. If you are in any way a punk fan, check this out immediately! I can’t give this any less than 9/10!

Jesse Daniel: Son of the San Lorenzo

The fifth album from the neo-traditional country star dropped last Friday. We checked out his last album almost a year to the day ago and enjoyed it, and this very much feels like a good follow-up with plenty more of the same. Songs like the title track, the more upbeat ‘One’s Too Many’ and ‘Crankster’ are all awesome and big personal highlights. Then you have the duet with Charles Wesley Godwin which couldn’t be a better fit if it tried! However, while a couple may be a bit on the slower side (a few too many in a row, I mean), there really isn’t a bad song on the whole album! As I said, I enjoyed the last album, but honestly I think Jesse tops it with this release! It’s a damn fine country release that goes by in a flash, not feeling like 45-minutes at all. And with it only being 12 months between releases too, it’s a real testament to just how incredible a songwriter Daniel is! If you’re into more of an old-school country sound, I cannot recommend this release enough, check it out as soon as you have the chance. And, in a year so far of amazing country releases, this somehow stands out among some of the best! It gets a very solid 8.5/10 from us!

Pylon Poets: Demise of the Divine

The 80s synth-rock tinged alternative band put out their highly anticipated debut album last Friday and, spoiler alert, it’s a bit good! It honestly reminds me of a heavier version of the Pulp album up above, which isn’t a bad thing at all! Songs like ‘In the End’, ‘Temptation’ and ‘Saviour’ are awesome and going to be stuck in my head for days to come, easy album highlights. However, the whole release is packed full of awesome songs, not a bad one in the bunch. The band are hugely talented songwriters and players, blending together a variety of styles seamlessly and creating something pretty unique with this release. And, for a debut, it’s an incredible high standard! The band have been going a few years now and built their sound and this release pretty perfectly, making this surely an album to take them to the next level. The band certainly have a new fan in me, and this is a solid 8/10 from us!

Passengers In Panic: Amnesia

The sophomore studio album from the heavy/folk metal Greeks builds on everything great about their debut and turns it up to 11. The whole thing is epic, heavy and melodic all in perfect measure, and is really something you have to listen to front-to-back at least once. The opener sets the tone perfectly, and the likes of ‘Echos of Death’, the title track and ‘Erase Me’ are all big highlights, but the whole thing is most certainly worth a listen! I love the folk elements, and while they are done quite a lot in the European scene these days, this still feels pretty unique and stands out among the others, maybe because it has a bit more of a modern metal edge to it too. The band most certainly have a new fan in me, and it’s insane to me that they are already a much bigger name in the scene. It’s a must for any fans of power or folk metal out there, and gets a very solid 8/10 from me!

new music mondays

New Music Mondays: Dylan Scott, Stray From the Path and More!

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As usual, a week stacked full of awesome new releases, featuring everything from country to metal! Let’s dive in!

Dylan Scott: Easy Does It

We’ve already checked out this awesome album! Read our review of it here.

Stray From the Path: Clockworked

So, I only heard about the release of this album at Slam Dunk last weekend. It turns out that the album is somewhat of a surprise release but, not only that, it is set to be their last, with the band calling it quits after a decade and doing some farewell touring for the rest of the year. So, already that’s put a downer on things, as I fucking love this band. However, I’m sure this will be a bittersweet release, to say the least.

It very much is, as this is a fantastic release. The perfect blend of hardcore and rappy nu-metal, some of the riffs and breakdowns are fantastic. Plus, the band are just as angry as they always have been, the lyrics calling out just about everyone in a way only Andrew can do. It’s absolutely packed full of awesome tracks too, with single ‘Shot Caller’ and the heavy AF ‘Shocker’ being personal highlights. Heck, my only issue with this is that it’s just too damn short. I get that hardcore has a tendency to not overstay it’s welcome (or just stay long in general) but just 30-minutes… goddamn do I need more! It again might be a case of I know this is the last release from them, at least for the foreseeable, though, that I just need double this pumped into my veins.

Still, it’s a fucking fantastic album from start to finish, the bands energy being infectious and makes me wanna break stuff and start a revolution. Everyone works their asses off throughout this whole thing, including guests from LANDMVRKS and Poison the Well, and have crafted something that more than lives up to their previous releases. I’ll be spinning this a lot moving forward, and it gets another very easy 9/10 from us!

Trampled by Turtles & Alan Sparhawk: Self-Titled (kinda)

The legendary Low member joins the indie-folk/alt country band for a really interesting collaboration album! Right off the bat, it’s not for everyone. However, despite its simplicity, I found myself really enjoying it! Alan fits in perfectly with the band, and they’ve all crafted a really interesting epic folk/Americana record. Songs like ‘Too High’ and ‘Princess Road Surgery’ are personal highlights for me. However, at barely over half an hour long, it’s short and sweet, and was great to just lay back and relax and listen to in one sitting. Everyone involved is clearly talented and have crafted something pretty special here. It won’t be something I revisit very often, but it is certainly not a bad album and if you are a fan of either party’s work prior, or the styles I’ve mentioned here, it’s definitely worth checking out! It’s definitely come out the right time of the year, too. It gets a pretty solid 7/10 from us, I enjoyed it more than I expected to!

Rivers of Nihil: Self-Titled

The fifth album from the US tech/prog death metal titans goes just as hard as their previous releases, and is absolutely AMAZING. ‘The Sub-Orbital Blues’ is such a fantastic track in its own right, and sets the tone and pace for the album perfectly! Then you have stuff like… well… all of it. This is 50-minutes of not only a technical masterclass when it comes to metal instrumentation and singing/screaming, but also a masterclass on how to write it. From brutal screams to catchy, clean-sung choruses to crushing breakdowns to the awesome dropped-down bits on songs like ‘Despair Church’, it’s all so good. Heck, they even threw in some sexy, SEXY sax in a couple of tracks, somehow making them even better! It’s not even a case of “if you can handle prog…” this time, as the whole thing goes by in a flash. If you are in any way into metal, or are in any way a musicians, you have to give this a spin at least once, so you can have your mind blown as much as I did. I’m bound to be listening to this a lot moving forward, and it may very well be my favourite album by the band. I can’t give it any less than 10/10, phenomenal stuff!

Ty Segall: Possession

The multi-genred soloist is back, following up his two releases from last year. We somehow haven’t covered any of his stuff here before, and I’m not all that familiar with his work, so I am oddly curious heading into this!

It’s certainly on the quirky side, but in a rather endearing way. While it’s not my usual sort of music, I found myself enjoying it, especially to listen to in full kinda in the background while I worked on other stuff. It had an old-school vibe to it, almost giving slight Beatles vibes to it, but of course more garage and indie. Tracks like ‘Possession’, ‘Shining’ and the epic closer are all big personal highlights. However, there isn’t a bad song on the release, and is worth listening through at least once! He’s clearly a very talented player and songwriter. It’s not something I’d necessarily revisit often, but I certainly enjoyed my time with the album and will most certainly be keeping an eye out for future releases from Ty! It gets a solid 7/10 from us!

LessDMV: |E|

We’ve also checked this one out already! Read the glowing review here!

The Haunted: Songs of Last Resort

The legendary melodeath titans put out their first album in eight years this past Friday. It’s been a long time coming but, to the surprise of I’m sure almost no one, it’s another banger of a release! Right from the offset it’s heavy and technical in all the best ways. ‘Warhead’ is an awesome song and almost the perfect melodeath track! Then you have stuff like ‘Unbound’, the thrashy ‘Hell is Wasted on the Dead’ and ‘Collateral Carnage’ that are all massive personal highlights. However, this is 40-minute of melodic death metal awesomeness; there isn’t a bad song on it! It’s essentially a supergroup at this point, but even then the talent between the five of them is off the charts. I hadn’t listened to this band for a while before now, but goddamn do they have a huge renewed fan in me! If you are at all into metal, be it melodeath or even lighter, I’d still recommend checking this out. It’s a phenomenal album from start to finish, and one that I wouldn’t be surprised to see high on our albums of the year list come December. An easy 9/10 from us!

Anderson East: Worthy

The Southern soul artist’s first release in nearly four years is a great album! I’ve been really getting into this sort of sound again recently, whether it’s from Cardinal Black’s latest album or older stuff like Jamie Joseph, Tom Seals or even Jody Blount, and this is another great addition to that growing list! Songs like ‘Anyway’ and ‘Before it Gets Better’ are personal highlights, but this whole thing is pretty great and certainly worth sticking on if you want something to sit back and chill with! It certainly isn’t going to be everyone reading this’ bag, but I really enjoyed this and have listened to it a couple of times over this weekend already. It’s one I’ll definitely be revisiting pretty often moving forward, and it gets a 8/10 from us!

Shrouded in Darkness: 11:11

Album number three from the Swedish blackened-doom metallers is an awesome-yet-short release. It’s dark and evil and epic all in equal measure, as well as being perfectly heavy. I love the organ behind it all, adding so much depth to the song and really adding to the doom vibe. And instrumentally, as well as the growls, it’s all amazing! Tracks like ‘Cruel Winds’ and ‘The Lurking Devil’ are both personal high points. However, it somehow feels both too short, and kinda repetitive. It’s only six tracks and an intro, but each of said tracks is a similar feel and tempo, leading to it all blending together a little. It’s a great blend, and the album went by in a flash, but it meant that the whole thing was memorable instead of certain tracks. It’s a great sound they have going on, but a little variety, especially after three albums, would have been amazing. The band are talented and have made a great album, one I’d recommend to any doom/black metal fans reading this. But yeah, it did get a little much by the end. 7/10

Dead Daisies: Lookin’ for Trouble

Something a bit different from the supergroup this time around as they’ve pulled a Whitesnake; chasing last year’s big release with a fun, foot-stomping blues album. We’re pretty familiar with the band here, heck I’m a firm believer that Jon Corabi can make gold out of anything, so believe me when I say that this is the most fun I’ve had with the Daisies in a while. Any long-time readers here know that I’m a big blues head at heart, but even still, this is a fantastically made album. Yes, it is technically a covers album, the band recreating everything from ‘Black Betty’ to ‘Crossroads’ to ‘Walking the Dog’. However, the band put their own spin on each and every one of these 10 tracks, and it makes for a damn enjoyable listen! As much as I enjoy the harder, heavier and sleazier stuff the band usually produces, this is a fantastic addition to their discography and a must for any fans of the band or blues music. It is clear that each member of the band is a true fan of the music they are playing, and more than do it justice, while also making it sound pretty damn Daisies in the process. It’s a great stop-gap between their written material, and gets a very solid 8.5/10 from us!