Another entry into our new series sees three awesome, widely different EPs all being released on Friday. From death metal to country, join us as we check out some awesome new music!
Renegade Angel: Jokesters
The Finnish heavy/power metal band are set to follow up 2022’s Dawn of Justice with the release of their second EP on Friday. Samuli Federley once again leads the charge with his insane guitar talents, and is again fronted by Tailgunner vocalist Craig Cairns. At just two original tracks and a cover (as well as two alt versions), it is simply not enough new music from the awesome band! However, there is no denying how good of a release it is. Single ‘Jokesters’ is a fantastic track that feels like the perfect combination of modern technical power metal powerhouse like Dragonforce and Beast in Black. And that chorus, damn, it’s massive and is going to be stuck in my head for the rest of the day, guaranteed. Meanwhile ‘Soldiers of Misfortune’ gives off more of an early Iron Maiden vibe, which I also love just as much! And of course we get an awesome, heavier rendition of Meat Loaf’s anthemic ‘Razor’s Edge’. The duelling vocals on it sound awesome and while covers of Loaf always sound fantastic, the heaviness and epicness added to this one is amazing!
This is essential listening for any fans of metal, power or otherwise. I am desperate to hear more music from the band, and I truly think they’d jump up a few levels if they were to release an album soon. For now though, this EP is great, and has prompted me to go back and check out their older stuff. The band certainly have a new fan in me! 8/10
Some melodeath next from Paris, a city that for some reason I don’t typically associate with heavier metal. However, I certainly will after listening to this; it’s an awesome release! It’s lighter than a lot of it’s counterparts in the genre, but that’s certainly not a bad thing. It shares riff-stylings with metalcore, yet also has plenty of parts where Children of Bodom or In Flames inspiration shines through. Heck, it even has clean vocals, something I wasn’t expecting heading into this but loved; it fit perfectly. Having said that there, there is still plenty of heaviness throughout the EP, and some truly awesome screams.
It’s a collection of four incredible original tracks that seem to draw from all corners of the European metal sound. From the more radio-friendly, NWOBHM inspired opener through the almost black metal-infused ‘We are the Dead’ and to the doom-esque ‘The Old Ones’. All four songs are amazing, and it’s so hard to pick highlights as they are all so different. It’s the band’s first new music in two-and-a-half years since their debut album, and it follows on from that release brilliantly. Spinning the tale of humanities last days, it’s almost a concept EP, and one that I shall be listening to a whole lot moving forwards. It was over far too soon and I cannot wait for another longer release, but damn, this seems certain to push the band as pretty major players in the death metal scene moving forward! 9/10
Blanco Brown: Heartache & Lemonade
Last but certainly not least, we have some country from Grammy nominated vocalist and producer Blanco Brown. I have to admit his was not a name I was familiar with before now but damn, he’s certainly gained at least one new fan from this release. It’s chilled-out, stripped-back country/Americana with enough of a pop hook in the vocals to make it all hugely catchy and will do very well with a wide audience. Speaking of the vocals, Blanco’s impressive range and emotional delivery was certainly the highlight of the whole EP. whether it’s the more simple opener to the more blues rock-oriented ‘Good as it Gets’, his versatility and writing is amazing. And, much like every EP on this article, there really a bad track on it. Each track had enough variation to keep me interested through the short release, and will certainly have me coming back for further listens in the future. Hopefully this is the year we get a new album from him after half a decade, but if not, this is still an incredible listen, and a must for any country fan! 8.5/10
Two weeks in a row now that we’re inundated in new country albums. Yet again, I’m not complaining! We still have some power metal, metalcore and good old-fashioned rock ‘n’ roll spread through, too! Let’s dive right in!
Sheryl Crow: Evolution
I’ve never been the biggest Cheryl Crow fan in the world. This album hasn’t changed my mind. Don’t get me wrong, she has an absolutely incredible voice and some great hits from back in the day. But man, her albums have always been a bit of a slog. And, 30 years after her breakout hits, she still sounds like a combination of Shania Twain, Lenny Kravitz and Alanis Morrisette. I do find it slightly ironic that the album is called Evolution yet sounds exactly the same as everything else she’s put out. It’s 2024, do we really need any more of this late 90s/early 2000s pop rock?
I honestly couldn’t pick this out of a lineup of any of her other songs. All of the tracks kinda blend together, and most of the lyrics were juvenile at best. The only real one I found that stood out and I enjoyed was the closer, ‘Waiting in the Wings’. And even then, it’s probably because it was the most country-leaning track. None of it was bad, per-say, but it just feels like a wholly unneeded album. Still, if anyone reading this is a fan of her other work or any of the other artists I named in a big way, you’ll probably enjoy it. It’s not a bad album, just a safe, boring one. 3.5/10
Sum 41: Heaven :x: Hell
The final album from the pop-punk legends is a bittersweet affair. Having grown up with the band, it’s horrible to hear their last hurah (for now, at least. This is the music industry, after all…). However, what a fantastic swan song. It’s a 20-track, double album that spans all of the styles and sounds the band have covered over their illustrious career, and I love it. Whether it’s heavier, Anti-Flag-style songs like ‘Future Primetive’ or the AMAZING single ‘Rise Up’ or more typical pop-punk stuff like ‘I Can’t Wait’ or ‘Dopemine’, it’s all awesome and packed full of highlights.
Don’t get me wrong, a couple of the songs are a little Ticket to My Downfall, which isn’t a good thing. It may be a little too long, controversially. However, it’s new, final Sum 41, so I still loved it. The band are going out on a high and at the top of their games, which doesn’t happen often these days, and I admire the crap out of them for that. If you are a fan of the band or pop punk in general, I cannot recommend this album enough! I’mma be listening to it a lot going forward. 9/10
While She Sleeps: SELF HELL
Considering I was a metalcore kid, I never quite ‘got’ WSS. I was hoping that would change with the inevitable yet slower-than-usual transition into more of a BMTH sound, especially given that they seem to have gotten stuck around Sempiternal, but that sadly hasn’t happened. I got pretty excited too because when I first stuck it on, I really loved the intro track and where it was headed. Then sadly, that destination was nowhere, building up to stop, and then the following track being anti-climactic, Linkin Park-esque nothingness.
Don’t get me wrong, there were tracks I enjoyed on here. ‘RAINBOWS’ and the heavier, Malevolence-featuring ‘DOWN’ are two songs I’ve listened to a lot over this last weekend. ‘ENEMY MENTALITY’ is a fun, almost modern BFMV, too. However, there is a lot of meh on this album, including multiple interludes that feel like they go nowhere. I know the band are getting quite big and have a lot of momentum currently, but this release doesn’t reflect that at all to me. Hopefully actual fans of the band enjoy it more than I do! 6/10
Rage: Afterlifelines
We’ve already checked out this awesome album! Read the full review of it here!
Aaron Lewis: The Hill
The Staind frontman is back with another helping of his country-based solo work. If you can get past the overly patriotic, questionably political and generally cringy lyrics, it’s a pretty decent album. His voice is just as well suited to country as it is radio/dad rock. Tracks like ‘Spinnin”, ‘Only In My Mind’ and the bouncier, rockier ‘Outlaw’ are all big highlights of the album. However, with just his vocals, guitars and strings, it does get a tad samey and drags a little by the end. None of it is bad, but I wish we’d have had a little more dynamics, or heck, even some drums, just to fill things out a little more or add to the dramatics. Still, I’ve seen a lot of people praising the album so far and rightfully so, it’s a good country release! 8/10
Asomvel: Born to Rock ‘n’ Roll
One of the fastest rising stars in the UK underground rock scene currently, Asomvel finally released their highly anticipated new album last Friday. And, surprising to I’m sure no one, it’s fucking awesome! It’s the perfect blend of Motorhead and Airborne, yet also feels like a modernised version of both. It’s dripping with attitude and has a real old-school feel to it while somehow still fitting in perfectly with today’s music and climate.
It’s a balls-to-the-wall, foot stomping album from start to finish, and is full of energy and adrenaline. Of course, there is something to be said of it all being similar, and I have certainly called out other releases for doing just that in the past. However, the 45-minutes went by in a flash and I loved every minute of it! There isn’t a bad song on the album, but tracks like the opener, ‘Cold Day in Hell’ and ‘Outside the Law’ are all massive personal highlights. If this is anything to go by, this hand are going to be MASSIVE in the very near future. Any rock fan out there will love this just as much as I did. I’d recommend it to anyone! 9.5/10, great stuff!
Ash Tustain: Piece of Me
We’ve also done this album in full too, aren’t you lucky? Check it out here!
Preacher Stone: V
The southern rockers are finally back with their first new album in eight years. The hype around it has been pretty massive, with three huge, awesome singles having been dropped already. I can’t wait to hear the rest!
It’s just as good as I was expecting it to be! ‘Hard Life PhD’ is the perfect opener, setting up the sound and feel of the album fantastically. Tracks like ‘Ain’t as Easy as it Looks’, the stomping, swaggering ‘Horse to Water’, and ‘Dance with the Devil’ are also personal highlights. However, there really isn’t a bad track on the album! It’s also put together really well, with every track flowing perfectly one after another. I didn’t get bored at all and listened to it all in one sitting like no time passed at all! If you’re into anything Southern or hard rocking or even country, check this out, you won’t be disappointed! 8/10
Dylan Scott: Livin’ My Best Life (Still)
I guess a sequel album of sorts, as ‘…Still’ clearly follows on from Dylan’s 2022 release in a major way. It continues the bro country/rock country sound and trend of his previous two albums, so if that’s your thing, you’ll surely love this! Honestly, I thought this was right up my alley going into it, but personally, the album was… fine? None of it was bad, don’t get me wrong. It’s always nice to have a darker, rockier, Brantley Gilbert-like sound in country, and Dylan and the musicians he’s used are all fantastic performers and writers. But it’s a slightly outdated country style these days, the lyrics being a touch on the cringy side at times. And there is a lot of music that sounds like this that I don’t think this album will quite cut through the white noise. Tracks like the opener and ‘Killin’ Some Time’ are personal highlights, but a lot of it sounds similar and blended together. I wouldn’t turn off the album if it came on. However, I don’t think I’d go out of my way to listen to it in full much again after this. Especially at 24 TRACKS. MY GOD COUNTRY, STOP THIS. 6.5/10
Beyoncé: COWBOY CARTER
I never thought I’d be writing about Beyoncé on this site. However, given that this is advertised and claims to be a country album, I thought I’d give it a crack.
Lol, this was shit. If you’re a Beyoncé fan you’ll probably enjoy it, but if you’re a country fan, keep a wide birth. To call it country is laughable and almost insulting to the genre. It’s an R&B album that claims to be country because it’s an acoustic guitar at its heart instead of a clean electric one or electronic samples. And the fact that it’s probably going to be the ‘biggest country album of the year’ makes me sick. I’ve heard the dreadful, nonsensical ‘TEXAS HOLD ‘EM’ so much on social media and, unlike most songs that go viral, I haven’t even been Stockholm Syndromed into liking it. That’s how bad it is. The covers were the best part and that’s because she was nowhere near the writing process for them. And heck, if you want to listen to ‘Joline’ or ‘Blackbird’, I highly recommend listening to the original instead.
This will certainly have the mainstream media in love with it, but as a country fan, this is terrible. Honestly, it may be the worst album I’ve ever reviewed, and I don’t say that lightly. 1/10
The Dig Lazarus frontman, Ash Tustain, has decided to venture out on his own, plugging away at a solo album the last year or two and building plenty of hype for it in the process. I’m a huge fan of his band and we’ve become pretty close to them through this channel, so I’ve been rather impatiently waiting for this for a little while now! We got it across our emails and I knew I had to do a review of it ASAP, so let’s dive right in!
‘Supposed to Be’ opens on a pretty decent chord progression, the rest of the instruments filling out the sound perfectly. It gives off immediate early late1990s/early 2000s radio-rock vibes. Think Hootie & The Blowfish or Third Eye Blind. Not at all what I was expecting for a usually heavy blues/grungy frontman! It’s a nice change of pace though, and shows off Ash’s impressive range. His vocals fit perfectly over the top of the chilled instrumentation, too, almost having a Brit-pop edge to things. The multi-tracked vocals for the chorus are perfect for the track and immensely catchy. The lyrics are fantastic too, pretty uplifting and upbeat. It’s a fantastic song, and a great choice for an album opener!
‘Borrowed Time’ jumps straight into the infectiously catchy chorus, hooking the listener in immediately. The track still has a chilled-out feel to it, the rest of it all feeling like it builds perfectly to that excellent chorus. It’s going to be stuck in my head for the rest of the day, I’m sure of it! The rest of the track is of course awesome, but everything from the vocal melody to the lyrics to the chord progression of the chorus is definitely where it’s at. It easily makes our playlist!
Tracks like ‘Love More Than I Hate You’ and ‘Eggshells’ have more folky feels to them than the more pop-rock of the early album. The former really reminds me of some of the more reflective Frank Turner tracks, and I love it. The strings in the back of the chorus are a beautiful touch, too. It’s the second in a row that makes our playlist and is a massive highlight of the album. Meanwhile, the latter closes the album in rather epic fashion.
The likes of ‘Three Words’, ‘Are you Awake’ and ‘Let You Go’ go back to the radio-rock-pop formula from the opening tracks, and again, simply nail it. They’re all amazingly enjoyable songs, with the emotional ballad ‘Are you Awake’ being my personal favourite of the three. The lyrics for it are fantastic and the delivery of them from Ash is incredible.
The other three songs on the album, ‘Booshelf’, ‘Warning’ and the title track, all draw more from Ash’s rock roots. The former perfectly skirts the line between grunge and early 2000s alt-rock, giving off heavy Staind vibes in the best ways. However, it still maintains the bouncy, Brit-pop-style chorus, which was really interesting and made for a fun listen! Meanwhile the title track is much more of a straight-up rock song, an awesome riff running through it and it’s dripping in swagger and energy. It also has an awesome, foot-stomping chorus, another song that easily makes it onto our playlist! The penultimate track on the album is similar, though has a slower, suaver pace to it. All three songs are amazing and all are highlights, filling the gap between more Dig Lazarus music for a tad longer.
Overall: I loved this! It’s a pretty relaxed album for the most part, and is compact as anything. Only 10 tracks long, it feels like every song was meticulously selected as there really isn’t a bad one on it. It’s been arranged amazingly too; it flows well yet never once gets boring, the style and tempo changing in the perfect places. Ash has done a fantastic job here and has a really promising solo career if he wanted to carry on down this path!
This week is for the country fans! Sure, there is some power metal and NWOCR sprinkled in for good measure, but at least four of the albums this week are considered country. Not that I’m complaining at all, in fact I’m excited. Let’s dive in!
Kenny Chesney: Born
The country legend is back with his whopping 20th studio release. It’s somehow the biggest gap in albums in his 30+ year career, too, with Here and Now being released back in 2020. It’s also rare to see someone have such a long, prolific career in the genre, with almost every album from 1997 through to 2020 producing one of his biggest hits. It’s honestly insane.
Shockingly, this album is no different, either. A couple of the singles have already received huge country-radio airplay globally, and it’s easy to see why! ‘Take her Home’ channels very ‘Get Along’ vibes and feelings, but a love song version. Meanwhile ‘Just Say We Did’ is a typical modern era Kenny banger. The album is pretty front loaded though, as the opener is one of my favourite tracks on the album, and songs like ‘Few Good Stories’ and ‘Guilty Pleasure’ are good, with the latter also being a single.
However, it was at that point that I started to feel the length of the album. There are certainly still good songs after this point, don’t get me wrong. But there are eight more songs, and a lot of them all have a similar feel and tempos. I can complain all day about the too-long length of modern country albums, but I’ll leave it at: this definitely suffers with that issue. Still, it’s a good album with some great songs on it. And regardless, it’ll still be massive just like Kenny’s other releases. I’ll be listening to plenty of this a lot moving forward, so it’s an easy 8/10
Chris Young: Young Love & Saturday Nights
A modern country megastar, Chris returned on Friday with his ninth studio album, and first since the dreaded Covid times. I feel like I’ll never see him at this point after he dropped out of his UK tour and The Long Road 2022 headline slot, so at least new music’s something, right?
It helps that said new music is really quite good. The opener is classic Chris Young stadium-country goodness, while the ‘Rebel Rebel’ homage of a title track is incredible. Other big highlights include ‘Country Boy’s Prayer’, the almost TC3-like ‘Double Down’, the beautiful ‘Gettin’ Older’, ‘Knee Deep in Neon’ and ‘Right Now’. Don’t get me wrong, it very much has the same issue as the previous album in that it is so long. 18 songs and nearly an hour is a lot, especially when the vast majority of it sounds pretty similar. The album definitely hits a slump between ‘Double Down’ and ‘Gettin’ Older’, even if all five of the tracks between them are great. I also love the final three tracks a hell of a lot. That’s 12 incredible tracks that I am in love with, and six that are really rather easily cuttable.
Because of this, it makes it very hard to come up with a ranking for this. On the one hand, at least half of this album is up there with some of his best work, in my opinion. The seven tracks I’ve mentioned I will be listening to a hell of a lot, and have made me want to see him live somehow even more badly. And as I’ve said, none of the other tracks are especially bad. They’re just slow-ish and sameyand one after another. Still though, it’s a truly fantastic country album, and will most likely not get the love it definitely deserves, given how many other major players there are in the genre these days. I’ll be playing this a lot moving forward, and would recommend it to anyone. 9.5/10
Hammer King: KÖNIG UND KAISER
We’ve already checked out this awesome album! Read the full review here!
Gossip: Real Power
The US indie band are back with their first album since 2012, and a whopping two reunions later. I was a fan of their stuff back in the day, with Standing in the Way of Control and Music for Men being awesome albums. However, I didn’t even know they’d broken up, let alone gotten back together. Sadly, this album doesn’t quite do it for me. The title track is fun, as is ‘Turn the Card Slowly’. However, in general, it feels like the band are simply trying to recapture an old magic that died long ago. It’s less Brave New World and more Chinese Democracy. It all kinda blended together into a blur of meh, sadly. It’s not bad, but the genre and music industry as a whole has evolved so far past this in the last 12+ years that this feels pretty stale. I know I’m certainly not the biggest indie fan so I’m sure there will be some out there whole like this. I’m not one of them, though. 3/10
Sierra Ferrell: Trail of Flowers
Owen: The follow up to a strong debut in 2021, it’s hard to believe ‘Trail Of Flowers’ is only the second release from Sierra Ferrell. The success she’s seen in the time between these two albums (a myriad of featuring spots with artists big and small, as well as involvement with major film and tv productions) seems only to have empowered the blend of styles unique to Ferrell’s solo work. The 12 tracks presented are expertly paced; winding paths from upbeat galloping beats such as 2023 single ‘Fox Hunt’, through to the slow wrenching ballad of ‘Wish You Well’.
In the latter stages of the album, we are given two songs that have suffered the same fate. Fans that discovered Ferrell through YouTube will be familiar with both ‘Why Haven’t You Loved Me Yet’ and ‘Rosemary’. Both songs have been circulating the platform with various performances over recent years, each rightly celebrated by the fanbase. As a long-time fan, I’m sure I’m not the only one happy to see both of these stand proud on a full-length release. In future releases, it would be great to see Ferrell push the limits of her vocal range and natural talent a little further. Having witnessed the power of her voice live I wish this came across more in the album recordings. 8.5/10
Borris & Coaltar of the Deepers: “Hello There”
The odd Japanese band are back, this time experimenting with a 90s alt rock band. The third helping of the band on this series, and sadly I think it’s the one I enjoyed the least out of them. It had more of the band’s psychadellic inspiration to it, adding it to Coaltar’s alt rock in a very weird way. I feel like live some of the stuff wouldn’t be too bad, especially with a good stageshow, but on track it did nothing for me. I honestly can’t even pick out a highlight track; it’s all one big blend of weird noise.
Don’t get me wrong, I have massive admiration for Boris. Being able to collaborate with so many different artists for full albums and adapt their sound accordingly takes insane amounts of talent. There are certainly going to be fans of this music out there too, as Coaltar have tens of thousands of monthly streamers. But yeah, this is not for me at all. A couple of nice riffs but that’s sadly it. 3/10
Cody Jinks: Change the Game
We’ve checked out this album already too! Read our review of it here!
Stone Angels: Up in Smoke
An interesting release up next, as the NWOCR band have decided to release solely physical copies of the album currently, releasing each track as a single on streaming in the coming months before putting out the full album on them after. It’s a bold strategy for sure, and one I haven’t seen before, so I’m curious to see how it plays out!
As for the actual music, it’s pretty good! There’s a grungy/alt metal edge to their brand of hard rock which keeps things interesting and made it a fun listen. The riffing throughout is amazing and there are plenty of catchy vocal hooks and melodies to appease more radio listeners. Tracks like ‘Gambler’, ‘Western Dreams’ and the more ballad-like title track are all personal highlights.
I’ve already seen a lot of fans of this album, and I did really enjoy it myself, though it does feel like it’s missing something that puts it on the upper level of albums in the genre. I have no idea what that something is, but it does feel just a small step below the likes of Bed of Nails or Inhale/Exhale. It’s still good, don’t get me wrong, and I’ll be listening to it a bunch after this review still. But at the time of writing, I’mma give it a 7.5/10
Gary Clark Jr.: JPEG RAW
The blues master returned with his sixth album last week. It immediately gives off an old-school, more raw sounding Lenny Kravitz style. Between the obviously awesome, grungy guitar work and great vocals, the album had me hooked right from the opener, ‘Maktub’. There’s also some clear jazz/soul influence on songs like ‘Alone Together’. Meanwhile, tracks like the title one and ‘This Who We Are’ incorporate more of Gary’s hip hop influences, which I LOVE. The latter is a huge highlight of the album and one of my favourite tracks Gary has put out. Other highlights include ‘Hearts in Retrograde’ and the almost proggy ‘Habits’.
The talent and variety on display throughout the album is incredible and I was never once bored. The nearly-hour went by in a flash. It’s certainly not going to be for everyone but damn, I really enjoyed the album! It’s an easy 8/10 from me!
Hideous Divinity: Unextinct
The tech/brutal death metal band are back with album number five and damn, it’s a good one! I usually don’t get a huge amount out of stuff quite this straight-forward heavy, but the band had me hooked on this album from ‘The Numinous One’. It was a big highlight track of the album, as is the epic, Zach Jeter featuring ‘Atto Quarto’. However, the whole album is pretty great, and if you’re into the heavy stuff you’ll love this! There isn’t too much more I can say about it, if you’re familiar with the genre you know exactly what to expect, and it delivers in spades! 7.5/10
Leaves’ Eyes: Myths of Fate
The German symphonic metal band’s first album in nearly four years is fucking awesome. Of course, it’s easy to draw comparisons to genre giants like Nightwish and Within Temptation, but from the soaring, powerful operatic vocals to the awesome growls and screams and the overall epic feel, I’d say this is definitely up there with those two. Right from the excellent opener to the massive closer, this album had me hooked throughout. There isn’t a bad track on the album but songs like ‘Who Wants to Live Forever’, ‘Fear the Serpent’ and the beautifully folky ‘Godess of the Night’ are definite highlights for me.
My only ever so slight issue with this album is that it doesn’t really do anything different. All are great songs, but there is so much amazing power/symphonic metal coming out these days that it may just fall into the sea of white noise. Still though, that shouldn’t dissuade anyone from listening to it. If you’re a fan of any of the bands or genres I’ve previously mentioned, you’ll love this. 8/10, it’s a great album!
The Staves: All Now
The folk duo of sisters have grown pretty darn popular over the last decade or so thanks to a rabid fanbase and some consistently high-quality releases. It’s an incredibly chilled-out album filled with big, open choruses and almost hypnotic vocal harmonies from Jessica and Camilla. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not especially my sort of thing, but I can appreciate how well written and performed it is. It doesn’t have as much of a folk sound as it does electro/synth pop with Fleetwood Mac-style vocals over the top. The highlight for me was probably ‘Make a Decision’, but honestly I wouldn’t turn any of it off if it came on again. If you’re into more chilled out music, check this album out! 7/10
NOWCR’s heavy-end Ashen Reach released their highly anticipated new EP, The Fear, today. I’ve been a fan of the band for a while now, seeing them a couple of times and seeing their name on bills all over the country. They have gotten quite a bit of momentum behind them, and I am certainly not the only one who has been impatiently anticipating this release! Let’s just jump right in, shall we?
‘Ghosts’ opens on a suitably heavy, almost metalcore riff, which is fantastic. I love the new sound growing at the minute that combines the heaviness and riffing of the genre with hard rock. Shadow Smile do the same, and it’s an incredible new sub-genre that I’m so shocked but glad has been adopted into the NWOCR movement for now. It also has a hint of symphonic metal, just a touch of Nightwish in there. And heck, even the symphonic-nu blend of Evanescence! The riffing is awesome, the vocals are powerful and infectiously catchy, and the strings in the back add to a HUGE sound. I love the odd scream that goes on, too. In fact, any time we get the backing vocals, it’s amazing. It’s a fantastic way to open the EP, and an easy track to make our playlist!
‘D1V1DE’ keeps the heaviness rolling with another awesome riff. Surprisingly though, it drops down into a stripped-back, clean-guitared verse. It almost gave off modern Avenged Sevenfold vibes with its experimental sound and structure. It all still builds to another massive, arena-filling chorus too, which I love. The screams through the second verse heavied it all up massively too, almost sounding extreme metal for a moment. I love the different sounds the band utilise, they really strive to do their own thing, it shows in their writing. It’s another fantastic track that I can’t get enough of!
‘Neophobia’ follows a surprisingly similar structure to the previous track, not that that’s in any way an issue. The duelling clean and harsh vocals in the verses are amazing, definitely metalcore-inspired. The band transition so cleanly from the heavy stuff to the huge, hard rock choruses, showcasing their exceptional talent at songwriting. And their performing is not to be sniffed at either, with the riffing, drumming and all vocals being incredible here. Everyone works their asses off to make this a truly fantastic, interesting song, and another that easily makes it onto our Spotify!
The most recent single, ‘The Dark’ has a bit of a slower pace and feels more like the ballad of the release. Having said that, it essentially has a breakdown for its second verse, the riff and screams being FILTHY and feel ripped straight from I Prevail or Electric Callboy. The slower pace if anything adds to the heaviness of it all, too. And the chorus is SO good. It’s gonna be stuck in me head for the rest of the day, easily. We even get an awesome little guitar solo tucked in the middle, which I love. And the actual breakdown at the end… DAMN. The third song playlisted and damn, it more than deserves it. This was fucking awesome!
And with that, we sadly already reach the final track, ‘Lost’. Honestly, the riff was awesome, having an almost black metal feel to it. However, outside of that, it does fade into the background ever so slightly. It’s still a fantastic track, don’t get me wrong; on any other release it’d be a huge highlight. If anything it just goes as a testament to the insanely high calibre of release this is, that a song this good is more of an overlooked gem. Still, it’s an amazing track and the perfect way to close out a release like this.
Overall: Wow. What a fucking EP! This is how you do a 20-minute release. I sometimes find it hard reviewing these, as they get samey and I get a touch bored. However, this blew me away from start to finish and the words just flowed out of me. I can’t get enough. As much as I love their previous stuff, this is the best music they have put out. It really is incredible, and with it the band seem primed to take a step into the mainstream. I didn’t want it to end, and fully hope we get a full album from the guys sooner rather than later. Every track was awesome and I’ll be listening to it over and over for weeks to come!
We sat down with the amazing Shadows of a Silhouette at their sold out show in Derby the other night. (We also reviewed it, find that here). We chatted about their set that night, their plans for the future and the local scene. Check it out below!
How would you describe your sound?
Indie’s way too broad of a statement now. Some people include themselves in indie and they’re more like… there’s this shoegaze coming about now, and everything’s being branded as indie. We’re closer to rock. We have an indie lifestyle, to a certain degree. I’d say alternative rock. We’ve got a few songs that are heavier, we’re definitely not indie pop.
We do try to make each song a bit different from what we’ve done before. We’ve got a sound, but each song is different in its own way. Our motive is to keep making songs that we can’t play, practice them until we can play them, and then essentially we’ve made something we couldn’t come up with ourselves!
We are different to other indie bands as grunge does have more of an influence on us. We don’t follow what’s trendy, we just follow our own hearts and ears. We try to make something that sounds like our lives at the time.
What’s it like to be playing two back-to-back sold out hometown shows?
Brilliant! We spoke to the guy about putting gigs on here (Blessington Carriage, Derby) again. We came here and supported Public Eye with their two shows not long ago. I think it just shows that there’s an appetite for it. A lot of people may not have heard our music but heard about us and we present ourselves in almost a grungy way. We’re authentic, let’s put it that way. We focus on being ourselves, and the fact that we’ve sold these shows out while doing our own thing is a privilege. We just want to do more!
How would you guys say the scene is, currently?
It’s been driven underground, but it’s coming back. What goes underground will one day come back to the surface.
There’s a lot of great groups in Derby at the minute. And Derby’s never had that proper scene, but it’s always had the people. Derby’s always been a city of music listeners and lovers; people from Derby will go anywhere in the world to go and see music they love. It’s not a musical city like Manchester or Sheffield. But there’s something brewing, it’s definitely developing.
It’s good to see places like The Bless starting to get back into being a venue and taking gigs on. They took a bold move. Normally management in bars these days are a bit complicit and aren’t interested in the potential of the business that they’re in. I imagine it’s hard time for a lot of pubs and venues these days, but I have a remedy for that: get your fucking bands on!
We’re at an age now where bands are so caught up in streaming numbers, but I’d sooner sell out this place two nights in a row. I still think the best way to do it is to perform live.
It’s just so tough to break out. The people who know of us, I speak to them after gigs and everything. They love our music and are really passionate about it and it’s really inspiring. For me it’s more of a case of it being so impenetrable now to reach a wider audience. You’re having to deal with booking adverts for Tesla or vacuum cleaners, everything’s advertised at the same place: your phone. On the Internet. Everyone fights for that ad space and what it does is drowns everything out. When it was done face to face it almost felt less obstructed.
I heard you were working on new music, anything you can reveal?
We’re working on our debut album! We’re playing two songs tonight that are brand new. They’re pretty much studio ready so the next step after these live shows is to start getting back in the studio and getting these songs done. Getting some single campaigns and stuff.
We’re not not clued up and we don’t have the professional ability when it comes to selling out. That is a professional ability these days, believe it or not!
But now we do have management. It’s an outfit now. Exciting times ahead. Taking things to the next level professionally, from where we are. Social media wise obviously we still need to do our bit, but we can focus more on the music.
I think people will be surprised to hear that since 2019 we’ve already got 33 songs out. We recorded them off our own backs. There aren’t many bands at this level that have close to that. We’ve had to learn a lot of lessons from that. To try and save a bit of money the first time we went to the studio we recorded eight tracks in one day!
I assume it was a conscious decision to do a few singles and then an album?
Yeah! We’ve been thinking about it for a while. What I started to notice is… a lot of them may go unnoticed because we’re bringing out a lot of singles. When people will click on one of our artworks to go to the single it’ll have the one track there. They may assume that every one is like that, as they all come up in singles, while some are EPs with six tracks on them. So we thought did we have to go back and put it into a collection, so people know it’s there? People are in a rush when they’re on their phone so if it’s not right there, they won’t see it.
But then again it is hard to grab people’s attention for an album these days. But then again, who’s making decent albums? I think we’re ready for a debut album, that’s the next step. But you only do your debut album once, so we want to take our time with it!
And have you got a pretty busy rest of the year?
Festival season is coming up so we’re waiting to hear about some of that. We’ve been shortlisted for Truck Festival which is cool.
We want to see what we’re capable of at the minute with our live shows. There’s no use waiting for promoters to come to you. You’re better off building an audience. Now we have a professional involved and she’s gonna put it together for us. We know the places we want to play, we know what we’re capable of, but what we’ve neglected before is the social media side of it; getting the event known. But we’ve got s great photographer and all. And a great graphic designer. We’re building a team around us, and it’s what every band needs! It’s bringing our vision to life! We’re professional musicians, but we’re not necessarily professional beings!
Another stacked week of New Music Mondays, covering everything from country to death metal. Let’s check it out!
Dragonforce: Warp Speed Warriors
The British power metal legends returned with their first album in half a decade this last Friday. Any fans of the band already should know exactly what to expect. They have unashamedly stuck to pretty much the exact same sound and formula throughout their careers, the ACDC/Slayer of power metal, if you will. However, every single band member is insanely talented players and songwriters, with Li of course having reached guitar god status years ago. And while, even five albums in now, I can’t quite get into it as much without ZP’s vocals on it, Marc is the best I’ve heard him on this album, and it’s easily the best he’s fit.
The album has plenty of awesome tracks, too. The Gloryhammer-esque ‘Power of the Triforce’ and epic, slower, movie-soundtrack-like ‘Kingdom of Steel’ is a fantastic one-two punch early on. ‘The Killer Queen’ is also a big highlight. However, unless it is a tongue-in-cheek parody song, I have to say ‘Space Marine Corp’ is one of the cringiest songs I’ve heard in a while. But still, in general it’s a great power metal album, and honestly up there with some of the bands best work. Everyone does a great job and it’s packed full of awesome songs. 8/10
Kacey Musgraves: Deeper Well
The country/Americana/folk singer-songwriter is back with her fifth studio album. Considering how massive a name she is, and I certainly knew the name, I can’t think of a song she’s done that I’d heard. Though, having listened to this, I may have heard loads of her stuff and just forgot about it. It’s very… okay. It’s simple and slowish, which does contrast interestingly with the massive choruses of stadium country or even the likes of Chris Stapelton or Drake Milligan. Reaching this size without that is at least admirable. But it’s just like more boring, less well-written Cam. I had this whole album on while I was doing work and honestly couldn’t tell you a single standout track or thing about it. It’s not bad, per say, it’s simply rather dull and not really my sort of thing. 4/10 is the highest I can give it, as it isn’t badly written and I’m sure plenty will love it!
Scott Stapp: Higher Power
We’ve already checked out this awesome album! Read our full review here!
Mad Caddies: Arrows Room 117
The Caddies have been one of my favourite bands for close to a decade now, so when this album was announced, I was understandably excited. Having almost completely abandoned their punk roots at this point, the bands slower, chilled-out, almost easy listening ska/reggae sound is still a huge amount of fun to listen to. The closest they get to punk is on the Social Distortion-esque ‘Backroads’ or ‘Baby’. Heck, the latter even has a slight country tinge. Outside of that, it’s just relaxed ska indicative of their SoCal style. If anything I find it admirable that a band nearly three decades into their careers are continuing to evolve and write what they want to. Too much recently have we heard punk bands try to go back to their agro, adolescent roots to, more often than not, middling results at best.
The album is packed full of highlights, with there not being a bad song on it. However, personal highlights include the previously mentioned songs, ‘Palmtrees and Pines’ and ‘Everywhere You Go’. Honestly though, the whole album is good and worth a listen through from start to finish. If you’re a fan of ska, Reggae or punk, you certainly won’t be disappointed. It’s the first release of original music in a decade, and it’s a worthy successor to Dirty Rice! 9/10
Necrophobic: In the Twilight Grey
The Blackened death metal Swedes put out a pretty interesting and good album to mark their 10th release! It’s very much like if Amon Amarth had a baby with a black metal band, and I kinda love it. Tracks like the opener and ‘Stormcrow’ blew me away and were clear highlights! Having said that though, there really isn’t a bad track on the whole thing. Honestly, there isn’t much to say about the album aside for that if you like any of the genres or bands I’ve already named, you’ll probably love this. I’m not even typically a black/blackened metal fan, but this was interesting enough for me to love. If you’re a fan of the heavy, you’ll like this! 7.5/10
The Black Crowes: Happiness Bastards
The southern rock legends are back with their ninth studio album, and first in a decade and a half. Honestly, it was so good to hear the band were coming back at all after all their issues in the last decade or so, but to have new music released is truly awesome. And what an album it is, too! Whether it’s the classic Crowes sound like their opener, a more punk-infused sound on ‘Rats and Clowns’ or all-out acoustic-country-ballad goodness with ‘Wilted Rose’, there’s plenty to keep someone entertained. The latter also features everyone’s favourite country lady at the minute, Lainey Wilson, and is a fantastic song!
It’s one of the strongest return albums I’ve ever heard, and every track is really amazing. Songs like the opener and ‘Dirty Cold Sun’ are also huge highlights. It’s awesome to hear a band that clearly influenced some of my more local favourites like Bad Touch and The Answer back and going strong again. If you’re a fan of southern or hard rock, or country or rock just in general, I’m convinced you’ll love this album as much as I do! 8.5/10
Luke Dick: Lockeland
I spent the entire album trying to work out if this classed as country or not. I came to the conclusion that a) it doesn’t matter, and b) it’s closer to an acoustic easy-listening, Jack Johnson-esque sound most of the time. Either way, it’s a great listen. It’s an incredibly relaxed album with some beautifully written lyrics and guitars. It’s short too; only eight tracks and 27-minutes. It’s only just an album, but it also makes it nearly impossible to pick out highlights. It’s the antithesis of all killer, no filler, and each track feels meticulously selected. Having said that, I haven’t stopped listening to the opener or ‘True Companion’ all weekend! It’s certainly an album worth listening to in full, though! It’s certainly not going to be for every reader, but I loved it! 8.5/10
The awesome alt rock/metal band Dead Reynolds have been releasing great singles for a while now, finally bundling up the last five into an EP to show off to the world. I’m not particularly familiar with the band, but I do like the bands they claim to sound like, so am exited to check this out!
After intro ‘Unite’ sets the scene and themes perfectly, as well as building up the soundscape fantastically, ‘Hurricane’ blew me away (pun very much intended). The big riff exploding in with the synth on top created a massive sound. It’s very akin to modern Bring Me or Architects, in all the best ways. The clean vocals and stripped-back instrumentation through the verses makes it a bit lighter, definitely earning its alt moniker and Mallory Knox comparisons. It all builds to an awesome chorus, massive and built for massive stages. And we also get a surprisingly excellent guitar solo tucked in the middle, a rarity in this sort of music. However, it was technically excellent and fit the style of the track perfect. It’s a fantastic album opener that really showcases everything that the band are about in just over three minutes. Great stuff!
Single ‘Fly Away’ has more of a modern pop-punk feel to it, which is pretty awesome! It gives Neck Deep or even our friends over at REDSMITHVII vibes, yet still has that underlying synth that really makes the sound massive. It’s another massive, hugely catchy chorus, too. Meanwhile, a couple of riffs are still chunky enough to keep it sounding heavy overall. The track’s arrangement is a bit more simplistic and radio-friendly, too. There’s less wiggle room for some awesome instrumental parts, but it’s still a fantastic song. That chorus is gonna be stuck in my head for days to come!
Most recent single ‘Animal’ slows things down a tad, the piano intro setting the pace for an almost Linkin Park-like riff and feel. It brings in the punky attitude again with the vocals; it following a similar formula as the opener with the more stripped-back verses building to the massive choruses. I love the lyrics throughout this song too, they’re really well written and the emotion in the delivery fits them perfectly. Oh, and of course it’s catchy yet again. The band write arena anthems for sure. The drop-down to the rapping in the middle was surprising but AWESOME, too. It almost gave off Enter Shikari vibes. I’d love to hear more rapping from them, if I’m honest! It’s another fantastic song overall, and one that easily makes our playlist!
The same structure is followed in ‘Save Me’ and closer ‘Wake Up’. Both are still fantastic tracks, don’t get me wrong. I always find it’s easier to stick to a similar style with an EP, given the smaller length. And the band do a great job at showcasing some incredible tracks here; there isn’t a bad one at all. I just feel like it’s hard to talk about a few tracks that are all fairly similar. That and my tiny attention span makes it harder for me to listen consistently without a change in styles or pace. But they did enough to keep my dumbass brain entertained throughout all five awesome tracks.
Overall: This is a great little EP! Every song packs plenty of punch and is certainly memorable. There isn’t really a highlight too, as they’re all great! If you’re a fan of the genre you should definitely check this out, you won’t be disappointed.
This was not something I was expecting to be released right now. With the huge buzz around the (admittedly massive) Creed reunion, a solo release from their frontman didn’t seem like it was on the cards. However, here we are! I have enjoyed his solo stuff to this point, and having checked out the lead single off this already, I think we’re in for something great. Let’s dive in!
Speaking of the title track, it’s up first! The heavy, chunky riff certainly reminds me of some of Creed’s earlier, heavier stuff; it definitely has a Tremonti-style to it. Scott’s voice is very much back on top form, coming in perfectly over the top with an awesome verse melody. It’s early 2000s radio/dad rock in all the best ways. It all builds up to a HUGE, catchy, arena-filling chorus. It was pretty expected given his back catalogue, but the chorus is definitely up there with some of his best. Some of his cadence and vocal delivery throughout is also a lot of fun, full of emotion and attitude. We almost get a breakdown in the middle too, building up to a huge riff. It’s a fantastic song, and one that easily makes our playlist. What a great start!
‘Deadman’s Trigger’ opens on an equally ch0nky riff, setting a steady pace and sludgy tone. It almost gives off Black Stone Cherry vibes as much as anything else, which certainly isn’t a bad thing! It’s a great verse, Scott Stapp ‘s voice again sounding fantastic, and it builds once again into a massive chorus. It goes up for it, feeling almost uplifting in its tone. It’s interesting, given that it contrasts pretty perfectly with the lyrics. We get some awesome lead guitar work in the middle, if anything it being far too brief. A final huge chorus then takes us home. It’s another incredible song, and the second of two to make it onto our Spotify!
The first album track, ‘When Love is Not Enough’, slows things down a little. I LOVE the acoustic guitar tone from the intro, and everything builds over the top of it perfectly to create an amazing soundscape. Stapp’s vocals fit just as well over the top of this as it does the heavy stuff. It gets a tad heavier for the typically massive chorus, the distorted guitar coming in over the top and adding a great layer. However, it stays at a slower, introspective pace and tone. We get another awesome guitar solo in the middle, this one getting a bit more time to shine. It fit the tone and feel of the track perfectly. Then a final chorus, with some awesome vocal work from Scott, finishes off another amazing track.
‘What I Deserve’ is another slower track, and my god is it beautiful and full of emotion. The subdued verse explodes into an epic, almost power metal chorus that is going to be stuck in my head for weeks to come. That chorus alone got the track on our playlist, but the rest of the song serves as the perfect build to it all. And that bridge riff and solo, damn, tasty. What an incredible song. Easily my favourite off the album, and that’s saying a lot!
The amazing Dorothy lends her amazing vocals to ‘If These Walls Could Talk’. Their voices compliment each other perfect, and it’s a truly beautiful duet. Their harmonies together in the choruses are incredible, especially that last one. The track as a whole is closer to a acoustic-country ballad than a rock one, but it’s a really great track. The emotion throughout is powerful and the minimalist instrumentation all compliment it perfectly. Yet another phenomenal track on this album.
‘Black Butterfly’ finally brings the heavy back in a big way with that awesome riff. It follows the early formula of the lower verse and then massive, heavier choruses. However, it’s so good that it’s hardly a complaint. The lead guitaring throughout this entire track is amazing, too. Especially that Egyptian scale in the middle. It’s a tad standard in terms of the arrangement and feel, but it’s still a fantastic track.
The same could be said about the following track, ‘Quicksand’. It’s a great track, but another that follows the radio-rock formula to a tee. Meanwhile, the final three tracks are ballads. All three are not only amazing songs, but equally beautiful and incredible well written. ‘You’re Not Alone’ in particular has some hugely emotional and well delivered. However, that shouldn’t take away from the other two tracks, with ‘Weight of the World’ being a very good, grandiose closer. Don’t get me wrong, I kinda wish they’d have had another heavier one in the middle of the two, as ‘Dancing in the Rain’ is maybe the most average track on the album. However, all three are still good, with the first and last one being AMAZING. Damn, what an album.
Overall: This is a really great album. As you can tell, I’m a fan of Creed and Scott Stapp in general, but this was honestly better than I was expecting. There isn’t a bad track on it, and every single one had me bobbing along in enjoyment. As stated previously, my only one point is that I’d have maybe preferred one more heavier track in among the last few. However, they’re all still insanely solid songs, and they fit the tone and pacing of the album perfect, so it really is a minor gripe. I’ll be listening to this a lot in the coming weeks, and only hope that it isn’t a sign that we won’t get new Creed music in the future!
The local lads and incredible southern rock band These Wicked Rivers have finally released their highly anticipated album today. To say the hype is high would be an understatement. I’ve been seeing this everywhere, and every single they’ve put out has somehow been just as good as the last. So, as soon as it was released, we knew we just had to write this review. Let’s get right into it!
The opening title track kicks things off with a fantastic fuzzy, southern/blues rock riff. It’s a great way to start things off, heavy and swaggering. John’s vocals are powerful and incredible through the verses, sounding better than ever and being accented perfectly by the guitars dropping out and playing big chords. It all builds to an awesome chorus, catchy and easily built for massive festivals and arenas. The ‘woh’s make it feel massive, and will go down so well live! It drops down after the second chorus, it just being John and the organ, which sounds great. Building in the other vocals and the acoustic guitar gives off big Skynard vibes in the best ways, and leads to a fantastic guitar solo. The bass work through it is also amazing, not that I’m jealous at all… This is an awesome track, and the perfect introduction to the album. It shows off who These Wicked Rivers are and highlights their many strengths. It easily makes our playlist!
‘The Family’ continues the same energy perfect, feeling similar to the opener and having the same attitude and swagger. It’s another catchy track too, with the harmonies adding so much to the sound. It’s the perfect blend of Bad Touch, Blackberry Smoke and The Outlaws. It fits perfect in with the NWOCR scene they have gotten massive in, while still having a great southern edge to it that certainly makes them stand out. It’s another great song!
Single ‘Black Gold’ has been in regular rotation for me since it’s release nearly six months ago. It’s an amazing song that helped build the hype towards this album massively. This, alongside the following track, have really helped to propell this band to huge heights over the last year, and it’s more than deserved. The riffing is awesome, the vocals are catchy and it all just has such a great polish and professional edge to it all; it really feels like a step up from their previous release. Both ‘Black Gold’ and ‘Testify’ are everything I love about These Wicked Rivers. They’re incredible tracks and both easily make our playlist!
‘When the War is Won’ is the first time the album takes a proper breather. It’s a slower, more stripped-back, heavily southern-rock ballad, and it’s fucking awesome. The clean guitars, simple drums and bass and John’s powerful, emotion-filled vocals all combine together perfectly. And it’s the best placement for the track too, giving a reprive at the mid point of the album. The diversity These Wicked Rivers has always been awesome, and is on full display with this track. I REALLY want to see this live!
Another big single from the album, ‘The Riverboat Man’, is up next. It brings the band back to the sound from the opening couple of songs; massive riffs and vocals. It almost has an early Black Stone Cherry sound to it, which I love. The chorus is one of the best on the album, and one that will once again be stuck in my head for hours to come. But that’s not to take away from the rest of the band, the instrumentation is overall incredible. I can’t not, I usually try to stick to max three, but I have to put this track on our playlist, too! An awesome track on an awesome album!
‘Just to be a Man’ is another slower track in very similar vein to ‘…war’. I love the this stripped back, more subdued style of These Wicked Rivers as much as I love their more foot-stomping harder sound. It kicks in perfectly later on too, the distorted guitars ripping in and making the track even more epic. And man, the guitar solo… *chefs kiss*. This album continues to keep me not only interested, but blows my mind every couple of tracks, I love it!
The final three tracks, ‘Lord Knows’, ‘Don’t Prey for Me’ and ‘Lonely Road’ are all just as kick-ass as the other songs on the album. The former is another hard/southern rock master class, while the final two tracks are slower. Honestly, it’s hard to pick a favourite between all of them too, as they are all so different and fantastic in their own way. ‘Don’t Prey for Me’ is honestly one of my favourite tracks on the album, it has a definite Skynard-level of slow epicness to it. Meanwhile we’re very familiar with the closer, having filmed a reaction videoto it when it was released. And it’s a fitting, beautiful, heart-wrenching closer. All are awesome songs.
Overall: Damn, what a fantastic album! Not only is there not a bad track on the album, but it’s packed full of incredible songs, a lot of them up there with some of my favourite the band have put out. They deserve all the attention and success they have been getting recently, and this album is a true testament to all of that. I truly believe it will help push them up to the top of the NWOCR scene, and it honestly couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch of people. If you’re a fan of rock in general, this is certainly an album you must check out immediately!
