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new music mondays

New Music Mondays: Lord of the Lost, Zero 9:36 and More!

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Week two of the Overtone year is a heavy one, with plenty of awesome metal (and one electro) to check out. Let’s dive in!

Lord of the Lost: OPVS NOIR Vol. 2

The follow-up to August’s part 1, this release follows that up pretty perfectly. They very much feel like the same project, having a similar tone and vibe, and once again it’s one hell of a LotR record! The heaviness and epicness continues, especially with the Lena Scissorhands-featuring ‘Would you Walk with Me Through Hell?’. Between Lena, Käärijä, IAMX and League of Distortion, there are a good few features on the album, all as good as the last! However, the other songs are just as good too, with ‘The Last Star’ and ‘Scarlight’ also being massive highlights. The whole album is great though, and doesn’t feel like 45-minutes at all, going by in a flash. I never quite got into the band aside for a few songs here and there, but this release has really won me over to them, and proved that actually, taking some time to write some good music instead of feeling the need to pump out an original studio work yearly has upped the quality of their output. Who’d have thought it, ey? It’s a very easy 8.5/10 from us, and my plan after this weekend is to listen to both volumes one after another, I have a feeling it’ll be a great time!

Zero 9:36: They Were Always Here

This is a really interesting release! Alt-metal in the broadest sense, this covers all manor of bases under that sphere. The closest thing I’ve managed to compare it to is ‘Animals’-era Architects, with some occasional Hyro the Hero or even Eminem thrown in for good measure! It makes for an incredibly interesting listen and, at only 22-minutes, it’s hard-to-stop ride from start to finish. Whether it’s heavy riffing and aggressive vocals or more of a slower, radio-friendly sound, it really has a bit of everything, packed right into a concise release. ‘System’ is a huge early highlight, as are tracks like ‘Here to Bleed’ and the Ekoh-featuring ‘Withdrawals’. It’s not going to be for everyone as it is a very modern sound, but I loved it! Continuing to blend hip-hop and electronic elements into metal and hard rock is making things so interesting and unique, and Zero has that here in spades. He’s already created a big name for himself across his back catalogue, and adds to it perfectly with this addition. It’s another very easy 8.5/10, check this out if you are at all interested!

Zkeletonz: Marmalade

The first album from the disco-style electro artist isn’t normally the sort of stuff we cover, but this was a damn fun listen and has me a little obsessed with them! It’s impossible not to have a good time listening to this, and surprisingly gave me big Basement Jaxx vibes throughout, which certainly isn’t a bad thing! And, at less than half-an-hour, it’s another incredibly easy listen. From the opener to ‘Out!’ to ‘Wild for the Weekend’, there are plenty of highlights here. My only issue is that it does get a touch samey after a while, though with this sort of music I’m not sure how to solve that. And still, I didn’t have a bad time listening to any of it! A damn solid 7/10 from us, and certainly an album I’ll be revisiting in the future.

Volumes: Mirror Touch

The first new album from the metalcore quartet in over four years, and this thing goes hard. The band very much didn’t lose their heaviness or technical prowess in the time between releases, this thing being dialled up to 11 on both! Right from the offset, ‘Sidewinder’ is awesome, and is followed up perfectly by ‘Bottom Dollar’. The crazy low guitar riffs and solid drumming is an awesome combo, especially with the synth in the back too, the great screams just adding to them even more! Then you have tracks like ‘S.O.A.P.’ and ‘em’ that are definite highlights too. Sadly, it does drop off a touch in the middle, going down more of a slower, lighter modern metalcore route, but very much brings itself back on track towards the end! It’s still a damn solid album overall, and one I’d definitely recommend to anyone into a modern metal sound. A very easy 8/10 from me!

Dragon Throne: Tale of the Two: Dawn

The power metallers didn’t hesitate to drop part two of their collection, did they? This dropped barely a month after Dusk, and continues on perfectly from said release! And you’ve already seen how much I enjoyed that album, so to have this continue on that great path is awesome. ‘Dragon Empire’ is one of the best opening tracks of the year, while the rest of the album follows it with a similar level of energy and quality. There truly isn’t a bad track on this album and, combined with the other part, makes for practically the perfect power-infused heavy metal release! Somehow I only gave the last one 7.5/10, but this one and as a whole piece between the two, I can’t give it any less than 9/10! If you are at all a metal fan, check this out ASAP, you’ll surely love it as much as I do!

Black Pig Meat: Symbiotic Dream

This is an absolutely incredible instrumental release! It’s always harder to shoehorn instrumental stuff into a specific genre, but it definitely feels prog/djenty for the most part, the odd bit of shoegaze thrown in for good measure. It’s chaotic but somehow all fits perfectly, ebbing and flowing incredibly well. Much is the case it seems this week, it will be a divisive release, with a lot understandably not getting into instrumental stuff. Heck, I struggle at times, but found this one so packed full of talented playing and composition I couldn’t stop listening! ‘Sizo’ was a big highlight, as was ‘Sóbole’. And while the closer, as great as it is, does go on a fair bit, it’s still a fun listen. It’s a great album to get high and listen to on your own in the dark, or if you’re a musician (interchangeable, clearly). Not something I’d revisit often but a damn good release, and a solid 7/10!

new music mondays

New Music Mondays: Kerry King, Don McLean and More!

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A pretty heavy week of NMM this time, but still with some great lighter country and indie and blues stuff thrown in for good measure too. It’s a fun one, so let’s dive in and check it out!

Also, while it’s technically a covers album so I won’t cover it in the list (see what I did there?), shout out to the new Slash record. It’s easily the most I’ve enjoyed an album Slash has put out in over a decade at this point, which says a lot about the GnR guitarists songwriting these days… Everyone he worked with sounded awesome, fit the songs, and they all really made them their own. It’s a fun listen and I’d recommend it to anyone!

Now, on with the list…

Kerry King: From Hell I Rise

The Slayer guitarists much anticipated solo album is finally out, and sounds almost exactly what you’d expect it to. Evil riffs, lightening-quick drums and some very fitting lyrics. While Mark’s vocals are mainly a bit more harsh than Tom’s were, there are times where they have almost the same delivery and sound eerily similar. The main difference, thank god, is that Kerry’s soloing is 10x better than it was in Slayer. It’s no longer a wall of high, whammied screeching, but actually has something to it, even if half the time it’s very Kirk Hammett.

But I actually enjoyed this album a lot more than I was expecting to. Kerry always felt like the weak link of Slayer, in my opinion, but this is a solid thrash/death metal record. Tracks like ‘Idle Hands’, ‘Crucifixion’ and ‘Toxic’ are awesome, but I really enjoyed every song on it. It’s a great album from front to back, and I’ll certainly be spinning it again a good few times over the next few weeks and months, I’m sure. Kerry very much still has it and it’s just made me wish we had more Slayer releases towards the back portion of their careers. They’ve won me over with this album, and I’mma have to see them at Graspop now! 7.5/10

Don McLean: American Boys

The fact that the American Pie legend is still putting out new music on a semi-regular basis is crazy. The fact that it’s still pretty high quality is even more insane. It’s so very old-school country, with a healthy dose of blues rock on top, and is a fantastic summer chill-out album. Even when it address some pretty heavy topics like George Floyd, it does so with style and swagger (if it’s a little blunt). But songs like ‘Thunderstorm Girl’, ‘Truth and Fame’ and ‘I Shall Find my Way’ are all personal highlights, but if you’re into the style I’d wholeheartedly recommend the whole album. Don still sounds excellent and his band work their asses throughout. It’s made me more excited to see him at The Long Road in August, so it’s done it’s job pretty well indeed! Traditional country fans will love this, as will old-school blues fans, so check this out if you fall into either category! 7/10

Cage the Elephant: Neon Pill

The US alt/indie band are back with their first new music in half a decade, their longest dry spell between albums. I’ve known the name for years, but haven’t ever really checked them out aside for ‘Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked’. However, I know plenty of talented musicians from Bowling Green (mainly country, admittedly) so I’m sure it’s good.

Good it certainly is! Don’t get me wrong, it’s very different to the single from their debut album, but of course a band are going to evolve across 16 years. It’s a lot more electro-based than what I was expecting, more resembling Twenty-One Pilots’ music. Then again, that’s kinda how indie in general has gone the last five plus years or so, so they’re just changing with the times. Still, I enjoyed it, and songs like ‘Rainbow’, ‘Neon Pill’ and ‘Ball and Chain’ are all massive highlights. Still, it’s a good album overall, too. I had it on while cooking and fit the mood pretty perfectly. It’s not 100% my sort of thing, but they constantly kept it interesting with funk, pop, rock, indie, hip-hop and other influences blended together in a great melting pot. If you’re into vaguely indi-rock infused pop, check this out, you won’t be disappointed! 7.5/10

Elvellon: Ascending in Synergy

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

Marty Friedman: Drama

The best guitarist Megadeth ever had (and that’s barely a contentious point, sorry to the others) is back with another of his completely different solo albums. This one is a bit more what you’d expect from the virtuoso than some of his solo work, him showing off his insane talent, soloing over the top of classical piano and soft rock. As a semi-aspiring guitarist, I cannot help but love, yet be massively jealous of, his work here. Not only his playing, but his songwriting and crafting and producing is all on point. And at times, it’s truly beautiful. The highlight track for me is ‘Triumph’, a reimagining of his 1992 hit from album Scenes. People may be familiar with it, as it itself is a reimagining of ‘Thunder March’. However, this is far and away my favourite take on the piece. Then straight afterwards, he changes things up and we get another highlight in the straight-up rock song, ‘Thrill City’. Then you have the one track with English lyrics on the album, ‘Dead of Winter’ featuring Like a Storm. It’s another great track, an almost power/symphonic metal ballad.

Of course, this album won’t be for everyone. When 80% plus of it is instrumental, a lot will surely judge it immediately and not listen. Both ‘Dead of Winter’ and the Spanish ‘2 Rebeldes’ are incredible songs with lyrics though, and are well worth checking out if you can’t do instrumental stuff. But then, if you are a musician in any way, or like more classical composition, you have to check out the rest of the album too. It’s SO GOOD. This man is such an incredible, underrated force within the music world, and I can’t given this album any lower than a 9/10, unheard of for an instrumental one on this site!

The Avett Brothers: Self-Titled

This is a real mixed bag of an album, both in my personal preference and in style overall. One track can be folk, the next punk, the next indie, the next rock, and sometimes it makes for quite a jarring transition. The opening track is admittedly weird AF, but then we headed into the almost Barenaked Ladies/NOFX combination of ‘Love of a Girl’ and I got excited. Then it drops back down into slow folk again immediately, and I nearly got whiplash. Don’t get me wrong, I admire the hell out of a band that can play and blend multiple different styles, but my issue is that at times this doesn’t even sound like the same band. And I’m not even against their folky, indier stuff, either. Songs like ‘Cheep Coffee’ and ‘Same Broken Bones’ are just as good as their random, upbeat country song, ‘Country Kid’. But as an album, it’s a very strange collection of nine tracks. It may grow on me more with more listens, and I’ll certainly be listening to it again, but for now it gets a solid 7/10 from me!

Mutes: …Buried Where You Stand

The Birmingham post-punk trio are back with album number four. While individually each track isn’t especially my sort of thing, the album as a whole is really damn good. It reminds me a lot of early Placebo, in all of the best ways. It also gives slight Mother Mother vibes, especially when that band turns to their heavier side. The guitars are grungy and distorted to high heaven, giving it an almost dangerous edge and making the songs drip with attitude. And, despite the distortion to the vocals too, there is still plenty of catchiness and great hooks throughout, especially with the backing-vocal-filled choruses. And yet the band can switch up in an instant into a more calmer, indie-folk feel and back again at the drop of a hat, showcasing their playing and writing talent perfectly.

Songs like the opener, the grungy ‘Another Moon Song’ and ‘Great White Nothing’ are all big personal highlights. However, as I said before, if you listen to this album as a whole, it really shines brightly. If you’re into all things psychedelic, indie or even desert rock, this may be the album for you! The band’s talent is off the charts, so even though it won’t be a regular listen for me moving forward, it’s an easy 7.5/10

Cognative: Abhorrence

The fifth album from the tech death New Jerseyans came out last Friday, and is a full-on assault on the ears from the first second to the last. And, of course, I mean that in the best possible way. It’s technical death metal at its very best, and really builds upon what the band have put out so far in an excellent way. The guitaring is an insanely massive highlight of the album, but that’s not to take away from everyone else in the bad, who work their ass off throughout. Tracks like ‘Insidious’, ‘Ivory Tower’ and ‘Savor of Suffering’ are all huge highlights on an album stacked full of them. It’s certainly not an album for the faint of heart, but if you’re into the heavier side of metal, I’d certainly recommend checking this album out in full! It’s certainly one of the better albums I’ve heard in the genre, not that I’ve checked out many so far! 8/10

Troy Redfern: Invocation

This is an awesome heavy blues rock album. Troy’s seventh studio release is so very Love/Hate in all the best ways. It’s just as much sleaze as it is blues, and packed full of awesome riffs, blistering soloing and some really catchy vocal hooks. It’s like all eras of Slash’s career blended into one sound, it’s amazing. Songs like ‘Getaway’, ‘The Calling’ and ‘All Night Long’ are personal highlights, but honestly this whole album is just hit after hit.

The NWOCR scene has such a talent on their hands with Troy, and this could very well be the album that helps break him out into the massive star he deserves to be. The fact that this is his fifth album in four years, too, and the songwriting and playing is still to this high quality is insane. I’mma be spinning this a lot going forward, and would recommend the whole album to anyone! It’s a very easy 9.5/10 from me!

Devitalized: State of Agression

The deathcore band’s debut album goes hard. It has more of a hardcore and metalcore edge to it than the big bands of the genre these days, which I loved just as much as the power metal-infused likes of Lorna Shore. The riffing is heavy and awesome, the drummer goes HARD throughout, and the screams fit perfectly and sound awesome over the top of it all. Heck, even the clean vocals on tracks like ‘Karma Sutra’ sound great and fit amazingly, causing the contrast between the two to make the screams even heavier! And of course the ever-imressive Tom Barber kills it on ‘Godslayer’, giving off instant Darko vibes in the best ways.

It’s hard to even pick highlight tracks, partially because they’re all awesome, and partially because in my new-to-deathcore ears, they all blend together and sound kinda samey. That’s hardly a complaint, though. The album as a whole is a great listen and certainly worth checking out in full if you’re a fan of the heavy stuff! 8/10, this is sick and I have to see it live!

Reviews

MIKA Rocks The Halls!

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So, I tossed around the idea of writing this review all weekend. Hell yeah, we headed down to see the legendary Mika, and had an excellent time. But the gig was just him and a DJ as a support, and he’s certainly not what we usually cover here at Overtone. However, he absolutely smashed it, so we felt it was only fair to give him the praise he deserves. We did Dadi Freya last year too, so it makes sense to cover this too! And it’s not like it’ll be a long one, anyway!

As we said, his opener was a DJ. I’m sure she was great at what she does, but it wasn’t for me and the crowd overall weren’t really into it. She was barely advertised anywhere though, so that may not have helped. Sorry no-speaking, no-named DJ, but we shall move swiftly on.

As I said before, MIKA absolutely killed it. I was expecting it to be good as I’ve seen live videos of him still sounding on point. However, it was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen, honestly. Right from the opening notes from him and his incredible band, they took the packed out crowd on a journey through his extensive, impressive back catalogue. It’s easy to forget just how many massive hits the man has, too. From ‘Lolipop’ and ‘Grace Kelly’ to ‘Big Girl’ and ‘Happy Ending’ to set closer ‘We are Golden’ and the oft overlooked ‘Underwater’, the setlist was PACKED to the brim of incredible songs.

And, to top it all off, MIKA is an incredible showman. He held the packed crowd in the palm of his hand from the moment he walked on stage until the very final note. Whether it was getting them all to sing along, telling stories between and even during songs, or even walking through the crowd and up to the balcony during ‘Big Girl’, the man is nothing if not a showman. I know he plays pop music, but I’ll be damned if he isn’t a rockstar.

A quick shout out to the venue, too. Originally Civic halls before it got a Covid-era referb, it is still in pretty amazing condition, the upkeep being of clear importance. The sound was amazing, it’s massive and easy to get into, and my only ever so slight gripe was the slowness of the bar-staff. But still, props to the venue!

Honestly, though this page is primarily a rock-centric audience, I’d recommend MIKA to anyone. It’s high energy, catchy pop-rock that is sure to keep a smile on your face throughout. A lot of it has a great message and is performed to the highest of standards. His vocals live are just as breathtaking as on track, and his performance is phenomenal. We have a lot of gigs and festivals lined up for the rest of the year, but this is truly going to be hard to top!

new music mondays

New Music Mondays: The Black Keys, Alpha Wolf and More!

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A stacked week of New Music Mondays this week! Join us as we check out everything from country to punk to death metal to grime!

The Black Keys: Ohio Players

The Ohioan alt-rock duo returned with their 12th studio album. I haven’t listened to them now in probably a decade, at least since I was a teenager, and they’ve changed a fair bit since ‘Gold on the Ceiling’, that’s for sure! There’s a lot less of a focus on rock, or at least the higher tempo, more energetic end of it that they had on their early work. It’s a much more softer indie rock. However, that isn’t an issue at all. Bands evolve, and this certainly isn’t a bad album. It reminds me a lot of some of the slower stuff off RHCP’s Stadium Arcadium.

However, having said that, I’m finding it hard to pick out specific highlights. None of the tracks stand out to me massively over others. I don’t think I’d go out of my way to listen to individual songs again, but I’d happily stick the whole album on again and again if I wanted to chill out or was on a long car journey. It feels designed to be listened to as a whole, which is a nice change of pace in today’s musical climate. I still wouldn’t put it up there with El Camino or Attack & Release, but it’s a damn fun album and if you like a softer, indie rock sound, you’ll love this! 7.5/10

Alpha Wolf: Half Living Things

I was semi-curious about this release, having heard a couple of the singles before it’s release. “The one with Ice T” I loved from the start; it was right up my street. But then I heard “The slower, ambient, Bad Omens type one” and it dropped my hype all the way down. The two tracks are one after another towards the midpoint of the album, and while I appreciate the band slowing things down and changing things up, adding some dynamics and pacing to the album, it does kinda reflect the best and average of it.

However, as an album overall, it’s chaotic, heavy brilliance. It has the manicness of modern nu-metal, heavy Tallah vibes. However, it also has the heaviness and aggression of new-wave metalcore. It’s a fascinating, amazing combination, to say the least. Outside of the aforementioned slower track, actually titled ‘Whenever You’re Ready’, the whole album goes hard and produces MANY highlights. Songs like ‘Double-Edge Demise’, ‘Mangekyõ’ and ‘A Terrible Day For Rain’ are all personal highlights, alongside the Bodycount-esque ‘Sucks 2 Suck’. However, it’s a great album overall, and even the slower one is growing on me with more listens. If you like you metal with heaviness, chaos and attitude, this is certainly the album for you. It’ll be high in our list of best albums come December, I’m sure! 9.5/10

The Libertines: All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade

The indie/post-punk legends are back with their fourth album, and first in nearly a decade. With how big of a name they are, I really thought they’d have had a bigger output than this! However, the band clearly favour quality over quantity, and this release is no different! It’s an incredibly well put together, thought out, polished album. Every track is as good as the last, and if you’re into the band or the genre as a whole, you’ll love it! It’s not especially my thing overall, but it’s a good album to throw on in the background or chill out to. Highlights for me include the opener, ‘Man with the Melody’ and ‘Be Young’. For a band this deep into their career, it might be a touch predictable, but given that I haven’t listen to a lot of them before now aside their big songs, I enjoyed it! 7/10

Ingested: The Tide of Death and Fractured Dreams

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

Blacktop Mojo: Pollen

The fifth album from the Texan hard rock band would fit them in perfectly with the newer crop of NWOCR bands. The opening two tracks give off big These Wicked Rivers, Bad Touch and The Answer vibes, southern rock-tinged goodness. Heck, ‘As the Light Fades’ is a straight up Blackberry Smoke style country rock song! However, at the same time, tracks like ‘I Can’t Tell’ and ‘Red Enough’ go back to their post-grunge roots, reminding me more of Seether, Hoobastank or even Those Damn Crows.

And, I loved every second of it all. Anyone who knows Overtone knows how much we love all of the bands and genres already mentioned above, and this album does all of it so well! Whether it’s ‘Weary I Roam’, ‘I Can’t Tell’, ‘Born to Lose’, ‘Something’s Changed’ or any of the tracks I’ve previously mentioned, all are massive highlights. Heck, there truly isn’t a bad song on the album! I love how varied it is, feeling constantly different and interesting while still somehow all sounding distinctively Blacktop Mojo. I am endlessly jealous of bands that can genre-hop like this across the same album, and it makes for one of the most entertaining listens I’ve had this year so far. I’mma be listening to this a LOT moving forward, and I’d recommend it to anyone! I can’t give it any less than 10/10. Wow.

Bob Vylan: Humble as the Sun

Long-time readers here will know my general feelings around Bob Vylan. For those who don’t want to help us out and click the link, essentially I don’t get why he’s been so feverishly taken in by the UK rock scene. It baffles me. It’s grime/hip-hop and doesn’t go as hard or heavy as other bands on the periphery of rock like Prodigy or even Die Antwoord. But the acceptance into the scene (they’re even headlining Primordial-fest this year) is the reason I’m leaving this review. I guess there’s a guitar a fair amount through it? Either way, it isn’t rock, just ‘punk-infused’ at times at a push.

Having said all of that, it isn’t even bad music. It’s not hugely my sort of thing, but I’d rather listen to this than most of the tripe on mainstream radio these days. And there are a good few decent tracks on the album. Heck, ‘Hunger Games’ even has a decent riff in it, and the lyrics are punk AF. There’s some meh on it too, don’t get me wrong, but I certainly enjoyed it more than his last release. And I’ve heard he’s supposed to be amazing live, which I can imagine given the style and attitude. Maybe that would win me round to being an actual fan. For now, it’s more passing, morbid curiosity and the odd enjoyment! 4/10

Chayce Beckham: Bad for Me

The debut album of the country star is a phenomenal release. While still following a familiar radio structure to so many of his peers recently, there is a certain not only traditional but also rock edge to his sound, which I LOVED. Whether it’s strings, electric guitar or acoustic drums, it all combines together perfectly to make a definite country-rock-pop sound. ‘Devil I’ve Been’ is the perfect opener for the album and showcases exactly what Chayce is all about in both style and tone. Then you have tracked like ‘Waylon in ’75’, ‘Drink you Off my Mind’ and ‘Something Worth Holding On To’ that are all fantastic tracks and more easy highlights.

He reminds me of a combination of Luke Combs, Shane Smith and, surprisingly, Keifer Sutherland. And, massive props to him for keeping this at only 13 tracks. There are far too many country albums that are far too long, so this is a wonderfully refreshing release. Every track is amazing, and all of them flow together perfectly; it’s really well arranged. I’mma certainly be listening to this a lot moving forward, and I’d recommend it to any country fan out there! 9/10

Hawkwind: Stories from Time and Space

I sadly knew I wouldn’t like this heading into it, and it certainly didn’t change my mind. While I do enjoy a lot of elements and styles of prog rock, ‘space rock’ is not one of them. How this band was how Lemmy started his career is beyond me. I completely get that this band has many, many fans that will likely love this, but I am not one of them. I got bored pretty quickly and really had to fight to listen to the whole album. The closest thing to good for me was most likely ‘The Starship’. An hour of this music was just too much for my tiny brain to bare. 3/10

Strung Out: Dead Rebellion

A band that I have been vaguely familiar with for a few years now since Spotify recommended me a couple of their songs to me. Sadly I haven’t had the chance to check out much more from them since, so I’m excited to check out the tenth album from the band.

Their style has mostly stayed the same in the two decades since they released the music I know. However, the combination of punk with hard/radio/dad/butt rock is great and somehow still feels fresh all these years later. The riffs are awesome and touch on metalcore at times, the drums keep a quick, punky pace and the vocals and lyrics are great throughout. The band clearly inspired the sound of bands like Rise Against and Billy Talent (alongside Bad Religion of course), while still being able to sound pretty unique. Songs like ‘New Gods’ and ‘Resistance’ are big personal highlights for me. Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t reinvent the wheel or anything. But it’s a solid album and when I haven’t listened to one of theirs in full before, I found myself enjoying it! Fans of the band will have to let us know how it compares to their others! I’ll certainly be checking them out after this, too! For now, 8/10

Feeder: Black/Red

The alt-rock Brits returned with their 12th album last week. We checked out their last one (find it here) and, as you can see, really enjoyed it! Sadly, I didn’t come away with the same pumped, excited feeling after this release. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad album. But it kinda just feels there, as opposed to something that demands my attention. There are still some good riffs and a couple of catchy hooks, but nothing stood out to me as a whole, really. ‘Vultures’ is probably the closest to a song I’d listen to over and over.

It reminds me of Bush’s last album, like even down to the colour scheme, as well as feel and sound. However, it didn’t have the same impact on me or stand out nearly as much as The Art of Survival. I’m sure it will have fans, and I didn’t hate it; I wouldn’t turn it off if it came on. But I shan’t rush to listen to this again. 6/10, not bad.

Reviews

Piece of Me: How does Ash Tustain’s Solo Debut Compare to Dig Lazarus?

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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!

Check out our interview with Dig Lazarus here!

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.

And check out a review of his band live here!

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! 

The Score: 8.5/10

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New Music Mondays: Kenny Chesney, Chris Young and More! 

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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 samey and 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

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New Music Mondays: Dragonforce, Kacey Musgraves and More!

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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

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Animal: A Great Collection of Singles from Dead Reynolds!

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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.

The Score: 8/10

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New Music Mondays: Judas Priest, Luke Grimes and More!

A massive week of New Music Monday this week, featuring metal gods and massive upcoming names in rock and country. Find it all below!

Judas Priest: Invincible Shield

The 19th studio album from the metal legends and godfathers is honestly amazing. Let’s be honest, the band have very few misses in their career, and while I wouldn’t go as far as to say Firepower was one, it was my least favourite of the modern Priest albums. This, however, is excellent. It feels like a return to the Painkiller or Angel of Retribution style in the best way possible. And, it’s also packed full of fantastic songs. Tracks like ‘Devil in Disguise’, ‘Gates of Hell’ and ‘Trial By Fire’ are personal highlights. However, there truly isn’t a bad song on the album.

A band that have been going for five-and-a-half decades have absolutely no right being as good as this still. Heck, Rob’s vocals are on point, sounding like he hasn’t aged in 20+ years. At a time where we’ve had amazing releases from their peers like Saxon and KK’s Priest, I’d honestly put this release a cut above the rest. I know it won’t get the props it deserves as it’s come later in their careers, but if this was released around the same time as Painkiller, I do think it would be held to similar regard. It feels like a true culmination of their releases, pulling together sounds from their early work, later work and even hints of Turbo. And the more I listen to it, the more I fall in love. It’s easily a 9.5/10

Luke Grimes: Self-Titled

The debut album of another of the fastest rising modern country stars finally came out this last Friday. I have to admit I hadn’t really heard of him before this review, but he definitely has a new fan in me. There’s a lot of slower, steadier, more traditional country on here, which was awesome. ‘God and a Girl’ was a particularly highlight of that side of the album. Then there’s more upbeat stuff like the opener, ‘Black Powder’ and ‘Wait for the Rain to Die Down’. All three are also definite highlights. However, there isn’t a bad track on the album, and the whole thing is a highlight, really. It’s an incredible, chilled-out album that is perfect to sit back and relax to. And honestly, it’s put together perfectly, an album that deserves to be listened to in full. His voice is incredible, and some of his music and lyric writing is amazing. He’s gonna be a massive name in the genre, I’m sure, and this album will be just the start of it. It’s another easy 9/10

Kill the Lights: Death Melodies

The 2000s metalcore supergroup are back with their sophomore album. Honestly, it may be their best work yet, too. I loved their debut, but the band build on it in every way here and deliver a real old-school metalcore powerhouse of a release. ‘Hear you Scream’ is the perfect album opener, with both Jay and James’ vocals leading the charge, backed by some awesome, heavy instrumentation from the rest of the band. The addition of Jay on bass and harsh vocals has done AMAZING things for the band. As I said, I loved The Sinner, but they feel very much complete and firing on all cylinders now.

The band just keep on tearing through great track after great track after the opener. ‘Die Alone’ is another great one, while lead single ‘Broken Bones’ is an incredible, Fever/Scream Aim Fire-style track. Honestly though, there isn’t a bad track on the album. The other three singles are all excellent while the album tracks are arguably just as good. The band do the heavy just as good as the slower, more introspective stuff; and it’s all arranged pretty perfectly throughout the album. It’s honestly some of the best work any man has done in their respective careers, and will be an album I’m going to be listening to a lot in the coming weeks and months. Would you believe it, it’s another 9/10

Outcast Syndicate: Uncoiled

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

The End Machine: The Quantum Phase

This is a really fun, interesting listen! Reminiscent of Priest above with clear NWOBHM influences, there is also some early 2000s AOR/sleaze in here and almost hints of both NWOCR and prog at times. It sounds like a strange combination, but one that works pretty perfectly. The band had me hooked right from the excellent opener, and didn’t let me go even once throughout this nearly hour-long journey. The two singles follow and are just as massive, epic and hugely catchy, as well as having some awesome playing from everyone involved.

But the more I listened the more I fell in love. Every track was as good as the last, and I really struggled to pick highlights to put on our playlist. They draw everything from Priest to Skid Row to Whitesnake to Inglorious to Queensryche into their sound, and it creates something incredible. If this had been released in the 80s, it would be one of the biggest albums of it time. I just hope it gets the props it deserves in this day and age. I’d recommend this album to anyone, and anyone reading this should check it out immediately. I can’t not; it’s a 10/10

Skeletal Remains: Fragments of the Ageless

Incase you couldn’t guess from the band/album name, this pretty brutal death metal. It has the listener in a vice grip from start to finish, and everyone plays their parts to perfection; they are clearly all insanely talented. Some of the riffing and guitar soloing to me was amazing, and a real highlight of the album. If you like the heaviness you’ll certainly like this album, and tracks like ‘Cybernetic Harvest’ and ‘Void of Despair’ were personal favourites. Honestly, there isn’t much I can say about it; it’s straight up death metal, you know what to expect. It’s in your face and full-on throughout, so if you like that thing you’ll like this. I got a tad bored a few songs in, I prefer my heavy having slightly more dynamics. It’s good, but I can’t give it much more than a 7/10

Sawyer Brown: Desperado Troubadours

The band’s combination of country, Americana and soft rock is infectiously fun, and made for an amazing listen for this album. It got just as much influence from Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen than it does from Charley Patton and Little Texas. And considering it is the first album the band have released in well over a decade, it’s pretty great. Heck, the band certainly don’t sound like they are four decades deep into their careers! Much like most of this week, there really isn’t a bad track on the album. Personal highlights are the opener, ‘The One I’ve Got’ and ‘Goodnight and Good Morning’. It’s almost impossible to hate this, it’s just a good time to listen to. It’s fun, chilled out country-blues music, and done to an insanely high calibre. I’ll be listening to this a lot in the coming weeks, I’m sure! 8.5/10

Cell Press: Cages

The sludgy, doom-infused hardcore band released their much-anticipated debut album this last Friday. Long time readers here will know it’s sadly not my sort of genre. Having said that, anyone who does like the genre will most likely love this, as it is very well executed. It’s a very well written and performed album. And heck, ‘Kissed by a Morose on Mont Royal’ is a banger. Again, there will be plenty of people who love this sort of thing, and objectively I can tell it’s a great release. It’s simply not for me. So, for that reason, it can’t get any higher than a 5/10

Bleachers: Self-Titled

The New jersey-based indie-pop-rock band are back with their fourth album. The band are heavily inspired by the 80s pop and soft rock sound, with a lot of this drawing clear influences from Billy Joel and Elton John. However, that isn’t a bad thing. Songs like ‘Modern Girl’ and ‘Self Respect’ are awesome, and definite album highlights. It’s not all great, there are certainly some tracks that are a little too slow/simple indie pop for me. And at 14-tracks and almost 50 minutes in length, it’s pretty long, with the highlights sadly scattered sparingly throughout. If you’re into the style, like with the last band, there is surely a lot to love. However, outside of a few tracks, this kinda bored me a little bit. It’s a solid album, but not for me. 5.5/10

Greystone Canyon: Iron & Oak

The Australian southern-metal band return with their first album in six years, and it’s a doozy! Tracks like ‘Price on your Head’, ‘Breathe Again’ and ‘Reborn’ are all awesome! However, every track is fun, interesting and very catchy. It has everything from Ozzy to Skynyrd to plenty of early 2000s post grunge/dad rock too, all of which I love and blends together rather perfectly! A lot of it reminds me of Breed 77 or early Shinedown with a southern edge, which is awesome. Then there’s more than a hint of Black Label Society too, which never hurts! If you’re fan of any of the bands I’ve named already, or any of the genres already listed, check this out, I’m certain you’ll find something to love! 8/10

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New Music Mondays: Polaris, Phil Campbell and More!

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A less busy week of new music this week, but still plenty of high quality music. Join us in checking it out!

Polaris: Fatalism

This is the best metalcore album of the year so far. Heck, I’d say it’s honestly one of the best modern metalcore albums. I’d put it up there with the likes of I Prevail, Wage War and Ice Nine Kills’ latest releases. Honestly, the genre currently is in a bit of a resurgence, and is looking massively strong and hopeful which is amazing. The 3rd wave of Metalcore(tm) I’m dubbing it. So, for Polaris’ third album to stand among the others is fucking awesome. Especially given the rocky year they’ve had.

The opener, ‘Harbinger’ is not only the perfect slow-buildup track, but (as the name suggests) is the perfect indicator of what to expect from this album. From the slower, melodic clean first half surrounded by modern synth sounds, to the crushingly brutal ending filled with screams and huge riffs. It tells a story on its own, never mind how it sets up the rest of the album.

Speaking of which, the album is filled with highlights and awesomeness. Tracks like ‘Nightmare’, ‘Parasites’ and ‘Inhumane’ are standouts to me, but honestly the whole album is banger after banger. These guys are going to be huge in the next couple of years, and a lot of it thanks to this album! 9/10

Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons: Kings of the Asylum

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

Larry Fleet: Earned It

Owen: Traditional sounds coming out of Tennessee, Larry Fleet’s latest release Earned It is a strong selection of straight-cut country tracks. Some might listen and say this album hits a lot of stereotypical notes for the genre, but there’s something more to these songs. Fleet sings about family, Jesus, hard work, and beer, no surprises so far. As he says in the fourth track 25-8 “Jesus, Mama, Football, that’s bout all we know around here”. But for all the pitfalls of these themes being overused in modern country, Fleet somehow pulls it off well. For it to become cliché there must be
certain amount of truth and clearly this is how Fleet was raised so write what you know I guess?

Despite some repetitive themes 21 tracks made it onto this album and it did feel a few too many. Some songs blend together and fall into the background when listening to the album in full. A late day stand out for me was ‘Devil Music’ where Fleet talks about a rebellious stage of childhood exploring rock and metal music. A country anthem referencing AC/DC, Led Zeppelin and The
Rolling Stones, where the chorus thanks God for the Devil’s music, what’s not to like? A few good songs hiding amongst a majority of filler country-radio, inoffensive in the background
on a long drive. 6/10

The Paper Kites: At the Roadhouse

Charlotte: Indie-folk band Paper Kites haven’t released new music since 2013 with their album ‘Woodland’, so the release of ‘At the Roadhouse’ is a long time coming for their fans. With storytelling at the heart, it’s easy to get lost in their romantic, easy-listening style. Offering 16 new tracks, ‘At the Roadhouse’ elevates the traditional folk sound with a warm, wholesome sound that transports you like a day-dream. 8/10

Primal Fear: Code Red

Joe: The German power metallers are back with their 14th studio album. Forming in the booming European scene in the 90s, I’m shocked this is the first I am hearing of them aside on the odd Wacken poster. Honestly, they’re pretty decent! The opener is great and followed up perfectly by ‘Bring that Noise’, which is a definite album highlight! I see now why frontman Ralf Scheepers tried to replace Rob Halford, this is very Judas Priest!

I have to admit though, as good as this album is, I feel like modern power metal has overtaken it in recent times. I don’t know if it’d the general consensus, but I personally prefer stuff like Powerwolf or Angus McSix to this. However, it is very Painkiller, which will definitely keep me coming back for more than just the one listen. Other highlights include ‘Deep in the Night’ and the epic, Maiden-esque ‘Their Gods have Failed’. 8/10, this was fun and definitely grows with more listens!

Soen: Memorial

Joe: The prog metal Swedes are back with their sixth album. I have an odd relationship with this band. The first time I’d checked them out was when we covered their ATLANTIS album last year (check that here). I didn’t realise until we were checking them out ahead of Graspop this year that it wasn’t a full release, instead being a semi-live album backed by an 8-piece orchestra. Heck, the fact that it was recorded without a crowd made it so I didn’t even realise it was live and old tracks! So, unfortunately I wasn’t a big fan of their actual studio stuff when I checked it out.

However, I fucking loved this album! While the opener didn’t hook me immediately, I found myself ‘liking’ almost every track after that on Spotify. I usually use it to know which to put on the playlist, so you’ll have to check it out here to find out which of them actually made the cut! However, the almost Gojira-like riffing in ‘Violence’ was amazing, as is the beautiful duet ‘Hollowed’. Also, ‘Incendiary’ is one of my favourite tracks of the year from any act!

I love the depth of the music throughout. They seem to have taken what worked with ATLANTIS and used it in the studio, creating a really interesting, massive sound throughout the album. If this is how they’re going to sound live in front of a crowd, I have to see them soon. 9/10, damn this was good!

Lord of Shadows: Echos of Yore

Joe: A shorter release than most, the gothic doom band put out just seven tracks for their latest release. It is still 42+ minutes though, as there are some longish songs here. And it’s one hell of an interesting listen. It’s definitely epic, and rolls between beautiful, quiet gothic rock and extreme doom metal pretty seamlessly. Plus, the fact that each track has so many amazingly talented guests on it is a massive plus, as it gives the whole album a diversity to it, despite it all being a similar sound.

Those who are regulars here at Overtone know that I have a very up and down relationship with extreme/black metal stuff, and somehow I have that same relationship throughout the whole album. I prefer the cleaner stuff, but some of the heavy stuff is good too. Some of it isn’t really my thing. However, the general feel of the album, especially with the more poetry-based narrative, is amazing. Those who are into the ambient black metal side of stuff, this is definitely worth checking out, just to see if you like it. I feel like it’s very much Marmite music! 6/10, it’s worth checking out!

Escape the Fate: Out of the Shadows

Joe: This band have been releasing music for nearly two decades now. Man do I feel old. Though I admit I was never much of a fan of the band growing up, nowhere near as much as some of my friends and peers anyway, they dud have a few good songs here and there. However, I always find myself preferring the current and former members of the band’s other projects more. Whether it’s Blessthefall, Beyond Unbroken or the awesome Falling in Reverse, every other band just seems to grab my attention more.

This album is the perfect example of why this is. It’s fine. As an early 2000s metalcore/post-hardore band putting out an album in 2023, it’s exactly what you’d imagine. But that’s my issue: nothing stood out. It’s like they heard out good Motionless in White’s album was last year and went ‘let’s do that!’ but then in the process lost what made that album special. When these days we have awesome modern albums in the genre from the likes of MIW, Ice Nine Kills, and Crown the Empire, this just kinda falls as almost radio static.

If you’re a fan of the band you’ll probably still enjoy this. However I struggled to find stand out tracks, it was all pretty much on the same level. 4.5/10

Speedy Ortiz:

Charlotte: Speedy Ortiz welcomes her touring bandmates with fourth studio album ‘Rabbit Rabbit’. This album nostalgically transports you to a 90s/00s indie-rock soundtrack with bright vocals, catchy riffs, and upbeat-dance beats. I recommend this album to anyone looking for an indie-rock change of pace, youthful energy and that overall optimism occasionally missing from the indie-rock genre. 8.5/10