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new music mondays

New Music Mondays: Disturbed, Nickelback and Much More!

One of the last big weeks of New Music Mondays for this year. From pop rock giants to plenty of metal and even a touch of country, we’ve got something for everyone this week!

Disturbed: Divisive

I have to admit, the title of the album worries me. I’ve been a fan of the band pretty much my entire life and wasn’t too big of a fan of their last output. I felt like the band tried too hard to capture the magic of their ‘Sound of Silence’ cover on half of it, while the other half felt heavier. While I’ve enjoyed the singles so far from the album, I’m worried this may go the same route now.

They kinda hit the nail on the head, though. It’s a surprisingly uplifting album in terms of lyrical content. Sometimes it works well, like on clear highlight ‘Unstoppable’ or ‘Take Back Your Life’. However, other times, like ‘Hey You’ and ‘Love to Hate’, they come across as more cringy. Heck, ‘Bad Man’s lyrics remind me of something you’d hear on Always Sunny in Philidelphia, they’re that cringe. Is it just me?

The rest of the elements are typical Disturbed. Big, chunky riffs that are great in the moment but all blend into one when listening to the album from front to back. The drums hold down the beat and groove well while John Moyer continues to be criminally underutilised in the band. Seriously, check out his work in Adrenaline Mob, especially ‘Feel the Adrenaline’, you’ll get a whole new appreciation for the man. ‘Don’t Tell Me’ was an okay ballad, and Ann Wilson had a passable guest vocal slot on it.

There are some definitely highlights, like ‘Unstoppable’ and ‘Part of Me’, but it’s all very typical Disturbed. If you’re a fan of the band you’ll get some enjoyment out of it, but they don’t really evolve their sound at all. It feels like Believe, a couple of good tracks but ultimately a pretty safe album. 6.5/10

Nickelback: Get Rollin’

I don’t care what anyone says, I fucking love this band. One of the first bands I fell in love with as a kid (All the Right Reasons is still one of the best albums ever released) and people only hate them because it’s ‘cool’ to do so. And heck, that consensus has even began to shift in recent years after their surprisingly heavy Feed the Machine album. They’re like the John Cena o rock music, for my whole two wrestling nerds out there reading this. The singles so far, the ballad ‘Those Days’ and heavy masterpiece ‘San Quentin’ have been well received and the hype around this album is actually pretty high, not just from me.

Tucked between the album’s two big singles as a sleazy, heavier rock track, ‘Skinny Little Missy’. It’s another highlight track and reminds me of ‘Something in your Mouthing terms of lyrics, feel and groove. Then we get one of the bands odd yet awesome country rock tracks in most recent single ‘High Time’, which is another banger. ‘Vegas Bomb’ is a fun heavier track, too.

However, then the band does its Nickelback thing and plays just so many ballads. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good ballad, and Nickelback do them as well as anyone. However, I’d have quite enjoyed some variety in the second half of the album. Tracks like ‘Does Heaven Even Know You’re Missing’ and ‘Standing in the Dark’ are still album highlights. However, having another heavier track may have pushed this album into legendary territory. But, for me at least, 3/11 tracks being heavier felt ever so slightly difflating. It will probably grow on me, but for now I’ll give this an 8/10

Smashing Pumpkins: ATUM – Act I

I hate that I’ve not been doing this music journalism thing for too long and this is already my third disc of Smashing Pumpkins to review. At the best of times they’re okay. However, I always found Billy Corgan to be similar to Rivers Cuomo in thinking that he’s gods gift to music. As a result, both put out far too many albums or far too bloated albums, like SZNZ or CYR.

At least this album is a little bit of an improvement to their 2020 effort. While a lot of it is slower almost synth-pop (not the sort of thing I’d personally want from a former grunge band) there are a few tracks that stand out from the formula. ‘The Good in Goodbye’ is almost classic Smashing Pumpkins, and definitely the best track of the album. Also, for a band that rather obviously inspired 21 Pilots, it’s really interesting to hear the aforementioned band then inspire Smashing Pumpkins on ‘Steps in Time’. It’s a fun, American indie/pop-rock track, and for once the electronics actually help the song.

However, the rest of the album felt like the same slow, atmospheric stuff that CYR was. I know it’s the first of three acts so hopefully the others pick up the pace a little. But for now, at least this one is better than the previous. 6/10. I still think he should stick to promoting wrestling…

Candlemass: Sweet Evil Sun

We’ve already had the pleasure of reviewing this awesome album. Check out the full review and the score here.

The Real McKenzies: Songs of the Highlands, Songs of the Sea

It still blows my mind that the Celtic-Punk style took off so much more in North America than it did in Scotland and Ireland, where the bands sound like they should be from. The Real McKenzies have always seemed to be the distant 3rds in the genre behind Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly, but that does by no means make them inferior. They very much prove that here, too.

The band are at the very top of their game throughout this album. From the slow, anthemic folky intro track, ‘Scotland the Brave’ through punkier numbers like ‘The Green Hills of Tyrol’ and ‘Leave her Johnny’, the album starts very strong. And of course, w2e cannot forget the amazing rendition of ‘Drunken Sailor’. Also, The Last Gang’s Brenna Red is a MASSIVE highlight of the album on ‘Swansea Town’. Her raspy, punky voice fits so well with the slower Celtic instrumentation.

There really isn’t a band track on the album, and if you like the sub-genre or the other bands I’ve named, you’ll absolutely love this. It’s a genre that isn’t given nearly enough attention and credit and for a band that have been going for a while now, this is definitely up there with some of their best work to date. 8.5/10

Tallah: The Generation of Danger

The other leading light in the new nu-metal resurgence are back with their second studio album. Heavier than their counterparts in Tetrarch, the band also draw from a wider source of inspiration with this second release. Whether it’s hardcore, industrial or straight up death metal, there’s a lot going on alongside the nu-metal core. However, it’s beautiful, perfect chaos. ‘The Hard Reset’ is a fantastic example of this, an absolute anarchy of heaviness in the riffs and verses, but a clean, catchy, almost Linkin Park-esque chorus.

‘The Impressionist’ is a little more accessible but instrumentally it’s still complex and awesome. Also, the rapping is a really great touch, especially when Justin Bonitz adds so much emption into his vocals, be it anger, sadness or all out rage. Plus, his screams are fantastic, some of the best I’ve heard all year. He has such an inane vocal range. I would say he’s a highlight of the album, but honestly the rest of the band are just as insanely talented as he is. The riffs are amazing, be it ch0nky or doing some insane pinches or Gojira scraps.

It’s another album without a bad track on it, and Tallah are a band that could (and should be massive in the near future if they keep up this energy, songwriting and raw emotion. If you’re into heavy stuff, the first two Slipknot albums or nu-metal in general, you’ll love this, it was fantastic. 9/10

Soen: ATLANTIS

An interesting one now, and one that I felt myself falling in love with more and more throughout the album. A prog supergroup formed from ex-Opeth and Death members, the band has taken on its own live in recent years due to their undeniable talent in songwriting and playing ability. Despite having the typical arrangement of a rock band, the strings are actually the major focus of the album, aside for the vocals. Just check out opening track ‘Antagonist’ to hear what I mean. It’s beautiful, powerful and epic, while showcasing the band perfectly.

From there it somehow only gets better. ‘Trials’ and ‘Illusion’ are particular album highlights, as is their incredible cover of Slipknots ‘Snuff’. I very much implore you to check this album out when you have a minute. It’s something completely different to a lot of what is out currently and it’s definitely not an album to be missed. I’m going to be listening to this a lot in the coming weeks and months, and it’s honestly bordering on a masterpiece. 9/10

Kira Mac: Chaos is Calling

NWOCR’s new big thing, Kira Mac finally releases her much-anticipated debut album, and the first release she’s put out since her amazing appearance on The Voice. With her incredible, soulful voice and her amazing band backing her up, this was a great album, and one hell of a debut.

Some of it was pretty heavy, reminding me of Nita Strauss’ solo efforts, while other tracks reminded me a lot of Dorothy. The title track was a massive highlight for me because of that riff, and tracks like ‘Mississippi Swingin” and the heavy, blues juggernaut that is ‘Downfall’ are also awesome. She’s a name that is generating a big buzz in the UK scene and for very clearly good reason. She’s going to be massive, and a strong debut like this starts her off amazingly. 8/10

Thy Listless Heart: Pilgrams on the path of no Return

The brand new doom metal band put out a pretty damn fun debut album. The sludgy riffs and prog elements were particular highlights for me. The vocals didn’t do too much for me, I understand they serve the means to an end but they felt a little flat for me. However, when they were used to build up the track, like the opening of ‘The Precipice’, it’s a whole different story, they’re awesome. In fact, that whole track was phenomenal and a definite high point of the album.

The lyrics and instrumentation are a huge highlight, and the proggier element almost gives hints of Tool at times. And anyone who reads much of our content knows how much I love Tool! ‘Confessions’ is another highlight of the album, especially the heavier choruses with the growls. It adds a fun other dynamic to it all.

Overall a good album and a great debut for a prog-doom metal band! 7/10

Isaac Hoskins: Bender

The Oklahoman native put out his third album last Friday. It’s a really good album in the vein of some of Texas’ best country artists. Tracks like the opener, ‘Panhandle Wind’ and ‘Off the Wagon’ are all big highlights of the album. I’m honestly shocked that he hasn’t become a big name by now (his first album was in 2009) as he has some amazing talent. It’s just good old-fashioned country music; steady, emotional and full of talented musicianship. If you’re a fan of the likes of Willie Nelson and Hank Jr., you’ll love this. 7.5/10

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new music mondays

New Music Mondays: Devin Townsend, Dayseeker and More!

Less massive releases this week, but plenty of great new music to sink our teeth into. Let’s dive straight in!

Devin Townsend: Lightwork

Joe: I have tried for years to get into Devin. Whether it’s his solo stuff or Strapping Young Lad, none of it seems to hook me. It’s weird too, as on paper I should love it all, but something about it doesn’t appeal to my ears.

Lightwork is no different. Don’t get me wrong, it’s certainly better than that electro-concept drivel he put out last year, but I still didn’t enjoy it too much. This is the guy who headlined Bloodstock last year, yet here he is doing synth-pop-rock, for lack of a better term. It’s like he’s trying to sound like Album of the Year or even parts of Angel Dust by Faith No More, but generally less interesting. I know I’mma catch a lot of flack for all of this as Devin has a pretty huge, devoted cult following, but I just don’t get it. Honestly, I couldn’t wait for this album to be over. I feel like maybe the tracks may translate better to me in a live setting, but I couldn’t pick out a highlight from the album. I’m sure there will be some journalists who give this top (or nearly top) marks, but I’m sadly going to have to give it a 3.5/10

Dayseeker: Dark Sun

Max: This is a review that I find quite hard to write, not because the album is bad, it is far from it, but because I absolutely adore Dayseeker. Due to this it is quite hard to not have a bias, but no one can convince me that this album isn’t phenomenal. The sheer emotion through really hits hard but it is the icing on top as it is such a raw and passionate album. The fact that they dedicated the album to the singer’s dad just makes this point even more apparent. Going from songs like ‘Neon Grave’ and ‘Dreamstate’ with the perfectly ugly breakdowns that you can’t help but pull a face to and then changing to ‘Paper Heart’ and ‘Crying While You’re Dancing’ which are so pretty and full of feeling whilst also making me want to lie down and transcend. Overall, I really think that everyone should listen to this album and just enjoy how well this band has evolved. A fantastic 9/10, quite possibly even another 10/10

96 Bitter Beings: Synergy Restored

Joe: Anyone who’s familiar with the frontman of this band will know exactly what to expect from this album. The founder of Jackass’ favourite band, CKY, formed this project in 2016, a few years after leaving his old band. As the band name implies, the band picks up right where Deron Miller left off with CKY.

‘Vaudeville’s Revenge’ is a great album starter and ‘Wish Me Dead’ is a definite highlight of the collection. The album soon runs into the same issue I have with CKY, though. I LOVE the riffs and his guitar tone is still phenomenal and surprisingly unique. But that’s where it about ends for me. The drums are pretty basic and the bass generally just follows the guitars. And there isn’t especially much in the way of memorable vocal performances throughout. Don’t get me wrong, not every band needs albums full of stadium-filling choruses, but a catchy hook to sing along with every so often would be nice. The closest I found was ‘Throw Yourself Inside’, which was another highlight. Still though, as a musician I massively appreciate and adore the guitaring, and can’t give it any less than a 7/10

Black Anvil: Regensis

Joe: Ahh, another black metal band that has such an everything-in-your-face-all-at-once production that it’s hard to distinguish anything specific, including the vocals. It’s feels like I’ve been a while since I’ve done one of these. However, I’ve clearly grown, as I was quite enjoying this! I think it helped that there were some fun vocal dynamics, with some clean backing vocals being present too. It made it all feel more epic.

Everyone played their parts well, there being some awesome riffs and some (characteristic to the genre) amazing drumming. ‘8-Bit Terror’ was my album highlight, in terms of sound ans subject matter. However, I enjoyed just about every track. Don’t get me wrong, this still isn’t my sort of music, but I wouldn’t turn it off if it came on and may probably find myself listening to this album again at some point in the future. Maybe this will be the album to win me round into the genre! 6.5/10

Black Mirrors: Tomorrow Will be Without Us

We’ve already covered this excellent album in detail. Find the full review and the score here.

Joji: SMITHEREENS

Max: So, this is an interesting album to say the least. The most important thing to note is that this album will probably make you cry just like the Dayseeker one. It tugged at my heart strings through out with lines like “I hear that you’re happy without me, and I hope it’s true” from ‘Die For You’ and basically the entirety of ‘Glimpses of Us’ where I just want to curl up and cry. This album won’t be for everyone and it isn’t perfect, but I loved it. The raw emotion in so much of Joji’s music makes it feel so personal and relatable. Never in this album did it feel to me like, like so much other similar music can, he was singing words to try and get a response from everyone or that someone in a studio had just written them for him. Instead, it felt like someone talking to someone that they can’t say is there’s anymore but still truly loves. Or maybe that’s just me hoping that’s what it is all about. Anyways it is a solid 8/10 for me.

Madeline Edwards: Crashlanded

Joe: Finally, a short, mainstream country album. At 12 tracks and just over 35 minutes long, this is like a dream come true after so many hour-long slogs! On top of that too, it’s a pretty great album!

It’s got that sort of Dorothy, folk-pop-rock style on top of the already country/americana roots. Honestly, there isn’t a bad track on the album. If you’re into country or americana or even slight rock, you’ll find a lot to love here. Having said that, it’s hard not to find the singles as the highlights of the album. ‘Hold my Horses’ is a particularly fantastic track. 7.5/10, a good, fun album!

Disillusion: Ayam

Right so a shorter album here and I can’t say that my review will be much longer. The biggest downside of this album was me not realising that there are two 11 minute songs which I thought were all multiple tracks. There are some really fun parts and I loved the changing of paces and the building up. The solo’s and the riffs were great fun. The only thing that I think might catch people off guard on their first time listening is the fact that they have songs which will end slowly or start slowly but it is worth sitting through and getting to the rest as it really doesn’t disappoint. A very respectable 7/10

Magnolia Park: Baku’s Revenge

Okay I won’t lie, not for me in the slightest. It has the same-style big catchy chorus that seems to repeat a dozen times. In fairness those choruses are fun, and the occasional scream is nice and reminds me of a more pop-centric version of A Day To Remember’s Homesick record. I think it would be pretty fun to see this band live as I can envision the amount of energy that they have on stage. For me though I don’t think it’s a genre I fit in to in the slightest 5.5/10

Ingested: Ashes Lie Still

This is more like it. This album is super heavy and intense. It was a lot to try and digest on the first time around, but it really was good fun. I love seeing bands collaborate with others and the ones in this album were fantastic. It must be said that this still has the issue that most bands within this genre have where they aren’t super accessible, but they really really are worth the effort. I hope this band tours this album near me because I would love to see it live as there is so much energy and I reckon crowds would absolutely love it. 8/10

Sarcator: Alkahest

This album grew on me more and more throughout. When the opener was a balls to the wall thrash/death metal track, I almost sighed. Not because I dislike either genre, quite the contrary actually, but because I’m pretty death-ed out in 2022.

However, by just the second track, ‘Perdition’s Hand’, my opinion had changed. the track is still heavy, but it’s a tad slower and groovier, the riffing being fantastic. By the time the album had ripped into the slow-build opener of ‘Grave Maggot Future’ and the truly epic ‘Dreameater’, I was hooked and very impressed. The sludgy, groove metal of ‘The Long Lost’ was also fantastic, especially with that acoustic intro. Heck, the same could be said about the equally proggy and epic ‘He Who Comes from the Dark’ and ‘Alkahest’. It means that when the band do go back to the all-out thrash sound on ‘Devil Sun’ it feels funner.

I know this album won’t be for everyone. It’s a heavy, dark, prog death metal album. However, if you think you’re up for the challenge I’d urge you to check out the tracks I have named above. I honestly don’t throw the word around too often, but if the opening track was just a little stronger this very well could have been a masterpiece of heavy music for me. Heck, even just a revised track order may have helped. But even so, I can’t give this any less than I 9/10

Tough on Fridays: The Encore you Didn’t Ask For

I struggled to put a genre to this, and that’s definitely a good thing. Lurking on the murky boarder of pop punk and indie, this album also feels darker, broodier and more mature than most of its genre-mates on either side. I almost called it goth pop punk but a) that seems oxymoronic or b) there already is goth pop punk, and this isn’t exactly Good Charlotte.

Oh, and did I also mention it’s an amazing album? Because it most certainly is. Its rare to find a band that would easily fit on any lineup or festival bill, and even rarer to find one that is this high a quality. Tracks like the opener, ‘Sink or Swim’ and ‘The Awakening’ all feel completely different while all being huge highlights of the album. I honestly am struggling to say much more about this album, it truly needs to be heard to be appreciated. Stop what you’re doing, especially since this is conveniently last on the list, and listen to this album right now! 9/10

So, a pretty stellar week in the end! Did you enjoy the article? As usual find more of them from our Instagram here.

new music mondays

New Music Mondays: Polyphia, Palaye Royale and More!

While no absolutely massive bands released anything this week, it still saw the release of a lot of great new music! From instrumental metal to country and a lot in between, check this out, it’s got something for everyone!

Polyphia: Remember That You Will Die

I mean, it’s Polyphia, what can I really say? It’s another 40-minute masterclass from the modern day guitar god himself Tim Henson. Of course, it’s fucking awesome.

The first track is a jazz metal masterpiece, complete with horns that make it all sound somehow even better. The guitar tones in the track (and throughout the whole album for that matter) are unbelievable, so good. Lead single ‘Playing God’ is next up and a mind-bending display of the guitarists’ skill at slapping and tapping. I even love ‘ABC’, the first track to feature vocals by the band, and from a pop singer none the less. She sounds good and surprisingly doesn’t overshadow a single member of the band.

I was going to say, probably controversially, that the band could benefit at this point from having vocalists on more of their tracks. Then I heard the MGK-like ‘Memento Mori’ and ‘Fuck Around and Find Out’. Both were with meh rap/R&B vocalists that DID pull the focus away from the band, and for their own mediocre performances. Even the Chino Moreno track was meh. I feel like vocals could work awesomely, but these weren’t necessarily the right ones to pick, not to my ears anyway. Oh well, at least Steve Vai joins them to shred for the awesome closing track.

Slightly up and down but, if I’m honest, far more up than down. 7.5/10

Palaye Royale: Fever Dream

The new-wave emo/punk pop band return with their fourth album last week. I never quite got the appeal of this band or the wider sound they are a part of, and this album did nothing to change that. They remind me a lot of the incredibly overrated Maneskin, it’s a similar sort of pop music with just enough edge to it to venture into the rock sphere. A lot of it is more indie than anything, and for an American, Remington slips into a British accent a few times, weirdly. I fully see why people would like this sort of thing, it’s definitely a popular style these days, but it’s definitely not for me.

Also, it suffers from the country issue in that it’s bloated. 15 tracks is a lot to digest, especially when they’re mainly pretty similar. There are a couple of saving grace tracks, though. I’d heard ‘Paranoid’ when it was released last year and it’s at least a good, anthemic pop-rock track. Then there’s the MCR-esque ‘Fever Dream’. Easily the best track on the album, this wouldn’t feel out of place on The Black Parade. If you’re going to try any track on this album, let it be this one. But yeah, overall, not really my cup of tea. 4/10

Darkthrone: Astral Fortress

The gods of black metal return with their whopping 19th studio album, and it’s just as crazy and experimental as ever. Just a year after the release of Eternal Hails……, the band continue on with the doom influence just as much as the black metal sound. Heck, it opens on a dark, eight-minute epic reminiscent of early Candlemass, this is a far cry from early Darkthrone. It picks up around the mid-point into more familiar territory, but the epicness sets it apart for all the right reasons.

The same can be said throughout the rest of the album. Between the doom, punk and old-school heavy metal, there are a lot of different styles blended in with the typical Darkthrone sound. I honestly struggled to pick a highlight too, as it was all so different and enjoyable in its own way. I think my favourite track was ‘Stalagmite Necklace’, though. Clearly this is how you get me into black metal, by blending it with other genres I like. 7/10

Lainey Wilson: Bell Bottom Country

The fourth album by the country singer-songwriter is just as fun as her previous ones. It’s honestly nice to hear this kind of older style, more Dolly Parton or rock/blues inspired, is getting so popular in amongst all the stadium and bro country. Tracks like ‘Road Runner’, ‘Hold My Halo’ and ‘Grease’ honestly wouldn’t look out of place on a Cadillac Three album, but also is the sort of sound I wish Miley Cyrus had (and still will eventually) evolved into. Then you have more Drake White-esque acoustic country ballads that make up the other half of the album.

However, even though these slower tracks probably make up the majority, I never found myself getting bored like on other slower country albums. Lainey is a tremendous lyricist, it keeping me entertained throughout alongside her catchy melodies and great playing. This is a really good country album and one I’ll be listening to a fair amount for the rest of the year! 7.5/10

Fit for a King: The Hell we Create

THIS IS HOW YOU DO MODERN METALCORE. Anyone who keeps up with this series regularly knows that I’ve done a fair bit of the old-school heavy hitters of the metalcore world, and all are either trying to play catch-up with mainstream metal trends or get lost in the shuffle trying to recapture their old magic. This does neither of these things.

It’s unapologetically heavy, the low screams being some of the best I’ve heard in a while. But it balances it perfectly with some fantastic, catchy, pop-punk like cleans. ‘End (The Other Side’ is an amazing single and a great example of what I’m getting at, incorporating both perfectly. Then you have tracks like ‘Reaper’ which, in my opinion, are the exact sound that Parkway Drive should have stayed at, it’s better than anything on their latest album. Tracks like ‘Sink Below’, ‘What You Left Behind’, and the full-on deathcore track ‘Eyes Roll Back’ are all massive highlights on an album filled to the brim with them. This is peak metalcore in 2022, and for anyone into the subgenre, check this album out. Now. 9/10

Dead Cross: II

The Mike Patton/Dave Lombardo supergroup released their second hardcore punk album. It still blows my mind to hear how many different styles Patton can pull off vocally, and this is definitely a fun departure from his Faith No More stuff. While it’s not my sort of music, I can certainly appreciate the effort and desire to do something different and push the envelope. ‘Animal Espionage’ was a lot of fun, as was the duelling vocals on various different tracks. It’s like I was transported back to the 80s underground scene with the experimentation and heaviness. 6.5/10

Massive Wagons: Triggered

Baz and the boys got angry with this one. Between ‘Fuck the Haters’, ‘Generation Prime’ and ‘A.S.S.H.O.L.E’ they are calling out everyone they can, and I love it. It’s a good contrast to their clean-cut punk-classic rock style. Wagons address plenty about the state of the world in their own comedic, attitude-filled style, including COVID and the current world culture. The title track is maybe my favourite on the album, but there isn’t really a bad track on the album. All the other tracks previously named are definite highlights, too. It’s fun, funny and a very catchy album. It’s the lovechild of Wildhearts and (ironically given they are touring together) Ugly Kid Joe and I enjoyed it a lot. 7.5/10

Check out our interview with Baz from Call of the Wild here.

Fire From the Gods: Soul Revolution

The blend of styles here was fun, but I have to say I think each different style has been done better recently by other bands. Even though vocalist AJ is from American/Jamaican decent, it gives off both Bob Vylan and Bloodwood vibes than anything else. The opening and title track is a great song, but then the following track, the lead single of the album, ‘S.O.S’, is maybe my least favourite on the album. It’s a very up and down album, with some definite highlights but some clear lower points too, for me. Tracks like ‘Double Edged Sword’ and ‘The Message’ were also highlights. If anything, the more rasta-inspired tracks were the best ones. It’s okay but felt a little one note at times. 5.5/10.

Show me the Body: Trouble the Water

I have no idea how to feel about this. The Suicidal Tendencies aspect of it was awesome, and a couple of the riffs were great, though not nearly focused on enough. The vocals grew on me more and more throughout, too. His cadence and emotion in every delivery, be it clean or harsher, was amazing. At times it felt like I was listening to The Ramones or Joy Division, and then it’d drop into something dark and heavy and remind me who it was. I grew up on the Tony Hawks games and this somehow feels like every single band on that mushed together into a single entity. ‘Food From Plate’, ‘We Came to Play’ and ‘Using It’ were personal favourites of mine. A good album that really grew on me by the end. I’ll definitely be listening to this more. 7/10

Shape of Water: Amor Fati

The Muse of the NWOCR scene, Shape of Water have gotten quite a bit of momentum behind them ahead of this release. I’m not hugely familiar with them bar a song or two, so I’m excited to check out a full album.

Though the opening track, ‘Starchild’, is epic and slow-building and everything I typically love in rock music, something about it didn’t quite click with it. After that though, it heads more into Weezer or even Heaven’s Basement direction, which I wasn’t expecting much of. There’s still some epicness, like in single ‘The Snoot’, but it’s more pop punky rock than anything else. It’s definitely good and there is plenty to like on the album, it’s just not something I thought the NWOCR movement would go for, sound wise. Then again it does have hints of Zeppelin (or at least Wolfmother) in amongst the Weezer and Muse.

I can see this band going VERY far in the next few years. They’re unique for sure, while still being familiar enough for mainstream audiences to latch onto. This will definitely taker a couple more listens to appreciate fully, but I already love it. 8/10

new music mondays

New Music Mondays: Architects, Ugly Kid Joe and More!

Another week of awesome new music, from classic rock to metalcore. Check it all out down below!

Architects: the classic symptoms of a broken spirit

I’m sorry, didn’t Architects used to be heavy and… y’know… interesting? Sempiternal came out nearly a decade ago at this point, yet metalcore is STILL trying to replicate its sound and success. This album didn’t do so well as others this year, or even earlier Architects albums. It’s not bad, but it’s incredible predicable and radio friendly. The band that wrote the epic Daybreaker and Lost Forever have officially lost their fangs, falling into the same fame-baiting, pop-leaning pattern that a lot of other metalcore bands have found themselves in.

Outside of the actually heavy closing track, the whole album feels so subdued. Gone is the slight edge they had left on their last album. Heck, even the strings, the best part of For Those That Wish to Exist, have been replaced by synths. It’s made the wall-of-sound mixing style they have even harder for me to digest; nothing stands out or impacts, even the odd big riff or breakdown hits the same as everything else. I know this is an already incredibly divisive album, and a lot of people love it. I’ve tried hard but I just can’t. Hopefully it’s at least the direction the band want to go and that they’re happy with the record instead of them being creatively dry. Even a return to the Holy Hell style would be hugely appreciated after this! 3.5/10

Ugly Kid Joe: Red Wings of Destiny

This was surprisingly, unfortunately average. Being a big fan of the bands earlier work, I was excited to hear how they sound these days. Okay. They sound okay these days.

None of this was bad by any stretch, but none of it was amazing either. It reminded me more of 2000s Red Hot Chili Peppers than the fun, energy and swagger filled band everyone loved them as back in the 90s. This was essentially a soft rock album with a couple of grungier tracks thrown in for good measure. That’s not bad at all, but not quite what I was hoping for or expecting. Heck, the guys are 30 years older and more mature than they were when they wrote ‘Everything About You’, of course it would mean they sound different to that. As I said, I was just hoping the fun element was still here.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not all bad. The band did a cracking cover of The Kinks’ ‘Lola’, and ‘Dead Friends Play’ is a bittersweet track about the rock legends we’ve lost over the years. And it’s a stomping blues rock track and my favourite on the album. It reminds me of early Dead Daisies, which I cannot at all complain about! Even the closing track is country-inspired fun. But overall, another slightly disappointing, meh album. 4/10. oh, and of course, the Judas Priest reference for the album title is also great.

Avantasia: A Paranormal Evening with the Moonflower Society

The epic, metal opera band released the best album they’ve put out in years with their ninth. Whether it’s Tobias himself taking the lead or incredible guest vocals from the likes of Floor Jansen, Geoff Tate or Michael Kiske, it’s all hugely epic, massively talented, and a real joy to listen to. With all of the effort put into the story and characters for the videos/artwork, I want to see one of these as a full stage show more than anything. It’s so theatrical in all aspects that it would make for an incredible musical.

It’s another album with not a bad song on it, and honestly, I’d put it up against any other power metal-style album of the last decade, it’s that good. Check this out, no matter what sort of music you are into. You’ll find something to love, I’m sure. This will be on heavy rotation for me for months to come, and I’m more than happy about that! 9/10

Simple Minds: Direction of the Heart

When this company started last year, I did not think I’d be sat here on a Sunday afternoon covering a Simple Minds album. If I’m honest, I didn’t even know they were still a thing. So, not once did I think it’d actually be a pretty good album!

Don’t get me wrong, this definitely my sort of thing through and through. After the first three or four tracks I felt like I’d heard everything this album had to offer. However, it’s Simple Minds, I knew what to expect heading into it and was not disappointed. Tracks like ‘Human Traffic’, ‘Who Killed Truth?’ and ‘Act of Love’ are all highlights and honestly just as good as any other big Simple Minds songs. I don’t know if it’s just me not being a big fan of the band, but they sound just as good as ever to me.

A good album and one well worth checking out if you’re a fan of the band or soft rock/new wave music. 6.5/10

Exhumed: To the Dead

Time to change the pace. Death metal, anyone? Or deathgrind, as they are now being referred to, apparently. Either way, the bands ninth album goes just as hard as ever. I have to admit while I’m definitely getting into much more death these days thanks to Overtone, some of the vocals still felt a bit much for me. The usual screams were fine, but the lower, early Cannibal Corpse style ones were too far back in the mix and too growly for me to really enjoy. However, the riffs throughout the whole album were sick, and the drummer was the real highlight o it all, working a blinding pace from start to finish. I feel like I’d get a lot more out of hearing this stuff live than on track. It’s good, and if you like the sub-genre you’ll definitely love it, but it may take me a few more listens to truly appreciate. 6/10

Stryper: The Final Battle

The glam metal/NWOHM band get a lot of stick for being overtly Christian, but those who choose not to listen to them because of this are missing out on some damn good music. Their back catalogue speaks for itself and this, their fourteenth album, shows that the band very much still has it.

‘Transgressor’ is a powerful, fast-paced intro track full of some very solid drums, a great vocal performance and even a HEAVY riff behind an impressive guitar solo. ‘See No Evil, Hear No Evil’ is a highlight of the album for sure, giving off heavy Painkiller vibes and having an infectiously catchy chorus. Then there are tracks like ‘Same Old Story’ ‘Rise to the Call’ and ‘Ashes to Ashes’ that feel just like modern day Saxon, in both sound and quality. Overall, it’s just a solid heavy metal album. It’s hard to pick fault with it, but there also isn’t a massive amount that stands out. 6.5/10

The New Roses: Sweet Poison

We’ve already checked this out. It’s awesome. Check it out here.

Avatarium: Death, Where is your Sting

The prog/doom metal band returned this last week with their fifth studio album. While not an active touring member of the band, Candlemass alumni Leif Edling can very much still be heard in the songwriting process. However, although I used to be a fairly big Candlemass fan back in my teens, I didn’t get on with this album too much. I don’t know what it was, either.

The instrumentation, although a tad reserved and boring, was good. And Jennie-Ann Smith’s bassey, bluesy voice sounds as great as ever. But it all just felt like moody, depressing, dark Fleetwood Mac, but without the catchiness. Or a less fun Ghost. None of it is inherently bad, but it did nothing to grip me. I don’t think I’m goth enough for this sort of thing anymore. ‘Stockholm’ was probably the highlight, just because the riff was pretty decent. As I said, it’s not bad, and would probably make for good background music or as a movie soundtrack. But to sit down and analyse, this was a slog. 4.5/10

Spencer Crandall: Western

The country singer/songwriter came back with his fourth studio album this last week. It’s another far too long country album, a plague in 2022, as it seems. Seeing it was 20 tracks long almost brought a tear to my eye. However, it’s still a pretty decent album despite it’s obvious bloatedness.

‘Didn’t Do’, ‘Girls Like You’ and ‘Red Flags’ are all good tracks, if rather pop-centric. However, they are also surrounded by a lot of average tracks as well. This album could have easily been half the length and been a much better release. Still, if you like modern stadium-country music, you’ll probably find enough here to enjoy! 4.5/10

Brutus: Unison Life

The post-hardcore Belgians released their highly anticipated fourth album last Friday. Considering I’m not a huge fan of the genre, I found myself enjoying this a lot. From the slow-build intro of ‘Miles Away’ into the heavy, open and MASSIVE ‘Brave’, it’s a cracking way to open an album. ‘Victoria’ almost felt ballad-like in its execution; and was a good one at that. The more this album went on, the less post-hardcore it felt. It’s just a good pop-rock album. ‘Dust’ was a highlight for me. One of the heavier tracks on the album, the Americana-style guitar tone and chords combined with the great drumming, dirty bass and slightly harsh vocals made for one hell of a song. The whole album is dark, brooding and a lot of fun, even if it does all blur into one a bit by the end. 7/10

Sloan: Steady

The 13th album from one of Canada’s biggest bands of the last 25 years is another good one. Canada’s late answer to Status Quo have an innate quality to write incredibly catchy songs throughout. That probably has something to do with every band member taking the helm of lead vocals at different times, meaning that there are plenty of fantastic harmonies across the whole album.

Tracks like the opener, ‘Scratch the Surface’ and ‘Simply Leaving’ are good examples of what the band is about, for those who aren’t too familiar. The whole album is worth checking out though if you’re a fan of the softer side of rock. A band that are still very much still at the top of their game as songwriters and an album that is simply a fun, interesting listen. 7/10

Chez Kane: Powerzone

This is a fantastic album. Being a fan of Chez since her time in Kane’d, I felt like this would be heavier heading into it. However, it’s so very AOR, more Journey than Journey have been in years. It wouldn’t feel at all out of place in Rock of Ages, and I LOVE IT.

From start to finish this was a masterclass in 80s sunset strip glam rock. ‘I Just Want You’ is not only an amazing album opener, but one of the most epic rock tracks released this millennium. The title track is another massive, powerful track. However, there isn’t really a low point on the album. We’re experiencing a bit of a glam/AOR revival at the minute in the scene, and I would put it up there with any of the top albums from it. Heck, I’d put it up there with some of the top albums in the genre, no matter the time period, be it Poison, Journey or Crüe.

If you’re into this sort of music at all, check this out, you’ll love it. There really isn’t a bad track on the album. It’s definitely going to end up on heavy rotation for me at least for the rest of the year. 9/10

Reviews

These Wicked Rivers, Gorilla Riot and 28 Double at The Hairy Dog!

Southern/country rock band These Wicked Rivers took a brief break from their tour supporting bluegrass legends Hayseed Dixie to do a hometown gig. And what a gig it was. Playing to the absolutely packed Derby crowd at The Hairy Dog, it was definitely a night to remember for everyone involved. Add to that the fact that it was a fundraiser for These Wicked Rivers’ new album, and it was an awesome night for sure.

Other local boys 28 Double were the first to take the stage. While it wasn’t long after the doors had opened, they still drew a fair crowd. Being easily the heaviest band on the line-up, bordering on metal, it did feel like it took the crowd a little minute to warm to them. However, the band ripped through a fantastic short set of some of their best songs. I’ve seen them multiple times over the years, having gigged with them a fair bit back in the day, and they have come on massive amounts since. They put on a great show and sounded awesome!

Next up was the Manchester blues machine known as Gorilla Riot. Friends of the channel, it’s been almost a year since we last saw the band, at Amped last year. They were on top form again here. Arjun has such a fantastic swagger and stage presence, feeling like you’re watching a true rockstar. And yet he never overshadows the rest of the band, moving out of the spotlight even on longer instrumental parts. The band have great chemistry on stage too, clearly enjoying themselves and regularly joking around. The crowd ate up everything they laid down, too. They loved their grungy sound and great songwriting. If anything, my only criticism is that they didn’t have long enough on stage. However, they for sure won over some new fans with their set and were the perfect warmup to the headliners.

Then, came the headliners, the anticipation in the room palpable. These Wicked Rivers soon came on and left not a single person disappointed. Rattling through a set full of their older tracks and a few of the new singles too. This was by far the best set I’ve seen the band do. That’s a surprise too, as I’ve seen them a few times over the last couple of years. They keep getting better and better, both live and on track. If this gig is anything to go by, they are going to be HUGE in a year or two. One hell of a way to cap off a fantastic night and honestly one of the best sets I have seen from a band this year.

And there we have it, a brilliant night of great music from some of the best underground rock bands the scene has to offer. These Wicked Rivers are back out on the road with Hayseed Dixie while Gorillia Riot and 28 Double still have a few gigs left this year. Both bands are also headlining both nights of SharkFest in Cannock next year!

Did you enjoy our review? Check out more from our Instagram here.

new music mondays

New Music Mondays: Lamb of God, The Cult and Much More!

You know the drill by now. A dozen amazing bands releasing new music, and we’re here to check it all out! See what we think below!

Lamb of God: Omens

Lamb of God releasing their ninth studio album makes me feel old. But that’s exactly what they did this last week. I’ve been a fan of the band for over half my life at this point, getting into them from Sacrament. I’ve seen the bands ups and downs and they really seem to be having a bit of a career resurgence recently after some slightly more questionable output in the 2010s. Their previous, self-titled album was fantastic and, honestly, this may one up it to an even higher level.

It takes everything new it seemed to build up well on the previous album, the spoken work/sung stuff and the dynamics with up and downs and tempos, and rolls with it all to new heights. The fact that in 2022 we have a Lamb of God album open with a track that has mostly clean verses is insane, especially when it’s one of the best tracks on the album. If anything it just makes Randy’s screams have even greater impact. And of course, from an instrumental perspective they’re still a metal guitarist and drummers dream band. The talent on display is unbelievable. The riffs are insane and Art Cruz again kills it on the drums.

The singles are of course great, and other tracks like ‘To The Grave’ and ‘September Song’ are also awesome. The whole album is a highlight, however, and hopefully will be the one to finally push LoG through that glass ceiling they seem to hit a while back. 8.5/10

The Cult: Under the Midnight Sun

I’ve never been much of a fan of The Cult. I get and respect the impact they’ve had on modern rock music, but they never did anything for me. This album didn’t change my mind. There wasn’t even a riff like ‘Rise’ or even ‘She Sells Sanctuary’ to keep me interested. There’s very little to this, and as someone who’s not that into Ian Astbury’s vocals, this was a tough listen. Sorry to anyone who I offend with this, but… 3/10

Bush: The Art of Survival

This was heavier than I expected it to be! I haven’t heard much recent Bush stuff, pretty much reserving myself to the phenomenal Sixteen Stone, so this took me a little off guard. In a good way, though!

Of course the vocals are still the melodic, radio-rock style Gavin is known for. However, the riffs are HUGE. Like, de-tuned, ch0nky and almost metal, huge. And on top of that, there’s some genuinely catchy, stadium-filling choruses and melodies on here. ‘Slow Me’ is my favourite track on the album and maybe my favourite track the band has ever put out. Tracks like ‘More Than Machines’ and ‘Human Sand’ are also amazing. They’ve almost added a progg element to their sound, sounding a little like Karnivool and Chevelle.

My only slight issue is that it all sounds just a bit similar. Most of the tracks follow the same sort of formula; slower, stripped-back verses and then the big riff that opened the track comes back for the chorus. At least it made ‘Creatures of the Fire’ feel different and unique, as the it the main exception to the rule. Still though, I’d LOVE to hear this stuff live, I feel like it would be one hell of a show. I need to check out more Bush now! 8/10

Queensrÿche: Digital Noise Alliance

I’m not all too familiar with the band outside of Mindcrime and Empire. However, I have heard that Geoff Tate’s replacement has done wonders for the band, so I’m curious to hear how this sounds!

Sadly, the opening track and biggest single didn’t actually grab my attention. However, the opposite could be said for ‘Chapters’. It’s an incredible catchy track, straddling the line between AOR and even some modern Iron Maiden. I do have to say though, the mixing on the vocals was a bit odd. It felt distant, quieter than it maybe should have been. Tracks like ‘Sicdeth’, ‘Nocturnal Light’ and prog epic ‘Tormentum’ are also highlights of the album.

And I would like to add that it is a good album. I wanted to stress that before I went on to say… it’s a little overdone at this point. I know Queensryche are very much one of the originators of the sound, but there is so much amazing AOR music these days, that I feel like it’s just already been done. I love this sort of music, but bands like Eclipse and Tygers of Pan Tang are just as good, and I am more familiar with their work. So it is definitely a good album full of good tracks, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as their older stuff, or as much as I could have done. Hence why I shall give it a 7/10

Wednesday 13: Horrifier

We had the chance to review this before it’s release. Spoilers, it’s awesome. To find out just how awesome, check out our full review here.

Everette: Kings of the Dairy Queen Parking Lot – Side B

Another album we’ve had the pleasure of reviewing, and another amazing one. Find the review here.

Goatwhore: Angels Hung from the Arches of Heaven

The extreme metal titans returned with their eighth album this last Friday. If you’re a fan of the genre, like I am turning out to be, you’ll love this. Don’t get me wrong, It got a bit much and repetitive by around the halfway mark, but then I also loved the epic, plodding closing tracked. It’s everything you could want from an extreme metal album and certainly had me wanting to mosh! I shan’t pretend to be an expert on these things, but I enjoyed it, so will give it a 6.5/10

Counterparts: A Eulogy for Those Still Here

This feels very much like a Max album. Unfortunately, his uni has kept him too busy to help out this week. Depressing lyrics, heavy, Djenty riffing, solid drums and hardcore, bordering on extreme harsh vocals. I have to say, it’s not for me. I couldn’t really get anything memorable to come away with out of it, I just know the general sound and that it wasn’t for me. While I can appreciate they are all talented players, nothing about this prompted my will for a second listen. Sorry for anyone who is a fan, and I know that they are a pretty big band, but I’mma have too give this a 3.5/10

Barrett Davis: The Ballad of Aesop Fin

The North Carolinan country singer songwriter put out his debut album last week after months of putting out some great singles. It has a real old-school feel to it all and shows off some real talent as far as playing and songwriting is concerned. ‘Carolina Still’ is a personal highlight of the album, showing off Barrett’s impressive vocal range and some great guitar and piano. It almost boarders on easy listening, at times. It’s a good, relaxing album that I’ll definitely be chilling out to a lot in the coming weeks and months. 7/10

Acid Witch: Rot Among Us

This was a whole lot of fun. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this. I was ready for the stoner/doom metal riffing, but the almost Nightmare Before Christmas level of theatrical, extreme vocals over the top I was not. Honestly the duelling vocals and more stage-show style feel always does it for me in tracks, it’s why I love Ice Nine Kills so much.

‘Gather Each Witch’ and ‘Rot Among Us’ are the perfect tracks to open the album on, giving me a complete, great feel for what the band is about. The horror themes, big riffs and fun dynamics are all clear staples of the album. While not all tracks have the play-off style vocals, we still have some on ‘5508 Martin St.’ and ‘Evil Dad’. The later gives me ever so slight ‘Three Little Pigs‘ vibes with the higher vocals. Both tracks are amazing. However, saying that, there isn’t a bad track on this album.

I came into this not expecting to come away with one of my most enjoyable listens of the year, but there we go. It came out at the perfect time of the year but, honestly, I’m going to be listening to this way past Halloween. Great stuff, 9/10

VUKOVI: NULA

The Scottish rockers are back with maybe their most ambitious release to date. Just listening to opener ‘DEPARTURE’ sets up the epic feel they are going for. ‘TAINTED’ does a great job of continuing that feel and is a fantastic radio-rock track. ‘LASSO’ is another good track, the rapping being an interesting, fun addition. It has elements of Linkin Park and modern BMTH, while being a little lighter and indie/punky than both.

However, while I did enjoy the rest of the album, it only took me 4/5 songs to realise that it’s all going to be rather similar. Tracks like ‘I EXIST’ and ‘KILL IT’ are good and more highlights, but the album suffers from a similar issue and structure to Bush’s. It’s good, but I found myself getting distracted from the exact same formula in every song by the midpoint. It will most likely be more of a solo track album for me as opposed to listening through it front to back again. Because of that I can’t give it tippy top marks, but it still gets a very impressive 8.5/10

Borealis: Illusions

This is some of the most epic shit I’ve ever heard. Not many bands could have an epic intro track and then have a mega intro to the first proper song on top of it. And musically it’s like if Dream Theater did power metal. It’s definitely got that epic power/symphonic side to it, but the riffs wouldn’t sound out of place on a Djent album. I love it. The first three tracks are perfect. From a slow, epic intro to a radio track to the first epic prog track across 13 minutes, it’s fantastic. Then you have tracks like ‘Burning Tears’ and ‘Abandon All Hope’ and this is a damn good album. They deserve to be huge, and hopefully this album is the one to do it! 8.5/10

Reviews

Kings of the Dairy Queen Parking Lot – Side B: Is It Somehow Even Better than Everette’s Debut?

Country duo Everette released their muchly anticipated second album yesterday. A part two to their incredible debut album, it looks set to launch them into the stratosphere, as the band are gaining a lot of traction recently. I’d not even heard them before checking them out thanks to The Long Road Festival (find our review of it here), and have since become a little obsessed! I’ve been eagerly anticipating this album for the last couple of months now, so let’s see what it’s like!

Opening track ‘Run’ is one I’ve heard already, having reacted to it and ‘Make Me Want One’ when they were released as singles a few weeks ago. It’s just as fantastic a track as the first time I heard it. It’s slow, chilled out and infectiously catchy. It sets a fantastic mood for the rest of the album. I don’t have much more to add, if you like relaxed acoustic-country you’ll love this just as much as I do.

‘Woo Hoo Hoo’ has a great bouncy, groovy guitar riff running through it which starts the track off on a high. Add in the title lyrics being VERY catchy again and this is another great track. Also, the high ‘Woo hoo hoo’ing brought back vague drunken memories of The Long Road… I think they played this! It’s a testament to how fantastic these two are at writing songs that I can suddenly remember a track that I’d heard once months ago while half-cocked. The first chorus felt a little low but, honestly, by the second and third it all fit perfectly and felt just as anthemic as their other tracks. And the jamming outro is amazing, too Playlisted!

The lead single of the album, ‘Gonna be a Problem’, is another like ‘Run’. It’s chilled out, slower, but one of the most memorable, catchy songs I’ve heard in years. That chorus is incredible. It’s memorable and honestly everyone should hear this. It deserves to be the ‘next big song’, and hopefully now it’s gotten a second release it will get even bigger. It’s somehow pop, country, southern, blues and everything in between mushed together perfectly, and it couldn’t be better. We even get a guitar solo AND a half-time part in the barely three-minute track. This is phenomenal. Playlisted.

‘She Got That From Me’ is a cute but sad slower ballad. The lyrics here are amazing, which even more of an achievement when everything else plays second fiddle to them a little. It’s simple drums and guitar chords but Brent Rupard’s effortlessly amazing vocals make this song another great one. Another track that I can’t pick fault with, I feel like it’s a trend…

‘Wild Woman’ picks up a bit more of the southern rock style than anything else so far. Honestly this would fit right at home on a Cadillac Three album. It drops down a little for the verses but stays higher energy throughout. It’s a lot of fun and my only complaint is that it’s only two-and-a-half minutes.

The cleverly titled ‘Shrunk as Drit’ is just as fun in its lyrics. I don’t know whether it’s my childish sense of humour, but all the letter swapping and mispronunciation did make me giggle. It’s a good old-school country song on its own right, too. It reminds me a bit of Blake Shelton’s ‘Some Beach’, which is also a fantastic song. It’s an upbeat, silly and infectiously fun and catchy, as hard as it’s going to be to learn the lyrics! Playlisted!

Next up is a track I have been literally obsessed with since they released it, ‘Make me Want One’. I reacted to this one in the same video as ‘Run’ a few days after its release, which I’ll link below. Having first heard this track live, I have barely gotten it out of my head. I can go a few days without hearing it and have checked out another few albums and then bam, out of nowhere it’s back in my head again. That’s fine though because I LOVE this song. How do two guys write such simple yet massively catchy and emotion-filled tracks? It’s not fair, but so awesome. Check this one out, everything about it is amazing. It’s already on the playlist.

Closing track ‘Get By’ is of course an amazing track, but is maybe the weakest on the album. However, that’s saying nothing, as it’s still great. It’s chilled out again, catchy and another anthem for the people. I can’t say anything else without appearing like a fangirl or repeating what I’ve said about previous tracks. Check this out!

Overall: What a phenomenal album. I don’t think I was expecting any less, but it’s still incredible that I can’t pick a single fault with it. Every song is amazing in its own right and the whole album, unlike most country albums these days, is short, concise and perfectly put together. I cannot gush about this album enough. Therefore, it has to get top marks…

The Score: 10/10

new music mondays

New Music Mondays: Weezer, The Rasmus and More!

Not a huge week for new music this week, but it’s brimming with potential. Weezer’s third season, The Rasmus’ post-Eurovision album and some great lighter rock. Not to mention a bit of metal sprinkled in for good measure. Let’s get into this!

Weezer: SZNZ: Autumn

Joe: Weezer are 1/2 so far this year for me. I wasn’t a huge fan of Spring but Summer was pretty good. This third entry falls more towards the former than the latter. There is almost nothing here that held my attention. I’d like to stress again, like I did with the last one three months ago, that I respect Weezer for trying something different. It’s a cool idea, but outside of the odd mention of autumn, there isn’t much to differentiate this to the previous albums or their other music.

The band had a real opportunity here to go completely out of their box and hop genres to really give a feel of different seasons, making them all sound completely different. I’d have loved it if we got something bordering on Misfits or even Wednesday 13. Instead, outside of the strings on ‘Taste Like Pain’, it’s just another soft rock/pop punk Weezer album. At this point it feels like another failed experiment from Rivers. I’d much rather he take the time to make one good, short album a year or two than pump out multiple sub-par albums a year. 3.5/10, the worst Weezer album I’ve reviewed so far.

The Rasmus: Rise

Joe: The Finnish alt rock band unfortunately didn’t do amazingly well at this year’s Eurovision, despite Jezebel being a bop. The track makes it onto this, the bands 10th studio album. It’s a fairly decent album. There’s nothing bad about it, it’s all inoffensive pop-rock. There’s a decent guitar riff running through ‘Rise’ and the chorus is huge and mega catchy. It’s definitely another highlight of the album. Outside of ‘Written in Blood’ the rest of the seven tracks are on the slower side, but they’re still good. It’ll probably grow on me more with another listen or two, but I feel like this would be better as individual tracks for me, than an album to listen to in full. 6/10

Editors: EBM

Joe: The alt/indie rock Brummies brought us their seventh album on Friday. It’s pretty darn good, too. I thought the band were lighter than this, but this was quite a heavy album for an indie band. It has a fair amount of industrial elements to it that I can get down with. Like a weird middle ground between Genesis and Ministry.

It’s difficult to pick highlight tracks as, to be honest, the songs blended together quite a bit for me. However, as an album as a whole it was enjoyable, and definitely a good one to stick on on a long drive or in the background. 6.5/10

BAND-MAID: Unleash

Joe: The Japanese female hard rock/metal band released their eighth studio album last week, just a year and a half removed from their last release. The band show off their insane talent right from the instrumental opening track, and it only gets more impressive from there. While I have no idea what is being said half of the time, the vocals in ‘Balance’ are almost as impressive as the never-ending stream of fantastic riffs. The chorus is huge and very catchy, and the whole track as a whole is a highlight of the album.

The heavy riffs and female-Japanese vocals will of course draw comparisons to Babymetal, but I would definitely say these are the superior band. While Babymetal come out with some great music and the session players are incredible, the passion for this sort of music from Band-Maid is hard to ignore. They put their all into this music and it shows in their recordings.

The album’s big single, ‘Sense’, is a suitably epic affair, the vocals soaring and being catchy as hell over the top of the heavy riffs and insane lead guitar. It’s another huge plus of the album. The rest of the album is equally great though, and I would recommend any metal fan check this out. Or any musician, for that matter, as the instrumentation is insanely good. This’ll be up there for album of the year, for sure. 8.5/10

Kelsea Ballerini: SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Joe: The first country-pop artist we’ve spotlighted for a little while, Kelsea returns with her fourth album and yet again shows that she is far too successful and talented for someone under 30. To have this many streams over the first weekend of the album being out is insane, and it’s clear that Kelsea is a HUGE name in the genre nowadays.

The album itself definitely leans heavily on both the country and pop elements. It reminds me a lot of Taylor Swift’s Fearless, and I’m glad that after a few albums Kelsea is still keeping the country sound strong, unlike the latter artist. It’s hard to pick a definitive highlight or two as the whole album is pretty similar and all high quality. You’re not going to have a bad time listening to this album, it’s simple, fun and has some pretty good, emotional lyrics tucked away in it.

My only issue is that, for the third straight mainstream country album I’ve checked out on these, it’s far too bloated. I get that more tracks to stream means more money, but 15 track is too long for an album. Especially when I have to listen to it all in one weekend… And also, why is the whole SHOUTING ALBUM AND SONG TITLES thing leaking out of metal into other genres? I confess, I am getting distracted…

8/10 a damn good country pop album.

The Wonder Years: The Hum Goes on Forever

Joe: I’m struggling to find the words to describe how this sounds. It’s like all the edges of pop-punk have been sanded down. It’s smooth, soft. It reminds me a fair bit of Gaslight Anthem, with just a little bit of the attitude of Gerard Way in the vocals.

The biggest single, ‘Oldest Daughter’, was pretty catchy, but outside of the vocals there wasn’t much memorable about it. The same could be said for ‘Low Tide’. That was pretty much the story of the whole album for me, if I’m honest. It’s heavy pop rock with a slight punk twang. None of it is bad, but it was majorly forgettable for me. I know a lot of people love this band, including a few of my friends, and I can definitely understand why. But this album at the very least wasn’t much for me. 4.5/10

Stratovarius: Survive

Joe: My god, the riffs. That, and the guitaring as a whole, was a huge plus on this album for me. Whether it was the punchy, thrashy chugging, the more folk-inspired playing or the insane leads, Matias Kupiainen is clearly a massively underrated guitarist. There’s even a bit of modern edge to his playing, I heard bits of Syn/Zakky from Avenged Sevenfold in parts of the bridges and solos.

I’d have LOVED this as a young teenager, and I’m so mad at myself that this is the first time I’m hearing them. They’re power metal, but also have quite a bit of an Iron Maiden edge to them with the chugging, big riffs and folk tinge.

Check out more power metal here.

As for the songs themselves, they’re fantastic. Check out the first three tracks on the album and try to tell me otherwise. Then there are songs like ‘Frozen in Time’ and ‘Breakaway’ which are two more major highlights on an overall awesome album. If you’re into power metal, NWOBHM or even prog, you’ll love this. 8.5/10

KEN Mode: NULL

Joe: Why the hell did I think this was pop punk? I must have gotten my wires crossed in my research. I was, as you can imagine, VERY confused when messy, experimental hardcore came on in my car on the way to work over the weekend while I prepared to write this up.

In the nicest possible way, I don’t get this at all. Noise rock/metal has never been my sort of thing to begin with, and this album didn’t do much to change my mind. Even the more prog ‘Lost Grip’ lost my interest pretty quick. The vocals are pretty meh and, as I’d stated before, the instrumentation seems messy. If you like it, more power to you, but this isn’t for me. 3/10

The Comet is Coming: Hyper-Dimensional Expansion Beam

Joe: When I read experimental jazz rock I was quite excited to get into it. However, I’m not sure I get it. I’m partial to a good instrumental band or two and these guys are clearly talented musicians. However, I wouldn’t say there is much rock in here, to start with. It sounds more like soft House or Dubstep with some horns over the top. Every time they sound like they are adding some Prodigy-like elements, they slow right down instead of dropping.

It seems more like something God would listen to in the Preacher series. 3/10 I dont get it, I’m sorry.

Venom Inc.: There’s Only Black

Joe: I’m in two minds with this. It’s definitely a good album, but it also feels like a shell of what Venom once was. It’s a mixture between thrash and NWOBHM rather than the massive force of nature that started black metal. The more extreme riffs were fun, but it didn’t still feel much like Venom to me. Tracks like ‘Infinitum’ and ‘Don’t Feed me Your Lies’ are good, but the album as a whole is nothing to write home about, in this humble writer’s opinion. 5/10, distinctly average.

Maddie & Tae: Through the Madness, Vol. 2

Joe: More country pop, this time from a duo and their second release of 2022. And yes, while it’s a point of contention what classes as an EP these days, 8-tracks in my head is an album, so I’m covering it.

It’s a good album. The two Womens’ voices blend together perfectly the harmonies being catchy and a huge highlight of the album. Of course, the big single, ‘Every Night and Every Morning’, is great, as is the closing track. It’s again hard to find talking points for it as, much like Kelsea, the tracks are fairly similar, and all good. It does, however, have the advantage of being 20-minutes and seven tracks shorter than Kelsea’s, which is a definite bonus. Check this out if you’re into country or americana at all, you’re sure to not be disappointed. 8/10, gonna have to check out Vol. 1 now!

Sports Team: Gulp!

Joe: I’ve been waiting for this album for months at this point. It has been pushed back multiple times and I’m shocked it’s finally out.

Needless to say, it doesn’t particularly live up to the hype I have since put on it. It’s nice to hear a bit of good ‘ol English punk again, tinged with alt rock and plenty of Billy Idol inspiration. And, as a whole, it’s not bad by any means. It simply unfortunately suffers from the same issue a few of the albums have this week in that none of the tracks really stand out to me. I’m sure a bigger fan of the genre would love this, but for me I’d have rather just had a straight up punk album. The pop edge to it is what bores me with it, I think. Tracks like ‘The Game’ and ‘Unstuck’ at least stood out to me as highlights just for being the more punk tracks on the album. 5.5/10, not bad but nothing special or ground-breaking.

Razor: Cycle of Contempt

Max: Here’s a band that I have never heard of. Razor have come out with a new album full of aggression and fun. It’s a fairly easy listen but that’s not to say that it is a bad album. Whilst I found a lot of the songs quite similar to each other, especially when it comes to the drums, and there were some very odd vocals most apparent in the fifth track “crossed”, there were other parts that were very enjoyable. The solo’s that occasionally appear and the constant intensity and rhythm throughout is very nice and really kept the energy up in all of the songs, even when there were parts that I didn’t find myself enjoying as much. I would very much like to hear a bit more experimentation from the band and some different drums as I think that is the part that let them down the most. However, overall, I found myself enjoying the album and listened to it a couple of times once I had written my notes on it. Overall, I would say it is a solid 6/10. Areas to improve on but altogether quite good a fun the whole way through.

STRÖM: Self-Titled

Max: This is a hard one for me. I can’t say that I am a massive ACDC fan (that isn’t to say I dislike them, I just have never found it overlapping with any music I have been in to at the time), and this band definitely reminds me of them. Throughout the entire album, their influences remain very, very clear. This is not wholly a bad thing as it is good fun to be reminded of music from when I was younger, especially with the little bits of The Darkness that seems to come creeping through.

However, it is slightly disappointing that a group of very clearly talented musicians didn’t experiment as much as I would have like them to. It felt to me as though some of the most interesting parts of the album came from the songs that felt more organic and original, the song ‘Ta Mig Tillbaks’ especially. With all of this considered though I feel like it would be unfair to give them a low rating for this album as they played everything very well. I would say it’s a 6.5/10 and I really hope that they find their own notch to slip in to with their future work as the talent in this band is brimming at the seams and just seems like it is waiting to get out and do more.

Kaine: After Extinction

Max: Considering the low number of monthly listeners across multiple platforms, it is almost upsetting to hear how good this band is. It is clear that they are working to constantly improve their music but everything that they have is really good fun. There are some solid riffs and the drums are so on point it really shows other bands just how to do it. With all this being said there are points where I feel like there is something missing. This might just be due to the mix of the songs not being the best, but I really wish underneath some of their solos/more melodic riff they can’t have the other guitars and the drum fully going. This is clearly something that they understand as they seemed to fix these issues as I wrote it.

Their song ‘Protesting for Profit’ has some really fun groves that got me hooked on the entire album and I think this is the album that I listened to the most this week. I genuinely can’t wait for them to release more music and I hope they are able to amas a following more befitting of the talent of all of the musicians and the time that clearly goes into their music. I can’t help but give this album a 7.5/10 as the only real downsides are the like of a cohesive sound at some points in the album and the mix not nearly being as good as the music itself.

Kings of Mercia: Self-Titled

Max: First things first, and something not really relevant to the review, I love the album art. However, I can’t quite say I enjoyed the album as much as the art. I found myself trying to blot out the vocals at multiple points as I really didn’t enjoy them. This was quite a let-down as the instruments were all really good fun and when the speed of the vocals picked up again they weren’t too bad.

Unfortunately, a lot of this album was on the slower side in the vocals department. There are a couple of points where the vocals are a bit more aggressive which sounded great so I found myself wondering if they would ever do a super aggressive song. All in all, I can’t find much to say about this album other than the fact it really wasn’t for me. I hope they can release some more music where they experiment with some other styles but until then, I doubt I will find myself listening to them much. 5/10

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new music mondays

New Music Mondays: Ozzy Osbourne, Parkway Drive and More!

Strap yourselves in, ladies and gents, because we have a long one ahead of us. 18, yes 18 albums to check out. And I apologise in advance because half of this more than likely isn’t going to be for you. For all of our fans we have built up over the years there is a fair amount of heavy in here. But for all of the country fans we have started to gain recently, there is a fair bit of that too. Sorry if we scare anyone off with the stark contrasts. But check it out anyway, who knows, you might find your new favourite band! Let’s get into some new music!

Oh, and our newest writer, Max, jumped on to give me a hand again with some of these, so of course give him a hand!

Ozzy Osbourne: Patient Number 9

Ozzy should have called it a day a decade ago. He was struggling a little on Sabbath’s farewell tour but they still went out with a bang. Since then, his health has deteriorated and, let’s be honest, he can’t tour any more.

Having said that, this was better than it had any right to be. I wasn’t into Ordinary Man at all but this makes up for it. I’ve been a big advocate of ‘Patient Number 9’ since its release, it’s one of the best choruses Ozzy’s ever done. The same could be said for ‘One of Those Days’. And, of course, he has a guest guitarist on each track, and he’s selected some of the very best of all time. Between Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Zakk Wylde and Toni Iommi, there is some incredible soloing here.

My only slight negative would be that it’s all a little slow. However, for a 73 year old man, I didn’t really expect him to have the same energy in his tracks as he did 50 years ago. If Ozzy is going to stick to just studio music from now on, this is how to do it! 7.5/10

Parkway Drive: Darker Still

I really wanted to like this. And the weird thing is that sometimes I found myself enjoying it, but then other times it fell beneath expectation. Heck, sometimes both in the same track.

The Australian band continue to let more and more European power metal to seep into their American metalcore, to mixed results. And this isn’t even coming from a jaded old Parkway fan. I didn’t really get into them until IRE. But I LOVED that and Reverence so was excited for this album. I don’t think it lives up to my hype, but that’s not saying it’s bad. It’s certainly odd though.

I’m one of the seemingly few who loved ‘Glitch’ when it was released and I still do now. ‘The Greatest Fear’ is okay too, though it doesn’t go quite hard enough. ‘Darker Still’ however, can get in the bin. The only genuine highlight I’ve found that I’ve listened to multiple times since is ‘Soul Bleach’. Having said that though, the more I listen to that track, the more I love it. It’s heavy and the sound I wish they’d gone for for the whole record. ‘If a God can Bleed’ is weird enough to work and ‘Imperial Heretic’ is okay, but both are pretty average really. The couple of closing tracks are good, too.

As I say, nothing on here is bad at all. Maybe (hopefully) it’ll grow on me with another few listens, but right now I feel like it’s around a 7/10. Not as ground-breaking as I was hoping for.

Flogging Molly: Anthem

The not-so-Irish Irish folk punk band are back with their seventh studio album. That makes me feel old. The whole early 2000s skate-punk scene was a big part of my childhood, and hearing new music from them just makes me smile. How can anyone not like this music? It’s got the very best parts of folk, punk and rock.

There isn’t a bad track on the album. From the raucous opening track to the slower, full-on old folk songs to the fantastic ‘This Road of Mine’, it’s all great! Whether you’re into folk, punk, rock, americana or probably a bunch of other genres too, you’ll find something to enjoy here. This may be their best album since Float, and that’s saying something! 8/10

Highly Suspect: The Midnight Demon Club

I loved the first couple of Highly Suspect albums. Tracks like ‘Lydia’, ‘Bloodfeather’ and ‘My Name is Human’ all felt like they were harkening in the next big, heavy indie band. However, their last album seemed to soil that, at least over here. I wasn’t a big fan and I’ve not really seen them on any line-ups or heard them on the radio much over the last five years.

This album is at least a step in the right direction. None of it is quite as impactful as any of the previous tracks I named, but they’re at least solid, moody radio rock songs. That is, aside for the heavy AF single ‘Pink Lullabye’. It was like listening to a Zeal & Ardor track and I loved it. The rest of it was pretty similar, steady-paced, okayness (with lyrics of questionable quality), but damn is ‘Lullabye’ a tune. 6/10

ONE OK ROCK: Luxury Disease

The Japanese alt rock band returned last week with their tenth studio album. Going into it completely blind, having never heard the band before, I enjoyed it! It’s pretty basic pop rock, but there is nothing offensive or inherently bad about it. It was cool to hear the combination of English and Japanese vocals too, highlighting their own sound and culture as well as the sounds that inspired them. It reminds me of a combination of Panic! and Set it Off, but then with an even poppier ting to it.

‘Neon’ is probably my favourite track on the album, but again there aren’t really bad tracks here. The emotional ‘When They Turn the Lights On’ channelled heavy British vibes, whether it was Muse or Busted or Queen. Also, Teddy Swims sounds great in his guest vocals for ‘Free Them’. There’s a lot of good here if you’re into the lighter stuff. 7/10

Blackment: Plains of Oblivion

We’ve already done a full review of this album. Check it out, along with the fantastic score, here.

Built to Spill: When the Wind Forgets Your Name

Max: The American indie rock band, Built To Spill, is back with another great album. WTWFYN is the 10th album by the band, and it is a perfect addition. If you enjoy slower music its perfect for you as it, as always, focuses around Doug Martsch’s vocals and guitar. I found it difficult to sum up exactly what made this album so good but the simplicity of some for the riffs and the fun but relaxed vocals feel very relaxing. I sat up the other night listening to it and letting all of the instruments just wash over me and tell me everything that they have hidden beneath. It is a beautiful and yet thoughtful listen that can definitely click with everyone so long as it lets you. My rating might be slightly biased as I’ve been looking for an album that makes me feel the same way I did when I first listened to Motion City Soundtracks acoustics song, but it is an almost perfect 9/10 and I hope everyone reading this takes a listen.

Bloodbath: “Survival of the Sickest”

Max: Time for a sharp change of pace. The death metal supergroup is back with another very, very intense album. For those who are unfamiliar this group and has had a wild line up but currently consist of Martin Axenrot (Opeth), Nick Holmes (Paradise Lost), Jonas Renkse (Katatonia) and Anders Nystrom (Katatonia). so, with such a wild line up it is unsurprising that this album is brilliant for most and even better for those who follow black metal. The album is intense and is not always the friendliest of listens but it is a great one and i must say it isn’t a bad or hard place to start for those who don’t listen to black metal. So, if this becomes your entrance album, I do not blame you as it has got me back in to Katatonia and Paradise Lost. As I’ve mentioned this is a fun and intense album that does not disappoint and is great for those who need a heavy dose of music in their system. A very respectable 8/10

Laurence Jones: Destination Unknown

This is an old blues rock fans dream. Between the awesome riffs, powerful vocals and heavy focus on synth, this felt like it was ripped straight from the 70s. The guitar is of course a huge highlight of the album, but that shouldn’t take away from his great vocals and the awesome work of the band behind him. This sound has been coming back more and more in recent times, be it with Rival Sons or in the NWOCR scene, and tracks like ‘Anywhere With Me’, ‘Give Me that Feeling’ and ‘In Too Deep’ look to catapult Laurence pretty high up in that scene. If you’re into the likes of Rainbow, Foghat, Rival Sons or even ZZ Top, check this out, you won’t be disappointed! 7.5/10

BRELAND: Cross Country

Cross Country is the debut studio album of platinum single-selling artist BRELAND. He became big off of said single, ‘My Truck’, in 2020 after it hitting big on social media. This album features guest slots from the likes of Keith Urban, Ingred Andress and Thomas Rhett.

If all of that sounds insane for a 27-year-old musician… well I fucking agree.

The music itself combines R&B, rap and soul to the country sound. It’s basically what everyone wanted Lil Nas X to continue to sound like after ‘Old Town Road’. Now, I completely understand that this isn’t going to be every readers cup of tea. I get that I am in the small part of the Ven diagram that like both this and Bloodbath further up. However, I loved this. Tracks like ‘Praise the Lord’, ‘Natural’, ‘Don’t Look at Me’ and ‘For What it’s Worth’ are all fantastic tracks.

However, it’s not perfect. The album is pretty bloated at 14 tracks and there is a noticeable dip in energy (and arguably quality too) around the middle which it doesn’t really recover from. It verges more into his soul stuff which I’m sure a lot of his fans love, but it’s not as much for me. 6.5/10

Revocation: Netherheaven

Stray From the Path: Euthanasia

This was like Fever 333 on acid, and I loved every second of it. The bounce and swagger of the opening track had me hooked immediately, especially with the fantastic lyrics harshly rapped over the top.

The same energy continued throughout the album, too. It’s dark, heavy and dripping with attitude and anger. Tracks like ‘III’, ‘Bread and Roses’ and ‘The Salt in Your Spit’ are highlights of an album honestly filled with them. In an age where Rage Against the Machine feel corporate, having a younger, angrier, heavier band pick up the flag they dropped feels like a very good thing.

I feel bad for myself that this band have been going for a while now but this is the first I’ve really heard of them. I feel like the rest of my week is going to be checking out their older stuff, because that was fucking fantastic. 9/10

I AM: Eternal Steel

This band are very hard to find online. I don’t think they are the Fre3nch hip hop artist IAM, nor are they ZP (Dragonforce)’s side band I Am I. Therefore, all I can tell you is what I hear.

What I hear is heavy but damn good. ‘The Primal Wave’ opens things on a brutal, fantastic note, and it’s only up and up from there. Tracks like the title song and ‘Queen Incarnate’ are great and make me want to check out more of what the band I have to offer. Hopefully I can find more about them than just their discography and can see if they venture over here for live shows at all. This whole album would be fantastic live. Check it out if you’re into the heavy, almost medieval death metal stuff, you won’t regret it! 7.5/10

Kane Brown: Different Man

Kane Brown is going to become to Georgia what RHCP are to California if he keeps up like this. In all seriousness though, the man who did what BRELAND has just done but a few years earlier is back with his third studio album. After the HUGE sucess of the last one, I’m curious to see if he can keep his momentum going.

Right out of the gate ‘Bury Me in Georgia’ is a fantastic southern rock track. Next up is a dark, brooding roots track with Blake Shelton. But damn, it’s still good. ‘Like I Love Country Music’ channels the best kind of bro-country and adds some rock and fiddle to it. It’s a fantastic run of three tracks to open. It unfortunately again drops in energy a little again after that until ‘the excellent ‘Riot’. At least this one manages to claw back the fun and tempo, unlike BRELAND. The couple of tracks after it, ‘One Mississippi’ and ‘Drunk or Dreamin” are also great. ‘Pop’s Last Name’ is a beautiful, emotional ballad. ‘Devil Don’t Even Bother’ is True Blood style awesomeness.

However, my issue is the same as BRELAND (sorry to keep bringing him up). 17 tracks is simply too long. Is it an issue throughout country as a whole at the minute? Do none of them have producers? I can give four or five tracks that, while not bad by any stretch, I’d have cut to make this an easier, more concise listen. There are maybe 11 tracks on this that are phenomenal, and the rest seem too much as a result. 8.5/10, but it would have gotten a 9 if it was a little shorter.

Eat Your Heart Out: Can’t Stay Forever

Some more pop rock now, this time from Geordie Australia. I have to admit it was pretty enjoyable. I know it’s cliche at this point to compare any pop rock/pop punk with a female vocalist to Paramore, but screw you guys, I’mma do it anyway. They’re like a slightly heavier Paramore. They definitely feel like they are bridging the gap between rock and the weird ‘rock’ that is in pop these days. If you like this sort of music, check out tracks like ‘Down’, ‘Heavenly’ and ‘Sour’. 6.5/10

Until I Wake: Inside My Head

The creepy ‘The Sacrifice’ heading into the harsh vocals and huge riffing of ‘Forsaken’ may be one of my favourite album openings of recent times. For a debut album, too, that is one hell of an achievement. Heck, I would even good as far as to argue that ‘Forsaken’ is one of the best metalcore tracks released in the last nearly decade. That shit goes hard.

It is because of that track that I was surprised and a tad disappointed with the rest of the album. It’s still good, don’t get me wrong, but it feels like a different album to the opener entirely. It’s closer to Sempiternal/That’s the Spirit era Bring Me or even Linkin Park than the Norma Jean style metalcore I was expecting. We finally get some heavy stuff again towards the back end of the album like ‘Still Sinking’ and ‘Blue Beam’. Both are great tracks and I just wish more of the album had this sort of energy. Sprinkling a few in around radio-metal tracks is an odd choice and would definitely scare a casual listener checking them out after hearing their lighter stuff.

But still, the rest of the tracks are still good, just not what I was expecting after the opening. The band do both sides of metalcore very well so if you like the genre you’ll find something to enjoy! 7.5/10

Warforged: The Grove / Sundial

Aside for having some of the best album artwork I’ve ever seen, I actually found this the hardest album for me to review this week. While some of the music and riff are great, it’s the very definition of chaos. The vocals don’t help matters either, being very heavy death metal growls. It’s the least accessible album on this list, and that’s actually saying something this week, but I’m sure the band don’t care. There’s a couple of cool moments, like in ‘Hymn of Broken Teeth’, where multiple screams join together and sound awesome. I’d definitely recommend checking that track out out of any of them, it’s probably the best representation of them as a band. But it was even a little to heavy and chaotic for me. If you enjoy this then awesome, I’m sure its fucking fantastic if you like the genre. But it wasn’t for me, so gets a 4/10

Derek Hoke: Electric Mountain

While some of this was a tad too slow for me, tracks like ‘Let Go of my Heart’, ‘Hush Your Mouth’ and ‘Novocaine’ being particular standouts. It takes a very traditional approach to country music which I can definitely appreciate and would probably love a lot more after seeing it live. I don’t really have many more thoughts about this one, it’s a good, atmospheric album that I feel would make a fantastic soundtrack to a moody movie/tv series. It may take me another couple of listens to fully ‘get’ though. 6.5/10

And there we have it guys. We did it! What a crazy weekend, but there are some insanely good albums here. If you enjoyed the article, check out more from our Instagram here.

Interviews & Features

Kyle Daniel: ‘A winner never quits and a quitter never wins!’

We had the chance to sit down with Kentucky’s own Kyle Daniel to talk about his European tour (including The Long Road Festival), and his music, past and future!

How was the European tour?

Oh man, I’m still on an absolute high from that thing. It was incredible. This time felt like a family reunion of sorts. It was very nice!

The cool thing about this run was all of the different places that we played. We played on a boat, we played the blues garage which felt like we were in Gatlinburg Pigeon Forge Tennessee or something. I love playing clubs, I’ve played clubs my whole life, and a couple of venues in Germany were like that. And then obviously The Long Road Festival (review here) was super cool as well!

What’s the scene like in Europe compared to over there?

I think there’s a different appreciation for music all together. It feels a little hungrier I guess. Maybe it’s the fact that they don’t get to see a bunch of American artists so part of the hunger comes from that. But man, some of the best fans that anybody could as for, definitely. The support from socials to merchandise to streaming songs, the crowd over there is a different beast, for sure.

Your local scene looks to be having a bit of a resurgence too, right? Any other artists you want to shout out?

Yeah! I mean there’s so many that it’s really tough to kinda single anybody out. There’s a lot of groups in and around Kentucky that are making a splash right now. I think it’s really cool. For the longest time I think Kentucky Tennessee people think like ‘do your cousins wear shoes?’ and stuff like that. For the longest time there was a weird stigma about being from Kentucky. I think guys like Tyler Childers and Sturgil Simpson and Chris Stapleton obviously blew the doors wide open for it to be cool to be from Kentucky again. I’m just glad to see some buddies overseas, I got to see Everette while over there and it’s like man, we played in a bar that holds 350 people for years and years called Tidballs in my hometown of Bowling Green, Kentucky. Super proud of them!

How would you describe your sound? What inspirations do you draw from?

I would categorise it as southern rock personally, as that’s what I grew up on. I love The Almond Brothers, Greg Almond is my hero. And obviously the duel guitar leads, that leant itself to [Lynyrd] Skynyrd and Thin Lizzy and The Band, that classic sound that was this Southern thing. Even though The Band weren’t from the south they definitely sounded like a southern band.

I think that was what really initially for me that set the hook. My dad was a big Almond Brothers and Skynyrd fan and Marshal Tucker and Charlie Daniels so you put all that stuff together… I specifically remember I think that all leant itself to my own personal taste when I remember my dad saying ‘Son, this is real music’ and put on The Almond Brothers band. ‘Statesboro Blues’, they counted it off and I will never forget what it sounded like when that slide guitar came in. I was like ‘what is that?’ and my dad was like ‘son, that’s slide guitar, you need to learn how to play that!’.

So that was it. I went from some teenage punk kid that loved what was popular. Ironically early on Green Day was one of my favourite bands. I had a different eclectic taste, I loved a lot of hip-hop and rap. I grew up in the 90s so a lot of that R&B, soul stuff kinda peppered in with the alt rock stuff so it was kind of a jolt to say the least when that kind of stuff was introduced. I was listening to something completely different at the time. It definitely spun me in the right direction!

You put out the Following the Rain EP a couple of months ago. Did you want to talk about it? It seems like quite the journey!

Yeah man. I think this entire record, which will be ‘Kentucky Gold’, is quite the journey. I started writing this probably a year before Covid started and it’s still not out. There’s many reasons for that. The record itself, the songs are very close to me. I think this record as a whole gives a 30,000ft view of who Kyle Daniel is as a writer, as an artist, as a human being. A lot of them are very emotional songs.

I wrote a song for my wife on the record which I had never done before. I wrote a song that touches on dealing with depression and the things that I’d kinda gone through in that time. We did cut the record in the midst of Covid so that was in 2020 I believe. They’re very close to me, they’re very personable. I wrote a song about my old man on the record. I wrote about the state of the Union in some of the stuff. Not politically charged one way or the other, just a hey, this is where we’re at. A sign of the times sort of song. Ironically it still rings true to this day.

I think I tried to give as broad of a perspective of the way that I think, the way that I can feel at times and who I really am. That way people that don’t know who I am maybe get a little better understanding of that.

I can’t imagine you can give much about the dates of the album but is looking like this year?

No, I think it’s probably going to be a next year thing. I waited on it because I couldn’t tour in the midst of Covid so I tried to do what I could to keep the fire burning on socials and just being selective. I felt like what I have in this record is special and I didn’t want to rush it out just to rush it out. I probably could have done that but I’ve spent a small fortune as an unsigned artist on this record so I felt like as a businessman I had to make sound decisions on when and how I release the record.

You know, some things work, some things don’t. I feel like I’m in a really good position at this point and I think it’ll definitely coming out next year. And I think the patience I’ve had will lead to the record being hopefully more successful.

The unsigned artist thing is really taking of recently, it’s easier than ever to get heard.

Yeah it is. For me I know that can be good and bad. Part of the frustration sometimes is not being able to cast a wider net. But you can sit here in your home studio and record a record and put it up on Tunecore just like that. I think it has its pros and its cons. You have the freedom and the creativity to do what you’d like but you can hit a ceiling real fast.

Have you got any advice you could give to an artist just starting out?

Stay after it. I think that’s the number one name of the game here in Nashville and I think maybe anything in life. My old man used to always tell me ‘A winner never quits and a quitter never wins’. That’s a very true statement, I think that only the strong survive. It’s a dog eat dog world. There are 2500 artists in Nashville right now at my level doing what I’m doing. They’d cut my throat to get in front of me any day of the week. I’m not saying that maliciously, but everybody’s serious about what they do. I think if you don’t have an undying hunger for music you should probably try to find something different. It’s a gruelling, long road that artists take.

I’ve been here for 13 years and watched them blow up like a firework but then do just that and be done. Then I’ve also seen people who’ve taken a bit more of the long road approach. Put the time in, played their dues, played the small dirty venues for $25 and they have continued to write, record, tour, just continue to push the ball down the court. Sooner or later that gets recognised.

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