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Reviews

Conceal: An Incredible Debut from Lost to Light!

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Local metalcore upstarts Lost to Light are set to release their debut EP this coming Friday. The band have been gathering a lot of momentum already in the local scene, so I’m excited to check out what they have to offer and hopefully be as blown away as everyone else!

The EP starts as it means to go on; heavy and fast right out of the gate. Immediately I am drawn to Thomas Alfrey’s amazing drumming, but the whole band is incredible immediately. The screams are brutal, and fit the instrumentation perfectly. It’s one hell of a verse, building to a catchy cleaner chorus. The multiple vocals and melody give off big BFMV vibes. And, just as fast as they come in, we get a crushing, awesome second verse. It almost borders more on deathcore with how heavy it gets. The extended chorus and bridge continued the catchiness too, and gave the whole song a real epic feel to it in its closing minute and a half. Everything came together perfectly, and it’s an excellent opening track to set the tone for the EP and the band, for any new listeners!

‘Unrelenting’, as the title suggests, continues the assault of heaviness perfectly. However, the ch0nky riff soon gives way to a more stripped-back, open, synth-backed verse, giving off more BMTH vibes than anything else. The double vocals are present again, and sound fucking awesome! It all builds to another massive, hugely catchy chorus, and maybe my favourite on the EP. The screams come back for the second verse, adding some welcome heaviness back in. Their screams work perfectly together, and honestly sound like some of the best I’ve heard of any metalcore band recently. It’s even more evident too by the amazing bridge/breakdown tucked in the middle, giving us a great blegh! It’s another awesome track, and one that easily makes it onto our playlist!

A dirty, awesome riff opens up ‘Narcissist’, it made even heavier and greater when the rest of the band come in behind it. A heavy, screamed verse and BRUTAL pre lead to another epic, cleaner chorus. It’s a standard metalcore formula done to perfection by Lost to Light, here. This track has a bit more of a modern feel to it, more like The Ghost Inside or Bury Tomorrow, or even The Devil Wears Prada. And we get another amazing breakdown to close things out. It’s another incredible track and another easy highlight of the release!

‘Confess’ is the release’s ballad track, it being a touch slower paced and having all clean vocals. However, it still has some chunky riffing, alongside the catchy clean melodies. Both vocalists do a great job with the track, portraying their emotion perfectly. And it’s a great change of pace and something completely different to the rest of the EP, which keeps things hugely interesting! Then, closing track of the album ‘Comatose’, heads back to the heavy edge of the rest of the EP. It’s riffing and brutal screams galore, and is the perfect way to finish things off; capping things off as they started, and in grandiose fashion! The screamed verses are incredible, and the chorus is another excellently written clean melody. It’s another big highlight on an EP that is honestly all highlights!

Overall: This is amazing. I’ve seen the name around so much recently, but to actually have a collection of songs from the band to check out has really put into perspective the potential of the band. This is an incredible EP, there truly isn’t a bad song on it, and I can see them becoming a huge name in the scene insanely quickly. For anyone into the genre, or just metal in general, I cannot recommend this release enough. I’m going to have to see it live soon too because damn, this would slap live!

The Score: 9/10

Reviews

Everette, Ravenhymn and Colin Stough: EPs Galore!

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Another handful of EPs for y’all on this fine Friday, and all three that we cannot wait to share with you! Let’s dive right in!

Everette: Keys to Kentucky

So, let’s get the obvious out of the way. I love this duo. I did a big reaction video to some of their singles, gave their last EP top marks, and LOVED seeing them live. And I’ve been avoiding the singles from this EP because I wanted to do another reaction, though sadly ran out of time. So, I’m super excited to dive into this and see what it’s like!

Right from the opening moments they had me hooked, and didn’t let me go for the full 19-minutes. All six tracks are amazing, the vocal harmonies between Anthony and Brent being some of the best in the game these days, without question. It is a touch slower and more folk/Americana than their last release, slightly less designed for the radio. However, that isn’t to say it isn’t incredible, with songs like ‘Picnic Table’, ‘Trippin’ and ‘Another Man Down’ being huge highlights. The latter is one of the best closers to a release I’ve heard this year, and truly epic for a country track.

I do have to say I don’t think it’s quite as good as their previous EP. However, that was a hugely tall task, and this is still excellent. It’s a different direction for the band and the more I listen the more I fall in love with it. They deserve to be a massive name, and this EP will surely continue to push them in that direction! They have to come back to the UK, it’s already been too long since I’ve seen them and I’d love to see these all live! 9/10

Ravenhymn: I Saw the Wolf

A real interesting one next, and something a little different for us here. A bagpipe/flute driven medieval band, yet still also with heavy leanings in metal. There’s plenty of great, distorted guitar riffs over the folky wind lead melodies. It’s certainly different and quirky, but is packed full of charm and I couldn’t help but love it. It’s a sound and combination I never thought I’d hear executed like this, but it works very well. I feel like this would be even more live than it is on track, and that’s saying something! ‘Wassail’ was my favourite on the release, but the more I listened the more I enjoyed all of it. It’s a damn solid EP that is over far too quick, I’d LOVE a full album from the band! It’s certainly not going to be for everyone, and the production is a touch in-your-face at times, but if you’re into more of folky, power metal thing, you’re most certainly going to enjoy this! 8/10

Colin Stough: Lookin’ for Home

This is exactly what you’d think of when you think of country music, and it’s excellent. The American Idol alumni has a cracking, low, powerful voice, and some incredible song-writing talent for the genre. Whether it’s the upbeat opener or more darker, slower, emotional tracks like ‘Amen’ or ‘Makes Two of Us’, he does both styles perfectly.

It’s insane how ridiculously talented Colin is at such a young age. Being barely into his 20s and this being his second EP, the sky is honestly the lowest limit the kid has. His voice is incredible, and his songwriting skill is amazing for someone so young. He sings and emotes like someone much older who’s been through so much more. I’m shocked more people aren’t talking about him already, but they certainly will if this EP has anything to say about it. If Promiseland was his debut, this sophomore release is him saying ‘I’m here to stay, and I’m gunning for the top’. All six tracks are amazing, with personal favourite of mine ‘Sober’ even giving me chills. This is certainly an EP worth checking out if you’re a country fan, and I’ll certainly be playing it a lot in the coming weeks and months. 8.5/10

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Cedar Walls & Whiskey: Part Two of Three of Blanco’s EPs!

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Country superstar Blanco Brown is back with the middle of his trilogy of 2024 EPs this coming Friday. We checked out his previous one, Heartache and Lemonade, as part of our EP’s Galore series (find it here). However, with this being this weeks only EP release, and with how much we enjoyed the last one, we wanted to sit down and take it in in full for y’all! I’m excited for this, so let’s dive right in!

Opener ‘Bad Man’ is a lot more R&B inspired and infused than the country-focused first EP. It’s very Shaboozey/Beyonce, which I can’t exactly blame him for as it’s a huge sound at the minute. However, it’s a catchy song, and still has a touch of country in the back with some guitars, in amongst the early 2010’s pop. And the lyrics are pretty great, too!

‘One Day Less’ shifts back to a more country sound, more of a focus on the guitars and even a banjo. It certainly still has elements of pop, the vocal delivery and drum beat giving off similar vibes to the previous song. The chorus is massive and really catchy too, it’s certainly going to be stuck in my head for days to come! It’s a good, simple song, and one that easily makes our playlist!

‘You’re Incredible’ is the closest to a country track on the EP, a beautiful, sentimental almost ballad. The lyrics are very well written and the instrumentation, while simple, compliments them and Blanco’s vocals perfectly. We even get an awesome little guitar solo in the final chorus/outro of this, that really added so much to the song. It’s another simple, pop-country song, but a hugely enjoyable one at that!

The final track of the EP, ‘Snapshot’, feels like more upbeat, despite the still steady tempo. It has a touch more of a blues edge to the country-pop though, which I loved. Whether it’s the strings or easy-listening-style bassline, there is a lot to love about this track, alongside Blanco. Speaking of the man himself, he also wrote another awesome, catchy as hell chorus, and his vocal performance throughout is amazing. It’s a really well constructed song that blends so many awesome genres together, and is easily my favourite track on the EP. The production on the EP as a whole is also great, but really shines through on this song while there’s so much going on! If you check out any song off this release, make it be this one!

Overall: I enjoyed it! I do have to say that I think I preferred the first EP a little more over this one. However, ‘Snapshot’ is probably my favourite track out of the lot of them. And, having listened to them both one after another, I have to say that they fit together surprisingly well! It was a fun, easy listen that I’d have happily taken more of, and I cannot wait for part three later in the summer!

The Score: 7.5/10

Reviews

The Fires Below & Dislimn: EPs Galore!

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A shorter EP roundup this time, with just two releases for tomorrow. However, both are fantastic collections of music, so let’s dive into them!

The Fires Below: Thorns

The sophomoric EP of the UK-based stoner/doom/desert hard rock band follows on rather masterfully from last year’s Masquerade. To the point where, honestly, it feels like a continuation or ‘part 2’. It’s heavy, grungy and yet still has a catchy edge to it that hooks you in almost immediately. It feels like somehow the perfect combination of Candlemass and the heavier end of Queens of the Stone Age’s discography. Songs like ‘No Man’s Land’ and the title track are big highlights. However, if you are a fan of any of the styles of music this band are likened to, you’ll most likely love every track here. I already can’t wait to hear more from the band, and would love to hear how they do with a full album. I also desperately need to hear these songs live! The band feel fresh and interesting, but still have an air of familiarity to them that will do them well in the coming months/years after this release. It gets an 8/10 from me!

DISLIMN: Esmee

The French proggy doom band are set to release their debut EP on Friday. And damn, it’s nothing if not interesting. From the more cleaner, post-grunge opening song, to the heavy, doomy riffing of the latter half of ‘Esmee’s Story’, to the all out heaviness of ‘In My Mind’, it’s a real journey of a listen. Heck, they also throw an insane instrumental in the middle of this in ‘Gullfoss’, some of the best guitar soloing I’ve heard in a long while ripping through it. There is no denying their talent and creativity. The band squeezed so many different styles and influences into such a short release, and kept it constantly interesting. Every track on it is amazing too, with the closing two being maybe my favourites. Heck, the closer is amazing and almost reminds me of a Ward XVI track. It’s certainly not gonna be for everyone, but I really enjoyed it. I cannot wait to hear where they go from here, and really hope we get a full length release in the near future so they can spread their wings from a writing standpoint. For now, it gets an easy 9/10 from us!

Reviews

To Be Continued: Emily Lockett Continues Her Streak of Amazing EPs!

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One of our good friends here at Overtone, UK country star Emily Lockett, is set to release a follow-up to her 2022 EP very soon! Released to coincide with her slot at the awesome Buckle & Boots festival this weekend, a limited run of physical copies are being sold ahead of a digital release in the summer. We had the absolute pleasure of getting a sneak peak at it and, spoiler alert, it’s a bit good! So, join me as I essentially gush over it for a few paragraphs!

Opener ‘Blow Your Mind’ picks up right where her previous EP left off. A short intro leads into an almost pop-leaning verse filled with an electronic beat and Emily’s amazing vocals. I know she sites Taylor Swift as a big inspiration on her, so given Taylor’s recent output, this makes a lot of sense! The acoustic guitar soon comes in in the back to help build up the sound, leading to a great, rather understated chorus. It’s not quite as massive and stadium-filling as I was expecting from Emily’s previous releases, but it does fit in well with the latest sounds in country music. It reminds me a lot of some of the stuff off Tenille Arts’ new album, which is certainly not a bad thing! Either way, the vocal melodies are still awesome and catchy as anything! We even get a fantastic, albeit brief, acoustic guitar solo tucked in the middle here, it fitting the song perfectly. A stripped-bridge and chorus builds up perfectly into the massive final one, concluding the song in amazing fashion. Especially with the guitar stabs as it comes back in and the slight off-beat explosion back in. Everything about this is awesome, and it will certainly make our playlist as soon as it makes it onto streaming platforms!

Next up is ‘Rush Hour Crush’. It opens on a quiet guitar chord progression, the slide in the back immediately giving off more country vibes than the last track. The instrumentation builds up more and more, the low drums and slide building to another catchy, fun chorus. It’s a rather beautiful love (ish) song that I can almost hear massive festival crowds singing along to after just the one listen. I do feel like some backing vocals or harmonies could have been nice, though. I didn’t even notice the strings had come in the back until the bridge, them adding so much fantastic depth to the track! She does the whole ‘dropped down first half of the final chorus’ so well, and this is one of the best examples of the trope I’ve ever heard. I loved this track a lot!

Songs aren’t out yet so have an oldie!

The tone shifts dramatically heading into ‘Your New Blonde’, a wonderfully spiteful breakup song, par for the course with country music, of course! The emotion brims out of Emily’s vocals, the delivery being the perfect mix of both cutting and still sweet. And the instrumentation surprisingly fits it all amazingly. And despite the anger, it’s still a wonderfully catchy chorus, and one that I’m sure will resonate with a lot of people. I also love the half-timed instrumentation for a little bit of the final chorus, it almost giving it an epic feel to it. The subtleties in Emily’s writing are amazing, and I’m sure she doesn’t get the credit she deserves for it, given the style of music. It’s another awesome song!

The final track on the EP is a beautiful, simple ballad. The first verse and chorus is just Emily with her guitar and vocals, the piano and other guitars slowly building in around the minute mark. I love the lack of drums, the guitar providing plenty of rhythm on its own. And somehow the dynamics of the track are so massive despite the lack of instrumentation that it’s arguably the biggest sounding chorus on the release. The lyrics are incredible here too, my favourite on the EP. It’s another incredible song, and the perfect way to end this far-too-short release!

Overall: I loved this. But then again, it’s Emily Lockett, of course I did! She seems incapable of writing a bad song at this point, and her brand of country-pop music is so well done and performed and really ahead of the curve in the UK. She wears her inspirations on her sleeve while writing from the heart, producing something that sounds modern and awesome. I’ve been saying this for a few years at this point, but I do truly think she’s going to be a massive name in the scene, and with releases like this, it’s not hard to see why I think that. It’s added to my collection of all three EPs, and I cannot wait to hear where Emily goes next. An album, maybe…? 🤞

The Score: 8.5/10

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What a Time to be Alive: Debut EP from Revenant!

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The debut EP from Uk-based blues rock outfit Revenant is out this coming Friday. I am not at all familiar with the band, but am always excited for more hard rock/blues music, especially local stuff, so just had to check it out!

‘Coming Back to Life’ opens the EP perfectly, with a heavy blues riff just dripping in swagger. The guitars drop out for the verse, replaced by the powerful, Blackberry Smoke-esque vocals. The bass and drums do a great job of keeping the stomping pace and feel up, and the pre builds to an awesome, catchy chorus. The harmonies on the vocals are awesome and add so much to the sound. We also get an absolutely amazing guitar solo tucked in the middle of the track, reminding me a lot of Slash’s style. It starts off slow and quickens as the instrumentation behind it gets more intense, which I LOVE. It’s an amazing song, and the perfect way to open this EP! It’s a track that easily jumps onto our playlist!

Similar vibes continue through ‘Draw the Lines’, another awesome riff and some great vocals. The verse is a touch heavier, the instruments playing between the vocal lines and sounding awesome. It all builds to another great pre and chorus, it giving off more AC/DC vibes than country at this point, though it does still have that twang. The closest comparison I can think of is actually another UK band, Sons of Liberty. That’s certainly not a bad thing, either! The bridge riff is heavy, simple awesomeness, and another great solo comes in over the top of it. It’s another amazing song!

‘The Healer’ slows things down pretty perfectly. It opens on just a clean guitar and the vocals, sounding awesome. The drums herald the coming of the rest of the instrumentation, it getting more distorted but staying slower and more ballady. And yet we still get another technically and sonically brilliant solo too. The guitaring has been a massive highlight on this EP, and that’s saying a lot given the quality of everything else. The chorus is massive too, something I can easily hear ringing out across huge festival crowds. And the lyrics here are incredible, my favourite on the release. It’s an awesome song, and another that easily makes it onto our playlist!

The heaviness returns with ‘The Masquerade’, an awesome bluesy riff made even better with some great use of the wah. The track follows a similar structure as the opening song, a very radio-friendly writing style that usually produces awesome results, like this! The call-and-response from the backing vocals in the chorus was awesome and will be a lot of fun live. The wah returns for the epic guitar solo, used perfectly enough that it would give Kirk Hammett a hard on. The whole song is awesome though, and yet another that sneaks onto our Spotify!

The closing track, ‘Rolling on my Back’, slows things down again. It opens much the same as ‘The Healer’, the great vocals over a clean guitar, slowly building more and more. This one is much slower build though, not kicking in really until the second chorus. I love the writing to it, the structure making it stand out to the other songs on the EP. And even then, it stays fairly simple and stripped-back all the way through, much more closely resembling an old-school blues track. It’s an interesting way to close the EP too, as usually bands do a big epic finale or an acoustic ballad these days, while this was neither. It’s another perfect representation of what the band is about though, and is another great song!

Overall: This was awesome! All five tracks knocked it out of the park and gave fans and new listeners plenty to love and sink their teeth into. As usual, it simply wasn’t long enough. I’d be curious to see what the band do with an album too, as while they didn’t venture too far away from their core sound with this release, there were certainly flashes of diversity, and I think they could craft something awesome with more time. Still though, that shouldn’t take anything away from this release. I loved every track and will have a lot of it stuck in my head for days to come! If you are in any way a rock fan, check this out!

The Score: 9/10

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Renegade Angel, Once Upon the End and Blanco Brown: EP’s Galore!

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Another entry into our new series sees three awesome, widely different EPs all being released on Friday. From death metal to country, join us as we check out some awesome new music!

Renegade Angel: Jokesters

The Finnish heavy/power metal band are set to follow up 2022’s Dawn of Justice with the release of their second EP on Friday. Samuli Federley once again leads the charge with his insane guitar talents, and is again fronted by Tailgunner vocalist Craig Cairns. At just two original tracks and a cover (as well as two alt versions), it is simply not enough new music from the awesome band! However, there is no denying how good of a release it is. Single ‘Jokesters’ is a fantastic track that feels like the perfect combination of modern technical power metal powerhouse like Dragonforce and Beast in Black. And that chorus, damn, it’s massive and is going to be stuck in my head for the rest of the day, guaranteed. Meanwhile ‘Soldiers of Misfortune’ gives off more of an early Iron Maiden vibe, which I also love just as much! And of course we get an awesome, heavier rendition of Meat Loaf’s anthemic ‘Razor’s Edge’. The duelling vocals on it sound awesome and while covers of Loaf always sound fantastic, the heaviness and epicness added to this one is amazing!

This is essential listening for any fans of metal, power or otherwise. I am desperate to hear more music from the band, and I truly think they’d jump up a few levels if they were to release an album soon. For now though, this EP is great, and has prompted me to go back and check out their older stuff. The band certainly have a new fan in me! 8/10

Find our previous EP review entry here!

Once Upon the End: Archive 200

Some melodeath next from Paris, a city that for some reason I don’t typically associate with heavier metal. However, I certainly will after listening to this; it’s an awesome release! It’s lighter than a lot of it’s counterparts in the genre, but that’s certainly not a bad thing. It shares riff-stylings with metalcore, yet also has plenty of parts where Children of Bodom or In Flames inspiration shines through. Heck, it even has clean vocals, something I wasn’t expecting heading into this but loved; it fit perfectly. Having said that there, there is still plenty of heaviness throughout the EP, and some truly awesome screams.

It’s a collection of four incredible original tracks that seem to draw from all corners of the European metal sound. From the more radio-friendly, NWOBHM inspired opener through the almost black metal-infused ‘We are the Dead’ and to the doom-esque ‘The Old Ones’. All four songs are amazing, and it’s so hard to pick highlights as they are all so different. It’s the band’s first new music in two-and-a-half years since their debut album, and it follows on from that release brilliantly. Spinning the tale of humanities last days, it’s almost a concept EP, and one that I shall be listening to a whole lot moving forwards. It was over far too soon and I cannot wait for another longer release, but damn, this seems certain to push the band as pretty major players in the death metal scene moving forward! 9/10

Blanco Brown: Heartache & Lemonade

Last but certainly not least, we have some country from Grammy nominated vocalist and producer Blanco Brown. I have to admit his was not a name I was familiar with before now but damn, he’s certainly gained at least one new fan from this release. It’s chilled-out, stripped-back country/Americana with enough of a pop hook in the vocals to make it all hugely catchy and will do very well with a wide audience. Speaking of the vocals, Blanco’s impressive range and emotional delivery was certainly the highlight of the whole EP. whether it’s the more simple opener to the more blues rock-oriented ‘Good as it Gets’, his versatility and writing is amazing. And, much like every EP on this article, there really a bad track on it. Each track had enough variation to keep me interested through the short release, and will certainly have me coming back for further listens in the future. Hopefully this is the year we get a new album from him after half a decade, but if not, this is still an incredible listen, and a must for any country fan! 8.5/10

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The Fear: Have Ashen Reach Released the EP of the Year?

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NOWCR’s heavy-end Ashen Reach released their highly anticipated new EP, The Fear, today. I’ve been a fan of the band for a while now, seeing them a couple of times and seeing their name on bills all over the country. They have gotten quite a bit of momentum behind them, and I am certainly not the only one who has been impatiently anticipating this release! Let’s just jump right in, shall we?

‘Ghosts’ opens on a suitably heavy, almost metalcore riff, which is fantastic. I love the new sound growing at the minute that combines the heaviness and riffing of the genre with hard rock. Shadow Smile do the same, and it’s an incredible new sub-genre that I’m so shocked but glad has been adopted into the NWOCR movement for now. It also has a hint of symphonic metal, just a touch of Nightwish in there. And heck, even the symphonic-nu blend of Evanescence! The riffing is awesome, the vocals are powerful and infectiously catchy, and the strings in the back add to a HUGE sound. I love the odd scream that goes on, too. In fact, any time we get the backing vocals, it’s amazing. It’s a fantastic way to open the EP, and an easy track to make our playlist!

Check out a similar review here.

‘D1V1DE’ keeps the heaviness rolling with another awesome riff. Surprisingly though, it drops down into a stripped-back, clean-guitared verse. It almost gave off modern Avenged Sevenfold vibes with its experimental sound and structure. It all still builds to another massive, arena-filling chorus too, which I love. The screams through the second verse heavied it all up massively too, almost sounding extreme metal for a moment. I love the different sounds the band utilise, they really strive to do their own thing, it shows in their writing. It’s another fantastic track that I can’t get enough of!

‘Neophobia’ follows a surprisingly similar structure to the previous track, not that that’s in any way an issue. The duelling clean and harsh vocals in the verses are amazing, definitely metalcore-inspired. The band transition so cleanly from the heavy stuff to the huge, hard rock choruses, showcasing their exceptional talent at songwriting. And their performing is not to be sniffed at either, with the riffing, drumming and all vocals being incredible here. Everyone works their asses off to make this a truly fantastic, interesting song, and another that easily makes it onto our Spotify!

The most recent single, ‘The Dark’ has a bit of a slower pace and feels more like the ballad of the release. Having said that, it essentially has a breakdown for its second verse, the riff and screams being FILTHY and feel ripped straight from I Prevail or Electric Callboy. The slower pace if anything adds to the heaviness of it all, too. And the chorus is SO good. It’s gonna be stuck in me head for the rest of the day, easily. We even get an awesome little guitar solo tucked in the middle, which I love. And the actual breakdown at the end… DAMN. The third song playlisted and damn, it more than deserves it. This was fucking awesome!

And with that, we sadly already reach the final track, ‘Lost’. Honestly, the riff was awesome, having an almost black metal feel to it. However, outside of that, it does fade into the background ever so slightly. It’s still a fantastic track, don’t get me wrong; on any other release it’d be a huge highlight. If anything it just goes as a testament to the insanely high calibre of release this is, that a song this good is more of an overlooked gem. Still, it’s an amazing track and the perfect way to close out a release like this.

Overall: Wow. What a fucking EP! This is how you do a 20-minute release. I sometimes find it hard reviewing these, as they get samey and I get a touch bored. However, this blew me away from start to finish and the words just flowed out of me. I can’t get enough. As much as I love their previous stuff, this is the best music they have put out. It really is incredible, and with it the band seem primed to take a step into the mainstream. I didn’t want it to end, and fully hope we get a full album from the guys sooner rather than later. Every track was awesome and I’ll be listening to it over and over for weeks to come!

The score: 9.5/10

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Animal: A Great Collection of Singles from Dead Reynolds!

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The awesome alt rock/metal band Dead Reynolds have been releasing great singles for a while now, finally bundling up the last five into an EP to show off to the world. I’m not particularly familiar with the band, but I do like the bands they claim to sound like, so am exited to check this out!

After intro ‘Unite’ sets the scene and themes perfectly, as well as building up the soundscape fantastically, ‘Hurricane’ blew me away (pun very much intended). The big riff exploding in with the synth on top created a massive sound. It’s very akin to modern Bring Me or Architects, in all the best ways. The clean vocals and stripped-back instrumentation through the verses makes it a bit lighter, definitely earning its alt moniker and Mallory Knox comparisons. It all builds to an awesome chorus, massive and built for massive stages. And we also get a surprisingly excellent guitar solo tucked in the middle, a rarity in this sort of music. However, it was technically excellent and fit the style of the track perfect. It’s a fantastic album opener that really showcases everything that the band are about in just over three minutes. Great stuff!

Single ‘Fly Away’ has more of a modern pop-punk feel to it, which is pretty awesome! It gives Neck Deep or even our friends over at REDSMITHVII vibes, yet still has that underlying synth that really makes the sound massive. It’s another massive, hugely catchy chorus, too. Meanwhile, a couple of riffs are still chunky enough to keep it sounding heavy overall. The track’s arrangement is a bit more simplistic and radio-friendly, too. There’s less wiggle room for some awesome instrumental parts, but it’s still a fantastic song. That chorus is gonna be stuck in my head for days to come!

Most recent single ‘Animal’ slows things down a tad, the piano intro setting the pace for an almost Linkin Park-like riff and feel. It brings in the punky attitude again with the vocals; it following a similar formula as the opener with the more stripped-back verses building to the massive choruses. I love the lyrics throughout this song too, they’re really well written and the emotion in the delivery fits them perfectly. Oh, and of course it’s catchy yet again. The band write arena anthems for sure. The drop-down to the rapping in the middle was surprising but AWESOME, too. It almost gave off Enter Shikari vibes. I’d love to hear more rapping from them, if I’m honest! It’s another fantastic song overall, and one that easily makes our playlist!

The same structure is followed in ‘Save Me’ and closer ‘Wake Up’. Both are still fantastic tracks, don’t get me wrong. I always find it’s easier to stick to a similar style with an EP, given the smaller length. And the band do a great job at showcasing some incredible tracks here; there isn’t a bad one at all. I just feel like it’s hard to talk about a few tracks that are all fairly similar. That and my tiny attention span makes it harder for me to listen consistently without a change in styles or pace. But they did enough to keep my dumbass brain entertained throughout all five awesome tracks.

Overall: This is a great little EP! Every song packs plenty of punch and is certainly memorable. There isn’t really a highlight too, as they’re all great! If you’re a fan of the genre you should definitely check this out, you won’t be disappointed.

The Score: 8/10

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Valhalla Awaits, Before the Dawn & No Worth of Man: EP’s Galore!

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So, we’re being a little cheeky with this one. While we’d usually try to feature each EP on its own, our current release schedule unfortunately wouldn’t let that happen with all three of these bands. But, between Valhalla Awaits, Before the Dawn and No Worth of Man; we couldn’t just feature one or two of these awesome bands and leave out the others. So, much like our New Music Monday series, I wanted to feature all of them in one place, so you get plenty of great music all at once!

Valhalla Awaits: Perdition

The UK underground supergroup return this Friday with their first EP in a year and a half. The former members of The Blackout, Revoker, Buffalo Summer and Bastard Sons have really captured lightening in a bottle so far with their style and consistent output, and continue their awesome run of form with this release. It’s hard rock with a definite heavy edge, every member bring their own style in together and it merging rather perfectly. There’s a lot of Revoker in the riffing, but the vocals could sit more in the NWOCR end of the spectrum. Then you have the incredible ‘Staring at the Gun’ which is heavily inspired by Alice in Chains in all the best ways.

Honestly, every track has a different sound and feel to it, leading to a fantastically varied, easy listen. And all five tracks are great in their own ways. There isn’t a bad song in the bunch, and any of them could have been picked as the single. It’s very hard to pick highlight tracks, so you’ll just have to go and listen to it from cover-to-cover instead! You certainly won’t be disappointed! I was gutted when Revoker and The Blackout called it a day (and am also gutted while writing this review to find out Buffalo Summer are also done/on break?), but the fact that we get music like this out of those sort of situations makes up for it a fair bit! I’m gonna have to see this band live soon, as this may be my favourite release from them. 9/10

Before the Dawn: Archaic Flame

The melodeath band returned with a vengeance after a decades absence last year with their Stormbringers album. As you can see from our review, I loved it! They look to carry on their momentum with the release of this EP, but will it score higher than the 9/10 it got before?

Sadly, I wouldn’t say it’s quite on the same level. It’s certainly good, at least the two new ones are, but neither of them quite caught my attention or blew my mind like some of their album did. Having said that, their Bryan Adams cover was great and surprisingly fit their style well, and they sound good live with their new version of ‘Dying Sun’. I also feel like the hype for a new EP for it to only consist of two actually new songs is just a tiny bit of a cop-out. It would have been easier to do the title song and ‘Chaos Sequence’ as singles alongside the cover, no? But still, the two aforementioned tracks are good, modern Before the Dawn songs! 7.5/10

No Worth of Man: What’s Your Damage?

The Hampshirean (that’s a word, right?) metal band are finally back with their brand new EP, the much anticipated follow-up to The Middle Farm Experiment. The proggy, death metal style the band produce is amazing, a real blend of their Dimmu Borgir, Lamb of God and Dream Theater influences. They’re very much like a heavier Periphery or TesseracT, and I love it. I need more than the 18-minutes I got from this EP, just as much as I need to see this live.

The three guys are INSANELY talented musicians and songwriters. And that is on display perfectly across the four tracks on this EP. It’s an epic release that could have easily been a full album and I’d have loved it just as much. ‘Mondo Decay’ may be one of my favourite tracks in this style, period. There isn’t a bad track on it, and if you’re into the heavy stuff, you’ll love this! 8/10