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New Music Mondays: Rammstein, Ted Nugent and More!

1st May 2022 Overtone

Another week and some more fantastic new music in the world of rock and metal. From industrial to death to blues, there’s a bit of everything! Check it all out down below!

Rammstein: Zeit

Industrial metal kings Rammstein return with their eighth studio album, and a rather quick successor to 2019s Untitled Album. The band are yet to release a bad album and, to no ones surprise, they keep that record alive with this new music. Whether it is the slow piano build of the title track or the straight up chugging of ‘Giftig’ or ‘OK’. All three tracks are highlights of the album, but honestly there isn’t a bad track on it.

It’s a slower album than I was expecting, though. I do like their mid-tempo stuff a lot, and it has resulted in a much more epic-feeling album, but it’s weird to only have three or four faster tracks on it. I imagine it’s because the band are maturing as songwriters more and more, as the previous album was slower than their early ones too. Also, the final track being ‘Adieu’ and containing various different other ways of saying goodbye, could the band be trying to tell us something…? Either way, a very good album that boarders more on power metal than industrial. 8/10

Ted Nugent: Detroit Muscle

A controversial figure these days due to his political leanings, Ted can at least still write some okay rock music when he wants to. I have to admit this is the first Nugent album I’ve listened to all the way through. I’m British and us over here tend to prefer Canada’s version, Bryan Adams, over Nugent or Bruce Springsteen.

The album’s fun, even if it is full of his usual rhetoric. It annoys me that ‘Come and Take it’ is so catchy, given that it’s very ‘Don’t Tread on Me’. Still, this isn’t the time or place to get political. This is a good blues album full of pretty decent guitar riffs, some catchy choruses and a few fun riffs. ‘American Campfire’ and ‘Alaska’ are definite highlights for me, but the album as a whole is enjoyable to listen to from start to finish. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, and may have to check out some more of his stuff after this. 6.5/10

Watain: The Agony & Ecstasy of Watain

The Swedish black metal band have been going a lot longer than I thought they had been. Now seven albums in their first decade of music is a bit of a mystery to me. Though black metal has never really been on my radar, I did know about these guys due to a fair amount of hype surrounding them around The Wild Hunt, so I have at least checked out some of their stuff. Though this company has definitely opened my eyes more to the heavier side of metal, black metal still seems like an anomaly to me. I get and enjoy death metal a lot now, and even like a fair amount of extreme stuff. black metal simply seems to not have as much going on in it usually and gets a bit monotonous.

However, this album does a good job at trying to bridge the gap, for me. There’s more going on than your typical black metal album; between guitar solos, thrashier guitars and some fun dynamics it definitely has some death and extreme elements. I still wouldn’t go out of my way to listen to it and the whole 50 minutes in one sitting was a bit of a struggle, but I wouldn’t turn any of it off if it came on. I imagine this is very good for fans of the genre, if I enjoyed it. But I can’t give it more than 5.5/10

Paddy and the Rats: From Wasteland to Wonderland

The Hungarian Celtic punk band released their sixth album last week. First of all, it’s a lot of fun. It’s like all of Christopher Bowes’ projects blended together with a hint of Dropkick Murphys and Train. I have to admit it took me a couple of tracks to get into the vocals, and they’re still not quite as folky/piratey for my liking. However, don’t get me wrong, Paddy can definitely sing. Either way, it’s a very fun album, with tracks like ‘Ship Will Sail’, ‘Matadora’ And the album club-pop ‘Party Like a Pirate’. I love that this is the sort of direction this style of music is going, with Alestorm’s ‘Tortuga’ being another fantastic example. It’s all massively catchy album from start to finish and it’s insane that I haven’t heard of them before. Hopefully this pushes them to even greater heights, and they definitely have a new fan in me! 8.5/10

Crashdïet: Automation

The Swedish glam metal band are six albums deep now, and show no signs of slowing down! Automation is a good album BUT I want to review it as a whole, given that I’m a Big fan of the band’s music and we are speaking to them later this month. So keep an eye out on our website and socials as it will be up in the next few days!

Reef: Shoot Me Your Ace

The British pop-rock band get a lot less praise and love than they deserve. There is a lot more to them than ‘Place Your Hands’, with tracks like ‘Naked’ and even newer stuff like ‘How I Got Over’ been criminally underrated songs. Aside from that they are still one of the nest live bands around today, with frontman Gary Stringer always being on top form.

Now that the gushing is out of the way, the band’s sixth album is also very good. From the dirty blues title track through to tracks more like ‘Place…’ like ‘Refugee’ and ‘Wolfman’ there is a lot to love here. It’s a fantastic album full of catchy choruses, sorting vocals and effortlessly fantastic guitar riffs. However, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that it’s another album that doesn’t have a great deal of variety on it. It’s 42-minutes of awesome, fun blues rock so it’s a lot harder to dislike it all being similar, but a ballad or something out there may have been nice in the middle! Still, I ended up saving half of these tracks so any number of them could end up on the playlist! Another fantastic entry from the band! 8/10

FES: With Regards From Home

A band that we are very familiar with, given that it was the first gig we went to as a company. Their debut album was finally released on Friday and we’ve already reviewed it! Check it out here.

If I Die Today: The Abyss In Silence

Firstly, the concept of this album is really cool. Having life, death, the five stages of grief and then Darkness as the track titles is a chilling way to start off the story. The music fits the tone perfectly too, the hardcore metal bordering on blackened death working well. For the most part the tracks fit the titles, too. However, I know that they’re a very heavy band, but a couple of the tracks, such as ‘Life’, ‘Autumn’ and ‘Darkness’, could have maybe done with being a little slower or stripped back to really get the message across. However, the riffs were fantastic throughout and the vocals changed between heavy growls and extreme, hopeless-filled shrieks and made it pretty interesting. The emotion and talent is definitely there and the concept is fantastic, I’m just being picky and again wishing for some more variety. 6.5/10

Dischordia: Triptych

The Oklahoman death metal trio put out their first new album in six years last week. In fitting with the album’s artwork, it’s a trippy, heavy album. Pulling no punches, from the first note of ‘Minds of Dust’ to the closing one of ‘Le Petite Mort’ it is an all out assault. Tracks like ‘Bodies of Ash’ and ‘The Whip’ are personal highlights of an insane bunch. It’s definitely on the heavier side of death metal and will take me a bit of getting used to, but I’m sure after a few more listens I’ll love it. The instrumentation is off the charts, some of the riffs are incredible, and the growls are insanely low. If anyone’s into death metal check this out! 7/10

New Music Mondays

New Music Mondays: Bowling For Soup, Dorothy and More!

25th April 2022 Overtone

After Shinedown also delayed their album thanks to vinyl printing issues, I officially give up saying what is coming out the week later. However, even with that loss, we still have nine great bands who have released new music last week. Check them out below!

Bowling for Soup: Pop Drunk Snot Bread

Everyone’s favourite pop-punk band are back with their follow-up to their 2016 album, Drunk Dynasty. In that time they have suffered their only major line-up change, with long-time friend and tech of the band Rob Felicetti now on full time bas duties. It hasn’t effected the band’s sound or song-writing too much though, as this new music proves!

A lot of people seem to drop off around the time of Great Burrito Extortion Case which is a real shame as the subsequent two albums are up there with their early ones for me. Their last couple weren’t quite as strong, but Pop Drunk feels like the band have gained back some of their confidence and energy again. Whether it’s the fantastic singles ‘I Wanna Be Brad Pitt’ and ‘Getting Old Sucks’ or hilarious, catchy album tracks like ‘The Letter 3’, there’s a lot to love about this album. Even the slower, more emotional ballad ‘The Best we Can’ is great. The only real dud is ‘Alexa Bliss’. I get what they were going for, the attitude and heaviness of a wrestling entrance song for the riff, but it didn’t fit with the rest of the track, or with Jaret’s voice. Still, the strongest album the band have done in a decade and one that should keep them right at the top of the pop-punk world. 8/10

Dorothy: Gifts From the Holy Ghost

The queen of US pop-rock returns with her first album in over four years. As usual her blend of blues-rock swagger and huge, stadium-filling choruses is fantastic. More than ever with this album her and the band remind me of a modern day G’n’R, just with a folky twang. ‘Rest in Peace’ is one of the best tracks I’ve heard so far this year, while tracks like the opener and ‘Made to Die’ are also awesome. But, then again, the whole album is great, there isn’t a noticeable bad track. So, fingers crossed this album finally catapults her at the top of the game, where the she belongs! 8.5/10

Northlane: Obsidian

This has always been the darker, more industrial side of metalcore that I just don’t get. It reminds me a lot of Silent Planet or Bad Omens, dark and gritty but not really what I would associate with metalcore, it lacked the riffs and angst that the likes of Killswitch and BFMV have/had. Tracks like ‘Echo Chamber’ and ‘Plenty’, the lighter ones, are okay. However when they go heavy it just sounds like a sluddgy mess of down-tuned guitars and meh vocvals, losing all personality and feeling. Also, you can hear that Spiritbox is already having on the scene, given that ‘Carbonized”s intro reminds me a lot of ‘Holy Roller’. Nothing on this album stood out to me at all and there is much better metalcore out there. 3/10

Jason Aldean: GEORGIA

A lot of this is slow emo-country. I know a lot of people like this sort of style, heck, the lead single from the album already has 12M+ on Spotify alone. However, I find it hard to get into a while album like this. It simply sounds dull, like he didn’t have fun recording it. For all the crap bands like Florida Georgia Line get for their bro-country tracks, I’d take them having a laugh and joking about tractors over this any day. Not a bad album at all, but a slow, sad, slog to listen to in one sitting. 4/10

Psychedelic Porn Crumpets: Night Gnomes

Firstly, what a name. Secondly, of course they are psych-rock. But, coming from someone who isn’t particularly a fan of the genre, they are good psych-rock. Heavier tracks like ‘Lava Lamp Pisco’ and ‘Acid Dent’ contrast well against the almost post-brit-pop sounds of ‘Dread & Butter’ and the title track. It has a heavy Kasabian vibe to it and, much like them, manages to keep you on your toes throughout the album. Not something I will listen to a lot, but I can definitely appreciate quality when I hear it! 7/10

Ocean Grove: Up in the Air Forever

I don’t know why I had in my head that these guys were pop-punk. I was wrong. This is the most 90s thing I have ever heard come out of a band started this millennium. Wiki defining them as nu-metal doesn’t give them enough credit. There are definite elements of Korn and Limp Bizkit but also some tracks reminded me of Soundgarden, Cane Hill and even Kaiser Chiefs. There is a lot to love about this album, and the blend of all the different styles is really interesting. I struggled to even pick highlights, as it was all pretty good. Check this out! 7.5/10

Stone Broken: REVELATION

The Walsall band have been around for a while now (I should know, I played with them back in the day) but really broke big a few years ago when they hit the states. People have finally started to realise the band sound a fair bit like Nickelback but for the most part the band have gotten ahead of the curve as most of this album doesn’t have that same sound. I have to admit, I think I prefer their older sound. I can’t believe I’m complaining about a band getting heavier, but this reminds me more of Skillet than anything else, and there is enough ‘butt-rock’ in the world still right now (as much as I also love that genre and band).

‘Stronger’ is the best track on the album and it’s more Nicklelback than Nickelback these days. ‘Me Without You’ is also a great ballad. But the opening few tracks, while good in their own right, just don’t do much for me. I’m struggling a lot on what to score this as I know it’ll grow on me more and more throughout the year… 6.5/10… 7/10? You pick!

Bob Vylan: Bob Vylan Presents the Price of Life

I’m going to struggle with this one. Do I ‘get’ it? I have no idea, honestly. It’s drum and bass/house music with some guitars included. Primordial have gone nuts over it so I guess it’s rock music? The music itself is fine, tolerable albeit basic. I’m on the fence with the lyrics. Some of it is very well founded, anti-establishment and some good feeling behind it. But then there’s Spongebob references and some pretty bad rhymes. Tracks like ‘Pretty Songs’ and ‘He Sold Guns’ are the best of a confusing album. I just don’t think I like the modern style of ‘rapping’, it doesn’t have the same effect on me that Eminem or NWA had. I really hope it grows on me, much like The Skints did, but right now this isn’t good to me. 3.5/10

Extinction In Progress: Shades of Pale

You know the drill. I reviewed the album just before its release. Check it out from our social media, the review tab or the link here.

And that’s all folks! Check out more of these from our site here. And tune in next week for more awesome music!

New Music Mondays

New Music Mondays: Monuments, Cancer Bats and More!

18th April 2022 Overtone

So, after the delay of the new Fozzy album to May 6th, there isn’t a massive amount of new music for us to cover this week. However, there is still enough good stuff released that we are excited about, so join us in checking it all out below!

Monuments: In Stasis

The British prog metal band returned with their fourth album this week, continuing their impressive, underrated discography. From the opening note to the closing one this is a perfect example of how to do modern prog metal right. It obviously gives off heavy Periphery vibes, but I actually found myself enjoying this more than any of their stuff, I have to admit. Also four of the tracks feature awesome guest appearances, with the best being from Doom-master Mick Gordon himself. It’s a heavy, catchy album full of crazy riffs, heavy screams and catchy choruses, and I loved every minute. 8.5/10

Cancer Bats: Psychic Jailbreak

A band who seemed to be poised to be the next big things when I was first getting into the scene properly, Cancer Bats have sadly dropped off a fair amount in recent years, with me not even knowing this was being released until the time of writing! However, I’m still a big fan of Hail Destroyer and Bears, Mayors…, so I’m excited to check this out!

The first thing I noticed is that Liam sounds a fair bit different to what he used to. I had to Google to make sure it was still him. It sounds more like Rob Zombie. Doing his scream for nearly 20 years would be almost impossible, though, so I get why he changed it. It honestly makes them sound like a completely different band, and I was struggling to get into it because of it. Tracks like the title one and ‘Crocodiles’ were good, but it’s not like they have anything on ‘Hail Destroyer’ or ‘Sleep This Away’. Not bad overall, but completely different to what I was expecting. 6/10

Kurt Vile: (Watch My Moves)

The former War on Drugs guitarist released his whopping 9th studio album in only 14 years on Friday. I have to admit, a lot of it is a little too slow and Lou Reed for me. Don’t get me wrong, some of the tracks aren’t bad and I don’t mind the soft rock/indie/country style of it. But it’s an hour and a quarter of the same thing over and over. It’s good background music for sure, but I got five tracks in before I started getting pretty bored. 3/10

Alunah: Strange Machine

Brummy stoner rockers released their new album last Friday. I have to say, it’s an awful lot of fun. Reminding me of a female-fronted The Sword, of course with a healthy dose of Sabbath mixed in for good measure, it’s a sound there isn’t enough of these days. Tracks like the title one, ‘The Earth Spins’ and ‘Fade Into Fantasy’ are all excellent and show off the bands range well. I can’t complain at all about this album, 42-minutes of awesome rock music. Check it out! 8/10

Greyhaven: This Bright and Beautiful World

A band that I have heard the name of but unfortunately not had the chance to check out until this point. I definitely regret that after hearing this album. From the heavy opening track through slower tracks like ‘All Candy’ through to the epic conclusion with ‘Ornaments From the Well’, it’s a journey through and through. And I always find myself admiring bands that can do the whole prog thing while keeping the tracks under 5-minutes. This won’t be for everyone as it is definitely heavy, but it reminds me a bit of the Zeal & Ardor album in its experimentation and blend of styles. These guys should be massive if their other stuff is this good, and they have a new fan in me! 8/10

Nazareth: Surviving The Law

The 24th (wow!) studio album from the Scottish rock band is pretty damn good. Over half a century after their debut album the band return with a surprising amount of energy and motivation. ‘Strange Days’ sounds like a NWOCR anthem that easily could have come from the likes of Dead Daisies or Inglorious. ‘Runaway’ is also a massive highlight of the album for me. For a band that I really only knew the slower, ballady stuff of their early days from, they really impressed me here. A fun album that I’d love to hear live! 8/10

Darkher: The Buried Storm

I didn’t quite get this. It was an entire album of build-up, but the crescendo never came. The folk-doom sound overall was awesome, but it never dropping into anything really hurt it. It felt like that point in a movie when you have just reached the end of the second act and it feels all is lost before the big character evolution happens. Like it is definitely a good thing to be compared to cinematic soundtracks, but if it doesn’t go anywhere it’s not going to work. It’s 40+ minutes of piano, (admittedly beautiful) operatic vocals and slow guitars and drums if they ever come in at all. 2/10

Analepsy: Quiescence

Great instrumentation, terrible vocals. I never understood the appeal off a voice that sounded like it had been recorded through a muddy puddle, and it unfortunately didn’t change with this album. I’m becoming quite the fan of death metal through this company, but I just couldn’t get past the voice. Controversial opinion I imagine, but it reminds me of Cannibal Corpse pre-Corpsegrinder, just a little meh. 3/10

A Wilhelm Scream: Lose Your Delusion

I’m not sure how to feel about this. It’s pop-punk (maybe?), a genre I usually love. And it sounded like a mixture of two of the favourite bands of my early childhood, Blink 182 and Busted, but with a hardcore edge to it. However, something about this just didn’t quite click with me. None of it is bad by any stretch, but none of it is really that standout or great. It’s a combination of a lot of different styles that I love, but it seems a tad unsure about its actual identity. For a band seven albums into their career, it seems odd to have an album so messy. 4/10

Another week down! Tune in to our Facebook here next week for more content, including radio-rock titans Shinedown!

New Music Mondays

New Music Mondays: Papa Roach, Jack White and More!

10th April 2022 Overtone

A slightly nicer week this week (for me, at least), with only six albums being released. And as always with new music Mondays join us as we go through them and tell you how great we think they are!

Papa Roach: Ego Trip

The singles from this album have had me both hyped for and dreading the release of the nu-metal legends’ 11th album. After hearing it, I was right to be apprehensive. This wasn’t great.

Now, I do have to admit, I haven’t been a fan of this band much past 2004s Getting Away With Murder, but I have liked the odd song here and there. It was pretty much the same feeling with this entire album. The opener, ‘Kill the Noise’, is classic Papa Roach and is awesome. Then you have tracks like ‘Unglued’ and ‘Cut the Line’ that are also great. But then a fair few of the songs sound like they are trying to be something they are not, taking style and sound from other bands. ‘Stand Up’ and ‘Bloodline’ sound like they are trying to capitalise on the recent popularity of rap-rock/metal artists like FEVER 333 and Ghostmane, while the vocal melody in ‘Liar’ feels ripped straight from Panic! At The Disco or Ice Nine Kills. And don’t even get me started on Swerve. I have been vocal in my dislike of the track since it’s release and I do believe it is the worst thing Jason Aalon Butler has ever been a part of.

So, overall not too impressed, I must say. 4/10

Jack White: Fear of the Dawn

The former half of White Stripes’ fourth solo album and first of two this year was released last week. It’s just as weird and fun as you would imagine it being. ‘Taking Me Back’ and ‘What’s The Trick?’ take me back to the good old White Stripes days while tracks like the title one are surprisingly heavy. It’s not all amazing, but it sure is all interesting. White has always been a fun, underrated songwriter, and that is on full display here. The album will definitely make it into my rotation for the next couple of weeks! 7/10

Cole Swindell: Stereotype

Country finally returns to Overtone with Cole Swindell’s fourth album. It’s definitely on the slower, not-rock side of country music, but there is enough good stuff here for it to be enjoyable. His duet with Lainey Wilson is fantastic and ‘Down to the Bar’ is good fun. Unfortunately the tracks with guests are by far the best tracks on the album. The rest isn’t bad, don’t get me wrong, but it’s all rather slow and… well… serious. I’m not after a comedy album or anything but at least give me something that sounds like you enjoyed writing and recording it, Cole. It was good but a depressing, kinda boring slog of an album. 5/10

Destruction: Diabolical

One of the ‘big 4’ of Germany, Destruction just released their whopping 15th studio album. Now, I’m a pretty big fan of thrash, but I do admit there is a large gap in my knowledge when it comes to Germany. I know Kreator, and that’s about it. Clearly I am going to have to change that, because this was awesome! You can tell they are a band that have been doing this for a while, everything is so polished and crisp, even for a thrash album. ‘No Faith in Humanity’, ‘Hope Dies Last’ and ‘Ghost From the Past’ are all massive highlights. My only slight issue is the same one I have with most thrash albums these days: it’s 13 tracks of straight thrash. The reason I like Metallica and Megadeth as much is because they would mix up the tempos and arrangements and keep the album interesting. 90% of thrash bands however, including Destruction apparently, just go hard from start to finish. It’s good, but took a little too long for me. 7.5/10

Short Stack: Maybe There’s No Heaven

The Aussie pop-punk rockers returned with their fourth album this last week. It has a very modern sound to it, combining pretty apparent influences from Linkin Park into the typical punk sound, while still having some harsh vocals thrown in for good measure. But, having said that, there are still traditionally pop-punk tracks too, like ‘Armageddon’ and ‘Sunshine’. Both styles are pretty great. The whole album is a damn strong offering and quite easily the best, most enjoyable album I’ve listened to this week. The band have a new fan in me, I shall definitely be checking out their old stuff! 8.5/10

If you like pop punk, check out this review!

Incite: Wake up Dead

The groove/thrash/hardcore metallers rose to fame quite early on as frontman Richie is the step-son of metal legend Max Cavalera. Now on their sixth studio album, though, the band have carved out their own path thanks to their awesome writing and musicianship.

All of that is on full display here. The album goes hard from start to finish with fantastic, heavy riff after riff. The vocals keep up with it too, delivering an onslaught of harshness and fantastic lyrics. Tracks like ‘Deadbeat’, ‘Built to Destroy’ and the family reunion track ‘War Soup’ are all massive highlights and all make the playlist. If you’re into you’re heavy, faster music give this a listen, you won’t be disappointed! 8/10

Some good stuff this week, though a little disappointed by the bigger names, surprisingly. Join us as always next week for the eventual release of Fozzy’s new album! Find it from our Facebook when it’s out from our link here.

New Music Mondays

New Music Mondays: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Meshuggah and More!

4th April 2022 Overtone

Another big week for new music in rock and metal, both for younger bands and older ones. 11 albums in total, so let’s not waste time, here they are!

Red Hot Chili Peppers: Unlimited Love

I’m just going to leave a link to my full review of the album here. I hated that I wasn’t a big fan of it , and given that it’s had mixed (at best) reviews, at least I’m not alone. But hell, I don’t want to talk about this album any more, I want something funner. Find the score from the link, but it was not great.

Meshuggah: Immutable

The extreme-prog metal band have been on the roll of their careers the last 15 years or so. Despite forming way back in the late 80s, it wasn’t until 2008s ObZen when it felt like the band truly hit their stride commercially and artistically. The two albums that followed that were also amazing. Does this one live up to them?

After a slow start, we reach the single ‘The Abysmal Eye’ and the album takes off into a gear only few can hit. It’s heavy and crazy proggy while somehow still maintaining an almost Mushroomhead-like catchiness to it all vocally. It’s a good album, but I do have to admit it does get a little repetitive at times. Don’t get me wrong, it was nice to have a reprieve from the brutality momentarily thanks to ‘They Move Below’ (what a track, by the way), but otherwise it’s pretty full on. Still, I cannot complain about having too much of a good thing really, can I? If you are a fan of Machine Head, Parkway Drive, or just general industrial, prog or extreme metal at all, check this out! 9/10

Islander: It’s Not Easy Being Human

The South Carolina alt-metal band has a lot of guests on it. Eight of the 17 tracks on the album has a guest vocalist or band member be a part of it. I’m not sure if that’s cool or overkill or feels cheep and like they couldn’t write a full album by themselves. Especially since tracks like ‘Evil’ and ‘The Outsider’ are just the band on their own and are both awesome tracks. Having said that though, some of the tracks with guests are also fantastic. In particular, ‘Skin Crawl’ with members of Korn, Zao and Living Sacrifice. It somehow sounds like a mixture of all four bands, blending the styles perfectly. The album as a whole is a diverse blend of styles, a melting pot of the early 2000s metal scene, from Linkin Park to Machine Head to Papa Roach to Korn. I love the whole scene they are going for, so the band have definitely gained a new fan in me! It’s maybe a tad bloated at 17 tracks, but it’s worth a listen from front to back, for sure! 8.5/10

Nekrogoblikon: The Fundamental Slimes and Humours

And now it’s time for a band that I don’t really get. I’ve always seen it as a gimmick that’s fun at first but the appeal never lasted too long. After this new album, I still don’t think I get it. I enjoyed it more than everything else I have heard from the band (which admittedly isn’t a lot), but I still don’t think I liked it. There’s some fun, catchy vocal lines and keyboard melodies, and the vocalist that sounds like he’s trying to be Axl Rose has a good voice. If it was just him and the carnival-style metal instrumentation behind it I could at a push enjoy it. But switching between that and the growling goblin and the sheer mess of songwriting each track is, I found myself getting lost and bored easily. ‘This is It’ is kind of a bop, though. I get that a lot of people like it and they aren’t the most serious of bands so maybe I’d appreciate it more live. But for now, 4/10

PUP: THE UNRAVELLING OF PUPTHEBAND

Pathetic Use of Potential, the band, are a fantastic Canadian punk band. Another band I hadn’t even heard of before I’d started doing this NMM, I’m disappointed that I hadn’t found them sooner. This album is amazing. It’s so refreshing to hear bands actually having fun with their music these days, especially when talking about some pretty deep subject matter at times. All of the ‘Four Chords’ parts are hilarious and tracks like ‘Totally Fine’, ‘Robot Writes a Love Song’ and ‘PUPTHEBAND Inc. Is Filing for Bankruptcy’ are all amazing. They can get pretty heavy at times, almost feeling like a punk version of early Biffy. And it all fits so well with the concept of the album. There isn’t a bad track on here and I’ll definitely be listening to it a lot over the coming months! 8.5/10

Wolf: Shadowland

The Swedish heavy metal band have worked hard since forming in ’95, on their 9th album since the turn of the millennium. Shadowland is exactly what you would expect out of a band heavily inspired by NWOBHM in 2022. It’s a good, fun rock album, but it doesn’t bring anything new to the sub-genre that arguably peaked nearly half a century ago. All the band members are immensely talented at music and songwriting, and tracks like ‘Dust’ and ‘Seek the Silence’ are definite highlights. I simply feel that after so much from Saxon and Priest and Accept over the years that new music like this isn’t too interesting to me. But as I said, I did enjoy the album, and I feel like I would love it live! 5.5/10

Crows: Beware Believers

The sophomore album of fast-rising indie-punk band Crows feels like a big deal for them. Having toured with the likes of Wolf Alice and IDLES before and their first album being well received, this second seemed a little make or break. While I’m not really down with the whole indie scene, it definitely feels like it’s a big deal album for the scene. It’s pretty heavy and dirty, almost transcending the typical genre restraints. It definitely meant I enjoyed it more! The singles from the album are definite highlights, but I managed to listen through this whole thing without getting bored, which is rare for me! 5/10

Carpenter Brut: Leather Terror

I had never heard darksynth before today but came across this album when I was doing my research for this article. It’s pretty fucking heavy. Like, surprisingly so. And I kinda love it. Whenever the guest vocalists come in it feels like it takes away the heaviness a little, but it only drops down to around a BMTH level. If you are into industrial or techno influenced music or not I’d recommend checking this out anyway, it’s a completely different approach to heavy music and is interesting if nothing else. However, I found it damn enjoyable, with highlights including ‘Straight Outta Hell’ and ‘Night Prowler’. 7/10

Satan: Earth Infernal

The Geordie heavy metal band were around during the first surge of NWOBHM and have been on and off again ever since. Their fourth album since their 2011 reunion, Earth Infernal continues the band’s legacy pretty well. Some tracks, like ‘Twelve Infernal Lords’ and ‘Poison Elegy’ were enjoyable and highlights, but as I stated when it came to Wolf, I’ve simply gotten a tad bored of NWOBHM recently. At least new tracks in it, anyway. It’s not a bad album and it’s not like I’d skip a track if it came on or anything, it’s just not something I’d go out of my way to listen to. 5.5/10

Evil Invaders: Shattering Reflection

And finally we end this week on some thrash/heavy metal. The Belgian band have been around since 2007 but this third album may be their best yet. The riffs are fantastic, the vocals powerful, high and impressive and the song writing top notch. ‘In Deepest Black’ is one of the best ballads I’ve heard this year and ‘Eternal Darkness’ is a masterclass in old-school thrash metal the kind I haven’t heard in a long time. It reminds me a lot of Judas Priest’s Painkiller album, and it’s right up my street! Check this out! 8/10

And there we have it! What a week for metal music! As usual join us again next week, this time for nu-metal legends Papa Roach!

New Music Mondays

New Music Mondays: Dream Widow, Machine Gun Kelly and Much more!

28th March 2022 Overtone

What can I even say this week? After the devastating news that rocked the entire music world over the weekend, it’s hard to tear my ears away from Foo Fighters. However, a lot of potentially great music came out last Friday, and one of them is very fitting, which you are about to read. Join me as we take a look at this week in music.

Also, as a little P.S. 13 albums came out last week, this is gonna be a long one.

Dream Widow: Self-Titled

Yes, let’s get the tough one out of the way first. The Foo Fighters’ alter ego metal band created for their very own movie, Studio 666, was released just the day before the tragic, untimely passing of their drummer Taylor Hawkins. While the immediate future of Dave Grohl and co. is up in the air, this album and Studio 666 is one hell of a statement to leave behind for a while.

First things first to get the obvious out of the way, Dave Grohl can scream damn well. It is not at all fair how damn talented that man is at everything. However, that’s not to take away from the rest of the band, this is a damn good extreme metal band. From the balls-to-the-wall opener through the massively catchy doom metal of ‘Cold’ to the albums single, it’s one of the strongest opening three tracks of any album this year. All three made the playlist, as did the suitably epic ‘Becoming’. It’s hard not to separate the situation from the music, but even if Taylor was still with us this would still be an incredible album and brings a lot of mainstream eyes on an otherwise sheltered sub-genre. All of it combined, how can I not give it 10/10?

Machine Gun Kelly: Mainstream Sellout

Apologies in advance for even mentioning the man. However, whether we all like it or not, he is somehow classed as ‘rock’ music these days, and we are a rock publication, so unfortunately I’m gonna have to listen to it. I listened to his last album, Tickets to my Downfall, and believe I scored it around a 6. Let’s see if this one lives up to the ‘hype’ surrounding him.

It doesn’t. That was a TERRIBLE listen. I was already over it by the second track, but being the consummate professional I am, I gritted my teeth and bared it. It was the longest 40 minutes of my life. I don’t know what I hate more, his awful, not-even-autotune-could-save vocals or his angsty 12-year-old lyrics. Oh, or maybe it was how all the guest acts are somehow JUST AS BAD AS HE IS. Or maybe it’s this faux-rockstar persona he has decided to adopt, seemingly being proud to be a drug addict and suicidal, instead of putting any emotion or message behind his words. Heck, he couldn’t even have some attitude when he was calling out the people who shat on his last album. His autotune probably wouldn’t allow it. This experimentation into ‘pop-punk’ (it’s still just pop music) needs to end, it’s not good. Can someone write a rock diss track about him already and run him out of the genre like Eminem did with his rap career? 1/10

Placebo: Never Let Me Go

A band that I can safely say I used to be a fan of but haven’t really gotten into their stuff since 2006’s Meds. However, I have heard a single or two from this album on the radio and it’s sounding good, I’m more excited than I have been about their last two albums.

I have to admit, the singles were definitely the big highlights of the album. ‘Surrounded by Spies’ is my favourite track by the band since ‘Meds’ and the likes of ‘Beautiful James’ and even ‘Sad White Reggae’ are all awesome. However, not all of the album is quite as strong. The opener fell a little flat, as did tracks like ‘Hugz’ and ‘Twin Demons’. It’s still better than anything they have put out in a while, but at nearly an hour it may be just a tad bloated. Still, I enjoyed it a lot! 7/10

Animals as Leaders: Parrhesia

Instrumental djent pioneers Animals as Leaders dropped their much anticipated fifth album on Friday. The three once again prove why they are up there with some of the best musicians around today, in any genre. Heck, the opening track alone should prove that, from Matt’s insane drum playing to some truly inspired guitar work and THAT bass part, the band show why they get so much praise. And that’s just the first five minutes. Then you have the two huge singles in ‘Monomyth’ and ‘The Problem of Other Minds’ which are both equally brilliant. Oh, and the other six tracks are pretty great too! As usual, if you struggle with instrumental music you’ll probably still find this a tough 35 minutes, but it’s a solid album that’s well worth checking out even a bit of. 7.5/10

Check out our Amped review here.

Reckless Love: Turborider

The Finnish Glam rockers returned to the studio after six years away from it and, just like their last album, their sound has evolved somewhat again. I have to admit, I kept wanting to call this Turbo Lover instead of Turborider; the band seem to have adopted elements of Judas Priest’s Turbo and Painkiller albums into their own sound. It’s heavier and more electro-pop, but still keeps the underlying elements of glam that brought them to the dance with their first few albums.

Honestly, I’m not sure how convinced I am by the change in sound. Don’t get me wrong, I love the heavier tracks like the title track and the old-school-glam of ”89 Sparkle’, but some of the rest feels like the bands attempt to capitalise on the somehow still rolling wave of 80s nostalgia. They don’t capitalise quite as well as the likes of Stranger Things or The Weeknd, and it somehow comes across as less genuine than playing straight up 80s glam. They will always have a hard task beating Spirit, and while this was overall enjoyable, they didn’t with this one. 6/10

COIN: Uncanny Valley

American pop-rock band COIN returned with their fourth album over the weekend. It’s definitely on the lighter end of rock music, but stuff like ‘Chapstick’ and ‘Cutie’. Unfortunately, the rest was all painfully slow and samey, boring me pretty quick. It’s not my sort of thing at all, but if you enjoyed it more power to you! 3/10

Abbath: Dread Reaver

Don’t worry guys, Abbath is here to bring some metal back to the proceedings. The former Immortal front-man returned with his third studio album, and it’s just as dark and black metal as all the rest of his stuff. If anyone is familiar with any of his stuff then you know exactly what to expect here, and it’s good. I do still feel like once you’ve listened to one black metal album you’re pretty familiar with it all, it’s still the one sub-genre of metal I don’t quite ‘get’, but it’s still an okay listen all the same! Highlights include ‘Scarred Core’ and ‘Septentrion’. Also a shout-out to their ‘Trapped Under Ice’ cover, it’s heavier than the original and I think it does it some favours! 6/10

Hardcore Superstar: Abrakadabra

Swedish hard rock band Hardcore Superstar have been around a lot longer than most realise, with Adbrakadabra being the bands 12th studio album. I’ve been a fan since their self-titled album, and honestly this one is fairly close in terms of quality. Tracks like ‘Influencer’, ‘Weep When I Die’ and ‘Give me a Smile’ all sound fantastic, like they were written by a band comfortable and proud of their sound. Plus, single ‘Catch Me If You Can’ is one of the best songs they’ve ever written, in my opinion. Great stuff from one of the most underappreciated bands of the last decade. 8/10

Falls of Rauros: Key to a Vanishing Future

Time for some more black metal, this time with some slight folk influence. I hadn’t even heard of the band before this article but already appreciate the LOTR reference. Like I said previously, it’s still black metal, so not a massive amount stands out from me compared to the Abbath album earlier. Don’t get me wrong, the atmosphere is a little different, it feels a tad more epic and open, more room to breathe. But musically it is a lot of the same elements and tropes and generally they don’t interest me as much as other sub-genres. Please don’t hate me in the comments. But, having said that, it was still a decent album. 5/10

Ignite: Self-Titled

The melodic hardcore band bring some much needed punk to NMM, as no enough punk bands put stuff out regularly any more. I’ve been a fan of this band for a few years now, ever since Spotify recommended the Our Darkest Days album. They always reminded me of a heavier Anti-Flag, which is high praise as they are one of my favourite bands. And, honestly, this album is up there with some of the best either band have produced. It’s heavy, catchy, punk AF and honestly has a great anti-establishment message behind it that music is definitely lacking in these days. I’m struggling to even pick highlights out of it, it’s all that good. Check out the playlist for the very best of the tracks, but honestly I could have put the whole album on there. 9/10

Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard: The Harvest

The Welsh prog-doomers are back with a follow-up to 2019s Yn Oi I Annwn. I actually reviewed it back in 2020, giving it an 8/10 I believe. They are a great band and let’s see if this one measure up to their last!

It’s just as epic and ethereal as the previous album, something I loved back then. Everything is given such room to breathe, getting the most out of every section and riff. Between that and the multiple interlude tracks between songs that tie everything together in a nice little spacy bow, this is definitely an album to listen to all the way through in one. Chuck this on and lay back in a dark room, maybe with some questionable substances in your system, and just enjoy. But, if you don’t have that much spare time or acid, holy crap is ‘Logic Bomb’ amazing. It’s another home-run form yet another band that don’t get the credit they deserve. It’s another 8/10.

Light Beneath: Self-Titled

And finally we reach the debut album of Finnish post-metal band Light Beneath. It’s heavy, I’ll give them that. However, it’s in the slower, more open stuff that I find myself enjoying it more. The intro to ‘Sirens’ is beautiful, and the way the it all fits together is so Tool it’s insane. In fact, said track is my favourite on the album, it’s sludgy and heavy and builds perfectly through the screaming and drums. The other tracks are good, but they don’t have quite as fun or memorable a structure as ‘Sirens’. Overall, though, a solid debut! 7/10

And there we have it, a MASSIVE week in rock and metal music, with some fantastic albums out, albeit amongst some not so great ones. Stay tuned for next week: Red Hot Chili Peppers! Keep an eye out on our socials here for it!

New Music Mondays

New Music Mondays: Feeder, Cypress Hill and More!

20th March 2022 Overtone

Welcome back to New Music Mondays, where we go over all of the new releases from the world of rock. Another eight albums or us this week, so let’s check them out!

Feeder: Torpedo

Feeder were a band similar to The Darkness, exploding onto the scene in the early 2000s and capitalising on the mainstreams last few years of true love for rock music. Heck, they headlined Download Festival, for crying out loud. That’s big. Then, as quickly as they arrived, they seemed to disappear again. However, I can safely tell you that not only have they continued to make music, but it has been consistently pretty good.

Torpedo is no different. Tracks like ‘The Healing’ channel the bands inner Foo Fighters while the title track and ‘Magpie’ have a heaviness to them that I often forget that I oft forget they have. It’s a solid album all round, both from a heavier and lighter perspective. It shows that the band should never have dropped back down the pecking order, as this is one of the strongest overall albums of the year so far. Something I was not expecting to say today! 8/10

Cypress Hill: Back in Black

While technically not ‘rock’ by any means, Cypress Hill have always been in that scene, even before B-Real joined Prophets of Rage. However, this is by far the least rock I have heard them. I*t’s a straight up elate 90s rap record, tired themes and all. I’m a pretty big fan of that era of rap, and this band, but it was pretty underwhelming. 3/10

Sonic Youth: In/Out/In

If you thought the album title was weird, this album is only 5 tracks long but runs for 45 minutes. Ugh. I know it isn’t exactly new music, more a rarities album, but it is still a new release. Now, I don’t not like prog, when it’s done right and kept interesting. Rush are a perfect example, as are Dream Theater, two bands who constantly change things up in the songs and have the heaviness to appreciate too. But a 9-minute instrumental track to open the album that revolves around the same slow, boring chord progression throughout is not at all my thing. This is somehow worse than Grateful Dead. See how long you can subject yourself to down below and leave your scores in the comments! 2/10

Stabbing Westward: Chasing Ghosts

This is more like it! The industrial rock band’s fifth studio album and first since their 2016 reunion pulls no punches, opening on a fantastic, heavy, industrial guitar riff that really sets the tone for the rest of the album. It’s a dark, heavy and everything I wish Nine Inch Nails would do for a full album. It’s definitely one hell of a return album with a good few highlights, including ‘Cold’, ‘Ghost’ and ‘Control Z’. If you’re a fan of industrial rock at all, you’ll love this. 7.5/10

Weezer: SZNZ: Spring

Firstly, how rude of Weezer put out an album on a Sunday instead of a Friday like the rest, making me work all weekend! Secondly, the band are no strangers to overtone, with their 2021 album getting a very respectable 7.5 from us. And, this is one of four albums the band are releasing this year, one for each season. It’s definitely an ambition plan!

I love the idea behind having four widely different feeling albums that fit with the season they are named after, but the light, happy, folky spring album didn’t do much for me. I’m definitely more a fan of Weezer’s heavier, rockier stuff over their more pop leaning, and there wasn’t much of that here. Single ‘A Little Bit of Love’ is a tune, though! 6/10

Agathodaimon: The Seven

The German black metal band go hard on their first album in nine years. However, while it’s pretty extreme at times, I was also pretty surprised to hear some clean vocals throughout. It was nice to hear a black metal band branch out and diversify a little throughout their album rather than just an all out assault on the ears. The heaviness is still there for sure, but so is the melody, and it helps this album a lot for me. The fact that there are catchy vocal lines and guitar solos is fantastic and definitely puts this above your average super-heavy album. And it still has plenty of epicness from the symphonic side of stuff. No matter your music tastes, check out ‘The Divine’, you won’t be disappointed! 8.5/10

Audio Karate: ¡Otra!

Bringing a more pop-punk flavour to NMM, Audio Karate returned with their fourth studio album last week. The album is at it’s best when it leans into the punk side over the pop, too. Tracks like ‘Segway’ and ‘She Looks Good’ channel almost Rancid or Distillers vibes, and sound a lot more appealing to me than the opening track or ‘Care Carelessly’. Generally there is more good than meh on the album, but the good stuff is surprisingly towards the latter stages of the album. The last three tracks on the album are easily the best on it. 6.5/10

Dark Funeral: We Are The Apocalypse

Swedish death metal band Dark Funeral put out their seventh album last week. It’s okay. It’s enjoyable, don’t get me wrong, but in my limited foray into the sub-genre that I have experienced through this company it doesn’t sound like it is doing much different or too interesting. Tracks like ‘Nosferatu’ and ‘Leviathan’ are good, but didn’t do a lot to hold my interest. 6/10

And that’s all folks! As always keep up to date on our socials here and tune in next week for, depending on your tastes, Machine Gun Kelly and Placebo!

New Music Mondays

New Music Mondays: Ghost, Bryan Adams and More!

14th March 2022 Overtone

Another week, and a bunch more new music for us to go through, Strap yourselves in, this week’s all over the place!

Ghost: IMPERA

The pop metallers have been at the top of their game and near the top of the rock world for the last few years now. However, the singles from this new album have been a bit of a mixed bag. The one I have dropped below is great, but some of the others didn’t do much for me. You can check out the full review for the album, alongside the score, from the link here.

Bryan Adams: So Happy It Hurts

Changing pace less than one would expect, we make it to soft rock legend Bryan Adams’ 15th studio album. I don’t even know what to say about it, anyone who’s heard Bryan Adams before knows exactly what to expect, and he doesn’t let them down with this. I’m a big Bryan Adams fan though so I loved this. Tracks like the title one, ‘Always Have, Always Will’ and the ACDC quoting, John Cleese featuring awesomeness that is ‘Kick Ass’ are all massive highlights. 8/10

Set It Off: Elsewhere

Pop-punkers Set It Off put out their fifth studio album last week. It starts off a little slow with their weakest single, ‘Skeleton’, but ‘Projector’ in contrast is one of the favourite tracks I’ve heard from the band. Cody Carson is one of the best rappers currently around and criminally underrated at that and singing a damn catchy chorus. In fact, every chorus on this album is incredible. They somehow manage to out-Panic!-At-The-Disco Brendan Urie these days, it’s that well written. The style may not be for everyone of course, but this grew on me more and more throughout. A DAMN good album! 8.5/10

BODEGA: Broken Equipment

American punk band BODEGA released another odd album on Friday. I somehow don’t get it and really like it at the same time. It’s chilled out, radio-friendly punk music that reminds me a lot of the likes of R.E.M. and even The Cult. It’s a good, fun album if you want something more relaxing to throw on than our usually covered content. Tracks like the opener and ‘Pillar on the Bridge of You’ are highlights. 7/10

Drug Church: Hygiene

Another New York based band, but this time post-hardcore. It’s definitely the lightest post-hardcore music I’ve ever heard, but that isn’t a bad thing! It’s fun, catchy and ch0nky punk rock, and an enjoyable and concise 26 minutes. Highlights include the opening track and the single, ‘Million Miles of Fun’. 6.5/10

Konvent: Call Down the Sun

And finally we reach the death/doom band’s sophomore album. While still relatively new to the scene, their blending of the two rather different sub-genres is impressive and oddly hypnotic. And, while it shouldn’t really be a factor these days, the fact that it is an all-female band does make it even more impressive. It sounds like what you would have expected Black Sabbath to sound like back in the day if you had only seen the reactions of worried mothers trying to stop their children from listening to such satanic music. It’s great. The singles are highlights, as is the epic closing track. The band have a new fan in me! 7.5/10

And there you have it, another week of great rock music! Next week, Feeder!

New Music Mondays

New Music Mondays: Stereophonics, Sabaton and More!

7th March 2022 Overtone

New music time! Six new albums from six awesome bands. Let’s get straight to it!

Oh, but first, a quick honourable mention: check out The Death South’s covers EPs, Easy Listening for Jerks! Neither are albums or exactly rock, but cover some rock songs and are definitely worth a listen!

Stereophonics: Oochya!

Welsh rock band Stereophonics put out their 11th studio album last week. That makes me feel old. I was a big fan back in their early days, but generally haven’t liked much after ‘Langauge. Sex…’. This album perfectly demonstrates my issue with the band. It’s good music, it’s perfectly passable soft/pop rock and there are definitely some standout tracks. However, I didn’t get into Stereophonics or the plodding, slow ballads. I got into them from ‘Bartender and the Thief’ and ‘Check My Eyelids for Holes’. I know the band has always had a liking of slower tracks, but they used to spread them out between more upbeat ones. This is nearly all slow. When Elton John could put out a more rockin’ album these days, it’s definitely not a good sign. However, the opening track and ‘Running Around my Brain’ are both good! 5/10

Sabaton: The War To End All Wars

The Swedish power metal titans released their tenth album on Friday, and to no surprise it is also about war. Also to what should be no ones surprise, it’s really good. Those who know me know I’ve always been a little so-so when it comes to power metal, but this is a masterclass in how the genre is done from the very best in the genre. From the very opening note of ‘Stormtroopers’ to the epic closing fade-out of ‘Versaille’, it is a 40-minute collection of awesomeness. All the singles are slow, ballad-style epics, and tracks like the opener and ‘Hellfighters’ are awesome faster tracks! 8/10

Check out our AMPED review!

Crowbar: Zero And Below

The doom/sludge metal band finally released their first album after six years. I am a pretty big fan of Kirk Windstein from his amazing playing alongside Pepper Keenan in Down, but I’ll admit I haven’t checked out Kirk’s original band much before. I don’t know why either, because I liked it! It’s heavy, brimming with riffs and, well, sludgy! This band get nowhere near as much love as they should get, and I blame that for why I haven’t listened to them much. Tracks like ‘Bleeding From Every Hole’ and ‘Confess to Nothing’ are perfect examples of the bands style and a great jumping-in point to the genre, for those interested! 7.5/10

The Flower Kings: By Royal Decree

The prog rock band are definitely the weirdest album on this list this week, but that shouldn’t take away from the album at all. It reminds me a fair bit of Jethro Tull in its arrangement and feel, especially their new album that came out a couple of weeks ago. It’s weird, long, and shows off a talent for instrumentation and songwriting that I can only dream of. My only criticism is that most of the tracks are around the 5+ minute mark, but there’s 18 of them. The album is over an hour and a half long. As the saying goes, you can in fact have too much of a good thing. I will definitely be listening to this album a good few times, but I definitely couldn’t stick it on and concentrate through the whole thing in one sitting, it would have to be more background music. Still as I said, a fun, enjoyable album! 7/10

Ghost Toast: Shade Without Colour

Time to get heavy…ish. I’m not sure if they would prefer to be described as math metal or post-Tool, but it definitely has that sort of vibe! For those who can’t get into the genre, I have to warn you it is also instrumental. I personally enjoy instrumental music, though a full hour + is a tad too much for me all at once. Still though, the entire band are incredibly talented, and tracks like ‘Get Rid of’ and ‘Let Me Be No Nearer’ are definite highlights of a very good album! It’s the sort of music that I would LOVE to see live. 7/10

Midnight Bullet: Hostile Resistance

The thrashy groove metallers are on their fourth album now, and seem to just keep getting better and better. An album filled with terRIFic riffs (thank you), it very much wears its inspirations on its sleeve. From Pantera to Testament to Mastadon and even some Alice in Chains, all are present throughout this album, and it’s a great blend of styles that works perfectly for the band. The title track and ‘Dead Redemption’ are particular highlights for me, and well worth a listen! 8/10

And there we have it, another great week, particularly for metal. Check out next week’s too from our Facebook here for Bryan Adams and more!

New Music Mondays

New Music Mondays: Scorpions, Bad Omens and More!

27th February 2022 Overtone

Eight more rock and metal albums graced the scene this week, from all over the world. A lot of it is from some amazing newer bands too, while a few of the older ones still holding down the fort. It’s an exciting week for new music, so let’s get right to it!

Scorpions: Rock Believer

The German hard rock/heavy metal group are the oldest band on this list by a fair stretch, and with the release of this double album it takes them up to a whopping 19. It’s long, over an hour spread across 16 tracks, but it proves the band very much still have it. The opening track, ‘Gas in the Tank’ outlines my sentiments perfectly. The album is full of highlights but standout tracks include ‘Peacemaker’, ‘Seventh Sun’ and ‘Call of the Wild’. 8/10

Bad Omens: THE DEATH OF PEACE OF MIND

Another band to hop on the capitalise the album title trend are American metalcore band Bad Omens. The bands third album, much like their previous two, is on the lighter end of the metalcore spectrum, clearly inspired by Sempiternal-era BMTH. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it does leave the album with a feel of ‘this has been done before’. Not every album needs to be ground-breaking, but I was hoping to get something a little heavier when I read ‘metalcore’. What a diverse, wide-spread sub-genre it is these days. Still, tracks like the opener and ‘Like a Villain’ are definite highlights. 6.5/10

Avril Lavigne: Love Sux

While primarily pop music, Avril‘s first album or two were definitely pop-punk, and with a promise of going back to that style with this album (alongside a fairly promising lead single), I thought it was at least worth checking out. I can confirm it is at least pop-punk. Whether it’s good or not… I’m not sure. It definitely has the same energy and feel as Let Go, but the issue I have, much like some of the other older pop-punk bands’ most recent albums is exactly that. She’s going on 40 now, and writing music like you are still 18, alongside spelling things like ‘bois’ and ‘Sux’, feels cringy. Plus, both MGK and Blackbear ruin their respective tracks. But Mark Hoppus kills it on ‘All I Wanted’, it being the best track he’s done since before Blink-182’s reunion over a decade ago. Plus, after his recent health issues, it’s really heart-warming to hear him back in music again.

However, despite all of the negativity, I cannot help but enjoy the album. Avril has definitely retained the ability to write one hell of a pop-punk chorus, and I’m going to again have3 ‘Bite Me’ stuck in my head for days now. An up and down album, but I think I can settle on a solid 7.5/10

Elles Bailey: Shining in the Half Light

Blues/NWOCR forerunner Elles Bailey released her third album on Friday, and it’s really good. It’s a Dorothy, American pop-rock sound but with enough blues and country edginess and twang to add some grit and darkness to it. Heck, opening track ‘Cheats and Liars’ perfectly encapsulates the sound, I would say, and is a damn good intro to her as an artist. Honestly though, if you are into the slower blues style, this whole album is one big highlight. It’s steady, chilled and full of great vocals and lyrics. Oh, and the guitars are enough for me to geek out over so they must be good! I would happily and highly recommend this album to anyone. Give it a list, you won’t be disappointed! 9/10

Corpsegrinder: Self-Titled

The Cannibal Corpse frontman finally released his much anticipated debut album over the weekend. To put it simply, it’s about exactly what you’d expect. I have become a rather medium fan of George Fisher due to the sheer amount of awesome guest slots he’s done on awesome tracks by other bands over the last couple of years. However, this didn’t quite measure up to ‘Take Your Pick’ or ‘Parpaing’. That’s not to say it’s bad by any stretch, though. It’s death metal through and through, and damn good death metal at that. Tracks like ‘On Wings of Carnage’ and ‘Crimson Proof’ were definite highlights for me, having me headbanging along from start to finish. And, I have to add, what an album cover! 7.5/10

Black Lakes: For All We’ve Left Behind

An awesome Welsh alt metal band, we had the pleasure of reviewing this album last week before it was released. It was good. How good? Read our review of it to find out for yourself!

Blood Incarnation: Timewave Zero

What the fuck was that? Am I being pranked here? I was expecting some death metal, not 40 minutes of ambient sounds. This is Devin Townsend’s wet dream and not my sort of thing at all. 1/10, I’m sorry.

Just a Ride: Self-Titled

Another band we reviewed ahead of time (we are on FIRE this week) is the debut from NWOCR’s newest band, Just a Ride. It’s good, and if you want to find out the score, you’ll have to check out the review for yourself here.

Another fantastic week, with the smaller bands really bring it this time round! Black Lakes and Elles Bailey in particular put out fantastic albums that are up there in the running for top of the year so far. The British music scene is really thriving right now! As always stay tuned for next week’s NMM and for the big one… Stereophonics!