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New Music Mondays: IDLES, L.A. Guns and More!

15th November 2021 Overtone

An interesting week of New Music Mondays this week, with nothing MASSIVE being released but a lot of truly solid bands putting out new albums still. Six bands and six albums in total, ranging from rock to death metal. Without further ado, let’s get on with it!

IDLES: CRAWLER

Indie/alt rock band IDLES return with their fourth studio album this week, CRAWLER. Considering the last one peaked at #1 in the UK, safe to say the expectations were pretty high for their follow-up. I can’t say I’d listened to them at all really up until now, but I definitely enjoyed a fair amount of what I heard. Tracks like ‘The Wheel’ and ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ reminded me of old-school, Ramones era punk stuff, while lead single ‘The Beachland Ballroom’ and ‘Progress’ shows off their more pop side. It definitely got a little boring for me by the end due to their limited range and sound, but it was okay to stick on in the background and tune into when something good happened! 7/10

L.A. Guns: Checkered Past

Former G’n’R founder Tracii Guns returns with his glam metal band, L.A. Guns, and their third new album in three years, Checkered Past (yes, it’s actually spelt that way, I hate it too). The singles have a surprising amount of country twang to them but they definitely let things get a little heavier with their album tracks. It’s a fun album overall, just not necessarily the sort of style I was expecting from the band. Highlights include ‘Get Along’, ‘Bad Luck Charm’ and ‘That Ain’t Why’. 7.5/10

Emigrate: THH PERSISTENCE OF MEMORY

Rammstein axe-man Richard Kruspe brought his industrial side project back for a fourth album this last week. It’s weird, but of course it was going to be. I mean heck, the second track is a metal cover of Willie Nelson’s ‘Always on my Mind’ with his Rammstein friend Till Lindemann, so that alone should give you a scale of the weirdness. In all though, it’s a damn enjoyable album. ‘FREEZE MY MIND’ is another great track on the album, as is ‘HYOTHETICAL’. 7/10

They Might Be Giants: BOOK

There are a lot of capitalised album titles this week… just saying. Now, onto the least rock band we have covered so far… I loved this album. ‘Rock’ duo TMBG released their 22nd album last week and is a 40+ minutes of bouncy, feel good music, even if the lyrics usually aren’t. ‘I Broke my Own Rule’, ‘I Can’t Remember the Dream’ and ‘Super Cool’ are all great tracks if you are into this sort of music. If not, stay tuned for the heavier stuff next, but if you are, you’ll be glad to know I’m giving it a solid 7.5/10

Unleashed: No Sign of Life

Picking up the pace immediately are Swedish death metal titans Unleashed. Now 14 albums deep into their career the band have long since perfected their sound so this was more of the same. If you like this band or death/thrash metal at all, you’ll love this. Highlights include opening track, lead single ‘Where Can You Flee?’ and the track below. 7.5/10

Silent Planet: Iridescent

Last but not least this week we get American metalcore band Silent Planet and their fourth studio album, Iridescent. Coming into this completely blind my first impression was that it’s a lot heavier than most metalcore bands I am familiar with these days. It struck me as more of a hardcore album outside of the clean vocals. It was okay, I guess. I wouldn’t say it was anything special either, though. All the tracks were just kind of there, and very little (if anything) stood out to me. ‘Panopticon’ was maybe the best among them and showcases what this album is about the best, so check it out if you’re interested and see if you enjoy it more than me. If not…. 4.5/10

And there we have it. As I said before, it’s not been the biggest week ever in music and we have a couple of bigger weeks coming up before the end of the year, but it was pretty solid with most albums being at least enjoyable. Good but not ground-breaking, but that’s all one can really ask for!

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News

Gypsy Pistoleros Gunning For Christmas #1

14th November 2021 Overtone

Yes, you heard that right. Sleaze-flamenco favourites Gypsy Pistoleros are trying for the converted UK Christmas number one slot this year with their cover of Ricky Martin’s ‘Livin’ La Vida Loca’. Backed by the Guru of XMas Hits Jon Morter (responsible for the Rage Against the X Factor campaign back in 2009) and with the campaign well under way (with a little help from the guys at Hard Rock Hell) it has a real chance of gaining some real steam and a chance of winning it back for the rock crowd for the first time since Rage Against the Machine over a decade ago!

Not only that, but all proceeds from the track go towards the amazing Shelter charity.

The track itself is awesome (if you haven’t listened to it already above); a great new take on a classic original song. We love it and would personally love to see it get as much plays as possible, so stream the hell out of it, buy it and keep on this site to watch it on YouTube over and over! Just imagine how amazing it would be if not just a rock band, but a smaller one part of the NWOCR scene get’s this much mainstream media attention!

The track is up for pre-order now and is fully released on the 17th of December, so what are you waiting for? Get to it!

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New Music Mondays: Bullet for my Valentine, Radiohead and More!

8th November 2021 Overtone

A slightly tamer week than last week with less than half the amount of new albums released, but that doesn’t mean the quality is any less! Four albums spanning metalcore to rock, there is a lot to be excited about here. Join us in checking it out!

Bullet for my Valentine: Bullet for my Valentine

A band with more ups and downs than most, Bullet for my Valentine return to their heavier sound with their latest, self-titled record. Their seventh studio effort may bring back a lot of former fans as it is a lot closer to their debut album’s sound than their last couple have been. It’s heavy, it’s awesome, and you’re going to have to wait for a full review as there was no way I wasn’t going to check this out in full as a long-term fan!

Radiohead: KID A MNESIA

I just want to say right out of the gate… I’m not at all a fan of Radiohead. I don’t get it, it bores me. So if I offend anyone with these next few sentences, I’m sorry. But… it’s over two hours of boring nothingness. Like honestly the first 15 minutes I checked out felt like a joke, it was just repetitive, boring noise and barely present, terrible vocals. What was with the horns on ‘The National Anthem’? It sounded like bad experimental jazz, like that song from the show Preacher. And this thing is THREE DISCS and THIRTY FOUR TRACKS. I’m sorry but what the fuck?! I checked out a variety of tracks from each of the discs and none of it got any better. The one below is one of the very few tolerable tracks across the whole album. 2/10

Portrayal of Guilt: CHRISTFUCKER

Hardcore punk band Portrayal of Guilt are probably one of the heaviest bands we’ve covered on this series so far, as you probably could have guessed by the album title. The third album by the trio, after releasing their second only back in January, they definitely have a pretty distinct sound to them. This is another album that definitely isn’t going to be for everyone, and was even a bit much for me, but there was some good stuff in here at least, the odd riff and awesome vocal line. However, for the most part it was a terribly produced mess. ‘Fall From Grace’ in particular stands out as both a showcase of what the album is good at and terrible at, all compressed into just two-and-a-half minutes. If you’re a fan of brutal music, this may appeal to you, but if it scares you, I’d probably recommend skipping it. 3/10

Neptune Rain: Chaos and Light, Extended Edition

Originally an EP released as Neptune Rain‘s debut last year, it got extended into an album this last week with a further few tracks. It’s awesome, and one of the best debuts I have heard in a good long while. You can find our full review of it here.

And there we have it. A pretty quiet week thanks to a couple more delays, but still a pretty decent week depending on what sort of music you like!

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Interviews & Features, Reviews

Don Broco: live at Rock City

3rd November 2021 Overtone Leave a comment

With Noisey and Kid Brunswick

Don Broco performed in what they said is their favourite city this week – Nottingham. And boy did Nottingham bring it.

Kid Brunswick, photo by @samanthajguess on Instagram

The first support act was 22 year old Harry James aka Kid Brunswick who brought Rock City to life.

Kid Brunswick is arguably the next Yungblud – he’s bouncy, talented and his sound is very similar. He combined a distorted electronic sound with acoustic guitar and vain-popping screams – perfect for a Don Broco gig. His lyrics are performed with such powerful and raw emotion that you know he believes in every word he says.

One thing that struck me about his performance was the use of backing tracks with layered vocals. Instrumentally, it was spot on. The mix of instruments had obviously been produced to a high quality. I was very impressed with the mix of genres he was able to perform in a short set – there was enough variety for everyone at the gig who were into Don Broco’s sound.

However, a lot of his songs also featured a lot backing vocals which were way too high in the mix. Whilst this may replicate the official soundtracks, it was occasionally confusing to watch live. It gave the impression that he was miming some lines, but this could have been the mix.

Kid Brunswick’s alternative, punk and arguably hip hop influences come together to add a darkness to his music that separates him from the crowd.

Noisy, photo by Fraser Mitchell / NO-ID Studio

Self pro-claimed ‘rock n roll ravers’ Noisy were the second act before Don Broco.

A running theme for the night is the production quality. When you go beyond your classic drum, guitar, bass and vocal sound and start to bring in MIDI instruments, you have to make sure you’re doing it right – and they did. They didn’t over do it with the electronics but they definitely live up to their ‘roll n roll raver’ combination.

But my favourite thing about Noisy is their clear genuinity. They obviously love what they do and have a real friendship in the band – just look at their Instagram. They give off a real ‘local lads making it big’ vibe – and they are. Currently on tour with Don Broco and previously supported You Me At Six, it won’t be long until the lads are headlining their own shows.

I was pleasantly surprised by both support acts. At first glance I wasn’t sure if they would compliment each other or Don Broco but they did.

Don Broco, photo by @samanthajguess on Instagram

It was a sold out show but it wasn’t until Don Broco came on stage did you realise how pact the place really was.

The crowd produced an endless sea of crowd surfers. That poor security team was forever dragging drunk, half-clothed ravers over the barrier.

Don Broco performed to a crowd that obviously idolised the them – there were people who had dressed up as Power Rangers, Cowboys and Footballers to show their love for the band.

There’s a level of musical sophistication you expect to see when you watch a professional band, but that doesn’t take away from how much fun Don Broco were clearly having. Simon Delaney would not stand still and I’m a huge fan of his spinning kicks.

They opened with ‘Manchester Super Reds No.1 Fan’, played songs from their latest release Amazing Things and some slightly older favourites like ‘Nerve’ and ‘Action’ for which they brought out the singers from the the support acts – a personal favourite track of the night. Of course, there were pits. Would it even be a Don Broco gig without them?

With a couple of the band members having gone to a Nottingham University, they reminisced about their very first gig in Nottingham and their love for the city – comparing the feeling of playing in Nottingham to the same level as playing in Wembley. Sometimes, smaller venues triumph.

new music mondays

New Music Mondays: Limp Bizkit, Black Veil Brides, Mastadon and More!

1st November 2021 Overtone

I hope you’re ready for the madness. TEN new albums were released this past weekend. No delays or anything, just ten rock and metal albums that were gifted us. And, as usual, it’s my job to go through them and let you know how good they are. Let’s get on with it, shall we?

Limp Bizkit: Still Sucks

It’s finally here! After YEARS of teasing and at least one other working title (Stampede of the Disco Elephants), the mighty Bizkit have finally released a new album after a decade. You all know I’ll be reviewing this one in full ASAP so I shan’t do much of it here, but if the rest of the album is anything like Dad Vibes, it’ll be awesome.

Black Veil Brides: The Phantom Tomorrow

I have a very love/hate relationship with this band, in that I hate how much I love a few of their tracks. The band generally are fairly meh, in my opinion, but who can’t love ‘In the End’ or ‘Knives and Pens’. I tried to go into this album with an open mind though, and I have to admit I was actually pleasantly surprised. Yes, they have gone a lot more pop-metal than their first couple of records, but that sort of sound is VERY in right now. Plus, there is still some great riffs in here, showing how underrated Jinxx is as a guitarist. Tracks like ‘Scarlet Riot’ and ‘The Wicked One’ are particular highlights, while some of the other tracks are a little too built-around-just-the-chorus for me. 7/10.

Mastadon: Hushed and Grim

Another band I have struggled to get into over the years outside of a few tracks, this is the first attempt at a full album since The Hunter. I unfortunately have to say that after a rocky start, the album doesn’t pick up too much. I know that over their now eight studio albums they have proven themselves to be incredible ‘musicians musicians’, but it just bores me a little. There are some great riffs through most of this, but the vocals do and always have let it down in my ears. Still, I can appreciate their talent and how they are still at the point they are at all these years later. If you want to check out any, go for ‘Pushing the Tides’. 5/10.

Jerry Cantrell: Brighten

Alice in Chains main man Jerry Cantrell returns to solo work for the first time in almost two decades with his latest release. Is it too easy to just say ‘for fans of AIC’? It has a little more of a country swagger to it than his usual grunge sound, and honestly his voice suits it just as well. It’s a country rock album that just so happens to have a non-country voice fronting it, and it’s awesome. If anyone is a fan of either AIC or stuff like Brothers Osbourne or Cadillac Three, you’ll love this. It’s probably a good job I’m not doing a full review of this album as I would gush all over it! 9/10.

Bad Wolves: Dear Monsters

Bad Wolves return with their first new music since their sour split with former singer Tommy Vext with their new singer, Daniel “DL” Laskiewicz. Unfortunately, and maybe it’s just due to the recentness of the change, it doesn’t improve on their music at all. It never sits well with me when a band are WAY more famous for a cover they do than any of their original music, but (I’m sorry to anyone this offends), I can kinda see why. None of it is inherently bad by any stretch, but it suffers from the same issue as BVB, it’s music written around a radio-friendly chorus, meaning that none of the rest of the track matters that much so is just bland. If you’re into big vocal hooks and not much else, you may enjoy it! 4.5/10

Whitechapel: Kin

Whitechapel have been around for a while now, becoming one of the premier Deathcore bans these days. There has been a lot of hype around their latest release in the leadup, and I can see why. The band have matured and evolved their sound with each of their eight albums, and this release feels like the pinnacle of that evolution. All you have to listen to is ‘Orphan’ to hear the bands range and incredible writing and musicianship. It’s a fantastic listen for any fans of heavy music, said track and the album in general. Other highlights include ‘Lost Boy’ and ‘History is Silent’. 8/10

The War On Drugs: I Don’t Live Here Anymore

Alt/indie band The War on Drugs have been hitting us with their 80s nostalgia style of music for well over a decade now, and it continues with their fifth studio album. Sounding like a combination of Bryan Adams and modern day Kings of Leon. The sort of style/genre does bore me after a while, especially when the whole album is pretty damn slow, but as individual tracks they’re not bad. Not something I would go out of my way to listen to, but great background music! ‘Harmonia’s Dream’ is a particular highlight for me. 5/10

John 5: Sinner

Rob Zombie/ex Marylin Manson axe-man returns with another solo album that shows off just how wasted he is playing industrial music. Yes, he is damn good at playing simple, heavy, power-chord driven riffs, but damn is he a fantastic lead guitarist too that he simply cannot show off in those projects. This album shows that off to a tee right away, too. Just check out the first full length track on the album from down below and tell me it’s not a technical masterclass. I know a fair few people wouldn’t be able to get past the almost solely instrumental album, and it does get a tad repetitive for me by the end, but damn if it isn’t impressive and one of his best albums to date. 7/10

Running Wild: Blood on Blood

German heavy metal ban Running Wild have been going for an impressive 45 years at this point, releasing their 17th studio album this past week. Those facts alone, alongside the fact that they are pretty much the original pirate metal band, should immediately tell you how this album sounds. It all sounds like the last 30 years of Judas Priest, not that that is a bad thing! It’s good old fashioned metal and, outside of the style being done to death long ago, it’s still a really enjoyable listen. Highlights include the opening track and ‘Diamonds and Pearls’. 6.5/10

Small Town Syndrome: It Only Gets Worse

The newest band on our list are Grand Rapids’ newest emerging punk/alt rock trio Small Town Sindrome. I actually managed to have a sit down with an exclusive early access copy of the album and do a full review of it, which you can find here. As you can tell, I loved it, and gave it a solid 8/10, so I would urge anyone into the genre to check it out!

And there we have it folks, a rather mixed bag of quality for this weeks MASSIVE New Music Mondays. Some was awesome, matching some of the best albums of the year in terms of quality, and then some that were more of average quality. Still, I would happily listen to any of the albums again and most likely will in the next few weeks!

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New Music Mondays: Don Broco, Biffy Clyro and more

25th October 2021 Overtone

Six new albums were released this last Friday. Just to put that into a little perspective, that’s a lot of rock music to digest! Luckily, we do the majority of it for you so you don’t have to, giving you a gist so you only need to check out what sounds the best to you! Check it out below:

Biffy Clyro: The Myth of the Happily Ever After

The Scottish rock trio released their ‘Sister album’ to 2020’s A Celebration of Endings, and new Biffy music is always intriguing. I would like to think I am a big fan of the band, but they have also put out some questionable (in my opinion) music in my time. Heck, I thought the last album was pretty middle of the road, personally. I reviewed it when it came out and I think it got a 6.5 or 7, pretty middling for a band so big. I shan’t spoil much of my full review, which will be up soon, but I do have to clarify that it is definitely better than their last one!

Don Broco: Amazing Things

After much delays (a common and very annoying part of this series so far) Don Broco finally released their fourth studio album, Amazing Things. I have to admit I’ve never been the biggest fan of the band, but even I have to admit that they have done something special with this release. Again I shan’t say much as we should hopefully have a full review out of it soon, so stay tuned!

Dream Theater: A View From the Top of the World

Prog metal titans Dream Theater return with their much anticipated 15th studio album, A View from the Top of the World. Over an hour of music split between just seven songs definitely isn’t for everyone, but goddamn if this isn’t a rock musicians dream album. Heck, we get four different riffs across three time signature changes in the first two minutes of the album before any vocals have even come in. It’s safe to say the band have fully gone for it with this one. There is plenty of heavy riffage while still having the lighter, piano driven stuff throughout, both of which fit with James LaBrie’s vocals. And the epicness is still there, of course, the final track being a whopping 20+ minutes. If you can stomach the length though, it is one hell of a track, and my personal highlight of the album. 8/10

Cradle of Filth: Existence is Futile

Legendary extreme metal band Cradle of Filth are not only still going thirty years into their career, but are putting out maybe some of the best music they have ever done. This is another band that are not for everyone and for very good reason, one listen or even a look at the album artwork would explain it. Heck, I didn’t think I was into them until I took a proper listen a few years ago, and now I do really like them! This album is extreme metal at its finest, with opening track ‘Existential Terror’ and the ridiculously named ‘How Many Tears to Nurture a Rose?’ being definite highlights. 7.5/10

STARSET: HORIZONS

Another band that I have only gotten into recently, it was mainly off the back of one of the singles off this album, ‘THE BREACH’. That chorus alone makes it a great song and even a great album, it’s that good a chorus, but the rest of the album is also fantastic. The band have managed to find the perfect blend of heavy, BMTH-style riffs and Imagine Dragons-esque catchy vocal parts. All three of the singles are amazing, but there are redeeming qualities of just about every track on this album. 8.5/10

Every Time I Die: Radical

Finally we reach the other heavy band on this list, Buffalo’s own Metalcore titans Every Time I Die. This is the band I can get on with the least on this list, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t still a decent album. There is some surprisingly catchy parts throughout this album and The Butcher took time out of his busy schedule to write and record some HEAVY thrash riffs for this album. An enjoyable album for anyone into the heavy stuff, with Thing With Feathers being surprising awesomeness. 6.5/10

And there we have it, another week down. Hopefully soon the world can get its plastic and cardboard supply under control so all these albums stop being delayed and mess up my plans. Then we can finally get the BFMV and Devin Townsend ones I’ve been waiting all month for! Stay tuned next week, who knows who may be delayed by then!

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New Music Mondays: Ice Nine Kills, Frank Carter and More!

18th October 2021 Overtone

A much busier week this week than the last, with six new albums having been released within the last week. Said albums range from alternative rock to straight up melodic hardcore, and everything in between. Check them all out down below and enjoy the great week we have ahead of us!

Ice Nine Kills: The Silver Scream 2: Welcome to Horrorwood

Certainly one of my most anticipated albums of the year, horror-loving band Ice Nine Kills returned with a sequel to their critically acclaimed 2018 album The Silver Screamed with another slasher and terror inspired album. I don’t want to say too much about this album as I am currently working on a review of it and gushing over it enough, but it is a worthy successor and WELL worth the wait.

Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes: Sticky

Modern day punk icons Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes only formed back in 2015, but they already have now four albums under their belt and a rabid, ever growing fanbase. It’s not particularly my sort of music, for some reason I thought they were heavier, not a slower, boring version of early Artic Monkeys, but it’s not bad music by any stretch. Particular highlights include the albums title track and Cobra Queen. 6.5/10

Tom Morello: The Atlas Underground Fire

Rage Against the Machine/Audioslave guitar wizard Tom Morello is back with the second instalment of his Atlas Underground collection, showing off his incredible talent for not only making weird noises come out of guitars but also songwriting. Pulling a Slash and having a different guest vocalist for each song gave the man plenty of scope to write different sounds and genres throughout the album. From the heavy metal manicness of BMTH guesting ‘Let’s Get the Party Started’ to the more stripped back, blues/country rock of ‘The War Inside’ thanks to Chris Stapleton, this album kinda has it all. And I have to say, I love it. I honestly wish I had time to write a full review, but we have too much going on right now so I shall instead give it a solid 8/10.

Gemini Syndrome: 3rd Degree – The Raising

Alt Metal band Gemini Syndrome have been around for a few years now, being a bigger deal in the US than over here, unfortunately. However, having three huge albums now under their belt since 2013 the band have continued to grow and evolve their sound, and this new album feels like the culmination of that growth. The opening track is incredible and lead single ‘Die With Me’ is a strong highlight of a very good album overall! It’s another album I’d love to review as a whole as it is really good, and another that gets a high 8/10 from me!

Twelve Foot Ninja: Vengeance

Australian prog(ish) metal band Twelve Foot Ninja returned with their third album this last week, building on their heavy yet catchy sound even more-so than before. I don’t know why I thought these guys had been around a lot longer than they have been, but I guess that’s a testament to how good they are if I’ve been listening to them for so long. It’s another good album on a week clearly full of them, but particular highlights are the title track, ‘Long Way Home’ and ‘Over and Out’ featuring the wonderful Tatiana of Jinjer. 7.5/10

Hate: Rugia

And last but not least we reach everyone’s favourite genre, blackened death metal! Even as long ago as a year or two I would have been adamant on not even listening to this sort of thing as it was too heavy for me, but after reviewing At the Gates earlier this year it’s really helped open my eyes to the awesomeness of this end of music. It’s not my favourite genre by any stretch, but I enjoyed this album far more than I thought I would. I just love the epic feel of it all and even the vocals have grown on me considerably. It also helps that Hate are one of the hardest working bands of 30+ years old, having put out three albums now in the last four years. That’s damn impressive. For anyone interested, check out ‘Resurgence’ and ‘Sun of Extinction’. 7/10

And there we have it, another awesome week in rock music and one of the best weeks we’ve had so far in terms of quality! Six awesome albums from six awesome bands, what more could you ask for?

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new music mondays

New Music Mondays: Trivium and….

11th October 2021 Overtone

So, we have a first here on New Music Mondays (though that’s not hard given that we’ve been doing it for just a month). Due to Devin Townsend’s two albums, The Puzzle and Snuggle, being delayed by two weeks due to being unable to get hold of CD materials, There was but one rock album released last Friday. But don’t worry guys, it’s a doozy!

Trivium: In the Court of the Dragon

One of the leading lights of metal this millennium returned this last week with their tenth studio album, In the Court of the Dragon. The band who released my album of the year last year have always been fantastic, but they have been on a major hot streak over the last five years especially, and this new album is a fantastic continuation of that!

I shan’t dive too much into it as I want to save a full review for its own article, but it is another damn impressive album. It builds well on what the band have been working on with The Sin and the Sentence and What the Dead Men Say, adding an even heavier edge to the album that didn’t feel as present in their last release. Saying that though, there is still plenty of catchy hooks and choruses in here, as well as some of the best instrumentation in the metal world today. This is an album worth checking out if you are into heavier music or the band at all, and stay tuned for a review in the very near future!

And there we have it. Not much more left to say, one album released because the world has a paper and plastic shortage. We hope you enjoyed reading this (brief) article, and make sure to follow us on Facebook here for more updates!

new music mondays

New Music Mondays: Asking Alexandria, Ministry, Yes and More!

4th October 2021 Overtone

Last Friday hosted the release of a tonne of new and great rock releases, from metalcore to prog rock. It’s slowed down slightly from last week with only six new albums for us to be talking about, but I am excited to be talking about each of them!

Asking Alexandria: See What’s on the Inside

A band that have had a rather publicly up and down past. After exploding onto the scene a decade or so ago, the line-up changes hindered their momentum somewhat, as did the changes in the bands style rather dramatically. I have to admit I wasn’t the biggest fan of them in their early days but since the return of Danny Worsnop in 2016 they have really found their sound and style, releasing easily the best music the band have done. This album is more of that, but I have to save something for the full review, so keep an eye out!

Ministry: Moral Hygiene

Industrial metal pioneers Ministry have had one of the most consistently quality outputs of the metal world. The band have been releasing music for nearly 40 years and show no sign of slowing down after releasing now four great albums within the last decade. This one, in my opinion, is another banger, 45 minutes of great riffs, catchy vocal hooks an the usual fantastic, thought provoking lyrics. Highlights include the fantastically heavy ‘Good Trouble’ and the slower, bluesier ‘Broken System’. 7.5/10

Yes: The Quest

Yes are a band who really need no introduction. Having been around since the late 60s, released a whopping 22 studio albums up until now and were the writers of ‘Owner of a Lonely Heart’, their impact on music is massive. The fact that the band are even pumping out music still to this day after over half a decade is impressive in itself, but the album is pretty damn good too! It’s VERY epic, just like most of their music, but I loved the entire hour of it. The opening tracks for both discs were particular highlights, but all of it was pretty great! 8/10

Wage War: Manic

Switching gears quite dramatically from an our of prog rock split across two discs to a concise 35 minutes of heavy, fast metalcore, it doesn’t at all mean Wage War’s latest output is any worse than The Quest. In fact, it may be even better. I really wish I had the time to review this album in full as it’s amazing, but we just have too much to do right now to do many more reviews. It’s a damn heavy, angry album, full of awesome riffs, great screams and some catchy cleaner vocal lines too. I hadn’t check out this band much before this but they have instantly gotten a new fan in me, great stuff! 8.5/10

Pond: 9

Psychedelic rock band Pond have been around for over a decade now, releasing an impressive (if obvious) nine albums in the last 12 years. It’s pretty similar to the rest of their work, from what I can hear, but it is another pretty decent album filled with great, 80s inspired sounds and hooks. Highlights include ‘Human Touch’ and ‘Rambo’. 7/10

They Fell from the Sky: Decade

Last but not least, we reach the hardest band to genre-classify on this list, given that the album contains everything from metal to punk to hard rock. I shan’t dwell on this album much as we have already done an in depth review of it, which you can find here. It’s good though, I can tell you that much, and I would highly recommend checking out the review!

And thus concludes another fantastic week in rock music. Did we miss any? Head over to our Instagram here if we did and let us know!

new music mondays

New Music Mondays: Tremonti, Poppy, Third Eye Blind and More!

27th September 2021 Overtone

Week two of New Music Mondays is shaping up to be just as big as the first! With another SEVEN new album releases last Friday, we thought we’d give a little coverage to them all as we don’t have the man power to review them all in depth. Don’t worry though, we shall be letting you know exactly what to check out…and it may be quite a lot!

Tremonti: Marching in Time

Arguably the biggest release this week comes from Creed and Alter Bridge axe-man Mark Tremonti. Having started his solo project a few years back to much acclaim, the band very much keep their momentum rolling with this latest release. I shan’t dwell on it long as I very much intend to review it ASAP, but from what I have heard all the singles seem awesome – with a particular favourite of the bunch for me being ‘A World Away.’

Poppy: Flux

Originally a YouTube star, Poppy rose to fame for being… well… a little bit odd. Crafting a rather interesting character that has evolved no end over the years, she shocked the world (or at least her fans) a few years ago when she put out a metal album seemly out of the blue. Not one to stay similar for too long, though, her latest release has leaned pretty heavily into a more punk/rock sound. I have to admit that her metal stuff took a fair amount of growing for me to enjoy any of it, and I am still rather on the fence. I feel like this is much of the same. It’s not inherently bad at all, just a bit boring. It’s less messy than her previous album though, it feels like she’s finding her groove a little more! 6.5/10

Third Eye Blind: Our Bande Apart

American rockers Third Eye Blind, most famous for their late 90s hit ‘Semi-Charmed Life‘, returned with their seventh studio album, and took it a lot slower than I was expecting. Being the same age as the band’s debut album, I grew up around the MTV fuelled pop-punk-rock scene of the late 90s and early 2000s. So, when I saw one of the bands famous from that scene was releasing a new album, I was excited (and also ashamed that I hadn’t checked out much of their stuff from the last decade or so). So I was shocked to find a slower, almost indie sounding album. It’s not bad at all, but it’s a far cry from their slightly faster, heavier stuff from their first two albums. 6.5/10

X Ambassadors: The Beautiful Liar

Alternative/indie rock band X Ambassadors have enjoyed quite a fair share of fame over the last few years due to their collaborations with the likes of Machine Gun Kelly, Bebe Rexha and ILLENIUM, as well as the mainstream success of their single ‘Unsteady.’ They finally returned with their muchly anticipated fourth album, and it was definitely worth the wait. I have such a complicated relationship with this sort of music, as you can tell by my review that I HATED the latest 21 Pilots album, but X Ambassadors show how to do this sort of music right. From singles like the title track and ‘Adrenaline’ to catchy as anything album tracks like ‘Palo Santo’, it has a little bit of everything! My only issue is the sheer amount of short transition tracks the album has. I enjoyed them all and they definitely add to the story and the atmosphere of the album, but out of 16 tracks only nine of them were full length songs. Those songs were damn good, though! 8/10

Badflower: This Is How the World Ends

LA based pop-punk/rock band Badflower put out their sophomore album this last Friday too. Boasting HUGE singles like ‘Don’t Hate Me’, ‘Family’ and ‘Johnny Wants to Fight’, the band have set themselves up for a breakout year, and the rest of the album is up to the same quality. I have to admit, I’ve found it so far pretty hard to get past the incredibly juvenile, MGK-esque lyrics, going far beyond the line of ‘edgy’ and straight into cringy. But still, there are some catchy hooks in here and enough to keep me entertained throughout. 7/10

Dream Ocean: The Missing Stone

Symphonic metal band Dream Ocean are the newest band on our list today, putting out their sophomore album too, building on 2018’s ‘Lost Love Symphony’. The band are masters of atmosphere, each of their tracks sounding like it should come from a fantastic movie soundtrack, and makes me REALLY want to see the band live in the hopes that the how lives up to the massive sound. Each single is fantastic, as are other hidden gems on the album. However, I have decided upon hearing it that I shall be reviewing it, so I shan’t give a score just yet…

Unto Others: Strength

Last but certainly not least are modern metallers Unto Others with their awesome new album ‘Strength’. It’s a damn good album from start to finish, filled with great, heavy riffs as well as fantastic clean ones. The songwriting is a step above their previous album too, heralding that they will be a big name in the years to come! Highlights include ‘Destiny’, ‘Downtown’ and ‘Heroin’. 7.5/10

So there we have it, a fantastic week for rock and metal. I would strongly urge you to check out a lot of this stuff, as it really was great, and stay tuned for next week!

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