Tag Archives: NWOCR

New Music Mondays

New Music Mondays: Knocked Loose, Powerman 5000 and More!

Leave a comment

A pretty stacked week of music to check out this week, from hardcore to country. Let’s dive in!

Knocked Loose: You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To

Knocked Loose are one of the most ‘in’ bands in metal currently. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, though, I just don’t get it. Hardcore punk has never been much of my sort of thing to begin with, and this is no exception. It’s wall of low, heavy noise throughout with very little outside of that aside a couple of dropped-down parts here and there, mainly designed to make the heavier bits even heavier. Don’t get me wrong, the riffing is great for its mainly unga-bunga style, and the real highlight is the breakdowns. Any time a riff comes back but slower, it almost convinces me that I like this band, it’s that good. Then Bryan’s vocals come in over the top and ruin it again. He has a very iconic style of scream that isn’t for me. It’s like nails on a chalkboard for the most part, especially when it’s over more ambient parts.

The big single off the album currently is ‘Suffocate’, featuring the amazing Poppy. It was certainly one of the better songs on the album, aside for Poppy trying the same scream style, but that breakdown… DAMN. I also found myself really enjoying the closing track, ‘Sit & Mourn’. It had more of an atmospheric black metal feel to it which I loved, it surprisingly fitting well with hardcore and arguably meshing with their sound perfectly. The biggest disappointment for me was ‘Slaughterhouse 2′. The original was one of my favourite tracks from Motionless’ last album, and was one of my favourite Bryan performances, almost winning me over to his vocals. This pales in comparison, and doesn’t feel similar in any way aside that it features both singers and that now-iconic breakdown callout again at the end.

Overall, it’s not a bad album. I can see the appeal to people, for sure. It’s heavy, angry music, and I’d imagine it’s AMAZING live. But, on track at least, it’s not for me. Outside of the couple of songs I’ve mentioned already, I’m in no hurry to listen to this album again. Then again, if it was on, I also wouldn’t turn it off, a lot of the time. It gets a solid 5/10 from us, not bad but not my thing.

Powerman 5000: Abandon Ship

The oft overlooked industrial/nu metal band returned with their first album since 2020 on Friday. It’s pretty much exactly what you’d expect from the band, be that good or bad. For some reason I was never the biggest fan of the band. This record didn’t change my mind, either. It’s a lot more industrial than nu metal this time round, almost having a gothic edge to it. But it’s still Powerman, and it all sounded pretty similar throughout. Plus, some of the lyrics were kinda Charlie Kelly, and not especially in a good way. Stuff like the opener or ‘Bloodsuckers’ are lyrically kinda cringy. At least the instruments are good though, if basic! There wasn’t much that stood out as ‘good’ on this album, just a lot of slightly-below-average. If you’re a fan of the band, you might like this, but it isn’t for me. 4/10

Kings of Leon: Can we Please Have Fun

The kings of US indie are back with a follow-up to 2021’s fun When You See Yourself. If you’re a fan of the band’s later work, you’ll like this, as it’s very much more of the same. I didn’t mind the last album, I remember reviewing it at my old place. It’s a good chill-out/background album. This is the same. It’s actually crazy that they are such a massive band, because they are objectively kinda boring. Gone are the days of them writing songs like ‘Sex on Fire’ or ‘Use Somebody’, their music these days being a lot more understated, stripped-back and less radio-friendly. They’ll sadly never seemingly write another Only by the Night. However, songs like ‘Nowhere to Run’ and ‘Don’t Stop the Bleeding’ are great, and would pop off even more on a more interesting album. Again, it’s not bad, it’s a fun listen, but to sit down and analyse instead of having on in the background, it was hard. Still, it’s an easy 5.5/10!

Scotty McCreery: Rise & Fall

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

Six Feet Under: Killing for Revenge

Now, I have been a pretty outspoken during my time at Overtone in my opinion that I did not like the Chris Barnes era of Cannibal Corpse. I’m of the opinion that the band massively improved when Corpsegrinder joined, and as such have never really gotten on with Chris’ band after CC, Six Feet Under. However, I am very much in the business here of being proven wrong, and am going into this album with a completely open mind, as always.

The riffing and drumming throughout the whole album is awesome, I’ll certainly give it that much. It’s traditional death metal done to perfection. And honestly, I’ve heard Chris’ vocals be a lot worse. At least the mixing on this was better than on some of their releases. But I still find it so hard to get too invested when I not only cannot tell what the hell he’s trying to say, but also feel very little emotion from the monotone wall of sound that is his growls. The album isn’t one I’d turn off if it came on again, but I also certainly wouldn’t go out of my way to find it out again. Old-school CC fans will probably find a lot to love here, and it’s probably the best Six Feet Under album I’ve checked out; I could actually make it through this one in one sitting. It’s still not really my sort of thing, though ‘Ascension’ was probably my favourite track. From a purely personal standpoint, 3.5/10

Sebastian Bach: Child Within the Man

So, outside of being in the running for one of the worst album artworks of the year, this is actually a pretty banging album. Given that it’s been a decade since the former Skid Row’s last solo album, and the fact that he’s become someone who loves to argue with other artists over Twitter in recent years, I was ready to write this album off pretty handily. However, I’ll be damned if it didn’t win me over in a pretty big way. The more I listened, the more I kept putting songs on my own playlist, finding it very hard to pick just a couple of highlight tracks.

The riffing is awesome throughout, and Seb’s vocals sound back on point for the first time in years. I know that may be some studio magic too, but it’s almost made me want to try and see him live again to see if he holds up to the track these days! It all feels like the perfect combination of Skid Row and Sixx A.M.. It’s heavy rock at its best and, like Mick Mars’ solo debut, fits really well among the new crop of awesome rock bands. Anyone who’s a fan of rock music should check this out, especially if you’re a fan of the 80s sleazy style he played back then. I love it, and will certainly be listening to it a bunch going forward. 8.5/10

Thank god, I feel like I’ve been real negative this week…

Unleash the Archers: Phantoma

The Canadian power metallers are back with their sixth album this week, and first since the end-times. I’ve been a fan of the band for years at this point, but this album kept going under my radar until it’s release. Safe to say, however, I’m excited to be checking it out!

It’s certainly in keeping with the band’s previous style they’ve developed, fitting in well with their back catalogue and feeling like the natural progression from Abyss. However, part of me kinda wished it was a touch heavier, like their older stuff. Don’t get me wrong, songs like ‘ph4/NT0mA’, the melodeath, scream-featuring ‘The Collective’ and the epic ‘Give it Up or Give it All’ are all awesome. And honestly, the more this album went on, the more I loved it. However, in this sort of style of power metal, I do think bands like Metalite and even, to a lesser extent, Dominum, have done it better over the last six months. It’s not a bad album at all, and if you’re a fan of the band or the genre there’s an awful lot to love here. I just think my power metal fatigue has hit me hard suddenly. Still, it’s a solid 8/10, I just hoped for slightly more heaviness at times!

Vhäldemar: Sanctuary of Death

The viking metallers returned with their seventh studio album last Thursday. The Nordic-themed power metal/NWOBHM is always a fun listen, as vaguely outdated as the style is these days. Everyone is clearly talented and has worked their ass off throughout the album to make it a great release. However, in a year and musical scene that is really pushing the boundaries (we just had ‘Ronald’ released, for example), it’s hard to get too into this. Still, songs like ‘Dreambreaker’, the title track and ‘Forevermore’ are awesome and massive highlights of the album. It will certainly appeal to people who love the genre, but I don’t know, maybe I’m finally starting to get burnt out by power metal. Still, it’s an objectively great album that I certainly would happily listen to again. It’s the perfect blend of Powerwolf and Saxon, and is a very fun listen. 7.5/10

Alex Key: Outdated

The modern country star returned with his third studio album this last week. It’s a very neo-traditional sound, and he’s fantastic at it. It’s easy to see why he’s a top 40 artist already, even at only 26 years old. His low, powerful vocals are incredible, and make him easily comparable to the likes of Drake Milligan and Randall King. There’s a real resurgence of this sort of style, especially from the younger lot in the genre, that it’s fantastic to see that country should be in great hands for years to come! Songs like the opener, ‘Heart-Tender’ and the silly ‘What do Honky Tonkers do in Heaven?’ are all personal highlights. If you’re into country, however, the whole album is well worth a listen. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a touch slow, there’s maybe one or two too many ballads on it. However, it’s only 12-tracks (thank god), and I wouldn’t know which to cut, honestly! It’s certainly going to be listened to by me a lot going forward, and Alex has a new big fan in me! It’s an easy 8.5/10!

Reviews

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

Leave a comment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Score: 9/10

New Music Mondays

New Music Mondays: Frank Turner, P.O.D. and More!

Leave a comment

A stacked week of New Music Mondays as per usual this week, featuring plenty of big names! Let’s check it out!

Frank Turner: Undefeated

We’ve already reviewed this album in full! Check it out here!

P.O.D.: Veritas

The nu-metal titans are back with their first new album in six years. While not long compared to most bands, it is the biggest gap in releases in the bands career so far. However, after a bit of a gap, it’s nice to hear the band still go as hard as ever. It was a very good idea to open the album on the Randy Blythe featuring ‘DROP’, it’s high energy, heavy and one of the best songs on the album. However, that’s not to take away from the rest of the album, it all goes pretty heavy for a more rap-centric nu-metal band. Don’t get me wrong, none of it reinvents the wheel or anything, but songs like ‘DEAD RIGHT’, ‘I WON’T BOW DOWN’ and ‘THIS IS MY LIFE’ I’d put up there with a lot of their classics. The band seem to do better with tracks featuring others than when it’s just them on their own. I was never the biggest fan of the band back in the day, there were always one of the more meh nu-metal bands. However, I certainly didn’t hate this and wouldn’t be against listening to the album again in the future. It’s an easy 7.5/10 from me!

Dea Matrona: For Your Sins

The debut album of the Irish duo has a lot of hype around it. The band have been gathering a lot of momentum over the last few years thanks to a stream of awesome singles, even garnering a reaction video from us not long back! I’ve been familiar and a fan of the girl’s neo-traditional folk/pop rock style for a while, so am excited to finally hear a full release!

It’s certainly a good, fun soft rock album. I was already familiar with the awesome ‘Red Button’, obviously, but songs like ‘So Damn Dangerous’, ‘Did Nobody Ever Love You?’ ‘Dead Man’s Heart’ are also massive highlights and favourites. There’s elements of everything, from pop to alt-rock to folk to even country in the back end of the album, and the duo shift between the genres effortlessly. I’m honestly a tad jealous at how easy it is for them to switch between genres while seamlessly managing to make it still sound like Dea Matrona. I can certainly see why this band is gaining such traction, there is a lot to love here. It’s not even typically something I’d be that into, so that should be even more of a testament to the quality, that I loved every track. It’s a fantastic, chilled out album that is an easy listen from front to back; it goes by in a flash. The sky is the limit for these two, and this album is set to push them to the stratosphere. 8.5/10

Tenille Arts: To Be Honest

We’ve also already checked out this awesome album already, aren’t you lucky?! Read the full review here.

Raised by Owls: Vol. 3: (The Satirical Verses)

Comedy in music is a very hard line to walk, especially these days. So, for Raised by Owls to do it so effectively is incredible. Heck, the song titles themselves had me howling, let alone when I checked out the music or even the videos. And, as is fairly rare for parody music, the actual music is also awesome. Comedic black metal isn’t something I’d have expected, or thought I needed in my life, but it turns out I most certainly do! I’m usually so very on the fence with black/blackened death metal, but this has certainly won me over! Don’t get me wrong, it’s still not 100% my thing, but songs like ‘Robert Zombie’, ‘The Dark and Twisted Realm in which Fred Durst Resides’ and ‘Strictly Come Danzig’ are all heavy bangers. The instrumentalists are all immensely talented, while the lyrics are fantastic, as well as screamed perfectly. If you’re into the heavy stuff, you’ll love this. And I can imagine this all being awesome and great fun live. I certainly wouldn’t turn any of this off if it came on again! 7/10

The Karma Effect: Promised Land

One of the fastest rising stars in the NWOCR movement, the hype surrounding this album over the last few months has been massive. I’m also a couple of days late to it and have heard nothing but good things about it, so am damn excited to dive in and see what it’s like.

I see why everyone was hyping this album, it’s excellent! It’s the perfect blend of 70s hard rock, 80s glam and a modern edge, and is packed full of incredible riffs and melodies. It has bits of Quireboys, Rolling Stones, Ratt, Extreme, Bad Touch and many others, and it’s all combined together fantastically. Songs like ‘See You Again’, ‘All Night Long’ and ‘Be My Salvation’ are all awesome. However, there really isn’t a bad song on the album. The vocals are a massive highlight overall, as are some of the insanely catchy melodies they hit. However, the whole band have worked their asses off to construct something really special here. My only slight issue is that it isn’t anything that hasn’t been done before. However, when it’s this good, that kinda goes out of the window! Along with Florence Black, These Wicked Rivers and South of Salem, the NWOCR movement has once again reached another epic peak of awesome albums, and this is easily up there with those. I’ll certainly be rocking this for months to come, and it’ll surely end up high on our albums of the year come December! 9/10

The Lemon Twigs: A Dream is All We Know

The indie rock brothers are back with their sixth album. While it’s not particularly my sort of thing, there is no denying their talent and the quality. It almost has a Beatles element to it as much as anything traditionally indie. The songwriting, and surprisingly the guitaring, are both awesome. And if you’re into the genre I’m sure you’ll love this whole album. It’s not a bad album by any stretch, and songs like the title track and ‘I Should Have Known Right from the Start’ are personal highlights. But I certainly won’t be rushing to listen to this album again, put it that way! Still, it gets a 6/10 from me!

My Silent Wake: Lost in Memories, Lost in Grief

This isn’t just doom metal, this is ‘epic doom metal’. As if the main genre doesn’t get me excited enough… don’t make promises you can’t keep, My Slient Wake!

The band certainly deliver on their promise, thank god! This truly is an epic album, as well as being plenty doomy enough too. It also has just a touch of black metal to it, which was awesome and really interesting. Opening on the grandiose ‘The Liar and the Fool’, the track is already a journey on its own, let alone with another four tracks following it. Every track was incredible, with ‘Lavender Garden’ being an insane personal highlight. However, this is an album that deserves to be listened to all the way through. And, with the shorter length of the album, it’s not that hard to do. That’s my only real issue with the album, is that I simply need more of it! The lines between EPs and albums have been blurred a lot over the last couple of years, but 25 minutes really isn’t long enough! H

However, as I said, it’s an excellent release. Both the clean and the harsh vocals are incredible, and fit over the top of the exceptional instrumentation perfectly. If you’re into doom, or just metal in general, I would highly suggest checking this out, you won’t be disappointed! 9/10

Return to Dust: Self-Titled

I didn’t know what I was getting myself into with this release, not knowing anything about the band aside for the fact that they burst onto the scene last year and put out their debut, self titled album this last Friday. Part of me is glad, because being surprised by an incredible, Alice in Chains style album was amazing. Opener ‘Black Road’ set the tone for the album perfectly, and lead the charge for 35-minutes of awesomeness! I LOVE darker, heavier grunge like this, and my god, I need this shot right into my veins. It has just a tinge of indie to it too, at least the heavier, Highly Suspect end of the genre, anyway. The attitude and swagger dripping from each track was amazing, and the Jerry-Layne-esque harmonies on them all are breathtaking.

Slower, ‘Down in a Hole’-type songs like ‘Anyway I die’ and ‘Live Like This’ are just as amazing as the heavier stuff like ‘Cellophane’ and ‘When You Look at Me’. I would recommend this album to anyone, not just grunge fans, and I honestly can’t get enough of it. The band have done something really interesting with this release, and I’m so glad they’re already making waves in the US and playing shows like Sonic Temple and Rockville. The dynamic between the vocals are a massive highlight, but so are all the amazing riffs throughout. I’ve had some great grunge come through my emails recently and I really hope this band lead the charge for its inevitable revival! I’m a be listening to this album so much in the coming weeks. It’s a very easy 9.5/10 from me, though it may change to top marks still with more listens!

Interviews

Tom Killner: ‘Today it’s really hard to keep the attention of people!’

Leave a comment

We had the chance to sit down with the wonderful blues rock guitarist/singer Tom Killner, to chat about his latest album (review here) and his touring plans for the year. Check it all out below!

How’s it’s been to see the response to your new album?

It’s been great, to be fair! It’s different to the last albums we’ve done. It’s great that people are on board with it and like what we’ve done, which I’m really grateful for!

And it’s been a little while between releases, right?

Yeah! Somebody said it’s been six years since the last one, one of the reviews was like ‘it’s been over half a decade’ and it’s like wow, where’s that gone?! Yeah, time seems to slip by rather quickly. Especially with ‘that thing’ that happened that we don’t like to mention. So yeah, six years now. But we won’t leave it that long until the next one!

And what’s the writing process like for you? Do you write it all and then bring it to the band or do they sit and write with you?

It’s a mixture sometimes. Generally I’ll have a riff idea or the lyrics or an idea of the lyrical content. And I do like to chat with the band and get musical ideas. I do like other people’s input into stuff. It’s important that it’s not just a singular vision for the songs. The track ‘No More’ was originally a ballad, I wrote it on acoustic guitar. It just didn’t work. And then Rich, the drummer, said ‘let’s try it this way’, and this was like a week before we were due to record. Like lyrically there were no issues but musically we were struggling a little bit. And that’s when we take it to the band and swap and change it and things.

So it’s sort of a mixture between myself doing bits and pieces and the band coming up with ideas. I more or less let them have free rein with what they want to do on the tracks. That’s down to them.

Is there a particular story or theme throughout the album?

I don’t think there’s a story, you can’t call it a concept album. It’s an accumulation of songs I’ve written… some I wrote years back and we’ve toured them for years. Some of them were done literally the week before we recorded the album. But all the songs are from a certain point in my life, pinpointing what it was like then. Some are just pure fantasy, some are observations on everyday life. So that’s kinda the theme from the record, pinpoints through life.

I imagine there’s some music floating round for the next project still, too?

Yeah, I would say so! The vinyl format that we did, you’ve gotta cut down to a certain length or you start to loose audio quality, which a fun constraint to have. And the cost of having a double LP is unattainable at the moment. But yeah, we have got ideas and songs and riffs that didn’t make it onto this record that will be on the next one. And hopefully it won’t been too long before we start getting those together and having the next one written.

And do you lean more towards albums as opposed to single or?

I’m in both camps, to be fair. The industry is changing with how to capture your audience; you’ve got to move with what is happening, really. I would say I’m in the camp of I like a full album but I’m not afraid to have a couple or three singles from the album before the release. It sort of gives the people an indication of where it’s gonna go. Today it’s really hard to keep the attention of people. We’re in the world of 15/30 second videos. I’m 28 now so I sort of caught the end of when you used to go into shops to buy singles. So the singles thing has always been there, but it’s a rarity these days that bands are purely releasing LPs or full albums.

And so you’re on tour next month, right?

Yes! We are headed out with Hush Money, from Georgia. I can’t wait to be heading out with them. It’s crept up on me, seems like this year has disappeared already! We have a few dates with them across the UK; Scotland and the North-East and down to Wolverhampton and finish off at Call of the Wild. Really looking to that!

Then in July we’re heading out with Preacher Stone. These shows that we’re doing, we’re playing venues that we’ve never been to before, meet in new friends, so we’re looking forward to it!

Have you got much planned for the summer/back end of the year?

We’ve got quite a few festivals throughout. There’s plans for a tour later on this year on our own. It’s not been announced yet but we’re working on that! But mainly through summer it’s festivals.

Do you have a dream tour lineup you’d want to be a part of?

This question comes up a bit and I think it changes on a daily basis! A big one for me would be Blackberry Smoke. They’ve been on the playlist today so that explains why! Lukas Nelson, he’s really cool! Jason Isbell is one of my favourite artists in the Southern rock camp, phenomenal songwriter!

Interviews

Gorilla Riot: ‘Everyone just rallied in and helped for the cause, and within a week it was done!

Leave a comment

We had the chance to sit down with the awesome Gorilla Riot ahead of their set with Asomvel the other night (review here). Check it out below!

How’s the tour been so far?

This is the fourth show we’ve done upto now. Glasgow were cool. Weirdly enough it’s took us 10 years as a band to get up there, which is a bit odd. But it was good man, good vibes, definitely want to go back there. Then Newcastle, same again. Then Blackpool, played there a million times before but it was sweet!

And what can we expect from the show tonight?

Just some good old-fashioned rock’n’roll. It’s just a 30-minute set so just a power half-an-hour. Well, whatever Arj can sing, which is everything!

You’ve not long added a backing vocalist, what’s it like to be/have that in the band?

Luci: It’s really nice! I’ve known everyone for a long time; I’ve done a lot of Arj’s solo stuff and the acoustic side of things, and it’s been really nice to join in the rock band! We have fun, we have a good laugh!

Yeah, hearing you guys at sound check it all sounded to mesh together perfectly!

That’s good, it’s all downhill from now! That’s probably the best soundcheck we’ve done on this tour. It’s a great venue here, we’ve done it once before and that was cool!

And you guys are on the last week of the album crowdfunder, right?

Yeah, around that. 26th, so it’s close! We’re over it [the goal] now anyway. Which is mega. I didn’t think we’d get that response that quick. Everyone just rallied in and helped for the cause. It’s like us, you’re gonna get it done so get it fucking done. And within a week it was done! No fucking about or bullshit.

Is the album all written, then?

It’s all done, recorded and ready to go! We started recording it like two years ago and the recording process took a while. It’s been ready to go for a little while to be honest, but it’s just releasing it that we needed the help with.

Have got a rough idea of when we might get some new music?

It’ll be the back end of the year. I think we’re trying to aim for autumn, not winter. That’ll give a bit of longevity for the back end of the year to get on the road and work it. The album launch is booked, though! Not 100% set on dates but end of September, early October time. The plan is to be on the road for most of October, we’re still finalising gigs at the minute, and that will probably extend into November and December too.

We have Rock the Peak, and a few Stripped Back shows through the summer time to keep us going, too.

How did the Stripped Back shows come about?

We’ve always done it, to be fair. There’s a lot of influence running through the band and instead of just putting it into one we kinda separated it. People make the mistake of thinking it’s acoustic, but it’s not. It’s just less loud. Arj plays acoustic on most tracks, there’s more backing vocals, slightly different arrangements… it’s nice for us to hear the songs differently. If you look at our last record, Peach, it’s a full-on grunge album, while if you go back to the American Honey EP, it’s more soulful. It’s just good to separate on them and focus on it.

I don’t know, I’m just excited for the new stuff. As soon as we did that we did a couple of gigs with the Stripped stuff and I absolutely loved it. But then you do five or six shows of that, and you get a little bored, and you wanna do the rock stuff again. Who is anybody to tell you what the fuck to do? I’m gonna get paid anyway!

Do you have a dream tour lineup you’d want to be a part of?

It’s one of them I’m gonna be honest, I’m fucking sick of rock music! I don’t know, I’m pretty happy to just go with it and see what happens. I don’t really have a dream tour or situation. I’d like to play at Manchester Apollo at some point. That was the first gig I ever went to there. In regards to all that stuff though I’m just happy to ride the wave and go with it!

I like Gary Clark but they have a stint and then drop off. If Temperance Movement were still about that would have been cool. Skindred would be cool because they’re nice guys. I’d love to open for Keith Richards. Not the Stones, just Keith! At the Ritz or Royal Albert Hall or something like that.

Reviews

Asomvel, Gorilla Riot, Red Wine Ride and Eddie & The Wolves Rock the Hairy Dog!

Leave a comment

A stacked lineup defended onto our local venue last night. The rock powerhouses Asomvel are getting more and more momentum with each passing day it seems, and this tour has helped no end. Joining them on said tour have been grungy blues rockers Gorillia Riot and foot-stomping partiers Red Wine Ride. And, to add to the awesomeness, local stars Eddie & the Wolves joined them to open things up with a bang for just this stop. It was a massive lineup, and drew a pretty impressive crowd for a cold, windy Tuesday night.

So yes, to get the formality out of the way, I am the bassist for Eddie & the Wolves. And while I usually do the whole “this is the greatest band in the world, especially that bassist” shtick as a joke, I wanna speak honestly for this one. I want to personally thank every single person for coming out and supporting not only us, but every single band on the bill last night; for supporting local live music in general. Especially, as I mentioned, given the weather. And to see a que at the door as soon as they opened was amazing, given that we were on shortly after. Derby, you showed up. And another massive thank you to Ralph of Asomvel for getting us on the gig. Every single band member of all three bands were the nicest people, and it was a fantastic night.

And, not to toot our own horn, but I think we sounded pretty good! Considering my in-ear monitors cut out immediately (making it hard to play at times), I heard a lot of what the crowd did and I think it sounded good. And the crowd seemed to have a good time and enjoy it, even the ones that weren’t our friends and family who weren’t already familiar with our music. And, more importantly of course, we all had a blast. It was the first time we played any of the songs off the upcoming album, and outside of a couple of kinks, it went well! And, of course, Eddie & The Wolves are the best…!

Next up were the amazing Red Wine Ride. I wasn’t familiar with them before last night, but they’ve gained a big new fan in me! Their talent was off the charts, as was their energy and stage presence. They were a hell of a lot of fun to watch, and got the crowd into it in a big way. Their sound closely resembles that of AC/DC or Airborne, which is amazing to hear in the UK underground scene, and they pull it off to perfection. I’ve been checking out their music a lot today while I’ve been writing this review, and it holds up just as well on track as it does live. All four of these guys are insanely talented at playing and songwriting and they’re gonna be a massive name in the scene sooner rather than later!

Next up were the always amazing Gorilla Riot. We’ve seen them a couple of times before (see here and here) but it’s been a while, so I was pretty excited! They didn’t disappoint in the slightest, offering their incredible brand of swaggering hard rock to the adoring crowd. Even with a few technical issues, the band sounded on top form. Their stage presence and energy is so full of attitude and just comes across as fucking cool. They had a shorter set than usual but still rattled off some of their hits and best songs. The band have been going for a decade at this point and are clearly not only polished, but thoroughly enjoying what they do. It was another awesome set!

Then, the headliners took to the stage, the mighty Asomvel. The band burst onto the stage in a flurry of energy, and the same chaotic energy continued throughout their entire set. The band were there to put on a show, and had a good time doing just that! And yet, having said that, the band are so ridiculously tight live, you’d honestly think you were listening to the track at times. They rattled through an amazing set of songs new and old, that flew by in a flash, not at all feeling like over an hour. There’s little wonder why the band are getting one hell of a reputation for their live sets, as this is easily one of the best I’ve seen so far this year. The band are on track to be a huge name in the scene, especially if their latest album is anything to go by, too! Ralph’s stage presence and vocals along were incredible, but add in the other three members of the band also working their asses off and it made for a set to remember, for sure. The band personify the old-school Motörhead/ACDC vibe not just in sound, but in presence and attitude too, and it really is a sight to behold. This was awesome.

And there we have it. Four incredible bands in an incredible venue. It was a fantastic night of music in which every band delivered. The crowd loved it and practically hung on every note from each band. I truly believe all four (sorry for the bigheadedness) bands could go far in the UK rock scene, and I think we could see a lot more of all of them in the coming year. If you were nearby and didn’t go to this show, you most certainly missed out. I can’t wait to see the other three bands again, hopefully sooner rather than later, and I look forward to seeing where they go after this tour!

New Music Mondays

New Music Mondays: Blue Oyster Cult, Tyler Hubbard and More!

Leave a comment

A pretty stacked week as always this week, with everything from rock to country to metalcore. Let’s check it all out!

Blue Oyster Cult: Ghost Stories

The legendary rock band are back with their 16th studio album. The gap between the last two albums was a whopping 19 years, so it’s so nice to see the band clearly finding their passion for writing again, returning with another only four years later. And, what’s even better… it’s good! Is it as good as some of their best work? Not quite. But for a band that are going on six decades at this, they are doing a phenomenal job. Buck and Eric’s vocals still sound just as great together as they did in the 70s, and come up with some awesome, catchy vocal hooks and melodies. Tracks like ‘Cherry’, ‘Soul Jive’ and the jazzy ‘Shot in the Dark’ are personal highlights. Heck, we even get a great punk track with ‘Kick Out the Jams’. However, honestly, there isn’t a bad track on the album. It’s great, fun, chilled out soft-bluesy rock, and if you’re a fan of the band already you’ll love it, I’m sure! It probably won’t make our Best Albums of 2024 list, but it’s a damn good album and one the band should be damn proud of after all these years. 8/10

Tyler Hubbard: Stronger

We’ve already reviewed this album! Check it out here!

Mark Knopfler: One Deep River

I’ve been a fan of the Dire Straits frontman for years at this point. Not to age him drastically (heck, not that he’ll read this), but my Grandad is a big fan of the man and passed on that fandom to me in my early teens. And, being not only a soft rock fan, but a wannabe guitarist in a blues-rock inspired band, of course said fandom continues to this day. And the album was exactly what I was expecting; chilled-out rock music filled with incredible guitar work and some awesome vocal lines. I enjoyed it all, but standout tracks were definitely ‘Scavenger Yard’ and ‘Before my Train Comes’. Honestly, I don’t really have much else to say about the album. As I said, if you know Mar’s work, you’ll know exactly what to expect heading into it. It’s slower, lower-energy Dire Straits. If that’s your sort of thing, you’ll like this, just like I did. However, I know it certainly isn’t for everyone. Still, it’s an easy 7/10 from me!

Kris Barras Band: Halo Effect

The UK rock frontman (and former cage fighter, bet you didn’t know that?!) Kris Barras and his band are back with their fifth album. I’ve been a fan of his work for a while now, ever since ‘Hail Mary’ came out and hooked me in. So, know this comes from a place of love when I say… this is fine. Don’t get me wrong, there are certainly some good songs, and some that stand out the more I listen to them. The foot-stomping ‘With You’, anthemic ‘Reflections’ and the almost power metal single ‘Secrets’ are all clear favourites of mine. However, there is so much music out these days that sounds like this that it risks getting lost in the shuffle a little. The heavier NWOCR sound, Alter Bridge/Black Stone Cherry mixed with early 2000s dad/butt rock, is being done very well by so many bands at the minute. Whether it’s Those Damn Crows, Florence Black or Stone Broken, or so many other bands not in the UK, there is tonnes of this style that is great. And this is also great, don’t get me wrong, but does it stack up to some of the best? Potentially not.

It’s growing on me more with subsequent listens, don’t get me wrong, but I’m going to struggle to work out what score to give it. The riffs are awesome and go hard from start to finish, Kris’s vocals are as good as ever, and it does have some massive, catchy choruses. I hate to be THAT fan, but I did find myself enjoying their older, more blues-oriented sound. It set them apart from the pack a little more while this just sounds like everything else. Still, again, it’s not a bad album, and I’ll most likely be listening to a good few of the songs a fair bit moving forward. 7.5/10

Imminence: The Black

The metalcore Swedes are back with their first album in three years. I have to admit, I am very much in two minds with it. When it goes hard and gets heavy, I love it. Tracks like ‘Desolation’ and ‘?’ are amazing thanks to the heavy guitars and brutal screams. Even when the vocals get cleaner in parts of the tracks, it still has a heavy edge to it all. Heck, ‘Heaven Shall Burn’ is essentially a deathcore song. The strings in it were also an excellent touch. However, other tracks, such as the opener or ‘Death By a Thousand Cuts’, suffer the knock-on effect of Bad Omens’ Tik Tok popularity. Don’t get me wrong, variety isn’t an issue and is even encouraged. However, I’m not a fan of the kinda winey, radio-bait sound of these songs, Bad Omens and BMTH’s modern stuff. I’m sure I am in the minority with that opinion, given the popularity of the style, but give me heavy or give me nothing, please! Heck, even just a more interesting ballad would have been nice!

Still, there is certainly enough on here that I liked and to keep me entertained. There are a good number of songs that I’ll certainly have on a lot in the coming weeks and months. However, as an album as a whole, it isn’t for me. If you are into any of the bands I previously listed though or that lighter, more atmospheric/pop end of metalcore, this will certainly be for you! 7/10

Týr: Battle Ballads

I never feel like there’s enough Viking metal on this page, so damn am I excited to inject some more into it! The bands ninth studio album goes just has hard as their last few does. The first release after the critically acclaimed live album A Night at the Nordic House, it had to pull out all the stops, and that’s exactly what this does. Right from the intro it is epic, folky heavy metal music, and I loved it until the very last minute. Tracks like ‘Unwandered Ways’, ‘Hangman’ and the title track are all massive highlights. Also, big shoutout to the beautiful ballad sung in their native tongue, ‘Torkils Døtur’, it’s awesome.

Don’t go into this expecting Amon Amarth as it’s certainly lighter than that, more of a NWOBHM meets power metal vibe. However, it certainly channels a similar energy and epicness and passion. It’s a solid album from start to finish and one that I will most certainly be listening to again. Now I just need to hear all of these live with an orchestra behind them, too. I’m not asking for much! 8/10, this was great!

Gun: Hombres

The British hard rockers have certainly enjoyed one hell of a career resurgence in recent years, thanks in large part to being an adopted uncle/godfather to the ever-growing NWOCR scene. This album certainly continues their impressive run of momentum. It’s a great album that perfectly fuses the modern sound and style with that of the 80s sleazy hard rock that inspired them. The Axl Rose-inspiration is clear in the vocals, as is Slash’s in the guitaring, while it also has a touch of the likes of Motley Crue and Love/Hate, but all modernised to fit with the current sounds. Honestly, it sounds like a new version of UYI-I, or what Chinese Democracy should have sounded like.

Tracks like ‘Take me Back Home’, ‘Lucky Guy’ and the very British ballad, ‘You Are What I Need’ are all perfect examples of what I mean, and are all big highlights of the album. However, the more I listen to the album, the more I fall in love with every track. There is a lot to love on this album, and there really isn’t a bad track on it. Being a fan of the band for a while, I can confidently say that this is up there amongst my favourite albums from them. Any rock fans should check this out, they certainly won’t be disappointed! I’m gonna be cranking this a lot in the coming weeks and months. 9/10, great stuff!

Tom Killner: Borrowed Time

British blues guitarist/singer/legend Tom Killner is back with his third studio album, and first in over half a decade! It certainly doesn’t feel that long ago, but also feels like a long time coming. I’ve been waiting rather impatiently since it was announced last year, so can’t wait to finally be hearing it in full!

It’s an awesome, chilled out rock album, that has a hell of a lot more to offer than basic blues. Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of that too, on tracks like the opener and recent single ‘Light it Up’. However, tracks like ‘One Day at a Time’ have a more chilled-out, almost easy listening feel. Then ‘On the Other Side’ and ‘Borrowed Time’ have definite Lynyrd Synyrd/Blackberry Smoke country vibes combined with the blues, too. All the songs mentioned previously are certainly highlights. However, there isn’t a bad song on the album, and the whole thing is one big highlight, honestly. It’s clear a lot of love and dedication was put into this album, and I can’t fault it at all. I’m on my third listen through already this weekend which, given how much else I have to listen to, is a real testament to how great this release is. If you’re a rock, blues or country fan, or even if not, check this out, you won’t be disappointed! I have to. It’s an easy 10/10!

ERNEST: NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

The country superstar is back with his third record, and first in two years. Settle in, ladies and gents, it’s another long country album! It’s 26 tracks, nearly an hour-and-a-half, and honestly a little bit of a mixed bag. I’m a big fan of Jelly Roll, but damn if the opening track that features him isn’t just straight cringe. And the variety in the sounds, while good and greatly appreciated in this long of a release, does come across more of a ‘I used to write songs for others and haven’t quite found my own sound yet’ case. The song he does with Morgan Wallen, ‘Hangin’ On’, for example, just sounds like another Morgan song. Then again, his duet with Lainey Wilson is beautiful, and he and HARDY do a really interesting cover of Radiohead’s ‘Creep’. And the more upbeat, quirky tracks on here, like ‘Why Dallas’ and ‘Smokin’ Gun’, are definite album highlights. However, there is a LOT to this album, and a fair number of the tracks towards the back end are covers. I’d have much preferred he cut some of them out, did an EP or something with them instead, then load everything he had in the studio into one long release. It’s not a bad album at all, and if you’re into the more radio-style of country music, you’ll find plenty to enjoy. I just don’t think it’s anywhere near as consistent as it could be. 7/10

New Music Mondays

New Music Mondays: Cheryl Crow, Sum 41 and More!

Leave a comment

Two weeks in a row now that we’re inundated in new country albums. Yet again, I’m not complaining! We still have some power metal, metalcore and good old-fashioned rock ‘n’ roll spread through, too! Let’s dive right in!

Sheryl Crow: Evolution

I’ve never been the biggest Cheryl Crow fan in the world. This album hasn’t changed my mind. Don’t get me wrong, she has an absolutely incredible voice and some great hits from back in the day. But man, her albums have always been a bit of a slog. And, 30 years after her breakout hits, she still sounds like a combination of Shania Twain, Lenny Kravitz and Alanis Morrisette. I do find it slightly ironic that the album is called Evolution yet sounds exactly the same as everything else she’s put out. It’s 2024, do we really need any more of this late 90s/early 2000s pop rock?

I honestly couldn’t pick this out of a lineup of any of her other songs. All of the tracks kinda blend together, and most of the lyrics were juvenile at best. The only real one I found that stood out and I enjoyed was the closer, ‘Waiting in the Wings’. And even then, it’s probably because it was the most country-leaning track. None of it was bad, per-say, but it just feels like a wholly unneeded album. Still, if anyone reading this is a fan of her other work or any of the other artists I named in a big way, you’ll probably enjoy it. It’s not a bad album, just a safe, boring one. 3.5/10

Sum 41: Heaven :x: Hell

The final album from the pop-punk legends is a bittersweet affair. Having grown up with the band, it’s horrible to hear their last hurah (for now, at least. This is the music industry, after all…). However, what a fantastic swan song. It’s a 20-track, double album that spans all of the styles and sounds the band have covered over their illustrious career, and I love it. Whether it’s heavier, Anti-Flag-style songs like ‘Future Primetive’ or the AMAZING single ‘Rise Up’ or more typical pop-punk stuff like ‘I Can’t Wait’ or ‘Dopemine’, it’s all awesome and packed full of highlights.

Don’t get me wrong, a couple of the songs are a little Ticket to My Downfall, which isn’t a good thing. It may be a little too long, controversially. However, it’s new, final Sum 41, so I still loved it. The band are going out on a high and at the top of their games, which doesn’t happen often these days, and I admire the crap out of them for that. If you are a fan of the band or pop punk in general, I cannot recommend this album enough! I’mma be listening to it a lot going forward. 9/10

While She Sleeps: SELF HELL

Considering I was a metalcore kid, I never quite ‘got’ WSS. I was hoping that would change with the inevitable yet slower-than-usual transition into more of a BMTH sound, especially given that they seem to have gotten stuck around Sempiternal, but that sadly hasn’t happened. I got pretty excited too because when I first stuck it on, I really loved the intro track and where it was headed. Then sadly, that destination was nowhere, building up to stop, and then the following track being anti-climactic, Linkin Park-esque nothingness.

Don’t get me wrong, there were tracks I enjoyed on here. ‘RAINBOWS’ and the heavier, Malevolence-featuring ‘DOWN’ are two songs I’ve listened to a lot over this last weekend. ‘ENEMY MENTALITY’ is a fun, almost modern BFMV, too. However, there is a lot of meh on this album, including multiple interludes that feel like they go nowhere. I know the band are getting quite big and have a lot of momentum currently, but this release doesn’t reflect that at all to me. Hopefully actual fans of the band enjoy it more than I do! 6/10

Rage: Afterlifelines

We’ve already checked out this awesome album! Read the full review of it here!

Aaron Lewis: The Hill

The Staind frontman is back with another helping of his country-based solo work. If you can get past the overly patriotic, questionably political and generally cringy lyrics, it’s a pretty decent album. His voice is just as well suited to country as it is radio/dad rock. Tracks like ‘Spinnin”, ‘Only In My Mind’ and the bouncier, rockier ‘Outlaw’ are all big highlights of the album. However, with just his vocals, guitars and strings, it does get a tad samey and drags a little by the end. None of it is bad, but I wish we’d have had a little more dynamics, or heck, even some drums, just to fill things out a little more or add to the dramatics. Still, I’ve seen a lot of people praising the album so far and rightfully so, it’s a good country release! 8/10

Asomvel: Born to Rock ‘n’ Roll

One of the fastest rising stars in the UK underground rock scene currently, Asomvel finally released their highly anticipated new album last Friday. And, surprising to I’m sure no one, it’s fucking awesome! It’s the perfect blend of Motorhead and Airborne, yet also feels like a modernised version of both. It’s dripping with attitude and has a real old-school feel to it while somehow still fitting in perfectly with today’s music and climate.

It’s a balls-to-the-wall, foot stomping album from start to finish, and is full of energy and adrenaline. Of course, there is something to be said of it all being similar, and I have certainly called out other releases for doing just that in the past. However, the 45-minutes went by in a flash and I loved every minute of it! There isn’t a bad song on the album, but tracks like the opener, ‘Cold Day in Hell’ and ‘Outside the Law’ are all massive personal highlights. If this is anything to go by, this hand are going to be MASSIVE in the very near future. Any rock fan out there will love this just as much as I did. I’d recommend it to anyone! 9.5/10, great stuff!

Ash Tustain: Piece of Me

We’ve also done this album in full too, aren’t you lucky? Check it out here!

Preacher Stone: V

The southern rockers are finally back with their first new album in eight years. The hype around it has been pretty massive, with three huge, awesome singles having been dropped already. I can’t wait to hear the rest!

It’s just as good as I was expecting it to be! ‘Hard Life PhD’ is the perfect opener, setting up the sound and feel of the album fantastically. Tracks like ‘Ain’t as Easy as it Looks’, the stomping, swaggering ‘Horse to Water’, and ‘Dance with the Devil’ are also personal highlights. However, there really isn’t a bad track on the album! It’s also put together really well, with every track flowing perfectly one after another. I didn’t get bored at all and listened to it all in one sitting like no time passed at all! If you’re into anything Southern or hard rocking or even country, check this out, you won’t be disappointed! 8/10

Dylan Scott: Livin’ My Best Life (Still)

I guess a sequel album of sorts, as ‘…Still’ clearly follows on from Dylan’s 2022 release in a major way. It continues the bro country/rock country sound and trend of his previous two albums, so if that’s your thing, you’ll surely love this! Honestly, I thought this was right up my alley going into it, but personally, the album was… fine? None of it was bad, don’t get me wrong. It’s always nice to have a darker, rockier, Brantley Gilbert-like sound in country, and Dylan and the musicians he’s used are all fantastic performers and writers. But it’s a slightly outdated country style these days, the lyrics being a touch on the cringy side at times. And there is a lot of music that sounds like this that I don’t think this album will quite cut through the white noise. Tracks like the opener and ‘Killin’ Some Time’ are personal highlights, but a lot of it sounds similar and blended together. I wouldn’t turn off the album if it came on. However, I don’t think I’d go out of my way to listen to it in full much again after this. Especially at 24 TRACKS. MY GOD COUNTRY, STOP THIS. 6.5/10

Beyoncé: COWBOY CARTER

I never thought I’d be writing about Beyoncé on this site. However, given that this is advertised and claims to be a country album, I thought I’d give it a crack.

Lol, this was shit. If you’re a Beyoncé fan you’ll probably enjoy it, but if you’re a country fan, keep a wide birth. To call it country is laughable and almost insulting to the genre. It’s an R&B album that claims to be country because it’s an acoustic guitar at its heart instead of a clean electric one or electronic samples. And the fact that it’s probably going to be the ‘biggest country album of the year’ makes me sick. I’ve heard the dreadful, nonsensical ‘TEXAS HOLD ‘EM’ so much on social media and, unlike most songs that go viral, I haven’t even been Stockholm Syndromed into liking it. That’s how bad it is. The covers were the best part and that’s because she was nowhere near the writing process for them. And heck, if you want to listen to ‘Joline’ or ‘Blackbird’, I highly recommend listening to the original instead.

This will certainly have the mainstream media in love with it, but as a country fan, this is terrible. Honestly, it may be the worst album I’ve ever reviewed, and I don’t say that lightly. 1/10

New Music Mondays

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

Leave a comment

This week is for the country fans! Sure, there is some power metal and NWOCR sprinkled in for good measure, but at least four of the albums this week are considered country. Not that I’m complaining at all, in fact I’m excited. Let’s dive in!

Kenny Chesney: Born

The country legend is back with his whopping 20th studio release. It’s somehow the biggest gap in albums in his 30+ year career, too, with Here and Now being released back in 2020. It’s also rare to see someone have such a long, prolific career in the genre, with almost every album from 1997 through to 2020 producing one of his biggest hits. It’s honestly insane.

Shockingly, this album is no different, either. A couple of the singles have already received huge country-radio airplay globally, and it’s easy to see why! ‘Take her Home’ channels very ‘Get Along’ vibes and feelings, but a love song version. Meanwhile ‘Just Say We Did’ is a typical modern era Kenny banger. The album is pretty front loaded though, as the opener is one of my favourite tracks on the album, and songs like ‘Few Good Stories’ and ‘Guilty Pleasure’ are good, with the latter also being a single.

However, it was at that point that I started to feel the length of the album. There are certainly still good songs after this point, don’t get me wrong. But there are eight more songs, and a lot of them all have a similar feel and tempos. I can complain all day about the too-long length of modern country albums, but I’ll leave it at: this definitely suffers with that issue. Still, it’s a good album with some great songs on it. And regardless, it’ll still be massive just like Kenny’s other releases. I’ll be listening to plenty of this a lot moving forward, so it’s an easy 8/10

Chris Young: Young Love & Saturday Nights

A modern country megastar, Chris returned on Friday with his ninth studio album, and first since the dreaded Covid times. I feel like I’ll never see him at this point after he dropped out of his UK tour and The Long Road 2022 headline slot, so at least new music’s something, right?

It helps that said new music is really quite good. The opener is classic Chris Young stadium-country goodness, while the ‘Rebel Rebel’ homage of a title track is incredible. Other big highlights include ‘Country Boy’s Prayer’, the almost TC3-like ‘Double Down’, the beautiful ‘Gettin’ Older’, ‘Knee Deep in Neon’ and ‘Right Now’. Don’t get me wrong, it very much has the same issue as the previous album in that it is so long. 18 songs and nearly an hour is a lot, especially when the vast majority of it sounds pretty similar. The album definitely hits a slump between ‘Double Down’ and ‘Gettin’ Older’, even if all five of the tracks between them are great. I also love the final three tracks a hell of a lot. That’s 12 incredible tracks that I am in love with, and six that are really rather easily cuttable.

Because of this, it makes it very hard to come up with a ranking for this. On the one hand, at least half of this album is up there with some of his best work, in my opinion. The seven tracks I’ve mentioned I will be listening to a hell of a lot, and have made me want to see him live somehow even more badly. And as I’ve said, none of the other tracks are especially bad. They’re just slow-ish and samey and one after another. Still though, it’s a truly fantastic country album, and will most likely not get the love it definitely deserves, given how many other major players there are in the genre these days. I’ll be playing this a lot moving forward, and would recommend it to anyone. 9.5/10

Hammer King: KÖNIG UND KAISER

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

Gossip: Real Power

The US indie band are back with their first album since 2012, and a whopping two reunions later. I was a fan of their stuff back in the day, with Standing in the Way of Control and Music for Men being awesome albums. However, I didn’t even know they’d broken up, let alone gotten back together. Sadly, this album doesn’t quite do it for me. The title track is fun, as is ‘Turn the Card Slowly’. However, in general, it feels like the band are simply trying to recapture an old magic that died long ago. It’s less Brave New World and more Chinese Democracy. It all kinda blended together into a blur of meh, sadly. It’s not bad, but the genre and music industry as a whole has evolved so far past this in the last 12+ years that this feels pretty stale. I know I’m certainly not the biggest indie fan so I’m sure there will be some out there whole like this. I’m not one of them, though. 3/10

Sierra Ferrell: Trail of Flowers

Owen: The follow up to a strong debut in 2021, it’s hard to believe ‘Trail Of Flowers’ is only the second release from Sierra Ferrell. The success she’s seen in the time between these two albums (a  myriad of featuring spots with artists big and small, as well as involvement with major film and tv productions) seems only to have empowered the blend of styles unique to Ferrell’s solo work. The
12 tracks presented are expertly paced; winding paths from upbeat galloping beats such as 2023 single ‘Fox Hunt’, through to the slow wrenching ballad of ‘Wish You Well’.

In the latter stages of the album, we are given two songs that have suffered the same fate. Fans that discovered Ferrell through YouTube will be familiar with both ‘Why Haven’t You Loved Me Yet’ and ‘Rosemary’. Both songs have been circulating the platform with various performances over recent years, each rightly celebrated by the fanbase. As a long-time fan, I’m sure I’m not the only one happy to see both of these stand proud on a full-length release. In future releases, it would be great to see Ferrell push the limits of her vocal range and natural talent a little further. Having witnessed the power of her voice live I wish this came across more in the album recordings. 8.5/10

Borris & Coaltar of the Deepers: “Hello There”

The odd Japanese band are back, this time experimenting with a 90s alt rock band. The third helping of the band on this series, and sadly I think it’s the one I enjoyed the least out of them. It had more of the band’s psychadellic inspiration to it, adding it to Coaltar’s alt rock in a very weird way. I feel like live some of the stuff wouldn’t be too bad, especially with a good stageshow, but on track it did nothing for me. I honestly can’t even pick out a highlight track; it’s all one big blend of weird noise.

Don’t get me wrong, I have massive admiration for Boris. Being able to collaborate with so many different artists for full albums and adapt their sound accordingly takes insane amounts of talent. There are certainly going to be fans of this music out there too, as Coaltar have tens of thousands of monthly streamers. But yeah, this is not for me at all. A couple of nice riffs but that’s sadly it. 3/10

Cody Jinks: Change the Game

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

Stone Angels: Up in Smoke

An interesting release up next, as the NWOCR band have decided to release solely physical copies of the album currently, releasing each track as a single on streaming in the coming months before putting out the full album on them after. It’s a bold strategy for sure, and one I haven’t seen before, so I’m curious to see how it plays out!

As for the actual music, it’s pretty good! There’s a grungy/alt metal edge to their brand of hard rock which keeps things interesting and made it a fun listen. The riffing throughout is amazing and there are plenty of catchy vocal hooks and melodies to appease more radio listeners. Tracks like ‘Gambler’, ‘Western Dreams’ and the more ballad-like title track are all personal highlights.

I’ve already seen a lot of fans of this album, and I did really enjoy it myself, though it does feel like it’s missing something that puts it on the upper level of albums in the genre. I have no idea what that something is, but it does feel just a small step below the likes of Bed of Nails or Inhale/Exhale. It’s still good, don’t get me wrong, and I’ll be listening to it a bunch after this review still. But at the time of writing, I’mma give it a 7.5/10

Gary Clark Jr.: JPEG RAW

The blues master returned with his sixth album last week. It immediately gives off an old-school, more raw sounding Lenny Kravitz style. Between the obviously awesome, grungy guitar work and great vocals, the album had me hooked right from the opener, ‘Maktub’. There’s also some clear jazz/soul influence on songs like ‘Alone Together’. Meanwhile, tracks like the title one and ‘This Who We Are’ incorporate more of Gary’s hip hop influences, which I LOVE. The latter is a huge highlight of the album and one of my favourite tracks Gary has put out. Other highlights include ‘Hearts in Retrograde’ and the almost proggy ‘Habits’.

The talent and variety on display throughout the album is incredible and I was never once bored. The nearly-hour went by in a flash. It’s certainly not going to be for everyone but damn, I really enjoyed the album! It’s an easy 8/10 from me!

Hideous Divinity: Unextinct

The tech/brutal death metal band are back with album number five and damn, it’s a good one! I usually don’t get a huge amount out of stuff quite this straight-forward heavy, but the band had me hooked on this album from ‘The Numinous One’. It was a big highlight track of the album, as is the epic, Zach Jeter featuring ‘Atto Quarto’. However, the whole album is pretty great, and if you’re into the heavy stuff you’ll love this! There isn’t too much more I can say about it, if you’re familiar with the genre you know exactly what to expect, and it delivers in spades! 7.5/10

Leaves’ Eyes: Myths of Fate

The German symphonic metal band’s first album in nearly four years is fucking awesome. Of course, it’s easy to draw comparisons to genre giants like Nightwish and Within Temptation, but from the soaring, powerful operatic vocals to the awesome growls and screams and the overall epic feel, I’d say this is definitely up there with those two. Right from the excellent opener to the massive closer, this album had me hooked throughout. There isn’t a bad track on the album but songs like ‘Who Wants to Live Forever’, ‘Fear the Serpent’ and the beautifully folky ‘Godess of the Night’ are definite highlights for me.

My only ever so slight issue with this album is that it doesn’t really do anything different. All are great songs, but there is so much amazing power/symphonic metal coming out these days that it may just fall into the sea of white noise. Still though, that shouldn’t dissuade anyone from listening to it. If you’re a fan of any of the bands or genres I’ve previously mentioned, you’ll love this. 8/10, it’s a great album!

The Staves: All Now

The folk duo of sisters have grown pretty darn popular over the last decade or so thanks to a rabid fanbase and some consistently high-quality releases. It’s an incredibly chilled-out album filled with big, open choruses and almost hypnotic vocal harmonies from Jessica and Camilla. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not especially my sort of thing, but I can appreciate how well written and performed it is. It doesn’t have as much of a folk sound as it does electro/synth pop with Fleetwood Mac-style vocals over the top. The highlight for me was probably ‘Make a Decision’, but honestly I wouldn’t turn any of it off if it came on again. If you’re into more chilled out music, check this album out! 7/10

Reviews

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

Leave a comment

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

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

Check out a similar review here.

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

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

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

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

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

The score: 9.5/10