So, we thought we’d kick off the new format of New Music Mondays with a bang, and what a week we picked! Six brand new rock albums were released last Friday from all levels, from underground to rising stars to bands that have been around for decades. Here’s our weekly round-up of all of these releases!
The most anticipated release of the week came from the heavy metal bands debut album, ‘Eternal Blue’. After over a year of dropping some of the most interesting singles it was many people’s most anticipated album of the year. We have already managed to review the album in its entirety, which you can read here. Highlights include Holy Roller, Circle with Me and Yellowjacket, which featured as our Track of the Week!
Candlebox: Wolves
Seattle’s own Candlebox have had a very up and down past. After exploding into mainstream popularity off of their debut album with singles like ‘Far Behind’ and ‘You’, the band petered off over the back half of the 90’s and even a reunion couldn’t quite bring them back to their initial success. That in no way disputes the quality of their output, though, as their last couple of albums have been great and ‘Wolves’ is no exception. The album is a fantastic collection of 90s inspired radio-rock, showing the band have far more to offer than their debut. I cannot even recommend a couple of highlight songs as the entire album sounded fantastic to me. As we won’t have the chance to review it on its own, I shall give it a quick 8/10.
Carcass: Torn Arteries
Liverpudlian extreme metal band Carcass have one of the biggest cult followings in the UK scene. Now seven albums deep into their discography the band show no signs of slowing down at all, and nor should they. ‘Torn Arteries’ is a damn enjoyable enjoyable for anyone who is into their heavier side of metal, and can at least be appreciated by any music lover for their talent and song-writing ability. Album highlights include the title track and its lead single, ‘Under the Scalpel Blade’, 7/10.
Alien Weaponry: Tangaroa
Maori-infused thrash metal band Alien Weaponry burst quickly onto the scene back a couple of years a couple of years ago with their debut album, ‘Tū’, and haven’t looked back since. Now the release of their sophomore album, the band build on their sound even more, delivering one hell of a solid metal album from a band so young. I predict huge things for this band in the future and, while this comparison is used a lot, they could become the next Metallica at the rate they are going. A solid album from a great band, with a tonne of highlights throughout. 7.5/10.
The 80s German metal band Rage are still going strong nearly four decades into their careers, and their new album proves just that. It’s 50 minutes of heavy thrash goodness, and a reminder that they are nowhere near as big as they should be on these shores. Among the many highlights are the title track, ‘Monitary Gods’ and ‘Extinction Overkill’. 7.5/10.
Florence Black: WEIGHT OF THE WORLD
Welsh formed hard rock band Florence Black have been gaining a steady following and support in the NWOCR movement over the last couple of years or so leading up to the release of their debut album last week. The singles ‘CAN YOU FEEL IT?’ and ‘SUN & MOON’ did a fantastic job of building hype for the album but they are far from the only highlights of the album. We shall be doing a full review of the album (here) in the coming days though, so you will have to check that out if you want to know any more about it!
And there we have it, a stacked week full of awesome rock and metal tracks! Which is your favourite? Be sure to let us know on our socials and keep following us here for more updates on the world of rock!
Blues/hard rock quartet Daxx and Roxane have been making waves in the UK music scene the last couple of years or so due to their classic sound, awesome hooks and fantastic musicianship. We got the chance to catch them at Rockin’ The Bowl and they were utterly fantastic (full review of the event here). We also had the privilege of chatting to the guys after their set and get a little bit of insight into who they are and what they aim to achieve in the years to come!
The set was amazing. We only played half an hour but it was really really good. It felt longer because it was intense from the start. The crowd was awesome today. We played quite early and when you play early you think are they going to be up for it, but the people were super cool and really into it so it was really nice. I think everyone is just so happy to be at a festival.
So you guys are originally from Switzerland, did you move over here for gigs?
We moved over about eight years ago. In Switzerland we were a band for around five years as a thrash/metal band and we moved over here because the gigging scene was really appealing to us and we always wanted to move to London. And when we got here, we got more into the rock vibe and we’ve been here ever since. We would love to go back to Switzerland to play and we’re talking to some venues to try and do something because it has been way too long. We’ll go back for sure.
What have you been up to post lockdown this year?
In December we are doing a two week tour all around the UK with another Swiss band who are also doing quite a lot of shows in the UK, called the Dirty Sound Magnet. We met them two years ago and just thought lets do a tour together so we really cannot wait to be on the road just for a proper tour. That’ll be the first tour after a year and a half.
Did the pandemic disrupt any of your plans? What have you been up to during lockdowns?
Our tour was cut short. We had a tour planned for our album launch back in 2020 and the tour was right when lockdowns happened so we did our last gig 3 days before the lockdown and then that was it. So we’ve not been gigging very much since the pandemic. We had one gig last year but now since August we’ve been back and it’s been awesome. We’ve been working a lot on our EP that we want to release next year. In the meantime, we’ve been working on some new material because obviously we don’t want to have only two albums.
What can we expect from your new music?
It’s a bit heavier. It’s the same style of music but just a bit heavier with the sound. We’ve been working a lot more on the actual sound of our instruments because we always wanted to find that really heavy sound that we like. We love our first album but we always thought that we sounded a bit heavier live and that’s what we’ve been trying to reproduce over the last year with the second album. And now we want to do it a bit louder!
So the next time you’re playing semi-locally is Nottingham in December!
Yes at Billy Bootleggers! It’s a bit more on the side, a bit more underground. It should be cool.
If you could play any festival next year, where would you play?
Ramblin’ Man would be one we would love to play at. There’s such a cool atmosphere over there. Everyone is super chill. We’ve been looking forward to play Heretic Fest. We were so excited when we first got booked on and then it got pushed back and pushed back. It’s finally happening, next year, but it’s finally happening and it’ll be just awesome. It’s a very good line-up. Three days of awesome bands. We’re very proud to be part of it. Sheffield is a great city for rock. Every time we’ve played in Sheffield, it’s always super cool and we always tend to get more drunk in Sheffield than any other cities.
The awesome Daxx and Roxane are gunning for Ramblin’ Man in 2022! But before then, you can see them in plenty of places up and down the country, be it back in Sheffield for Heretic Fest or on their tour at the end of the year.
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And here we are, the last day of what has turned out to be an incredible festival.
Kicking things off was the punk-rock awesomeness of Dukes of Bordello. Any band that is this punk but also has a double bass instead of a regular one automatically goes up in my books, as well as get’s at least 124 more punk-points. I’ve seen them across the UK at a number of different festivals before and they have always been good, and there was no exception here! Massive amounts of fun and a great way to blow away the cobwebs for the final day!
Next up was a run of a number of bands with a similar sound and style. Black Whiskey, Sons of Liberty and Bootyard Bandits are all heavily influenced by a blues/country rock style, although they adapt it in very different ways. The first two are straight forward rock/blues while the latter takes a more comical/parody route. All three bands were tight and easily entertained the crowd. You can catch them on a similar circuit from time to time so keep an eye out for their names in future festival lineups.
Collateral took to the stage after them, bringing their own style of glam/AOR laced hard rock. Always a fantastic live band, it seems like Rockin’ the Bowl was no exception as they arguably had one of the loudest receptions of the weekend!
Melodic hard rock band The Wicked Jackals then brought their style of energy, passion and stage presence to the Bowl. Never ones to be shown up, they had the crowd in the palm of their hands throughout and put on one hell of a show. The same could apparently be said for our good friends over in Hollowstarwho gave one of their best performances to date. They are the perfect balance of both a professional band and genuine artists who obviously love what they do.
Then we reached the headliner of the Sunday and by far the best stage-show of the weekend, Massive Wagons. We had been forewarned about the sheer amount of pyro and confetti they were bringing, but it still didn’t prepare me for the sheer madness I witnessed. Fire, explosions and a tonne of confetti, this was a headlining set if I’ve ever seen one! It of course helps that the band also sounded on point, delivering a performance to match the show. A band that have been on top form for a while now, I can see them becoming one of the big bands of the future in only a few years.
That’s it for Overtone’s big bad review of Rockin’ The Bowl 2021. After over a year off, this was exactly the kind of festival that the rock scene needed right now and it was executed to perfection. With next years line-up already looking stacked, expect to see a similar review this time next year!
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Starting off bright and early at around 11:30am (after a slight delay), Lowdrive took to the stage. Bringing what I felt like was a great stoner/doom vibe reminiscent of the likes of The Sword or Down, the band did a great job of blowing away the last of my grogginess and setting me up well for the rest of the day! I feel like everyone felt the same as the crowd responded better than they did to the first band the day before. They were still a tad quiet though, making me feel like if the band were put in front of a crowd that knew their stuff it’d really be something special!
The second stage was open today too and the festival did a great job of alternating between the two stages, ensuring no clashes and making sure there was always music on throughout the day.
The first band to grace this stage wereZero Point Zero, a metalcore band from our neck of the woods, Derby/Notts. The frontman had a fantastic scream, but unfortunately his cleans were a tiny bit weak – it may have just been nerves or time away from playing live or the questionably VERY loud mix. The rest of the band were good, playing a good mix of clean, slower stuff and great heavy riffs. The least polished band so far but that was expected, being on the second stage.
Next up on the mainstage was the all-female band Joanovarc. Considering it was their first time performing with their brand new singer, Hazel, I think they absolutely smashed it! Like, so much so that they were one of the highlights of the weekend! All four women were fantastic at their given job and all had a natural chemistry with each other on stage. These girls have a BIG future under this line-up and I cannot wait to see what they do next.
Back over to the second stage we head afterwards for a band called Firegarden. There was a major emphasis on the instrumentation, being a lot more of that than vocals. It was fine because all of them were fantastic at their given instrument. The crowd clearly loved it too as the tent was pretty packed out from start to finish.
Welsh hard-rock bandFlorence Black were up next! Given how they were building up to the release of their debut album this coming Friday, they did a fantastic job adding hype! The band get such an amazing, HUGE sound out of just the three of them, and they had the kind of style and stage-presence that a band ten years their senior may not even have. Another very polished band yet, just like City Kids, they have an edge of grit and improvisation to them – making it all the more enjoyable. And any band that covers Budgie is a win for me!
Unfortunately we missed the following second stage band as we had interviews, but managed to catch Empyre afterwards. They were good, if a little slow. I spent the entire set waiting for a big drop, for the band to get a little heavier or faster, but it didn’t come. There were a couple of parts that sounded a little like Tool, but it never quite hit the same heights. They were all still fantastic musicians, though, and the vocals were a particular highlight.
Shooting back across to the second stage we got to catch most of the awesome A Joker Among Thieves. They were another band that pulled and maintained a pretty decent crowd throughout their set, and for very good reason, they were great! They had a real great, genuine energy about them and seemed genuinely thankful to be there. Their slow song around the middle of the set was awesome too.
Hell’s Addiction were another fun, enjoyable and pretty tight band. They were on the same sort of level as City Kids in that they felt like the first band of the day people had gone there to see. Shoutout to the guitarist’s soloing.
Next up were a personal favourite band of mine, Bad Touch. I’ve known the guys for years and it’s so amazing to see them go from playing tiny pub venues in front of a limited audience to being a lot of people’s highlight of the weekend. It’s down to earth blues/country rock, no bells and whistles, just five guys giving it their all to play enjoyable songs and give the crowd the best time they can. Stevie is one of the most charismatic frontmen I’ve ever seen and he had the audience in the palm of his hand throughout. What other band could play a badass Alanis Moressette cover that weekend and get away with it? And not to mention 99% being a crowd favourite. A cracking set!
Gin Annie were another enjoyable band just like Hell’s Addiction that were all extremely talented and owned the stage with their polish and professionalism… but it did feel a little too much at times. There is a pretty fine line between being well put together and being TOO choreographed and rehearsed, and I felt like the band landed on the wrong side of that line from time to time. There is a grit and realism that I feel must exist in rock music, especially when it’s underground like this, and taking that away makes it feel much more corporate, something that no one wants from their rock music. Still, they were a good, enjoyable band none the less!
Finally, we reached the headliner of the evening, the almighty Doro. The former Warlock frontwoman blasted through a set full of classics and hits, both from her old band and her solo career, having the crowd in the palm of her hand the entire time. It was just an hour or so of classic metal goodness, even complete with a separate drum solo! All the band members were fantastic and she’s still such a charismatic frontwoman that it really helped carry the performance. A great way to close the night!
Sheffield’s premier underground rock festival, Rockin’ The Bowl, finally returned to Don Valley last weekend after a years absence due to the state of the world. With a stacked line-up that was mostly a carry over from 2020s event, with headliners of AOR legends Cats in Space, the metal queen herself Doro, and the almighty Massive Wagons, it was not one to be missed.
And miss it we did not! We managed to attend and experience the music and merriment, but just in case you couldn’t we thought we’d review it! Three days, two stages, 33 bands and one hell of a party, we managed to experience just about all of it!
The Lineup
Having arrived in barely enough time to set up my tent due to traffic, it wasn’t long before the gates opened and the host announced the first band… Bastette!
What a way to kick things off. Their awesome blend of pop-rock was the perfect way to start off an afternoon of great music. Caroline was all charisma and power, a fantastic frontwoman and really owning the big stage. The perfect combination of pop queen Lady GaGa and rock lioness Lzzy Hale. That isn’t to take away from the rest of the band though, who got plenty of chance to show off their awesome skill and musicianship. It took the crowd a little to warm up, not surprising given that it was probably the first gig back for some, but once they did they were joining in and enjoying it plenty!
Wasting little time, Daxx and Roxanne were on quickly afterwards. The Swiss born blues rock band blew the place away, owning every inch of the stage and having the crowd in the palm of their hand throughout! The whole band had an aura of polish and professionalism, something that made me quickly realise they are one of a few bands over the weekend that I can see playing massive stages at huge festivals around the world in just a few short years. Just good old fashioned blues rock, delivered awesomely!
Picture: Will Hutch
Unfortunately the following band, Liberty Lies, had to pull out last minute, but it meant that Sheffield locals Steal the City got promoted from the second stage to take their place. Unfortunately we couldn’t catch all of their set as it was when our interviews started, but we caught the back end and they seemed awesome! They really utilised their upgraded slot well, putting on one hell of a show and being the heaviest band on yet was a nice change of pace too! We will have to see them again I feel to fully appreciate them!
Up next were The City Kids, bringing an awesome punk edge to the proceedings. Another very polished band, but having enough swagger and attitude from their punk sound to still give it an edge. They were the first band that felt truly over with the crowd, that some of them had gone there specifically for them, which meant the crowd reactions and interactions were all the louder. One of the best modern punk bands I’ve heard, definitely for fans of the likes of Rancid and Bad Religion!
Up next, The Outlaw Orchestra chilled things out again with a more southern/blues sound. I love all things country so this was right up my street and I had a blast! I found they were at their best when they were a little slower, playing longer, more epic-feeling stuff. Their closing track was a definite highlight, but that isn’t to take away from the rest of the set. Even the covers they performed were top notch. Another top class band!
And within no time at all we reached the headliner of the first day of Rockin’ the Bowl, Cats In Space! What a way to close out a fantastic day too, with an equally fantastic set from a veteran rock band. They remind me a lot of Night Ranger or even Def Leppard, so ridiculously polished and well produced live that it could have just as easily been a recording of the tracks. Everything from their guitar tones to their harmonies to Damien’s incredible vocals sounded MASSIVE. I have to admit I was a little intoxicated by this point so my notes are messy and don’t make a lot of sense, but both ‘Mr Heartache’ and ‘Marionette’ were particular highlights. A fantastic way to close the night!
Greta Van Fleet is a young classic rock band from Michigan. Formed as recently as 2012, the band burst into the mainstream scene a few years ago with their single Highway Tune; a song loved for its old-school rock feel and singer Josh Kiszka’s vocals sounding eerily similar to one Robert Plant’s. Since then, the band has released two albums (including this one) and an EP and has only grown more and more popular, being one of the leading bands of the new music scene. I have to say, while I am not the biggest fan of the band in the world, they are all top-notch musicians and have put out some fantastic songs over the last four years or so. So, I shall remain as impartial as I can, as I really do like a hell of a lot of classic rock music so for all intents and purposes I should like this too, and also promise to mention Led Zeppelin as little as possible, due to the band not liking the comparison. Join me in checking it out!
One of the four singles, ‘Head Above’, starts things off. It opens on 40 odd seconds of synth as a drum roll builds up louder and louder. It then explodes out into a huge, slow, 70s rock-sounding riff. It’s surprisingly uplifting for a rock song, something that you don’t hear very often anymore. The acoustic coming in for the verse sounded nice too. Instead of Plant, Josh channels his inner Geddy Lee for his vocals, them soaring high and grating on me just a tad. This may be a long review. And I’m a big fan of Rush too, but I listen to them because the instrumentation is the main focus, not the incredibly high vocals. There are also times where he almost yodels, and while he can pull it off it was making me laugh just a little bit. This, if anything, gave me more Grateful Dead vibes than anything else, it’s all very upbeat and slow and light, nowhere near as heavy as I was expecting given the songs I am a fan of by them. It’s also a very strange choice for an album opener, unless (hopefully not) the whole album is this sort of style. It’s not particularly a bad song, it would make good, chilled-out background music, just like Grateful Dead. However, it isn’t exactly something I would choose to listen to, and if this is the future of rock then count me out.
Next up is the album’s lead single and the only one I have heard before this review, ‘My Way, Soon’. It opens better than the other, with a great classic rock guitar riff. However, the drums behind it are pretty slow and light, and that carries on through the verse. It again has massive Rush vibes to it thanks to Josh’s vocals and the fact that the song focuses a little more on some of the awesome riffs in it. The vocals themselves are catchier in this one than in the last too, both in the verse and chorus. In fact, the chorus on its own is fantastic, and one of the best they have written, in my opinion. We also get a great guitar solo from Jake Kiszka; pretty simple at times but channelling lots of swagger and emotion. This was good and made the playlist, but I’m already worried it will be my favourite on the album.
Their most recent single, ‘Broken Bells’, is up next. It starts with a slow, almost Dire Straits-esque guitar riff (nearly said it but found another band instead, clever I am!). Josh’s voice comes in over the top and ruins it just a tad for me, but it’s still tolerable. However, I have to say it: I’m sorry guys but this sounds A LOT like Stairway at times. It sounds good, don’t get me wrong, and suitably epic, but it’s so hard not to make that comparison sometimes with these guys. Maybe the internet has just ruined this band for me? I would probably be able to get into this song after a few more listens, but on this first one it didn’t do a whole lot for me. It’s so far all a little slower and lighter than I remember them being. I know that they aren’t always fast-paced hard rock, but so far we haven’t heard any of that and we’re 15 MINUTES into the album. The highlight of this song by far is another fantastic solo from Jake. The effect he’s using is a little like Kirk Hammett’s and I love it. A good song, but damn did it plod along for too long at six minutes.
Time for the first non-single, ‘Built By Nations’. It opens on an awesome blues riff, slow but sleazy. It’s actually my favourite riff by quite a way on this album so far. Said riff continues through the verse, with Josh reigning in his voice a little which was nice, saving his high screeching for the choruses instead where it makes more sense. There isn’t a great deal to the song, but it’s a little rockier than the rest so far and the added focus on the guitar has helped it out a lot in my eyes. The backing vocals accenting parts of the chorus were also great, adding a nice extra layer to the song.
‘Age of Machine’ immediately sounds like something from ‘2112’ when it opens, the clean guitar tones building up slowly more and more. It takes until a minute into the track before anything changes, and even then it’s just a case of Josh singing over the top. It stays pretty slow throughout again, though in my opinion isn’t as good as Broken Bells. Again, it’s not a bad song, but having already had a plodding song on the album and we’re not even halfway through… it isn’t doing much to hold my attention. The song is nearly seven minutes long and there isn’t much more I can say about it, honestly. It’s slow, steady, and probably every 70s rock and psychedelic fan’s dream song. However, as someone who is not too into Pink Floyd or the longer, drawn-out Led Zep (sorry) stuff, it just gets boring. At least Jake’s solo is awesome again, right?
The shortest song on the album, clocking in at just under four minutes (right?) is up next: ‘Tears of Rain’. It opens on a pretty slow but beautiful guitar chord progression. Josh’s vocals come in over the top and actually fit quite nicely over the top for a change. Maybe they’re finally growing on me? That or I’m getting Stockholm Syndrome. This is slow still but pretty beautiful in its basicness, mainly comprising of the vocals with either some slow guitars or piano behind it. The very small amount of drums in the first half was also a nice touch, so much so that when they came in it added even more awesomeness and great layers. However, that high note from Josh REALLY grated on me, over and over again. Still, I preferred this to the last song, and it was almost enough to make it onto the playlist. Almost.
‘Age of Machine’ seemed to have started something as it takes nearly a minute before anything happens at the start of ‘Stardust Chords’, too. However, the guitar riff is awesome when it finally kicks in, almost reminding me of an old-school Iggy and the Stooges riff. The whole song is built around this riff, even during the chorus we just get a variant of it. Makes sense with the song title, I guess! Again, I feel like Josh’s vocals fit in over the top of it all, for the most part. It isn’t the kind of vocals I’d have personally wanted over the top of this, he really has leaned fully into the Geddy Lee style of screeching, but it’s at least tolerable and a little more reserved for the most part on this track. It feels almost redundant at this point to say that the guitar solo is the highlight of the song, but if I’m honest Jake’s playing has been the main highlight of the album so far. Another good song, but it probably won’t be one that I go back and listen to very often.
‘Light My Love’ opens on some beautiful piano… which is almost immediately overshadowed by a mass of distorted guitar and big drum sounds. It drops back down again for the verse, sounding pretty nice and steady, but the piano is completely lost in the mix. I’d have preferred it being more of a piano and vocal-based verse, but either way, it is still beautiful. Again, though, that high notes he hits EVERY LINE OF THE CHORUS is killing me; it’s honestly giving me a headache. Who told Josh that was a good idea to do over and over again? I can’t imagine there are too many people out there that want to be wailed at on that regular a basis, right? Like, until their ears are nearly bleeding. Plus, were GVF always this slow…?
‘Caravel’ at least opens on a couple of pretty cool guitar riffs, but again outside of that, there isn’t too much I can say about the song. I’m sick of Josh’s stupidly high vocals and his yodelling. I’m sick of all the songs being plodding, similarly paced slow, Led Zep-esque ballads. I’m sick of the bass and drums being given very little to do except for hold a basic beat or follow the guitar line. I want something DIFFERENT. Something INTERESTING. Please, Greta. You’re supposed to be the future of rock music, y’all are like my age for god sake, but they’re writing like a 70+-year-old Robert Plant does now, slow and emotionless. Where’s the attitude and fire? Where’s the FUN? At least the likes of Wolfmother and Kingdom Come imitated the faster, more energetic side of Led Zeppelin, it wasn’t all just the first half of ‘Dazed and Confused’. Rant over. Moving on.
I’m running out of energy with this album so for the final three songs (still a further 18 minutes of the album!) I’ll try and summarise what I like and dislike and my thoughts more succinctly. The wah-filled guitar solo at the start of ‘Barbarians’ was nice. The ending solo for ‘The Weight Of Dreams’ was also awesome, though FAR too drawn out. It’s not like I was listening to ‘Free bird’ or anything. I listened to the whole of ‘Trip The Light Fantastic’ while having a conversation with my partner and I don’t feel like I missed a single thing while I was only half paying attention. And hell no, I am not going back and listening to it again. I didn’t like the sheer length of the final song, it didn’t need to be nine minutes long when it was essentially just THE SAME SONG AGAIN. I didn’t like that all three felt like they were around the same tempo and feel and drawn-out boring dullness. Damn, for a band that wrote ‘Highway Tune’, this album was the hardest slog I have ever had to listen to review.
Overall: Damn, that was a hard listen. If you are a fan of Pink Floyd or Rush’s extensive slower back catalogue, you will most likely love this. However, if not, if you are like me and prefer something a little more upbeat or concise, this probably isn’t the album for you. The musicianship was there, they are all clearly talented young guys, but the over-indulgence and constant slow pace was their downfall for me.
Overall: 3.5/10
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South Wales born rock band Florence Black have become rising stars over the last few years, earning high praise from the likes of Benji Webb, Ben Wells and even Corey Taylor has called them ‘BAD ASS.’ The band have released three EPs and a slew of singles since 2016, but have been hard at work recently getting ready to release their first studio album, ‘weight of the world.’
The album is to drop on September 17th and was recorded at Long Wave Recording Studio with producer Romesh Dodangoda. Two singles have been released so far, ‘CAN YOU FEEL IT?’ and ‘SUN & MOON.’
Tristan Thomas, the vocalist, had this to say about the album:
“‘Weight Of The World’ is the culmination of our time as Florence Black. It’s a mixture of songs written at our very beginning and brand new material just created, blended together and shaped into one. The pressure and anticipation of releasing our debut album, feels like we have the weight of the world on our shoulders, especially with waiting what has felt like since the beginning of time to get it recorded and released. We wanted that reflected in the title and the artwork. Not to mention, with Romesh Dodangoda’s production, the sound is as heavy as Planet Earth too!”
We for one cannot wait to hear the full album, and y’all best keep an eye out because we sure as heck will be reviewing it when it’s out!
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Comedy country-rock band Bootyard Bandits have been floating around the UK underground scene for a couple of years now, gaining more and more momentum seemingly with each passing month. I end up seeing them on more and more festival line-ups, which is a great thing, and initially discovered them myself after a frankly fantastic recommendation from Spotify. Because of that, I have heard of a good four or more of the songs on this album already, but I have to say I do like them and I am excited to review them properly. Join me in checking out this review, things are about to get silly!
Straight away with the opening track ‘M.I.L.F’, you can see what I mean. Bursting into a great, speedy country-rock riff, the song oozes sleaze and attitude. The feel and tempo keep up throughout the song and the lyrics immediately pull no punches. Singing about a beautiful woman in ridiculous detail who the band would essentially like to be dominated by, it sets the tone for the album and the band’s sound and style pretty perfectly. However, do not let the crudeness distract from the great instrumentation. The breakdown riff after the second chorus is great, boarding on metal with its heaviness, and the lyrics over the top add to the awesomeness. I was hoping for a guitar solo to complete the greatness of this song but it didn’t happen, we instead got another awesome chorus to close things out. A damn good opening song for what is going to be a ridiculous album, I’m sure.
Next up is one I have heard before and my personal favourite song by the band so far, ‘Country Music’. Another great opening riff leads to another surprisingly heavy guitar riff through the verses. The vocals fit perfectly between the guitar parts, and the harmonies only make it sound even better. It all builds to the gag of the song, the opening line of the song satirically splitting up the first word of the song title and honestly catching me off guard the first time I heard it, as well as leaving me in hysterics of course. The chorus as a whole isn’t nearly as catchy as the previous song, but the riffs and comedy are a little better in my opinion. We get a dropdown after the second chorus, a great, VERY metal guitar riff filling the gap between the vocals and the cymbal heavy drums as the song builds up more and more before it explodes into a huge final chorus. More silly humour that I cannot help but enjoy and backed up by awesome music, I cannot complain at all. Playlisted!
The band’s biggest song to date, ‘Hoedown Showdown’ (nope, I’m not making this up!) is up next. A slightly steadier country-rock riff opens this one up, heading into a pretty stripped-back verse with heavy blues vibes. If it wasn’t for the lyrics, I’d say it’d be the perfect radio-rock song for them. The chorus is pretty open and massive, but the spread-out lyrics ruin it for me just a little bit – it slows down the song a little too much for me. The lyrics in general are a little worse than the previous two songs too, a little more on the nose like modern-day Steel Panther instead of subtler and funnier than old-school Panther. There isn’t much to the song – just two verses, two choruses and then a quick bridge and final chorus. I get that it was supposed to be their most accessible song, but it just felt a little basic to me.
‘Let’s Rodeo’ opens into the most enjoyable part of the album from a musical standpoint with a simple, fun guitar riff, a singular, slow bass drum and some catchy vocals. The backing and harmonies behind the vocals make them sound even better and add to the impact, and honestly add to their catchiness. It builds up perfectly with a drum roll into what I assume to be the chorus guitar riff after a vocal callout of the song title. Unfortunately, there is slightly more to the second verse – being a steady chugging guitar and drumbeat. It was still good, but it didn’t sound as good as the first verse. There is even less to this song in terms of structure, there just being three verses and three choruses, but the addition of the strings for the third chorus and a short solo from them instead of the pre sound great and add more country to just about any other song I have heard written by a British artist. I’m umming and erring about whether to put this song on the playlist or not. Why don’t you go over to it and check, see which way I ended up deciding…?
Next up is another song I know already and kinda love, ‘Shirt Potatoes’. It’s another song that, despite the ridiculous, hilarious premise written around a woman’s chest, is fantastic musically. The opening riff is the perfect mixture of country and sleaze, fitting the lyrics perfectly. The open verse of mainly just drums and vocals always works well too, and the vocals are so strong and powerful that they easily carry it through. The chorus isn’t the catchiest I’ve heard but the lyrics are silly enough to make it work and make more childish people happily want to sing along to it. The heavy few seconds in the middle of the second chorus is also worth bringing up, the call and response vocals with the dropping out guitar chords sounded awesome. It’s also taken me this long to realise just how much the singer sounds like Nathan James of Inglorious, but you can definitely hear it with the high notes. I also remember now why I like this song so much – it’s finally got a guitar solo in it and it’s a damn good one, definitely worth the wait. A final chorus and outro of course take this home and this song is another highlight of the album.
The next song has me interested as it features a guest who I am a big fan of at the minute, Christopher Bowes of Alestorm. It opens on a typically good, heavy riff for the band and this album at this point, and the verse isn’t too out of the ordinary for what I’ve heard so far either. The chorus is basic again but the backing vocals drive it forwards enough to make it catchy. Christopher comes in for the second verse, his distinctive vocals lending a lot to the track, in my opinion. The two bands mesh together pretty well too, especially on such a party-centric song. Unfortunately, there isn’t much more involvement from him outside of the odd line in the final choruses that you can hear him in. It’s a shame, as Alestorm is one of the best bands in rock at the minute for doing things a little different. Another good guitar solo but outside of that and the inclusion of Christopher, this wasn’t much we haven’t heard already.
The same sort of analysis could be given for the next few songs. ‘Hobby Horse’, ‘Ladies Man’, and ‘Cowboys and Indian Takeaway’ are all fairly similar in feeling and style to the previous songs on this album. It isn’t a bad thing at all, it just means I don’t have much to talk about. There is one track that is different though, the most-likely-to-offend-someone track winner of the album, ‘Cowperson’. Clearly being inspired by Bon Jovi’s ‘Dead Or Alive’, hilarious in of itself, it’s the first ballad and change of pace we’ve had at all on the album so far, which is very welcome. It’s a damn good ballad that wouldn’t seem out of place in the 80s if it wasn’t for the crazy, gender-confused, children’s-toy-related lyrics.
‘Vanessa’ continues the trend of sleazy-country pretty steadily, but I did want to talk about just how damn good of a chorus it had. It’s the best on the album I’d say, featuring massively catchy and fun lyrically as well as some impressive high notes being hit vocally. Outside of that, it’s pretty standard, much like the following few tracks, ‘Outlaw’, ‘Family Tree’ and ‘Doc Holiday’. There are some genuinely amazing lyrics in here, and some more good riffs and solos, but 13 songs (14 if you count the last one) of pretty similar music, tempo and style do get a little much all at once.
The final song, as the name itself explains, is a Christmas one. It’s good, even if it sounds pretty close to all their other stuff. The chorus is enjoyable but it isn’t something I’d actually listen to much around the festive season.
Overall: This was a damn enjoyable album. It was pretty bloated; I think 15 songs was a little much and it could have been cut down to 11 pretty easily and therefore stand a little stronger, but every song was at least fun. I cannot wait to finally catch them live at some point soon and I think they have a bright future ahead of them.
Score: 7/10
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A term coined back in 2017 for the resurgence of a classic sound brought about by the likes of Inglorious and The Dead Daisies, the New Wave of Classic Rock has gone from strength to strength since and has found itself at the forefront of the underground scene over the past couple of years. That has in large part been down to the fantastic efforts of a lot of people behind the scenes, helping promote the bands and form a real community around the sub-genre. It has led to this, a 42-track collection of some of the best the genre has to offer. I for one am familiar with a good few of the bands contained on it and I’m a big fan so I’m excited to get the chance to review them.
To put it simply, it’s 42 smaller bands getting some much-needed exposure, and I could not be happier to listen to it and help by both buying and reviewing it. This may be a long one – who’s ready?
Massive Wagons start us off with their 2015 hit, ‘Tokyo’. It’s a fantastic track that perfectly encapsulates the genre. It’s a middle-paced stomper full of 70’s inspired riffs, soaring, powerful vocals, and a massive (pun intended), catchy chorus. It wouldn’t feel out of place on a Rainbow or even AC/DC chorus with that sort of vibe – a real stadium-filler of a song and a big reason as to why the band is one of the biggest up-and-coming British artists around.
Next up is Mason Hill. I’ve listened to their debut album before and I have to admit that while I didn’t enjoy every single song, ‘DNA’ was one of the standout tracks on it. The main riff alone is a massive positive, quick, driving, heavy guitar pairing fantastically with the slower drums. The backing vocals and harmonies are also on point throughout, be it in the pre-chorus or chorus which both feature different layers and styles in each part. Another great track from such a young band.
Hollowstar‘s biggest track ‘All I Gotta Say’ starts off slower than the other two, having a beautiful clean chord progression for the first verse before another amazing, heavy guitar riff cuts through it and launches the song into a faster pace. The verses stay slower but the real highlight is the heavier choruses, blasting out with huge power chords and catchy vocals from Joe Bonson. Three for three with amazing tracks so far.
These Wicked Rivers give us a bit more of a scrappier track more reminiscent of Rival Sons and older bands like Rolling Stones than the more polished and produced tracks we’ve had so far. That doesn’t take away from the quality at all though. The riff is again awesome; it is lighter and higher than the others and the chorus is maybe one of the catchiest of the album.
We finally reach a band I haven’t heard of – Anchor Lanewith their track ‘Fame Shame’. The band definitely fits into the NWOCR sub-genre but I hear just a little Soundgarden in here too – there’s some of that faster, heavy grunge vibe to it. I have to admit, I’m a fan. The breakdown was pretty great too and the chorus was just as catchy as some of the others on the album. The band has found a new fan in me!
Empyre gives us another middle-paced track, filled with palm-muted guitars and low drums that contrast nicely with the powerful, awesome vocals. The chorus is a great riff but, outside of that, it doesn’t take off any, staying at the steady, low pace. The guitar solo in the middle is fantastic though and the vocals almost remind me of Peter Steele’s at times. A good track and the slowest so far.
Daxx And Roxane are a band I have been recommended a couple of times before but just haven’t had the chance to check out. I’m so glad that this changed today as ‘Without You’ is an awesome track. Channelling some real Poison vibes with this track but modernising it for the current scene is awesome. The riff is infectious, making me bob my head throughout, and the vocals are powerful: soaring and catchy. They have a new fan in me and I can’t wait to hopefully catch them on the festival circuit next year!
Sons of Libertyare one of the surprising number of bands on this album that I first heard at HRH a couple of years ago and have been a fan of them ever since. ‘Fire and Gasoline’ is a great AC/DC style chugging rock song, incorporating both the catchy soaring vocals and the lower, almost power-metal-esque style through the verses. Its catchy, infectious chorus hook is enough to push it into our playlist alone but the rest of the song is awesome too.
Tequila Mockingbyrd and Cult Classics alumni united to formThe Hot Damn! at the back end of last year and launched their debut single at the start of the month ready for this release. I was a big fan of the two separate bands that the frontwomen were part of and I have purposely been holding out on listening to the track so that I could review it properly with this album. ‘Dance Around’ is a great track that feels punkier than the rest of the songs so far. It feels like it was inspired by early Wildhearts in the best way – catchy, light and bouncy throughout. Gill Montgomery’s vocals fit perfectly over the instrumentation and the harmonies throughout the chorus work so well. Another fantastic new band!
Everyday Heroes give us another bluesy stomper of a track. It’s mid-paced and good but I’m sad to say it fades into the background a tad after so many phenomenal tracks before it. The harmonies were nice though, as was the solo. I kind of felt the same about the next track, Elles Bailey‘s ‘Woman Like Me’. It was definitely different from the previous tracks on the album but it didn’t fit as much into the sub-genre as the others. It felt closest to The Doors to me, a band that I wouldn’t necessarily class as classic rock. It was a good song and a well-needed change of pace in a solely hard rock album, but there wasn’t too much to it. It was a nice chilled-out song though and the solo in the middle was great!
Scarlet Rebelspick the pace back up with a great riff and some awesome pinch harmonics to open ‘No One Else to Blame’. I actually can’t get enough of the riff; it is the highlight of the song for me, though the chorus is pretty decent too! Meanwhile, Wolf Jaw offer up their own brand of slower blues-rock to the mix. Lead by the funky bassline and simple drumbeat, Tom Leighton’s vocals fitting perfectly over the top of them. It picks up perfectly into the chorus too, the guitars adding some great layers into it and pushing the vocals up higher. Another fantastic track!
Tomorrow Is Lost’s production is second to none on this album; the quality when the instruments explode over the top of the bassline sounds MASSIVE. It only adds to the epicness of the track as it builds perfectly from the verse through to the amazing chorus. I haven’t heard the song before as I hadn’t even heard of the band but damn, it’s one of my favourite tracks on the album. Even the awesome distorted vocals that kind of acted like the solo was awesome and such a unique take on the conventional rock style that I couldn’t not love it. An awesome track and I shall definitely be listening to more from the band!
Riff machines Dead Man’s Whiskey bring the power and attitude with ‘War Machine’. The vocals are good but the instrumentation for me is the real highlight of the track. The riff is just so infectious that even the awesome call and response backing vocals through the chorus could beat it. Meanwhile, Dig Lazarus channels similar vibes to The Hot Damn! with a great punk rock track. It’s driving from start to finish and simple yet pretty effective. However, I do feel like it would get a tad lost in the shuffle among the other incredible tracks on the collection.
Next is a band that I need no introduction to as they have been one of my favourite bands of the last few years, The New Roses. Because of this, I shall spare my relentless gushing over the band that I have done to my friends and over social media and instead I urge everyone reading this to CHECK THEM OUT. The track on this album, ‘Whiskey Nightmare’, is a great starting point. So, what are you waiting for? Go check out your new favourite band already!
Shape of Water (not the fish porn movie) is another song that feels like it revolves around an awesome riff. The vocals work well over the top, giving off a massive sludgy/bluesy vibe to the whole thing – almost like a stoner rock song like Kyuss or Masters of Reality. It was another welcome change of pace on an album that has a lot of similar music, making me like this song a lot as a result!
Häxan sounds good but their track feels as much lost in the shuffle as a couple of the others, there isn’t much special about it that hasn’t already been done. The same can be said about the final two tracks of the first disc from Rival Black and Gin Annie. Both are good songs in their own right but offer little in the way of variety.
It isn’t until disc two begins with the always fantasticPhil Cambell and the Bastard Sons that the album truly gets back to form. The man from Motorhead has been firing on all cylinders during his current solo project and releasing arguably some of the best music of his career, and ‘Son of a Gun’ is no exception. A great hard rock song and another highlight of the collection.
The Dust Coda’s ‘When The Tide Comes in’ has a catchy as anything opening vocal hook, especially when the rest of the band come im. It’s the highlight of the song, the rest not quite as fun. Unfortunately Skam, another band I am usually a fan of, fade a little into the background with the sheer quality on display throughout these two discs.
Collateral offers a fresh change of pace, this time going for a Bon Jovi ‘Wanted Dead or Alive’ style with ‘Merry Go Round’. It’s an enjoyable, acoustic lead song, filled with catchy vocal hooks, huge choruses and awesome backing vocals. It’s the ballad this album needed and is definitely a good one. Another band I haven’t heard enough of!
Bad Touch provides the most controversial track on the album for me. I used to gig with them a lot back in the day and, as good as this song is, I have to admit I prefer their older stuff. I don’t know what the difference between ‘I Get High’ and something like ‘Wise Water’ is and maybe it’s simply nostalgia.
Massive was one of the few to record a new song ready for this release. We covered their latest single ‘Rise’ when it first came out so check that out!
The next few tracks from bands like Gorilla Riotand Thundermother all felt a little samey at this point, something that is unfortunately going to happen with so many songs from the same sub-genre. The next one that kind of caught my ear was Rewswith ‘Today We’re Warriors’, and that’s mainly because it sounds pretty similar to something Dorothy would release. It’s more pop-rock leaning and another nice and appreciated change of pace on this LONG album.
Twistergives us a good track that somehow blends glam and punk seamlessly, and Bootyard Banditsbring their own fantastic brand of comedy and country-rock to the proceedings. Doomsday Outlawgives off some great country/blues vibes too and Ashen Reach shows off their impressive AOR sound and style, almost metal in its execution.
Ryders Creedgot me excited for a second as their guitar tone was pretty reminiscent of early Nickelback (to a point where the riff seems almost a straight rip of ‘Hangnail’) but when the vocals kicked in it became a lot lighter and radio-bait-y. It’s not bad but I had never really understood the hype around this band to begin with, so it would have taken a lot to convince me.
The final track saved the same-ness of the second disk for me with Blackwater Conspiracy’s ‘Soul Revolutionaries’. It gave off almost Rod Stewart vibes at times, being a lighter, poppier rock song but it was done so well and enjoyably that it became one of my favourite tracks of the album. The driving guitars, subtle piano, and soaring vocals were all massive highlights and drew me back to a band I haven’t listened to enough of recently. An awesome way to close an album!
Overall: I have to admit right out of the gate that 42 tracks/bands took a lot to listen to in one session. However, the sheer ambition of this album has to be applauded and being able to showcase so many smaller, incredible bands on a release such as this is amazing. There were a lot of awesome tracks on the album from bands that deserve to be a lot bigger than they are and hopefully this will give them a platform to really launch off of!
