We had the pleasure of chatting to the amazing alt-rock/pop-punkers RiotWeekend about their upcoming sophomore EP, their future plans and the state of the scene. Check it out below!
How would you describe your sound?
It’s a hard one to pin down! I joined the band in October ‘24, and listening to their first EP and learning the stuff, you had two very distinct sounds to it. The heavier and the more pop punk sound. We were recently on BSBTV; we won song of the month back in November and they said we can’t put an influence on this, they sound like RiotWeekend. Comments have come in saying Holly has a very 90s pop-esque vocal. Then alt rock, pop punk instrumentals. Somebody mentioned Evanescence and that made me think are we somewhere between that pop-punk, Blink-182, Simple Plan, but with a more Evanescence style vocal. I said to the guys are we like a UK version of ADTR. Not quite as heavy, but we mix that sort of metal and punk.
It seems to be a lot more of a prominent thing these days; bands not necessarily fitting into one specific genre. I don’t think it particularly matters as much any more!
From our point of view, ‘is it listenable and is it fun to listen to? Great’. I couldn’t care less what box it goes into aside ‘is it good’. The guys at BSB were saying you get a lot of guys pushing for that Being Me sound or that All Time Low sound, and they said it was refreshing to see artists do something that is their own.
The EP is out soon, you have a couple of songs out from it already, right?
So ‘Harry’ is the first single that we released back on the 1st of November. Then ‘Days in December’ was released in January, I don’t know why! We are also releasing ‘Smile’ as a single, and we have a video coming out of that as well!
What can we expect from ‘Smile’ and the other track, compared to the other singles so far?
‘Autumn Leaves’, much more pop punky. It fits in with ‘Never Again’ and ‘Fine’ off the first EP. ‘Smile’ is in line with ‘Harry’, and is jointly our favourite track on the EP. We’re really excited for that one to come out!
What’s the writing process like for you guys?
Most of the tracks that I’ve come to were already written. The main song written from scratch was ‘Smile’. It’s going to sound mad; we organised a writing session on the day and I had work, and by the time I got back Rabi and Rob had essentially completed the whole track. They programme the drums and then I make alterations, but they had essentially done the whole track in the day. We tend to find they get a riff and then just go with it!
Is there more writing going on even with the EP coming out?
Yeah! Without saying too much, it’s a bit of a secret, but there are a lot of tracks in the background. We want to keep the momentum going!
What made you choose an EP over an album or multiple singles?
For us it was kinda easy. A) three of the tracks had been there quite some time. There’s been a few changes of the lineup and we had these tracks in the background throughout that we wanted to get out. Rather than drop them one by one, let’s do them collectively with a new song, and then we’ll carry on work with the other stuff. This EP buys us a little time to do something else for the end of the year or next year. And B), they hadn’t dropped a song for quite some time!
As much as I like singles, it’s so much nicer to dive into a handful of tracks and really see what the band is about.
I mean, I don’t know too much about how the guys like to listen to their music, but I’m an LP guy. I still buy CD, I like having the sleeves and everything. I like listening to bundles of tracks all in one go. So I think the next one might be a bit longer!
What would you say the state of the scene is these days? We’re so focused on rock, metal and country that we don’t get to see much punk and alt often!
I think the problem Gilford way, there is a scene for the heavier stuff, the New Cross Inn do really well on metal nights, like proper death metal. It’s packed out! I think the biggest problem however, and there are some really great promoters and venues out there that I don’t want to offend, but a lot of them expect the artist to do things. That’s where it becomes difficult. Back in the day I used to put on shows and it was very much… I would find an artist that I knew would sell the venue out, maybe two, and then have one or two others who I expected nothing of. I’d build them up, and I had artists that built up and I could put on headlining them venues later on.
That doesn’t happen any more. We find promoters do hardly any promotion. You’ve got all these Facebook pages where you don’t see the posters put up unless you the band do it. So, yeah, it’s struggling, but we are noticing pop-punk, alt rock, is there. It’s popular!
It’s just so hard getting people out these days, even if it’s a show geared to a younger audience, compared to pre-Pandemic times.
They’ll go up to the O2 and watch a band that is known. They almost forget that those bands started out where we are. We are noticing a slight pickup in cover bands and tribute acts. We’re playing Shinefest this year and they have some fantastic band, but a lot of them are tributes. Same with Gilfest. In fact the best show we played last year was with Not Green Day. We played to a packed venue and we did really well on merch sales! We’ve noticed to try and get on with a few of these tribute bands to help grow! We are seeing when we do that, the fans are there, they then get your name, and they’ll come and see you next time!
Have you got a busy rest of the year planned live?
Yeah, we’ve got the EP release on the 28th, the day after it launches! We’re in Gilliam on the 30th. We have the festivals, including Chesham Fringe Festival. There’s a couple of shows that we’ve working on in the background as well!
Do you have a dream tour lineup you’d want to be a part of?
If we’re talking establish bands and me personally: anything with Dallas Green, so Alexisonfire, You+Me. If it was a lineup of four it would be Alexisonfire, Thrice, Blink-182! A bit different, I know!
The first gig for us of 2026 and it was a huge one! 15k+ people packing out the biggest arena in the UK for three amazing pop punk bands! And, while it wasn’t quite the lineup intended (shoutout to both Four Years Strong and The Paradox for sadly having to drop out), it was still an absolutely stellar lineup that we have been excited for for months. And it was somehow our first time at the new arena, so we get to check out that too. Surprisingly, it was nice and easy and stress-free to get in, an even bigger bonus! Read on to find out what we thought of the night!
First up was a slightly last-minute addition to the bill, the fast-rising star Taylor Acorn. Honestly, she was a great choice to open the show! Her energy was infectious and she sounded great, definitely winning over plenty of new fans in the crowd, including us! And her voice live was incredible; packed with power, emotion and some soaring notes. Whether it was slower stuff or faster punk numbers, it all sounded great. It gave off slight country vibes even at times, like punk-country, which I loved. The two guy in her band worked their asses off too, although the absence of a bassist and second guitar was felt a touch, as both were on track. Still, as a slightly rushed last-minute addition, they smashed it out of the park, and she definitely has a new fan in me!
Mayday Parade were the band my wife was there to see. I never quite got into them on track, no matter how hard I tried. Well, I can now officially say: I get it! Hearing the songs in a live setting finally got me into them, and I have been listening a fair bit the last couple of days since. It helps that they heavied stuff up in that setting, even their older stuff, but it meant that the set had a great energy throughout! From opening on a new one, ‘Under my Sweater’ to a crash course in their biggest album with the likes of ‘Jersey’ and ‘Black Cat’ and, of course, closing on ‘Jamie All Over’, it was all so damn good! The band played their asses off too, putting on one hell of a performance to a crowd that were going nuts from start to finish. Derek is one hell of a frontman too, bouncing around the stage like it was still 2007 and keeping the crowd on their toes throughout. They have very much won a new fan in me, and I would definitely see them live again!
After another break (and I assume a slight delay with us getting three intro songs in the dark before they came on) the headliners triumphantly took the stage. A fun opening vignette concludes with Alex appearing at the front of the walkway, acoustic in hand to play ‘[cold open]’. Having a packed out crowd singing it immediately back to him clearly took him back, getting slightly overwhelmed but clearly happy. After the brief intro track, the whole band explode into newer single ‘SUCKERPUNCH’. It was easily one of my favourite songs of last year, and it sounded so good live!
From there, we got two full hours of incredible live rock music, from five absolute masters. Following the opener with two massive classics in ‘Weightless’ and ‘Poppin’ Champagne’, we are taken through a tour of the bands incredible two plus decade discography. Older stuff like ‘Backstreat Serenade’ and ‘Time Bomb’ to newer stuff like ‘Monsters’ and ‘Sleepwalking’ to collab songs in ‘PMA’ and ‘Hate This Song’. Heck, the latter in particular was amazing, the crowd loved it, I’m a big I Prevail fan and Alex surprisingly pulled off Eric’s screams damn well! Then you have the latest album, which we loved here at Overtone, which sounded just as good as anything else they played! ‘Little Bit’ and ‘Sugar’ were big live highlights. And the encore run of ‘The Weather’ into ‘Lost In Stereo’ into ‘Dear Maria’ was one of the best I’ve ever seen.
As for the show itself, it was excellent. The video effects on the side-screens were fun, and the big screen at the back flicked between live footage and some great graphics and video bits. Meanwhile, all the different block-colour platforms added some great depth to the stage and fit the theme well. Heck, the band even colour coordinated, each of the four wearing a different one. And of course, we got plenty of great pyro throughout, too. And the band, of course, played their asses off. They are known to be a good live band anyway, but they really brought it here. They all bounced around that stage from start to finish, and clearly all were having a blast. Alex had the crowd in the palm of his hand throughout, people barely even talking through the slow songs or during him interacting between songs, which says a lot. They all seemed so appreciative to be up on stage doing what they do, and it made the crowd enjoy it even more. An absolutely amazing set that I won’t be forgetting any time soon!
Overall, it was a really amazing night of live music! All three acts brought it, and All Time Low are honestly one of the best live bands I’ve seen in years. I cannot recommend seeing any of them enough, and I truly think ATL have finally found that final gear out here to push them into the upper echelon of bands. I am already desperate to see them again, and would certainly see Mayday and Taylor again too. If they are anywhere near you any time soon, go along and see them, you certainly won’t be disappointed. Heck, I’d even recommend Co-op Live, it’s a good venue for an arena. A truly fantastic night!
Another awesome week packed full of some awesome albums, from metal to rock to country. Let’s check them out!
All Time Low: Everyone’s Talking!
A singular single from this album convinced me and my wife to get tickets to their tour next year. Just to put into perspective the quality I’m expecting here…
The 10th studio album from the Maryland modern pop-punk legends lives up to my hype, that’s for sure! The band have matured like a fine wine; gradually evolving from their more rougher, punkier beginnings to this uber-polished, perfectly mixed arena-rock-infused awesomeness. It very much feels like the band have added elements of everything from Bryan Adams, Owl City and even Kip Moore and more pop-rock artists to their core sound, and it makes for an incredible listen. I remember loving their last release, but this very much takes everything that was great about it and refines/perfects it.
‘SUCKERPUNCH’ is of course already one of my favourite tracks by the band now, but it is far from the only highlight. From singles like ‘The Weather’ to tracks like ‘Falling for Strangers’, the heavier punk ‘Little Bit’ and the Ruston Kelly-featuring ‘Tread Water’, there is so much to love. However, there really isn’t a bad track on the album, all 15 songs being awesome and the 40+ minutes going by in a flash. They were a band I never minded as a kid but never quite got into much, but these last couple of albums have made me fully in on the band. If you are at all a fan of them, or of a more punk-pop sound, I would highly recommend checking this out as soon as you can. I’ll certainly be spinning it a fair bit in the coming months, that’s for sure! 9/10
Chris Young: I Didn’t Come Here to Leave
No pressure here, but this album has a LOT to live up to. I LOVEDhis last album last year, and the fact that he’s followed up on it barely a year later is definitely a bold move. Thankfully, Chris’ 10th album is yet another banger of a release from the country star! He has an incredible songwriting ability (I assume alongside others), be it country ballads or more southern rock-style boot-stompers. And honestly he has one of the best studio vocals in the whole genre currently. Don’t get me wrong, it’s another pretty long country release (thankfully not to Wallen levels), but there is so much awesomeness that the 14 tracks still go by in a flash! From the opener to ‘I Feel a Cold One Coming On’, ‘Pour Some Whiskey on it’ to single ‘Boots on the Ground’ to beautiful, bittersweet ballad ‘Just Keep Living’, there is so much to love. I have to say it’s not quite as good as Young Love & Saturday Nights, but it’s a damn solid followup and as I said, with barely a years turnaround between the two it’s an incredibly impressive release. Country has had one hell of a year again, and this is certainly going to be up there with one of my favourite releases in the genre in that time. And heck, it still feels like it’s growing on me with more listens! But for now, it gets a damn solid 8.5/10
The Last Dinner Party: From the Pyre
I have made no secret over the last year or two about not ‘getting’ this band. Though people throw around the term ‘industry plant’ maybe a little too easily these days, it definitely reeks of ‘throwing enough family money at it until it takes off’. You know, the GVF/Taylor Swift approach. We missed their debut album last year just before they exploded, but I remember checking it out due to the massive hype on socials and wasn’t too into it. Hopefully this sophomore release changes my mind…
It didn’t. This is music for early 20s, rich white girls that want to be hippies. It gives ‘music to listen to while spending daddy’s money on Vinted’ vibes. Don’t get me wrong, if that’s your thing, great, but it isn’t mine, sadly. And it is sadly too, because I did actively want to like this album. The Midsomer-like theming is an interesting concept, but never feels fully realised. There are flashes of its potential brilliance, especially in the one-two-punch of ‘Rifle’ and ‘Woman is a Tree’. However, then the pop edge comes in and reigns it all back in. And, honestly, because of that, this is a damn boring album. It feels a lot longer than 42 minutes, the album dragging and being a real struggle to get through in one sitting.
I know that some will probably be pissed at this review, but it’s just my opinion; there will be plenty who love this and I’m so glad they will get something out of it that I don’t. I know I am very much not the target audience, but at least I tried, right? Heck, at least the women are talented players and vocalists; I just find them painfully dull songwriters. And for that, it gets a 3/10 from me.
Sabaton: Legends
Fuck yeah, this is more like it! We’re big power metal fans here at Overtone and of course there are few modern bands doing it better than Sabaton. I loved their last album, but I really feel like this may be even better! ‘Templars’ opens the album perfectly, while tracks like ‘Crossing the Rubicon’, ‘Maid of Steel’ and ‘The Cycle of Songs’ are also big highlights for me. Of course, I have the same issue with this as I have with a fair few power metal albums in that it does all sound pretty samey. It’s 45 minutes of pretty similarly paced and sounding music, and even if it’s all great, it does get a touch old by the end. Still, if you are a power metal fan, of course you’re gonna love this! It’s a damn solid album from some of the best songwriters in the genre, even if they do stick to their standard formula a little too safely. The new metal history teachers show here why they are still one of the best around, and it’s an easy 8.5/10 from us!
Broadie Christ: Big feelings
The sophomore album from the Toronto singer-songwriter is a damn chilled-out, easy listen. Though described as indie rock, I’d argue there’s a lot more to this than that! It’s as much alt and soft rock, as well as just a genuinely quirkier edge. The easiest way I can find to describe it is a combination of Pinegrove and early Randy Newman, and I mean that as the uttermost of compliments! The more I listened, the more I fell in love with the album. The opener didn’t hook me, but ‘IDWTBfriends’ is great, and by the time I reached ‘Pretty City’, ‘Sea Legs’ and ‘Now I Can’t Dance’ I was hooked. As I said, it’s a very easy listen, and 40-minutes went by in a flash. He’s a fantastic lyricist and storyteller, and the instrumentation written around it fits the tone perfectly, as well as being a lot of fun. It’s the perfect album to sit back and relax to, but also really dive in deep to if you get the chance. I’d highly recommend checking it out if you are at all curious, and it gets an incredibly solid 8/10 from me!
Preacher Stone: By the Horns
We’ve already checked out this awesome album! Read our full review of it here.
Tol Morwen: At the Gates of Valhalla
I love folky power metal, and this sophomore release is no exception! However, this does generally feel a little more technical than a lot of their contemporaries, some of the riffing and drumming being incredible. However, it still has the same level of epicness. It’s also heavy, having elements of black/death/extreme metal, especially with the screams. The atmosphere created throughout is phenomenal though, and instantly had me captivated. ‘Fate of the Gods’ is a more atmospheric black metal track, while ‘Ragnar’ is a straight up Amon Amarth style viking death metal song. Both are massive early highlights, while songs like epic single ‘The Shieldmaiden’ and ‘Rise of the Ancient Gods’ are also excellent. However, there really a bad track on this! It’s not for everyone, and at over an hour spread across just 10 tracks, it’s a big undertaking. However, I loved it, and if you are into the heavier, more grandiose side of metal, I would definitely recommend you check this out immediately! The band are so incredibly talented, and it’s yet another easy 8.5/10!
Biohazard: Divided We Fall
The hardcore punk legends returned with their first new album in 13 years this last Friday. Yeah, it’s a big deal. Especially when they returned at arguably the perfect time, given the state of the world, and clearly have plenty to talk about! Oh, and the album also slaps from start to finish! It’s angry, aggressive, slamming hardcore for a full nearly 40 minutes, and I love it. It just makes me want to throw people around in a pit and dance around through the whole thing. The riffing, the drums, the vocals, the lyrics, even the soloing, all of it is perfection for the genre, and I honestly can’t get enough. It’s so hard to pick highlights too, as each track is as good as the other. Most of it ended up on my personal playlist! It’s the perfect combination of Bodycount, Hed(PE) and Pro-Pain, so if you are into any of those bands, or just hardcore in general, I cannot recommend this album enough! Heck, even if you aren’t, check this out immediately, you might find one of your new favourite albums. I can’t give this any less than 9.5/10, and I’ll definitely be rocking this a lot in the coming months!
Of Monsters and Men: All is Love and Pain in the Mouse Parade
13 years after the Icelandic folk-rocky quintet’s massive breakout debut, they are back with their fourth studio album, and first of the post-pandemic era. Honestly, outside of their big hits I haven’t listened to much. In the nicest way possible, I can kinda see why. This is a boring release, dude. Much like with Last Dinner Party, this will most likely have plenty of fans, but I sadly found myself losing interest fairly quickly and often when listening to this from front to back. Don’t get me wrong, tracks like ‘The Actor’ and ‘Styrofoam Cathedral’ are good in isolation, but in the context of the album it dragged sooooo much. Please don’t kill me, OM&M fans (I also don’t like the other OM&M much, sorry), but yeah, I can’t give this much more than 4.5/10. They’re all talented players, but it really isn’t my thing.
Daedric: As the Light Left
The sophomore release from Kristyn Hope is yet another modern-alt metal/metalcore masterclass. We absolutely loved her last albumback a couple of years ago, but honestly she may have gotten even better in the time since! ‘The Other Terror’ opens things up perfectly heavily, while ‘Sand Tiger’ shows off a bit more of her more alt side (though still has some great screams). The rest of the album continues to skirt that line perfectly, too. Heck, ‘Dark Legacy’ gives big Skynd vibes in the best ways. It’s hard to pick highlights, but ‘Night Mother’ and ‘Dreamweaver’ are tracks that I have already revisited multiple times over the weekend. Honestly, this is everything I wished Spiritbox was, and it’s insane to me that Kristyn isn’t on the same level as them at this point. I’mma throw it out there, this is better than Tsunami Sea, @ me. I cannot recommend this enough to anyone into more of a modern metal sound, and I’m honestly shocked she managed to top her explosive debut! She’s an utterly fantastic vocalist, both cleans and screams, and her songwriting has really gone to yet another level with this album. It’s one of the easiest 9/10s I’ve ever given!
William Prince: Further From the Country
Album number five for the Canadian folk/country singer-songwriter is a damn fun listen. I love that he very much does his own thing and has his own sound, not following the current trends in the genre. It makes it stand out a lot from his contemporaries, and is a fantastic, more folk-based sound in its own right! From the writing to the arrangement to the mix, it all almost has an epic air to it. From the opener to ‘Flowers on the Dash’ to the beautifully dark-folk ‘Thousand Miles of Chain’ to the awesome closer, the whole thing is packed full of amazing songs! And, at under 40 minutes, it makes for an incredibly easy listen! It’s definitely one to throw on and relax to. William is a criminally underrated vocalist and songwriter in the genre, and he has an instant new fan in me from this! I’m definitely going to have to go back and check out his previous work, but for now this gets an incredibly solid 8.5/10
Shadows of a Silhouette: For Those That Know
Time for some indie now, as the local boys and good friends of oursput out their highly anticipated debut album this last week! What an album it is, too! It’s definitely on the heavier side of the genre, with the riffs taking center stage in a big way throughout. It gives off big QOTSA or early Royal Blood or early Black Keys vibes in the best ways. It’s also packed full of highlights, too. Between the opener, ‘No Matter Where I Go’, ‘Mona Lisa’ and ‘Hostages’, there are plenty of highlights, but there really isn’t a bad track on the release! The band are incredibly talented and it’s easy to see why they are gaining so much momentum already. The genre isn’t typically my sort of thing but I really loved this from start to finish, and would recommend it to anyone even slightly curious! It’s been a while since I’ve seen them live so must do that again, as I have a feeling all of this would sound incredible in a live setting. But, for now, I shall happily settle for having the album, and it gets a very solid 8.5/10!
Wretched: Decay
The first album from the melodic deathcore quintet in over a decade feels like it has something to prove, and they more than do this with this release! This is over an hour of brutality, technical riffs, great screams and some HEAVY breakdowns. It’s another album that’s almost impossible to pick highlights from, as it’s all so good, as well as all being a similar style, sound and aggression. However, ‘The Crimson Sky’ probably has the most of a bit of everything this album has to offer! If you are into the heavier end of metal, this is definitely one for you. It has everything from Machine Head to In Flames to The Zenith Passage in here, and it’s awesome. It’s not for the faint of heart as, like I said, it’s 65 minutes in length, but it’s well worth a listen through in full if you’re interested! I’m so damn glad this band is back to studio work, and they have put out honestly one their best releases to date after all this time off. A very solid 9/10 from us!
Somehow I have made it to the ripe old age of 28 before heading to my first Slam Dunk. It’s wild to me, given how good the lineups always are. But this one was especially stellar, so I finally popped my SD cherry. Find out how good it was below!
After seeing the crazy issues with parking a couple of years back, we decided to get in nice and early, having time to have a look round merch and get a drink before the first band started. For us, it was Lake Malice on the Kerrang! stage. I was familiar with the name, at least knowing the style and sound they brought to the table, but live they really blew me away! Firstly, shoutout to the sound guys too, as it was windy as shit all day and, for the most part, everything sounded awesome still. This hit hard, and not just because they were one of the heavier bands for us that day. They’re modern metal awesomeness, combining screams and cleans perfectly around the heavy riffing and catchy melodic sections. They’re essentially everything I WANT Spiritbox to be, but never get from them. And, on top of that, they put on a great show, too. From the backing dancers to Alice Guala’s magnetic stage presence, it all came together perfectly. They’re were the perfect way to open the day, and I can’t recommend them enough to any fans of heavier music out there!
Speaking of magnetic stage presence, next up were Save Ferris. I’ve seen a few videos of the legendary ska punkers over the years and, while Monique always seemed like a powerhouse of a stage presence, I was slightly worried they weren’t going to sound great. All said worries went out the door immediately, as Monique sounded just as good as she did back in the day, and the rest of the band nailed it throughout the set! The sheer energy from a bunch of forty-somethings was incredible, and certainly infectious as they got the crowd dancing and bouncing and joining in early on. Plus, they have so many bangers in their back catalogue that it was hard not to have a good time watching them! From ‘The World is New’ to ‘I Know’ to covers of everything from Dead Kennedys to Operation Ivy to, of course, closing on their incredible ‘Come on Eileen’ cover, it was a really fantastic setlist. The whole band had the crowd in the palm of their hands throughout, and I had an absolute blast listening to them!
We stuck around the Monster tent after that for Home Grown. I have to say they were one of the few bands heading into the day that I wasn’t too familiar with and didn’t have that nostalgia for like others. I do honestly think that hurt their set a little, for me. They weren’t awful, but they weren’t great live, and when I didn’t know the songs all I could really hear was the bad mix and questionable vocals. I think the fact that they had two kinda lead vocals didn’t work for their set, as both were cranked so when one was just doing backing, it kinda drowned out the other. Still, the band are undoubtably talented and I have come away being a fan of a few of their songs on track. Maybe they just had an off day!
Sadly, we didn’t catch too much of The Ataris, due to having to wait a solid 40+ minutes at the bar. For a cashless system and pre-poured drinks, I have no earthly idea how it was taking that long! However, they sounded good from the bar, and even better when we finally got in to see the last half of their set! Sadly, as with a few bands from this sort of era on the bill, everyone was waiting around for their big cover song. ‘Boys of Summer’ was indeed phenomenal, and both live and on track is better than the original. However, their own stuff was just as good! The band were tight and professional as anything, and what they somewhat lacked in putting on a show, they more than made up for in how excellent they sounded. I wouldn’t rush to see them again, but enjoyed their set (or what I saw of it) and if they were on at another festival I’d definitely check them out!
Next up were my band of the day (spoilers), Stray from the Path. We had the pleasure of seeing them at Graspop a couple of years ago, yet somehow they have gotten even better since then! Their anger and energy is off the charts, with Andrew’s stage presence being magnetic, certainly mirroring supposed influences like Zack De La Roacha and Jason Aalon Butler. Whether it’s mammoth tracks off their last album like ‘Guillotine’ and ‘III’ or brand new stuff like ‘Shot Caller’, they played a blinder of a set. They had the crowd in the palm of their hands throughout too, the place going nuts and there being crowd surfers everywhere. It’s insane to me that this band aren’t absolutely massive as they are great on track and live, and have a fantastic message to back it up. Still, with the packed out crowd loving it here, they should have surely gained some new fans!
We snuck over to the Key Club to catch the one and only Delilah Bon. Not too dissimilar to Stray from the Path, it’s no secret here that I love Delilah’s solo stuff. And it all translates so well to a live setting, too! Her rapping is amazing, even though the backing could have been boosted slightly so we could hear the odd line she dropped out for. And her screams… *chef’s kiss*… we need more of them on the next record for sure! The band did a great job backing her up too, but she was very much the star of the show, putting on one hell of a performance and bouncing around every bit of the stage. She certainly isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I loved it and am going to have to get tickets for her tour in November!
Streetlight Manifesto were an odd one for me. On the one hand, they were absolutely phenomenal live, as they always are. Their heavy ska sound and truly masterful musicianship and songwriting comes across excellently, and I had a blast. I guess my issue was that after 50-whole-minutes, it felt like they were just getting started, and my god did I want more. Heck, they’re the only band, outside of the headliners, that I heard the ‘we want more’ chant at all day, and I very much agree. I felt myself waiting for more off Everything Goes Numb that we just didn’t get, which was a shame. However, as I said, what they did play was amazing and I cannot recommend seeing them live enough. It had been six long years since I had seen them last before this and hopefully this will scratch just enough of an itch until we get an actual UK tour… (🤞)
We managed to catch the first two or three songs from the legendary Less than Jake before we had to leave. Somehow I’d only seen them once before now, back in the day at Ynot, so it was great to finally get to see them again, if fleetingly. They sound just as fantastic now as they did a decade ago, and just as good as they do on track from even longer ago! It was a fun set to a packed tent, and once again the band brought so much energy. I wish I could have stayed longer, but there was no way I was missing the next band…
Electric Callboy. One of my favourite bands and a big reason as to why we went to the festival. We saw them last year at Graspop and they blew us away, so of course we were excited to see them again. And, once again, they didn’t disappoint! The band are on top form as one of the best live acts in the world right now, and this set proved that yet again. They are incredibly fun from beginning to end, Kevin and Nico being the perfect frontmen and playing off-of each other perfectly. The band don’t take themselves too seriously, hence the silly songs and costume changes, but are absolutely incredible musicians and songwriters, having some of the best big, melodic choruses and ch0nky breakdowns out there. And we even got them stripping it back here, playing acoustic campfire covers of Linkin Park and Backstreet Boys, much to the love of the crowd. And speaking of the crowd, it was absolutely packed. They were arguably too big for the size of the festival, which is saying a lot. But they deserve everything they’re getting, as they are one of the most hard-working and truly interesting bands around today, and they show up every single time they take the stage. Throw in a cheeky Sum 41 cover thanks to Frank Zummo filling in on drums, and you had the recipe for another fantastic set from the German metalcorers!
It was always going to be hard following up Electric Callboy, but Hot Milk did their damnedest to do so. Han and Jim are excellent fronting the band, and sound just as good live as they do on track, both together and separate. They also had plenty of energy, and both interacted with the crowd well between and during songs. I wasn’t as familiar with the band as some of the others on this review, but I loved the stuff that I did know, like ‘HORROR SHOW’ and the ever-epic ‘BREATHING UNDERWATER’. It was a little odd seeing a band on a smaller stage with less production after the massive beast that is Electric Callboy these days, but it was still a lot of fun and made me a bigger fan of the band for sure. I’ll definitely be going to see them again soon, especially with their new album coming out!
And there we have it, my Skam Dunk Cherry well and truly popped. It was an amazing day full of excellent bands and I had a blast throughout. Even the bi-polar weather didn’t bother me that much! I would happily go back to the festival again, especially if they sort out their bars, and would love to see just about every band I saw on the day again live as soon as possible! I would recommend any of it to anyone reading this, as it was a really great day-festival. Until next time, I’m sure!
South Wales’ own Ortario returned with a vengence at the start of this year with their brand new single, and a last-minute, awesome set at Planet Rock’s Winters End festival. After that, we knew we just had to sit down and chat with them!
How would you describe your sound?
Yeah, I’d definitely say pop-punky with a bit of kinda emo dashed. A bit of alternative rock as well. All mixed together to get that Ortario sound.
Welsh rock music!
You were quite a late addition to Winters End, right? How did that come about?
Yeah so that’s the thing, Pyrogaric had to drop out because the guitarist broke his arm! So we got approached by Planet Rock then asking if we could fill in. And I’m really glad we did, it was an amazing show, a good crowd. And we sold a load of merchandise which is another bonus! We’re really grateful!
I think we were definitely a different sounding band to some of the other ones!
It’s kinda weird in Wales. It doesn’t feel like there’s been much of a scene for a couple of years but it does seem like it’s coming back. It’s definitely bouncing back! In the early to mid 2000s it was a huge thing back then, it was thriving. But I think it did see a drop after that for a while. But I’ve noticed over the last coming decade there are so many bands emerging from South Wales, and they’re all great. There’s always a really good opportunity to find a band to play along with and get back on the scene. It’s great!
Yeah, it’s great to see! There’s quite a few festivals down there at the minute too, right?
Yeah, there’s always something going on around here! We’re always surprised what’s going on ourselves to be honest!
There’s a massive festival going on in the summer called In It Together. I think it’s going to be Wales’ biggest festival. So hopefully one year we can get onto that one, that’d be a good opportunity for us. Another one is Steelhouse festival, another massive festival. They only do that a couple of miles up the road from where we live! It’s a nice weekend-long festival and they have some great bands, especially some grassroots bands from around the area as well. It’s a great atmosphere… if the weather’s good!
So you put out the first single off the EP last month, right?
Yeah, so that’s ‘Scream With Me’. We released that with a video. It’s a bit of a new release schedule for us. In the past we’ve always released albums or full EPs. We’re trying the single thing, which seems to be more common now. Drip feed a couple of singles out instead. But I think once all the singles are out from this line, we’re gonna release that as an EP at the end. Release some videos with the singles as well. We want to keep the content running as much as possible!
You mentioned that the next single is coming pretty soon, right?
Yeah! It’s ready to go. It’s back from the studio and mastered and ready for release. It’s just a case of… ‘Scream With Me’ I think has a couple of weeks left on the circuit and then we’ll release the new one then. It’s called ‘Open Eyes’, and it’ll be out in the coming months. We’ll get a video out for it as well, so keep an eye on our social media! We’ll have some promotional material going out for it soon!
Have you struggled to focus more on singles over bigger releases, then?
Yeah… I think the thing about it is that you need to have a schedule. Normally you go into studio and record some stuff you’ve been testing for a year and you get it as one big project. Whereas now we have to kinda sit on our hands with some of the stuff we’ve been working on and then stick to a schedule, which is a bit different for us. Be a bit more structured in the release. We were ready to start with the next track before we’d even released the other one! Doing a release you have to be ready for the next release; it’s just a perpetual cycle.
It’s kinda weird; we’ve just released ‘Scream with Me’ so for a lot of people it’s a new track, but we’ve actually played it for a year! It does seem to be the way that everyone’s going these days though and it does seem to work, with streaming and social media and stuff. You need stuff that’s instantly accessible really. Everyone sees that single and you can just focus on that one thing. People have got short attention spans! There’s so much content these days, we’ve just gotta keep up with that!
In one sense though it does mean we put a lot more time into that one track, rather than having eight tracks coming out and four of them are great. We’re not just rushing things then!
Is another album on the cards down the line?
Yeah, I think we’ve got a tonne of material that we’re working on at the moment. It’s just a case of putting it all together and testing it. The place where we recorded all of our previous EPs are closing down in April, so we’re looking to start producing our own stuff anyway. We’re just getting all the gear for that at the moment. It gives us a nice challenge then, as well! It gives us more freedom, and the chance to be more self-sufficient. Now we can record every little idea we have and play with it for a couple of months… then re-record it again!
We’re gonna start doing things our own way and spending more time on the finer details of the recording process. A couple of us are producers on the side anyway so it’s good that we can use that knowledge on our own music!
Have you guys got a pretty busy rest of the year planned?
March is pretty quiet for us now as we’re getting some new content ready. Then we’re back in April and May. Got the Station 18 festival in May which we’re really looking forward to in Swansea. It’s a cracking line-up all weekend so if you have the time head to Swansea and take a look! Should be a good one! Apart from that we’re always looking and open to playing shows anywhere and everywhere! Try and get out of Wales a bit more. So any opportunity for us then we’re gonna snap it up!
A pretty huge week for new music, complete with some big returns. Let’s check it out!
Fall Out Boy: So Much (For) Stardust
FALL OUT BOY ARE BACK BABY! Well, kinda. Sometimes. I was a huge fan of the band pre-hiatus, them being a massive part of my childhood and early teens. However since then I haven’t found myself enjoying them anywhere near as much as they ventured more and more into pop territory. Heck, it took seeing it live for me to like Save Rock and Roll. However, with this record they finally go back to their rockier roots with tracks like ‘Love from the Other Side’ and ‘I Am My Own Muse’. And of course how can we forget the best track on the album, ‘Hold me Like a Grudge’. Not only does it have heavy ‘Dance Dance’ vibes (and not just from the video) but Pat’s lyrics are up there with some of their best.
Don’t get me wrong, some tracks have more pop-edge and influence than others. While okay ballads, tracks like ‘Heaven, Iowa’ didn’t do much. However, the rock and experimentation is very much back with the band, with the closing two tracks also being huge tracks thanks in large part to the phenomenal inclusion of brass to the sound. I honestly didn’t think I’d be enjoying a Fall Out Boy album this much in 2023. It feels like it’s drawn together as much of their past works and sounds as it could, making a huge, epic final sound. I’m going to be listening to a lot of this constantly for the next few weeks and months, I feel. 9/10.
Babymetal: THE OTHER ONE
BABYMETAL ARE BACK BABY! Another band that have been away on a bit of a break for a while, their last album being 2019’s Metal Galaxy, the duo are back with their fourth studio album. It also feels like the band’s most mature album to date. The last remanence of the cute, ‘kawai’ sound from their earlier two albums is now gone, leaving simply a solid Japanese metal album. There is still plenty of catchy, huge choruses and melodies, but they feel more like something Lovebites would come out with as opposed to ‘Gimme Chocolate’.
I’m on the fence as to whether I like the shift or not. While it’s definitely great music and tracks like ‘Divine Attack’ and ‘MAYA’ are amazing and enjoyable, it felt like something was missing. I loved the fact they were a blend of J-pop and power/death metal, but now it does feel ever so slightly like they are just another metal band. Hopefully it’ll grow on me more with more listens (and I’m sure it will), I think I just went into it hoping for and expecting something different. 7/10
Luke Combs: Gettin’ Old
Luke Combs didn’t go anywhere, having put out an album every year since his debut aside for 2021, so he can’t really be back. However, it is the second part of a double album, kinda, with Growing Up having already came out last year. I loved the last one and am a big fan of the guy in general, so have been buzzing for this for a while now.
It opens incredibly solidly, with the slower title(ish) track before ripping into a faster, heavier, almost more Springsteen-like ‘Hannah Ford Road’. ‘You Found Yours’, ‘Still’ and ‘See Me Now’ are both standard, great country anthems. However, it was then that I hit the wall that I have with most country albums: the length. There isn’t a bad track on the album by any means, but 18-tracks clocking in over an hour is too much for this easily-distracted writer. His cover of ‘Fast Car’ is good, as is the folky ‘5 Leaf Clover’, but both buried in the back half of the album did them no favours. Neither did the generally slow pace of the album, too. I get where he’s coming from (I think) with making Growin’ Up generally faster and heavier while Gettin’ Old is typically slower. However, not only does the former feel like a more well-rounded album, but it’s also shorter and generally more enjoyable.
As I said, it’s not a bad album by any stretch. However, 30 tracks in less than a year feels like a little much. And 17 slow tracks doesn’t really balance out all that well with just one quicker one two songs in. I love Luke Combs, but this feels more like a b-side/leftovers album. 6.5/10
August Burns Red: Death Below
Max: This record reminds me very much of the older albums but its new and developed enough for me to still love and appreiate all of the work that has gone in to it. With the different tones in all of the screams and styles of vocals, there is such a depth to every song as I found it very hard to get bored of the vocals. The drums have always been fantastic in all of their records and this one is no different as they are always insane and very precise. Something that has to be mentioned with this record is how good all of the collaborations are, the four that are in the record really are a treat for everyone who listens to this genre of music. Overall it is so much fun and reminds me of my favourite album of my teenage years, Rescue & Restore. 9/10
Ne Obliviscaris: Exul
This was proggy, heavy chaos in the best possible ways. Be it the insanely quick drumming, great riffs, powerful vocals or the symphonic bits, all of it is excellent. Heck, opener and 12+ minute epic ‘Equus’ perfectly incapsulates everything that the band is about. It’s a ridiculously talented collection of people and I feel like even that’s putting it mildly. It’s another album that just has to be listened to in full to appreciate, and I cannot fully do it justice in words, honestly. Check this out now, regardless of what sort of music you like. 9/10
Nickel Creek: Celebrants
The American bluegrass band put out their seventh album last week, and their first in nearly a decade. I’m excited to check this out as, while I’m not too familiar with them, they’re at the Long Road festival this summer so hopefully we can catch them!
It’s a lot of fun as an album. I have to admit the genre generally is pretty new to me, but the blend of folky, country, indie and more modern pop elements was impressive. Single ‘Strangers’ in particular is damn impressive, from the guitar riffs to the vocal harmonies to that insane fiddle solo. Tracks like ‘Holding Pattern’ and ‘Thinnest Wall’ are also great tracks. It’s not something I’d typically listen to regularly, but it’s hugely talented and I’d imagine it’s amazing live. 7/10
Mork: Dypet
The Nordic black metal band are back with their seventh offering. I found myself enjoying this a lot more than I thought I would. While I still wouldn’t listen to it massive amounts, it at least had good riffs, impressive vocals and, surprising with black metal, half-decent production. It’s your typical black metal stuff in terms of sound and themes, but it’s done well enough that someone outside of the genre can appreciate it. ‘Forfort Av Kulden’ was possibly my favourite track on the album due to the dynamics and layers involved. 6.5/10, good stuff.
Shores Of Null: The Loss of Beauty
Melancholic, dark metal is how the band describe themselves. Having listened to the album, I can definitely hear why. Honestly going into it I wasn’t expecting any clean vocals, never mind the powerful, amazing mixture of Sully Erna and Layne Staley I got. Don’t get me wrong, there are still some harsh vocals and growls in here, but the cleans seemed more of the focus than anything else. It almost felt like gothic metalcore, which I loved. A middle ground between goth, metalcore and blackened death. It’s incredibly interesting and honestly had me hooked throughout. I had no idea where it’d go, ever. It reminded me a lot of Lacrimas Profundere’s last album (find the review of it here).
Official opening track ‘Destination Woe’ is amazing, as is single ‘The Last Flower’, ‘Old Scars’ and ‘Fading as One’. However, the whole album is pretty great from start to finish! 8/10.
That’s right, we’re going to review our own gigs. And what? Also, yes, it was at a Wetherspoons. Everything about this paragraph is insane. The awesome Bombs for Breakfast and Sick of the Riot; let’s get on with the review!
Sick of the Riot took the stage to a pretty packed room and played an incredible set of punk chaos. For just the two of them, a drummer and then a vocalist/guitarist, they pack one hell of a punch and really fill out the sound live. Whether it was rocking anti-establishment anthems against our former prime minister or an amazing cover of ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’, it all sounded awesome. It gave me both Dead Kennedys and Smashing Pumpkins vibes, given the vocals. And I even found myself enjoying the slower stuff as much, if not more than the higher tempo tracks. The dynamics were refreshing from a punk band, and it kept me entertained throughout.
After a brief break to change over, Bombs for Breakfast took to the stage and blew the crowd away. These guys were super polished and professional, even for a pop-punk band, and it made for one hell of an impressive show. Even after some technical difficulties, the band rose to the occasion, used a different amp and rocked the place. There wasn’t a particular highlight as every track sounded awesome.
It was also nice to see the friendship between the two bands, with both bringing the frontman of the other band on to perform a song with them. The bands were clearly enjoying it and, because of that, so did the crowd.
And there we have it, not only our latest live review but our last show of the year! It’s been a blast, and both bands gave it their all here, putting on a fantastic night for the fans. Both deserve to be much bigger than they are and fingers crossed they both have an amazing 2023. Hopefully we can see them again soon!
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The Singer/Songwriter/Anarchist/Rascal (as she puts it so perfectly) Burridge is back with her first EP in three years. I’ve been a fan for a while now after being sent over some of her latest singles, and I’m super excited to hear the rest of the release. She straddles the lines between pop, rock, indie and punk with ease and puts out something genuinely unique. Let’s get into it!
‘Modern Day Love Affair’ starts off heavier than I was expecting, and certainly heavier than the two tracks I reacted to. The Great riff heads into more punk territory once the vocals kick in, with her singing in between the guitars for the first part. It almost has a J-rock edge to it all, or at very least reminds me of Joanovarc’s ‘Say Sayonara’. I think it’s the multi-tracked vocals that’s doing it, but it makes it sound huge and very impactful. The chorus is just as big and catchy as the rest of it, and I’m sure it’ll be a fan favourite live. Overall it’s a great straight-up rock song, and a fantastic way to open an EP!
Soon-to-be single ‘Breathe’ is up next. It opens straight into her awesome, slightly distorted vocals, backed only by the solid bass drum. The fuzzy bass comes in behind to add even more attitude to it all before it builds into a huge pre. It’s spacious and catchy in its own right.
Then, the track leans heavily into AM territory with the riff and chorus. The guitar tone is very Arctic Monkeys while her vocals even remind me a bit of Alex Turner’s at times throughout, from the accent to melody to pronunciation. The chorus is great though, another catchy, arena-filling vocal hook with huge guitars behind it. The half-time in the second chorus is also fantastic. Everything culminating together in the final chorus was great too, and finished off an amazing song. Playlisted, easily.
You can check out my reaction and thoughts on ‘Cigarette Smoke’ (as well as ‘Panic’ a little later) down below. But I’ll still give a few brief words now for those who don’t have the time to watch.
The fuzzy bass and simple drums fit well behind Burridge ‘s voice, making it all feel pretty punk. It all builds into a great pre and HUGE chorus that has been stuck in my head on and off since I first heard it a few months ago. It’s a fantastic track that I cannot heap enough praise onto. It fits perfectly into the current pop-rock resurgence, while still sounding different and having a punky edge. It’s already on the playlist!
The final new track, ‘Done Wrong’, channels massive pop-punk energy. From the riff to the melody to the gang vocals, it’s all very Paramore and other modern bands on the edge of punk. It’s good fun and very catchy, just like the rest of the tracks. It’s another great song!
Closing track ‘Panic’ is another one I have loved for months now. It opens straight into Burridge ‘s powerful vocals and a great punk rock riff. Also, it’s another hugely catchy chorus and one that will be on a loop around my head for the rest of the day. I especially love the stripped-back version of it that closes out the track. It’s one of my favourite outros of the year, I think! Great stuff, and another for the playlist!
Overall: This was fantastic. It’s great to hear the youth infusing rock into the more pop sound, and it’s becoming a rather big, mainstream thing again these days. Every track is great and is definitely worth checking out, and I’ll be listening to it a lot in the coming weeks and months. Hopefully we get the chance to hear it live soon!
An absolutely HUGE week for New Music Mondays. 12 massive albums from some of the biggest names in rock and metal all out on the same day. I don’t know what it was about May 6th, but I’ve been waiting for it for a while. Without further ado, let’s get to it!
Halestorm: Back From the Dead
Back from the dead indeed. After four years the band returned with their follow-up to 2018’s Vicious. The two singles from the album were both fantastic, setting the scene for the rest of it perfectly. However, you are going to have to wait just a little longer for my review and score, as there is no way I’m NOT doing this in depth! It should be on the site and socials within a couple of days, so keep an eye out!
Three Days Grace: EXPLOSIONS
One of the leaders of the affectionately dubbed ‘butt-rock’ sub-genre, Three Days Grace have been around over two decades at this point and show no sign of slowing down. I have to admit, I haven’t really actively listened to this band since One-X all the way back in 2006. So, it was nice to find myself rather pleasantly surprised by this album!
All the elements of butt-rock are here, the basic, heavy guitar riffs, the electronic melodies to help build the track and the edgy lyrical content. However, it is clear it is being written by a band that know exactly what they are doing, and do it exceptionally well. While the opener and lead single was a little too edgy for me, tracks like ‘I Am The Weapon’ and ‘No Tomorrow’ are just as good as anything else they’ve put out. Even the slower tracks like ‘Lifetime’ and ‘Redemption’ are fantastic, even if they are pretty depressing lyrically. Still, the emotion is definitely there, in every track. It’s made me want to check out the albums from them I’ve missed and I’ll definitely be listening to this a lot in the coming weeks! 7/10
Simple Plan: Harder Than it Looks
The Canadian pop-punkers have done a lot more than just ‘What’s New Scooby Do?’. The band have had some amazing, huge tracks over their now six album career. Their latest looks to continue that trend, being packed with huge, catchy, arena-filling choruses and vocal lines… and not a great deal else. Don’t get me wrong, the instrumentation is fine, but there isn’t really any of it that I would consider memorable. It’s a usual issue with pop punk, but it’s more prevalent in more anthemic bands like these or Good Charlotte. Still, tracks like the opener and ‘Million Pictures of You’ are good fun and highlights of a fairly standard, samey album. 6.5/10
Fozzy: Boombox
Another album I have to do an in-depth review of I’m afraid, as I have been a Jericho fan for as long as I can remember. Still though, from what I’ve heard so far, it’s going to be pretty good, and certainly better than their last couple of albums!
Silverstein: Misery Made Me
The pop-punk/emo/post hardcore(?) band hit double digits on their discography last week. This sort of music was never really my thing as a kid, in fact I actively avoided most ’emo’ music aside the odd AFI song. So, because of that, I know the band by name only. However, I did enjoy this album. The band managed to put together some interesting different styles throughout. I didn’t think the opening track was that heavy at all and leant heavily into pop-punk so it had me wondering where the post hardcore was. Then the heavy second track came in and I understood a lot more.
Tracks like ‘Ultraviolet’, ‘It’s Over’ and ‘Slow Motion’ also perfectly blend these two styles. The tracks have some awesome catchiness blended with the heaviness too. I’m actually pissed at myself for not giving this band a chance sooner, I’ll definitely be checking them out more! It’s an effortless style of arena-heavy-rock that bands like Asking Alexandria and BVB have tried to varying degrees of success recently. Awesome stuff! 8.5/10
Ibaraki: Rashomon
Trivium frontman and all-round metal legend Matt Heafy finally put out his solo album last week. This is said album. Oh, and it’s death/black metal, so I have been even more excited! Opening on a seven-and-a-half minute death epic for an essentially debut album is a ballsy move, but Heafy pulls it off masterfully. Insane riffs and a harsher scream than I have heard him use in a while, as well as still some of his powerful cleans, start the album off strong.
Then there’s the all out assault of ‘Ibaraki-Doji’ and the darkly beautiful black metal slow build of ‘Jigoku Dayu’, both of which are massive highlights. Oh, and Behemoth’s own Nergal also makes an appearance on the awesome ‘Akumu’, another highlight. There is also guest appearances from the legendary Ihsahn of Emperor and even My Chemical Romance Frontman Gerard Way. Oh, and yes, you guessed it, both tracks are also awesome. Especially the latter, which sees the usually clean vocalist scream his fucking lungs out. I honestly didn’t think he had it in him, that was awesome. Heafy does a good job of managing to make it sound not too much like Trivium, but still have that recognisable edge to it. While I wouldn’t put it quite up there with Court of the Dragon, it is still an insanely strong album. 9/10
Otoboke Beaver: Super Champon
I don’t understand how these girls have over 100k monthly listeners. Then again, the punk scene is and always has been weird. I’m going to be honest with you, I didn’t make it through the whole album. I couldn’t. The vocals were barely in tune and the lyrics were SO VERY REPETITIVE. For a guy who complains about the Killers’s magnum opus ‘Mr Brightside’ being ‘lazy’ for having the same verse twice, this band make them look like J.R. Tolkien. I don’t get it, it sounds awful. If you like it please let me know on our socials what I’m missing, because this was not good. 2/10
Depressed Mode: Decade of Silence
The doom metallers returned after… well… a decade of silence (13 years, to be exact). I’ve already reviewed this very good album, so you can check out what I had to say, alongside my score, here.
Terror: Pain Into Power
This is the first ‘beatdown hardcore’ band I believe we have (at least knowingly) covered here at Overtone. While I feel like I have heard the term somewhere before, it doesn’t sound like my sort of thing so I suspect this will be a review of my first time listening to a whole new sub-genre today, rare these days.
It’s alright. Better than I expected it to be, given the name of the subgenre. It wasn’t anything special but there were a few good riffs, like the one at the end of ‘Boundless Contempt’. And it didn’t overstay its welcome either, being just 18-minutes spread across ten songs. Even the lyrics weren’t terrible. It’s not the best thing I’ve ever listened to but I’ll happily listen to it again. 6/10
Puppy: Pure Evil
This was somehow a more doom version of Smashing Pumpkins. The intro track made me think the album was going to be pretty slow and heavy, but then ‘The Kiss’ flipped it all on its head. It’s an interesting blend of styles: doom/stoner, metal, grunge and even some desert rock. I enjoyed it a fair bit, with ‘Spellbound’ being my particular album highlight. 6/10
I Am The Night: While the Gods Are Sleeping
It’s black metal. That alone should tell you exactly what to expect. I’ve really tried, guys. I’ve been doing NMM for over seven months now and have since listened to a fair amount of black metal. It’s the only sub-genre that does absolutely nothing for me. The musicians in this band are clearly very good at what they do, and the vocalist has one hell of a scream on him, but the actual songs kinda bore me. This is what people think of when they use phrases like ‘all metal just sounds the same’ and ‘you can’t tell what they’re saying’ and you know what, they’re absolutely right. I am the Night are a solid band and probably a great black metal band, bit it isn’t for me. 3/10
Stand Atlantic: f.e.a.r.
I nearly didn’t cover this. Then I remembered I covered Avril Lavigne in one of these and realised I kind of had to. It is still guitar based, even if it is more pop than rock. It reminds me very much of the likes of Olivia Rodrigo or Gayle in its melody, just with slightly more guitars. It isn’t a bad thing and is certainly catchy. It’s simply very basic catchiness and the lyrics are not really my sort of thing. It’s clearly inspired by modern female pop and punk (like AS IT IS) alongside the likes of Avril and P!no. It simply doesn’t quite live up to those influences. Tracks like ‘Deathwish’ and ‘Don’t Talk’ are pretty decent though and definite highlights. 5.5/10
Pop Punk pioneers The Offspring have been rather quiet over the last few years, with their last album coming out way back in 2012. However, there was a time when they, alongside other genre leaders such as Green Day and Blink 182, were one of the biggest bands on the planet. You couldn’t go anywhere in 1999 without hearing ‘Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)’, and even still it, alongside a handful of their other earlier hits, get massive amounts of plays on the likes of Kerrang! and MTV Rocks. The band has sold over 40 million albums in their time, one of the highest of any rock band from the mid-nineties onwards. Fast forward to 2021 and the band has finally released their much anticipated tenth studio album, ‘Let The Bad Times Roll’. I have personally been a fan of this band for as long as I can remember, so I’m excited to finally have some new music by them. Join me in checking it out!
‘This is Not Utopia’ opens on a suitably big power-chord build-up, immediately feeling like old-school Offspring. However, within just a couple of seconds, it drops down a little, getting lighter and leaning more on their Americana influences through the verses. The bell of the cymbals are a particular highlight as it chimes in over the top of the sporadic guitar chords. Dexter’s voice threw me off a little at first; it’s definitely changed over the years. Then again, it’s hard to keep up his punk shouting well into his 50s, so to still sound as good as he does. Even if he does sound older, is a testament to his talents. It all builds towards the huge choruses, the vocal lines being massively catchy and melodic over the top of the HUGE instrumentation. It’s still arena-filling punk rock all these years later and just goes to show why they are still towards the top of the rock world today.
Next up is the lead single of the album and its title track. Opening straight into one of the catchiest choruses they’ve ever written is always going to stand them in good stead, again leaning into their Americana sounds, lots of percussion songs behind a simple guitar riff and the vocals. The verse is just as catchy, building up more and more throughout, even with the dropped-down pre. However, that is my only slight issue with this song. It builds up and builds up perfectly, and then everything drops out again for the chorus. It’s an awesome chorus, as I’ve said, but it feels like the build-up is wasted. Add some heavy guitars in the back for all but the first one and it could have been even more incredible. I do have to say though, to drag it back to the positives, I personally loved the lyrics for this song. Sure, they were juvenile, but just about everyone has had days like this in their lives, and it has definitely been how I’ve felt before. There isn’t much to this song, a slight bridge after the second chorus before it goes straight into a final one again. Still, it’s enough to easily make my playlist! It does do the cardinal sin of fading out, but it wasn’t enough to change my mind.
‘Behind Your Walls’ opens on a nice, slow guitar riff before it drops into the popular pop-punk trope of palm-muted guitar power chords with quiet vocals over the top. Still, it sounds awesome and I love it. A little off-topic, but these days Dexter’s low vocals are starting to sound more and more like Andy Biersack’s. It again builds up nicely into a massive chorus; not quite as catchy as the previous two but it still sounds huge. The song feels a little odd in terms of its structure, it never dropping down again, staying around the same sort of level as the first chorus throughout. There isn’t much to write home about with it either; it’s simply a damn good, straightforward punk song.
‘Army of One’ picks up the pace and heaviness nicely, a huge drumbeat opening this one up with some great guitars coming in over the top. It heads straight into the chorus from here, again one of the better ones the band has ever done, catchy and easy to sing along to live. The backing vocals adding multiple layers to it is a great touch, too. The verse is a little weak, just kind of being there so they had something to play around the awesome chorus. The riffs from Noodles here are some of the best on the album so far, though. The chorus alone nearly made me put it in the playlist, but everything else around it was just a tad too weak.
‘Breaking These Bones’ opens on an even better drumbeat than the last one; fast and heavy. The guitars are built in slowly over the top until it eventually bursts into a great punk rock riff. It stays pretty heavy through the verse, the guitars and bass only playing between the vocal lines through most of it, another great pop-punk trope. The chorus is the least massive one on the album so far, feeling straight-up punk instead of anthemic. It actually reminds me a lot of one of their older songs, ‘Can’t Repeat’. We even get a slight guitar solo in this one. Sure, it is mostly made up of the same note bent over and over, but it’s better than nothing! It then launches into a final chorus and heavy outro riff to finish. A fantastic, short, straight-to-the-point rock song that didn’t overstay its welcome at all. Especially impressive that it accomplishes all of that in under three minutes!
Next up is a weird one as it was released way back in 2015 as the album’s first single, it has just taken this long to actually get the thing finished and released. Because of this, ‘Coming For You’ already had over 35k streams on Spotify alone while others on the album are still below 1000 (as of the album’s release). Therefore fans of the band, myself included, are pretty familiar with the song already, so it feels weird analysing it so deeply. Still though, it opens on a pretty funky drum and bassline that is built into a great verse. The backing vocals through the verses again add some great added depth to it and are all very catchy. The chorus is equally catchy, and the guitar solo that generally follows the same melody that the vocals did was a great touch. This song is awesome from start to finish, it sounds like it would have easily sat comfortably with some of the band’s hits from back in the mid-90s, a very impressive feat. It’s enjoyable and very catchy and, since it was technically released this year again, made the playlist.
Next up is the most recent single from the album, ‘We Never Have Sex Anymore’. Opening much like the previous song but leaning heavily into their Latin side as an amazing guitar riff comes in, accompanied by an AMAZING trumpet melody. As I have said before in previous reviews, I adore the use of horns in rock music, they add such a great bounce and specific energy to everything that you can’t get without them, and they have been used so well and sparingly that I honestly can’t think of a time it has been done badly. This is no exception; I already love this song. Said horns come back in the chorus, adding even more catchiness and greatness to it all. The lyrics are again pretty juvenile but are pretty well written and are damn enjoyable. We get a horn solo followed by a horn and guitar harmonised solo midway through and it adds so much awesomeness to the song I can’t even do it justice in writing. Why aren’t more rock bands incorporating ska elements anymore? My favourite song on the album by quite a margin, and I think it’s up there among my favourite songs of the year. Playlisted.
After a short, minute-long instrumental track that Alton Towers should definitely be using from now on, we get the next proper track, ‘The Opioid Diaries’. It opens almost straight into a fast verse before soon reaching another huge, catchy chorus. It’s a good song but there isn’t much I can say about it that I haven’t already said about previous songs. It’s a pretty straightforward punk rock song and definitely has its place on the album, but it feels a little more like filler than the other songs on the album up until this point. The same could be said for the following song, ‘Hassan Chop’. It’s maybe the silliest track on the album and also the closest to old-school punk; simple, fast music full of attitude and crazy lyrics. Again, it’s a good song but feels a little meh compared to a lot of the rest of the album.
The final official track from the album is a piano/string version of their 1997 single, ‘Gone Away’. One of my favourite songs by the band, it is made even more beautiful in this rendition, the instrumentation adding even more weight to the perfect vocals and lyrics. It does feel a little like it is trying to one-up Five Finger Death Punch’s cover of it from a few years ago, but in that respect it very much does. This is my new favourite version of this song. So much so that it also ended up on the playlist.
Overall: there was a hell of a lot to like from this album. A massive improvement on the last album (honestly California Cruising can go to hell), there were a few songs here that I would put up amongst the band’s best. Sure, there were a couple of filler tracks on here and an argument could be made that the ‘Gone Away’ re-release was a little unnecessary. However, considering this is their best album in easily 13 years, if not more, as well as giving us a few legitimately awesome songs, you can let them off for putting a couple of not-perfect songs on there. It was just a damn good pop-punk record, and a return to form for a fantastic band.
Overall: 7.5/10
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