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The Top 50 Albums of 2022 – Part 5

10: Dayseeker – Dark Sun

Max: Much like the Bad Omens album, Dark Sun is a lot of fun and there wasn’t a bad thing that I could say about this album. It should be noted that there is a lot of emotion going on through the album and that is never a bad thing. In my opinion this really made the album this good in my eyes as there was so much that I was able to connect with.

Max struggled to decide on a rating for this one when doing our review so we’ve gone for the middle ground of 9.5/10!

Listen to: Without Me, Crying While You’re Dancing, Dreamstate.

9: Palisades – Reaching Hypocritical

Joe: The last and highest ranking new-nu-metal album to make the list, and it definitely deserves such the high placement. This album came out of nowhere for me. I’d heard the band name before but had never really checked them out. This blew me away. From the heavy riffs and breakdowns to the soaring, catchy vocals, this had everything I love all rolled into one. It’s been some of my most listened to music for the latter half of the year since its release. It’s a real slab of amazing metalcore/nu metal goodness. We gave it a massive 9/10 when covering it on New Music Monday, and for very good reason!

Listen to: My Consequences, Your Misery, Better.

8: Alter Bridge – Pawns & Kings

Joe: Alter Bridge were one of my favourite bands as a teenager, much like another band a little later on this list. Much like said other band, too (more on them later), their last couple of albums haven’t inspired me. The Last Hero was okay but Walk the Sky lacked anything really memorable at all. So, after pretty decent solo releases from Myles Kennedy and Mark Tremonti over the last year or so, I was worried about another lacklustre album.

But damn, this is an amazing album. This felt like the Alter Bridge of old, the perfect blend of Blackbird and Fortress. Myles vocals and melodies were on top form and the riffs… the riffs… they were incredible. It feels like the band were on top creative form and on the same page for the first time in a while, and it most certainly paid off. Whether it’s metal or slower, more ballad-driven rock, this album knocks it out of the park with both. I gave it a 9/10 in my review for a very good reason, and I stand by that today!

Listen to: This is War, Silver Tongue, Stay.

7: Bad Omens – THE DEATH OF PIECE OF MIND

Max: This album has become super popular over the recent months and rightfully so because there is so much to love and enjoy here from the horrific screams in ‘Artificial Suicide’ to the beautiful cleans in ‘Just Pretend’ this album is a very easy listen and should be enjoyed by all.

This is another one that Max and Joe didn’t see eye to eye on, as you can tell by Joe’s review. However, Joe has officially agreed that he is old and that it is a pretty decent album all things considered. 9/10

Listen to: Nowhere to go, Like a Villain, THE DEATH OF PIECE OF MIND.

6: The New Roses – Sweet Poison

Joe: My favourite new band of the last few years, of course they were going to end up high on this list. I’ve raved about the band to anyone who’d listen since 2017, but that doesn’t mean this is a bias placement. It is a damn solid hard rock album, combining sleaze, classic and southern rock together perfectly.

From the foot-stomping hard rock tracks of the singles to the slower, ballady tracks like ‘All I Ever Needed’ and ‘True Love’, it has a bit of everything. There isn’t a bad track on this album, and I can attest to the fact that it translates somehow even better in a live setting, too. Tracks that I didn’t initially gravitate to, such as ‘The Lion in You’, have become some of my favourite tracks since seeing them at Winter Rocks Festival.

It’s very quickly become maybe my favourite album the band have put out, and that’s quite the task! I gave it a 9.5/10 in my review and I fully stand by that, though it may even be a 10!

Listen to: The Usual Suspects, Dead of Night, The Veins of This Town.

5: Zeal & Ardor – Self-Titled

Joe: What perfect chaos this album is. From folky, spiritual rock to straight up black metal, it has a bit of everything. And Manuel does it all masterfully. It’s hard not to praise it without mentioning individual songs, which I have done below, but I didn’t even manage to go into that much detail in my review, as it was for New Music Monday. However, every track on the album is special and, while I definitely have highlight tracks, there isn’t a bad one on it. The heavier or folkier the tracks the better, and ‘I Caught You’ is one of my favourite tracks of the entire year. It fully deserves the 9/10 score I gave it!

Listen to: Run, Bow, I Caught You.

4: Everette – Kings of the Dairy Queen Parking Lot – Side B

Joe: For a band that I only discovered in the summer ahead of The Long Road festival, they have become one of my favourite and most listened to bands of the year. A large part has been down to this new album, too. The duo have some of the best country songwriting skills I have heard in years, and work so well together. Whether it’s them having fun with an upbeat track or playing something slower and more emotional, they do it all with such style, swagger and polish that it’s hard not to love.

I have only fallen in love with the album since I reviewed it, and I cannot stop listening to it. Heck, there’s a reason half of it has ended up on my top 30 tracks on Spotify. There isn’t a dud on the album. I fully stand by my top marks of 10/10.

Listen to: Gonna be a Problem, Shunk as Drit, She Got That From Me.

3: Lorna Shore – Pain Remains

Max: So this is one of the highest albums on the list and rightfully so, the entire bands is doing so much throughout this album and it all just works. From the sheer emotion and pain to the filthy intensity and screams that the band is known for makes this an album that as soon as you find your footing in this genre you will absolutely love. There is definitely good reason as to why this band has become the face of deathcore for a lot of people. This got a 10/10 and rightfully so!

Listen to: Pain Remains I, II, and III, in that order.

2: Halestorm – Back From the Dead

Joe: Back from the dead indeed. Four years after the awesome Vicious, Lzzy Hale and Co. returned with their fifth album and frankly blew the doors off the place. This is another album that’s grown on me more with every listen, like just about all of their albums. There is a lot of fantastic stuff on her. I like that, unlike a lot of bands at this sort of time in their careers, Halestorm have only gotten heavier, and the result is almost groove metal.

I gave this 8.5/10 when I reviewed it and I very much stand by that! However, we have two scores on the review, one from myself and one from Charlotte, which averages out a massive… 9.25/10

Listen to: Back From the Dead, Wicked Ways, I Come First.

1: Shinedown – Planet Zero

Joe: I’ve had an up and down history with Shinedown. In my late teens they were my favourite band, with their debut through Amaryllis being perfect. However, Threat to Surviv felt flat to me, a hollow attempt to appeal to a wider audience, and ATTENTION ATTENTION put an even sourer taste in my mouth.

So, imagine my surprise and happiness that just a few years later, their new album is Overtone’s top of the entire year. It is fully, fully deserved, though. From the return to their rockier sound to the semi-concept style of the album and the amazing message behind it all, it really is a phenomenal album. It has all the hallmarks of the original style of the band yet still blends together the more pop-rock approach they’ve taken recently at times too. It’s up there with some of the very best they’ve ever released, and I’d argue maybe IS the best thing they’ve ever released. The band have somehow come into their own even more and are ready to take over the world.

After listening to this album a lot since its release, I’m bumping it up to a huge 9.5/10. Check out the full review here.

Listen to: America Burning, Dead Don’t Die, Hope.

And there we have it ladies and germs, our top 50 albums of 2022. Do you agree? Did we miss any? Either way, please feel free to let us know on our socials here.

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Reviews

The Third Eye: Are Chaoseum Leading the Charge When it Comes to New Nu Metal?

The Swiss Nu Metal band Chaoseum rose to prominence during the pandemic era off their HUGE single ‘Smile Again’. The first thing they have done since then, aside a live album, the bands third studio album has a lot of hype to live up to? How does it fair against Second Life? Let’s take a listen and find out…

A brief organ intro starts off ‘I, Sexy Zombie’ with an eerie feel. A heavy, Korn-ish riff comes in over the top, especially with the faint vocals too. It stays quick and heavy heading into the verse, the growls making it have an almost death metal feel to it. However, when it cleans up and half-times that nu/industrial metal sound comes back, sounding amazing. It all builds into a very catchy, very Korn chorus. The chanted backing vocals are very memorable and will go down a storm live, while CK Smile does a great job at a clean, melodical hook. A short bridge leads to a great little guitar solo. We then get a final catchy chorus to round out an awesome opening track.

Single ‘Unreal’ opens on a great riff, soon exploding into the heaviness just like before. The drums are a real highlight here, Greg Turini working overtime on a fantastic beat or two. All of the vocal melodies throughout the track are infectiously catchy, from the clean verse and chorus to the growled, call-and-response style of the pre. I don’t want to keep comparing Chaoseum to Korn as they do have their own talents and sound, being slightly more metalcore, but the nu-metal titans are definitely the closest band to compare them to. The spoken word in the bridge, especially when the gang vocals are added after the drop, is all awesome. It almost gives off Static X vibes and is another part I’d love to see live. Another great guitar solo and double chorus take us home in style. Another fantastic song and the second already to make the playlist.

Check out more nu metal here.

The slow build intro for ‘Dance on my Grave’ is awesome, the electro parts working so well with the riff. It has a real bound to it all too, definitely fitting with the song title. It gives off Wednesday 13 and Manson vibes this time too. It’s a catchy track and one that doesn’t take itself all too seriously. Heck, it has the most casual ‘suck my dick’ I think I’ve ever heard put into a song! The track as a whole is a lot of fun and would go down a storm live.

Surprisingly, the title track is a short instrumental interlude. It was tribal and folky and definitely enjoyable, it’s just odd these days for a band not to have a massive single as the title track of the album. It did, however, lead pretty perfectly into the following track, ‘Fly Away’. It’s another heavy track clearly inspired by Korn. However, it’s another massive, arena-filling chorus filled with great main and backing vocal lines. Outside of that chorus it’s another fun nu-metal track, the growls in the bridge also being good.

‘My Wonderland’ opens on a very Slipknot riff, especially with the laugh and scream over the top. It’s a balls to the wall track that barely lets up at all, though still has plenty of catchy hooks and melodies from the vocals. It is a fantastic track and was definitely a good choice to be a single, as it highlights everything Chaoseum is about while also being radio-friendly and amazing in its won right. It’s made our playlist!

‘Welcome Home’ ‘Until the End’ and ‘Sanctum Cinerem’ were a little slower than the other tracks on the album, especially the middle track. It was a nice change of pace and definitely helped me stay interested in the album which, until this point, had all been rather similar. In fact, ‘Until the End’ is one of my favourite tracks on the album and makes our playlist. It’s a slower, dark, doomy track, and is really awesome. Plus, the guitar solo was amazing!

Finally, closing track ‘What If’, opens on an album Slim Shady/Slipknot’s ‘Custer’ style voice recording. Said voice recording from CK does lay the grounds for a phat riff, though. We also get some cool Linkin Park style electronic bits throughout, especially in the verses, which added a great new layer to their sound. However, it was unfortunately a song that felt a bit like an album track. It was good, but didn’t feel as huge and catchy as a lot of the others. Still, it’s a fun, impactful way too close a good album!

Overall: This was great. I’m a sucker for that nu/industrial metal sound, having grown up in that time period, and Chaoseum do a fantastic job of modernising it here. They’re bringing the early 2000s sound to a whole new audience, and doing so through awesome songwriting and musicianship. It’s an album I’ll be listening to a lot in the coming months, as there is not a bad track on it!

The Score: 8.5/10

New Music Mondays

New Music Mondays: Elder, High Command and More!

For the first time in the year plus of New Music Mondays, we’ve finally reached a week where I’m not particularly familiar with any of the bands on the list. Six almost completely unknown bands put out albums, so I’m excited to dive in and hopefully find some new great bands to be obsessed with!

Elder: Innate Passage

There are two types of prog music. There’s the ever changing, constant insanity of bands like Rush or Iron Maiden’s epics, throwing in different riffs and parts every couple of minutes. Then there’s the type that stretch an entire riff out for a solid ten minutes and squeeze every last drop out of the same concept before moving onto the next. This is an example of the latter.

Time for me to feel and sound like a hypocrite. While I typically like it when bands play around with the same riff and get different sounds out of it all. But five one-riff tracks spanning 54 minutes is a little too much for even me. The talent of the band is clearly on full display and very high, it just got a little too much and repetitive for me. Ironically, ‘Endless Return’ was a highlight track of the album, though! The clean riff is awesome and it builds perfectly for over two minutes into the great heaviness. 5/10 I’d not stick it on optionally much, but I also wouldn’t skip a track!

High Command: Eclipse of the Duel Moons

I’ve not heard an album open on such a punch to the teeth since Vugar Display of Power. The title track is a tour de force of power and aggression. Also, this band were one of the few I’d heard the name of previously, but I don’t know why I didn’t know they were crossover thrash. I had a lighter sound in mind, but I’m very glad they sounded like this instead.

Again, it’s a collection of incredibly talented musicians making great tracks together. The slower, proggy awesomeness that is ‘Imposing Hammers of Cold Sorcery’ is a definite highlight, as is the similarly paced ‘Chamber of Agony’. It turns out, although I do like balls-to-the-wall thrash too, I clearly enjoy it when the bands do things a little different and create some dynamics in their tracks, even just for parts of it. I love ‘In the Court of the Dragon, but ‘Shadow of the Abattoir’ is my favourite track on the album. ‘The Four Horsemen’ is one of my favourite Metallica tracks because it combines both thrash and slower elements together masterfully. It’s the same with these tracks.

I don’t want to crap on the other tracks though, the faster, thrash tracks are also amazing. This is a damn good album, and I’d highly recommend it if you’re into the heavier side of metal. 7.5/10, good stuff.

Finnegan’s Hell: One Finger Salute

Described as Sweden’s answer to The Pogues, as well as being the leading light in the New of Swedish Celtic Punk movement (something that I didn’t know existed but will have to check out more of now), the band return with their fourth album. It’s about exactly what you’d expect from the genre, and a lot of fun.

The anthemic, straight-to-the-point title track is a clear highlight. The opener is also great, some of the vocal melody even reminding me of some more recent Bruce Dickinson stuff. ‘I’ll Make it Up to You’ is also typical Celtic punk awesomeness. It’s honestly nice that after two albums of proggier writing, we have an album that’s ten tracks and only 25 minutes long. Heck, only one song clocks in at over three minutes. It was the perfect pallet clenser.

I’ve always loved the genre, and this is a great album to add to it. It’s packed full of great, fun tracks and in no way overstays its welcome. I feel like this band would be a lot of fun to see live, especially playing a few of these tracks! 7/10

Black Paisley: Human Nature

The latest band to put out an album into the rather saturated NWOCR scene, Black Paisley still put out a damn good album for their fourth release. The Swedes are clearly good songwriters, with tracks like ‘Not Alone’, ‘Mojo’ and ‘World’s Turning’ all being great. It’s a good album and the band definitely deserve more recognition, especially over here where the NWOCR movement has taken over half of the underground scene.

However, there is so much ‘classic rock’ out there these days and we’ve covered so much of it over the last year and a half that I’m starting to get rather burnt out from it. Like there are a lot of bands in the scene that do things different and mix up the formula in their own way, think Ward XVI or Mason Hill or South of Salem, that I LOVE> But it just means that straight-up classic rock doesn’t do much for me currently. I’ll probably come back around and absolutely love this album in the new year, and I’m definitely going to be listening to it again and checking out their older stuff. However, for now I’ll give it a 6.5/10. Sorry guys.

The Riven: Peace and Conflict

When this album started I was very tempted to write some extended version of ‘see above’. However I’ll be damned, this band really won me over, and quickly! ‘The Taker’ is a fantastic, high-energy anthem while slower tracks like ‘Sorceress of the Sky’ are amazing and show off great versatility from the band. Plus, who cannot be impressed by the sheer brilliance of musicianship on display in ‘La Puerta del Tiempo’?

It’s nothing mindblowing, but it’s a damn good hard rock album and one I’ll definitely be listening to some more. 7/10

Mother Vulture: Mother Knows Best

Another band that I knew pretty much by name only, thanks to being on festival bills I’d been to or toured with other bands I’ve checked out. However I had never had the chance to check them out properly. I regret that massively. This was fucking awesome.

A fuzzy, desert/indie rock take on classic rock, this was amazing from start to finish. From the anthemic opening track to other radio-rock bangers like ‘Honey’ and ‘Shifting Sands’, this album is made to be played hard and loud in front of thousands of screaming fans. I named those three tracks while, in honesty, the whole album is its own highlight. Whether you’re into rock, indie or metal, check this out, as you will for sure find something to love. These guys blend all of it together masterfully with this album, and honestly, if given the right marketing, it could and should catapult them into the stratosphere. 9/10 CHECK THIS OUT.

New Music Mondays

New Music Mondays: Disturbed, Nickelback and Much More!

One of the last big weeks of New Music Mondays for this year. From pop rock giants to plenty of metal and even a touch of country, we’ve got something for everyone this week!

Disturbed: Divisive

I have to admit, the title of the album worries me. I’ve been a fan of the band pretty much my entire life and wasn’t too big of a fan of their last output. I felt like the band tried too hard to capture the magic of their ‘Sound of Silence’ cover on half of it, while the other half felt heavier. While I’ve enjoyed the singles so far from the album, I’m worried this may go the same route now.

They kinda hit the nail on the head, though. It’s a surprisingly uplifting album in terms of lyrical content. Sometimes it works well, like on clear highlight ‘Unstoppable’ or ‘Take Back Your Life’. However, other times, like ‘Hey You’ and ‘Love to Hate’, they come across as more cringy. Heck, ‘Bad Man’s lyrics remind me of something you’d hear on Always Sunny in Philidelphia, they’re that cringe. Is it just me?

The rest of the elements are typical Disturbed. Big, chunky riffs that are great in the moment but all blend into one when listening to the album from front to back. The drums hold down the beat and groove well while John Moyer continues to be criminally underutilised in the band. Seriously, check out his work in Adrenaline Mob, especially ‘Feel the Adrenaline’, you’ll get a whole new appreciation for the man. ‘Don’t Tell Me’ was an okay ballad, and Ann Wilson had a passable guest vocal slot on it.

There are some definitely highlights, like ‘Unstoppable’ and ‘Part of Me’, but it’s all very typical Disturbed. If you’re a fan of the band you’ll get some enjoyment out of it, but they don’t really evolve their sound at all. It feels like Believe, a couple of good tracks but ultimately a pretty safe album. 6.5/10

Nickelback: Get Rollin’

I don’t care what anyone says, I fucking love this band. One of the first bands I fell in love with as a kid (All the Right Reasons is still one of the best albums ever released) and people only hate them because it’s ‘cool’ to do so. And heck, that consensus has even began to shift in recent years after their surprisingly heavy Feed the Machine album. They’re like the John Cena o rock music, for my whole two wrestling nerds out there reading this. The singles so far, the ballad ‘Those Days’ and heavy masterpiece ‘San Quentin’ have been well received and the hype around this album is actually pretty high, not just from me.

Tucked between the album’s two big singles as a sleazy, heavier rock track, ‘Skinny Little Missy’. It’s another highlight track and reminds me of ‘Something in your Mouthing terms of lyrics, feel and groove. Then we get one of the bands odd yet awesome country rock tracks in most recent single ‘High Time’, which is another banger. ‘Vegas Bomb’ is a fun heavier track, too.

However, then the band does its Nickelback thing and plays just so many ballads. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good ballad, and Nickelback do them as well as anyone. However, I’d have quite enjoyed some variety in the second half of the album. Tracks like ‘Does Heaven Even Know You’re Missing’ and ‘Standing in the Dark’ are still album highlights. However, having another heavier track may have pushed this album into legendary territory. But, for me at least, 3/11 tracks being heavier felt ever so slightly difflating. It will probably grow on me, but for now I’ll give this an 8/10

Smashing Pumpkins: ATUM – Act I

I hate that I’ve not been doing this music journalism thing for too long and this is already my third disc of Smashing Pumpkins to review. At the best of times they’re okay. However, I always found Billy Corgan to be similar to Rivers Cuomo in thinking that he’s gods gift to music. As a result, both put out far too many albums or far too bloated albums, like SZNZ or CYR.

At least this album is a little bit of an improvement to their 2020 effort. While a lot of it is slower almost synth-pop (not the sort of thing I’d personally want from a former grunge band) there are a few tracks that stand out from the formula. ‘The Good in Goodbye’ is almost classic Smashing Pumpkins, and definitely the best track of the album. Also, for a band that rather obviously inspired 21 Pilots, it’s really interesting to hear the aforementioned band then inspire Smashing Pumpkins on ‘Steps in Time’. It’s a fun, American indie/pop-rock track, and for once the electronics actually help the song.

However, the rest of the album felt like the same slow, atmospheric stuff that CYR was. I know it’s the first of three acts so hopefully the others pick up the pace a little. But for now, at least this one is better than the previous. 6/10. I still think he should stick to promoting wrestling…

Candlemass: Sweet Evil Sun

We’ve already had the pleasure of reviewing this awesome album. Check out the full review and the score here.

The Real McKenzies: Songs of the Highlands, Songs of the Sea

It still blows my mind that the Celtic-Punk style took off so much more in North America than it did in Scotland and Ireland, where the bands sound like they should be from. The Real McKenzies have always seemed to be the distant 3rds in the genre behind Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly, but that does by no means make them inferior. They very much prove that here, too.

The band are at the very top of their game throughout this album. From the slow, anthemic folky intro track, ‘Scotland the Brave’ through punkier numbers like ‘The Green Hills of Tyrol’ and ‘Leave her Johnny’, the album starts very strong. And of course, w2e cannot forget the amazing rendition of ‘Drunken Sailor’. Also, The Last Gang’s Brenna Red is a MASSIVE highlight of the album on ‘Swansea Town’. Her raspy, punky voice fits so well with the slower Celtic instrumentation.

There really isn’t a band track on the album, and if you like the sub-genre or the other bands I’ve named, you’ll absolutely love this. It’s a genre that isn’t given nearly enough attention and credit and for a band that have been going for a while now, this is definitely up there with some of their best work to date. 8.5/10

Tallah: The Generation of Danger

The other leading light in the new nu-metal resurgence are back with their second studio album. Heavier than their counterparts in Tetrarch, the band also draw from a wider source of inspiration with this second release. Whether it’s hardcore, industrial or straight up death metal, there’s a lot going on alongside the nu-metal core. However, it’s beautiful, perfect chaos. ‘The Hard Reset’ is a fantastic example of this, an absolute anarchy of heaviness in the riffs and verses, but a clean, catchy, almost Linkin Park-esque chorus.

‘The Impressionist’ is a little more accessible but instrumentally it’s still complex and awesome. Also, the rapping is a really great touch, especially when Justin Bonitz adds so much emption into his vocals, be it anger, sadness or all out rage. Plus, his screams are fantastic, some of the best I’ve heard all year. He has such an inane vocal range. I would say he’s a highlight of the album, but honestly the rest of the band are just as insanely talented as he is. The riffs are amazing, be it ch0nky or doing some insane pinches or Gojira scraps.

It’s another album without a bad track on it, and Tallah are a band that could (and should be massive in the near future if they keep up this energy, songwriting and raw emotion. If you’re into heavy stuff, the first two Slipknot albums or nu-metal in general, you’ll love this, it was fantastic. 9/10

Soen: ATLANTIS

An interesting one now, and one that I felt myself falling in love with more and more throughout the album. A prog supergroup formed from ex-Opeth and Death members, the band has taken on its own live in recent years due to their undeniable talent in songwriting and playing ability. Despite having the typical arrangement of a rock band, the strings are actually the major focus of the album, aside for the vocals. Just check out opening track ‘Antagonist’ to hear what I mean. It’s beautiful, powerful and epic, while showcasing the band perfectly.

From there it somehow only gets better. ‘Trials’ and ‘Illusion’ are particular album highlights, as is their incredible cover of Slipknots ‘Snuff’. I very much implore you to check this album out when you have a minute. It’s something completely different to a lot of what is out currently and it’s definitely not an album to be missed. I’m going to be listening to this a lot in the coming weeks and months, and it’s honestly bordering on a masterpiece. 9/10

Kira Mac: Chaos is Calling

NWOCR’s new big thing, Kira Mac finally releases her much-anticipated debut album, and the first release she’s put out since her amazing appearance on The Voice. With her incredible, soulful voice and her amazing band backing her up, this was a great album, and one hell of a debut.

Some of it was pretty heavy, reminding me of Nita Strauss’ solo efforts, while other tracks reminded me a lot of Dorothy. The title track was a massive highlight for me because of that riff, and tracks like ‘Mississippi Swingin” and the heavy, blues juggernaut that is ‘Downfall’ are also awesome. She’s a name that is generating a big buzz in the UK scene and for very clearly good reason. She’s going to be massive, and a strong debut like this starts her off amazingly. 8/10

Thy Listless Heart: Pilgrams on the path of no Return

The brand new doom metal band put out a pretty damn fun debut album. The sludgy riffs and prog elements were particular highlights for me. The vocals didn’t do too much for me, I understand they serve the means to an end but they felt a little flat for me. However, when they were used to build up the track, like the opening of ‘The Precipice’, it’s a whole different story, they’re awesome. In fact, that whole track was phenomenal and a definite high point of the album.

The lyrics and instrumentation are a huge highlight, and the proggier element almost gives hints of Tool at times. And anyone who reads much of our content knows how much I love Tool! ‘Confessions’ is another highlight of the album, especially the heavier choruses with the growls. It adds a fun other dynamic to it all.

Overall a good album and a great debut for a prog-doom metal band! 7/10

Isaac Hoskins: Bender

The Oklahoman native put out his third album last Friday. It’s a really good album in the vein of some of Texas’ best country artists. Tracks like the opener, ‘Panhandle Wind’ and ‘Off the Wagon’ are all big highlights of the album. I’m honestly shocked that he hasn’t become a big name by now (his first album was in 2009) as he has some amazing talent. It’s just good old-fashioned country music; steady, emotional and full of talented musicianship. If you’re a fan of the likes of Willie Nelson and Hank Jr., you’ll love this. 7.5/10

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Reviews

Sweet Evil Sun: Yet Another Doom Metal Magnum Opus from Candlemass?

Doom metal titans Candlemass are back for their first album since before the apocalypse of 2020. I used to be a big fan of the band in my youth, but will admit I have dropped off them in recent years. So, when this album came across our emails, I was desperate to check it out! Without further ado, let’s do this!

The opener, ‘Wizard of the Vortex’, is awesome. Alongside having the most doom metal, Candlemass song title ever, that riff is amazing. It runs through the majority of the track and is the definite highlight. However, Johan Längqvist’s Bruce Dickinson/Blaze Bailey style vocals are a fantastic touch over the top. I know the band have been through a vocalists over the years and most will gravitate to Messiah, but in my opinion Johan is at least a very close second. He adds a power and catchiness that pushes the band past the typical doom metal scene and into something greater. The lead guitar parts were also phenomenal, and the quiet vocal outro was amazing. A great way to open the album, and a track that easily makes the playlist.

The title track keeps it heavy, upping the pace ever so slightly with another sludgy, evil riff. Mats “Mappe” Björkman is an honestly underrated as fuck rhythm guitarist. I’d put him up there with the likes of Hetfield and Adrien Smith, personally. And, of course, band leader and bassist Leif is just as good at ever at writing some of the evilest riffs out there. Honestly everything about this track is incredible as once again Lars’ lead lines are insane. Another underrated player. And Jan keeps the groove and sludgy pace perfectly on the drums. If you are going to listen to any track on the album, or by this band if you are new to them from this article, check this out. It’s catchy and at <4 minutes pretty accessible, as well as being a good song and a great showcase of the band’s talent. Another to make the playlist!

Check out more doom metal here.

The band just keep slapping out fantastic slow riff after fantastic slow riff with the opening of ‘Angel Battle’. They’re so far like 7/7 for awesome riffs. When the track kicks in and picks up the pace a little it sounds amazing, almost fitting into a NWOBHM sound. However, the sludge of the other part is just as fantastic. I really cannot stop gushing over this band, can I? This is another amazing track because of course it is, it’s Candlemass. The stripped back bridge was nice, with the cleaner guitars and low vocals. It then results in the heavy riff packing an even bigger, malicious punch when to comes back in. A great song, I forgot how much I love this band!

By the time ‘Black Butterfly’ rolled around I’ve started to run out of things to say that won’t make me sound like the little fangirl I am. It was another awesome doom metal song. I liked the added touch of dynamics in ‘When Death Sighs’ where the verses were mainly just a simple guitar chug and the vocals. Again, it made the riff even more impactful when the whole band came in. The chorus is also very catchy, especially with the dual vocals and key-change in the final one. Avatarium’s own Jennie Ann-Smith sounds amazing doing the high harmony. The drop-out to just drums in ‘Scandinavian Gods’ was also awesome, and it was nice to hear the solid beat be so focused on. All three tracks are incredible and I love them all; but outside of the points I have spoken about here, they’re much of the same as the previous three tracks.

Next up is the album’s prog song, ‘Devil Voodoo’. Opening on an acoustic guitar, subtle string and Johan’s powerful voice. It all still sounds dark and evil, though. Before a minute into the track a surprisingly quick riff kicks in, again giving off NWOBHM vibes. The awesome backing vocal harmonies are back for the chorus, adding so much dynamic and catchiness to it all.

The heavy bridge is a lot of fun, especially with the faster bass drum. It also leads us back to a reprise of the opening acoustics. Honestly, I’d have loved them to last even longer, but can’t exactly argue when instead we get a heavy riff and blistering, amazing guitar solo instead. The whole track went by in a flash, it definitely didn’t feel like nearly eight minutes. Everything was given time to breathe perfectly, but I’d have also happily taken another two plus minutes of it! Playlisted!

The slow open of ‘Crucified’ is fun, and it’s another infectiously catchy chorus. The doom AF riff for the bridge is also incredible, especially with the bell and the solo going on over the top. And while I have nothing specific to say about ‘Goddess’, it’s still a great track. By this point the doom fatigue had set in just a tiny bit, but I still found myself interested and enjoying each song. And the final track, ‘A Cup of Coffin’, is simply a minute of an amazing riff followed by some applause and cheering. While the cheering is probably tongue in cheek, I honestly think it’s pretty deserved here, what a fantastic close to a fantastic album.

Overall: Wow. I have to admit I dropped off from checking the band out for a good few years, since I was a teenager really, but damn if this hasn’t brought my love for the band right back again. The riffs were incredible, the vocals great and catchy, and the song writing as a whole was top notch. This is the very evolution of the metal genre that Black Sabbath started all those years ago. It’s sludgy, heavy, evil greatness. I’m going to have to go back and check out what I missed by them now. It’s definitely up there with some of the top albums of the year!

The Score: 9/10

Reviews

Biffy Clyro and Architects Tear the Roof off Birmingham’s Resort World!

My first arena gig since the pre-apocolypse times, so this had a fair amount to live up to. Luckily I’m a fan of both bands, at least enough that the drive and the extortionate prices of anything in the arena didn’t put me off. However, both recent albums by the bands didn’t blow me away, so I was curious! I’ve seen Biffy Clyro a couple of times before, so was hoping they’d be just as good as both of those times.

Architects took to the stage to a rather spread-out crowd. But, by the time they’d finished their first number, the place had packed out considerably. I, like I’m sure a lot of others, were shocked that the metalcore titans were chosen to support the considerably lighter Scots. Yes, Simon did that song with the band on their album last year, but still. Heck, there was a pretty clear distinction between the two sets of fans in terms of merch and look, too. However, by the end of the set I feel like there were a lot of converts.

Opening on their big single from their most recent album, ‘Deep Fake’, their blend of metal and more radio sounds came across perfectly live. Architects are the one metalcore band that I never truly ‘got’, but clearly I just needed to see them live to appreciate it more. However, that may have been because almost the entire set was made up of tracks released in the last two years, with the lone exception being Holy Hell’s ‘Doomsday’. I’m sure it probably pissed off a few of the hardcore fans in the crowd, but I personally loved it. It made my appreciation of the new album that much higher and has since made me revisit it, as I didn’t like it too much before. Plus, the newer stuff is a little more radio friendly, and fits in more to the crowd they were playing to.

The band ripped through nearly an hours set of bangers, with crowd favourites definitely being the likes of ‘Black Lung’ and closer ‘Animals’. Sam Carter is such an entertaining and captivating frontman that it didn’t matter much that the rest of the band didn’t really move about. This was a polished, professional setlist and if anything the perfect opener for Biffy.

After a brief interval, the main men themselves took to the stage. The anticipation and energy in the air was palpable… and then they came on and played ‘DumDum’. It’s not a bad track at all, but after all that build-up it does feel a little anticlimactic to not burst straight into something a little more upbeat. However, they soon rectify that as they quickly head into the awesome ‘A Hunger In Your Haunt’, an instant crowd favourite.

From there, the band launch into, honestly, one of the most perfectly crafter setlists I’ve ever seen. Whether it was the hits or the deeper cuts, almost their entire back catalogue got some love at one point in their two-hour set. Whether it was the ever awesome ‘Black Chandelier’ or ‘Mountains’ to new hits like ‘End Of’ or ‘Unknown Male 01’, it all went down a storm with the packed out crowd. And the band played them all to perfection too, putting on an energetic show and some amazing visuals with lighting to go alongside the great music.

Check out our review of Biffy’s latest album here.

Whether it was ballads or more upbeat songs, the set was filled to the brim with highlights, too. From the heavy, prog awesomeness of ‘Cop Syrup’ to Simon, his acoustic, the two string players and his choir of 15,000+ singing along to ‘God and Satan’ with him, or the surprising crowd (and my personal favourite) ‘Biblical’. And of course we cannot forget about the epic set closer, their biggest ballad, ‘Many of Horror’. Simon barely had to sing a word of it, the crowd handled the vocals dutifully.

It was honestly, excluding Locash at The Long Road earlier this year, the first time since Covid I’ve stood in a crowd and felt that energy. The first time I’ve thought to myself ‘this is why I love this industry’. Mon the Biff.

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New Music Mondays

New Music Mondays: Brantley Gilbert, Chelsea Grin and More!

Not a huge week, not that we’ll get many now as we head towards the holiday season, but there’s still plenty of new music to sink our teeth into. From rock to metal to country, let’s get into it!

Brantley Gilbert: So Help Me God

This was unfortunately quite a slow country album. I’m a big fan of Gilbert’s sludgy brand of country rock, but I found it hard to get into this. It was all rather slow and acoustic, which is fine, I love a good country ballad, but it’s not what I got into Brantley because of. Heck, in some turn of über double-irony, ‘The Worst Country Song of All Time’ is one of the most enjoyable tracks on the album, despite the lyrics. ‘Son of the Dirty South’ was an awesome song and finally what I was expecting, but I shouldn’t start to enjoy an album over halfway through it. However, afterwards it very quickly gets back to the slow tracks again. Again, I’m not opposed to slower country tracks, but when it’s a whole album of them nearly, it does tend to get boring. When Brantley is cutting back and having fun, it’s the most fun I have listening to the whole album. Definitely his worst album for me. 4.5/10

Chelsea Grin: Suffer in Hell

No prizes for guessing this album is heavy as balls. The first part of their afterlife-inspired double album is filled with crushing riffs and some of the most brutal screams in the industry today. However, it will be now impossible to not compare this band with Darko US. And, I have to admit, I prefer the Darko album. It’s nothing at all against Grin, their talent for playing and songwriting is off the charts on this album. It’s simply that it’s straight-up deathcore, like they’ve always done, while Darko brings a new, interesting edge to the sound. When the band go a bit more sinister and dark on tracks like ‘Deathbed Companion’, it definitely holds my interest more. However, when bands like Whitechapel, Lorna Shore and even Darko themselves have put out some of the best deathcore albums ever these last few years, it’s a high standard to live up to, and I’m not sure this one does.

I still really enjoyed the album and I do think it’ll continue to grow on me through the next month or so. However, for now I’m going to give it a 7.5/10

P.S. sorry P67, ‘Crystal Casket’ gets my bleh of the year. That one at the end is filthy, as is the riff and breakdown in the song. A real highlight track of the album!

He is Legend: ENDLESS HALLWAY

The illegitimate lovechild of Cane Hill and Alice in Chains. Somehow, that means the album sits in an odd void between the modern nu metal revival and the mid-naughties radio rock of Shinedown, Rev Theory and Burn Halo. I love every band and genre I’ve just named so, of course, I fucking love this.

I was not familiar with this hand at all before now and this album has immediately made me a fan and want to check out more of their back catalogue. The riffing is so heavy and chuggy, it wouldn’t sound out of place on a Gojira album, but the clean, low vocals give it a fantastic radio edge. Tracks like ‘LIFELESS LEMONADE’, ‘HONEY FROM THE HIVE’ and the utterly amazing ‘CIRCUS CIRCUS’ (yes, they are another band that shout at you) are massive highlights on an album chocked to the brim of them. There’re even elements of Mike Patton or Mushroomhead on the latter track, alongside the usual Korn and Tetrarch.

If you haven’t checked this band or, more importantly, this album out yet, do it right now. There honestly isn’t a bad track on it. 9.5/10 holy crap, a new obsession of mine.

Epica: The Alchemy Project

Symphonic metal always works well with guests, and Epica may very well be at the top of the symphonic scene in recent years. After last year’s FANTASTIC Omega, the band return with an experimental side album featuring a guest on every track, hence the album title.

Safe to say it’s pretty amazing. Most of the guests are a little heavier than the band, such as Fleshgod Apocalypse, Bjorn ‘Speed’ Strid and God Dethroned. However, every single vocalist played off Simone Simons’ beautiful vocals perfectly. Simone’s soaring, operatic tones always mesh well with the heavy, chuggy instrumentation and Mark Jansen’s powerful lows and growls. However, when adding in even heavier artists and vocals on top, it somehow makes everything even more epic and enjoyable. It all combines together to form something truly enjoyable and special, and I hope this isn’t the last time we get one of these Alchemy Projects. Highlights include ‘Wake the World’ and ‘The Final Lullaby’ but honestly, any track off the album could have made that selection. 9/10

Enuff Z’nuff: Finer than Sin

Glam/Sleaze’s answer to Oasis are back with their first album in just a year. Having seen them a couple of times over the last few years, I really enjoy them live. However, I’ve never managed to get into them on track, and this album didn’t change that. It’s pretty much all at the same steady, subdued pace throughout that doesn’t appeal to me too much. It’s so massively produced and polished, drawing comparisons to Def Leppard’s Hysteria, that when talking about drug abuse and other dark topics it’s a very odd contrast. It all reminds me of Terrorvision but just less fun.

‘Lost and Out of Control’ or ‘Hurricane’ were probably highlights. It’s not a bad album by any means, I just found myself getting distracted and bored though it, outside of these two tracks. 6/10

Randy Houser: Note to Self

The first guy I discovered when I finally started to dip into country by myself. I do feel slightly hypocritical now, as this is on the slower end of country. However, this was so well written and there were some truly awesome tracks on it. From ‘Workin’ Man’ to ‘Out and Down’ to ‘Country Round Here Tonight’, there is plenty to love with this album. I’m struggling to even say much, if you like country music, no matter the style, you’ll love this. Heck, I’d recommend anyone listening to this to check it out, as I love this. 8.5/10, this was awesome.

Warkings: Morgana

The most power metal band to ever power metal, now. Warkings seem to be the butt of a lot of jokes in the dub-genre’s community, but honestly I really enjoyed this. However, that may have been more because of Morgana Le Fay’s impressive harsher vocals every few tracks, as they were definitely my favourite songs on the album. ‘Monsters’ is my favourite track on the album, but ‘Immortal’ and even ‘The Rite’ are close followers. While the latter doesn’t include Morgana, I do still think they should try and find a harsh vocalist going forward, because the contrast between the vocals added a new layer of fun and awesomeness to the tracks. You know exactly what to expect with Warkings, straight up power metal, ‘no nonsense’ or anything outside of that, and for that this album is definitely good. 7.5/10

Cassyette: Sad Girl Mixtape

2022’s answer to Avril Lavigne while also adding a bit of Billy Eillish to the rock scene… I do love Casseyette. This album blends the two previously named artists perfectly while adding an edge seen in Dorothy’s music. While generally the album gets a little boring by the midpoint for me, I can fully understand and appreciate the importance of her music. She is the perfect gateway for young people, especially women, to get into rock music. I’m personally curious to see the generation in a few years time having come up on this and see what it gets them into.

Plus, while most of it is rather pop and punkish, she still hits us with the likes of ‘Die Hate Cry’ out of nowhere, brutal, heavy and full of harsh vocals. It definitely caught me by surprise after the first few stellar pop-punk opening tracks. If you’re into pop-rock, or even metal given the last few tracks on the album, check this out, you won’t be disappointed. 8/10

REMINA: STRATA

We’ve already covered this awesome album. Check out the review and score here.

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Reviews

Strata: Did Remina just Release the Next Big Darkwave Album?

ex-Draconian, Sojourner, Light Field Reverie members got together last year to form a new band, the melodic doom/darkwave band Remina. I have to admit, I know a bit of Draconian, but I’m not too familiar with the other bands, or the subgenres it is a part of. Therefore, I’m going into this blind, and am excited to hear some new music!

Practically a track-long, slow-build, ‘Aeon Rains’ is a truly epic way to start an album. Starting soft and electronic, the vocals sounded amazing over the top. Don’t get me wrong, there are vocals throughout a lot of it and the distorted guitars and drums come in a minute or two in. It even has a great drop-out in the middle, stripping back to its bare bones. However, the whole 6+ minutes felt like it was building to its epic crescendo. I loved it!

‘Obsidian’ opens on a similar epic soundscape, much like the first track. It stays at a deliberately slow, almost sludgy pace throughout. It’s ethereal, moodily atmospheric and honestly beautiful. It would make a fantastic movie soundtrack song, and honestly the only way I feel like I could enjoy this even more is if I was high. It’s like dark, psychedelic metal, and it’s pretty fucking awesome.

Check out another doom-ish band here.

It was at the third track on the album, ‘Dying Sun’ that I realised this will most likely be a pretty short review. And, I’d just like to point out first ‘Dyning Sun’ is my favourite track on the album. The riffing for the heavy bits is MASSIVE and so good!

Now, I do want to clarify before we go any further, I really enjoyed this album. However, it was all pretty similar music. I’m not saying that’s a bad thig at all, but much like variety is the spice of life, it is also the spice of reviewing and writing. I could go through each song and say almost the same thing, or I could lump them all together and say ‘this is all fucking awesome’. Heck, with this sort of music it almost begs to be listened to as one coherent piece anyway, so for me to analyse it all individually would almost do a disservice to the arrangement of the album.

So yes, a lot of the album’s tracks follow a similar sound and arrangement. It’s all very atmospheric and brooding, staying at a similar slow pace throughout. Even when the distorted guitars come in and it gets heavier, it maintains an air of beauty to it, as well as having plenty of room for the instrumentation to breathe when they drop out too. And the vocals from Heike are nothing short of phenomenal, too. They’re the highlight of the album, soaring beautifully and adding so much to the feel and sound. It all blends perfectly together for each track and leaves the finished product to be an amazing experience to listen to.

Overall: As I have said already, I really enjoyed this. I sat down and listened to it in one interrupted sitting (which for my easily distracted brain is pretty hard) and just got lost in it. Each song transported me away from my home and to a far-off world, and I loved every second. I imagine with a good stageshow this would be amazing live, and hopefully they can tour soon so I can try and check it out! For now, I shall continue to listen to this, I’m sure, for the rest of the year.

The Score: 7.5/10

New Music Mondays

New Music Mondays: Devin Townsend, Dayseeker and More!

Less massive releases this week, but plenty of great new music to sink our teeth into. Let’s dive straight in!

Devin Townsend: Lightwork

Joe: I have tried for years to get into Devin. Whether it’s his solo stuff or Strapping Young Lad, none of it seems to hook me. It’s weird too, as on paper I should love it all, but something about it doesn’t appeal to my ears.

Lightwork is no different. Don’t get me wrong, it’s certainly better than that electro-concept drivel he put out last year, but I still didn’t enjoy it too much. This is the guy who headlined Bloodstock last year, yet here he is doing synth-pop-rock, for lack of a better term. It’s like he’s trying to sound like Album of the Year or even parts of Angel Dust by Faith No More, but generally less interesting. I know I’mma catch a lot of flack for all of this as Devin has a pretty huge, devoted cult following, but I just don’t get it. Honestly, I couldn’t wait for this album to be over. I feel like maybe the tracks may translate better to me in a live setting, but I couldn’t pick out a highlight from the album. I’m sure there will be some journalists who give this top (or nearly top) marks, but I’m sadly going to have to give it a 3.5/10

Dayseeker: Dark Sun

Max: This is a review that I find quite hard to write, not because the album is bad, it is far from it, but because I absolutely adore Dayseeker. Due to this it is quite hard to not have a bias, but no one can convince me that this album isn’t phenomenal. The sheer emotion through really hits hard but it is the icing on top as it is such a raw and passionate album. The fact that they dedicated the album to the singer’s dad just makes this point even more apparent. Going from songs like ‘Neon Grave’ and ‘Dreamstate’ with the perfectly ugly breakdowns that you can’t help but pull a face to and then changing to ‘Paper Heart’ and ‘Crying While You’re Dancing’ which are so pretty and full of feeling whilst also making me want to lie down and transcend. Overall, I really think that everyone should listen to this album and just enjoy how well this band has evolved. A fantastic 9/10, quite possibly even another 10/10

96 Bitter Beings: Synergy Restored

Joe: Anyone who’s familiar with the frontman of this band will know exactly what to expect from this album. The founder of Jackass’ favourite band, CKY, formed this project in 2016, a few years after leaving his old band. As the band name implies, the band picks up right where Deron Miller left off with CKY.

‘Vaudeville’s Revenge’ is a great album starter and ‘Wish Me Dead’ is a definite highlight of the collection. The album soon runs into the same issue I have with CKY, though. I LOVE the riffs and his guitar tone is still phenomenal and surprisingly unique. But that’s where it about ends for me. The drums are pretty basic and the bass generally just follows the guitars. And there isn’t especially much in the way of memorable vocal performances throughout. Don’t get me wrong, not every band needs albums full of stadium-filling choruses, but a catchy hook to sing along with every so often would be nice. The closest I found was ‘Throw Yourself Inside’, which was another highlight. Still though, as a musician I massively appreciate and adore the guitaring, and can’t give it any less than a 7/10

Black Anvil: Regensis

Joe: Ahh, another black metal band that has such an everything-in-your-face-all-at-once production that it’s hard to distinguish anything specific, including the vocals. It’s feels like I’ve been a while since I’ve done one of these. However, I’ve clearly grown, as I was quite enjoying this! I think it helped that there were some fun vocal dynamics, with some clean backing vocals being present too. It made it all feel more epic.

Everyone played their parts well, there being some awesome riffs and some (characteristic to the genre) amazing drumming. ‘8-Bit Terror’ was my album highlight, in terms of sound ans subject matter. However, I enjoyed just about every track. Don’t get me wrong, this still isn’t my sort of music, but I wouldn’t turn it off if it came on and may probably find myself listening to this album again at some point in the future. Maybe this will be the album to win me round into the genre! 6.5/10

Black Mirrors: Tomorrow Will be Without Us

We’ve already covered this excellent album in detail. Find the full review and the score here.

Joji: SMITHEREENS

Max: So, this is an interesting album to say the least. The most important thing to note is that this album will probably make you cry just like the Dayseeker one. It tugged at my heart strings through out with lines like “I hear that you’re happy without me, and I hope it’s true” from ‘Die For You’ and basically the entirety of ‘Glimpses of Us’ where I just want to curl up and cry. This album won’t be for everyone and it isn’t perfect, but I loved it. The raw emotion in so much of Joji’s music makes it feel so personal and relatable. Never in this album did it feel to me like, like so much other similar music can, he was singing words to try and get a response from everyone or that someone in a studio had just written them for him. Instead, it felt like someone talking to someone that they can’t say is there’s anymore but still truly loves. Or maybe that’s just me hoping that’s what it is all about. Anyways it is a solid 8/10 for me.

Madeline Edwards: Crashlanded

Joe: Finally, a short, mainstream country album. At 12 tracks and just over 35 minutes long, this is like a dream come true after so many hour-long slogs! On top of that too, it’s a pretty great album!

It’s got that sort of Dorothy, folk-pop-rock style on top of the already country/americana roots. Honestly, there isn’t a bad track on the album. If you’re into country or americana or even slight rock, you’ll find a lot to love here. Having said that, it’s hard not to find the singles as the highlights of the album. ‘Hold my Horses’ is a particularly fantastic track. 7.5/10, a good, fun album!

Disillusion: Ayam

Right so a shorter album here and I can’t say that my review will be much longer. The biggest downside of this album was me not realising that there are two 11 minute songs which I thought were all multiple tracks. There are some really fun parts and I loved the changing of paces and the building up. The solo’s and the riffs were great fun. The only thing that I think might catch people off guard on their first time listening is the fact that they have songs which will end slowly or start slowly but it is worth sitting through and getting to the rest as it really doesn’t disappoint. A very respectable 7/10

Magnolia Park: Baku’s Revenge

Okay I won’t lie, not for me in the slightest. It has the same-style big catchy chorus that seems to repeat a dozen times. In fairness those choruses are fun, and the occasional scream is nice and reminds me of a more pop-centric version of A Day To Remember’s Homesick record. I think it would be pretty fun to see this band live as I can envision the amount of energy that they have on stage. For me though I don’t think it’s a genre I fit in to in the slightest 5.5/10

Ingested: Ashes Lie Still

This is more like it. This album is super heavy and intense. It was a lot to try and digest on the first time around, but it really was good fun. I love seeing bands collaborate with others and the ones in this album were fantastic. It must be said that this still has the issue that most bands within this genre have where they aren’t super accessible, but they really really are worth the effort. I hope this band tours this album near me because I would love to see it live as there is so much energy and I reckon crowds would absolutely love it. 8/10

Sarcator: Alkahest

This album grew on me more and more throughout. When the opener was a balls to the wall thrash/death metal track, I almost sighed. Not because I dislike either genre, quite the contrary actually, but because I’m pretty death-ed out in 2022.

However, by just the second track, ‘Perdition’s Hand’, my opinion had changed. the track is still heavy, but it’s a tad slower and groovier, the riffing being fantastic. By the time the album had ripped into the slow-build opener of ‘Grave Maggot Future’ and the truly epic ‘Dreameater’, I was hooked and very impressed. The sludgy, groove metal of ‘The Long Lost’ was also fantastic, especially with that acoustic intro. Heck, the same could be said about the equally proggy and epic ‘He Who Comes from the Dark’ and ‘Alkahest’. It means that when the band do go back to the all-out thrash sound on ‘Devil Sun’ it feels funner.

I know this album won’t be for everyone. It’s a heavy, dark, prog death metal album. However, if you think you’re up for the challenge I’d urge you to check out the tracks I have named above. I honestly don’t throw the word around too often, but if the opening track was just a little stronger this very well could have been a masterpiece of heavy music for me. Heck, even just a revised track order may have helped. But even so, I can’t give this any less than I 9/10

Tough on Fridays: The Encore you Didn’t Ask For

I struggled to put a genre to this, and that’s definitely a good thing. Lurking on the murky boarder of pop punk and indie, this album also feels darker, broodier and more mature than most of its genre-mates on either side. I almost called it goth pop punk but a) that seems oxymoronic or b) there already is goth pop punk, and this isn’t exactly Good Charlotte.

Oh, and did I also mention it’s an amazing album? Because it most certainly is. Its rare to find a band that would easily fit on any lineup or festival bill, and even rarer to find one that is this high a quality. Tracks like the opener, ‘Sink or Swim’ and ‘The Awakening’ all feel completely different while all being huge highlights of the album. I honestly am struggling to say much more about this album, it truly needs to be heard to be appreciated. Stop what you’re doing, especially since this is conveniently last on the list, and listen to this album right now! 9/10

So, a pretty stellar week in the end! Did you enjoy the article? As usual find more of them from our Instagram here.

Interviews, Reviews

Marco Mendoza & Bad Actress Rock Real Time Live!

A true legend of the classic rock scene after playing with the likes of Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy, Journey and many more, Marco Mendoza returned to his solo project earlier this year, bringing out an album and announcing an extensive tour. Taking along the phenomenal Bad Actress along with him on the UK leg of the tour, it was set to be a fantastic couple of weeks! We managed to head along to Chesterfield’s legendary Real Time Live last night to catch the show in person and chat to both bands. Check out what we thought below!

After a slightly late start, Bad Actress take to the stage to much fan-fair. And, to put it simply, they tear the stage a new one. I’ve not seen a band so young have such stage presence, attitude and energy for a long time. In fact, scratch that. I haven’t seen a band of ANY age have this much of those qualities in a long time. The band tour that stage up from the moment they got on it to the moment they left. That sort of performance seems reserved for just a few medium sized bands nowadays, so to see it in such an intimate venue from a younger band is fantastic.

They ripped through a full set of their own glam/sleaze tracks, that a lot of the audience seemed to know and enjoy. Every member of the band shone, from the tight rhythm section to Vinnie’s amazing vocals to the frankly insane leads from Chick. All of their talent blends well into their combined songwriting, too. Tracks like ‘Outta My Head’ and ‘High-Speed Heartbreak’ are firm fan favourites and sound if anything better live than they do on track. These guys are gonna be MASSIVE in the very near future, and I can’t wait to see them play to packed out, huge crowds.

When asked about what being on the tour with Marco was like, Chick and Lui had this to say:

‘It’s been really good actually. He’s a really supportive guy. This is his second time taking us out. We’ve got him in the van actually for this tour! We just brought ourselves a new van back in July and kitted it out with like seats and a table. It’s got nine seats so we’ve got all of his three in too. It’s all good craic getting to know each other! We had to come over from Swansea this morning; it was a long drive but it was good fun!‘.

Then the main man himself took to the stage. The anticipation in the air was palpable, and as soon as Marco Mendoza and his band ripped into the first few notes of the lead single of New Direction, ‘Take it to the Limit’, everyone cut loose. From the crowd singing along and dancing to the band’s high energy, the whole room kept the buzz high.

From there, Marco and co ripped through his back catalogue, playing the very best of his solo stuff, alongside a few cheeky highlights from his time in Thin Lizzy and other covers. Whether it was Thin Lizzy, Stevie Wonder or even Plastic Ono, all were fantastic. Heck, bringing Vinnie and Chick out at the end to jam ‘Boys are Back in Town’ with them was amazing, and went down a storm. However, his own material arguably went down even better. Tracks like ‘New Direction’, ‘Sue is on the Run’ and ‘Sweetest Emotion’ were clear crowd favourites, even more so than some of the Lizzy classics.

Check out our previous interview with Marco here.

Much like Bad Actress, each of the three members got to show off their incredible talents for their instruments, too. Honestly, this felt like a set for the musicians in the audience. Between the extended instrumental parts in a few songs, drum and bass solos and even some beatboxing/scatting from Marco, there was plenty to love even when there were no vocals at play.

When talking about his recent approach to touring, Marco had some very candid words to say:

‘We’re out there making a difference. What’s going on now with the state of mind of the fans and the music industry alike, worldwide, is that people are very apprehensive, very concerned. They really think about it twice, buying that ticket, going out to that show or supporting that venue. I’m here as a little reminder to say that if we don’t make a difference, it’ll all go. We’ve seen it, the past year or two, some of my favourite venues here and in LA and New York and everywhere, they’re disappearing.

‘So, something to think about folks; please make an effort to show up when your local bands are playing, national or international, and support the local venues. Without them, there’s no place to play! Whenever you can, make a difference‘.

And check out our review of New Direction here.

So, as I’m sure you can tell, it was one hell of a gig. Both bands are on a roll currently, both live and on track. They still have plenty of stops left on the tour, too, so if you can make it down to any to them I would very much urge you to do so. You won’t be disappointed!