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EI8HT: How do Shinedown do This Deep into Their Careers?

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The hard rock powerhouse that is Shinedown are finally set to release their brand new album this coming Friday. The highly anticipated follow-up to 2022’s amazing Planet Zero, the band have been hyping this thing for over a year at this point, so have just a touch of expectations to deliver on. If the singles are anything to go by, however, we’re onto another winner. They have been one of my favourite bands for like a decade and a half at this point, through most of my teen years and beyond, so when this came through our emails it blew me away a little. There was no way I wasn’t diving deep into this thing, so join us as we do exactly that!

Opening on a piano and Brent’s vocals was an interesting choice, that’s for sure! However, the guitar and bigger instrumentation building in was excellent, instantly winning me over. Weirdly, it reminded me a little of The Black Parade, in the best way possible! And, after a quick verse, we soon EXPLODE into the rock, the distorted guitars and massive drums being the perfect punch in the teeth! It does drop back a bit for the second verse though, the dynamics being fantastic and pretty unexpected from the band, given their last album. It not only gives hints of ELO or Queen in its arrangement, but harkens back to previous albums from the band, almost feeling as a culmination of sorts. Oh, and on top of all that, the chorus is awesome, massive and hugely catchy, as only Shinedown can do! It all combines together perfectly, making not just a fantastic opening song, but a fantastic Shinedown song overall!

After that we are treated to the wonderful single ‘Dance Kid Dance’. Long-time followers of the company will know how much we love this and ‘Three Six Five’. Both are amazing songs in their own right, and are both a little more radio-friendly in their song structure. They’re also the two ends of Shinedown’s sound; the former being a boot stompin’ rocker while the latter is a rock ballad akin to Def Leppard, but with an indie-rock edge. I don’t want to linger on them too long as we have already covered them and this is a long release. However, damn, both are excellent, fit the release perfectly, and are definitely firm album highlights!

‘Burning Down the Disco’ continues the energy from ‘Dance Kid Dance’, being another up-tempo rocker. However, the track definitely has the expected sound given its title; a fantastic disco beat running through it from Barry Kerch. It’s another great chorus too, one that will surely go down a storm live. However, it does have a slight album-track feel to it, so maybe it won’t see a live setting all too much. Still, it’s a damn fun, quirky hard rock song, and yet again feels like a sound that only Shinedown could pull off. We get an awesome, albeit brief, lead line from Zach Myers tucked away in the middle, but honestly his guitar work throughout is great! It’s another good song!

‘Young Again’ not only slows things down a bit, but adds a synth element to the release that I genuinely wasn’t expecting. From the intro to the massive riffing, it starts out great, and it dropping back to the steady drums, solid bass and the vocals for the verse was excellent. It makes the chorus hit even harder when it bursts back in, being hugely impactful. It helps that the chorus is more typcial Shinedown awesomeness, infectiously catchy and some truly awesome lyrics. It’s another track that gives off more of a Threat to Survival or ATTENTION ATTENTION vibe to it. However, that breakdown riff in the middle is heavy, and still firmly grounds the track in the bands hard rock roots. It’s a good slower song, and another one that is begging for a big radio campaign!

Tracks like ‘Dizzy’, ‘Back to the Living’, ‘Wide Open’ ‘So Glad You Asked’ are more epic-feeling, slower songs. All are good in their own right, and definitely have a 2010’s Shinedown feel to them. And, in the context of the album, they definitely work very well. My favourite of the bunch is probably ‘Back to the Living’. There’s something about Brent’s powerful, beautiful vocals over a simple piano playing that is so incredible. The rest of the instrumentation comes in over the top after the first chorus, don’t get me wrong, but the main focus still feels like it’s based around those two elements. It reminds me a little of ‘I’ll Follow You’, which was my wife and I’s first dance, so of course I love it! Having said that, ‘Wide Open’ also has an Amaryllis vibe in the most beautiful way. And that heavy riff that breaks through after the choruses… DAMN! Meanwhile the latter is VERY Threat to Survival, in both a good and bad way. All are great songs, but are fairly similar, so I didn’t want to repeat myself too much given the length of the review already!

‘Imposter’ is a darker, moodier rock track that would definitely fit well on Planet Zero or even Leave a Whisper. It has that post-nu-metal vibe to it, and is very guitar driven with the chuggy playing leading the bass and drums. And, while the chorus isn’t much bigger than the rest of the track in terms of the scale, or the fact that it’s a similar vocal melody through the verses, it’s still infectiously catchy and memorable! It’s definitely a song that’s going to be stuck in my head for days to come! We also get more focus on the guitar leads throughout, Zach getting multiple moments to shine. It’s an awesome song, and one that easily makes it onto our playlist!

‘Machine Gun’ perfectly picks up the pace again. Strangely, again the riffs give me MCR vibes, but I’m certainly not complaining. The solid, quick drums and Brent’s powerful vocals complete the sound perfectly, and it all builds masterfully to a massive pre, let alone the even bigger chorus. The track is definitely designed to be played to huge festival and arena crowds around the world! And, while definitely being more of a hard rock track than others, it still has a poppy, radio-edge to it, even again slightly indie too; the melodies are so damn catchy. It’s an interesting track that’s for sure, that blurs the line between ballad and heavier song perfectly.

Next up we have a run of singles. ‘Outlaw’ is another slower, emotion-filled ballad. It’s beautiful and powerful and packed full of incredible lyrics. Meanwhile ‘Safe and Sound’ is maybe the heaviest track on the album, and it’s fucking excellent! That riff is amazing, and sets the tone for the most old-school Shinedown song in a while. This thing could have been easily ripped from Us and Them, Zach playing very much like Todd did/does. And that chorus… *chefs kiss*. The lead guitar line through the bridge is awesome too, harkening back to Sound of Madness in the best ways! This may be my favourite track on the album, at least after a couple of listens, and would easily put it up there alongside some of their best. On a generally lighter album, it’s nice to hear some of their older heaviness still rearing its head!

We change pace massively again with the crossover hit ‘Searchlight’. This debuted at the Grand Ole Opry, which should give you some indication of what it’s like, sonically. It’s an outlaw country acoustic ballad, and is another excellent song! We even get some fiddle, adding another amazing layer to their sound. Heck, there’s a banjo in the back by the end, somehow being a departure from their usual sound while still sounding and feeling so very them. It’s a beautiful, touching song that has had more than a tear out of me at times, the first time one of their tracks have touched me like this in a while. It’s like a traditional Shinedown (Amaryllis and prior) ballad, but with a fantastic country twang to it. Yet another amazing song, and a big personal highlight!

Tracks like ‘Bear With Me’, and ‘Deep End’ are two more great rockier tracks. The former has some attitude to it, but in more of a pop-punk way than a rocking swagger. It’s kinda simple, but a fun listen! The latter, meanwhile, opens on some more interesting synth, it driving the track but sadly not being as present as I feel like I’d have maybe liked throughout. It feels like Shinedown’s answer to an industrial/new-wave track, and is a damn interesting listen, if a touch forgettable after it finishes. Both tracks, while good, very much have a similar feeling as ‘Burning Down the Disco’ in that they very much feel a bit more album-track than a lot of the rest. That isn’t a bad thing at all, not all tracks can be singles, but these, while good, wouldn’t fit that mould.

Speaking of singles, ‘Killing Fields’ is the last from the album (so far). Opening on that rather ominous guitar riff and Brent’s fascinating vocals over the top, it goes to a surprisingly uplifting pre, and then a massive, stadium-filling chorus. While it does feel a touch disjointed at first, it has grown on me with a few listens. It’s theatrical, like ‘BRILLIANT’ or, again, something like MCR or Panic!. It’s a wild song, the most experimental one aside for the opener, and makes for a damn good listen! And that chorus is honestly MASSIVE, maybe one of the best they have ever written. It really feels like what the whole track is build around, but the rest of the parts are also awesome. It’s another fantastic song, and yet another massive high point of the album!

Closer ‘The Pilot’ is yet another slower track. It’s a simple, acoustic-lead song, the most stripped-back of the record. It’s a phenomenally beautiful and well-written track, and was exactly what I expected given the rest of the album leading up to this. The lyrics are some of the best Brent has ever put down, and it once again made me shed a (manly) tear. While I’m a bit hit-and-miss when it comes to slow closers, this was absolutely the right choice to close this album. Not only does it feel the most fitting, but on a release with so many slower tracks, it may have struggled to stand out so much if it was lost in the shuffle in the middle. Another absolutely huge highlight, both on the album, and in the career of the band itself.

Overall: So, damn, there are a lot of thoughts and feelings to unpack here. Firstly, I do want to say that this is an amazing album. Every track feels different in its own right, hence why the review is so long, and they all fit together rather perfectly on this record. It’s their most theatrical and experimental so far, and is an interesting, fun listen if absolutely nothing else! There will be a lot of people who LOVE this record, and rightfully so!

…I’m just not convinced I’m one of them. At least, not yet. As I’ve said already, this is a long album, and I’ve only sat with it two or three times so far. I was rather on the fence with Threat to Survival and ATTENTION ATTENTION when they dropped, and they have certainly grown on me since. However, after the hard rock juggernaut that is Planet Zero, I guess I was hoping for them to continue on that vein. However, the band have certainly been known to experiment in their time, and this is their most experimental yet. Some of it definitely stuck with me, like the opener and ‘Killing Field’. But, I think I’d have preferred a more concise, focused album over a longer one with more filler. Planet Zero was long too but certainly had arguably more highs than this. So, while I very much appreciate their musicianship and did very much enjoy this album, my immediate reaction is that it’s not quite as good as their last. They have a very solid 10 tracks on here, and they maybe could have cut a couple, but it certainly isn’t a bad release by any stretch. It’s still Shinedown, after all!

The Score: 8.5/10

News

Big Country Redux: 40th Anniversary of ‘The Seer’ Album Celebrated with UK Tour!

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Big Country Redux announce a 15 date UK tour in November and December 2026 to celebrate the 40thAnniversary of ‘The Seer’. ‘The Seer’ was Big Country’s third album and featured the song ‘Look Away’ which was their biggest hit in the UK, whilst the title track featured a duet between Stuart Adamson and Kate Bush. ‘The Seer’ album itself hit No.2 spot in the UK.

Big Country Redux are led by Bruce Watson, one of the founding members of Big Country, alongside the late, great guitarist, singer and songwriter Stuart Adamson. All dates will feature support from Evan Peters Presents The Alarm. Between 2011 and 2013 , following the death of Stuart Adamson, Evan’s father Mike Peterswas the lead vocalist for Big Country as well as The Alarm.

NOVEMBER 2026

Thurs 19 The Crypt [Town Hall] MIDDLESBROUGH
Fri 20 Picturedrome HOLMFIRTH
Sat 21 Crescent YORK
Sun 22 Corporation SHEFFIELD
Weds 25 O2 Academy BOURNEMOUTH
Fri 27 O2 Academy OXFORD
Sat 28 Drill Shed MARGATE
Sun 29 O2 Academy LEICESTER

DECEMBER 2026

Weds 2 O2 Islington Academy LONDON
Thurs 3 O2 Academy 2 BIRMINGHAM
Fri 4 O2 Academy LIVERPOOL
Sat 5 The Drill LINCOLN
Sun 6 Wylam Brewery NEWCASTLE
Weds 9 Junction CAMBRIDGE
Thurs 10 O2 Academy Bristol BRISTOL

All tickets are on sale from 10am on Friday 29th May!

September will see the release of the ‘Eastworld’ album, which will be released on CD, Vinyl and Digital on 18 September through Absolute. The album will be preceded by the first single, the title track ‘Eastworld’ on 5 June 2026.

The album consists of 10 brand new recordings of Big Country songs originally written or co-written by Stuart Adamson, which were released as demoes or sketches, but never previously properly developed or lavished with the attention they deserved.

Bruce Watson said of the ‘Eastworld’ release, “Some of these songs will be known to the diehards as they have sneaked out from the archives as unfinished demoes or ‘internet only’ releases, but these are all songs that deserved to be developed further at the time they were written. I am delighted to have now completed them; it is a true privilege to get this newly recorded material out there. All of these songs were sketched out on old reel to reel tape recorders in dingy basements or in small 8 track studios”.

News

The Order of the Fly to Play the UK for the First Time!

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This August, We Are Horror Records is bringing The Order of the Fly to the UK for their “25 Years of Decay” tour (the first time they will play on UK soil no less!) alongside a run of shows featuring some of the underground’s finest weirdos, ghouls, punks and grave-dwellers.

Starting at Halfway to Horror Punk Fest in Birmingham, the quintet then go on a run of four more shows across the UK! Dates can be found below!

15th August – Halfway to Horrorpunk Fest – The Rainbow, Birmingham

18th August – The Fulford Arms, York

20th August – Nice N Sleazy, Glasgow

21st August – Exchange Basement, Bristol

22nd August – The Fiddler’s Elbow, London

Pick up your tickets here!

Support for each show are some of the best local bands in the scene, spanning from everyone from Hellbound Heist to Garbage Day Massacre!

These aren’t corporate arena tours backed by giant budgets and algorithm sorcery.
These are DIY shows built by real people, in real venues, trying to keep alternative culture alive one sweaty room at a time.

And honestly? That only works if people actually show up.

If you’ve ever said:

“Nobody brings bands like this here anymore…”

This is the moment that sentence matters!

new music mondays

New Music Mondays: A, Dimmu Borgir and More!

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Another typically stacked week of new music for us to check out, from rock to metal to country! Let’s dive right in!

A: PRANG

The return album from the British alt rockers, their first new studio work in over two decades despite being relatively active for most of that time, is honestly about what you’d expect from fans of the band. Hi-Fi Serious was a big release for me in my youth, and while this is certainly more tame in comparison, it’s insane to expect three brothers in their 50s to have that same anger as when they were in their late 20s. Regardless, it’s still a good, fun album. It feels like it draws a little more from Britpop than I was expecting it to, but definitely still has that alt and punk infusion the band are known for. Tracks like ‘Bring on the Likes’, the heavier ‘All In’, the hardcore ‘Techno Viking’ and ‘Back to the Shop’ are all big personal highlights. However, at only 10 tracks in length, it’s pretty short and sweet, and goes by in a flash.

My only slight complaint is that the album takes a bit of getting going, I think there’s a better track arragement in here somewhere, for me at least! There’s some heavy hitters later on that could have been better served in the opening songs. However, if you’re a fan of the band or their particular brand of noise, this is an album well worth checking out! I’ll certainly be spinning it again and it may grow on me more, but for now it gets a still-solid 7.5/10!

Dimmu Borgir: Grand Serpent Rising

The symphonic black metal legends return with their first new release since 2023’s Inspiration Profanus. Somehow we missed reviewing that album, though I have checked it out in my own time and enjoyed it. Though typically not as into black metal in my youth, this band were always an exception, and to this day they are still so unique, interesting and captivating. Now, it’s not a small undertaking, 70-minutes of dark brutality, but if you like the band this is well worth a listen! The album is definitely designed to be listened to in one sitting, but songs like ‘As Seen in the Unseen’, ‘Repository of Divine Transmutation’ and ‘Recognizant’ are personal highlights. It’s certainly not for everyone, but if you are into the genre and have some patience, it is awesome and a damn rewarding listen! The band very much prove that they still have it, some three plus decades into their careers. And they are some of the most talented players and songwriters in metal. A solid 8/10 from us!

Dan Byrne: This is Where the Show Begins

The debut solo album from the UK hard rocker is somehow even better than I expected it to be! I’ve been following his career for years at this point, being a big fan of Revival Black back in the day, but this honestly feels like a step up, like he has something to prove. It has a real arena rock feel to it, both in the writing and the incredible mixing, and is definitely set to take Dan to the next level. It opens on the incredible single ‘Saviour’, followed up perfectly by ‘She’s the Devil’. Then you have tracks like ‘Sober’ and ‘Hate Me’ that are just as good as any of the pre-release singles! Every track on this is amazing though, each being as good as the last. It even works having the two slower tracks in the middle (aside I guess for closer ‘Home’), a move that is usually hard to pull off.

Dan is one of the best vocalists in the scene currently, and has proved here that his songwriting matches that immense talented, too. If you are at all into hard rock or its wider genres, this is an absolute must-listen! I’ll be spinning this plenty in the coming weeks and months, and don’t be surprised to see it high on our albums of the year list come December. 9/10

Jake Vaadeland: This is Jake Vaadeland

The traditional country/bluegrass Canadian singer-songwriter returned with his third studio album this last Friday, following up 2024’s critically acclaimed Retro Man. Well, safe to say it’s another excellent old-school release from the man and his Sturgeon River Boys. From ‘Wildwood Flower’ to ‘Keep on the Sunny Side’, ‘Will the Circle be Unbroken’ to ‘Short Life of Trouble’, there is plenty to love throughout. Don’t get me wrong, at 17 tracks, all of which are fairly similar, it can certainly feel long. However, even though it’s not strictly my sort of sound, I had a good time listening to this, and would urge anyone even slightly interested to do the same! He’s insanely talented at what he does, a real leading light in the 40s/50s revival genre. There isn’t even much else more I can say; it’s exactly what you’d expect it to be and damn good, at that! 7/10

Armored Saint: Emotion Factory Reset

The first studio album from the heavy metal legends in six years, this thing goes hard for a full 47 minutes. John Bush’s vocals never seem to age, sounding just as awesome and powerful as ever, and the rest of the band play their asses off throughout. From the opener to single ‘Hit a Moonshot’, ‘Compromise’ to ‘Bottom Feeder’, there is so much to love throughout this. There certainly isn’t a bad song throughout, either. They do a fantastic job of making this feel like their old-school music while also still having a modern edge to it, mainly due to the fantastic production. If you are at all a fan of 80s and 90s heavy metal/thrash, this is absolutely the album for you! Hopefully we get a full run of shows out here at some point soon, not just a one off (although Stonedead looks BANGIN’ this year), as I’d love to see this live! For now though, I’m happy to keep spinning this album, and it gets a solid 8/10 from us!

ALT BLK ERA: Our World

One of the fastest rising stars in the UK alt scene, the local duo already exploded onto the scene with their debut album last year, returning just 16 months later with this awesome EP! The pair continue to grow their fusion of rock, rap, pop and electronica perfectly with these five tracks, all of which are better than the last. It’s very hard to pick specific highlights, as every song flows so well into each other and is good as each other. Having said that, ‘Okay (Cyber Racing)’ was probably my favourite track. It’s no wonder the duo are getting the hype around them that they are getting, as they more than deserve. It this a great stop-gap before a sophomore album, and a release well worth checking out into you’re into a modern rock-pop sound! 8/10

McCoy Moore: Sunshine State

The sophomore album from the rising country star is a great, chilled-out affair. It gives off a slight vibe akin to the new ERNEST album, but with more of a modern or even bro country twang to it. And it’s also packed full of highlights. From single ‘Every Single Summer’ to the Cole Swindell-featuring ‘In Here, Out There’, ‘Something to You’ to ‘Chesney on a Beach’ to ‘Memories We Never Made’, there’s some truly excellent songs. However, there isn’t a bad track throughout, and it felt like it grew on me more and more the more I listened! The lyrics are amazing, going from emotion-filled to fun and clever, and the instrumentation fits perfectly behind them all. It’s easy to hear why he is such a fast-rising star, and to come out with a second album of this high quality just six months after his debut really highlights just how talented the guy is. He is surely going to keep growing and rising through the ranks quickly. I’m definitely becoming a bigger fan the more I listen, and this will certainly be one of the albums of the summer for me, I’m sure! A very easy 8.5/10, great stuff!

Erik Grönwall: Bad Bones

The former H.E.A.T. frontman put out his fifth solo album this last Friday, following up his Eriksplanations collection the last few years. However, it’s been a while since we’ve had original solo music from him. Well, aside for that Michael Schenker album, but I can’t imagine he had much of a hand in the writing of that. Heck, the album he did with Skid Row was four years ago now! So, safe to say, I’m curious what this is gonna be like!

Well, it’s fucking awesome! It’s an excellent AOR album from one of the best the genre has ever seen. It’s packed full of catchy, arena-filling choruses, soaring, powerful vocals and some awesome riffing. Also, the mix on this thing is amazing, making everything sound MASSIVE. And, because of all of that, it’s almost impossible to pick highlights. All 10 of these tracks are as good as the last, and it makes for an incredibly easy 35-minute listen. From boot stompin’ rockers to the three epic ballads, it’s all amazing. As much as I do prefer Kenny with H.E.A.T., Erik is an incredible talent and has crafted something truly special here. He continued his return from his recent health scare in a major way, and proves that he’s not going anywhere, except maybe even higher up! I’d recommend this album to absolutely anyone, and will be spinning it plenty in the weeks and months to come. Another very easy 9/10 from us! It’s almost as good as the last H.E.A.T. album…

Beggars Bliss: Self-Titled

This is an awesome slab of blues rock! Bring from our neck of the woods, I am already pretty familiar with the band, and they are all great people. So I’ve been excited to finally hear this release in a professional capacity for a while, and it somehow blew away every hope and expectation I had! Whether it’s big, grungy blues riffs, powerful, swagger-dripping vocals, solid drumming or some great keys work, this release really has it all. It also seemed like it had me in a chokehold from start to finish, me listening through it twice in full already just this last week! The album is arranged in such a way that it flows perfectly, every song slotting together like a jigsaw. It’s like a blend of Lenny Kravitz, Luna Marble, Exile Club and Hendrix, and I honestly can’t get enough. Surprisingly, I found myself preferring the lighter tracks, or at least those that have a greater focus on the keys, like ‘Forbidden Fruit’, ‘Dusk Till Dawn’ and the Pearl-Jam-like closer. However, that isn’t to say that the boot-stompers aren’t also amazing songs in their own right, too.

I could rave about this album all day; it’s right up my street musically and is phenomenal from start to finish. Heck, the fact that this is a debut album too is mind-blowing. The band have a very bright future ahead of them, and this will definitely be seen as the start of their incredible run in years to come. If you are at all interested, check this out immediately. I feel like it’s been a while but honestly, it deserves it… 10/10

Moonlight Haze: Interstellar Madness

This is an awesome power/symphonic metal EP! Six tracks across 21 minutes of true epicness and greatness. It’s another release that doesn’t have a bad song through its runtime, and is once again impossible to pick specific highlights. The band are so damn talented, and blend the heavy and the melodic perfectly, having some of the biggest choruses I’ve heard recently alongside some truly excellent riffs and even screams. The band have been around a little while at this point and it’s wild to me that they aren’t already a huge name. However, this release will surely push them to new heights, and deserves to be heard by everyone, it really is that good! They have a big new fan in me, and I can’t give this any less than 9/10!

Neo Dimes: Alone

The debut darkwave album from the mind of Stephen Edmunds is a damn interesting listen! Combining neo-industrial and post-punk sounds together into his own blend of dark, catchy electro music had me rather hooked from start to finish. Songs like ‘Angels’, ‘Obsidian’ and ‘How to Love’ are all personal highlights. I do think it’s maybe all a little too samey, 50 minutes of similar music did get a touch much by the end. However, that may be because it’s not 100% my style of music, and my tiny attention span just wandered off somewhere. Some of it reminded me of All the Damn Vampires, in the best possible way, while others dripped with Nine Inch Nails or Filter. If you’re into any of the bands or genres I’ve mentioned, this is well worth checking out! I had a good time listening and will certainly be spinning it again at some point soon! A solid 7/10 from us.

Bleachers: everyone for ten minutes

The indie/alt/soft rock New Jersans’ sixth studio album is a chilled-out, enjoyable. I have such an up-and-down relationship with this sort of music, but I honestly had a great time listening to this! Songs like ‘the van’, the almost country ‘dirty wedding dress’, ‘take you out tonight’ and ‘I’m not joking’ are personal highlights. However, the whole album is good and an incredibly easy listen, 39 minutes going by in a flash. If you are at all into the more chilled-out side of music, this is absolutely the sort of album to throw on and get lost in. I probably won’t revisit this often, but whenever I do I’m sure I’ll have a blast! An easy 7.5/10!

Ersedu: GORE

The sophomore EP from the symphonic death metal band dropped last Tuesday, and has been rather the mainstay on my streaming since then! It’s the perfect amount of epicness, heaviness and melody, making for a fantastic 15-minute listen! It at times reminds me of Dimmu above, but has more of a death metal than black metal base to it, honestly making it a more interesting listen for me! Once again, it’s also hard to pick highlights, as at only three track and an interlude/intro, it’s all killer, no filler! If you are at all into the heavier side of metal, this is absolutely the release for you! I’ll certainly be spinning it plenty moving forward, and my only complaint is that it isn’t longer! 8/10

Billy Lockett: Things are Looking Up

Album three from the British singer-songwriter is packed full of emotion. Covering plenty of deep topics and heartbreak, it very much takes the listener on a journey. And, it helps that said journey is accompanied by some amazing folk-pop-rock music! From the title track to ‘Cornerstone’ to ‘We Know’, there is plenty for me to love throughout. And generally while it’s not fully my sort of thing as an album as a whole, I had a good time listening, and can appreciate how good it is for people more into this side of music. It’s probably not something I’d revisit in full often, but the tracks I like I really like, and will be spinning them individually for quite some time to come. Billy’s a damn talented musican and songwriter. He definitely has a curious new fan in me, and I’ll be dipping into his back catalogue after this weekend, that’s for sure! 7.5/10

Bullets and Octane: Self-Titled

The first fully new studio album from the SoCal hard rockers in six years (though following up last years demos and B-sides collection), this feels like both a reinvention and a confirmation of the bands sound. The punk-edge and sleazy swagger is still very much still there from their early work, but it also has a revitalised heaviness and massive production to it that gives it a more modern edge. Plus, it’s also not only packed with big, chunky riffing, but some arena-filling melodies and choruses. From the opener to the almost Hellyeah-like ‘The Break’ and ‘Operation Butterfly’, there are so many amazing songs on here. However, every track on this thing is excellent, and the album is well worth at least a spin in full, if not several! Gene’s vocals are somehow as good as ever, and the rest of the band play their asses off throughout, creating an excellent vibe throughout. I’ve been a big fan of the band for years at this point, and to hear them return so strong with new music is honestly incredible, as well as heart-warming. I feel like this will be an album I’ll be revisiting plenty in the weeks and months to come, and I can’t give it any less than a 9/10!

Reviews

Jon Pardi, Alyssa Flaherty and Bec O’Malley Rock Manchester Apollo!

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We headed down to one of our favourite venues last weekend to see one of our favourite country artists, like a match made in heaven! We’ve been hoping to see him for a few years now too, with him dropping out of The Long Road a few years back and us missing him on the subsequent rearranged tour. Joining him were two of the fastest rising stars in the genre, one from Nashville and one from Manchester, so it was set to be a fantastic night all-round!

Firstly, a quick shoutout to Randall King. He was supposed to be main support on the tour, but has taken a step back from live shows the last couple of months to work on his mental health and personal life. From what I know of him (even having the pleasure of meeting him a couple of years ago), he seemed like a great guy, and hopefully he manages to work through whatever he’s going through. Mental health is so very important, and it sucks for anyone to be going through struggles. You got this, brother!

Another thing before we talk about the artists; this show made me remember why I don’t go to many big country shows on their own. Goddamn, the crowd was terrible! Talking through not only both supports, but a good chunk of Pardi’s set too, just until his big hits came up towards the end. It really ruins the experience somewhat for those who actually went there to watch the show. I honestly don’t understand the thought process behind paying £40+ to go to a gig and not watch most of it, I canny afford that! It’s surprisingly a younger, more me/gen Z crowd that are doing it too, the TikTok crowd. Shame on y’all.

Anyway, enough negativity, let’s get on with the artists!

Seeming newcomer to the scene Bec O’Malley came off a massive day before, playing Royal Albert Hall for Highways and putting out his first single, and showed up big on Saturday too! He and his two backing players owned the large stage for the entire time they were up there, playing (and singing) their asses off. And, honestly, their set was arguably too short. I get why it was, with only one song released it may have been harder to hold the crowds attention, but he did it masterfully. His unique blend of UK folk, Americana and modern country came across excellently live, and he was a pretty decent frontman, too. Closing on the excellent debut single ‘Let it Go’ was awesome, and a highlight of the night in general. However, his other originals were just as good, honestly! And he even snuck a cheeky cover of Ella Langley’s massive ‘Choosin’ Texas’, to the delight of the crowd! Bec is gonna be a big name in the UK and global scene sooner rather than later, and it felt awesome seeing him get this sort of shot right out of the gate. Hopefully he sticks with his guitarist and fiddle player too, as both fit him excellently!

Next up was Alyssa Flaherty. For just a woman and her guitar, she sure packed out the sound in the theatre! It’s probably because her vocals were powerful and absolutely incredible! I wasn’t too familiar with her heading into the set, but left being a big new fan. Her original music is great, and was performed excellently by just her and her guitar. Honestly, I’d love to see her again with a full band backing her, but this was a great set in its own right! For an acoustic set it was definitely one of my favourites in recent memory!

After a rather short changeover, Mr Saturday Night himself took to the stage! Opening on the tours namesake, it was awesome right from the get-go. Honestly, it was a bit of a shame that we didn’t get more off said album, with just ‘Boots Off’ and ‘Friday Night Heartbreaker’ making the cut. The latter was a massive highlight of the whole night, though! The highlights packed out the whole set, though! Whether it was ‘Tequila Little Time’, ‘Mr. Saturday Night’, ‘Last Night Lonely’ or his collaboration with Thomas Rhett ‘Beer Can’t Fix’, there was awesomeness sprinkled throughout. Then, there was the absolutely incredible run to close out the set; from ‘Dirt on my Boots’ to closer ‘Head Over Boots’, it was banger after banger! There was maybe a slight lull in the middle, but that was more from the crowd not paying attention than any of the songs being bad!

In terms of the performance too, it was amazing! Pardi is a born front-man, and put on an excellent show from start to finish. His vocals are just as good live as they are on track, and when not holding one of his many guitars, he was bouncing around the stage, holding the crowd in the palm of his hand and having plenty of energy! The rest of his band added so much to the show, too! Everyone up on that stage is some of the best musicians at their craft, and worked their asses off from start to finish. They performed like one of the very best of a big-country-bands around, which they very much are! From all of the different instruments being played to the incredible soloing to the energy throughout, it was all a top-class performance. There whole set went by in a flash, and I’d have happily taken another full hour of it!

And there you have it, folks. Three incredible acts putting on an amazing show for a packed out crowd. I had a blast throughout, and the two opening acts definitely won me over in a big way. I’d recommend checking out all three of them both live and on track, and I’ll certainly be seeing them all the next time they’re nearby! It was a fantastic night of live music, and one I’ll not soon be forgetting!

Interviews & Features

Suburban Legends: ‘You get to meet people, like, wonderful people that are very committed to the culture!’

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We chatted to the horns section of Suburban Legends, Brian, Chris and Aaron, at their show in Nottingham last week. Check it all out below as we talk about their UK tour, back home and the state of the industry!

How’s the tour been so far? It’s four or five days in now, right?

Yeah, four, five dates. This is day six. So we’re halfway through.

Chris: We’ve hit it, it’s the midpoint! You’ve seen us hit the crest, it’s all downhill from here!

Aaron: want to say the first show out the gate was awesome! We haven’t played… Brian lives in Japan, so the last time we played with him was 24? 23?

Brian: We played together last year, the acoustic gigs.

Aaron: yeah but the last show that we did together, I think it was the 25th anniversary two years ago!

So when you’re saying, how the tour is, we kind of put a lot of pieces together that were kind of array, and we fit it all in last second. We did one rehearsal in a backyard pub and we just did it. And it felt fun! It felt exciting. It felt like a reunion of friends. So every single show, varying degrees of people coming, but it’s all been great audiences, great guests, and great fun with our friends. So, to answer your question, it’s awesome!

Chris: To speak more to that, it’s just like, yeah, we can all spend so much time apart from each other. But also, we get together so well that the shows just kind of come together.

What brought you guys back over? I know you mentioned you did the acoustic tour last year!

Chris: We were contractually obliged.

Brian: Promises made and promises kept.

Aaron: Out of all the places we tour, the UK is by far the best. By far the friendliest. And I think when I wasn’t at the acoustic tour last year, but it was a tester to see if people still remember. And people still wanted to come out! So the test worked and we made it happen with a full band.

Because it’s been… it was a while before that, right?

Chris: Seven years!

Aaron: 2018 was the time prior.

There’s a couple of shows announced for back home too this year too, right?

Brian: Yeah, we’ve got the Supernova ska festival coming up! That’s in September.

Aaron: Other than that, there’s nothing else scheduled at the moment. I know that people are always hitting us up for stuff, but it’s about… everyone has a job, everyone has a feeling, everyone has a thing. So it’s about getting everybody together. Besides this tour, we’ve only played three times this year so far. Like one in February and then we did two Disneyland dates. Cause we perform at Disneyland.

How would you compare the scene over here compared to back home?

Chris: Man, it’s like, out here, it’s very DIY, it’s very energetic, it’s very fun. It’s very community driven, which is really fun to witness and also kind of be a part of at the same time. Because we get to come over here, we get to play with all these wonderful bands that are also a part of the scene. You get to meet people, like, wonderful people that are very committed to the culture. And you get to see the little local pockets of it, like, all up and down the island. So it’s really wonderful, comparatively. Like, it’s harder, I think, for us to have that in the States because everything is so just like spread out. There’s a level of density that happens out here where you have, like these nice little pockets of things that are happening.

Brian: Plus, we’re just not as active as we used to be. We’re not out there, like, hustling like we used to, where it’s like everything that was offered, we’ll take it. You know what I mean? When we were really in the scene, like in the States and in California, we were playing a bunch and playing with all the other bands. But now it’s like we play occasionally and it’s like sort of like…

Aaron: Most of the time it’s at Disneyland, and that in itself is a different culture, a different scene. So we have like a foot in two different scenes, you know what I mean? And locally we can only play maybe one or two times a year so that people get excited about it. You don’t want to oversaturate it. Especially when we play Disneyland.

I assume you change the setlist up for the Disneyland shows?

Aaron: Yeah, more covers, and lyric changes too!

Chris: It’s a different kinda show.

Brian: And sometimes we forget that when we, like, from place to place, we’re like, oh, we gotta like shift gears, that’s right, it’s this type of show now!

Aaron: Sometimes we’re opening for a band, we only have like a 25 minute, 30 minute set. And the things that we do at Disneyland we cannot do in that 25 minutes because we gotta play as much music as possible.

I’ve seen there’s been a couple of singles out over the last few years or so, is there any sort of writing going ahead, any urge to release stuff?

Aaron: Being creative is about flowing the flow. I think there’s things and there’s things that are around, but are they recorded? No. Is it gonna happen? Maybe. Literally, if Vince was here, who, like, leads all that, he would just say, ‘well, I don’t know’, but. But the answer is, yeah, there’s always work. There’s always creativity going on.

Chris: There are so many projects and there’s stuff going on, but yeah, you know, it’s all just kind of in the vault.

Brian: There’s probably at least five or six projects that we started and never completed. There’s lots of starts and stops. But all that stuff still exists. It’s just whether or not we want to like, okay, let’s start that again!

How did the whole Disney thing come about? Did you start playing there before doing the covers?

Aaron: We started playing at the park. We had one Disney cover that. It was Gummy Bears. And I don’t know why we did it. I don’t know how we decided to do it. It wasn’t great, but people loved it! When we started playing at Disneyland a long, long time ago, we just assumed we were playing all original songs. Yes, maybe we did a ska cover of ‘I Will Survive’. It was wild! We realized people are coming to see us, but there’s a lot of people there that have never seen us before. And if you’re gonna come in and you’re gonna watch a band, hook them with a cover and then play a couple originals. So eventually we started just going, okay, we’ll do another Disney song. Another Disney song. Another Disney song. Just because we’re also Disneyland and we also love Disneyland.

Is it hard getting a ska arrangement of something like a Disney song together?

Aaron: I don’t know. We’re the horn players, so, I mean…!

Chris: It’s not terribly complicated. A lot of these arrangements really lend themselves to it. Ska isn’t particularly hard to, like, write into the existing arrangements. For example, we did ‘Whole New World’, and I think that was kind of the greatest departure, but also stays really true to the arrangement. But we wrote an entirely new tone around the intro. that’s kind of the furthest we’ll go because we still want it to be familiar. We still want it to be fun. Thankfully, working into, like, the genre of ska, it kind of lends itself to the energy and the upbeat arrangements that we choose.

You guys are pretty up on social media when on tour. Do you have any advice for bands breaking into the scene in that regard?

Chris: You want to have one person who is just constantly aware of the moments that can take place while you’re on the road that are both organic and fun.

Aaron: It’s a full-time job. I mean that’s why social media managers are full time jobs. You get a degree in and all that stuff. It takes a lot of time. So advice: get somebody to come with you. Maybe a merch that can film while you were actually doing your art and stuff. A social media manager who also is cool with selling T shirts. You know, so maybe an 18, 19, 20 year old that knows what people like. Because we also don’t know what people like!

Honestly, I think the thing to talk about is Spotify. How you release music, that’s more important than social media. Punk Rock Factory I think is a great example of social media. They’re not touring as a lot but they have their, their studio set up where it looks rad behind them. They got the actual lights and they film their song. They cut it up into five different reels and then they release it and they schedule it out and that’s how they’re getting listens on Spotify and views on YouTube and that’s how they’re getting people coming to their shows.

It’s the niche, Right. You can’t just plop whatever you want on the Internet. You have to just kind of pick a lane. I think with us, the route that we’re going with this tour is just the storytelling of touring. We don’t play a lot, so we don’t make social media content a lot. So if we’re out here doing stuff, we want to just make sure people can see the story of, like, oh, yeah, this is what it’s like to be in the UK with this American band.

But Spotify, that’s the thing to talk about, because growth. Spotify has an algorithm. How do you release music these days? And it’s not albums. It’s singles, and it’s consistent singles that you do at a consistent basis.

Chris: And it’s an entirely different game to play than what we had been used to doing, which was like, you know, you write an album or you write an EP, you record the album or EP, tour on the album or the EP. There’s a cadence to that that’s much longer than, like, record singles, release singles. And it also, in tandem with that, took selling CDs out of our hands while we were on tour, which was, quite frankly, a large portion of our merch sales. For example, for this tour we didn’t roll with CDs. It’s too heavy, it’s too hard to ship. Why print? Why bring them over? You know, because people aren’t gonna buy them because they have digital distribution now.

Do you have a dream tour lineup you’d want to be a part of? Anyone you haven’t played with yet or friends you want to bring on the road with you?

Chris: That’s a really good question!

Brian: Yeah, it’s not really in our mind any more! We don’t tour much so we don’t think about it much!

Chris: Like, at this point, I feel like the people that we want to tour with are the people that we’ve already toured with that we know that we enjoy touring with. We enjoy touring with real big Fish. We enjoy touring with Less Than Jake. Like, people that are our friends that we know. When you show up to tour, it’s like you’re showing up to the same summer camp. Everyone is just already cool with each other.

Aaron: That’s the answer!

Chris: Exactly. We want to tour with our friends and have a good time.

I’ll answer the question as it’s intended… I would love to be able to go to Japan and tour with Tokyo Ska Paradise.

Aaron: Oh my god that would be amazing!

Chris: It would be so much fun. But Scott doesn’t know about us. But that would be a really fun tour to do!

Reviews

Change of Plans: How Does 49 Winchester’s Latest Album Live Up to Their Previous?

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The country rock collective are set to release their sixth studio album this coming Friday! As already big fans of their music, we’ve been excited about this one since it got announced. Add to that that the single or two I’ve heard is great, and it’s made this album an absolute must-listen for us! Oh, and add to that the truly beautiful artwork, and this is already set to be a release to remember. Without further ado, let’s dive in!

The album opens on a chilled-out southern rock riff; the guitars setting the tone and the drums and bass following suit excellently. Isaac’s vocals fit seamlessly over the top, keeping the mood and tone relaxed and steady. It rather surprisingly explodes into a catchy, rockier chorus, reminding me of a Darius Rucker kinda sound in the best ways. Having said that, it also fits the vibe of the rest of the song perfectly. The lyrics are excellent for it too, both catchy and packed full of emotion. And the bridge, while simple, has some fun little guitar lead runs, channelling the bands Southern rock roots fantastically. And it drops back to just vocals, piano and some quiet guitars after, giving the track some great dynamics before it bursts back into that awesome final chorus. It’s a great way to open the release, establishing the mood of the album perfectly.

‘Bluebird’ adds a bit more blues to the proceedings, surely intentionally a little punny. Having said that, it still keeps the generally slower pace from the opener, especially with the acoustic, lower verses. It’s all builds perfectly to a massive, arena-filling country rock chorus, one that once again reminds me of that early 2000s sound. And not only that, but we get an epic, Aerosmith-esque bridge and lead bit separating the choruses perfectly. This is a really excellent track, and one that easily makes our playlist. I’m honestly shocked it wasn’t a single, but it could easily be one after release, it would do great as a radio country-rock track!

Speaking of singles, their cover of ‘Changes’ is banger of a ballad. It works surprisingly well as a southern rock song, and is only one of my favourite versions (and there are many) of the track. Honestly, Isaac is probably the best singer to have performed it, in this writers opinion. He puts so much passion and emotion into every line, clearly being a fan of the original. And instrumentally, it works perfectly, the organ, drums and guitaring carrying the somber tone amazingly. It’s interesting to have it placed so early in the album, but it fits rather well alongside the previous songs, so it’s hard to complain!

Songs like ‘All Around Me’, ‘All Over Again’ and ‘Bringin Home the Bacon’ are more tracks that fit in with the opening few. All are boot stompin’ country rock bangers in their own right, with ‘All Over Again’ being a particular personal highlight. And, while I have grouped them together to make the article easier to read, it does also reflect that the album is so similar. It is both impressive that it’s so cohesive, but also makes for an ever so slightly harder listen, at the very least when reviewing. It doesn’t make any of it bad per se, but does make my tiny-attention-spanned brain a touch less likely to listen to them all, especially when they are all so close together!

‘Slowly’ is a beautiful, acoustic-based track that honestly I can’t get enough of. From the simple arrangement that builds perfectly throughout to some of the best lyrics on the release to that chorus that’ll be stuck in my head from day to come, everything about it is amazing. And those vocal harmonies, GODDAMN. It’s easily one of my favourite tracks on the album, and may be up there alongside my top songs from the band in general, honestly. This is definitely one to check out if you are going to dive into any! A damn worthy single!

‘Oh Savannah’ is another beautiful slower song, while ‘Pardon Me’ is another incredible, catchy southern rock track designed to be played to huge festival crowds around the world. Both are great in their own right, but the latter in particular is another huge highlight of the album! And then, just like that, we reach the end to this surprisingly short release with ‘Heavy Chevy’. It’s another good song, giving off Whiskey Myers vibes massively with the vocals. The double track on them was an interesting choice that pays off massively, and once again Isaac puts on one hell of a performance. It builds perfectly through the acoustic stuff into a distorted, rockier second half, the dynamics being fantastic. We even get some awesome duelling guitar solos in the middle, feeling very Skynyrd in the best ways possible. Somehow it’s yet another huge highlight track on an album rather filled with this. It’s also the perfect, truly epic way to close the release, and is another song that’s up there alongside my favourites from the band as a whole!

Overall: This is a great release! It’s a damn good country/southern rock album, jam packed with some real amazing tracks. While it does take a slight dip in energy in the middle, both the start and end are phenomenal, providing some of the best tracks I think the band have ever put to tape. If you are at all a fan of the band or the genres in general, this is well worth a listen! I’ll certainly be spinning it plenty in the weeks and months to come, that’s for sure!

Overall: 9/10

Reviews

Suburban Legends and Codename Colin Rock the Bodega!

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It’s been a hot minute since we made it down to The Bodega, and then it was for a pretty different gig! This time was for the ska legends Suburban Legends, returning to the UK after last years acoustic tour, and for their first electric shows in seven years! Y’all should know how big of a fan we are here at Overtone of ska punk by now, and we get far too little come over to the UK these days, so there was no way we were missing this! Of course we were going to have a blast, but read below to find out just how great of a night it was!

It felt slightly odd only having two bands on the bill, but it is becoming increasingly more of a thing in recent years. However, when both bands are this good and get given some time, it’s really hard to complain! And Codename Colin really brought it last night! I wasn’t too familiar with them aside a couple of songs I checked out before the show, but I came away a pretty damn big fan of the band! Even despite some technical issues with the guitar the band played a fantastic set, sounding awesome and coming across as damn professional. They were a little heavier live than I was expecting too, having an air of metal to them, especially in the half-time outros. All four of them were insanely talented too, getting their own time to shine at various stages throughout.

And, their setlist was pretty great! From their amazing originals to a couple of fantastic covers, it honestly left me wanting more! ‘Hit Me Baby One More Time’ was a personal highlight, but I found myself enjoying their original stuff just as much, truly. Hell, the new songs they threw into the set were awesome, and have left me excited to hear what’s next in store for them, release-wise! They played their asses off throughout and clearly impressed a lot of the crowd, including us. This certainly won’t be the last time I see them, and hopefully they’re back nearby soon!

After a pretty brief changeover, it was already time for the headliners! I’ve wanted to see them for so long, not able to make it to their last full tour pre-pandemic, and somehow they didn’t disappoint even with my high hype for them! From the moment they took to the stage I was obsessed. Opening on old classic ‘High Fives’ was a great choice, and kicked off well over an hour of catchy, high-energy ska punk. From Day Job bangers like ‘Arigato’ and perennial closer ‘Whoa’ to more older classics in ‘Hey DJ’ and ‘Bright Spring Morning’ to even ‘Forever in the Friendzone’, the set was packed full of the very best of their back catalogue. And, of course, we can’t not address the Disney songs. From Toy Story’s ‘You’ve got a Friend in Me’ to Lion King’s ‘Just Can’t Wait to be King’, ‘DuckTales’ to ‘Under the Sea’, the band have done some of the funnest ska covers, and Disney covers, around!

And the show the collective put on… DAMN. I don’t have the energy to do what they do now still in my 20s, let alone 15+ years down the line. The energy that every one of them put into their performance was infectious, having the crowd dancing, clapping and bouncing along throughout. Heck, they managed to get a solid 60-70% of the not-particularly-young crowd squatted down, ready to jump-the-fuck-up and pretend to be fireworks. That’s commitment from everyone involved, right there! The choreography was also amazing; synchronised dancing is always impressive but to do it to ska music, as well as sometimes while singing/playing a horn, is honestly awesome!

Plus, everyone sounded awesome. Vincent’s vocals are amazing live, and it blows my mind still that he wasn’t even originally the singer of the band. The backing and harmonies were awesome too, with Aaron sounding great and being a born frontman in his own right. And all the rest of the band absolutely killed it too, being so tight live and sounding really excellent. The talent throughout them all is truly off the charts, and to witness it live was something truly special. Damn, I could gush about this band all day!

And there you have it folks, an awesome night packed full of some incredible punk music! Two bands that I am already desperate to see live again, and would recommend checking out to anyone if they are anywhere nearby you. And, what’s more, it was all at one of the best small venues in the country! I certainly had a blast, and couldn’t have asked for any more!

new music mondays

New Music Mondays: Social Distortion, Ashley McBryde and More!

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A typically stacked week of new albums for us to check out, from rock to metal to country. You know the drill by now, let’s dive in!

Social Distortion: Born to Kill

The first new studio album from the Californian punk rock royalty in a whopping 15 years, this release had a lot of hype to live up to. Safe to say I think it lives up to the expectations, and then some! The lead single/title track sets the tone and pace of the album perfectly, while songs like ‘The Way Things Were’, ‘Tonight’ and ‘Don’t Keep me Hanging On’ are all huge other highlights. We even get a quirky, awesome cover of ‘Wicked Game’ tucked away in the middle! I do think it looses it’s way and steam just a little at times during it’s runtime, but there’s enough stuff like/as good as their 80s and 90s style that as an album as a whole I love it! If you are a fan of the band or the wider punk genre, this is definitely worth spinning, and I’ll be listening to it plenty moving forward. It’s a welcome return from the band that have been so consistent and at the top of their game for decades, and I can’t give it any less than 8/10

Ashley McBryde: Wild

I was not expecting to get my ass kicked quite so hard with this release. It’s straight up southern rock and I LOVED it. I’m a fan of Ashley and have been for a while, and I liked The Devil I Know a lot when it dropped. But this definitely has a heavier, darker edge to it than that and releases before that, leaning more into the rock than ever before. And I’m all in on it, honestly! Right from the opener this thing goes hard, having me hooked immediately. Then you have the likes of ‘Arkansas Mud’, ‘Creosote’ and ‘Lines in the Carpet’ that are all amazing, southern rock bangers. Don’t get me wrong, it has its fair share of slower tracks too, and the back third of the album is a bit more of the pace I was expecting from her heading in. The closer in particular is another massive highlight, it being more of a folk rock track, and is going to be stuck in my head for days to come!

It’s an incredibly varied album, making it go by in a flash, and is packed full of emotion, amazing vocals and some great instrumentation. It really has everything you need from a country release, and draws from each great element of Ashley’s back catalogue, almost feeling like a culmination of her career up until this point. I cannot recommend this album enough, and it is certainly my favourite of hers she’s put out so far. A very easy 9/10 from us!

Daði Freyr: Too Much Not Enough

Album three from the Icelandic electro-pop artist is just as good as I expected it to be! While we didn’t review 2023’s I Made An Album, I absolutely love it, and we saw him live on the tour, blowing me away! This picks up perfectly where that left off, offering 36 minutes of incredible, infectiously catchy music. From his insane range and vocal tone to the massive harmonies to the incredible arrangements that span pop, electro, funk, jazz and rock, it’s all so damn good. And, honestly, every track is as good as the last! There are definite personal highlights like ‘Hot Damn’, ‘I’m Out and I Wanna Go Home’ and ‘Why?’ but every song before, between them and after are also absolutely amazing. If you are into his particular brand of noise this is an absolutely must-listen. Heck, even if you aren’t familiar, give this a listen, you’ll surely love it as much as I do! This is an album I’ll be spinning a lot moving forward, and I can see it being high on our albums of the year list by December. I can’t give it any less than 9.5/10, amazing stuff!

Crashdïet: Art of Chaos

Album seven from the Swedish sleaze rockers has arrived following extensive lineup changes within the band. Everyone aside for mainstay guitarist Martin Sweet is a new face, it being almost a completely different band to 2022’s Automaton. Honestly, that might be a reason as to why I wasn’t into it too much. I’ve long been a fan of the glam/sleaze revival scene, especially in Europe, and Crashdïet have been a prominent, amazing player in that throughout. It’s not even a bad album, per-say. However, it does very much feel pretty paint-by-numbers when it comes to sleaze, like a group of people who haven’t really ever made music together have got together and made a basic glam album. A lot of the swagger and attitude from Generation Wild, Savage Playground or even Automaton is largely missing, being a big selling point of their sound for me. Exceptions are ‘Get Out’ and ‘Killing it Now’, definitely the high points of the album, and closer to their classic sound. As I said, it isn’t bad, and if you are a big fan of the band or genre you’ll still get plenty out of this. However, I hoped for a little more personally, something about it just doesn’t do much for me. So, I can’t give it much higher than 6.5/10

Reverend and the Makers: Is This How Happiness Feels?

The indie rockers returned with their eighth album this last Friday. It’s pretty good, and a fun release! It’s got an air of easy listening and jazziness to it, alongside the typical indie pop-rock sound. It also feels just a little like Old Dominion, just without the country elements. Tracks like ‘Late Night Phone Call’, ‘D Minor’ and ‘Forever’ are all personal highlights. However, the whole album is a similar energy and there isn’t a bad song throughout! Everyone involved is a damn talented musician and songwriter, and Jon McClure is one of the most underrated vocalists around today. It’s an incredibly easy listen, and one I’ll certainly be spinning again soon. It won’t be for everyone, but I enjoyed it, and can’t give it any less than 7/10!

AK & the Red Kites: Hotter Than the Sun

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

REXORIA: Fallen Dimension

Album three from the self-professed royal metallers picks up perfectly where 2023’s Imperial Dawn left off. It’s 43 minutes of awesome power/heavy metal, packed full of awesome riffing, solid drumming and powerful, melodic vocals. Tracks like ‘Awakening’, ‘Running with Stars’ and ‘Wasted Land’ are all personal highlights, but every song is about as good as the last! As good as Imperial Dawn was, this feels a step up from that release, as well as being slightly on the heavier and darker side, which was very nice to hear! It feels like they have really found and refined their sound with this album, it sounding the most natural and comfortable for all involved. I would recommend this to anyone even slightly into power or heavy metal, and will certainly be listening to this again in the coming weeks and months. It’s a very solid 8/10 from us!

Without Mercy: Infinite Loss

This three track brutal assault is fucking awesome! It’s 11 minutes of technical excellence, crazy drums and heavy screams and breakdowns, with a surprising amount of melody thrown in for good measure. All four of these guys are at the top of their craft at their chosen instruments, and are clearly incredible songwriters to boot! And, all three songs are as good as each other, it being impossible to pick even one over the other two. It’s technical melodeath excellence, and a release I’d recommend to absolutely anyone into the heavier end of metal! 9/10, hell yeah, this was awesome!

Josiah and the Bonnevilles: As Is

This is a short, sweet, chilled album from one of the hardest working names in country today. It’s incredibly chilled out, nestled somewhere between a traditional country sound and a soft-indie one. Honestly, it’s to the point where it’s not especially my sort of thing, but is so well performed and written that I can’t help but like it! Josiah’s vocals are incredible, rather underrated I’d actually say, and the lyrics throughout are fantastic. I think my issue is that it never quite hits that high gear that I keep wanting the tracks to. However, that is more a me issue than an artist one! As I said, it’s well written and well played, and if you like the slower, tamer side of indie/country, this is definitely worth checking out! Highlights include ‘Going Gone’ and ‘Mountain Girl’. 6/10

Black Orchid Empire: LORE

Album five from the UK alt-metal trio is honestly an excellent release! I’ve been a fan of the band for a few years now, with Semaphore blowing me away back in the pandemic era. It’s melodic, heavy and proggy in the perfect measures. It’s got elements of everything from Alter Bridge to Chevelle to Poppy to even Muse, and I’m here for all of it! From ‘Angelfire’ to ‘Scissormouth’, ‘Tristar’ to ‘Mirrorman’, there is so much to love. And honestly, the rest of the tracks around these are just as good! It’s all huge riffs and catchy vocals, and I think I’m a little obsessed! I honestly think this may be the best album they’ve ever released; it has such a great flow to it and nearly 50 minutes goes by in a flash. If you are even slightly curious, do yourselves a favour and give this a spin, you won’t be disappointed! I’ll be spinning this a lot moving forward, and don’t be surprised to see it be another that’s high on our albums of the year list come December. I can’t give it any less than 9.5/10, amazing stuff!

Draconian: In Somnolent Ruin

The eighth album from the gothic metal Swedes is a truly epic affair. Nearly an hour of doomy heaviness, but with plenty of great melody too, it’s impossible not to like! The contrast between the dark screams and beautiful cleans is fantastic, both powerful in their own way and fitting excellently over the top of the black-doom instrumentation. It’s somehow my first introduction to the band, and I’m hooked! It seems to have elements of everything from My Dying Bride to Rotting Christ to even Nightwish, all combined together to create a sound pretty unique to the band. Tracks like ‘The Monochrome Blade’ and ‘Cold Heavens’ are personal highlights, but the album is definitely worth a listen through in full if you’re into the style! The band certainly have a new fan in me, and it gets a solid 8/10 from us.

Ingested: Denigration

Following up 2024’s excellent The Tide of Death and Fractured Dreams, the UK death metal titans are back with album nine. As expected, it is absolute heavy chaos from start to finish, and is absolutely excellent! Right from the jump with ‘Dragged Apart’ I was hooked, and not let go for the full 40 minutes. Tracks like ‘Stitch by Stitch’ and ‘Beaten Beyond the Veil’ are personal highlights, but there really isn’t a bad song throughout. It’s perfectly heavy, everything from the riffing to the drums to the vocals being crushingly excellent throughout. It has an air of violence and hardcore to it alongside the death metal, definitely feeling a touch Malevolence in the best way possible. It takes everything great about their previous couple of releases and dials it up to 11. I honestly can’t get enough! It’s certainly not going to be for everyone, but if you are into the brutaller end of metal, I’d recommend giving this a listen ASAP! 9/10, I’m certainly going to be listening to this plenty over the rest of the year!

P.S. all the guest kill it throughout, too!

Coleman Jennings: Lead You Home

A debut album now, from the young neo-traditional country rising star. It follows up on his EP right at the start of the year, doubling its length up to 10 songs. We loved Ride On, and I remember back then even saying I wanted a longer release soon. Clearly he heard my pleas, and what has come out as a result is honestly awesome! The OG half is still just as good as ever, while the new songs are just as great, particularly ‘Flyin’’ and ‘Good While it Lasted’. I honestly don’t understand how someone in their 20s can have a voice like this, but it sounds so damn good, and Coleman is definitely a bright shining light in the traditional country renaissance going on currently. His talent is off the charts, both as a musician and songwriter, and his band kill it on each song, too. I’d recommend any country fan give this a spin, it will surely win you over! It gets another solid 7.5/10 from us, and I already can’t wait to hear more!

The Flatliners: Cold World

The Canadian punkers returned with their first album in nearly four years this last Friday. It’s damn good to have them back, as this is a fantastic album! It’s heavy, almost having an air of hardcore or metal to it, but it only adds to the attitude and punky vibes throughout. Having said that, it also gives slight Coheed vibes, which I am more than down with! It’s another first-time band for me, and they already have a big new fan in me. Songs like ‘Inner Peace’, ‘Whyte Light’ and ‘Turning Signal Rhythm’ are big personal highlights, but I found myself enjoying every song throughout the release. It definitely won’t be for every punk fan out there, but if you are into the slightly more heavy or melodic side of the genre, this is absolutely a release for you. How they aren’t bigger at this point is beyond me, as they are so damn good! A very easy 8.5/10 from us!

Darkthrone: Pre-Historic Metal

The Norwegian black metal legends are back with another album, just two years removed from If Beckons Us All. I remember enjoying that album, at least more than this one. It’s not bad, especially if you like the old school black metal style. However, it feels a step back compared to their last couple of albums. It strips a lot of the doom out of it, leaving with more pure black metal. That will certainly make some happy, but it bored me a little, honestly. Tracks like ‘Siberian Thaw’ and ‘The Dry Well of Hell’ are pretty good, but I sadly found myself losing interest much after the latter track. Not even part four of ‘Eon’ really hooked me in too much. Maybe it’s just because modern bands do this style a little more interestingly these days. Plus, the vocal mix seemed to take a bit of a step backwards since Beckons, which is a shame. Either way, this wasn’t for me. As much as I wanted to like it, and it wasn’t terrible, I have no desire to go back and listen again. 5.5/10

The Family Men: Co/de/termination

The sophomore album from the Swedish ‘total harmful sound’ collective is a damn fun listen! It’s like Pendulum mixed with a hardcore band, making it pretty damn fascinating, if nothing else. Refused are the closest comparison I found myself making, which I’d say is a pretty big compliment! Nestled somewhere between industrial, hardcore, metal and electronic. It maintains its intrigue and funness throughout too; from the opener to ‘Skull Theft’ to ‘Scanner’ there is plenty to love. At just over half an hour too, it’s a damn easy listen from front to back, going by in a flash. If you are at all curious, I’d highly recommend throwing on the album as a whole, you surely won’t be disappointed! The band certainly have a new fan in me, and I’ll definitely be keeping a close eye on them moving forward. Hopefully they tour over this way at some point too, I feel like this would all be awesome live! A very easy 8.5/10 from us!

Reviews

Hotter Than the Sun: The Debut Album from AK and the Red Kites!

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The debut album of the Dust Coda front man’s other project drops tomorrow! Their 2024 EP was amazing, and they have only gone from strength to strength since then, so to finally have this coming out is pretty damn exciting! Their combination of blues and hard rock is a lot of fun, so let’s dive right in!

The album opens right into some great instrumentation, an almost punk flavour to the riffing and drumming at first. AK’s powerful vocals soon come over the top, a great, catchy melody over some chuggy riffs. There’s some awesome harmonies and tracking around the vocals too, adding so much depth to the delivery. It all builds to a massive chorus, one designed to be played to huge arena crowds! There’s a touch of the blues the band are known for coming out of the choruses with that riff too, fitting perfectly alongside the punkier rest. We also get an awesome little guitar solo tucked away in the middle, packed full of feeling an emotion, sounding fantastic! This is an amazing song, and a perfect selection for the opener and a single, kicking things off with a bang!

The energy stays high heading into ‘Born to Lose’. Once again I get as much Wildhearts vibes as I do blues, definitely a punky edge to it all. Andrew’s vocals fit perfectly over the simple riffing and driving drums, once again building excellently to a massive chorus. Said chorus fits perfectly into the back of the verse though, the instrumentation staying similar, just getting bigger, making everything sound massive as a result! The lyrics here are great too, packed with attitude and being some of my favourite on the whole album. The solo here is more technical this time, fitting the lighter natural of the song and giving the perfect reprieve from the standard structure of the rest. My only complaint is that it was so short, but I get not everyone wants sprawling solos! Another excellent song, and an easy highlight of the album!

Things turn sharply into the blues direction I expected from the release with ‘Stronger’. It still fits perfectly in with the heaviness and tone of the release so far, but definitely feels like it focuses much more on the blues guitaring than the others. The riffing is awesome, and I LOVED the ‘ooo’s in the build-up intro, too. A stripped-back verse leads to a bigger, catchy chorus. However, that driving riff from the guitar and bass are definitely the main strength of the track. And, even in a track barely 2:30, we still get some awesome lead work out of that second chorus. It’s short and sweet, in-and-out and very to the point, and I think it serves the track well, as any more of the same sort of idea, outside of jamming it out for minutes of proggy soloing, may have gotten a bit much!

Single ‘Karmic Rituals’ heavy’s things back up again, while still very much maintaining that blues riffing awesomeness from the previous song. Andrew’s vocals once again sound awesome over the top, weaving a fantastic melody over the driving drums and bass, the guitar cutting in intermittently Honestly, the closest thing I can compare it to is Mammoth, which is certainly a compliment! The verse is catchy enough, but then effortlessly leads into an expectedly great chorus, catchy and certainly one to sing along to. It’s another short, simple-structured track, but I liked the riffing for the bridge too, and the final chorus hits hard! It’s one that easily makes our playlist!

A dirty blues riff forms the basis of ‘Pearls Before Swine’, the guitar kicking it off but the bass and it’s incredible tone carry it on perfectly through the verse. It has a bit of swagger and attitude to it, making for an incredibly fun listen. Honestly, it’s got some funk rock to it, like a Living Colour or Staggered Crossing, and I’m a little obsessed! The whole thing is massively catchy, but that chorus is on another level! It’s my favourite track on the album, and a song that I’ll be spinning a lot in the coming weeks and months to come. Wow!

Tracks like ‘West Coast Romance’, the title track and ‘Trouble Again’ are more steady-paced, blues-dripping stompers, all as good as the last! The latter is my favourite of the group, the riff being great and AK putting in one of his best vocal performances to boot. However, all are great and fit the tone and pace of the album fantastically, none of them even feeling like album tracks. It was easier to group them together to save me repeating myself with my fan-girling over and over!

‘Sierra Starlight’ is the slower track on the album, but is still infused with blues, soul and roots. It feels ripped straight out of Sinners, almost having a country edge to it. Yet, somehow, it also fits perfectly in with the rest of the album. Arguably it could have done with being a little earlier, as it breaks things up tonally incredibly, but also felt just as natural here. It’s another amazing song and HUGE album highlight, showing off the band’s range impeccably.

The last two tracks left from the album, singles ‘We Belong’ and ‘Cosmic Train’. Both are on the heavier end, more Black Stone Cherry-like than a classic blues thing. They’re amazing songs both in their own right, and were two more excellent choices for singles! The latter in particular is another huge high point on the release, and closes things off perfectly. All three members get their time to shine throughout, and it makes for a damn fun listen! Two more great songs on an album packed full of them!

Overall: This is an awesome release! Every track is as good as the last, and it has an amazing flow to it, going by in a flash. All three guys killed it throughout too, showing off that they are some of the best in the scene right now. They really are going from strength to strength as a band, and this is surely set to push them up to the next level! I’ll certainly be spinning this plenty in the weeks and months to come!

The Score: 9/10