Musipedia Of Metal

Heaven's Basement: Filthy Empire (RedBull Records)

The band formally known as Hurricane party and Roadstar, Heaven's Basement have been plying their trade since 2008 with original Roadstar members Ritchie Hevanz on vocals and Sid Glover on guitar. Hevanz stuck around for one EP and then left the band and was replaced by current vocalist Aaron Buchanan. This is the band’s debut album (Second EP Unbreakable was released in 2011) and it is myriad of influences all of which come together to form a hard rocking, hook filled, hard hitting album full of attitude. The lead influences are Guns N Roses, Buckcherry and even some Thunder mixed with punk snottiness and some crunchy modern metal riffage, see I Am Electric. Lead single Fire, Fire is dripping with foul language and brings to mind the short lived Stone Gods, Glover's guitars are awesome with some very Slash-like solos and riffs which work well with the chunky rhythms of Rob Ellershaw and Chris Rivers. Buchanan's voice is great equally melodic and raw with the band providing some big chanting backing vocals, and also Glover giving a dual lead vocal on Nothing Left To Loose. This is an album full of big arena anthems much like the freight train riffage of album ender Executioner's Day with the bluesy Thunder style of Lights Out In London and Jump Back. The band can also do stripped back which they do excellently on the acoustic, piano leaden The Price That We Pay which is a beautiful break in the all-out rocking.It'sthese big crowd pleasing tracks that will see Heaven's Basement on the same upward career trajectory as Brit boys done good The Treatment. It looks like that my opinion of them at Hammerfest was wrong, Heaven's Basement might just be one of the new breed of great British rock bands. 8/10

The Union: The World Is Yours (Payola Records)

The Union's third album is one that balances light and shade, by having big, ballsy rockers and some more reserved bluesy acoustic songs. The album is bookended by the instrumental Sawtooth Mountain Rise Pt.1 & 2 the first proper track is the big blues rock swagger of You're My Jesus which merges into the jangly, pop sound of Tonight I'm Alive and then the slow burning acoustic, country of Fading Out Of Love which is the first real showcase for Pete Shoulder's fantastically soulful voice. This tends to be the theme of the album with the big rock tracks, most of which have a real Zep sound to them with Luke Morley providing some very Jimmy Page style guitar passages with Shoulder providing guitar as well as some huge Hammond Organ on the slower bluesier tracks. This album could be seen as The Union having a go at recreating Physical Graffiti with lots of acoustic blues, full of with gospel and swampy country influences (see Marie Celeste) mingling with some very heavy rock tracks in the Kashmir-like title track and the almost glam stomp of Perfect Crime. This is The Union finding their own voice by merging the laid back acoustics of Shoulder's former project Winterville with the heavy rocking of Morley's on-again-off-again band Thunder. This is a great album and one that shows The Union are both men's major concern rather than just a side-project, this am album that can only be fully realised after numerous listens. 8/10

Free Fall: Power & Volume (Nuclear Blast)

Sweden is a strange country musically, the bands do tend to either be from the Gothenburg scene of melodic death metal or they tend to be from the riffed up retro scene. Free Fall are from this school of retro rock. Formed by former The Soundtrack Of Our Lives guitarist Mattias Barjed Free Fall are a four-piece garage style face punching rock band full of dirty riffs and an aggressive swagger brought by too much booze and too many women. Things kick off with pulsating drumming and angular riffage of the title track which sounds like early Zeppelin mixed with the Stooges attitude. The whole album in fact draws you to the bands obvious influences with Free Fall having that classic The Who sound (complete with some Ox style fleet fingered bass playing from Jan Martens, who has a real gift for the four strings). The band really have gripped on to the late-60's early 70's style of hard rock with Barjed bringing the clean melodic guitar stabs, on top of some powerhouse time-keeping from drummer Ludwig Dahlberg as well as the fractured, rough as hell vocals from singer Kim Frannson who is a ringer for Bon Scott as well as Cormac Neeson from Irish-Zeppelin The Answer. With a sound that brings to mind AC/DC on World Domination, early Zep and as well as spilling into psychadelia of Attila and Free Fall are ready to compete with Graveyard, The Answer and the other retro styled riffers already plying their trade. Free Fall however are set on a very strong path because of the animalistic, rough and ready strength of their song writing, this is a very exciting and very, very good record. 9/10

Steven Wilson: The Raven That Refused To Sing...And Other Stories (Kscope)

So Porcupine Tree mastermind Steven Wilson is now on his third solo album, in between Porcupine Tree touring and albums as well as mixing and producing for other bands. Wilson has experimented on his two previous solo albums but on this one he has brought everything together pitching the album somewhere between In Absentia era Porcupine Tree with some King Crimson and even some Jethro Tull flutes and woodwind on Luminol and The Holy Drinker thrown in to excite and bemuse. The genres are from a wide spectrum with rock, pop, jazz, folk, krautrock, electronica all catered for but mostly the album is a homage to the true 70's progressive bands like King Crimson (whose back catalogue Wilson remixed recently). Wilson really shows just how talented he is on this third solo record, opener Luminol is a 12 minute epic sprawling many different genres with jazzy guitars, huge Hammond and synths as well as some fantastic drumming from Marco Minnemann who shines throughout the album. In fact Wilson has acquired some fantastic musicians for this record with the lead guitars handled by Guthrie Govan who is possibly the best guitarist Britain has ever produced, as well as several musicians who are more jazz trained than rockers, keyboardist Adam Holtzman is the example. Wilson himself is no slouch as usual providing the record with his excellent vocals as well as mellotron, keys and all manner of stringed instruments. These virtuoso musicians put their sheer ability on display on every track; however there is no silly showing off, all of the musical muscle is tightly coiled to ready to be released during the course of each track. After the opener blows you away with its musical dexterity and sheer disregard for genre classification, the second track Drive Home has the acoustic pacing of a Division Bell era Pink Floyd track with a huge guitar solo crescendo from Govan. (In fact a lot of this album has elements of the Gilmour led Floyd) This moves into the jazzy, synth fuelled The Holy Drinker which has a solo from Alan Parsons, who also engineered the album (and a bloody good job he did too!). The Pin Drop follows and continues the twisted fairy tale theme that runs through the album, it is a very percussive song with a multi-layered Wilson vocal and is the most Porcupine Tree sounding track on the album. The Watchmaker is a haunting track built upon some folky guitar playing that screams Fairport Convention before the heavier guitars kick in and the track becomes almost doom like in its melancholic lyrics. Finally after the muscly build-up of the final moments of The Watchmaker the pace changes again with the title track which is full of swirling orchestrals and piano building up into an uplifting but at the same time heart-breaking song that resonates with beauty in its simplicity. This is record is not only Wilson's best solo album it's also the best album he's made in a long time. If I could give it eleven I would because it is simply flawless! 10/10

Lordi: To Beast Or Not To Beast (AFM Records)

Lordi are now on their sixth album and this time they are looking back to the horror metal of their first three albums rather than the more 80's sounding Babez For Breakfast. It has the trademark great riffage from Amen as well as the big backing vocal harmonies and Mr Lordi's evil snarl. Things kick off with We're Not Bad For The Kids (We're Worse) which is a speedy riff that is followed by the slightly weak I Luv Ugly both of the opening tracks have great solo's (something which seems to be a theme on this album as the solo count is through the roof). The first real monster (sorry) track is The Riff which is a schlock-horror rocker full of Lordi's B-movie metal. Since the last album Lordi have acquired two new members with the keys now handled by the zombie cheerleader Hella and new drummer Mana who replaced Otus (who passed away in 2012), who in turn was a replacement for long-time drummer Kita who unmasked and formed an 80's AOR band. This is a very Lordi album full of tongue-in-cheek humour and some very professional musicianship, however it's not actually a very good album with a lot of tracks that could be considered as filler with only Candy For The Cannibal, The Riff and I'm The Bestbeing what you could consider above average. I am a Lordi fan however they have produced three sub-par albums in a row now and I'm starting to get a bit tired of it. There are obviously some gimmicks that can go too far, plus the album ends with a drum solo!! 5/10

Screamer: Phoenix (High Roller Records)

High Roller Records were the home of trad metal revivalists In Solitude, Ram and Zuul. This information will tell you what Screamer sound like. Coming from Sweden (where else!?) Screamer are a dual guitar wielding, bullet belt wearing retro riffing metal band. The dual leads have all the hallmarks of Thin Lizzy and early Iron Maiden with the vocals of Christoffer Svensson sound an awful lot like Diamond Head's Sean Harris with his croon, the band also have a lot in common with Diamond Head as they mix NWOBHM riffage with some more progressive passages with hard rock tendencies. With tracks like Demon Rider, Far Away From Home (which has lots of woahing, which is always welcome) and the title track, this is an album of excellently executed traditional metal album full of skilful guitar playing, galloping bass and some powerful and even soulful vocals see the tremendous Red Moon Rising. For fans of retro metal or anything that makes you want to re-live your 80's metal days but brought right up to date from a young and hungry band, this album will be right up your street. 8/10

Breed 77, Left Unscarred, For The Imperium, Seven Deadly. Bogiez Cardiff

So another night in Cardiff for yet another cavalcade of bands. This time the headliners were Gibraltar biggest (only?) heavy metal band Breed 77. So with the lights going down it was time to start:

Seven Deadly

Many long-time readers will know about my affinity with Seven Deadly and their previous incarnation as Panic Cell. I was happy to see that they have changed very little since I saw their debut gig in the same venue but they have seemed to gained a lot more confidence as a cohesive unit with all the members playing with total skill, professionalism but most of all passion. In fact guitarist H got so passionate he broke the strings off his guitar Joey De Maio style. Bobby and Rob's rhythm section was hard and heavy, the guitars were rounded out by Dave Irving who also provides some good facial expressions and backing vocals, one of the keys to the bands appeal are the excellent vocals of Archie who seamlessly blends screams and clean vocals and is an extremely affable and laid back frontman. The set was a short one but it featured the hard hitting modern metal from their debut and ended with the awesome From This Darkness which is the best Killswitch Engage song they have never written. A great start to the night, just a full length now please! 8/10

For The Imperium

Hailing from Helsinki, For The Imperium play metal with an avant-garde tendency apparently, well form what I saw and heard the band were a mix of Korn style Nu-metal mixed with pop-punk. As I find Korn extremely boring musically (my opinion) and I'm not a huge pop-punk fan either, For The Imperium really didn't do it for me at all. While they were very boisterous and presented a very good live spectacle with lots of energy musically they were not my cup of tea. 5/10

Left Unscarred

Metalcore is probably one of the most divisive genres in music, for every great band there are in this genre there are also hundreds of crap ones and unfortunately Left Unscarred fall in to this category. The band played middle of the road, meat and potatoes, metalcore that for me lacked any style to set it apart from any other band. There was just trudging riffs and some long winded breakdowns, Left Unscarred just left me with an overarching sense of 'meh' I'm afraid. 4/10

Breed 77

Luckily they were followed by the excellent Breed 77 who have been honing their craft since the early 2000's but have yet to ascend to any major heights, due to a lot of management troubles. After coming back from the brink with the great Insects the band are now touring new album The Evil Inside. Only Breed could open the proceeding with a new song called Drown before going into the classic Blind which was followed by another newie Looking For Myself. Breed 77 were on fire with the new stuff being welcomed like classics and causing massive amounts of jumping, moshing and headbanging. This may have been because Breed were playing to a hardcore, partisan but small crowd, the explanation for this was that Cancer Bats were playing in the University. However Breed played like their lives depended on it with Battle Of Hatin causing a very strong pit. The instrumentation was excellent with the mix of metal and Latin still inspiring to watch however Breed's ace in the pack is the totally unique voice of Paul Isola who commands the stage perfectly and has one of the best voices in metal. Things took a sing along turn in middle of the set with a heavy cover of Alice Cooper's Poison thrown in before two new ones and the end of the set with two classics in the form of Insects and La Ultima Hora mixed with new song Low. The band returned for the encore of the mellow The River before trying to destroy the venue with their cover of The Cranberries' Zombie. Breed 77's new tracks were very good and I look forward to listening to the album but they showed tonight why they are such a great live band, catch them when they come again. 8/10

Saxon: Sacrifice (UDR)

After toying with power metal, progressive metal and even big symphonic metal elements on previous efforts, on this their 20th album Saxon have decided to make a pure Saxon record full of stripped back, heavy rocking classic British metal. The guitars of Paul Quinn and Doug Scarrat rip and shred with tight proficiency, the drums of Neil Glocker smash like hammers especially on the Titanic (sorry) Made In Belfast and Nibbs Carters bass rumbles like thunder. Biff too is still on top form wailing and crooning like it was 1980. The return to the old NWOBHM style might be due to producer Andy Sneap who is a massive retro metal fan; he also loves a good solo of which there are loads on this album. The lyrical content harks back to historical with the Celtic-flavoured Made In Belfast, the Aztec worshipping title track, the Egyptian Guardians Of The Tomb which may have been pinched from Maiden's Powerslave album. There is also the obligatory song about motorbikes in the form of the speedy Warriors Of The Road as well as one about rock n roll with Stand Up And Fight and also signs that Biff is turning into a very grumpy old man by moaning about queuing on Standing In A Queue. This is an album that harks back to Saxon's glory days and is the perfect fodder for old fans and recent converts as it blends the modern production with classic songwriting. As their contemporaries Maiden and Priest move into more progressive places Saxon have looked backward and are back on their wheels of steel (sorry again) 8/10

Clutch: Earth Rocker (Weathermaker Music)

Neil Fallon and his Maryland rockers come back with their 10th album and their second on their own label. Sonically it's your normal superb Clutch fare with the title track kicking things off in fine style with a big country/blues riff and the strange vocal delivery of Fallon. Crucial Velocity has a powerhouse; unrelenting riff that bulldozes everything in its way and is a counterpoint to the organ drenched Mr Freedom that follows. Again this album blends blues, country, hard rock, stoner metal and punk sometimes in the same song but this is all part of Clutch's sound the mix of genres make you want to just grab something to inebriate you and just party. Every track full of great guitar riffs and funked up bass and powerhouse drumming, like with every Clutch album Fallon is the focal point, his voice is excellent and his lyrics are second to none with some very intelligent phrasing and some interesting mentions (like the large Hadron Collider in Unto The Breach) The first five songs are full on rockers but the album takes a break with the swamp blues of Gone Cold on which Fallon does his best Zappa-style croon, this is before The Face brings back the head banging with a low-down dirty riff and the trend continues from there. However none of my reviewing is relevant this is a Clutch album if you know the band then you know what it's going to sound like, if you don't know the band buy the album and experience one of the most exciting bands on the rock circuit (and then see them live!) 9/10

Breed 77: The Evil Inside (Frostbyte Media)

Breed 77 have been on the fringes of success for so long that some may think they will always be metals nearly men. Before they were more of a Latin based nu metal band now they blend flamenco guitars with some seriously heavy metal. This album brings the more serious and aggressive style from Insects and multiplies it. With tracks like Drown which has a metallic crunch that continues on the Fear and Broken Pieces. However Breed 77 haven't completely abandoned they're alternative metal roots with the very Creed like and possible radio hit Looking For Myself which is followed by the flamenco flavoured Bring On The Rain before the super heavy Low comes back to punch you in the guts again. The bass and drums bludgeon on every track providing an iron clad bottom end, topped by the great guitar work from Danny Felice and Pedro Caparros Lopez who meld the two genres brilliantly as usual and also pull off some fantastic solos, as usual Breed 77's real power comes from vocalist Paul Isola who is one of the most unique vocalists in metal. This is a very good album, that is hard heavy and weaves genres intricately together but with the right promotion (something that has eluded Breed 77) they could become a real power player 5 albums into their career. 8/10

Amaranthe: The Nexus (Spinefarm)

Swedes Amaranthe have finally released their second album and again they have brought together melodic death metal, power metal and also huge doses of European electro pop to create a unique soundscape. The band is the brainchild of guitarist/keyboardists Olaf Morck, who brings the riffs and solos as well as the big electronics with some dubstep influences on opener Afterlife. The power of the band lays with their three vocalists; the saccharine pop voice of Elise Ryd who has collaborated with Kamelot, the hard rock styling’s of Jake E and the harsh barks of Andreas Solvestrom, this vocal trifecta separate the band from others trying to mix the metal/pop ideals, like I said the guitars are great as are the bass and drums but it’s the keys that make this band as on their own they would be more at home in trance club than on a metal record, but mixed with the traditional metal instruments it brings to mind a poppier more upbeat Rammstein style of industrial metal. This is another part of Amaranthes appeal they are very uplifting to listen to every song is full off poppy major keys and shout along choruses, see the title track (which features another very theatrical video) the pace is relentless with every song coming out of the speakers at 100 miles an hour in a wall of sound. Until the obligatory ballad of Burn With Me which features just Jake and Elize and is followed by Mechanical Illusion that has the kick drums and harsh vocals of the Gothenburg scene. People may see the obvious Nightwish influences (as well as some Kamelot ones) with the female vocals and power metal delivery (even the name is based on a Nightwish song) however Amaranthe have managed create their own niche by mashing up genres and creating a very uplifting and spirited follow up to their debut. 8/10

Adrenaline Mob: Coverta (Self Released)

This is a covers EP from metal supergroup Adrenaline Mob. The EP features some riffed up covers of rock classics, things kick off with High Wire originally by Badlands and it is very good cover full of hard rocking guitars and some funk bass from new bassist ex-Disturbed man John Moyer. Next is the first of three songs originally sung by the legendary Ronnie James Dio; this one is the freight train-like riff of Stand Up And Shout, the others are the Rainbow standard Kill The King and the final one is Mob Rules (which was the first song the band ever released and their namesake). There are some odd choices with Mike Portnoy's thumping percussion driving an adrenaline (no pun intended) fuelled version of The Doors Break On Through as well as Van Halen's Romeo's Delight which is the perfect showcase for guitar virtuoso Mike Orlando (and features a few choice guitar solos thrown in the middle). Heart's Barracuda is also an interesting, but excellent choice with that awesome riff propelling along at a hell of a pace and Russell Allen's vocals matching those of Ann Wilson. This is a nice throwaway stopgap EP that lets this virtuoso band show off their chops by paying homage to their heroes while avoiding resorting to covers of their day jobs. 7/10

Lost Society: Fast Loud Death (Nuclear Blast)

With an album title called Fast Loud Death Lost Society can only be a thrash band and when the opening track NWL kicks in you think that this could be classic Testament album. Lost Society come from Finland and after winning a global battle of the bands they have released their debut album and it has all the hallmarks of classic 1980's Bay Area Thrash, the band sound very similar to the aforementioned Testament, mixed with Anthrax and even a bit of Exodus thrown in. They play at a level that is far more professional than their years suggest (the average age of the band is 19) and shred with such tenacity that you can't help be impressed and very bloody jealous. This is strong album with some short, sharp blasts of light speed riffing, jackhammer drumming and some snarled vocals from Samy Elbana which add a little bit of a modern touch to proceedings. However the rest of the album is pure high top wearing thrash fury with tracks like the unbelievably fast Kill (All Those Who Oppose Me) and the blitzkrieg of the title track Lost Society have crafted an excellent thrash album that will stand up to anything from the era with its ballsy, hard partying ethos. The perfect album for anyone that loves running around in circles at festivals and drinking lots of beer! Pure Finnish, Thrash, fury! 9/10

Voodoo Circle: More Than One Way Home (AFM Records)

Alex Beyrodt, David Readman and Matt Sinner return with their third album of classic hard rock. Since the previous record nearly their entire Rainbow sound and Blackmore style playing of Beyrodt has been stripped away to make way for a more bluesy based rocking in the style of Messer Coverdale and friends. This is not to say that they have lost any of their power, in fact they have gained a lot of bar room grittiness with some crunching guitars and soaring solos from Beyrodt who also plays the strings in Sinner's other bands Primal Fear and also Sinner. Speaking of Sinner he provides a driving bass beat which anchors the smashing drums all of which is topped by the huge Hammond organs and keys of Jimmy Kresic and the awesome vocals of Brit David Readman who is a dead ringer for Coverdale in the vocal department with his strong bluesy bellow, the songs all have a hard rock swagger with opener Graveyard City bringing to mind prime 1987 era 'Snake, the epic Heart Of Babylon having a very Still Of The Night vibe to it, however with Ghost In Your Heart is led by very Perfect Strangers style organ riff and ends with some Zeppelin orchestration. The band also has some 'Snake-like ballads with the acoustic Alissa and Cry For Love which features a searing solo. This is another great hard rocking album from Voodoo Circle who have been one of the most consistent new bands to come on to the scene in a while, three albums in and their song writing is still top notch with every member showing how skilled they are and how well they gel as a group. Let's hope that they can find time to tour between Sinner and Beyrodt's other jobs. 9/10

Serenity: War Of Ages (Napalm)

I have always been a fan of Austrian's Serenity and their progressive/power metal style that has much in common with Finns Sonata Arctica and American's Kamelot. However I've always thought Georg Neuhauser has a great voice and is more than capable of carrying the band by himself, however the band have always had female guest vocalists on their albums much like Kamelot have, but when I saw that this album featured Clementine Delauney (who was with them on their tour as a guest member) as a second vocalist, I was not shocked but a little surprised that they thought they needed to have dual vocal, when Kamelot still use either backing tapes or the occasional guest vocal from Simone Simmons (who is technically a band member!) All of my worries were dispelled when I played the record however as the band haven’t turned into Lacuna Coil style dual vocal band. The heavy riffing and powerful blast beat drumming is still in place and Georg still is the lead vocalist however Clementine provides extra vocals on the choruses and is purely there to bolster and counterpoint the dramatic power of Georg's voice and the orchestral backed, choir filled and music of the band. Clemetine shines when she is given the room too especially on the beautiful ballad For Freedom's Sake which is a duet with Neuhauser as well as her other lead vocals on tracks like Age Of Glory. She has a fantastic voice which not too overpowering but classical enough to match Neuhauser’s admirably. This is another excellent album from the Austrians with some killer guitars; double kick drumming, lots of complex orchestration and arrangements. They even have a great cover of Queen's beautiful Love Of My Life on the limited version. Serenity have added another string to their bow with a second vocalist and have pulled out yet another seriously good album for genre fans. 9/10

Kvelertak: Meir (Roadrunner Records)

Kvelertak (whose name is Norwegian for stranglehold) have always been something of an anomaly in the metal world as they fuse screaming hardcore/BM vocals with some punked up rock and roll riffage. This means that the band themselves always go for the throat with a very aggressive delivery see Bruane Benn which has a super speedy riff but some big classic rock style soloing. For a band that perform in Norwegian they have some huge hooks and some meaty riffage, which lends them a very good sound that is similar to Americans Valient Thorr mixed with some AC/DC (especially on Undertro). The songs are all a bit similar full of blazing riffage and the barked vocals of Erland Hjelvik but with a band like Kvelertak the similarities of the tracks doesn't matter this is a band that are purely exist so people can have a good time. The triple guitar sound is excellent with all three creating a deafening wall of noise as well as providing some country style acoustics on tracks like Spring Fra Livet and Evig Vandrar. This is an album of noisy rock and roll with a punk attitude and some cracking tunes thrown in, Kvelertak have the sound of a band made for the live circuit and if they are anywhere near as good live as they are on record they are worth seeing (shame I was working last time they came D'oh!) 8/10

Biffy Clyro - Motorpoint Arena Cardiff

Thanks go to Nick Hewitt for his review

So I went into this concert more as a follower than a fan of Biffy Clyro, meaning my expectations were somewhat hard to place having seen mixed live performances from videos online etc.

With the stage being surrounded by a simple white curtain glowing with a purple light there was almost a mood of tension in the air. Then, from nowhere Simon Neil appears sending the crowd into raptures as he breaks into the acoustic opening of Different People. As the chorus kicked in the curtain dropped to the ground revealing the remainder of the band (James and Ben Johnston) and a stage design the can only be described as tree shaped as the human respiratory system, this sent the crowd into mass hysteria.

The first couple of songs were very much from the rocky section of Biffy’s catalogue, with the lads showing off new and old tracks such as That Golden Rule, Sounds Like Balloons and the new track Black Chandelier, all of which bringing the crowd to the top of their voices for the anthem like choruses. Listening to these tracks the one thing I couldn’t get of head was; “this band are actually quite heavy!” the albums, although good, do not do this band justice. Breakdown after breakdown within the tracks showed off the talent and energy Biffy Clyro possess. James Johnston’s bass booming through the background giving the sound real depth… this is how live, rock should be. Eventually the crowd and band alike were given a break with brilliant emotional tracks that include Biblical, A Day Of and the outstanding acoustic God & Satan, but not before the bouncing track of Bubblesaccompanied by smoke cannons galore!

As the 26 song set drew to a close the crowd favourites and anthems were pulled out of the bag… and with style. The lads proceeded to dish out classics such as Many of Horror, The Captain and Machines. Finishing with the world famous Mountains, led as to be expected, by the sold out Cardiff crowd. I have been to a lot of concerts in my time, but on very few occasions have I seen a band attack a set with such relentless energy and passion. Simon Neil was visibly flagging as he walked off the stage but still beaming with a smile, surely this is how live music should be? Biffy Clyro are a band that are clearly proud of the music they produce and want to deliver it with only the drive that it deserves, and WOW! Did they? Were we spoiled! My only criticism of the night would be that being a 26 song set there was very little interaction with the crowd, making the set feel rushed on occasion. But does this matter… not really. Leaving this gig I feel I am now a fan of Biffy Clyro and look forward to seeing them again the future. 9/10

Jagermeister Tour: Ghost, Gojira, The Defiled & Revoker, Bristol O2 Academy

Once again into the horrible Bristol Academy and once more on to the balcony for 2013's Jagermeister Tour. With tickets at £5 last year’s sold out in record time, this year’s however hadn't that could be due to the niche and admittedly mixed nature of the bands on the bill. They cast a wide net with the 70's style occultist rockers Ghost headlining over Gojira who had their own headline tour earlier in the year. However the place was quite full mainly due to the price although the amount of people fluctuated throughout the night.

Revoker

All of the openers on this tour were local bands and Revoker are local to Bristol, apparently, even though they noticeably hail from the Rhymney Valley. All that aside they were a good warm up storming through a short set of their best songs and one from their long awaited second album. The band are tight and professional but still always seem a bit lost in big rooms. Still a good warm up act from this 'local' act. 7/10

The Defiled

A band that I've never seen and quite frankly I wouldn't want to see them again as they really did nothing for me. They came onto the stage like a militarised Goth band all black eyeliner and camo. The singer looked like Robert Smith/Nikki Sixx and sang like so many popular core bands which was completely at odds with his posh speaking voice. The rest of the band stood completely still in their delivery with only the preening 'keyboardist' AVD having any movement about him. As far as the music was concerned it mixed from breakdown heavy metal to self-hating emo-core. The Defiled had fans in the crowd I personally will not be seeing them again as they are a bit too boring for my tastes. 4/10

Gojira

Finally the band that the majority of the crowd came to see, and the first that were a dead cert to be liked by everyone. Gojira are possibly one of the heaviest live acts on the circuit and even when above the stage you can still feel the heavy down tuned playing and wall of sound riffage that these Frenchmen are known for. This was a celebratory almost greatest hits set with Backbone, Flying Whales, The Heaviest Matter In The Universe, Ourobouros and Toxic Garbage Island all included in the set with three also coming from the newest album L'Enfaunt Sauvage. All of the songs killed causing huge pits to form in the centre of the room. the band were as usual extremely tight with the Duplantier brothers causing hell on rhythm guitar and drums respectively while bassist John Labadie jumped around the stage like a mad man. Gojira played their nine song set to perfection and easily destroyed all of the fans in attendance with their very heavy metal, it was nice to see them play a concise powerful set as they brought the pain with every song as their man set can become a bit too much with the constant brutality. 9/10

Ghost

Then came the mass exodus, most of the venue emptied after Gojira's set showing that there are always perils with these wide net bills. Still the faithful stayed and after a lengthy set up the bells began to toll Ghost's arrival the intro of Jocelyn Pook's Carnival came over the P.A as the 5 hooded ghouls came to the stage and began busting out the hard rock riffage. The twin leads blazed and the organ was being flared up wildly for the first track Infestissuman which is the title track off their not yet released second album. They followed this with another new one in the shape of Per Aspera Ad Inferi both of these tracks fitted brilliantly and were explosive enough to get the crowd going from the off. The mysterious Papa Emeritus II (same man different character) still had the same slow theatrical stage crafted he exerts with cardinal outfit and skull mask still in place. His voice is highly vocoadered so and the band have lots of backing tapes so you can't really tell how good his voice actually is but Ghost are all about the presentation and they have a lot of that with their occult mystique. Most of their debut was aired with Death Knell, Stand By Him, Prime Mover, Satan Prayer and Ritual all still great live songs. However the real delight lay with the new tracks of which the two openers and Year Zero were the best but all of them bode well for a second album. Ghost can put on a great show and this has gained them a cult following, however they seemed out of place on this tour with three very heavy bands and they also need to get a slightly different stage shtick if they don't want to become a bit repetitive in the live arena. 8/10

Collapse: Arms And The Covenant (Transcend Music)

Collapse have been hotly tipped to be the "next big thing" in British metal and having seen them on the live circuit a few times I can say that personally every time they have impressed me with their stage presence and most of all their songs. So needless to say I was looking forward to hearing their debut album. Things kick off in furiously aggressive style with the full-on heavy as hell riffage of the title track which blends melodic and thrashy guitars lines; with a crushing bottom end and the explosive drumming of Rainer Gronholm & Scott Harris respectively, all of which is topped by the growled vocals of frontman Duncan Wilkinson who doesn't do the normal clean/screamed thing relying purely on the Randy Blythe like roar for the whole album. As far as comparisons go Lamb Of God is a good one, as are tour mates Devildriver (who's Mike Spreitzer handles the mix). Guitarists Andy Ongley and Christian Stevens are excellent peeling off face melting riffs and solos as well as knowing when to slow things down and just hit with a very heavy groove on tracks like The Cursed. The standout tracks on the album are the opening title track, as well as the ferocious Bloodlet, the groove filled Of Iron and the melodic metal assault of Heartwork.Collapse have always impressed me live and their live power is translated perfectly on this album with every track going for the jugular and not letting go until all the life has been drained out of you. This precision metal assault is bolstered by the crisp production which lets every track explode the speakers. My one gripe would be the track list as does seem a little fractured with a few things re-jigged the album would flow better. However this is only a small thing this is a very accomplished debut that more than supports the "next big thing" hyperbole, prime British metal! Play it loud and proud! 8/10

Neuronspoiler: Emergence (Self Release)

This is Neuronspoiler’s debut and unlike the other two bands in this review they peddle classic thrash inspired traditional heavy metal, full of duelling guitars, galloping bass lines, crashing drums and siren-like vocals. Opening track Through Hell We March perfectly distils this sound with the classic metal riffage of David Del Cid and Dave Shirman and the helium fuelled European metal vocals of JR, what follows is 10 tracks of top notch retro metal mixing Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and even some early Van Halen to great effect (especially in the solo's which are breath-taking in some places). The workhorse riffage of Take The Stage is a tribute to the road, Irreverent is a bouncy rocker with a killer solo, and Act Of Defiance brings an instrumental break that leads into the bass-led Invincible Man which is a fist pounding rocker with another superb solo. All of the tracks on this album are made for the live arena and hark back to metals glory days, Neuronspoiler play the same kind of retro- revivalist metal as Enforcer, Grand Magus, Cauldron, Screamer et al. but unlike a lot of the bands in the revival they do it very well by writing some great songs and not sticking rigidly to the genre boundaries meaning they are unafraid to adapt their sound where needed. They even have a ballad in the shape of the 7 minute Dying Worlds which has a change in pace worthy of a Maiden epic. For fans of any traditional metal this is a must however some may be put off by the vocals which can be a little bit overpowering and are sometimes not as strong in the lower register however for me this is great album full of some stunning fret board workouts and horn throwing tunes! 8/10

Vanadium: Heaven's Epithet Of Lives Lost (Self Release)

Vanadium hail from the shores of...Devon...but don't let that fool you into thinking of folky strumming, this is out and out heavy metal. The four piece have delivered an EP (of 8 songs which was a full album back in the day) that is full of some propulsive head smashing heavy metal. Things start off slow with the opening instrumental of Epithet before Nailstorm hits you like a bomb of its name sake, the riffs rip like a buzz saw and the drums hammer with a full on assault (I'll give the DIY puns a break now) The vocals too are very good; growled but audible and clear and sound a lot like the current wave of American metal bands like Machine Head or Lamb of God. The tracks bring thrashy riffs and big metal grooves (see final track Legion Of I) twinned with some Iron Maiden style twin guitar leads and complex progressive song writing. The EP is punctuated by short instrumental interludes which breaks from the relentless riffage (and makes the actual track count 5) but they aren't really needed meaning the album is broken up a bit too much. This is a great EP from a Devon based band that have all the hallmarks of modern American metal, but add some genuinely inspired progression to proceedings. A very good debut EP from these Brit metallers! 7/10

Spock's Beard: Brief Nocturnes And Dreamless Sleep (InsideOut Music)

Veteran proggers return with their eleventh album and their third singer. Long-time frontman/drummer Nick D'Virgillo and was replaced on the sticks by touring drummer Jimmy Keegan and behind the mic by former Enchant man Ted Leonard, this is a genius piece or hiring as Enchant have always been similar to Spock's Beard's style of song based prog where virtuosity takes a back seat to song writing, Spock's Beard have always been a song writing band with every member contributing, Leonard fits in amicably handling all of the writing duties for the opening track Hiding Out which is filled with big keyboard riff from Ryo Okumoto and then the unique melodic and soaring guitars of founder member Alan Morse. This is an album that sees Spock's Beard going back to their roots with long expansive tracks (all clock in at more than 5minutes) with the carnival folk of A Treasure Abandoned which is driven by some truly great keys and organs and with a huge crescendo. This is mixed in with the strong rock ballad Submerged the jazzy and electronic Afterthoughts and the album ends with the epic Waiting For Me (which was co-written by original vocalist Neal Morse). Every track is filled with great musicianship and some very intelligent and sometimes thought provoking lyrics. At 7 tracks (11 on the special edition) this is a very good album full and the sound of a band revitalised with new members after the concise pop sound of their last album X. With Leonard fronting the band he they will continue to provide energizing, emotive and in places excellent progressive rock. 8/10

Von Hertzen Brothers: Nine Lives (Spinefarm Records)

The Finnish trio of prog have again produced an album that stretches far beyond the realms of prog bringing in pop, alternate rock, jazz many other forms of music into one melting pot of an album. The Von Hertzen Brothers have always tried to challenge listeners and have done so again on this record with the myriad of influences. From the off they try to disorient and engage with the relentless rock of Insomnia to the euphoria of Flowers And Rust, before Lost In Time brings a doomy Sabbath vibe to the proceedings with its sledgehammer riffage, then we have the dreamy melancholic have of One May Never Know which segues into the almost choral chamber music of World Without which itself becomes a Pink Floyd song if they played with Asian instruments. The hallmarks of many great bands are here with Pink Floyd and King Crimson being the two major influences, however Mikko's voice sounds like Cornell's when he's in his upper range so some tracks have that Soundgarden edge to them. This five piece are all excellent musicians with the keyboardist Juha and drummer Mikko Kaakkuriniemi both adding their own talent to the brothers soundscapes. The brothers themselves hold down the string instruments (two sixes and a four) as well as a myriad of other instruments (I can pick out Balalaika, Theremin, banjo as a start) and the huge vocal harmonies. Again the VHB have created a fantastic, engaging and unique record that enthrals with its musicality. 9/10

Audrey Horne: Youngblood (Napalm Records)

Audrey Horne are now on their fourth album and follow a trend of Black metal musicians forming hard rock side projects. Audrey Horne features members of Enslaved and Sahg, founding guitarists Ice Dale (Arve Isdal) and Thomas Tofthagen, like I said much like Shagrath's side project Chrome Division, this is full on classic hard rock with some shredding dual guitars, pounding bass lines and some killer drums which is moving away from the slightly grungy sound of their previous records. The band have elements of early Van Halen, AC/DC and mostly KISS with tattooed vocalist Toschie having an uncannily Paul Stanley like voice. All of the tracks on this record are great with the propulsive Straight Into Your Grave, the melodic and uplifting title track, the acca dacca swagger of There Goes A Lady and the trippy ride of The Open Sea. Audrey Horne have been producing quality albums for a while now and Youngblood is another cracker, it has 11 awesome tracks all featuring some shredding guitars and solos as well as Toschie's great vocals. Another album brimming with cocksure hard rock power that once again why Audrey Horne are a great rock band, it's just a shame they are still on the fringes of the success mainly because of Isdal's workload in Enslaved, hopefully this release will see them propelled to the headliner status they deserve! 9/10

Hawkwind Cardiff Coal Exchange

Thanks to Paul Hutchings for his review

I had been waiting for this gig with unexplainable levels of excitement. I can’t put my finger on what it is about Hawkwind I love so much and maybe that’s it. How do you categorise them? At times completely bonkers, often wandering off into different orbits but always with that swirling space rock sound that is so definitely theirs. The Coal Exchange was the destination for their latest visit to Cardiff and a healthy turnout greeted the support band. A Polish trio whose name I’m afraid I’ve totally forgotten (They were apparently Hipiersonik - Ed). They were good value though, playing fusion type jazz rock, plenty of saxophone and sampling, rapping and generally a little different.

Onto the main event, and with the audience swelling, mainly due to the expansion in waistlines, Hawkwind took to the stage. Throughout the show there was an ever changing psychedelic backdrop which amply supported the dancers and various creatures that prowled the front of the stage. I’ve always loved the fact that they take a little bit of trouble to put on a show and this was no exception with some great lighting too. As for the music, well, with 26 albums to choose from it is always hard to know what will come at you but some things in life can be predicted. Set opener Master Of The Universe was a given, with Dave Brock content to leave the imposing Mr Dibs to take centre stage on vocals and bass/cello. To his right Tim Blake prowled with his keys, but never far too far away from the apple Macs that run much of their trade mark space sounds. The band moved into You’d Better Believe It, which really did head off on its own for a good while before they powered through two tracks from 2012’s excellent Onward, namely Seasons and The Hills Have Eyes.

Then it was back to 1975 for the Warrior At The Edge Of Time. Now even though I was 5 when this first came out, I’ve always loved the album and it was a joy to see it performed. Opener Assault and Battery Part II is an all-time classic and the album also contains one of my favourites, Magnu. The audience were in their element, many of the old school singing along to ever track, whilst the band were extremely tight, and throughout it all maintaining that unique space rock sound that drives through the heart of all their stuff. All too quickly Kings Of Speed (no prizes for the subject matter) brought the main set to a close and was quickly followed by wild card of the night, a lengthy rendition of Arrival In Utopia, before the traditional Silver Machine rounded off a great night’s entertainment. If you’ve never seen these guys live then give it a go next time - a truly magical experience. 9/10

Footnote: During the gig I got quite annoyed when the band finished Warrior At The Edge Of Time with Kings Of Speed as my version has the bonus of the original Motorhead as the last track. However, a bit of research has corrected my view and I am at peace with them once more.

Scar Symmetry, Beholder & Bloodshot Dawn: Bogiez Cardiff

Another nice tour line up bringing together three similar but still different bands. This was the final night of the tour and the whole gig was filled with pranks, madness and general high jinks that are the norm on the last date. But as the lights went down the show began.

Bloodshot Dawn

After the instrumental intro had ended the band began the barrage of explosively tight riffage straight from the off with first track Becoming Oblivion. I have heard nothing but good things about Bloodshot Dawn and thankfully they were all true, the band are very impressive, they play their brand of melodic death metal with the utmost precision, both guitarists Josh and Ben firing off riffs like lasers bent on decapitating the audience who lapped it up banging their heads along with the enthused band. The band had very little movement mainly due their stage banners however very little was needed as they ripped out riffs and peeled out solos, Josh also has a very good DM guttural roar however it was very hard to hear it still they delivered a great set full of some extremely tight, face melting melo-death, plus a stage invasion from a half-naked robot man! A band well worth seeing if you want to just bang your head and be astounded by some technical guitar playing! Praise also to their stand in drummer who learnt all of the songs just before the tour! 8/10

Beholder

Again another band I've wanted to see for a while and on the night I was disappointed, however in the cold light of day I can see that this wasn't because of the band. The drums and bass smashed into you and the guitars let fly with aplomb pull out heavy riff after heavy riff. Beholders new stuff merges well with their old and the thrashier passages were perfect for people to pit. However this seems to be the problem, Beholder are a band that feed off the energy of the crowd and on this night there didn't seem to be much, very small pits and a lot of standing around seemed to be the order of the day during Beholder's set much to the chagrin of man mountain frontman Simon Neil, who was on top form vocally. Again their set was filled with strange goings on mainly from the Bloodshot Dawn boys but songs like Liars did connect with the crowd but they did seem a bit reserved. Beholder had the best sound of the night but in my opinion they need to feed off the crowd to really get going and the already quite sparse crowd didn't help matters by standing still for the majority of the set. Beholder are a band that have had some tough breaks in their career and are steadily trying to work their way back. However on this night the crowd weren't really feeling it as much as they should have been considering how much power and professionalism the band were showing. 7/10

Scar Symmetry

So onto the headliners and I think the reason for a lot of tonight’s criticism, any band that have two lead vocalists will always be hard to engineer sound wise and Scar Symmetry proved that. From the off the sound was muddy with only one guitar in place of the usual two which didn't sound right despite Per Nilsson doing his best, the drums were too loud and the bass was no-existent. I was initially shocked as Bogiez usually has a very good sound so I came to the conclusion that it must have been something to do with the band. Then came the vocals and this is where the night unravelled Roberth Karlsson can growl very well and can even do some pretty strong cleans when needed however Lars Blomqvist has a good mid but his high vocals are awful, he was not able to hit many of the notes and this was added to by the very muddy sound meaning for large sections of the gig he was inaudible. It led me to the conclusion that sometimes two is not always greater than one as former vocalist Christian Alvestam handled both excellently from what I have seen. Despite these technical issues the crowd seemed to be lapping up the Scandi melo-death. Per Nilsson is a very good guitarist but the pre-taped keys did little to help his one man guitar showing. In conclusion then as a band Scar Symmetry are very technical and have some great songs like closer The Illusionist but tonight they were let down by the very poor sound which meant you could really hear anything that clearly. 6/10

Stone Sour: House Of Gold & Bones Part 2 (Roadrunner)

So the second part of Corey Taylor and co.’s two part concept opus and I was impressed with the first part http://musipediaofmetal.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/reviews-stone-sour-triaxis-doogie-white.html. And I continue to be impressed with this second part, the record opens with a funeral doom-like dirge in the shape of Red City which sees Taylor singing and then reverting to Slipknot mode with his guttural scream. Next up is the heavy metal riffage of Black John which is classic Stone Sour with big riffs and Taylor's intelligent lyrics. The solos from the first part are still firmly in place with Jim Root and Josh Rand both showing off in great style. The introspective Sadist follows which starts off with a clean arpeggio before the heaviness kicks in with a vengeance. The dark, brooding side to Stone Sour seems to be the one on display most on this record, all of the songs have a bad atmosphere around them and most stick to this style throughout, Peckinpah (which is not about the director) again starts at a moody pace and then picks up the tempo for the bridge, what I also noticed on this album is the usage of keys and pianos to add atmosphere, even on the faster paced tracks like Stalemate they are still featured as well as the electronic pulses on '82 and also the haunting electronic Blue Smoke before it breaks into the heavy industrial barrage of Do Me A Favour. On its own this is another good album but one that shows the more conceptual nature of this project. Part 1 was a collection of songs; part 2 is a lot more like a thematic soundtrack. It is when this album is played with part 1 that it really shines through, they are two parts of one whole and together they build to one great album. 8/10

Glory Hammer: Songs From The Kingdom Of Fife (Napalm Records)

Chris Bowes is the mastermind (or is that Captain?) of Pirate metal band Alestorm however this is his new side project on which he only plays keyboards letting Thomas Winkler handle the vocals. Winkler does a very good job having that classic power metal voice. The rest of the band too are excellent with bass and drums of James Cartwright and Ben Turk galloping throughout and the guitar of Paul Templing providing the riffs and the stirring solos. Bowes' keys are obviously quite prominent to providing the orchestral back drop to this concept album. Ah yes I forgot to mention this is a concept album about the alternate history of Fife, focusing on magic, swords and sorcery. It makes for a very entertaining and slightly cheesy listen and means they share a lot of audible similarities (as well as a name) with power metal legends Hammerfall with the big keyboards of Swede conquers Sabaton. The conceptual and swords and sorcery style also means that they can get away with titles such as The Unicorn Invasion Of Dundee, Silent Tears Of Frozen Princess and the ten minute The Epic Rage Of Furious Thunder. This is not music to be taken seriously with a po face, its music that will give you a shit eating grin and make you raise your fist (sword/shield/mace delete where applicable) in the air! Chris Bowes has set himself up nicely for when he inevitably runs out of songs about rum. 7/10

Warbeast: Destroy (Housecore Records)

Phillip Anselmo's protégés have released their second album off the back of their split EP with the man himself. Warbeast are a traditional thrash band that sound like Slayer, Exodus et al. After the very Slayer-like instrumental of Cryogenic Thawout it’s on the second track Nightmare In The Sky that the riffs begin to fly like ninja death stars. The song is propelled by some light speed drumming as well as the aforementioned guitar blitz of Bobby Tilloston and Scott Shelby. The songs move from pit forming thrash, face smashing hardcore and head crushing doom, but for the most part this is angry violent old school thrash metal full of snarling riffs and the scarred shouted vocals of frontman Bruce Corbitt. The album is produced by Phil Anselmo and he keeps it old school having the very analogue 'live in the studio' feel to the record meaning that you will either love it or hate it. The band have some serious riffs and songs but on the whole they are a run of the mill thrash band. Those who still rock the high tops will lap this up however everyone else will play once and then only again at parties. 6/10

Von Hertzen Brothers, Haken & Enochian Theory, Bogiez Cardiff

Once more into the bowels of Cardiff however this time it was for an entirely more cerebral affair, this was a night of prog rock and my what a night it was.

Enochian Theory

First up was Enochian Theory who I have heard of but I have never heard and from the opening 10 seconds I wondered where I had been. These three men deliver a fantastic modern progressive rock noise that was enthralling to behold. With some excellent drumming and bass work keeping the off kilter and melodic rhythm it was up to singer/guitarist to work his magic over the six strings providing a sprawling musical base for his soft vocals. The perfect openers to the night Enochian Theory won me over with their sprawling modern prog with a dark heart that put me in mind of Porcupine Tree. 8/10

Haken

I love Haken on album; both of their records are fantastic slices of British prog rock with some metal crunch to them. This was my first time seeing them live and they are very good, with all 6 members filling the stage, Haken immediately burst into Drowning In The Flood which featured the fantastic arpeggio guitar playing of virtuoso player and founder Richard Hensall who is backed by Charles Griffiths on second six string as they dual with the extremely melodic keys and electronics of Diego Tejeida. Then came the rest of the band who are very bass heavy, which is no bad thing considering the talent of Thomas Maclean. The keys then picked up for the second song Eternal Rain with Hensall showing he is also excellent tinkling the ivories as well. The band then moved onto a new song which bodes well for the new album as it full of the bands trademark time shifts and little odd flourishes of jazz and other forms of music built in. The intensely melodic and euphoric The Mind's Eye came next which showed off the absolutely awesome vocals of Ross Jennings who hit some huge notes and then threw shapes through the instrumental Portals before returning to the finale of Shapeshifter. The band sounded great (as did Enochian Theory) and their playing was immense, bolstered by the infectious enthusiasm of Jennings. I'm glad I waited as they were excellent laying down the gauntlet for the headliners. 9/10

Von Hertzen Brothers

It is a long flight from Finland to Wales so you could forgive the Von Hertzen Brothers for scaling down their production. Nope. Bringing everything but the kitchen sink (even their own sound engineer(s) VHB had every single piece of equipment imaginable to make their set go without a buzz of feedback. Focusing heavily on the (excellent) new album the brothers opened with furious Insomniac before Writings On The Wall which was followed by new single the excellent ballad Flowers And Rust. Straight from the first three songs you could tell just how professional VHB are they have everything down to a tee and their music is just all encompassing bringing every genre imaginable conducted by the three brothers on stringed instruments, the resolutely strong drumming of Mikko K and the engaging, ethereal and energising keys of Juha. The spiralling Wurlitzer of Coming Home came next showing that Kie Von Hertzen has an excellent baritone vocal that perfectly compliments his brother (and main vocalist) Mikko VH's higher register, in fact the three of them have some unbelievable vocal harmonies that only Brian Wilson could beat. The set continued with the shout along Always Been Right, the Middle Eastern style Angel's Eyes and the hard rocking of Freedom Fighter. Thrown into this myriad of perfectly executed songs was a cover, now many bands can do a cover justice however this is not just a cover, VHB set the bar high by covering perhaps the most revered and downright weird progressive bands in history, King Crimson, takes a lot of balls. However the VHB totally nailed 21st Century Schizoid Man staying true to the original but also adding their own style to it. The main set ended with Let Thy Will Be Done before an encore of the majestic and beautiful new song Prospect For Escape ended the show on a relaxed but euphoric note. The Von Hertzen Brothers really can put on a show and they give their all to the show making sure that everyone goes home feeling elated. The may bring more equipment than any band I have ever seen but I’m sure none of it is superfluous. An absolutely fantastic show! 10/10

Keith Emmerson Band: Keith Emmerson Band Featuring Marc Bonilla (2008)

Everyone knows about Keith Emmerson's time in 70's progressive rock legends ELP, he has appeared on many albums in a special guest capacity and also on solo albums but this is his first album with a new band and he has acquired some fantastic musicians s to help his sizeable keyboard playing talents. The main talent is that of Marc Bonilla who provides some virtuoso guitar playing as well as the vocals, the guitar of Bonilla is in perfect harmony with Emmerson's keys and organ and they make a fantastic musical tandem, the writing too is split between Bonilla and Emmerson and the album itself is one conceptual piece split into 15 tracks, most of which are instrumental, with the fantastic Marche Train being the first fully formed rock track and a track that shows off Bonilla's voice and also his superb guitar playing, ending in a fantastic explosive guitar solo, the acoustic A Place To Hide is also a real standout because of its jazz piano and strong relaxed ballad delivery. After the concept piece comes four separate tracks that all differ massively The Art Of Falling Down has a classic ELP sound due to its synths, moogs and organ. Malambo a Latin instrumental, Gametime is the soundtrack to a bluegrass and baseball and then final track The Parting is another powerful ballad. This is an excellent album that shows really how talented it's two creators are, if you dig classic real prog then you will love this. 9/10

Bloodshot Dawn: Self-Titled (2012)

Bloodshot Dawn are a melodic death metal band from Portsmouth and this was their debut album, it is an absolute cracker of a debut featuring some sterling guitar work from Josh McMorran and Ben Ellis who provide some serious guitar chops with technical speed riffage and some dual guitar solos that will tear your face off. McMorran also has a fantastic voice with some very guttural roars that complement the technical ferocity of the riffage; the band has a sound similar to Arch Enemy, At The Gates and Amon Amarth with the progression of Cynic. The drums and bass playing are also excellent with the blast beats coming thick and fast as the tracks move between thrash speed metal riffage and heavy riff breaks for head banging. From Beckoning Oblivion through the progressive Godless to the final track Archetype this is a melo-death tour de force with some frankly fantastic guitar playing and more importantly some great songs to just bang your head too. 8/10

Enbound: And She Says Gold (2011)

This is Swede's Enbound debut album and they immediately set out there stall. The band play big bold and hook filled power metal in the style if Stratovarius or Sonata Arctica. The album is full of some very good riffage from Martin Flowberg who straddles boundaries between poppy power metal and some heavy speed metal most prevalent on the progressive Shifting Gears; he also pulls off some excellent soloing on every track. Not to be outdone however bassist Swede and drummer Mike Force both play at near virtuosic levels with Swede being especially good. So then we move onto vocalist Lee Hunter who is also fantastic having a very Tony Kakko style vocal and thus the inevitable Sonata comparisons especially on Under A Spell. The band are not just your run of the mill power metal band they add some very good additions to enhance their sound. There are a lot of keys and pianos on ballads like beautifully orchestrated The Broken Heart and the acoustic Frozen To Be which is a duet with female singer LaGaylia Fraizer. They also have lots of electronics with a very dance like feel to Untitled X. Enbound have released a very good debut that has a the hallmarks of their peers. They also do an excellent supercharged cover of Beat It! 8/10

Lost In Thought: Opus Arise (2011)

Dream Theater, America's premier prog metal band has a signature sound. Lost In Thought have taken this sound to heart, they have copied it wholesale but do it in such a way that they have made it their own. For a band on their debut these songs are of fantastic quality they soar majestically and then drop into some snarling metal riffage bolstered by some rapid fire keyboards and drumming and that’s just the opening track Beyond The Flames. The Dream Theater comparisons come from the vocals of Nate Loosemore who is a dead ringer for James LaBrie. What is really striking about these songs is just how good they are, many would be right at home on the new DT album as well as those by Symphony X or Pagan's Mind. The guitars of David Grey are great providing some sublime solos and monster riffs, the drums of Chris Billingham guide all of the time changes and the keys of Greg Baker bring an electric pulse and some classical melody to all of the tracks. The time changes and genre shifts are all very well done and the band are far more talented than their years suggest. In the live field Lost In Thought didn't do it for me but on record these Welshmen play some seriously good progressive metal. (This is a similar reaction I have to their American influence). 8/10

Rival Sons, Graveltones and Ulyssess: Solus, Cardiff

So a night of classic rock was in order after the metal of last week and the prog on the weekend and that’s precisely what I got.

Ulyssess

Coming on to the stage with very little fanfare Ulyssess are bad that merge trippy psychedelic hard rock with bouncy power pop and have their tongues planted firmly in their cheeks. The band also has a penchant for funky headgear and off kilter playing. They were a great warm up act that were a bit Hendrix in the guitar freak-outs, a bit The Who like with the almost mod-style power pop and also they have definite similarity to the Fab Four's later years especially on closer Taxi Driver which has the Drive My Car "Beep, Beep, Yeah!" refrain in it. Ulyssess were a slow burner they started out with their wilder sprawling psychedelic songs and then progressed through to the heavier stuff before the set climaxed into all four men playing cowbell at the end. A good band with a strong future they managed to win over the crowd bringing them in early. 8/10

Graveltones

I'll level with you I thought the Graveltones were the best support band I've seen since I first saw Vintage Trouble. Never have a band enthralled me straight from the off. Just a two piece made up of Jimmy O on guitar and vocals and man mountain Mikey Sorbello behind the skins (seriously the man looks like tank!) I was expecting Black Keys/White Stripes like garage blues, which in fairness is what I got but also so much more. From the off you can see that both of these men are supremely talented. Jimmy pushes pulls and hits his guitar to bring out all manner of feedback before cranking out some seriously heavy fuzzed up and distorted riffs and searing solos while accompanying them with his strong bluesy wail that is similar to Mr White's. However the real star of the band (backed up by the cheer he received) is Mr Sorbello who possibly hits his drum kit harder than anyone I've ever seen, he literally smashes the symbols and brings out a wall of noise however as a counterpoint he can also handle jazz percussion using little wrist techniques to break up the wall of sound. The two of them build quite a racket and seem to be having a ball while doing it with so much energy on the stage that you'd have to be made of stone not to like them. A great set that meant that the Rival Sons had a lot of work to do following this. 9/10 *As a little note I have never looked forward to a drum solo but with this band I was crying out for one and the crowd erupted when it came!

Rival Sons

With the gauntlet set Rival Sons had a lot to do thankfully due to a partisan crowd and an almost flawless set they easily reached and exceeded the challenge. The set was taken primarily from their excellent new album Head Down and was mixed with their second album and their EP to create a career spanning set. Things kicked off with The Who-like percussive intro an roof raising Rock N Roll of You Want To before the jumping wah-wah drenched riffage of Get What's Coming followed and with those two songs the crowd were hooked watching every tub thumped by Mike Miley every string plucked by Robin Everhart, every riff strummed and every solo peeled off by Scott Holliday and they also watched as frontman Jay Buchanan wailed his way through the songs and moved around the stage like Tyler in his prime. The man has a seriously good voice able to switch from hard rocker to soul crooner in an instant. Next up was the voodoo of Wild Animal which was followed by the fuzz and distortion filled Gypsy Heart beforethe stomping blues of Torture was the first sing along. The blues theme continued with the gospel, storytelling of All The Way and ended with the almost Stax records sounding Until The Sun Comes Up. The set then became slower with Buchanan showing off his almighty voice to full effect on the awesome Jordan which is prime Woodstock material this was followed by a short explanation of the haunting, brooding, Zeppelin-like next song Manifest Destiny Part 1. The rock was brought back with a vengeance with two singles Keep On Swinging and Pressure & Time before the main set ended with the excellent Face of Light a song dedicated to Buchanan's son. A short break a short drum solo (not as good as the Graveltones' I'm afraid) and then the last two songs which were the soul-rock stomp of Burn Down Los Angeles and then finally the enlightening and uplifting Soul which came to a climax with a massive guitar solo from Holliday. As a live act Rival Sons are excellent enthralling, bewitching, soulful and seriously rocking they deliver everything you expect and more, future arena headliners in the making. 9/10

Rob Zombie: Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor (Zodiac Swan)

The new album from the Godfather of Heavy Horror metal sees him coming off a tour with Marylin Manson (and blowing him off stage every night) and before he releases his new movie, it's because of these other projects that sees this being Zombie's fifth album. Musically it follows on from his last release Hellbilly Deluxe 2 which saw Zombie going back to his roots with industrial horror themed metal. This record adds to the madness with lashings of horror movie samples and some sprawling Hammond organ from the producer which adds that vaudeville element to the tracks. Ah the tracks they are all classic Zombie hard rock stompers with the heavy duty riffage coming from genius John 5 bringing the glam stomp of Teenage Nosferatu Pussy, the heavy rock of Dead City Radio And The New Gods Of Supertown is the clear single. Zombie looks back to his White Zombie days with the industrial electronic thump of Revelation Revolution. All of the tracks feature John 5's guitar wizardry; he not only pulls out some great riffs but some unique lead breaks and solos see; White Trash Freaks. The rhythm section can't be ignored either with Murderdolls man Piggy D slapping those four strings as if his life depended on it and new drummer Ginger Fish proving the perfect replacement for Joey Jordison. This is an album full of the fist-pumping, foot stomping, head banging heavy metal that he does so well and it also mixes things up with the electronic industrial elements of White Zombie, it also has a very heavy cover of Grand Funk Railroad's We're An American Band which is surely one for the live crowd. This is a Rob Zombie celebration album one man looking back while going forward doing what he does best! 8/10

GraVil: Thoughts Of The Rising Sun (Self Release)

I have known about GraVil for a while now ever since I acquired their EP Age Of Corruption through the Metal To The Masses campaign. This is the London mob's debut album and it moves on from where they started on their EP and expands on it bringing a much more rounded sound on the EP. At their heart GraVil are a death metal band featuring blast beat drumming, down tuned technical riffage and some very evil vocals from frontman Grant Stacey who also has some good clean vocals to on The Struggle. Musically the band sound like a mix between Children Of Bodom, especially on the hook heavy keyboard driven Enemy Within; Cradle Of Filth, who's guitarist James McIlroy appears on the militaristic industrial stomp of March Of The Titans and also some of the pit inciting madness of Devildriver, Beyond Reprieve. Guitarists Tony Dando and Andy Slade trade crushing heavy riffage and technical solo's that rip your face off. GraVil have bolstered their sound with electronics as well as the odd orchestral backing track or a piano here and there; see Something Worth Chasing and the Interlude before the excellent title track. This is a great debut that has some seriously heavy guitars, demonic vocals and best of all some excellent songs. 8/10

Sa-da-kO: Awakening (Self Release)

Sa-da-kO are a British metal band with some high hopes and an already storied history, having already won the Metal To The Masses in 2012 and getting a chance to play Bloodstock of that year, this is the band’s debut album and it is full of heavy as hell metal, the band have the groove/thrash influence of Lamb Of God mixed with some of the bass heavy drops of Nu-Metal and metalcore. They have some great drumming from Gregzilla and the down tuned riffage of Carl and SIMo moving between crushing breakdowns, thrashy pit starting riffs and some string snapping solos. The vocals too are excellent with some guttural shouting coming from Jim. The songs too are strong with the trashy Limit Of Resolution, the stomping riff of Milwaukee Protocol which has some Alice In Chains style backing vocals and a massive breakdown in it which will slay the live crowd. This is a strong debut album showing why they won the competition, the Bloodstock crowd will eat this up and as will any metal loving pit forming metal freaks. My one criticism is that there are a couple of songs that could have been left out with Final Solution: Death being the most notable however as a debut this is good work. 7/10

Thanks to our resident thrash fanatic, (thus the slight change in title) Mr Chris Beynon for the review (and his lovely wife for the edit)

Ill Nino, Sacred Mother Tongue and Fhobi, Bogiez Cardiff

I attended this “sold out” show at Bogiez Cardiff, expecting to re-live my teenage years when nu-metal was at the height of its power. They were dark days for a lot of us but you can’t argue that they provided some of the most unique parts of alternative music’s history.

FHOBI

Saying this, when the first band Fhobi took to the stage with the lead singer wearing a backwards baseball cap I was dubious at best. They also entered with their backs to the crowd and then proceeded to call us “mutha******s”. This can play to the crowd if the band has the calibre to do so, however, Fhobi did not. Their brand of rap and funk metal did little to engross the crowd. The set included moments of enjoyment mainly down to an incredibly talented bassist and occasional good riffs, but all too soon they were being rapped over poorly and killed any momentum a song had gathered. To some up: Fhobi are a South American version Limp Bizkit without Wes Borland.

4/10

Sacred Mother Tongue

I was introduced to this band on record fairly recently and was looking forward to seeing this upcoming British Metal Band. They were delayed for at least 20 minutes as they had problems with their backing track, and there lies my main problem with Sacred Mother Tongue. The band took the stage and held a lot of promise; clearly they were a very tight band and played with a high level of precision. The lead singer who is clearly very talented and has great showmanship blasted through the verses of their songs with ease. For reasons I can’t explain, every chorus and I do mean every chorus, was sang by a backing track with the singer helping it and from the evidence I heard in the verses he did not need it at all.
Also as this band was a replacement for the thrash titans Shadows Fall. The new melodic vocal style of this band did not necessarily play to the intended crowd. Saying this, I enjoyed the vocal changes as the lead singer clearly has an excellent voice but when replacing a band like Shadows Fall you’re not going to wow the crowd with that style of vocals. I would like to see them again after I have listened to the new album, but I’m still disappointed at the use of a backing track and for that Sacred Mother Tongue get…

6/10

Ill Nino

To the main event and to be honest I was expecting Ill Nino with the nu-metal roots to rely on the past to carry them through the set. What I did not expect was the sheer level of aggression that followed. They played like it was their first show, opening with, If You Still Hate Meand straight into God Save Us, two of their biggest songs. It was abundantly clear that Ill Nino love what they do and their mix of brutally heavy metal and powerful choruses lead by an incredible double percussion performance had the Bogiez crowd in a frenzy. The pit was plenty brutal and spilled over a few times, but was always handled well by the band. Songs like This Is War and I Am Loco offered little let up in pit, so when they played the songs Liar and Predisposed, songs that could get the whole place jumping; it almost felt like a respite from the intensity of the pit.
They were engaging the crowd at every opportunity and even when they played new material (which sounds as heavy as ever) the crowd lapped it up. One of the highlights of the set was a double percussion solo that stirred up memories of Sepultura at their best, then ending the set on a brutal high. On the night I was expecting to enjoy the power of nostalgia, but Ill Nino’s wave of aggression reminded me why I liked this band in the first place. I’m now looking forward to the new album and look forward to seeing them again in a bigger venue.

9/10

Volbeat: Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies (Vertigo)

Denmark's premier (and the world’s only!?) Elvis metallers' new album is one that will not open any new minds it is simply the new record of a band that know how they sound and wouldn't change it if they could. With the last couple of albums the band have focused on gangsters and women this one still has songs about the lawless and the women but it also focuses on a new era of the Old West. Now don't worry frontman Michael Poulsen hasn't started wearing a Stetson he is still very much the rockabilly busting out Metallica riffs his deep crooning vocal is still at the forefront of their sound on the outlaw loving tracks like the thrashy Black Bart, the hook laden Doc Hollidayand the melodic Pearl Heart. I used the word thrashy deliberately as Volbeat have added a new lead guitarist to their ranks in the shape of Ex-Anthrax man Rob Caggiano who has definitely brought the noise (sorry) on the speedier tracks like The Hangman's Body Count. He also has produced the record adding his years of experience to the band. This album has many highlights two of which are the bluegrass/rockabilly track Lonesome Rider which features Sarah Blackwood from Canadian indie band Walk Off The Earth and Room 24 which is graced by the vocals of Danish metal legend King Diamond who adds a whole new layer of evil to the track with his demonic wails, the track also gives Caggiano a chance to show off his guitar prowess. Like I said this album isn't going to set the world on fire, if you are a Volbeat fan then you'll know what to expect and you will enjoy another trip through history with these metalbillies (is that a word?), if you don't get Volbeat then there's is nothing here to change your mind, although if you don't like them why not? Another solid slab of Metallica riffage and Misfits vocals joined together perfectly. 8/10

Ghost: Infestissumam (Lorma Vista Recordings)

The 'newly' instated vocalist Papa II leads the Nameless Ghouls in another album of top notch occult rock that still straddles the boundaries between Blue Oyster Cult and a poppier Mercyful Fate. Papa II is the same man in different suit (or is he?) and his voice is still a melodic demon summoning croon. Much remains intact from their debut but everything seems ramped up on this record, it's the sound of a band aiming for arenas backing up the hype that surrounds them. The chamber choral chant of the title track leads into Per Aspera Ad Inferi which has a relentless riff and a very percussive chorus. The guitars still have that classic twin guitar sound with the stripped back bass and drums and lashings of keys and organ all lending to the bands retro 70's sound. The evil carnival sound of first single Secular Haze follows with its tribute to psychedelic occult rock. It's from here that you can see that the band are making taking their shot at the mainstream with the glam stomp of Jigolo Har Megiddo which is like a Satanic T-Rex track and is followed by the progressive schlock horror ballad of Ghuleh/Zombie Queen which is a swaying trippy ballad that starts out as The Eagles before turning into a voodoo Beach Boys. Perhaps the best track on the album is the heavy rocking Year Zero which features some serious guitar work from the Nameless Ghouls which is followed by the AOR of Body And Blood and the eerie 60's power pop of Idolatrine before the album ends with doomy, darkly psychadelia of Monstrance Clock which ends with the chant of "Come Together For Lucifer's Son". Ghost have produced another retro slice of occult rock that will satisfy the faithful and move them in the right direction which in this bands case is to the top! 9/10

Gary Clarke Jr: Blak And Blu (Warner Bros Records)

Gary Clarke Jr. is being billed as the next big thing in blues with Entertainment Weekly calling him "the chosen one". So is this hype warranted? In a word yes, Texas Bluesman Clarke Jr. is doing something that no-one else is he is he is almost reinventing the blues As well as playing in front of Barack Obama and guest appearances on Eric Clapton's Crossroads festival as well as jamming with the Rolling Stones and B.B King. Handling the guitar and the vocals Clarke Jr. does both excellently his guitar sound is fuzzed up and his voice is truthfully soulful showing that this is man that has been doing this his whole life (which he has been receiving his own day in Texas when he was only 17) Things start off with the hip shaking old school R&B of Ain't Messin' Round which is straight off the Stax production line, this record is all about juxtaposition as the second track is a chugging When My Train Pulls In which is a moody, blues piece drenched in organ, a simple guitar riff and some reverbed vocals the song builds up for its seven minutes into a frankly jaw dropping guitar solo, which then turns into another solo. Clarke Jr. has been interviewed many times and has said that his mission is to trace all music back to the blues (clearly a man possessed) and the title track shows this, it is for all intents and purposes a hip-hop song with some processed beats and a sprinkling of staccato guitar that works well with the hip hop backing. This is then totally reversed on the analogue country boogie ofTravis County is another one designed to get your feet moving along with the acoustic countrified picking of Next Door Neighbour Blues. It's here that I will mention the cast of extremely talented backing musicians who all contribute their individual instrumentation to Clarke Jr.'s guitar and vocals. The record is also produced by Clarke Jr. Mike Elizondo and Rob Cavallo in various couplings and it means that many of the tracks sound different production wise, this gives the record an almost jukebox feel with its different production techniques and genre shifts. More Hip-Hop comes in through with The Life, with a funk style playing on Glitter Ain't Gold and the doo-wop of Please Come Home as well as a Hendrix cover in the shape of Third Stone From The Sun which shows off Clarke Jr.'s guitar stunning prowess As I've said this is an awesome album moving effortlessly between genres but all with Clarke Jr.'s signature voice and guitar phrasing. Every now and again there are artists that come along and shake up the standard order and just like Joe Bonamassa is headlining arenas without any label backing and his own interpretation of Blues Rock, Gary Clarke Jr. is drawing from a much wider palate and has the technical prowess and songwriting to become bigger than John Mayer, however Gary Clarke Jr. has something Mayer now lacks; individuality. 10/10

Avantasia: The Mystery Of Time (Nuclear Blast)

Tobias Sammet has returned once again to his Metal Opera project and once again he is joined by an array of guest performers and this time the German Film Orchestra Babelsberg which takes a lot of the pressure off keyboard extraordinaire (and composer) Miro. At its core Avantasia is Sammet on vocals and bass, long time co-conspirators Sascha Paeth and Miro on guitars and keys and long-time session stickman Russell Gilbrook (who replaces Eric Singer). The orchestra really lend a movie-like feel to the record which makes it sound very similar to Trans-Siberian Orchestra in terms of the soundscapes it creates. Spectres kicks things off with Sammet showing off his amazing set of pipes, this track features Joe Lynn Turner who is the first of the usual host of guest vocalists that appear in this project, however unlike the previous efforts a few of the guest vocalist are drawn more from the hard rock and AOR scene than the metal one with Pretty Maids' Ronny Atkins providing gravelly tones to the rampant Invoke The Machine and Mr Big's Eric Martin making his presence felt on the radio rock ballad of What’s Left Of Me which would be at home on a Meat Loaf record. On the other side of the coin; Michael Kiske, Biff Byford and Bob Catley all return to their recurring guest posts supplying their unmistakeable vocals in spades. Thankfully Cloudy Yang, who made a fantastic impression on Angel Of Babylon, returns on the Mystery of Time and impresses again when dueting on the electronically backed ballad Sleepwalking. Again this is a concept piece (about science and religion) so it takes time to truly appreciate but after repeated spins this album shows just how good it actually is. Back to the guest front the only other outsiders come in the form of axe-slingers with Bruce Kulick and Oliver Hartmann providing the lions share but the most interesting to me is the contribution of Ayreon's Arjen Anthony Lucassen (who also not averse to a concept album or 6!). This is a fantastic album that moves between hard rock, power metal, AOR with some big progressive tendencies. It looks like Sammet has done it again creating another bombastic, dramatic, engaging and mostly an incredibly entertaining listen that is more of musical journey than and album. 9/10

Gama Bomb: The Terror Tapes (AFM)

Northern Ireland's premier thrashers return with their fourth album (their first in four years) in that time they have lost a founder member in the shape of guitarist Luke Graham and vocalist Philly Byrne has undergone vocal surgery. However they have now returned with a new guitarist and Philly's voice sounds exactly like it used to. Now Gama Bomb have never been the most serious of bands their crossover thrash has always been in the same vein as Municipal Waste their songs are full of horror, sci-fi, weed smoking and beer drinking. Clocking at just over thirty minutes this is a rapid thrash assault that encompasses hardcore punk as well. The riffs are honed like laser beams and the drums don't relent in their double kick smashing, Philly spits his vocals with tongue tangling speed. Gama Bomb are never going to change the world but with tracks like Beverly Hills Robocop, Terrorscope, Smoke The Blow With Williem Dafoe, Metal Idiot and the 18 second Shitting Yourself To Live, Gama Bomb are the sound of a booze fuelled party full of 80's action movie re-runs. 7/10

Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats: Mind Control (Rise Above)

Uncle Acid follows up on his 2012 album Blood Lust by releasing his follow up in under a year. Mind Control picks up where the last album left off with riff heavy, Sabbath worship heavy on the fuzz and brimming with occult imagery. Opener Mt. Abraxas sets the tone with some doomy riffage that changes pace throughout its 7 minute runtime before ending in a hammering riff that will incite some drone style head banging. The production and album presentation are both very retro with some definite hints to Ozzy and co. The eponymous Acid handles the Iommi like riffs, eerie Hammonds and fractured unholy vocals with his Deadbeat cohorts handling the drums and bass respectively. With tracks like the trippy 60's psych of Poison Apple, the stoner rock haziness of Desert Ceremony evokes the spirit of Sleep, the folky disarray of Follow The Leader which has the smoke-filled haze of Planet Caravan and the voodoo chug of Devil's Work. This is a great album from Acid and his not so merry men, classic British doom right from the heart of its birthplace. 9/10

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