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A View From The Back Of The Room: Airbourne

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Airbourne & Leogun, Y Plas Cardiff

The Australian hard rock maelstrom that is Airbourne having been doing the rounds on the festival circuit culminating with Ramblin Man Fair which took place on the same weekend as Steelhouse Festival and looks like it will continue to be with both festivals taking place on the same weekend next year. Anyway back to the show and it was one of just two dates in the UK the band played post Ramblin Man, the first night was in Edinburgh and the second was right here in the fair city of Cardiff. Personally I was very impressed that Airbourne added Cardiff to their limited tour schedule so I was heartened to see that the Cardiff rock fraternity was out in force for the Aussie nutters.

This was to be my sixth viewing of Airbourne and even though they do sound like AC/DC, they have enough songs to keep you head banging, your fist in the air and you singing along all night. Due to a club night the support came on around 8pm after the 7:30 and went straight into their set. The band were London town's Leogun (6) who are a blues/soul three piece that do have a some great songs but their slow paced bluesy numbers were lost on the hard core fans in attendance that seemed more interested in getting drunk waiting for the headliners, Leogun in their own show would be better appreciated I think but on a Wednesday night in Cardiff the crowd, decked out almost exclusively with AC/DC and Airbourne T-Shirts (with the noted exception of one Chris De Burgh shirts), wanted beer fuelled hard rock.

As the theme from Terminator 2 played over the PA, it was time for the four piece to storm the stage and as the percussive piece ended the show kicked off with Ready To Rock guitarist Justin Rhodes and bassist Justin Street rocking in synchronicity as Ryan O'Keefe kept the beat hard and heavy then Joel O'Keefe made his shirtless entrance slinging his guitar like a weapon. From the chant of Ready To Rock it was back to the debut for Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast and due to this tour being a post festival bit of fun, the band set the tone by making it a greatest hits affair, not that anyone was complaining. I'm assuming that this will not be the case in their Autumn tour supporting their soon to be released album. Back to the show and it was two of their dirtiest numbers back to back with Chewin The Fat and Diamond In The Rough following each other allowing Joel to solo his heart out while gurning for Australia. The interaction was as you'd expect the same as if you'd walked into a bar in Warrnambool, Joel started by smashing cans of beer on his head, then proceeded to sit on a roadies shoulders for a solo section then moving into throwing out yet more cans to a more inebriated audience.

Black Dog Barking gave way to Girls In Black and Cheap Wine & Cheaper Women then one solitary new song the album title track Breakin' Outta Hell filled the gap as an hour neared we got the final two songs of the main set, No Way But The Hard Way twinned with Stand Up For Rock N Rolls which got the heads banging hard as it rumbled along. I was surprised how quickly the time went to be honest, a band like Airbourne (8) can make the time just melt away especially with a set full of anthems. Resuming the fun with an encore of Live it Up and the evergreen Running Wild in just over an hour it was all done and dusted the crowd were going nuts and the band were smiling from ear-to-ear. It's nice to sometimes see a jukebox set from a band inside a venue rather than in a field and it pays dividends as it keeps the band in peoples minds, expect the Autumn tour to sell very well, due to the evidence of the packed Y Plas there is a healthy appetite for their style of no-frills rock n roll, shame they are playing nowhere near us then...

Reviews: Dunsmuir, Fury, Hammers Of Misfortune

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Dunsmuir: S/T (Hall Of Records)

So super-groups, some are great, some are not so great but seeing as anything Clutch frontman Neil Fallon puts his hands on turns to gold, Dunsmuir has the prospectus to be a very big deal especially when you consider the other members involved, Fallon takes up the vocals, in the back room is Fu Manchu's Brad Davies, behind the skins is the legendary Vinny Appice and on the guitar is Dave Bone who also plays the riffs in The Company Band which also features Fallon and Fireball Ministry's James A Rota. So with a cast of characters that are mostly known for their weed smoking stoner riffage you'd think Dunsmuir would be some kind of stoner supergroup akin to Down but that would be a bit too easy, this project sees them indulging in the music of their influences, well Bone, Fallon and Davies', Appice has probably contributed to a lot of the influences so doesn't count. It's more classic metal sounding than the most of the day-jobs sounding more like Dio-fronted Sabbath of Appice's tenure, with the intelligent, engaging lyrical poetry of Fallon.  At 35 minutes its also all over in a flash but with Fallon's unmistakable vocals leading the way it's 35 minutes that you'll want to replay as soon as it finishes. Bone plays some massive licks, bolstered by the heavy backbone of Davies, who is no stranger to the power of bass in his day job picking up the rhythm parts when Bone solos, as all this happening in the top end, Appice who is a man who is from a drumming dynasty, plays his arse off in backroom even on easier tracks like Our Only Master he beats with power of men half his age. The sound of Sabbath can be found everywhere on this record but not in lazy way, this is a band paying tribute to the greats through homage rather than blatant copying, What Manner Of Bliss? is probably the album's biggest Sabbath moment. Dunsmuir may just be a studio project, it may become bigger touring prospect but with this debut it's certainly a statement of intent. 8/10     

Fury: Lost In Space (Broken Road)

The Worcester classic heavy metal heroes Fury have returned with their second full length, this time the fantasy lyricism takes place in a galaxy far away with the occasional swing back to earth for songs about Vikings, War, Dragons and of course Pirates (as anyone who has seen them will know frontman Julian seems to have a massive Pirate fetish). With the album called Lost In Space I was expecting the title track to be a cover of the famous surf-guitar theme written by John Williams, it isn't that unfortunately but it is a 7 minute plus mini-epic with progressive time changes a sing along chorus and some excellent solos, it's a definitive opening statement reaffirming everything that is good about this band, Martin Trail's bass work gallops as it should, occasionally giving a fret slide or a rundown in the gaps while Alasdair Davies' drumming pushes the songs forward sometimes at a terrifying pace as he blasts away easily, only reigning himself in on the reflective Sons Of War where he plays with a deft hand adding drama to the piece. At the front of the sound is the twin guitars of Julian Jenkins and Jake Beesley they duel, harmonize and peel licks off with great skill, Beesley letting loose on the solo sections as Jenkins riffs underscoring the fireworks with solid slabs of riffage. I've always likened Fury to Metallica playing Iron Maiden and this sound is still very audible on this record, with thrash sounding riffs on Start Trippin'(not sure if this comes before or after Space Truckin') they also know when to resort to chest thumping classic metal on When The Hammer Falls and Vallhalla both of which are songs that would make Grand Magus green with envy. Fury are superb live act, I've personally seen them a few times, but their albums are never just excuses for more songs they take time to craft them trying to put as much of their live force into them as they can, I think they've pulled this off yet again on Lost In Space aided by the production of Pete Newdeck (Eden's Curse) and mastering of Harry Hess (Harem Scarem) they let all the instruments breathe and also capture the unique power of Jenkins' vocals, which are hard to describe being both husky and shrill, however they fit the music completely. Lost In Space is the latest sterling addition to Fury's catalog, no difficult second album syndrome here just another excellent showing from Fury. 9/10

Hammers Of Misfortune: Dead Revolution (Metal Blade)

Well yet again I have to admit my ignorance and stupidity, in that I had heard of Hammer's Of Misfortune but had never really listened to them as I naively thought they wouldn't be 'my thing'. Well listening to their sixth album I can attest that they are most definitely my thing, they have a NWOBHM meets Doom sound all wrapped up in 70's hard rock retroism, founder member John Cobbett is the driving force behind the band his guitar the basis of everything the band do, ably aided by Leila Abdul-Rauf on six and Paul Walker on four strings and songs that move from wall of noise doom, through chugging NWOBHM, rampaging thrash metal and beyond it's the dynamics of the guitarists that are the important part of the record as Will Carroll carries the beat. With just the members I've mentioned Hammers Of Misfortune would be interesting enough their fusion of styles sounding both different and comfortingly familiar, however with vocalist John Hutton, who makes this his second record with the group and has booming set of pipes, they have a good singer who's vocals are counterpointed by the more ethereal vocals of keyboardist Sigrid Sheie who is the band's best weapon as well as her vocals her keys and organs are and important part of the sound of this record with the psych wurlitzers cutting through the heavy riffs of The Velvet Inquisition before going full John Lord on the title track using the organ as and extra lead instrument going toe-to-toe with the guitars. With the style of this record the use of keys along with the NWOBHM styled riffage really gives Hammers Of Misfortune a unique sound so if you like your music a fusion of past glories with a modern touch Dead Revolution will get you rocking! 7/10 

      


A View From The Back Of The Room: Frost*

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Frost* - Thekla, Bristol

Oh my how I had been waiting for this, since their debut record Milliontown I've been a big Frost*, however due to the bands nature I haven't seen them live, they themselves say "They have won no awards, have a prodigiously slow work rate and have split up twice." Happily they are back together and on the back of their third record, they set out on UK tour so I made my way to the boat in Bristol for what promised to be a very fun night of progressive music.

Many of you may not know Frost* so let me enlighten you a little the band is the project of keyboardist/vocalist Jem Godfrey who earns his crust writing pop songs (for Atomic Kitten, Ronan Keating, Blue and that guy from X Factor) but has a love of classic British Prog rock, so he set about writing what he loved and since then the band have become their most accomplished incarnation since the start of the band. Along with Godfrey he has Craig Blundell (Steven Wilson) on drums, Nathan King (Level 42) on bass and long term member John Mitchell (It Bites, Arena, Kino & Lonely Robot) so with a cavalcade of talent on stage it meant that there was small a but heavily invested crowd for the gig. Going into the venue it was time for a beer and a peruse of the merch table which not only had every piece of merch imaginable there was also shortbread in the shape of the bands trademark asterisk. (Bonus points acquired here)

Twats In Hats/Twats With Bats

This was a prog gig so obviously it was guaranteed to be out of the ordinary and in true prog style Frost* were also the supporting act, well John Mitchell & Jem Godfrey more accurately doing a set made up of songs from their other projects, some lesser known Frost* tracks along with a lot of improv and very little rehearsal (apparently). With just Jem on keys and John on guitars and both sharing vocal duties it was great to see this superior musicians in a more stripped back environment playing everything a bit loose. The few times they have been in this collaboration they wear top hats and use the name Twats In Hats, but due to the lack of hats they hung bats from the mics and became Twats With Bats, much amusements was abound during the set with both men letting everyone into their irreverent friendship. With two Kino tracks bookending the set Letting Go and Loser's Day Parade it was brief tour through the two men's careers with The Forget You Song and Lights Out from the Frost* back-catalogue along with a simply stunning rendition of Tall Ships from Mitchell's tenure with It Bites. These latter tracks were worth price of admission alone and it was great to see the two men having fun and joking about the headline bands upcoming three hour set (I'd watch it),    

Frost*

With so much revelry from the support the main set became a bit more po-faced with all the men totally serious about the musical endeavour, this of course is complete rubbish as with the additional rhythm section came yet more silliness, on stage banter and even some heckling between the stage and the audience. Proceedings opened with First Day which serves as throbbing intro for Numbers the insistent first track on the new record Falling Satellites which blended perfectly into the 'classic' Hyperventilate from the debut, this elongated mostly instrumental track displayed all of the bands impressive musicianship with Godfrey providing intricately woven synths above the technical rhythm section as Mitchell's oft-underrated guitar work was stunning.

With the end of the deafening Hyperventilate the call came from the audience to make it louder and proggier so the band obliged with the off-kilter Wonderland, after threatening Whole Again which weirdly got an enthusiastic from the audience and not just from the ladies, of which there seemed to be a fair few, something of a rarity in the progosphere but always very welcome. Godfrey's stage presence is a joy to behold as he is a bit mental to say the least leaving the synths to themselves for periods to annoy the rest of the band with his jests and quality face pulling, Mitchell cuts a much more stoic pose but with the aloofness of a rock god (its a good act anyway) as Nathan King bounced around like the Duracell bunny, unfortunately very little could be seen of Blundell but my god could he be heard.

After the excellent Wonderland Godfrey teased us with the promise of vocoder and along with Mitchell taking his first lead vocal of the main Frost* set on the atmospheric Signs which perfectly wrapped up the first third of the set. The rest of the main set was made up of one song; a song that was 32 minutes long, split into six parts and was all about dying. The song was the Sunlight suite from the latest album, it was played in it's entirety with the EDM of Heartstrings starting the piece off into the ethereal Closer To The Sun and the colossal The Raging Against The Dying of the Light Blues In 7/8 which is the nearest thing to prog/blues other than the Blue Floyd project. It was in this suite that the band really let loose, Mitchell peeling off some incredible solos, as Godfrey contributed the soundscapes and solos himself, behind them both Craig Blundell is one of the most dexterous and skilled drummers I've seen and Nathan King plays a mean jazz like bass and also dips in an out of yet more keys, with the crowd enraptured by the majesty on stage the 32 minutes flew by and the lights went off with the final chord of Last Day, cue the normal ravenous stomping and clapping and the band returning to the stage with the promise of more, the two encore songs both came from the debut record starting things off with the 10 minute Black Light Machine which is a majestic song that begs to be sung loud and proud with more than few fists in the air.

Frost* finished the encore with the impressive The Other Me which was stretched out and even had a drum solo in the middle of it which seemed to be a source of amusement for Godfrey and Mitchell (our opinion on drum solso are well documented) before they took up their instruments for the finale part of the song ending the night on significant high. Then that was that it was all over but for the shortbread eating, I had been looking forward to this show for months an I wasn't disappointed in the slightest, it was prog perfection from beginning to end with enough humour and technicality to appeal to everyone. Extra kudos too for finishing at 9:45 allowing those of us that don't live in Bristol to get home at a reasonable time. (These things are very important sometimes) 10/10

    

Reviews: Fates Warning, Ghoul, The Devil's Music

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Fates Warning: Theories Of Flight (InsideOut) [Review By Paul]

Having stuck to their path since formation in 1982, progressive metallers Fates Warning’s 12th album Theories Of Flight is a real grower of an album which is crammed full of technical quality, light and shade and damn heavy in places too. The Americans have lived in the shadow of the behemoth that is Dream Theater throughout their career, their early power metal gaining attention across the pond in Europe but it was always their big brothers who gained the spotlight as the progressive champions. This is apparently the first album for 12 years that has been recorded as a four piece with long time guitarist credited with only two solos on From The Rooftops and White Flag.

For a four piece Fates Warning make a handsome sound. It took a few listens to get fully engaged but it was worth the effort. Two lengthy ten minute plus tracks, The Light and Shade Of Things and The Ghosts Of Home nestle comfortably alongside much shorter songs which demonstrate the technical prowess of the band whilst retaining enough hooks and riffage to pique interest from across the metal fanbase. Opener From The Rooftops ebbs and flows whilst Seven Stars and SOS contain elements of power metal, AOR and even a bit of thrash as well as huge servings of the progressive style the band are so well known for.

Long serving vocalist Ray Adler’s superb vocals are crisp and clean aided by the excellent production. White Flag is a stunner, with solos form Aresti and Mike Abdow adding to the powerful sound. The engine room of Bobby Jarzombek’s double bass drumming and Joey Vera (bass) provide a solid foundation throughout, allowing Jim Matheos’ quite exceptional guitar work to take centre stage with his more delicate work to be found on the title track which brings the album to a close. I’d have to say that this album gets better on every listen. If you like your technical progressive metal, it’s well worth an hour of your time. 9/10

Ghoul: Dungeon Bastards (Tankcrimes Records)

Coming from Creepsylvania in Romania Digestor, Cremator, Fermenter and Dissector are a four piece death/thrash/grindcore band that have a morbid sense of humour, with a diverse set of characters that appear on all of their records by way of their songs, all of the records revolve around their home of Creepsylvania and the 'adventures' horror stories about the four masked mutants that make up the band. This of course if all bollocks (the band are from Oakland California) but their GWAR-esque backstory and live appearance (Jason Voorhees style blood drenched sacks) are all part of their impact and mean that they are little more interesting to investigate than your average thrash/death metal band.

When faced with an album of what is a very visual band the songs have to match the performance and due to the band's penchant for light-speed riffs, crunching thrash breakdowns and a three way vocal delivery that move between screams, guttural roars and thrash gang vocals the tracks on this record do the visuals justice. Imagine a mix of Death, Napalm Death and Venom tracks played by a band with the reckless abandon of Municipal Waste then you get a record that at 34 minutes is pure old school Californian thrash/death metal a maelstrom of shredding guitars and blast-beats. Dungeon Bastards and it's creators don't claim to be big or clever, but this record and the band themselves clearly don't give a shit they just plug in and cause chaos. 8/10

The Devil’s Music: The Devil’s Music (Coffee Jingle Records) [Review By Paul]

Devilment, the outfit who ended up with Cradle Of Filth’s Dani Filth as frontman was actually a band founded by Daniel J Finch. When Finch left Devilment in late 2014 he had a large number of songs already written for the next release. So what to do? Go ahead and produce them on an album with a variety of vocalists from across the metal underground. The result is a damn heavy album which offers diversity and intensity with dark lyrical themes and styles from nu-metal to old school balls out heavy metal with a dash of the darkness of CoF as well. Crushing aggression on Can You Hear Me with Collapse The Sky’s Lee Margaillan contrasts with the Korn influenced Break Through (Ian Messenger of Scream Serenity delivering a fine Jonathan Davies-esque performance) whilst Phoenix moves towards a heavy fusion of Linkin Park and Faith No More with a Mike Shinoda/Mike Patton provided by Scream Serenity's Jordan Fennell. It’s eclectic stuff and really interesting to boot. Closer Hate moves to the industrial feel of Rammstein/Nine Inch Nails to complete a really fine album that deserves to get some real exposure. 8/10

Reviews: Black Crown Initiate, Lacertilia, Schemata Theory

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Black Crown Initiate: Selves We Cannot Forgive (eOne)

Every once in while a band comes along and challenges you musically, Pennsylvania natives Black Crown Initiate are one such band, the breadth of musical ability on this record is simply breathtaking it would be a disservice to the band to try and pigeonhole them as they have so many little nuances and changes of pace, time and genre that I can really only describe them as powerful, progressive even prophetic modern metal. The band are intensely clever, their lyrics full of philosophical questions, spiritual/moral messages and their music the counterpoint of crushingly heavy music they play that brings in djent influences on the opening track For Red Chord with palm-muted guitars at the forefront of the sound, however like I said the band quickly change tact throughout never staying to long in one style giving them the progressive extremity of Opeth but the accessible edge of Metallica.

Much of this is due their use of dual vocals with guitarist/vocalist Andy Thomas having the clean soaring vocals that perfectly counteract the ripped from hell roars of James Dorton, both vocalists work in glorious tandem having a sound that is good and evil and bolsters the sometimes overly complicated musical backing, yes the band are all supreme musicians, the drumming of Jesse Beahler of particular note due to it's unrelenting ferocity and Thomas and bassist Nick Shaw are both key to the bands heavy sound. Now not everything is perfect on this second effort, there does seem to be a push to be a bit too progressive and at times introspective on this record meaning that it does lack the immediacy and general sense of aggression it's predecessor had but also shows that the band are not keen to replay former victories but change the formula so to speak. For the most part they succeed but there are a few disjointed elements about the record that will jump out at you, still for a young band there is a lot of promise here that will hopefully mature by the time of their third record. 8/10

Lacertilia: We're Already Inside Your Mind (Red Sun Sounds)

Back in 2015 Welsh stoner wizards Lacertilia unleashed their call to arms Crashing Into The Future the five track EP was a definitive statement of intent capturing the raw, primal fury of the band's live show, bringing together some of their live stables. Of course with any heavy touring band in the course of a year they create more songs to fill a set and as such they have now released their debut record, yet again it's a psychedelic infused metal trip, with big stoner riffs and more transient sounds all creating a sonic kaleidoscope. With the tabla led intro we dive straight into trippy heaviness with The Wired And The Weird which sounds like early period Orange Goblin filled with groove from Tom's bass and Carl's drums in the percussive middle section as Mike and Lucas' guitars bring the punkier riffs before some harmonics in the aforementioned middle section, with a progressive edge to it the opening song gives you an indicator of what to expect on the rest of the album it's progressive, psych filled mayhem with Fry commanding the thundering insanity with his excellent (Ben Ward-like) pipes and hallucinogenic lyrics.

Tangled Up is a shorter more direct track sounding a bit like a a heavy metal version of The Doors, while Ride With Us is a slithering primal sludge riff that builds up into an explosive climax. The fusion of rock n roll, psych, stoner, doom and cosmic space rock is handled very well with enough nods to their influences for the oldies to acknowledge with Journey To Agartha tripping on Hawkwind's vibe, a Sabbath doom mongering hammering comes on Earth (which is very ironic if you know your rock history) which features some intense swirling guitar playing, but there is also enough modernity to invigorate the most retro of sounds see the esoteric, almost ethereal Round And Round which builds with touches of Tool into one of the album's best songs. The sound that was Crashing Into The Future seems more refined here, more definitive, there is craft here it's a spellbinding, mesmerizing, mind warping, head banging debut from the Cosmic Boyos! 9/10           

Schemata Theory: Networks EP (ABAF Records)

Modern metal five piece Schemata Theory hail from Reading and they bring metric fucktonnes of state-of-the-art metal full of palm muted riffs, crunching heavy groove and distinct djent-like sound. The band also have one of my pet hates, dual vocalists, now I don't mean singer and singer/guitarist but two (male) singers both fronting the band, Scar Symmetry have always done this I've never seen the need for it as for me it does detract from the music. However that said I may have to eat my hat and admit that Schemata Theory use two vocalists to great effect, Myles Dyer has some seriously low roars and barks conjuring evil with every grunt, but he also has a clean vocal that sounds a lot like Enter Shikari's Rou Reynolds this separates his style from the soaring clean only vocals of Luke Wright.

Both vocalists are at their most unified on final track Horror Show which is the strongest song on the record, no wonder why it was picked up by BBC Radio 1, it's a blinder of a song the impeccable mix of melody and discord with dual guitar harmonies and persistent drumming, it's a great climax, but that's not to write off the other two tracks on this EP as they are both quality pieces of work to giving a hint of what Schemata Theory can do both live and when they come around releasing their second full length record. 7/10   

Reviews: Tarja, Skillet, Bloody Hammers

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Tarja: The Shadow Self (earMusic)

I reviewed the accompanying album to this The Brightest Void earlier this year and said that the odds-n-sods collection hinted at what we could expect on this the former Nightwish singer's fifth (if you count it's precursor) hard-rock/metal album (she also has two classical albums to her name). Well finally the album has dropped and it's probably Tarja's most diverse offering to date, the lady herself said that she felt transformed by this record going through as she says "some self discovery in recent years" you can hear it on this record it's a much more confident, assured piece than some of her sometimes hit-and-miss earlier material.

There is a myriad of styles present on this record the opening salvo of Innocence is led by some impressive piano playing it's one of the many classically influenced operatic pieces on this record where Tarja shows here impressive vocal range, it has metallic guitar sound that sounds like her previous employers in it's baroque nature, Love To Hate and Diva are both overwrought and dramatic with Diva having a vaudeville nature of a Broadway performance due to it's theatrical lyrics and Lloyd Webber-like soaring orchestra's.

With the classical moments dealt with we get the The Living End which is more of a Celtic/Folk style ballad, some electronic synths on the paranoid Eagle Eye, while Demons In You is the album's heaviest effort with Tarja backed by Arch Enemy frontwoman Alissa White-Gluz's barking harsh vocals. I must say The Shadow Self is a little bit of a let down most of the songs are mid/slow paced ballads and the cover of Muse's Supremacy is rubbish if I'm brutally honest, it does strike me that some of the best songs from this album were on the precursor EP, The Shadow Self is a confident as I've said it's just a bit tame. 6/10  

Skillet: Unleashed (Atlantic)

Christian Rock band Skillet are back with their 10th(!) album of modern alt-metal and this time they are taking no prisoners, it's an aggressive effort with the opening two songs, Feel Invincible and Back From The Dead having big fist pumping choruses and high energy  rhythms kicking the album off strongly. Defined by their use of keys from Kory Cooper who is the wife of frontman/bassist John, his huskier tones are complimented by the saccharine treated female vocals of drummer Jen Ledger making for powerful vocal harmonies which is backed up by strong, intense musical backing, special kudos to lead guitarist Seth Morrison who shoots fireworks with his axe. The pace slows on Stars is a mid paced key led inspirational track.

Skillet can be put in the same bracket as Shinedown Breaking Benjamin with a modern alt-rock sound full of hook-laden songs. This record is diverse with its sound with driving processed beats (Famous) and harder edged metal anthems (industrial stomp of Out Of Hell) sitting next to epic emotive hard rock (I Want To Live which is a great duet between the two vocalists) and huge pop choruses. I will admit I'm not usually a fan of bands tagged with the Christian Rock label, due in part to Stryper but Skillet are not overly preachy, they stick to singing about feeling inclusion and unity, Lions is the only song with overtly Christian overtones but it's done with so much passion and actually is such a good song that I can over look it. Ten albums in, world tours everywhere and no sign of settling down, this record is an outstanding demonstration of hard hitting modern alternative metal. 8/10

Bloody Hammers: Lovely Sort Of Death (Napalm)

Doom-laden Goth rockers Bloody Hammers return with their fourth record and once again they bring doom, gloom and heartache along with a heaps of kitsch, the occult and a schlock horror influence. Bloody Hammer's have always sounded like lost soundtrack to a Hammer Horror loaded up on mind-expanding drugs and filled with murderous intent. Even the title of the album refers to a 1967 LSD movie also called The Trip, featuring Peter Fonda, Bruce Dern and Dennis Hopper. (Even the title itself is an acronym of the third-eye opening helpers).

So much like Brits Electric Wizard you know these Charlotte, NC natives aren't messing around with the occult, horror and psychedelic drug related imagery they create, it flows through their music as they worship heavily at the altar of Sabbath, Pentagram and even H.I.M in a similar groove to contemporaries Purson, Ghost and Uncle Acid. The band is the brainchild of frontman/bassist Anders Manga whose booming voice and bass are two of the loudest elements of the record while the organs of wife Devallia rapidly switch from delightful to imposing in a moment adding the texture to the doom-Goth riffs Anders brings along with guitarist Bill Fischer all anchored by Doza Mendoza's percussion.

This fourth record is Bloody Hammers Gothiest album so far moving away from the heavier early records adding more keys and atmospherics, Anders vocals in particular have improved tenfold, they are more varied and dramatic than before. Bloodletting On The Kiss has Depeche Mode vibe to it with lots of sexy synths cutting through the malaise, Lights Come Alive is airy and percussive a little like the darker side to U2, The Reaper Comes brings an oppressive and haunting feel but brings the rock back. Messalina comes in at a heavier prospect with fuzzy guitars and starts the louder part of the record as Stoke The Fire kicks off with stomping glam Goth rich with dual vocals. It's left for the final part of the record for the doom to lumber in with Ether and Shadow Out Of Time both creeping towards the albums climax. Lovely Sort Of Death is a strong, more considered piece that owes a lot to the 3 years it's taken to make 8/10

Reviews: Sinsaenum, Vainaja, Foray Between Ocean [Reviews By Paul]

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Sinsaenum: Echoes Of The Tortured (earMusic)

Echoes Of The Tortured is a 21 song debut album from extreme metal outfit Sinsaenum. The band contain a number of iconic members of the metal community including Dragonforce bassist Frédéric Leclercq, who composed all the music and co-wrote the lyrics. Having had these demos since the late 1990s Leclerq eventually founded the band (the name based on the merger of sin and insane) with Loudblast frontman Stéphane Buriez who plays guitar on the album, drummer Joey Jordison, co-vocalists Sean Zatorsky of Dååth and Attila Csihar of Mayhem with bassist Heimoth (Seth) completing the line-up.

It’s a pretty brutal release as you’d expect, with not a love song to be seen. Jordison’s ferocious drumming is as impressive as ever, 110mph throughout whilst the combination of duel vocalists works brilliantly. At times it is just so aggressive you need your seatbelt on and I would not want to put this on the car stereo whilst in a rush on the motorway as I’d lose my licence. Lyrically there are no surprises, with themes of death, Dead Souls, Condemned To Suffer and anti-Christian intent, Excommunicare, Inverted Cross. The album fuses atmospheric interludes with all out extreme metal, the interludes providing some respite between the relentless barrages. For example, the haunting Lullaby allows breath to be regained after Dead Souls and the absolute carnage of Final Curse. Musically it is quite blisteringly good.

If you like extreme metal. If you don’t then what the hell are you doing here? Highlights? Well, the Sepultura tinged Army Of Chaos is immense, Condemned To Suffer merges Vader with Cannibal Corpse and the title track is just plain disgusting. It’s also a grower which gets better with repeated listens. I’m no death metal connoisseur but the demonic vocal delivery of Mayhem’s mouthpiece combine with a true death metal legend in Zatorsky gives the band the cojones. Oh, and the guitar work is superb too. Buy it. Don’t drive to it. That is all. 9/10

Vainaja: Verenvalaja (Svart Records)

Two years ago I was captivated by the atmospheric death doom of Finnish three piece Vainaja and their debut release Kadotetut; a sinister and haunting album based on a folklore tale of an evil cult. Two years have passed but the Finns are back with Verenualja or Blood Caster, six tracks of the most crushing and atmospheric death doom which focus on the first six chapters of a tome, written by the mysterious figure Wilhelm Waenaa, a leading figure in the cult upon which Kadotetut was based.

As with the debut release, the Finns remain stunningly heavy, with massive riffs, ominous vocals and now with the addition of some clean lyrics which enhance and add to the horrific tales. Opener Risti sets the scene before the pace increases with the brutal Sielu, a faster opening soon slows to the more familiar brooding death growl of bassist and vocalist Wilhelm; shades of Emperor and Dark Funeral coming to the fore. The track develops into a full blown monster with pounding drums and a cascade of guttural fretwork from Kristian. However, it is the unsettling vocals of Wilhelm that really unnerve you.

Clocking in at 44 minutes and consisting of a mere six tracks, you quickly realise that these aren’t short three-minute throwaway tracks and come the middle of the album, we hit the ten-minute centrepiece, the terrifying Usua. This brooding piece combines the most frightening death vocals with baleful clean vocals of guest Jarkko Nikkila, incredibly powerful riffs and Aukusti’s percussion fitting perfectly. The song slows halfway through, the addition of strings,0horns and the sound of thunder, flame and just the vocal of Wilhelm echoing some of Tom G Warrior’s most haunting work. This piece is the most powerful on the album and builds to an eerie conclusion with the use of strings and the crows echoing in the background.

The second half of the album continues with chapters 4, 5 and 6 of the book. Valaja maintains the intensity, evil riffs and dark lyrics flowing. Chapter 5, Kultti continues in the same vein, throbbing bass lines crash against foreboding guitar like waves against the rocks whilst Wilhelm’s vocals never cease to frighten with the guttural delivery. Album closer, the seven minute Kehto begins slowly and calmly, tension building as the flow of deathly vocals commences. It doesn’t pick up much in pace but continues to build in sheer weight with merciless doom laden riffs. The use of effects, synths and echoes really adds to the overall imagery with the contrast between Wilhelm’s portentous death vocal and Nikkila’s clean delivery just stunning. Whilst the influences of the band are plain throughout, Verenvalaja has built on their debut and has been worth the wait. With another 11 chapters still to be explored, the Vainaja journey has a good way to go. 10/10

Foray Between Ocean: Depression Neverending (Prime Eon Media Ltd)

Greek metal is becoming a far more regular feature these days and if you like atmospheric symphonic death metal then Foray Between Ocean’s debut release Depression Neverending will be to your tastes. At nearly an hour in length this is good value with twelve tracks that pound relentlessly at you. With a decent production and well-constructed songs, the band mix clean and death vocals well with the traditional blast beats, driving guitars and layered keyboards all in the mix. My immediate comparison was with India’s premier metal outfit Demonic Resurrection, who provide a similar sound. Lost Sky is a complex number, combine light and shade whilst Castaway In Disappointment goes full bore before allowing the band to express themselves a little more outside of the battering ram attack. John Toussas’s vocals are solid with the death growls and clean vocals working well. Themis Ioannau’s guitar work is excellent. The keyboard work of Dion Chistodonlatos really adds to the compositions, simple yet also complex.

In a very competitive field, Foray Between Ocean have served up a high quality release. Tracks such as My Orient and The End Of My Time demonstrate that they can hold their own in the balls out brutality stakes although whether they can stand out ahead of the crowd is difficult to predict and if I have one criticism it’s that all the tracks do tend to merge. If you like your metal full of atmospheric keyboards, blasting drumming and intricate guitar work then this is worth a listen. 7/10

Reviews: Blackfoot, The Dead Daisies, MaidaVale (Reviews By Paul)

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Blackfoot: Southern Native (Loud & Proud)

The original Blackfoot line-up which operated in the late 1970s and early 1980s hold a special place for me. One of the few bands from that era whose music I continue to play on a regular basis, the line-up of Rickey Medlocke, Greg T Walker, Charlie Hagrett and Jakson Spires produced some of the greatest Southern Rock of all time. Highway Song Live remains in my top five all-time live albums whilst Marauder, Strikes and Tomcattin’ contain absolutely essential rock tracks. The band released a series of radio friendly and to be blunt not very good releases after 1982 as the line-up fragmented and reshaped numerous times. To be honest, Blackfoot were always a band that only meant something with those four members in place.

Medlocke has been lead guitarist for Lynyrd Skynyrd for many years now but retains rights to the Blackfoot name and Southern Native, partly written and produced by him is the first release under the Blackfoot name for 20 years. A completely new line-up, which has been gigging under the banner since 2012 comprises guitarist and vocalists Tim Rossi and Rick Krasowski, bassist Brian Carpenter and drummer Matt Anastasi. The result? A polished album that disappointingly to these ears could have been delivered by anyone of a thousand other “Southern” sounding outfits. It’s a perfectly listenable release, but fails to deliver that cutting edge, pace or energy which put the original line-up so far apart. This is radio friendly Planet Rock music which stays safe and follows a standard blueprint. Call Of A Hero is ponderous, Everyman swerves between poignant and nauseating whilst the title track is just bland (and the video is dire). Unfortunately, there isn’t a track on this release that could hold a flame to the likes of Gimme Gimme Gimme, Every Man Should Know or Diary Of A Working Man. When the band do get going, on the likes of Whiskey Train and Love This Town then you finally get a touch of the old school but it’s too infrequent. After 20 years, I’d suggest that the ghost of Blackfoot should finally be laid to rest. It’s time to respect the history. 6/10

The Dead Daisies: Make Some Noise (Spitfire Music)

If you want competent safe cock rock which has been done a million times before and you don’t mind brainless, misogynistic lyrics then the third release from the much promoted “supergroup” of hired rock session musicians The Dead Daisies is going to be right up your street. If on the other hand you want some originality in your music then don’t bother even opening the sleeve.

Opener Long Way To Go is an Aerosmith wannabe, the title track is just dire Kiss-lite drivel and the inclusion of two covers, CCR’s Fortunate Son and The Who’s Join Together adds nothing. Okay, the musicianship is reasonable, but you’d expect it from this outfit. Last Time I Saw The Sun has the sleaze of Tyler and Co without the swagger and All The Same is just horrible. Why there is all the fuss about this outfit I have no idea and having seen them live at Steelhouse I am content to remain in the minority who think that The Dead Daisies should remain deceased. 4/10

MaidaVale: Tales Of The Wicked West (The Sign Records)

Heavy blues psychedelia? Well, it’s not unusual these days to be fair with the fantastic Blues Pills, Graveyard, Kadavar and The Vintage Caravan all well-established names of the genre. MaidaVale are another outfit to add to that list with their debut Tales Of The Wicked West an astonishingly mature release. Disappointingly not produced at Maida Vale Studios, the band combine a 1970s feel with a 1990s vibe, the mix of fuzzy guitar, despairing vocals and dirty grunge also adding elements of a maelstrom of influences, Blind Melon and Mother Love Bone to name but two. The band line-up is Linn Johannesson, Sofia Strom, Matilda Roth and Johanna Hansson and they formed in Farosund, Sweden in 2012. The album contains nine tracks, all of them high quality. Meandering melancholic closing track Heaven And Earth, which features some stunningly haunting guitar work and comes in at just under 11 minutes long is the choicest cut on an album which has one foot in the past and the other firmly planted in today. 8/10




A View From The Castle Grounds: Status Quo (Live Review By Paul)

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Status Quo: Caldicot Castle, South Wales

Status Quo are one of the very few bands that for some inexplicable reason I’ve never seen live. Growing up in the 1970s, I was fully aware of their double denim pomp in the early-mid part of the decade and as farcical as it now seems, back then Quo were a staple part of the rocker’s induction. Albums such as Piledriver, Quo, On The Level and 1980’s Jus Supposin’ along with the fantastic Quo Live were essential listening but for some reason I never got my arse to the live arena to catch the band perform. The opportunity to rectify this and catch the band a mere 20 minutes from home in the splendid setting of Caldiot Castle was snapped up. Inevitably the curse of the old rocker arrived in June when rhythm guitarist and one half of the essential Quo line up Rick Parfitt was hospitalised in Turkey with more heart problems.

Luckily, Parfitt is making a full recovery and the band have had to deal with this issue before with Freddy Edwards, son of Quo bassist ‘Rhino able once more to step into Parfitt’s glistening white daps (as we say in these parts) to ensure the show would go on.

Arriving at around 6.30, the first thing we noticed was how chaotic the initial organisation appeared. Parking the car was relatively straight forward but the arena was pretty crammed as we entered and it was only some common sense applied by a couple of stewards in rearranging barriers that were blocking access that finally got some frustrated members of the audience moving. A disappointingly poor range of beverages meant that cider was the order of the evening with a pricey £4.50 for a 500ml bottle. The usual range of uninspiring catering meant that an opportunity to get some local producers in was wasted. The crowd certainly had the appetite for a booze, with the balmy weather assisting in the consumption and a few early evening casualties were struggling to focus by the time the main support hit the stage.

Now although Quo are ancient, their music, certainly their pre-1982 stuff has always appealed. Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel (6) on the other hand have never floated my boat. Opening with The Beatles Here Comes The Sun Harley and his band delivered 75 minutes of folky bluesy tunes which blurred into one as the show wore on. The horrendous Mr Soft punctuated the consciousness midway through the set, by which time we’d moved to the other side of the stage where as usual there was more space (herd mentality avoidance technique #1). At long last the strains of the awful gurning Come Up And See Me (Make Me Smile), Harley’s biggest hit from 1975 signalled the end of a pretty limp set where more of the crowd seemed intent on necking Carling than watching. Obviously the final song got a huge reaction but for me it was the first time seeing Harley and that was once too much.

Bang on 8.30pm Status Quo (8) arrived on stage and Freddy hit the opening chords to Caroline; those chords always make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. This song is the ideal opener and really gets the blood pumping. Easy to sing along to, fists pumping in the air and encouraging the Gwent Valley commandos finest dad dancing, it was all happening. Front and centre stands Francis Rossi, lead voice and lead guitar. Stick thin, healthy and still bashing it out. Alongside him ‘Rhino’ Edwards, long serving bassist who took over some of the Parfitt vocals during the set whilst Andy Bown, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist remains ever reliable, a member of the band since 1976. Yep, that’s 40 years and he’s not even one of the fantastic four!  Keeping time at the rear of the stage, Leon Cave, a mere youngster at 38 (whose drum solo was possibly amongst the most limited I’ve ever seen but hey, these oldies need the breather).

The set list contained all the classics you’d expect, with highlights Roll Over Lay Down and a blistering Down Down. A medley mid-set included Down The Dustpipe and Wild Side Of Life whilst the folksy Gernudula saw the whole band lined up at the front of the stage for a rendition of the track which surfaced on 1971’s Dog Of Two Heads. It wasn’t all old school though with more recent tracks like Beginning Of The End mixed into the set.

Rossi is a likeable character, mumbling into the microphone between songs, mainly inaudible it has to be said but still performing magically, with some deft guitar work. As I said ‘Rhino’ picked up some of the vocal duties, his bluesy voice working well on tracks such as Whatever You Want. As dusk fell, the band moved to the final tracks of the night with the inevitable Rocking All Over the World closing the set before a double encore of Burning Bridges and Bye Bye Johnny closed an enjoyable evening.

As we left we discussed whether a second viewing of the band in the MIA in December was an option. Whilst the attraction of support REO Speedwagon is obvious to those of us who like a bit of AOR, Quo’s fans are a pretty irritating bunch at times and the thought of being seated amongst them for four hours is probably sufficient to keep my £55 in my pocket. It may not have been Parfitt and Rossi but Quo outside in the summer time was a worthwhile and enjoyable experience.

Reviews: Blues Pills, The Cadillac Three, Witch Tripper

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Blues Pills: Lady In Gold (Nuclear Blast)

Lady In Gold is at the top of my 'most anticipated' list, the sophomore record from Swedish rockers Blues Pills, I've wanted this album since the first time I played the debut, my anticipation increased by the number of times I've seen the band live and their impressive live record, thankfully I no longer have to wait any longer as Lady In Gold has landed here at MoM towers and it's everything I wanted it to be and more. Blues Pills haven't skipped a beat for their second full length offering it's the same kind of blues based psych-tinged rock that they did so well on their debut evoking the spirit of Woodstock, The Doors, Cream, Jeff Beck Group and Big Brother & The Holding Company but they just take everything up a level, there is a more focused but experimental feel to this record, Dorian Sorriaux's guitar playing flows like an ancient river, he fluidly peels off stunning leads, deftly handling the guitar for great effect. Behind his impressive guitar-work, primary writer Zach Anderson's bass gives the crunch with dexterous playing and groove, his bass and Sorriaux's guitar are both individuals, Anderson's bass the main rhythm and Sorriaux playing intricate melodic leads over the top.

Kudos to producer Don Alsterberg for the authentic 60's sound, as added to the guitars on the title track especially are some great organs and synths which is an element to the bands sound that seems to have been a lot more pronounced on this effort, which is no bad thing. André Kvarnström takes his seat on the kit and gives and understated workman-like performance knowing when to put in a well-placed fill and when to give space to the other instruments and of course the vocals. Ah yes the vocals the most devastating weapon in Blues Pills' arsenal the bewitching articulation of Elin Larsson steals the show for a second time, she has a superior set of pipes traversing between hushed introspection on I Felt A Change which also has it's fair share of electric piano and kicks into the creeping Gone So Long.

As I've said there is a lot of different influences that rear their head a touch of country on Bad Talkers, some swaggering funk on You Gotta Try and as the record comes to it's end Won't Go Back injects a bit of Spector R&B with Elin full-on soulful blues rock belting backed harmonising with some girl group vocals. Lady In Gold is everything you'd expect and more, it's draws what it needs to from the debut and expands on it positively for another record of 10 tremendous songs. Buy it, play it, do it now!! 9/10

The Cadillac Three: Bury Me In My Boots (Big Machine)

Southern/country rock doesn't come much more authentic than the Nashville trio The Cadillac Three, frontman Jaren Johnston has co-written songs with many Country artists meaning that he knows his way around a barn dance. So this leads me on to this second album from his band The Cadillac Three it's a more subdued affair than their rockier debut, moving into the full country sound a lot more than before with White Lightning a great example of this with it's cool, blissed out, acoustic vibe full of banjo, while This Accent has a sparse percussive sound, courtesy of drummer Neil Mason, it has the earworm capability of the modern day King Of Leon displaying that Cadillac Three have expanded their remit a lot more than before. They still can rock though as The South has dirty guitar and a hard rock punch, it also features backing vocals from Florida Georgia Line, Dierks Bentley, Mike Eli.

Many of the songs on this record will be familiar to anyone that picked up the Peace, Love & Dixie EP last year, with the funky Peace, Love & Dixie driven by Kelby Ray's Dobro and Johnson's shaking guitars, the lustful Hot Damn that name checks some rock n roll lotharios and has Kelby Ray sliding all over it and hip-shaking Party Like You is the third track from the EP on this record. However there are other tracks that have received heavy airplay that you may recognise Graffiti is a distinctly modern affair full of programming and massive sing along chorus, the Southern boy atmospheric ballad of Drunk Like You which speaks of the most addictive substance...women.

Loading a record with songs that have received a lot of airplay is a smart move on the band's part nonetheless some of the unheard tracks don't actually add much to the record, there is an element of things just being rehashed and a bit of filler being added on what is 14 track album. This record is a lot more country than their debut and it's better for it yes giving them a wider appeal away from the rock circles, there are too many tracks on this record with too many drawn from last years EP however The Cadillac Three have embraced their roots and Bury Me In My Boots points towards what's to come for the band. 7/10         

Witch Tripper: Witch Tripper (Self Released)

Mansfield trio Witch Tripper are making big waves in the UK scene, competing in the East Midlands leg of the Metal 2 The Masses for the second consecutive year, meaning that they once again get to play the prestigious Bloodstock festival, this time winning the final so getting the chance to play on the New Blood stage (last time they played the smaller Jagermeister stage). After two years of relentless gigging (the band were formed in 2014) they have built up quite a fan base and everything seems to be heading in the right direction for the triumvirate as they have unleashed their debut album just in time for their second BOA show.

The band is made up of Jimmy Collins on drums, Stoff on bass and Richie Barlow on vocals/guitar, they play heavy stoner rock in the vein of Orange Goblin, Clutch and Dirty Beard (their previous band) so big slabs of riffage are front and center throughout the three piece rocking their beards off with heavy bass rhythms leading tracks such as You Get What You Pay For and putting the groove on Chills To The Bone, coupled with some excellent snare driven drumming from Served My Time and searing shredding guitar work on Shout! and Attitude Adjustment. Full of heavy rock riffs and whiskey soaked vocals Witch Tripper is pounding tour-de-force of pounding stoner rock. 8/10 

A View From A Sunny Field: Bloodstock Festival 2016 (Friday Review By Paul)

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Bloodstock 2016 – Friday

Early this year I took the decision to give BOA a miss, partly due to the lazy bookings of Slayer, Anthrax, and with several of the on the bill still resonating in my ears following their recent UK tours. However, with my oldest buddy Brett reaching a milestone birthday, a day ticket for Friday was purchased for his birthday and we found ourselves off to Catton Hall again.

Accommodation was a hotel rather than camping and with a short taxi ride affordable we were on site not long after 9am. Once again the event staff were professional, friendly and welcoming, in stark contrast to the rent a mob at Download and we were allowed into the site an hour early to catch up with the crew.

As the sun blazed down, the Hobgoblin New Blood Stage filled nicely for opening band Witch Tripper (9). Coming out of Mansfield meant that the guys were almost local and their infectious hard driven stoner rock went down a storm. Energetic, enthusiastic and humble, the band’s short set contained some new material mixed with older tunes. The band are fun to watch and can play a good song, earning  appreciative nods all around. My only complaint was that their freebies thrown into the crowd didn't get near me! C’mon guys! A seriously good start.

Heading across the field and ignoring the battering that Hark were giving the main stage we hit the Sophie Lancaster Tent in time to catch the fantasy core lyrics of Worcester’s Fury (8) who put in a strong shift for their 30 minutes. With two full releases now behind them including their recent album Lost In Space, they had no trouble filing their set. Julian Jenkins’ voice is excellent and the band delivered musically with their thrash tinged metal memorable. A superb Britannia and the concluding round of sea shanty Drunken Sailor surely earned this hard working band some new fans. Excellent stuff.

Back into the sunlight and the main stage for the arrival of Gloryhammer (7). Led by Alestorm’s Christopher Bowes, Gloryhammer’s science fiction themed tales of hammers fuelled by their frantic power metal was well known to many in the field, with the tales of Angus McFife and set closer The Unicorn Invasion Of Dundee getting huge reactions. Much merriment and dancing throughout although my attention did wander as the set progressed.

The silliness was cranked up to 11 as Nottingham’s Evil Scarecrow (8) returned to the scene of their epic 2014 early morning set which has now gone down in BOA legend. Since that glorious day the band has released their third album, the crowd funded Galactic Hunt which provided new material and thankfully enabled them to drop The Final Countdown. Despite a 40 minute slot the band managed to get through a mere six numbers, but don't take that as a bad thing as it was riddled with ridiculous amounts of audience participation. From the early robot action as Robototron kicked in at song number two, the hilarious double pronged circle pit action in newbie Hurricandao and set closer Crabulon which saw the entire field scuttling left and right once again, it was all brilliantly good humoured fun. I was skeptical about the longevity of this band but once again they proved that when you've had a few beers and the sun is shining Evil Scarecrow is just the ideal festival band. (They didn't play Sheep though even though we here at MoM requested it)

With the idea of watching both Misery Loves Company and Stuck Mojo unpalatable, an hour or so of rest in the shade of the crew’s tent was very inviting. Next up was Pepper Keenan and Corrosion Of Conformity (5) on the RJD stage. I've never warmed to the sludge rock that CoC churn out and ten minutes of their baleful dirge was sufficient to convince me that nothing much had changed. As we wandered around the site to the well appointed Lemmy’s Bar, CoC ground out just under an hour which largely bypassed my senses. Boring and bloated, with little to really focus on? Maybe a little harsh but not much else dulls the senses in that way.

As we awaited Black Metal I (Matt) went over to the Sophie Tent for party rock heaviness XII Boar (7) kicking off to a raucous die hard crowd as hundreds poured to the main arena for Cronos & Co.

The originators of Black Metal, Venom (8) have long been touted for BOA. With only original vocalist and bassist Cronos in the ranks these days, some would argue that Venom Inc currently have more claim to the crown. Whoever is right I don’t know, but to me it’s the voice that always signifies the band and Cronos’s Geordie roar is Venom and no mistake. Disappointingly for the old schoolers amongst us, putting Venom on at tea time in the blazing sun is akin to having red sauce with your bacon sandwich; heresy! (Stief!) When they were first announced we assumed it would be as headliners, complete with the full pyrotechnic show. Unfortunately not to be and it was slightly surreal seeing the originators of the thrash and black metal movements stripped back to the basics in the early evening sun.

A rip roaring set which started five minutes early and overran slightly saw the band open with two from 2015’s excellent From the Very Depths, Long Haired Punks and The Death Of Rock ‘n’ Roll before the Venom Legions roared their approval as Bloodlust erupted into the arena. Oozing the confidence that has always given him the balls to lead the band in his focused way, Cronos stalked the stage, guttural vocals and demonic bass lines flowing. At the back of the stage behind his double bass drums and extended cymbal set up drummer Dante holds all the power that original drummer  Abbaddon had whilst guitarist La Rage (Stuart Dixon to his mum) strode about slicing and shredding at will.

The set contained a wide mix of tracks, with Venom focusing more on the present than the past. A decent selection from From The Very Depths was spliced with a trio from Fallen Angels alongside the real old school classics. Whilst the pyro was missing, the energy wasn’t and the band increased in intensity as the set developed. Countess Bathory was greeted with a huge pit and appreciative nods from Pepper Keenan and CoC at the side of the stage. Cronos kept the chatter to a minimum although he took the opportunity to have a dig at the promoters who hadn’t put the band at the top of the bill along with the incredulity that they were performing in bright sunlight. Finishing the main set with a massive Warhead and the fast paced Rise it was inevitable that the band would return to speed through Black Metal. Venom’s shows were always reliant on the stage show and if they can get the headline slot in a year or two the result could be very rewarding for all.

Hitting the Sophie tent after Venom, we found Beholder (7) in full force, ripping through the new more progressive and melodic tracks from their recent 3rd album, Reflections. Playing to a fairly sparse crowd didn’t bother one of BOA’s house bands and they had made the decision to stick mainly with material from the new release. Unfortunately that meant that the songs merged into each other a bit and a mix of older material might have enhanced the set. Frontman and BOA honcho Simon Hall's voice was in fine form though and the band looked and sounded tight and solid

Back to the main stage we arrived as Behemoth (8) arrived with their impressive stage set up. Playing the whole of The Satanist Nergal and co just ripped the stage apart. Their intimidating corpse paint and stage gear is totally supported by the blasting black metal they play. If you were at BOA in 2012 when the band put in one of the most impressive headline shows ever seen you’ll know what we saw. Although the show would have been better in the darkness, the flames still burned as the band hammered the crowd, Inferno battering the skins whilst Seth and Orion prowled the front. Highlights of the set? Well with such a massive album, you could say from start to finish butOra Prob Nobis Lucifer, Ben Sahar and the title track stood out. I doubt that any black metal band can match the might of the Poles at the moment. Impressive stuff indeed.

Forgoing the final moments of Behemoth’s set, a thinly populated Sophie Tent was the next destination for the first UK festival appearance of German symphonic metal outfit Beyond The Black (9). Not unknown to us (they opened for Saxon in Bristol 2014 - Ed) we watched the band play a stunning set, with Jennifer Haben’s fantastic voice one of the highlights of the day, the band is in the process of being totally overhauled with Jennifer looking for an entirely new band. Now I’m not sure whether the band that played were those musicians who are leaving or just hired guns, but you wouldn’t have guessed anything was different as they powered through some quality European symphonic metal. (They did feel like a totally new prospect to the band we saw open for Saxon - Ed) The band play a single UK show in February with Powerwolf and Epica in London. I would bet a full Welsh pound that members of the Musipedia will be in the audience for that one.

In 2010 Dee Snider and Co. performed a greatest hits sets that rounded off the festival on exactly the right note. Six years later and the band are bringing things to an end. The death of drummer AJ Pero has given the band a reality check and other irons in the fire along with the creep of a band entering their 60s makes a final fling a sensible option. But if you are going out, go out with all guns blazing and make no mistake about it, Twisted Fuckin’ Sister (10) went out in style.

Sister have always been a mighty juggernaut in the live arena, far heavier than on record and their final UK show was an absolute stormer. Playing well beyond the scheduled 90 minutes, every classic was greeted with joy by the crowd and for those of us old enough to remember the days in 1982 when the band hit the UK with such force, choice cuts from the first album were extra special. The skins were thumped in expert style by Mike Portnoy, who must have been very comfortable with the simpler patterns than some his more intricate Dream Theater work. Nevertheless, he did his job superbly and laid down the beat with Mark ‘The Animal’ Mendoza effortlessly. This allowed the riffage from Jay Jay French and Eddie Ojeda to cut across the night, with stunning fretwork all evening. Of course, the mouth of TFS is Dee Snider, and the man himself, looking incredibly fit and as energetic as those days at the Marquee in 1982, bounded across the stage all evening.

Throughout the emotionally charged set the band referred to the support from the UK which allowed them to continue their career back in the 1980s. French took the opportunity to have a pop at manufactured bands and Simon Cowell’s ‘industry’, whilst Snider made a couple of references to Download and other festivals that were not true to the ethos of Twisted Sister.The set was incredibly well balanced with enough of the real retro stuff to keep the old guard happy. Destroyer, Under The Blade and Shoot ‘Em Down sat comfortably alongside the more recognisable I Wanna Rock and We’re Not Going To Take It. Snider was at pains to confirm that this tour really is there last, barbs thrown at Scorpions, Priest and Kiss at this point.

Closing with a cover of The Stones’ It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll, you suddenly realised that this was the last time the make-up wearing shock rockers would be seen on UK shores. At least I hope it is as after all the statements a return would be greeted with shouts of ‘money grabbers’. And then we were into the final song. A brutal and raucous S.M.F. brought the curtain down on the UK live performances of Twisted Sister. Forty and Fuck It read the backdrop. Forty and still amazing would be my statement. Long live Twisted Sister. You will be missed.





A View From A Sunny Field: Bloodstock Festival 2016 (Saturday)

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Bloodstock Festival -Saturday

Saturday held some heavy hitters for the MoM crew with the likes of Rotting Christ, Paradise Lost and Gojira still to come the heaviness was increased tenfold since the Friday, so up beer, bacon and lazily we made are way to the arena as the thought of Cambion and Kill II This didn't interest me at all we chilled at the campsite for a bit too long unfortunately missing Mage but in time for the third band on the main stage the excellent Vallenfyre (8) the side project of Paradise Lost guitarist Gregor Mackintosh the death metal outfit are a particularly evil mob with lots of extreme tendencies bringing a gap between death and black metal, swathes of riffs hit you right between the eyes as Mackintosh gives a particularly volatile performance on the vocals screaming, screeching and roaring at every opportunity. I'd never seen Vallenfyre before but I would definitely see them again, it severed as the perfect aperitif for the heaviness that was to come.

There had been a lot of wrangling going on about the next band. Were they in? Were they out? Had they breached some kind of agreement? Whatever the truth was finally it was sorted and Akercocke (5) took to the stage for their first gig in six years, they seemed to have considerable performance rust on them as the vocals seemed shot and after a couple of songs I gave up and headed over to the Sophie Tent for the spiritual awakening of Vodun (8) the London three piece was the right antidote to Akercocke, their groove laden, percussive hard rock got you body moving as the band stirred themselves up into a frenzy on stage their voodoo groove, Ogoun pounding the rhythmic, tribal beats while Marassa peels off riff after fuzzy riff being both guitarist and bassist, but your eyes are focused most of the time on Oya the vocalist who howls and moans like she's possessed using percussion instruments to augment the already propulsive sound. In the live filed Vodun are magnetic and mystical getting everyone in the Sophie tent caught up in their musical spell.

From Spells to curses back on the mainstage for the Greek metal legends Rotting Christ (10) a band that we first saw at BOA two years ago laying waste to the Sophie Tent with a stunning headline performance, filled with ominous atmosphere they create along with mountains of visual aides and lighting effects. There was a lot of talk in our camp whether they could have the same impact in the middle of the day in the bright sunlight but as the Diamanda Galás'Orders From The Dead blared out of the PA the band led by the incredibly charismatic Sakis took to the stage a blasted into Ze Nigmar from most recent offering Rituals which rapidly moved into the first of three from Katá ton Daímona Eaf̱toú (True To Your Own Spirit) the excellent Kata ton Demona Eautou with the other two tracks from that album being the impressive encompassing In Yumen-Xibalba twinned with Grandis Spiritus Diavolos meaning that the majority of their set came from their two most recent albums interspersed with some classics like Thy Sign of Evil Existence.

What is always so impressive about Rotting Christ is that just how sonically powerful they are, their songs encompass a few styles from death, to black, through doom, to classic metal but they are all delivered with a commanding performance from the four piece led by Sakis. If you consider the occult lyrical content of their songs many focus on spiritualism, Satan and the occult, welcoming everyone watching and listening to their unholy church which puts Sakis in the position of Bishop leading the dark sermons as he and George Emmanuel play riff after earth moving riff as the rhythm section of Vangelis Karzis (bass) and Themis Tolis (drums) conjure thunder in the backroom. As the set progressed with very little interaction from the band, another key to their imposing stage show, our collective necks were throbbing from the headbanging taking place until finally with the climatic Noctis Era the show was finished and we all took a collective breath.

All of our fears were washed away by the band, they are equally as impressive in the middle of the day as they are at night headlining. Yes that was special but this was yet another fantastic set from a band who cross genre and indeed language barriers with every album performing songs in English, Greek and Latin meaning that the Church of Rotting Christ is one that knows no factions just come together and bang your head.

We had to take well earned beer and food break after that forgoing Fear Factory's industrial stomp and retreating to the campsite for yet more dirty Strongbow (Dark Fruits and Cloudy), John Bleeding Smiths (Extra Smooth no less) and as much pot pasta as we could eat. With Mr Hewitt sticking to the camp myself and the rest of our group Stief and our resident love birds made our way to the main arena for British doom-mongers Paradise Lost (9) who were on seriously good form playing a wide set drawing three songs, No Hope In Sight, Flesh From Bone and Benath Broken Earth from their killer recent record The Plague Within although the growls have been toned down since I last saw them. Paradise Lost's frontman Nick Holmes is one of the major parts I love this band, his vocals can be a bit hit and miss but today he was at his best, however other than his vocals his between song banter is some of the best.

He is possibly the grumpiest man in rock music dedicating one song to "The worst lighting man in the world, God"due to the fact the sun was hitting him in the face for the duration of the set, as Holmes is the old curmudgeon, Gregor Mackintosh is his silent partner in crime (albeit not so silent in Vallenfyre) chugging away along with Aaron Aedy and Steve Edmondson. The set was strong drawing from classic such as Gothic with Eternal and Rapture along with the The Last Time and Hallowed Land from the monstrous Draconian Times, Paradise Lost once again showed why they have such longevity with a back-catalogue of stone cold killer songs and a performance style that is endearing and entertaining.

From the pounding Gothic doom to razor sharp modern thrash in the shape of late additions to the bill Bull Riff Stampede (8) who stepped in at the last minute to replace Myrath. This proved to be a masterstroke by the BOA bosses as Bull Riff are currently riding an upward curve and to see them not far off releasing their excellent second record was great as they set the Sophie stage ablaze with their intense aggressive brand of pure thrash metal dual guitars shredding, drums flailing, bass galloping and vocal snarling, their set went by in frenzy of technical guitar playing, blazing solos and proper thrash songwriting which was the perfect pick me up we needed after the slower pace of Paradise Lost to ready us for the monstrous (pun intended) special guests that were about to take to the main stage.

 I'm going to say this now and most of the MoM agreed with me (which is unusual) the French masters of only the heaviest metal Gojira (10) should have headlined the Saturday they have enough albums, memorable songs, outright heaviness and most importantly a stage presence that rivals Rotting Christ's earlier in the day. They also have a stunning new album with Magma which meant that they didn't have the L'Enfant Sauvage light up head to use as a visual piece this was backdrop banner and four men playing the most crushing groove heavy metal but by Odin's Beard that is all they needed as they opened proceedings with a thrilling trio of Toxic Garbage Island, L'Enfant Sauvage and The Heaviest Matter In The Universe. As is always true with Gojira playing you feel them rather than see them every song shifts your internal organs with the massive down-tuned riffs credited to Joe Duplantier and the ever bouncy Jean-Michel Labadie the fret slides and general rhythmic discord is driven mercilessly by the magnificent drumming from Joe's brother Mario who uses his kit like a weapon.

On new songs Silvera and Stranded Christian Andreu displayed his lead guitar skills with the more melodic touches they bring, however there was no rest, some breif snippets of interaction from Joe but then it back to bone shattering and turning your insides to jelly with Flying Whales, Wisdom Comes and the neck snapping Backbone. At 12 songs the set was hand picked for maximum impact and volume with small gaps in proceeding to allow the huge crowd to compose themselves before the next aural battering, Gojira should have definitely headlined Saturday and they shouldn't be playing third fiddle to Alter Bridge and Volbeat, but that's an argument for another time. The Bloodstock was triumphant bore witness to Gojira the arena band!

With the strains of the French groove metal still ringing in our ears it was time for the main stage headliners Atlanta Wildlings Mastodon (8) who I've personally seen numerous times and yes they are a good band but they did seem a little out of place as a headliner still with mountains of psych filled, stoner metal riffs along with some very recognisable songs such as Colony Of Birchmen, Blood And Thunder, Megalodon all coming at the end of the set it was up to them to fill the rest of the set with some of their other more progressive numbers sprinkling in a recognisable number here and there playing a mammoth (again pun intended) 20 song set list backed by some trippy visuals the band ploughed through their set with little interaction, triple vocal delivery and riffs a-plenty however despite this being a festival headline slot they didn't do what both Twisted Sister and indeed Slayer did and stick to 'the hits' playing 6 songs from their most recent album and neglecting the massive sing along Curl Of The Burl yes OK we got some older tracks from their breakthrough record Blood Mountain as well as from Leviathan but The Hunter was all but ignored. Despite some glaring omissions (in my opinion) in the setlist, the crowd were receptive in spite of the band just locking in and playing off in their own little world.

I think there was just a sense of apathy from myself after being destroyed by Gojira mere moments before, Mastodon are a band that bring continuity with their live show, they will probably never start incorporating the vaudeville elements of Twisted Sister neither will they have the sheer live power of bands such as Slayer but it was good to see them getting some recognition for their years slogging away in the live field. No Mastodon may not have been the most popular choice for headliner (or indeed special guest) some of the message boards were down right derisive and personally I think the headliner and special guest roles should have been flipped, but Bloodstock likes to mix it up and showcase headliners that many may not have seen in that position before (if ever).

It always does seem to be a little sink or swim doing this and Mastodon didn't sink but there were moments where they were treading water a little still, the amassed hordes were there to witness a bit of history that hopefully will make many other festival operators realise that there are new headliners rather than the same tired ones we've all seen before. They just ignore them where as Bloodstock embrace them. As we headed back to the campsite, we stupidly forgot Acid Reign were in the tent and missed them (next time it is), we talked about future headliners (Judas Priest?) and then turned our attention to the eclectic final day that was waiting for us.   

A View From A Sunny Field: Bloodstock Festival 2016 (Sunday)

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Bloodstock Festival - Sunday

Third and final day of Bloodstock, the mind was willing but body was falling apart as is only natural on the third day of bands (fourth day overall), but after yet another bad nights sleep it was an early start. The third day was a bit more hit an miss only really taking off towards the evening. Due to work constraints on Monday, this was going to be an early finish meaning that Slayer was going to have to be sacrificed. That was then this was now and we made our way into the arena after the obligatory bacon (at Bloodstock every morning involves bacon).

As we hit the main stage for Ghost Bath (4). Now on record Ghost Bath an instrumental band that play heavy blackened atmospheric doom with subtle background vocals, however live the atmospheric and frankly great music, however the banshees like squeals are brought to the fore and sounded comical cutting through the instrumentation, with a bit more balance they would be listenable but unfortunately it wasn't a great start.

Still lots to see and it was over into the Sophie tent for Desert Storm (7) and Oxford heavy blues metal outfit with a similar riff based style of Clutch and Orange Goblin and the whiskey soaked vocals to match, they managed to get some very sore heads banging in the early morning and were warmly received once their set had ended, finally things were back on track after the previous travesty and we were off and rocking.

Sticking in the Sophie tent, following Desert Storm was another UK band, I was intrigued to see what the alt rock styling of Sanguine (6) sounded like live and to be honest the band are reasonably generic almost rap style metal with songs that blur into one and other. In the New Blood Tent we caught the whole set from instrumental stoner Kahtet (9) who play excellent music that just makes you want to bang your head and lose yourself in the sounds.

Over to the main stage for Unearth (7) who's stage banner left you in doubt of who you were watching repeating the name five times in very large letters. Unearth are perfectly watchable modern metalcore, they don't do anything particularly new but to see a band that came out of the New Wave Of American Metal still pull a larger crowd is always heartening.

Back to the Sophie Tent for British bruisers Krysthla (8) who took to the stage and proceeded to destroy it with the primordial brand of heavy metal that batters you into submission. The riffage was loud and brutal the two guitars (Neil Hudson & Noel Davies) and the bass (Carl Davis) working together to punish the strong crowd that increased throughout the set as Wayne Minny's rapid fire drum beats, the big riff breakdowns and Adi's blood curdling roar all got fists pumping an heads banging. Playing songs from their excellent debut album the band seemed to be loving every minute and showed those that had not seen them before that they mean serious business, more of this soon chaps please?

After Krysthla had demolished the stage it was up to Divine Chaos (8) to burn the wood so there was no coming back and my gosh did they do that, their laser guided thrash metal ripped the last remnants of life out of the crowd as the blitzed them with supreme speed and breakdowns inciting as many pits as possible.

As I came out deafened by the two proceeding bands I began moving to the Main Stage it was time for Metal Allegiance (2) the all-star tribute group orchestrated by bass player and music mogul Mark Menghi has had numerous members take part in the two full length records and one EP that they have released so there was speculation about who was going to be playing. We already knew it wouldn't be Mike Portnoy as he is locked in to Twisted Sister until their tour finishes but with so many of the contributors all available, on the same day even, there so much potential for this to be something special.

It wasn't special not even in the slightest, in fact it was dire, bilge for the entire set. Behind the drum stool was Charlie Benante (my pick for the role), on guitars was Testament's Alex Skolnick, bass was obviously Menghi, and on the vocals was Death Angel's Mark Osegueda. They played just two songs from their album of originals and the rest of the set was made up of covers including some curveball choices of Wrathchild, Into The Void and Fast As A Shark.

The band are all great players but this was nothing more than a karaoke set on the main stage of a major festival where another band could showcased their own songs rather than a slightly self-indulgent set from established rockstars, hell I'd have preferred Testament or Death Angel. As the tribute to Bowie (Suffragette City) Lemmy (Iron Fist - featuring Gary Holt) and RJD (Heaven And Hell - one from the Anthrax repertoire) were all included I found my attention wandering wishing I was somewhere else.

What was most annoying though was that Mark insisted upon adopting the vocal mannerisms of the singers during the songs, this reinforced that this was nothing more than famous musicians indulging in a tribute act similar to the Hollywood Vampires project. Had they stuck tot heir own songs and thrown in the Lemmy, Dio and Bowie covers I think it would have been much better.

As it stands I left the stage as Heaven And Hell was playing to catch some heavy occult doom with Witchsorrow (8) who are possibly the most miserable fuzz filled band this side of Electric Wizard (there's a Sophie Tent headliner if I've ever heard one), they managed to clear my head ready for my next jaunt to the main stage.

In between the main stage bands there are always a few bands on the small Jagermeister stage, this year every band was an underground British band, unfortunately we only managed to catch one of the bands playing, who happened to be one of the best bands we'd seen all day. The band were the politically, ethically, socially and zombie motivated Outright Resistance (8) whose modern take on metal field with sledgehammer riffs, blast beats and the uncompromising no bullshit approach of vocalist Paige who channels her own transitioning and personal internal struggles into the songs creating a defiant unifying fuck you to anyone that cares to oppose them.

The music is aggressive, modern metal evoking bands such as Chimaira, Machine Head, Lamb Of God and Parkway Drive, as Paige jumped around the stage, bar and field barking her lyrics into the mic with her guttural vocals as the band battered the small but lively audience, they even made a wall of death which saw Paige actively participate in while singing. Outright Resistance are something of a eye opener I've seen very few bands with this much passion, sheer aggression and with such a revolutionary spirit for a long time. The MoM camp was right  next to their's too and despite their loud, late night discussions they were all very affable, lovely people. Check out Outright Resistance where you can as they have oodles of potential and better still they are a unifying force against hate.        
Mainstage time and band I've only ever seen once but can't remember at all so I was excited to see Satyricon (6) but as soon as the opening strains of The Dawn Of A New Dark Age kicked in myself and Mr Hewitt (who was probably more excited to watch the band than anyone) noticed something was dead wrong with the sound, the drums seemed to just swallow up everything else there were no keys at all, not the best thing for a 'symphonic' black metal band and the guitars were every low in the mix, in fact for most of the set all that was audible were the drums and Satyr's vocals.

The horrible sound made the set drag long as every song sounded the same even though we knew they weren't and the incessant and over loud drumming ruined the set that was drawn heavily from their Nemesis Divina album. I may have to see Satyricon again to make a proper judgement but here they suffered at the hands of the sound.

The gremlins continued into the next band meaning that British extreme power metal mentalists'Dragonforce (7) had to truncate what was supposed to be their triumphant return to just five songs, three newies including Cry Thunder and two classics ending with 'that' song (Through The Fire And The Flames) during the set the band did their normal ultra-speed riffing and metal posturing but once again the keys were inaudible and as the road crew frantically tried to fix it the consummate professionals Herman Li and Sam Totman not only solo'd their asses off but also handled the keyboard solos as well. Marc Hudson's voice gets better with every show (he recently had illness forcing him off stage) and the crowd did seem to really enjoy the shorter more focused set. I hope Dragonforce do a full UK tour soon as I love the band and this was nowhere near a full show.               
Running over to the Sophie tent I was just in time to catch a bit of Vektor (7) who were laying waste to the tent with their expertly technical progressive thrash coupled with black metal vocals and changing time signatures to make sure they kept everyone on their toes and more importantly moshing.

Then it was back to the mainstage for Americans Symphony X's (8) debut at BOA and they plowed through a set made up of the majority of the their latest album Underworld including one of the weekends few power ballads Without You. Symphony X were on winning form even with a couple of technical hitches they powered through their brand of muscular prog/power metal with particular kudos going to Michael Romeo and Russell Allen who are the focal points of the band on the live stage. Their set wound up with three classics leaving the audience very receptive and won over those in the group who had not seen Symphony X at all or indeed for a long time. During the set (the majority of which I had seen earlier in the year) I managed to catch a couple of numbers from Valous (7) on the New Blood tent and I was impressed with what I saw having missed them at Fire & Forge festival last year, ones to go on the list.   

Our final band of the day had the prospect to be very special, Memoriam (10) is a British death metal 'supergroup' made up of members of legendary Benediction and Bolt Thrower and serves as a fitting tribute to the latter after they have hung up their instruments for good. This was the first performance for Memoriam and the collected talent on stage was evident due to it's faultless nature. The stage dressing was affecting and horrific, depicting rotting soldiers in far flung battlefield, the intro music saw a piano piece played and the band took to the stage. The band are Benediction/Sacrilege bassist Frank Healy, Benediction guitarist Scott Fairfax, former Bolt Thrower drummer Andy Whale (who was replaced by the now tragically deceased Martin Kearns) and headed up by the thunderous definitive roar and white mane of Bolt Thrower's Karl Willets who received a heroes welcome as he strode onto the stage.

As with Bolt Thrower the songs are about war, death, sadness and grief, Willetts himself has said that the music is catharsis for dealing with the death of Martin Kearns. They drew the set from the as yet released debut record and what we heard was indeed new, to us and the band but was exactly as you'd expect, classic British death metal that chugs, roars and evokes evil with every concussive drum hit, crunching riff and scream. They played two tracks from their demo single War Rages On and Resistance which joined the excellent opening Memoriam, Dronestrike and Surrounded (By Death) as the new Memoriam material.

They also threw in some covers from their other bands in the shape of The Captive from Healy's influential act Sacrilege then in the middle of the set they plumped for Spearhead and Powder Burns from Bolt Thrower ending with another new song Flatline which had mine and Mr Hewitt's pulses stopping. The band were excellent but the show bittersweet, it was great to see the band on stage and especially Karl having an amazing time, but it reminded both of us that we may never see Bolt Thrower again, which brought a small tear to my colleagues eye, or that could have been the pain in his neck after head banging to this simply amazing new band full of old faces and a classic sound.

I wasn't going to go to Bloodstock this year due to life constraints and the fact that many of the bands playing I had seen on the touring cycle since BOA last year, however I'm glad I did as there were still so many "I was there moments" that I couldn't think of being anywhere else. The weather was perfect, the company was excellent (including some of my best and for the first time my oldest friend) the beer plentiful and the music, well it's the best in the world and all of this means that year upon year I will return to Catton Hall, putting up with the camping and the raucous, drunken noise at night to be in place where everything I could ever want is all together. For me personally this year had one notable exception but this won't happen again I'm sure. Bloodstock continues to cement itself as the UK's premier metal festival! (Tickets on sale now folks!!)      

Reviews: Sabaton, Gene The Werewolf, Electric Fence

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Sabaton: The Last Stand (Nuclear Blast)

Swedes Sabaton are back with yet another record of more bouncy power metal based on yet more war themes. I suppose the lyrical content will run out when they run out of wars, but still they seem to find inspiration from somewhere. So what make The Last Stand different to it's predecessors well this is Sabaton so nothing, which will come as a relief to new fans but may irritate longer term listeners as they seem to be continuing with the lighter weight sound from their last few records. This record seems to be a lot more keyboard orientated than their live set, something that I think is lacking in their stage show, it would be a lot more representative of their sound much like it used to be.

Here they are a blessing and a curse as they make tracks like Sparta sound like an excellent symphonic film score but equally the synth bagpipes on The Battle Of Bannockburn turns an already weak song into a bit of a joke. The playing on the record is as usual good and Joacim still has a chest beating vocal delivery but this album just screams "reason to tour" i.e just an excuse to add new songs to their live show which is where the band shine, this isn't a bad thing by any means, stick with what you are good at but the quality of the songwriting is much lower than on Art Of War, Coat Of Arms and Primo Victoria, in places it's almost a pastiche of itself. The songs vary in quality and move from the sublime leg pounding classic Sabaton on Rorke's Drift to curveball of throbbing electro industrial of Lost Battalion then to the the title track where I defy you not to sing the theme from Chuckle Brothers during the middle section.

Like I've said I'm surprised about the extensive keyboard use on this record and I think they'd benefit getting a keyboardist in the band again, but that's not my call. There is a bit of a goofy laziness to this album, it's Sabaton doing what their newer fans expect; slightly silly by the numbers power metal with an ear to the pop mainstream. I urge you to get the limited edition version because even though the Judas Priest cover is not necessary the other bonus track Camouflage is actually one of the strongest tracks on the record. The Last Stand is Sabaton being Sabaton but at nowhere near their best. 7/10

Gene The Werewolf: The Loner (Self Released)

I loved Gene The Werewolf's first international release Rock N Roll Animal it's been played to death at MoM towers since I first heard the record. The bawdy, sleazy, fist pumping biker rock contained on it still puts a stupid smile on my face every time I play it. I must say I did lose touch a little with Gene and Co after the album, so you can picture my grinning face when I stumbled upon The Loner which is Gene's newest album, his first in 2 years and his third (in the US) album overall.

The Loner is an apt title to the record as Gene and his band of merry men are really iconoclasts due to the music they play, there is no urge to be famous or part of the crowd, they play music that is ingrained in the hard rock tradition, they do so for their own enjoyment mainly as there is not a shred of compromise to be had anywhere. It's the music they love, played their way and if you love it too jump on your Harley and come along, if not then keep walking while the rest of us bask in the hard rocking that take place from the opening swagger of The Walking Dead which has Gene covering the zombie apocalypse in his own unique style while Whitesnake/Winger axe man Reb Beach adds some scorching guest guitar solos (Beach is from the band's home city of Pittsburgh).

What follows from this are 9 tracks of pure unadulterated rock n roll harking back to American hard rock sleaze driven early 80's heyday think Motley Crue and G'N'R jamming to Ted Nugent, KISS and AC/DC this will tell you all you need to know. Gene handles the howls, croons, wails and screams of the vocalist position as well as playing a mean guitar (SG of course) aided and abetted by Drew Donegan also on six-strings, bassist Tim Schultz, drummer Nick Revak and Aaron Mediate bringing the keys/organs, he has assembled a supremely competent band to support him among more guests who rear their head throughout.

Once again I'm in awe of Gene's vocals, he has such an expansive expressive range to his Southern drawl, applying it with gusto on the cracking tracks that fill this album with the ZZ Top-like Too Kool For Skool which is full of blues harp and the honky tonk title track. The second half of the album moves away from the Southern sounds to a more classic hard rock feeling with Let It Loose and Fortune And Fame bringing to mind G'N'R. The Loner is another great album from Gene The Werewolf check it out if you love classic rock at it's best! 9/10

Electric Fence: Motorkiller (Self Released)

Electric Fence hail from Madrid but their sound is rooted deep in the late 60's early 70's hard rock legacy but with massive amounts of Southern rock power. Stole The Fire which opens the record sounding like lost Cream track but with a nod to Wolfmother with the riff and the howling vocals. Much like with the Gene The Werewolf record they have an eclectic sound the title track sounds like Lynyrd Skynyrd mixed with driving AC/DC riffage. The album grabs you by the balls and doesn't let you go with it's fusion of modern meets classic sounds the guitarists play laid back slide blues on What I Am which also shows off the frontman's incredible soulful vocals very similar to Myles Kennedy but with a much grittier bottom end.

Motorkiller astounds on every song it's the Spanish band's third album and this shows, all of the songs on this record are well written played and most importantly produced, they just sound warm and welcoming bringing you into the record as the drumming work get hips shaking on Don't Dare while Red Moon Rising has a bass driven Zeppelin sound while Black Widow once again brings the heavy Country of Molly Hatchet. There are just so many sounds on this record that any discerning rock fan will find something they will love, especially those that love a Stetson wearing, whiskey drinking Southern rock

Electric Fence have bit of a duff name but their music is just that brimming with electricity and a fresh approach to classic rock as well as having the flavours to some of the biggest modern bands such as The Temperance Movement, The Cadillac Three, Blackberry Smoke, Airbourne and so many others. The album plays as almost a jukebox of classic rock music and yes there is a bit of a mish mash of sounds but they are all anchored by a love of rock music. Impressive stuff from the Spanish rockers, now let's organise a tour shall we? 9/10    

Reviews: Mitch Malloy, Preacher, Blind Saviour

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Mitch Malloy: Makin' Noise (Self Released)

Mitch Malloy came to prominence by signing to RCA back in the early 90's releasing his debut record Mitch Malloy in 1992, he proceeded to release records throughout the 90's and into the 2000's chalking up some top 20 hits, an appearance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and even auditioned for the job of Van Halen vocalist after Sammy Hagar's departure (the job actually went to Gary Cherone and we all know how that went, so maybe he dodged a bullet). Malloy is something of a name in his native USA but he has never really broken this side of the pond. Well on the back of this his seventh solo album things are set to change as Malloy will set out on UK tour (including Cardiff), so does the album warrant the tour? Happily it does, if you love classic American hard rock then Makin' Noise will get you very excited, with nods to Bon Jovi, Tesla, Winger, the Red Rocker himself littered throughout, there's even some old school British rock present with Speak Of The Devil having the heavy organ riffs of Deep Purple.

The songs on this record are very strong, with fist pumping rockers like Rock N RollMy Therapy and Shook sitting pretty with ballads like It's Just A Word which is a little Beatlesesque and the Blue collar storytelling of the lighter-waving I Was Wrong which has a sound developed in the heart of Malloy's adopted home Nashville. What's impressive about this record is that Malloy, plays, sings and produces everything, there is real care and attention it's authentic hard rock music that was all over MTV in it's heyday, tracks like Alone conjure images of driving a muscle car through the desert with your luscious locks blowing in the wind and a smokin hot babe in the passenger seat.

It's decadent but with a working man's grit, for all the posturing that comes through there are tender moments as mentioned but mostly what is evident is the talent of Malloy, his vocals are practically perfect see Life Has Just Begun and his musicianship is incredible from the first chord. Makin' Noise is a great hard rock record and really whets the appetite for the upcoming live dates, pick up the album, learn the songs, get yourself down to one of the shows and get ready to party like it's 1995!! 9/10

Preacher: Aftermath (Self Released)

When you listen to Preacher you have to ask yourself a single question. Do you like Pink Floyd? If the answer is no then move on, however if it;s a solid yes then welcome to the best Pink Floyd album released since Division Bell. Aftermath is pure Floyd from start to finish, the emotive guitar playing backed by the swirling synths will bring to mind the legendary sounds of Gilmour and Wright especially on War Reprise with atmospheric music where the silence speaks just as loud as the sound. The eight piece Scottish band are heavy touring combo that features three guitarists, Greg Murphy only one playing the searing leads, the other two being Martin Murphy on rhythm and Ron Rodger acoustic respectively.

In the rhythm section they also have Gordon Munro on bass and Iain Duncan on drums echo the rhythmic power of Waters and Mason which is fused with the massive use of keys from Arny Burgoyne all of which comes together to create epics soundscapes not seen since the heyday of progressive rock. Vocally too the spirit of Floyd is worn all over Aftermath Martin Murphy's vocals simultaneously evoke Waters and Gilmour but also Bowie on Hold On and Mark Knopfler on the incredibly good Welcome To The Fray, Martin's smooth tones often give way to gritty shouting on the harder edged songs.

The record opens with the title track which is built upon a single piano piece and a haunting vocal as the synths bubble underneath, it's slow burning opening that explodes into an amazing guitar solo to end the piece as Angela Bell and Kerry McWhinnie provide the "ooh" choirs. This sophomore album harks back to the glory days of progressive rock with a massive amount of Pink Floyd but also King Crimson and Yes, if you love classic progressive rock then you must buy this album it's simply stunning. 9/10          

Blind Saviour: The Master Plan (Self Released)

Blind Saviour are apparently Malta's best and only power metal band formed by bassist Karl Friggieri, guitarist Aldo Chircop and drummer Robert Friggieri out of the ashes of thrash/speed metal band Phantom Lord. Along the way they were joined by singer Rachel Grech and guitarist Campos Gellel and after a brainstorming session Blind Saviour was born. The Master Plan is the bands debut release and follows the story of the Blind Saviour character so yes it's a concept album but one where the individual songs are used to tell the story rather than the Rhapsody-esque segues and spoken word sequences.

The power metal style is similar to that of Blind Guardian (a notable influence), Iced Earth, Freedom Call or really any dual guitar wielding heavy power metal band, there is not much room for keys relying mainly on the shredding, bass galloping and rattling blasts of percussion to power the sound. Musically it's been done before but Blind Saviour do it well with enough enticing riffs and solos for any discerning power metal fan.

They also have scored big time with vocalist Rachel who has a wide range soaring into highs from a powerful mid, similar to UK band Triaxis the band are not you usual female fronted mob this is fist pumping metal that just happens to have female singer. The Master Plan is a tough sounding, accomplished debut from a band that are both the originators and innovators of the sound in their fair country, hopefully those outside Malta will also take Blind Saviour to their hearts. 8/10  

A View From The Back Of The Room: Ministry

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Ministry & Devildriver, Tramshed Cardiff

Two days removed from Bloodstock Open Air and with the festival blues kicking in hard, it was time for a little bit of hair of the dog. This was the first of only a handful of UK dates on the tour for the American masters of industrial metal Ministry who are still led by the eccentric genius that is Al Jourgensen. As I met up with Hutchings the younger and his lovely lady, as well of the excitable Retro Girls we took in a few Butcombe Golds and headed into the venue, taking residence on the balcony (having seen the support act a fair few times this is always the best vantage point) as we waited we once again admired the venue which is one of the best in Cardiff.

Then the waiting was over and the five piece wrecking machine that was Devildriver and as the instrumental pieces started to riff frontman Dez stormed the stage and we were off with one of the most aggressive performances I've ever seen from the band, Dez seemed intensely pissed off stalking the stage and barking the lyrics to End Of The Line and Not All Who Wander Are Lost and between the songs flipping the bird and encouraging the crowd to reciprocate the gesture. Devildriver have always been a band that live for the live arena, unfortunately many of those gathered don't realise that in a Devildriver show pitting is mandatory, so it was up to a couple of veteran fans to start the pits for Daybreak and the confrontational I Could Care Less.

Finally there was action on the floor so the band ploughed on but with little interaction except for Dez's occasional attack of the crowd for being stationary but this anger translated into a vicious setlist that contained Before The Hangman's Noose, Clouds Over California and wrapped up with the powerful Ruthless and Meet The Wretched. This was the most direct and violent I've seen Devildriver in long time and Dez himself seemed honoured to be supporting Ministry and claimed he would watch the band from the front with a bottle of wine in his hand (I thought they didn't allow glass in a venue?). Devildriver seemed to me to be an odd fit but it made sense at the climax of their set, it made the blood inside you heat up and got you ready for aural battering that was about to start. 8/10

So the stage was set and the bass started to throb, John Bechdel's keys and electronics providing an integral part of the Ministry sound, with the industrial stomp of the band on display it takes you by surprise just how much of a heavy prospect they are on stage. The dual guitars of Sin Quirin and Cesar Soto, who is the latest to take up the mantle left by Mike Scaccia after his death in 2012, riffing together as one tight unit while the heavy bass rhythms of Jason Christopher is matched by Roy Mayorga's impressive drumming. The set kicked off with Hail To His Majesty (Peasants) which serves as the introduction to "Uncle Al" as he strode on stage with his mask hat and cane ready for the amassed peasants to worship.

The aggression didn't let up as Punch In The Face was accompanied by images of his Trumpness as Ministry aurally and visually assaulted the crowd with a mixed set including more modern tracks including the amazing Rio Grande Blood and a sprinkling of classics such as the colossal sounding N.W.O and Just One Fix. There was no let up with Ministry no chit chat just a barrage of pounding riffs and shout along choruses that Jourgensen spits through his vocoder as he prowls the stage while his band kick the crap out of the of you, occasionally he picks up a guitar and adds some discord to the madness showing why he is such and impressive multi-faceted  The sound in the arena was almost deafening, possibly one of the loudest gigs this year, luckily the venue suited for the noise however the vocals of both bands did suffer a little. Still the main set was 13 songs long and as Stigmata and Thieves finished the main event in fine style.

We were allowed to get the ringing out of our ears before the twisted sermon recommenced Jourgensen downing two beers before starting with Psalm 69 and So What which got the pits going again before Khyber Pass and Gates Of Steel finished everyone off one last time. An audio/visual treat, Ministry's influence can be seen in acts like Rammstein, Rob Zombie and Slipknot with this set being an amalgamation of all three of those acts but obviously as witnessed here, they are the original and they are the best! 9/10        

Reviews: Idlewar, Subrosa, Vader (Reviews By Paul)

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Idlewar: Impulse (Self Released)

Last year Dig In, the debut EP from Orange County’s Idlewar received a decent 7/10 and a seal of approval from MoM Towers. A year later, the debut long player Impulse has arrived and it’s a goodie. Full of the same Zeppelin fuelled stomp as Dig In, Impulse has moved the band up a level, retaining those same influences and heaviness in the riff department whilst displaying a greater maturity. Criminal screams Zeppelin and Kings X, whilst All That I Got focuses on and achieves a more classical feel of a band rooted in London in the 1980s. James Blake’s heartfelt vocals are right on the money, with a great range. Innocent is a stormer, full of wicked hooks and opener Stone In The Heel has anthem all over it. With the stoner feel still very much in residence and adding to the groove, the drumming of Pete Pagonis and Rick Graham’s subtle guitar work enhance Blake’s delivery. With the band due to hit the UK later this year in support of Walsall’s Stone Broken (sadly not near South Wales) the UK rock fraternity will get an immediate opportunity to hear this fine album in the live arena. A fine debut. 8/10

SubRosa: For This We Fought The Battle Of Ages (Profound Lore)

Hailing from Salt Lake City in Utah, SubRosa’s fourth album is an atmospheric melancholic release. At sixty-seven minutes in length and just six tracks, it isn’t fast paced but at times is crushingly heavy. The haunting violins of Sarah Pendleton and Kim Pack resonate throughout whilst Rebecca Pendleton’s psychedelic crashing guitar and angst filled vocals take centre stage. A fuzzy rhythm section supplied courtesy of Levi Hanna and Andy Patterson (bass and drums respectively) complete the outfit. Each track builds in strength and passion and whilst the pace at times is glacial, there is an intricacy and balance which becomes more apparent on each listen. Opener Despair Is A Siren is a perfect example, drifting from delicate vocals and simple percussion to pounding sludgy riffs. More For This We Fought The Battle Of Ages is a definite “grower” with many layers to peel away. It’s worth a few listens if you like the mix of ethereal eeriness combined with brain damaging heaviness tinged with a classical undertone. 7/10

Vader: Iron Times (Nuclear Blast)

Tibi Et Igni was one of the metal releases of 2014, an album that still gets repeated airtime. The much anticipated 12th full release from the Polish Death Metal Masters The Empire is preceded by this small but beautifully formed package. Consisting of four tracks including a pretty tasty cover of Motorhead’s Overkill, Iron Times contains few surprises but just over nine minutes of original works as well as Overkill. Pick of the other three would be Piesc I Stal, a stomping march with the band sounding exceptionally tight and Piotr "Peter" Wiwczarek showing once again why he stands at the top of the death metal vocalist tree. Although The Empire has been pushed back to November, it remains one of the must buys of this year. This taster is a timely reminder of just how good Vader are. 8/10

Reviews: The Pineapple Thief, Witherscape, Equilibrium (Reviews By Paul)

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The Pineapple Thief: Your Wilderness (Kscope)

Since their formation in 1999, Somerset’s The Pineapple Thief has built a wide and loyal following, laying down solid foundations. Their tenth album, Your Wilderness continues to cement their reputation as one of progressive rock’s leading lights. Main man Bruce Soord, along with bassist John Sykes, and keyboardist Steve Kitch have delivered another superb record, which contains some of the year’s most delicate and intricate compositions.

As with 2014’s Magnolia, Your Wilderness is beautifully performed. In Exile and No Man’s Land build slowly before adding some steel to Soord’s hauntingly misery drenched vocals. Comparisons with other leading lights in the genre are impossible to ignore, but TPF are very much now leaders in the field. Although the band’s sound sits much more towards the indie and alt rock field, That Shore demonstrates that the band can still rock out. With drums provided by Porcupine Tree’s Gavin Harrison, and guest appearances from Supertramp’s John Helliwell (clarinet) and Caravan’s Geoffrey Richardson who provides a string quartet, there is no doubting the quality. Add in some superb guitar work from Godsticks’ Darren Charles and this becomes one of the must buys of the year.

That Shore and Take Your Shot are both densely layered songs which provide all the evidence needed that Sykes and Kitch are integral components of the band. Harrison’s drumming is exceptional, working brilliantly on Fend For Yourself which allows Soord’s voice to combine with Kitch’s haunting keys and Helliwell’s mournful clarinet. The masterpiece on this album is the stunning penultimate track, The Final Thing On My Mind which ebbs and flows with ethereal elegance before a storming climax to a song that clocks in at just under ten minutes but which really flies by. The album closes with another melancholic piece, Where We Stood, which brings a fantastic album to a perfect conclusion. This really is a superb piece of work. Miss it at your peril. 9/10

Witherscape: The Northern Sanctuary (Century Media)

If you like your death metal with a huge scoop of atmosphere and a side serving of progressiveness, then the latest release from Sweden’s Witherscape is going to be right up your street. With complex patterns, death and clean vocals, swathes of sweeping keyboards and a sound that fuses Opeth with early Dream Theater and some classic heavy metal, The Northern Sanctuary continues the story set in 2013’s The Inheritance.

It’s amazing when you listen to The Northern Sanctuary to realise that this is the work of just two men, multi-instrumentalist Dan Swanö and Ragnar Widberg, who provides all of the stunning guitar and bass work. Looking into the history of Swanö is exhausting; the guy has been around the metal scene for a couple of decades and is best known for his work with Edge Of Sanity, Nightingale and Bloodbath. His discography is vast.

But what about the music? Although it is a concept album which appears obvious at certain times when the effects used flesh out the atmosphere, many of the tracks stand alone. Full of hooks, intricate time changes and variation in style, it’s almost schizophrenic in approach. Swanö’s vocal approach is impressive, switching between his death growl and clean vocals with ease. I personally prefer his clean delivery as he has a powerful voice which enhances the quieter sections. Nowhere is this more clearly demonstrated than on the climatic fourteen-minute title track, which is a real epic. Huge riffs, powerful drumming and melodic keyboards all combine to produce a pretty epic conclusion to the tale, which switches from progressive to extreme metal several times. If you wanted a track that acted as a show piece to around ten genres of metal, this would be it.

As well as the clear Opeth comparisons, bands such as Amorphis and Symphony X also come to mind as you work through this release. Rapture Ballet contains a fine Opeth style stomp, whilst there are hooks galore on In The Eyes Of Idols. The quality of the musicianship is quite something; powerful drumming and 70s style keyboards from Swanö mixes brilliantly with Widerberg’s blistering guitar work. Album closer Vila I Frid changes pace completely, an emotional haunting piano solo bringing a quite unique and interesting album to a close. 8/10

Equilibrium: Armageddon (Nuclear Blast)

For those of you who like your metal with a healthy mixture of styles, get your heads around the fifth album from German outfit Equilibrium. Armageddon has to be one of the craziest albums I’ve ever heard, a fusion of folk, death, black and symphonic metal with the added flavour of a typical European style metal Eurovision Song Contest entry. Crushing drums and powerhouse riffs merge effortlessly with classical synthesisers and keys and a guttural vocal approach from vocalist Robse Dahn that brings to mind Tomi Joutsen of Amorphis. Some of the tracks as just bat shit crazy; check out the balls out Born To Be Epic if you don’t believe me. The folk element of Turisas and Eluveitie skips alongside all the chaos. It’s power metal madness with a dollop of high speed Greek dancing on Zum Horizont, which just gets the foot tapping and the body aching (more so than usual? -Ed) for a jig in the sun whilst guzzling down a cold beer. Yes, this lot should be on the main stage at Bloodstock next year for sure.

The album was solely written and composed by original member, guitarist, keyboardist and clean vocalist Rene Berthiaume and opens with the epic Sehnsucht (no, not a cover of their industrial countrymen), soaring keyboards and emotive hooks. It is the first album not to feature Andreas Völk and Sandra Van Eldik who left shortly after 2014’s Erdentempel. It’s also the first to feature some tracks performed in English. It’s a kaleidoscope of sounds and styles that has no right to work but it does so well. Erwachen, the stunningly good Heimat with the Eurovision stomp once more and the riff heavy industrial tinged Prey are just three examples. Tuval Refaeli’s drumming, Dom Crey’s guitar and Makki Solvat’s solid bass work combine with Berthiaume and Dahn magnificently to deliver some of the most insane tunes I’ve heard in a long time including the anthemic seven-minute closer Eternal Destination. Get out and pick this up now. It’s that good. 8/10

Reviews: Evergrey, Winterstorm, Lacrimus Profundere

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Evergrey: The Storm Within (AFM Records)

Evergrey are a band who are now on their ninth album and with the release of The Storm Within they are following up what many would consider to be their best album Hymns For The Broken, which is a lofty statement considering most of the bands releases are in the top tier of their genre. Now Evergrey have always been something of an enigma merging European progressive power metal with with a rich vein of emotion and darkness that stems from the mind of band founder Tom S Englund. After dealing with a lot of personal issues after The Glorious Collision, Hymns For The Broken was the band's first record in three years and it was not only their most accomplished, hardest hitting output in years but quite possibly the most impressive work of their storied career.

So how then do they follow it up? Surely The Storm Within can't stack up? Well it not only stacks up, in a lot of ways it's superior to it's predecessor (and stop calling me Shirley). Yet again the album is full of epic songwriting, with a cinematic feel from the first chord, the record melds intricate melodies with heavyweight progressive metal that is complex but not elitist, it's the kind of music Evergrey have always been masters of but they seem to be deep in a purple patch at the moment and once again the magic is evident.

The record opens with Distance which sets the tone for this ninth release, it opens with a haunting piano from Rikard Zander before the powerful riffage kicks in with Englund and Henrik Danhage handling guitar duties as Jonas Ekdahl and Johan Niemann provide the propulsive drums and bass respectively, the song is very modern feeling with it's chugging rhythm driven by the flaring drums, the down tuned riffs as the keys filter into the equation nicely behind Englund's impassioned vocal delivery, he has a rare gift for powerful emotive vocals. His rockier range is displayed on Passing Through which has some incredible guitar solos punctuating the hard rock. With two harder songs starting the album Someday allows the band to slow the pace with huge, uplifting chorus and a backing chant of "hey hey" that will sound simply stunning in the live arena, this is how modern arena metal should sound.

It leads into the excellent Astray which once again ramps things up but in the solo section it injects some passion as they put a choral touch to the final part. When there is so much talent on display sometimes it's difficult to take it all in and this is true about The Storm Within it's an album that grows the more times you listen to it, there's so much to discover as the record ebbs and flow there is polar opposition abound with tracks like The Impossible, which is led by a solitary piano and regretful vocal from Englund in direct contrast to the thunderous My Allied Ocean which is pure power metal full of pounding blast beats and dual guitar harmonies and The Lonely Monarch has the dramatic, prog sound that once again is written for stadia.

As the record goes into it's final part the the quality is maintained adding the two guests that appear on this record, first is In Orbit which is a stirring piece featuring Nightwish's Floor Jansen and on The Paradox Of The Flame Englund's wife (and long term vocalist) Carina adds her amazing vocals to the devastatingly beautiful orchestral piece. The Storm Within once again deals with internal and external conflict, mature themes and wraps it all up in some affecting, sensational music that doesn't just live up to Evergrey's previous feats it surpasses them and as the record comes to a close with the muscularly dense title track leaving you breathless but ready to replay the record from the beginning and basque in its opulence once again. You need to buy this album if you love intelligent, interesting metal music, it could just be the band's masterpiece. 10/10     

Winterstorm: Cube Of Infinity (NoiseArt)

The Germans do power metal better than most with such a wide range of acts singing about fantasy, wars and battles, with such a glut of acts coming from the country some can be over looked. Winterstorm thankfully are one band that won't be having released an album every 2 years since 2010 they have always challenged the Teutonic Power metal sound making it more progressive and adding the traditional folk elements heard in bands such as Sweden's Falconer or countrymen Blind Guardian and Orden Ogan.

With two new members (drummer and guitarist) the Bayreuth band has dispensed with many of the hard progressive sounds from their earlier records for a more direct approach this time round the record I believe is a concept piece based around the titular cube as many of the songs seem to form a story surrounding it, as I've said the songs are a lot more immediate than on previous records most don't creep over the 7 minute mark but they all feature some excellent fluid playing from all concerned.

The guitars in unison with the keys the rhythm section galloping away with harder edges than before, some of the tracks on this record could lend themselves to thrash acts such is the riffage. Winterstorm continue to develop their sound and it's this constant improvement that will set them apart from many power metal acts around. 7/10  

Lacrimus Profundere: Hope Is Here (Oblivion) [Review By Paul]

This is a real grower. On first listen the vocals of Rob Vitacca and the gothic overtures of the German outfit’s first release since 2013’s Antiadore was difficult to absorb but repeated plays have released substantial depth and context of a band that has slowly moved away from its death doom roots to a cleaner more mainstream sound. In fact, repeated plays have made it a 2016 favourite with the range of tracks completely in tune with my aural tastes for all things in the Paradise Lost and Anathema region. Add in some symphonic and classical elements and Radiohead influenced indie leanings and it is quite a fantastic album.

LP was founded in 1993 by Oliver Schmid. Hope Is Here is the 11th studio album from a band whose mix of styles switches from melancholic gothic to industrial to metal. Listen to the title track, Aramis, A Million Miles and the classical leanings of Awake for an illustration. Crushing Korn style riffs on A Million Miles still allow Vitacca’s individual delivery to be heard clearly whilst the addition of the symphonic element on Awake mixes it up quite brilliantly. In fact the vocalist who has been with the band for the best part of a decade has a quite stunningly miserable yet incredibly memorable voice that provides the narrative for Hope Is Here, a concept album about a young boy named Aramis drifting deep in a forest.

The band may have moved away from the darker doom delivery but the subject matter and delivery still allow the rainclouds to gather. It’s not all gloom though and this isn’t a plodder by any means. Short sharp tracks such as No Man’s Land race away with driving rhythm from Clemens and Christop Schepperle on bass and drums respectively. Schmid’s clever keyboards add layers whilst the guitar work of Tony Berger and Schmid is both delicate and amply aggressive when called for. Pageant strays from the metal scene with a mix of Iggy Pop, Bowie and Marilyn Manson, demonstrating the versatility of the band.

The highlights for me are the haunting penultimate track Black Moon with its acoustic delivery haunting, the title track which begins in similar acoustic fashion before soaring with a roaring chorus and the industrial stomp of album closer and remix Aramis (Eisbrecher Neuschnitt). However, there isn’t a dull track on this release and I realise that I am now on a mission to hunt out their extensive back catalogue and hope for a visit to the UK in the not too distant future. 9/10





Reviews: Delain, Chariots Of The Gods, Illustr8ors

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Delain: Moonbathers (Napalm)

Since their symphonic metal debut Delain have been refining their sound on each album cutting the fat and adding some nuances to set them apart from the rest of the female fronted pack, for the most part they still play symphonically powered metal but they also add some electronica, lots of Gothic elements and wrap it all up with a dark pop sheen. Moonbathers is the Dutch band's fifth record and sees them consolidate the more experimental sounds from previous records to create a more definitive one, the Gothic sounds on this record come from the lyrical content which seems to have an obsession with death both the haunting Chrysalis - The Last Breath and Danse Macabre both deal with subject although Danse is much more reliant on pulsing electronics than Chrysalis.

The band's sound has always been built upon the keyboard playing of founding member Martijn Westerholt and here for a fifth time he shines never overdoing his contribution but adding enough to flesh out the songs and give them an extra edge whether that be the operatic orchestral elements on cinematic opener Hands Of Gold and the heartrending Turn The Lights Out, a song that Ville Vallo would be proud of, plaintive piano on closing instrumental The Monarch and some shimmering synths on Suckerpunch or with Queen cover Scandal which has just right amount of pastiche and their own sound to work very well, I see this one being added to the live show.

Westerholt is not the only member of the band however the rhythm section of Ruben Israel's drums and the amazingly named Otto Schimmelpenninck van der Oije on bass can shift the sound in an instant from thumping industrial grunt on The Glory And The Scum a bouncy bottom end on Suckerpunch which was the standout track from their taster EP. As the backroom pumps out such powerful sounds it's up to guitarists Timo Somers and Merel Bechtold to provide the riffs and riff they do Bechtold especially bridging the gap between the rhythm section and top end.

Her amazing heads down riffage allows Somers to show flashes of brilliance in his leads on Suckerpunch, the classic metal feeling Fire With Fire and the album's heaviest track Pendulum which borders on thrash and has bassist Otto adding his own grunts. The record is well paced building and falling at the right times and once again Westerholt doing a sterling job behind the production desk making everything sound huge and evoking a sense of scale on the songs which is a benefit to Charlotte Wessels still stunning vocals she has a fragility to her vocal that is forgotten when she gets to the jaw dropping top of her range which sprawls opera and pop defiantly.

Every record Delain has produced they have added a little bit more to their sound while taking away the bits that don't work, they have become more progressive as they have matured as a band and all of this musical alchemy has come to fruition on Moonbathers, Delain have come of age with this record it will hopefully see them break away from the female fronted metal stamp into a league of their own. 9/10   

Chariots Of The Gods: Ages Unsung (Self Released)

Ages Unsung is Ottawa five piece Chariots Of The Gods' second full length album and comes three years after their debut, after a short hiatus and a line-up change they were ready to record again and for the second time they bring the sounds of the NWOAHM to the modern day, Chariots Of The Gods play groove heavy, thrash influenced metal that straddles classic sounds and metalcore with clean/harsh vocal dynamics, searing lead riffs, massive breakdowns and great songwriting. Fans of In Flames, Machine Head, Killswitch Engage and especially Trivium will love this record, from the haunting opening instrumental piece Primordial Dawn the sound is akin to the Florida band's Ascendancy opening and drives straight into Tusk (not Fleetwood Mac cover) which builds up into a flurry of blastbeats, pumping basslines and nasty riffage with impressive lead guitar dancing over the top.

Lead guitarist Mathieau St-Amour is the main songwriter for the band and he knows exactly how to construct almost perfect modern metalcore. The vocals of frontman Christian Therien are great we get barked at and sung too all in the same song and unlike many in the genre both are good his roars a bone rattling and his clean delivery is powerful and sounds like Matt Heafy mixed with Rob Flynn.

There is a lot of melody on this record balancing out the heaviness Of Prometheus And The Flame has the Killswitch influence running through it, As The Sky Falls is a drumming masterclass, Resurrection brings back the Trivium sound while New World slows everything down as an atmospheric piece that explodes in it's last part. Ages Unsung is an album that looks back to an early millennial period of music but brings it modern day showing that it's still relevant. 8/10

Illustr8ors: S/T (Self Released)

OK so I've gone about this backwards, I reviewed Illustr8ors debut record back earlier this year, but now I'm faced with what is their debut EP. Maybe I was a little harsh on the record but I was expecting to review the second album from Bristol hard rockers and MoM favourites BlackWolf but during the Pledge Campaign they changed their name and adapted their sound to a funkier style of hard rock. Now musically I loved the record it was hard to find fault but I don't like the name (particularly the 8) however I probably let that influence my review a little too much, so this EP is a great way to reassess the band and their music.

Opening with the impressive hip shaking Your Animal Scott Sharp's vocals are still some of the best in the business and Ben Webb (bass) and Tom Lennox - Brown (drums) and Jason Cronin (rhythm guitar) lay down a sturdy foundation for John Greenhill to let his fireworks let loose. The hard rock influences still loom large on Something Biblical but Swimming With Anchors has a furious rocking groove but  moves the band away from their previous incarnation enough to sound fresh while Shush Shush has the groove of bands such as Vintage Trouble and stands out as the strongest declarative statement of something fresh.

In retrospect I was unduly harsh to Illustr8ors PledgeMusic full length but for those that haven't heard the full length, this EP is an excellent precursor to the rebirth of this band, I still have my reservations about the name but BlackWolf is dead this is Illustr8tors time now. 7/10
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