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Out Of The Beyond 27

June 11, 2013, 1:23 pm
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ReVamp: S/T (2010)

ReVamp is the solo project of former After Forever vocalist Floor Jansen (currently the interim vocalist of Nightwish) so you can expect the opera-metal styling's of her previous band but also she has a much wider range of influences, opener Here's My Hell is the track most like After Forever as it has the huge orchestral keys, heavy riffs and features some guest growls from George Oosthoek. Sweet Curse is a piano ballad that sounds like Evanescence and features Symphony X's Russell Allen on vocals; there is a technical metal feel to Distain which features Speed from Soilwork on co-vocals. The album is full of strong symphonic metal that is only right considering the musicians Jansen has drafted in to help all of the guitars (lead, rhythm and bass) are handled by Waldemar Sorychta who brings the thrashy riffage to the heavier end and also the acoustic strumming of the slower tracks, the drums come from Koen Herfst who blast beats his way through the album, the major contributor however is After Forever keyboardist Joost van der Broek who brings the pounding synths, keys, pianos, programming as well as being the producer, engineer, mixer and arranger of the classical quartet that supports them on the majority of the tracks. the album moves between fast paced melodic symphonic metal and slower ballads featuring Jansen's superb vocals, and do believe me along with Amanda Somerville and Simone Simmons, Jansen is one of the best vocalists in metal having a strong powerful mid and a huge mezzo-soprano high. This is a good album for fans of female fronted symphonic metal however if you don't like the genre then you won't get much out of it. 7/10

Powerwolf: Bible Of The Beast (2009)

Powerwolf are a German power metal band that are a major juxtaposition as they play upbeat power metal full of galloping bass and drums, bombastic keys, shredding guitars and strong vocals, however they also wear corpse paint have Gothic overtones and pretend to be Werewolves. Imagine Sabaton if they sang about Satan instead of war. Powerwolf are a good band and come from the Helloween school of speedy, OTT, metal that also has some seriously melodic keys, after the scene setting intro, Raise Your Fist Evangelist has a Latin spouting intro before a chunky riff gets things going backed by a Gothic organ. The guitars are dirty and match frontman Attila Dorn's strong, almost operatic, vocals that do sound a lot like Joakim Broden from Sabaton, things then move into the hammer (and sickle) pounding rhythm of Moscow After Dark. As you can probably tell the band don't take themselves very seriously with titles like Catholic In The Morning...Satanist At Night, Panic In The Pentagram and the very silly Resurrection By Erection. This is a silly, well performed, darkened power metal that has some great playing and also big hooky sing along power metal anthems. 7/10 

Painside: Dark World Burden (2010)

I will be honest I had never heard of Painside and I bought this album on a bit of a whim, well I'm glad I did as this is a great album, full of proper heavy metal that bridges the gap between traditional heavy metal and thrash. Painside are from Brazil but sound like latter period Judas Priest full of heavy thrash-like riffage and some killer soloing. The band have heavy pounding modern metal in tracks like Where Darkness Rules, bass led Iron Maiden style metal on Collapse The Lies which even has the whoah's in the centre. What strikes you about this debut is that the songs are really strong, the riffs of Carlos Eduardo Saione snarl like caged animals and the solos of Eduardo Fernandez melt the fret board (see The Deviant) the drums destroy, the bass rumbles and the vocals are excellent equally adept at crooning and some helium filled high notes that in places sound like Rob Halford and in others sounds like Bruce Dickinson/Tobias Sammet kudos to singer Guilherme Sevens for being able to effectively move between these two greats. It's not all metal bluster though as This Dark World shows with its acoustic intro and massive bridge before speeding up into the heavy middle section again full of fret wankery. This is simply stunning album that I have played repeatedly it is the perfect mix of, classic and modern metal with tracks that sound like Maiden/Priest and others that bring to mind the more aggressive styling’s of LOG (Serpents Tongue). Like I said a great metal album that sums up everything that is awesome about metal and any album that ends with a duet featuring Chris Boltendahl from Grave Digger is ok in my book. Seek out this album! 9/10
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Reviews: Black Sabbath

June 13, 2013, 4:04 am
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Black Sabbath: 13 (Vertigo)

Firstly let me make this clear if you don't know who Black Sabbath are then stop reading this blog until you have listened to everything they released and then come back (even the Tony Martin years). Right now that that is out of the way we can continue, 13 marks the return of 3/4 of the original Sabbath line up (Bill Ward refused to join after contract problems) still Iommi, Butler and Osbourne are all back for their first album together since 1978'sNever Say Die and from the opening doom laden riff of End Of The Beginning you can tell that this is classic Sabbath as they start off slow and menacing before Iommi switches tempo and brings the gallop middle, solo and then the melodic outro. As an opening track this mixes all eras of Sabbath starting off on the debut before moving through the pacier Vol. 4 era and then ending in the more melodic Never Say Die territory. A perfect encapsulation of the Sabbath sound in one song. 

 The band sound revitalised, Geezer plays his bass like a lead guitar as per usual, drummer Brad Wilk (RATM) does a great job of doing just enough to emulate Bill Ward but doesn't really have the flourishes that the great man had but is a perfect fit for the album, Ozzy is on fine vocal form with his unique delivery sending a shiver down the spine and then finally there are Iommi's riffs and I do mean riffs, there are at least four different ones in every song, he really is the sound of Sabbath and on the descending scale of down tuned notes on God Is Dead? kick off you are transported back to the evil roots of the debut and realise that doom would be nothing without these same sounds that Sabbath pioneered all those years ago.

 God Is Dead? then turns into a gritty heavy riff at the end to really get the heads banging. Unlike the newest Purple album this is pure old school Sabbath heavy riffs, rumbling bass, and the haunted wail of Ozzy, backed by some progressive time changes and intelligent lyrics (we've come a long way from rhyming masses with masses). The fuzzed voodoo of Loner has some of the classic Paranoid charm before everything goes all Planet Caravan on the bongo fuelled Zeitgeist which brings to an end what used to be side one. Here it is time to note that the production is absolutely perfect sounding old school but also crystalline, Rick Rubin has outdone himself again but the engineers and mixers also deserve a hand too for making this album sound huge.

 Side two begins in earnest with the stone age bludgeoning of Age Of Reason which has some backing choral effects to make it sound more gothic than it already is. The immediacy Live Forever with its percussive drive has to be the sequel to Fairies Wear Boots. The album ends in fine style with two 7 minute epics the first is Damaged Soul which has the Ozzy vocoder at full delivery making his vocal sound wounded on the slower bluesy number that features some superb solo's from Iommi who shows his slow stuff is as good as his faster stuff and ends with Ozzy honking on bobo in the true blues tradition. The final track is the epicDear Father which again twists and turns through Iommi riffage and brings together all of the Sabbath hallmarks even ending with the thunderstorm and bell chiming that so memorably opened their debut. I have mentioned the word classic here a lot and that is what this is it's the sound of a band using their heritage to their advantage and have created something that is both original but also sounds exactly like the Black Sabbath that you remember and this is a hard trick to pull off but one that Sabbath have done masterfully! 10/10 (could it be anything else?)  
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Another Point Of View: Bon Jovi (Review By Paul)

June 15, 2013, 11:48 am
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Bon Jovi – Cardiff City Stadium June 12 2013

As a 17 year old, I stood in a crowd of 60,000 at Castle Donington and watched one of the leading lights in rock and specifically the genre of ‘hair metal, bring the 1987 Monsters of Rock Festival to a close with a cover of Grand Funk Railroad’s We’re an American Band. The day had been graced by such metal luminaries as Cinderella, WASP, Anthrax, Metallica and Dio and during the final song Jon Bon Jovi was joined on stage by Paul Stanley (Kiss), Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden) and Dee Snider (Twisted Sister) who provided a very jovial finish to a great day. 26 years later, I arrived at my spiritual sporting home, the Cardiff City Stadium, in time to take my (cheap) seat as Bon Jovi took to the stage. Now, one thing is obvious. The path Bon Jovi has followed since 1987 is pretty different to the other bands who shared the stage at the MOR festival all those years ago. Opening with That’s What The Water Made Me, one of four tracks aired from their latest album, the band played two hours of radio friendly pop rock which was lapped up by the healthy crowd. First sing along of the night followed with You Give Love A Bad Name, which was quickly followed by Born To Be My Baby and full audience participation of Raise Your Hands. 
 The stage set was impressive with the front grill and bonnet of a 1959 Buick Electra, dazzling lighting and three large screens to allow those anywhere further than about a metre back the opportunity to see Jon’s Hollywood smile in all its glory. Bright? I’ve still got retina scorching. Whilst the crowd around us lapped up every word and the band seemed happy enough, there was one thing missing. The absence of Richie Sambora (perfectly adequately replaced musically by Phil X) massively reduced the on stage interaction and it appeared just a little bit flat. Original members David Bryan (keyboards) and Tico Torres (drums) did their best but Sambora has a presence which really helps. Jon Bon Jovi’s voice remains as good as it ever did, even if he has morphed into Cliff Richard physically (check out some of the pictures from the gig). Bon Jovi are very good at what they do. No band sells 130 million albums without having something. The problem is that, when you hear 15 tracks back to back they all kind of merge. Plenty of sing along moments during the set which included a seamless segue during Keep The Faith into Let Me Entertain You (sadly the Robbie Williams version and not the belter from Queen) which got many of the females in the crowd very excited (maybe because they actually recognised it?). This appropriately illustrated the audience that BJ now attract. Pink cowboy hats, best outfits on whilst clutching their pints; it was like being at rugby international or a Sterophonics gig. Attention waned during the slower part of the set before audience participation ramped up again for set closers I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead and Bad Medicine. At this point I have to say I’d seen enough and we exited before the six song encore. I’m not sorry I went as it’s rare to get tickets to see a stadium band for £12.50, but I’m glad I didn’t pay any more than that. They do what they do very well. No question about it. Their crowd annoy me more than anything else and I think that having members of the valley commandoes (female pink hat branch) collapsing before the band came on stage and sleeping through the entire gig may have clouded my judgment a little. I fear that Bruce Springsteen next month will attract a very similar audience. 6/10
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Reviews: Jorn, Voodoo Six, Sound Of Contact

June 20, 2013, 7:53 am
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Jorn: Traveller (Frontier Records)

So the big Nordic Duke returns with a new collection of original tracks. Once again this is heavy rock delivered at full volume with Jorn's voice still at fine fettle he adds the right amount of bombast to proceedings with his croon soaring over the hard rock base in places, he has an element of the great Ronnie James to him see the excellent The Man Who Was King which is about the aforementioned Legend but also some David Coverdale to him as well especially on Make Your Engine Scream, Jorn has been a great vocalist for his entire career and shows no intention of stopping now. The band too do a fine job with both guitarists Jimmy Iversen and particularly lead guitarist Trond Holter both supply the pounding riffs see the title track or the Lizzy-like Widow Maker and Holter pulls off some searing solos, and the rhythm of Bernt Jansen's Bass and Willy Bendiksen's drums provide the hard as granite groove, long time collaborator Tommy Hansen who provides some sturdy keys and production. This is a strong album full of some well delivered hard rock that delivers where it needs too, however it can all get a bit samey in the second half still another good addition to The Duke's discography. 7/10

Voodoo Six: Songs To Invade Countries To (Spinefarm)

Right three albums into their career and this album title says something about how far the band have come. Ok as Bassist Tony Newton is friends with Maiden's Steve Harris the band were always going to have some high profile support sets, which could be why they sound as strong as they do but it seems that they set on becoming headliners in their own right. After the loss of their original singer and their triumphant rebirth with new and current frontman Luke Purdie the band have come back with possibly their best album yet. From the opening bass run and bouncy riff of Falling Knives it immediately shows that the band are targeting the arenas, the riff dirty and heavy and the chorus hook is huge with its "Keep catching 'em" refrain, this track as well as the snotty punk vibe of Sharp Sand and the funk-fuelled Stop were all featured on their previous stopgap EP so many will already know that the quality of these songs is very high so it's up to the rest of the album to keep up the quality and it does so with gusto,  All That Glitters is a heavy riffer again showing the talents of axe-wielders Chris Jones and Matt Pearce and it's typical of Voodoo Six's heavy rock sound bridging the gap between bluesy hard rock (Brick Wall) and metal (Higher Ground). Lead Me On is a fantastic song that kicks off with an uplifting, orchestral backed intro, turning into bass driven verse before the euphoric chorus brings to mind those arenas and then evolves into a massive solo and closing chorus, one for the live set definitely. Purdie has a tremendous voice equally rusted and soulful like he comes from the American West, and in a few places very similar to Chris Cornell but with some added British grit. Newton's bass playing is superb lots of flair and not your regular four on the floor rhythm, this also means drummer Joe Lazarus can also stretch a bit. Production wise it's big and ballsy giving every instrument what it needs, the guitars rock, the bass rumbles, drums smash and the vocals are the whiskey soaked cherry. This a true call-to-arms for fans of powerful British heavy rock, an album full of songs that will lead Voodoo Six to a few dictatorships around the world! 9/10

Sound Of Contact: Dimensionaut (InsideOut)

Question: name a prog rock band with a drummer who also sings? I'm assuming you all said Genesis right? Well Sound Of Contact have elements of Genesis (an early incarnation recorded a version of Keep it Dark), Marillion, Spock's Beard, Porcupine Tree and blend them into one adding space rock and some pop as well. Well the two main members of the band are David Kerzner on keys and soundscapes, a man a who has worked with Steve Hackett and Steve Wilson as well as producing for others and the other is drummer/vocalist Simon Collins (yes son of Phil) who is the brainchild of this conceptual work. Yes conceptual where would prog be without it? Well this story revolves around a man who travels through time, space and dimensions the he is the Dimensionaut of the title and this is a story revolving around him. Things start with the acoustic PT-like Sound Of Contact before seguing into Cosmic Distance Ladder which is a driving instrumental that shows off the bands obvious chops, the synths are layered beautifully and his solo spots are excellent in their delivery, the guitars of Kelly Nordstrom shred and weave intricately through the piece, the bass of Matt Dorsey pulses and drives everything along and Collins has the power and precision of his father providing some great fills. Pale Blue Dot gives his first vocal performance and shows that he has a tremendous one, equally melodic in the higher register and can also provide some grit when needed. I Am The Dimensionaut is a huge ballad that has many elements of Simon's fathers solo career, albeit with a meatier soundscape behind it. This a band that encompasses many bands styles, with Not Coming Down sounding like PT or Pink Floyd at their most reflective. The production of Kerzner and Collins is excellent with everything shining brightly, the slight dub elements on Beyond Illumination show this mix of styles well too and features the voice of the Wishing Tree's Hannah Stobart, the album ends with the amazing 19 minute Mobius Slip which brings this album to a fittingly euphoric conclusion. Yes ok there are lots of nods to Simon's father (and also Marillion) and lyrically it is a bit wishy-washy but all in all this is an excellent album that features some great songs crafted to make an intensely musical concept album it is performed by some highly professional musicians and it shows that Collins does indeed have (an Invisible) touch! (Sorry) 7/10 

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Reviews: Amon Amarth, Queensryche, Orphaned Land

June 25, 2013, 5:14 am
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Amon Amarth: Deceiver Of The Gods (Metal Blade)

Viking's Amon Amarth load their longboat full of songs and have once again come to pillage the metal hoards with another collection of metal anthems about war, drinking and pillaging! This is their ninth album and features more of their signature brand of melodic death metal, Amon Amarth have always sounded to me like Maiden fronted by seven foot Viking, which is by no means a criticism as the band are a ferocious live act that have always managed to still be as powerful on record. The title track gets things moving with the traditional dual guitar attack that merges trad metal and thrash with Johan Soderberg and Olavi Mikkonen pulling out the heavy riffs and shredding solos on top of the powerhouse blast beat drumming and Johan Hegg's powerful death vocals that boom through the maelstrom of metal. Deceiver Of The Gods is another strong album with the melodic As Loki Falls coming next ensuring that the full force attack along continues with Father Of The Wolf, the galloping Under Siege (not about the Segal movie unfortunately) and the Slayer-like Blood Eagle which has a lovely gory beginning full of squelching gory death! The band also mix things up a bit on the industrial sounding Hel which has lots of samples and keys as well as a guest performance from Messiah Marcolin from Candlemass who brings his high pitched shriek to dual with Hegg's guttural roar before the album wraps up with the 8 minute Warriors Of The North which ends the main bulk of the album. With its powerful guitars, heavy death metal rhythms and Hegg's great vocals this yet another excellent album from Amon Amarth with Andy Sneap giving his perfect production job. It is on the bonus disc that things get interesting it is called Under The Influence and it features four songs done in the style of classic bands, first is the Priest-like Burning Anvil Of Steel, then the Sabbath doom of Satan Rising,the snarling Motorhead bass riffage of Snake Eyes and finally Stand Up To Go Down which is AC/DC by another name. This little detour is a very interesting and adds to an already great album full of Norse thunder as it gives the band a chance to flex their muscles and Hegg to adapt his voice to those that he is emulating showing they are more than a one trick pony. 8/10

Queensryche: Queensryche (Century Media)

So after Geoff Tate left/ fired the band the mudslinging and back biting of the whole thing was in full swing leading to two bands and two albums. The first out of the blocks was the Tate fronted version who unleashedFrequency Unknown first and while that was not bad it was a little bit weak in places and was essentially a Tate solo record featuring the experimentation that made the last two Queensryche albums a challenge to listen to and made Dedicated To Chaos frankly crap. So it was up to the other version of Queensryche to redress the balance and show which version can be considered 'definitive'. This version is essentially the instrumental part of the band with founding members guitarist Michael Winton, bassist Eddie Jackson and drummer Scott Rockenfield providing the same melodic metal that Queensryche have always been so good at (showing who was the cause of the experimentation) after the evil metallic intro of X2 the twisting rhythm of Where Dreams Go To Die kicks things off in a powerful style having all of the hallmarks of classic 'ryche, the melodic guitars that switch instantly to some heavy riffrery, the technical bass foundation and the thick drum sound. Key however is new frontman Todd La Torre who thankfully sounds almost exactly like Tate but has enough of his own inflections and vocals nuances to stop him sounding like a tribute singer, he also has a few stylistic similarities to Nils K Rue from Pagan's Mind. What is noticeable about his album unlike the latter Tate years is that the band have gone back to their earlier more metallic roots, the band are once again mixing strong powerful riffs with anthemic choruses and melodies, with songs like Spore,the stirring orchestral ballad of A World Without and the propulsive Vindication all of which have the guitar harmonies that the band are known for. This is most definitely a strong album full of the complex, melodic metal that Queensryche have always done so well. It is not perfect however the production is a bit bass and drum centric, and the album is a wee bit short clocking in at just over 35 minutes meaning there doesn't seem to be much room for the more progressive sides to Queensryche's sound, still this is good album and more importantly it seems far more authentic than the Tate fronted band, which was probably the ultimate intention. 7/10

Orphaned Land: All Is One (Century Media)

A major question arose on when I got this album: How do they follow the last one? Well by doing almost the opposite of their last opus, this time the Middle eastern band that contains both Jewish and Muslim members have released a focused, dark but and accessible album devoid of a lot of the death metal growling present since their debut The Beloved's Cry. I for one loved the previous effort The Never-ending Way Of ORWarriOR it was the perfect mix of death metal, progressive rock and Middle Eastern culture, so this release caused a lot of interest for me. The album explodes from the off with the traditional instrumentation of Ouds, Bouzouki’s, Saz's all combined with the persistent riffage of the electric guitars. Both string players Chen Balbus (rhythm) and Yossi Sassi (lead) provide some massively heavy riffs and Sassi's solos are sublime. The opening title track also features a choir that increases the scope of the track tenfold an makes it an uplifting opening to the album that continues on The Simple Man which is far more folky than the heavy opening track and prominently features the Middle Eastern chants and instrumentation. Kobi Fahri's vocals are excellent and even without the guttural roars his melodic croon is haunting and enchanting and evokes the spirit of his heritage; however the roar does reappear on Fail but for the most part its clean vocals all the way. Much like most of Orphaned Land's discography the lyrical content focusses on the mixture of Jewish and Islamic culture (the band is notably made up of both) and denotes the struggles between the two culture but ultimately their similarities something which is used to great effect on the orchestral Let The Truce Be Known. These strong lyrics are matched by the extremely strong musicianship which features the aforementioned guitars and traditional instruments but also some strong bass runs from Uri Zelcha and also some very excellent drumming from Martan Schmuley, the band have also the occasional female vocals, this time performed by Mira Awad (who herself was the first Israeli-Arab to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest), she features prominently on Through Fire And Water. This is another superb album in the Orphaned Land discography the sound of a band that is bringing their heritage together with metal to create a very unique sound continues to inspire on every album. Truly a testament to the all-inclusive power of music! 9/10 
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Another Point Of View: ZZ Top (Review By Paul Hutchings)

June 27, 2013, 6:44 am
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Review: ZZ Top – Hammersmith Apollo 24 June 2013

The sacred halls of the Hammersmith Apollo (or Odeon to call it by its correct name) were rammed to the rafters when we arrived. Having grabbed a bit of merchandise and stunned at being charged £4.60 for a can of Murphy's we arrived at our seats shortly  after support act the Ben Miller Band started going through their paces. To quote their website (www.benmillerband.com): ‘Hailing from Joplin, Missouri, The Ben Miller Band is a one-of a kind trio that combines the frenetic energy of bluegrass, the soul of the delta blues and the haunted spirit of Appalachian mountain music. Band members Ben Miller, Scott Leeper, and Doug Dicharry create a unique and modern sound while continuing the tradition of blending together many different musical styles, which has long been a trait of their native Ozarks’. I don’t think I can put it any better so why try. Suffice to say, they were great fun, thoroughly enjoyable and had the packed Odeon lapping up their enthusiastic delivery. Top quality musicians playing something a little different but so in keeping with the night. Check out their album Heavy Load. It’s on Spotify. 8/10

During the break I recalled that selling out the Hammersmith Odeon was the pinnacle of a band’s career in the 1970s and 80s. The legendary ‘No Sleep ‘til Hammersmith’ live album from Motorhead was recorded here; as were numerous others. I have fond memories of this venue; especially chucking up in the toilets between Anthrax and Metallica on the Puppets tour in 1986. Too much vodka that night as Brett Perry will no doubt recall. Anyway, I digress. The house lights go out, the band are introduced by a female voice and there they are Tres Hombres, launching into Got Me Under Pressure from the Eliminatoralbum. ZZ fucking Top; as cool as cool can be. Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill out front, Stetsons, glitzy jackets, shades and of course, the beards!! Meanwhile Frank Beard (without facial hair as everyone knows) lays down a simple but oh so effective beat. Gibbons is a master axeman, peeling off those bluesy solos effortlessly, striding around the stage and interacting with Hill. They follow on with Waitin' For The Bus followed by Jesus Just Left Chicago. Absolutely brilliant stuff. You can check the set list out for yourself, but suffice to say this was a show which just took your breath away. Gibbons displayed super humour, referring to the “same three cords” that the band had been playing for 45 years. 45 years? Oh my god. These guys are older than Lemmy and even cooler. Four tracks from the excellent La Futera including Flying High where we were convinced the band were blowing incredibly strong weed into the crowd, and a storming cover of Hendrix’s Foxy Lady before finishing the main set with Sharp Dressed Man and Legs. As we waited for the encore it struck me how simplistic yet incredibly compelling this band are. Their current stuff sits comfortably alongside tracks from the first album, and yet still appears fresh. I found myself actually absorbing the entire experience which happens so rarely these days.The Top finished with a triple whammy; Tube Snake Boogie, La Grange and Tushleaving the crowd baying for more. An excellent show; top quality musicians and an appreciative crowd. 45 years and still going strong; in my year of classic rock it’s going to take something incredibly special to beat this. 10/10
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The View From The Back Of The Room: Vintage Trouble

June 27, 2013, 7:46 am
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Vintage Trouble, Glee Club Cardiff

So fresh from supporting The Who at the Motorpoint the R&B revivalists have put a few headline sets in to their touring schedule. These have usually taken place in small venues and Cardiff was no exception, with this set taking place in the small dark, Glee Club. There was no support for the band just a DJ spinning classic Stax soul and blues records providing a very club-like experience, as the place slowly filled with all manner of people it struck me that Vintage Trouble have a huge fan base that ranges from parents taking their kids to their first gig, through to men on a boys night out, women on a girls night, all the way to long haired heavy metal fans. So with the crowd suitably lubricated and ready for a boogie the band came out with all guns blazing.

First out of the gate was the bluesy bluster of Low Down Dirty Dog which immediately set the room on fire with the funky bass of Rick Barrio Dill and the head-down percussion of Richard Danielson driving things along nicely with the ending crescendo meaning that Danielson got a bit over-excited and threw his stick into the ceiling meaning it remained there for the rest of the gig. It was straight into the sexy Pelvis Pusher which got frontman Ty Taylor working his magic on the female contingent and inspired the first sing along of the night with the chants of "1,2,3 push your pelvis with me" the band then slowed the pace with the heartfelt breakup song You Better Believe It  which featured a fantastic guitar solo from Nalle Colt, who plays with more soul than many guitarists I've seen, the pace came back with the hip shaking boogie of Strike Your Light (Right On Me) which inspired more crowd participation. It's at this junction that I should say what a fantastic frontman Taylor is he literally has the crowd eating out of his hand for the entire gig and was at one with all of the Troublemakers (their name for their fans) in the crowd, he danced, jived, screamed and sweated like the rest of us. Run OuttaYou was next before the soul love song of Nancy Lee and a cover of Joe Tex's Show Me which ended the first part of the set in rip roaring style

 There was a set change with stools coming out and acoustic instruments given an airing, Taylor invited us into the bands 'living room' for a three song acoustic performance as he said they needed to "sit down" (and who could blame them?) they then proceeded to showcase the injustice fighting ballad Not Alright By Me, new song 24/7 365 Satisfaction Man which was full of smouldering sexuality before ending with You Save Me. We left the cosy room and went back to the sweaty speakeasy for the hot-headed lust of Jezzebella where Taylor entered the crowd getting 'up-close and personal' with some of the female contingent, back to the stage for Before The Tear Drops worked its way into Run Like A River and the still excellent Blues Hand Me Down ended the main set with aplomb. Short of breath, covered in sweat and exhausted the chants, clapping and stomping continued as the band re-appeared for a two song encore of Nobody Told Me and the, dirtier than Motley Crue, Total Strangers which left everyone baying for more when the last chord hit. Vintage Trouble are one of the best live bands on the circuit and they keep showing it again and again, they give 110% to every gig and because of that their fans reciprocate in kind, this is how live music should be. Period. 10/10
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Reviews: Scorpion Child, Huntress, Monster Truck

June 30, 2013, 11:13 am
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Scorpion Child: Scorpion Child (Nuclear Blast)

Rock bands come and rock bands go but some stay around forever, one of the main bands of this ilk are Britain's own Led Zeppelin whose influence you can still feel in music today. Well Scorpion Child follow this line of influence to a tee. Hailing from Texas the band sound an awful lot like Plant and co. Straight from the first bass riff of Kings Highway the Zeppelin influence is evident with the slow burning rocker before the relentless battering ram riff of Polygon Of Eyes reinforces the comparison while also bringing in elements of Free, Humble Pie and dripping with 70's psych evidenced on The Secret Spot. This band have many things going for them but the main thing is hooks, loads of them, with the clarion call of "I Come From The Mountain" (Dio influence?) in Polygon Of Eyes leading the battle cry. The band have a heavier sound than Page's as they feature two guitarists in the shape of Tom Frank's chunky rhythm and Chris Cowart's soaring leads, see Salvation Slave for the slower more expressive playing he possess, however guitarists are only as good as their backing and Shaun Avants and Shawn Alvear provide the Paul-Jones and Bonham rumble and smash of bass and drums respectively, witnessed on the very Boogie With Stu style Liquor where Alvear smashes the living hell out of his kit. However it's not all heavy rock bluster they can turn their hand to slower more folky passages with Antioch which is very LZ III. I think the Zep influence can be drawn mainly from vocalist Aryn Jonathan Black who has an uncannily Plant-like voice whiskey smoked mixed with honey, that matched with the power blues of the bands songs means that as I have said they sound an awful lot like Zeppelin, however rather than being just a rip-off merchants they add a modern style and bring in elements of other bands like American's Clutch seen on the groove sledgehammer riffs of Paradigm before returning to the acoustic strumming on the opening of the Zep-like Red Blood (The River Flows) before the album ends with the slow deliberate doom of Keep Goin'  which changes from Sabbath into Deep Purple in a matter of seconds. If you are following the retro rock revival featuring Rival Sons, graveyard and The Sword you will fall in love with Scorpion Child as they are so retro it hurts but they also write some amazing songs that will have you harking back to the days of bell bottoms and wild hair. 9/10

Huntress: Starbound Beast (Napalm)

So this is the second album from Californian thrashers with a taste for the occult. The band’s debut was a nonstop slice of head splitting metal with the twin shredding of guitarists Blake Meahl and Ian Alden which all act as a backbone for front-woman Jill Janus' expansive four octave vocal range. Well not much has changed on this sophomore release the riffs still coming thick and fast with a blend of classic thrash and NWOBHM present on all of the songs and each track has a commanding performance from Janus who exerts her range over the tracks moving from a doom howl on the title track to a demon-like scream on I Want To Fuck You To Death and everything between on Zenith. The occult overtones are still there with all of the songs all about the Wiccan culture and they all still have the mix between doom and thrash. Still despite the heavy riffs and Janus' vocals the band still don't really do it for me, yes they are talented but it all just sounds a bit samey and it does sound like a King Diamond tribute band in places which is not a bad thing however there really is only one King and he doesn't need replacing. Yes they also so a pretty good cover of Priest's Running Wild but other than that Huntress have just released another adequate album of fast paced metal. 5/10  

Monster Truck: Furiosity (Dine Alone/Universal)

Monster Truck hail from the shores of the Ontario and with a name like Monster Truck you probably have an expectation of their sound in your head, well the band sound like a bar fight at a truck stop with some heavy fuzzed guitars and big hitting riffage. Starting out as a side project for the members to just shut up tune in and play after their first two EP's and relentless touring the band finally have released their debut album. The band contains the massive pounding drums of Steve Kiely, some heavy Hammond from Brandon Bliss, fuzzy head banging riffage from Jeremy Wilderman and some voodoo bass lines and a mega blues howl from Jon Harvey. They truly wear their influences on their sleeves and they have a sound that encompasses Southern rockers Fireball Ministry who deal in the same style of riff centric hard rock as well as having some similar sounds to Black Stone Cherry, the RATM feel of Power Of The People a trippy Clutch-like blues stomp of Oh Lord which is followed by the bayou swing of For The Sun and they even have a riff that was surely pinched from Leslie West on Sweet Mountain River. You can hear that the years of touring have honed this band’s sound to the point where they can imitate Southern sloppiness while maintaining a tight delivery. These Northerners are one of the best Southern sounding bands I’ve heard for a while for fans of any of the bands previously mentioned this will stay on the stereo for a while. 8/10



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Reviews: Melvins, Andrew Stockdale, Oliva

July 9, 2013, 2:27 pm
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Melvins: Hooray For Sausages (Ipacec)

The alt-metal masters’ return with their 19th album and this is a covers album that in true Melvins style mixes strange song choices with some odd arrangements. King Buzzo and co open the album with Venom's Warhead which is very true to Cronos' original, albeit with cleaner production. Much of this similarity comes from addition of Neurosis' Scott Kelly on guitar and vocals; yes this album features more guests and also sees the band perform as Melvins Lite on a few tracks much like they did on their previous album Crybaby. Next up is Queen's You're My Best Friend which is given an 8-bit makeover with the electronic keys at odds with the May-like guitar, which leads in to a percussive take on the rockers favourite Black Betty before a still trippy but more grungy rendition of The Scientists Set it On Fire which features Mudhoney's Mark Arm on vocals. The first elongated piece is Bowie's Station To Station which seems to be a perfect fit for a band like Melvins as it has the right element of weirdness as well as some sprawling soundscapes to encompass, and although it is the original arrangement they have made it more electric than the original with Osbourne providing some fuzzy guitar for the track and Australian J.G Thirlwell giving a suitably off-kilter and snotty vocal performance that Bowie would be proud of. The more progressive element is wiped clean on the next track which is a punky cover of The Kinks lesser known track Attitude which actually sounds like a Melvins track, the double bass driven Female Trouble comes next and has all the pseudo-sexuality of John Waters' original but just amped up a bit, what we get next is straight up version of hippy band The Fugs Carpe Diem, into more punk in the shape of the garage stomp of Timothy Leary Lives before the mood comes crashing down again on the sinister monologue of In Every Dreamhome A Heartache which was originally by Roxy Music, but this version features the ghostly vocals of Jello Biafra. This is great covers albums with some inspired choices that play to the bands strengths however it will have its detractors that will always prefer the originals but hopefully it will open up people’s minds to both the Melvins and the less well known bands they cover. 8/10

Andrew Stockdale: Keep Moving (Universal)

The man who 'is' Wolfmother has finally laid to rest his former band and set off on his own. After the period of uncertainty that followed his band's last release Cosmic Egg it’s nice to see Stockdale return albeit under his own name, however the name is all that's changed the music is still the same, Stockdale handles all the guitars and vocals and he still is stuck firmly in his 70's fuzzy hard rock groove topped by his helium fuelled sheep vocals. He has assembled a fine set of musicians with Ian Peres (who was the other final member of Wolfmother with Stockdale) handling the bass on all the tracks except two and also contributing Wurlitzer, Moog synth and Fender Rhodes on the other tracks, the album has three drummers contributing as well. Things hit the ground shaking with the first three tracks all rip roaring; hip shaking 70's rockers the title track also injecting some funk into the proceedings. The songs range from fuzzy garage rockers, to the Lizzy twin leads off Meridian, with some serious riffs and also some great solo's from Stockdale, who also adds some proggy and psych leanings to the songs too most notably on Ghetto which is drenched in Wurlitzer as well as some acoustic folk with Suitcase (One More Time) he also brings some bluesy mouth harp to She's A Motorhead. I will say that this album is good and has got some good songs however at 17 songs it also means it has quite a lot of filler too and flags towards the end going into too much experimental territory at the end a bit with a few less tracks this could be a killer as like I said a lot of the tracks are big stompy rockers that come straight out of the Wolfmother songbook as well as the odd folk thrown in but there are just too many of them for sustained listening. I conclusion the first half is excellent the second not so much which is a shame. 6/10   

Oliva: Raise The Curtain (AFM)

Jon Oliva is the mastermind of Savatage, Trans-Siberian Orchestra and Jon Oliva's Pain. This is surprisingly Jon Oliva's first solo album and it harks back to the classic progressive rock era days right from the opening of the title track which features ELP like organ from Oliva and has a euphoric call to arms that is truly stuck in the era of big organs and capes galore. Oliva has numerous musicians contributing mainly on guitar and keys, most notably Iced Earth collaborator Jim Morris on guitar and Jon Oliva's Pain drummer Christopher Kinder hammering the skins however most of the music comes from just Oliva who naturally handles the keys but also the guitars and bass, this album is his debut as lead guitarist and obviously he provides every track with his amazing voice that usually sits as scarred scream but is capable of mimicking many vocal styles. Like I said this is not metal it is firmly rooted in classic 70's prog with Hammonds, Wurlitzers and Moogs galore all steeped in Oliva's flair for the dramatic, see the horn filled soul of Ten Years, the acoustic balladry This is a very personal project for Oliva as it is the final album to feature the unrecorded work of his brother Criss the former Savatage guitarist maestro who died age 30 in a car accident, so you this album is almost like Oliva exorcising the final demons of his past and he does it in fine style with every track different and the tracks penned by his brother are some of the strongest on the album, which is not to detract from Jon's writing at all but the Criss co-penned songs have that dusting of magic that was always present on the early Savatage albums. Personally I love Savatage and also TSO but Jon Oliva's Pain never really did it for me however this album merges the first two excellently and throws in a shedload of prog to boot! A classy album of dramatic, propulsive prog rock! 8/10  

 
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Review: Evil Masquerade (Guest review by Nick Hewitt)

July 11, 2013, 4:31 am
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Evil Masquerade – Pentagram (Dark Minstrel Music)

Having always been a massive fan of Firewind I was nothing short of gutted on hearing the news that lead singer and energy of the band Apollo Papathanasio had left by “mutual consent”. So, I decided to follow one of my favourite personalities in the business and checked out his other offerings to the metal industry. In doing so I came across Evil Masquerade; a Danish outfit set up by Henrik Flyman (Formally of Lacrimosa) and their 5th and new album Pentagram. Pentagram opens up delightfully with the title track offering a pounding galloping riff that the likes of Iron Maiden and Deep Purple would be proud of. Shortly the rough yet tuneful voice of Apollo's that I have come to love kicks in with a heavy rock sound. The track rolls on with some simple but beautiful solos from Flyman and speed changes that hook you into the darkness that album delivers. Without a seconds’ break the album slides flawlessly into A Silhouette, this grungy track drops the album to a darker level with Apollo and Henrik combining to make the track flow wonderfully with the slow sharp drumming from Dennis Buhl perking up your ears and keeping you enveloped in the journey.

The next few tracks; Perfect Disgrace and Spirits Of The Deadpick up the pace of the album, again with the earlier sprinklings of Iron Maiden and Deep Purple present and now the lyrical undertones of which the late great Ronnie James Dio. The Spirits Of The Dead is a highlight of this album as it demonstrates the brilliance of Apollo's voice. The sheer anguish he is able to deliver really pulls you into the track, particularly when accompanied by a thrilling solo courtesy of Flyman that further compounds the emotions the band are trying to convey. As a band they are trying to take you on a musical journey, as they have done on previous albums they are very much an album band rather than one making a collection of songs. The dark emotion filled track Moonlight Fantasy hits you right in the guts and slows the pace of the album.

At this point in the album we reach somewhat of a lull in the journey as tracks such as Unholy Water, Pray For MercyOn Our Souls and Soul Taker chug on through dragging slightly. Despite the talents of both bass’s player Thor Jeppesen and keyboardist Artur Meinild adding a little more melody to the tracks they fail to grip you as previous chapters of Masquerades journey did which does become slightly annoying. Although this is by no means the end as the band once again pick up the dark pounding grunge influences and power into On A Bed Of Thorns. Which starts out slow but bursts into a track full of raw emotion, anguish and defiance this track is another particular highlight.
The journey comes to a slow but eventually thumping end on When The Fire Dies and instrumental track Golden Ratio are released. Meinilds’ keyboards take centre stage at this juncture as Apollo’s vocals bring the sense of ending to the journey. The general feeling of When the Fire Dies is that of a retrospect of the album, as it mixes all the power, grunge and melodic elements of the album into one lump, eventually summing up the tone of the journey and album with the climactic instrumental Golden Ratio, leaving Flyman to have the final say on his guitar with a thundering statement of closure.

This being my first true listen to any Evil Masquerade material I have to say I am very impressed. The entire band has talent… this is obvious. Their ability to be able to draw the listener into the journey is brilliant. Many albums have done this to me but the combination of Apollo’s expressive vocals and Hendriks’ poignant guitars are able to make you feel a little more than most albums. The down side is that there are one too many songs in the album that seem a little irrelevant compared to the majority of the songs on offer and really stagnate the journey that Evil Masquerade attempt to take you on. This for me is a great place to start when considering Evil Masquerade, quality dark powerful emotive music clearly influenced by some of the greats. 8/10
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Another Point Of View: Clutch (Review By Paul)

July 15, 2013, 4:40 am
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Clutch – HMV Forum

General

Arriving shortly after 7:30pm we entered the Forum on a sweltering London evening to watch opening band General from Coventry deliver a solid  half hour of heavy stoner rock very much in the Down/COC/Orange Goblin style. A strong stage presence commanded your attention and their groove laden tunes soon had appreciative nodding and moving from the early arrivals. Some excellent musicianship was on display and the band, who were apparently invited on the four date UK leg of the Earth Rocker European tour following a chance viewing of their YouTube video Bullet Train, made sure that they took the most of the opportunity. A number of tracks from their debut album,Where Are Your Gods Now? were aired and it would be fair to say that, given I knew nothing about them; they were a welcome addition to the night. 7/10

Sons Of Icarus

Whilst I’d never heard of General, the name Sons of Icarus was familiar to me, although not their music. A bit of internet research told me that they had won a Marshall Amplifiers Ultimate band competition in 2010 and I recalled them being at both Download and Sonisphere in recent years. Musically Sons of Icarus are more of a straight down the line rock band, very much in the mould of The Answer but with a Soundgarden edge. Indeed, at times, lead singer Andy Mason’s sound certainly made me think very much of Chris Cornell. They played all the tracks from their EP You Want It All, with the stand out track Sick To The Teeth featuring some sterling lead guitar from Steve Balkwill. Sons of Icarus received an extremely warm response from the audience and these guys are well worth a listen; most certainly ones to watch for over the next few years and a great choice of support. 8/10

Clutch

What can you say about Clutch? Underground favourites for so long, I’ve yet to meet anyone who doesn’t like them. You want tunes? These guys have got tunes. You want aggression? Man, the mosh pit was ferocious. You want musicianship of the highest order? Yeah, they are called Tim Sult, Dan Maines and Jean-Paul Gaster. This band is no-nonsense rock at its finest. Show piecing the latest album Earth Rocker, the band opened with the tile track before launching into a further six tracks from it in succession. Not many bands could get away with that but this was Clutch and the crowd loved it, screaming along to every word, pitting and jumping throughout the gig. Neil Fallon is so many things; a poet, lyricist, ringmaster and antagonist but he is also genuinely humble and appeared quite overwhelmed at times at both the reaction and the fact that the Forum was totally sold out. This is the same band who have played TJs and Pontypridd Municipal Hall in recent years … how they have progressed is a joy to see. Clutch then launched into a raft of older tracks including Burning Beard, a quite stunning The Regulatorfollowed by my favourite, Pure Rock Fury which it certainly was. Neil Fallon always commands the attention but Clutch are a cohesive unit who drive each other along. Tim Sult’s guitar playing is quite breath-taking at times whilst Maines and Gaster lay down a beat so solid and heavy your fillings rattle. The main set closed with three more new songs. Yes, that was ten in total. A brave move and one that totally warranted the reaction received. The new songs are quite simply some of the best stuff Clutch have ever done and the slow paced Gone Cold confirmed this. A storming encore of The Mob Goes Wild and Electric Worry/One Eye Dollar concluded the evening. Soaking wet and emotionally exhausted, and evening with Clutch continues to be entertainment of the highest quality. Maybe next time a visit to these parts would be included? We can but hope. 10/10
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Reviews: Phillip H. Anselmo & The Illegals, Hinder, American Head Charge

July 19, 2013, 4:18 am
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Phillip H. Anselmo & The Illegals: Walk Through Exits Only (Housecore Records)

So here it is the full length debut of former Pantera and current Down vocalist Phil Anselmo, this solo album was proceeded by a split E.P with thrash band Warbeast who are signed to Anselmo's record label (the one through which he's released this album). Now I did enjoy the E.P. but it's only through listening to this album that I now know why, it's nice and short. Yes sorry folks but over the 8 tracks of this album Anselmo's fiercely underground aggression and noise heavy aural battering does start to grate on you and after about the third track Betrayed everything just gets a little bit samey. Though 'The Illegals' do try and mix it up with their instrumentation there are only so many times you can listen to super speed hardcore riffs backed by furious death metal drumming before it gets boring. The lyrical content to is also a bit too much in places with Anselmo ranting at music media, the government and all the usual targets but in places he just seems a little like a child having a tantrum to be taken seriously. Yes Anselmo has one of those unique metal voices however I find that he is better suited in Down who are in their prime at the moment. It is admirable that someone like Anselmo wants to hark back to the underground with a release that encompasses hardcore, punk, death and sludge metal (seen at its fullest on the final 12 minute track Irrelevant Walls And Computer Screens) but this album doesn't appeal to me personally and I find to be a bit like him making noise for noise sake rather than creating an album of well-constructed songs. 5/10

Hinder: Welcome To The Freakshow (Republic)

Hinder! A band that I am still following mainly because they keep releasing solid quality albums of Amercian Radio Rock, and while Buckcherry, Black Stone Cherry and others are further up in the food chain Hinder have continued to release radio friendly rock since 2005. Welcome To The Freakshow is another such album and kicks off with the hard rock punch of Save Me which has the bands signature hard rock riffs mixed with some powerful percussion, mixed with a half rapped vocals and a sneaky part of Kashmir thrown in. The twin guitars of Joe Garvey and Mark King are the core riff sound of the band but the highlight are the unique vocals of frontman Austin Winkler who leads the band in there album that encompasses loss, love, sex, lust and lots of drinking! There is however a problem with this album and it's one I've noticed with a lot of American bands more recent albums. This is that there seems to be a lot of  ballads I counted 5 on this album of 11 tracks they range from electric power ballads to acoustic love songs with Talk To Me and Get Me Away From You two examples of the latter coming one after another, it all does get a bit over powering in places, however when they rock they rock hard with the title track and See You In Hell being two examples although it does seem in short supply on this album, still its well performed and well written but it just needs a bit more rock. 6/10  

American Head Charge: Shoot (Self-Released)

After splitting in 2007, Industrial metal band reformed surreptitiously in 2011 and embarked on a 10 date tour of the USA and in the middle found time to record this 5 track E.P. And from the slow burning opening track we see that the band haven't missed a beat the riffs are low down and dirty, the bass is very heavy and the keys swell during the latter half of the track. This throws you immediately into the bass led heaviness of Set Yourself On Fire which has a vibe of Korn meets Marylin Manson with its shouted vocals, down tuned bass and eerie keys, the band also manage to throw in some Deftones with a the swirling middle and psychedelic vocal bridge. The hard rock stomp of Sugars Of Someday comes next and has the definite Korn vibe to it, before things get heavy, heavy, low, low on Sand which has a bass sound to rupture your bowels before the E.P ends with driving cover of Patti Smith's Rock N Roll N*gger which sticks to the all-out bluster of the original but is in keeping with the bands industrial style. The band are a very much stuck in the early 2000's but that doesn't matter as  their nearest sound-alikes Korn have moved into different avenues the fans that 'prefer the old stuff' will definitely get their thrills from AHC as they purvey the same style of music that made Follow The Leader a huge success. So if that sounds like your idea of heaven then give Shoot a shot, however if it fills you with dread then you may want to reload and avoid the gunfight (I'm sorry about the puns) 7/10
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Bands To Check Out BOA 2013

July 21, 2013, 11:11 am
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Just some bands that I think you should check out at Bloodstock (not including the headliners)

Thursday

Tragedy
Oaf
Bull Riff Stampede

Friday

RJD Stage

Death Angel
Municipal Waste
Voivod
Accept

Sophie Lancaster Stage

Absolva
Cypher 16
Xerath

Saturday

RJD Stage

Stormbringer
Beholder
3 Inches Of Blood
Hell
Gojira
Sabaton
Avantasia

Sophie Lancaster Stage

Vanderbuyst
Neonfly
Powerquest

Jagermeister Stage

The Earls Of Mars
Incassum

Sunday

RJD Stage

Sacred Mother Tongue
Amorphis
Exodus
DevilDriver

Sophie Lancaster Stage

Grifter
RSJ
Evil Scarecrow
Breed 77
Wolfsbane

New Blood Stage

Fury

Jagermeister Stage

Andy James
Phil Campbell's All Star Band





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The View From The Back Of The Room: Wintersun

July 23, 2013, 7:13 am
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Wintersun & Bloodshot Dawn, O2 Academy 2, Bristol

So upon arriving in Bristol, through some fantastic road works, we took up residence in Trenchard Street car park (which is perfectly placed above the venue) and found the last remaining space. We then descended the staircase and searched for refreshment in The Hatchet, where discussions began in earnest. After a few pints we then made the final pre gig ritual of Sausage and chips before walking into the O2 Academy. We were a bit shocked to find that tonight's gig was upstairs in what I was told was the 'metal room' at the local club night, so we ascended the stairs and were thrown into a long thin corridor of a room filled to the brim with black t-shirt clad hoard. Making our way to the back during Savage Messiah's set, we first set out to acquire some merch from Bloodshot Dawn and then once the purchases were done we proceeded to watch Savage Messiahs final songs and also began to sweat profusely (More on that later).

It would be unfair to score Savage Messiah based on two songs but having seen their brand of revivalist thrash before I knew what to expect and the band played their music with gusto and with better sound than the last time I'd seen them.

Bloodshot Dawn

Next were Portsmouth's Bloodshot Dawn who strolled on to a hero's welcome. This is a band that get better every time I see them, their brand of technical death metal is flawless in a live setting and from the opening of Beckoning Oblivion the wind milling began in earnest, with sweat flying like a sprinkler form those who were adverts for L'Oreal. Bloodshot Dawn blend together just the right amount of brutal (br00tal?) death metal vocals from frontman Josh McMorran, ferocious blast beats and guttural roars from drummer Doug Anderson, razor sharp riffage and face melting solo's from McMorran and Ben Ellis whose guitar interplay is nothing short of mesmerising. The guitar fans were happy, the pit starters were happy (despite an abysmal wall of death) and those of us that enjoy quality music also had grins on our faces and our horns held high. The band quickly worked through their set with Vision and Illusion Aesthetic coming in succession before the set ended with the pit inciting The Quantum Apocalypse and the flawless anthem Godless which brought things to a close. In some respects Bloodshot Dawn were the perfect support for Wintersun as they have the same level of intense technical musicianship albeit with none of them orchestral flourishes that the headliners bring. This is just heads down (or spinning) virtuosic no frills metal. 8/10

And with a brief rest bite to cool off we took in some more fluid and gathered ourselves ready to watch the headliners.

Wintersun

The heat in the room was now oppressive, even the females in attendance were covered in a reflective sheen as the venue was starting to resemble a large oven. Still we metal fans are a hardy bunch and as the intro music of When Time Fades Away rang out in its Eastern influenced tones the crowd were cheering at the top of their lungs. 2 and a half minutes later the band launched into Sons Of Winter And Stars which got the baying mob shouting along from the off. What immediately hits you about Wintersun is just how 'big' they sound, despite using backing tracks for a lot of the keys, synths, strings etc. their guitar, bass and drum sound is flawless and they seem to pack more riffs into every song than many bands have in their entire set list. They are also a bit of an enigma drawing fans from the Pagan metal crowd, probably due to the lyrical content and main man Jari Maenpaa's Ensiferum connection, but they also draw fans from the guitar virtuoso crowd because of their intricate and jaw dropping guitar prowess, it was slightly weird to see fans with Korpiklaani shirts standing next to those decked out with Steve Vai shirts. Anyway I digress, back to the set and the band played every song from their fantastic recent album Time I (which I reviewed in an earlier blog) although the album only has 5 tracks, and they also played nearly every track from their debut bar one, the closing 10 minute piece Sadness And Hate. After Sons Of...the Finns followed with Land Of Snow And Sorrow completing the first three songs of Time I in doing so before looking back at the debut with the super speed Battle Against Time which has to be a Nordic Dragonforce track before they changed down a gear to the waltzing pace of Sleeping Stars and then came back up a gear to Beautiful Death which completed the first retrospective part of the show. There was very little audience interaction from the band like there had been in both Savage Messiah and Bloodshot Dawn's set, possibly because the band don't need it they are quite prepared to let the music do the talking. The second intro of Darkness And Frost (the shortest track of the night) signalled a return to the new album with the 12 minute closing statement of Time which sent the crowd into raptures. By now the room crowd were staring to boil and this became a test of wills with a band that do not play 4 minute songs, these were all long complex pieces and I was surprised how many stuck around in the oppressive heat to watch the band and also how many ventured to the front! It was back to the debut for the last four songs and the anthemic Death And The Healing was first before more super-speed metal in the shape of Winter Madness which did indeed incite full pit starting hysteria (or that could have been the heat!) the theme of high speed metal continued to the end with Beyond The Dark Sun and Starchild (not an ode to Paul Stanley unfortunately) both providing dual guitars and speed metal riffs that Blind Guardian would be proud of! Then like a flash of (winter) lighting it was over the exhausted, soaking wet bodies of the crowd threw their final horns and reached out to congratulate the band on a simply incredible show. We filed out back to the relative cool of the outside and as one of my gig companions put it "They were much better than I expected" I couldn't agree with him more I'm not sure what I expected and I was anxious to see whether they could replicate their album live and I was extremely pleased to see that they could and were possibly better than I could have ever predicted, consider me extremely pleasantly surprised and about three stone lighter! 9/10     
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The View From The Back Of The Room: Bruce Springsteen

July 25, 2013, 9:00 am
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Bruce Springsteen, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff

So here we go the second time The Boss has headlined the city’s largest venue and there was a sense of anticipation in the air, there are fewer names bigger in music than Springsteen and there is always a sense of occasion whenever he descends on a city. The show was due to start at 7pm so as I knew there would be no support act (a bit of theme for The Boss) I came into the stadium at around 6:45, I was surprised by how empty the stadium was, in full rugby mode it can hold 75,000, however the stage itself took up half of the arena so there was more like around 30,000 tonight. Although it was not a sell-out. I was near the soundstage and had a lot of room to move about which was a relief due to the stifling heat in the city and the closed roof (rain was expected though never materialised). So the crowd waited...and waited...and waited. Finally at about 8:20 the show kicked off to a rapturous applause. The 16-piece band made their way to the stage and started to play before the leader himself emerged to an even louder ovation. They kicked off with This Little Light Of Mine which got the stadium clapping and singing like some kind of revival. As the night wore on this comparison would become more apt but I digress.

The major part of a Springsteen concert is that no two are the same, this is due to the sign request idea, which is where members of the front row have song requests on signs and Bruce picks them and plays them, which is surely a testament to how talented his band are as they may never know what songs are going to be chosen so obviously have to have a repertoire of over a thousand songs! First though were Long Walk Home and Adam Raised A Cain,in which The Boss showed off his guitar prowess doing his best Hendrix impression, which is again a testament to The Boss as he is backed by two amazing guitarist in the shape of Steven Van Zandt and Nils Lofgren he is still first and foremost the lead guitarist So then we were plunged into request territory with the emphatic statement of Prove It All Night which gave Lofgren a chance to show off and the live premier of T.V Movie before this jukebox section of the show ended with Cynthia. Roulette was next and then we had a Wrecking Ball mini-suite with three songs coming from his latest album including We Take Care Of Our Own and the title track, this was followed by a bit of explanation about The Boss's past before we got to the meat and potatoes of the set with two classics in the form of Spirits In The Night and Hungry Heart and the reflective My City Of Ruins.

It's here I think I should mention The E-Street Band who are such a major part of The Boss's sound, I've already mentioned the contribution of the six stringers with Lofgren the silent partner and Van Zandt Springsteen's right hand man on guitar and co-vocals, the ivories were tickled by Roy Bittan as usual and the familiar faces of Gary Tallent and Max Weinberg kept the rhythm in check with bass and drums respectively all were augmented by the recent (well 2002) addition of Soozie Tyrell on violin and Charles Giodarno (2008) who took over the organ stool from the departed Danny Federici. There were three backing singers a percussionist and a horn section which was led by, in possibly the biggest change to the band, Jake Clemons who admirably filled in for his late uncle on sax and general larger than life joie-de-vive. A notable absence was Springsteen's wife Patti Scialfa who was not present.

 Back to the music and we were back to the covers with The Animals We've Got To Get Out Of This Place featuring special guest Eric Burden which segued into John Lee Hooker's Boom Boom and was closely followed by Summertime Blues (which has to be one of the most covered songs in history?) After this is where the show headed for the home straight as it were with the performances getting ramped up and an almost vaudeville element creeping in. Shackled And Drawn was an ode to the slavery andWaiting For A Sunny Day was the Boss at his most cringe worthy inviting a 7-year old on stage to sing with him (before handing him back to his weeping father) this was followed by The Rising and the euphoric Badlands to end the first set. We were deep into the second hour when the band returned for the encore but no rest bite was given with Born To Run, Ramrod, Tougher Than The Rest and Dancing In The Dark in which members of the crowd were invited on stage before the finale of The Isley Brothers Shout (with full Blues Brothers histrionics) and a reprise of the opening gospel tune finished the encore at three hours. So we had witnessed a multitude of songs from a huge back catalogue, you may not always get what you want to hear but you always get a good show from a man who has being doing this for nearly 50 years, part rockstar, part preacher the shows are loud, boisterous and full of some big songs.

 However after all the bluster it was in the second encore that Springsteen earned his reputation as The Boss, it was him alone on the stage with and acoustic guitar and a harmonica around his neck, like his hero Bob Dylan, and he brought silence to the crowd with his rendition of Janey Don't Lose Heart who were awestruck before the cry arose when he started to play the opening chords of Thunder Roadwhich lead to a mass sing-along before Bruce said his goodbyes and left. If any moment in the whole 3 and a bit hour show encapsulated what The Boss is about it was that medley, it showed that for all the above Bruce Springsteen is a songwriter and a bloody good one at that! 10/10
  
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The View From The Muddy Field: Steelhouse Festival (Day 1)

July 31, 2013, 5:34 pm
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Steelhouse Festival, Hafan-Y-Mor Farm, Aberbeeg, Ebbw Vale

After years of travelling to gigs and festivals it was nice to have one on my doorstep, two days of classic rock in a field in Wales after a week of hot sunshine, so yes you guessed it on the first day (that I was there) it rained very heavily for most of the day, however due to the fact that everything was within walking distance it meant that there was time to retreat from the rain. Seeing as this festival is in its infancy there were a few teething problems, one was the incredibly rocky path leading to the top of the mountain where the festival was held, two was the sanitation there was just not enough toilets!! (Which can be a BIG problem) and three was the supply problems. However this was made up for by its intimacy, the general relaxed feel and a stellar line up of bands.
Steelhouse is a classic rock festival so the bands were not going to appeal to Dimmu Borgir fans (on the whole) however with the mighty Saxon and Michael Schenker heading we were in for a real treat. So at 12:30 we took a short walk to the arena and got down to business.

Day 1

Fireroad

First up were BOTB winners Fireroad who played a hard edged brand of Foo Fighter-like radio rock, they were solid enough but nothing special however there local fan base was out in force and were cheering the band who reciprocated with some on stage banter and some strong songs that warmed the crowd up nicely. 6/10

Dead Shed Jokers

DSJ can be classed as alternative rock if we're pigeon-holing, bringing in some classic metal with big heaps of QOTSA style fuzzed up garage rock to provide deafening aural assault the crowd lapped it up and the band were a more of left field choice that went down well converting a lot of the hardcore classic rockers in the crowd with their odd vocal lines and almost voodoo like rhythms that appealed to those who partook in some 'gardening' 7/10

Due to other pressing matters e.g. torrential downpours I missed most of Hand Of Dimes set but from what I heard former Skin frontman Neville MacDonald was belting out some high quality harmonica drenched blues rock with gusto, one to check out in drier conditions
As the heavens descended we ventured back in for one of the bands that I was really looking forward to seeing, the hotly tipped The Temperance Movement

The Temperance Movement

The five-piece came on to the stage with no fanfare and looking like a bunch of art students all bohemian clothes and odd headgear however when the clean Californian sound of Luke and Paul's guitars come in over the driving rhythm of Nick and Damon the band evoke memories of days past listening to The Black Crowes with whom TTM share a lot of similarities mostly in the scarred, scotch soaked vocals of frontman Phil who definitely moves like Jagger contorting his wiry frame into all sorts of mad shapes while the band rock out in their Gypsy-blues rock way. They definitely live up to the hype as their hour set is mesmerising to watch, the fire these men have is incredible every riff, every solo, every freak out is done with pure passion, it's like discovering a band on the brink of greatness, the first true standout moment. 9/10

However then we had:

Anvil

The Canadian also-rans first time on Welsh soil must have been quite a rush for Anvil however I doubt frontman/guitarist Lips knew where the hell he was! I've seen Anvil before and they didn't impress me then and they  still don't Lips' silly between song banter was only matched by his silly songs with their alliterative names and not mention the 'famous' dildo solo during Mothra which still seems to go on forever. Despite the furore their movie caused and the fact that they are revered by a lot of the metal and rock community for sticking with their chosen career through adversity, I can't always help but think there is a reason why some bands languish in obscurity, although maybe I'm just a snob...6/10

FM

So time for the AOR part of the evening breaking up the relentless metallic attack with some smoothly delivered prime radio rock. FM have had somewhat of a re-insurgence in the past few years mainly due to some strong albums and an appearance at Download where they filled in for Ratt and were rapturously received. The key to FM's popularity has always been Steve Overland's voice which is still as smooth as silk, yes the hair has gone but that voice remains. For those who enjoy AOR FM were manna from heaven filling the arena with their huge sing along hooks. There was waving, singing and lighters all while having the Welsh summer come down on our heads. If AOR is your bag then FM are the top of the heap, less cheesy than some of their compatriots (Looking at you Mr Jovi) and still releasing quality albums and playing slick, professional gigs. 8/10

Saxon

So now it was time for the main event, Biff and the boy's first show in Wales for a few years and they brought their European stage set up with them, after the intro of Procession it was all hands to battle stations as they plunged into the thrash-like riff of Sacrifice from their most recent album of the same name, heads banged, fists raised and horns pointed as this was followed by Power & The Glory and Heavy Metal Thunder. We had flames, we had smoke we had the band giving everything they had the twin guitar play of Scarratt and Quinn was smoking hot throughout as was the bass pulse of Nibbs Carter and the skin smashing of Nigel Glockler (who got his own solo complete with rising drums and his name in lights). We were told this concert was being filmed for a documentary and so with that the crowd picked And The Bands Played On  and the juggernaut tore on (like a certain princess) The Eagle Has Landed got the old school fans hot under the collar before Solid Ball Of Rock and Stand Up And Fight smashed out with Biff in full flight, his voice is still perfect and he is the ultimate frontman, witty, charming and a little bit nuts. The set then went into greatest hits territory with Dallas 1PM followed quickly by 747 Strangers In the Night during which the massive Eagle light rig was revealed and was followed by a thousand camera flashes, this was the first time the Eagle has appeared in the UK in approximately 20 years, and there it stayed resolutely at the back of the stage for set closer Wheels Of Steel. The crowd were wet, tired, hoarse and begging for more and after  a brief rest bite the band returned for a three song encore despite an 11pm curfew. First was the odd choice of Crusader which was followed by the two stone cold classics of fans anthem Denim And Leather and the turbo charged Princess Of The Night. With the final chord played the crowd erupted (the biggest of the day, perhaps the weekend) this was truly an all or nothing performance and Saxon showed once again why they remain one of best Heavy Metal bands the UK has ever produced. Top quality metal and a perfect way to round off the first day, maybe with a reception like that they will visit this side of the Seven bridge more often. 10/10  
  
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The View From A Muddy Field: Steelhouse Festival (Day 2)

August 1, 2013, 1:11 pm
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Steelhouse Festival, Hafan-Y-Mor Farm, Aberbeeg, Ebbw Vale

Day 2

A rain soaked night but in the morning there was sunlight with scattered showers predicted so after a hearty breakfast and some more beer inside us we once again ventured into the arena

Blackbyrd

Blackbyrd are a classic rock style band from South Wales with some Alter Bridge tendencies, the songs were again strong and the band provides another nice dose of rock and roll to blow away the hangovers from the night before, a nice short blast of hard rock for lunch. 7/10

Skam

Leicester's Skam are a three piece rock band that deal in no nonsense hard rock in the style of AC/DC with some Foo Fighters melody thrown in. A good band whose set improved as they carried on, they were the first band to suffer from the strong wind that had picked up throughout the day however the bands immediate approach meant that the few that were there to catch them thoroughly enjoyed them and the muscular rock style. 7/10

Trucker Diablo

Hailing from Northern Ireland I have only recently discovered this band so I was keen to see them live as I a m a bit of sucker for Southern style American rock and I'm very glad I did as the band are a rip roaring party from start to finish, yes their between song banter was very haphazard, possibly due to too much alcohol, however there songs are excellent although mainly focusing on girls, booze and trucking the songs were well written, well played and full of BSC style hard rocking although with a bit of Lizzy grit thrown in for good measure. The band worked through their set of Drink Beer, Destroy, Juggernaut, Voodoo, Big Truck,the mega single Drive and a brief snippet of Proud Mary by Creedence Clearwater Revival. Trucker Diablo are a very fun band with some killer songs that deserve to be much bigger than they are, a very good show. 9/10

Vega

More AOR from Vega who are revivalists, unfortunately their saccharine tones were awful in a live setting with the keyboards being too heavy in the mix and the singer was abysmal. It was time for lunch during this so after a song and a half we sought out some of the tasty treats on offer, mainly the Wild Boar and Red Wine pizza. My gig going mates and I sought shelter from the rain with our pizzas while Vega played. 3/10

Heavens Basement

The latest incarnation of this band seem to be its most successful and you can see why, mixing the snotty attitude of G'N'R with the modern rock styling's of Seether or other American acts. This band has had a lot of hype surrounding them and from the opening chords you can see why as the band is full tilt in your face rocking from the word go. Pulling songs from their debut the band roared through Fire, Fire, Nothing Left To Lose and Lights Out In London to a raucous crowd that, as the guitars brought the rock frontman Andrew Buchanan screamed like banshee bringing a huge amount of energy to the bands set, they really stood up to their next big thing tag on this evidence however they need to bring some more songs like Executioner's Day to the party to really be arena headliners. 8/10

Snakecharmer

Snakecharmer are a British hard rock band and a 'supergroup' of sorts. Formed by former Whitesnake men the very underrated guitarist Micky Moody and Neil Murray the bring along Thunder's Harry James on drums, Wishbone Ash's Laurie Wisefield as Moody's six string foil, a keyboard player that was not the usual Adam Wakeman who is probably busy with Black Sabbath, by way the star of the show (other than Moody) is vocalist Chris Ousey who is somewhere between leather lung David Coverdale and Paul Rodgers. Fighting with some sound problems throughout their set, possibly to do with the weather however the band made their way through their own tracks like Accident Prone and To The Rescue but where the crowd really got going was during the Whitesnake covers from the Moody era. With such strong tracks of Ready An' Willing, Walking In The Shadow Of The Blues. There was a break in the proceedings where Moody showed of his slide talent before the set ended with a few stone cold 'snake classics in the shape of Slow An' Easy, Here I Go Again and the encore of Fool For Your Loving ending the set on a high. In the comparison between this and the actual 'Snake then Snakecharmer have Cov & Co pipped in terms of vocal and musical talent, Moody is still a guitar hero, Murray is the strong silent pulse and Ousey has a voice that Cov would kill for all in all they are the ultimate tribute to 'Snake and a great addition to this bill. 8/10

Magnum

British melodic rockers Magnum were up next as the timings were starting to slip, Magnum arrived on the stage later than expected (again weather related) and kicked things off with All The Dreamers,theset was a wide spectrum of songs drawing from their vast career throwing in the classics of How Far Jerusalem, Les Morts Dansant, The Spirit and All England's Eyes.Clarkinis still a guitar hero in the truest sense of the term as witnessed by the riff of Kingdom Of Madness. Bob Catley cuts a small figure but delivers a huge voice however everything was obscured by the over loud keys which meant that many of the songs weren't as impressive as they should have been, the running time issue also reared its head as the band played a three song encore when many assumed they had finished. Still a great addition to the bill but slightly out done by their heavy keys. 7/10

Michael Schenker

So finally it was time for the main event, the German guitar legend was ready to rock Steelhouse and rock it he did. This was the Temple Of Rock/Lovedrive reunion tour shows so naturally the set opened with the Lovedrive before moving into Another Piece Of Meat, this began the start of what was a career retrospective for Schenker bringing songs from The Scorpions, UFO and MSG. The man with the Flying V was backed by Keyboardist/guitarist Wayne Findlay (also with a Flying V) the stinging (sorry) rhythm section of ex-Scorpions men Francis Buchholtz on bass and Herman Rarebell on drums, vocally he couldn't have picked better with Scottish singer Doogie White ably mimicking Klaus Meine, Gary Barden and Phil Mogg while holding his own on the one new track from the Temple Of Rock in the shape of Horizons. Some between song banter followed with a short story about band getting lost (maybe a reason for the lateness) but after the one-two shot of the Scorps, we went into MSG territory with Assault Attack, Armed And Ready before Into The Arena was the first guitar showcase of the night with the three Germans locked in for the instrumental, before this was followed closely by Attack Of The Mad Axeman.There was then a huge chunk of UFO with Shoot Shoot, Only You Can Rock Me, Let It Roll, Too Hot To Handle and Lights Out providing a greatest hits of Schenker's former band unfortunately this run of successes, I am big UFO fan, was followed by The Scorpions' Holiday which is one of my least favourite songs ever but they followed it with Rock You Like A Hurricane (even though Michael was not in the band by this time) which gave Herman the German a chance to instigate some crowd participation and the closing shot of Rock Bottom which had another guitar showcase. It was the end of the main set and in the now relative dryness we were waiting for the encore and like a flash it came in the shape of Blackout and the evergreen Doctor Doctor which sent home the crowd very happy. This was an amazing run through of Schenker's career that kept the older gents and the newer fans happy, the quiet man of rock thanked the crowd and that was that a great end to a great weekend. 9/10

This was a very good weekend of rock music with two amazing headliners and lot of great bands throughout, it was a great warm up for some of the bigger summer festivals and I will definitely do all again next year! 
          

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Reviews: Karnivool, Powerwolf, Axxion

August 4, 2013, 8:48 am
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Karnivool: Asymmetry (Cymatic Records)

Australian's Karnivool have returned after a five year absence with an absolute stormer of a record, the nu metal influences of Themata are all but gone and the Tool-like progressive soundscapes of Sound Awake are back but they have been pushed right to the limit. The album reminds me of Tesseract's magnificent new album, the band have guitars that instantly switch from clean melodic lines to heavy metallic riffage, some punching drums and low rumbling lead bass but mix it with evocative electronics. There is a heavy Tool influence on this record which is evident from the dark Nachash which follows the electronic instrumental Aum, the influence continues throughout the album with bass heavy riffs, time changes and Ian Kenny's, Maynard style injured wail vocal before turning into Dream Theater on A.M War, this album is an intriguing, challenging but ultimately rewarding listen, the songs are complex but accessible however this is not a band that deal in radio play the songs are all key to the flow of the album. The band work through many styles in this album as well as the ones previously mentioned the bands bring The Mars Volta style oddness to The Refusal, a hypnotic repeating melody on the title track, before some Porcupine Tree style reflective, acoustic based prog follows in the shape of Eidolon and Sky Machine. This is a majestic album that has the right amount of light and shade to mean that it never gets boring or repetitive just an almost perfect progressive rock album that stays with you long after it stops spinning. 9/10       

Powerwolf: Preachers Of The Night (Napalm Records)

German Werewolf metal returns with a vengeance and bucket loads of OTT fury! This is Powerwolf's fifth album and it's more of the same schlock-horror, power metal with the organs of Falk Maria Schlegel at the forefront pounding with the all of the Gothic bluster of an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, albeit one performed by Iron Maiden, straight from the opening track Amen & Attack. The fantastic dual guitars Matthew and Charles Greywolf (who also handles the bass) power all of the tracks along at full tilt in true NWOBHM style and mixed with the pulsing keys along with the sound of Attila Dorn's powerful vocals the band are reminiscent of a Gothic Sabaton (As I've said before). From the thrash of the opening to the jack boot metal stomp of Kreuzfeuer which is very Rammstein-like to the chanting finale of Last Of The Living Dead which has all the occultism of Swedes Ghost (B.C). Again the lyrical content focuses Paganism and the Occult although with tongues planted firmly in cheeks on tracks like Cardinal Sin and Lust For Blood still they manage to deliver some seriously strong metal, full of clichés, yes but still it will make you want to raise your fist in the air and yell at the top of your voice. This is the band that Iron Knights (formally Stuka Squadron) should be. However that would mean that Powerwolf would not exist which would be a massive shame. So disengage your brain (or give it to a local voodoo priest), turn up the volume embrace the beast within. 8/10

Axxion: Wild Racer (High Roller Records)

Axxion are a retro-metal band from Canada and like Swedes Enforcer (who started their career on High Roller) they play riff heavy NWOBHM style metal full of dual guitars and helium filled vocals. The album kicks off with the title track which is all choppy riffs/opening scream of the Dirty D Kerr, the lead off solo from Sir Shred, along with the galloping bass of Chris Riley and the one-two pounding of the aptly named drummer Alison Thunderland (who brings some much needed glamour to this band of hairy Herbert's). The pace rarely lets up from here with every track full of the same retro riffs and high pitched shrieks, however they do fall upon a problem, they are in a very saturated genre where you need to be special to stand out and unfortunately Axxion are not special they are consistent but that is not enough, yes the riffs are strong and the vocals are glass shattering but they are just another retro metal band looking backwards without moving forwards. 5/10

 
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Reviews: Five Finger Death Punch, James LaBrie, Buffalo Summer

August 17, 2013, 2:42 pm
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Five Finger Death Punch: The Wrong Side Of Heaven And The Righteous Side Of Hell (Prospect Park)

So FFDP have done a Stone Sour and instead of releasing one whole album (or double album) they have decided to release two separate albums. The album itself is made up of 11 tracks with the last three being repeated tracks but with guest vocalists. As far as the band themselves go they are firing on all cylinders from the opening chugging riff and machine gun drumming of Lift Me Up which features the Metal God himself and sounds like Halford's Fight project. The riffs shred like hell on every track with the bass and drums battering you around the head and bringing the groove. This is some of the heaviest material FFDP have released showing that they have rediscovered their anger that was present on their debut see to this though they have also added some heavy grooves, lots of hook filled melodies and some killer solos (all featured on the second track Watch You Bleed), much of the melody comes from the superb voice of frontman Ivan Moody who is a very good singer moving between snarling aggression and lovelorn crooning perfect for the bands muscular ballads as witnessed on Wrong Side Of Heaven. The band do sound revitalised on this record with everything sounding tighter than the top of jar of beetroot, yes there are some filler tracks with Burn MF being one such example of the bands default brand of 'macho metal'. However the band have got some pretty great songs on here with all of the special tracks being superior to the originals I.M.Sin is far more powerful with Max Cavalera providing his gruff bark over the top of it, Anywhere But Hereis made ten times better with In This Moment's Maria Brink giving her siren like vocals to it and Dot Your Eyes seems far more like a massive pit starter with Jamey Jasta raging with Moody (despite the horrible lyrics). The most interesting track on the album however is the cover, for a band that have covered Bad Company and Faith No More on previous efforts, a cover of LL Cool J's Mama Said Knock You Out (featuring rapper Tech N9ne) was not really a surprise but how good it actually is was a massive surprise indeed, this could be a FFDP song! So it's a case of a first round knockout for FFDP with this album, bring on round 2! 8/10

James LaBrie: Impermanent Resonance (InsideOut Music)

The Dream Theater frontman comes back with a vengeance with his new solo album and it's very similar to the vibe on his last release Static Impulse blending Gothenburg melodic death metal with LaBrie's signature vocal delivery, he is joined on the vocal front by the melo-death screams of drummer Peter Wiloder who also handles the blast beats that litter this album. From the opening track Agony the scene is set, blistering guitar lines from long time contributor Italian virtuoso Marco Sfogli, the double-kick drum assault and the massive keyboard lines from Matt Guillory who is the co-writer of the album with LaBrie (and was on the previous album). Let's get things straight though this is progressive and it is metal however the only similarity to Dream Theater is that they share the powerful delivery of LaBrie's voice, this solo effort has more in common with bands like Soilwork, whose Peter Wichers contributes guitars and writing, but with the pulsing keys of Guillory the songs also have an element of up and comers Amaranthe which is bolstered by the shared clean and shouted vocals most of the songs have rip roaring metallic battering but on a few tracks LaBrie's penchant for a ballad comes across on Lost In The Fire  and Say You're Still Mine but he still rocks up on Letting Go which has a djent style riff, the stomp of Amnesia and the speed delivery of Undertow. This is another great solo release from James LaBrie who has done well to distance him from his day job while creating a totally new branch of his career without much compromise. This is an old master in a new role and he seems to be revelling in it. The voice is the same but the songs are not, this is a fresh enlightening experience for all DT fans. 8/10   

Buffalo Summer: S/T (Cargo Records/Retrobution Records)

Hailing from South Wales This is Buffalo Summer's debut full length and it is packed with classic blues rock riffs and soul grooves. The band mixes some Black Crowes with some funkadelic riffage of The Electric Boys and a lot of Free to bring together a cool classic rock vibe with lashings of funk and blues. The drums and bass of Gareth Hunt and Darren King pound along with a hard rock groove that holds everything together; they are matched for power by the bluesy riffage of Jonny Williams who contributes the muscular riffs and some dreamy solos and the soulful voice of Andrew Hunt who is a definite highlight. Things kick off with the bluesy She's All Natural which has a killer tone shift in the middle, followed by the soulful Down To The River which has its gospel percussive middle section, songs continue in this groove filled rock vibe bringing to mind the sands of California, this is perfect music for driving with the top down, loads of sing along choruses and some killer solos means that these tracks really swing with a dirty blues vibe witnessed on Rolls On Through which has an almost Extreme-like vibe. Over the course of 10 tracks Buffalo Summer reveal themselves to be a very tight, hard rocking young band with some killer tunes that would be real rip-roarers in the live arena (the call and response of Ol' Duke). A band that are definitely worth checking out both live and on record as this album is an excellent introduction to the bands funk filled blues rock sound, cracking stuff indeed! 8/10 


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View From The Sunny Field: Bloodstock Day 1

August 20, 2013, 2:06 pm
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This should usually start on Thursday however I missed much of Thursday due to a tin related accident that meant I had to spend two hours in a nearby hospital having stitches: See Paul's bonus review at the end of this post.

So we start at the beginning of Friday with fresh bandages and an 11am start on the main stage in good weather (at last): 

Earthtone 9

Earthtone 9 reformed in 2010 and they opened Bloodstock with a bang showing their brand of alternative metal would fit with the more underground style of Bloodstock, they drew quite a large crowd who all seemed to be into the band meaning that their set went by in flash. 7/10

Absolva

Over to the Sophie Tent (Stage 2) for the second band of the day. Absolva are a classic-style British metal band that formed from the ashes of Fury UK after bassist Luke Appleton left to join Iced Earth. This trio (although they are only a trio recently) play riff heavy metal with lots of solo's that's sits somewhere between Judas Priest and Megadeth and different to the more progressive Fury UK. Frontman Chris Appleton has a great voice and can play a mean guitar, although I think he has watched a bit too much Michael Angelo Batio with his lightning fast solo's and his fleet fingered fretting. The rhythm section of Martin McNee (drums) and Dan Bate (bass) provided the heavy metal backing to Appleton's fret wankery. With songs like Code Red, Flames Of Justice, Frome Beyond The Light Absolva entertain the small partisan crowd, and draw a bigger one by the end of their set with their impressive display. 8/10

Death Angel (Paul)

Second on the main stage on Friday afternoon came Californian thrashers Death Angel. Now I for some reason have never managed to see these guys and I was looking forward with much anticipation. I loved these guys in the 80s and their early albums Frolic Through The Park and The Ultra Violence were played relentlessly. The Ultra Violence would sit comfortably in the top 10 thrash albums of all time in my view. Kicking off with Evil Priest from The UV, the band signalled their intent with a brutal assault on the eardrums. Clearly stoked by their first ever UK festival appearance, the band made sure that the very healthy crowd got stuck in to some early pitting, vocalist Mark Osegueda clearly enjoying himself immensely. Either side of him guitarists Rob Cavestany (the other old school member) and Ted Aguilar laid down the riffs, whilst a relatively new rhythm section of Damien Sission and Will Carroll kept the band driving forward. Time flew by, the band quickly getting through some classics with Voracious Souls, I Chose The Sky and Truce before a blistering Lord Of Hatefrom the quite stunning Killing Season album.  It’s such a shame this band aren’t bigger than they are, 12 years since they reformed. Wrapping up with Thrown To The Wolves the band clearly looked happy to be at BOA. I for one was pleased to have finally been able to catch the band and was not disappointed. I’m hoping that they will return to somewhere accessible in the near future where I can get a couple of my favourites from Frolic included in the set. 8/10

Bloodbound

Forgoing Ex Deo on the main stage I went back to tent catch Bloodbound who I had heard of but I have never listened to. I'm glad I did as they were possibly the most entertaining band of the day, much like Freedom Call last year. Bloodbound were an outright riot from start to finish, they play OTT power metal that reeked of 20 year old Stilton. Yes this was pure cheese but the large crowd lapped it up, these Swedes tend to have a particular lyrical fixation on metal, every song they played seemed to be about our collective religion with Metalheads Unite and Metal Monster. The songs were all similar and this meant that they did tend to blend into one but with the huge keyboard hooks, dual guitar delivery, galloping bass and drums and helium vocals from frontman Patrik, no one seemed to care  and they jovially sang along with every huge chorus, myself included, meaning that this was a massive metal party that showed that everyone was thereIn The Name Of Metal. A great band that do what they do very well, they need to support Sabaton next time they tour I think my face my split from smiling. 9/10

A brief rest-bite for me but Paul stayed to watch Shrapnel

Shrapnel (Paul)

Hailing from Norwich Shrapnel play melodic folk songs based entirely on themes of knitting and flower arranging. DO THEY FUCK! Although they do hail from Norwich they basically rip your face off with total thrash metal in an old school style. Influences are clear; Slayer, Testament, Exodus, Megadeth etc. You get the picture. I only stopped for 20 minutes of their set, as the Sophie Tent is strategically placed between the main stage and our tent full of booze, but was left banging my head as they tore through some tracks from their debut EPs and debut album The Virus. Subtly ain’t these boys thang, oh no. However, if you want to have half an hour of full on thrash metal delivered with enthusiasm and no little skill then these guys are worth a watch. Expect them on a support slot with some thrash icons at some point soon. 7/10  

Firewind

So Firewind (from Greece) once again return to the Catton Hall however this time they did seem to be at a bit of a loss, yes Gus G still showed off his fretboard fireworks, Bob worked his fingers to the bone on the guitar and keyboard but it was in the vocal department is where they had their weakness, gone is Apollo, who since 2006 has been the voice of the power metallers slowly getting stronger with every show. However he has gone leaving stand in vocalist Kelly Sundown Carpenter to fill his sizeable shoes and while he is a good vocalist he is just not suited to the band, he has a higher register than Apollo but he hasn't got the strength behind it. The band played a fan favourite set opening with Wall Of Sound and Head Up High Carpenter was struggling to match Apollo on these tracks and it did seem the band were at their best on the instrumental The Fire And The Fury (coincidence?) However after the instrumental the vocals did get better and the band left a better impression after the one-two punch of Till The End Of Timeand the anthemic Falling To Pieces on which Carpenter sounded his best. Firewind will always be a strong live act but I do hope that Carpenter is a stand in and not permanent as he is not a good fit for Firewind. 7/10

Skiltron (Paul)

Wandering into the Sophie Lancaster tent on Friday afternoon to avoid the last rites of Firewind I was confronted folk metallers Skiltron. Now, I’ve heard of them, but knew nothing about them and I can’t list a song they played. Well, that’s a lie. They use bagpipes, bizarre considering they are apparently based in Argentina, and so of course they played It’s A Long Way To The Shop (If You Want A Sausage Roll) (AC/DC). A quick bit of research at home had me even more confused though. Their album titles are extremely Scottish. The Clans Have United and The Highland Waysuggesting they have roots far North of the border. A new album is due out soon, entitled Into The Battleground. If you can’t work out what they sound like by now, then they probably aren’t your cuppa. However, I really enjoyed them in the way that you sometimes do when not expecting anything. Tight guitars, a bit of groove and bagpipes that didn’t sound like someone was strangling a cat! What’s not to like? A reasonable crowd in the tent provided enthusiastic encouragement throughout. One to check out at a later date …and to hunt down for a few more tunes. Good fun. 7/10

Xerath

As Muncipal Waste kicked the living crap out of the hard-core thrashers on the main stage we opted for the orchestral technical metal of Xerath. They quickly ran through their set of groove infected orchestral metal, unfortunately the band didn't do it for me live as the symphonic elements were barely audible over the too heavy guitars and the unintelligible grunts of singer Richard Thompson who was irritating with his constant goading of the crowd throughout the set. Xerath are a band that defiantly sounds better on record than they do live. 5/10

Xentrix

Xentrix are a thrash band from Preston that can be considered to be one of the founding fathers of thrash even though they are a fair few miles away from the hallowed Bay Area. Xentrix split in the 90's but have recently reformed again to support Evile and Kreator on their recent tour. What came after their intro was a very strong set of Metallica style thrash that had both the lightning fast fretwork on a few songs along with some mid-paced stompers. The band are all excellent musicians with the twin guitars of Chris Astley and Kristian Harvard were the mirror of Hammet and Hetfield although Astley's vocals were not as booming preferring the more ragged vocal delivery. The band delivered their set in powerful style to a packed tent who threw the horns and fists throughout the set. With tracks likeBalance Of Power and Questions the band were rattling through a great set. For a band that have had so many hiatus's they are tight as hell and have back catalogue of great songs, including a cover of Ghostbusters! Truly a band to check out live purely because of how bloody good they actually are and the crowd agreed with the band receiving a fantastic ovation from the crowd. Awesome showing! 8/10

Accept

So back to the main stage for the Teutonic Terror's Accept. A band that I've never seen live but I've always loved and here they were only a few feet away. So it was with great anticipation that we waited the storming German's attack on Bloodstock. So without warning the band stormed the stage and kicked off with Hung, Drawn And Quartered and Stalingrad both from their brilliant last album Stalingrad. The twin guitars of Wolf Hoffman and Herman Frank, cut like lasers throughout the set bringing the precision German metal to the masses, the riffs and solos of the thrashy songs ripped off the faces of the crowd who ate up every classic metal riff. The band had the bewitching stage craft with Wolf, Herman, bassist Peter Bates in perfect sync throwing clinical, robotic shapes with their axes. The band stomped through the classic RestlessAnd Wild before going through Breaker, Princess Of The Dawn and Losers And Winners every song had the crowd throwing horns and air guitaring along. What I was impressed with was the vocals of Mark Tornillo who has his own style different from the mighty Udo Dirkschneider but he does a good job of mimicking the man on his classic songs. These kept coming with the final three killers of Metal Heart, Teutonic Terror and the still brilliant Balls To The Wall which got the crowd singing along with its powerhouse chorus. This ended the main set with style and gave a short rest bite before the metal maelstrom resumed with the lightning speed riffage and full falsetto scream of Fast As A Shark which brought the house down leaving the crowd with huge grins on their faces. A great live set from the German metal legends who more than lived up to my expectations, a cracking set from a fantastic band! 10/10

King Diamond

So this was it the final band of the day, Danish metals premier vocalist King Diamond brought his full stage show to the UK. It was an impressive setup looking like a full church, the stage was flooded by dry ice and the King's band came on the opening chords of The Candle ringing out over Bloodstock. Then it was time for the King himself who unleashed his deadly scream for the first time which pierced the ears of the crowd. The King's show was part metal show, part Alice Cooper Schlock-horror and part vaudeville show. The King went through a set of his solo songs all of which told a bit of story full of smoke, fire and guest appearances from a female dancer/performer who worked the hardest of everyone. The guitarists ran the length of the stage interacting with the crowd through the large gate set that was at the front of the stage, the King himself prowled the stage bewitching the crowd with is shrieks that I must admit did get a bit wearing. Personally I found a lot of his solo stuff quite samey and it wasn't until Mercyful Fate song Come To The Sabbath that I found myself knowing the songs and it was during the two Mercyful Fate tracks (the other was Evil) that the King gave his shrieking a rest sticking to a normal voice. However it was after Evil that we left, the King is an acquired taste and I'm afraid although he is good he just didn't do it for me which is a shame as he is a legend but one that I can only take so much of. 7/10      

So it was after this we retired to the tents for a night of drinking and reminiscing about the bands that passed. The first day had been patchy but with two more days left we had plenty of metal moments to come!

*BONUS*

Burton Accident And Emergency (Paul)

And before a band had played, we had an opportunity of a bonus review. Yes, courtesy of old man Bladen and his fondness for Corn Beef (how old is he really to eat such shit?), we were treated to the most blood BOA had seen since Watain last year as the Corn Beef tin opened up with a massive salvo of skin shredding riffage and promptly cut Matt almost to the bone. Cue a sprint to the Jonnies (St John’s to you) who stared at the wound as if it had a cock growing out of it. Once we’d established that they didn’t even possess any steri-strips (unlike a certain very tall nurse who shall remain nameless…. HEWITT!!!)  it was the inevitable trip to A&E in Burton. However, this was preceded by some excellent comedic value from said Jonnie who firstly asked if anyone could drive Matt there (given that we’d been drinking solidly for five hours I was sorely tempted but thought I’d come off second best to a tree if I tried)  and was then observed to comment “I’ll give it a go” when asked if he could wash out Matt’s wound. Congratulations must be awarded to Matt at this stage, who promptly told said Jonnie in no uncertain terms that he wasn’t “having a fucking go on my hand”. Runner up for the whole weekend. (Winner by the way, Brett’s tears after Hell). Following an expensive cab ride (thank Slayer I grabbed Matt’s wallet!) we found ourselves in Burton A&E along with many of the patrons from The Cantina in Ep. 4. Luckily, being pissed and Welsh, we quickly pushed our way up the list and Matt duly received his three stitches in super quick time. This probably had something to do with me moaning about sobering up and grizzling about the lack of a toastie machine in the waiting area. Anyway, a big thanks to the efficiency of the staff there, and we were soon heading back to Catton Hall for a little more refreshment and the first round of bacon. Burton

A&E … we salute you. 10/10 (for service) 0/10 for the toastie machine though.  








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