The End Machine: The End Machine (Frontiers Records) [Paul H]
Another release from the Frontiers label, who specialise in putting together high-quality hard rock projects. The End Machine is another case in point. The band comprises three former members of Dokken, in Jeff Pilson, George Lynch and Mick Brown along with vocalist Robert Mason who is the current voice of Warrant. Produced by Pilson, who has also been a member of Foreigner since 2004, the sound is as polished as you would expect but what is surprising here is the tub-thumping heaviness that runs through the album. Sure, it’s not the blistering death metal we regularly review here, but in terms of the hard rock arena this is amongst the upper echelons.
Another release from the Frontiers label, who specialise in putting together high-quality hard rock projects. The End Machine is another case in point. The band comprises three former members of Dokken, in Jeff Pilson, George Lynch and Mick Brown along with vocalist Robert Mason who is the current voice of Warrant. Produced by Pilson, who has also been a member of Foreigner since 2004, the sound is as polished as you would expect but what is surprising here is the tub-thumping heaviness that runs through the album. Sure, it’s not the blistering death metal we regularly review here, but in terms of the hard rock arena this is amongst the upper echelons.
There is no doubting that Lynch is one of the guitar greats, and his playing on this album is impressive, demonstrated early in the opening double punch of Leap Of Faith, with a great hook, and the pacey Hold Me Down, which features some smooth harmonies. As you’d expect, there are the usual big anthemic songs, such as Bulletproof, with its melody and slower pace, sing-along chorus, and Burn The Truth, with its semi-acoustic feel and ballad style approach. Then there are the pacier tracks such as the out of control Ride It and the pulsing Alive Today. Of course, this is still glossy, American Rock and it swaggers with an arrogance that bands like Dokken, Warrant and Great White possessed in the 1980s. It may not be to your taste, but this is a well-crafted album from some of the hard rock scene’s most polished performers. Certainly, worth a listen. 8/10
Drudkh: A Few Lines In Archaic Ukrainian (Season Of Mist) [Sean]
Celebrating ones heritage is a fine thing. Sharing one's culture through multiple mediums, recounting the rich history etched and ingrained into the very soil, is a finer thing still. Through artistic expression, one can learn and appreciate that which makes us different. It’s an endless source of inspiration for those with the creators urge at their fingertips, resulting in some truly stunning pieces of art, film and music. All this is well and good, though loses its allure when said celebration becomes something more….odious and insular. All about the “riffs” I may be, but I have my limits. Still, that’s a discussion of another time, we’re here to listen to music! Which leads us to Ukrainian black metallers Drudkh, whose oeuvre has almost more or less revolves around the poetry and exploits (or darkness) of their motherland.
With A Few Lines In Archaic Ukrainian, Drudkh have compiled six songs from three split EP’s, paying homage to all things Slavonic. Let’s begin with the first duo, taken from One Who Talks With The Fog / Pyre Era, Black. Golden Horse wastes little time, assailing us with a wall of blast beats and dense, sweeping chords. Roman Saenko’s instantly recognisable scream punctuates and pierces the din, howling the parting words of those lost to the Soviet regime. Melody is delicately balanced by the bawdy blasting, the weighty and crisp production adding a satisfying punch to the proceedings. Fiery Serpent continues this, dense guitars completely submerge me in its roiling grip. We then move onto the next chapter, originally released as Betrayed By The Sun/Hägringar. His Twenty Fourth Spring is traditional Drudkh through and through, atmosphere and heart wrenching wails painting the bleakest of pictures. The guitars take on a more pensive quality, emotive melodies dragging me into the depths of human disparity. Autumn In Sepia is more of the same, thick walls of guitar burying me completely in Drudkh’s depressive dirge.
Somewhere Sadness Wanders/Schnee is the final split, beginning with All Shadows Of Silence and finishing with The Night Walks Towards Her Throne. The former starts in typical Drudkh fashion, rage and regret perfectly balanced, before fading to cold synths some halfway through. The latter piles on more melody, with an autumnal air permeating throughout. Throughout its duration, A Few Verses… adequately captures the crux of the band, flowing from cacophonous clamour to melancholic moodiness without missing a step. Released for the first time outside of vinyl, A Few Lines in Archaic Ukrainian will no doubt please both discography hunter and fan alike, especially if you’re too stingy to splash out on a decent vinyl player. It will certainly give any listener the murky mileage they crave, with each track lasting at least eight minutes and beyond. In closing, if you aren’t already enraptured by Drudkh’s bleak Ukrainian busking, then A Few Lines….. is a fine place to start. Learning about cultures can be fun after all, huh? 8/10
Bleeding Utopia: Where The Light Comes To Die (Spiritual Beast) [Rich]
Melodic death metal is a genre that people have been wrongly saying is dead and spent which couldn’t be further from the truth and determined to hammer home this fact are Swedish melodic death metal band Bleeding Utopia with their fantastic third album Where The Light Comes To Die. Despite being from Sweden the style of melodic death metal played by Bleeding Utopia has little to do with the famous Gothenburg sound with the emphasis put on the death metal and the melody being a tasty accompaniment.
The melodies are far from the sickly sweet style either being dark and foreboding and having an iciness about them with some of the tremolo riffs in the songs being more akin to black metal than death metal. All these components made for a very pleasant experience for this listeners ears with particular highlights being Seek Solace In Throes, Enhance My Wrath and Welcome To My Pantheon. Bleeding Utopia are not a name I’ve heard of before and on the strength of this album I’ll definitely be checking out their previous works, For those who like their metal with plenty of bite and aggression but also plenty of melody then definitely give this album a listen. 8/10
Forever Still: Breathe In Colours (Nuclear Blast) [Polly]
This is the second album release of the Danish alternative-metal band following the story told in their first album Tied Down. I got the impression of a story being told from the delivery of the album as though it was a metal based musical. The album opens with Rewind, the chaotic electronic intro leading into the song works well with the inspirational tone of the vocals mixed in with the pandemonium of the guitars. Single Breathe In Colours following the album title is one of the heavier tracks of the album that begins with Maja Partsch’s delicate side of her voice then to lead to a harder exterior of the voice, the transition between both work well and paired with the chorus lyrics add well to the dystopian atmosphere I faced throughout the album.
Forever Still: Breathe In Colours (Nuclear Blast) [Polly]
This is the second album release of the Danish alternative-metal band following the story told in their first album Tied Down. I got the impression of a story being told from the delivery of the album as though it was a metal based musical. The album opens with Rewind, the chaotic electronic intro leading into the song works well with the inspirational tone of the vocals mixed in with the pandemonium of the guitars. Single Breathe In Colours following the album title is one of the heavier tracks of the album that begins with Maja Partsch’s delicate side of her voice then to lead to a harder exterior of the voice, the transition between both work well and paired with the chorus lyrics add well to the dystopian atmosphere I faced throughout the album.
I can hear influences from Within Temptation and Evanescence circa their album Origin and Fallen in this but with their own twist that’s shown on my favourite track Survive it has left me deeply impressed by the Maja’s voice and the emotion of rage, vigour and persistence is powered through all creative vessels for the band. There’s a vulnerable side to the music composed but defended by the heavy guitars. Speaking of vulnerable, the lyrics here seem very personal, a very brave decision to release it to the public and a very smart one as it works so well. The album portrays an inner strength we all possess and has definitely been ignited within myself. 8/10