Snowy White: Situation (Soulfood) [Paul H]
British blues guitarist Snowy White is one of the finest guitarists to ever emerge from these shores. Thriving on anonymity, White has a back story to rival most but few would ever know much about the man who was born Terence Charles White in Barnstaple in 1948. A life long friend of Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green, he learnt his trade in the late 1960s and was invited to join Pink Floyd as a live guitarist in 1977. A member of Thin Lizzy between 1980-82, he features on Chinatown and Renegade, White has also been part of Roger Waters band and is still most famous for his mellow 1983 hit Bird Of Paradise.
With an extensive discography behind him, Situation is the latest album with his band The White Flames, who he first recorded with in 1996 on the album No Faith Required. It’s a beautifully crafted album, with White’s trademark Gibson Les Paul Goldtop taking centre stage. His playing has lost none of its fluidity, and the interplay with the band, such as on the extended jam L.A. Skip is delightfully organic. White’s vocals are laid back, rarely strained and although they show the slightest signs of struggle on the observational Can’t Seem To Do Much About It overall he retains the calmness personified back in the 1980s. Max Middleton’s extensive jazz style keyboards and piano sections riff with White throughout the album, whilst Richard Bailey and Walter Laturpeirissa hold down the rhythm with an ease that only seasoned blues professionals can manage.
At times the lyrics are at best mediocre, but it is the playing of that Goldtop that earnt White his reputation and his performance on Situation is a pleasure to listen to. Crazy Situation, a laid-back song that is chilled and relaxed is a classic example, slow and simple but with crystal clear guitar work, whilst Blues In My Reflection summarises White’s feelings perfectly, another duel with Middleton unassuming and non-confrontational. Situation is an album to play after a hard day, relaxing with a glass of wine. Perfectly paced, never over eager to move forward, it is simply an album that is to be enjoyed. 8/10
Grief Ritual: Life Is A Phase (F H E D - Cassette Only) [Mark]
This EP stretches its legs early, Recidivist hitting hard from the first note to the last, shouting and dirty riffs galore, Grief Ritual really know how to open up space, this will be a blast live, the pits will be hectic, I’m sure. Paroxsym then slows the pace, creating unexpected mood and atmosphere after the breakdowns and anger of the opening track, the sound here is melancholy and has a desperate feel, about halfway through a drum break and build up into a more uptempo hardcore moment, probably the lowest point of the EP for me, being pulled out of the washing riffs of the first half of the track. The next three tracks all fit a similar structure to the first two, hard hitting crusty hardcore riffs, open spaces, lots of very well performed shouting vocals. This 13 minute EP has been a personal highlight for me over the last couple of weeks, getting many spins in the car. 8/10
Borders: Purify (Long Branch Records) [Mark]
Borders are from the UK, Lincoln Metal are the way they describe themselves, a mix of genres that sometimes gels really well and sometimes seems to miss the mark as much as it hits, the screaming is a bit raspy, it’s not bad, but it’s definitely an acquired taste, the vocals are well performed and the rap shouting is pretty good if you’re into that sort of thing. There are really heavy riffs and well crafted breakdowns that are sure to go over well live, but I am a little unsure on the chemistry of the genres they are trying to mix into one overarching sound. Damage Everything opens with a riff that is smart and punishing, but the entire section is gone in 30 seconds to be replaced with a breakdown, the riff does come back with some rap/singing over it, which is fine and reminds me a bit of Hacktivist, but I feel like there’s a lack of cohesion, the song is a highlight on the album and has many great parts. Bad Blood is a good example of what Borders can offer as a band, this track seems to blend what they’re about in a way that will have appeal beyond the young metal crowd, the atmospheric lead line that plays over parts of the track is a great addition. Other album highlights are Nothing To Lose, and the closer Walking Dead with its great syncopated kick patterns, overall I do see Borders having an appeal, this album will be enjoyed by some, not so much by me. 5/10
Xaon: Solipsis (Mighty Music) [Mark]
Zayon? X-aon? I don’t know how this band name is pronounced. Monolith opens the album and the singing reminds me so much of Ihsahn that I had to check he wasn’t the singer, it’s not but Rob Carson does a great job, a great range and loads of depth to his styles, the track behind the vocals is a little bit disappointing, the instrumentation is done well but the actual song sounds like a lot of symphonic metal I’ve heard before, which is no bad thing, but it’s not really anything new. The title track opens with probably the most interesting riff on the entire album, a real banger of a groove which is a bit unexpected, the groove sticks around for a while too, I really like that, Solipsis is the first moment on the album that really delivers on what Xaon promise on their website “Dark Metal”, a mix of heavy, melodic, atmospheric, groove and great vocals.
There are some other good moments on this album, Mobius is good after the really terrible intro, with some fantastic patterns and drum fills, Cipher is grandiose and album closer Mask has more of those really well performed vocals. The playing through the entire album is really good, the guitars are absolutely immaculate, the drums do their thing and the bass is well placed in the mix and does what you expect, the synthy symphonic parts are a little too loud at times and at times feel unnecessary. In fairness to Xaon, they won me over a bit with some of the performance on Solipsis, even though I didn’t think this was going to be my thing as the genre isn’t my cup of tea. 7/10
British blues guitarist Snowy White is one of the finest guitarists to ever emerge from these shores. Thriving on anonymity, White has a back story to rival most but few would ever know much about the man who was born Terence Charles White in Barnstaple in 1948. A life long friend of Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green, he learnt his trade in the late 1960s and was invited to join Pink Floyd as a live guitarist in 1977. A member of Thin Lizzy between 1980-82, he features on Chinatown and Renegade, White has also been part of Roger Waters band and is still most famous for his mellow 1983 hit Bird Of Paradise.
With an extensive discography behind him, Situation is the latest album with his band The White Flames, who he first recorded with in 1996 on the album No Faith Required. It’s a beautifully crafted album, with White’s trademark Gibson Les Paul Goldtop taking centre stage. His playing has lost none of its fluidity, and the interplay with the band, such as on the extended jam L.A. Skip is delightfully organic. White’s vocals are laid back, rarely strained and although they show the slightest signs of struggle on the observational Can’t Seem To Do Much About It overall he retains the calmness personified back in the 1980s. Max Middleton’s extensive jazz style keyboards and piano sections riff with White throughout the album, whilst Richard Bailey and Walter Laturpeirissa hold down the rhythm with an ease that only seasoned blues professionals can manage.
At times the lyrics are at best mediocre, but it is the playing of that Goldtop that earnt White his reputation and his performance on Situation is a pleasure to listen to. Crazy Situation, a laid-back song that is chilled and relaxed is a classic example, slow and simple but with crystal clear guitar work, whilst Blues In My Reflection summarises White’s feelings perfectly, another duel with Middleton unassuming and non-confrontational. Situation is an album to play after a hard day, relaxing with a glass of wine. Perfectly paced, never over eager to move forward, it is simply an album that is to be enjoyed. 8/10
Grief Ritual: Life Is A Phase (F H E D - Cassette Only) [Mark]
This EP stretches its legs early, Recidivist hitting hard from the first note to the last, shouting and dirty riffs galore, Grief Ritual really know how to open up space, this will be a blast live, the pits will be hectic, I’m sure. Paroxsym then slows the pace, creating unexpected mood and atmosphere after the breakdowns and anger of the opening track, the sound here is melancholy and has a desperate feel, about halfway through a drum break and build up into a more uptempo hardcore moment, probably the lowest point of the EP for me, being pulled out of the washing riffs of the first half of the track. The next three tracks all fit a similar structure to the first two, hard hitting crusty hardcore riffs, open spaces, lots of very well performed shouting vocals. This 13 minute EP has been a personal highlight for me over the last couple of weeks, getting many spins in the car. 8/10
Borders: Purify (Long Branch Records) [Mark]
Borders are from the UK, Lincoln Metal are the way they describe themselves, a mix of genres that sometimes gels really well and sometimes seems to miss the mark as much as it hits, the screaming is a bit raspy, it’s not bad, but it’s definitely an acquired taste, the vocals are well performed and the rap shouting is pretty good if you’re into that sort of thing. There are really heavy riffs and well crafted breakdowns that are sure to go over well live, but I am a little unsure on the chemistry of the genres they are trying to mix into one overarching sound. Damage Everything opens with a riff that is smart and punishing, but the entire section is gone in 30 seconds to be replaced with a breakdown, the riff does come back with some rap/singing over it, which is fine and reminds me a bit of Hacktivist, but I feel like there’s a lack of cohesion, the song is a highlight on the album and has many great parts. Bad Blood is a good example of what Borders can offer as a band, this track seems to blend what they’re about in a way that will have appeal beyond the young metal crowd, the atmospheric lead line that plays over parts of the track is a great addition. Other album highlights are Nothing To Lose, and the closer Walking Dead with its great syncopated kick patterns, overall I do see Borders having an appeal, this album will be enjoyed by some, not so much by me. 5/10
Xaon: Solipsis (Mighty Music) [Mark]
Zayon? X-aon? I don’t know how this band name is pronounced. Monolith opens the album and the singing reminds me so much of Ihsahn that I had to check he wasn’t the singer, it’s not but Rob Carson does a great job, a great range and loads of depth to his styles, the track behind the vocals is a little bit disappointing, the instrumentation is done well but the actual song sounds like a lot of symphonic metal I’ve heard before, which is no bad thing, but it’s not really anything new. The title track opens with probably the most interesting riff on the entire album, a real banger of a groove which is a bit unexpected, the groove sticks around for a while too, I really like that, Solipsis is the first moment on the album that really delivers on what Xaon promise on their website “Dark Metal”, a mix of heavy, melodic, atmospheric, groove and great vocals.
There are some other good moments on this album, Mobius is good after the really terrible intro, with some fantastic patterns and drum fills, Cipher is grandiose and album closer Mask has more of those really well performed vocals. The playing through the entire album is really good, the guitars are absolutely immaculate, the drums do their thing and the bass is well placed in the mix and does what you expect, the synthy symphonic parts are a little too loud at times and at times feel unnecessary. In fairness to Xaon, they won me over a bit with some of the performance on Solipsis, even though I didn’t think this was going to be my thing as the genre isn’t my cup of tea. 7/10