Spread Eagle: Subway To The Stars (Frontiers Records) [Paul Hutchings]
Formed in the late 1980s, New York outfit Spread Eagle released two albums before disbanding in 1996. Reforming in 2006, the band now return with their third album, Subway To The Stars. Spread Eagle will be most well-known thanks to founder member Rob De Luca, bassist and vocalist with the band but also a staple in the UFO line-up for the past decade, as well as having worked with a list of legends including Sebastian Bach, Joan Jett and Helmet. Alongside De Luca, cousin Rik on drums, long time vocalist Ray West and guitarist Ziv Shalev complete the line-up. Just short of 50 minutes of hard rock with a melodic twist and its decent stuff. There is plenty of variety, such as the strings opening to Dead Air which simmers with a gorgeous riff throughout.
Grand Slam could sit on a Phil Campbell And The Bastard Sons album, a high paced rocker which allows West to show his quality. Interspersed through the album are subway stops (from what I assume is the New York Subway). Little Serpentina changes direction again, shades of Soundgarden pulse through the song, along with a delicious hook and some shimmering guitar work whilst the Manic Street Preachers come to mind on the indie style Gutter Rhymes For Valentines, the song title also something that Bradfield, Wire and Morgan would use. Subway To The Stars is a polished, melodic hard rock album that was enjoyable from start to finish. Plenty to explore, and a welcome mix of styles that allow it to stand apart from others wearing the same badge. 7/10
Sinner: Santa Muerte (AFM Records) [Manus Hopkins]
Sinner has been releasing albums at a much steadier and more regular pace than many of its peers since the early 1980s. Unfortunately, the band has suffered from a lack of promotion throughout its long career, and its releases have often gone unnoticed or been largely forgotten. (In North America maybe - Ed). The band (or at least frontman Mat Sinner) has trudged on despite this, and album number 17 brings no big surprises but packs its share of punches. Santa Muerte consists of a healthy mix of heavy rockers like Last Exit Hell and Fiesta Y Copas and melody-driven anthemic tunes like What Went Wrong and the record’s title track. The biggest instance of straying from the straight hard rock sound on the album is the successfully country-infused Death Letter. Overall, the album is a solid and easy listen, and should fit nicely in Sinner’s ever-expanding catalogue. 7/10
Vitriol: To Bathe From The Throat Of Cowardice (Century Media Records) [Paul Hutchings]
I suppose it’s fair to say that with the title of the album and the name of the band, I knew this wasn’t going to be something from good ole boys Blackberry Smoke. Instead, a vicious aural assault from the violent trinity from Portland, Oregon. Vitriol is fronted by the dual vocal assault given from guitarist Kyle Rasmussen and bassist Adam Roethlisberger and driven by drummer Scott Walker. Having created waves with their 2017 EP, Pain Will Define Their Death, we come to the group's much anticipated debut record, To Bathe From The Throat Of Cowardice. Punishing, relentless and utterly destructive in terms of their assault and battery. Technically intricate, at times it’s astonishing that there are only three people making this immense wall of noise. Sincere and raw in its delivery, the razor blade assault slashes and gouges without mercy. For those who want their death metal with edge, variation and a change from the congested mainstream, check out Vitriol. It’s brutal. 7/10
Frantic Amber: Bellatrix (GMR Music Group) [Manus Hopkins]
Sweden’s Frantic Amber makes melodic death metal that is both unrelentingly heavy and insatiably catching at the same time, never sacrificing one of those attributes for the other. Bellatrix is a monster of a record and a triumph for the group as it prepares to enter its second decade of existence. At nine tracks long, lots of musical ground is covered on Bellatrix. Along with the sheer heaviness is an ambient atmosphere, adding depth to the masterfully written songs. The Ghost That Kills is a definite highlight, though there’s not one song on the album that falls short in the crushing riffage department, or when it comes to articulate drum work and throat-wrenching growls. 9/10
Formed in the late 1980s, New York outfit Spread Eagle released two albums before disbanding in 1996. Reforming in 2006, the band now return with their third album, Subway To The Stars. Spread Eagle will be most well-known thanks to founder member Rob De Luca, bassist and vocalist with the band but also a staple in the UFO line-up for the past decade, as well as having worked with a list of legends including Sebastian Bach, Joan Jett and Helmet. Alongside De Luca, cousin Rik on drums, long time vocalist Ray West and guitarist Ziv Shalev complete the line-up. Just short of 50 minutes of hard rock with a melodic twist and its decent stuff. There is plenty of variety, such as the strings opening to Dead Air which simmers with a gorgeous riff throughout.
Grand Slam could sit on a Phil Campbell And The Bastard Sons album, a high paced rocker which allows West to show his quality. Interspersed through the album are subway stops (from what I assume is the New York Subway). Little Serpentina changes direction again, shades of Soundgarden pulse through the song, along with a delicious hook and some shimmering guitar work whilst the Manic Street Preachers come to mind on the indie style Gutter Rhymes For Valentines, the song title also something that Bradfield, Wire and Morgan would use. Subway To The Stars is a polished, melodic hard rock album that was enjoyable from start to finish. Plenty to explore, and a welcome mix of styles that allow it to stand apart from others wearing the same badge. 7/10
Sinner: Santa Muerte (AFM Records) [Manus Hopkins]
Sinner has been releasing albums at a much steadier and more regular pace than many of its peers since the early 1980s. Unfortunately, the band has suffered from a lack of promotion throughout its long career, and its releases have often gone unnoticed or been largely forgotten. (In North America maybe - Ed). The band (or at least frontman Mat Sinner) has trudged on despite this, and album number 17 brings no big surprises but packs its share of punches. Santa Muerte consists of a healthy mix of heavy rockers like Last Exit Hell and Fiesta Y Copas and melody-driven anthemic tunes like What Went Wrong and the record’s title track. The biggest instance of straying from the straight hard rock sound on the album is the successfully country-infused Death Letter. Overall, the album is a solid and easy listen, and should fit nicely in Sinner’s ever-expanding catalogue. 7/10
Vitriol: To Bathe From The Throat Of Cowardice (Century Media Records) [Paul Hutchings]
I suppose it’s fair to say that with the title of the album and the name of the band, I knew this wasn’t going to be something from good ole boys Blackberry Smoke. Instead, a vicious aural assault from the violent trinity from Portland, Oregon. Vitriol is fronted by the dual vocal assault given from guitarist Kyle Rasmussen and bassist Adam Roethlisberger and driven by drummer Scott Walker. Having created waves with their 2017 EP, Pain Will Define Their Death, we come to the group's much anticipated debut record, To Bathe From The Throat Of Cowardice. Punishing, relentless and utterly destructive in terms of their assault and battery. Technically intricate, at times it’s astonishing that there are only three people making this immense wall of noise. Sincere and raw in its delivery, the razor blade assault slashes and gouges without mercy. For those who want their death metal with edge, variation and a change from the congested mainstream, check out Vitriol. It’s brutal. 7/10
Frantic Amber: Bellatrix (GMR Music Group) [Manus Hopkins]
Sweden’s Frantic Amber makes melodic death metal that is both unrelentingly heavy and insatiably catching at the same time, never sacrificing one of those attributes for the other. Bellatrix is a monster of a record and a triumph for the group as it prepares to enter its second decade of existence. At nine tracks long, lots of musical ground is covered on Bellatrix. Along with the sheer heaviness is an ambient atmosphere, adding depth to the masterfully written songs. The Ghost That Kills is a definite highlight, though there’s not one song on the album that falls short in the crushing riffage department, or when it comes to articulate drum work and throat-wrenching growls. 9/10