Five Finger Death Punch: F8 (Better Noise)
Love them or hate them, FFDP are one of the biggest and most successful metal bands of the last decade. And on F8 they’ve proved they’re here to stay. Sticking with their classic guitar tone that they’re recognisable for almost instantly, they seem to have added a more gritty sound to it to give it that extra punch on this record. And Ivan Moody’s vocals sound even more ferocious and aggressive than on any other release they’ve done. Being the eighth record they’ve made you begin to know the in’s and out’s of their style and lyrical direction. This record however is a more direct and more of a ‘Fuck you’ approach to everyone who’s thrown any kind of hate toward them which fuel the fire in the creative machine.
The entire album itself is a non-stop adrenaline ride through the minds of the band and what they’ve been through over the last few years with the departure of drummer Jeremy Spencer being an influence on their song writing. At no point on the album will you want to stop or pause as it grips you and pulls you in with every passing song, becoming better and better as the record progresses, with ballads A Little Bit Off& Brighter Side Of Grey slowing things down, but making it a more enjoyable listen as Moody’s vocals fit perfectly. From top to bottom of the album it’s a masterpiece and fits into they back catalogue well as it sounds like a direct descendant of The Way Of The Fist. And arguably, it’s the best album of their career. 10/10
In Technicolour: Big Sleeper (Big Scary Monsters Recording Company)
Queens Of The Stone Age ever so slightly spliced with hints of My Morning Jacket. That’s the only way to describe In Technicolour. Despite being labelled as stoner rock of all things, the band hit the nail on the head in the Hard Rock department and have as many riffs than you could imagine. Starting off with big hitter Miami Funk it gives you a brief look into the sound the album is taking. Being both fast and slow with the rhythm and aggressive vocally it gives you the feel that the rest of the album is going to be as turbulent as this, but it’s actually quite consistent in it’s own right. Being as heavy as it needs to be when it suits the time and being as melodic as it needs, it all comes together in this neat little package. It’s not a perfect album, but it gives you the right amount of melodies on top of the hard rock nature it first shows. It’s definitely worth a listen and deserves to be added to your library. 7/10
Saurr: Twisted EP (Self Released)
With the mixed sound of Machine Head & Gojira, Saurr have proved a lot in this small 4 track EP. Counting in at 30 mins long they’ve showcased they have the hard hitting riffs. The vocal talent of Rob Derbyshire proves he can manipulate his voice from being the angelic, soft spoke clean melodic vocals straight into the devilish growls of hell. The instrumentals work together in perfect harmony creating an atmosphere of both melodic & aggressive metal that’ll put you to sleep only to spring you back to life in the very next moment. It’s not the best sounding EP I’ve heard, but it’s a clean piece that gives you more than enough to be satisfied with. The only issue I really have is with the guitar tone. It drones on just a bit, but apart from that, an excellent EP from an up and coming band who have dreams to make it big. And I can’t wait to see them flourish. 8/10
Rejection: A New Age Of Insanity (Self Released)
Taking inspiration from both Killswitch Engage and Of Mice & Men on their first album since 2013 is a good way to mark your comeback into the genre of Metalcore. From start to finish A New Age Of Insanity proves that even though the band has created some good songs on their previous albums, they still manage to retain the standard Metalcore sound with a twist of their own. The album title alone is fitting enough for the current state of the world, but when you dive into the songs themselves, that’s when the real fun begins. It’s your standard Metalcore, but somehow better, and I can’t put my finger on it, but the sound of the record itself does help elevate the heaviness of what’s to come. There’s so much to be enthralled by on this output that you’ll find yourself humming both the vocals and the riffs at random points in the day, that’s how catchy the record is. It’s not the best of the year so far, but it’s up there with one of my favourites of 2020 already. Do yourself a favour and listen to this album. You’d be doing yourself a service as well. 8/10
Love them or hate them, FFDP are one of the biggest and most successful metal bands of the last decade. And on F8 they’ve proved they’re here to stay. Sticking with their classic guitar tone that they’re recognisable for almost instantly, they seem to have added a more gritty sound to it to give it that extra punch on this record. And Ivan Moody’s vocals sound even more ferocious and aggressive than on any other release they’ve done. Being the eighth record they’ve made you begin to know the in’s and out’s of their style and lyrical direction. This record however is a more direct and more of a ‘Fuck you’ approach to everyone who’s thrown any kind of hate toward them which fuel the fire in the creative machine.
The entire album itself is a non-stop adrenaline ride through the minds of the band and what they’ve been through over the last few years with the departure of drummer Jeremy Spencer being an influence on their song writing. At no point on the album will you want to stop or pause as it grips you and pulls you in with every passing song, becoming better and better as the record progresses, with ballads A Little Bit Off& Brighter Side Of Grey slowing things down, but making it a more enjoyable listen as Moody’s vocals fit perfectly. From top to bottom of the album it’s a masterpiece and fits into they back catalogue well as it sounds like a direct descendant of The Way Of The Fist. And arguably, it’s the best album of their career. 10/10
In Technicolour: Big Sleeper (Big Scary Monsters Recording Company)
Queens Of The Stone Age ever so slightly spliced with hints of My Morning Jacket. That’s the only way to describe In Technicolour. Despite being labelled as stoner rock of all things, the band hit the nail on the head in the Hard Rock department and have as many riffs than you could imagine. Starting off with big hitter Miami Funk it gives you a brief look into the sound the album is taking. Being both fast and slow with the rhythm and aggressive vocally it gives you the feel that the rest of the album is going to be as turbulent as this, but it’s actually quite consistent in it’s own right. Being as heavy as it needs to be when it suits the time and being as melodic as it needs, it all comes together in this neat little package. It’s not a perfect album, but it gives you the right amount of melodies on top of the hard rock nature it first shows. It’s definitely worth a listen and deserves to be added to your library. 7/10
Saurr: Twisted EP (Self Released)
With the mixed sound of Machine Head & Gojira, Saurr have proved a lot in this small 4 track EP. Counting in at 30 mins long they’ve showcased they have the hard hitting riffs. The vocal talent of Rob Derbyshire proves he can manipulate his voice from being the angelic, soft spoke clean melodic vocals straight into the devilish growls of hell. The instrumentals work together in perfect harmony creating an atmosphere of both melodic & aggressive metal that’ll put you to sleep only to spring you back to life in the very next moment. It’s not the best sounding EP I’ve heard, but it’s a clean piece that gives you more than enough to be satisfied with. The only issue I really have is with the guitar tone. It drones on just a bit, but apart from that, an excellent EP from an up and coming band who have dreams to make it big. And I can’t wait to see them flourish. 8/10
Rejection: A New Age Of Insanity (Self Released)
Taking inspiration from both Killswitch Engage and Of Mice & Men on their first album since 2013 is a good way to mark your comeback into the genre of Metalcore. From start to finish A New Age Of Insanity proves that even though the band has created some good songs on their previous albums, they still manage to retain the standard Metalcore sound with a twist of their own. The album title alone is fitting enough for the current state of the world, but when you dive into the songs themselves, that’s when the real fun begins. It’s your standard Metalcore, but somehow better, and I can’t put my finger on it, but the sound of the record itself does help elevate the heaviness of what’s to come. There’s so much to be enthralled by on this output that you’ll find yourself humming both the vocals and the riffs at random points in the day, that’s how catchy the record is. It’s not the best of the year so far, but it’s up there with one of my favourites of 2020 already. Do yourself a favour and listen to this album. You’d be doing yourself a service as well. 8/10