Allen/Olzon: Worlds Apart (Frontiers Records) [Matt Bladen]
Singer Russell Allen (Symphony X, Adrenaline Mob) returns again for another collaborative project for Frontiers and returning to the fold is Swedish guitarist, songwriter, and producer Magnus Karlsson (Primal Fear, Magnus Karlsson’s Free Fall). He and Allen collaborated on three albums along with Jorn Lande, however the fourth in the series was overseen by Timo Tolkki. However now Karlsson has returned with another album full of melodic metal anthems, writing for Allen again but also now Anette Olzon as Allen's duet partner. What we have here then is Symphony X meets Nightwish and if that excites you then climb aboard the hype train. Worlds Apart opens with Never Die with just Allen singing it's a strong start, his powerful unmistakeable vocal carrying the heavy opener that spirals into a killer solo retaining that heavy melodic metal sound of the Allen/Lande along with Allen's dayjob. Next up we have the more balladic title track which is the first proper ballad giving Olzon her first chance to bounce off Allen, she aquits herself well but personally her voice suits duetting with someone like Georg Neuhauser from Serenity. It's not to say she's a bad singer in fact I think she has a great voice as witnessed on the rampaging I'll Never Leave You which sounds like her band The Dark Element but when mixed with Allen's it doesn't quite work as Allen does overpower her sweeter tones. Worlds Apart is another brilliant chapter of the Larsson/Allen collaborations. 8/10
Wishbone Ash: Coat Of Arms (Steamhammer) [Paul Hutchings]
Formed over 50 years ago, the Wishbone Ash story is one of many twists, turns, line-up changes and legal battles over the right to the name. Coat Of Arms is the band’s 26th album and their first since 2014’s Blue Horizon. The album marks the recording debut of Mark Abrahams, who discovered the band’s music as a nine-year old. Elsewhere, the solid rhythm section of drummer Joe Crabtree and long-serving bassist Bob Skeat hold everything simply and solidly in place. Classic Wishbone Ash was always about the dual guitar sound which saw Andy Powell and Ted Turner rated amongst the most influential guitarists in the 1970s. Coat Of Arms certainly retains that style, and the opening duo of We Stand As One, a song of defiance, and the eight-minute jam on the title track transport the listener back to those Argus days, albeit with a modern twist.
Singer Russell Allen (Symphony X, Adrenaline Mob) returns again for another collaborative project for Frontiers and returning to the fold is Swedish guitarist, songwriter, and producer Magnus Karlsson (Primal Fear, Magnus Karlsson’s Free Fall). He and Allen collaborated on three albums along with Jorn Lande, however the fourth in the series was overseen by Timo Tolkki. However now Karlsson has returned with another album full of melodic metal anthems, writing for Allen again but also now Anette Olzon as Allen's duet partner. What we have here then is Symphony X meets Nightwish and if that excites you then climb aboard the hype train. Worlds Apart opens with Never Die with just Allen singing it's a strong start, his powerful unmistakeable vocal carrying the heavy opener that spirals into a killer solo retaining that heavy melodic metal sound of the Allen/Lande along with Allen's dayjob. Next up we have the more balladic title track which is the first proper ballad giving Olzon her first chance to bounce off Allen, she aquits herself well but personally her voice suits duetting with someone like Georg Neuhauser from Serenity. It's not to say she's a bad singer in fact I think she has a great voice as witnessed on the rampaging I'll Never Leave You which sounds like her band The Dark Element but when mixed with Allen's it doesn't quite work as Allen does overpower her sweeter tones. Worlds Apart is another brilliant chapter of the Larsson/Allen collaborations. 8/10
Wishbone Ash: Coat Of Arms (Steamhammer) [Paul Hutchings]
Formed over 50 years ago, the Wishbone Ash story is one of many twists, turns, line-up changes and legal battles over the right to the name. Coat Of Arms is the band’s 26th album and their first since 2014’s Blue Horizon. The album marks the recording debut of Mark Abrahams, who discovered the band’s music as a nine-year old. Elsewhere, the solid rhythm section of drummer Joe Crabtree and long-serving bassist Bob Skeat hold everything simply and solidly in place. Classic Wishbone Ash was always about the dual guitar sound which saw Andy Powell and Ted Turner rated amongst the most influential guitarists in the 1970s. Coat Of Arms certainly retains that style, and the opening duo of We Stand As One, a song of defiance, and the eight-minute jam on the title track transport the listener back to those Argus days, albeit with a modern twist.
Powell and Abrahams interplay beautifully, gently jousting and exploring their way through the track. Powell’s velvet tones remain smooth, with hardly any change since those halcyon days long ago. There are a couple of weaker tracks on Coat Of Arms, such as Floreana and Empty Man but when the band get into their stride such as on It’s Only You I See, the interaction and playing is simply delicious. There are nods towards The Allman Brothers on the expansive Too Cool For AC, the Southern style a nod to the early influences and played with feeling and style. At 58 minutes you get a lot of Ash for your money but overall this is a quality release which shows the finer side of a band whose influence on modern rock and metal is often overlooked. 8/10
Earthsplitter: S/T (Self Released) [Grace Headley]
Earthsplitter come screaming into this world as a thrash five piece from Linz, Austria, armed with their debut self titled album. Throughout this offering axemen Dirnberger, Milakovic and Ebner give it death and play consistently well, especially in Obscura; this track has a needling attitude that the rest of the album is screaming out for, and the axes really shine here. The single releases Beast and Insanity are fine, but lack the nastiness of Obscura and the moments of raw aggression that punctuate Psycho War, which is where the album really hits its stride.Hengster’s vocals present in three ways across this album: clean, harsh and Hetfield. This detracts from the album’s cohesion as the inconsistency between being himself and trying too hard for that Metallica edge on the vox is very jarring, and he is much stronger when he is being himself.
Alongside this, the vocals could afford to be turned down in the mix in favour of Aumayer’s drums in order to give tracks more attack. Overall, this album comes across as very ‘safe’; very few stylistic risks are taken in order to truly make this their own, which generally makes the album appear toothless. There are moments where Earthsplitter shows its claws, but thrash should not only always have claws, but a full set of sharp teeth and a belly full of fire. These guys have the raw talent to improve on the back of this album and would benefit from finding themselves. 5/10
Game Zero: W.A.R. – We Are Right (Art Gate Records) [Robert Lang]
Suffice to say, when I first glanced at this album’s title I thought I was going to be in for a very different proposition indeed. Happily, however, I can report that in the world of Italian four-piece Game Zero, W.A.R. stands not for White Aryan Resistance but for We Are Right. Which, you know, while certainly a teensy bit arrogant, is incomparably less egregious than I had feared. What we have here, then, far from the ten-thumbed basement fumblings of tiny-brained white nationalist black metallers, is a slick and assured slab of rockin’ heavy metal from an outfit who have landed prestigious support slots alongside Amorphis and Sabaton in recent years, among others.
Musically, this stumps along for the most part in a gruff hard-rock groove, though there are Dimebag-isms and nu-metal-isms, and some of the choruses almost threaten to lift off into power-metal extravagance. The lyrics take aim at themes of personal dignity and self-affirmation, though like a lot of such matter tend to come across as conceited and lacking self-awareness instead. (“Yesterday, I thought about how I’m changing” confides vocalist and rhythm guitarist Mark Wright on Believe, a self-serving ache in his voice. Ahh, that’s nice, Mark, do tell us more.) Standout songs on the record are the title track, with its bruising guitar work and catchy chorus, and Blow Me Away, a tune—in the best heavy-metal tradition—about the rush and escapism of performing onstage, that boasts a rousing hook to match its euphoric theme.
This is by no means a bad album. Though aspects of it are undeniably tiresome, I certainly didn’t hate it. Its problem is that it’s all a bit workmanlike. The handful of really memorable moments on offer are spread thinly over a 45-minute runtime. The production is crunchy but with little character. The musicianship is neither mind-bogglingly advanced nor thrillingly cavalier. The lyrics are dumb, but not gloriously so. Less We Are Right, more We Are Alright If You Like This Kind of Thing. 5/10
Earthsplitter: S/T (Self Released) [Grace Headley]
Earthsplitter come screaming into this world as a thrash five piece from Linz, Austria, armed with their debut self titled album. Throughout this offering axemen Dirnberger, Milakovic and Ebner give it death and play consistently well, especially in Obscura; this track has a needling attitude that the rest of the album is screaming out for, and the axes really shine here. The single releases Beast and Insanity are fine, but lack the nastiness of Obscura and the moments of raw aggression that punctuate Psycho War, which is where the album really hits its stride.Hengster’s vocals present in three ways across this album: clean, harsh and Hetfield. This detracts from the album’s cohesion as the inconsistency between being himself and trying too hard for that Metallica edge on the vox is very jarring, and he is much stronger when he is being himself.
Alongside this, the vocals could afford to be turned down in the mix in favour of Aumayer’s drums in order to give tracks more attack. Overall, this album comes across as very ‘safe’; very few stylistic risks are taken in order to truly make this their own, which generally makes the album appear toothless. There are moments where Earthsplitter shows its claws, but thrash should not only always have claws, but a full set of sharp teeth and a belly full of fire. These guys have the raw talent to improve on the back of this album and would benefit from finding themselves. 5/10
Game Zero: W.A.R. – We Are Right (Art Gate Records) [Robert Lang]
Suffice to say, when I first glanced at this album’s title I thought I was going to be in for a very different proposition indeed. Happily, however, I can report that in the world of Italian four-piece Game Zero, W.A.R. stands not for White Aryan Resistance but for We Are Right. Which, you know, while certainly a teensy bit arrogant, is incomparably less egregious than I had feared. What we have here, then, far from the ten-thumbed basement fumblings of tiny-brained white nationalist black metallers, is a slick and assured slab of rockin’ heavy metal from an outfit who have landed prestigious support slots alongside Amorphis and Sabaton in recent years, among others.
Musically, this stumps along for the most part in a gruff hard-rock groove, though there are Dimebag-isms and nu-metal-isms, and some of the choruses almost threaten to lift off into power-metal extravagance. The lyrics take aim at themes of personal dignity and self-affirmation, though like a lot of such matter tend to come across as conceited and lacking self-awareness instead. (“Yesterday, I thought about how I’m changing” confides vocalist and rhythm guitarist Mark Wright on Believe, a self-serving ache in his voice. Ahh, that’s nice, Mark, do tell us more.) Standout songs on the record are the title track, with its bruising guitar work and catchy chorus, and Blow Me Away, a tune—in the best heavy-metal tradition—about the rush and escapism of performing onstage, that boasts a rousing hook to match its euphoric theme.
This is by no means a bad album. Though aspects of it are undeniably tiresome, I certainly didn’t hate it. Its problem is that it’s all a bit workmanlike. The handful of really memorable moments on offer are spread thinly over a 45-minute runtime. The production is crunchy but with little character. The musicianship is neither mind-bogglingly advanced nor thrillingly cavalier. The lyrics are dumb, but not gloriously so. Less We Are Right, more We Are Alright If You Like This Kind of Thing. 5/10