Mother Road - Mother Road II (Metalopolis Records) [JT Smith]
The most common phrase in my listening notes for this record is “What a riff!” and that is with *really* good reason. This album is absolutely stuffed to the gills with them, with the two that instantly stand out for me being Sticks And Stones and Spread It All Around. This is simply the best kind of balls-to-the-wall blues rock that you can’t help but tap your foot to, and it makes me want to visit a dingy, smoke filled dive bar to watch these guys playing their guts out behind a wire mesh stage.
While obviously the whole band are great (and have really great musical pedigrees, being variously ex members of Dokken, and Steelhouse Lane to namecheck a few bands), it is the crisp, nimble, and almost lazily easy virtuosity of guitarist Chris Lyne that really makes the record stand out. Even on tracks like Without You where the Hammond organ takes center stage to give the track a 70’s Americana love song vibe, the guitars still really shine. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention Keith Slack’s incredible voice.
The most common phrase in my listening notes for this record is “What a riff!” and that is with *really* good reason. This album is absolutely stuffed to the gills with them, with the two that instantly stand out for me being Sticks And Stones and Spread It All Around. This is simply the best kind of balls-to-the-wall blues rock that you can’t help but tap your foot to, and it makes me want to visit a dingy, smoke filled dive bar to watch these guys playing their guts out behind a wire mesh stage.
While obviously the whole band are great (and have really great musical pedigrees, being variously ex members of Dokken, and Steelhouse Lane to namecheck a few bands), it is the crisp, nimble, and almost lazily easy virtuosity of guitarist Chris Lyne that really makes the record stand out. Even on tracks like Without You where the Hammond organ takes center stage to give the track a 70’s Americana love song vibe, the guitars still really shine. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention Keith Slack’s incredible voice.
It has just the right amount of rasp and gravel in the vocal acrobatics, and it’s one of the few voices that could deliver the line “...Send these motherfuckers back to the stone age!” without sounding in the slightest bit cringey. If you’re a fan of stuff like Free, and the Kenny Wayne Shepherd band, you’ll love this. This is designed to scratch the itch when you’re in the mood for riffs. 9/10
The Scalar Process – Coagulative Matter (Transcending Obscurity) [Paul Hutchings]
Technical death metal can be incredibly stimulating or an overindulgent wankfest. Thankfully, French trio The Scalar Process sit very much in the former camp, and in Coagulative Matter have produced a rather fine release that doesn’t focus simply on how fast they can shred. Instead, this sublime album incorporates the superior aspects of the genre and combines them with melodic elements, emotive soundscapes, and crushingly explosive passages. At 49 minutes long, the album isn’t an overly short listen but the tracks, except for the masterful 11-minute title track rarely tip above the five minutes, the band combining their technical mastery with an easy delivery.
The Scalar Process – Coagulative Matter (Transcending Obscurity) [Paul Hutchings]
Technical death metal can be incredibly stimulating or an overindulgent wankfest. Thankfully, French trio The Scalar Process sit very much in the former camp, and in Coagulative Matter have produced a rather fine release that doesn’t focus simply on how fast they can shred. Instead, this sublime album incorporates the superior aspects of the genre and combines them with melodic elements, emotive soundscapes, and crushingly explosive passages. At 49 minutes long, the album isn’t an overly short listen but the tracks, except for the masterful 11-minute title track rarely tip above the five minutes, the band combining their technical mastery with an easy delivery.
The time sweeps back as you sit back and immerse yourself. The title track, the penultimate song on the album is a sonic delight, combining thunderously heavy passages of incendiary explosive output with gentle, mellow guitar breaks that change tempo. Whilst some technical death outfits can present as mechanical and automated in their robotic delivery, this is not the position with The Scalar Process. Yes, there are ample blisteringly fast passages of play, battering blast beats and double bass kicking, tremolo riffing and walls of shimmering riffs, but there are also keyboards and less frantic sections that allow the listener to catch breath.
The band is listed as Eloi Nicod [guitars, bass, keys, composition], vocalist Mathieu Lefevre and drums from Fractal Universe’s Clement Denys. There is a flavour science fiction present without overpowering and the flamboyant and fluid style impresses. For a young band, this is a highly mature debut and one that suggests that they could push much further in coming years. 8/10
Kreek – Kreek (Frontiers Music) [Simon Black]
Now I never got to see Bigfoot before they folded, but that British Hard Rock outfit made some big waves considering their release catalogue never got much beyond one album and a couple of EP’s. A key part of that surf was the vocal talents of Antony Ellis and the band (although with a different front man by then) folded not long after his departure. So 2021 sees Ellis starting from scratch with Kreek – apparently at the behest of his label and with a new bunch of musicians to help drive him forward.
As I get started on this record, ‘drive’ is an apt word – as in ‘driving music’, which this record absolutely is (assuming we are ever allowed to leave home again) - at least to begin with. Opener At The Bottom Of Hell is a kick starter and a half, with its foot-tappingly catchy intro, power chords and driving beat, this is a song that screams where this band are coming from before Ellis opens his lungs. With a lower pitched opening verse, Ellis slowly brings up the power and range to give us a solid mid-paced rocker and a great start to the album. Missiles gallops in with a catchy fast riff and hammering drums before settling down to another good, catchy crowd-pleaser track.
This is a band that know how to throw catchy hooks that take what might be otherwise fairly middle of the road material into interesting and infectious directions. With only one guitar to play with, this is not about heavy metal style solos per se, although Nick Clarke is more than capable of holding the attention with his well-played, catchy and emotive melody lines. Meet Your Maker takes things in a slightly heavier direction, with Ellis’s vocals meeting that challenge with a simple, but effectively anthemic chorus that you just know is going to work well live.
Single Million Dollar Man though is much less effective than the tracks preceding it and seems an odd choice for a single, given the relative strength of some of the other songs on here. Unfortunately it takes a fair few tracks to go get back into their stride and it’s not until Down ‘N Dirty some five tracks later that they get their mojo back, although this one does feel a bit contrived, it does at least get the groove back before bizarrely fading out as if the band lost interest. This is a bit of a challenge, as when they’re firing on all cylinders I can’t fault them, but maintaining this level of delivery consistently seems to be the challenge.
The production is fairly stripped back and simple, but it’s exactly what this band need, providing enough clarity to hear what these four guys can do without any frills and showiness beyond some variety and sheer skills in the hugely varied selection of guitar sounds that Clarke opts for across the album. When it’s good, it’s great, but it struggles to maintain that strength throughout. Perhaps an arse-kicker of an EP was needed to get their feet under the table, otherwise this feels like a band that’s half formed. 6/10
Mars Era - Oniro (Argonauta Records) [Paul Scoble]
Italians Mars Era have been making Florence a noisier place since 2014. The four piece, Mitch, Dave Tom and Leo, have released one album before Onrio since forming in 2017’s Dharmanaut. The bands sound has grown out of a very Desert style of stoner rock, to a sound that is a mix of Hard Rock, Stoner Rock, Grunge and even a little bit of Gothic. The album opens with the track OBE which starts with a slow build up to a fairly minimal sound with just Drums and vocals, before a taut, rock riff comes in to drive the track forward. There is a more expansive and huge chorus before the minimal opening sound returns. The track is effective and driving with a tempo that although not fast, is compelling and delivers a decent amount of head nodding.
The grungy sound is most obvious on the song Brighter Than The Sun which is tight and riffy. The track is one of the fastest on the album, and is reminiscent of faster Alice In Chains or Stone Temple Pilots. A very interesting track is Into The Pyramid which is big, melodic and tuneful, with a distinct Egyptian feel to the riffs. The Gothic feel I mentioned before is best demonstrated by the track Cyclone. The song is a mix of minimal and deeply brooding sections with dissonant guitar and pulsing bass that feels Gothic, and a much more driving and aggressive rock riffs. The track has a fantastic interplay of dark and brooding sections and loud, pounding riffing. Onrio is a very good stoner / hard rock album.
The grungy sound is most obvious on the song Brighter Than The Sun which is tight and riffy. The track is one of the fastest on the album, and is reminiscent of faster Alice In Chains or Stone Temple Pilots. A very interesting track is Into The Pyramid which is big, melodic and tuneful, with a distinct Egyptian feel to the riffs. The Gothic feel I mentioned before is best demonstrated by the track Cyclone. The song is a mix of minimal and deeply brooding sections with dissonant guitar and pulsing bass that feels Gothic, and a much more driving and aggressive rock riffs. The track has a fantastic interplay of dark and brooding sections and loud, pounding riffing. Onrio is a very good stoner / hard rock album.
Although the style and structure of the songs is quite simple, the band have concentrated on making the riffs and melodies effective and high quality so this simple style becomes a strength. The album is packed with great tunes and eminently hummable melodies that stick in your head. Highly recommended. 8/10