Randy & The Goats - On The Lam (RidingEasy Records) [Rich Piva]
The very cool RidingEasy Records has graced us with 16 editions of the always awesome Brown Acid Series which brings tons of lost proto metal gems that may never have seen the light of day again without their intervention. Next, the very cool (up to this point two) Scrap Metal collections which does the same but for more 80s metal/trash lost nuggets.
Now, as an extension of these two series, we have full album Holy Grail re-releases, which takes some obscure full albums that have been sought after by collectors for years and gives them the full repress/rerelease treatment. I love this idea and given their track record RidingEasy is up for the task. I have two of these grail releases, starting with the lost NYC late 70s early 80s scene album On The Lam from Randy & The Goats.
On The Lam dropped originally in 1981 and has been mostly out of print for most of the time after its release. This is all about New York City at its grossest and dirtiest, as you can hear the filthy streets of the city throughout all the tracks on the album. Randy Wood (an alias) was the brainchild behind On The Lam, playing most of the instruments and writing all the material, which focused on the City and the subsequent surroundings at the time. You hear all sorts of influences here, from Lou Reed just after leaving the Velvets, Television, the punk stuff happening locally, and even Bob Dylan, especially in the vocals. Songs like Media-lzed sounds like a much angrier Modern Lovers song.
NY Survivor is prime
1970s Lou Reed both vocally and musically, I hear Sweet Jane (the slow version)
A LOT in this song. Nausea #2 is like Bob Dylan backed by Television with some
cool psych-tinged guitars. Good stuff. I
hear early Talking Heads all over songs like We Came Away and a song right out
of the NYC Punk scene at the time with Call Me Yesterday. All the 16 tracks
from On The Lam are a fun and worthy listen, but it is a lot for one
sitting. I split it up between the
original album and the extra tracks for a more ingestible listen.
I am all in for what RidingEasy is going to bring to light with their new series. If Randy & The Goats is any indication of what we will see moving forward, then this is going to be a very successful endeavor. So, get in your time machine, bring your mace, try not to get mugged, and enjoy the post Velvets Lou worship that is On The Lam. 8/10
Fraction - Moon Blood (RidingEasy Records) [Rich Piva]
The second of my reviews of the Riding Easy
Records Holy Grail releases is from Fraction. Moon Blood is an apparently very
sought-after one-off record from 1971 that incorporates hard
rock/psych/punk/proto and apparently Christian vibes (though I got none of
that) through the original five tracks and now three additional bonus tracks
that are being brought to light by RidingEasy. The L.A. based band would fit
perfectly in the Brown Acid Series, so I have high hopes for this “lost” album
that is now being brought to the light.
You get all sorts of cool influences on Moon Blood, including some serious Doors vibes on the opening track, Sanc-Divided, especially the more chill Morrison led tracks, but vocalist Jim Beach is way gruffer in his delivery than Mr. Morrison was. I love the simple yet very cool sounding solo in this one. Moon Blood sounds like it is from 1971 in all the best ways. Come Out Of Her Now is more of a psych freak out, albeit a chill one, with a simple bass line leading the way over Beach’s powerful, scratchy vocals with a nice floating guitar solo. The promo material says all these songs were done in one take, which if true is very cool, but you do get the improvisational vibes from these guys. There is nothing perfect on Moon Blood, and that makes it even better.
Eye Of The Hurricane is their best track. Nine minutes of proto psych goodness, with those vocals right up front and driven by the fuzzy guitar work of one Don Swanson. Sons Come To Birth has Beach almost crooning and reminds a bit of Crimson And Clover for some reason, until Swanson’s guitar takes over in glorious fashion. The final track from the original release, This Bird (Sky High) is a proto/psych blues rocker with more of those Doors vibes, and I am digging every minute of it, even if I am not the biggest Doors fan. The bonus tracks are not as good as the tracks on the original release, but it is still cool to hear some of Fraction’s other ideas, especially Intercessor’s Blues, which is like a Doors/Yardbirds mashup which rocks a bit more than the tracks that made the original release.
All in all, if you dig the
fuzzy/psych/proto early 70s stuff this will be right up your alley. Fraction’s moment of glory needs to be
readily available for us folks who gobble up these kind of old but new to me
gems. Check out Blood Moon and whatever
else RidingEasy throws are way as part of the Holy Grail series. 8/10
Scream Maker, not to be associated with ScreamMachine, are a Polish classic metal band who are now on their fourth record Land Of Fire. Popular in China and with a wealth of experience, they play slick heavy metal that is born from NWOBHM and from early thrash, heavily influenced by Dio, who they pay tribute to every year with a special memorial gig. Signing to Frontiers in 2020, the label re-released their third album BloodKing, with Land Of Fire the first album they have recorded for the label specifically.
Edge Of Paradise – Hologram (Frontiers Music Srl) [Matt Bladen]
The fifth album from Edge Of Paradise will definitely appeal to fans of New Years Day, In This Moment, The Pretty Reckless and Stitched Up Heart, electronic symphonies and industrial metal riffs are what they do best, calling out to the American radio metal crowd. The higher pitched vocals of Margarita Monet sound like early Maria Brink but without the screams or the angsty delivery of Haley Williams of Paramore, while the music treads a boards between Rob Zombie and Papa Roach.
They’ve got hooks and choruses, but I can’t help but think what sort of audience there is for this music now. From the “grr I’m angry” of This Is Personal, through the breathy Don’t Give Up On Me, into the pop punch of Unbeatable and the heavy electronics of Basilisk, nothing really hooked me, or stopped me thinking about In This Moment, who are band that do it miles better. Maybe there’s an audience for this. It’s not me. 5/10