Reviews: Svartanatt, Heavenly Cream, Sherpa, Helms Deep (Reviews By Matt Bladen)

So as a passion project from Quarto Valley Records executive Mike Carden approached Pete Brown to go forward with this project, they brought on producer/mixer Rob Cass for this 15 track tribute to Cream featuring some very high profile musicians and their songs reinterpreted into an acoustic style. Sounds odd but it does work, especially with the talent on board, Pete bringing along Ginger Baker and Malcolm Bruce (Jack's son) to contribute to the bulk of the album. It means that there is a trail of authenticity that can be traced back to the original recordings. 

The acoustic style not dampening the power of the evergreen Sunshine Of Your Love which features Joe Bonamassa on vocals/guitar, the late Bernie Marsden on guitar/vocals, Malcom Bruce on piano, Neik Murray on bass and Ginger Baker on drums, the music of Cream not sounding this close to the original since BBM. Joey Bones crops up again on Deserted Cities Of The Heart. Elsewhere we have Deborah Bonham, Nathan James (Tales Of Brave Ulysses), Clem Clempson and Paul Rodgers (Born Under A Bad Sign) all turning their hand to these classic Cream tracks including Theme From An Imaginary Western which was written by Bruce for Mountain. 

Combine these guests with a very talented cast of session players, Heavenly Cream serves as an intriguing and unique tribute to one of Britain's greatest musical exports. 7/10

Sherpa – Land Of Corals (Subsound Records)

Formed in 2015 by Matteo Dossena (composer, singer and guitarist) and Franz Cardone (bass, synthesizers), Sherpa have built a reputation as one of Italy’s bands to watch, the bewitching take on slow building shoegaze/post-rock that has been sculpted over two previous albums and a four year writing gap, stemming from their Roadburn performance and a global pandemic. 

The themes of this album dealing with human being’s and their relationship to death and mortality, it’s a lot more than that but let’s keep it simple aye? The sonic palate creating grinding concrete soundscapes such as Slit along with the psychedelic rhythms of High Walls, back masking and tribal percussion. 

Two songs that couldn’t seem further apart but feel natural on Land Of Corals. The mixture of styles is a trait of Sherpa’s sound shoegaze/post-rock that also brings in indie, drone, doom and electronica washed over with and acid haze, the breathy aerated vocals pitched on top of textured musical pieces that feature layered instrumentals, the longer forms of expression such as Priest Of Corals making silence just as important as music as they strip back to discordant jazz bass, swelling into distorted catharsis that bridges into the industrial electronica of the tantric Arousal.

If you’re a thrash/death fan then I’d suggest overlooking this one as it’s deliberately abstruse and at times impassable, the darkness and quiet not something that will get a pit moving, however if you want an album with a beauty that’s hidden behind a wall of discomfort then enter Land Of Corals and let Sherpa be your guide. 7/10

Helms Deep - Treacherous Ways (Nameless Grave Records)

Formed in the USA, named after Tolkien, songs about battle/fantasy and featuring two thirds of Raven, Helms Deep are about as trad as metal can get. With John Gallagher and Mike Heller of Raven on bass and drums tracks such as Fight Or Flight speed away with the 'Athletic Rock' of the NWOBHM alumni. While Heller helps with the writing and Gallagher is there to be the engine behind the gallops, Helms Deep is the creation of Alex Sciortino, he's the singer (screamer), guitarist and songwriter of the band so it's basically his creative vision. 

A vision that like Trevor William Church (Haunt) or Nate Garrett (Sprit Adrift) he has realised as part of the continuing NWOTHM. He's a super fan of the genre, pitching the vocals exactly in that place where those more underground bands in the trad scene dwell, broowong from Brits but also the US and Canadian bands that were spearheading the trad/speed bandwagon. Annihilation is a pacey piece of thrash while Breaking The Seal has that classic gallop from the bass and drum combination, the fills of Heller spliting up the harmonised guitars of Sciortino. 

It's metal that comes straight from the 'old school' from the cover art of sci-fi/fantasy artist Michael Whelan, to the production of Lasse Lambert, there's a classic ethos to this album which Alex was deliberately aiming for with songs such as Sorcery, Fire Rain and even the gothic Headless Horseman. These may be Treacherous Ways but they are well worn so you'll enjoy the ride if you're a fan of fist in the air metal anthems. 7/10