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Ghost Cult rounds up those albums which didn’t receive the full review treatment, for your vulgar delectation…
We kick things off with an interesting proposition by the name of The Bloody Beetroots. The Great Electronic Swindle (Last Gang/eOne) is a chameleonic entity that marries a slew of special guests to Sir Bob Cornelius Riffo’s ADD approach to songwriting. With tracks ranging from the AC/DC worshipping ‘My Name Is Thunder’ (featuring Jet), the quirky contemporary synth pop of ‘Invisible’ (with the delicate vocals of Svabo Bach), and alternative electro dark rocker ‘Irreversible’ (feat Anders Friden), it’s all a bit like the Mad Hatter picking both party guests and a menu by hitting shuffle on his ipod, yet this eccentric experiment works with surprising regularity. While predominantly an electro-album, including the shuddering ‘Saint Bass City Rockers’, the absolute highlight of this bag of randomness is the swaggering phat-groove of ‘Pirates, Punks & Politics’ featuring Perry Farrell, a thick slice of Nineties swagger worth the entry fee alone. [6.5]
VUUR is a new band led by Anneke van Giersbergen (ex The Gathering, oft Devin Townsend Project co-conspirator) which sees the mercurial and distinctive Dutch vocalist return to the heavy, adding her euphonious tones to a churning Progressive Metal beast. In This Moment We Are Free – Cities (InsideOut) hints at Devin and Leprous and unleashes more chunk than you may expect. The star of the show is, of course, undoubtedly Anneke as she effortless decants melody after beautiful melody, leaving them to float and sprinkle your ears with joy. While the songs range from rhythmic riffage to expansive, technical prog, there are times where the music underneath doesn’t quite entwine with the vocal lines, but when the capacious heft of ‘The Martyr and the Saint – Beirut’ lands it is with a wash of contentment, and there is plenty more of that quality on show here. [7.0]
A raging, scream-filled aggressive first track is an even-bigger metalcore trope than a clean chorus, and once We Came As Romans have ticked that particular box on their fifth album Cold Like War (Sharptone), we get down to the true sound of the album, which proves we can pretty much subtract the word “metal” from their genre tag going forward. WCAR’s commercial impact is not to be sniffed at, hitting the Billboard charts at 8 and 11 with their last two releases, however, critically, they have to be viewed in terms of ever-diminishing returns. At best nondescript, at worst saccharine and flaccid, this is modern rock while not at its most faceless, certainly requiring a liberal sprinkling of condiments to spice up their slightly beefier than 30 Seconds To Mars approach. That said, it’ll no doubt be lapped up, though they have little that is fundamentally “them” any more, and the days of anticipating We Came As Romans to produce an world beater have long gone. [5.0]
Veil of Maya’s sixth full-length, False Idol, sees them further immerse themselves in the cleaner, progressive vein they made bold strides towards on their last outing Matriarch (both Sumerian). This is a good thing, as they’re bloody good at it. Certainly much more so than the sub-Meshuggah tropes that litter the weaker tracks on this album (‘Fracture’, ‘Pool Spray’). When VoM up the expansive and the hooks, and don’t rely solely on polyrhythmic crunk, they truly impress. Credit, too, to Lukas Magyar for some excellent melodies and strong clean vocals to push False Idol to the next level, as Veil of Maya begin to challenge the Periphery’s of this world. Strong, if a touch long… (13 tracks? Come on now…!) [7.5/10]
A touch of self-editing would also go a long way with grungy Hard Rockers King Creature who have seven of ten songs nudge on or around the five-minute mark on their début, Volume One (Marshall Records). That said, there’s plenty of good stuff going on as they attack matters with a rock flair combined with a Nineties Corrosion of Conformity bent. There’s some big names behind this band (producer Rob Cass has involvement in Slash, Brian May, Jack Bruce and Bernie Marsden amongst others, and Marshall don’t go chucking them endorsements around willy-nilly), and they certainly know their craft. Dave Kellaway brings a rich tone to his Seattle-flecked vocals, working particularly well on the more uptempo shuffles, and guitarist Matt K Vincent reminds of Mark Tremonti and can’t help but be the star with a virtuoso amalgam of dirty riffing and flawless soloing. King Creature are nicely poised to appeal to those who like the heavier end of rock and the lighter end of metal. [6.5/10]
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Lamb of God must be blushing and modestly uttering their “Oh, you shouldn’t have”’s right about now in the direction of New Hampshire Groove-Thrashers (good term, though, tbf) Death Rattle. While certainly decent, and no doubt face-melting live, it is a little too close to LoG for comfort, but without the big hooks Randy Blythe and the boys deal in, that’s a huge dog to pitch yourself up against. That said, eschewing pace for predominantly mid-tempo headbanging groove, Ryan Van der Wolk deals in a neat line of taut, muscular riffage with a natural swing, while Trey Holton is relentless in his throat ripping, and the involuntary neck movements happen while listening to pretty much every song. A little more work on defining themselves as a distinctive entity would help these next time around, as the chops are there, and ‘Order Within Chaos’ (death) rattles along nicely. [6.0]
I usually tend to stay away from the school of “if you like X, then Y” reviewing, but in this case, it’s absolutely appropriate to recommend that you check out Then Comes Silence if the new Grave Pleasures has pickled your tickle. While the wild-eyed enthusiasm and gargantuan earworms that Mat McNerney mustered on Motherblood (Century Media) may tick my personal box much harder, TCS’s Blood (Nuclear Blast) is a darker, gothier take on Death Rock. The first half of the album intrigues without always demanding the full attention before ‘Good Friday’ clicks the album into gear and heads up a brilliant mid-album foray, ably backed up by ‘The Rest Will Follow’. Then, when Then Comes Silence ramp up the bass-led jangles on single ‘Warm Like Blood’ (not at all reminiscent of a certain Killing Joke, no, not at all) they bring home a successful and promising début. One to watch, innit. [7.0/10]
STEVE TOVEY
Reviews of other albums released 10/20
Bell Witch Mirror Reaper (Profound Lore)
Sons of Apollo Psychotic Symphony (InsideOut)