Venice Beach punk natives Strawberry Fuzz share their new album Miller’s Garage (CandyShop Management). The new album directly follows the band’s 2023 LP Strongs Dr. Ever since making their musical debut in 2021 with the album Fuzz Tapes, Vol. 1, Strawberry Fuzz have cemented themselves as an unprecedented force to be reckoned with among the Los Angeles surf/skate punk scene.Continue reading
Tag Archives: guitar solos
ALBUM REVIEW: Masters of Reality – The Archer
For those with the good fortune (and talent) to make an indelible mark on the music world, there are those who achieve mainstream fame, and then like a concurrent shadow are those so vital that their creative essence is absorbed into the very fabric of the music world. Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: NITE – Cult Of The Serpent Sun
It’s easy to get lost chasing the dragon of finding the heaviest band out there. Going down the Grindcore/Goregrind rabbit holes for this elusive high. The battery those sounds give the old eardrums brings a rush of endorphins, but they do always stand the test of time as being albums that earn repeated listens for years to come. Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Hexenbrett – Dritte Beschwörung: Dem Teufel eine Tochter
Today on the block we have Hexenbrett. If you are a fan of guitar-driven Black Metal, look no further than this new offering. On their sophomore effort, we are treated to some super hooky riffage, mixed with enough ambiance and atmosphere to keep everything nice and evil. Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Sevendust – Truth Killer
Closing in on 30 years into their career, you couldn’t blame Sevendust if they took their foot off the gas at this stage. They have indicated as much that they are looking to tour less intensely as they have been, as the bands have families and are thinking of their futures. The band has slogged it out for decades on countless tours, metal festivals worldwide, and at times, more intimate unplugged gigs as well. While there are surely not a lot of new mountains to climb, it’s refreshing to see that the band is still hungry, and challenging themselves to create quality new songs on their 14th album Truth Killer. Following a successful run at Rise Records, the band has found a new home in Napalm Records, home to many of their peers and touring partners. The vibe at Napalm fits better than Rise did, as they head into this next phase of their career.
ALBUM REVIEW: Mors Principium Est – Liberate The Unborn Humanity
Ever since 2003’s Inhumanity (Listenable), Finnish powerhouse Mors Principium Est have been meticulously perfecting their Melodic Death Metal craft at a time when the genre started to feel a bit overcrowded. Fast forward nearly twenty years later and they are not only at the top of their game, but stand as one of the linchpins of the scene.Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: CB3 – Aeons
CB3 (aka Charlottas Burning Trio), and expansive space-rock outfit hailing from Sweden’s Malmo, recently released their new album, Aeons and delivered another healthy dose of accessible hazy instrumental jams. This, their fourth album, which was partially funded through Kickstarter, is the band’s first with The Sign Records. It sees them continue their eclectic mix of spacy psychedelic rock sprinkled with moments of jazz and occasional stoner riffs. Continue reading
Anvil – Pounding The Pavement
It’s been almost forty years and we’re still reviewing Anvil albums. Would you like to know why? Because, Anvil are like your comfy, furry, winter slippers. Anvil is your grandmother’s meatloaf [I’m assuming this isn’t a euphemism…! ed] Anvil is always there in a comforting, supportive way. You don’t have to dig deep or get all metaphysical about an Anvil album. It’s just Rock n’ Roll. It’s straight-forward, undeviating, good old-fashioned Heavy Metal. Pounding The Pavement (Steamhammer/SPV) is forty-six minutes of throwback tunes from a more simple time in Metal. Continue reading
The Jimmy Hendrix Experience – Are You Experienced Album Turns 50
Fifty years ago this week, The Jimmy Hendrix Experience exploded on the scene with the release of their début album Are You Experienced (Track Records), and changed music forever. A critical and commercial success at the time, the album stands today as one of the most innovative and enduring records ever released, with a musical shadow that is still inspiring new guitar players today across every genre of music. Continue reading
Flotsam And Jetsam – Flotsam And Jetsam
In theory, the new Flotsam and Jetsam album Flotsam and Jetsam (AFM Records) should be called Regeneration. Their press brief says that the band really started in 2015 with the line-up of Eric AK, Mike Gilbert, Michael Spencer, Steve Conley, and Jason Bittner (Shadows Fall). For this, I gave Flotsam and Jetsam a fresh listen, forgetting the past albums and attacking Flotsam and Jetsam as a new separate entity. The new album Flotsam and Jetsam is twelve songs lasting 56 minutes. It’s an hour that goes quickly by as the tracks seamlessly blend from one song to another.
The first thing that struck me was the heaviness of opening track. ‘Seventh Seal’ is has a heaviness that weights it down. If it weren’t for the guitar lines and jaunty pace of the song, it could be a doom song. There is something about the song that claws at you and keeps you earthbound. ‘Life is a Mess’ has the same thundering drumming as ‘Seventh Seal’. The vocals have this nu-metal rap feel with 90s metal singing. I hear shades of Testament in the guitar parts. ‘Taser’ opens up like a muscle car on an open backwoods Texas road. It’s fast and it’s wild. The vocals are a bit strained, but the music more than makes up for it. ‘Taser’ has a swagger about it. I went into ‘Iron Maiden’ wanting to love it because I love Iron Maiden. True to form, it’s a Bruce Dickinson epic lyrics love fest. It’s a bit of the ‘Trooper’ in new clothes. I nice wink wink nudge nudge to a great band.
The rest of the album is more of the same. Solid tunes that follow the tried and true metal formula. Flotsam and Jetsam the album has lots of guitar solos in all the right places and heavy drumming and bass playing keep everything solid. Some of the songs are a bit chunky and plodding while others have interesting accoutrements. If you like Overkill and Testament, you’ll enjoy Flotsam and Jetsam.
7.0/10
VICTORIA ANDERSON
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