Even if F. Scott Fitzgerald’s maxim that “There are no second acts in American lives” has anything approaching a ring of truth, then, clearly, no-one told Seattle’s Alice in Chains. It is now sixteen years since the untimely death of the band’s original lead singer Layne Staley, a troubled soul whose battles with drugs and depression were a significant element in their art, most notably on the widely praised and equally widely loved album Dirt.Continue reading
Tag Archives: Mat Davies
Rise Against – The Ghost Note Symphonies Vol. 1
In a move that shouldn’t have surprised anyone given the band’s long-standing modesty, the sudden appearance of new music from Rise Against still feels like it came out of nowhere. The Ghost Note Symphonies Vol 1 (Sony), effectively a Rise Against unplugged album, arrives with little if any, fanfare but, as with many Rise Against records, it deserves your quiet and rapt attention as what they have delivered here is a record of quiet grace, emotion, and elan.Continue reading
Lucifer – Lucifer II
Whilst there is no pre-requisite for nominative determinism in music when you call your band Lucifer, you do set a bit of an expectation that your sound is going to, at the very least, a bit dark and evil. No one seems to have told Lucifer this. Their second album of what can only be loosely regarded as Occult Rock weaves its (black) magic in a way that is as unexpected as it is compelling.Continue reading
Zeal & Ardor – Stranger Fruit
It would be fair to say that Zeal & Ardor’s arrival in the conscious of the metal scene in the early part of 2017 was greeted with a combination of surprise, incredulity and excitement. There appeared to be just as many naysayers, dubious of Manuel Gagneaux’s talent (Zeal & Ardor is basically a one-man show) as there were fast adherents to his complex and compelling mix of styles and influences.Continue reading
Svalbard – It’s Hard to Have Hope
When someone uses the words “It’s a grower”, it is invariably journalistic shorthand for a record that they wish they liked more than they did on first listen. There are lots of reasons for this: the time taken to listen properly to the music may not have been as acute as required; the fact your mates like it more than you do may now be playing, rather unhelpfully, on your mind. You get the drift. Continue reading
Five Finger Death Punch – And Justice for None
If there is one phrase that is certain to make your humble scribe’s blood boil, then it is that oft-used lazy epithet, “guilty pleasure”. This particular phrase became common currency at the start of the 21st Century to describe records and artists that, despite not being held in high regard by the so-called taste police were still liked by lots and lots of people. Popular music in its truest sense. Continue reading
Ihsahn – Ámr
Confession time, part one. Ihsahn has been one of those artists that I have found much easier to admire than love. Whilst that admiration has been sincere and deeply held from his time in Black Metal pioneers Emperor I know that I won’t be winning any cred points by stating that his art is not always at the top of my go-to lists. I like him, but I don’t always love him.Continue reading
Between The Buried And Me – Automata 1
Surpassing expectations is never an easy thing to do. In the case of North Carolina’s Between The Buried And Me, the speculation over what this most idiosyncratic of bands would do next has ranged from mild curiosity to fevered anticipation and all the compass points in between. The plaudits that followed 2015’s Coma Ecliptic (Metal Blade) varied from admiration to salivation and whilst there remained a soupcon of “I preferred their earlier work” running alongside, it was a record that established the band as one of the tent poles in an increasingly burgeoning Progressive Metal scene.
The Dead Daisies – Burn it Down
In the ever-changing world of rock and metal, where scenes and trends seem to come and go as quickly as fashion seasons, there is an argument for reliability and consistency; a bolt hole for knowing exactly what you’re going to get and how you’re going to get it. For want of a better expression, let’s call this McDonald’s Rock.
Black Moth – Anatomical Venus
Anatomical Venus (New Heavy Sounds), the third album from doomy Stoner Rock outfit Black Moth is the sort of album that can get those usually jaded rock critics very excited indeed. It has a number of leitmotifs that tick the proverbial boxes of listeners who tend to like their records to tick their proverbial boxes. If you think there is a “but” coming you’d be right as, for all the effort and invention, Anatomical Venus resolutely remains the sum of its parts. And that, somewhat disappointingly, is this record’s main problem.Continue reading