Those who dwell in these dark territories of underground Rock and Metal, of the noisy, the abrasive, the alternative, and the avant-garde are not always so open to big anthemic hooks. Sometimes our reaction to music that dares to rouse the spirits and attempt to soar can be somewhat dismissive. But let us not entirely close our ears and our hearts to hope, because sometimes in the right hands, the results of such sincere passions can be glorious and in the case of Everything A War (7 People Records/ Village Slut)—the latest record by former Prog-Metal frontman David Judson Clemmons (previously of Damn The Machine)—glorious is exactly what they are. Continue reading
Tag Archives: melodic rock
ALBUM REVIEW: Alexisonfire – Otherness
Over a decade has passed since Alexisonfire last blessed our ears with Old Crows / Young Cardinals. A hiatus, a pandemic, some single and multiple festival performances later, and the post-hardcore legends are back with their fifth full release: Otherness (Dine Alone).
EXCLUSIVE VIDEO PREMIERE: Far From Who We Are – “Rise”
Johannesburg based, power trio Far From Who We Are have shared their new single and video for the track “Rise”, from their first release via German label HopePunk Records. Formed in 2015 and consisting of brothers Johan Heyns (Guitar, Vocals, Synths), Maarten Heyns (Bass), and Kyle Williams (Drums). They write, record, mix and master everything themselves in their own studio (The Laundry Room), and the result is a recording quality that is truly world-class, which is just what their songs deserve. The song has a great melodic hook, but is heavy enough for the heshers! Watch the clip right now!
Feel The Heat: Hard Rock Albums Roundup
While winter climes may be more suited to the face-painted and sombre-faced ones, there’s something to be said about warming yourself up with some Hard Rocking. Ghost Cult rounds up some of this year’s early Melodic and Hard Rock releases to see if there’s not something that can’t bring the heat…Continue reading
Magnum Live At Islington Assembly Hall, London
There aren’t many bands who mark forty plus years with an extensive UK tour promoting a brand new album as opposed to a full-on nostalgia show; but then again Magnum hasn’t followed the trend of many of their peers since their return from hiatus in the early 2000’s. As mentioned by our own Sir Tovey in his Lost on The Road To Eternity (Steamhammer) review, Magnum missed the nostalgia wave of recent times and thus, perhaps as a result, haven’t exactly been media darlings or more a recognisable name more on the periphery. This was certainly the case for me until finally discovering them with the aforementioned Lost …, discovering with it a rich and highly consistent catalogue; a new album more than capable of standing its own with even the band’s more highly regarded efforts.Continue reading
Magnum – Lost On The Road To Eternity
The release of Magnum’s twentieth studio album, Lost On The Road To Eternity (SPV/Steamhammer) is no mean feat, considering twenty-five years ago, the band were releasing the aptly named and wholly underwhelming Sleepwalking (Music For Nations) while struggling to find a foothold in a musical environment that had no room for them. Continue reading
REVIEWS ROUND-UP: Ghost, Lovebites, Babylon Fire, HammerFall and more…
The beauty to last weeks’ beast, the Ghost Cult album round-up is back for your vulgar delectation, and our final compilation of 2017 captures albums most Metal and most Melodic, shining a light on last-minute stocking fillers that St. Anne, rather than St Nick, would approve of… Continue reading
Supergenius – Supertired
Belgian rockers Supergenius’s début album Supertired (Hypertension/9000 Records) is awash with Nineties influences, it is chunky melodic rock with a strong vein of Indie and pop-Punk running through it. ‘Charmer’ has a nice, whistleable chorus to add to its strong, radio friendly Foo Fighters vibe. They also share the fuzzy guitar tone and slight sense of melancholy of Weezer, the heavy rhythms of ‘Know Your Knots’ demonstrates this. Edward Godby’s everyman vocal style shares more than a passing resemblance to Rivers Cuomo, the lead singer of aforementioned sweater pulling rockers.Continue reading
Black Star Riders- Heavy Fire
Back in 2013 when Black Star Riders (BSR) released their début album, All Hell Breaks Loose (Nuclear Blast) there was plenty of excited interest in a band with former members of Thin Lizzy. Throw in vocalist Ricky Warwick who had not only done a sterling job as stand-in vocalist for the late, lamented Phil Lynott but had regularly proved himself as one of the most productive working rock musicians and expectations for BSR were understandably high. Continue reading
Avatarium – All I Want EP
When it comes to going in blind on a release it can be the best or the worst of times for a listener, On the one hand you can discover an absolutely storming new band, or you might come across (as I have many times in the past) discover an album that could be vastly improved by sending the CD case out to the reviewer blank with nothing but an apology note and some chocolates.
All I Want (Nuclear Blast) by Swedish female fronted doom five piece Avatarium luckily falls into the first category. Its sweet yet substantial sound fills your ears with enough melody, crunchy drone and riff to keep even the most melodic rock or gnarly doom fan satisfied. The first two tracks are recorded in the studio, with the latter three recorded live, especially pack the punch all tracks hope to deliver on their first listens, with the album’s title track providing to be the highlight of the release with its soaring vocal line and clearly Sabbath influenced riffs.
It would be easy to make connects to the likes of Sabbath and Blue Oyster Cult as touchstones for the band’s sound, which borrows heavily from the 60’s/ early 70’s early hard rock scene. But the album owes a great debt to the likes of Jefferson Airplane (certainly not Starship) especially in front women’s Jennie Ann Smith’s epic vocal range, she really has a great set of pipes on here and she shows it off throughout the five tracks on offer.
Overall, All I Want is a great EP from the group and shows a lot of promise in what is to come. The sweet mix of the almost Janis Joplin vocals and the low end of the 70s hard rock influenced doom under it makes a great pairing as they effortlessly work against each other, packing just enough low end and bottle to stop it from falling into the weak end of the spectrum.
7.0/10
DAN O’BRIEN