Tag Archives: Retro Rock
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
1968 – Ballads of the Godless
1968: the year following the Summer of Love, and the year before I was born. It’s 50 years ago now of course, and the Cheshire quartet bearing that year as its name is steeped in the Proto sound of that era. Having relentlessly gigged and released two EPs since their 2013 inception, Ballads of the Godless (HeviSike) is the band’s first foray into long-playing territory.Continue reading
Graveyard – Peace
After announcing that they had broken up for all the classic “differences within the band” reasons in 2016, Swedish Retro Rockers Graveyard are back together, armed with a new album, and sounding as raw and melodic as ever. Continue reading
Black Salvation – Uncertainty Is Bliss
Black Salvation bequeaths to the world their newest opus Uncertainty Is Bliss (Relapse) and black light owners, black eyeliner wearers, and foppish goths rejoice. It’s a heady mixture of Siouxsie and the Banshees, X, and Echo and the Bunnymen. Uncertainty is Bliss is loud and bombastic and is meant to be played on 11. Continue reading
The Temperance Movement with Thomas Wynn & The Believers: Live in London
Off the back of their brilliant new album A Deeper Cut (Earache), British rockers The Temperance Movement embarked on a UK and Europe wide tour. The last date of the UK leg was at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, which was dutifully packed to the rafters with a wide range of expectant fans. The support act on the night was the Florida based, brother and sister band Thomas Wynn and The Believers. Continue reading
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
The Temperance Movement – A Deeper Cut
It has been a tumultuous few years for Scottish rockers The Temperance Movement. Founding member and guitarist Lucas Potashnick quit before the release of 2016’s White Bear, with drummer Damon Wilson following his lead soon after. Not to mention lead singer Phil Campbell nearly succumbing to his alcohol and drugs problems again during their American tour. So with replacement members secured, Matt White and Simon Lea on guitar and drums respectively, and long-term producer Sam Miller in place comes their third album A Deeper Cut (Earache) – a genuinely cathartic release of energetic, blues-based rock.Continue reading
Audrey Horne – Blackout
Named after a character from David Lynch’s hit TV show Twin Peaks and hailing from Bergen, Norway are Audrey Horne. Blackout (Nuclear Blast), their first album in four years, follows on from the previous record Pure Heavy (Napalm) in its happy embracing of classic rock and metal influences, much like contemporaries Black Star Riders and Deadlord. A far cry from the Marilyn Manson and Alice in Chains friendly, jagged grunge of their 2005 debut No Hay Banda (Candlelight); Iron Maiden, Thin Lizzy and Pat Benatar are now the primary reference points.Continue reading
Royal Thunder – Red Fire Empress: Live at Boston Music Rooms (London)
There must be something in the water in Georgia. Baroness, Black Tusk, Mastodon, Kylesa (Editor’s note: RIP), and Whores. all hail from the Peach State. As do tonight’s headliners, Royal Thunder, who are playing the Boston Music Rooms in London. And like fellow Atlantans, Mastodon, they’re a band that should be a on a major label and breaking through into mainstream consciousness.Continue reading