For reasons well documented that we are not going to touch on here, notverynicecream (Hassle Records) the sophomore record from Bristolian avant-garde noise merchants Phoxjaw, finally sees the light of day some six months after first scheduled. And focusing solely on the music, is this a record that was worth the wait? In a nutshell … Yes!
They say (well, Turisas did, which is probably as unlikely a band to reference in the introduction to a review of a solo album by the vocalist from The Menzingers as you’re going to get) no good story ever starts with drinking tea. But, maybe, just maybe this one does. For the journey of Don’t Go Throwing Roses In My Grave (Epitaph Records), the first solo album from Gregor Barnett begins with the premature closing of one adventure and the unplanned void of returning home to… no plans. Just peace, quiet, solitude, and, well, whatever hot drink of choice our man from Pennsylvania chooses to imbibe the morning.
In news that surprises few following the story, the previously announced 50th Anniversary event of the original Woodstock Festival has been canceled. The three-day music event that was meant to honor the original Woodstock was set to take place the weekend of Aug. 16 in Watkins Glen, N.Y. Some of the rock artists set to perform were Robert Plant, Black Keys, Greta Van Fleet, The Killers, but mostly pop and rap artists with little in common with the original festival were to dominate the lineup. This made it a non-starter for fans from the jump. Dentsu Aegis Network was funding the festival and released a statement earlier today. Tickets for the festival were originally set to go on sale April 22, but news broke last week that the sale was being delayed.Continue reading
The incredible Anthony Vincent has done it again! Through his YouTube channel 10 Second Songs, he has covered The Killers’ ‘Mr. Brightside’ in 15 Styles. The popular YouTuber tackles the modern rock jam in the styles of bands like Coheed + Cambria, Ninja Sex Party, Smashing Pumpkins, Prince, Andrew W.K., Backstreet Boys, Nirvana, Toto and more. Check it out and remember to Subscribe to the channel if you dig what you hear! Continue reading
More artists have come up as part of the forthcoming Guitar Hero Live video game, out this fall.
Halestorm – “Love Bites (So Do I)”
Tenacious D – “Tribute”
Beartooth – “I Have A Problem”
Pearl Jam – “Mind Your Manners”
Rise Against – “Tragedy + Time”
Soundgarden – “Been Away Too Long”
Anthrax – “Got The Time”
Architects – “Gravedigger”
Chevelle – “The Clincher”
A Day To Remember – “Right Back At It Again”
Songs already announced for the game include:
Deftones – “Diamond Eyes”
Marilyn Manson – “Disposable Teens”
The Black Keys – “Gold on the Ceiling”
Blitz Kids – “Sometimes”
Killswitch Engage – “In Due Time”
Mastodon – “High Road”
Bring Me The Horizon – “Shadow Moses”
Of Mice & Men – “Bones Exposed”
Trivium – “Strife”
System of a Down – “Chop Suey!”
Black Veil Brides – “In The End”
Rage Against the Machine – “Guerrilla Radio”
Judas Priest – “Breaking the Law”
Pantera – “Cowboys From Hell”
Royal Blood – “Little Monster”
Vista Chino – “Sweet Remain”
Marmozets – “Move Shake Hide”
Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Higher Ground”
The Pretty Reckless – “Going to Hell”
Alter Bridge – “Cry of Achilles”
Ed Sheeran – “Sing”
Fall Out Boy – “My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)”
Gary Clark, Jr. – “Don’t Owe You a Thang”
Green Day – “Nuclear Family”
The Killers – “When You Were Young”
The Lumineers – “Ho Hey”
My Chemical Romance – “Na Na Na”
Pierce the Veil – “King for a Day” (feat. Kellin Quinn)
The Rolling Stones – “Paint it Black”
Skrillex – “Bangarang”
The War on Drugs – “Under the Pressure”
Sleigh Bells – “Bitter Rivals”
Alt-J – “Left Hand Free”
Broken Bells – “Leave It Alone”
The Guitar Hero video game franchise is relaunching its line this fall with a new installment called Guitar Hero Live, where it has been reworked to now feature a live action experience and focuses solely on guitars this time around. A new guitar peripheral has been announced to go along with the game and features two rows of three buttons to offer a different experience that will allow for basic chord patterns on higher difficulties.
Artists confirmed to be part of the game this time around include:
The Black Keys
Fall Out Boy
My Chemical Romance
Gary Clark, Jr.
Green Day
Ed Sheeran
The War on Drugs
The Killers
Skrillex
The Rolling Stones
The Lumineers
Carrie Underwood
Pierce The Veil
Blitz Kids
Whatever your personal journey with In Flames, they rank as one of metals most influential bands of the last twenty years. Along with peers At The Gates and Dark Tranquillity they spearheaded the Scandinavian Melodic Death Metal attack of the Nineties and by 1999, you couldn’t move without being stabbed in the ears by jester clones. Ten years later, despite some inconsistent outputs of their own, they had proven to be a lead influence in the most popular development in the heavy metal sound of the new millennium – metalcore.
The seminal, early, albums of In Flames were all about jagged riffing and scything twin-guitars jostling with folk influences. Clayman and Reroute To Remain were about taking that step into the mainstream, adding chug and progressing their sound. Come Clarity was the ace that defined what they had become. Eleventh album Siren Charms (Sony) is all about the songs.
While In Flames started out as a guitar band, the role of vocals has become more prevalent in their sound throughout their twenty-one year evolution; from throaty roars, to a husky half-sing, to Siren Charms being Anders Friden’s album. Come clarity and come confidence of voice, reminiscent of Brandon Flowers at times, predominantly clean he leads this album in the way a frontman and vocalist should, bridging and building interesting and, at times, vulnerable verses into anthemic choruses. The dual/duel guitars are still there, just used more cerebrally, sparingly, but available to provide the bands’ trademark.
At first listen ‘In Plain View’ is an underwhelming opener, electronica seguing into a rolling riff, stripping down then pushing off, but repeated plays bring out its qualities, before ‘Everything’s Gone’ barrels in, the most aggressive track on the album, a combination of punches provided by chromatic chords leading to a Slipknot meets Marilyn Manson chugged verse and strong chorus, before the real tone of the album is opened up with a hat-trick of great dark pop metal songs (‘Paralysed’, ‘Through Oblivion’, ‘With Eyes Wide Open’), between them referencing Clayman, Killswitch Engage, Katatonia, The Killers and 30 Seconds To Mars (A Beautiful Lie / This Is War era) in a joyous gamut of aggressive modern rock music. ‘When The World Explodes’ spits out metalcore 101 before a left at the traffic lights swerve turns it into a gothic metal classic with vocals of opera singer Emilia Feldt.
Continuing strongly, the band hit a salvo of ‘Rusted Nail’ with its bouncing guitars, electronica, and build via traditional In Flames guitar harmony to an anthemic chorus and ‘Dead Eyes’, which starts slower before hitting a hands in the air refrain. ‘Monsters In The Ballroom’ unfurls into a beautiful, sprawled chorus of its own via some tighter, thrashier guitaring, while, last up, ‘Filtered Truth’ flips from a casual AC/DC riff to a metalcore rhythmic verse, into a strong chorus with the twin leads dancing in and out behind, before spiralling away to close the album.
With Reroute To Remain In Flames showed they would not spend their career rehashing their earlier albums. They left that to countless others. Instead they’ve refined and developed their approach to songwriting, working on creating a set of excellent dark pop metal songs to the point where they can add Siren Charms, and its collection of anthems, to The Jester Race, Clayman, Reroute To Remain and Come Clarity – each distinctive from the other yet all obviously “In Flames” – in the list of classics under their belt.
8.5/10
STEVE TOVEY
