Following their for the main impressive debut album Full Of Hell of 2010, anticipation for the follow-up release from US metallers Howl as they hopefully built on the promise ignited with the first record was certainly fuelled by a level of eagerness. This was a band which showed a sludge/stoner/doom mentality and strength which suggested major things from them ahead. The release of Bloodlines via Relapse Records, certainly shows the Providence, Rhode Island band as having evolved and expanded their sound though maybe to the detriment of real clarity of their direction but then predictability has no place in music so there is no problem with the stance of the new album in that respect. It does though leave a sense of missing its target. Bloodlines ravages the ear with accomplished potently sculpted aggressive sounds and an undoubted passion but it fails to ignite the passions and fervour their earlier promise suggested possible, it is simply a release which just has not anything truly new to say.
It should be said right away that Bloodlines is a thoroughly enjoyable and commanding confrontation, the release showing the band evolving and honing their immense power through their relentless touring ethic which has seen the band alongside the likes of Saint Vitus, Kylesa, Pentagram and numerous others. Recorded with producer Zeus (Hatebreed, Crowbar, Terror), the album is a muscle bound predator with intimidating rhythms, malevolent riffs, and devious sonic acid combining to be an undeniably satisfying aggressor. It has hooks which carve lingering moments and a prowling snarl that has the measure of the defences and appetite yet at no moment does the album light a fire, something its predecessor was more successful at.
Opening track Attrition makes a rich and attention grabbing entrance, the early flames of guitar a sonic beckoning upon chewing urgent riffs and firm rhythms. Into its stride the track prowls and stomps with sinews pressing the ear and vocals scowling like a bear in heat, Mastodon and even more so Black Tusk references rearing their head quite soon on. Bass and drums provide a sturdy cage around the enterprising guitar teases and sonic cuts, and by its departure the song has lit a definite appetite for the release which the following Midnight Eyes with its rampaging drums and scything melodic blades alongside persistently niggling riffs has the fight for. A carnivorous death metal breath marks its charging metal gait whilst the song twists and turns on its feet, a thick stoner persuasion emerging from the savage intensity before changing into a doom lined finale.
The Devildriver like Demonic leaves an exhausting and enterprising if familiar onslaught upon the ear with a sonic wind from the guitar spiralling within the brewed raptorial intensity, whilst the likes of the excellent Down So Low and the equally impressive With A Blade reach higher pinnacles for the album. The first of the two emerges from a chilling sinister ambience, a heavy malevolence in vocals and energy wrapping its leering presence around the ear with devilish intent within a mesmeric yet muscular stoner embrace. The track soon brings thrash elements in to press thoughts and emotions to their limits before returning to the almost crawling insidious invidiousness. The second of the two again finds a compelling union of nastily aggressive intensity and a melodic touch which sears with acidic might and craft. The tracks standout with their inventive intent and ready to shuffle up their pace, energy, and directions, though again neither dramatically or effectively unveil anything new of enough potency to open up ardour or feisty passion. Of War is one song though which is close to doing both things, and though it like the others is delivering recognisable weaponry, the track is an anthemic and contagious storm from which its Lamb Of God toned voice makes a familiar but tempting call.
The Mouth of Madness with its vindictive bass sound and the closing rapacious Embrace Your Nerve complete the album with strength and notable craft if failing to find the lure of the bigger triumphs on Bloodlines. Maybe it is being unfair to expect the band to immediately fulfil the promise previously suggested and without doubt the album is one which gets the job done and makes for a pleasing hour or so but the feeling of a lost opportunity and a tinge of disappointment does accompany the release. With emerging bands such as XII Boar and especially Desert Storm finding original and far more heady heights with their new album, Howl have some evolving still to do to persuade ears and passions to go their way.
Brawling, squalling, and impossibly contagious, The Sun Never Sets On The British Empire is an album which charms and harms the senses for easily one of the most thrilling and exciting albums this year. Its sculptors are UK rockers Bovine, a band who has set another bench mark within the realm of exhausting sludge, rapacious heavy rock, and predatory progressive metal alchemy. Released via FDA Rekotz, their new album is a scintillating and threatening tempest of insatiable invention and primal aggression fused into an even greater storm of muscular sounds and equally imposing intensity brought with a sonic persuasion as addictive as it is viciously imaginative.
Tapping up the keen essences of the likes of Mastodon, Kyuss, Black Tusk, and Soundgarden and twisting them into veining for their own startling invention, Bovine has created a brute of an album which is forever evolving and turning on the senses for an unpredictable and compellingly enthralling confrontation. With melodies and barbed hooks as lethal and addictive as the primal rhythms and carnivorous riffing, The Sun Never Sets On The British Empire is nothing less than an album of the year contender.
From the short opening ambient instrumental Barium, there is little warning of what is to follow, its dawning haunting atmosphere a portent of something sinister yet undefined. What does step from its chilled shadows is the rapacious assault Ghost Chair, a track bruising the ear within a short breath of time with crippling rhythms from drummer Damon Cox and the scything and searing guitars of Marcus VVulfgang and Thomas Peckett. Within their encounter on the senses the bass of Christophe Schaunig prowls and leers with pure intimidation whilst the vocals of VVulfgang roar and soar across the attack with a clean but snarling might. Across its blistering presence the shifts in pace and energy are demanding with equally rich rewards, the greed of the guitars and drums insatiable as is their inventive rage whilst all the while that bass stalks and hounds with a resonating beauty.
From the staggering start things only crave and succeed in grabbing a bigger slice of the passions firstly with Thank Fuck I Aint You and then Heroes Are What. The first of the pair is a blaze of towering rhythmic persuasion and burning sonic voraciousness with an urgency to brand the senses with scorching melodic mastery and crushing riffs bound in a ravenous expulsion of bone splintering rhythms and gluttonous intensity. The track devours the ear and beyond, finding an absence of resistance for its appetite in return. The second of the pair takes all that came before and stops it in its tracks, the acoustically led emotive caress with equally expressive vocals a smouldering invitation. This is just its opening gambit though and a minute into its journey the song unleashes another tirade of malevolent rhythmic bombardment from Cox and a furnace of caustic sonic fire. Like the previous songs the stoner/sludge like components are an open vein yet the pulverising onslaught of every atom of the track is an intensely textured maelstrom of diverse and riveting sounds, peel them away layer by layer and the eclectic and resourceful invention in place is as riveting and impressive as the overall results.
The title track emerges with Cox and Schaunig in control, the metronomic demanding of the drums courted by the bestial throaty grizzle of the bass. A shimmering heat soon is expelled by the guitars to offer a sultry caress to the commanding core, the union leading into a fuller flame of irresistible brilliance. Arguably with a recognisable yet impossible to define breath to its voice, the track is a grunge lilted crawl over the ear with climatic crescendos of seismic intensity and another major highlight on the release which hands over to a fellow conspirator in securing long-term ardour. The Battle Of The Sinkhole is a sensational carnal consumption with an invidious swagger to its debilitating corrosive attack. Again there is something familiar at work but mere intrigue to the enormous rage of malicious beauty at play. As with all tracks the progressive persuasion ensures its voice is heard to bring further mesmeric temptation to the infernal intrusion, and as the song offers its full abrasion things really can get no better.
Of course the likes of I Will Make You Real and Military Wife disagree, both songs making their own distinct and voracious declaration. Across the whole of the album the variety and diversity of sound and imagination is as enrapturing as the sounds and this pair is no different, the first seducing thoughts and passions with a twisting spiral of sonic grooves and scarring riffs with the drums beating a submission out of the listener with jolting invention which borders on emotional and physical affray whilst the second opens up its stoner cauldron for a breath taking excursion through fervent sonic and melodic passional ferocity.
As the equally stunning Not Another Name brings the aural convulsion of invention and bewitching imagination to a close with arguably its finest moment, though admittedly that choice changes constantly, The Sun Never Sets On The British Empire is a release you cannot escape from and the temptation to re-enter its torrents of delicious abuse impossible to refuse. If there has been a better senses battering passion feeding album this year so far we missed it but doubt that there will be many this year which will rival Bovine’s exceptional release.
With more insatiable grooves and curves than Megan Fox, Portrait the debut album from Brooklyn metalers Family, is a rich and expansive onslaught of intense energies and climactic melodic pinnacles. As mesmeric as it is vindictive and as oppressively heavy as it is finely crafted, the album is a towering slab of impressive invention and unique adventure. It is at times brutal and in others hypnotically seductive but always a bruising and incendiary compulsion. Sucking the best essences of anything from heavy to progressive metal and doom/sludge to classic rock, Family twist it into their own crushing vehemence, an original corruption which corrupts the senses as deeply as it ignites their passion. It is a release which is felt as well as heard, thoughts and emotions dragged eagerly into the mix.
Portrait finds guitarist and primary songwriter Steven Gordon and bassist/vocalist Kurtis Lee Applegate alongside drummer Phil Sangiacomo and guitarist Owen Burley, though the last pair have since left to be replaced by Jody Smith and Josh Lozano respectively. It is an album themed by the story of a dysfunctional family that develops supernatural powers, a tale as intriguing as the ever caustic grooves and barbed hooks which litter the songs. Engineered and mixed by Justin Mantooth and mastered by Alan Douches, the release also sees a guest appearance from guitarist John Lamacchia (Candiria, JulieChristmas, Spylacopa, Crooked Man) on the track Daddy Wronglegs. It is an album which once it has its abrasive and sultry progressive claws in will not go away, either whilst in its company or after the engagement, with certainly the hypnotic melodic grooves and sharp irresistible hooks making numerous returns in thought and imagination.
The opening distant drum brews and guitar scrapes which announce the opener Bridge & Tunnel, fires up interest but it is when the track lets loose an undulating groove and accompanying bass growl directly in the ear that the capture is fully made. With slight stoner whispers and an increasing squeeze of sonically carved manipulations the track writhes and fingers the passions like a horny teenager, no sense of delicacy or restraint. The coarse scathing vocals only add to the senses stripping riffs and harmonic disruptions whilst leading to even deeper approval.
Daddy Wronglegs and Bopsky next leave their individual scarring, the first an ever shifting doom darkened hardcore rub which seeps through every pore with tar like intensity speared by crunching bites incendiary melodic rages, and the second a dramatic series of climatic builds and challenging sonic scenarios. Both songs intrigue and incite the imagination musically and lyrically, the developing heart of the story and its emotion as engrossing as the sumptuous weaves which the band intersperse within the flattening energy. It has to be said the likes of TV show Heroes and Misfits as well as numerous other superhero exploits were never this intrusively infectious, then they never had the shadows and startling corrosive breath which Portrait envelops with.
Arguably the album gets better as it progresses, the likes of the perpetually shifting Illegal Women, the alternately ferocious and deliciously captivating Delphonika, and the magnetic guitar lure that is The Wonder Years, just triggering further realms of invention and its lustful acceptance. Portrait is an album which words do not quite do justice to. The masterful structure of sound and composition as well as the balance between primal violence and the revolving unpredictable flow of multi faceted imagination and sounds just immense. At times the songs have a feel of improvisation, or rather the track just evolves instinctively making moments where classic guitar solos merge into harsh noise conjurations or stoner/southern aural croons stand side by side with erosive and rabid malevolence, so exhilarating.
Completed by the again excellent tracks Othermother and Exploding Baby, the album is a colossal confrontation which only rewards in deep pleasure and satisfaction. If the likes of Led Zeppelin, Unsane, Mastodon, Down, Black Tusk, and even Converge do it for you, then Family has plenty for you in Portrait.
Easily one of the biggest thrills is when a band or release hits right out from the blue and emerges as something to ignite the deepest passions and satisfaction. One such mighty example came through the album Hail To The River Gods from Northern Ireland metalers Triggermen. The album was a rampant tenderising of the senses by an irresistible blend of metal, stoner, and classic rock with a wealth of other strong spices to make for one bruising glorious enjoyment. Yes we rather liked it! To find out more about the release, band, and life as a rock band in Northern Ireland, we had the pleasure of chatting to vocalist and guitarist Bap.
Hello Bap and a big thanks for taking time to talk with us.
No problem at all…Thank you for reviewing the cd…
We must before going on say thank you to you for approaching us about reviewing your excellent new album Hail To The River Gods, as sadly if you had not we still might not be aware of the band. Even in the big open to all and easy to access world of the internet does it frustrate that it still is so easy to be missed?
We kind of adopt the attitude to just keep doing what we are doing no matter what because we just love playing rock music together, so frustration at that is not really a big issue with us although we are happy when more people hear our music. I think we only really get frustrated when the van or a piece of equipment breaks down thus getting in the way of playing….The internet really is what it is…To be heard above the rest you have to be better, stronger, louder and smarter or have a gimmick of some sort, and since we don’t have a gimmick we have to rely on using the other ways if we can.
Could you just introduce the members of the band and give some background to the entity that is Triggerman?
Well… the band members are Rory on Drums, Niall on lead guitar, Dixie on bass and myself (Bap) on rhythm guitar and vocals. The band has been in existence for 10 years now but the current line up has been together for just over 2 and a half years . And we just love to play big riffs with loads of groove with a tale or two on top.
Do you have a musical history before Triggerman?
We have all played in various groups over the last 20+ years in Derry and have all known each other nearly as long as Derry has such a close knit musical community, so it was probably just a matter of time before we eventually all played together.
The band name is dramatic and direct, is its inspiration as obvious as one imagines?
We spotted the name in a newspaper not long before the band played its very first gig. We were looking for a one word name and it just seemed to stick out. There are no connotations to it at all other than it seems to suit big riff music….Although if we ever get a female member we may have to rethink the name of the band…haha…
As mentioned your latest album Hail To The River Gods has just been out a matter of weeks. We described it as having ‘the rhythmic bombardment of a Black Tusk, the monster riffs of a Mastodon, and the mischievous grooves of a Red Fang’. Is that close and how would you describe it?
Jeez! That’s esteemed company indeed…Well we do seem to fit in along with those bands alright, and we do listen to them loads…We have played with Mastodon way back in 07 although with a different line up and we seemed to go alright with their fans then……We have been categorized in with the stoner genre but the last time in the studio the engineer Frankie described it as Muscle Rock….It doesn’t really matter whatever way people describe it, it’s ok with us, as long as they are listening to it.
Hail To The River Gods has a great eclectic breath to its body which takes on many flavours. What are the biggest influences to you and those which have inspired the album?
Well musically we listen to anything from the bands you previously mentioned right through to folk music and everything in-between. We all love music that has a lot of integrity, strength and power in it and you can find that in the most unexpected places. There is so much out there to listen to and be influenced by outside rock music that we don’t want to miss out. A big inspiration lyrically would be folk music as I grew up listening to my father learning and singing songs all the time. The lyrics for the title track Hail to the River Gods are influenced by various Irish songs of men going to sea and leaving their loved ones behind. I loved the way that those songs can tell a whole story with a message that means something… and we do live in Derry, a city with a long connection with the sea. But also I do love the songs that are just all about drinking and having the craic too. One of the joys of growing up in Ireland.
In our correspondence with you it was mentioned that there would be a digital availability of previous album Brand New Day and that it was more similar to how you sound now. That kind of suggested Hail To The River Gods is a one off departure in sound and attack. Can you expand and explain exactly how it lies in context?
Brand New Day is a good introduction to the band. The songs though are quite similar in their tempos and pacing as over half of them were written before Rory joined the band. The song Voices which was the last song written for that cd, shows where we were going towards the next album (River Gods) with the drums opening up a lot more and bringing a lot more weight to the riffs. Hopefully we can expand on that even more in the future as the 4 of us have really gelled together and have really started to challenge each other. I am still really happy with Brand New Day and all of those songs still get played live.
Some of the songs on the album have a mythical theme such as Rage Of The Goddess and others like Rise Of The Woodsmen seem like a slab of historical life. Is there a connecting premise across the album?
There definitely is an earthy/mythological feel to the album and the songs do tend to connect with each other in different ways. Rage of the Goddess is a description of the earth and her different Celtic aspects and that if we turn our back on her she is not going to be happy, and you could say that Rise of the Woodsmen are the men who tend to her woods coming to her defence. I suppose the overall premise of the album is that everything is connected in some shape or fashion.
Referencing the earlier question about the sound of the band, is this lyrical direction on the new release your usual area or do you bring a more personal aspect lyrically on other songs?
I tend to fully write the lyrics after the music is finished but there may be a small idea or song title hanging around beforehand. Sometimes the feel of the music will influence the lyric writing, or a song title may influence the tempo or riffs such as the title track. The riffs in the title track just seem to have the feel of the sea. Each of the songs does have a personal meaning to me in that the lyrics evoke personal memories or feelings or is just how I feel about things. When the lyrics are connected to yourself then I feel you are able to deliver them with ultimate conviction, and I am extremely lucky and grateful that the rest of the band gives me free reign to do that.
What inspires your ideas for songs predominantly?
Well musically we are all involved and because there are so many influences in there it’s hard to pin down what is the predominant influence. It may just take a drum beat or a riff to start things off. For example Thon Strange Brew came completely off the back of a drum rhythm which Rory played and really didn’t take that long to put together once Dixie locked in with him. The lyrics for said song then all just seemed to arrive at once. As for the solos Niall tends to rip it out according to how the tune feels or flows… He plays what’s right for the tune from being minimal on Thon Strange Brew to ripping it out on Rage of the Goddess…He’s a gifted wee fecker so he is.
From the big sounds you create one imagines you are a band which plays around with epic noises and towering riffs etc until a song seeds itself. What is the reality of how the songwriting happens within the band?
As far as creating the noise goes we are quite minimalist and simplistic in our approach. I don’t use any effects pedals at all and just rely on the tone of the guitar and the amp head. Dixie our bass player is the same and Niall would use a distortion and wah pedal. Keeping it simple seems to work for us. As far as song writing goes there is no set formula. Sometimes it will start with a riff or a beat. In saying that as the music is not very complicated the riff needs to have a certain character all its own so it can take a while for it to come along, which is why we aren’t always the quickest when it comes to writing. But we are happy to wait because we want to enjoy playing the songs for as long as possible, not drop them from a set after half a dozen outings.
Are the things which inspired and influenced you as musicians and a band still the same a decade or so on or have they like the band, evolved?
Well new bands always come along with new ideas which make you take notice and think “that’s really interesting”. But I think we are still pretty much still influenced by the fundamental principles of song writing which is to write songs which hopefully capture the listener from start to finish with a strong rhythm and a good story/message on top all finished off with a scorching/sublime lead guitar to hopefully make it sparkle…Well we are hoping so anyway…lol
I believe there have been a few changes in line-up over the years; do you feel most bands need that to retain the freshness and enthusiasm in their energy?
Not necessarily…You just have to look at the likes of Clutch and Mastodon who have been playing together for a long, long time and look set to continue to do so thankfully. Some musicians just find the right combination right at the start and others later on. And some musicians just like exploring new horizons with different players throughout their careers. That’s the beauty of playing music, there are infinite combinations and I am pretty sure there is a combination out there somewhere which will push rock music into the next universe…I don’t know if it will happen in my lifetime though, but I live in hope…
Northern Ireland seems very alive with rock and metal bands right now, what is the reality there?
Rock/metal music is definitely making big strides here and making its presence felt. It has always been there, and I think its honesty and consistency along with bands really becoming savvy with the internet and getting their message across more effectively seems to be really hitting a chord with a lot of people who would only have received their music through the mainstream media. The thing about rock music I believe is that it’s a far more honest art form than some of the shite which is being peddled as music. I mean 1 Song written by 5 producers and recorded in 6 studios and a video all of which costs about £2million to produce and 2 weeks to forget about and means fuck all to anyone…Jeez I could buy nearly every rock band in the north an entire new set of equipment with that, And can you imagine the possibilities then…Sorry…Rant over haha…
From the outside there also seems a bond between bands which finds them helping and supporting each other, is that the case?
Very much so. Northern Ireland isn’t all that big so most of the bands have invariably played on the same bills together at some point and in doing that have shared beer and transport together thus building up a camaraderie. Each band obviously has to look out for its own interests but where help is needed it is often given wherever possible as word spreads fast in a small place like this.
You have just come off supporting Sepultura in Belfast, their only UK headlining show this year. How did that go and did they like being blown offstage by your performance haha?
Haha…I don’t know about that. I thought they were immense that night and they seriously rocked. We really enjoyed it and I thought we gave a pretty decent account of ourselves although I was quite nervous. I had a surreal moment during the sound check when I looked round and their backdrop and equipment was all in place and all of a sudden memories of seeing them in the Ulster Hall in the 90s all came flooding back. It was a moment I won’t forget alright…And we had a beer with Derrick Greene after, although i was a bit inebriated at that stage so i don’t know if he understood a word i was saying. Haha…
What is next up for and from Triggerman?
Well hopefully we are going to be able to push the cd a lot further afield but as an unsigned band resources are limited but we are going to do our utmost to make it happen. We are lucky that we have a lot of friends and family with various talents who believe in us are trying to help us achieve this. In the short term we are going to keep on gigging and hopefully we are going to have a video for one of the songs done by the end of the year.
Thank you for taking time to chat with us and for one of the releases of the year for us.
Thank you very much for listening to the cd and for the kind words.
With the rhythmic bombardment of a Black Tusk, the monster riffs of a Mastodon, and the mischievous grooves of a Red Fang, we bring you arguably the most exciting release of the year in Hail To The River Gods from Northern Ireland stomp rioters Triggerman. The seven track release is a monster of an album which simply lights up all the senses, accelerates the heart, and has limbs doing movements only the devil could have designed. If the likes of the bands previously mentioned and those of Orange Goblin, Clutch, and EyeHateGod ring your bell, Triggerman will be your next orgasmic pleasure.
Hail To The River Gods is the third album from a band formed in 2002, with the current line-up of vocalist and guitarist Bap, guitarist Niall, bassist Dixie, and Rory on drums, in place since 2009, give or take a month or two. It follows the critically acclaimed Brand New Day of 2010, a release which had the likes of Metal Hammer and Classic Rock Magazine drooling. Heavier than a mud slide and more rampant than a dog in heat with the moves to match, the album is a senses tenderising thrill of metal, stoner, and classic rock with plenty of other additives to spice the unbridled enjoyment. It is a release which is not trying to invent or re-design anything, just one wanting to unleash the biggest towering grooves and riffs known to mankind, which it does with accomplished skill and energy.
The Derry quartet opens up with Rage Of The Goddess and immediately seize hold with eager welcoming rolling rhythms and fiery guitar chords. The vocals of Bap soon enter to begin the tale of the title, a mythological air soaking every word though at times any woman scorned can fit the story; yeah we have all been there guys. His delivery throughout the release is a spoken growl in a similar style to Jello Biafra which adds to the muscular and raw energy of each and every song, verbal and musical biceps flexing with every word and note. The constantly agitated fury of the drums is a hypnotic pull whilst the guitars and bass unleash crushing hungry riffs with ease. The glorious solo which scorches the air as the song reaches its climax leaves the scent of burnt flesh in its wake which lingers whilst the track evolves into its successor.
Rise Of The Woodsmen is a storming assault, a raging onslaught dripping sweat, power, and menace like its subjects. For two and a half minutes the track works every sinew within its colossal body, riffs bulldozing everything in sight and grooves sparking fires, their melodic embers showering the skies. The song is a worker, a track which gets things done without distraction or obstruction and loving every damn minute of it, which ensures we do too.
Every song on the album is immense and the provider of infectious glory but some do stand on the top step above others, such is the case with the title track. Hail To The River Gods is a song which with its story of men going off to sea and paying homage and prayers to the River Gods for protection, is rife with absorbing folk metal spicery. At times it teeters on the edge of pirate metal with essences of Alestorm raising their bones. The song is a prowling stomp, again a hard working beast of a track which reflects the energy and muscle of its content.
Th’on Strange Brew is a magnetic treat, its stoner grooves sirenesque and thicker than tar. The fumes the guitars conjure with their riled riffs overwhelm and intoxicate the senses and with the rhythms inciting the devil inside and a groove which unleashes a wanton wickedness, the track is a wonderful danger to man and beast.
The sixties blues tinged pagan breath of Flower Of Life takes another contagious diversion as the album again shows diversity whilst the closing pair of the brilliant Wake The Dead and Blind Side Of The Moon twist and bewitch the ear with insidious intent. The first of the pair is a fury of anthemic rhythms and aggressively driven riffs, a charging call to arms which is irresistible and the second a sludge flavoured prowl which drags its listener through every treacle thick shadow and oppressive dark corner within its oppressive heart. Wake The Dead emerges as favourite song on the album but all leave nothing but deep pleasure.
Quite simply Hail To The River Gods is one of the best releases this year and Triggerman our new best friends. Go discover them for yourselves and join their addicted ranks too.
The debut self titled album from UK stoner/rock band Tricorn is quite simply a cauldron of sweaty low slung throbbing riffs and beefy rhythms drenched in a scuzzed veined blanket of intense stripped to the bone essential rock. It is also rather tasty and a compulsive slab of adrenaline fuelled rock n roll to lose oneself within with great satisfaction.
Formed in 2008, the Portsmouth quartet of vocalist and rhythm guitarist Paxo Dyne, lead guitarist Constantine Droutsas, bassist Rob J., and drummer Simon Lopez according to their bio take influences from the likes of Black Sabbath, Motorhead, Alice In Chains and Queens Of The Stone Age. To that you can add flavours that come from similar gene pools as bands like Black Tusk, contemporaries Desert Storm and even Orange Goblin. Their music is not particularly demanding but consistently fully absorbing and a sound thick in intent and honest invention. At times the album suggests the band has yet to find their true voice but with a release that is so mighty and pleasing it is impossible to be anything but complimentary.
Released June 11th through their own imprint Need Sleep Records, the album immediately marks the senses with openerStep Outside. With a music box intro the track slaps down some muscular riffs to wake up the dead whilst throwing down simple but very pleasing torched melodies and gruff vocals. The track has a live essence devoid of unnecessary frills or wastefulness which is maybe not surprising considering the album was recorded in a mere six days but makes for a release that is loud, almost bullying, and real.
As good as the first track was the following Give Me Some More hits the mark even more accurately and deeply. The song raises heat and dust with a dirty insatiable groove and glorious overweight riffs to rile up the senses even more than the opener. Bruising and insistent the song is a mighty infection and the highest peak in a series of highlights which marks the album.
An intimidating strength and intense breath marks The Therapist whilst the rampant Where Did It Go crowds the ear with alcohol soaked melodic surges and chunky forceful riffs, both songs continuing the impressive sounds and power of the release with sure and skilled craft. The songs and album do not try to mesmerise with fiery shows of artistry or over played style but simply fires up attention and satisfaction through uncomplicated but irresistible southern rock n roll majesty.
The excellent Life Again inflames the passions with an enveloping sinister presence which leans on the ear with a menacing darkened groove and badgering riffs, its bulky energy more laid back than previous tracks in a confidence that it will capture its recipients fully. The grooved crush of Crawl and the slight Danzig toned Girl Lets Ride further lead the senses down avenues of feisty raw riffs and low tuned guitar pleasure to make the album an event to savour.
Closing on the beautifully oppressive and irrepressibly grooved Momentum, the album leaves one full to bursting with angry distorted riffs and tumultuous dark energy. It carries no pretence or thought other than to rummage through the heart with the heaviest and most fulfilling sounds. Tricorn have produced a must have release for a sure to have enjoyment.
Going blind in to the debut album from Atlanta rock band Royal Thunder there were many whispers in the ear that their self titled EP of 2010 was rather tasty and that this new album should be great. Well the news is that great does not cut it for CVI is simply a triumphant feast of rock music for every taste. It is fuelled with such stunning creativity and hypnotic lingering sounds it finds a place in each and every heart.
Released may 22nd via Relapse Records, CVI is a sweltering array of classic rock, southern tinged blues, and progressive artistry with more than a liberal dose of metal and stoner thrown in for extra spice. It is an unpredictable release that twists and turns with glee to leave one persistently surprised, continually eager, and always fully satisfied. Drawn from a well deep with essences of the likes of Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Cradle, Electric Wizard and Black Tusk to name a few, the album is an invigorating and consuming insatiable mass of splendour which leaves one enveloped in an immersive smog of aural grandeur.
The album opens with Parsonz Curse and within this song alone you know all you need to know about the album in sound, creativity, and quality. Seven minutes of pulsating mesmeric ingenuity the song is an expansive hard/progressive rock driven explosion of colourful sounds, heated melodies, and imaginative invention. The guitars of Josh Weaver and Josh Coleman bring dazzling weaves of melodic sonic blistering to the senses with white hot radiance whilst Lee Smith with his rhythms and the bass teasing of Mlny Parsonz add deeper shadows and darkened energy. It is amazing stuff and alone is undeniably impressive but it is the vocals of Parsonz bringing another fiery torch within the songs that the ignition of passions find their fullest flame. Her tones spread from searing the ear with scorched passion to mesmeric beauty and whatever the varied path she brings to each song she is irresistible.
Whispering World follows and inflames thought and heart with flurries of stout dominate beats and compulsive riffs. Together they lead one unerringly into the magnetic beauty within its passions and emotive force majestic. At one point the song may have you swaying within its siren glow and the very next it is inciting aggressive urges. It is as all tracks on CVI a bustling forever evolving maelstrom of invention.
Though every song deserves attention time and space is a greedy beast so as we bring some songs to light take those we do mention as read for those not. CVI is deeply diverse, an ever amazing collection of songs which draw you back into their irresistible charms like an aural addict. The one consistent that does pervade every track though is quality, not once is there a dip or lull in the sheer awe inspiring imagination. You can pick the likes of the anthemic express that is No Good, the sensational Blue with its wonderful evocative instrumental first part, or the haunting prowl of South Of Somewhere, and find alongside their glories something else totally unique but equally astounding. Blue is as contagious as any new virus, its soul and breath breeding a pure addiction whilst the craft and songwriting is from wizardry borne conjurations whilst South Of Somewhere is a seemingly chilled yet unsettling entity, its initial presence disentangled from its surroundings but ultimately it reveals itself as a wanton tease. Drawing one in with a slight sinister allure and remote emotive atmosphere it slowly weaves its devious charms to explode with fury of punk attitude and metal intensity. Though it is near impossible to choose a standout track all so impressive, this pair ignites the biggest fire of all.
CVI is an easy contender for album of the year and it is hard to imagine many will rise alongside it let alone surpass its brilliance and magnitude of imagination. Royal Thunder has made those initial whispers rather inadequate and very under estimating.
RingMaster 17/05/2012
The best and easiest way to get your music on iTunes, Amazon and lots more. Click below for details.
There has been plenty of re-issues of debuts and albums from bands finding a resurgence in popularity or simply the re-release of recordings that originally had a limited presence and were lost and out of circulation for many years. A varied collective in sound and quality they have been too but even the best of them will find it hard to match the essential quality and vibrancy of the latest from Metal Blade Records / Rise Above Records in the shape of the self titled debut from the Canadian folk/heavy rock band Blood Ceremony. The release is a gem that pulsates and bewitches with a startling array of elements that sees them as part homage to their influences and distinctly unique in the current metal/rock world.
Originally released in 2008 Blood Ceremony is a wonderfully colourful blend of psychedelic/folk/doom and stoner rock punched through with the audacity and attitude of heavy metal. There is so much going on that it is a mesmeric and beguiling release that is mischievous and also deceiving at the same time. The nine tracks within this psychedelia influenced doom rock beast offer up numerous recognisable elements and sound, riffs and melodies that you may think it is just a band wearing their influences openly on their sleeve, which in many ways they are, but without anything more. A focused listen though and you soon realise there has been and is no one fusing these things into their own unique sound like Blood Ceremony, and whether their sounds take a hold of you or not you will not have heard anyone exactly like them.
How to describe them is not a swift thing to do, imagine a bubbling cauldron of the likes of Electric Wizard, Black Widow and Pentagram spiced up with the psychedelic sounds and freedom of The Doors, the downtuned heaviness of Black Tusk, the meaty riffage of Black Sabbath, and the folk inspiration of a Jethro Tull or a Horslips without the Celtic sound, and you are in the vicinity of what Blood Ceremony weave together. With songs inspired by the heart and soul of witchcraft movies, the occult and magick, and Satanism, the quartet from Toronto conjure up fascinating and unavoidable imagery and emotions with their stirring songs and imaginative themes. As the album plays you can just see them playing to a back drop of a modern day Wicker Man ceremony or numerous covens and satanic festivals, their sounds uniting pagan and witchcraft inspired intent.
Formed in 2006 Blood Ceremony carry a heavy 60’s/70’s rock sound borne of sterner modern intensity and as their second album Living With The Ancients of 2011 confirmed it is a sound that whatever your preference in rock music one will find plenty to feast upon. From the opening concussive intro to opening track ‘Master Of Confusion’ on the debut, the band swoop upon and gather up the senses taking them on a part theatrical and wholly absorbent experience. That is one thing about the album, it has a showman feel in a way, the dark themes and sinister tales lacking venom and fear, but offer up glorious fun. The track provokes the ear with belligerent riffs and attitude as it winds its way through the ear to menace and tease the senses, especially from the lovely grumpy bass and expressive keys.
The album is perfectly varied, from the heavy opener ‘I’m Coming with You’ muscles in with a well crafted blend of militant riffs, throbbing energy, and Lucifer spawned pan pipe like flute from vocalist Alia O’Brien. This is the harshest of the tracks keeping a deliberate muscle throughout despite the wicked ‘pipes’ that whip around the bulky energy. Guitarist Sean Kennedy and bassist Lucas Gadke give real heavy fibrous intent to the sound on the album perfectly supported by drummer Andrew Haust, all allowing O’Brien to light up torches of exquisite melodies and add incisive breaks to the weighty atmospheres.
The album is impressive from start to the last devilish wink of its closing note, with tracks like the shadowed ‘Into The Coven’ , the spirit raising necromantic celebration of ‘The Rare Lord’, and ‘Hop Toad’ with its insatiable preying riff and siren like melodic beckoning, rifling through and engaging the senses completely. If you have not found Blood Ceremony yet then here is your chance to jump in at the beginning, time to immerse into their earthy dark world with more burning flames than you could wish for.
RingMaster 30/01/2012
The best and easiest way to get your music on iTunes, Amazon and lots more. Click below for details.
New album Set The Dial sees Savannah’s Black Tusk follow up their acclaimed 2010 release Taste The Sin with more glorious slabs of their treacle thick and senses probing primal mix of metal, sludge, hardcore and punk rock. The Georgian trio with this their fourth album have continued the ferocious and direct sounds that have made them stand out distinctly but this time around have given the release a touch that comes with a more defined precision and clarity. The thumping direct riffs and rhythms still ripple with attitude and aggressive energy but there is a more focused shape to the tracks.
To be honest the album does not venture far from the sounds of their previous mighty release but the more concerted approach and an even harsher punk tone and attitude to Set The Dial ensures it does more than simply replicate the successes of Taste The Sin. The threesome of Andrew Fidler, Jonathan Athon, and James May produce sounds single minded in their intent to rampage and explode over the senses, their formidable metal, sludge and thrash punk flavoured aggression sounding like it has been filtered through the dirty veins of southern rock. High energy and hard hitting Set The Dial leaves the ear and listener worn out and breathless and ultimately very satisfied.
The album starts with the instrumental ‘Brewing The Storm’, the track setting the tone with its deep dirty bass and southern twanged groove. The lure and capture is immediate and gets the juices flowing for what is to follow. ‘Bring me Darkness’ bursts in next, it’s rumbling bass riffs and drums contagious and the striking guitars razor sharp and intrusive. With its strong and eager urgency the track sets the highest level for the rest of the songs to match and though they fall slightly short it is down to its quality and not their weakness.
The album is tight and uncluttered; the elements that each member distinctly brings open and clear due to the great production of Jack Endino (Soundgarden, High On Fire, Skeletonwitch, The Accüsed, Nirvana). Tracks like ‘Ender Of All’ with its instantaneous addictive drum beats and straight forward riffs and ‘Carved In Stone’ with its hypnotic grinds and attitude soaked energy prime and impressive examples. The direct and relatively simple sound makes the album overall a mountain of a release, its energy relentless and unbroken by over thought intricacies and diversions. The music is honest and proud without any sense of pretence or delusions to what it is, real dirty proper rock ‘n’ roll.
Every track is strong, varied and food for the metal heart, songs like the stoner grooved ‘Set The Dial To Your Doom’ and the slower sludge doom mentality of ‘Mass Devotion’ are diverse but all attack with distorted guitars, merciless riffs, and attitude soaked aggression. There is little time to grab a breath between each track’s assault with the whole album a mesmeric flow of irresistible primal rhythms and bestial riffs veined and thrust forth with addictive and intrusive sonic grooves.
Set The Dial is as mentioned not a big departure form the band’s previous album and there is a small part that makes one feel disappointed there was nothing surprising about the album but with a sound that is unapologetic in its unrelenting intrusive of what the band does best and the deep unbridled pleasure it brings there is nothing really to throw at the release as a flaw. It is simply great big meaty fun, music to grab and light up the senses.
RingMaster 21/11/2011
The best and easiest way to get your music on iTunes, Amazon and lots more. Click below for details.
urgent riffs and firm rhythms. Into its stride the track prowls and stomps with sinews pressing the ear and vocals scowling like a bear in heat, Mastodon and even more so Black Tusk references rearing their head quite soon on. Bass and drums provide a sturdy cage around the enterprising guitar teases and sonic cuts, and by its departure the song has lit a definite appetite for the release which the following Midnight Eyes with its rampaging drums and scything melodic blades alongside persistently niggling riffs has the fight for. A carnivorous death metal breath marks its charging metal gait whilst the song twists and turns on its feet, a thick stoner persuasion emerging from the savage intensity before changing into a doom lined finale.
a portent of something sinister yet undefined. What does step from its chilled shadows is the rapacious assault Ghost Chair, a track bruising the ear within a short breath of time with crippling rhythms from drummer Damon Cox and the scything and searing guitars of Marcus VVulfgang and Thomas Peckett. Within their encounter on the senses the bass of Christophe Schaunig prowls and leers with pure intimidation whilst the vocals of VVulfgang roar and soar across the attack with a clean but snarling might. Across its blistering presence the shifts in pace and energy are demanding with equally rich rewards, the greed of the guitars and drums insatiable as is their inventive rage whilst all the while that bass stalks and hounds with a resonating beauty.
