Ruts DC – Rhythm Collision Volume 2

For a great many of us the best punk band in the history of the genre was The Ruts, a band which fused raw street life and sound with addictive bass heavy dub and reggae. From day one they were a formidable and inciting presence cut short by the passing of frontman Malcolm Owen in 1980 aged 26. The history of the band up to that point is well documented within punk and rock, the music still igniting fires and lingering with relish and provocation year after year in many ways, and the same can be said of the band since, though the release of the new Ruts DC album Rhythm Collision Volume 2 equally highlights the large gap in music left by their absence for the last three decades.

Absence is a little misleading though as drummer Dave Ruffy and bassist John ‘Segs’ Jennings have certainly continued to inspire and leave a strong imprint on music, both playing live in numerous bands and with their impressive production skills which has led the pair to be tagged as Europe’s Sly and Robbie. It has been a long period for time to bare since the remaining members of The Ruts after the tragic death of Owen, released the albums Animal Now and Rhythm Collision as Ruts DC in 1981 and ’82 respectively, and an even bigger miss for music once Jennings, Ruffy, and guitarist Paul Fox called it a day a year after their last album. Their reunion in 2007 to play a benefit gig for Fox who had been diagnosed with lung cancer, and sadly died later the same year, ignited all the dormant passions with the show, an event which saw the likes of The Damned, Misty In Roots, UK Subs, Tom Robinson, and John Otway supporting and Henry Rollins taking over the vocal presence for the band, being declared as “the best punk gig of all time” by the Times.

This led to the band to reuniting with Neil Fraser aka Mad Professor who worked with the band on Rhythm Collision in the studio for an impromptu session which then led to another day of guest vocalists and musicians bringing their talent to the now vibrant project. Ruffy has said about the recording, “The album really came together by a series of fortunate events, before we knew it we were back in the studio for The Great Day of Vocals – Segs, Ngoni (aka Delbert McKay, Misty’s guitarist/vocalist), gifted lyricist Aynzli Jones, Brixton lyrics man Tenor Fly and Rob Love, frontman with Alabama 3 all turned up, tuned in and came up with the goods. Nothing was pre-conceived or planned.“

Due to hectic schedules the proposed plan to get Mad Professor to do the final mix was an unavailable option the pair turned to Brighton producer Prince Fatty aka Mark Pelanconi. With everything in place and as it emerges beautifully finished, Rhythm Collision Vol.2 stepped forward and without any hesitation can be announced as one of the finest most exhilarating albums to grace and ignite the passions in a long time. The rhythmic heart of the album shows Ruffy and Jennings have lost none of their majestic power and provocative resonance whilst creatively they lay bench mark after benchmark for bands and artists to be inspired by within reggae, dub, punk, music.

As soon as the brilliant Mighty Soldier idles up to the ear with a warm ambience and joyful tease there is a fire smouldering within the ear, the throaty bass lure vibrant yet shadowed whilst the vocals of Tenor Fly shape thoughts with style and slight mischief within the seductive harmonies. It is a mild paced romp, a pulsating evocative persistence which leaves feet, voice, and passion eager to add their collaboration to the sultry dance, the brass flames bringing further irresistible temptation. Throughout the space synths of Steve Jones tease and add sweet devilry to the encounter whilst the keys of Seamus Beaghen provide a caress and firm push which leads to greater ardour for the stunning start whilst the guitar niggle is incendiary within the whole impressive blaze.

Through the likes of the sky travelling soundscape of Mix Up featuring Molara Awen on vocals, the white hot persuasion of One Step and Smiling Culture, the release grips tighter on the senses and emotions. The second of the trio resonates through thought and synapse whilst its touch is like a seductive walk over hot coals, a track to be taken gently, devoured thoughtfully, and enjoyed addictively, whilst the third, a song based on the death of Smiley Culture, is a deeply evocative and beautifully sweltering fascination of intent and sound with the vocals of Aynzli Jones and Rob Love riveting. At this point the album has already left a full rapture for its presence at play and goes on to only reinforce its potency with each track.

The oscillating atmosphere of Technology with its impossibly contagious brass call and the bone trembling sirenesque bass inducement of Jennings, which pushes the boundaries of Sun & The Stars to their delicious limits, evoke further imagination and hunger whilst the mesmeric caress of London Dub featuring Smokes (William Simon) is instant captivation, a welcome submergence in a soak of roasting ambience and equally fervid breath.

For personal tastes the first half of the album steals the show with its insatiable energy and invention but as the songs just mentioned and the likes of the thrilling dub heaven Heavyweight Style and The Road unveil their imperious charms there is no loss of lustful hunger and pleasure across the whole album. Featuring the blissful voice of Jessica Mcintyre, The Road is another glorious torrid slice of beauty veined by pulsating shadows from that irresistible bass lure of Jennings, a final triumph on the album though the two dub-core mixes of Technology and Soldier which do finally close the album are no fillers either.

With further contributions from guitarist Leigh Heggarty and vocals from Ngoni Mukai and Aurora Dawn in the mixing pot, the Sosumi Recording released Rhythm Collision Volume 2 is an unbridled treat, a collaboration extraordinaire which leaves the body, soul, and world a better place.

www.theruts.co.uk

10/10

RingMaster 13/05/2013

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

Listen to the best independent music and artists on The RingMaster Review Radio Show and The Bone Orchard from

http://www.audioburger.com

 

Turbogeist: Ancient Secrets EP

    Having fallen in love with an Alien Girl…the first single and song from UK punk rockers Turbogeist which mischievously teased these ears two years ago, anticipation going into the Ancient Secrets EP was on full alert with arguably already preconceived  reactions ready to pounce. The five track release certainly did not let down or disappoint expectations and though it did not quite light those same fervour lit fires as did the single, the EP is a thrilling and richly satisfying piece of devilment.

The London based quartet take their influences from seventies punk and eighties hardcore with particular inspiration from the likes of The Replacements, The Damned and The Misfits. Their sound though is more open than that suggests, with loud whispers of garage punk and feisty rock n roll adding their devious temptation to the energetic and raucous flavours the band taunts and pleases with. Lyrically the songs of the band and on the EP are just as cunning, the mix of sci-fi tongue in cheek pestering wrapped around  thoughts on the ‘stuttering evolution’ of man as aggressive and devilish as the infectious musical  brawling around them. Co-produced by the band and Chris Sheldon (Pixies, Radiohead, Foo Fighters), the digital and numbered coloured vinyl 10” releases of Ancient Secrets should be the first key to a deserved wide recognition for the band, which the released of a debut album later in the year will undoubtedly feed upon.

Mermaid’s Revenge winds itself in to view with sonic flames of guitar coaxing the ear whilst rhythms and bass shuffle into position. With all things in place the track swaggers with confidence and mischief as the vocals begin the tale of man’s ill-fated attempts to conquer nature and the siren lure of the deep blue. Aided by strong group backing shouts and a muscular prowl to the gait of the song, things become more contagious and riveting by the sinewy second with the elevated energy and scorching breath of the song now a stirring punk and rock anthem for the ear. As across the release, the song fails to find that irresistible lure of the previously mentioned single but undoubtedly holds sway over the passions with accomplished intent and antagonising presence.

The following Zero Friends stands eye to ear with the listener and makes its statement on social networking and its effect, something which always feels ironic considering the unavoidable need bands today have for the medium, but Turbogeist is a band not fearing nipping on the hand that feeds. It is a brief punch of a punk song which again lifts emotions and satisfaction to pleasing heights soon equalled by Black Hole. Immediately forging through the ear with thumping rhythms and apocalyptic declarations, the track is the band at its heaviest and vigorously potent, a classic metal wind guiding its hardcore soaked concentrated aggression. Already across the EP there is diversity to the sound within the distinct umbrella sound of Turbogeist which excites and fires up expectations for the impending album.

The opening to Up Front instantly feeds the inner fervour with uncompromising bone splitting drum beats and a gravelly primal bass grind which seduces with predatory persuasion, soon joined by taunting vocals adding a tease through repetitive announcements. It is an inciting entrance which explodes into a prime punk abrasion to spark further greed in the passions for its uncomplicated yet insightful sonic and rhythmic hooks and barbed company. Ending as the favourite track on Ancient Secrets, it seals any doubts, which were barely audible, into a lost cause.

Closing song Rats is a final riot for an ardour seeping fever to devour, the stormy union of classic rock and garage punk a last infectious entrapment on the EP. Released via Spinefarm Records, Ancient Secrets confirms that our earlier set in infatuation was well placed and probably set to find deeper lust ahead with the debut album. Cross Every Time I Die, Red Tape, The Cramps, and Hagfish and you do not get Turbogeist but you come closer to their individual sound.

http://turbogeist.com/

8/10

RingMaster 21/03/2013

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

Listen to the best independent music and artists on The RingMaster Review Radio Show and The Bone Orchard from

www.audioburger.com

 

Forever snarling: an interview with Charlie Harper of the UK Subs

Charlie Harper

Since its emergence in the latter part of the seventies punk rock has spawn some of the most influential and impacting bands which no one more essential to fans and the genre than the UK Subs. From 1976 the band and its founder Charlie Harper has been a driving force for subsequent bands and the genre itself over the years and as their new album XXIV shows, the band has not lost any of its strength and hunger to stretch themselves and punk, in fact they just get better and more inspiring, an incredible feat for a band well into its fourth decade, though its seeds goes back further. The RingMaster Review had the pleasure of finding out more about how the band, its ability to stay so essential, and about their twenty fourth album XXIV, by having the distinct honour of firing questions at Charlie… and this is what he revealed….

Hello Charlie and a big welcome to the site, many thanks for sparing time to talk with us.

I have to start with the obvious question of how has the band retained its hunger over the past forty years or so and as your new album shows, equally stayed fresh too?

Well…thank you Ring Master…we just have this will to have fun with the music and make it as exciting as we can.

I am aware of keeping it “fresh” but it’s not something that we work on, I suppose it’s because we spend so much time in clubs where I listen to all the other bands on the bill and I listen to what they do wrong, as well as the good stuff. We have done so many LPs  but we are just beginning  to use a studio, we also have a 5th member by the name of producer Pat Collier, we have worked together,  mostly on than off for so long now.

As we mentioned it let us talk about your excellent new album XXIV. I am sure you will not disagree that is your finest work in quite a while but what for you makes it stand out above your other strong releases over the past years?

It has more power than the previous records; I left a clue in the last track of “work in progress” in Robot Age.

There is a rich eclectic flavouring across the album brought with the expected UK Subs passion. Has this use of other musical influences been brewing up in the band and its songwriting for a while now or something you sat down and purposely filtered into XXIV?

No, there is nothing planned. We will write a bunch of songs, say 6 each and just pick the ones we think are best, this time Alvin was the first to come up with a couple of gems and set the bar very high, it was a big challenge.

There are some fine punk bands and releases around right now in the UK but arguably few seem to have the thought or want to explore and use the resources available through other sounds within rock n roll to vary their sound as you have shown upon XXIV. Do you feel the album could be a catalyst which might get some genre related bands to rethink their musical thoughts?

I don’t think so, among our contemporary’s, were bands like the Damned and Stranglers, it was all about songs. Bands now seem to go for style, same beat same sound same growl but hey…they said that about Elvis.

The album is a twenty six track feast of nothing but impressive and impacting songs. It is hard to think of many albums with such a number of songs where all have such strength and richly rewarding presences, the lack of ‘fillers’ refreshing; at what point did you personally realise how potent the album would be?

Potent is a good word and music is a powerful medium. I learned a few trick with those three chords, the killer is the one, very few people are aware of, because it’s invisible but whether you play live or on record, the first chord on a follow up song, has to be compatible with the last chord of the previous song, if it’s a good match, it will give you a high, if it’s a bad match, it can bring you down. We have to go with this, as our songs are in rapid succession.

 Is there any predominant theme or emotion which has fuelled or shaped the album?

Yes there was. It was the present conflict of the new and ancient world.

The Icon with the machine gun (baby Jesus gone) is a clue

You are a band which obviously writes for your own satisfaction and creative invention, so does it frustrate you when other bands within punk rock especially, create their sound and then almost use it as a uniform across each subsequent release thereafter, or do you only concentrate on the band and its imagination within the genre?

Well…take a band like Crass, they took that ridged uniformity to the limit but they were great. It takes all sorts and yes we just go on our merry way. I do encourage young bands to be different and find their own way

Do you think some bands underestimate their audience’s and their own adventure in taste and need, carry a fear to try new things?

Many do but there is a new batch of young musicians who are a little more brave, and that is pretty key, you have to have a musical bravery

The UK Subs seems to have found a new leash of life in many ways over the past two albums, the new release evolving the first ‘new breath’ found on Work In Progress. Is that a fair comment?

When Jet joined the band and we did the first album (Work in Progress) with him, it really felt like a new beginning and along with our not so ‘secret weapon’ Jamie, who contributed so much and Alvin coming to fruition as a major song writing force, we have the feeling that we are only just starting but that is very true of the acoustic side, we are absolute beginners.

Has this new energy to call it something, with no disrespect to past members, come in some way from the stability of the current line-up of the band since I believe 2005?

Be careful, when anyone talks of stability, things seem to happen. One drummer had a big tattoo across his chest, it said ‘Loyalty’, he left the band soon after but he has been with his present band for ten years now.

With the whole band having involvement in the core songwriting of different songs in different combinations, how does the songwriting process generally happen within the band?

Your questions are much too serious and prodding, I’m giving away all our little secrets. Well…it’s a nightmare, I was supposed to write all the lyrics but as I said before, Alvin is doing some major work, which gives me a breather. I tell the guys to keep it simple but they don’t do simple. I told them write one song for the next album, a Jet song and a Jamie song, they will struggle but I will find a way, Jamie is the best singer in the band but he is very shy, Billy Idol was just the same. Jet will sing in Japanese, some of that Japanese hardcore is amazing.

One suspects that there is an open approach within the band to ideas from the other members not involved in the original creation of particular songs as they evolve for recording?

One is right, you should pop down for the next recording your input would be much appreciated. I always look for somewhere to stick some backing vocals (B/Vs)then Jamie goes out to the mike and just does magic, mine are a bit oi.

The album also includes twelve acoustic tracks which I must admit took us by surprise in the best way possible; when did the idea to do this emerge or was it the intent from day one?

The acoustic idea was around a while, we were all writing songs but it was going to be another release but Captain Oi asked if we could put it on this release as an extra. We were not quite ready for that but we did our best. As I said we are just beginners but we write most songs on acoustic guitars, and we did the CD within the day.

Was the acoustic idea something to challenge yourselves or your audience more do you think in hindsight?

Definitely a challenge for us…I’ve played a couple of Subs unplugged, they go down very well but again, Jamie’s songs were a big challenge, Alvin took one and I took on the other, Alvin came out with the very spooky “Confessions…” I had just got back from Oslo where I was at the Puberty exhibition by Edward Munch; that was my inspiration for “Metamorphosis”.

What was the reaction towards the acoustic tracks even before people heard them and now after the release?

So far the reaction has been good, we have always dabbled with acoustics so it’s not so very new, we use the old sea shanty “Drunken Sailor” as an intro, it has a raging fiddle played by Simon Some Dog and the Subs.

Will you be taking this approach and tracks into a live setting at some point?

We were playing “Detox” on the last tour; we hope to add the “Coalition Government Blues” song and hopefully a few more.

Is there any particular moment on XXIV which gives you the strongest tingle of satisfaction?

There are a lot more on this album than most others we’ve done. As I said before, the B/Vs are my babies, as far as I am concerned , Jamie really nails them down, then there is the outro of “Black Power Salute”, the outro of “Implosion”, the noise guitars on “Failed State”, and some intro’s that I don’t remember right now and it’s the wee hours, I can’t play it.

The next day…

And anything you would have changed or tried differently now looking back?

That’s hard to say, we never get enough time in the studio and like it like that. Its nose down to the grind and making sure that we all have their stuff worked out before we walk in that day but the best laid plans… always go tits up. I hate things over produced but the early stuff is pretty horrific, right up to ‘Endangered Species’.

Yourself Charlie, and the band was inspired by The Damned back in 1976 but are there any bands or artists now who have impacted on your new ideas in regard to songwriting or sound?

I’ve always loved the Ramones, that simple back beat, the sound of the distorted Mosrite, Joe’s vocals, perfect.

I’ve always wished to write like Iggy but my style is completely different, it’s easier to write your own than try to work out somebody else’s stuff.

What is on the near horizon live shows wise of the band?

A UK tour in May. We will add more songs from the new album but no less old ones.

Once more very big thanks for sparing time for us. Any last thoughts you would like to share?

Just a big thank you, to all our followers and fans. We really do appreciate the support over so many years.

We have always found time to have a chat over a pint and some have become very close friends.

If there are any budding musicians out there…Go for it! There are ups and downs but it’s worth every mile.

And lastly once the band has released an album for every letter of the alphabet what comes next….

Hey let us get there first but we will still be on the road. I will just be too old to remember new songs.

Read the review of XXIV @ http://ringmasterreviewintroduces.wordpress.com/2013/03/12/u-k-subs-xxiv/

Interviewed by Pete RingMaster

The RingMaster Review 20/03/2013

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

Listen to the best independent music and artists on The RingMaster Review Radio Show and The Bone Orchard from

www.audioburger.com

Shriek: Self Titled

The undoubted bastard sons of one unholy union between Misfits, The Ramones, and Calabrese with The Damned looking on with hellish mischief, US horror punk band Shriek is a band where once bitten by their insidiously infectious sounds a feverish addiction is inevitable. Such is the potent reaction after being devoured by their self-titled album, a release giving a fresh snarl and contagion to recognisable yet fully invigorating rampages of horror.

From Cincinnati, Shriek formed in December of 1998 to follow The Vladimirs as the only successful horror rock band in the city. As the band built a formidable reputation for their blistering live performances and riotous death drenched songs the band went from being a trio to expanding into a quartet and then back again whilst continuing to build a devoted fanbase and recognition in the state and further afield. A brief hiatus occurred in 2004 before the band returned a year later with more changes before their most recognisable line-up of band founders vocalist/guitarist Greg Gallows and bassist Ryan Stone alongside guitarist Josh Thompson and drummer Steve Cox emerged in 2008. The departure of Stone in 2012 was the last change and in many ways a new era for the band with Sean Sleaze coming in on bass whilst Derek Dargum also joined to add his guitar skills.

The intro Enter At Your Own Risk opens the door to the album with expected menace and foreboding , its slow crawl guiding one into the shadows and hungry energy of Corrupting the Youth (with the Truth). An urgent punk riot of thumping rhythms and enjoyably grazing riffs, the track is an immediate anthemic lure with the vocals of Gallows an addition temptation to join the cause vocally and with feisty limbs.

From the irrepressible start tracks like the stomping Walk Again and the ravenous Vampire with its classic metal whispers grip the passions with their arguably traditional horror punk claws whilst the psychobilly seduction brought by Back from the Dead enflames the ear to spark an additional ardour with its melodic flames and slightly lumbering gait. It would be honest to say the album does not offer anything openly new for the genre but there is no doubting its accomplished and impressive sadistic charms which sets the band apart from the majority of horror punk bands.

Into its stride the album continues to impress and gets better deeper in to its mausoleum of fun you go. As thrilling and inviting as the release is heading into the core of its heart it reveals with relish even greater triumphs in its latter half starting with My Girlfriend’s a Zombie. With the guitars tightly reining in their energy to offer a fire of sonic compulsion and the drums thrashing the ear with enthusiasm the track is another catchy temptation for the listener to add their companionship in voice and limbs to, though to be fair each and every song achieves that submission. The song is immediately followed by the best song on the album, Lycanthrope. The song is immense, a storm of savage riffs and equally threatening rhythms undermined by the sheer addictive call of the chorus. Combined it is a virulent persuasion which rivals anything the Misfits have offered over the past couple of decades.

Freddy’s Dead has a stronger punk voice to its malignant scourge which for its brief minute and a half coursing through the ears with a predatory breath whilst the necromantic love song Closed Casket Romantic is a smouldering blaze upon the senses with an uncomplicated decayed emotive caress. Both tracks add further pinnacles to the deeply enjoyable release soon accompanied by the enthralling bruising enticement of Haunted House to leave one in a flush of ardour and invigorated satisfaction.

The band saves one final impressive high with Night of The Creeps, a track which sounds like Danzig in an invasion of the soul with Blitzkid and Necromantix. It is a rabid coating of abrasive energy and once more submits an irresistible entrapment of the senses and heart through its anthemic chorus and serpentine hooks.

Shriek is a band which certainly through their album, does not take long to recruit the passions to a long term agreement with their rampant sounds. The release is one of the most exciting and pleasing horror punk releases in a long time and the band a sure soundtrack to your richest nightmares.

Website               http://shriekcreeps.com

https://www.facebook.com/shriekhorror

8.5/10

RingMaster 10/03/2013

Listen to Shriek and the best independent music and artists on The RingMaster Review Radio Show and The Bone Orchard from

www.audioburger.com

Fear God – God Bless The World, Not Just America

Continuing their knack at bringing prime punk rock in many guises to the world, Thumper Punk Records have done it again with God Bless The World, Not Just America the debut album from US band Fear God. A faith driven collection of songs which will spark the appetite of any old school punks no matter their beliefs, the album is a stirring and infectious slice of sincere and rowdy punk riots.

The solo project of veteran Orange County punk rocker Doug Jutras, the album is the result of its creator making a change in his life and finding a focus to all things through faith. Having struggled and recovered from severe back injuries and the challenges brought by his punk lifestyle from his early teens, Jutras found his clarity in life and wrote the album to hopefully inspire and give hope to others. Taking influences from the likes of Social Distortion, TSOL, The Damned, and Call to Glory, he has brought forth an album which works with the theme of the title whilst unleashing a dozen brawls of punk rock to satisfy the hearts of old school punk fans. As with a great many faith driven releases the constant heart of the album does inspire a little resistance to those with different thoughts and inspirations but God Bless The World, Not Just America does not preach and offers musically plenty to bypass that aspect and for like-minded souls and those open to the ideas and possibilities portrayed, it is a release which is likely to inspire as the artist hopes.

The raw energy of He Forgets rampages through the ear first, the great infectious bassline and thumping riffs a ready and hungry companion to the coarse riffs and catchy vocals. It is punk at its simplest and best offered with extra flair and invention, with especially the bass a magnet for the senses and primal rhythms inside. The great four string lure continues into the following Love God, the instrument and song recalling the early days of The Damned, Suburban Studs, and Circle Jerks. It is an impressive start which hardly fluctuates in quality and appeal as the album continues.

The release offers up some good surprises too amongst the more expected pink bruises starting with What Am I Doing Here, a track with Jutras narrating his thoughts and experiences through spoken word upon an emotive and suggested musical ambience. The song switches to a quick fire onslaught reminding of early Skids and then switches across the rest of the track with skill and pleasing imagination. It is an intriguing and evocative track as is the equally provoking Kelly Testimony. Consisting of a retelling of her life by a female voice over acoustic and again emotive sounds, the song is a tale which shocks and reassures. It is a clever and effective song which all can draw something from whatever their circumstances in the past and now.

Tracks like Devil’s Mark with its Misfits/Dead Kennedys breath and the garage blues lilted Can’t U Be There please and light nostalgic emotions with their uncomplicated and enjoyable sounds but the highest pinnacles come with God Bless the World and Closer He Gets to You. The first is a contagious pop punk graced slice of melodic rock with a female coaxing assisting Jutras which brings essences of Honey Bane to the pop dance of the track whilst the second is a fiery abrasion of harsh riffs and stirring intent offering a mix of Social Distortion and Angelic Upstarts and giving further variation to the album as a whole. This diversity brings a breath of different times and flavours from the genre which is as refreshing as the songs itself and adds to the overwhelming pleasure of the album.

The grazing energy of Dying World is another treat before the album closes what is a pleasing and energising encounter. If good original punk has been in short supply for your ears and heart lately then Fear God is the perfect tonic to restore your faith in punk rock and maybe more besides.

http://www.thumperpunkrecords.com/

RingMaster 09/01/2013

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

 

Philtrum: Rough Days EP

Making good punk rock is not rocket science though to make sounds which stay with the listener and inspire real reactions takes more accomplished imagination, something which UK band Philtrum does with ease. Following on from their well-received Needs Must EP earlier in the year, the Maidstone based trio have upped the game with their new release, the Rough Days EP. Consisting of four raw and bruising confrontations, the release offers punk rock in its barest and most compulsive form. It may not be ground breaking but it is a very effective and pleasing riot.

With the current and stable line-up of vocalist/guitarist Paul P, bassist Gavyn, and drummer James in place from the tail end of 2011, Philtrum has found an impetus and concentrated core sound which has brought them to the fore of attention. The new release also sees a step forward from its predecessor with tighter hooks and stronger crafted structures to the songs without losing their instinctive and barracking energy. It shows a band at its height of enthusiasm for what it does locked in with a blossoming creativity to honest catchy sounds.

Recorded with Greg Webster of Houdini at Sunlight Studios, Gillingham, the EP charges at the ear from the off with The Moment. Fiery guitars and thumping riffs begins the in the face encounter with the bass of Gavyn laying down riffs full of contempt to match the challenging vocals of Paul P. It is a classic approach veined with scorching sonic guitar flames and infectious dual anthemic shouts from guitarist and bassist. Simple and aggressive it is a formidable and deeply satisfying offering of punk rock brought just how it used to be back in the day.

The great beginning is continued with National, a track not too far in structure from the opener but with its own individual contagious insurgence of riffs, inciting vocals, and brawling energy. It is a song you could imagine the likes of The Damned, The Dead Boys, or Suburban Studs letting loose upon their fans, but soaked with a spite and attitude of the now. If you are not joining in by the end of the first round of choruses then punk just does not do it for you, the song an insatiable abrasion which is impossible to resist and best song on the release.

Switchstance and Gets No Better completes the quartet of cracking agitated punk fusions, the two tracks bringing different spices from the genre into their forceful charges. The first is a storm of barbed rhythms and consuming sonic guitar rubs which from its combative initial contact pulls out sing-a-long lures and a pop/ska swagger to leave passions grinning. It is not complicated or going to reinvent the music world but what true punk does, it just lights up the heart which is all one truly asks. The second is an uncompromising and quarrelsome slap around the head which without having the strong appeal of the other three still gets the job done of leaving a satisfying engagement for the listener.

With the Rough Days EP, Philtrum has continued their evolution into a band which is one to keep in firm view and the purveyors of honest original punk rock.

https://www.facebook.com/Philtrumpunk

RingMaster 14/12/2012

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

The Fat Dukes Of Fuck: Honey From The Lips Of An Angel

The creators of new album Honey From The Lips Of An Angel is a band revelling in subtlety and warm tender moments to fill the heart with emotion and reassurance… yeah and we always wear pink tutus and Doc Martens when reviewing music. Well the latter might have some truth to its but one thing you can never accuse The Fat Dukes Of Fuck of being is sensitive or worried about appearing PC. You can though throw accusations of creating riotously fun, fully infectious, quality dirty rock n roll at the band and they will stick firmly.  Honey From The Lips Of An Angel is a glorious and irreverent slap around the senses brought with mightily addictive sounds and a mischievousness which only pulls one willingly and eagerly into its heart.

The album is an aggressive crash upon the senses brought through an excellent brew of punk, metal, and filth lined rock n roll. The tracks rampage through and toy with the ear like a riot instigated by the combined aural profanity of Suicidal Tendencies, Trucker Diablo, The Damned, Clutch, ZZ Top and the Melvins. You can add some early Beastie Boys and Sabbath too, their sound expansive in invention and contagious in its recognisable seeds and maniacal interpretation. The Fat Dukes Of Fuck is a band where having fun and taking the piss is instinct ran wild but musically they leave nothing floundering in mediocrity or flabby imagination, these guys know how to brew impressive and inciteful rock n roll to recruit the passions.

Consisting of founders vocalist Brent Lynch and guitarist Jarrod Miller alongside bassist Jason Lamb and drummer Jeremy Brenton (also in doom metalers Demon Lung), the Vegas based quartet immediately drop a cluster bomb of funk dripping grooves and punked up energy upon the ear through opener The Mighty Bulge. The vocals are caustically twisting whilst the guitar splices the air with scorched and venomous mischief. Hyperactive and brilliantly impossible to guess its next move, the track easily fires up the strongest greedy reactions, the blatant lyrical content as sure to open ear to ear grins as the sounds, especially the hungry bass gnawing, are going to trigger open adoration.

   Sorry About Your Dick with its taunting groove and vocal pointing lifts the senses even higher, a blistering onslaught of ravenous energy and spiralling vocals with that mentioned tightly wound groove a wanton hussy, which ignites even bigger flames of pleasure. Uncomplicated, to the point, and the instigator of primal lustful intentions, the song and album are aural locker-room pornography and insatiably pleasing.

With Oral Agenda stepping up next one could almost assume it was turning into a concept album of sorts, but the fiery track is just the step to greater sins and delights starting with the Prelude to the Greatest Night of Your Life, a heavy rub upon the ear with sonic vocal squalls and bridging melodic incursions from within the steady nibbling riffing. It has a classic rock breath to its restrained stomp which is linked to further funk swaggering, imagine early Red Hot Chili Peppers in a bruising encounter with Red Fang and Melvins and you get a taste of the sonic tonguing in the ear going on.

    Honey From The Lips Of An Angel is magnificent with its best moment coming in the outstanding Step Aside and Let That Fucker Dance. The track mesmerises and enchants whilst exposing our natural irreverence through simply hilarious lyrics and inspirational multi directional musical invention. Dancing through the ear like a dad at a wedding, coordination awry and discord deliciously toning every chant, the song is immensely contagious and sheer brilliance.

Tracks like the punk driven Cigarette, the rhythmically teasing I Killed a Small Child with its abrasive vaunt, and the southern fried melodic cruising Let My People Grow, just pile on more unbridled unruly behaviour and sounds to spawn only deeper need and satisfaction. The closing title track ensures a final slice of raucous provocation, its impure heart and carnivalesque stroll like dark music hall, well if created and produced by Mike Patton, The Cardiacs, and 6:33.

    Honey From The Lips Of An Angel is definitely one the best albums to emerge this year whilst The Fat Dukes Of Fuck isthat out of control, crude, irrepressibly funny, best friend you always wanted to riot with.

http://www.thefatdukesoffuck.com

RingMaster 24/09/2012

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

The best and easiest way to get your music on iTunes, Amazon and lots more. Click below for details.

The BellaDonnas – Serial Love

It is debatable whether any aspect of music is truly dangerous any more but there are bands which certainly add a bite and presence to keep one on their toes and the newest addition to that roll call comes in the shape of all girl quartet The BellaDonnas from Saskatoon, Canada. Releasing their debut song  Serial Love the band bring a fresh and formidable snarl to punk which leaves one eager and desperate to hear much more sooner rather than later.

Consisting of Zelda BellaDonna Zonk (vocals, guitar), Rebecca Corvette (bass, vocals), Morgue-Atory (guitar, vocals) and Betty Black Plague (drums), the band has been riling up and sending shivers down the spine of their hometown and state with their riotous live shows but now with the track and a forthcoming EP, the band look ready to take their aggressive attitude much further afield.

Serial Love opens with a resonating emotive guitar sound alongside lone vocals from Zelda and immediately it has a dark mystique with an air of venom. From an enveloping psychobilly sound the song erupts into a tempered but enthused stomp, the riffs and rhythms barracking the ear with a feisty menace and bruising intent. The song brings elements of the likes of The Distillers, The Cramps, L7, and Spinnerette with more than a whisper of ’77 punk via The Damned into its own distinct well of growling sounds. The guitars flay the ear throughout with irresistible results whilst the beats of Plague take command from their first appearance to the end to own the senses.

Lyrically the song is as direct and intimidating as its premise and when Zelda asks ‘…do I scare you, do I send shivers down your spine’ the body gives an instant answer.  The track does not open massive new doors for punk/horror punk but definitely adds something refreshing and vital which arguably has been missing from certainly all girl and female fronted bands since the demise of L7 and the prolonged silence from Spinnerette.

Serial Love ignites great anticipation for the first EP from The BellaDonnas which at the time of posting was planned for a September/October release. Punk has new avenging angels ready to take on the world, and all should be afraid, very afraid whilst loving every minute as one completely does with the four which make up this excellent song.

https://www.facebook.com/TheBellaDonnas

RingMaster 02/08/2012

Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright

The best and easiest way to get your music on iTunes, Amazon and lots more. Click below for details.

The Self Titled: Defaced

With the greatly impressive song Mr Nobody a constant presence on the daily playlist here and recently featured on The Bone Orchard podcast from The Reputation Radio Show, the anticipation for the debut album from UK rock band The Self Titled was an eagerly growing itch which only the release could alleviate. Sometimes such eagerness ends in disappointment such the expectations placed upon something but with Defaced, the band not only matched but easily surpassed those hopes. The album is a bruising slab of rock power brought with quality craft and invention. It has no pretence towards or delusions of breaking down boundaries but if there has been a better and more exhilarating collection of pure rock n roll tracks it is hard to bring them to mind over the past year with only the Trucker Diablo album able to match what The Self Titled have unleashed.

From Kent the quintet of vocalist Mark Campbell, guitarists Darren Towner and Dan Wright, bassist Steve Hobbs, and Paul Brander on drums, has become one of the most prolific and sought after bands across the UK, their dynamic stage performances leading them to supporting the likes of Kobra and the Lotus, Forever never and Jezabel Deva and thrilling festivals alongside bands such as Status Quo, The Damned, and Gun. Defaced was due to be recorded in April of 2011 but such the demand for them on the live circuit the band had to be put it back due to lack of time to give it the attention it deserved. Now they have been able to find that space and have unveiled an album which is deeply rewarding and pleasing. One doubts the band would ever put out something rushed or substandard but the album is of such might it proved the decision to wait was correct. Last year also saw the band lined up to sign with Blaze Bayley Recordings, the label set up by the man himself and would have been one of his first signings but things as happens did not quite work out and the band decided not to follow that link up.

The Self Titled has a sound which ignites all the best elements of rock and metal to combine them into a feisty force of infectious and compulsive sounds. There is at times a trash tendency which reminds of latter day Metallica but the Americans for all their good songs have never excited as much on their recent albums as the Brits easily do on Defaced. The album is not only impressive in its sound and songwriting but in the extremely high consistency from the opening triumph Soul Control through to the closing piece of might The Silence. The opener emerges on a sonic scraping of the ear to immediately explode in to a riotous surge of busy and hungry riffs and eager rhythms. The guitars flash and thrust with dramatic energy and the bass of Hobbs is a prowling brew of delicious contempt, whilst the vocals of Campbell with admittedly a more than slight Hetfield tone rasp and draw the lyrics perfectly. The song is an immense and undeniable start.

From here on in its simply impressive track after track, the likes of the following Twisted with its incisive rhythms from Brander alongside the mesmeric guitar play and the insatiable Stomp leaving one breathless and eager for more without reservation. The second of these two is a blistering storm of imaginative melodic rock and greedy riffs which is irresistible. If infectiousness could be bottled this track would be its advertising soundtrack, a nonstop exercise in perfect rock n roll.

Evert track is a highlight on Defaced but there is always a soft spot for My Nobody. The song within seconds lights up the ear with guitar and bass beckoning as irresistible as the vocals are brooding. It is another rampaging riot upon the senses with everything about it instinctively siren like, though the most muscular one you are likely to meet. With jabbing beats, bustling riffs, and brewing atmosphere building up to incendiary and wonderfully concussive crescendos it is one of the best songs unveiled this year.

The rest of the album though does not ever pale against the song with those previously mentioned and songs like the inventive Warped and the final song The Silence a quality match. The first is a clever blend of teasing grooves and again irrepressibly infectious riffs with intelligent provocative atmospheres and ingenuity, especially in the unexpected aside mid song. The last track is brings an outstanding close to the album to rival the outstanding start. The song bustles and presses the ear with an inciting air and power to leave one drained yet desperate to dive back in to the album right away.

    Defaced is truly outstanding and though there was a belief it would be good it swept those aside with something far more impressive in stature and quality. UK rock and metal has never been healthier with The Self Titled leading the way.

http://www.theselftitled.com

Tune into The Bone Orchard as it brings choice cuts from Defaced over the weeks ahead

RingMaster 26/06/2012

copyright RingMaster

The best and easiest way to get your music on iTunes, Amazon and lots more. Click below for details.

The Bone Orchard Show 34

The Reputation Radio Show has a well established recognition and notoriety for finding, championing and promoting the best of the independent artists and sounds around the globe. Unrelenting and tenacious the promotions company/radio show is acknowledged as the prime source for finding the best talent of all genres with the introduction of the same followed closely. The intense and heavier world of sound is discovered and unleashed through The Bone Orchard, a show where anything with muscle and a riotous tendency is eagerly presented. From all forms of metal and industrial/harsh electro through punk and psychobilly on to noise and psyche with all in between, The Bone Orchard bears their individual shadowed fruits eagerly.

This past week saw the latest episode bringing six of the most impressive and exciting bands around as well as bringing a debate on some aspects of music. Hosted by the blue hued Pete Ringmaster and Reputation Radio Show CEO and mastermind Johnny Summers, the show cleared the sinuses and lit up the ears of all those with urges to match and compliment the great sounds played.

Opening with the traditional opening intro provided by Mr Strange of The Shanklin Freak Show, a band the hosts would talk about at length within the show giving the audience the latest developments from their carnival, the show immediately treated the eager crowd to a track from the debut album Defaced from UK rock band The Self Titled to be released June 18th. Mr Nobody is a stunning track, a metal and rock fusion with stirring vocals from frontman Mark Campbell over a brew of inventive and powerful sounds. With an insatiable thirst for gigging and an equal demand wanting them for shows, The Self Titled are one of the best bands in the country right now, their sharing of stages with the likes of Forever Never and Sarah Jezebel Deva as well as acclaimed festival appearances, leaving nothing but devoted fans in their wake.

Next there was a burst of real punk rock from another band from the UK in the mischievous bruising shape of Dirt Box Disco. With self declared influences ranging from Kerbdog, The Damned  and the Ramones to The Bonzo Dog Doodah Band and Showaddywaddy, the quintet from Burton on Trent make music which is honest, feisty, and insatiably infectious. The contagious track played, I Am Rock n Roll, was an exclusive from Legend another album to be released June 18^th. The song played and the album the song comes from is one which revives the true 1977 spirit of punk meshing it with rock sounds as anthemic and voracious as you could wish for.

Before a lively debate about bands including cover songs in their live sets which saw the hosts at opposing lecterns but ultimately ended in the blue man being right, so he claims, things became intensified with the devastating aggressive sound of Amongst Carrion. From South Wales the five piece metallers woke up the airwaves with their track The Fear In Her Eyes taken from their latest EP We That Should Not Be. With a melodic groove recalling In Flames and the brutal riffage of an August Burns Red, the track easily declares the band as an emerging force in UK extreme metal. They have definitely moved on fully from their early days as a cover band, the point which inspired the following discussion.

Continuing the UK theme Leeds band Ourfamous Dead provided the next outstanding track with their forth coming single Claws At The Door. A rampant brew of hardcore, punk, and electro the song is the latest step in the vision of band founder and song writer AJ Reeves. Fresh off a UK tour with another Bone Orchard favourite The Sun Explodes, the quintet are a band on an accelerated rise pulling in acclaim and fans with each show and release persistently. Having supported the likes of The Blackout, Funeral For a Friend and Gallows, the band is fast approaching the point where others are eager to share stages with them.

As the final featured band of the night, US melodic metal band Vajra stunned and thrilled the listeners with their epic masterpiece Inside The Flame. Taken from their forthcoming album Pleroma, to be released in July, the song is a hypnotic and powerful example of the darkly melodic progressive rock fused with Eastern Indian influences which they inventively create. Led by the glorious voice of founder/producer/keyboardist/songwriter Annamaria Pinna, the band is one with a craft and imagination which is sure to find a feverish demand over the months ahead.

Closing out with Irish metallers iBURN, a band which is frequently requested since the debut of their song Where It Begins taken from their new EP of the same name, and another band which leaves you wanting more, The Bone Orchard dished up another formidable dose of new and impressive music. If anyone tells you there is nothing good or new coming out, place them in front of the podcast of the show, and they will soon be put right by this group of bands alone.

With the show primed to unveil more outstanding artists and sounds across the weeks ahead you can catch this, previous and future shows over at The Bone Orchard page at The Reputation Radio Show site as well as watching a selection of videos from a host of the bands featured on the show.

Get in touch with the show via  boneorchard@reputationintroduces.com

RingMaster 16/06/2012

The best and easiest way to get your music on iTunes, Amazon and lots more. Click below for details.