Wake Up Hate – Deep Sleep EP

Photo Cred: Roxy Faith Alexandria

Some encounters immediately strike home others need time and attention to complete their full persuasion. The debut EP from Florida hailing alternative rockers Wake Up Hate sat somewhere in between. Certainly it made an enjoyable ear grabbing proposition from the off but with subsequent plays it unveiled its extensive tempting as the adventure and potential of its creators fully emerged.

Stepping forward late last year, the Orlando based outfit consists of vocalist Jake Adkins, guitarist Matt Browning, and drummer Triston Blaize. Quickly the trio released their first single, a song amassing over 60,000 streams since its release in late December. It declared their music a tapestry of textures employing heavy snarling riffs through to provocative ambiences, a blend which provokes thoughts of the atmospheric prowess of Linkin Park, the melodic intensity of Papa Roach, and the steely rapacity of Spineshank across their new seven track rich Deep Sleep EP.

The release begins with that previously mentioned single, The Cycle bubbling up from an industrial hued distance to surge through ears with voracious dexterity. Its deliberate stroll stalks as it invigorates; keys and guitars spinning a dark yet rousing web punctuated by uncompromising rhythms. Adkins vocals are just as magnetic with the track a mix of the familiar and individually fresh with unpredictability its companion.

Easy to hear why it has made such a potent impression since its release, the single makes way for next up A New Way to Hate. It too erupts with force and threat in its initial coaxing, a tempting only blossoming as its melodic and atmospheric intimation brews in keys and the fiercer throes of guitar. As its predecessor, it is a track which commands attention and like the first, sets a lingering impression and pleasure easy to embrace.

Over the Edge follows, the song a swift melodic smog of suggestion and emotion prowled by a great gnarly bassline. The band’s pop instincts flourish within its fire, catchiness as vocal as its tempestuousness and though the track did not quite rival those before it, there was no escaping being firmly held by its craft and enterprise as moments of real imagination and ferocity struck.

The EP’s title track equally captivated with a mix of rock pop engagement and creative as well as physical severity. Haunting melodies and intimation soaked keys collude with tides of metallic antagonism and angst across its landscape, the song another which needed further time to fully seduce but only teased ears and appetite towards thick pleasure from its first trespass.

Similarly Love Me Like a Hurricane took longer to enslave but with its inflamed and rousing chorus and kaleidoscope of enterprise never left thoughts looking forward or; a challenge that Not Worth Saving quelled with individual if not complete success. Even so both songs only added to and built upon the potency of the release leaving Blind Apologies to conclude the impressive offering.

The fascinating final song is an emotive haze of sound and passion, its cosmopolitan hues rich spice in its dramatic balladry as it brought the EP to a strong and alluring close. It is early days for Wake Up Hate but the song and its inventive confederates more than hint that we might just have something special emerging in our ears. Certainly the potential is there and the enjoyment.

Deep Sleep is out now.

https://www.wakeuphatemusic.com/ https://www.facebook.com/wakeuphatemusic https://twitter.com/wakeuphatemusic

Pete RingMaster 01/06/2019

Returning to the garden with Leaving Eden

Oct2

Two years on we have linked back up with Leaving Eden songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Eric Gynan to catch up with the band. Already renowned for their ear grabbing, imagination stoking rock sound, the band is poised to release its new album this month. One highly anticipated release we join Eric to look into its body and character with more besides…

Hello and thanks for taking time out to talk with us.

Howdy Eric Gynan here from the band Leaving Eden, Boston Mass area USA. It’s great to talk with you again. I think it was a couple years ago when we chatted last.

To remind people can you first introduce the band and give us some background to how it all?

Myself and Eve are the co-founders of Leaving Eden We had some songs; I’ve always been recording so we wanted to play some of these live. I think one must make a choice as to what they want to do with their life. It takes sacrifice, let downs and one must have a thick skin. Let’s face it most artists are different than others, so not only is there issues with all the variables outside the band, but from within too. I think the current line-up is great where everyone sees the bigger picture.

What are the musical backgrounds to you all; previous bands, projects etc…

Yes myself and Eve were in a band before leaving Eden. The band was regionally successful, but it usually comes down to the members. I remember for instance the drummer wanted no part of having a female in the band. He just hated it. Well, I saw the bigger picture, and after the first 100 people came up to me and told me how great Eve was, I knew I had to really do something about it…Shortly after we formed Leaving Eden.

Tell us about the band name?

We thought that this planet being the entire Garden of Eden has become corrupt full of Deceit and Hate so we thought wouldn’t it be nice to go somewhere else that’s the name leaving Eden.

Did you have a particular aim for the band initially and also in what you wanted it and your sound to offer?

Originally we wanted two female singers that never seemed to work out. Eve was really 2nd to none when it came to a front person, so anyone else up there trying to almost compete was pretty much a ridiculous situation. Now we do have another female, but she plays keys and sings backup vocals so it’s different now. I can’t stress enough how important it is to have not only the right people for the right sound, but the right personalities for perseverance.

Do the same things still drive the band when it was fresh-faced or have they evolved over time?

I think so. I think we are a little more reality oriented and understand more the barriers and pitfalls associated with the business. I think more so now we’re happy doing what we’re doing instead of being unhappy about not achieving our goals to the fullest.

How do you see the evolution of the band’s sound since starting out?

I think first and foremost you must always be listening to what’s out there what’s current what’s new and changing with the times. Also, one must try and be a trendsetter. It’s the new artists that forge the future, the ones out there in the gutters so to speak who are really at the pinnacle. As I said, for me I listen and get these songs kind of fully produced in my mind’s eye and I just go with the flow.

So it is a more organic movement of sound than deliberately wanting to try new things or an equally sided process?

Good question maybe both. We always want to try new things but also I think organically speaking the band naturally moves in a particular direction.

You said you eagerly listen to the sounds out there; are particular inspirations which have impacted not only on the band’s music but your personal approach and ideas to creating music?

I think playing I’m sharing the stage with many of the best bands in the world has definitely been a great influence on us. Leaving Eden has toured the USA, UK and Canada sharing the stage with hundreds of the biggest national bands in the world including; Lacuna Coil, In This Moment, Black Sabbath (Heaven & Hell), Ronnie James Dio, Rob Zombie, 5 Finger DeathPunch, Disturbed, Marilyn Manson, Alice Cooper, Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZTop, Puddle of Mudd, Korn, Killswitch Engage, Buckcherry (Jefferson Starship, Big Brother and The Holding Company, Country Joe, 10 Years After, 40th Anniversary Woodstock) Shinedown, Dropkick Murphy’s, Alice in Chains, Papa Roach, Bret Michaels, Halestorm,Theory of a Deadman, Avenged Sevenfold, Seether, Hell Yeah, Trapt, Dope, Soil, Fuel, Queensryche, Saving Abel, Hinder, Damage Plan, 7Dust, Sebastian Bach, SoulFly, Days of the New, NonPoint, DrowningPool, The Misfits, The Butcher Babies, Collective Soul, MushroomHead, Mudvayne, Chevelle, Godsmack, Powerman 5000, 10Years, Taproot, Gin Blossoms, Michael Schenker (UFO, MSG & The Scorpions) Herman Rarebell (The Scorpions), Nicko McBrain (Iron Maiden), Kittie, One eyed doll, Uncle Kracker, Tremonti (Creed/Alterbridge) Lamb of god, Slayer, Stone Sour, Motorhead, Blackstone Cherry, HOOKERS & BLOW Featuring GUNS N’ ROSES, QUIET RIOT, W.A.S.P. Members, Steven Tyler, Ted Nugent, Lita Ford, LA Guns, Trixter, Warrant, Apocalyptic Review (featuring members of Godsmack) Adelitas Way, Scott Stapp (The voice of Creed), Gemini Syndrome, Pop Evil, Ratt, Anthrax, Testament, Napalm Death & many more..

How does the songwriting work within the band; is there a particular process?

Yes I think it’s best for me as the songwriter to make a connection with the universe and listen because there’s always songs out there trying to come in; it depends if they come while I’m sleeping and I have the ability to wake up from that and go record something or if it comes while just almost meditating and communicating again with the universe and just listening.

How about the sparks to the lyrical side of your songs?

It’s definitely drawn from reality; all the lyrics are based on what’s happening at the time. Good, bad or indifferent I’m constantly writing lyrics so it’s going back to those and using them for music that I may already have written or writing the music around those lyrics. The skies aren’t always blue, thus our song Skies of Grey. “It’s not too late to open your eyes and sail through skies of grey”. “We’ve been screwed overcharged underpaid and abused, we’ve been exploited avoided and falsely accused, we’ve been cut down let down fucked around, tied and bound but NOTHING could take the music away”. From our Tied and Bound album.

Tell us about the band’s latest release?

Our latest release would be our last album Out of the Ashes (Recorded/mixed By Johnny K. (Disturbed, Pop Evil, Staind, 3 Doors Down,) Mastered by Brad Blackwood (Sevendust, Dave Mathews, Adelitas way, Korn) and produced by myself reinterpreted by Leaving Eden.) We also released a single, Jailbreak and it is going to be on our new album to be released October 19th 2018 called Descending again through Dark Star Records/Sony Music worldwide.

Our new album to be released, Descending, I’m excited about this album because it was recorded at Leaving Eden Studios. We were able to take all the time we needed and really craft this album to exactly what we wanted it to be. I did a premix on it and sent it off to Bob St John for the Final Mix and Mastering. Bob is a Grammy award-winning engineer and has done bands like Duran Duran, Extreme, Collective Soul, Steven Tyler…Such a great guy to work with too.

Can you give us some insight to the themes and premise behind Descending and its songs.

The title Descending, is taken from a song off the album called Shallow Waters. Shallow Waters is very cool because it’s one of those songs where I woke up from a dream and the song was playing in my head; this happens a lot most of the time I can’t pull myself out but this time I was able to. It’s great when you can hear songs already produced in your dreams, takes a lot of work out of it. It definitely comes from somewhere else. We wanted to have different genres such as heavy, acoustic, different key changes and tempos, really trying to have such diversity. We even got some songs you can dance to the beat.

Are you a band which goes into the studio with songs pretty much in their final state or prefer to develop them as you record?

Yes because studio time is so expensive it’s really best to have it all complete so we have typically recorded the entire album in our studio first working out all the bugs and adding everything we want to add so that when it comes time in the studio we know exactly what we’re doing because there’s usually not as much time as you need, so you try to prepare for that. In the case of our Descending album soon-to-be-released we actually recorded this completely in our studio so we had the time to really craft what we believe is a great album.

Tell us about the live side to the band, presumably the favourite aspect of the band?

Yes when I have always said that Leaving Eden is best seen and heard live. There’s a lot of energy sharing that goes on with the crowd. We don’t look at it like hey man look at me I’m a rock star check me out I’m too cool man, rather quite the opposite. It’s like hey we’re all here together all night to have a good time so let’s party together and let’s have some fun together. We are all involved in this.

You obviously know how hard it is for any new band to make an impact regionally let alone nationally and further afield. How have you found it with Leaving Eden?

Really I think with the onslaught of the internet anywhere you are you can really make a mark. I get it that making a mark by playing the venues that’s in your own region could make a difference. The reality is that if you’re good, fresh, have really put some time into the band look and made a great recording then it doesn’t really matter where you are. You can get it out there with a good publicist, good radio guy, good record label and good distribution also good management. We’ve pretty much always taken care of all of this on our own and hiring certain people and companies. I think it all works together. The most important thing for us is we will play anywhere anyhow anyway, so long as we can because this is what we love to do

You mentioned the internet. How do you work and weave your social media sites to use them most effectively?

The internet is very important to any band because that’s where people are getting most of their information now from and you can do it for free and make an impact on different social media platforms for sure. At the end of the day it comes down to a song, is the song good; is it one somebody wants to listen to? Our song Out Of The Ashes says digging deeper underground faster than the speed of sound. What that means is I feel we’ve always been an underground type band, you know really building its base of friends organically so an underground band able to, with the click of a mouse be in China for instance so that is faster than the speed of sound. It’s definitely referencing the internet and for that you can’t even quantify how important it is when talking about streaming on Spotify, iTunes, Amazon. You know that’s the way people are listening to the music they’re not going out and spending money to pay for music when they can listen to it for free or maybe $10 a month. Now this doesn’t really pay the artist much but if your song caught on and you had millions of listeners every day well then you would be making a lot of money so it’s really the same, only different is the means. People will still buy CDs more at a gig than anywhere else.

Once again a big thanks for sharing time with us; anything you would like to add?

Well, without our friends, we got nothing so we hope to make new friends here and hope they enjoy learning more about Leaving Eden. We definitely want to say Thanx Much and Peace!!

https://www.leavingeden.com/ https://www.facebook.com/bandleavingeden https://www.instagram.com/leavingedenofficial/ https://twitter.com/Leavingeden https://www.youtube.com/user/leavingedenband

Pete RingMaster 02/10/2018

Phoenix Rising – Ignite

Aug6

Just a number of months into their existence, it is fair to say that Phoenix Rising is already creating a real stir with their rousing sound; their praise drawing presence and suggested success in the “Best New Artist and Best Metal Band awards at this year’s MXD MAG Rock and Metal Awards evidence. Plenty of reasons for the buzz around them are now clear to be heard in their debut EP, Ignite. Offering four slices of rap rock infused with nu metal, the release is an ear grabbing, potential soaked introduction bred on imagination and creative energy.

Emerging from an ad vocalist Kent Summerour posted on Craigslist, the Dallas hailing band arose to swiftly grab local attention, in turn quickly finding broader landscapes to impress. With the two prong vocal attack of Summerour and Scott Lathwood in front of the invention of guitarist Lee Deane, bassist Allan Kurt, drummer James Espinoza, and Mark Ridlen on synths, Phoenix Rising embrace the inspirations of bands such as Hollywood Undead, Skillet, Papa Roach, Killswitch Engage, Union Underground, Linkin Park and more. The latter is probably the one which most comes to mind across their first release but adding to rather than deflecting from the band’s already evolving into individual sound.

Ignite opens up with Do You Know, a piano drawing ears as rhythms rustle together in the background. Soon the track is fully to the fore, not forceful but certainly magnetic as synth and guitar cradle the rap and following clean vocal persuasion. Though it suggests it might, the song never quite explodes into the hinted furor but persistently entices with melodic caresses, vocal dexterity, and a mercurial rhythmic attack.

It is a potent start laying down a strong reason to stay involved with the EP with drama which is soon escalated within the following If I Say No. Immediately there is a more intensive feel and muscle to the song, metal essences lining its composed but impassioned roar. Once more Summerour and Lathwood create a great web of vocal attack and temptation matched by the hooks and melodic enterprise of their companions. As with its predecessor, it is hard to say that major surprises crossed ears yet neither did predictability or a lack of fresh imagination.

Open You Up continues the EP’s trait of building on the song before with bigger and bolder endeavour; the track a tenacious metal infused rock holler mercurial in its breath, persistent in its rousing incitement before easily the best track of the four descends on the passions. Lights Out immediately throws a thick rhythmic coaxing out so easy to jump upon; an initial shuffle before the main event which erupts and incites like a mix of Union Underground and Powerman 5000. Virulent in its hooks and traps, aggressive in its energy and dynamics, the superb track is brief, explosive, and reason enough alone to breed a hungry appetite for the band’s sound.

Ignite is the kind of debut you just have to pay attention to and anticipate bigger and bolder adventures springing from as the band grows, matures, and their sound finds its unique voice. The fuss around them already means Phoenix Rising will have plenty to live up to but the EP and especially its final track suggests they are more than ready or the challenge.

Ignite is out now @ https://www.phoenixrisingofficial.com/shop and other stores.

https://www.facebook.com/PhoenixRisingOfficial/ https://twitter.com/PRofficialband

Pete RingMaster 02/08/2018

Rosen – Self Titled

Jul25

With a sound bound to draw comparisons to the likes of Korn and Limp Bizkit but quickly revealing its own individual drama and character, UK outfit Rosen are poised to release their self-titled debut EP. Offering six slices of the London band’s fusion of hip-hop, punk, and nu metal, the encounter is an attention grabbing proposal sparking ears with its enterprise and the imagination with its politically triggered lyrics.

Emerging last year, the quintet takes inspiration from bands such as Hacktivist, Rage Against The Machine and the previously mentioned pair of artists. The release of the first single High Tech Low Life and successor Riot triggered acclaim and support from fans and media alike, nurturing anticipation for something larger which the EP boisterously rewards.

It opens up with Sticks & Stones, the song rising up through the theatre of piano intimation with Frhetoric jabbing vocals leading jousting riffs and teasing rhythms. The guitar of Matt Ress becomes more irritable as a chorus forms, the track swiftly settling back down to repeat its creative cycle. Cole Sław’s keys continue to lure and suggest as the punchy touch of Frisco beats impose; a mix of the familiar and boldly fresh courting the appetite like a mix of The Kennedy Soundtrack and Papa Roach tinted by an industrial/darkwave hue something akin to Pink Turns Blue.

High Tech Low Life follows and almost immediately flirts with wiry grooves and a controlled but salacious swing encouraged by the throbbing bass of Kam Ikaze. As with its predecessor, there is an inherent contagiousness to the song, one elevated in its chorus around equally captivating vocals but just as manipulative throughout as the song strolls through ears. From beginning to end, the track is superb, enticing body and vocal chords as well as thoughts in an instant before Pushing Raw simmers and bubbles into view. Rap and synth rock entangle as the track quickly got under the skin, a rich Tech N9ne spicing adding to its organic magnetism and adventurous enterprise.

It proved so hard to choose a favourite track within the EP, the first trio all firmly lingering in thoughts and pleasure as too next up Hallelujah. The likes of Clawfinger, Fuckshovel, and B Movie all came to mind as the song calmly and effortlessly infested ears and imagination. Again lyrics and their delivery left as potent an imprint as the sounds around them, a rich trait echoed in Reverie straight after. Probably the song did not stir the passions as boisterously as its companions yet its atmospheric tone and melodic web only enhanced and enriched the already impressing release.

Riot brings things to a close, its electro punk scented entrance soon a blend of antagonism and seduction, again Clawfinger reminded of as well as very early Ministry though as for all songs, it’s individually is overriding. More volatile by the chord and vocal dexterity, the track is a web of temptation which never really unleashes its animosity but certainly snarls as it arouses.

Very good things have been said about Rosen and the EP has all the evidence as to why. Simultaneously it attacks and scythes through injustices and society’s waywardness while inflaming the senses with its insistently compelling, at times enjoyably tempestuous sound. The beginnings of great things for them and us we suggest.

The Rosen EP is released July 27^th.

http://rosenofficial.com/ https://www.facebook.com/RosenOfficialUK/

Pete RingMaster 23/07/2018

The Ugly Kings – Darkness Is My Home

Apr30

Towards the tail of last year Australian blues rockers The Ugly Kings left a rather fertile and extremely tasty teaser for their debut album in the shape of two-track single Promised Land. Now we can reveal that all the hints and intimation offered then of something special coming ahead have been forcibly realised with the band’s first full-length, Darkness Is My Home. The release is a powder keg of muscular rock ‘n’ roll, a cauldron of suggestion and haunting darkness, and most of all simply one of the most powerful creative roars heard in a long time.

From the coarse grain of the delicious bass sound to the suggestive clang of the guitars and from the lyrical atmospherics to their vocal realisation, Darkness Is My Home is pure uncompromising temptation, one as dynamic as it is seductive and as cinematic as it is intimately haunting. In fact it is so much more than that outstanding first single implied, and still offering more after a multitude of listens.

Formed in 2011, the Melbourne quartet soon stirred local and subsequently national attention through their live presence and in turn 2015 mini album Of Sons. The past two years has seen the band share the stage with Rival Sons in Melbourne (2016), support Airbourne on their successful sold out 2017 east coast Australia tour and this year open for Papa Roach on their two shows in The Ugly Kings home city. Darkness Is My Home can only open bigger doors and opportunities, the album thrusting the band into the realm of the big boys without even a knock on the door.

The album opens with the outstanding Promised Land and instantly hooks ears with its initial lure of sultry guitar and vocal expression. Frontman Rusty Clark has a voice which commands attention, a musical orator you just want to listen to and backed by just as compelling sound throughout song and release. The smouldering brooding of the song is transfixing, only escalating its lure as resonating beats and the first of a tide of irresistible basslines across Darkness Is My Home breaks. Igniting into a robust stroll with a searing groove, the track is pure captivation and increasingly so as it repeats its cycle with greater lust and vigour. Rock ‘n’ roll does not come much better as this imposingly infectious and skilfully manipulative encounter though it is undoubtedly matched throughout the album.

The following Black Widow also makes an instant impact with the beats of Andy Alkemade sending ripples of resonance across the senses with every impact before Christos Athanasias’ guitar begins its prowl alongside Clark’s vocal incitement. The earthy growl of Nick Dumont’s bass is just as riveting, the four conjuring a predatory yet seductive dark romance with threat in every note and suggestion in every syllable. Influences to the band include the likes of The Doors, Jack White, Black Sabbath, and Royal Blood, flavours you can sense but as in the first and those to come the track is as unique to The Ugly Kings as you could wish.

The fiery rock ‘n’ roll of Raging Bull has a more animated gait though it comes in an ebb and flow which stabs at the senses with purpose and mischief before being uncaged in a rich blaze of melodic lava while Killing Time borders on the carnivorous with its gorgeously gnarly bassline and romantic with its melodic and vocal reflection. The uniting of contrasting textures is masterful and Dumont’s bass manna for personal tastes whilst the song’s croon is just impossible to resist. Both songs light up ears and imagination, fire up the passions though we can say that about every track within Darkness Is My Home.

Love Enemy with its slow swagger of a stroll brings calm after the clamour of its predecessor but one lined with dark provocative shadows and magnetism as sinister as it is infectious. Its catchiness is inescapable, swaying hips and over worked neck muscles our evidence with the imagination just as involved as words and tendrils of sonic enterprise entangle before You And Me brings is boozier intoxication to bear on ears. The band’s passion for the blues is a constant roar in their skilfully eclectic sound, The Ugly Kings infusing it into their own power fuelled designs, each individual to the next as proven by the volcanic heat and earnest swing of yet another gem.

Another great trait of the album is that every song feels like old friends within a couple of listens, Lazarus drawing vocal chords into play even before it finishes its first influential roar, the ballad a pyre of power and individual intensity.

The album is brought to a just as rich close by firstly Little Birdy Told Me; a cauldron of senses singed grooves and ever welcomed rhythmic trespasses aligned to the striking prowess of vocals and unpredictability, and lastly The Fire. The closer has the heat its title suggests but before it reaches that intensity, simmers and smoulders around vocal melancholy and defiance. When it catches, the track is a furnace of sound and intensity but just as powerful when it’s sonic and atmospheric kindling is just glowing.

Darkness Is My Home is quite simply glorious, a rousing beacon among already a host of great and powerful heavy rock releases. The Ugly Kings better get their passports in order because we get the feeling the world is going to want them blazing away in their backyards hereon in.

Darkness Is My Home is out now via Kozmik Artifactz; available @ https://theuglykings.bandcamp.com/ and http://smarturl.it/DarknessIsMyHome

https://www.facebook.com/TheUglyKings/ https://twitter.com/theuglykings https://theuglykings.bandcamp.com/

Pete RingMaster 25/04/2018

Counterpoint – If Not Now, Why?

Jan17

Almost demanding attention, UK rockers Counterpoint provide a thumping introduction to themselves with their debut EP. If Not Now, Why? offers five slices of rousing thickly flavoured alternative rock, tracks which has the body bouncing as eagerly as it has the appetite keen to savour plenty more from the Liverpool formed, Manchester based quartet.

Spawned from the ashes of their previous band, Operation: AEON, Counterpoint was formed by vocalist Dominic Lucock and guitarist Martin “Ted” O’Neil in 2015. Numerous ears were enticed by an early demo track in Borrow Your Past, Steal Your Future, including producer Jim Pinder (Bullet For My Valentine) who offered an interest in working with the band on their first release. Cementing a praise earning live presence since then, with a recent show with Crazy Town only pushing their increasing reputation, Counterpoint subsequently joined Pinder and Dan Jeffries in Treehouse Studios with If Not Now, Why? the potent outcome.

It opens up with Leave It All Behind, an immediate tease of sound and anthemic intent which looms up and envelops the senses. Swiftly it finds its muscular stroll, the swinging beats of Ed Sutton inciting alongside the throbbing canter of Mikey Gaffney’s bass and O’Neil’s lively riffs and grooves. At the same time Lucock blends raw and melodic enterprise in his vocal enticement, it all coming together for an inescapably catchy yet energetically imposing proposition.

The great start continues through Honestly, it too gathering its attributes in its initial breath before gripping ears with its subsequent enterprise. Ebbing and flowing in its aggression, perpetually captivating in its resourceful dynamics and imagination, the song creates a tapestry of melodic intrigue, emotive suggestion, and tempestuous energy which just beguiles the imagination. References to the likes of letlive, Papa Roach, Deftones, and While She Sleeps have been offered before the Counterpoint sound and easy to understand why with the EP’s opening pair of encounters.

The following Between You And Me has a great irritability to its heart and raw air which does not defuse its infectious virulence and harmonic prowess; a trait and creative agility which reminds of Reuben in some ways. Every handful of seconds brings a fresh twist and a hungry surge of persuasion, each combining with the other to match the heights of its predecessor’s triumphs, in certain moments eclipsing them before next up DownDownDown boldly swaggers in. It too reveals a skilfully woven mix of rapacious aggression and melodic seduction in its boisterous stomp in creating its own inescapably catchy and stirring incitement.

The EP closes up with One Sided Conversations, a calmer melody tempting serenade with power in its voice and intensity in its heart which inflames the song’s increasing urgency and zeal. It is a fever which soon has the track storming the senses but with the ability to slip into mellower breaths for sublimely captivating moments.

It is a fine end to a striking first listen to Counterpoint, If Not Now, When? a release suggesting a band with all the traits to make a rich impact on the UK rock scene if they realise and develop its bold potential and easy to greedily enjoy sound.

If Not Now, When? is released February 9^th

https://www.facebook.com/UKCounterpoint/

Pete RingMaster 09/01/2018

Bad Solution – The War Within

Aug8

BS_RingMasterReview

A handful of weeks over two years ago, British metallers Bad Solution seriously impressed with their first EP, Self Destruct. A fiery and inventive roar, it seeded a keen anticipation for the London based band’s debut album; a hunger made to wait but now rewarded with a beast of a first full-length not only confirming that early promise but pushing their sound and writing to a whole new level.

That fresh new adventure tempers the slight disappointment of four out of the album’s ten tracks coming from that first release though such their impressive and highly enjoyable impact there is never a negative hearing them again and again. Their infusion within the brand new tracks on The War Within actually brings other previously less noticeable attributes within the quartet out to join those of their newer companions to create a fully rounded and increasingly riveting proposition.

With originally an all Polish line-up, Bad Solution was formed in 2011 by guitarists Trix and Mariusz Chojnowski. By the November of that first year, British vocalist Alex Willox came in with fellow Brit Joe Patterson replacing Mariusz Burzynski on drums two years later. With the current line-up completed by original bassist Wojtek Suberlak, Bad Solution has gone from strength to strength on the UK live scene, also sharing the stage with the likes of Gallows, The Blackout, and Soulfly across numerous festivals. The release of Self Destruct in 2015 thrust the outfit into a new richness of attention which can only be eclipsed by that generated by the outstanding exploits of The War Within.

Drowning starts things off, instantly confronting ears with rapaciously wiry grooves and hard jabbing beats. It pulls back a touch soon after, relaxing into a more controlled stroll as the guitar weaves a melodic web though still the rhythmic incitement of Suberlak and Patterson brings a bite and lively tenacity. The quickly impressing vocals of Willox are potently backed by the roars of Trix as the song develops a Clawfinger like snarl, it in turn evolving into a just as enticing melody rich cry. The carousel of the song continues to turn, increasingly engaging ears and involvement with very round whilst developing a volatility which only adds to its potency.

cover_RingMasterReview It is an outstanding start matched by the equally boisterous and aggressive proposal of Nothing (You don’t know me). Like a fusion of Five Finger Death Punch and Bloodsimple, it is a fiery protagonist grabbing and teasing ears with its muscular and melodically seductive enterprise, Willox again a striking and impressive presence within a maelstrom of ravenous and creatively tenacious magnetism.

Demon In My Bed then follows, beckoning the imagination with its initial Middle Eastern flavoured coaxing, a hue continuing to seduce and flourish throughout the track’s beguiling tapestry of sound and flavours. Once more there is a Clawfinger-esque feel to moments within the song but as in its predecessors, the song soon shows its own individual character in sound and writing as mellow passages beget invasive groove stoked dexterity which begets revolving flames of melodic endeavour.

The melancholic caress of the piano amidst sorrowfully ethereal keys brings Self Destruct into view next, Willox laying his plaintive tones in their arms as darker hues simmer and eventually grow. Veining them are spicy tendrils of guitar and a bass snarl which just intensifies as the song eventually erupts into greater aggressiveness bringing a Papa Roach meets Spineshank air to proceedings. Trix and Chojnowski add additional creative flames with their magnetic guitar craft, the track boiling up with every passing twist and turn for an impassioned climax taking a final bite out of the senses before the calmer presence of Echoes Of The Cry steps forward. With captivating elegance to its melodies and atmosphere, Willox similarly restrained in his tone, the track smoulders and simmers but with an increasing edge which sparks thicker flames of intensity across its lively croon. Though a slow burner compared to those around it, the song simply blossoms over time to one of the album’s truly memorable moments.

The chunky invitation of The Last Lie has ears and appetite swiftly on board whilst adding another strain of refreshing flavouring to the release with its echoes of One Minute Silence. Added to the progressive, slight seventies scented journey of the encounter, it makes for a beguiling and seriously virulent persuasion though still not as addictive as the ever manipulative exploits of Desert Rock. The star of the first EP, it seems to grow with every listen even two years on. It’s also Middle Eastern seeded temptations come backed by a rhythmic incitement which has feet bouncing within seconds. As infectious as they are though, they carry an aggressive bent which strikes almost venomously, the snarling bass matching that ferocity as those early evocative melodies continue to seduce around the addiction stoking chorus. Every band has a track which seals the deal with fans more than any other; this is Bad Solution’s and then some.

The swinging stroll of Dear Sarah follows, a flirtatious affair grabbing feet and hips with its first breath as the imagination comes under the magnetism of tangy sonic tendrils and the vocal prowess of Willox. A fusion of alternative metal and hard rock, the song is as rugged as it is graceful ensuring that the album only increases its grip on ears and pleasure; a hold tightened further by the classic/blues rock hued FOD. A fire of sound and intensity equipped with its own contagious kindling, there is no escaping its creative drama.

The War Within is completed by the equally inflamed White Washed, a track with irritability in its veins and a melodic rapacity in its heart. Suberlak’s bass is a delicious grumble within the flames, though not given enough clarity to groan for personal tastes, whilst Patterson masterfully scythes across the hungry tide of riffs and resourceful web of grooves cast by Chojnowski and Trix.

Though maybe not as impacting as those before it, the track is a fine end to a greed inspiring album. Two years back, the Self Destruct EP suggested Bad Solution were knocking on the door of major recognition. Its opening surprisingly never quite came but no worries, the quintet have just kicked it down with The War Within.

The War Within is available now from most online stores.