Todd Dillingham - 'Songcycle2011' (discofair) 5/5

Now for those of you who have not encountered the genius that is Todd Dillingham before, here's a brief history lesson for you. Todd was born into and became part of of the classic 'Canterbury Sound' movement of British psychedelia in the late 60's and early 70's. and hanging out with the likes of Camel, Caravan, Soft Machine, Gong etc it was bound to rub off. It was in a little known cult outfit called Bevis Frond that he started to cut his music teeth, then when Bevis Frond lost bassist Adrian Shaw to Hawkwind and went their seperate ways, he carried on with a number of short lived projects; but it was with the birth of the home recording boom in the late 1980's when Todd came into his own. First up there was an eponymous cassette album which won him many plaudits and rave reviews and then the flood gates opened. To date there have been over 30 Todd Dillingham albums, many featuring such luminaries of the British psyche scene as Richard Sinclair (Caravan), Adrian Shaw (Hawkwind), Andy Ward (Camel), Jimmy Hastings (Soft Machine) and Mike Wedgeward (Curved Air). Now based in Florida in the US of A Todd is continuing to bring out new material, and now we have his latest opus 'Songcycle 2011'.

Now this one starts fairly typically for a Todd album, with On the Way Home, a fine cut of chilled out acoustically lead acid psychedelia that has all the classic Todd hallmark influences in it, The Beatles, The Monkees, Caravan etc... but then things get really interesting. For second track up we hit the main body of the album the thirty two minutes long suite that is Songcycle 2011.

Basically Songcycle 2011 is a wander though Todds back catalogue, but this is no greatest hits retrospective, or best of revisited. Far from it, working with highly rated Dutch producer and musician Wim Oudijk Mr Dillingham has re-recorded and some times remixed some of his most memorable numbers including, The Chosen Few, Burning Deck and Indiana Home, blended in contributions from the likes of New York singer songwriter Debstar, cult banjo picker Pete McCabe, uke wizard Peter McPartland (The Big I Am), ex Hawkind bassist Adrian Shaw and others; and created a vast psychedelic oratorio that is breath taking in scope, and simply stunning in its realisation. Wim Oudijks orchestration is subtly done adds the perfect background and linking sections for Todds songs and the whole piece hangs together as if it was penned as a single piece of music.

As I said before all the Todd hallmarks are present and correct, we get sad plaintiff moments, some glorious acid fueled freakout moments, dashes of English folk and Americana,  some classical progressive bits, even touches of rock and roll and lots and lots of good old Canterbury influenced psychedelic trip moments. Hell, works like this are at the very cutting edge of music in general, and I'm sure that this would go down a storm if performed at the Royal Albert Hall as part of next years proms season.

Add in the orchestral hidden bonus track from Wim Oudijk, which draws on Todds melodic themes and ideas and you have an album that is not only a real treat for the ears, but one of the most unique and innovative records that I have heard in long time.

Whether your familiar with Todd Dillinghams music already, or just 'Todd Curious', I can recommend this record as one that you will, buy love and treasure forever.

(But hurry, this album is limited to just 300 CD copies and a limited download period, and its selling fast, so get your copy now before its too late)

For Fans of... Caravan, The Beatles, The Pillbugs, Dog Age, This Crooked Axis etc...

To purchase this album follow this link... http://www.discofair.nl/discofair/New_Releases.html

Peanut Butter Lovesicle - 'Heavy Daze Wildcat Craze' (self released) 4/5

Now this is a strange one. I will admit that I had never heard of New York / New Jersey power trio Peanut Butter Lovesicle until this five tracker arrived unsolicited at the BCFM studios last week.I picked it up and thought I would give it a listen and I'm glad that I did.

Basically on first listen this is a good solid stoner / blues ep in the same vein as the likes of Mos Generator and Stone Axe. All five cuts are slow and ponderous, riff heavy slices of fairly sparse retro rock with some spaced out psychedelic overtones. Lots of delicious wah wah guitar work, Groundhogsy rhythms and Stone Ground style song structures. But once you've given it a good play or two you begin to find there is more to this ep than first meets the ear.

You begin to notice other influences and constructs floating around the mix; little hints of modern alternative rock, pinches of indie shoegaze, a dash of grunge or two: nothing you can really put your finger on and pin down, but its there all the same. The opener Colorblind has a distant voice over section that wouldn't sound out of place on a Gorillas track Sicamore Trees has a Tom Waits style vocal and Commodore has a touch of the Lou Reeds to it. In fact the more you listen then more hidden depths you find.

All of which makes for a very interesting listen and shows that PBL are an outfit with an awful lot to offer and an interesting future ahead of them. Worth looking out for.

For Fans Of... Mos Generator, Lou Reed, The Groundhogs, Stone Axe....

Elimination - 'The Blood Of The Titans' (transend) 5/5

Unless you've had your head in a bucket for the past year or two, you can't help but notice there is a bit of a metal revival going on in the UK at the moment. Already this year we have had classic albums from Revoker and Anterior and now just to show that there is strength and depth to UK metal we have this absolute gem from Ipswich post thrashers Elimination.

This lot have been around for a few years now and have already been working their metallic danglies off with a couple of self released eps, a debut album for the tiny Rising label and a hell of a lot of road work opening for the likes of Evile, Gamma Bomb and loads more. Now they have stepped up a league or two, signed to Transend Music and issued their second full length opus 'The Blood of The Titans'.

Now on first impressions I got say this album is an absolute belter. Eight (nine if you include the obligatory mellow orchestrated intro tune)  tracks of pure driving old school headbangable metal that sums up all that is good about the UK metal scene at the moment.

As soon as the aforementioned intro fades out you are assaulted by a glorious wall of raw sonic steel by the name of Echoes Of an Unclear Past, a cut that has all the power and class of the late lamented Toranaga. Vocalist Neil Stevens grows and snarls like a good un, guitars thrash and pound and the rhythm section bangs away like a redneck gun nut who has a got a new assault rifle for Christmas, then suddenly out of nowhere we hit a sublime mellow acoustic section which provides a moment of calm tranquility before the brutality returns via a superb build up that wouldn't be out of place on an Iron Maiden album. And remember all this is just on the first track.

From that point on it just gets even better. Function Of The Human Condition has a touch of Onslaughts classic album 'The Force' about it and features some fantastic controlled shred lead work. My Own Enemy is a cracking riff heavy workout, Eyes of Madness with its dark and grinding riffage is as heavy as a big heavy thing in a high gravity field, Death Takes Us All has a snifter of Grim Reaper style NWOBHM in the sound and album closer Claustrophobia comes over like Painkiller era Judas Priest on a Slayer trip.

To say I am enjoying this album a lot is a vast understatement, Elimination have in essence taken all the very best bits of heavy metal I have grown to love over the past 30 years and blended it into one glorious sound that manages to be both timeless and bang up to date at the same time; managing to avoid all the pitfalls of cliche on the way. No mean feat indeed.

In conclusion I've gotta say this album represents all that is good about the UK metal scene of the past 30 years or so and not only will it satisfy metal heads of past generations it will enlighten the young of today into all that the UK metal scene has to offer. Buy Or Die!!

For fans of... Onslaught, Revoker, Anterior, Slayer, Judas Priest, Marshall Law, etc....

Rita Lynch - 'Crack On' (Fruit and Flowers) 5/5

Terms like Legend and Icon are all to often employed these days, and rarely are the acts these terms are ascribed to are worthy of them. However when your faced with a musician and a talent as mercurial as Rita Lynch you find that these are the only words that really fit and do the artist justice. Rita has been at the very heart of the Bristol music scene for over 20 years now, and over the years has built an international reputation as being a truly noteworthy artist who is cited as a huge influence by many of todays better know acts. A couple of years ago she was recruited by the equally legendary Bristol art rockers The Blue Aeroplanes as a rhythm guitarist, but she still finds time to follow her solo career, and now we have 'Crack On' her ninth solo album.

Now this album is typical Rita, aided by fellow Blue Aeroplane John Langley on drums and other assorted instruments, 'Crack On' takes on where her previous release, 2010's 'What am I?' leaves off. There are 18 cuts on offer here, all fine slices of angst fueled angry venom spitting post punk attitude. The structures are simple, mainly a simple riff that just builds slowly with equally minimalist instrumentation that allows Rita's plaintiff yet purposeful vocals and deep deep lyrics carry the song straight to the soul of the listener. We have angry politically fired tracks like On The Dole and What I Don't Want which is delivered with a fire not even Billy Bragg himself can muster and some deeply insightful social comment cuts like the venomous Counter Cultured, the almost Bowie-esque 9 Years (Hardcore) and the glorious pogo work out of Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah, which shows Rita as social observer who has depth few other artist can match.

However it when she is observing the state of the human condition that Rita really comes into her own. Tracks like Get It On, Talk To Me, Who Loves You The Most? and Some Kind Of Love are superb looks at love, hate, romance, loss and more that are all delivered with real heart felt emotion, sometimes with anger, sometimes with sorrow and regret, but always with the kind of real conviction that so few other artists can match.

Couple Rita's songsmithery and delivery with Mr Langley's almost tribal drumming and you have got a sound that is almost unique in modern music, and completely unknown in the singer songwriter field. Which brings me back to the legend thing. Rita herself is a modest person who dislikes the word being applied to her. 'Legends are dead' she said in a recent interview, but there are such things as living legends and as long as she is releasing albums of this exceptional quality she is continuing to build a legacy that will do herself and the city she represents proud.

An amazing album.

For fans of... P.J.Harvey, Billy Bragg, The Banshees, Patti Smith, The Blue Aeroplanes

Fergie Frederiksen - 'Happiness Is The Road' (frontiers records) 5/5

2010 was a tough year for former Angel / Toto vocalist Dennis 'Fergie' Frederiksen. in the June he was diagnosed with inoperable liver cancer, only given a slim chance of survival and facing a period of painful and exhausting treatment. So in order to give himself something positive to work on he set out to record 'Happiness is The Road' an album that could well have been his final work. Now just over a year on Mr Frederiksen is experiencing better times. The cancer is in long term remission and the product of those dark days is at last released.

Now its a bit of cliche to say that often a persons darkest hour is their finest, but it is one that so often holds true. 'Happiness Is the Road' is a truly remarkable album, musically its typical US stadium rock, but I'm convinced that it is one that will be hailed along side the likes of Toto 4, Journey's 'Escape' and Styx's 'Paradise Theater' as one of the true great albums of that genre.

It's not just that this album is superbly played and produced, but that Mr Frederiksen is giving one of the most powerful and emotional performances I have ever heard. From beginning to end this record is a real spine tingler, it takes the listener on the real roller-coaster ride of feelings this guy must have been going through as he wrote and recorded it. Tracks like The Future Ain't What It Used To Be and Elaine with their lyrics of an uncertain future and lost opportunities, are delivered with a heart felt passion that brings a lump to the throat of even this most skeptical of power ballad hating rockers. Then others such as the title track, The Saviour, Angel (Mirror To Your Soul) and First To Cry are real life affirming no regrets uplifting numbers that still dampen the eyes, but this time with tears of joy. Whats more at no point does this album ever get morbid or depressing, but retains a positive vibe through out. It is indeed refreshing that in a world where emotion in rock is all to often over played and false, we have at last an album that speaks from the heart to the heart without ever having to fake it.

Add in the fact that musically this album is dripping AOR sensibilities that hat tips the likes of Toto, Journey, Foreigner, etc without ever becoming derivative or cliche and you have a work that is something very very special indeed and an album that is all set to become an all time classic.

for fans of.... Toto, Angel, Styx, Loverboy, Journey, House of Lords, etc...

Porco Dio - 'Pig Your King' (self released) 3/5

Porco Dio are from Finland, they are a five piece crusty hardcore punk outfit and besides that I know naff all about them.

Now this ep (which in the two weeks since I downloaded it has been renamed 'eka demo') is as rough as fuck, the production, and I use the term very loosely, is lousy. This record sounds like it was done on a cassette recorder in the corner of a practice room, every song starts with a four count on a hi-hat (sometimes with a bit of guitar feedback for added noise), which then launches into a wall of chaotic noise in which individual instruments and voices are swallowed into the maw of sonic bludgeon.

Now, in any other genre I wouldn't even give this stuff house room, let alone write a review. But this is punk, and I always say that in punk, true punk, not yer Green182 style punk, attitude and attack is everything, all else, including production and musicianship is secondary. After all the true ethos of the genre is if you wanna make music and have something to say, then you go head and say it.

And that is exactly what Porco Dio are doing. So what if the result is messy, in the mess theses guys attitude and power comes shining through. There are five tracks on offer, all, with one exception, well under the 90 second mark and all packed with raw crusty hardcore aggression that really is most infectious. As I've said before, I do have a soft spot for this kind of DIY punk and whilst I doubt that Porco Dio will ever reach anything beyond being cult draws on the local Finnish punk scene, anyone who likes it as raw as possible and with less than zero frills, will do well to give this a quick listen, after all its a free ep after all.

Very entertaining.

For fans of... The Swine, The Oppressed, Red XIII etc....

This ep can be downloaded from here... http://porcodiohc.bandcamp.com/album/eka-demo

Hammers Of Misfortune - '17th Street' (metalblade) 3.5/5

No, not a reflection on the current form of West Ham United, Hammers of Misfortune are a Californian prog metal outfit and this is their fifth studio release.

Now I gotta say I'm finding this one interesting rather than mind blowing. The metal side here is very restrained, coming over a bit like some of those lighter weight NWOBHM outfits such as Limelight, Stampede and Jaguar; that's not to say that its a bad thing, after all I am a huge fan of the NWOBHM (after all I was there!!), but in the context of a wanna be classic progressive metal album it does come over a little on the restrained side and doesn't really give the huge impact this type of music demands. The progressive side is also a little short of the mark, whilst there are some nice snatches of folky moments and some rather cool keyboard lead sections, the keys themselves are all to often lost in the mix and loose impact.

All this is a shame, because there is a lot of good stuff going on here, the song writing is first rate with some fairly deep and insightful lyrics on offer. The musicianship is also top draw; vocalist Joe Hutton has a cracking voice, powerful, deep and menacing without resorting to the old cliched pig grunts and power wails, the guitars of Leila Abdul Rauf and John Cobbett are slick, smooth and slice through the sound like expertly wielded katanas. Add in a tight and driven rhythm section and some impressive keyboards (when you can hear them) and you have in HoM a band that could be be great. In fact after a few play throughs I'm beginning to put the lack of 'ummph' down to indifferent production, rather than the band themselves.

To select a few of the gems on offer, we have Summer Tears - a track that reminds me of some of Crash Street Kids more sleazy moments, the epic closer Going Somewhere with its grinding riffage inter-cut with some lovely jiggy proggy moments that are pure Thin Lizzy, and what is in my mind the best cut on offer The Day The City Died, a corking little track that reminds me a little of the great Magnum.

However it all comes back to the production, this album could do with a good remix to make the metal bits a tad more brutal, and the proggy bits a bit more epic, then we would have an album worthy of the band HoM undoubtedly are, cos as it is this record remains a good, but flawed gem.

for fans of... Magnum, Awake, Stampede, Y&T etc....

Fall Short For Glory - 'The Daytime EP' (self released) 4/5

This is the second ep from Bucks pop-punkers Fall Short For Glory in under a year, and I gotta say against all expectations I'm enjoying this three tracker very muchly.

Coming firmly from the Green Day, Blink 182, Arctic Monkey's stable FSFG have cooked up a very infectious and damn listenable little release. We start off with Is It Real Yet? a corkingly catchy ditty with a quirkly riff that brings to mind the early work of sadly missed Bristol outfit Clockwork Sniper. Stray Away is a bit more straight forward, sounding a bit like The Subways or The Skuzzies. It has a great sing-a-long-and-punch-the-air chorus and a cool minimalist guitar solo that wouldn't sound out of place on a track by London pop punkers The Red Zoids. The closer Never Look Back is perhaps the weakest of the three, but even this blows the balls off some of the pop-rock and pop-punk stuff that has passed through my inbox in recent weeks.

Over all FSFG have done themselves proud here, they show an aptitude to good song writing, and know how to construct a well catchy tune. I'm sure that given a year or two to develop their craft, and get out on the road to hone their skills and pick up the following that is sure to come, they will develop into a band the UK will start to take notice of. Highly Recommended.

For fans of... The Arctic Monkeys, Green Day, The Subways, The Red Zoids.....

Bobby Kimball / Jimi Jamison - 'Kimball / Jamison' (frontiers records) 3.5/5

Now when I got this one through my inbox I'll admit I was licking my lips, I've always had a lot of time for Toto and back in the 80's I had a bit of liking for Survivor as well, so when I found that Toto's Bobby Kimball and Jimi Jamison (former Survivor frontman) had teamed up for a one off album I got a bit fired up.

However now I'm living with the album I'm finding the experience a bit of a double edged sword. I have no issue with the vocalist here at all, both Mr Kimball and Mr Jamison show on this album why they became the stand out voices for an entire decade of US stadium rock. Neither can I find anything to complain about regarding their backing musicians. It's just this album is like that little girl with the curl in the middle of her forehead. When it's good it is outstanding, tracks like Worth Fighting For, Chasing Euphoria, Get Back in The Game and Hearts Beat Again you get everything that was good about 80's stadium rock; great uplifting choruses you can't help but yell along to, huge riffs, sweet guitar work and massive walls of keyboards to fill the spaces in between. Yet in other places this album gives you the very worst that this genre can cook up, by-the-numbers power ballads that are pure processed cheese, soft rock tracks that sound like montage tunes for straight to video TV movies and sickly sweet close harmony vocals that are stacked so high they are a danger to low flying aircraft.

However, now I think about it, I can say the same about an awful lot of 80's stadium rock albums, including a lot of the out put of both Toto and Survivor, so I really shouldn't be that surprised. So basically this is a typical classic 80's style American AOR record, it is superb in places and cheese in others, you pays yer money, you takes your pick. Overall this record does have more to recommend it than not, so if you hanker for a nostalgic slice of music from a time when the hair was as big as the lapels on the lounge suits then you can do no better than giving this one a spin.

for fans of... Toto, Survivor, Journey, Foreigner, Loverboy etc

Machine Head - 'Unto The Locust' (roadrunner) 4.5/5

Oakland post thrashers Machine Head are not a band who hurry when it comes to releasing new material, its been four years since their previous outing, with most of the time since been taken up with a very heavy live schedule. But at last we have new materiel in the form of 'Unto The Locust' the bands seventh studio release.

So has the wait been worth it? Well on first play through I think I can say that it has. There are only seven songs on off here, but one exception they all weigh in at around or over the six thirty mark giving a total album play time of around fifty minutes, and  not one of those minutes is wasted. Every second is used to showcase what a versatile outfit Machine Head really are. We get some fine slices of old school thrash, tasty chunks of meaty death metal, some very interesting almost progressive moments, even snatches of classically influenced guitar work and folk rock interludes.

From the opening bars of I Am Hell (Sonata In C#) with its neo-classical motifs,  to the closing climax of Who We Are with its children's choir and huge stadium metal chorus that resolves into a distant and plaintiff string quartet, there isn't really a weak moment on show; but if I have to pick a fave track on offer then it has to be Pearls Before Swine with its old school thrash riffage and razor cut guitar solos.

Overall I'm very impressed with 'Unto The Locust', I wouldn't go as far as saying its the best album of the year, but its up there with them. Very Highly Recommended.

For fans of... Megadeth, Slayer, Metal Church, Charred Walls Of the Damned, Spires....

Black Veil Brides - 'Set The World On Fire' (lava - universal) 4.5/5

Ok, I've been putting reviewing this on off long enough, time to bite the bullet. Now I know hollywood glam revaivalists BlackVeil Brides are a bit of a marmite act. Everyone I know either praises them as the future of rock and roll, or dismisses them out of hand as 'teenie bopping Kiss clones'  and very rarely I do meet anyone with a take it leave it stand point. As for me I've been living with BVB for a while now (the girlfriend is a HUGE fan, to the point of having Andy Biersack posters up around the flat)  and I  have been trying to keep an open mind and judge the band and their music for what it really is, rather be be swayed by the opinions and preconceptions of others.

Now, as you can guess I've got to know this record pretty well over recent days and weeks, and surprisingly I'm still not sick of it. My first impression was that it was a musically very good record, and I still feel that way. The band are tight, more than competent on the playing side of things, they have a fine line in writing very catchy but reasonably intelligent hard rock tracks, and to me far importantly they are not afraid to wear a few influences on their nylon net shirt sleeves. Opener New Religion has a waft of Dokken about it with Jake Pitts even provides some George Lynch style little widdles to punctuate the song. On God Bless You we get some classic Ratt style hair metal riffage coupled with a nice commercial hooky chorus that manages to keep itself firmly on the right side of pop rock cheese.  Rebel Love Song is a fantastic glam metal rock out that reminds me bit of Welsh glam kings Tigertailz; even the unavoidable power ballad Saviour, manages to keep itself listenable with a Scorpions style build up and some primal scream vocals at the climax.Other noticeable influences include AFI, Kiss (natch) and even some old school Saxon style metal.

OK before you say, "so what they have ripped all their fave elements and made a sound out of it" I will tell you that all bands do this, show me a musician who will not honestly state who and what has influenced him and point where he has used that influence and I'll show you a man who speaketh with forked tongue. The bottom line is that although you can see clearly where BVB are coming from the final whole is still packed in one all encompassing sound and style that is unquestionably  the Black Veil Brides.

As for the band image, which I think provides a stumbling block for just as many people it attracts, all I can say is so what? Whether the idea to follow the glam goth road came from the band, their record company, or a combination of both I care not. It's nothing new. Every musical generation has those who decide to experiment with make up, face paint and / or teen baiting androgyny... from Screaming Lord Sutch, Bowie, Kiss and Alex Harvey, via Twisted Sister, Poison and Mercyful Fate to Marylin Mansun, Slipknot and beyond. Evey generation needs musical heroes to act as a mummy shocker, and for the modern teenies BVB are it. It only should become an issue when it becomes a case of style over substance, and that is definately not the case here. So they are all good looking lads who girls scream and throw themselves at? whats the problem? jealousy? cos isn't it a position we all have dreamed about being in at somepoint?

In short, this is a great record, look beyond the image and get into the music on offer, cos this is an album to take note of.

for fans of... Kids In Glass Houses, Avenged Sevenfold, 30 Seconds To Mars, Ratt, Dokken, Motley Crue etc...

Mos Generator 'Mos Generator - 10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition' (Ripple Music) 4/5

Now it can't have escaped many peoples notice that there is a big retro rock scene going on in the US underground at the moment. Acts like Crash Street Kids, Stone Axe, Stone Mask, Antique Scream, The Muggs and many others are looking back to the classic primordial heavy rock sounds of the late 60's and early 70's and reworking the vibe for a new millennium. One of the founding fathers of this movement are Seattle outfit Mos Generator. Formed out of the ashes of the 90's Seattle grunge scene in the year 2000, this classic power trio have issued a string of really quite remarkable albums over the past ten years or so most of which are still available. But until now there have been two releases missing from the back catalogue. Their 2002 eponymous debut album and the follow up live album “Live At The Manette”, have been unavailable for a good few years, but now, ten years on the band have issued not only that seminal debut album, but also packaged it up with the full set from the gig that gave rise to the aforementioned live CD and thrown an unreleased early demo track in for good measure.

Now listening back to this album I am struck at how fresh this stuff still sounds. The trade mark sound of Grand Funk and Blue Cheer influenced old school hard rock fused with the Seattle grunge sound of the 1990's makes for a very ear friendly vibe. On the studio section of this release tracks like Sleeping Your Way To The Middle, Acapulco Gold and the superb Pentagramagraph come over like the rampaging inhabitants of a sonic Jurassic Park; thunderously heavy, jaw droppingly magnificent and maybe just a little bit scarey. This is music that went extinct many years ago, but against all expectation and logic, here it is alive and thriving in the modern age.

However its on the “Live At The Manette” section Mos Generator really come into their own. Here we have a warts and all, ball out, no holds barred exercise in classic old school stoner rock sensibilities. Listening to these live tracks my age addled mind is dragged screaming back to to those old gigs I used to attend back in the days of the NWOBHM when not only were new acts doing this stuff in the pubs and clubs of the UK, but old original purveyors of this kind of raw stoner-psyche rock such as The Groundhogs were back in fashion. In fact I have to keep reminding myself that this material dates from 2002 not 1982 or 1972. Highlights of the live stuff? well Stone County Line is fantastic, Opium Eyes is classic, but my fave cut is the Zep influenced You Bring The Wine, I'll Bring The Weather, which has a riff that just drives.

All in all this is great stuff and this reissue belongs in everyone's collection if you have the original versions or not.

For Fans of... Stone Axe, The Muggs, Blue Cheer, The Groundhogs, Antique Scream....

Issa - 'The Storm' (frontiers records) 4/5

I've always had a bit of liking for the old rock diva style of things, a root through some of the darker recesses of my record collection will turn up albums by the likes of Tina Turner, Bonnie Tyler, Lee Aaron, Fiona Flanagan and a fair few others, and its been a long time since a rock diva has crossed my path. So I was a bit happy when I got sent this the second album by Norwegian songbird Issa and I've gotta say I am rather enjoying this.

Issa herself has a great voice, I'm reminded of a sort of hybrid of Natalie 'Torn' Imbruglia and Anne 'Heart' Wilson; its a natural voice, it has all the range and power without the wail if you get what I mean. She has a good phrasing and even if she is a bit 'breathy' in places, her voice is highly likable and very listenable.Musically there is nothing really earth shattering on offer. But with a list of collaborators and co-writers that includes members of such acts as House Of Lords, Toto, Journey, Work Of Art, Xorigin and more you know your gonna get some damn fine tunes for Issa to do her stuff on.


Over all this is a good record, it is commercial, anthemic, expertly produced and performed and manages to avoid most of the commercial rock / rock diva cliches. Ok we do have the power ballad Too Late For Love, that is a pure stadium rock cheese fest, but thankfully that track is the exception rather than the rule. Elsewhere the standard is pretty high. Highlights include What Does It Take, a cut that sounds like Passion Works era Heart, the epic closer The Storm with its huge climax, Two Hearts which sounds a little like classic House Of Lords and my favorite cut - We're On Fire which has a touch of the Asia's about it.


All in all this is a good album that whilst it isn't blowing me away I am finding is very listenable, and is a worthy addition to the canon of great albums by great rock divas.

For fans of... Heart, Paramour, Bonnie Tyler, Journey...

The Dirty Youth - 'Red Light Fix' (RMR Records) 4.5/5

I've been looking forward to getting my hands on a copy of this debut album from South Wales female fronted sleazy hard rockers The Dirty Youth, ever since the lead single Fight arrived at BCFM central a month or so back; and at last Red Light Fix is here...

And all I can say is 'wow'. This album is right up my musical alley. Ten cuts of pure down and dirty, greasy lowlife sleaze metal that has really put a smile on my face after a pretty stressful week. We kick off with Rise Up, a tasty cut of prime rawk that starts off sounding like Within Temptations slutty younger sister at chucking out time and resolves into a glorious air punching anthem for our time 'Rise up join the revolution' great stuff. Having laid out their stall from the off The Dirty Youth carry on very much in the same vein Tracks like the fantastic drinking anthem Requiem For The Drunk, the highly headbangable Ellen - with its intro riff that wouldn't sound out of place on a classic Saxon album, the sleazy bump and grind of the title track and the dark and brooding Promises all flash past in one glorious stream of very highly enjoyable high energy blur of first rate power rock until all to soon you reach the climactic and anthemic This Is For You a track that does indeed mark TDY as the natural successors to the late lamented SAL as maybe the UKs premier female fronted rockers.

This album is commercial as it is possible to get without loosing any of the fire and attitude of the underground. It is played to perfection, well produced, catchy as a seasonal cold (but without the headaches, snotty snot boxes and sore throats) and over all one of the best rock albums of the year so far.

TDY are already a band that are making waves; a show stopping performance at this years Download festival and the UK's rock press and broadcasters rightly getting behind the Fight single, has already marked this lot out as one of the cream of the crop of the UK rocks next generation, and Red Light Fix is an album that will only go to boost their career onto bigger and even better things.

Very Highly Recommended.

For fans of... SAL, Doro, Obsessive Compulsive, Rock In Your Pocket etc...

My Extraordinary - 'Reality' (self released) 2.5/5

I am always suspicious when a new and unsigned band makes big claims in their release blurb, after all music fans are not stupid. if your gonna make huge claims about yourselves you better have the music to back it up, or your only gonna look like stupid hyped up ego trippers. So when I got this mini album from Newcastle indie rockers My Extraordinary and read the following (unattributed) quote "Newcastle has failed to provide the music industry with anything deserving of the City's title since Maxïmo Park but now we've finally found our diamond in the rough", and they are making statements like "they have become well known for their unique brand of alternative rock;" I couldn't help but pay special attention.


First up, I gotta be honest, there is nothing Extraordinary on offer here, this album is seven cuts of bog standard indie rock Don't get me wrong, they are some good songs on offer, and I can't knock the playing or the production either, it's just that My Extraordinary are not really different from any of the other indie rock hopefuls that pass through my inbox every year. You get all the standard modern alt rock and indie influences ticked off... Coldplay, Muse, Radiohead, Franz Ferdinand etc etc etc, all the lessons of 'alt Rock Production 101' have been followed... the big choruses, the soaring vocals, angsty piano parts, huge chiming guitars... But its nothing special, just tune into the day time output of Kerrang! fm and you'll hear this sort of stuff all day long.


The first two tracks on offer The Hero That Walked Away and Heroin sound so similar that when I first played this album through I thought they were the same song and while they do change things on the other songs here, there is nothing that stands out as truly remarkable. In fact this release never strays far from the competent mark. Even Amongst The Rain, in my opinion the best track on offer, is a tad forgettable and sings from the same alt/indie rock song book as a thousand other hopefuls I can name.


All of which brings me back to the bands big claims. Is Newcastle and its surrounding area a complete musical backwater with nothing to offer but this standard pop rock fodder? Of course not, in the past few months I've had releases from the likes of Arcite, Down The Machine, The Smoking Rolo Sideshow and others that prove that Tyneside has a lot to offer the world musically. Unique? I think not. They are good, but nowhere near the claims they make for themselves.


Basically, if you like indie / alt rock this lot are worth a short look, but don't believe the hype.

For fans of...  Coldplay, Muse, Radiohead, V0iD, Go Team etc....

NOTE  - since posting the above I have recieved a number of offensive and peronsally threatening messages from either the band themselves and / or their supporters. So I gave them a baddish review, so what, the above is my opinion and so you can't hear  what I hear, I appraoch my reviews  from a neutral perspective, NOT as a fan of the band already so maybe I can hear stuff in here you may not be able to or agree with. Its a called differering opinion, get used to it. So grow up kiddies, My Extraodinary aint going to get anywhere if they or their fans are gonna start flame wars with everyone who may not like them that much, just earn themselves a rep as being complete prima-donna tossers. I have no objection to people differing with my opinion, or posting as such, after all it takes all sorts, but if you have not got the language skills to do it without personal attacks, foul and abusive language and shitty attitudes, you loose the right to comment back.

Novel Of Sin - ' Sound Of Existence' (Kreative Klan) 4/5

I get a lot of acts through my inbox who try to claim to be 'extreme', sadly when it comes down to it very few make muster and most sound pretty ordinary. However there are exceptions, and Italian outfit Novel Of Sin are one of them.Hailing from Ravenna on the Adriatic Coast, they have been around for five years now and have just released this their debut album.

And what an album!! This has to be one of the heaviest, most intense and down right brutal releases that has ever assaulted my battered old lug-holes. As soon as the obligatory intro track fades away and the first song proper, Voices, Prayers and Remembrances, strikes up we are faced with a full on sonic rampage that lays total waste to all that is in its way. It's as heavy a classic Black Sabbath in lead boots, as angry as a nest of very pissed off wasps and as brutal as battlefield surgery in the 100 years war.

Tracks like Fragile, A Key To Nowhere and Extinguish storm from the speakers like a panzer division in full blitzkrieg mode, take hold of your head by the ears and bashes it repeatedly against the nearest wall until your a bloody mess. But there is more going on here than a mindless extreme deathcore onslaught. With in the hammerhead bash and bludgeon there is a lot of interesting stuff going on; sweet and almost melodic guitar lines swirl around the mix, the rage fueled grunt and scream vocals sometimes breakdown in moments of almost innocent cohesion for brief moments, all of which makes for a very rewarding listening experience.

Ok there is one track here, the dance remix Fragile 1.9 that lets the whole side down (for me at least) with its cruddy rave beats and happy-jungle-euro-trance-or-whatever-you-call-this-crap feel. But don't let that put you off, you can always do what I did and delete the offending so called 'music', forget it ever existed and just enjoy the extreme metallic brutality of the rest of the album.

In conclusion, this is one extreme album that really does live up to its claim and is a must hear for people who like their metal taken to the max.

For fans of... Glorior Belli, Kratornas, Stigma, Fallbrawl......

Various Artists - 'Fest 10 Compilation #1 / #2' (fest 10) 4/5

Now Fest 10 is a very popular festival held every year around Gainesville in Florida that seams to specialise in in punk and all things related, and to help promote this years event, (at the end of October) they have issued a couple of free download compilation albums featuring a number of the acts who are booked to perform.

Now like all compilations these album are a mixed bag, and you do have to shift through the shit and the plain ordinary to find the real gems. But believe me the effort is well worth it for there are a number of great track on offer here. There are 46 songs on offer on these two albums, so you will forgive me if I don't give an in depth on every track and every band. But here's a taster of some of the nuggets to dig for...

We have the superb AFI influenced A Wilhelm Scream, a great all girl street punk outfit from Minneapolis called The Soviettes, the 'oi' filled Bouncing Souls, the wonderful Clash influenced Off With Their Heads, the New Model Army styled The Arrivals and The Brokedowns, The X-Ray Spex go emo stylings of The Candyskins, the infectious Banquets with the wonderful 'Sexy Ghosts', the country punk fusion of Good Luck, the plod and grind of Mood Ring.... and there are loads more, but you get the picture. and these are my picks, you may find something I didn't get into, but would be far more your cup of tea.

But there's something more interesting here than a mixed bag of young up and coming bands, it's rare that you can find a real cross section of a nations up and coming young talent all in one place, and for free to boot. so if that's not reason enough to download and explore these albums nothing is.


In Shot - well worth an explore.


The links to download these albums for free can be found here...
Volume 1 - http://fest10.bandcamp.com/album/fest-10-compilation-1
Volume 2 - http://fest10.bandcamp.com/album/fest-10-compilation-2

Mastodon - 'The Hunter' (roadrunner) 4/5

Now this is the fifth full length opus from Atlanta psyche metal outfit Mastodon, and I will be honest and say that until now they have slipped under my radar. I was aware of the band, had never really got around to checking them out, (so much music, so little time) but when this little album slipped into the old BCFM inbox the other day I though I would give them ago.

Now things start off promisingly, the first two cuts Black Tongue and Curl of the Burl are both nice and doom laden metallic floor fillers full of some great Sabbath influenced riffs and a great bash and grind feel. Other high spots include the epic space opera of Stargasm, the relentless headbanger of All The Heavy Lifting, the well trippy title track, the headlong thrash out of Spectrelight, the almost folky sounding Creature Lives and the albums epic prog metal concluding track The Sparrow.

In fact with the exception one track, the disappointing metalcore by numbers workout of Blasteroid, this is a pretty good record with much to recommend it. There are epic metal bits, killer riffs, good vocals intelligent lyrics, some well chilled out almost folky prog moments.. all stuff that should win Mastodon fans and admirers well beyond the metal scene.

Over all I'm fairly impressed with my first real encounter with Mastodon, and will get round to checking some of their earlier albums out at some point. Highly Recommended

The Crooked Axis - 'Strange Girl (demo)' (self released) 4/5

This is another lucky find from a bit of random net surfing. French outfit The Crooked Axis have been around for a couple of years and are a side project by members of other French acts.

Now this six tracker is a fantastic exercise in tripped out psychedelia that had me hooked from the off. Opener I'm Not There, Yes I Am comes over like something Ohio impro-trip outfit Quarkspace would cook up and that's followed by the dark and freaky No More which reminds me of Gong meets Amon Duul II. We are talking real 'stone-groove-free-festival-roll-up-a-doofer-and-expand-your-mind' stuff here. It's as spacey as floating through the Horsehead Nebula whilst out of your tree on mushrooms.

The more you get into it, the better it gets. Couscous Pot - my fave cut on this offering - sounds like Dog Age jamming with Here and Now with a guest Dave Brock vocal, and by the time we get to the excellent Before We Come Down we are in classic Krautrock and Canterbury Sound territory with a sound like the great Todd Dillingham jamming with Jane. Throw in the epic closer of Right To Oblivion with its sonic head nods to 'Lonesome Crow' era Scorpions, early Black Sabbath and primordial Grateful Dead and you have something that will keep your average head, hippy, flower-child, space cadet, stoner and psyche freak happy for hours. 

This is music that really makes me want to gather up a few friends, find a field and lay back under the stars as the vibes flow over me. This is acid psychedelia of the very highest order and I would recommend this to everyone who wants to unlock their inner flower-child.

for fans of - Quarkspace, Todd Dillingham, Gong, Amon Duul II, Here and Now, The Pillbugs.... etc

This album can be downloaded for free from - http://fxofxs.bandcamp.com/album/strange-girl-demo-aug2011

Wornaway - 'Wornaway' (self released) 4/5

Aussie groove metal outfit Wornaway, are one of those lucky finds. I was killing a bit of time doing a bit of random net surfing when I stumbled on this little gem of an ep. They are from the city of Brisbane and as far as I can make out this is their debut release.

And what a little cracker this six tracker is. Six songs - well five plus a two minute intro track, each one a neat and nifty exercise in all that's good about the underground metal scene worldwide. We get Failure - a corking thrash and grinder that reminds me of Brum metal up and comers and Sunday Rockshow faves Zombie Xtras; The Wasted - a dark and aggressive mid tempo headbanger that has shades of Imicus about it and an excellent chill out mid section. Then there's Living Is A Dying Art - my fave track on this release which is classic Aussie rock and manages to stay dark and brutal whilst retaining a snifter of that trademark boogie sound that under pins most Australian rock. Kissed By Flames features a sweet little introduction before heading off into Sacred Mother Tongue territory; whilst closer Deliverance is a three and a half minute micro-epic that smacks of the band Metallica could have been if they hadn't fallen in love with the money and their own hype.

There is top rate musician ship on show here, the vocals are gruff and brutal, but never become unintelligible. The guitars bludgeon like baseball bats and slice like razors with equal measure, whilst the drums are as tight as Ian Thorpes swim suit after a particularly heavy lunch. All good stuff.

Over all this is a great ep by a band that shows great promise. Wornaway are definitely a name to watch out for.

For Fans of... Trivium, Zombie Xtras, Sacred Mother Tongue, The More I See...

This ep can be downloaded for FREE from - http://wornaway.bandcamp.com/album/wornaway

Charred Walls of The Damned - 'Cold Winds on Timeless Days' (metalblade) 4.5/5

Now to me and many older metalheads Tim 'Ripper' Owens is best known as the guy who was plucked from tribute band obscurity to help screw up the mighty Judas Priest for a couple of albums before Rob Halford saw sense and returned to the fold. Still he went some way to redeem himself during his stint with Iced Earth. Now he has moved on again and we have 'Cold Winds On Timeless Days' the second album from his current outfit Charred Walls Of The Damned.

And I'm glad to say with this release the ghosts of those two Priest albums are well and truly laid to rest as Mr Owens and the rest of his crew hit us with a record that is 100% their own and not chained to the tails of others From the opening track Timeless Days with is acoustic intro and huge power metal resolution to the epic metal workout of the closer Avoid The Light, CWOTD have served up a very strong metal album indeed.

Mr Owens vocals are remarkable, sure there are shades of Rob Halford in his delivery and range, for that is after all part of the guys style, but he also shows there is more to his talent than a mere Halford clone. There are shades of John 'Armored Saint' Bush, Bruce Dickinson and even Biff 'Saxon' Byford in there as well, he has the range the power and the delivery to carve himself a notch up there amongst the very best of them as himself.

But a great metal vocalist does not a great metal album make. You need  the musos there to to weigh in as well, and thankfully the rest of CWOTD are more than up to the task. Jason Suecrof, better known as Trivums desk jockey, is an axe hero of the highest order, capable of everything from brain melting shred solos and face ripping riffs to some sublime mellow interludes with an easy that has to be heard to be believed. Add in the powerhouse rhythm section ex Death / Iced Earth sticksman Richard Christy and former Testament bassist Steve DiGorgio and you have a metal band capable of taking on the very best of them.

Highlights on this impressive album include Maidenesque Forever Marching On, the darkly epic The Beast Outside My Window, the power metal anthem of Bloodworm and fist raising grind and bang of Admire The Heroes. But to be honest, there is not a single weak track on offer here, every track is a real jewel to be enjoyed and treasured forever.

In short this album is just great and is a worthy addition to cannon of metal classics.

For fans of... Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Iced Earth, Helloween....

3 - 'The Ghost You Gave To Me' (metalblade) 3/5

OK, just clear up any confusion, this 3 are the American post prog outfit, not the short lived Keith Emerson project from the late 1980's, neither are they the hardcore punk out fit of the same name. This is this 3's sixth full length studio album and their fourth for metalblade.

First impressions are this album is very pleasant, there are 12 cuts on offer, all well played, produced and penned and over all I'm reminded a little of the likes of Styx and Rush in both terms of style and delivery. Vocalist Joey Eppard is has a very distinctive voice, sounding female in places and a touch like Geddy Lee or Jon Anderson in others.

However as pleasant and listenable as this record is it does contain very little in the way of a 'wow' factor. It does have its moments, such as on numbers like Numbers - the albums true stand out cut with some truly epic riffage and snappy drum work, the title track with some nice complex syncopated rhythm work and epic powerchordage and It's Alive with it's 'Yes-u-like' feel. However on a lot of the rest of the record the band seam content to bounce between competent but forgettable stadium rock and the same old acoustic 'away-with-the-fairies' fodder we so often get fobbed of with as prog rock these days.

The over all result, for me at least, is that I am finding this album very hard to get into, just when you hear a track and think its getting good, the next song comes along and lets you down. All this results in a very patchy album that promises lots but doesn't quite deliver when you want it to. I get the feeling that this album is trying to be all things to all people; progressive, prog metal, stadium rock, indie, alternative... and is danger of falling down the gaps between multiple stools as it tries but just fails to touch all bases.

This album basically is a basket of missed opportunities, and if 3 could work out exactly what sort of band they wanted to be and worked towards that end they could produce something remarkable, but at the moment they are firmly in the also ran camp.

for fans of... Porcupine Tree, Wishing Tree, Crowded House, Rush....

As You Drown - 'Rat King' (metalblade) 4/5

As You Drown come from Southern Sweden and play 'extreme death metal'. They have been around for some 8 years and this is their second full length album.

OK, I will question the term 'extreme' here, as there are a lot more bands out there far more extreme than As You Drown, but as for the death metal part, then we do have a good album on our hands here. Now 'Rat King' is allegedly a concept work built around the old European folk law traditions of the King Rat concept, a deep seated myth that has inspired everything from pantomime villains ('Look out Dick Wittington, he's behind you...'), to James Herbert's classic horror novel cycle and even Chas and Dave numbers. What this album has to offer on the lyrical front to this mythos I cannot say.. I'm normally pretty good at picking the lyrics out of death grunts, but this album has beaten me, so I'll just take the bands word about the concept and concentrate on the music itself.

Musically this album ticks all the right boxes for its genre. There's lots of nice interesting thrashy riffs, and the aforementioned vocals my be unintelligible, but they add to the feeling of power an brutality of the over all sound in fine style. All the songs on offer here are pretty good, from the opening cut, Conqueror with is steam-hammer assault and sublime epic breakdown, via aggressively brooding You Should Be Paranoid and ear raping fury of Rabid Wolves In Sheep's Clothing; to the sonic napalm of The Nothing and beyond - there is enough good stuff on offer here to keep yer average death thrash aficionado more than happy. But the albums real killer cut is the closer Cleansing Hands, with its epic build up from almost nothing to a grinding metal climax and then on to a chilling bass synth conclusion.

So over all, this is a pretty good record and one I would recommend to all fans of death thrash everywhere.

For fans of.... Vader, Cannibal Corpse, Job For A Cowboy etc...

Chronographs - 'The Outhouse Sessions' (self released) 4/5

Chronographs are a young five piece 'technical hardcore' outfit, originally from Worcester but now working out of the London area. They have only been together a year or so and have issued this three track ep whilst working on their first 'official' release that is due later this year.

Now as debut demo ep's goes this is quite impressive. There's no nonsense on show here, the opener Tides cuts in with a tasty bit of mid tempo brutality with a riff that tips a hat to Rage Against the Machine and features a couple of nice urgent and angsty melodic sections to provide a little light and shade. Dutch Courage is a better than average metal core workout; whilst the real killer cut is the closer Toska. A brutal and jagged interplay of machine gun rhythms, twisted riffs and angry post screamo vocals that resolves into a sublime climax that to my ears sounds like Periphery minus the self indulgence.

Over all this is a strong debut and one that shows great promise for the future.

For fans of... Screaming Eyes, The Hotel Ambush, Somnus, Aliases, etc....

This ep can be downloaded for free from here... http://chronographs.bandcamp.com/album/outhouse-sessions

The Swine - 'The Shade of Shit To Come' (self released) 4/5

The Swine are in reality one Canadian guy by the name of Aaron M. whose mission statement is 'to commit artistic suicide' and describes his music as powered by "sleep deprivation, shitty broken guitars, vox amps, a microphone he bought at value village for 4 dollars,", yup we are talking 'bedroomcore' time.

Now after many years of being an avid John Peel listener, I've grown fond of this type of ultra low-fi stripped down DIY punk and hardcore, and while I will admit, there is nothing here that will ever bother anything but the ears of the most underground and adventurous listener, for those who like their music so far out of left field it is disappearing over the boundary fence, this tasty five tracker has a lot to offer.

The opening cut Neon Suicide 1997 comes over a bit like a stripped down Melt-Banana, or Rolo Tomassi after an Eve Spence sex swap opp, all angry and angsty sonic experimentation. On the next track, Radio Hit, we are heading into more traditional hardcore territory with a sound that comes across a bit like and early demo from The Oppressed. Enriching Your Life Through The Power of Grindcore is classic crust core in the vien of The Electro Hippies, whilst Everyone Dies wouldn't stand out of place on a Pissed Jeans release. However the real treat is the closer Armageddon Song, a dark and twisted little nugget that sounds like Billy Bragg doing a Tom Waits impression, or maybe its the other way round.

Now I know this isn't going to everyones cuppa rosy by a very long chalk, but this is grass roots music at it's rawest. And if the true spirit of punk is that everyone can be a band, express themselves and make music then this is punk in its purest form.

for fans of... Rolo Tomassi, Melt Banana, Rottern Noise, Take A Sledgehammer To Your Nan....

This album can be downloaded from here... http://theswine.bandcamp.com/

Streetfight Silence - 'Secrets' (self released) 2.5/5

Streetfight Silence are a young band from Berkshire and this is their debut ep, althought they have banged out a couple of singles over the past year or so.

This band play sort of wanna be commercial indie rock in the sort of Coldplay, Nickleback type of style, and sadly I'm finding this release sadly lacking. Don't get me wrong, these lads have some good ideas I particularly like The Police style intro to Promise I Will Stay, but they let themselves down in so many ways. First of all the production here does them no favours at all. This type of commercial rock thrives on the big chorus, the immense guitar sound and this is what this ep doesn't have. Those nice choppy indie guitar lines that should sound so big and epic are tinny over powered by the lead vocal. Vocalist Russ hasn't got that bad a voice, but he sounds very one dimensional and almost annoyingly lifeless. Backing vocals seam to to be gaffer tapped over the top of the mix rather than bedded in properly and add nothing to the sound other than extra noise. The guitars are well played but again lacking in depth, everything is at the same level, so when you want a big impact moment nothing happens. The drums, especially the snare are far too high in the mix, whilst the cymbals are all to often lost. I really hope Streetfight Silence produced this themselves and these errors can be put down to inexperience and youth, cos if they paid someone to produce and mix this they really should be asking for their money back.

It's a shame for there is the germ of a good band in here somewhere. The Rhythm section is tight and some of the tracks on here, like Shining Armour and Seeing Ghosts (the best track on offer here) show the glimmer of a bent towards good catchy songsmithing. Ok in other places such as the ballad Conquer The World they aint so hot, but these lads are still young and have a lot to learn. I really would like to hear this outfit after a visit to to a studio with a producer who knows what he is doing, cos then we could really tell exactly how good Streetfight Silence are.

In conclusion I don't think this ep is going to do this band any good outside being a rough demo to get gigs with, and I wouldn't advise any of them to quit the day jobs at the moment either. BUT I would also advise them not to quit music either, rather keep working at it, learning from their mistakes and to take reviews such as this as constructive criticism; cos even the very best had to start somewhere.

for fans of... Coldplay, Nickleback, 21 Against etc...

The Subways - 'Money and Celebrity' (cooking vynil) 4/5

OK guilty confession time. I have a bit of a soft spot for this type of lightweight home grown pop punk, recent releases by Zaptopeks,  Kiria and The Skuzzies have really rang bell. Now I am finding myself develop a strong liking for this the third album from Essex upstarts The Subways.

Now all to often pop punk gets a bad press, mainly due to the endless wave of Blink 182 clones that have been flooding out of the states over the past ten years or so; and this is a shame, especially for our home grown take on the genre. For like so many other musical styles before UK bands have a good knack of taking something from over the pond and giving it a distinctive British vibe.

This album is a case a point. There are 12 cuts on offer here, 11 of which are packed with nice, slightly cheesy, but hellishly infectious little commercial punk numbers, none of which are over three and a half minutes long, packed with crisp riffs, tub thumping drums,  loads of up beat choruses and plenty of woo woo woo and hay yeah sing along bits. All good, if slightly predictable stuff.

Over all I'm reminded of those classic early albums from The Zatopeks, especially on tracks like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Friday, Like I Love You and It's A Party.But there is more to this album than that, the more you listen the more you begin to notice a real depth to both the music and the lyrics. Popdeath is groovy and cutting look at the price of fame, Down Our Street is a slice of social observation that reminds me of The Monkees classic 'Pleasant Valley Sunday' and Rumours is a bit of a rocker with some really tasty unison riffage on show.

Then we have 'the other track', Celebrity. Now I dunno if its a fault on my promo copy, but on this copy of the album the track is 3.23 of silence. It could be a pressing error, but even if it is, the effect is perfect - a song with nothing to say about people with nothing to say. 

Over all this album is very well done, highly listenable and while it may not be earth shattering it is good fun and wont do the reputation of either The Subways or British pop punk in general any harm at all.

Worth a listen or five.

For fans of.... The Zatopeks, The Skuzzies, Babyshambles, Kiria etc...

Cypher 16 - 'The Metaphorical Apocalypse' (self released) 4/5

London outfit Cypher 16 are an outfit that has been making a bit of name for themselves of late having toured places as diverse as the states and India as well as playing shows opening for the likes of Lacuna Coil and Mudvayne. To date they have put out a string of eps of which this is the latest.

 Now imagine if you can a mad mix of Tangerine Dream and Megadeth, and you'll get where these guys are coming from. You get walls of brain smashing metal of the first degree - all razor riffs, blast beats and relentless bludgeon, all over laid with a glorious almost ambient keyboard wash. Tracks like The Metaphorical Apocalypse, I Am Scientist and Lonely Road and all killers that stand up to repeated listening and I'm impressed with the quality of Jack Doolan's vocals. He's got the power, the control and the melody without having to resort to the cliched pig grunt or screaming.

If I have a compliant about this ep, then its a small one, a lot of the songs are very vocal heavy, and whilst Mr Doolan is a great singer with something to say, I get the feeling that on most of the tracks the rest of the band seam to be crowded out and don't get chance to shine. It's only on the track Stone that they really come into their own, and its a shame for all of them really do have something to show, especially guitarist Stuart Deards. A guy I would have loved to have heard more lead work from.

That gripe aside I really do like this five tracker and I would recommend it to everyone who likes their metal intense and intelligent.

For fans of... Awake, Spires, Fates Warning, Megadeth etc...

Get this ep FREE from here - http://www.mediafire.com/?txkmgol8jd89ilt

Van Susans - 'We Could Be Scenery' (Beatnik Geek) 3/5

Van Susans come from Bromley in Kent and play fairly mainstream indie rock in the same vein as outfits like The Pigeon Detectives. Now normally this sort of stuff isn't my bag and I would really bother writing a review, but there is something about this debut five tracker that made me take note.

The lead track, Cha Cha Bang starts with a nice rocky riff before carrying on reverting to standard indie fare, big hooks, fuzzy guitar washes and the like. Then we have Get Up, Get Out - with it's indie by numbers choppy delayed and chorus heavy guitar riff and 'hay hay' sing-a-long hook, the angsty Plans with its 'I'm not pissed off cos my girlfriend has dumped me - honest' type lyrics that students and indie kids love so much and the closer Glow, a wrist slittingly depressive little ditty 'We used to make love by starlight, but all she can do now is watch me burn..' yeah real uplifting stuff.

However the track that stands out, not only above the rest of this ep, but above a lot of indie rock in general is the second cut Bones. Again its a down beat track with some standard lost love lyrics, but it's played with a drive and fire that counter points the dower vocals perfectly. I normally have little truck with this kind of music, but this is one track I can't stop playing, it really is that good.

So over all I would give this ep a miss, unless your into down beat student indie - but I would also recommend you seek out Bones as a single track download as it's a song that is truly genre defining.

In short - a bog standard indie ep with one true killer track

for fans of... The Soup Dragons, The Pigeon Detectives, Manic Street Preachers, MGMT etc...

Steve Hackett - 'Beyond The Shrouded Horizon' (Inside Out / EMI) 4.5/5

I find Steve Hackett albums are a bit of a glorious lucky dip, you never know what your gonna get until you give them a first spin, will it be the traditional prog Steve? Steve the blueser? classical Steve? World music Steve? or a combination of some some or all the above...

Now this is the 22nd solo studio release from the former Genesis six stringer and all around guitar legend, and I'm glad to say it falls into the all of the above category. It's not that Steve is any less a blues player or classical player than he is in any other style, it's that Mr Hackett is such a diverse and inventive player that you really do want to hear him cover all bases.

So whats the new album like? Well if your familiar with his solo work you will know what to expect. If not, well then your in for a treat. This album is a cracking listen from the atmospheric and uplifting opener of Loch Lomand (NOT the cheesy Scottish folk tune) to the twelve minute closing epic of Turn This Island Earth with its 300 track orchestration - there is not a weak moment on show. And you get all sides of Steve to marvel at as well. The old school proggers will love the prog Steve on tracks like The Phoenix Flown and A Place Called Freedom; fans of classical 'Bay Of Kings' style Steve will dig tracks like Wanderlust and Summers Breath; whilst fans of Steve the blueser are in for a real treat on Catwalk when his joined by Yes bassman Chris Squire and ex AC/DC and Judas Priest drummer Simon Phillips for one of the dirtiest low down slow blues sleaze outs you'll hear in a long time.

I could go on for hours praising the pants of this album, but I have a stack of other albums to process and review - but take it from me Mr Hackett is a man who never fails to deliver goods, be it as a guitarist, vocalist, songwriter or producer and Beyond The Shrouded Horizon is another winner that should in everyone's record collection.

For fans of .. great guitar work and great music in general.

Captain Horizon - 'El Nibre - ep' (self released) 4/5

Birmingham alt-proggers Captain Horizon are completely new to me. I stumbled on a link to this free download ep on Facebook and decided to give them a go, sight unseen so to speak.

Now I'm glad I bothered cos this four tracker is a bit of a find, Kicking off with Turn Away, a track that reminds me of Bristol's Jebo, this is a tight and well delivered package. Vocalist Steven “Whitty” Whittington has an honest no nonsense voice that has a touch of the Toby Jebsons (Little Angles / Gun) about it and g-man Josh Watson is a real talent whose style ranges from the epic Dave Gilmour type solos to Johnny Marr-u-like sweet chiming rhythm lines.

El Nibre is a bit of a rocker that the ducks buttocks tight rhythm section of James “Mez” Merrix and Alex Thomson drives along in fine style, while Climbing The Waterfall is a fine slab of intelligent commercial rock that wouldn't sound out of place on an album by Young The Giant. However the real gem is the closer Strong Enough a chilled out mini epic that has the ghost of Hawkwind on the intro before floating dreamily away into Porcupine Tree / Darwins Radio territory.

Over all this is a damn good listen from a band who with a bit of luck could go places far beyond their native West Midlands.

for fans of... Porcupine Tree, Jebo, Young The Giant, Sleeping With Giants... etc

'El Nibre' can be down loaded from http://www.captainhorizon.co.uk

Dream Theater - 'A Dramatic Turn Of Events' (roadrunner) 3.5/5

More prog metal now, and this times it's Massachusetts outfit Dream Theater who enter the spotlight with A Dramatic Turn of Events, their eleventh studio opus and the first since the departure of their long term sticksman Mike Portnoy.

Now Dream Theater fans, and there are a lot of them, will find nothing out of the ordinary on offer here. There are nine tracks, all but two weigh in at 7 minutes plus, four are ten minute plus epics and all are typical DT fayre. Slick, complex, perfectly penned, performed and produced. All the hallmark sounds are here as well, opener On The Backs of Angels is your standard Maiden meets Fish era Marillion type of thing, Build Me Up Break Me Down has  touch of the Queensryches about it (old Queensryche, not the sad ghost of a band they are now), Lost Not Forgotten features a tasteful piano intro from Jordon Rudess before launching to some fairly self indulgent widdling interposed around a Megadeth influenced riff; This Is the Life has a bit of Hogarth era Marillion simpers about it with a solo from John Petrucci that is pure Steve Rothery... and so it continues.

Now I can't help feeling that I've heard it all before. As good as this album is, it's still the same sort of stuff Dream Theater have been serving us up for the past few albums, and whilst I have no problems in bands sticking to their tried and trusted formulas, when your dealing with musicians of this caliber I can't help but feel there is a wee bit of laurel resting going on here. Don't get me wrong, there are parts of this album that are just brilliant. Take the first couple of minutes of Bridges in the Sky with its huge choral sound, or the instrumental section in the middle of Outcry, with its complex interplay of rhythms, or Nektaresque conclusion to Breaking All Illusions as just three examples.

But we are talking sections of tracks here rather than full songs. I just can't put my finger on what it is, but I just don't get a wow factor here, not one that lasts anyway. Maybe it's cos Dream Theater have been at the top of the prog metal tree for years, they have always been a band I've admired greatly and their albums have never failed to blow me away before; but recent releases from the likes of Opeth, Spires and especially Arch / Matheos have hit me with a bigger punch and left me with a bigger buzz than this album does.

Apparently Mr Portnoy left because he felt the band should take a bit of time out and refresh themselves before they started going stale, the rest of the band disagreed and so he left, and after living with album for a while I can't help but feel that Mr Portnoy is being proved right.

For hardcore DT fans only

for fans of...Queensyrche, Fates Warning, Awake, Opeth etc...

Opeth - 'Heritage' (roadrunner records) 4.5/5

Swedish outfit Opeth have been around for over 20 years now, and time can change a band, but time has changed few bands as much as it has changed Opeth. With only vocalist Mikael Åkerfeldt surviving since the bands formation, they have evolved from a full on death metal outfit via various forms of metal and progressive metal until at last they have arrived with Heritage, an album that can only be described as full blown prog rock, with the metalisms reduced to almost non-existence.


Now this isn't necessarily a bad thing, for although my inner metalhead feels a little let down, my inner hippy is chuffed to bit's with whats on offer on this Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree) produced opus.Opening with the title track, (in effect a short 2 minute piano piece) it soon cuts into The Devils Orchard a cracking little track that manages to blend a riff that sounds a little like 'Pictures At An Exhibition' era Emerson Lake and Palmer. Then we have I Feel The Dark that starts off sounding a bit Jethro Tull before moving into King Crimson and Van der Graaf Generator territory. In fact the whole album is dripping classic progressive rockisms. Tracks like Slither and Haxprocess explore the same territory Pallas and Pendragon have been probing on recent albums, whilst other, such as Famine and The Lines in My Hand are in the Focus, Nektar and Eloy vein. There are snatches of Yes, Genesis, Porcupine Tree, Twelfth Night, PFM, and the rest in the mix, but yet at the same time it manages never to sound generic or dated. What's more there isn't a death grunt vocal or blast beat drum pattern to be seen.


The performances are first rate, especially the guitar work of Fredrik Åkesson, who manages to do pull off the expected Andy Latimer-U-Like soaring solos and the Steve Howesque twiddly bits with a perfection few can muster. And on the closing instrumental Marrow Of The Earth, his playing can only be described as sublime.


Now I can see this album not impressing many of their older fans who preferred their death and progressive metal stuff, but equally I can see many hardcore progressive rock fans embracing this new sound. Especially in light of the wave of hippy-trippy-away-with-the-fairies female fronted neo-folk stuff that so often gets passed off as prog these day.


This is a good album, a brave album and one that Opeth should be proud of producing. Buy it Now!!

For fans of... Pallas, Pendragon, Porcupine Tree, Camel etc...

The Devil Wears Prada - 'Dead Throne' (roadrunner) 4.5/5

It's metalcore time again, but this time its Ohio Christcore outfit The Devil Wears Prada who are in the spotlight with 'Dead throne'. their fourth full length album.

Gotta say from the off, that this is a good record, and is better than most of the Brit metalcore that's around at them moment. It could be that TDWP are four albums into their career and so have had chance to polish their sound and delivery, it could be that with major label backing they have bigger recording budgets, it could be that keyboardist James Baney gives them a dimension most other hard and metalcore acts lack. Whatever the reason Dead Throne is a very impressive and accessible record.

Kicking off with the title track, we get some great pound and bludgeon with those delicious keyboards giving the whole thing a real epic feel, and so it continues for the next couple of tracks. The clean and dirty vocal interplay between Jeremy DePoyster and Mike Hranica is some of the best I've ever come across and even in the shouty grunty bits, you can still hear the lyrics, which no doubt will make their fellow christians very happy indeed. OK they do get a wee bit preachy in places 'I saw the light of God, walk in the light of God' etc. But I'm a great believer in free speech and freedom of faith, and TDWP have got just as much right to sing about God as Behemoth have to sing about the Devil, it don't stop me or any one else digging the music big time, and after all I suppose even angels like to form a circle pit from time to time.

Highlights include My Question with its huge stacked vocal chorus, the drifty and almost trippy Kansas with some delightful clean guitar work, Chicago with its epic build up from almost nothing to a huge wall of brutal sound, the relentless thrash out of Constance and darkly epic of Pretenders. Hell, white-metal, has come a long long way since the days of Stryper, and music in general is all the better for it.

Basically this is a great album and all wanna be metalcore outfits world wide should pay close attention, this is how it should be done. Very Highly Recommended.

For Fans of.... The Bled, Dillinger Escape Plan, Malefice, Screaming Eyes and God.