Doris Brendel & Lee Dunham 'Not Utopia' (Sky Rocket) 4.5/5

One of most interesting releases of 2010 was the album 'The Last Adventure' by Doris Brendel a remarkable album that manged to capture every type of rock genre from prog to punk and wrap it up in one very coherent whole. That album became a listener favourate and ended up being nominated for the Album of the Year award.Now, two years on, Doris is back, this time working with Primary Slave guitarist Lee Dunham (NOT the racing motorcyclist) on this her latest opus.

Not Utopia sounds like The Last Adventures older and more grown up brother - as with the earlier album this one is another glorious mating of styles and genres, but Not Utopia is a far more together and complete work, it dances smoothly from style to style. And what a range of styles we have on offer. Opening cut No Lonely Girl sounds like a female fronted Pendragon on a Hawkwind trip, Going Out is a meaty slice of disco influenced dance rock that hints a little at the Scissor Sisters in feel and bounce. Beyond Words is a strings lead sadly introspective ballad and Too Bad To Be Good is a quirky post rock and roll ditty with a shade of the Jim Steinmans about it.... and so it continues.

However whatever the style the music, the real killer here is Doris' voice. She has the power and range of the true greats and whats more has a real earthy and warm Janice Joplin type edge to it. What is even better; she does none of that annoying cat wailing and flash vocal gymnastics that often passes for 'good singing' these days (just watch any episode of the 'America has the voice factor' to see what I mean), just good old school gusty rock steady old school rock and roll vocalisations. Just check out the post prog excellence of Conflicted to hear one of the vocal performances of the year so far.

It must not also not be over looked that this is not a solo album, a lot of praise must be heaped on Lee Dunham as well, playing everything on here apart from the strings, saxophone and the piano (yup he did the drums as well) and producing the whole kit and caboodle he has forged a series of emotive and sonically stunning soundscapes  that not only bring the best of Doris distinctive voice and song writing talent, but also marks himself out as an arranger, producer and musician of real note.

Highlights? Well I'm getting to like this album lots, but if I had to pick just one track to take to a desert island it would be the closer Your So Not a sweet folky influenced prog track in the Jethro Tull / early Genesis vein with some fantastically dark and cutting lyrics. (and the hidden bonus track is pretty sweet as well of you can find it)

All in all this is a damn fine album from a couple of great British musicians, who deserve to be far better known.

Well worth a spot purchase

For fans of... Joni Mitchell, The Subways,  Janice Joplin, Jethro Tull, Fleetwood Mac, ...and many more.

Various Artist - 'Fear Of Fiction - 008 12" Vinyl Compilation' (Fear Of Fiction) 4/5

Fear Of Fiction is a Bristol based music magazine and record label that has been doing a lot in recent years to help raise the profile of music in the Bristol area and this is the latest of their long list of compilations show casing some of the cream of the current crop of up and coming Bristol talent.

And what an interesting listen this one makes. Whilst batting firmly off the old alt and indie rock bats, a quick pick through of this one soon goes to show not only the depth of talent Bristol has to offer but what a diverse fields those old genres are these days. I don't often give a track by track breakdown on these reviews, but here I think I will make an exception.

We kick off with an outfit called Scarlet Rascal & the Trainwrecks doing a rather interesting little cut entitled The Haunting, a sort of post gothic noise rocker that sounds not unlike Rock In Your Pocket jamming with Alien Sex Fiend - a very good thing indeed. Then we have The Hit-Ups  with A Turn At Twelve Paces, a rather tasty slice of punk fueled leftfield post indie that drips heart felt angsty vocals and sweet chiming guitar lines.

Archimedes contribution Orrey is a tad more traditional alt rock in the Radiohead mode, a sweet number, nothing too earth shattering, but good enough to pass muster. Contrast this with Encore Encore by The St Pierre Snake Invasion, a track that blends a post screamo vocal, a sub Sabbath doom metal riff and the spirit of Screaming Lord Sutch and The Savages into a rather tasty little pseudo punk pasty. With Casimir and their track Lucid we return to the more mainstream modern indie vibe, whose dreamy vocals and a stammering guitar lines are sure to make this lot a big hit with the students.

Idles provide one of the real stand out cuts on here with Thieves, still very much indie, but here those chiming guitars are given an almost rockerbilly beat and the whole song drives on in an almost Cheap Trick pop-rock vibe. My Favourate track on offer is Grand Moff Tarkin by The Naturals, which features an almost prog rock signature riff and a wonderfully spacey atmosphere.

Another cracker is Call The Doctor's Seventeen. Nice crunchy hard rocking punk inspired riffs, a Lauren Harris style vocals and the overall vibe of the great and much lamented SAL. Trials by Mayans is another cut that falls into the more traditional indie territory, but is still a sweet little cut overall with some wonderfully tripped out moments, some engaging vocals and a dreamy laid back feel.

The album finishes with Nightmares by Emma McNeill, a rather fetching soft rocker with some distinctive and compelling vocals wrapped around some rather deep and heart felt lyrics.

Over all this compilation is pretty good and shows a good insight into whats going on on the local indie and alt rock scenes, and maximum praise to Fear Of Fiction for all their hard work in getting local music out there and in the public eye.

Recommended

For Fans Of... Good music in the alt / indie vein


For more information on Fear Of Fiction and this album visit - http://www.fearoffiction.com

Jorn - 'Bring heavy Rock To The Land' (frontiers) 5/5

OK I'll admit I'm turning into a bit of fan of Norway's finest metal hero Jorn Lande and his solo band Jorn, Maybe its his sounding uncannily like Ronnie James Dio at times, maybe its cos he pens and performs balls out old school hard rockers full of lyrics like 'raise the metal signs and bring heavy rock to the land' or maybe its the cover artwork that turns me on. I suspect its all three, but whatever the reason. This band speaks to me in ways I've not been spoken to for years, they revive my teenage years when all that was really important, was getting the beers in, getting off with girls and listening to a bottom booting metal sound track while you were doing it.

Now this is the seventh studio album Mr Lande has issued under the Jorn monicker (he has done many others with Masterplan, Vagabond, Millennium and a host of other projects), and I gotta admit in my humble opinion this is one of his best. Aided and abetted by a very talented band of metal merchants including guitarist Tore Moren and drummist Willy Bendiksen he has cooked up a cracking metal album of the old school that pay tribute to and is more than equal to the metal of 25 years ago. You get slices of Dio and 80's Sabbath (natch), hints at the Michael Schenker Group, hat tips to Iron Maiden and Judas Priest and even a garnish of The Scorpions for good measure.

There is not a weak moment on offer here. Highlights include the Dio-esque title track, the Rainbow influenced Chains Around You, the power drive of the Helloween tinged Time To Be King, and the closer I Came To Rock a cut that has a certain Armored Saint feel to it. There is also an interesting cover of the Christopher Cross cut Ride Like The Wind which comes over like the version Saxon originally had in mind before they had their take on it remixed and murdered for the American Radio market.

Basically this record does just what it says on the cover, it brings heavy rock to the land by the JCB bucket load, and in a world awash with ten thousand minority metal sub genres the fact that Mr Lande and friends are still producing no bullshit quality hard rock of the old school to such a high standard can only be seen as a very good thing indeed.

Buy or Die

For fans of.. Dio, Black Sabbath, Helloween, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Rainbow, UFO and classic hard rock in general.

Six Feet Under - 'Undead' (metalblade) 4/5

Formed back in the early 1990's by Chris Barnes (ex-Cannibal Corpse) and Allen West (ex-Obituary) Florida outfit Six Feet Under have become fairly major players on the US death metal underground, with eight previous studio albums and three more albums of 'fun' cover versions theur distinctive brand of groove flavoured death has won them a lot of friends and now we have album number nine to delight us.

Now despite a bit of internal upheaval in the recording of this one (guitarist  Rob Arnold quitting on the day of release having already played the bass on this one following the departure of Terry Butler early in the recording process) SFU have delivered a nice tight, competent and very entertaining record. It manages to comfortably bridge the gap between death metal and the mainstream, being heavy, and brutal enough to keep yer average Cannibal Corpse fan pit happy, whilst heading far enough into Machine Head / Lamb Of God territory without leading to any hint of an accusation of sell out.

There are 12 cuts on offer, all penned, performed and produced to a high standard. Highlights include the post Sabbath riff fest of Blood On My Hands, the groove metal workout of Reckless and the doom fueled plod and pound of Vampire Apocalypse. Impressive stuff indeed, but my fave cut on here is the closing 'micro-epic' Depths of Depravity which manages to compact a full on multi section prog doom epic into under four minutes.

All in all this is another very worthy album from a very worthy band that after 20 years or so are still showing no signs of running out of ideas.

Worth checking out

For fans of... Machine Head, Unearth, Lamb Of God, Titan's Eve.....

Richard Marx - 'Inside My Head' - (frontiers) 4/5

US based soft rocker Richard Marx has become something of an institution with the more AOR types of rockers. Ever since his big break came in the late 1980's with a string of US chart busters, such as his seminal single 'Hazard', he has built up a loyal following worldwide and is still bringing out quality records in his trade mark feel good laid back rock style.

This double album is his latest release and is a sort of semi compilation work, bringing together a number of tracks from a couple of download only albums such as 'Emotion Remains' and 'Sundown' along with a few other odd songs he seams to have had laying around.

All in all this is pretty standard Richard Marx fare. Late night chilled out ballads such as Through My Veins and Loved rub shoulders with some very listenable light weight rockers such as Over My Head, Always On My Mind and Come Running... metalheads and the like my find it a bit forgettable, but anyone with a taste for the early works of Elton John, Tom Petty and The Eagles will find a lot here to entertain them.

Chuck in the fact that Mr Marx had a bit of a talent for songsmithery; turning out catchy hooks, intelligent lyrics and hummable melodies and for anyone who likes their rock on the soft side this one has a lot to offer.

Highlights? well this album is pretty good over all, and there is any track that strikes you as duff, but my fave cuts have to be the hard edged rocker All Over Me and the funky groove workout of Scars.

Worth checking out if you like good solid soft rock

For Fans Of... Tommy Petty, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, House Of Lords....

Great White - 'Elation' (frontiers) 4.5/5

It's sad that after all Great White have been through and achieved over their long and illustrious career, from the highs of such tracks as Face The Day (still one of the greatest hard rock anthems of all time in my mind) to the tragic low of the Station Night Club disaster, that they have now entered a period of schism and we have two incarnations of the band suing the pants off each other for material usage rights and use of the band name. Still they do take time out of litigation from time to time to remind us they are infact musicians and here we have have the latest album from the version of the band that doesn't feature Jack Russell.

Now I gotta say that despite my frustration of seeing a band I really admire implode this is still a damn fine album. OK vocalist Terry Ilous is no Jack Russell, but he still does a great job and his vocals are distinctive enough to carry it off in fine style. As for the rest of this version of Great White, well, they sound like Great White. Nuff said.

There are some great, and I mean great tunes on offer here, You get some wonderful sleaze rockers in the likes of Lowdown, some first rate classic GW type hard rockers such as I've Got Something For You and Shotgun Willies, spot on slices of Americana like Love Train... hell even the power ballad Love Is Enough is not as bad as it could have been. In fact the only thing iffy about this album is its cover art work.

So all in all a pretty good release from a classic band, and one good enough to help me forget all their legal handbags for a while.

Recommended

For fans of... Whitesnake, Crazy Lixx, Beggars And Thieves, Trixter.....

Stone Axe - 'Captured Live! Roadburn Festival 2011' (Ripple Music) 5/5

US stoner rockers Stone Axe have been causing waves over the past couple of year, two cracking studio albums, an impressive series of live dates that's taken them to the four corners of the world and now we have this rather excellent live album add more fuel to the flame of Stone Axes excellence.

Now I know some people don't like live albums, but personally I love them, and this is a bit of a gem. From the opening double whammy of Stonin' / On with The Show, via the dark and sleazy Diamonds And Fools, the damnation boogie of Old Soul and the dance floor friendly We Know It's Still Rock 'n' Roll (my fave SA track) to the shuffle riffage of the closer Nightwolf, this album is fifteen cuts of Stone Axe style stoner rock excellence, that compliments their two studio albums in fine style

Highlight? well the whole album is one long highlight but if I was to pick one track it would be the spine tingling and very chilled out Skylah Rae.

All in all this is one fine record and it pens another chapter in the high history of Stone Axe with a flourish few other acts can match.

Highly Recommended

For fans of... Mos Generator, The Muggs, Blue Cheer, Groundhogs....

The New Jacobin Club - 'Left Behind' (Somnambulist Sound System) 4.5/5

Hailing from Saskatoon in Canada, deathrocking gothic darkwavers The New Jacobin Club have been around for sometime and have chalked up a very long list of releases dating back to the mid 1990's, of which this four track ep is the latest.

Sounding a bit like Cauda Pavonis and Moonspell with touches of Hawkwind you like synthy weirdness thrown in for good measure, this ep comes over as a bit of gem. Kicking off with My Smile, a sweet little gothic air puncher that hints at the likes of Lesbian Bed Death and The Mission we have here a cracking release from a band who have obviously honed their sound and style over many years, and while international superstardom has eluded them, they obviously don't give a damn and are happy doing their own thing in fine style.

Next up we have the deliciously dark Demon Princess, a gloriously black exercise in dark psychedelia, deep voices boom like the choir of the damned, riffs churn like the grave dirt of the zombie apocalypse, whilst cellos and synths weave and sweep like angry bats on the hunt for fresh human blood.Cracking stuff.

Then there's my fave cut of the four When Evil Comes Out To Play, a number that starts with a riff that surprisingly reminds me of cult NWOBHM outfit Chainsaw before resolving into a chorus Voodoo Johnson would have been proud to have penned, a real anthem if ever there was. Chuck in a live version of their track Blood Of The Servant Girl for good measure and you have a cracking little gem of an ep that will turn the goths, darkwaver and batcavers on big time and arouse the interest of wider rockers as well.

Pretty damn good if you ask me

For fans of... Cauda Pavonis, Lesbian Bed Death, The Mission, Alien Sex Fiend....

Allegaeon - 'Formshifter' (metalblade) 4/5

This ten tracker is the second full length release from Colorado 'technical' metal outfit Allagaeon a band that until now has slipped under my radar.

First impressions are, that this is pretty cool, opening up with the seven minute mini-epic Behold (God I Am) and blasting through tracks like the wonderfully entitled Tartessos: The Hidden Xenocryst (what ever the hell that means), the headlong razor slash of Iconic Images and glorious frenzied From The Stars Death Came this album form a sweet soundscape that manages to position itself halfway between the old school trashisms of Slayer and Testament and the southern metal sensibilities of the likes of Lamb of God and Machine Head,

Praise must be given to the guitar pairing of Ryan Glisan and Greg Burgess who not only have a nice line in heavy as hell grinding riffage but can shred and widdle like good uns, and keep it melodic at the same time, not an easy feat to pull off at all.

All in all a pretty good album, but my fave cut here is undoubtedly the closer Secrets of Sequence, a bit of a classic in the making that manages to blend so great 'head in the bass bin' metal dynamics with some rather impressive mellower moments.

Well worth checking out

For Fans Of... Lamb Of God, Charred Walls Of The Damned, Crowned By Fire, Testament....

Trioscapes - 'Separate Realities' (metalblade) 4.5/5

Oooo interesting. Metalblade records have a deserved reputation for being the home of all things good and extreme in metal, but every so often, like all good labels should, they do like to pitch a curve ball, and this album from US jazz/rock fusion outfit Trioscapes is just such a pitch. Featuring bassist Dan Briggs (Between the Buried and Me), saxpert Walter Fancourt (Casual Curious, Brand New Life) and drummist Matt Lynch (Eyris) this lot came together as a one off project to record a cover version of the Mahavishnu Orchestra classic Celestial Terrestrial Commuters. This in turn lead to the idea of a one off gig so more music was penned and as is often the way with such ideas things soon snowballed and soon Trioscapes were born and this their debut album was recorded.

Now my liking for jazz was formed at a very tender age. I grew up in the household of a jazz loving father and I knew the tunes to the likes of Dave Brubecks Take Five before I could sing most nursery rhymes; and although over the years since I have grown to become a bit of a rock and metal nut,  the soft spot for jazz is still there deep down.

There are six cuts on offer here, all very nice chilled out and perfectly performed sweet sax lead jazz workouts that serve equally well as background music and as music for active listening. Now I like jazz but I don't really know the language of the musical form, so I'll leave the technical analysis of this one to the more expert jazz reviewers, but I will say cuts like the chilled out Curse of The Ninth and the epic and driving title track, along with the aforementioned Mahavishnu cover all make for one great listen.

Fans of jazz and jazz rock will love this one up big time and anyone who is a little 'jazz curious' will find this a good place to start their own jazz odyssey.

NICE....

 For fans of... Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report, King Crimson, Colosseum....

Cattle Decapitation - 'Monolith of Imhumanity' (Metalblade) 4.5/5

This is the ninth full length release from politically charged Californian death grind metallers Cattle Decapitation and it's a bit of gem.

Musically this album is about as intense and full on as it can get. Cuts like Forced Gender Reassignment, Gristle Licker and the magnificent Lifestalker explode from the speakers with all the brutal force of a unit of the Animal Liberation Front attacking a fur farm. Drums pound out a relentless tattoo whilst guitars scream thrash and shred like a crazed butcher and the vocals of Travis Ryan growl and snarl in vicious righteous fury. If you think the likes of Cannibal Corpse took it to the max then check these guys out, there is none more brutal and none more driven.

Lyrically this album is very much in line with the bands previous releases; tracks about animal rights intermix with vicious attacks on the decadence of western society and the state of the human condition in a ball of very angry social awareness that sock it to 'The Man' in a way few other outfits can hope to match. And in a world where so many of their musical counterparts are STILL banging out endless tunes about corpse fucking and devil worship its a breath of fresh air. I tip my hat to them for that alone.

Highlights? well the aforementioned Lifestalker with it's epic sounding bridge section, the frenzied thrash and pound of A Living, Breathing Piece Of Defecating Meat and the closing cut Kingdom of Tyrants with its vast and deadly dark soundscapes are to my mind the real stand out cuts on offer, but the whole damn album is pretty impressive over all, and it's rapidly becoming a bit of a favourate of mine.

Highly Recommended

For Fans of..... Cannibal Corpse, Black Dahlia Murder, Jon For A Cowboy, Deicide....

John Taglieri - 'Lucky #9' (Leap Dog Music) 4/5

This is the ninth album from cult US country rocker John Taglieri, and what a little gem this six tracker is. Currently available as digital download only from all your normal online outlets, this mini album is a very sweet and very listenable selection of ear friendly soft rock tracks that blend aspects of Americana, country rock, rock and roll and folky singer songwriter sensibilities into one very engaging whole.

Cuts like the tender and plaintiff Dying Alive, the old school rock and roll work out of Losing Me and the catchy sub pop Make Me Believe as jump out from the speakers and give the listener a big friendly hug that leaves yours ears with a very warm and satisfied glow.

With a voice that has hints of Roy Orbison and a song writing style not unlike the great John Fogerty, Mr Taglieri, who played most of the instruments himself, has with Lucky #9 is one helluva pleasant record that should win him new fans and admirers worldwide and make his existing followers very happy indeed.

Very Good Indeed.

For fans of... John Fogerty, Steel Blue Rose, Grinderswitch, Creedance Clearwater Revival.

Halestorm - 'The Strange Case Of...' (roadrunner) 4/5

I've been looking forward to getting my hands on this, the second full length album from Pennsylvania rockers Halestorm for a while now. After all I was more than a little blown when their 'Hello, It's Mx Hyde' ep hit the stacks at the turn of the year.

So was it worth the wait? Well lets just say this album comes out of the corner swinging. The triple whammy of the cuts Love Bites (and So Do I) with its full on old school hard rock sensibilities, Mz Hyde with its Diamond Head style riffage coupled to some sweet commercial rock and boogie beats and the back side booting power rock anthem of I Miss The Misery leave the listener in no doubt at all that Halestorm are on helluva band and they mean hoof buttock with the most serious of intentions.

And there's more. You get cuts like the teen angst anthem Freak Like Me, the wonderfully danceable Rock Show (my personal fave cut on the album) and superb headbangably frenzied You Call Me Bitch Like It's A Bad Thing; all of which are fantastic exercises in old school hard rock with a modern twist.

OK there are a few sour moments, there middle of the album is dominated by a trio of power ballads, Beautiful With You, In Your Room and Break In, all of which are fairly naff sounding sub Fleetwood Mac lighter waving radio friendly soft rock numbers that really do the band no favours at all and go some way to undo all the good work they have done on the albums heavier cuts. Add in the closer Here's To Us, which sounds a bit too Theory of Wifebeater for comfort, and the band come damn close to dropping the ball. But fortunately when Lzzy Hale and the boys are capable of pulling a cut like American Boys out of the hat when you need them too you know things ain't that bad.

Basically, Halestorm are one great rock and roll band, and a pretty ordinary bunch of soft rockers and with this album if you listen to the former and ignore the latter your in for a bit of a treat.

Pretty damn good all things considered

For fans of... Paramour, Psycho Kiss, Black Veil Brides, The Dirty Youth etc....

Cauda Pavonis - 'Peace Through Superior Firepower' (CPX / Resurrection Records / AF Music) 5/5

Bristol based death rockers / gothic gods / darkwavers (call them what you will) Cauda Pavonis are a bit of an institution on the UK underground.With a string of impressive albums, eps and other releases dating back to the 1990's and a gig list that includes headline slots at the famous Whitby Gothic Weekender, they have built themselves a reputation as being one of the UK music scenes best kept secrets, and now we have their latest studio album on our hands.

Now if you have yet to experience the Cauda sound I will try to explain. Built around the powerful and compelling vocals of Su Wainwright, the band are rooted firmly in the old school gothic rock traditions of Lords Of The New Church, Libitina etc.. but also bring in other styles like an almost Gary Numan use of synths and sequencers, Within Temptation style vast soundscapes and a Theatre Of Hate style dance-ability. All in all a sound that is compelling and engaging. And what is more they know how to use it to maximum effect. Just take the albums lead single Forgotten Heroes - here you get a driving beat, a catchy as hell hook, meaningful lyrics and a vocal performance from Su that can only be described as spine tingling.

There are nine tracks on offer here, each one a real golden nugget of deathrock excellence. Cuts like Warriors with its old norse spoken intro, the moving ode to escapism of World Beyond The Window and the majestic title track are all classic Cauda material that will enthuse their existing followers and entice newcomers with equal measures. However on a closer listen you find the real secret to the Cauda formula, their attention to detail and the quality of their arrangements. Opening number 11th Hour starts out with a ticking clock riff motif which returns in various forms through out the track and is joined by a chiming counterpoint line over the chorus. On the dark fairy tale Terror In The Nursery you get hints of musical boxes, and creepy 'beast beneath the bed' style licks, plus some blood chilling growls on the bridge (from drummer Dave Wainwright). I could go on, but I don't want to spoil your fun, get the album for yourselves and find the licks and tricks for yourself - they are there on all the tracks if you care to look.

This a class album from a band on fine form, apart from the aforementioned Su's vocals, you get the rhythm section of bassist Rob Quick and drummer Dave Wainwright driving the whole thing along like a hard steamed locomotive and the guitar of Chris Hines adding to make the already wide sound as vast as the plains of chaos themselves.

In short, this is the jewel in Cauda Pavonis' crown and an album that will treasured by all fans of dark music for a long long time

SUPERB

For fans of.... Theatre Of Hate, Libitina, Lesbian Bed Death, Xmal Deutschland..... etc

The Dynamite Pussy Club - 'Church Of Yeah!' (Motorsounds Records) 4.5/5

For such a middle class and gentile city Bath has a surprising habit of serving up some real left field alternative music, and now in the wake of the likes of Amebix, Fabric, The Subhumans and The Flame I bring you The Dynamite Pussy Club with this their debut album.

Now you can tell this lot have a bit of an anarchic approach to music when you read their press blurb and see they list amongst their influences as The Three Stooges and David Lynch; and list in their interests Brillcream, pointy white leather shoes and sausages. Obviously a band who don't take themselves too seriously, and thats already a good mark in my book.

With a line up of a drummer and two guitarists (one of which occasionally breaks out a theremin) this lot play a form of very anarchic rockerbilly / psychobilly, sort of Brides Of Kong meets The Cramps type of thing with added disco noise and a bucket of tongue in cheek attitude. there are ten cuts on offer, nine of which come in at the two and a half minute or less, with the closer, Boogie Sides being a four and half minute epic by comparison. All in all the tunes on offer are pretty sweet, tracks like Testify, Under The Groove (in my opinion the albums stand out cut), Sick and Allergic Reaction all bounce by in a wall of glorious irreverent fun filled boogie, that leaves you hungry for more.

Musically this is pretty cool as well, despite a deliberately messy approach the performances here are tight, engaging and entertaining, with Chris Mambo's Jerry Lee Lewis style snearing vocals, Danny Sauve's noise guitar work and Eddie Boogies tribal drumming all combining to make one hell of a sonic experience.

All in all this a damn fine debut from a band that shows a shed load of promise and I'm tipping for bigger and better things.

Well worth checking out

For fans of... The Cramps, The Brides Of Kong, The Meteors, Elvis Hitler etc.....

Gringo Star - 'Count Yer Lucky Stars' (Gigantic Music) 3.5/5

Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, Gringo Star are another one of the current wave of American retro rock outfits that seam to be popular stateside at the moment. This is their second album.

Now this lot worship firmly at the alter of the mid to late 60's British Invasion sound, coming over like the result of a multi-band horror smash between Beatles, early Yardbirds, Psyche era Status Quo and The Kinks, with The Monkees and Amen Corner piling into the wreckage. And to be honest, whilst this lot are no where near The Pillbugs in their attempt to recreate the swinging 60's pop sounds, they aint to shoddy either. Cuts like the Yardbirds influenced title track and the Beatleseque You Want It are all groovy little workouts that  really do make you want to put on your Carnaby Street threads and find a go-go to go-to.

However there are a few other places such as the sub Tom Jones ballad Esmeralda and the Herman's Hermits B-side sound-a-like Jessica where they seam to get too caught up in the nostalgia trip and forget that not everything that came out of the UK in the 1960's was fab. Still there are enough good tracks like the Kinks fueled riff heavy Make You Mine to make up for a the few dropped balls.

Worth a look

For fans of... The Pillbugs, The Beatles, The Kinks, Lois etc....

Exumer - 'Fire & Damnation' (metalblade) 4/5

Back in the mid 1980's when thrash was young German outfit Exumer were amongst the leading light in the genre. then after two critically acclaimed albums and  numerous tours the band folded in 1990. There was a one off festival appearance at the 2001 Wacken festival, then in 2008 they reformed, and since then have been gigging world wide whilst preparing for this, their first album in 24 years.

So was the wait, just shy of a quarter of a century worth it? Well listening to this one makes me feel like its 1986 again, and that is not a bad thing. Basically F&D is a ten track cakewalk back to those heady day. Cuts like Fallen Saint, Vermin of the Sky (my fave cut on offer) and Devil Chaser are all sweet old school thrash workouts. Not particularly fast or aggressive by modern standards, but still dripping in 1980's style brutality menace and power. Vocalist Mem V. Stein snarls and barks out his bile and anger like a good un, the guitars of HK and Ray Mensh churn, thrash and shred like a pair of Glasgow razor boys at chucking out time, and the demolition crew rhythm section of T. Schiavo and Matthias Kassner drive the whole thing on like a rogue bulldozer. Good stuff, good stuff indeed.


OK, so this album sounds like Exumer sounded back in the day. And there is nothing wrong with that, so often a classic thrash band will try to reinvent themselves for a modern audience and fuck up big time (at this point I will enter into evidence Onslaughts 'Shadows Of Violence' album). Furthermore these days sounding like a classic 1980's thrash band can be an advantage, there is a big revival in retro rock going on at the moment as the youth of today are rediscovering the classic rock and metal of the 70's and 80's; and therefore there is a whole new audience out there just waiting to be 'Exumed'.


Pretty damn good


For fans of... Slayer, Onslaught, English Dogs, Testament, Megadeth etc....

Crazy Lixx - 'Riot Avenue' (frontiers) 5/5

Swedish sleaze fueled rockers Crazy Lixx have been together since 2002 and along with the likes of Sister and Royal Republic are one of the big players in the glam side of Sweden's current classic rock revival. This is their third album.

Now I've been living with this one for a couple of weeks now, and this is the fourth time I've sat down to review it, but I've been having problems with this album, its so damn good and infectious, every time I've played it I've ended up head banging around the flat like a demented teenager, air guitars, the works. So this time I've got the girlfriend to tie me down in front of the computer and beat me with a whip until I've finished writing this one up.

As you can guess I'm like this one big time. From the up tempo double whammy opening of Whiskey, Foxtrot, Tango and Youngblood through to the almost southern boogie closing epic of Only The Dead Know, this album just drips class. It's like all your fave glam and sleaze rock acts rolled into one glorious eleven song package. You get the the classic riffing of Ratt (Youngblood), the mob yell choruses of Poison (Fire It Up), the late night sleaze of Dogs D'Amour (Downtown), the strut and swagger of Skid Row (Sweet, Bad & Beautiful), the full works and its formed into a down and dirty whole that makes this one of the best glam rock / hair metal albums of the past 10 years at least.

I really cannot praise this album enough, the performances here are spot on. Danny Rexon's vocals are distinctive, direct and remind me somewhere of the great Sebastian Bach (Skid Row), Guitarist Andy Dawson is a rare talent, a glam metal guitarist who knows exactly how to read a song and knows when to go OTT and when to rein himself in. Chuck in the rhythm section of Loke Rivano (bass - now sadly departed from the band) and Joél Cirera (drums) who are as tight as a ducks chuff and as driving as Finnish Rally driver in an old group B car, and you do have a band who knows not only how to rock out like a bastard but also how to bring the best out in each other.

In short this is a great album and with glam rock getting a new audience thanks to the likes of the Black Veil Brides,  an outfit that really could go places.

A True Classic
 
For fans of... Moltey Crue, Ratt, Kiss, Skid Row, Black Veil Brides, Sister etc....

Modern Day Escape - ' Under The Gun' (standby) 4/5

With out doubt the real surprise of 2011 was the success of Black Veil Brides as they exploded out of the California underground to stake a real claim at world domination. Now we have Ohio post emo boys Modern Day Escape attempting to follow in their wake of their label mates with this their second album.

Now with former BVB stickman Sandra Alva thumping the pig skin and taking a very similar approach to production as BVB followed on their 'Set The World On Fire' opus it would be too easy just to dismiss this lot as a band of bandwagon jumpers and move on. But to do that would be to do MDE a huge disservice, cos this record is a pretty impressive work in its own right.

There are eleven cuts on offer here and to be honest they are pretty good. Cuts like Life's A Bitch, Tigers Blood and Feels On The Darkside are all prime slices of top notch commercial mainstream hard rock; bursting with angst fueled teen attitude, mosh pit friendly headbangable aggression and enough catchy hooks to keep a tuna fisherman going for several weeks. All good fun stuff.

All the classic hard rock influences are on show, you get dollops of Moltey Crue, hints of Iron Maiden, Kiss style riffage, post hardcore shouty bits and more... and the end result is another album that could just well help in making the mainstream cool again.

OK its not all good news, there are a few places, especially on the opening cut City of Thieves where the sound is a bit confused and messy and the result is that this album isn't as immediately accessible as the aforementioned BVB opus, but its worth sticking with, especially when it comes to the closing cut Demons Down Below, a track that has 'classic' scrawled all over it.

The bottom line is that this is the sound of the new mainstream, and if it means more of this kind of stuff, and less Nickleback, 30 Seconds To Mars, Theory of a Wifebeater kind of yawn rock then the world is going to be a better place.

Pretty damn good

For fans of... Black Veil Brides, Halestorm, Dear Superstar, Shinedown etc....

Tyketto - 'Dig In Deep' (frontiers) 3/5

Another US East Coast outfit on the comeback trail, Tyketto first emerged out of New York in the late 80's and like many of the second wave of US hair rockers had their careers cut short by the whole grunge movement of the early 1990's. They first split in 1996 after four albums, reformed in 2004 and broke up 'for good' three years later. However less than 12 months later they reformed and have spent the last four years touring their butts off world wide and preparing for this, the first album of new material in 16 years.

Now I will be honest and say I'm finding this on a little bit of a let down on first listen, I have a copy of the bands first album on vinyl, and find this latest offering a bit light weight in comparison. It's a wee bit too radio friendly for my tastes, a bit lacking in drive and balls. It' not until the fifth track on the album you get anything resembling a real rocker, when the the opening riff of The Fight Left In Me cuts in, but even then that riff resolves into something not all that gutsy and pretty middle of the road. In fact true rock out moments on this one are a bit few and far between. Theres the rather groovy slide blues of the title track and the riff heavy and driving Sound Off (the best cut on offer by a country mile), but thats about it really. The rest of the album is made up of light weight US daytime rock radio tunes, rather cheesy power ballads and sub Bon Jovi lighter wavers.

Shame because this album is well penned and played and you know that Tyketto are a band who can rock out like bastards when they want to, but here they never seam to get out of second gear. Still fm radio stations in the mid west will lap it up ever if the rest of the world may find this album a bit lacking in fire.

Try before you buy

For fans of... House of Lords, Beggars & Thieves, Bon Jovi, REM.....