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