Toothgrinder Lightblue VARIOUS ARTISTS Lovebites TANKARD
Phantom Amour Paradise Lost SPAWN (AGAIN) Awakening From Abyss Deadweight
Spinefarm
Review: Hywel Davies
Toothgrinder are one of
those bands that are so
criminally underrated it
hurts. Their first album
slipped by the con-
sciousness of the rock
community, which begs
belief. Nocturnal Mas-
querade was a progres-
sive stepping stone that
ranged from balls-out
heavines s to melanchol-
ic backwater twangy
Americana that deserves
more recognition than it
received.
But now a year later,
Phantom Amour reaches
our ears and it’s a
sudden turn of pace for
the New Jersey outfit.
Where Nocturnal…
flirted with the likes of
Meshuggah and Masto-
don, Phantom… shows
very little trace of such
influences. If we had to
compare, the fuzzed-out
guitar tone and smooth
eerie harmonies remind
us of CKY, if anything.
It’s one hell of a pro-
gression, and if we’re
honest it’s fucking killer.
Dirty, sexy grooves
are abundant that are
complimented with mo-
ments of sheer force and
melancholy respectively.
You’ll be hard-pressed
to find another record
that’s this forward think-
ing and fun! ‘Let It Ride’
will drill into your head,
crash on the sofa and
chuck it’s boots on your
best coffee table without
so much as asking
for your goddamned
permission. The album
is littered with these
moments that deserve
multiple listens. It’s
rock n’ roll for 2017 and
beyond.
Shipwreck Records
Review: Sam Hayler
There is a sea of pop-
punk bands out there.
Many of them are awful.
Today I’m going to talk
about one that isn’t,
with a record that really
isn’t. Cheltenham-based
outfit Lightblue are un-
leashing Paradise Lost,
an EP that has defied all
of my expectations.
To be fair, I didn’t expect
that much. When a band
chooses to identify itself
as ‘emo’, I immediately
jump to the conclusion
that there will be whiny
vocals, pretentious
lyrics, and enough hair
to fill a barbershop.
With this EP, those
expectations quickly
disappeared and were
replaced by an appreci-
ation for what is simply
good music.
Whether you call it
emo, emu, or elmo, this
record’s sound carries a
huge energy that is un-
questionably punk. The
vocals are strained, but
in a way that feels delib-
erate, and much like the
punchy power chords
and catchy choruses,
they are reminiscent of
the scene’s earliest days.
Way before the fringes
and the whining. Back
when the ratio of pop to
punk was more-or-less
50:50.
Forget Meals On
Wheels, my friends, and
get ready for Feels On
Wheels. This record will
move you both physi-
cally and emotionally.
You’ll end up in a place
of rock bliss, but it’s
the journey there that
will stay with you. Out
December 8th.
UNFD
Review: Neale McGeever
Here in the UK, Silver-
chair were part of the
nu-grunge mini-move-
ment and stood out
among the likes of Can-
ada’s Nickelback and the
States’ Puddle Of Mudd.
In their native Australia,
they are hailed as being
their best exports along
with Hugh Jackman and
Fosters lager. Looking
at the track-listing for
this ‘tribute’ compila-
tion, they may well have
inspired a generation of
rockers down under.
Let’s be frank here, you
really need to be a Sil-
verchair fan to appreci-
ate this. Even so, this is
a good way to hear your
favourite contemporary
bands like Northlane or
Tonight Alive go out of
their comfort zone. The
album opens with The
Amity Affliction cover-
ing ‘Tomorrow’, pretty
much setting the tone
for the collection. Great
cover by Australia’s
biggest name in metal
of what is Australia’s an-
swer to Nirvana. Taking
on the biggest hit on
the album (‘Freak’) are
metalcore collective In
Hearts Wake, who pretty
much butcher the track,
turning an outsider
ballad into a machis-
mo anthem somehow.
On the other side of
the coin, Tonight Alive
breathe a bit of punk-
pop air in to ‘Without
You’ and in turn making
it their own. As made
clear earlier: this is
tailored for SC fans, yet
still a serviceable ‘Best
of Australian rock’ com-
pilation.
JPU Records
Review: Neale McGeever
Apart from the fact
there already isn’t an 80s
glam metal band out
there called Lovebites,
it should come as no
surprise that this is an
all-woman Japanese
power-metal band. Why
is that such a shock? Jap-
anese culture and power
metal go hand-in-hand.
Think of what bands
like DragonForce and
GloyHammer remind
you of - video games,
anime, Japanese wres-
tling... so yeah Japan.
What’s more surprising
is they don’t distinctively
sound Japanese, unlike
bands such as Whis-
pered - who are actually
Finnish. I feel any metal
fan would love this, the
riffs and solos are spot
on: lead single ‘Shad-
owmaker’ is enough to
show you this. ‘Scream
For Me’ wouldn’t feel
out of place in an anime
romance about a metal
guitarist or one of the
3D Sonic games. Not
that we’re complaining.
The clear influences here
are legends like Iron
Maiden, via guitarist
Midori, with a sprinkle
of Lacuna Coil (Asa-
mi’s vocals), or even
Megadeth and Metalli-
ca (Haruna hits hard,
despite being the most
innocent looking one).
Although there aren’t
any ‘bad’ tracks on this
album, a lot of the songs
sound similar even by
track 8 ‘The Apocalypse’.
Sometimes verging on
mediocre. So if you love
the soundtrack of F-Ze-
ro X, this might be your
new favourite band.
AFM Records
Review: Tom Dixon
With a band name like
Tankard, with many
of their album titles
alluding to drink it’s no
wonder that their latest
‘best of ’ release has a
beer-drinking monk on
the cover and the not
so subtle title Hymns
For the Drunk! It covers
the period from 2002 to
2010.
Despite covering eight
years and five albums,
do not expect light and
shade – all the tracks are
the high-octane outings
expected of Tankard.
Favourite track has to be
‘New Liver Please’ closely
followed by ‘Metalto
Metal’ and ‘Empty Tan-
kard’ - all have a distinct
melodic feeling often
missing in their music.
Indeed, the way ‘Emp-
ty Tankard’ develops
reminds me of Budgie
speeded up and vocals
tuned down an octave
or three.
‘Rectifier’ even
out-Maidens Maiden –
listen closely, you’ll hear
what I mean.
(Fortunately, this compi-
lation leaves out the
track ‘Myevilfart’!).
‘Medley’ ‘ is an interest-
ing track… consisting
of extracts of ‘Alcohol’,
‘Puke Mon Cheri’ and
‘Wonderful Life’ it is a
smorgasbord of dark
themes where Gerre
Geremia is confident
that “life sucks”!
Fifteen tracks from
five albums is damn
good value if you don’t
already own them or, if
you need a n introduc-
tion to Tankard, it won’t
get better than this.
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