Pulo Revé – ‘É’ [Review]

To spot a great band in the darkest depths of the underground, start by asking yourself the following questions:

1) Are they recycling the same old tired clichés?

2) Can you hear their influences?

2a) If so, do those influences flow into each other and blend well?

3) Do they sound like they mean it?

4) Does the production job do the music justice?

The answers you’re looking for are:

1) No;

2) I don’t care, because this is badass!;

2a) Yes;

3) Yes;

4) Hell yes.

É‘s Introductory Blues passes this test effortlessly. Acoustic guitar fiddliness in the vein of Candyrat Records gives way to Enter Shikari-style vocalisations, a buildup into Read more…

Posted on 12 September 2015

The Lion And The Wolf – ‘My Father’s Eyes’ [Review]

Tom George, AKA The Lion And The Wolf, is a brilliant songwriter. His music is guaranteed to soothe, invigorate, and energise via gently overdriven guitars, healthy dollops of spacious reverb, and carefully structured rhythms. Beautiful.

As far as paternally-oriented tribute tracks go, My Father’s Eyes is perfect – and B-side Barstools washes, Read more…

Posted on 10 September 2015

Chon – ‘Grow’ [Review]

My face seems to think it’s Halloween, because I can’t stop grinning like a carved-up pumpkin after hearing this album.

CHON are a truly unique band capable of blending Disney-cute melodies with hard-driving hypersyncopated grooves (as on Grow opener Book, featuring Animals As Leaders drummist Matt Garstka) and intimidating time signature changes (second track But, again pinned down by AAL’s animalistic skin-beater). Add in sparkly fusion chords, polished-but-not-clinical production, and sublime vocals (entering on Can’t Wait) and…damn. If you’ve not been scared off by the six-letter F-word, this is your dream come true.

Highlights? How about every single moment? This may sound hyperbolic, but fuck it – it’s true. Grow has been Read more…

Posted on 09 September 2015

Five Finger Death Punch – ‘Got Your Six’ [Review]

This album feels like a black eye. A broken nose. Fractured ribs. And a punctured lung.

It’s big, it’s ear-bruising, and it. Is. Badass.

LV / LA-based metal heavyweights Five Finger Death Punch are synonymous with a direct, no-nonsense approach to heavy metal. There’s a definite emphasis on the heavy here, but Got Your Six is far from impenetrable. Great songcraft drives these guys as much as great riffs and irresistible grooves.

These facts are immediately obvious from Read more…

Posted on 08 September 2015

Iron Maiden – ‘The Book Of Souls’ [Review]

Some bands have done it all. Not Iron Maiden. These guys have done everything at least three times, forging a multiple-decade career while running rampant around the world, influencing bands as diverse as Metallica and Dream Theater, and precisely honing one of the most instantly identifiable sounds in metal.

If you’ve ever heard an Iron Maiden song before, you’ll know what to expect here: galloping rhythms, duelling guitars, frenzied solos, siege-engine energy, and Bruce Dickinson’s legendary vocals soaring over it all. Maiden’s style has always been their calling card, and their albums are like theme parks, inspired by mythological lore and notable moments from history. The Book Of Souls takes in everything from Read more…

Posted on 06 September 2015

The Dear Hunter – ‘Act IV: Rebirth In Reprise’ [Review]

Before you press play on this album, you’d better brace yourself. This is for three reasons:

1) The Dear Hunter have been going for five studio albums and a series of nine EPs now, so it’s safe to say this band is a bit of a Big Deal;

2) The Dear Hunter’s main project is a six (or rather VI)-act story, in the process of being presented over the course of six/VI albums. Act III: Life And Death was released back in 2009 – and so this album, Act IV, has been six years in the making, and fan anticipation (fanticipation? …maybe not) has been at fever pitch for a long time now;

3) Act IV: Rebirth In Reprise is beyond epic.

This is an absolute rollercoaster of an album, launching into ultra-rich Biffy-Clyro-crossed-with-Queen harmonies which soon give way to forest-party-falling-down-the-stairs folk and an inquisitive orchestral section. As opening statements go, Rebirth is pretty damn unique – a very rare statement in today’s musical climate. Then we get pitched into Read more…

Posted on 04 September 2015

Disturbed – ‘Immortalized’ [Review]

Disturbed are kings of no-holds-barred catharsis. Since stepping into the metal world’s spotlight with 2000’s The Sickness, their name has become synonymous with brutal riffage and off-kilter rhythms, topped off by frontman David Draiman’s unmistakable vocals. Following a slew of harsh and uncompromising albums, Disturbed have spent the last few years on hiatus – and spent the past year and a half working on Immortalized in total secrecy.

The first thing to point out about Immortalized is that it does showcase Disturbed at their best, and even contains some experimental moments that come across as both effective and congruent. When listening to ninth track Save Our Last Goodbye – a tribute to a fallen friend – you can easily imagine the band heading determinedly into the studio, minds set on doing justice to painful facts and memories. The intro is nothing short of apocalyptic, the lyrics gut-wrenchingly cathartic, the chorus Read more…

Posted on 25 August 2015

Hatton Manor – ‘Eden’ [Review]

UPDATE: TMMP has been reborn! This video has the full story:

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The singer-songwriter market is oversaturated. Full of countless clones plying folky wares with serious-as-cancer faces buried in their own backsides. Crammed, stuffed, and a little bit boring.

Hatton Manor offer something more than their pretentiously affected contemporaries. A guitar-and-vocal duo, Matt and Hannah (Hatt & Mannah = Hatton Manor) are simply better than the next pair. This is a big statement, but it’s easily justified. Even the briefest listen to Eden opener Mountain Man, for instance, proves their class and classiness. Hannah’s voice is bloody awesome, equal parts soul and control, while Matt’s multi-tasking guitar/vocal/percussion skills are Read more…

Posted on 23 August 2015

Black Futures – ‘Love’ [Review]

If you’re a fan of flat-out-fucked electronica à la the Prodigy, you’ve either heard of Black Futures already (and love them), or you’ve never given them a listen and must do so immediately.

Love‘s video carries a warning (“FLASHING IMAGES – MAY CAUSE FEELINGS OF ELATION AND ECTASY”) for good reason, while the track itself features a Read more…

Posted on 20 August 2015

Agent Fresco – ‘Destrier’ [Review]

There’s more to pain than just pain itself. Extended periods of serious suffering are not always stable and uniform; the experience can contain many subtle emotional shades. There may be periods of calm, relief, joy, and hope mixed in amongst the darkest of dark moments – and Destrier demonstrates this fact in musical form.

Fuelled by the brutal beating of vocalist Arnór Dan Arnarson at the hands of two strangers, and sharing its name with Read more…

Posted on 17 August 2015