As the world struggles with an onslaught of serious issues, it’s nice to be able to take a break every now and again and just have some fun. CHON provide an ideal soundtrack for said festivities; their back catalogue is crammed with cutesy cleans, playful and mostly instrumental math-based tunes, and good vibes aplenty. Up to this point, these guys have emphasised the clean side of instrumental guitar – but on Homey, their focus has firmly shifted Read more…
Online guitar connoisseurs will doubtless be familiar with Andy James. Having established himself as one of the Internet’s most fleet-fingered go-to guitar teachers as well as a key member of former outfit Sacred Mother Tongue and current band Wearing Scars, Andy James’ solo output has long been slavered over by legions of six-string fanatics. With his most recent solo outing Exodus available to devour in full – and reviewed here – I got talking to Andy about the full story behind said long-player’s origins and the assorted intricacies of life in a working band… Read more…
Dragonforce are the kings of unrestrainable speed. 2006’s Inhuman Rampage kicked off with the legendary Through The Fire And Flames – the hardest song on Guitar Hero, and pretty fucking tough on actual guitar as well. Fast-forward to 2014’s Maximum Overload and The Game, a 240-bpm monster, and you have to ask: How can these guys push the boat out even further? Read more…
Given Andy James’ status as a prolific and renowned guitar teacher, it should come as no surprise that this all-instrumental LP represents a balls-to-the-wall metal masterclass.
Exodus is precision-targeted at the Internet’s shredheads. We’re talking ten tracks that span an impressive range of Read more…
As a long-time Plini and Steve Vai fan, this interview threw up an extremely exciting idea. Backstage at legendary London rock venue The Borderline, we got chatting about broken ukeleles, clean section circle pits, and that incredible plan…
A lot of people think prog is cold and soulless – but Plini’s show on Sunday night was one of the most heartwarming shows I’ve seen in a long time. Some parts of the world are dark and hateful places – but The Borderline was not one of them.
With a sold-out queue stretching around the corner and down the street, it goes without saying that Sunday night’s lineup was pretty special. Although I had heard of David Maxim Micic and Disperse before, I deliberately didn’t do any research on them before the show, because I wanted to be surprised by what they had to offer. Instead of being surprised Read more…
Although it’s 2017, the question of whether or not women belong in rock and metal remains an emotional trigger point for many fans. Despite its status as an all-inclusive genre that provides shelter for those used to being excluded by others, heavy music still harbours a perhaps small but nonetheless extremely vocal element set on rabidly tearing down any musician in possession of big riffs, buckets of attitude, and non-phallic genitalia.
With She Rocks Vol. 1, Favored Nations – the record label run by world-renowned guitar wizard Steve Vai – has set out a resounding rebuke that should by rights silence sexists and provide more open minds with plenty of great music on which to feast. It’s pretty sad that this release will prove controversial in some quarters, but oh well. She Rocks isn’t the kind of album that’s going to meekly turn tail and flee, and we’re not about to turn back the clock and embrace the gender-related values of the 1950s again.
As the music industry slows down, its alternative end hibernating while the pop-enamoured mainstream hungrily ogles Christmas shoppers, the time has come to look back on a seriously strong year for organised soundwaves. For me, it’s been heavy, intense, and a hell of a lot of fun thanks to the releases listed below.
With so many exceptional contenders in the running for the top spot, the thought of ranking them in order of quality is plainly ridiculous. So instead, I’ve picked out three releases that had memorable impacts on me when I first heard them, and assembled the others in alphabetical order.
The Pretty Reckless’s Who You Selling For – along with previous effort Going To Hell – is conclusive proof (if it were honestly needed in 2016) that women belong in rock music, and are fully capable of kicking ass. The sexists of the music world are like Wile E. Coyote; they’ve run off the edge of the cliff, nothing surrounds them but empty air, they’ve looked down, and they’re panicking. Sonic Boom Six’s The F-Bomb picks up where that image leaves off – it’s cheeky, chirpy, happy and hard-hitting (sometimes simultaneously), addressing a wealth of gender-related issues and providing a great ska-fuelled party soundtrack as only Sonic Boom Six can.
Musically, Dissociation is The F-Bomb’s polar opposite. The Dillinger Escape Plan’s swan song is crammed with brutal and ultra-experimental mathcore – but it’s also Dillinger’s most delicate and diverse album. The Dillinger Escape Plan are living proof that you can achieve great things without compromise, by sticking to your guns and just going for it.
Beyond that point, you’re free to dive into an epic range of albums including solidly grooving rock sets, monolithic slabs of military-grade metal, and progressive masterpieces. Since I’ve not reviewed many EPs this year, I’ve also included a pair of extended-playing mind-blowers in the form of Dorje’s Centred And One and Toska’s Ode To The Author. Dorje specialise in utterly idiosyncratic rock tunes with added progressive spice, while to me, Toska (made up of Dorje’s backline, namely guitarist Rabea Massaad, drummer Ben Minal, and bassist Dave Hollingworth) represent the future of instrumental metal.
Both Dorje and Toska are bands on the rise – and they fully deserve to hit the same peaks enjoyed by the biggest names on this list.
There’s little more to say; for me, this list represents the top albums of 2016. Enjoy the full reviews linked below, follow TMMP on Twitter, subscribe to my brand new YouTube channel, and stay tuned for more world-class music next year!
Tomoyasu Hotei is well on his way to becoming a household name across the world. He’s long been a superstar in his native Japan, and whether they realise it or not, Western music fans have already heard Hotei’s music – most notably the modern classic ‘Battle Without Honor Or Humanity’, which featured in the Tarantino double-bill Kill Bill. Slowly but surely, Hotei is gaining still more ground – and he deserves every inch of it.
With Hotei’s new single ‘Walking Through The Night’ making waves generated through his collaboration with Iggy Pop, we got talking about Hotei’s latest endeavours while touching on life advice, flying guitars, and David Bowie… Read more…
Wembley Arena is drowning in not-quite-November rain. Within its cavernous confines, the metal-enamoured masses gather to chat and watch impatiently as an onstage drum tech runs through a standard-issue soundcheck. Slowly, showtime approaches.
Arenas are often accused of sucking the soul out of live shows – but what they actually do is present performers with the ultimate challenge, that of Read more…
