rock/metal albums
Album Review: Matt Berry – Matt Berry and The Maypoles Live
A quick perusal of the artwork of Matt Berry and the Maypoles Live, with it’s Acid Jazz label styled in the manner of the old Philips logo, a back cover which consists of the tracklisting and photos of the individual members of The Maypoles playing live and the inside of the CD booklet consisting of …
Album Review: Luxury Hobo – Big Boy Bloater
The throaty roar of Big Boy Bloater signals his returns with a new album – Luxury Hobo. Specifically, you are straight into the driving Hammond organ rhythm of “Devils, Not Angels”, which sounds like Billy Preston covering Led Zeppelin’s Rock and Roll. “This ain’t the girl that you been looking for” he growls, while the …
Album Review: Crashing into things – To Consume, and To Be Consumed
In a world of music that tends to insult our intelligence it’s refreshing to hear a band that actually challenges us intellectually. Crashing Into Things prove to be highly creative in pushing genre boundaries musically, while at the same delivering insightful and thought-provoking lyrics. The Victoria, BC band combines elements of both New York post-punk …
Album Review: The Stone Foxes – Twelve Spells
At the start of rock and roll the generational the battlelines were well defined and they remained static for decades. The young rock and pop acts specifically targeted the youth market, and those acts that appealed to the average individual over the age of 30 were few and far between. Simply put, if you were …
Album Review: Killswitch Engage – Incarnate
After Killswitch Engage set the bar incredibly high with their last release, Disarm the Descent, the iconic metal core quintet had an extremely difficult task in living up to expectations. Unfortunately, on this new album, entitled Incarnate, the band have seemingly gone a few steps backwards. To firstly clarify this statement, Incarnate is by no …
Album Review: Wolfmother – Victorious
Man, do you remember back in 2005 when Wolfmother dropped their debut album? That glorious mix of proggy, organ-drenched, chunky guitar goodness that reminded us that Uriah Heep were pretty cool(at least Ken Hensley’s bits) and that Robert Plant would’ve sounded pretty damn cool fronting Black Sabbath. Yeah, I remember that self-titled well. There was …
Album Review: Abbath – Abbath
Everyone’s favourite croaky voiced badger lookalike is back with his first solo album since leaving iconic Norwegian black metal group Immortal. Those not aware of Abbath’s previous work should certainly check out albums like Sons of Northern Darkness and Battles in The North as they epitomise the cold, frostbitten sound Abbath and Immortal are best …
Album Review: Love Buzzard – ‘Antifistamines’
Love Buzzards debut album, ‘Antifistamines’ washes ashore on a scuzzy wave of garage / surf-punk, churning up memories of the headstrong days of the West Coast hardcore scene. With more than a slight nod towards the likes of Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster, Naked Raygun, and the punkier, more psychotic edge of The Cramps, ‘Antifistamine’ is …
Album Review: Black Tusk – Pillars of Ash
Pillars of Ash is the fifth album from Savannah, Georgia metal band Black Tusk. Released via Relapse Record the band’s latest effort combines elements of heavy metal, sludge and hard-core punk creating their own blend of what the band calls “Swamp metal”. Despite the filth encrusted sludge style of production this record has a real …
Box set review: Skeletal Family- Eternal: Singles, Albums, Rarities, BBC Sessions, Demos 1982-2015
The Skeletal Family were part of the Goth sub-culture that sprang up in the 1980s but they were never really in the movement’s first division like The Sisters of Mercy or The Mission. But their unique selling point was they had a female singer Anne-Marie Hurst and it is her powerful vocals, with more than …