The second album from the Norwegian high-octane rockers The Gasölines! The band embodies the whole greasy, dirty liquor-swigging Rock and Rollas. they embrace every cliche and wear it like a badge of honour and why the fuck not? They riff on a steady diet of what’s gone before them from the 1950s through the 1990s and into the 2020s. With a rigid middle digit in the air and smoke coming off the oil-soaked floors turn this sucker up!
“We didn’t invent the wheel on this album. There’s no need to. Rock will forever kick the elite hipsters’ asses with their man buns, fancy coffee, electric kick scooters and vegan smoothies. This is pure rock’n’roll with proper amps, only mics on drums, no autotune, just four guys having a blast in studio”, says Morten Gasöline. A big antagonistic claim that you just have to back up. Cars, Beer, Women, gambling all the ingredients that have been a staple of this genre.
The album kicks off with the DC riff-a-rama of ‘Rum Runner 500’ with its solid beat and wailing solo as the riffs come hard and fast. It’s exactly what I was expecting and true to their words the band pile in – it’s macho and whilst its not original at all its authentic and they certainly sound like they walk the walk. The pace is picked up on ‘Grand Prix’ as they shift through the gears and turn up the tempo for a much better song.
To be fair ‘Dragstrip Inferno’ is sort of a halfway house of the opening two songs with wailing guitar solos and more lyrics about fast cars it doesn’t take a genius to work out what these cats are all about. when they break away from singing about motors ‘Hellbreaker’ bursts into life on a rumbling bassline that is thick as a builders sandwich and they hit a decent groove. The track ‘Snakebite’ is more of the same (surprisingly) sounding like a Gene Simmons Kiss song with a growling gravelly vocal over a solid backbeat.
You also get some punk rock n roll in ‘Burning Dice’ and a little of what they were probably listening to before heading to the studio as some Dirty Deeds era DC filters through their DNA. Spread out over ten tracks it’s a heavy beast and at times laces a little variety but when they hit their groove they sound on fire. Turn it up kids it’ll annoy your parents as their forefathers did and that’s always a great starting point. Play Loud! Like the band obviously did when recording this beast and the artwork is awesome and reason alone why you should check these out.
Finally, the much anticipated third album from the Bar Stool Preachers is almost here! With help from Kevin Bivona (The Interrupters), Ted Hutt (Dropkick Murphy’s/Flogging Molly) and Ben Hannah (Nosebleed),
The Bar Stool Preachers (friends of the site) are back with a bang, bringing you some of the biggest new tunes, in Spring 2023, they’re bringing them to a town near you. To celebrate this new release and to continue their mission of bangers, power and unity, the band are hitting the road hard – and bringing their one of kind incendiary live show to lucky clubs around the world. Described as having the “perfect blend of intelligent punk anthems and poignant, unsentimental love songs, both combined with the most infectious songs you’ll hear this decade”, these shows are long-awaited, and not something you’re gonna want to miss.
The long-awaited third album is coming out on Pure Noise Records, and it’s going to be out in the Spring of 2023!
It’s called ‘Above the Static’ and it’s a beautiful collection of raucous rock and roll, dancing ska and huge heartfelt punk anthems. Nowadays, it’s hard to get heard above the noise. The shows, are the only shows they have booked so far in the UK for 2023, which means they are the only shows they have booked in the UK – as it stands – forever!
Right now in 2022 they may not openly want to admit this, but there was a time back at the start of the ‘80s when the uber cool indie Spillers Records emporium in Cardiff, Wales, really was the place to go for all your US metal needs. If you wanted to hear Y&T’s immense ‘Earthshaker’ record, or be knocked bandy by The Rods self-titled platter following both of them getting rave reviews in Sounds that record shop was where you would find them. You could keep the NWOBHM, that was already old hat by 1982, especially when copies of the “life changing” (not only for the band, but for us too) self-financed debut record from a certain LA based band known as Motley Crue finally made its way across the Atlantic and into the window of a certain shop on the Hayes.
I remember it like it was only yesterday, looking in the right-hand window of the shop and seeing that leather groin cover staring right back at me. It’s import price tag would certainly have meant me forgoing a few other music purchases that month, but following yet another rave review in Sounds just a few weeks earlier for said album I just had to have a copy, and boy oh boy was it ‘Red Hot’…no wait, that came a couple of years later didn’t it. Ha!
Let’s face it, Motley Crue never topped that self-released debut record, in fact they then went on to completely ruin it just a few months later with a godawful Roy Thomas Baker remix of it pre the release of ‘Shout At The Devil’. However, via that legendary 10 track Leathür Records version they introduced a whole new generation of cool kids to the visual and aural delights of glam rock, their influence stretching all the way from the Starwood, Whisky a Go Go, and Roxy music venues of their home county right through to Bogiez in Cardiff, where if you asked the likes of Rankelson and Tigertailz who they really wanted to be, Motley Crue would have been top of the list.
So, what the hell has all of this got to do with ‘Bound For Hell: On The Sunset Strip’ I hear you ask? Well, this 21-track compilation of the LA bands that didn’t quite have the same worldwide influence as Motley Crue, takes you on a journey back in time to a place where there weren’t all the sub-genres that metal/hard rock is plagued with today and every new band was seemingly just looking to have a good time, whilst making, what they thought was, awesome music in the process.
Of course, the reason a majority of the bands captured here never got further than playing mainly local shows was because they only had maybe one or two great songs at most, but just like the four amazing, ‘JobCentre Rejects’ albums proved for the lesser-known bands of the NWOBHM scene, there’s certainly nothing wrong with doing a deep dive into the underbelly of a scene, as you never know quite what long lost musical gems you might find.
Case in point here being the opening double whammy (bar) of ‘Going To The City’ by Stormer and ‘Cocaine’ by L.A. Rocks, the former a glorious slab of Van Halen influenced rock shot through with some angelic (as in Punky Meadows’ band not Mensi’s mob) vocal harmonies whilst the latter could very easily have come from an early Tygers of Pan Tang release, and in the process sounds like the start of the NWOLAM movement that never quite got past the release of this 1979 released single.
The juxtaposition of these lesser known bands and how they deserved (in some cases) to sit alongside those that then made it to the next level by signing major label deals is exemplified well here via the likes of Lizzy Borden, Armored Saint, a very raw sounding Black N’ Blue, and Rough Cutt all getting a look in alongside the likes of Odin, V.V.S.I and Knightmare II, and if you were wondering if the female end of the scene is represented then the likes of (the Rock Goddess sounding) Jaded Lady, (the Maiden-esque) Hellion, (the more new wave/Benatar sounding than I expected) Bitch, Leather Angel (who featured Terry O’Leary who then went on to write better material with Jaded Lady) and the melodic rock of Lisa Baker are all here to show you it wasn’t just the men who got to wear the eyeliner and Aqua Net back in early 80s LA.
There are a few possible turkeys included, because not everyone is going to be the next Van Halen, but I’ll let you decide which tracks you might want to flick through, as I found myself compelled to listen the whole 21 track onslaught, largely due to the brilliant 144-page coffee table book written by Katherine Turman (co-author of Louder Than Hell: The Definitive Oral History of Metal) that accompanies the deluxe 2LP box set. This is a book that takes you on a band-by-band rollercoaster ride through the LA scene, and unveils many interesting facts along the way, like Black Sabbath’s Bill Ward once briefly being a member of Max Havok as were Quiet Riot’s Carlos Cavazo and W.A.S.P.’s Tony Richards. Who knew that eh? Not me.
The perfect companion piece to Deadline Music’s excellent 2005 released ‘Hollywood Rocks’ box set ‘Bound For Hell: On The Sunset Strip’ is available to pre-order right now across a multitude of formats to suit all budgets, starting from an entry price point download or CD and going right up to the 500 only coloured vinyl Poser Proof edition wallet buster.
This is not just a set for heritage rock fans though as ‘Bound For Hell: On The Sunset Strip’ awaits a whole new generation of rock fans to influence and corrupt.
Damaged Goods reissue this debut recording by Medway legends The Daggermen. If amphetamine paced, mod styled tunes is your thing, walk this way…
With links to The Prisoners, and having seen The Milkshakes whilst still at school, our heroic trio decided that this music was their destiny. Nascent drummer Wolf Howard invited Billy Childish to see their fledgling band, and the rest is Medway history, long before these two musicians joined forces in several of Billy’s groups.
Togged-up in Carnaby Street’s finest mod threads, and armed with a set of blistering Who and Kinks influenced tunes, all at under three minutes long, The Daggermen should have been bigger. But, maybe that would have spoiled it. With 18 tracks on the CD and 12 on the LP, now’s the time to explore their legacy. Primal, but with the likes of ‘What Do I Do For You’ showing their talent for vocal harmonies, this is a strong set of songs, including instrumentals like the Link Wray influenced ‘Bundle’ and the title track.
18 tunes rattle by in no time. If you’re not shaking your thing, there’s no hope for you. It’s definitely the Medway Sound, full of youthful energy. While I wait for Billy Childish to return to the faster stuff, this is a treat. Get on it!
Diamond Head’s importance to heavy metal culture is undeniable, when they formed in 1976 and released their self-financed demos just in time for the NWOBHM in 1979, they were just four lads from Stourbridge with a passion and a chemistry that resulted in some of metals most revered anthems. When they originally released the debut album Lightning to the Nations in 1980, it was through independent label Happy Face Records. There were 1000 copies pressed in a plain white sleeve with no title or track listings. 250 copies sported signatures of the band. The album features the classic line up of Sean Harris: Vocals, Brian Tatler: Guitar, Duncan Scott:Drums, & Colin Kimberly: Bass.
There have been earlier attempts to put out a definitive version of Lightning including Metal Blade’s 1993 CD release, this, however, was not the original version, it was a pretty ropey remix with poor mastering. After Metallica’s Lars Ulrich got involved in getting the original quarter inch master tapes back to guitarist Brian Tatler in the early 90s, Tatler has guarded them with his life. They were thought lost in Germany until Ulrich flexed some Q Prime shaped biceps. This 2022 release features the entire album remastered from those tapes as well as alternative mixes of The Prince, Lightning to the Nations,Sucking my Love, Am I Evil?, and Sweet and Innocent.
The tapes have been painstakingly restored by being baked, yes baked, before current Diamond Head frontman Rasmus ‘Ras’ Bom Andersen took on the remastering process. There are also bonus tracks that were recorded in the 80s. There are also detailed liner notes from Tatler. It really is a lovely package of a much-loved album which thoroughly deserves this level of detail.
We all know how much this album influenced the next generation of metal bands, most notably Metallica and Megadeth. Metallica famously covered and recorded tracks from Lightning and Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine guested on Diamond Head’s 1993 album Death and Progress. This album also featured a guest spot from Sabbath’s Tony Iommi. This latest version of Lightning really feels like the album that Diamond Head wanted to release 42 years ago. It is a must have for all fans of the band, and it features some fantastic new artwork which is based on an idea from Tatler to show a character referred to as ‘The Lightning God’.
The album is available on double CD, a deluxe 180g triple vinyl, a single 180g vinyl containing just the remastered album, and of course it will be available on all streaming platforms.
I was lucky enough to catch the latest incarnation of Diamond Head at the Steelhouse Festival in the summer and they were fantastic. They actually shook the ground! They are out on tour with Saxon throughout Europe and the UK in October and November. I hope to see them again soon. They really are a heavy metal institution; long may they continue to delight audiences around the world.
UK: 11 November – Ipswich, Regent Theatre 12 November – Southampton O2 Guildhall 13 November – Bexhill, De La Warr Pavilion 14 November – Cardiff, St. David’s Hall 15 November – Bath, Forum 16 November – Cambridge, Corn Exchange 18 November – Newcastle, O2 City Hall 19 November – Blackburn, King George’s Hall 20 November – Aberdeen, Music Hall 21 November – Glasgow, Barrowland 22 November – Hull, City Hall 23 November – York, Barbican 25 November – Leicester, De Montfort Hall 26 November – London, Roundhouse
Members of The Hip Priests, TV CRIME and Blatz/The Criminals follow up the 2020s ‘Rev It Up’ mini album with yet more loud, rough round the edges, fast as fuck punk/metal. singer Jesse Luscious (Blatz, The Criminals) barks out the vocals to a backdrop of paint-peeling hack-and-slash guitar riffs and a chest-smashing rhythm section. The USA offers up plenty of hardcore punk bordering on metal bands that write succinct drops of pure noise so why can’t this side of the pond dish up something similar? The answer is simple because they can and Scene Killers do. They don’t fuck about never have, never will not in their day job bands and not as the collective that is Scene Killers.
The Album kicks off with the twisted intro that signals ‘Gimme Gimme’ has begun guitars slash and the vocals are barked out its got a tonne of energy and its pace is purposeful and confident great opener. ‘Immigrant Eyes’ takes the whole old school HC and runs with it like OFF! and the forefathers like Bad Brains it’s direct and uncompromising but a whole lot of fun to boot – get in the pit ya rascals.
As the band shift through the gears ‘One Way Street’ turns up the heat and Jesse delivers a great vocal but the guitars are on fire with Austin trying to tame the wild licks sparking off his six-string. If I was forced to pick a favourite track apart from the song ‘Big City’ with its slower more menacing tempo and thuggish gang vocals on the chorus I’d plum for ‘They’re Wrong’ for its hypnotic riff and perfecting everything on the album in one song. As the album opens up the MO is simple, play hard, play fast don’t compromise, and knock these songs out of the park with passion and power. So the band meets their brief as songs like ‘Antennas’ is raw as fuck whereas the title track sounds like a modern-day Dead Kennedys in style but I’d guess that it’s part of the band’s DNA but they certainly don’t sound like a West Coast surf punk band there are equal amounts of NYHC happening here as well absorbing all sides of uncompromising punk rock from all over this spinning rock and making it their own you hear bits of Bad Brains and Black Flag as the music pours over you but there’s more going on here – much more.
If you’re not convinced ‘They’re Wrong’ rocks up and will smash you over the head with some cracking riff-a-rama swirling around the uncompromising vocals. Keeping it short and sweet the band closes the album on track number nine with ‘We’re All Decay’ and you should feel suitably pulverised by the end of it. An excellent album that’s brutal and uncompromising with no time for light and shade just a forboding attack, attack, attack but it is addictive and beautiful all at the same time to fuck with you. Another day another top record from the collective minds of people who love punk rock but being in bands like TV Crime and The Hip Priests what else would you expect? Buy It!
2-CD And 2-LP Versions Of First Black Sabbath Albums WithRonnie James Dio On Vocals Feature Newly Remastered AudioAlong With Rare And Unreleased Music
Ronnie James Dio joined Black Sabbath in 1979 which resulted in two back-to-back classic albums: Heaven And Hell and Mob Rules. On those memorable albums, Dio’s soaring tenor and gothic songwriting were the perfect foil for the band’s bone-crushing mix of razor-sharp riffs, intense grooves, and dark imagery.
BMG salutes the long shadow cast by this short-lived line-up with newly remastered versions of both albums expanded with rare and unreleased music. HEAVEN AND HELL: DELUXE EDITION and MOB RULES: DELUXE EDITION will be released separately on November 4th and November 18th. Each album will be available on 2-CDs, or a 2-LP set. Due to space constraints, both vinyl editions include a selection of bonus material from the CDs. The music will also be available via digital download and streaming services the same day.
Dio joined Black Sabbath for the first time in 1979 and quickly found kindred spirits in guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward. When Heaven And Hell was released in April 1980, the album was met with effusive reviews for the band’s return to form on metal masterpieces like “Neon Knights” and the title track. The album reached #9 in the U.K. and #28 in the U.S., where it was also certified platinum.
HEAVEN AND HELL: DELUXE EDITION adds several bonus tracks, including versions of “Children Of The Sea” and “Die Young” recorded live in 1980 in Hartford, CT. The set concludes with live rarities like “E5150” and “Neon Knights” that originally appeared in 2007 on the limited-edition collection, Black Sabbath: Live At Hammersmith Odeon.
To follow-up Heaven And Hell, the group returned to the studio in 1981 to begin recording Mob Rules, with drummer Vinny Appice joining the band for the first time. Released in October 1981 and certified gold, the album was another Sabbath classic, including standouts like “The Sign Of The Southern Cross,” “Turn Up The Night” and the title track.
MOB RULES: DELUXE EDITION boasts an expansive selection of rare and unreleased recordings. Along with additional tracks from Live At Hammersmith Odeon, the collection also includes a newly mixed version of “The Mob Rules.” The cherry on top is an entire concert recorded in 1982 in Portland, OR. Highlights include stellar performances of “Neon Knights”, “Heaven And Hell” and “Voodoo.”
A long time ago there was a punk rock n roll scene exploding in Sweden and it was knocking out Rock n Roll bands ten to the dozen. Some terrific records were being made and tremours were felt near and far. The Hellacopters, ‘Demons’, Nomads, Backyard Babies and The Hives all seemed to be releasing records that were taken to the hearts of many a punk rock n roll fan around this spinning rock it also spilled over borders with the likes of Gluecifer and Turbonegro were also delivering truly awesome and memorable records.
A record that crept out on CD that was equally as good as the finest releases from this genre and a whole lot better than most. Step forward A-Bombs and the album was ‘And Constantly Rotating’. Anyone who used to pick up the Hang the DJ comp or used to order from Sonically Speaking at the dawn of this internet before things were readily available at the press of a button. Scores of records and CDs were released some instant standards for the scene and others stayed underground or less known but over time equally as influential and have stood the test of time and with hindsight have grown in stature.
Let’s get this out there right from the top, A-Bombs ‘And Constantly Rotating’ was and is an absolute stone cold banger. Originally released in ’98, I’m assured by people who lived in Sweden that A-Bombs were blowing the roof off venues with their take on punk n roll but their flame burned hard and fast and was extinguished in the blink of an eye. Their legacy is one album and a couple of singles CD eps and that’s it! but hell, if you’re going to leave behind just one album then make it a good one. and A Bombs left behind not a good one but a great one and unlike their contemporaries, it only ever hit the CD shelves… until now that is thanks to labels like these two.
As the howl of feedback builds and the backbeat is hammered out the vocals sneer into view before breaking out in one big bang and we’re off like a shot of adrenaline. A tonne of energy is unleashed and it doesn’t stop for eleven tracks. the menacing ‘Devils Own’ is more of the same a rockin ride played out over some cool wah and a cool sneering vocal.
If you’re looking for the pick of the pack or standouts then look no further than the fantastic fil scored opening of ‘Monstermind’ Just like a nuclear bomb! boom! an epic groove born in the garages and used by the likes of the Stooges and MC5 or even the Flamin Groovies its a fantastic tune and should have been the catalyst to sling these five punkers into all the right places.
‘Playing God’ has some nice n sleazy mouth organ honking on the intro as the song unferls into a beast with hints of Gallon Drunk with the amps turned up to 11! I think its great that albums as good as this get a second wind for the ever increasing vinyl market and an album I loved twenty years ago is introduced to my turntable right where it should be. Fantastic! Don’t snooze on this one kids its a bonafide Banger!
Do I mention a hidden track? Nah go buy it and go find it for yourself Essential purchase!
Back last year I reviewed the debut EP World on Fire by Sea of Snakes and thoroughly enjoyed it. The band are now unleashing their first full length opus called The Serpent and the Lamb via Metal Assault Records. The band effortlessly blend a mix of Sabbath, White Zombie, Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age, Corrosion of Conformity, and even Blue Oyster Cult to give us a unique experience. They really are fun to listen to. The production is nice and sludgy, the guitars sound great and vocalist Jason Busiek sounds like a younger version of Ozzy, his high register lifts the vocals perfectly over the gut churning low end.
Opening track Start a War kicks off the album in style, powerful drumming from Jeff Murray accents the chunky riffs perfectly. It’s not all about the powerhouse riffing with Sea of Snakes though, there is plenty of light and shade to add colour to the songs, this really helps to highlight the vocal abilities of Busiek. Demon Seed plods along nicely with some great guitar work from Jim McCloskey. Next up we have my favourite track on the album Get the Gun, which has a feel of the classic Kyuss track Green Machine before taking a more melodic turn halfway through.
End of the Sun has more of a doom feel to it with its super slow, down tuned riff. Dead Man’s Song could have been something from the cutting room floor from Jar of Flies era Alice in Chains. We are back into high riffage territory with Third Kind and In Hell, both tracks chug and stab along with urgency. The album is a step up in quality from their EP, the songs are well written and crafted, the muddy production also works perfectly.
Sea of Snakes has delivered the goods here with memorable tunes in abundance, a band to keep your eye on.
Come and Join the Rejects they said and in the twenty-first century, they are still going strong making music and playing live always on their own terms and as uncompromising as they ever were. To think this is only their 9th album since the late seventies debut is perhaps the result of forces beyond the band’s will to record music and the myth that grew around them that perhaps held them back. It’s fair to say that number nine will indeed be their final offering and the band have put together some package to sign off in style. A box set, Guitar giveaway, CD, Vinyl the whole machonky as they say in these parts.
What Rejects will turn up for this final fling is quickly revealed after the opening track ‘We Were Never Bothered’ unfurls. Mick said in interviews that the record sounds like everything they’ve done for the past 45 years rolled into one which might strike fear into either their terrace anthems original fanbase or their love of Metal and hard rock fans that were turned onto them in the 80s. There are however many who like both anyone who denies not liking one or the other in my book is a bit weird or just a bit of a hipster.
Jeff is a no-nonsense talker and anyone who has seen his recent in-conversation performances knows that he’s always going to keep it real and this outing is no exception. You are taken off on a wistful acoustic intro before the Geggis riff book is opened and the ship sets sail. IT’s 21st-century terrace anthems with gang vocals and pounding rhythms all being held together by Mick’s hard rock riffs.
Sure they sing about ole London Tawn and having it but so what that’s who they are and like em or loathe them they’ve always been true to themselves. Hold onto your high tops kids because ‘Paper tiger’ is cock rock with sparks flying off those frets – so when they said its everything they’ve ever done rolled into one album they weren’t joking. Good on em!
However, I would point out that it’s more leaning toward the Rock side of the Rejects. ‘Same Ol Same Ol’ is more like FM thank classic Oi! The Metal years continue on ‘Up For The Fight’ and ‘Stab In The Back’. If AC/DC recorded ’40 Years Undefeated’ Kerrang would be championing them alright. Its late night boozer sing-a-long territory as well and Mick is pulling out all the stops with the rhythm section stepping up but not wearing spandex or high tops with one foot on the monitor it’s still the Rejects and not non ferrous maiden.
One thing you can’t level at Jeff Turner is he’s never faked what he does I’m sure if you did it would be Bosh! lights out and ‘My Heart Ain’t In It’ is like Tokyo Blade as Turner sings his cotton socks off God bless him. The title track is bordering on pomp Rock with Mick showing off his flashing blades guitar work with gentle verse picked chords and thunderous power chords on the chorus. Its like the Rejects should make a video where they’re on horseback riding into battle with their firm of ‘Ammers in tow slaying all before them. Noisy fuckers kicking up a shitstorm annoying the neighbours for all their worth doing exactly what they want to do. Love it, g’on son dish it out and turn it up. the Rejects aren’t taking prisoners and they’re going out in a blaze of Glory oh and a cover of The Stray Cats runaway Boys just to fuck up your head a bit more bet you weren’t expecting that bad boy were you? Bosh!
Best track? ‘That Thing We Do’ now that wraps up the Rejects in one three-minute song all their best sides in a bloody decent tune. they then hit the final furlong and ‘Mug’ turns up which might have me reassess the best song on the album with classic Turner lyrics. Their best song since ‘East End Babylon’, Bosh! I wasn’t going to mention the final offering but they do bow out with ‘Learning To Fly’ – Now you nor I was expecting a Tom Petty cover on a Cockney Rejects album but there you go there it is – Bosh! Ave it. Thanks for the records gents it’s been one hell of a ride that’s for sure and I’m glad you’ve made it to album number 9 and still doing it on your terms but Tom Petty? Leave it out me old chinas. Right I’m off before they come after me…The Cheeky chaps.
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