There were many bands that got tagged with the New Wave of British Heavy Metal label back in the early eighties. Some of those bands embraced it, Saxon, Iron Maiden, Angel Witch, Samson etc, and some hated being lumped in with it, Def Leppard being the most obvious example. Even bands like Budgie, Judas Priest and Motorhead who had been around long before the NWOBHM moniker was thought up by Sounds magazine, were getting pulled into the whole NWOBHM movement. Of course, Budgie and Priest were nothing to do with it, but it was easy to see why they got caught up in it. Budgie’s Power Supply album was by far their most heavy metal sounding album and was released in 1980. Priest had released their breakthrough album British Steel in 1980 as well. It can be argued that Motorhead were indeed a NWOBHM band though because their seminal albums Overkill and Bomber were released in 1979 just as the NWOBHM got started, and their most successful period started in 1980 with the ‘Ace of Spades‘ album. Anyway, I digress!
Tokyo Blade were forged in the fires of the NWOBHM and released their first self-titled album in 1983. By this time the wind in the sails of the NWOBHM had started to die down. The album is a full-blown classic in my eyes with songs like ‘Powergame’ and ‘Break the Chains‘, it’s just heavy metal personified. The band suffered with many line up changes but continued to release material until the late nineties.
The current line-up of Andy Boulton (Lead guitar), John Wiggins (Rhythm guitar), Alan Marsh (Vocals), Andy Wrighton (Bass) and Steve Piece (Drums) have been together since 2016 and recorded the albums ‘Unbroken’ (2018) and ‘Dark Revolution’ (2020). Their latest release ‘Fury’ was written and recorded in lockdown with Andy Boulton utilising his home studio to record the album.
The end result sounds great with a powerful mix. There is some fantastic traditional heavy metal on offer here with solid performances and some well-written songs. The opening track ‘Man in a Box’ highlights the vocal abilities of Alan Marsh and is polished with some guitar wizardry from Boulton. ‘Blood Red Night’ has an epic feel to it, ‘I am Unbroken’ is a full-on chugger with some tasty drumming from Piece holding the track together. The album flows well but my only real criticism is that is overly long with fifteen tracks.
The album has both a foot in the past and one very much in the present. A solid metal album that deserves to be listened to. There’s plenty on offer here for old and new fans alike. The cover art is fantastic too, let’s not forget that Tokyo Blade had utilised the Samurai on their artwork long before Iron Maiden’s Senjutsu! The album is released via Cherry Red Records in Jan 22.
Fast Eddy was born out of the miasma of Denver’s Rock n Roll, and independent music scene in 2014. Formed from members of some notable Denver bands as Dirty Few, and Itchy O, their vision started on a late-night ramble. Somewhat of a side project, without much of a direction, the band named their project after their old drug dealer and took to writing songs about the heartache and challenges that come along with the hedonistic rampage that it can mean to pursue music unabashed.
As the band became more of a genuine article, each member brought their own pieces to the table and started writing more genuine, anthem-esque powerpop rock n roll. Micah Morris on guitar and lead vocals, Devon Francy on bass, Arj Narayan on drums, and Lisandro Gutierrez on guitar, had stepped up their game and worked their way into a bigger more encompassing world of rock n roll.
After selling their personal belongings, and almost dying from van malfunctions in transit to simply make their first Atlanta recordings, it’s been one bold leap after the other. but their sacrifice hasn’t come in vain, and they’ve simply come too far to turn back now.
Look for “Take A Look” at record stores and wherever fine MP3s are sold on January 21st, 2022. Preorder Now
Written and recorded around the pandemic period, System Reset’s first recording since guitarist Shovel (he of Trigger McPoopshute notoriety) and drummer Sturdy joined the fold, sees them rip out seven tracks which put many of society’s ills under the microscope. Mini LP or bulging EP it matters not, what does matter is the quality of the material and once again System Reset hit the nail squarely on the noggin with a well-produced slab of molten punk rock. From the opening ‘March’ tackles the subjects of the day with a UK Government set on making the divide wider and taking away fundamental rights you and I have and crushing them without so much as a whimper as the media ignores what is going on under our noses whilst the clowns in power divert and divide System Reset have their eyes on what’s going on and they let rip.
Covering other powerful topics such as domestic abuse (Crack My Head) is one of the standout tracks on offer. whilst its a difficult lyrical topic to get your head around the soundtrack is brutal but riveting and draws you to the lyrics., mental health gets covered with (Anxiety and Fail-Safe), the rise of the right-wing (Cut The Ties) with a filthy spirit of 82 punk rock bass line that isn’t so much a tap on the shoulder but a thump to the back of the head. work/life imbalance is dialed in on ‘Dead On Your Feet’. Big business gets a poke in the eye courtesy of, well, ‘Big Business’. The EP is a word in your ear put to some fantastic punk rock and it’s a frank soundtrack to a fucked up, post-pandemic world. The more I play it the better it gets which is always a good sign of a quality release.
With current and ex-members of Da Capo, Four Letter Word, Trigger McPoopshute, Red Riot and drawing on a myriad of influences it’s a record that covers many musical bases and has a great flow.
The EP will have a CD and limited 7” of the tracks ‘Fail Safe’ and ‘Big Business’ coming in early 2022 but for now it’s digital only.
Those ever-busy folks at Damaged Goods Records are in festive mood, to an extent. So, if you fancy an alternative Christmas compilation, this will fill your stocking. As varied as expected, with Billy Childish, Helen Love, Holly Golightly, The Courettes, and many more…
Wild Billy Childish And The Musicians Of The British Empire kick it off with the decidedly un-festive ‘Christmas 1979’, a Scrooge like tale of Christmas past. The Courettes rescue the spirit with the gorgeous ‘Christmas (I Can Hardly Wait)’, and Holly Golightly brings some some country-fuelled warmth with ‘Christmas Tree On Fire’.
Helen Love is on the E numbers again with ‘Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want To Fight)’, which rattles past so fast you might need to play it again. I feel Joey would approve. ‘Silver Bells’ by Cookooland is equally boptastic, while Wat Tyler strangles ‘Oh, Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’ in record time.
Thee Headcoatees’ ‘Santa Claus’ is yet another version of ‘Davey Crockett’, and Severe tackle ‘Stop The Cavalry’ in Sham 69 fashion, which works surprisingly well. The classic ‘City Of Christmas Ghosts’ by Goldblade and Polly Styrene still sounds great, while ‘Little Stars’ by Holly Golightly is actually quite sweet.
The Singing Loins provide ‘Ding Dong Merrily On High’ for a traditional singalong, and the mighty Buff Medways blast through ‘Merry Christmas Fritz’. And, there’s more. If you’re a regular customer of Damaged Goods, you know what to expect, and will likely add this to your Yuletide collection.
Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia Murder Van hit all the criteria that their hilarious bio leads us to expect. Old school thrash riffs, a hint of doom, raw production values and some tight ass drumming. The only thing that I don’t want from a thrash band is a death metal style vocal, when I think of thrash vocalists, I want to hear a clean vocal al la Joey Belladonna or Coburn Pharr. Saying that, Sepultura are one of my favourite thrash bands and they certainly incorporate the death metal growl. Maybe I’m just talking bollocks…Ha ha.
That’s not say that there isn’t plenty to love about their latest release Crooked Smiles. The four track EP (I’ve never been a fan of EPs, either build up enough songs for a full-length LP, or just put out a single), the only EPs I’ve really connected with are the fantastic first release from Queensryche back in 83 and maybe the Alice In Chains acoustic EPs.
Opening track Clawing the Casket tells us exactly what Murder Van (Great name!) are all about, fast riffing, breakneck drumming and shouty vocals get your head banging from the off. I really do like the production here, it gives us that old school thrash feel, the drums actually sound like drums, I’m not a fan of the whole digital recording thing. This EP sounds like an analogue recording, I may be wrong on that though. The other stand out track is Factor X with it’s moody and almost pretty opening, this doesn’t last long though and we are soon back in full on metal mode.
Well performed and recorded, Crooked Smiles is an enjoyable jump into the mosh pit, I can smell the sweat and beer from here.
Huddersfield’s finest release their tenth studio album. After the loosely conceptual albums ‘The Terrifying Dream’ and ‘Chronica’, the lead tracks ‘Horse With No Face’ and ‘An Error Occurred’ suggested a more feral, focussed sound this time round. And it is a righteous racket, indeed.
‘Big Ideas’ lurches from the speakers, lop-sided and menacing. If a song can drag one leg behind it, this one does. As the chorus hits, “the woman of my conscience looks like Servalan”, a reminder of the marvellous Jacqueline Pearce, for those of a certain age.
‘An Error Occurred’ is like a slap to the face, in the nicest way. It’s pared back, lean, like The Fall on steroids, with the signature punchy bass of Steven Morricone. ‘Decade With No Name’ keeps up the pace. What can I say? It sounds like The Scaramangas. You’ll love it or be confused and walk away. Which is fine; they attract a particular type of devotion, not unlike their previous mentor, Tim Smith. They have a way with their backing vocals which is unlike anyone else, it often draws me in.
‘Boy’ is the first drop in tempo. While Steven, Paul and Julia are all fine singers, I’m sure they realise that it’s Paul’s voice that is the secret weapon. Lush, he veers here between sinister and loving. His solo album from last year, ‘Cruel Designs’ is a highlight.
When I first heard ‘Horse With No Face’, I was puzzled, mainly by the deliberately off key backing vocals, but, as is often the case, it’s grown on me. I expect it to be particularly fierce live. ‘Dog Form’, with military drums and a bridge that surprises, is suitably odd and addictive. ‘Cults’ even throws in a bit of Showaddywaddy. Expect the unexpected.
‘Death Mask Of The Unknown Lady Of The Seine’, the longest track at over six minutes, sounds like the ‘side two’ opener; there are fourteen songs. The bass and drums push it along like a locomotive, before they keyboards evoke Cardiacs, and the vocals describe the story of the lady who sees her death as a release.
‘Stranger In Your Own Mind’ has Ants style whoops and a hint of John Barry, only the Scaras can create these songs. It’s difficult to describe to someone unfamiliar with their work. Another similarity to Cardiacs, I suppose. But, this is perhaps a more accessible world, whilst equally satisfying and rewarding once you immerse yourself in it. It certainly seeps into your being.
‘Ipso Facto’ gets dancey, in a John Grant style, just to add to the mix. I can imagine Bowie singing ‘Kate And Cindy’, I don’t know why, but the chorus really takes off. Steven has the honour of closing the album with ‘Then I Met Joanna’. If you know the band, you can imagine his arched eyebrow, complementing the dark lyrics. “You took your silver spoon, and stuck it in the moon, and yet, you wanted more”.
Once again, only the Scaramanga Six could have created this album. I remember seeing them support Eureka Machines. I didn’t know a single song, then they played ‘Misadventure’, and I was hooked. Listen on Bandcamp now; I hope you get addicted to their unique musical world.
The Drippers are back for a second bite at your cherry – If 2019’s “Action Rock” smashed you around the ball bag with it’s full on fuzz mastery, then “Scandinavian Thunder” may make you shit your pants!
After two years and a world wide plague, the Gothenburg threesome have teamed up again with the legendary Tomas Skogsberg – the man who has previously twiddled the knobs of The Hellacopters, Gluecifer, Entombed and Backyard Babies – and have squeezed the sound of all of them into one super sexy Sunlight Studio cock-tale.
Okay, phaser, wah, BOOM!!! and off we go……”5 Day Blues (2 Day Boogie)” is quite simply the banger that sets the scene for the next half an hour of full on sexy Scandinavian magic.
Next up “Overload” blends motor bikes and Motorhead into a very satisfying chunk of noise, while “No Stars” drags you kicking and screaming into Turbonegro / Hanoi Rocks territory.
Tempted to check it out yet? I bet you are!!
Next up “Time For Some Action”. A track so good that they filmed a video to celebrate its majesty. It’s simply a tune that Backyard Babies would kill to come up with these days.
“Shine No Light” is of a whirlwind of a rocker, while “Racing Down A Dead End” is another lesson in balls to the wall – Total 13 – Scandi-rock mastery.
The bass intro and drum beat of “Rollin’ Aces” takes on a fast and furious Motorhead white knuckle ride. Chuck in some wah guitar and BANG another stand out track.
“Draparshuffle” serves to remind you how great an album “Action Rock” is – whadda-ya-mean you haven’t heard it???……YET!!
Into the home straight now – the frenzied wah attack of “Shit Island Showdown” pulls you into ‘Copters territory and “Deadbeat Groove” takes you back into Backyard Babies territory – the great stuff they recorded before they discovered Social Distortion and went off the boil.
Last up, the Misfits / Where Eagles Dare intro of “Feel The Darkness” rounds out the best 30 minutes of your day in fine style.. This is the booze, bad decision kind of rock & roll that’s made Scandinavia THE place for all things fast and loud since the dawn of the 21st century (and a fair few years before that).
Hound Gawd! Records announced the new album by The Cutthroat Brothers and Mike Watt on the back of the RSD release that featured Watt and its fair to say I got a little excited. I love myself some Cutthroat Brothers anyway and the added Mike Watt was always a blast. Whilst having a bass guitar on the older tunes was quality it was always going to be interesting to see how that dynamic would work on hearing new tunes and it was a proper buzz and lived up to the hype and standard I’d imagined in my fuzzy head. ‘Devil in Berlin’ is set to drop in record stores in early December but it can’t come quick enough.
Might as well start at the top and ‘Bad Candy Girl’ kicks in like a motherfucker with a bass that’s growling like a Mack truck with no brakes doing 100. but after the sonic boom, it settles into a cool groove and already this record has my attention. The breakdown is like a dust-up at the crossroads and those Bad Candy Girls are twerking with old nick before leaving with these three cats.
Love the tunes as they roll off the record from the swirling grind of ‘Been Away’ Colliding with the jig of the title track that’s splendid with its fuzzed-up bass and finger-clicking goodness. Its like you’ve entered some late night tiki bar thats got harleys out the front and the band kicking out the james are these three reprobates oozing equal parts Gun Club, Stooges, Elvis, The Cramps and just about a dozen other cool as fuck bands from history all spilling out over the grooves of ‘Devil In Berlin’.
To be fair I could go through each track dishing the dirt and drooling over the coolness of this record as the Brothers have really hit their groove and found the missing piece of the jigsaw in Watt who adds that little something extra that the dynamic duo couldn’t quite reach without him. Sure, the tunes would have been good but not this freakin good. ‘Love, Drugs Etc’ has some wicked slide that’s got some cool 70s glam running through it like an unearthed Sweet song played by some punks who found it washed up on a beach in some bottle.
In contrast, the fuzz of ‘Cold Dead Night’ has some Grunge running through it, either via Sonic Youth or a bit of Husker Du with a smidge of Kobain for good measure. The vocals remind me of some Black Francis in his Pixie days. Without a single duff or remotely below par track on offer, this album is excellent as one track detonates the next and the band move through the gears so smoothly from one tempo to the next and tracks like ‘Cherry’ has the band so comfortable and confident they it just sounds so confident like they knew when recording these songs how damn good it was going to be once it was handed over for production. In three years The Cutthroat brothers have served up some fantastic music that has gotten better and better with each record right up to this point and there is no filler just all killer its a close shave as to the best track maybe its the swirling backbeat of ‘Like A Zombie’ that sounds like its being pounded with sledgehammers courtesy of Paychecks drumming as the overdriven fuzz of Watt compliments the licks of Jasons guitar and devilishly cool vocals.
But wait they sign off with a song that’s like the beyond the grave rumble of Lemmy beating up a sonic youth Goo period thumper before menacing its way to the close and the final notes of an extremely exciting and bloody good record. Never mind the King being dead The fuckin’ Devils In Berlin aparently and this is his soundtrack.
BOB VYLAN announces their brand new album ‘Bob Vylan Presents The Price Of Life’, set for release April 22nd through their own Ghost Theatre label – Pre-order the record – HERE
Live wise, the band have just completed a UK tour as main support to Biffy Clyro and start a tour supporting The Offspring this week
London two-piece BOB VYLAN can today announce details of their hugely anticipated forthcoming new album ‘Bob Vylan Presents The Price Of Life’, which is set for release through their own Ghost Theatre record label on April 22nd, 2022.
The record is now available to pre-order, which fans can do – HERE With these pre-orders, with each copy of the Gold or Silver vinyl (limited to 500 each), fans will be entered into a raffle to win either:
– A one-off Bob Vylan action figure made by Mr Cooke Customz + a signed test pressing – 5 separate, signed test pressings & unique signed instax – 10 separate signed instax
Talking a bit about the new single ‘GDP’, vocalist Bobby Vylan explains “This single explores a lot of the topics we’re known for, racism, class, social struggles in a way that may not be so obvious on first listen but when you hear lines about friends being stabbed because they come from a place and live a lifestyle that encourages violence to get what you want, you can’t help but ask yourself “well how did that environment begin?”. The chorus tells you outright, “what good is talking about the GDP if I’m struggling to get by?”
Having been a band for around 4 years, the BOB VYLAN sound is ever evolving and crosses genres and sonic dimensions. They incorporate these multiple styles in their music in an attempt to bridge genres and subcultures together. Bob explains a bit more about the album, it’s themes and ideas for this next phase for BOB VYLAN, “This project is allowing us the space to showcase different sides of our personalities. We don’t want to give the same thing over and over again, so we’re tackling topics in a different way this time. It’s serious and funny, it’s communal and obnoxious, it’s many things at any given time, and it’s a concept project. It explores the idea of paying your way through life and the expense of living in a society that places money above all else. It explores the places we’ve come from and the extremes we’ve seen people go to in order to survive. It also looks at the nuances around money in our society, the less obvious connections, like the world of advertising and art having to align with advertisers values in order to be given a platform, as well as the price of healthy eating, the cost of technology not necessarily on our pockets but on our lives.”
This band are all about community, and for them, their live show is a place where they can really express that. At each show, they start off with mediation and end with a group hug, but what’s between the meditative start and embracing end is a message delivered in a way that both Bobby and Bobbie feel has been missing. Live show wise, they have already been on a sold out UK headline tour (with support from Witch Fever and ZAND) in the summer, played at Reading and Leeds and ALT LDN festivals, been main support to Biffy Cylro through October/November and will be heading off to support The Offspring in arenas across the UK from later this week.
Portuguese-Canadian-Swedish alternative collective Lusitanian Ghosts release their second album full to bursting with ancient sounds for the 21st Century and beyond. Imagine the most beautiful panoramic watercolour of big sky and deep waters ebbing and flowing well this would be the most exquisite soundtrack to such a painting.
Founded in 2015, Lusitanian Ghosts are Neil Leyton, Mikael Lundin (a.k.a. Micke Ghost), João Sousa, Omiri, O Gajo, Abel Beja, Janne Olson and other artists that come and go within the collective. It all began when Neil Leyton brought Micke Ghost a Viola Amarantina in Stockholm when visiting from Lisbon.
An album about life, love, loss and freedom of choice. Single ‘Never Less Than Lonely’ is about the loss of memory… from whichever perspective. Alzheimer’s, or cancer. Losing people slowly, watching them fade away. This the band’s second album ‘Exotic Quixotic’, is released on European Phonographic and is every bit as adventurous as the debut perhaps even more daring and joyful, dark and reflective.
The album was recorded on analogue tape and mixed by Sebastian Muxfeldt(Elbow, Peter Doherty, Teenage Fanclub) at Hamburg’s Clouds Hills Studios, recasts heritage folk violas into rock and roll songs
Lusitanian Ghosts strive for building a better world, Writing and performing songs from and for the heart and the mind. Their compositions mix indie songwriting with traditional Portuguese instruments like the Beiroa, Campaniça, Braguesa, Terceirense and Amarantina guitars (or violas as they are called in Portugal), each with its own string arrangements and tunings.
The bands sound coming from something of a unique place has Neil Leyton steeped in traditional indie Rock and Roll and his love of bands like the Manics and The Dogs D’Amour even, reinventing the style in an almost folk style yet remaining fresh and original is exciting and engaging.
The documentary‘Lusitanian Ghosts: Making Of the Lusitanian Ghosts debut album – Chordophone Rock n Roll’elucidates on why most of these Portuguese ancient instruments (the real Lusitanian Ghosts) have become forgotten over time. For this album, they’ve done away with the guitars, using only chordophones, along with bass and drums. Even the snare was replaced on many tracks with the Adufe, a Portuguese square drum.
“This is all Chordophone violas from Portugal – namely the viola Amarantina, Braguesa, Campaniça and Terceira, played by the Lusitanian Ghosts collective including Canadian-Portuguese artist Neil Leyton, Micke Ghost (the first Swede to play the viola Amarantina!), Vasco Ribeiro Casais aka OMIRI (Portugal), Abel Beja (USA/Portugal, viola Terceira from the Azores), João Sousa on drums (sometimes replacing the snare with the Portuguese square drum Adufe) and Jan-Eric Olson on bass. But not just bass! Janne borrowed O Gajo’s viola Campaniça for some extra dark licks. Chordophone rock n roll, Alt-Folk, Urban-Country-Folk, however it gets labelled what should come across are the humanist messages in these songs,” says Micke Ghost.
Featuring ten tracks from the upbeat opener of ‘Soul Deranium’ its brushes on the snare and some fantastic arrangements and a cacophony of string instruments attacking your senses and reeling you in its intended as a “protest song for the ages” whilst its four minutes of Rock and Roll performed differently it reaching the same end result, daring and adventurous and capturing the spirit perfectly its all there.
‘All The Sounds’ is Leyton at his emotional best as the song builds through the chorus before going back to the start. Then the title track has the soul of the early 70s Bowie or Ronnie Lane penned Faces song but also sounding very modern and original. It’s stirring stuff indeed.
Call it alt-folk or anti-folk – whatever, it’s just Rock and Roll isn’t it? just a different flavour with different instruments. I do know it’s engaging and quite beautiful. A very emotional record that oozes quality and passion both lyrically and musically. One of my favourite songs is the rush that is ‘Living One Life (Just Isn’t Enough These Days)’ it lasts a stunning six-plus minutes with the first half just building on the riff before a word is uttered.
‘Lisbon Calling’ is a European twist of ‘London Calling’ something of a first cousin, maybe played differently but with the same beating heart.
‘For The Wicked’ is dreamy as the snare shuffles Leyton’s hushed tones sound menacing as he rallies against religious or political extremism, populism, or any other kind of anti-humanist behaviour its engaging and as the general vibe of this record its a beautiful thing and thoroughly engaging even if you have no idea what the songs might be about the overall feeling is exceptional beauty and Leyton and Ghost should be so proud of what they have created with this record. I urge you to investigate this album further and I promise you will reap the rewards of what is a stunning collection of songs. An absolute triumph of songwriting and a texture of musicianship that has light and darkness that has to be appreciated for its boldness and a record that is an absolute pleasure to play regardless of one’s emotional state. Take a bow Lusitanian Ghosts for delivering such a stunning record.
‘Exotic Quixotic’ album will be released on November 19 and can be pre-ordered via Bandcamp.
Recent Comments