Bob Vylan is going on tour. Tickets for the ‘Viva La Vylan Tour’ are on sale now.
They’ve been locked away making new music and it’s time to get back out on the road. They’ll be joined by Panic Shack and Kid Bookie from the 12th onwards and Meryl Streek will be joining them in Ireland.
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When I started writing this review I tried to think if there are any thrash metal bands from Ireland that I had heard of… I couldn’t think of any, and a quick Google search didn’t help. Interesting that I had sitting in my lap the new album from Dublin based thrashers Unmaker. ‘Limb From Limb’ has one foot in the glory days of thrash, the band wear their influences on their (leather studded) sleeve, I can pick up early Sepultura, Kreator, and Possessed vibes throughout the album.
Opening with the brutal ‘To War’, Unmaker show that they mean business from the off. Crunching staccato riffs, pulverising drums and shouty vocals make the perfect blend for some old school sounding FRASH!! Drop Dead is a bouncier affair with a more atmospheric approach. The title track brings us back to more breakneck riffs and some double bass gymnastics from drummer Jake.
The album is very engaging, it really grabs you from the start and makes sure that you pay attention to what’s going on. ‘Control’ has a more modern feel with a nod to Bullet For My Valentine. The instrumental Point Break starts off with some dreamy guitar work and works its way up to some impressive guitar soloing from guitarist Sean.
The second half of the album kicks off with the Machine Head-tinged Rise, another impressive track with the band showing how well they work as a unit. ‘False Disciple’ highlights vocalist Aaron, he has a touch of Billy Milano in his delivery. The album closes with the epic ‘Breathe’.
Unmaker have done themselves proud here, a strong album that definitely puts Irish Thrash on the map!
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Author: Kenny Kendrick
We’ve reached ‘Live Evil’ in the super deluxe reissues from Black Sabbath and whilst the box sets have been of the highest standards the last few Dio year’s releases have been something else. from the quality of the packaging and what in the sets for Sabbath fans it’s been the ultimate treat as far as reissues and remastered packages go they’ve truly gone the extra mile for the fans. So ‘Live Evil’ might get its critics for featuring the remastered vinyl and the original but I guess it would be live evil overload to include an extra live show as part of this set anyway seeing as the original was culled from various live recordings as part of the tour.
In this box, you have a hard case with superb artwork from the original as well as the heavyweight records but the cream of this package is the lavish 40-page hardback book depicting the Dio era of Sabbath which had its critics but it also took the band in a different direction of creativity and threw up the two mightily impressive studio albums that provide the majority of the material on this live album. As you’d expect BMG has done a pretty amazing job on the remaster as they have done on all the Sabbath box sets thus far and the inclusion of the book to muse through whilst revelling in the remaster is a beautiful thing.
Stop moaning about having a pristine 180gm version of the original and marvel at yet another top-tier Sabbath box to add to your collection. Adding Dio to the ranks of Sabbath was always contentious due to the shadow cast by Ozzy but Dio committed 100% to the task at hand and with one of the most amazing vocals in metal he delivered on all fronts holding his own in such an iconic role. The myths and stories about the recording of this record have never gone away but the one thing I can say is his vocals stand tall and are incredible after all these years and Wyn Davies has done a brilliant job on the remastering ‘Neon Nights’, ‘Mob Rules’, ‘Heaven And Hell’ easily stand up to the interpretations of Sabbath classics such as ‘War Pigs’ and ‘Paranoid’ and the monster version of ‘The Sign Of The Southern Cross’ is still a magical highlight from any of the band’s output.
With this being the band’s first live album it stands as a true testament to the awesomeness of Ronnie James Dio’s vocals and live presence. A masterpiece in live albums for many many people and on the evidence of this box set BMG and Camp Sabbath have done yet another truly awesome job. Add live Evil to your collection as a matter of urgency. Sabbath mark ii was truly a giant and rightly so. What next? ‘Born Again’ please and give some kudos to the Gillan mark iii era of Sabbath. Buy it!
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Author: Dom Daley
Completists and people who have never heard of Hanoi Rocks keep reading. Everyone else not curious please look away and yes I know there are complete vinyl box sets out there as well as several one-stop box sets but there’s always room for another Hanoi Rocks catch-all set.
What we have here is a very neat and tidy summary of the world’s bestust band and all their hard work in one clamshell box spread over five CD’s. For those well rounded individuals who always knew Hanoi Rocks were the greatst band to emerge from the beautiful 1980s their musical output might well have been flawed and it moght well have been scatterguned over the early to mid eighties but they never dipped below better than anything else you were listening to and they alway did things differently to other bands and they were such an underated bunch of reprobates to ever lay down music.
It always makes me laugh when people say it’s music for fans of Guns N Roses or they were a glam band because your average supermarket music-buying Guns fan or your die-hard glam fan wouldn’t have a clue. Call me a music snob but Hanoi was far more than a glam band and it was they who influenced Guns n Roses and a whole bunch of tripe that was to follow in the decade of decadence. Hanoi was a rock n roll band who were more influenced by punk and what went before them in the 70s – a perfect mix of The Clash and T Rex as well as adding equal measures of early Japan with Chuck Berry they had Jaggers swagger and the elegance of Bowie and weren’t afraid to mix it up from disc on and the magnificent bass drum count in of ‘Tragedy’ with the familiar Yaffa rumble it has never ever lost its flavour. A youthful Monroe leads this bunch of renegades through a magnificent album with all its imperfections and charming backing vocals it’s still the beating heart of a magnificent journey and an album I’ve never tired of.
The skank of ‘Village Girl’ to the teary ‘Don’t You Ever Leave Me’. The Harmonica honk of ‘Lost In The City’ is still a magnificent blast of youthful energy – the levels are everywhere the mix is chaotic but that was the appeal, too fast too young too fuckin beautiful. McCoy’s vocals howling over the top is brilliant and the energy that drives on this record. Who else was doing songs like ‘Cheyanne’? it’s beautiful from the bv’s to the drum pound and runs down of the Yaffa bassline to the strain on Monroe’s vocals its still one of the greatest debut albums ever. I’ll fight anyone who disagrees.
The recent Svart real mix of ‘Oriental Beat’ this one brings on mixed feelings for me now and I wish and hope the others get the same treatment if it’s available. ‘Motorvatin’ is still a banger which is why it’s still prominent in today’s Monroe set. ‘No Law Or Order’ is still one of the best songs Strummer never wrote. Ending with ‘Falling Star’ was and is a tear-jerker of the finest order.
I’m trying to imagine what it must be like to take the plunge and hear these albums as one package for the first time and not have to wait in real time over half a decade for them to unfold. My memory is foggy due to the fact it’s 40 years ago (holy shit, but I’m still here) ‘Self Destruction Blues’ was or shouldn’t have ever been but thank god it did. A million miles away from the debut production-wise and songwriting wise but hell, it still gives me chills playing these songs loudly and whilst I might not have played some of these songs for years when I do I still get that feeling of “hell, what a band, what a record” how weren’t these one of the biggest bands on the planet?
Disc four is obviously ‘Back To Mystery City’ and where they truly hit their stride – every one a banger from ‘Malibu Beach’ through ‘Tooting Bec Wreck’ to the beautiful ‘Until I Get You’ one of the finest soft songs for tough guys ever written. Razzles’ touch and understanding of what was needed on the loud ballad is exceptional. ‘Lick Summer Love’ is awesome and sets the tone for the spectacular ‘Beating Gets Faster’ deep dive classics I think the kids would call these album tracks that don’t get the oxygen they deserve.
This box set might be a time capsule and something awesome to discover but to hear ‘Mystery City again for the first time whilst pawing over the artwork would be priceless and some kid is going to discover that when they pick this up in a record store or online. Imagine hearing ‘All Those Wasted Years’ for the first time and wishing you were forty years older haha! what a beautiful thought ‘Taxi Driver’ Boom heads gone!
Maybe if this had had a sixth disc full of unheard demos or lost tracks it would sell like hotcakes to the Hanoi (de)generation looking for a fix. If you know a kid whos just discovering music and looking for a collection that will blow their mind then this might just be the clamshell all encompassing boxset you need. If for no other reason other than being a completist sucker I applaud Cherry Red for keeping the Hanoi heart beating – God bless em and God bless all those who sailed in the good ship Hanoi Rocks you truly were game changes for some of us punks looking for our band. Buy It!
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Author: Dom Daley
Making our way through the wretched hive of scum and villainy gathered on the streets of Mos Ei… sorry I of course meant…Newport, on route to entering our favourite local cantina bar, Le Pub, I’d perhaps be forgiven for thinking I’d actually stepped back in time, to a film set not from the 1970s, but in fact the 1960s and that scene in ‘Blow Up’ where David Hemmings walks in on the Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page version of Yardbirds rippin’ through a rough as they come version of ‘Train Kept A-Rollin’’. That’s because Finland’s finest rabble rousers US are in the house tonight opening proceedings for Jim Jones All Stars, and they are making an immediate (and very positive) impression on those of us in the sweaty confines of Le Pub early doors.
Having recently completed a set of UK shows in support of the fast rising His Lordship, US are not only a band seemingly out of time, but also out of this world, their music falling somewhere between garage rock and out and out old school R&B, with the Helsinki 5 piece not only winning the sharpest dressers in Newport award tonight, but also truly sounding like the real deal too. I could say they remind me of The Strypes, as they look as young as those Irish lads did in their early years, but no, these lads actually remind me of The Sonics, and that’s a world of difference in my book.
US are playing a series of UK shows this summer including a run of 5 shows at this year’s Glastonbury Festival, make sure you catch ‘em while you can, as these guys are going to be going places.
Having witnessed Jim Jones during his time fronting revolutionary psych punks Thee Hypnotics (first time around and the brief pre-Covid reunion), along with his roustabout Revue years and those most Righteous of Minds days, my most recent encounter with the singer/guitarist was at this year’s Vive Le Rock Awards in London where he briefly put a spell on us all fronting the house pick up band the Vive Le Rockers.
Why do I mention this? Well, simply because the 8-piece band that now makes up the collective known as the Jim Jones All Stars is like the perfect sum of all those already great parts…but (as some welly wearing comedian used to say) there’s more. Much, much more.
I’m not sure exactly what it is, but there’s times tonight where the All Stars sound like they could be Stax or Sun (oh and let’s not forget Bell either) Records recording artistes, there’s just so much soul emanating from the stage, and that extra little touch of class that the dual saxophones bring to proceedings is nothing short of musical genius.
For their hour on stage (which literally felt like it was over in the blink of an eye) we get reinventions of classic Revue tracks like ‘Cement Mixer’, ‘Burning Your House Down’, ‘The Princess And The Frog’, along with a truly off the scale ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Psychosis’ plus there’s a seismic rendition of the Righteous Minds’ ‘Satan’s Got His Heart Set On You’ along for safe measure, something that very well might just have woken up any dozing Rontos chained up outside. (Jeez, I never do any Star Wars references and that’s two in one review). Plus of course there’s the All Stars very own anthem in the making, the hip shaking, ‘Gimme The Grease’, which really is a sign of truly great things to come.
Whilst a lot of the other bars in Newport would see cover bands playing in them tonight, I will bet my mortgage on the fact that none of those bands will have covered both ‘Run Run Run’ by The Velvet Underground, and ‘Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey’ by The Beatles. Unfortunately, there’s no space in the set tonight for the band’s version Of ‘Human Fly’, aired during their inaugural live shows, but I’m more than happy to trade that in for the All Stars’ rendition of Thee Hypnotics’ ‘Shakedown’ that closes things out tonight. Wow! That really is all I can say, apart from this is how I always wanted to hear this song delivered live, and like the wise old sage stood by me during the show shouted in my ear, it really did “sound like The Stooges in their prime”.
With the clock ticking down to the dreaded night club early load out, there was just enough time for a whirlwind run through of the Revue’s ‘512’ before we were all being ushered out into the main bar and ultimately out into the maybe not quite as cold as usual Newport night air.
This long since sold out show will surely feature on many of its (very lucky) attendees’ gigs of the year list, and after seeing Jim Jones perform with all those aforementioned bands, I feel he’s really hit on something very magical indeed with the Jim Jones All Stars.
This is without question his finest hour yet, truly exceptional stuff!
Author: Johnny Hayward
First up this Sunny Tuesday is this blistering slice of Sleazy Punk n Roll from the wonderful Poison Boys. ‘Steamroller’ is the first new song from the band ahead of album number three due soon (hopefully)
New Golem Dance Cult Video. From the album “Legend of the Bleeding Heart”. Looking at the World through the eyes of a Dog! Bite the hand that feed and revolt against the master!
The new full length album, “Legend of the Bleeding Heart” will be released May 23rd 2023 and can already be pre-ordered Here get in touch with them via facebook:Here
I don’t really use social media for much these days, other than checking out what mates have been listening to, and to spot anything that might have passed me by and maybe not been sent to RPM towers for us to review. One such album, released back in April of this year, is ‘Vestige & Vigil’ the debut album from American goth rockers The Bellwether Syndicate. So, I’d like to take the opportunity to thank the Gothfinder General, Mister Midnight himself, Jason Creighton, for bringing this album into my life, because it is one that deserves to be heard by everyone with a love of the dark side of music.
Sitting somewhere between the hyper intensity of mid ‘80s chart bothering Killing Joke, the metallic edge of ‘Vision Thing’ era Sister Of Mercy and the ‘Mechanical Animal’ stomp of Marilyn Manson, The Bellwether Syndicate are the brainchild of William Faith (formerly of Faith and the Muse, Christian Death, Mephisto Walz, Shadow Project and The March Violets) and Sarah Rose Faith (aka DJ Scary Lady Sarah) and in spite of being together for over a decade ‘Vestige & Vigil’ is their first long player (available on vinyl and CD along with download from the Bandcamp below, along with other online retailers like Amazon).
To give you an idea of just how impressive this album is it took me just one Bandcamp listen before I was ordering a copy on vinyl, as songs like ‘Beacon’, ‘Dystopian Mirror’ and ‘Republik’ simply steamroller your senses into BUY NOW submission, and if I were to single out one band that The Bellwether Syndicate remind me of most, then it is Janne Jarvis’ post Warrior Soul tour de force Hate Gallery. Which for those of us who know, is very high praise indeed, and for those of you who don’t, get Googling now.
If you like some glam with your goth then there’s the fantastic ‘Noir Thing’, which really is something else (ouch), and if its towering anthems you want then check out the Pete Murphy-like croon of ‘We All Rise’ that then literally explodes inside your head as the colossal chorus kicks in. Epic stuff!
There are some (slightly) lighter moments too hidden amongst all the darkness and these happen to coincide with Sarah Rose Faith taking over vocal duties for the sweeping ‘Clarion’ and then providing a wonderful almost whispered vocal counterpart to another great Faith melody line on ‘Golden Age’, a track that also reminds me of the band’s labelmates, Then Comes Silence. Now can someone please get The Bellwether Syndicate added to their Swedish counterparts 2024 UK tour…thank you.
2023 has so far been a great year for gothic tinged music, perhaps one of its finest since its 80s heyday, and ‘Vestige & Vigil’ is right up there as one of its true highlights.
Buy this album, it deserves to be HUGE!
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Or The ultimate Goth kit of Dark Glasses and Fan Here
Author: Johnny Hayward
Sweden’s GRANDE ROYALE have unveiled a music video for “Status Doom”, taken from their new album ‘Welcome to Grime Town’ released via The Sign Records. They turn the amps up to 11 and get their boogie on.
‘Status Doom’ is taken from the sixth studio album ‘Welcome to Grime Town’. ‘Status Doom’ perfectly represents the melodic, energetic, guitar driven rock soundscapes always present on the album. The band has a history of collaborating with artists as Nicke Andersson and Dregen and the new album is mixed by Robert Pehrsson.
Available on vinyl for the first time this early naughties release is having its vinyl debut but with four additional songs.
Don’t bother tryign to work out which one is Len because none of these three are called Len (obviously). This trio (luckily they aren’t a four piece or five and there is actually only three of em. Bare-bones guitar, bass and drums; classicly British. they get by on great hooks and vocal harmonies; fifteen songs in total and all done and dusted in half an hour.
Chinese Burn’ is the 2007 debut album from The Len Price 3, of course it is being rereleased by Wicked Cool Records, for the first time ever on vinyl, because Wicked Cool know a good LP when they hear it.
Raw, passionate, two-minute tunes of the Who, the Kinks, and the Clash, is pretty much the MO for The Len Price 3 and they deliver a high-energy garage rock n roll.
Imagine in the swinging 60s a band like this rolled up to play the Marquee with the melodies and swing but added the punch that this record has it would have been devastating. It’s got the snot of punk and the barroom boogie of Dr Feelgood. It’s not an easy sound to perfect and many have tried and failed along the way. Let’s face it these guys didn’t cross my path for some reason back in the day but one thing fo sure I’m so glad I’ve had the chance to acquaint my ears with these tunes now thanks to Wicked Cool and their pursuit of excellent rock n roll.
Fifteen songs are present here and everyone is an explosion of great songwriting and a fantastic retro yet modern sound that has guts, power and subtlety, not a combination many bands can achieve. It’s like the Kinks and The Who made a supergroup using the Jams equipment from the rapid chops of the title track its got swing and a masterclass in songwriting.
They nail the harmonies like on ‘Viva Viva’ but it’s the cheeky rock that gives it edge kicking and screaming but always being quality. What a great album from top to bottom – ‘Swine Fever’ is a proper earworm but then ‘Amsterdam’ is as well Daltry and Townsend must be cursing these guys for having the chops at a time when Roger is more concerned with shouting his tory bollocks whilst the Len Price 3 are cutting the mustard back home writing top-notch records like this. ‘Chatham Town Spawns Devils’ – I bet it does but they’ll be pleased it’s wrapped up in such a rockin’ tune. Writing a song about ‘Big Daddy’ isn’t something you expected to hear. Cheeky boys. Before they’re done I love ‘Medway Eye’.
Quintessentially a record that could only ever have come out of England and that’s part of its charm and beauty. It’s happy and avin’ it large at the same time. The Len Price 3 dish up a tasty treat now go get yourself some it’s worth it and so are you.
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Author: Dom Daley
Imagine Bloodclot riffing on plenty of NYHC and throwing in some Cerebral Ballzy and the Drips for good measure. You can then press play on this fine record that is over in the blink of an eye. Proper old school hardcore. Heads down and play fast as fuck no bullshit no compromise no fuss.
Absolutely it’s a frantic ’n’ furious 13 minutes If it was any longer it would overstay its welcome – The Hell hail from Norfolk County, Cleveland, and this is their debut offering This shit is proper old school probably the most authentic mid-80s romp from the crows nest to CBGB and back again its that good. It’s relentlessly, pounding and raining earbombs on your skull that sound fresh as anything this genre has thrown up in a long while (Bloodclot probably). Ten songs fly by before you’ve even had the chance to fully get your head around what you’re hearing. If I had a gun at my head I’d say ‘National Razor’ is my Top of the pop then follow it up with the more measured and slower ‘One More Thing’ (partially slower anyway).
The band found each other due to some collision of stars or something like that having all been kicking around in underground bands but it now all makes sense because The Hell are tearing it up on this ferocious debut. It doesn’t matter what the song is called there isn’t time. what you do know when you play it is they feel memorable and fresh and vibrant and at the moment – this isn’t a nostalgia trip to a moment in time long long ago it’s 2023 and in your face enjoy it and turn it up.
You won’t hear a better Hardcore album all year anywhere and if you do, it’s gonna be one hell of a record to be better than this. Get on it! This is excellent from ‘Pistol Grip’ to ‘What A Laugh’ ten slabs of pure Hardcore gold.
Released in UK/ Europe via Drunken Sailor Records, Not For The Weak Records in the USA
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Author: Dom Daley
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