‘Murder The Summer Of Love’ is the first new video from Michael Monroe due for release this summer 2022 after an extended hiatus but the wait is gonna be worth it as pre sales go up for vinyl, Cassette and CD bundles with UK postage for those on plague island Pick up a copy Here
Costa Rica based thrashers Chemicide have been around since 2011 and have released three albums and an EP. Their latest release ‘Common Sense’ has the sound and feel of an old-school thrash album. Echoes of early Sepultura, Kreator, Death Angel, Exodus, Forbidden, Nuclear Assault, with a bit of Morbid Angel thrown in. Not bad eh?
If, like me, you’re a fan of the bands I’ve mentioned above, then you could much worse than check out Chemicide. This really is like stepping back to 1989. All I need is my Cosmic drainpipe (black, of course) jeans, Hi-Tec basketball boots, and a baseball cap worn backward to complete the picture! Big riffs, fast parts, mosh parts, breakneck double bass drumming, shouty vocals and song titles like; ‘Self Destruct’, ‘Barred Existence’, and ‘Strike as One’ just add to the nostalgic charm of the album.
The production from Juan Pablo Calvo has that classic Scott Burns feel to it, very raw and punchy. It really is a thrasher’s delight and it’s very comforting to know that thrash metal is alive and well thanks to bands like Chemicide. Great job guys! Mosh it up!!
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Author: Kenny Kendrick
While most bands of their ilk are resting on their laurels FM hit the road running with the release of Thirteen, coming hot on the heels of their double Tough It Out Live set from 2021. This album has no right in being as good as it is. Considering they are now only a few years away from hitting 40 years as a band. And the current line-up has been in place since 2008! With this album being produced by the band themselves, they having never sounded better or more on fire than they do over the 11 slabs of melodic rock gold.
Wasting no time, the album kicks into gear with a none more politically apt ‘Shaking The Tree’. When people mentioned singer Steve Overland’s voice it is normally in awe and this song proves that he can sing anything, no matter what the subject and make you want to fight, love and smile all at the same time. Single ‘Waiting for Love’ is more like what we have become accustomed too from the band, but even that sounds fresh and vibrant, especially in today’s musical climate. The flame is still burning for the page 7 stunner that is Steve Overland and I honestly do not think he has ever sounded this good.
As the band themselves continue to lay down some of the most awe-inspiring grooves, from Merv Goldsworthy’s tantalising bass lines, to Pete Jupp’s backbone drumming and Jim Kirkpatrick’s sizzling solos and last but least Jem Davis glorious keys of parp, the band can do no wrong.
Just like the big hitters of the AOR scene any of these songs could be singles as they are all, that good.
Clearly the band are enjoying and relishing their moment in the sun again. And so they should, as this album is up there with their best.
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Author: Dave Prince
Slyder Smith first swaggered onto the stage in the 90s as lead guitarist with glam-tinged power popsters, Last Great Dreamers. After releasing four studio albums and one live album on their own label, Ray Records, & having toured extensively throughout the UK & Europe with LGD, Slyder now takes centre stage leading The Oblivion Kids (Tim Emery, Bass and Rik Pratt, Drums) in an honest outpouring of grit, glamour and emotion.
With over an album’s worth of material written, the band have worked tirelessly in the rehearsal studio, whipping into shape a carefully curated, explosive mix of rock anthems, with a few surprises thrown into the mix. With lyrics that speak from the heart, Slyder has delved deep into his own psyche over lockdown and explored numerous new guitar styles, resulting in what can only be described as his best musical output to date.
The Oblivion Kids are chomping at the bit to head in the studio at the end of March with legendary Producer, Pete Brown (who has worked with George Harrison, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Marc Almond, The Smiths & Diamond Head as well as being musical director, vocal arranger & guitarist, in his father’s (Joe Brown) & sister’s (Sam Brown) touring bands & producing Sam’s platinum selling album Stop).
Having raised the capital required for recording themselves, the band are reaching out to their fans on Kickstarter to help match fund the remaining 50% required to manufacture CDs, Vinyl and other promotional merchandise. In exchange for their support, pledgers can choose from a range of rewards and exclusive experiences.
Support the project on Kickstarter: Here
First things first I’m looking at the artwork wondering what on earth it is and then after about a week I see the eggbox. It’s been like one of those early 90’s deep-sea pictures you have to stare at, or at least that’s what I felt like. Right onto ‘Un Scene’ and it’s important to document of 78-82 timeframe in England’s second city and how it was developing following the youf explosion of 76-77.
I guess considering Birmingham or the wider area of the middle part of England has generally been ignored or rather overlooked compared to the contribution to youth/pop culture of the 20th Century. the North West gave the world Merseybeat and Beatlemania then post-punk we had that jangly guitar of Icicle Works, Teardrop explodes, Pete Burns, The Bunnymen, and a whole load of other post-punk bands. Madchester (Still in the northwest) followed that with the whole Hacienda scene and Stone Roses. The East Midlands gave the world Two-Tone but what about Birmingham? Sure Slade was west midlands and the Duranies hailed from Brum in the wake of punk but once you scratch the surface there was a whole underground world of creative forces and this wonderful little time capsule offers up a small dark corner of Birmingham and shines a light on in with a very nice booklet documenting the featured bands with some fantastic pictures, live shots, band images, posters and magazine covers of the main protagonists of this featured record/CD.
Laid out over nineteen tracks this snapshot doesn’t always reach the dizzy quality of your modern recordings but often that’s the charm. No doubt these bands worked and played hard to scrape together the dosh to record these songs and it’s important that records like this exist. Maybe there’s a good reason why none of these bands achieved the same adoration some of the other midlands genres achieved but bands like Swell Maps, the Nightingales, Nikki Sudden and TV Eye had a modicum of success and remained firmly placed as underground heroes and icons.
Some of the live recordings are sort of tape deck quality and proper old school whereas other more notable inclusions such as Stephen Tin Tin Duffy’s The Hawkes have ‘Big Store’ included and Comedian Stewart Lees wonderful doc about The Nightingales sees them included with their new wave-like ‘Idiot Strength’. I guess it wouldn’t be complete without Swell Maps who see ‘Vertical Slum’ included. My personal favourite is obviously the inclusion of Nikki Sudden with ‘Channel Steamer’. But what really is the crowning glory is the booklet giving all the meat on the bone from Dave Twists’ own collection, with all the cuttings it’s a fascinating insight into a whole world that is captured in this wonderful time capsule (Besides Twist plays drums on a lot so as long as his memory is half decent his stories must be amazing). Stewart Lee says it perfectly as Birmingham in the UKs motor City and seeing as the likes of Dave Kusworth and John Taylors inclusion also here (Duranies take note), sudden and his brother are no longer with us and the recent passing of Dave Kusworth this is a wonderful artifact that serious fans need to absorb and marvel at what the cold concrete of England’s second city had going on beneath the city lights I implore you to hear and read this most excellent offering. buy it!
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Author: Dom Daley
It’s always something special when an album drops on your desk, you nothing about the band, and then said record proceeds to blow your socks off.
Take a bow then Brooklyn based post punk rockers SAVAK for being the first band in quite some time to do just this for me. They are a band I admit I almost skipped over, but thank God I didn’t, because ‘Human Error / Human Delight’ – the band’s upcoming FIFTH (yup I know) album – is an absolute cracker from start to finish.
‘No Blues No Jazz’ (which actually sounds like the record player rules in my house) kicks things off in fine style and with its’ chanted refrain of “No counties, no countries, no pledge of allegiance,” it could be a tribute to the fact that the dozen tracks contained on the album were recorded entirely over Zoom, although it’s not, I’ll leave you to go figure what it’s actually all about by hitting video link below, where all will soon be revealed.
Influence wise ‘Human Error / Human Delight’ really is all over the place, and that’s really what hooked me in, it also sets it well apart from the many other new “rawk” records I could have chosen to review. Be it the melodic Alt-rock delights of perhaps the most immediate track on the album (the truly excellent) ‘Empathy’, or the jammed-out Krautrock meets Detroit in a sleazy Manchester back-alley post punk of ‘Set Apart’, there really is something here for pretty much everyone…well everyone with an open musical mind that is.
As the album literally flies by song hooks come at you thick and fast with the likes of ‘Baltimore Moon’ and ‘Dealers’ bristling with overdriven guitar and glorious vocal harmonies, this really is American guitar rock par excellence. Well, when it wants to be. It’s the subtle twists the album throws you via the likes of the Angelo Badalamenti-tinged atmospherics of closing track ‘Dumbinance’ or the initial downbeat 4AD bass throb of ‘Oddsmaker’ that really take things to the next level and has me returning for multiple listens.
With a history of playing in bands like Obits, The Cops and Holy Fuck, Sohrab Habibion and Michael Jaworski, along with drummer Matt Schulz, have moulded the SAVAK sound (in their own words) as straddling the line between ‘Be Bop a Lula’ and ‘Wap Shoo Wap’ whilst connecting the dots between The Adverts to Bubble Puppy to The 101’ers to MDC, and you know what? They sound absolutely bloody amazing doing it!
‘Human Error / Human Delight’ is released on 15th April 2022, but you can check it out right now via the Bandcamp link below. Get on it folks – this album is very special indeed!
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Author: Johnny Hayward
Ghost first appeared on my radar when I saw them live at a festival, it may have been Download, or it may have been Sonisphere? Anyway…I didn’t really get them. I thought they were a little bit like Kiss, the image and the music don’t sit well together. I heard the odd song here and there; I loved the track Ritual from their debut ‘Opus Eponymous’ but didn’t really explore them much further at the time. It was with the release of the Rats video from 2018’s Prequelle that I really started to sit up and take notice of Papa and the boys. That album is never too far away from my turntable or CD player, it really is an exquisite piece of work, ‘Dance Macabre’ should have been a worldwide hit for the band, it’s their ‘I Was Made For Lovin’ You‘! I then delved deeper into Ghost’s back catalogue and loved it all. There really is no denying Tobias Forge’s genius, and I genuinely feel that Ghost is one of the only bands around now that can take the reigns from the old guard and headline big shows and festivals.
I did of course wonder how they could ever top the Prequelle album, it really is their ‘Master of Puppets’ or ‘Led Zeppelin IV‘. The first glimpse of the new material was sprung on us last October with the first single and video ‘Hunter’s Moon’ which was included on the soundtrack to ‘Halloween Kills’, (I waited for the end credits in the cinema to hear it in all its glory). While it’s a decent enough track, it does feel a little bit like Forge just phoned it in.
Next single ‘Call Me Little Sunshine’, however, is Ghost doing what they do best. Atmospheric, heavy when it needs to be and downright catchy. The video is great too. Let’s get to the new album then! ‘Impera’ is Ghost’s fifth studio album, and it gives us twelve new tracks to get our teeth into. Opener ‘Imperium’ is an atmospheric instrumental leading into ‘Kaisarion’ which jumps out of the speakers with abandon. A brilliant, up-tempo song with some superb guitar work from whichever of the latest ghouls are crunching the fretboards.
‘Spillways’ is next up, it really shows us the vocal acrobatics that Forge is capable of, he has a fantastic range. Another ear worm of a song with a keyboard riff that isn’t a million miles away from Bon Jovi’s ‘Runaway’! ‘Watcher In The Sky’ kicks off with a riff that George Lynch would be proud of, some lovely crunchy accents combined with another memorable chorus make this a real stand out track. Twenties is my favourite track on the album as I write this, just purely bonkers, it shouldn’t work but it works perfectly. A combination of prog, metal, and pop with some hilarious lyrics: We’ll be grabbing em’ all by the hoo – has. It’s just so damn catchy! Darkness ‘At The Heart Of My Love’ is one of those power ballads that Forge churns out effortlessly. It should be a major hit. Honestly, if Ghost could get mainstream airplay, I’m sure they would be huge, such is the quality of their songs. Griftwood sounds like something that would sit perfectly on a Ratt or Van Halen album from the 80s. I can imagine it on a montage from a Rocky film. The album closes with the epic ‘Respite On The Spitalfields’, a sprawling, atmospheric beast that enters a myriad of musical styles.
A solid album with everything thrown at bar the kitchen sink! Is ‘Impera’ as good as ‘Prequelle’? Not yet…But there’s still time.
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Author: Kenny Kendrick
Asian Dub Foundation play five UK shows in April and proudly release deluxe remastered editions of ‘Enemy Of the Enemy’ and ‘Tank’ on through X-Ray records; both albums are released with bonus tracks and will be available on CD and for the first time ever 12” vinyl.
Remastered by Kevin Metcalfe, ‘Enemy Of the Enemy’ and ‘Tank’ are both lovingly issued as 140g on limited edition double vinyl records and are housed in a gatefold sleeves with printed inners, Tank also includes a poster.
“We’re very happy that X Ray have put together these magnificent packages, the remasters sound crisp and a lot of the subject matter is still relevant, such as the opening lines of “Fortress Europe” exclaims Steve Chandra Savale.
First released in 2003 ‘Enemy of the Enemy’ Asian Dub Foundation’s fourth album opens with the lyrically prophetic ‘Fortress Europe’; “2022, a new European order. Robot guards patrolling the border. Cybernetic dogs getting closer and closer. Armoured Cars Immigration Officers.” . The album also includes ’1000 Mirrors’, featuring the inimitable Sinead O’Connor, and Ed O’Brien who also played the title track. This new edition includes three bonus tracks: ‘Illegal Minds’ featuring Mark Stewart, plus two remixes by Adrian Sherwood and The Bug.
‘Tank’ their fifth studio album released two years later sees the original twelve tracks joined by three bonus tracks including; “Easy Man’ ft Perry Farrell, plus two remixes by San J and Shiva Sound System.
Asian Dub Foundation are a genre unto themselves. Their unique combination of tough jungle rhythms, dub bass lines and wild guitar overlaid by references to their South Asian roots and militant high-speed rap has established them as one of the best live bands in the world. During their long and productive career Asian Dub Foundation have shared the stage with the likes ofRage Against The Machine, the Beastie Boys and Primal Scream also collaborating on record with the likes of Radiohead, Sinead O’ Connor, Iggy Pop and Chuck D.
On top of that X-Ray has managed to secure Brexit-busting shipping rates, so treat yourselves to these ADF classics today! The remasters by the legendary Kevin Metcalfe sound fantastic as well.To pre -order / pre save ‘Enemy Of the Enemy’ and ‘Tank’ go to: https://bit.ly/3tswlVq
Asian Dub Foundation April UK showFri 1st Bristol TrinityFri 8th Manchester Band On The Wall Sat 9th Glasgow Studio Warehouse Fri 15th London Earth Hackney Fri 22nd Brighton Chalk
English rock’n’roll band The Quireboys will make a triumphant and welcome return to the States to finish what they started back in 2020.
Here are the first ticket links to be announced:
05.04.22 BROOKLYN MONARCH BROOKLYN,NY https://bit.ly/3HYmLhL
05.05.22 ANGEL CITY MUSIC HALL MANCHESTER, NH https://bit.ly/366y7C6
05.06.22 VAULT MUSIC HALL NEW BEDFORD, MA https://bit.ly/3JCLzMm
05.07.22 ARTIE’S FRENCHTOWN, NJ https://bit.ly/3hYdDy2
05.08.22 M3 ROCK FESTIVAL COLUMBIA, MD https://bit.ly/3JEmzEP
05.10.22 DIAMOND MUSIC HALL ST.PETERS MO https://bit.ly/3MEnAPr
05.11.22 BILLIARDS CLUB LOUISVILLE, KY https://bit.ly/3t1kJsa
05.13.22 THE VENUE DENVER, CO https://bit.ly/3v32QKZ
05.14.22 LEATHERHEADS DRAPER, UT https://bit.ly/3LJJ64E
05.15.22 DIVE BAR LAS VEGAS, NV TBC
05.18.22 WHISKY A GO GO W.HOLLYWOOD, CA https://bit.ly/3oUvee4
Meet N Greet packages Here
The lads were in the throws of a stunning country-wide tour when the pandemic hit – and have been itching to get back ever since. That time is now, and May 2022 sees the band – most famous for their hit album “A Bit Of What You Fancy” – embark on a fresh tour of the USA taking in New York, Denver, Las Vegas and many more cities across the country including a stop at the prestigious M3 Festival in Baltimore. The tour will reach a triumphant conclusion at the world-famous Whisky a Go Go in West Hollywood – and for the tour The Quireboys are joined by the amazing Midnight Devils and Steve Ramone.
In addition to tickets which will be available shortly, the band are available at most venues for meet and greets – follow the link below to reserve your spot!
Following the band’s inception in London, UK in 1984 – originally as The Choirboys, then The Queerboys, before settling on the less controversial name of The Quireboys – there followed 6 years of hard graft and personnel changes before the inevitable happened – a UK number 2 album.
Spike and Guy have been the backbone of THE quintessential British rock’n’roll band ever since – a journey that has seen them play to 72,000 at 1990’s Monsters of Rock at Donington with the likes of Whitesnake, Aerosmith and Poison – supporting The Rolling Stones that same year, and joining Guns N’ Roses again a couple of years later on their “Use Your Illusion” tour.
Fusion metal pioneers Dub War have released their brand new rousing single “Blackkk Man”, the first single off of their first album of all-new material in over 25 years, ‘Westgate Under Fire’.
The track packs a punch with jagged guitar, furious rhythms and tough vocals from founder and frontman Benji Webbe (who many will also recognise as the mighty Skindred’s frontman). Released in the midst of the celebration of Black History Month in the US, “Blackkk Man” is a furious revolt against racism and a bleak reflection of crucial events from this decade in particular, including the murder of George Floyd.
“This song is exactly how I was feeling at the time of Mr Floyd’s murder. This is a cry from my heart for equal rights and justice – and the other boys in the band feel the same as I do. No one chooses the skin they’re in – should the skin you’re in help you to win? It’s a question we all need to think about!” declares Webbe. “This racist injustice has been going on way too long and, unfortunately, even with all the cries and the pain, it still continues.”
The accompanying lyric video, compiled and edited by Aran Webster, serves to drive the critical message contained in the lyricism of “Blackkk Man” further, putting society’s outrageous double standards in plain sight via news footage and articles.
A thought-provoking statement song, “Blackkk Man” and the album it resides on launches Dub War back into the industry as the band who turned heads with their groundbreaking genre-bending once more. Alongside this potent punk rock-laced track, ‘Westgate Under Fire’ offers up dance infused metal, ragga-punk and sinister metal with exotic beats.
A band born and raised in Newport, ‘Westgate Under Fire’ shines a light on a crucial event in their hometown’s history, the Newport Uprising. An event which would play a role in transforming democracy in Britain and the world, the uprising in 1839 saw thousands from the Chartist movement march through south Wales, seeking social reform, including the right for men of all classes to vote. The marches ended in a bloody battle at the Westgate Hotel, which saw many of the Chartists dead or wounded. ‘Westgate Under Fire’ aims to embody the empowerment that Chartists took upon themselves and coincides with the local community resurrecting the derelict Westgate Hotel into an exciting new venue.
‘Westgate Under Fire’ is available for pre-order worldwide on signed, limited edition coloured vinyl, black vinyl, signed CD and limited cassette at earache.com/dubwar. Due for release 5th August 2022.
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