Album Reviews

[Hardrock69]

I just listened to War Of Words, Small Deadly Space, and Mutations a couple of weeks ago. They are all on a single cassette tape, and I was driving around, and decided to give them a spin.

Halford produced an excellent set of music with Fight. He wanted to get heavier, more towards thrash, and Priest probably were dragging their heels.

I am glad he formed Fight, as it freed him up to play the heavy shit he was hearing in his head.

Fucking Into The Pit!!!!

[Dave's Bitch]

I love the fight stuff.War of words is usually in regular rotation when I am feeling metal.I am not really a fan of the Two album he did but I like the Halford stuff.Fight was the best though

[binnie]

Bonded By Blood – The Aftermath (2012)

If you’ve ever wondered what a thrash album written in 1985 would sound like with 21st century production then ‘Bonded By Blood’ provide the answer. ‘Aftermath’ goes far beyond ‘retro’ into the realms of fanboy worship: this is Bay Area Thrash down to the nuances, a copy and paste tribute to Exodus et al with all of the rifforama, ridiculous lyrics (it must be hard to intentionally write lyrics this poor) and inability to pen a decent chorus. The band clearly LOVE thrash, and their appreciation is infectious (the title track and ‘Show No Fear’ are particularly strong) – but ‘Aftermath’ is proof that nostalgia can be stagnating if pursued for its own end. The truth of the matter is that listening to ‘Aftermath’ will leave you craving for the originals – no matter how good the emulation, or how raw the production (courtesy of ex-Machine Head man Logan Mader) you can never re-capture the energy of those original, groundbreaking records.

Thrash is alive and thriving in 2012 – a host of post-Haunted bands have injected the genre with a thriving burst of life, taking the original vocabulary and re-arranging it into their own language. When Bonded By Blood come close to doing this (‘Restless Mind’) they impress – but for much of ‘Aftermath’ they are merely driving in reverse where their European competitors are hurtling off into the stratosphere.

[binnie]

Hey binnie do you have "Halford - Resurrection"?

I have pretty much had that and "Fight - War of Words" on repeat for the past 2 weeks and would enjoy a Binnie review of either

I have 'Resurrection' and I've put it on the 'to do' list.

I also own one Fight record, but I can't remember which one at the moment.....I will pursue it further!

[Dave's Bitch]

Both are good albums but "War of Words" is much better.I did like "A Small Deadly Space" but I found it more grinding and dirty musically,And although I like Halfords deeper vocals I wish there were more of his trademark screams.His vocals on WoW are just awesome.There are a few nice thrashy guitar moments on Deadly Space but aside from that it is kind of standard 90's groove metal.


also WoW has Satchel on guitar

[binnie]

At The Skyline – The Secrets of Life (2012)

What we have here is the sound of a band confused. All of the hallmarks of post-hardcore are present – 2 vocalists (one ‘melodic’, one guttural), songs which spasm from section to section, breakdown to soaring chorus, and lyrics which equate cryptic with depth (when really it is a sign of a lack of emotional content) – but they are muddled by two features. Firstly, the presence of a considerable body of electronic instrumentation and programmes; and secondly, the sense that what At The Skyline really are is a hard rock band dressing themselves up in all of the trappings of post-hardcore/emo. It is the second facet which is saddening, because when ATS do shift from plodding the furrough of post-hardcore into something much more melodic they produce some genuinely promising music. On ‘143 Princess’ and ‘Turbulence’ saccharine pop sensibilities serve them well, but elsewhere this melodic rock (think Fall Out Boy with balls) is constrained by forced contemporary references (see ‘The Amazing Atom’).

A remarkable production from Fredrik Nordstrom aside, this is an unsatisfactory record. ATS are a band in need of self-discovery. Whilst their electro elements add shades to metalcore (although Enter Shakiri do it better) there is little here that breaks beyond the mould. It all feels like it was designed by committee – ‘a little bit of this for this demographic, a little bit of that for that scene’ – and the result is something Jeremy Bruckheimer smooth and equally substanceless.

[binnie]

From the vaults: Threat Signal – Under Reprisal (2006)

The list of bands who should be bigger and better known is a long one, but Canada’s Threat Signal should be near the top. There are plenty of bands who do extreme, who do fast, who do pulsatingly aggressive music, but the numbers of those who do so in a compelling manner are small. Produced by Fear Factory’s Christian Olde Wolbers, ‘Under Reprisal’ shows many points of contact with that band: welding thrash, hardcore, industrial and electronic atmospherics together into a sound which is thoroughly mechanical and pneumatic. Whilst little of this is new, what separates TS from the (considerable) pack is the presence of bass: LOTS of bass. This adds plenty of bounce and groove into the brutality, injecting a sense of fun into the aggression, and ensures that the rhythm section on the likes of ‘As I Destruct’ and ‘Inane’ truly neck snapping. At its most compelling – ‘Seeing Red’ and ‘Counterbalance’ – the switch-hitting rhythm section and huge choruses merge with heavy grooves which makes you compelled to head bang and throw shapes simultaneously. Elsewhere, when they do heavy for the sake of it – ‘Now’ or ‘Faceless’ – the band is less compelling: it must be noted, however, that few debut records contain no songs purely in the vein of the period in which they are produced.

But this was much more than a ‘file under promising’ record. Melodic, groove-laden, and inventive, when all of TS’s metallic-blends are integrated into a synthetic whole they sound almost operatic in their power: ‘When all is Said & Done’ is a metal tune which more people should be aware of (epic!). It’s a shame that follow up records – ‘Vigilance’ and ‘Threat Signal’ – never quite captisalised on the momentum.

[binnie]

Aerosmith – Music From Another Dimension (2012)

It would be unrealistic to expect Aerosmith to recapture their heyday. Not only have they proven incapable of doing so despite promising it with every album since the mid-‘90s, are now both incredibly old and rich (when was the last time they sounded hungry?), but the conscious change in sound which accompanied their ‘clean-up, come back’ rejuvenation in the late ‘80s rendered them a very different beast. Indeed, anyone hoping that ‘Music….’ would be aiming for the stars should adjust their sites from ‘Rocks’ to ‘Pump’ – and in a sense, there’s nothing wrong with that, for ‘Pump’ was a glitzy, hook-filled corporate rock record of the finest proportions which presented a slicker, more cartoonish version of Aerosmith still doused in a little magic. The truth is that ‘Music….’ falls (very, very) short of the mark: losing your hunger is fine if you can fall back on an abundance of decently written tunes, but it is clear that Aerosmith no longer can. If this is indeed from another dimension, it is one where Aerosmith are rocking retirement homes rather than suburbs.

Several things stand out from the get-go. 1) at 15 songs and 68 minutes, this is way, way too long – Aerosmith should be like alley sex, short, sweet and nasty, but MFAD is more like endless foreplay where no-one cums. 2) despite repeated incandescence from fans that they no longer write decent hard rock tunes, the reason is made all too abundantly clear here: they no longer can. The two that Joe Perry mails in (and sings) ‘Something’ and ‘Freedom Fighter’ would be laughed at by most A&R men, whilst ‘Street Jesus’ (a colossal 6 minutes of ‘blues’) is sautéed in wrong sauce. Elsewhere the problems that have plagued Aerosmith records since the ‘90s persist: the lack of editing, the absence of any pace to inject the record with life, and the presence of the ‘hit writers’ Marti Freidriksen, Desmond Childs and Jim Valance. You want it to kick you in the ass, but it just keeps falling short. The eastern-tinged blues of opener ‘Luv XXX’ skiffles things to life at easy pace, ‘Oh Yeah’ serves up some inoffensive B-rate ‘60s British Invasion blues, whilst sappy ballad ‘We All Fall Down’ is more Broadway than skid row. Tyler may still have a voice so captivating that it could read the phone book and be appealing, but producer Jack Douglass has worked overtime here polishing some serious cracks out of the material before him with an array of studio magic, background vocal melodies and horns acting as filler.

It would be churlish not to admit that there is some glisten amidst the dust. ‘Out Go The lights’ shows enough r’n’b to make even the hardened cynic smile (even if, at 7 minutes, it’s more of a jam than a song). But it’s the ballads – yes, them again – which are the strongest moments here (which speaks volumes). ‘What Could Have Been Love’ has the sort of hook you’re expecting (annoyingly irresistible), and features all of the glitter and candy required to ooze its country-tinged rock into a million car speakers. But the real standout (to these ears, at least) is closer ‘Another Last Goodbye’, which pulls back on the schmaltz to produce something more heartfelt and tender.

In a sense, Aerosmith are captives of their own success: memories of the glory daze of America’s greatest hard rock band both perpetuate the group’s career long past the last chances they’ve blown several times before; and raise expectations of what an Aerosmith record ‘should’ be beyond the point that they could ever deliver (who can compete with their younger self?) But a couple of passable tunes in over a dozen is beyond the bottom of the barrel. ‘Tell Me’ opens with the line ‘I think it’s time to realise it’s done…..’: on ‘Music From Another Dimension’ life is certainly imitating art.

[Dave's Bitch]

It is a very clean album and definitely lacks some sleaze,But we all knew it would from the beginning anyway.There is a fair amount of purpose written chart balladry but I was surprised by some of the songs.I really like Lover Alot and Freedom Fighter makes me smile.I can't seem to help tapping my foot to LUV XXX and Legendary Child has funk.I probably should not admit this but I really like We All Fall Down (I know right).

Overall I actually enjoyed the album,But I guess it is bad I had to go in an Aerosmith album with fairly low expectations

[binnie]

It is a very clean album and definitely lacks some sleaze,But we all knew it would from the beginning anyway.There is a fair amount of purpose written chart balladry but I was surprised by some of the songs.I really like Lover Alot and Freedom Fighter makes me smile.I can't seem to help tapping my foot to LUV XXX and Legendary Child has funk.I probably should not admit this but I really like We All Fall Down (I know right).

Overall I actually enjoyed the album,But I guess it is bad I had to go in an Aerosmith album with fairly low expectations

It's just not got any fire in the 'rock' parts. There's so much production on it that you can't help but feel Jack D was really polishing turds here........

The ballads are the strongest tunes on it, and Tyler still has that voice. But you have to ask this question: if a band of 20 year olds went to an A&R man with these songs tomorrow, would they get signed? The answer is 'no'.

I wanted to like 'Music From Another Dimension' - I wanted to love it - but I was left with was the sense of a band mailing it in. They may be enjoying themselves still, but it's not coming across - the records feels like a product rather than a band.

[binnie]

Strife – Witness A Rebirth (2012)

At last, a ‘reunion’ that produces music which can compete with the band’s heyday. Given that hardcore/metal crossover pitbulls Strife made zero $$ first time round, there was little chance of their reforming for $$ this time around and their return is constantly all about the (very angry) music. Kicking the living shit out of the eardrums of anyone who heard their 1997 debut (‘In This Defiance’) Strife’s first career never came close to awarding them with the plaudits and attention they deserved. Alongside Vision of Disorder, their welding metal and hardcore into an unwholly nitro charged amalgam of hatred predated the boom kicked off by the (much shinnier) Killswith Engage five years later, but with only an iota of the fanfare. ‘Witness A Rebirth’ picks up where 2001’s ‘Angermen’ left off – delivering a melees of riffs and tempo changes in a very close space, these songs never rest for a moment and sound much, much bigger than their 2 minute time span. At 12 songs and 28 minutes this is straight out of the fold of the Cro Mags (with better songs), with Andrew Kilne’s buzzsaw riffs adding a metalized steel to a relentless hardcore fury delivered by Sepultura sticksman extraordinaire Iggor Cavalera. ‘No Apologies’ is pure DRI lunacy; ‘Never Look Back’ is a claustrophobic barrage of riffs swaying with urban swagger; whilst ‘Carrying The Torch’ is a taut clout of an anthem which beams you straight into the magic of fans and band meeting minds.

Balancing metal and punk has been commonplace in metal since the earliest days of thrash. But where Slayer’s sound tilts toward the metal end of that balance, Strife’s leads towards the hardcore pole. Neat, pure, focussed and irate, ‘Witness A Rebirth’ is music made with passion for the passionate.

[binnie]

Soundgarden – King Animal (2012)

When legendary bands reform they usually make one of three mistakes: 1) try to recapture the sound of their heyday (and come up very, very short); 2) tell everybody they’ve gone ‘back to their roots’ and made a (woeful) blues record; or 3) try to sound contemporary, but just end up producing the aural equivalent of a 45 year old fat dude in a nightclub. Soundgarden – thank heavens – have made none of these mistakes. Much as devotees would love ‘Badmotorfinger #2’ this has none of the histrionics or metallic swagger. It is certainly raw – very raw – and the sound is flinty and organic, much like where they left off 16 years ago with ‘Down On The Upside’ (but without the over-complication and layered production). It oozes sincerity, clearly hasn’t been made with $$$ in mind (there are no radio-friendly unit-shifters here) and as a result is a damn fine record, a rare addition to the list of ‘reunions we should give a shit about’.

Opener ‘Been Away Too Long’ features some punchy Kinks-style riffage and is propelled into the stratosphere by Matt Cameron’s odd rhythmic quirks – it’s oh so very Soundgarden, but effortlessly rather than forced. ‘Non-State Actor’ has that broken machine vibe the band excelled at earlier in their careers, and like many of the heavier tunes here has that low-end drive and crackled guitar lines which made ‘Ultra-Mega OK’ and the odder aspects of ‘Louder Than Love’ so disturbingly compelling, Ben Shepherd’s luscious bass and Chris Cornell’s dystopian misgivings offsetting one another. On ‘By Crooked Steps’ Cornell sounds mighty in every sense of the word, alternatively wailing and crooning over Thayil’s buzz-saw riffage.

So far, so good, so Soundgarden. But don’t be fooled into thinking that there aren’t any surprises here – there are certainly moments where the band’s sound shows signs of evolution. ‘A Thousand Days Before’ is reminiscent of the weirder moments on ‘Superunknown’, laced with horns, mandolin and trombone; whilst ‘Worse Dreams’ is the way the more experimental aspects of ‘Down On The Upside’ should have sounded, a crooked rock song shrouded in ethereal mystique. Given the range of the band’s catalogue, it is unsurprising that ‘King Animal’ is a protean beast: ‘Blood On The Valley Floor’ is as heavy as they can be; whilst ‘Taree’ is a stunning crackle of a song, beautiful even amidst the melancholy. The melodies throughout are as huge – and emotive – as anyone could have hoped (check out ‘Eyelid’s Mouth), and the sheer amount of space in the production leaves the songs for the most part unadorned, understated and sparse in their delivery. Soundgarden were always HEAVY, but they were rarely METAL: their aesthetic was always too spartan, too bare, for that. ‘King Animal’ is no different.

There are misfires, of course. ‘Black Saturday’ feels more like Cornell solo, whilst ‘Halfway There’ has a lighter vibe oddly out of place on a record which is anything but breezy. Does ‘King Animal’ match the band’s highs? Of course not, but it was trade punches with them and leaves you learning for more. Like the (sadly under-heralded) Mudhoney, Soundgarden combine staggering song-writing, ever unique arrangements, and a delivery that rarely fails to move: were a breath of fresh air in the ‘90s and they remain so today.

[binnie]

Yob – Atma (2012)

Delivering epic doom metal with more than a nod to Candlemass and which exists purely on its own terms (and timescales), Yob have been delivering sonic brews from the darker ethers for a generation now. ‘Atma’ – album number six – is a special, special work. As with many psychellic, stoner, doom bands, the music works through a hypnotic repletion of slow rolling and relentless riffs, a phrasing which lulls (or even numbs) the listener into a soothing state. This anti-histrionic approach is the antithesis of most other genres of metal, and only those with the most enduring of concentration spans (or super large weed collections) wander here. The riffs here are juggernauts – bollock-kicking heavy and memorable – whilst Mike S’s vocals add some classic metal stylings alongside growls, providing colour amidst the relentless dirge of bottom end. Eastern melodies and atmospherics provide alternating shades of dark and light, and at a colossal 16 minutes the title track is truly terrifying proposition (and features some evil guitar tones). Elsewhere, ‘Before We Dreamed Of Two’ is a spacey, eerie, saga-like take on a song whilst ‘Upon The Sight Of The Other Shore’ offers a more traditional, doom metal steel. The variety is remarkable, and never pulls apart from the whole.

It is a special skill to inherit and incredibly crowded genre and stand head and shoulders above the pack without abandoning the fundamental attributes of your sound – it is difficult to put your finger on what, precisely, Yob do that makes them so special, but whatever that ‘special something’ is, it is very, very unique indeed. Perhaps it lies in the tone of the music: rather than needlessly ‘evil’ or relentlessly aggressive, Yob seem to want to communicate with their audience rather than pummel them into dominion. ‘Atma’ is a term in Eastern religions relating to a higher sense (or state) of self, and much of lyrics here ask us to see in change, life and death something more than the mundane, to use music as a form of meditation towards empowerment. Even those who resist such ‘far out’ thinking would have to admit that great music has the power to carry you – and Yob certainly cause the sands to shift.

[binnie]

Deftones – Koi No Yokan (2012)

The Deftones’ genius has been to make beautiful heavy. Their music has always had contradictory effects, combining caustic riffs and sonic bombast that make you want to tear it up with eerily cool melodies which touch your soul with ice, too. That aesthetic has proven unique in the history of heavy music and that band has always been difficult to characterise. Is it metal? Probably not – the band employs very different types of dynamics and has a far broader sonic palette than gun-metal grey, injecting indie and electronica references to connect with adult emotions through relentlessly catchy hooks. It IS heavy – but it is also the sort of music that you sing your heart out to and make it better. After a menopause period in the early part of the ‘00s, the band returned on sensational form with the bombastic brilliance of ‘Diamond Eyes’ (2010). ‘Koi No Yokan’ carries on that momentum, expanding its scope via the injection of textures and colours, and simplifying the delivery. Indeed producer Nick Raskulinecz – the bussiest man in rock – deserves a medal here for stripping back the band’s sound to preference simple-but-effective dynamics which takes us a long way from the cluttered sounds of ‘Saturday Night Wrist’ and ‘Deftones’. The result is an incredible, joyous record in which there is not chaff amongst the wheat – every time you spin it a different song is your favourite.

Opener ‘Swerve City’ has an immense bounce. Crunching riffs smash into beautifully ethereal melodies, teasing the heaviness into relief. The sexy melancholic funk of ‘Romantic Dreams’ sounds like Jane’s Addiction covering The Cult, whilst ‘Leathers’ is awash with razor-blade riffs and lithe vocal-lines to deliver a serpentine menace of an anthem. It’s the variety of tones in the band’s oeuvre that impresses most: the delicacy of ‘Entombed’ – a tortured take on love gone awry – is juxtaposed in the dinosaur riffage of ‘Gauze’ (so heavy; so beautiful). And even 20 years into their career, the band continues to expand their sound – ‘Tempest’ adds a grungier stoner sound amidst the sonic grandeur.

‘Koi No Yokan’ is an incredible heavy rock record. The Deftones prove that you do not have to set the dial to ’75-’85 to get heavy music that is life-affirming and joyous; and you do not have to be wilfully opaque and obtusely insular to inject depth and intelligence to rock. This is a band which shows you the darkness of your soul, and makes you smile at it.

[binnie]

Viking Skull – Cursed By The Sword (2012)

Viking Skull are to sophistication what a wolf is to sheep. Ivor Novello awards are not on the agenda for ‘Cursed By The Sword’ – but sore necks are! This is heavy metal stripped back to its bare bones and recorded in the rawest and most primal of beer-sodden fashions. You can SMELL the testosterone in this sheet-welder take on metal as the band celebrates the genre’s vintage through grease-tinted spectacles. Big bass, big riffs and big choruses are the order of the day, and on grizzled beauties like ‘Pumped’, ‘Machine Gun Honey’ and ‘Second Left On Harris’ the band combines the simple fire-power of NWOBHM with their own belligerent enthusiasm – if they’d been around 30 years ago, they may very well have been huge. In 2013, we should just be pleased that a band can make this sort of gnarly fun metal: ‘Five Fingers Of Steel’ captures the sheer joy of clipping someone in the teeth with bombastic bravura; whilst ‘This is The End’ feels like an anthem which has been dusted off from Saxon’s closet. Drink hard and bang harder!