Album Reviews

[binnie]

Hardcore Superstar – C’Mon Take On Me (2013)

For Sweden’s Hardcore Superstar every morning, noon and night is party central with the ghost of Johnny Thunders in residence. Here – as on every HS record – tales of bad men, worse women and times that inspire shit-eating grins are served up aplenty. It ain’t big, it certainly ain’t clever, and you’ve heard it done better before. But you can’t help but like it. The title track is a snotty take on teen abandon and comes across like an STD you’ll scratch all day. ‘One More Minute’ is as filthy as it is beautiful, and proves that this is far more than mere Crue emulation – the melodies are better, for instance. ‘Won’t Take The Blame’ is hard rock that could be on the radio, whilst ‘Long Time No See’ – with its soft/heavy structure and bittersweet lament – reminds you of Vain. Hell, even when the tunes are thinner than stretched spandex (‘Are You Gonna Cry Now’) it’s still a lot of fun. In Jocke Berry they have a vocalist who can always add a little danger to proceedings.

The world doesn’t need this album – there are better straight up rock ‘n’ roll records released this year, and HS themselves have served up better ones in the past. But your day will be a bit better with ‘C’mon Take On Me’ in it.

[binnie]

Scorpion Child – Scorpion Child (2013)

‘And the winner of 2013’s album most likely to make you strut like a Rockstar is…………………….’. Scorpion Child really are love at first listen. Whilst Bigelf may remain the 21st century’s best – and most innovative – take on classic hard rock, Scorpion Child are part of a fiery gaggle of contenders to their throne. Re-assembling the elements of your record collection into one alcohol-fuelled cocktail for the ears, their take on 1968-73 is far more than Big Dumb Rawk – a little dabbled of a spacey, psychedelic vibe hear, more than a little soul there, and some r’n’b for good measure. Alongside the (obvious and obligatory) Zeppelin, you hear some of the more interesting elements of that decade – Mountain, Vanilla Fudge, Deep Purple, and more than a little bit of Kyuss, too. The result is something that just rips out of the speakers. Opener ‘Kings Highway’ shuffles and swipes its way through the blues, whilst ‘Polygon of Eyes’ is fuelled by lashing of juicy bass. BOOOOOM! ‘The Secret Spot’ is filthy that makes you happy to be a pervert, a lascivious little Bon Scott ditty you’d be more than happy to shake your ass too, and ‘Liquor’ sounds like a stoned chainsaw – it almost convinces you that a life dedicated solely to partying might actually be more than a dream. Sure, there are weaker moments (‘Into The Arms Of Ectsacy’ and ‘Paradigm’) but overall the fun factor here is brimming over the edge. In Aryn Black they have a guy who can really sing, wailing those toxic melodies in pure Joplin-esque abandon. In short, Scorpion Child are cool. Like their album cover, this sonic brew just works – instantaneous and infectious, like the music.

[IMAGE]http://metalinjection.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Scorpion-Child.jpg[/IMAGE]

[Dave's Bitch]

Binnie, did you check out The Quireboys last album?

[binnie]

Yes, I've just got around to writing a review yet

[binnie]

Monster Magnet – Last Patrol (2013)

If a definitive history of rock ‘n’ roll is ever written, perhaps Monster Magnet will finally get their dues. Surely one of the most interesting – and invigorating – bands of the past 25 years in any genre, MM have passed from the spaced-out, trippy psych rock of their early records through the cock-rock strut of their late ‘90s commercial high and out into the wilderness of their most recent years, where line-up changes and drug addiction have plagued them. Following a brace of unfocussed records they, thank fuck, back. Big time. They’ve even gone some way to re-capturing the spacey, pill-shoving orgasm of their early records – records which remain about as good as music can get.

Thus the mesh of intricate rhythms, sinewy melodies, and soundscapes drenched in references to pop culture are back, and they’re once again jammed to the point of the joyful hypnosis of an over-inflated bubblegum about to burst. Opener ‘I Live Behind the Clouds’ is a slow-building, spaced-out desert rock bohemian rhapsody; the title-track features a fucked-up, late ‘60s vibe which reminds you that although they’re known for being big dumb rock, MM were always at heart a stoner band – Queens Of The Stone Age WISH they could do this. ‘End Of Time’ sounds like the earth spinning off its orbit in the sheer abandon of the best sex EVER. In stark contrast, ‘Paradise’ is quiet, almost hushed, but devastatingly in its impact. Even ‘Three Kingfishers’, a Donovan cover (FFS!!!), is cool than Johnny Depp’s bollocks.

Dave Wyndorf is, as ever, one of rock’s most recogniseable and effective vocalists, his lascivious croon is in evidence through in all of its shit-eater glory and making the likes of ‘The Duke of Supernature’ such splendidly evil fun. ‘Last Patrol’ sees him finally emerge from the leather-panted, face fucking God of the powerchord back to his roots as a weaver of astral tapestries.

A sonic chaser of nitro-fuelled proportions.

[binnie]

So, I was going to do something special for my 500th review in this thread. But I missed it - I've now done 504.........

So maybe I will, maybe it'll just be business as usual.............

[vandeleur]

Mate no bullshit I always read your reviews and have bought many an album on your recommendation .
500 well done and keep up the good work man :-)

[binnie]

Asomvel – Knuckle Duster (2013)

To paraphrase Lemmy, rock ‘n’ roll is music for people who are chained to the 9-5: it rips their heart out and gives it back to ‘em bigger and better. England Asomvel clearly appreciate that sentiment, and, indeed, Motorhead. Especially the ‘golden era’ of Motorhead, the Lemmy-fast Eddie- Philthy Animal era of the late ‘70s/early ‘80s. ‘Knuckle Duster’ is consequently no bullshit, no frills rock ‘n’ roll played blood-red raw and peppered with the bluesy grit that made Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis so invigorating. Like Motorhead, the bass rattle with menace, the guitars scream and wail all over the songs, the powerchords thunder, and the whole record hurtles along at a speed firmly set on ‘Fight Or Fuck’.

The thing is, you’d expect this level of shameless emulation to just make you want to go and listen to ‘Head or some other NWOBHM heroes who shared their bravura approach to music – but I’ve been playing the shit out of this record. Bands like this are not in the business of looking for Ivor Novello awards, they’re all about the feel – and ‘Knuckle Duster’ feels feckin’ great. ‘Dead Set On Livin’ kicks off with loads of bass attack, bounce and rumble; ‘Sheep In Wolf’s Clothing’ reeks of the bar-room brawl it narrates; and ‘Waster’ has a dinosaur like heaviness to its weighty thud. So simple, but it makes you wanna scream. It’s the little things that raise those evil grins – the riff to ‘Final Hour’ is just…………….nasty.

The feel here is reminiscent of the first two albums of another band of British badasses: The Almighty. Loud, rude, dirty and mean, the title is perfect for this rough ‘n’ ready, warts and all man music. There’s nothing hear you not heard ten thousand times before, but something the punch-line is sweetened by the teasing anticipation which comes with familiarity.

[binnie]

Philip H Anselmo & The Illegals – Walk Through Exits Only (2013)

This is what music sounds like when it’s wielded as a weapon. You’d think that Phil Anselmo would be resting on his laurels by now – he’s a multi-millionaire, he re-defined Heavy Metal in Pantera, and in Down he continues to release near perfect heaviness with one of the best bands on the planet – but this, his first solo record, is ridiculously intense. I don’t care what Scandinavian crass-core EP only release you’ve heard this year: Anselmo is more angry. Sounding far closer to the short-sharp hardcore of Superjoint Ritual than either of his two better known groups, ‘Walk…..’ filters all of the most extreme aspect of metal and punk from the past thirty years – you’ll hear Crass, Discharge, early Napalm Death levels of extremity here as these fractured songs lurch and spasm from riff to evil riff, grinding out something new every 4 bars. The aesthetic is sheer musical terrorism – it’s not for everyone, but if you give yourself over to it this will be one of the very best album you will ever hear. THAT good.

Opener ‘Music Media Is My Whore’ blasts things off. Lyrically, it’s Anselmo at his angry best. Musically, it’s instruments being tortured. ‘Betrayed’ is social commentary done very well, whilst ‘Bedroom Destroyer’ is the sheer awesomeness of aggression of a swirling morass of hatred. It. Just. Keeps. Coming. ‘Usurper Bastard’s Rant’ is fuck off heavy, a hardcore-fuelled beatdown of truly vicious proportions. If you never thought you’d hear music that captured the sheer adrenalin fuelled rage of the early Rollins Band albums, think again – this album is something beyond anger, it’s wounded, vulnerable…..seething. Fuck anything you’ve heard this year, Phil is back. As he spews himself on the title track: ‘A comeback doesn’t come gently…it’s as ugly as ugly is….made of hedonist handcuffs…crushing weight……nemesis accusing…and kills love outright’. Proceed with caution.

[binnie]

Cathedral – The Last Spire (2013)

After 23 years of sonic mastery, this is the final album from British doom metal uber-Gods Cathedral. And they’ve signed-off with a blinder. As ever, the sound here is metal cut straight from the bone for those who love it rare – the timeless sound of Sabbath, St Vitus, Trouble and Candlemass bass-heavy, lo-end rumbling, dinosaur heavy music completely devoid of over-playing. Just a bunch of guys hammering out epic songs. And, as ever, Gaz Jennings serves up riff after staggering riff: no-one has ever been so unheralded, and the riffs here are savage, brilliant, crushingly simple and served up through a tone which just owns with every touch. The tone – and theme – is funereal, proof that Cathedral are doomsters with a sense of humour, but the macabre is oddly uplifting when delivered through songs that are this perfectly crafted.

Unlike most of the doom bands who they inspired, Cathedral recognised that there has to be more to this music than mere Sabbath-worship. Thus whilst 11 mintue opener ‘Pallbearers’ certainly reeks of Sabbath-laden doom tones, it’s also apparent the prog, the darker side of psychedelia and folk are all heavily present in the fuzzy sonic brew which makes up this morass of metal. ‘Cathedral Of Doom’ features some decidedly fuzzed-out Deep Purple tones and swings like rhino balls; whilst ‘Infestation of Grey Death’ sees psychedelic folk tear itself from the bowels of howling funereal doom. ‘An Observation’ is spacey, oozey prog which manages to be warm and eerie in equal measure and is a testament to just how good Cathedral are as songwriters – if Sabbath had continued down the ‘Sabotage’/’Sabbath Bloody Sabbath’ line, they may have sounded like this. On the orgy of guitar that is ‘Tower Of Silence’, however, it’s back to basics: heavier than King Kong’s first dump of the day placed on top of the Deathstar.

All that remains to be said is: thank-you for the metal, boys. You’ve died to give us one of your – and 2013’s – very best.

[binnie]

binnie's Best of 2013:

1) Carcass - Surgical Steel
(Death Metal legends return and serve up something which was simply dazzling - this one is an instant classic)

2) Phillip H Anselmo & The Illegals - Walk Through Exits Only
(A legend who lives up to his own status - challenging, terrifying and as angry as music can be)

3) Voivod - Target Earth
(Inventive, progressive without being long-winded, and heavy in Voivod's own unique way)

4) Clutch - Earth Rocker
(They're seemingly incapable of making a bad record - this is Clutch at their most direct, foot-to-the-floor best. They are their own genre, and it's impossible to imagine anyone not loving this album)

5) TRC - Nation
('Crossover' usually = shit. In this case, it equals = genius. Angry, concrete-bred urban-fused metal. Nothing got played more on my Ipod this year).

6) Bronx - IV
(Honest, inspiring and beuatifully crafted hardcore which is as good as music can be. Four albums, four classics, no bullshit)

7) The Dillinger Escape Plan - One Of Us Has to Be The Killer
(Dazzlingly inventive, as always; unreletingly aggressive, as always; and like nothing else on planet earth, as always. 15 years in and they're as good as ever and still charting the course which all other extreme/avant guarde metal bands will follow)

8) Tesseract - Altered State
(Proof that ultra-technical music can be soulful and drenched in beauty)

9) Church Of Misery - Thy Kingdom Scum
(The best doom album of the year, is quite a year for doom releases. Can you handle the heaviness?)

10) Cathedral - The Last Spire
(The second best doom album of the year from the best Doom Metal band of all time. Worship the riffs)

11) Suffocation - Pinnacle of Bedlam
(Death Metal legends on legendary form. My neck is still recovering)

12) Alice In Chains - The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here
(Beautiful, crushingly heavy, and typically emotive - 'Phantom Limb' might be the song of the year)

13) Kveltertak - Meir
(No metal bands sounds like this - more really should. A tsunami of prog/metal/punk brilliance in one big fun package)

14) Asomvel - Knuckle Duster
(Shit eater grins all round. The jack on the rocks of hard rock

15) Scorpion Child - Scorpion Child
(The very best 'Classic Rock' release of the year. They should be huge - their songs certainly are. As good as all of your favourite records)

16) Amon Amarth - Deceiver of The Gods
(A return to form from the most accessible - and fun - Death Metal band on the planet)

17) Alter Bridge - Fortress
(Stunning heavy metal - proving that 'traditional' doesn't have to = uninspired)

18) Death Angel - The Dreams Calls For Blood
(A real killer of a record. Thrash as thrash should be and, in a bumper year, the strongest of the year for that genre)

19) Trivium - Vengence Falls
(Trivium on focussed kill mode)

20) Motorhead - Aftershock
(Yet another late-career classic for Lemmy and co. Sounds like Motorhead - fuck all the pretenders)

21) Killswitch Engage - Disarm The Discent
(Metalcore legends return and serve up an album as good as their first - not a second wasted on an album that defines the sound of mainstream metal in 2013)

22) Bleed From Within - Uprising
(Ouch! Brutal, modern metal with song-craft in abundance)

23) Monster Magnet - Last Patrol
(The best stoner album of the year? You betch. Queens of the who?)

24) Mudhoney - Vanishing Point

25) Destruction - Spiritual Genocide
(Mosh till you break stuff)

[binnie]

Malevolence – Reign Of Suffering (2013)

What is it with Sheffield? The number of killer metal bands – of all types – emerging from the Steel City in recent years is simply staggering. Malevolence add to that list. And damn this is a good record – a straight for the jugular, as metal as they come record. Forging metal and hardcore together, of course, is no new thing – but these guys don’t just sound like some cheap Hatebreed rip off (unlike so many bands who do this), you can hear the legacy of bands like Strife and The Cro Mags here, too. ‘Reign…’ is mega-aggressive, but it comes with some serious groove and tunes that make this music so much more than just a short, sharp passing whoosh of……………………….malevolence.

Oh, and they have riffs. In fact, axemen Josh Baines and Konan Hall are quite a revelation, rolling the whole spectrum of metal into their arsenal – often there are blusey licks on the end of this hewn-from-granite riffs which remind you ever so slightly of Lamb Of God’s tastiness. It’s mosh-tastic, whirlwind of rage kind of stuff, and on ‘Serpents Chokehold’ they don’t really sound like anyone else. When they pull things back a little on ‘Turn To Stone’ – which I can only describe as a kind of gothic, stoner-doom – they are quite, quite beautiful, too. Like Crowbar in their rare, trippy moments.

This is a new spin on something you thought you know. Watch this space: these boys could be game-changers.

[binnie]

Monster Truck – Furiosity (2013)

If ever a band’s name captured its sound, Monster Truck is it – a V8 powered, king of the hill, bigger is better, turbo-charged hard rock assault. Essentially, ‘Furiosity’ sounds like the 1970s played through the oozy vibes of the best of ‘90s stoner rock, blusey licks, bassey kicks and more tunes than you can wiggle your dick at. It’s heavy shit, but its got hooks to kill and it’ll certainly make you hollar. Far more than just another Big Dumb Rock record, Monster Truck know how to make their tunes swing – the songs here breathe and pulsate – and the likes of ‘Sweet Mountain River’ and ‘The Lion’ really are up there with the best of the current bounty of good-times hard rock bands.

If you found the last Queens Of The Stone Age album a little too subdued and indirect, this could be the record for you. Shit eater grins all round.

[binnie]

The Quireboys – Beautiful Curse (2013)

In a sense, every Quireboys record is the best record that the Rolling Stones never made. A ramshackle bluesy rock ‘n’ roll which celebrates life in all of its gritty glory, guitar licks kiss and tease off each other as the whole band sits on the very back of the beat, sizzling with a more than slightly inebriated cool. ‘Too Much Of a Good Thing’ settles into a groove and rolls, sounding like the Mississippi Delta of the early ‘40s, and you know exactly what ‘Homewreckers and Heartbreakers’ sounds like from the title alone. ‘Don’t Fight It’ is understated and stripped back in a Joe Cocker-like take on the blues, whilst ‘Mother Mary’ shows that even though they’re greying, the Quireboys have found a more sombre way of singing the bad boy blues.

Certainly less hard hitting that their early ‘90s heyday, the songs are arguably richer for being allowed to breathe a little. Spike’s well whiskeyed larynx still sounds like the cackle at the end of a dirty joke, and Guy Griffin and Paul Guerin’s guitars slither and slide their gentle magic all over these tunes. Not a record to get the party started, ‘Beautiful Curse’ is the perfect post-midnight beast to wind it down.

[cadaverdog]

You certainly put in the effort doing all these reviews. Do you have a list of personal favorites of all time as well? My musical tastes are more mainstream. Mainly limited to bands that get airplay on album or classic rock stations. Physical Graffiti tops my list.