rescuing musical virtue in distress.
Where to begin? Manntra has so much going on in its music that it is really hard to sum up what they do concisely. But I will try. Imagine if Rammstein decided to change direction and become a folk band? Or if System of a Down had formed a musical collective with Gogol Bordello? Or... Continue Reading →
Unlike its flightier and fun-time older sibling that goes by the name of rock and roll, progressive rock has always had something to say. Sadly, much of what it had to say was the product of reading too many Tolkien novels. Thankfully, Pentral, have a much more focused message running through their music, one that... Continue Reading →
I have to admit that I grew up listening to the formative years of the NWOBHM, yes, I'm that old! Some of the favourite subjects of those spandex-clad, foot-on-the-monitor pioneers was ancient battles and bloody mythologies, which suited the music well, but the way that it was presented seemed a bit lacking in integrity, feeling... Continue Reading →
Rock music, especially that which resides in the metal sub-category, has always shared a lot of sonic traits with classical music and so in turn the devotional and religious music from which that genre rose. It is often symphonic and majestic, sky-scraping and awe-inspiring. A new form of sonic worship perhaps but to different cultural... Continue Reading →
Ahead of a full-album next month, tantalisingly titled Monster Mind Consuming, Barren King offers a wonderful taste of the musical and mystical world that Manntra calls home. Blending sea-shanty sonics with searing metal licks, industrial grind with folk grandeur, traditional sounds with otherworldly, gothic vibes, Barren King is a fantastic flight of fancy. It is... Continue Reading →
As a rule, sub-genres are pretty meaningless. Sub-genres of metal seem to be the most meaningless, especially when you get right down into the realm of post-this or that-core. But as soon as I saw, those three words… Nautical. Folk. Metal… all strung together, I knew that this was for me. And as a label... Continue Reading →
Alphoenix can be found at the point of the heavy metal spectrum where melody and groove begin to be subsumed by attributes such as power and speed, weight and intensity. Even the sub-genres we use to organise such metallic strands have names which tell you all you need to know, prefixes like speed-, thrash- and... Continue Reading →
You might think that metal, in all its forms, has pretty much gone as far as it can. Some artists have taken it to its melodic and symphonic extremes, others to technical and aggressive heights. Some paints other-worldly pictures, others just want to lay down the heaviest groove. Pain is a band which seem to... Continue Reading →
If metal, rock and all its sonic progeny and sub-genre offspring tend to have a bit of a reputation for being a bit too po-faced, earnest and humourless then Storm Seeker are exactly the band to change that perception. Although built on a solid wall of rock riffage, it is what other sounds they invite... Continue Reading →
I have to confess that when I saw the band name I was expecting something slightly different from what I found inside this 8-track album. Often, music pushing this far out in this direction, music made in the extreme ends of the rock and metal music spectrum tends to be all about excess. Fast and... Continue Reading →
If pop music aims to create the ultimate short, infectious and snappy song, rock music, in all its forms, works with more weighty concerns, creating addictive music from heavy groove, incendiary riffs, thunderous beats, drama, tension and otherworldly sonics. Take that to the furthest end of the rock spectrum and you find Apex of Dark... Continue Reading →
All music should evolve. All music must evolve. Even rock music is slowly being dragged kicking and screaming out of the comfort of its sonic tropes and musical traditions, stumbling blinking into the light of a new day and the potential that might offer. And if you want an idea of what music breaking with... Continue Reading →
When you get to the heavier end of the music spectrum there seems to be as many genres as there are bands, which sort of proves just how pointless they are in the first place. So you can argue all you want about which this-core, alt-that or post-other box KnightressM1 fit into, at the end... Continue Reading →
And the winner of the best song title of 2020 goes to Swiss goth ’n’ rollers Hell Boulevard, namely, You Had Me At Fuck Off, a phrase which seems to both sum up their belligerence and anti-establishment stance as well as the underlying attitudes currently bubbling up in society given the tiring tirade of global... Continue Reading →
It is safe to say that Gabrielle’s Fire is a confusing prospect when you first stumble into its sonic clutches. But that’s a good thing, right? Confusing implies that it is not predictable or that it conforms to expectations. That it doesn’t merely follow fad or fashion, that it twists and turns, challenges and confounds.... Continue Reading →
Rock is good. Dark brooding rock is better. Throw a violin in there and I'll will hand the money over without a second thought. Okay, Lock and Key might be better described as metal, or tumulus rock, although someone is bound to tell me that it's actually post-sub-anti-gothic-progressive metal-core or any one of those distracting... Continue Reading →
Metal, especially the more technical end of that particular spectrum, and classical music have always made slightly odd but perfectly compatible travelling companions. But require high levels of skill, dedication and dexterity, both revel in florid and intricate soundscapes, byzantine sonic structures and whatever the opposite of the “less is more” approach is. Both also... Continue Reading →
As we enter the post-genre world, as generic divides are wilfully hopped, razed or ignored altogether, it might appear that it is the world of rock and metal that has benefited most from such a new and open attitude. It has always been a sector of the music community which thrived on sub-genres and strict... Continue Reading →
Rock music, perhaps more than any other genre, has kept the idea of labels, demarkations and sub-genres alive even as the rest of the musical world has embraced a more post-genre attitude towards such things. But, as always, where you chose to place any band on the musical map really depends on your own individual... Continue Reading →
What separates metal from plain, old, work-a-day rock music is often less to do with the technicalities of what is being played and more to do with the scope of the vision the band employs. Whereas rock has always revelled in industrial strength riffs, thunderous back beat, soaring vocals and coiled and claustrophobic textures, metal... Continue Reading →
Theatrics and high drama have always had their place in rock music, both in performance and in the songs themselves. Its a genre it has always been about escapism and whilst some choose to seek that by writing songs about fast women and faster cars, others wander into far more mystical places. Mono Inc have... Continue Reading →
There was a time, not so long ago, when music labelled progressive was seen as being decidedly uncool. Though what is uncool about playing with broad musical visions, weaving technically dexterous musical threads together and actually having something to say through your music, I will never know. But then things began to change. Bands such... Continue Reading →
Many moons ago, in what feels like another life, I used to listen to a lot of heavier music but somewhere along the way, as the classic sounds of my youth gave way to a fairly impenetrable screamo replacement and bands seemingly favouring musical muscle over melody, technicality over groove and sheer weight over dexterity,... Continue Reading →
Some albums are best reviewed from the inside. By unpicking the component parts, by lifting the lid and seeing what lies within, by studying the blueprints to understand how the mechanics work. There are others that are best viewed from a distance, where you have to stand back and look at the overall picture, that... Continue Reading →
You have to love a song that sends you right back down the sonic rabbit hole, back into the body of that wide-eyed teenager that you used to be staring up at some long forgotten punk band in a now bulldozed venue in a town that you can’t remember going to. The first wave of... Continue Reading →
As much as it is good to talk about how music moves on, evolves, finds new pastures to wander, there are times when you just want something familiar. After all, exploring exciting new fusion cuisine can be a lot of fun but sometimes you just can’t beat mom’s pot roast with all the trimmings. Honest,... Continue Reading →
Honesty is the best policy so I’m gonna come right out and address the elephant in the room that is the stumbling block of Noise Therapy’s sound right away. There is a major discrepancy in terms of delivery and production between the quality of the vocals and the instruments playing behind it. Okay, this is... Continue Reading →
Well, that certainly rocks. Breathe is a weave of groove and grunt, interesting dynamic changes and relentless power seemingly forged as much from programming as playing. Not that there is anything wrong with that, after all what’s a boy to do if he would rather keep control of his music by remaining a solo concern?... Continue Reading →
You turn your back for a few months and bands go and change their whole sound. Okay, that’s a bit dramatic but whilst there is a radical shift from the crazed alt-disco, warped synth-wave, vibe towards a much more rock driven sound, Siblings of Us approach towards music remains the same. For this is rock... Continue Reading →
I’ll be honest about it, this is music that is way out of my normal go to listening. I do pride myself on having fairly broad tastes but even I shy away from music made in the extreme fringes…be it bland pop at one end of the spectrum or, as in this case, the intense... Continue Reading →