Albums Round-Up (October 2019)

Featured Albums

1) The Menzingers

Hello Exile (4th October)

Epitaph Records

With around than a decade’s worth of grafting under their belt, Pennsylvania punks The Menzingers came into my radar on their 2017 album After The Party. Its Springsteen/Gaslight Anthem-esque sense of bittersweet nostalgia and sheer quantity of life affirming t-shirt tugging anthems made this my album of that year by some distance. Even now, it may just one of my favourite albums released this decade. Spoiler… I bloody love this band…

But, as much as I would love to gush about that album, the review here is about their sixth album, Hello Exile. The context of this previous album is important though. How does a band follow up an album that feels very much like the peak of a band’s musical career? One way is to try to write the same album again. The other is to tread different musical ground. As with the differences seen between 2012’s revered On The Impossible Past and 2014’s Rented World, the latter decision is very much on display here from the moment the album starts.

‘America (You’re Freaking Me Out)’ sees The Menzingers moving their focus from lost-love, waitresses and diners to the current political state of their home country in modern times. Opening with some rather distant mid-tempo trebly power chords, the rest of the band then kicks in with more distortion. As is customary with The Menzingers, the simultaneously emotive and gritty vocals from Greg Barnett make the lyrics really pop here. The one two punch of: “What kind of monsters did our parents vote for” and “Lately I feel like I’m in puppet Vichy France, trying to teach the devil how to dance” get me every time. And they both lead excellently into the hooky as hell chorus which is guaranteed to get stuck in your head for days. Alongside the break in the second third of the track, the whole build and release of this song is so cathartic, and I can’t wait to experience crowd singalongs to this live. This is a really awesome song to introduce the album, and it is one of my favourite tracks of the year so far.

And the same could very much be said about the following track and lead single, ‘Anna’. Harking back to familiar lyrical territory, Barnett pines for his girlfriend being away from home for work and reminisces about her coming home to the apartment they share together. The song really works well as a transition between the rose-tinted nostalgic anthems of After The Party and what is to come from the rest of the album. The clean guitars which go from simple strums to punchier power chords provide the perfect amount of space for the bittersweet, Springsteen-esque lyrics and melodies of “It’s like our studio apartment is just a place to keep your stuff” and the utterly soaring chorus of “Please come back to Philadelphia, this place aint the same without you Anna”, to force their way into your brain. The chorus here is one of the best the band has written and you’d be hard pushed to not feel like you’re experiencing the subject matter yourself due to the conviction shown here. Especially when the vocals are given more space alongside gorgeously layered guitars and gentle cymbal strokes in the second third. Glorious stuff. This is a song which has to stay in the band’s live set forever.

‘High School Friend’ then provides a slight change in pace that indicates where some of this album will go next. Immediately there is a more restrained melodic tone to the simple but effective overdriven guitar that give a nice little heartland rock bounce. Dropping off to palm muted power chords, some bluesy twangs then intersect and compliment the more gentle instrumentation. The intensity slowly builds until the chorus of “I was getting fucked up with a high school friend, wondering where all the good times went” provides a shot of a jagged, resentful sort of anthemic quality to proceedings. As the chorus suggests, the song looks to the past but instead of pinpointing it to a particular moment and viewing it with rose tinted glasses, it questions and ponders about where life is in that moment. With all of this though, the song never comes across as too miserable sonically, due to the utterly fist pumping melody, catchy leads and awesome woah singalong section towards the end. This was a grower of a song for me but is now one of my favourites here.

Such themes about looking into the past with a sense of realism rather than a sense of longing persist in much of this album. ‘Last To Know’ is one such an example. Evoking the late-night barroom feel of After The Party’s ‘The Bars’ or the more contemplative material from Rented World, this Tom May-led song is rhythmically played on an acoustic guitar with a bit more of a laidback, folky swing. On top of this, fuzzier low-end electric guitar lines give things a bit more of a mournful feel, alongside the slower drumming. As is May’s vocal style, the melodies are not as soaring or heartfelt as Greg Barnett’s but his effective annunciations ensure that the song never feels too plodding for its own good. In the second third, a supporting electric guitar that gives the song a bit more of heft before ending with a distorted lead line that turns into squealing feedback.

This hints towards the more punky feel that is present in Tom May’s songs, which- although fewer in number throughout this album as they have been in previous releases- really make their mark when they emerge. ‘Portland’ sounds a little bit messier with its two slightly dissonant guitars playing off one another with some punchy cymbals. Dropping off to give a slight bouncy acoustic guitar, there’s another nice melodic guitar line over the top before the song comes into its own with the fist pumping chant of “Bring the part of me you love back”. The bite of May’s voice here gives an authentic sense of urgency that contrasts with the more romantic tones of Greg’s version of songs like this. 

Upping the contrasts even more, ‘Strawberry Mansion’ picks up the pace and opens with a dissonant high pitched strum which become a bending jangly lead line. This is then intersected with the fieriest and punkiest delivery of the album. As in ‘America’, the song brings forward some political messaging about climate change and inequality. The verses bound forward with a sense of conviction that is only often seen in the band’s older material. Nursery rhyme like melodies then soar past the choppier verses while being accompanied by a mirroring melodic line from the guitars. Although I do wish that the production made the guitars and drums sound a bit more forceful in this song, it is still a great track that is a lot of fun.

In a similar vein, the Barnett led jaunty romp of ‘Strain Your Memory’ very much has After The Party fun vibes that really hit a sweet spot for me. The song hints towards “a simpler time” by relishing in that utterly irresistible sense of bittersweet nostalgia from that album. Alongside this, it brings forward the notion that the beauty of the past is long gone, and that the memories are quickly fading. Perhaps to emphasise this fact, the chorus here is slightly elongated in comparison. Although the chorus doesn’t quite erupt in quite the way you would expect, the song still creates a worthwhile sense of release and the super chirpy verses give a fuzzy feeling that band are so good at evoking. I especially love the little hooks that present themselves in the song in the “Where are you gonna leave, where are you gonna go” lines. Although I do wish the chorus popped a little bit more, this is still one of the most fulfilling songs on the album that provokes the bittersweet feelings wonderfully. Another one I am looking forward to experiencing live.

For most bands out there, the songs mentioned above would probably be the best they would be able to write in their career. But with The Menzingers, the bar has been set so high that I’m a bit more critical towards the other songs here. Prompting the first real moment of concern I had with this album was the way in which the distant production from Will Yip makes the vocals in songs like ‘Anna’ and ‘Strangers Forever’ sound like they warble miles away from the mic towards the end of the song at points. This works well in the former song where there is enough of that anthemic quality to mask the effect but the latter song contributes to the melodies not feeling like they land quite right to me. With this sense of distance increasing with every Menzingers release, the slower songs do end up feeling a bit more drawn out and less intimate as a result. 

‘Hello Exile’ and ‘I Can’t Stop Drinking’ very much tread ponderous ground, and give off similar vibes to ‘Last To Know’ but with a bit less to grab onto. I can’t really say that either of these songs stuck with me much at all. Pleasant enough listens, but not ones I would necessary return to on their own. Thankfully, ‘Farewell Youth’ executes these slower heartland rock vibes a bit more effectively to close the album. As with After The Party’s ‘Livin’ Ain’t Easy’, the song places Barnett in the current time, while he looks back and thinks about what’s to come next. The gentler song builds subtly throughout as the instrumentation gets a bit more overdriven until the last minute of the track. This brings the peak of the song where the “farewell youth” line is shouted by Greg with a sense of urgency and finality that is pretty satisfying to close out the album as the band looks to the future once more.

With all of this in mind, I need to immediately say that I don’t like this as much as After The Party. That in itself is not necessarily a bad thing, as the two albums are clearly quite different beasts and seek to tap into two very different moods. If After The Party evoked the memories of the party of youth and its immediate aftermath, Hello Exile is like the hangover that sees the band having flashbacks to the previous night. This isn’t a sad album by any stretch of the imagination, but it takes a more deliberately questioning and confused look at life and what’s to come next. It therefore takes going into the album with this knowledge and frame of mind to get the full experience and the most enjoyment out of it. Having done this myself, I have grown to appreciate this album more and more with each listen. Even though it doesn’t quite hit the spot this band so wonderfully deliver when they reach fully fledged nostalgic bliss as they do on After The Party, this is still one of my albums of the year so far.

Tracks to check out: ‘America (You’re Freaking Me Out)’, ‘Anna’, ‘High School Friend’, ‘Strain Your Memory’, 'Strawberry Mansion', ‘London Drugs’ 

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2) Babymetal 

Metal Galaxy (11th October)

Amuse, Inc.

WORDS: Joanne Gray

Countering any such claims that Tokyo’s self-proclaimed “kawaii metal” band Babymetal were simply a novelty that the world would get over, 2016’s Metal Resistance saw the group tighten up their unique sound and continue to grow their international fanbase. Three years on, this appears to have led to the construction of a vision to promote global metal unity through music.

This is shown by the cheesy, electro-dance metal intro track ‘FUTURE METAL’ which sees the band blasting off into the “Metal Galaxy” in about as cheesy a way you could expect from this band.

If this wasn’t enough to put those who don’t like this sort of wacky style off straight away, then ‘DA DA DANCE’ would probably do the job. Techy sounding pulsating guitars (from the Japanese rock group B’Z’s guitarist Tak Matsumoto) are accompanied with stabbing electronics, danceable drums and Eurodance-esque synths. This all then builds to unleash a poppy earworm of a chorus that is very much in the vein of the debut album’s ‘Megitsune’. Total J-Pop cheese here but it’s all very fun and infectious if you can get over the wackiness. Although it is definitely clear that the group are missing a third vocalist within the backing vocal harmonies here (one of the two backing vocalists, Yui-metal left the band last year), any real concerns are made up by the sheer frantic nature of what’s going on in the background though. This is particularly shown in the middle of song which sees pretty cool, djenty guitars and mad speedy soloing sweep out of nowhere. This is an extremely catchy tune that is very clearly lead single territory. Alongside the track which follows this (the chirpy catchy ‘Elevator Girl’ with charmingly clunky English lyrics), this is a very typically mad sort of Babymetal track that acts as an ideal transition point for the album as a whole.

Things then kick into another level of oddity with what comes next though. ‘Shanti Shanti Shanti’ sees the band bring forward some Indian influences from the very beginning. Sitar sounds are surrounded by other traditional Eastern instrumentals and incredibly danceable drums to give the song a very fun Bollywood vibe. Things pick up pace even more in the verse with what sounds like a fiddle bringing an utterly infectious folk bounce to proceedings. Although the danceable rhythms and melodies of the instruments here are very much the focal point of the hooks in the song, it is still impressive to hear lead vocalist Su-metal execute those traditional vocal cadences so well here. This sense of authenticity is very much brought to the fore when everything drops off in the middle of the track and traditional instruments perform on their own. For me, this is honestly one of the most fun songs I’ve heard all year and is a song which will be a blast to experience live.

I would also say the same about the pirate-metal track ('Oh! MAJINA!’) which follows this. Continuing the daft, party vibes here, Sabaton’s Joakin Broden starts things off with simplistic shanty vocals. The jig-like fiddle and pipe playing very much bring forth those ridiculously marmite Alestorm sounds straight away. For me, I happen to think that the song actually works really well as Broden’s more gritty vocals give the whole song a bit of muscle which isn’t so much evident in his usual work (or indeed within Alestorm’s discography). Although the weird manipulated vocals that emerge towards the middle of the track sound a bit too Gollum for my liking, it all makes total sense within the J-Pop meets Pirate/Folk Metal madness. So much so that it really makes me want Babymetal to take on Celtic Metal in the future. Yes please. As the jitterbug rhythms come in once more to end the song, I very much get the sense that this will be another super fun live song that will get bodies moving around mosh pits across the world.

Things then take an interesting change of pace with ‘Brand New Day’, which sees Polyphia guitarists Tim Henson and Scott LePage perform smoothed out but still rather technically minded jazzy licks over the top of clicking drum tracks which really evoke RnB stylings of bands like Issues. Appropriately then, Su’s vocals are more restrained and melodic here, and the pleasantly soulful approach works well over some minimalistic contemporary pop bleeps and blops. Modulated vocals then briefly rear their head at the end of the verse in more typical Babymetal fashion, but it never gets the chance to feel overstated with the wonderfully soaring chorus coming from round the corner. This is actually a really pleasant and pretty cohesive song that isn’t very mad at all, but is executed really well regardless. Particular shout out to the very cool smooth-jazz soloing and subtle brass instrumentation which end things off nicely. This is probably a song you could play to most folk and it woudn’t be too surprising or outlandish to the ears. But it certainly isn’t a boring track in the slightest.

The following two tracks, ‘Night Night Burn!’ and ‘IN THE NAME OF’ are wilder by comparison though. The former song opens with some djenty chugging guitars and very NWOBHM dual lead lines before some wildly energetic trumpets and Latin rhythms erupt. Choppy low guitars run through the verses before hand claps and another danceable chorus kicks in once again. To me, this is all reminiscent of some of the more blatantly Mexican-infused sounds that Upon A Burning Body bring in their third and fourth albums. This is particularly evident within the middle of the track, which sees trumpets accompany a selection of different South American drums to give especially strong salsa vibes. This then becomes fast picked tremolo riffing at the end to end particularly epically amongst some punctuated trumpet blasts. Although I don’t think this is one of the more exciting tracks here, it still a nice little track to bop your head to.

‘IN THE NAME OF’ then really builds a sense of epicness with the choral singing and strings creating a majestic and slightly creepy atmosphere that could be on a Powerwolf or Ghost opening track. This builds over the course of a minute or so before trumpets briefly introduce some killer chugging riffing which occurs with some steel drums. Although I’m not exactly sure, it almost seems like these are Caribbean rhythms which are on show here. With the death growls which exude from the musicians in the band (the only track here where the two main singers are absent), the intense drums give the effect of the song sounding slightly like a native tribe approaching war. This is straight up the heaviest song on the album and provides a cool little moment for the musicians to flex their metal muscles and I can imagine that this song would be a very cool interlude type track to witness live.  

Bringing things back into more typical Baymetal territory though, the next two songs really bring forth the J-Pop-meets-chunky-power-metal hooks. ‘Distortion’ delivers more power metal elements in the shredding before pounding electronics and guitars bounce along with mental blast beats and backing screams. The inclusion of Alissa White-Gluz (Arch Enemy) here gives these backing screams an extra level of depth and vocal range that wouldn’t have been there otherwise. Along then comes another catchy chorus that will be another main draw in the live set. As with the other singles, this is a more simplistic track lyrically, but the easy to grasp lyrics and pounding industrial beat make this a song that is guaranteed to get audience’s fists pumping everywhere. The hook in the chorus is one of the catchiest on the album as well. Language barriers be damned... One can imagine mosh pits going nuts for this one. Great stuff.

‘PA PA YA!!’ then opens with cheesy, catchy synths before some major key-power metal riffing underpins the gruff yowls from the Thai rapper F.Hero. This is another sugary tune that sounds very much like Babymetal doing their catchy, infectious thing for the most part. The only real significant element to note here is when F.Hero starts rapping in his native tongue during the second third of the song. This gives things an interesting flow and the sound of the language is a nice little change from the Japanese/English hybrid that has come before. Emphasising this even more so, the stabbing guitars and drums give things a jagged sound before some chirpy synths come in that evoke traditional East Asian music. This is definitely not one of the wackiest song here but it is still one of the bigger singles and a fun little tune regardless.

‘Kagerou’ then provides another left-turn with its more groovy, but simplistic bending guitar opening riff that very much reminds me of modern day Bring Me The Horizon a la ‘Mantra’. Such comparisons continue in the more laidback verses which see the guitars' palm muted chords underpin more floaty half-English melodic vocals that are appropriately layered within the big chorus. Similarly to ‘Mantra’, the mid-section then sees the riff lead into a bigger break where tremolo picked guitars give scale to the whole thing. This is a decent track, but it doesn’t quite have the same level of fun as the other songs here. Although the band is doing something a bit different here, the song itself is one of the least interesting on offer as a whole.

By the time we get to ‘Starlight’ and ‘Shine’ then, there is a sense that the album has thrown out all the surprises it has on offer. The former song opens with some melodic “na-na-na’s” overlaying the guitar and synth flutterings to give a fist pumping feel. The fast, low end djenty riffing then comes in almost to complete contrast this, in a way that you’d now expect in a Babymetal album. The big epic chorus here is one which almost entirely drowns out the heavy, compressed guitar riff and the blast beats though, making this one of the only examples in the album where the production seems to be a bit unbalanced. The chunky break in the second third almost feels out of place against the more uplifting soaring vocals and sweet melodies around it. After listening to this song a fair few times, I really feel that this track would’ve benefited from having a bit more of a power metal approach around the balladry like similar songs on Metal Resistance, rather than putting in a seemingly pointless djenty guitar that doesn’t really go well with what’s going on around it.

‘Shine’ also feels like a song that doesn’t seem to pack as big of a punch. Similarly to Metal Resistance’s ‘The One’, this is Babymetal’s version of a power ballad, which sees gentle vocals, an acoustic guitar and strings give things a bit of a sweeping, classical vibe. Although the epic feels are increased with guitar leads that remind me a bit of some of gentler moments on Parkway Drive’s Reverance, the song never really feels like it builds up to as big a chorus as it seems to lead to. As a result, this is a nice song that very much sounds like it belongs in a soundtrack for a lush open world game. But in the same vein, it doesn’t really grab much attention and I would even say it’s a little bit boring. And this is coming from someone who loves a good power ballad. I imagine this one would be better in the live environment with Su being able to showcase her vocals live, but on record, the song doesn’t really do much for me at all.

By the time the fourteenth and final song, ‘Arkadia’ comes around then, it certainly feels like it’s about time for things to finally wrap up. Thankfully the song ends things on a bit more of a high note. Opening with epic choral singing again amongst some whooshing and whispering noises, the song then erupts into a fully power metal tune. The guitars shred away like Herman Li and the verse gallops away wonderfully. Although the vocals aren’t quite as hooky in the verses and pre-choruses as some of the other songs here, the song then lifts wonderfully in the chorus. Injecting a bit more frantic energy, the song then really picks up in the last minute or so where everything seems to scale in grandeur tenfold. Frantic shredding, pummelling drumming and choral “ahh’s” give the impression that it could be soundtrack to the most outlandish and epic of anime battles. Sure, this isn’t the most memorable or best songs the band have crafted in this power metal style, but it is still a good way to end the album. Even if, in conventional Babymetal style, this is an album which goes on for a bit too long for its own good...

Taking the whole concept of the album and the songs which are within it into consideration as a whole though, Metal Galaxy still manages to be a crazy ride that sees the band hop between genres as quickly as the Scottish weather changes in winter. I had a great time with this album for the most part. For those of you who are willing to jump onboard the Babymetal ship and ride out its wild narrative, then you’re in for a treat here and there is just so much to admire here (excluding the last few tracks, perhaps). Although the debut album still holds a special place in my heart because of how ground-breaking it was at the time, Metal Galaxy is a close second as it brings back the more wacky and fun elements that were less present in 2016’s Metal Resistance. Metal Galaxy shows that there is nothing the band can’t do next if they want to, and I can’t wait to see these songs live and where they go next. 

Tracks to check out: ‘Shanti Shanti Shanti’, ‘Oh! MAJINA!’, ‘Brand New Day’, ‘Distortion’

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The Short List

3) Gost 

Valediction (4th October)

Century Media Records

WORDS: Joanne Gray

After thoroughly enjoying last year’s album Possessor, from the mysterious US based darkwave artist Gost, I was pretty surprised to see another release come about so quickly. After reading some press releases from the artist though, it became quickly clear that a change in creative direction was the reason for this quick turnaround.

Gone are the largely instrumental themes of the occult in favour of more personal lyricism with greater vocal presence. Compared to Possessor, Valediction is much more conventionally song-based and the singer adopts a gothic, post-punk sort of moody tone throughout much of the album. Sure, there are still some extreme metal elements throughout ('Relentless Passing’, ‘Wrapped in Wax’ and ‘Timeless Turmoil’), but these moments are generally rather fleeting and can be quite harsh on the ear as a result.

Thus, in moving further beyond his role as composer into more vocal and lyrical territories, Gost’s electronic elements are less prominent and seem to merely decorate the musical canvas rather than provide a foundation to build upon. When compared to previous albums, the musical styles don’t merge all that well and end up sounding uncomfortable to my ears rather than complimentary to one another. For me, Valediction largely sounds like different musical styles fighting against one another instead of creating the wicked mesh of intricately crafted sounds found within previous releases. 

At only 38 minutes long, I also find myself quite becoming disinterested around the midway point of the album every time I listen to it. In a year that has seen some interesting and hooky synth and darkwave releases from bands like Blaqk Audio, She Past Away and Drab Majesty, Gost’s move away into more conventionally ‘rock’ song structures leaves a bit to be desired for me. There are some good tracks and moments here, but a whole album full of them? Not a patch on Possessor, I’m afraid…

Tracks to check out: ‘Wrapped in Wax’, ‘Dreadfully Pious’

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4) Insomnium 

Heart Like a Grave (4th October)

Century Media Records

WORDS: Ross Donald

It’s been a while since I could say I’ve fallen in love with an album right from the first listen but that’s exactly what happened here, and I’ve only grown to love the record more with each subsequent listen. 

Heart Like a Grave is the 8th studio album from melodic death metal heavyweights Insomnium. They’re pretty well known for never having released a bad album and this one continues that mighty tradition. This might also be the best one yet. It doesn’t do too much differently from previous albums but it didn’t need to as the band is pretty confident with their songwriting skills at this point. As they should be. It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed an album where I have nothing negative to say but that is the case here. There are no filler tracks to be found and the whole record flows so smoothly. Even with an hour long run-time, each track provides a lot to offer and absorb over many listens. 

While I always enjoy great guitar work in metal, here the riffs and solos don’t just melt your face, they tear straight through your soul until you almost feel them flowing through your veins. Just listen to the intro to the title track and try not to become hypnotised on the spot. There are countless gorgeous moments to go through as the album takes hold in its heavier moments and soars even higher with the softer, more intimate moments. If you’re an Opeth fan and don’t like the proggier direction they’ve gone, then Insomnium just may be the band for you. Outstanding album.

Tracks to check out: 'Valediction', 'Pale Morning Star', 'Mute is my Sorrow', 'Heart Like a Grave'

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5) The Darkness 

Easter is Cancelled (4th October)

Canary Wharf Limited

WORDS: Joanne Gray

The Darkness have always been a band who have failed to make any real impression on the general public since their era-defining debut Permission To Land. Even 2017’s Pinewood Smile, which saw the band make a return of sorts, never stuck with me at all. So I didn’t have high hopes for this. Until I saw the album cover and title that is...“Rock’n’roll is so uniform now… Let’s kill the cliché. Let’s break the crucifix” is the description that the band give to the overall themes here which only add to this feeling of wonderful melodrama. Oh and something about Multiverse theory… Sure, why not?

The characteristically life affirming Freddie Mercury-esque falsetto yelps from frontman Justin Hawkins on the Western infused anthemic opening ‘Rock and Roll Deserves To Die’ suggests that this concept is one which will be explored with as much tongue-in-cheek humour as you would expect from the band who wrote songs like ‘Growing On Me’. And thankfully this vibe very much continues throughout the rest of the album.

Soaring choruses and hooky guitar lead lines punch out so wonderfully with the awesomely crisp production here that one could be forgiven for thinking they were back in 2003 again. Honestly, try not to listen to songs like ‘Live ‘Til I Die’ and ‘Heart Explodes’ without that warm, fuzzy feeling of nostalgia taking hold. In typical Darkness style, this is always accompanied with a sense of daft humour that gives these songs an extra sense of fun. Even in weirder songs (such as the classical-embedded ‘Deckchair’, the laidback, folky tune ‘In Another Life’ and the epically layered Devin Townsend-esque closer ‘We Are The Country Men’)- which could potentially border on being pretentious and plodding- inject a wonderful sense of humour that very much evoke feel-good vibes that very few bands do as well as The Darkness at their best. Last but not least, you’ve got ‘Heavy Metal Lover’ which fits between being a chirpy Brit-Rock tune, a syrupy power ballad and a downright heavy track that evokes Metallica at their chuggiest. Glorious stuff.

Although I don’t think this album quite reaches the heights of Permission To Land (that would probably be unfair to even suggest at this point), Easter Is Cancelled marks the first point since the band’s return that the stars seem to have aligned for the band. With the underlying concept of the album congealing and fuelling the inspiration here, I honestly think this may the band’s best album since their debut. Or at the very least, it's on a par with One Way Ticket.

If you’ve ever liked The Darkness but have completely forgotten they still release music, then you absolutely need to give this a listen!

Tracks to check out: 'How Can I Lose Your Love', ‘Live ‘Til I Die’, ‘Heart Explodes’, ‘Heavy Metal Lover’

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6) Municipal Waste 

The Last Rager (11th October)

Nuclear Blast

WORDS: Ross Donald

And I thought Vader's Thy Messenger would be the shortest EP/album I would ever review. But nope... Here Municipal Waste takes the biscuit with a whoppingly short 10 minute runtime. So what does this EP do that the other releases by the band don’t? Nothing at all actually. But it didn’t need to. These guys are pretty much the kings of party thrash at this point and this EP shows that. It actually feels even shorter than 10 minutes, if that’s possible...

The first track ‘Wave of Death’ is pretty much an instant classic. It’s just under 2 minutes and is just as packed as a song double its length. With its ripping riffs and solos and a catchy singalong chorus, it's really all the thrash you could want, and is really just a fun track really that's worth putting on repeat. While the rest of the EP wasn’t quite as memorable as a whole, it was still a good time to be had. 

If you need to learn the art of thrash partying, this is a very good place to start and is short enough to learn the game pretty damn quickly.

Tracks to check out: All of them...

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7) Alter Bridge 

Walk The Sky (18th October)

Napalm Records

WORDS: Joanne Gray

With guitarist Mark Tremonti and frontman Myles Kennedy both releasing solo material within the last year or so (and the latter doubling these efforts with Slash), it is fair to say that half of Alter Bridge have been keeping themselves busy over the last few years. Nevertheless, the band’s seventh album Walk The Sky continues the trend of releasing an album every three years. Juggling multiple projects is a common theme within Alter Bridge though, so I wasn’t too worried by the album feeling half-baked. What did concern me was the fear that they would move further into sappy radio-rock friendly territories as displayed on 2016’s The Last Hero. Thankfully, this is not really the case here.

Floaty, reverb-laden intro track ‘One Life’ introduces a sense of expansive space that lingers throughout much of the album. Taking cues from the stellar 2013 album Fortress, there is a sense of progressive songwriting which is present in many of the songs here. Odd twanging notes open ‘Native Son’ before some off-kilter chugging metal riffs give things a nice bit of heft. Gorija like grooving twisting notes are also present in songs like ‘Wouldn’t You Rather’, ‘Indoctrination’ and ‘Pay No Mind’ that really showcase the technical ability and heaviness of Mark Tremonti particularly well.

What Alter Bridge have done at their best moments though is merge the killer riffing and heaviness of Tremonti’s playing with Myles Kennedy’s sense of melody and excellent soaring vocals. And there are times here when this is executed quite well, such as the singles ‘Wouldn’t You Rather’, ‘Take The Crown’ and ‘In The Deep’. In saying that, I don’t think that these songs reach the melodic heights that the more punchy tracks on the last album did, or indeed, most of the singles in Alter Bridge’s back catalogue have.

And therein lies my main issue with Walk The Sky. Yes, it is technically proficient and it’s nice to hear the band lean into their more progressive and heavy elements again. But the band don’t really do this to the extent that they do in the more expansive and interesting Fortress. Attempting to retain their more rock radio-friendly choruses to get the best of both worlds is also all well and good, and an admirable move from a band whose strength comes when these two elements combine well. But sadly the songs here don’t really deliver for me. Barely any of the songs here are all that memorable after they’ve finished, and it’s a bit of a slog to get through the entire 60 minutes of the album. Even after giving the album time to grow on me a bit more...

If you’re a fan of the band’s more heavy sound then you will probably enjoy this one a lot more than the last album. I can certainly imagine a few of these songs being ragers in the live environment. Just don’t expect this album as a whole to be as interesting as Fortress.

Tracks to check out: ‘Wouldn’t You Rather’, ‘Take The Crown’, ‘Indoctrination’ 

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8) Airbourne 

Boneshaker (25th October)

Spinefarm Records

WORDS: Joanne Gray

When discussing the Aussie hard rockers Airbourne, the similarities to their primary influence, AC/DC, is something which simply can’t be overlooked. Ever. 16 years into their career and the parallels don’t seem to stop there with their fifth studio album Boneshaker.

Around a decade into their respective careers, both AC/DC and Airbourne have lost key members of their bands after a run of successful albums (drummer Phil Rudd in AC/DC’s case, and for Airbourne, original rhythm guitarist Dave Roads). After this setback, AC/DC decided to go back to a rawer and more back-to-basics sound with their 1983 and 1985 albums. This can also been seen in Airbourne’s effort here. The instrumentation and vocal melodies here certainly reflect a more grimey sort of bluesy feel that evokes Bon Scott-era AC/DC more than the last few albums have done. With the less refined production job, there is a similar feel that Airbourne are attempting to convey these songs as living in small beer-soaked clubs rather than in cavernous stadiums as well. This all sounds quite promising on paper to those who prefer Scott era AC/DC. Until you realise that the comparisons also bleed through with regards to sound quality...

Boneshaker feels a bit like an underwhelming affair when compared to what has come before it. Although this is only a 30 minute album, listening to it in its entirety somehow feels like a slog each time to me. Gone are the infectious and catchy choruses in favour of more simplistic and rather samey blues rhythms that don’t prompt much excitement. Amongst the better tracks here, ‘Boneshaker’ and ‘Backseat Boogie’, the rest of this album feels more like a tribute band performing AC/DC songs in a lacklustre fashion than anything else. I also can’t really get over the fact that the songs sound like they’ve been recorded inside a metal container. Especially when there isn’t much vitality in the songs here to grab onto otherwise. This album really does feel more like a B-side album than their actual B-side album released in 2017. Yikes.

So in short, Boneshaker essentially feels like Airbourne’s Fly on the Wall. Not necessarily a bad album, but not one which is particularly exhilarating to listen to. I imagine some of these songs will sound a bit better live with some extra heft, but I’m not really feeling this one. If the AC/DC comparisons do continue until the next album though, we could be in for a Who Made Who or a Razor’s Edge next time round. So there is that, I guess.  

Tracks to check out: ‘Boneshaker’, ‘Backseat Boogie’ 

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9) Alcest 

Spiritual Instinct (25th October)

Nuclear Blast

Alcest’s 2016’s album Kodama saw the French ‘blackgaze’ pioneers return to heavier sounds after dipping their toes into more shoegazing and ethereal territories in 2014’s Shelter. To great critical acclaim, of course. It is no real surprise that Alcest have decided to go down this heavier route for their sixth album Spiritual Instinct then.

And this is none more clear than the second track ‘Protection’, which sees some of the most in-your-face punchy riffing from the band since their 2007 debut album. As with the rest of Alcest’s back catalogue though, the sense of darkness which presents itself in the form of black metal-esque screams, blast beats and tremolo picked guitars are expertly and wonderfully counterbalanced with lighter elements. Album opener,‘Les jardins de miniut’ is a perfect example of this. With a delicate and gorgeously soft build, the track provides a spacious foundation for the clean and soaring melodic lines to bounce off of the more extreme, fast tempos wonderfully. As with so much of this album, Neige’s use of ethereal clean vocals and harsher screams blend together seamlessly and masterfully.

Looking at the album as a whole, Alcest do not really make much of a creative leap from their previous album, but there are still subtle hints of an increased sense of darkness which make quite a difference. ‘Sapphire’ and ‘Le Miroir’ showcase some denser guitar and bass tones alongside a more suffocating and gritty production job. ‘L’Île des Mortes’ also sees a gentle throb of electronics underpin the opening chords. These then linger throughout the track to present a feeling of tension that hasn’t been seen from the band before. Somewhat reflecting the album as a whole, the final track has an underlying sense of sadness which finally expands out to see cathartic clean lines provide a glimpse of hope and optimism for what lies beyond.

With this in mind, Spiritual Instinct is an album where these soaring moments are fewer in number in order to live more fully within introspective and reflective territories. As a result, I feel that it is a slightly less dynamic album than what has come before. After a fair few listens, I still think that Kodama is my favourite Alcest album, but this is still a thoroughly excellent album that I will certainly be listening to regularly for months to come. One for fans for atmospheric heavy music to check out, that's for sure!

Tracks to check out: ‘Les jardins de miniut’, ‘Protection’, ‘L’Île des Mortes’

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10) Fit For an Autopsy 

The Sea of Tragic Beasts (25th October)

Nuclear Blast

WORDS: Ross Donald

A bit differently from all the other albums I’ve reviewed in these count-ups, I had no intention of reviewing Fit for an Autopsy at the beginning of the month. But that all changed when I gave their fifth album The Sea of Tragic Beasts a listen (due to the band supporting Thy Art is Murder in Glasgow next year). I've unexpectedly ended up falling in love with this record to the point where I’ve even already bought myself a vinyl copy! 

After Carnifex essentially put me off deathcore for a little while, FFAO have put my faith back in the genre. I think the key to their sound is keeping it rooted in a deathcore aesthetic while mixing it with other kinds of metal like metalcore and hardcore punk (tell me‘Unloved’ doesn’t sound similar to Knocked Loose) and even just straight up death metal. It really works to make a memorable record with no bad tracks and no filler to be found anywhere. In particular, ‘Your Pain is Mine’ feels like a straight up deathcore song before hitting us with a catchy metalcore chorus for some mighty impact. One of the main singles ‘Mirrors’ also goes from dark and atmospheric to heart-poundingly heavy within a second and ends with a massive breakdown. 

Like their previous albums, it feels like the band has something important to say about the state of the world today and the way we live our lives. This is all helped in a big way with how great the songwriting is. One of my favourites this year.

Tracks to check out: 'The Sea of Tragic Beasts', 'Your Pain is Mine', 'Mirrors', 'Napalm Dreams'

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11) Mayhem 

Daemon (25th October)

 Century Media Records

WORDS: Ross Donald

I would do a little biography for Mayhem, but I don’t think I need to go over much of their well documented and screwed up history. If you aren’t aware of it, then you’re in for a fun visit to Wikipedia...

The band have just came off their tour celebrating the 25th anniversary of their debut album, De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, and it’s easy to see that this tour has inspired the band here in that they appear to be performing a homage to their past. Something which I’m sure will be refreshing to some fans out there. 

Essentially, this is just a pretty standard black metal album. This is fine but it's a bit of a shame for me, as I expected a bit more from Mayhem here. It does sound a bit like a weaker version of their debut album with a few tracks that sound really pretty similar. I know the band is capable of more after hearing their mental 2000 album, Grand Declaration of War quite recently. It feels like the record is missing a few highlight tracks here. Only the opening track and the atmospheric ‘Falsified and Hated’ stayed with me after multiple listens. While the album does keep a nice pace for the most part, I feel like it does start to drag during the last couple of tracks, so I’m thinking this should have been a 40 minute record at max. 

I’m sure fans of pure black metal will find a lot to enjoy here, but with so much creativity progressing the genre these days, it just feels like the band is stuck in the past. This has the side effect of making the band come across as rather generic when they really should be the masters of this genre. Consider me disappointed. Just please don’t let Necrobutcher find out where I live. I’d like to stay alive for the moment...

Tracks to check out: 'The Dying False King', 'Falsified and Hated'

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Thanks to Ross for his album reviews this month and thanks to you for checking this out! We've got a playlist below of all the recommended tracks and some others released this month as well. Feel free to leave a comment of support RWEI by giving us a like/follow on the socials.

Cheers!