Albums Round-Up (January 2020)

January is always a dry month for big new releases, but we've managed to find a few to talk about: including not one but two Glasgow bands! Special shout out to Vukovi and Anchor Lane who also released albums January as well. First up though, we have some metal albums from outside of the city. 

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Haunt 

Mind Freeze (10th January)

Self-Release

WORDS: Ross Donald

FFO: Helloween, Dokken, Angel Witch

Mind Freeze is the third full length release from Haunt since their debut album in 2018. These guys have been busy... For anyone not familiar with the band, they stick to a more classic style with a mix of thrash and more traditional heavy metal, while utilising clean vocals for those aching for the nostalgia days of the 80s. Given that the album artwork looks like something Helloween would come up with, you can get an idea of the sound and themes they’re going for.

The opener ‘Light The Beacons’ sets the tone well as a softer track with a nice singalong chorus. Follow-up ‘Hearts On Fire’ totally rips apart any feeling of mellowness you may have had in the best way possible though. It has some vicious riffing while still managing to keep the catchy, cheesy 80s chorus going; all without compromising the momentum of the track at all. For me, the highlight is easily the title track though, which just sounds like an absolute anthem and has one of the most memorable choruses I’ve heard in a while. Normally only Sabaton can have me hearing a song in my head as soon as I wake up in the morning. Another major highlight is ‘Have No Fear’. I wouldn’t be surprised if it ends up on the next series of Stranger Things with that synth in the intro giving that nostalgic 80s vibe in spades. Yet again, this is another great riffing track with a memorable chorus in an album full of them.

While I can’t really find much to criticise, I do think the album would have been improved with the inclusion of a 7 or 8 minute epic track to really put the quality over the edge. As it is, it’s still a fun album that goes by in a flash of 37 minutes. Fans of classic heavy metal will eat this up.

Tracks to check out: 'Hearts On Fire', 'Mind Freeze', 'Have No Fear'

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British Lion 

The Burning (17th January)

Parlophone Records

WORDS: Ross Donald

FFO: Iron Maiden, UFO, Tygers of Pan Tang

Wherever Iron Maiden go, I will follow. British Lion is the side project of Steve Harris, who is the bassist and essentially the leader of Iron Maiden. They formed back in 2012 with a self-titled release that received a good, if rather unremarkable reception, and I think everyone assumed that the band were done after going quiet for a few years. Well, 8 years later they’ve released The Burning and I went in pretty blind, but this album did surprise me with how good it actually was.

I’m not even sure how to describe the music, as it dips in between a classic rock style and even some old school metal. It does go for an hour which does seem pretty long for an album like this, but looking back there aren’t any tracks I’d get rid of. Every track keeps a good pace thanks to well placed melodic sections to keep them feeling fresh. This makes for a fun relisten to find parts you may have missed the first time around.

While there will be comparisons to Maiden, the style itself is far apart from those guys (although every now and again you’ll hear a specific galloping bassline from Steve that does sound similar to the metal legends). In addition to this, you’ve got the usually excellent writing from Steve and most tracks are filled with beautiful instrumental sections and soaring choruses as you would expect.

Track highlights include the fantastic ‘Lightning’, which has some rifftastic guitar work and an amazing chorus that’ll stay with you for a while. Album closer ‘Native Son’ includes an acoustic element with some damn emotional lyrics that’ll get to you, as well as an utterly huge guitar solo. Steve definitely wanted to end on a high note and I’d say mission accomplished.

My only real issue would be that the vocals aren’t always terrific and it feels like there could be more energy here and there. But when they need to land they certainly do. Overall, this a surprisingly great release that I think does need more than one listen to really get the full effect. The fact I could listen to the full album for an hour multiple times without skipping is a testament to how good it is. A recommendation for sure.

Tracks to check out: 'Lightning', 'Last Chance', 'City of Fallen Angels', 'Land of the Perfect People', 'Native Son'

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Annihilator 

Ballistic, Sadistic (24th January)

Silver Lining Music

WORDS: Ross Donald

FFO: Kreator, Exodus, Testament

Ballistic Sadistic is the 17th album from legendary thrashers Annihilator. It’s now been around 31 years since their debut album Alice in Hell was released, which is pretty incredible. I was actually supposed to see Annihilator last year but it ended up being the only gig I missed due to illness so I’m still pretty gutted about that. That only meant that I was more excited for this album though, as I enjoyed the previous, underrated album For the Demented from 2017.

Right off the bat, I can say that this isn't going to be the album which converts any people out there who weren't fans before. It’s a pretty standard thrash release that doesn’t really bring anything new to the table. It didn’t really need to be though. Annihilator doesn’t seem the type of band to evolve their sound and are quite happy sticking with a core thrash sound. So any fans of the band just looking for more catchy tunes will find enough to enjoy.

There aren’t any bad songs here (even if ‘Dressed Up For Evil’ is a little silly). I think the first half of the album is definitely better than the second half though as things do start to drag a little as we hit the last few tracks. I think it's mostly due to the sound not changing enough for my liking. On the other hand, tracks like the single ‘Armed to the Teeth’ and ‘Psycho Ward’ will become live staples for sure with the latter song especially having a big singalong chorus that’ll have any venue bouncing.

While thrash fans will enjoy this more than most other fans, I feel like this will end up being a forgotten album in a few months time. There’s just not too much to hang onto outside of a few catchy songs. Plus, it really doesn’t help that Testament recently released a song that eclipses pretty much every track here...

Tracks to check out: ‘Armed to the Teeth’, ‘Psycho Ward’, ‘I Am Warfare’ 

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Twin Atlantic 

Power (24th January)

Virgin EMI

WORDS: Joanne Gray

FFO: Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, The Twilight Sad

Twin Atlantic have never been a band to stay in one place for too long. The band's fifth album Power marks the most drastic of changes in the Glaswegian alt-rockers career however. You first have the band’s split from their longtime label in order to work within their own studio. The decision to only write music within this studio, also led to the rather surprising departure of lead guitarist Barry McKenna, who now only tours with the band. All of this, alongside the decision to delve into 80s influences this time around, you have something here that is very different from anything Twin Atlantic have produced so far.

In fact, as the opening breathy vocals of the modulated opening ‘Oh! Euphoria!’ point out, there is far more Depeche Mode in this album than anything rock related. This reverence for 80s synth pop is normally a great thing for me. And there are moments here where this change in style works quite well. ‘Barcelona’ and ‘Novocaine’ inject hookier choruses and slightly fuzzed up guitars into the mix that give the songs a more anthemic quality. As with ‘Messiah’ later on in the album, the latter song’s prominent use of Cure-esque synth lines gives the songs a Twilight Sad vibe that I like a lot. ‘I Feel It Too’s recurring guitar riff shares an odd resemblance to The Offspring in its bouncing vibe, which makes it one of the more interesting songs here, for sure. ‘Volcano’ is another decent track which sees a funky bass line give the song a more upbeat, danceable feel.

There are too many moments though- particularly so within an album that only just exceeds the half hour mark- that just don’t feel like they contribute anything. ‘Ultraviolet Truth’ and ‘Praise Me’ plod along rather dully while interlude tracks ‘Mount Bungo’ and ‘Asynchronous’ feel completely unnecessary within the context of this album. Even within the better songs here, there is a seeming reluctance to write a vocal hook or lyric that is memorable outside of the chorus. Yawn.

On the whole, this is definitely not a terrible album, but it does feel like one which lacks substance. Perhaps it would’ve worked better as an even shorter EP? Who knows. I’m all for bands trying out new sounds, and there are a few moments here which will sound better in the live environment. But Twin Atlantic have failed to craft many moments that force you to grab on to when compared to any of their previous releases.

Tracks to check out: ‘Barcelona’, ‘Novocaine’, ‘I Feel It Too’

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Dead By Monday 

Dead by Monday (31st January)

Dead Records

WORDS: Joanne Gray

FFO: Every Time I Die, Alexisonfire, Rage Against The Machine

In the four years since their formation, Glasgow's Dead By Monday have made a name for themselves in the live circuit supporting bands of many different styles. Such experience has bled into the band's debut album, which sees them expand out from the post-hardcore sound they started with. 

Let's not get ahead of ourselves though. This is still very much a record which is largely rooted in post-hardcore. Think about the more southern-fried material from bands like Every Time I Die and Cancer Bats, mixed with the energy of Alexisonfire or Gallows and the grooving bounce of Rage Against The Machine and you have a sound that describes many of the songs here. 

Sometimes this combination of influences results in ragers like 'Lost Generation', 'Hear Me' and 'Until Death'. There are plenty of good time vibes in the album which makes for rather infectious listening though. 'American Horror Story' , 'Dreamseeker' and 'Atom Bomb' are reminiscent of Cancer Bats at their most party starting moments. 'Bed of Nails' even throws in a disco drum beat towards the end of the track which is a fun little change in pace. There's certainly a sense of humour which runs through this band's work, and you can see that further within the band's Youtube channel (thoroughly recommended, by the way). 

'Interlude' and 'The Binding' are more reminiscent of reflective material from Parkway Drive or While She Sleeps as gentle acoustic instrumentation leads into more traditional early metalcore hooks. On a similar note, 'Fractured 1' is an emotive ballad which sees folk instrumentation build on top of melodic vocals, before distorted guitars end things off in epic fashion. 

That brings about the only real qualm I have with this album more generally. Instead of ending things off with this track, we then have the heavier Vol 3. Slipknot-esque 'Fractured II' which is a bit much of a tone change for my ears. For me, this track would've worked better earlier in the album, while leaving the first track until the end.  

As a whole though, although the album doesn't quite capture how intense these guys are live, the solid production job further highlights that this is an incredibly accomplished album for a band's debut. Particularly a local one. I'm excited to see where Dead By Monday go from here, and I'd be keen to see them do a headline show at some point over the year. 

Tracks to check out: 'Dreamseeker', 'Bed of Nails', 'Fractured I'

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Obsidian Tongue 

Volume III (31st January)

Bindrune Records

WORDS: Ross Donald

FFO: Agalloch, Swallow The Sun, Cult of Luna

Obsidian Tongue are an atmospheric black metal band from Portland, Maine and Volume III is (appropriately) their third full length release- and the first since 2013’s A Nest of Ravens in the Throat of Time. This one kind of came out of nowhere as I only discovered it while looking for new black metal releases.

I’ve quickly found that standard black metal can be a little boring on its own, but combine it with something else- whether it be death metal or more melodic features, and it can become something special. This is certainly the case here. There are only 5 tracks on offer, but you still get around 43 minutes worth of music; mainly due to 2 tracks running close to the 15 minute mark ('Anatkh’ and ‘Empath’). These are easily the best tracks on the album, and it’s clear that the band is very comfortable with longer tracks. They’re able to keep the tracks interesting at all times while weaving between more atmospheric and melodic moments to some pretty heavy black metal sections. All in a way that most fans of this genre will enjoy for sure.

With ‘Anatkh’, there’s a section towards the end where the vocalist sounds his he is crying and screaming at the same time for a powerful effect. In the bio for the album, it’s mentioned that the band members have been through a lot since the last album and some of the lyrics hint towards a death, perhaps of a child. This makes this section even more eerie and just downright emotional. Even the shorter tracks stand out as well, with ‘Return to the Fields of Violet’ being a particular highlight. There's some excellent guitar sections in this song, and the melodic moments sound particularly heartbreaking. It’s strange that this album came out around a similar date to Swallow the Sun’s latest release as it gave me the same kind of emotion that this album does. I also think Volume III is just as good if not better.

This is a fantastic release with every track standing out in its own way. Even after multiple listens, I’m still finding new things to enjoy. I’ve found that the band knows how to end their tracks in epic fashion that leave you coming back for more. This’ll be a release that’ll stick with me this year and is the one to beat so far for 2020. Highly recommended.

Tracks to check out: ‘Anatkh’, ‘Return to the Fields of Violet’, ‘Empath’

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Thanks to Ross for his contributions to this Round-Up of January's albums and thanks to you for reading! Feel free to leave a comment below to tell us which albums you have liked over the month or give us a like/follow on the socials. As always, we're open to contributions/submissions so you can always get in touch as well. 

Cheers!