Album Round-Up (February 2020)
But for now, we have eight February albums to review!
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God Dethroned
Illuminati (7th February)
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| Metal Blade |
WORDS: Ross Donald
FFO: Behemoth, At The Gates, Insomnium
God Dethroned are a Dutch blackened death metal band formed all the way back in 1990 and
Illuminati is their 11th studio release. I think you can already tell
with the name of the band that there’s gonna be some anti-religious commentary
in this album (which is just fine by me).
This release comes just after the band
completed a trilogy of albums dedicated to the topic of World War 1; ending
with 2017’s The World Ablaze. This is a band I hadn’t heard of before
this album’s release, but judging by the quality of this record, I’ve been
missing out big time. They start straight away with the title track which sets
a rather slower pace in tone off quite nicely before picking up halfway through
with that defining blackened death sound to get the circle pits going. First
track in, and they’re already looking to get rid of religion...
The next track ‘Broken Halo’ is
almost a pure black metal track with its vicious guitar tones ringing
throughout. Things do really pick up starting with the third track though, as
every track has its own distinct sound. ‘Book of Lies’ injects the
bleakness of black metal with a ton of melody, producing a gorgeous sound that
is reminiscent of bands like Insomnium. ‘Gabriel’ has a bit of a
gothic tinge to it, coming across like a heavier Idle Hands with harsher
vocals.
'Eye of Horus’ is a highlight for me as it has a fantastic opening riff that is
thankfully used quite sparingly so that it’s a treat on the ears when it rears
its head again. These guys have definitely been listening to some Rotting
Christ... The final track ‘Blood Moon Eclipse’ isn’t quite as
memorable as the previous tracks, but it still packs a punch. It also works
well as an album closer as it’s pretty much just all out blackened death metal
to end proceedings on a heavy note.
Overall, I think this is easily one of
the better albums I’ve heard so far this year. There are so many tracks that
blend different styles, which leaves you with a memorable experience that
you’ll want to go back to again and again. No track outstays its welcome and
there are definitely no bad ones to be found here. Even if you’re not a big fan
of this genre, this album is a good starting point if you're new to it, and it
may even just change your mind. Definitely a high recommendation from me.
Tracks to check out: 'Illuminati',
'Book of Lies', 'Gabriel', 'Eye of Horus'
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Green Day
Father of All... (7th February)
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| Reprise Records |
WORDS: Joanne Gray
FFO: The Hives, Jet, Foxboro Hot Tubs
"The baddest rock band on the
planet that gives a shit" was the
statement coming from the Green Day camp before the release of their
thirteenth album Father of All Motherfuckers. Brave words indeed for a
band whose last album was the infuriatingly vacant and ageing Revolution
Radio...
Thankfully then, Father of All...
moves away from the saccharine dullness of that album and injects some sort of
life. Unfortunately though, this form of life resembles a drunken uncle having
a midlife crisis play out at a family party. Acting as an unwanted time capsule
to the early 2000s, Father of All... actively scoffs at the
generation-defining punk opera format of American Idiot before looking
to garage-rock influenced indie rock for inspiration.
As seen by the 2012 release Dos
and 2008 side project Foxboro Hot Tubs, these elements are not new to Green
Day. But they really do sound more dated than ever in the context of this
album. Combining horrendously strangulated falsetto vocals, obnoxious hand
claps and a guitar tone that is almost entirely designed for American sports
team to enter stadiums (see 'Father of All...' and 'Fire, Ready, Aim'
for the worst offenders), this album is almost indistinguishable from the likes
of The Hives and Jet. Can anybody let Green Day know that
this type of music stopped being interesting or cool at least a decade ago
please?
Sure, this album isn't the worst thing
that Green Day have ever produced. Not even the questionable decision to
sample a Gary Glitter song snippet on 'Oh Yeah!' (honestly, what
were they thinking?) puts this album on the same league as the band's most cringey
and/or boring material of the last decade. I can't say anyone other than those
who adores the sound of early 2000's NME fodder will get much from this album
however. For what it's worth though, it does at least sound like Green Day
are having a bit of fun; even if this will be pretty disposable to most rock
fans out there.
Yet again, Green Day fail to
gain any credibility within the punk circles they made their name in. But it's
been a long 14 years since American Idiot, and it would be foolish to
assume the Green Day of old are ever coming back. Small blessings
indeed, but at least this is the shortest album of their career, and it
thankfully isn't another Revolution Radio. Billie Joe and company do
need a bit of a reality check though. The "baddest rock band on the
planet that gives a shit", they certainly are not...
Tracks to check out: 'Stab You in
the Heart', 'Sugar Youth'
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Sepultura
Quadra (7th February)
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| Nuclear Blast |
WORDS: Ross Donald
FFO: Testament, Soulfly, Machine Head
FFO: Testament, Soulfly, Machine Head
Quadra is the 15th studio album by legendary Brazilian thrash metallers Sepultura.
For some reason I had never listened to Sepultura before this album,
despite their status as one of the best thrash metal artists around. After
hearing this album, I did go back to check out some of their older stuff and
I’m glad I did, and I can see why albums like Arise and Roots are
regarded so highly. This particular album is called "Quadra" as
it is a concept album based on numerology, the number 4 and its significance as
depicted on Quadrivium. This was also applied to the method of setting the
songs on the album. It is split into four separate parts with four different
sub-genres that feature three tracks each, creating quite a unique setup.
The first part features core thrash,
the second is more groovy metal, influenced by their Roots sound, the
third part is a bit proggier, while the last part sticks to slower paced and
melodic tracks. While I’d say there are definitely no bad or weak tracks on
here, it does kind of peak with the first three tracks as the thrash element is
definitely the most memorable section of the album. Every song here is an
absolute ripper; particularly the opener ‘Isolation’ which is easily the
best track on the album and should be one to open future live sets in furious
fashion. Follow ups ‘Means to an End’ and ‘Last Turn’ barely give
us a chance to breathe before the next section comes along.
There are other highlights to be found
though, with ‘Capital Enslavement’ sounding like it could have come
right off the Roots album, complete with a tribal intro. ‘Raging
Void’ sounds like a big track Mastodon would have come up with, so I
heartily approve. The proggier side of things are good too with the atmospheric
‘Guardians of Earth’ and the brilliant ‘The Pentagram’
instrumental proving to be particular highlights.
It is a bit strange ending the album
with two more melodic tracks then. While they are genuinely good songs; it does
slow things down a bit considering the metal madness we’ve heard so far. I do
think they should have kept the thrash section until the end to close things with
a bang, but sadly we didn’t get that. In saying that, I do enjoy the final
track ‘Fear, Pain, Chaos, Suffering’ quite a bit as the gorgeous guest
vocals of Emmily Baretto leave quite a memorable impression and it has a nice
catchy chorus.
Overall, I did enjoy the hell out of
this album and the highest endorsement I can give it is that it instantly made
me want to go back and listen to the band’s classic work. It’s certainly not
perfect and could do with a bit of a shortening, as 51 minutes was just a tad
too long. But really there’s a lot to enjoy here and with a lot of different
sub-genres on offer, there’s a bit of a something for everyone vibe with.
Containing many memorable tracks to back it up, Sepultura are back and
are not messing about. I may just have to catch them at Download this year….
Tracks to check out: 'Isolation',
'Means to an End', 'Last Turn', 'Capital Enslavement', 'The Pentagram'
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Spanish Love Songs
Brave Faces Everyone (7th February)
WORDS: Joanne Gray
FFO: The Wonder Years, The Menzingers, Bruce Springsteen
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Spanish Love Songs
Brave Faces Everyone (7th February)
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| Pure Noise Records |
FFO: The Wonder Years, The Menzingers, Bruce Springsteen
Back in 2018, the LA emo-tinged pop
punk band Spanish Love Songs released their second album Schmaltz
to high critical acclaim. As can be seen in the review here, I was one of those people who was captivated by the band's infectious Wonder
Years-meets-Menzingers blend of infectious pop punk hooks and
emotive lyricism. Having surprisingly resonated with so many people, SLS
had a high bar to reach within the album's follow-up. And they were seemingly
well aware of this fact upon writing their third album.
Themes of depression, self-doubt and
grief are still very much the focus of Dylan Slocum's brutally honest and
impactful lyrics here. But instead of looking inwards, Brave Faces Everyone
(even from the title alone) directly addresses and includes the listener. It's
a subtle difference, but the change to second person perspective sees the
impact of this album's themes heighten significantly.
No question about it, this is a bleaker
album than its predecessor. 'Routine Pain' is a slow burn which sees Slocum
questioning whether you've "ever felt lower than anyone else?",
and this same vibe carries over throughout the rest of the album. The
breezier pop punk guitar lines of Schmaltz are largely replaced here
with mid-tempo multi-layered swells of Springsteen-esque poignancy.
Here, Slocum reflects on how the young adult age bracket is crippled with
financial uncertainty and mental instability in songs like 'Generation Loss'
and 'Kick', while the two 'Losers' songs and 'Beach Front
Property' puts these themes into their environmental contexts. Modern day
society is the main issue, rather than an isolated sense of
inadequacy.
With a band like SLS, such
distinctions are important in creating a more grown-up and reflective album.
Indeed, the songwriting ability from Slocum (which was already very strong) is
improved even further on this release, and I'm still finding clever lines to
delve into upon each listen. The more down-trodden sound that accompanies these
lyrical strands also really suits the subject matter to a tee too, and the
songs sound purposefully big as a result.
If 'Schmaltz' was like 'The
Greatest Generation', 'Brave Faces Everyone' is like 'No Closer
To Heaven'. Although I do find myself missing the more upbeat and catchy
moments that are so prominent in 'Schmaltz' (and I would just about pick
the former album over the latter in both instances), this is undoubtedly a
fantastic album by all accounts. SLS continue to show just why they have
resonated with so many out there, and you need to get in on this band if you're
at all into well-written emotionally driven pop-punk music. One of the best
releases this year so far for me.
Tracks to check out: 'Routine Pain',
'Kick', 'Losers', 'Losers 2'
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Necrowretch
The Ones From Hell (14th February)
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| Seasons of Mist |
WORDS: Ross Donald
FFO: Death, Mayhem, Entombed
FFO: Death, Mayhem, Entombed
Necrowretch are an old school blackened death metal band from France, and I believe
that this is their fourth full length release. If you’re looking for some black
metal that almost purely praises the name of Satan, then you’ve come to the
right place. For an idea of their sound, they have the mentality and tone of Mayhem
whilst adding the heaviness of death metal and occasionally the odd strain
of doom as well.
The album starts off with ‘Pure
Hellfire’, which has an acoustic beginning to lull you into a false sense
of security before the band puts their boot down on the black metal pedal to
pick up the pace. The first three tracks are pretty much your standard black
metal affair, but once we hit the mostly instrumental ‘Absolute Evil’,
they manage to keep a good pace but mix things up a bit. Starting with ‘Codex
Obscuritas’ (which is definitely more influenced by the sounds of doom
metal), we have a nice contrast with the constantly moving black metal. ‘Through
the Black Abyss’ works as a nice atmospheric, satanic instrumental before
the final self-titled track ‘Necrowretch’ sees the band go all out in
blaze of glory in the name of their dark lord.
Overall, this is a pretty damn good
album. While I wish the band did add more elements alongside the doom metal to
make for a more memorable experience, the album as a whole is still a pretty
satisfying. It's also a really easy listen as it's only 37 minutes long, and
there are no bad tracks to be found.
If you don’t like black metal this
probably won’t change your mind. But if you do enjoy it, then you’ll find a lot
to like here.
Tracks to check out: 'Pure
Hellfire', 'The Ones From Hell', 'Codex Obscuritas'
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InTechnicolour
Big Sleeper (21st February)
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| Big Scary Monsters |
WORDS: Joanne Gray
FFO: Queens of the Stone Age, Baroness, Mastodon
Looking at the album cover for InTechnicolour's
debut album (as well as the name of the opening track 'Miami Funk'),
you'd be forgiven for thinking this was an album of sun-drenched 80s synthwave
covered in neon lights. You'd be entirely wrong here though. Well... almost.
The debut album from the Brighton newcomers does indeed sound like a hot day.
But it would be better suited as an accompaniment to a long desert drive than a
beach side party.
And it is with the stoner rock genre
that this album takes a lot of its inspiration from. It goes without saying,
but the Queens of the Stone Age influences loom large with the band's
use of fuzzy and hazy riffage. 'Under the Sun's slightly off kilter
stomp and 'Big Sleeper's hulking guitars provide some of the strongest
comparison points to early QOSTA and Kyuss that any stoner rock
fan will enjoy. Moving beyond this though, there are other influences which
make Big Sleeper more than just a copy of Homme's iconic bands.
Melodically, much of this album brings
together the slightly throaty, anthemic vocal stylings of Baroness with
the smooth, melodic hooks of Mastodon ('Miami Funk', 'Shaker', 'Lend
Me a Crushed Ear' and 'Doomer' in particular). These help to give a
different and rather more catchy slant to the usual alt-rock scuzzy sound you
tend to hear from most stoner-rock bands these days. And the tracks are all the
more fun for it.
'Gallon Man', 'Slow Moth',and 'Tortoise' on the other hand, are longer tunes which venture
into more sprawling territories to give a bit more of a serious edge to their
musical canvas. Slowing things down, the former song goes into a more dirgy Cult
of Luna territory while retaining their killer sense of melody. 'Slow
Moth' is a rare cleaner offering whose dreamy slow build is more akin to Team
Sleep or Deftones than anything in stoner rock. The 10 minute finale
of 'Tortoise' ends things off in similarly interesting fashion as its
slow build to soaring leads very much reminds me of the euphoria Curse These
Metal Hands brought with last year's amazing 'High Spirits'.
In short, this is a really impressive
debut which showcases InTechnicolour's ability to craft really enjoyable
stoner rock tunes, while integrating sounds from outside of that world so that
the sound never gets stale. I can guarantee that this will be on regular
rotation for me throughout the year and it should be a go-too album for you
too. Especially when the rain ever decides to stop falling...
Tracks to check out: 'Miami Funk',
'Under The Sun', 'Big Sleeper'
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Ozzy
Osbourne
Ordinary Man (21st February)
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| Epic Records |
WORDS: Ross Donald
FFO: Black Sabbath, Black
Label Society, Black Star Riders
Ordinary Man is the 12th solo studio album by the legendary Prince of Darkness. This
review is a little harder to write for me. While I do consider myself to have
some sort of emotional connection with all the music I listen to, this one hits
a little closer to home.
Ozzy has been
one of my all time favourite artists for years with his solo work and his time
with Black Sabbath being very influential towards my music taste. It’s
been no secret that Ozzy’s health has been in decline for a while now
and he's at the point now where he’s cancelled many tour dates (including one I
still have a ticket to). Everyone just seems to be fearing the worst for him
and it’s all just pretty heartbreaking to see. I wasn’t too sure about this
album release then given Ozzy’s health and didn’t even expect much in
the way of quality. But this actually surprised the hell out of me.
First and foremost, I don’t think this
can necessarily be called a ‘metal’ album as it’s more akin to hard rock most
of the time. This is a bit weird for Ozzy, but with him winding down
over the last few years, it does make sense that he would slow things down a
bit. The only real complaint I have is that it’s lacking that bit of metal edge
of previous Ozzy releases and even the heavier tracks feel like they’re
holding back from being too heavy. This is slightly disappointing as the songs
never really reach that next level they should do. As a result, the softer,
more melodic tracks end up being more memorable in the long run.
Some people seem to think that there
are too many ‘ballad’ style tracks on here, but as they are the best tracks, I
can’t really complain. I’d have actually been fine with the addition of even more.
There are some pretty good solos and riffs now and again, but I can’t help but
wonder what these moments would have been like with Zakk Wylde
contributing. Why he wasn’t included is a mystery to me.
In regards to the themes here, a lot of
the tracks seem to be Ozzy looking back at his life with a tinge of
regret about how he has lead his life so far. Tracks like the gorgeous and
solemn title track in particular says that he wasn’t prepared for a life of
fame but got to a point where he just didn’t want to die an ordinary man. The
addition of Elton John is pretty awesome as well, I won’t lie. ‘All
My Life’ is another reflective track where Ozzy thinks back on his
time as a constant alcoholic and contemplates how his child-self would react to
him now.
It’s a sad album for sure but there are
definitely some fun moments to be had- especially with tracks like ‘Scary
Little Green Men’. It sees Ozzy sing about little aliens trying to
eat us and it also has a catchy as hell chorus to boot. What’s not to love? The
album closer ‘It’s a Raid’, which has the odd feature of Post Malone,
is a lot of fun as well and is probably the closest thing we have to a
metal track on here. Ozzy suitably goes crazy to end the album in
appropriate fashion. Weirdly, this is the first time I’ve ever actually heard
anything by Post Malone as I tend not to pay attention to the charts at
all, but he seemed alright here and didn’t take over the track.
Overall, I’d say that this is a good
album musically. With the context of what’s currently happening with Ozzy
and his health though, this fact alone almost converts it to an essential
album. Ozzy fans should at least have a listen as it pretty much seems
like a goodbye from the legendary Prince of Darkness himself. Plus, it does help
that there are surprisingly no bad tracks and quite a few tracks that’ll get
stuck in your head for a while. I’m sure you’ll go back to a few of the songs
here again and again if you check the album out. Thank you Ozzy.
Tracks to check out: 'All My Life',
'Ordinary Man', 'Today Is The End', 'It’s a Raid'
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Four Year Strong
Brain Pain (28th February)
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| Pure Noise Records |
WORDS: Joanne Gray
FFO: A Day To Remember,
Protest The Hero, Set Your Goals
Five years on from their self-titled
album, Four Year Strong find themselves in a world where pop punk has
changed so dramatically that the style is hardly recognisable from what it was
in the early 2010's. I strongly believe that Four Year Strong's last
album is one of the strongest of their career. But I can't argue that the album
has been left to stand as a last relic of the long dead 'easycore' genre in
2020. Although it was to be expected that FYS would seek to move out
beyond this dated trope after a five year absence though, I had no idea they
would come out with an album like this.
Starting with the oddly dreamy 'It's
Cool' (which bares some resemblance to bands like Astronoid), the
influences which present themselves on this album stretch out far beyond the
usual 2000's pop punk parameters. By re-enlisting Fit For An
Autopsy's Will Putney as producer here, it maybe shouldn't be too
surprising that there is a greater sense of heaviness to this record that the
band hasn't had since Enemy of the World. But it is surprising just how
heavy it actually is. Songs like 'Brain Pain', 'Get Out of My Head',
'Seventeen' and 'The Worst Part About Me' all present more hefty
guitar tones which puts the band more in line with metallic hardcore and
tech-metal bands than anything else. I don't think I'd have ever imagined I'd be
using bands like Periphery, Protest The Hero, Knocked Loose
and Stray From The Path to describe a FYS album, but there you
go...
Of course, this change in pace and
added punch is exciting, but what has always made this band so great to me was
their ability to craft massive vocal hooks which are ingrained in the heaviness
of the instrumentals around them. There are some examples of that here ('Get
Out Of My Head', 'Crazy Pills' and 'Talking Myself in Circles' for
example) but as a whole, I do find that many of the other songs lack the
memorability of previous songs. Sure, there is some fantastic riffing and heavy
moments throughout this album, but it does seem that the band have sacrificed
some of their integral hookiness to achieve these tones.
Even in the more typically bouncy
pop-punk tinges of 'Learn To Love The Lie' and 'Usefully Useless',
and the more gentle early A Day To Remember-esque acoustic hum of 'Be
Good When I'm Gone', the melodies surprisingly don't really shine
through. The contrast between the latter song and the follow-up heavy blast of 'Seventeen'
also shows the sometimes disjointed nature of this album at its most prominent.
With the slow final offering of the Wonder Years-esque 'Young At
Heart' ending things off in a rather forgettable and bland fashion, I've
been left wondering when the album will ever stick in my brain.
And I've given this album many listens
in the hope that it will eventually do that. But it just hasn't... Compared to
all of their other albums (barring In Some Way Shape Or Form), I'm
struggling to see why there has been such hype for this one when I can barely
remember much of the album once it's finished. There are definitely heavy parts
which will appeal to fans of decent guitarwork and riffs; and there is a clear
sense of maturity in this album thematically which shows the band have moved
nicely outside of the easycore genre. But I'll take those earlier albums over
the majority of this one, I'm afraid...
Tracks to check out: 'Get Out Of My
Head', 'Talking Myself In Circles', 'Brain Pain'
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Thanks to Ross for his contributions to
this round-up of February's albums and thanks to you for reading! Feel free to
check out our playlist of our favourite songs this month below or leave a
comment below to tell us which albums you have liked over the month. Be sure to
give us a like/follow on the socials if you like our content. As always, we're
open to contributions/submissions so you can always get in touch as well.
Cheers!
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