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HOT NEW REVIEWS
JUSTIN
HOWL 'WANDERLUST' (INDEPENDENT/USA IMPORT)
Out of downtown Chicago comes JUSTIN HOWL,
who does everything on his own on his 2nd solo album Wanderlust, which he
released independently. He is a guitarist, singer/songwriter and harmonica player,
while he also produced the album. Quite remarkable that he did literally
everything on his own here, not only playing and producing the music, but also
the promotion. The only thing he did not do was the shoot of the cover photo,
which was done by GENE FOJTIK. Anyway, the music itself is a great
singr/songwriter meets blues adventure, split over 10 tracks that lasts about
37 minutes. Songs like Interstate 55, Things to do, the titletrack Wanderlust
and closing track Josephina are a joy to listen to, since it has this raw dirty
mean bluesy approach with no compromise at all, so you'll get what you hear and
I really think live Justin will do exactly the same, so let's hope we can catch
this talented one-man show live one day. Meanwhile check him out at: https://www.justinhowl.com
THE
BILLS 'TIL THE BLUES HAVE GONE' (WHEELING RECORDS/NORWAY IMPORT)
THE BILLS are coming out of Norway, but is
actually a duo formed around 2 American musicians who live in Norway.
Vocalist/bassist Bill Troiani (originally from New York City) and
singer/guitarist/violinplayer Bill Booth (from Maine) have been together as THE
BILLS since 2012, but Til the blues have gone is their first official album
release. Along with Norwegian drummer Alexander Pettersen, they recorded 13
songs. It starts with a couple of great smooth laid-back uptempo pieces like
Til the blues have gone, Last chance to hurt me, Slipping through the cracks
and Good lord done gone, which reveal influences from blues, americana, rootsy
rock, country, New Orleans and a touch of jazz. The band slows things down to a
calmer bluesy ballad direction with the relaxing Keeping the blues alive, but
most of the rest of the album is back to their beloved bluesy uptempo rootsy
story-telling material, with as other highlights Asking for more, Driving rain
(very strong melodic rocking piece) and Already gone. Check out THE BILLS at: https://www.thebills.no
SILENTIUM
'MOTIVA' (OUT OF LINE MUSIC/GERMAN IMPORT)
We reviewed a couple of albums of the
Finnish Symphonic Melodic Metal band SILENTIUM in the past, but it took them 11
years to release a new album. Their 6th album Motiva has now been released and
without a doubt, it is a very strong comeback of this legendary female fronted
band, which is formed around vocalist Riina Rinkinen, guitarists Juha Lehtioksa
and Aapeli Kivimäki, keyboardplayer Sami Boman, bassist Ville Koskinen and
drummer Janne Ojala. 9 songs are included on the album, which opens quite calm
actually with the beautiful haunting bombastic melodic fantasty/gothic heavy
rocker Truth. The angelic voice and symphonic melodies give it a touch of
DELAIN, EVANESCENCE, LACUNA COIL and WITHIN TEMPTATION of course, but then a
bit more laid-back and also with an own identity, which is even more clear on
the following heavier Unchained. Other highlights on the album are the bombastic
ballad Safer/easier, the superb Shame, the celtic influenced semi-instrumental
Circle and the 9 minutes counting epic Tide. With this new album, SILENTIUM
makes a triumphant comeback to the forefront of the bombastic female fronted
gothic/melodic heavy rock/metal and are right up there in the premier league of
the aforementioned bands. More info on SILENTIUM at: http://silentium.fi
(Points:
8.4 out of 10)
ALIENSDONTRINGDOORBELLS
'ARRIVAL' (NO RULES RECORDS/UK IMPORT)
With such an impressive bandname,
ALIENSDONTRINGDOORBELLS, you would honestly think these guys are creating music
that will probably not appeal to everyone, but when listening to the opening
song Consummation of their new album Arrival, we can hear a fantastic
sensational sound that combines elements of blues, rock and funk, with a strong
focus on melodies and soulful vocals (a bit like classic INXS). Following song
Slipping away is a very catchy early 80s melodic powerpop/aor/poprock chorus
driven tune that even reminds me a bit of early 80s RICK SPRINGFIELD. Anyway,
so far so good, this is a sensational band, and they hail from Costa Blanca,
Spain, although it actually concerns a 3-piece band featuring the American Dorian
Foyil (guitar, sax and lead vocals), Adam King from Liverpool (lead and backing
vocals) and Christian Pearl from Birmingham (keyboards and backing vocals), who
together settled in the Spanish sun to write music together, although they
actually recoorded Arrival in Denver, Colorado. The album continues with It's
your night, a great melodic semi-ballad with an old school 70s pop/rock feeling
along with some westcoast influences. The 80s influenced midtempo pop/rocker
Daylight brings us memories of bands like CUTTING CREW, THE OUTFIELD, MIKE
& THE MECHANICS and MR. MISTER, with a clear focus on the strong clean
vocals and perfect harmonyvocals. Important is a great catchy classic rock/AOR
hooks/chorus driven rocker with a touch of soul, which gives it a real old
school sound. Following The heart is in her eyes is a poppier song that has a
sorta soul/r&b touch like BILLY JOEL and HALL & OATES back in the day.
Daddy blues is a groovier bluesrocker, while Blind to see is a wonderful
midtempo catchy AOR/Poprocker that has huge hit potential in becoming a summer
radio success! Choice is up next and this is a really lovely uptempo melodic
rocker. The somewhat laid-back soulful old-school pop/rocker Missing pieces has
a 1970s kinda westcoast feeling, yet with a typical British kinda approach like
SAD CAFE. Story is a song that is featured twice, and is a great midtempo
AOR/Melodic Rocker in a ROBERT HART/FM style. Closing track This is me is one
of the most AOR based songs on the album, a great catchy tune for sure.
ALIENSDONTRINGDOORBELLS is a huge surprise for sure and a must-have for anyone
into classic melodic pop/rock/AOR when it was all about real authentic strong
vocals and catchy melodies. Check them out a.s.a.p. at: https://aliensdontringdoorbells.com
MIDNIGHT
DEADBEATS 'MOONSHINE CARNIVAL' (SIXTEENTIMES MUSIC/SWISS IMPORT)
I am always surprised when hearing another
new sensational band that has not yet been discovered. In this case I am
talking about the superb sounding Stoner Rockband MIDNIGHT DEADBEATS, a band
from Switzerland with their debut album Moonshine carnival on the Swiss label
SIXTEEN TIMES MUSIC. They are a 3-piece band formed around Mono Mojo (vocals,
guitar), Jukka Altermatt (drums) and Harald Binder (bass, backing vocals). 10
songs are included on their exciting first album, and opener Dishwasher grabs
the attention right from the start, with its heavy groovy stoner rocksound that
reveals LED ZEPPELIN influences. Following uptempo rocker Rock’n’Roll is as
close to classic Retro 70s Hardrock as you can get, with BLACK SABBATH guitar
riffs and vocals in the style of THIN LIZZY and also killer vocals (like a mix
between OZZY and PHIL LYNOTT), so this is definitely a sensational song to
check out a.s.a.p.! The album continues this way until the last seconds of
closing track Birds (a real Doom Metal-ish song), and the other highlights are
the uptempo rocking The battle, Kill me and the fantastic Vicious. Without a
doubt, a must-hear band to check out if you like SABBATH, LIZZY or the
countless new wave of Swedish retro hardrockbands. Check out this Swiss band
at: https://sixteentimes.bandcamp.com/album/moonshine-carnival
THE
CYBERIAM 'VARIOUS ALBUMS' (SEMPLETON PRODUCTIONS/USA IMPORT)
I was actually not familiar with the band
THE CYBERIAM, but this Chicago based band was kind enough to send me their 2
studio-albums and a live CD they recently released. To my surprise I was really
overwhelmed when listening to the first couple of songs of their same titled
debut album The Cyberiam, because it sounded quite sensational. Alice in
afterland, The fall and Don’t blink are lovely ENCHANT-ish melodic progrocksongs,
while Cool kinds is more adventurous and reminds a bit of SPOCK’S BEARD. The
band is combining progrock with pop melodies and are influenced by acts like
MARILLION, RUSH, DREAM THEATER and such, and I have to say I am deeply
impressed! The vocals are spot-on and melodies are everywhere, so it’s
basically the dream come true for the fans of melodic progrock. THE CYBERIAM
was formed a few years ago around KEITH SAMPLE on guitar and Vocals, BRIAN
KOVACS on Bass Guitar and vocals, TOMMY MURRAY on drums and percussion and
FRANK LUCAS on keyboards. Their same titled debut was released in 2018 and as
already mentioned, this is a fantastic album with 10 lovely tracks that will
definitely appeal to the fans of 80s MARILLION, RUSH, CAIRO, ICE AGE, ENCHANT,
SPOCK’S BEARD, SUBSIGNAL, ARENA, MYSTERY (Canada) etc. This is melodic progrock
rooted in the upper league, so if you’re a fan of any of the bands, you
absolutely must check out this wonderful album, which has its absolute
highlight during the epic My occupation. Their 2nd album The butterfly effect
was released in 2019 and basically continues the high level of musicianship.
It’s actually a 21 minutes counting epic concept EP, divided into 5 parts and
basically the band combines prog complexity with pop melodies quite perfectly
here like ENCHANT meets SPOCK’S BEARD meets SHADOW GALLERY meets ARENA. Due to
the covid pandemic, the band was unable to perform during 2020 and probably
also in 2021 not much will happen I’m afraid, but thankfully they already did
live performances in their short existence, such as 2019’s Progstock
performance, which has now been released on CD titled Forging nations. Although
nothing beats the real thing of course, this live CD already gives a great
preview of the live performances of this band, and all I can say they truly
deliver here (sometimes sounding even better live than in the studio, including
superb crystal clear vocals like ENCHANT), so despite all the lockdowns around
the world, I can honestly say that when live gigs are permitted again, then we
will surely look forward to THE CYBERIAM coming our way somewhere live on
stage. Check out this sensational American band at: https://thecyberiam.com and https://thecyberiam.bandcamp.com/album/the-cyberiam-2
HUMAN
FORTRESS 'EPIC TALES & UNTOLD STORIES' (MASSACRE RECORDS/BERTUS)
Somewhere along the way you sometimes
forget about bands from the past, because there are so many out there, which
makes it impossible to keep up with all the releases done each week. We
reviewed the first couple of albums from the German band HUMAN FORTRESS about
20 years ago, and they are now already releasing their 8th album! Epic tales
& untold stories is a double CD album with over 100 minutes of music. CD 1
is a mix of new, rare and unreleased songs, while CD 2 is a best of selection
from the band’s rich catalogue). The band’s current line up consists of
vocalist GUS MONSANTO, guitarist TODD WOLF, guitarist VOLKER TROST, bassist
ANDRE HORT, keyboardplayer DIRK LIEHM and drummer APOSTOLOS ZAIOS. With a total
of 23 songs, this is quite an enjoyable adventure to experience, especially
since the included music is of a very high level. CD 1’s opener The Grimoire
shows right away this is not an average release, because this is a superb
midtempo melodic heavy rocker with a sensational catchy melodic WHITESNAKE-ish
AOR chorus and overall it also reminds me also a bit of a slightly heavier TEN,
with some Melodic Metal influences as well. We’re set for 100 more minutes of
great high quality music of HUMAN FORTRESS on this exciting double CD set,
which has as other highlights Disappear in dark shadows (fantastic vocalwork
and yet another catchy midtempo melodic heavy rock piece, a bit reminding me of
classic PINK CREAM 69), Vain endeavor (uptempo melodic rock/metal, another
lovely tune with a superb catchy hook and memorable chorus), and the orchestral
version of the epic ballad Pray for salvation.
The best of CD 2 is also a great look back
at the wonderful songs this band delivered in the past, such as Border raid in
Lions March, Gladiator of Rome and Rise or fall. You can clearly hear the band
has developed themselves and they created quite a lot of diversity through the
years, starting off as a pure Power Metal band, but slowly going for a more
melodic rock-ish direction (as you can hear on CD 1), while there are also folk
metal influences here and there, and at times they reminded me of EDGUY,
NOCTURNAL RITES, BLOODBOUND or FREEDOM CALL during those older songs, which was
quite different from the songs on CD 1 (especially in the vocal department with
even guest appearances by the legendary MICHAEL BORMANN (ex-JADED HEART) and
TOMMY NEWTON (VICTORY, HELLOWEEN)). Without a doubt, this ‘new’ double album of
HUMAN FORTRESS is the perfect collection to own if you want to discover this
underrated band! More info at: http://www.human-fortress.de
HOLY
MOTHER 'FACE THIS BURN' (MASSACRE RECORDS/BERTUS)
After 18 years a new album of the American Metalband
HOLY MOTHER is released. It marks the return of the duo MIKE TIRELLI (lead
vocals) and drummer JAMES HARRIS, who are the founding members of the band.
Original member RANDY COVEN sadly died in 2014, so this is a tribute to him,
with as replacement the talented guitarist/bassist GREG GIORDANO. Face this
burn is HOLY MOTHER’s 7th album so far and without a doubt a strong impressive
classic US Metal album with a modern twist here and there. JAG PANZER, ICED
EARTH, HELSTAR, SAVATAGE, VIRGIN STEELE and such bands come to mind when
listening to HOLY MOTHER, although of course they actually have an own identity
since they were already active during a greater part of the 1990s and 2000s.
The band’s sound is massive from start to finish, it is groovy to the bone,
with razor-sharp biting guitarwork and superb high pitched vocals (Mike still
amazes with his Metal God voice!). 11 songs are included on this excellent new
album, which also has a very nice front cover artwork. The highlights on the
album are Love is dead, The truth and the finest song on the album, which is
the fast uptempo classic 80s melodic US Power Metal piece The river. I also
need to point out the rather cool impressive closing track Superstar, which is
a cover of a classic 70s/80s Power Ballad, which is done very well by the band
and it also features guest musician MIKE JAMES playing most of the instruments.
Concluded, everything sounds exactly the way it needs to sounds to make it a
winner for fans of classic US Melodic Metal, so if you like any of the
aforementioned bands, then please make sure to check out this great comeback
album of HOLY MOTHER! More info at: https://massacre-records.com/holymother
AYOM
'AYOM' (FLOWFISH RECORDS/SPAIN IMPORT)
In these corona times the Barcelona, Spain
based band AYOM is a blessing with the sound they create on their same titled
debut album, which has been released through FLOWFISH RECORDS. The band
combines music influences from South America and Africa to an exciting cheerful
sound through the 11 catchy tunes. AYOM is based around the superb female singer
JABU MORALES, who has the voice of an angel, singing all the songs really
smoothful and with the help of the musicians
Alberto Becucci: acordeon; Timoteo Grignani: percussions; Walter
Martins: percussions; Pedro Bastos João: guitar; Mauricio Ribeiro: bass; Ricardo Quinteira:
guitar, Aldo Milani: saxophones/flute; George Robarts-Arnold: tuba; Marcio
Pinto: marimba; Paolo Angelis: modificated guitar; Sasha Agranov: cello; and Olmo
Marin: cavaquinho/guitar, the result is a lovely relaxing summer-ish record
that should easily cheer up everyone. Songs like Exu, Valsa das extacoes, A
mare e o luar, Ayom manifesto! and actually any song on this wonderful album is
a joy to listen to. Check it out for yourself at: https://ayommusic.bandcamp.com/album/ayom-album
and https://www.ayommusic.com/
JACK
HOWARD & THE LONG LOST BROTHERS 'DOG SONGS' (INDEPENDENT/AUSTRALIA IMPORT)
Once Australian musician JACK HOWARD was a
member of the Australian band HUNTERS & COLLECTORS, of whom we reviewed a
best of 2-CD set somewhere else on these pages, but meanwhile Jack has a solo
career going on, of which the latest release is the wonderful Dog songs.
Musically speaking it is quite a different affair, because the music finds its
way somewhere between Bluesy soul, Pop/Rock and Americana/Rootsy Rock, sounding
quite strong and very relaxing. Besides Jack on vocals, trumpet and flugel
horn, other involved musicians are his band THE LONG LOST BROTHERS, consisting
of Nicky Del Rey - guitar, backing vocals, Ed Bates - pedal steel, Rob Walker –
bass, Cal McAlpine – drums, Fiona Lee Maynard - backing vocals, percussion,
lead vocals on Red Rose and Coz I Love You and Amy Valent Curlis - congas,
hubcap, castanets, bowed cymbal, triangle. 13 songs are included in total, and
if we have a walk through the songs; Let me live is a great rootsy southern
rocker, City light is a beautiful smooth jazzy soul westcoast kinda tune,
Melbourne and Simple man are fantastic uptempo Westcoast/Poprockers (in the
style of POCO), Restlessness is a superb midtempo bluesy soulful rocker with a
catchy vibe thanks to the strong melodic chorus and soaring guitarsolos, Panic
in the city is another great uptempo soulful pop/rocker, Frankenstein is a
lovely slow bluesy melodic rocksong, and actually there’s not a single weak
song to be found, so I could name them all! There is also quite some diversity
to be heard, because the female vocals featured Red rose is tapping out of a
swinging Latin kinda direction, while the rest of the material is as already
mentioned a mixture of blues, soul, pop/rock, westcoast and Americana/Rootsy
rock. The performance is excellent and some of these songs could easily become
radio hits. Well done and for more info I recommend you to check out Jack’s
music at: https://jackhoward.bandcamp.com/album/day-of-the-dog
HUNTERS
AND COLLECTORS 'THEIR GREATEST HITS' (HUMAN FRAILTY PTY/LIBERATION
MUSIC/AUSTRALIA IMPORT)
It is a shame that we in Europe and most
of the rest of the world are not that familiar with all the other Australian
and New Zealand bands besides the mighty AC/DC, CROWDED HOUSE or INXS, because
this continent has so much more great bands to offer. Nowadays we are of course
more up-to-date with all the new bands that breakthrough in their own homeland
Australia or New Zealand, but during the 1970s-1990s in the pre-internet days,
we missed out on a lot of these bands. Thankfully we can still discover them
now via all kinds of options on the internet, because it’s never too late of
course. Thanks to musician JACK HOWARD, I got to learn about HUNTERS & COLLECTORS,
a band I vaguely remember from the 1980s. They were big in Australia, but aside
from a minor hitsingle elsewhere, they are sadly not that known outside of
Australia. Jack has a new solo-record out, but he was also a member of this
band and so he kindly sent me their 2003 Greatest Hits 2-CD set, which gave me
the option to hear what this band was all about between 1981 and 1998, with in
total 31 songs taken from the band’s 9 studio albums that were released during
that period.
ECHOPLAIN 'POLAROID MALIBU'
(ATYPEEK MUSIC/ARAKI/PIED DE BICHE/ZERO EGAL PETIT INTERIEUR/CREATIVE ECLIPSE
PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
Formed
in 2018, the French band ECHOPLAIN delivers their official debut album with
Polaroid Malibu. They bring an interesting and exciting mixture of Stoner Rock,
Noise and Post-Punk and somehow they are able to bring some great melodies
through these fields of loud noise and rock, which can be heard during most of
the 10 included songs here. The vocals are sometimes screaming, but also
changing to a more singing voice a lot of time (such as during a great song
like Beyonce) and some spoken-word here and there, making ECHOPLAIN sound
diverse enough to keep on listening to. Melodic Post-Punk is definitely the
closest genre they reach on their album, so it is recommended to fans of bands
like THE MURDER CAPITAL, FONTAINES DC, LIFE and such. Check them out for
yourself at: https://echoplain.bandcamp.com
(Points:
8.1 out of 10)
HINT
'RARITIES OF TWO CENTURIES VOLUME 2' (ATYPEEK MUSIC/BRUILLANCE RECORDS/CREATIVE
ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
The
French band HINT was formed back in 1993 and they bring a mix of noise,
experimental and post-punk, sounding quite aggressive most of the time with
this edgy raw screaming underground rocksound, yet also with some
progressive/post-rock influences. It’s very experimental at times, which is
interesting, although the vocals are mostly in the scream/metal-core direction.
More info at: http://hintfan.free.fr
(Points:
-)
VALSE
NOOT 'UTTER CONTEMPT' (ATYPEEK MUSIC/IDEAL CRASH/VOLLMER INDUSTRIES/SUPER
APES/FRENCH WIN RECORDS/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
Out of
Brest, France comes VALSE NOOT, which is a Dutch sentence by the way, and they
present us extreme Noisecore/Rock like ZAPPA meets SYSTEM OF A DOWN meets
DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, yet with a lot of madness and screaming going on. It’s
wicked, wild and dangerous, at least it feels like this, although I am not sure
if anyone out there into crystal clear melodies will find something of interest
in here, because you really need to be a fan of
Noisecore/Metalcore/Post-Hardcore to ‘get’ this. The first 4 songs are quite
extreme, but Story of a decadence shows that the band’s lead singer is also
able to sing instead of scream, and I personally hope to see more of this on a
future record. On the other hand, I understand if you’re a fan of the
aforementioned acts you will love this and then you can check them out
at: https://valsenoot.bandcamp.com
(Points:
- )
KAVRILA
'RITUALS 3' (NARSHARDAA RECORDS/BROKEN SILENCE/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN
IMPORT)
Rituals
3 is likewise part 3 of a series the German band KAVRILA started in 2016. The
band from the city of Hamburg brings a mixture of Sludge Metal, Metalcore and
Hardcore, and they are quite angry during the 4 songs on their new EP. Check
them out at: https://kavrila.bandcamp.com
(Points:
-)
MOAAN
EXIS 'NECESSARY VIOLENCES' (ATYPEEK MUSIC/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
Out of
Toulouse, France comes this interesting experimental act called MOAAN AXIS, a
duo formed around Mathieu Caudron and Xavier Guionie. Together they bring a
sound that takes elements of Industrial, Techno, Hardcore and other
experimental sounds. At best you could describe them as a ‘slow and dark’ mix
between MARILYN MANSON and THE PRODIGY, but actually they have an own identity.
8 songs are on their new album Necessary violences and it does sound quite good
actually, something different than the usual and very diverse, with as
highlight closing track Divine automation. Check them out at: https://moaan-exis.bandcamp.com/
(Points:
7.5 out of 10)
VOLVOPENTA
'SIMULACRUM' (TONZONEN RECORDS/SOULFOOD/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
Simulacrum
is the 2nd album of the German band VOLVOPENTA, and quite an
interesting and exciting Post-Progressive Rock adventure we have here with a
focus on slow dark melancholic instrumental sounds, although also with (clean)
vocals here and there. PORCUPINE TREE meets LONG DISTANCE CALLING, and some
experimental parts a few times, that would be a nice description, although the
band clearly shows an own face on their new album. The band is formed around bassist
André David, drummer Kai Spriestersbach, guitarist Stefan Claudius,
guitarist/vocalist Marcus Kreyhan, with keyboards provided by
iAmAnAlleNcLoNeSpY. The resulting album is quite sensational and a joy to
listen to from start to finish, taking you into an adventure that will
definitively appeal to all fans of Post-Progressive Rock, sometimes sounding
relaxed and melodic, while at other times rockier and challenging, in the end a
very diverse journey through the endless fields of this genre. You can hear it
for yourself at: https://volvopenta.bandcamp.com
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
M G
BOULTER 'CLIFFTOWN' (HUDSON RECORDS/UK IMPORT)
Clifftown is the 3rd solo album of Essex,
UK based singer/songwriter//guitarist M G BOULTER. The album also features Pete
Flood (Drums, Percussion, Glockenspiel), Lizzy O’Connor (Mandolin, Guitar, Voice,
Banjo, Percussion), Paul Ambrose (Electric Bass, Double Bass, Synthesiser), Tom
Lenthall (Keyboards, Piano, Synthesiser, Voice), Helen Bell (Violin, Viola),
Lucy Farrell (Voice), Neil McSweeney (Voice), Toby Kearney (Drums), Helen Bell
(Violin & Viola on Pilate), Sam Sweeney (Violin), Charlie Wild (Violin),
Lucy Farrell (Voice), Rob Harbron (Bass), Neil McSweeney (Guitar), Richard
Warren (Guitar) and Jack McNeill (Clarinet & Bass Clarinet), and was
produced by ANDY BELL (played in OASIS and a lot of other acts besides
producing). 12 tracks are included, and the album starts with a calmer
singer/songwriter piece titled Midnight movies, which is not far removed from
SIMON & GARFUNKEL, CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG, but following Soft
white belly is a great catchy uptempo melodic poprocker in a sorta TOM PETTY
style. MG has a voice that sounds like a cross between PAUL SIMON and MICHAEL
STIPE, while musically speaking it mixes beautiful singer-songwriter calmer 70s
inspired popsongs with uptempo Americana/Poprockers, all in a story-telling
format. Although the calmer singer-songwriter pieces are lovely to listen to, it's
the uptempo pieces that show M G Boulter at his best, with as highlights The
author of all things, she speaks, Fan of the band and the aforementioned Soft
white Belly. This is definitely an interesting and very talented musician to
check out at: http://www.mgboulter.co.uk,
especially if you're a fan of PAUL SIMON.
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
JON
BODEN 'LAST MILE HOME' (HUDSON RECORDS/UK IMPORT)
The British multi-instrumentalist JON
BODEN has been around for some time, and Last mile home is his 6th album so
far. He sings and plays on all 12 included tracks, with a little help here and
there by several guest musicians, such as Mary Hampton (vocals), Marven Bryce
(violin), Helen Bell (viola) and Lucy Revis (cello). The resulting new album
Last mile home is a beautiful calmer folk pop/rock album with a clear focus on
story-telling songs. 12 tracks are included and it's a joy to listen to Jon's
strong falsetto voice and hear him singing all these beautiful melodies in great
songs like Into the garden, Flash flood and Come out wherever you are. He does
remind me vocally a bit of JOHNNY LOGAN, but musically this has of course
nothing to do with John’s music, because Jon is all about high quality
singer/songwriter folk music. Check him out for yourself at: https://www.jonboden.com
Red Sonja is the 3rd album of the female
fronted French band LOLOMIS, and a very diverse album I can inform you, because
World Music, Balkan and other musicstyles pass by in the band's own original
sound that is also quite catchy actually. The band is formed around Romane
Claudel Ferragui (vocals), FX Elodie Messmer (harpe, synths), Christophe Urbain
Stélios Lazarou (flute, synths) and Louis Delignon (percussions, électroniques),
and from start to finish we are heading into a journey through different parts
of the world, but nevertheless each and every song does have a certain rhythm
and vibe . 11 songs are included, of which the highlights are Hilijalleen, Ako,
Opa, Idam and closing track Morena. The sound is melodic, groovy and modern,
with even an almost soul approach here and there, while besides the fantastic
musicianship, the vocals of Romane Claudel are a pleasure to listen to. This
band has an own sound and should also appeal to a young generation, so go check
them out at: https://www.lolomis.net
RICHARD
BIENSTOCK ‘THE DECADE THAT ROCKED – THE PHOTOGRAPHY OF MARK WEISS BOOK'
(INSIGHT EDITIONS/CANADA IMPORT)
Being a true 80s Hardrockfan, this book is
an absolute must-have I can inform you at the start of the review. It concerns
here an amazingly beautiful large book with a total of 304 pages that include
all the great pictures photographer MARK WEISS took in the decade when ego and
image were sometimes more important than the music itself. Life was a party and
everyone is invited BON JOVI once said and MOTLEY CRUE took it one step further
by making a mess at each party, and in this book you can tell from the
pictures, this was indeed a decade where Hardrock stood loud and proud among
the youth. It was a culture like Rock’n’Roll was in the 1950s, Garage Rock in the
1960s, Punkrock in the 1970s and Grunge/Alternative Rock in the 1990s. In the
1980s Hair Metal was especially in the USA the biggest musicstyle around, with
millions of musicians trying to achieve the same success as the major label
bands such as GUNS’N’ROSES, MOTLEY CRUE, DEF LEPPARD, BON JOVI, VAN HALEN,
POISON, SKID ROW, etc. etc. There was one guy who was very eager to get
involved in the ‘Hair Metal’ scene, which was more or less shaped in the 1970s
when KISS, VAN HALEN, THE SWEET and a few others led the foundation of what was
to become the most popular musicstyle for everyone below the age of 30 in the
1980s. Mark developed his career as music photographer quite quickly in the
1970s and when the 1980s decade started, it was Mark who basically made
everything visual to the rest of the world, because he took pictures in a way
you could tell it was his picture and with the flashy colors, big hairdo’s and
poser looks of the American bands, he actually was the person who helped to
shape the creation of the 1980s Hair Metal theme. I think you can’t get any
closer to the reality of the 1980s than in this book, because Mark was
everywhere these bands went to, even in the dressing room and/or backstage with
acts like SKID ROW, MOTLEY CRUE, KISS, TWISTED SISTER, BON JOVI, or at events
like the US Festival. It’s all included in full color, big and in-your-face
close-ups of the most memorable musicians and bands of the decade that truly
rocked.
Towards the end of the 1980s, Hair Metal
reached its absolute peak when around 1989/1990 MTV was non-stop playing videos
by almost every act, from WINGER, WARRANT, FIREHOUSE, SLAUGHTER and you name it
further, however a chance was on the horizon when in early 1991 Grunge and
Alternative Rock killed the fun 80s party rock/metal sound and it’s looks,
because we all know what happened when NIRVANA and PEARL JAM broke through.
Nevertheless, this book is one to own if you want to experience the real 1980s
look and sound without even putting on the music. It was a lifestyle and a
youth culture that will always be remembered for that, which is a pity on the
other hand, because there are also timeless classic songs made by some of these
bands. Thankfully a few of them managed to survive and continue, and they are
still quite popular, although 30+ years later the memories are sometimes better
than the current reality if we speak about a band like MOTLEY CRUE or
GUNS’N’ROSES. Anyway, make sure to get this book a.s.a.p. and put on those
classics such as Too fast for love, Appetite for destruction, Pyromania,
Slippery when wet, etc. etc. The book is available through: https://thedecadethatrocked.com/shop
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
Fado singer CARLA PIRES is singing
authentic Portuguese Fado with all the emotions and dramatic twists that are
part of this subgenre. Along with Portuguese guitarplayer BERNARDO COUTO,
classical guitarplayer ANDRE M. SANTOS, double bass player JOAO NOVAIS and
several other musicians, the resulting 4th albym of Carla is a great journey
that really makes you feel like you’re somewhere in sunny and warm southern
Portugal. 14 songs are included, so there is a lot to enjoy here. It took some
time to release the album, because it was recorded in the spring of 2019, but I
think corona postponed the release to April 2020. Classic traditional original
authentic Fado music is the name of the game from start to finish, so if you’re
interested in hearing this, then do check out the Cartografado album from the
amazing CARLA PIRES. More info at: https://carlapires-fado.com
BAO
BARRETO 'SPIRALIS' (EL CLAN RECORDS/VEEV.COM/FRANCE IMPORT)
In these corona times we long for
something cheerful and summer-ish and that’s when the solo debut album Spiralis
of the Colombian singer PAO BARRETO is a joy to the world. She has been a
member of French Latin bands such as THE BONGO HOP, WHO’S THE CUBAN, CUMBIA YA!
And CUMBIA Y CARDON since she settled in Paris almost ten years ago, but
recently she started her solo career and the result is this debut album
released in spring 2021. She wrote almost all the songs by herself, while
there’s a long list of musicians helping her out on the 8 included tracks. The
music is a mix of styles, but includes mostly Caribbean and Latin rhythms
crossed with some modern electronic sounds and soul, funk, swing and reggae.
Opener La torre melts Latin, Cuban music and Reggae, which you don’t hear too
often in my part of the world, and I have to say it feels really good. Nouveau
sol is a sorta jazzy reggae, which is quite original actually. It all helps
that Pao has a great relaxing smooth voice to sing all these songs, and she is
a gifted songwriter. Following A donde vas is one of the few real modern
‘dance’ orientated songs, with an European kinda feeling. On adore la cumbia is
a great relaxing song with a Latin vibe, while the lovely Spiralis has the same
kinda direction, yet perhaps a bit more hit orientated. The Reggae Latin
mixture of Buscando el sol is as close to perfection for a radio hit as you can
get, with its summer feeling a real winner for everyone longing for better days
right now. Te encontre is another Latin summer winning song, which live on
stage will be a guarantee for a lot of happy faces. Closing track Dounya is
featuring a guest singer (MAKHOU) and is an African music influenced song,
which shows the diversity of the album. Pao delivered a great record here that
shapes a summer feeling and for more info please go to: https://veevcom.com/pao-barreto-presente-spiralis
and https://www.facebook.com/paobarreto.paris/
RIOT IN
THE ATTIC 'DAWN' (MONKEY ROAD RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
Out of Hurth, which is close to the city
of Cologne in Germany, we can welcome the band RIOT IN THE ATTIC and their 3rd
album Dawn. They play a mixture of Classic Rock (70s), modern heavy
rock/hardrock (90s) and a touch of Stoner meets Southern Rock. Somewhere in the
middle is their sound, which is created by 3 musicians, vocalist/guitarist DAN,
bassist TOBI and drummer FLO. 10 songs are included and the mix of groovy
guitar riffs and strong melodies makes the band a pleasure to listen to.
Highlights among the 10 tracks included are Black swan (a song that combines
ALICE IN CHAINS melodies with Classic Rock soaring guitar solos), Astrovision
(a haunting mix of Doom/Stoner Rock and melodic Classic Rock/Metal), the
amazing Thalassa (a 7 minutes counting epic stoner rock/doom affair with superb
guitarwork) and the catchy chorus driven Vortex. Concluded, we have here a strong
band with a focus on diversity, always rocking out big time, with big guitar
riffs and solos, while always keep a focus on strong melodies. Check out this
interesting original rockband from Germany at: https://riotintheattic.bandcamp.com/album/dawn
GANG
BANG STARZ 'JUKEBOX' (INDEPENDENT/RUSSIAN IMPORT)
When looking at the pictures, artwork and
songtitles of the debut album of the St. Petersburg, Russia based band GANG
BANG STARZ, it’s like we’re back in the year 1986 at the famous Sunset Strip in
Los Angeles! These guys are the real deal for presenting a high quality classic
80s Hair Metal/Glamrocksound in classic tradition of all those bands from 35
years ago (MOTLEY CRUE, POISON, D’MOLLS, PRETTY BOY FLOYD, NOIZE TOYZ…). The
band consists of vocalist DEE, guitarist PINKY, bassist RAMON and drummer KIR,
and 7 songs are on this fine looking and sounding debut CD Jukebox. The songs
are a mixture of mostly midtempo somewhat groovier Party/Glamrockers like
WARRANT meets GORKY PARK (The pace of love, Dirty games, Looks like an angel
and Going down), cheerful uptempo catchy Hair Metal/Melodic Hardrock (Bring it
on and Hero of the night are also the best songs, hopefully more songs like
this next time) and VAN HALEN-ish boogie Hardrock/Party Metal (220V). Only the
Power Ballad is missing, but all is done very well, which means this band is a
must-have if you’re into any of the classic 80s Glamrockbands! More info at: www.facebook.com/gbstarz
OPAL
OCEAN 'THE HADAL ZONE' (FLOWFISH RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
Now it’s time for something completely
different, because OPAL OCEAN is an Australian duo playing instrumental
progressive rock/metal on 2 Spanish guitars! The result is the fantastic album
The Hadal zone that features 14 wonderful original songs that sounds like a
progrock/metal record, but in fact it’s played on acoustic Spanish guitar by
both ALEX CHAMP and NADAV TABAK from Melbourne, Australia. These 2 gifted
musicians play the Spanish guitar perfectly and add a lot of other World Music
influences into their sound (Flamenco being most prominent), but still give it
a progrock/progmetal kinda feeling, yet without the big electric guitarsound,
vocals, keyboards, etc. The only song that features additional keys is
Polycephaly, because the legendary JORDAN RUDESS (DREAM THEATER) makes a guest
appareance on this song. The resulting 2nd album The Hadal zone is a joy to
listen to and if they are as good live as on this record, then OPAL OCEAN is a
must-see duo, especially when you hear fantastic songs like Point of no return,
The hadal zone, Radiozoa and the sensational Polycephaly. Instrumental acoustic
guitar driven Flamenco Progressive Rock is perhaps a nice description, and I
would like to highly recommend you to check out this talented duo at: https://opalocean.bandcamp.com/album/the-hadal-zone
and https://www.opalocean.com.au/
SUNTRIGGER
'LIQUID TIME' (TIMEZONE RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
SUNTRIGGER comes out of Germany and their
2nd album Liquid time is a strong and interesting album that is entirely
instrumental Post-Progrock based like we also know it from for example LONG
DISTANCE CALLING, OZRIC TENTACLES and the instrumental side of PORCUPINE TREE.
They were formed back in 2012 and Liquid time is the 2020 follow-up to their
2017 debut album Interstellar. The 3-piece band consists of Oliver Ortlinghaus
(bass, mellotron, synths), Marcel Bach (drums, synths) and
guitarist/synthesizer/organplayer Till Rautenberg. 6 long songs are included and
together they explore the classic sounds of prog, post-rock and krautrock in
each and every of the song, sometimes sounding big bombastic and
progrock/progmetal ish, while at other moments going for a more calmer and
exciting sorta krautrock direction, but also Synthwave influences can be heard
here and there, although overall people will feel comfortable when calling this
post-progrock. SUNTRIGGER are doing a fantastic job, because they really bring
you into a sorta trance with their instrumental music that is very exciting
throughout the whole album (just listen to the superb Voyager golden record for
example!). I can honestly say that they are going for the upper league of
instrumental prog/post-rock here. Check them out at: https://de-de.facebook.com/suntriggermusic
BAYLEY
& HUNT 'WHISPERS' (FORCE TEN PRODUCTIONS/UK IMPORT)
Both involved musicians in this project
have a long history that has a lot of connections with prog/sympho and YES in
particular. CLIVE BAYLEY (vocals, guitar, bass) is co-founder of pre-YES band
MABEL GREER’S TOYSHOP in 1966 (!), which eventually became YES. Clive left
before the first YES album and went on to become a successful businessman in
the USA. However he returned to the music scene during the 2010s when reforming
MABEL GREER’S TOYSHOP, releasing a couple of albums, and along with MAX HUNT
(keys, guitars, bass, drums, etc) he started this new project BAYLEY &
HUNT. Max was born in 1966, so there is a time gap between the two, but they
really connect, because Max also played in many progbands that are YES related,
such as FRAGILE, TANTALUS and joined Clive in MABEL GREER’S TOYSHOP on their
2017 album The secret. Drummer JURGEN LINK also joined and together they
recorded their first album as BAYLEY & HUNT, which is titled Whispers. The
included music is progrock orientated, laid-back and quite relaxed with a song
focused approach, which results in some great songs, such as Without you / In
the name of My King / Sailing to the moon, Shine, Can you feel it? / I am and
After the battle. They have an own style, which is different from YES, being
less bombastic and without falsetto voice like we know it from JON ANDERSON.
Well-thought song orientated progressive pop/rock in 1970s style is perhaps the
best description (sometimes reminding of JOHN WETTON crossed with ALAN PARSONS
PROJECT) and you can check out all on them at: https://bayleyhunt.bandcamp.com/album/whispers
PHONOBOY
'LOVE AND LET DIE' (1969OKT RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
Love and let die is
already the 5th album of PHONOBOY, which is a band or project
based around multi-instrumentalist/singer/songwriter CHRISTIAN HOCK from
Munich, Germany, who sings and plays all the instruments by himself, although
on drums we can hear on a few songs drummer MARC PHONO-BOYSEN. His new album
consists of 13 tracks, of which opener It’s 2020 is a calmer acoustic guitar
singer/songwriter piece about everyone’s unforgettable year 2020, while
following French Cowboy is a more cheerful groovier uptempo 90s Indie (TEENAGE
FANCLUB) meets 70s Artrock (TALKING HEADS) tune that sounds really good and is
quite catchy actually. The rest of the album mixes all these influences from
70s and 90s pop/rockstyles, such as singer/songwriter, indie, college-rock,
artrock, progrock and together it makes this a very enjoyable and diverse
album. Highlights are the superb 70s art/progrock piece Velvet birds (a la PINK
FLOYD), the JOHN LENNON influenced melancholic prog/pop ballad Take your time,
the superb original hit potential sounding When we are leaving and the Not
supposed to leave you (a pop/rocksong reminding a bit of SOUL ASYLUM). This
PHONOBOY surprised me a lot with doing something from the past in his own
style, which results in this great diverse album. You can check out more info
at: https://phonoboy.jimdofree.com/
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
NEPTUNE
'NORTHERN STEEL' (MELODIC PASSION RECORDS/SWEDEN IMPORT)
It took almost 40
years ago to release their debut album, but NEPTUNE has succeeded with Northern
steel and it’s a very good record as well, so congratulations. They were formed
in the early 80s, recorded an album in 1986, but this album was never released,
so they quit in 1987. In the 2000s there was a renewed interest in the band,
and now after all these years a first official album is released. Most of the
original line-up is present (excluding their original singer RAY ALEXANDERSSON,
who sadly died), and in total we can find 12 songs on the CD. After the intro,
opener Viking stone is a very strong 80s inspired classic midtempo melodic
rocker with great vocals and a catchy chorus. Following Last man standing is an
uptempo melodic heavy rocker with an 80s Teutonic Metal approach like VETO,
GRAVESTONE, NOISEHUNTER and such, yet also with some memories of classic 220
VOLT. Back to big time sounding midtempo Melodic Metal with the excellent
Fallen nations, which sounds like a cross between VICTORY and ACCEPT. Angels
has the keys upfront and is basically a lovely catchy chorus driven uptempo 80s
inspired Scandi Melodic Rocker. Titletrack Northern steel is a really perfect 80s
type of midtempo melodic Teutonic Metal song that reminds me so much of
NOISEHUNTER, if anyone knows this band, you will agree with me! Black rain is a
bit more melodic rock based, and another great and very strong tune. The band
keeps up the level straight until the end, with many more songs that combine
the best of the aforementioned bands, with as other highlights the uptempo
melodic rocker Seriously and the midtempo melodic rocker Ruler of the sea (a
bit reminding me of SAINT DEAMON or NATION if anyone can remember them!).
Instrumentally (bassist JAN TOSH ASON, keyboardplayer JONAH ROSTH, guitarist
ANDERS OLSSON and drummer JONAS WIKSTROM) and vocally (ROW ALEXX) everything
sounds crystal clear, the production is top-notch and so please check them out
if you’re starting to become interested, because they are really good! More
info at: https://www.neptune.nu/northern-steel/
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
DYGITALS
'GOD SAVE THE KING' (GOLDEN CORE RECORDS/ZYX MUSIC/GERMAN IMPORT)
The French band
DYGITALS was formed in the mid-1980s and quickly achieved success and was
towards the end of the 80s ranked as one of the most promising French
Metalbands around at the time, so a debut album was about to be released. Sadly
the change in music climate in the early 1990s prevented DYGITALS to release
their debut album. They more or less split up, but reunited every now and then,
which eventually led to the release of official albums during the 2000s and
2010s, and now God save the King is released. It’s their 3rd album
and musically speaking we are heading back to the classic 80s traditional
melodic heavy rock/metal packed in a concept about King George. The band’s line
up consists of lead singer HERVE TRAISNEL, guitarist JOLLY ROGER, bassist KEVIN
OBRON, drummer/keyboardplayer ALAIN CLOUET and guitarist JEAN-MARC LAVAYSSIERE.
Together with a few guests, they have come up with a great album that sounds
like a perfect cross between classic 80s ACCEPT, VICTORY, PRAYING MANTIS, MAD
MAX, SCORPIONS, PRETTY MAIDS and such Euro Melodic Heavy Rock/Metal, with as
highlights Early days, The Father King, Stammerer (very strong midtempo melodic
hardrock, reminding me a bit of JADED HEART), the faster uptempo Final war
(pure early 80s melodic metal like PRETTY MAIDS did in their early years) and
the massive sounding midtempo classic melodic metal piece Darkest hour. In
addition there are also 4 bonustracks from the band’s original demos from 1991
and 2007. Everything is done very professional, with extensive liner notes
telling the full story of this interesting French band, instrumentally it is
quite perfect (listen to the wonderful guitarwork in a song like Love and
faith) and vocally Herve has a voice with a character who has improved over the
years, so this is a must-have for fans of the classic 80s sound of
aforementioned bands! More info can be found at: http://www.dygitals.com/the-band.html
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
FRANA
'DISASTERSSS VINYL RECORD' (DAY OFF RECORDS/TAXIDRIVER RECORDS/ITALY IMPORT)
Out of Italy comes the band FRANA, and
they were kind enough to send me their vinyl record Disastersss, which was
recorded in Italy, but mixed and mastered in the USA. The band's sound is very
American orientated, alternative rock would be an easy description, but you can
also trace post-hardcore influences and some grunge-rock as well. They sound
quite impressive on this record, reminding of bands like HUSKER DRU, NIRVANA,
THE PIXIES, SONIC YOUTH, THE REPLACEMENTS and such. I am somewhat surprised
they are not yet praised by all the media for this strong 2nd LP, because especially
uptempo rockers like Let me write this down in my dontcarelendar, Daisy St.
Patience and Herpes zoroaster are very impressive and packed with memorable
melodies, with a sense of humour as well. The band is formed around Luca//Vocals
& Guitar, Francesco//Bass, Matteo//Guitar, Michele//Drums, and besides the
aforementioned songs, they offer a lot of other great songs, with a special
mention for 3 more songs on side-B that show the band's humoristic look at
classic bands names and songs from the past (Moody glues, Sgt. Popper and Loans
will tear us apart). Despite all the humor, this is definitely a serious band
with a professional international alternative melodic rocksound that should be
heard by fans of the mentioned bands. Check them out at: https://franafrana.bandcamp.com/album/disastersss
THE
RAMONAS 'I WANT TO LIVE IN OUTER SPACE VINYL RECORD' (CAMPARY RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
I remember a Dutch Punkpop band called THE
RAMONAS, who were active in the early 1990s, but this THE RAMONAS is a
different one, because they are a British all-female tribute band (with
self-written songs) to THE RAMONES, yet there's more than meets the eye here.
The band's line up consists of LISA LATHWELL (vocals, acoustic guitar), MAXINE
CAHILL (guitar/gang vocals), VICTORIA SMITH (bass, vocals) and CAMILLE PHILLIPS
(drums, backing vocals), and I want to live in outer space is their 3rd album
so far. 8 rockers are included and opener and titletrack I want to live in
outer space is a superb catchy uptempo melodic powerpop/punkrocker in the style
of the classic THE DONNAS, with very strong vocals and a lovely memorable
chorus to sing-a-long with. Next track Our world is a bit tougher and recalls
memories of THE RUNAWAYS here and there. Broke is basically pure Punkrock all
the way, close to classic THE RAMONES for sure! Closing side-B is the lovely
catchy fast uptempo melodic Power-Punkpoprocker Take me home, which once again
shows what a fantastic singer Lisa is. Lisa's voice is clean and a bit raw here
and there, reminding me of JOAN JETT and the vocalist of THE DONNAS, which can
be heard clearly during the fantastic opener of Side-B, the THE RUNAWAYS-ish
rocker Wasted, which also has a great guitarsolo, making this an almost melodic
hardrock sounding tune! So called this, so called that is yet another superb
uptempo melodic powerpop/punkrocker with a catchy harmonyvocals driven chorus
(a la BLITZ BABIEZ, remember them???) that will also be loved by the fans of
aforementioned bands. Also High on life follows that direction, while closing
track Camp cruel is the heaviest songs on the album, a real sleazy tough rock
and roll/punky tune that even reveals some MOTORHEAD influences! I am safe to
say that this is one of the finest all-female true original rock and roll bands
I have heard in the past 20 years and so I can highly recommended this
fantastic new record of THE RAMONAS, which is available through: www.ramonas.co.uk and http://www.campary-rec.de
ALIEN
FIGHT CLUB 'WORLD OUTSIDE VINYL RECORD' (CAMPARY RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
I must admit that I am a sucker for old
school melodic Punkrock/Oi!, especially when it features strong female vocals,
and as soon as the first couple of songs of the debut record of Bonn, Germany
based ALIEN FIGHT CLUB are blasting through the speakers, I knew this was going
to be a killer record. ALIEN FIGHT CLUB is formed around vocalist ANNEKE,
drummer STEPI and guitarist KOLJA, with guest musicians (or Kolja and Stepi)
stepping in for the bass duties. Most of the 12 songs that are included on the
band's debut album World outside are fast, straight-forward and with no
compromise at all, yet also featuring catchy melodies, a huge production and of
course the strong lead vocals of Anneke. Hard to pick favorites, because it is
full speed ahead from start to finish, but if I would have to pick the
highlights, I need to mention Alien Fight Club No. 1, Hard times, Hate is great,
Jackpot and Burn. Check out this strong female fronted fast melodic
punkrockband at: https://alienfightclub.de
and https://alienfightclub.bandcamp.com
and http://www.campary-rec.de
DIE
SCHWARZEN SCHAFE 'SYSTEM RELEVANT VINYL RECORD' (CAMPARY RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
If you ever visited the "Ruhrgebiet"
in Germany, you will immediately feel there is something different, because an
industrial environment does have a clear influence on a human being. Dusseldorf
is one of the major cities in the area and I think you're safe to say that this
city is the German capital for Punkrock, the genre that usually deals with politcal
issues and everything that is wrong in this world. Anyway, out of Dusseldorf
comes DIE SCHWARZEN SCHAFE, a band which has been active since 1985 (!), and
meanwhile they have released a lot of singles, EP's, albums, etc., all done
independently through their own label CAMPARY RECORDS. You can definitely hear
this German speaking band has already been in the music business for quite some
time now, because System relevant is sounding quite strong and impressive.
Despite sung in German, this is for me personally no problem, because I can
read the lyrics, the music is pure classic Punkrock/Oi!, uptempo and
straight-ahead with singable choruses and the 12 songs are quickly spinning
it's way on the vinyl record I received, with as highlights Wach auf, Die letzte
stunde, and . Check out this classic
German Punkrockband at: https://dieschwarzenschafe.bandcamp.com
and https://die-schwarzenschafe.wixsite.com/die-schwarzenschafe
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