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HOT NEW REVIEWS
DAWNATION
'THE MAD BEHIND VINYL RECORD' (GM ARTISTS/DATA EXPERTS/GERMAN IMPORT)
The German band DAWNATION was kind enough
to send me their debut album on vinyl, which of course also results in a
lengthy detailed review, because this is very much appreciated over here.
Thankfully we are spoiled here with a lovely album by this interesting band,
who are combining elements of Classic Rock, AOR/Melodic Rock and Progressive
Rock. The band is formed around bassist Robert Reich, drummer Clemens Reichard,
guitarist Christoph Piel, keyboardplayer Bert Wenndorff and lead singer Jan
Mecklenburg, and for a debut album they are doing things very well. Opener
Don't Bother Me is a traditional uptempo Classic Hardrocksong with 70s
influences, although the sound is up-to-date and actually shows an own
identity. Following track Behind The Mad takes a different route, because at
first sight this is a calmer and quite brilliant clever melodic AOR/rock ballad
with a lovely proggy soaring guitarsolo (a la PINK FLOYD) and really superb
vocalwork. However, this song also has a twist halfway, because then it changes
into an exciting uptempo symphonic/neo-progressive rocker, with some really
cool spacey Pomprock kinda keys and very nice guitar shredding besides a catchy
melodic chorus. All together this song is sounding quite sensational and offers
something for both the AOR/Melodic Rockfan and the Progrockfan, so it's the
best of both worlds with a focus on melodies all the time. They remind me a bit
of KAYAK in this song, so I think you'll get an idea what this 9 minutes
counting song is all about. Despite only 6 tracks are included on this album,
they are all quite lengthy, with Side-A's closing track The Hypocrite being a 7
1/2 minutes counting melodic 70s progrocksong with similarities to CAMEL,
including lovely clean vocalwork, and just like the previous song there is also
an interesting twist halfway the song when the tempo changes into an uptempo
rocking piece, so basically this epic song is another winner for the proggies
out there.
DINOSAUR
JR. 'SWEEP IT INTO SPACE' (JAGJAGUWAR/KONKURRENT)
One of the ultimate Alternative Rockbands
are back in town with the release of their new album Sweep It Into Space.
DINOSAUR JR. has been active since 1984 and they were along with bands like
PIXIES, REM and HUSKER DU, the founding fathers of the Grunge Rocksound that
exploded in the early 1990s. They broke up for a while between 1997 and 2005,
but in their active years they managed to release more than 20 records,
performed everywhere and built up a huge name. Sweep It Into Space is basically
featuring the expected melodic alternative rocksound they are known for, which
is quite melodic actually and from start to finish a joy to listen to. This is
actually almost classic rock now, with as highlights among the 12 included
tracks, I Met The Stones ( a great hard hitting melodic heavy rocker like NEIL
YOUNG crossed with TEENAGE FANCLUB), To Be Waiting (this rocker even features a
soaring guitarsolo, like WEEZER a bit if I am allowed to say so), Hide Another
Round (uptempo melodic rocker) and And Me (another uptempo melodic rocker).
Check out DINOSAUR JR. at: https://dinosaurjr.bandcamp.com/album/sweep-it-into-space
and https://www.dinosaurjr.com/
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
ADRIAN
CROWLEY 'THE WATCHFUL EYE OF THE STARS' (CHEMIKAL UNDERGROUND/KONKURRENT)
ADRIAN CROWLEY is an Irish singer,
composer, songwriter, lyricist from Galway, based in Dublin, while he was born
in Matla. The Watchful Eye Of The Stars is his 9th album since he made his
debut in 1999. His music is modern singer/songwriter music with a somewhat
melancholic dark sinister depressing approach in a way you could link him to
LEONARD COHEN and NICK CAVE. If those singer/songwriters are up your alley,
then you will definitely like this album. Here and there when the songs get a
bit more tempo, he even reminds me of DAVID BOWIE somehow, such as during Bread
And Wine. 10 songs are included and most of them go in a similar direction,
which is kinda slow and calm, with the dark sininster melancholic approach of
the aforementioned artists. More info at: http://www.adriancrowley.com/
(Points:
8.0 out of 10)
POSTCOITUM
'NEWS FROM NOWHERE' (ATYPEEK MUSIC/DAATH RECORDS/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
Out of Marseille, France comes POSTCOITUM,
a project based around Damien Ravnich and Bertrand Wolff, who together created
a fantastic and very interesting instrumental modern sounding album titled News
From Nowhere. With the help of Rudy Romeur, who took care of the drums and
mastering, the duo’s new album offers many twists and changes that connects
indie rock, progrock and krautrock in a hypnotical way we haven’t heard before.
6 songs that take you into this journey of improvisations and atmospheric
melodies, with as one of the absolute highlights Calipolis, which starts calm,
but gets very exciting and uptempo towards the end of song, almost going for a
noisy krautrock climax, while the . It’s almost impossible to describe the
music of POSTCOITUM, so if you’re open-minded musically speaking, this is
definitely recommended to check out at: https://daath.bandcamp.com/album/news-from-nowhere
SEBASTIEN
GUERIVE 'OMEGA POINT' (ATYPEEK MUSIC/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
Out of Nantes, France comes composer/sound
engineer SEBASTIEN GUERIVE and he released his debut album back in 2001. Omega
Point is his latest album, and musically speaking this is a fantastic 80s
Sci-Fi movie/Retrowave ish album that really takes you into an adventure in a
galaxy far away with the help of haunting synths and keys, as played by
Sebastien. 9 songs are included and it’s a joy to listen to sensational
hypnotical songs such as Omega, which comes in 5 parts. It has a touch of the
old kraut and prog of acts like TANGERINE DREAM and ALAN PARSONS PROJECT, but
also of the newer generation of Retro/Synthwave of acts like MAGIC SWORD and
movies like TERMINATOR and BLADE RUNNER of course. Highly recommended if you’re
interested in such instrumental synth based music. More info at: www.sebastienguerive.com
OH NO
NOH 'WHERE ONE BEGINS AND THE OTHER STOPS' (TELESKOPMUSIKPRODUCTION/CREATIVE
ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
Where One Begins and The Other Stops is
the debut album of OH NO NOH, an act formed around MARKUS ROM, who is a
guitarist that uses programmed robots and a Tapedeck on stage to perform his
music live. There are all kinds of interesting strange noises and actually this
kinda music is a form of art. You could call it Indierock, Alternative Rock,
Ambient, Minimal Music, Kraut or Electronica, but OH NO NOH really does
something on his own and creates an own sound with a lot of room for melodies
nevertheless. It is quite interesting to listen to and at one point you may ask
yourself how does he do it! Well, it goes even further than that, because it
doesn’t matter how you play the 7 songs, full-speed, half-speed, backwards or
any other way, OH NO NOH’s music changes the way you want to hear it and this
is something we haven’t heard before, so go check for yourself at: https://oh-no-noh.de
SOUNDS
OF NEW SOMA 'TRIP' (TONZONEN RECORDS/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/SOULFOOD/GERMAN IMPORT)
Here we have experimental instrumental krautrock/hi-tech
electronic music that is not far removed from the classic sounds of TANGERINE
DREAM, KLAUS SCHULZE, CAN and such, yet with a clear modern approach. SOUNDS OF
NEW SOMA is a duo consisting of ALEXANDER DJELASSI and DIRK RAUPACH. Trip is
their new album and it definitely is a trip you’re going through when listening
to the song, because it is actually 1 full-length song titled Trip, which takes
you in various directions, but we should overall describe it as hi-tech modern
sounding experimental kraut/electronic music. Fans of aforementioned acts will
definitely enjoy this and I would recommend you to check it out for yourself
at: https://soundsofnewsoma.bandcamp.com
LOTUS
TITAN 'ODYSSEES' (ATYPEEK MUSIC/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN IMPORT)
LOTUS TITAN is an experimental band from
France, with a female singer and a sound that combines elements of PIXIES, THE
POLICE, SONIC YOUTH and THE MARS VOLTA. Their debut album Odysees is a 7 tracks
counting record that goes in various directions and is quite experimental at
times, with a sorta modern progressive rock touch as well. Singer JULIE CASTEL
is a great singer, which you can hear very clearly when the band slows things
down and come up with a beautiful calmer song like Silence. However, most of
the time the band likes to experiment, which they do quite well and in case you
want to hear how this sounds like, then check out their site at: https://lotustitan.fr
HOUND
'I KNOW MY ENEMIES VINYL RECORD' (METALVILLE/ROCK INC/ROUGH TRADE)
The German band HOUND released their debut
Settle Your Scores back in 2018 and now the follow-up I Know My Enemies is
released. It's also available on a vinyl record, and I received it this way in
order to review it. I have to say once again that it's always nice to listen to
a new release on vinyl, because it gives you a much clearer view of a band's
sound. HOUND are playing Melodic Hardrock with a clear 1980s approach and
actually they remind me a lot of the legendary bands CZAKAN, AXXIS and SATROX,
if anyone is familiar with those bands from the past. It means that their sound
is somewhere between melodic hard/heavy rock and melodic metal, with a focus on
high-pitched typical German style vocals, memorable choruses to sing-a-long to
as well as classic 80s guitarwork and as finishing touch a prog metal touch
instrumentally speaking. 10 songs are on their new album, and you can hear the
band has a lot energy to become a household name in the near future. Their line
up consists of Wanja Neite/vocals, John Senft/drums, Yannick Aderb/bass and Nando
Grujic/guitars, and the highlights on I Know My Enemies are the midtempo
melodic heavy rockers Head Under Water and Fortune, and the lovely epic
progressive rocker I Smell Blood. One of the more interesting songs is the
complex epic 70s progrock piece Loyalty, which somehow reminds me of Canadian
bands like MAX WEBSTER, RUSH and TRIUMPH, although towards the end of the song
SAVATAGE also comes to mind, while the classic rocking guitarsolo finishes it
off very nicely. While listening to the album, we can also hear some keys here
and there, which gives the band a rich sound, so all together HOUND has
released a diverse record that is quite interesting to explore. Although this release
might not become the greatest album of 2021, HOUND still delivers a good strong
record that has more to offer than you might think at first sight. Check them
out at: https://www.facebook.com/hound.hardrock/
and http://houndband.com
REFLECTION
CLUB 'STILL THICK AS A BRICK CD + DVD' (MADVEDGE RECORDS/UK IMPORT)
Still Thick As A Brick is the debut album of
REFLECTION CLUB, a band formed around German, English and American musicians.
Thick as a Brick by the legendary JETHRO TULL is the biggest inspiration for
this band and you can call this album a tribute to that band. The CD comes in a
DVD like package that contains a complete issue of a music magazine in
newspaper form with a background article illuminating on the narrative
background of the album, and all together this looks quite impressive. The
band's line up consists of Nils Conrad (CRYSTAL PALACE) – electric guitar, Paul
Forrest (JETHRO TULL EXPERIENCE, ex DAYGLO PIRATES) – lead vocals, acoustic
guitar, flute), Ulla Harmuth – flute and Lutz Meinert (MARGIN) – drums,
percussion, organ, piano, harpsichord, electric and double bass, vibraphone,
glockenspiel, background vocals. The CD also has a 72-page media-book and after
a calm start, it gets to monumental classic melodic 70s prog during Time Out.
Of course there are the obvious JETHRO TULL comparisons all throughout the
album, but somehow REFLECTION CLUB gives it an own face, and I am really
impressed by their lovely music, which sounds sensational from start to finish.
There is not a single dull moment to be found here, and you can name any song
as highlight, because that is basically what is going on here from the Prelude
until the very end with Look Across The Sea. Years On The Fast Track for
example is a wonderful instrumental piece, while Rellington Town is the
cheerful folky progrocktune like JETHRO TULL, KAYAK and also YES created back
in the 1970s. Another masterpiece is the melodic The Club Of Hopeful Pinions,
which could even be a classic from 1973. This band is doing something of an
incredible high level and anyone into classic JETHRO TULL and/or 70s prog, they
should check out this sensational band at: www.madvedge.com
and https://reflectionclub.bandcamp.com/album/still-thick-as-a-brick
KASCHALOT
'ZENITH' (ATYPEEK MUSIC/STARGAZED RECORDS/CREATIVE ECLIPSE PR/GERMAN
IMPORT)
KASCHALOT is a is a
band from Estonia that started back in 2014, and Zenith is their 2nd album
so far. They started as one-man-solo-project, but are a full band now formed
around guitarist Aleksandr Ivanov, bassist Dmitri Orlov and drummer Sten Loov,
guitarist Sulo Kiivit. The 4 long songs on their new album are a lovely trip
through their thoughts of creating innovative instrumental music that is mostly
in the melodic progressive rock direction, with an overall post-rock kinda
atmosphere. From start to finish you can hear the high quality of the 4
musicians, who are having a great time and are doing what they like to do, and
sometimes this is straight-ahead really hard rocking, and at other moments, the
music is slightly calmer. Check it out for yourself at: https://kaschalot.bandcamp.com/album/zenith
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
BEND
THE FUTURE 'WITHOUT NOTICE' (TONZONEN RECORDS/CREATIVE ECLIPSE
PR/SOULFOOD/GERMAN IMPORT)
The frontcover of this album is such a
great picture, as it captures the innocence of 2 young girls doing something
politically incorrect and the funny thing is that BEND THE FUTURE asked
permission and therefore got in touch with one of the girls 26 years after the
original photo was taken, and she agreed! You might have seen the picture
before, because it is an iconic picture taken somewhere in Phoenix, Arizona
back in 1994. Anyway, thankfully the included music is of a very high level, so
we have a great combination here. BEND THE FUTURE are coming out of Grenoble,
France and they were formed in January 2019, so they have quickly managed to
come up with this full-length debut album. The band consists of drummer Piel
Pawlowski, piano/mellotron player Samy Chëbre, bassist Rémi Pouchain, saxophone
players Pierre-Jean Ménabé and Nemo Pawlowski, and
vocalist/guitarist/synthesizerplayer Can Yıldırım. 7 songs are included, and
opener Lost In Time shows right from the start that we are dealing here with a
sensational release that is basically pure melodic progressive rock, yet we can
also trace the influences of other music genres (Jazz and World Music), while
the vocals/melodies keep things open and melodic enough for the regular music
fans. Following As We Party is instrumental and combines calmer progressive
rock with jazz. Merely features vocals again, and is a lovely uptempo melodic
progressive rocker with some SPOCK’S BEARD similarities and featuring amazing
melodies played on guitar and sax. Slightly more complex and proggy is the
following semi-instrumental We Aim Higher, which also features a lovely soaring
guitarsolo. Miniature is a short instrumental, while Mus is also instrumental,
but then more into a calmer jazzy prog direction like SOFT MACHINE did back in
the 1970s. Closing the album is the titletrack Without Notice, which is a
lovely instrumental jazzy progressive rocksong. The band is mostly focused on
melodies via instrumental jazz and prog directions, as played on guitar and
sax, with in addition a bit of keys, some (great) vocals here and there and a
tight rhythm section (bass/drums). I would love to hear more vocals next time,
because they do sound pretty good the few moments we can hear then on the
album, but nevertheless, this is a highly recommended album to check out
at: https://bendthefuture.bandcamp.com
(Points:
8.6 out of 10)
ARKAIK
COSMIK 'TIME OR INFINITY?' (CLOSTRIDIUM RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
ARKAIK COSMIK is a
one-man-project around the French musician Arkaik, who delivers a wonderful
instrumental album that contains a lot of various influences, such as
Krautrock, Psychedelic Space Rock, Progressive Rock, Surfrock and a whole lot
more. It’s a trip through different sounds and from start to finish you’re
hooked and want to hear more and more. There is definitely a lot of
improvisation going on, which is a good thing for sure, because that is where
the magic happens. This is one of those albums you can put on without doing the
math what is really going on, because it feels like a great concert where the
musicians on stage are creating a vibe we all miss so much nowadays. The most
interesting thing of course here is that it’s all done by one musician only and
he truly delivers a fantastic album with the release of Time Or Infinity?.
Check out more info at: http://www.clostridiumrecords.com/ARKAIK-COSMIK-time-or-infinity/en
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
WILD
FUZZ TRIP 'SURREAL SURROUNDINGS/FUZZNAUT' (CLOSTRIDIUM RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
The Spanish band WILD
FUZZ TRIP is the music project of PedalTVChannel along with the Icelandic
artist Bjarki Omarsson on drums. Their debut album Surreal
Surroundings/Fuzznaut is a very interesting and diverse record, because after a
short calm, dark and melancholic start, it slowly becomes heavier and is in the
beginning basically a lovely instrumental journey through the fields of doom,
kraut and psychedelic rock with fantastic guitarwork. I have the Promo CD
version of this album, which is also available through vinyl, but the songs 3
and 4 on this CD are exceptionally beautiful calmer progrock orientated,
sounding very melodic and PINK FLOYDish. This part of the album is wonderful,
kind of atmospheric and melancholic at the same time and really giving you the
feeling that you’re somewhere in Iceland. Track number 5 is very calm and
haunting, while the last couple of songs are going into a classic
synthwave/kraut direction like TANGERINE DREAM meets BLADE RUNNER/THE
TERMINATOR, with some very nice synths, so all together this album is a great
diverse adventure which you can check out at: https://wildfuzztrip.bandcamp.com/album/fuzznaut-2
(Points:
8.6 out of 10)
ROCCOs
RED CLOUD 'CIRCUS DE PLAGUE' (CLOSTRIDIUM RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
Out of Dortmund,
Germany comes ROCCOs RED CLOUD, a trio formed around bassist Luce Bertermann,
drummer Louis Lenger and guitarist/vocalist Rocco Wiersch. They play the
classic rockstyle of the late 1960s/early 1970s when acts like CREAM, JIMI
HENDRIX, TASTE, RORY GALLAGHER, BLUE CHEER, MOUNTAIN and countless more were
ruling the rockworld. Circus De Plague is their debut album and fans of
aforementioned acts will absolutely love this strong and impressive record of
these young musicians. The material is diverse enough to keep the attention, so
after an uptempo rocking start, what follows is a healthy mixture of groovy
tunes, calmer bluesy songs and more uptempo rocking pieces, basically finding a
perfect balance between rocking out all the way (Down, Down, Down) and going
for a calmer direction here and there (Another time), while always delivering
top-notch groovy guitarwork. The vocals of guitarist Rocco somehow remind me of
KURT COBAIN of NIRVANA, but as mentioned, the music is going for a more late
60s/early 70s groovy trio-classic rock/hardrocksound. The album is also
released as a double vinyl album, so for the collectors among us, this is
definitely a highly recommended band to check out at: https://www.roccos-red-cloud.de
(Points:
8.1 out of 10)
THE
RE-STONED 'THUNDERS OF THE DEEP' (CLOSTRIDIUM RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
Out of Moscow, Russia comes the
instrumental band THE RE-STONED. They were formed back in 2008 and have
released quite a lot of albums so far, of which Thunders Of The Deep is their
latest record. The band consists of lya Lipkin (guitars, effects, mandola,
grass flute), Vladimir Kislyakov (bass) and Anton Yalovchuk (drums), and
musically speaking it is clearly going for a classic 70s hardrock approach.
After the short opener Intro (A Blaze of Distant Stars), the band jumps on to
the full swing uptempo 70s inspired classic hardrock wagon on the following
song Farther Beyond Moon Dust. Adding some cool groovy 70s hardrock influences
into the next song Where Heather Blooms. Supernova speeds up the tempo again,
and is a great almost BLACK SABBATHish uptempo Classic 70s Hardrock/Heavy
Rocker. Rusty Shuffle slows things down a bit to a bluesier late 60s/early70s
rocksound a la CREAM and JIMI HENDRIX, while Watch the Undines Play is even
calmer, with a southern rocking acoustic guitar as main instrument. Sea
Monk is a great massive sounding almost Doom Metal ish song with those classic
BLACK SABBATH guitar riffs. The outro (Moon Eclipse) continues this slow Doom
Metal/Fuzz guitar orientated soud, while the CD version of this album closes
with Faces of Earth, a 10-minutes counting. It is instrumental from start to
finish, which you don’t hear that much in the classic 70s hardrock scene, but
done very well and therefore recommended to check out at: https://re-stoned.bandcamp.com/album/thunders-of-the-deep
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
DOMO
'DOMONAUTAS VOLUME 1 & 2' (CLOSTRIDIUM RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
DOMO is a Spanish band formed around Óscar
Soler (Bass, Acoustic Guitar, Synth, Vocals), Paco García (Drums, Percussion),
Pablo Criado (Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Tambura, Trumpet, Effects) and
Samuel Riviere (Electric Guitar, Sitar, Effects) and they have delivered a few
albums so far, of which I received the CD version of their combined albums
Domonautas volume 1 and 2. Their music is clearly going for the 70s BLACK SABBATH
doom metal sound with fuzzy guitars and that pure retro rocksound with
guitarsolos and raw vocals all over the place, but there’s so much more to
discover here, because they also take parts of classic rock, psychedelic rock
and other influences (even a bit reminding of DE WOLFF here and there on the
fantastic volume 2 of Domonautas), with a groovy rhythm section, but then
instrumental only). 8 songs are included in total and from start to finish it
is great experience that feels like you’re discovering something new every time
you listen to the band. Especially the aforementioned volume 2 is quite
sensational with amazing guitar melodies, so go check it out for yourself
at: https://domoband.bandcamp.com/album/domonautas-vol-2
(Points:
8.6 out of 10)
VUG
‘VUG/ONYX’ (NOISOLUTION RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
The Berlin, Germany based band VUG has a
sound that is clearly influenced by the classic late 1960s/early 70s psychedelic
and bluesy hardrocksound of CREAM, JIMI HENDRIX and even THIN LIZZY, because
the band’s lead singer (and guitarist) FELIX ‘BOMMI’ SCHOLL sounds like a cross
between JIMI HENDRIX and PHIL LYNOTT vocally speaking. I received 2 albums of
this exciting band, who took their name from a song of the band ATOMIC ROOSTER,
and besides the comparisons to aforementioned acts, VUG also has similarities
to the current Swedish retro hardrocksound of bands like BULLET, STEELWING,
RAM, AIR RAID, SCREAMER, ENFORCER, DEAD LORD, HALLAS, etc, especially when you
listen to a song like Prophecy or White Room, 2 guitar-dueling up-tempo melodic
heavy classic rockers with the THIN LIZZY influences upfront for sure. Both
albums are giving us that interesting healthy mix of classic retro hard rock
with a focus around the guitar solos and guitar riffs. Their latest album Onyx
has a slightly different line-up than their same titled debut album, because
besides Felix, the other band members of VUG are now guitarist MAXIMILIAN ‘MAX’
REINE, bassist PHILIPP HENNERMANN and drummer LEONARD VAESSEN. Musically no
real big changes as already mentioned, perhaps a little more melodic, song
based and less bluesy, with as highlights on this album the uptempo classic
rockers Blue Onyx, Easy, Tired Of and Inferno, all of them going even more into
the classic THIN LIZZY direction. Check out this interesting band at: https://vugrock.bandcamp.com/
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
DAILY
THOMPSON 'OUMUAMUA' (NOISOLUTION/SOULFOOD MUSIC/GERMAN IMPORT)
Out of Dortmund comes
DAILY THOMPSON, a band formed in 2013 and named after a British athlete. The
band is a threesome formed around Vocalist/Guitarist Danny Zaremba,
Vocalist/Bassist Mercedes „Mephi“ Lalakakis and drummer Matthias Glass, who
recently replaced the band's previous drummer. Anyway, they are quite a great
band actually with an international sound and Oumuamua is their 4th album so
far. Although only 7 songs are included, of which the last one is an unplugged
tune, it's still a full-length record, because 2 songs are around the 11-12
minutes of playing length. Opener She's so cold is a mixture of all kinds of
styles actually, with also a shared female/male lead vocal and combining calmer
progressive rock in the beginning, developing into psychedelic rock meets
krautrock before ending in a heavier alternative meets stoner rock direction a
la SPIDERGAWD. Sad Frank is a very strong and quite excellent slowtempo song
that could be seen as THE BLACK KEYS ish heavier blues/stoner rock with an
almost 1970s BLACK SABBATH ish Doom Metal chorus. The song also shows that the
male vocals are better than the female vocals. Fuzzy Stoner Rock heaven can be
heard during the massive guitar riff sounding On my mind, which again has clear
70s BLACK SABBATH similarities, although the smell of early 90s Alternative
Rock (SOUNDGARDEN) is also present. Slow me down is the finest song on the
whole album, as this is an excellent midtempo modern heavy blues rocker with a
groove and vibe that is impossible to ignore and here the vocals also sound
superb. Half thompson is more or less following this direction, but is perhaps
a bit heavier and actually close to bands like BLACK STONE CHERRY and RIVAL
SONS, so this is definitely sensational heavy modern bluesy classic
hardrock/heavy rock. Cosmic cigar is a dark slow Alternative Stoner Rocksong
that even recalls memories of classic ALICE IN CHAINS, while the final song is
as already mentioned an unplugged version of their song River of a ghost.
Without a doubt, this is a highly recommended German band and you check them
out at: https://dailythompsonband.bandcamp.com/album/oumuamua
(Points:
8.4 out of 10)
KASKADEUR
'UNCANNY VALLEY' (NOISOLUTION/SOULFOOD MUSIC/GERMAN IMPORT)
Out of Potsdam,
Germany comes KASKADEUR, a band which changed their name recently and they are
now making their debut on their new label NOISOLUTION. They used to be called
STONEHENGE, under which they released quite a lot of albums, EPs, cassettes,
etc. Now under this new name they want to start all over again and I have to
say that their album really impresses. The band's line up consists of Enrico
Semler (guitar / vocals), Johannes Walenta (organ / synths), Michael Paukner
(bass), Ole Fischer (drums), and they play a mixture of all kinds of styles
actually. Enrico has a great voice, although it seems that KASKADEUR are more
focused on instrumental material. I think the progrockfans will love this,
although they are not a pure progband at all actually. Opener Uncanny valley is
a strong complex tune that combines progrock, groovy hardrock, fuzzy stoner
rock and alternative rock like KING'S X meets PSYCHOTIC WALTZ meets ZAPPA if
you can imagine that, because actually KASKADEUR has an own identity. They
really like a groovy and proggy rhythm section (drums/bass), while the
guitarist and vocalist seem to be pure Hardrock/Metal minded. Interesting
mixture and in-between the short intro's/outro's and an instrumental tune here
and there such as the sensational 70s heavy progrock/stoner rock influenced
Flashback fatkids, there are some interesting songs with vocals, such as the
aforementioned titletrack and also the lovely 70s prog/spacerock driven Part of
your DNA. There is a lot to enjoy here, but if you're interested in a mix
between 70s progrock, fuzzy stoner rock and a touch of modern psychedelic
post/math-rock with still melodic catchy choruses here and there, then this
might be up your alley! They surprised me with this original album and I am
sure this will find it's way to people who appreciate quality music. More
at: https://kaskadeur.bandcamp.com/album/uncanny-valley
(Points:
8.4 out of 10)
THE
PIGHOUNDS ‘HILLEBOOM' (NOISOLUTION/SOULFOOD MUSIC/GERMAN IMPORT)
Out of Dortmund,
Germany comes THE PIGHOUNDS, an interesting duo who have been longtime friends
and already worked together in a previous band called FITCHES in the past.
Since 2018 however, Peter Bering and Alessandro De Luca decided to start up THE
PIGHOUNDS on their own as a duo, with as result their strong debut album titled
Hilleboom. Musically speaking this is a mix of Stoner Rock and Classic Rock,
with here and there an Alternative Rock touch. Highlights include the catchy
uptempo rocking Doing Doe, THE BLACK KEYS-ish Love Yourself and the uptempo FOO
FIGHTERS-ish melodic rocker Chairclimber. It sounds raw, dirty, mean and still
quite melodic, thanks to the tight musicianship and excellent vocalwork. This
duo could easily breakthrough in the near future, so go check them out a.s.a.p.
at: https://www.facebook.com/ThePighounds
(Points:
8.2 out of 10)
24/7
DIVA HEAVEN ’STRESS' (NOISOLUTION/SOULFOOD MUSIC/GERMAN IMPORT)
Stress is the debut
album of the all-female trio 24/7 DIVA HEAVEN from Germany. The band is formed
around KARO PASCHEDAG (bass), MARY WESTPHAL (drums) and KATHARINA OTT-ALAVI
(guitar/vocals) and the music on their first album is Punkrock orientated,
uptempo most of the time, slightly aggressive and reminding of early 90s female
fronted punkacts like L7, LUNACHICKS, BIKINI KILL, CYCLE SLUTS FROM HELL and a
tougher version of THE DONNAS, especially during a catchy and more melodic song
such as Everything Sucks. When the band slows the tempo down a bit we are
hearing an almost 90s alternative/grunge/dreampop melted rockband in a
fantastic song like Everyman. However, most of the time Fans of rebellion raw
punchy aggressive original classic Punkrock will love this band, and you can
check them out at: https://247divaheaven.bandcamp.com/
(Points:
8.1 out of 10)
ANDREA
BIGNASCA ‘KEEP ME FROM DROWNING’ (RADICALIS MUSIC/SWISS IMPORT)
Keep Me From Drowning
is the 3rd album of the Swiss multi-instrumentalist/singer/songwriter ANDREA
BIGNASCA. In Switzerland he has built up a reputation and when hearing this new
album I am convinced he will become more popular in the future to come
elsewhere too. He sang and wrote all of the 11 included songs by himself, while
Andrea also plays guitar, drums, keys and percussion, but Keep Me From Drowning
also features bassist GIAN-ANDREA COSTA, OLIVER HILL (keys on a few songs),
drummer CHRIGEL BOSSHARD and producer MATTEO MAGNI (who also plays some
synths). Opener Mending Dreams is an excellent opener, a midtempo melodic
pop/rock piece with both a modern and retro kinda vibe. Next song Most Times is
moving slowly into mature AOR/Poprock, kinda like MICHAEL ZEE, JUDE COLE, BILLY
SQUIER and JIMI JAMISON crossed with the modern sound of FLEET FOXES and some
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN-ish influences. It rocks for sure and Andrea is a gifted
singer as well, so a perfect combination that could work really well. Other
highlights on this lovely album are the catchy uptempo modern melodic rocker How
To Love (a song that would make THE KILLERS and KINGS OF LEON jealous for not
writing), the superb semi melodic rockballad Anywhere The Wind Blows (a bit
like BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN) and the melancholic midtempo pop/rocker Stranded.
Definitely a musician you need to check out http://bignascaandrea.com/
(Points:
8.6 out of 10)
JOCHEN
VOLPERT ‘SIX: MODERN BLUES GUITAR' (WORLD OF AUDIO RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
JOCHEN VOLPERT comes
out of the German city of Wurzburg, and Six is his 6th album since he started
his career back in the early 2000s. Jochen is a guitarist and Six was released
just before corona hit Europe in February 2020. Of course what followed were
not the gigs that usually take place after releasing a new album, but instead a
lockdown at home. Anyway, it’s great that I get to hear and review this
instrumental album, because it is good to pass by. Jochen is a fantastic
guitarist and his music is funky, bluesy and melodic rock based, with quite some
variation going on. Highlights include the groovy midtempo melodic rocker
Batshit Crazy, the smooth melodic bluesy Jeannie Out Of The Bottle, the classic
westcoast-ish For Your Soul, and the beautiful bluesy ballad Blue Blues. Check
out this talented musician at: www.jochenvolpert.de and
let’s hope corona will leave us soon, so we can see a guitarist like Jochen
live on stage, because he is able to let his guitar sing.
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
SUNBIRDS
‘COOL TO BE KIND’ (NECTAR RECORDS/UK IMPORT)
The British band
SUNBIRDS has connections with THE HOUSEMARTINS and THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH, because
the band’s lead singer DAVE HEMINGWAY started his musical journey in those
bands. Songs like Caravan Of Love and Rotterdam (my birthplace!) will forever
be in my memory, so it is great to see Dave starting up a new adventure after
leaving THE SOUTH, the band that evolved out of THE (NEW) BEAUTIFUL SOUTH.
Together with PHIL BARTON (guitars, banjo, mandolin), MARC PARNELL (drums) and
LAURA WILCOCKSON (vocals, violin), Dave recorded a great debut album as
SUNBURDS entitled Cool To Be Kind. The album starts with a couple of summer
friendly 1970s inspired up-tempo melodic pop/rock songs (Meet You On The
Northside and Hatred Lies In The Ruins Of Love) with a focus on catchy
choruses. The combination of lead male vocals and backing female vocals sung in
melodic verses and choruses, with a somewhat laid-back up-tempo folky smooth
pop rock sound in classic 70s style continues throughout the rest of the album.
It’s a very pleasant cheerful album that will appeal to people who like to hear
something that is not far removed from the FLEETWOOD MAC sound circa Rumours
and of course THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH, while also BIG COUNTRY and DEACON BLUE come
to mind here and there, yet it also has a certain modern touch as well. Besides
the first 2 songs, the other highlights are Insert Answer Here (a calmer
ballad), When I’m Gone (uptempo 70s melodic harmony/close-harmony vocal driven
pop/rock with a certain westcoast feeling), Big Moneymaker (uptempo melodic
pop/rock) and Please Yourself (beautiful relaxing calmer westcoast-ish
semi-ballad). Concluded, this is quite a strong album that will absolutely be
loved by the fans of THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH, but in case you’re not that familiar
with them, then you’re missing out some great feel-good music to get through
this tough period and then I highly recommend you to check out SUNBIRDS
at: https://sunbirds.co.uk
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
CHRISTINE
SALEM ‘MERSI’ (BLUE FANAL/MUSIC DEVELOPMENT COMPANY SARL/FRANCE IMPORT)
Feel-good music comes
in different shapes and adventures, and singer/songwriter/guitarist/harmonica
player (and kayamb player) CHRISTINE SALEM from the small French Island of
Reunion (situated between Madagascar and Mauritius) is creating her own kinda
music on her latest album Mersi. She has been in the music business for quite
some time now, starting in the band SALEM TRADITION and since 2010 solo. Mersi
is her 4th solo album so far and without a doubt, this is one
of the better sounding World Music related albums of the past few months. After
an acapella intro in the song Anou, we are heading into an excellent Desert
Blues Rock direction with all kinds of other influences due to the use of a
violin, a rockin’ guitar and percussions that beat to the rhythm of the Reunion
Island. Following Gerye is a very relaxing and melodic song, sounding
like a cross between African Music, Latin rhythms and pop melodies, and this
could easily become a huge hit due to the fact it is very catchy. The whole
album feels like one big adventure to a different place in the world, and if
the Reunion Island are as cheerful and sunny as the music on Christine’s album
Mersi, then I will book a flight as soon as corona has left us! Other
highlights are Yala, Tyinbo, Je Dis Non, the lovely bluesrocker Dolo and the
uptempo Desert Bluesrocker Why War. From start to finish, this is an excellent
journey through the fun summer-ish sounding music of the Reunion Island, the
place where Christine combines all kinds of music styles, with always the focus
on melodies and a bluesy approach, yet with that Violin (as played by FREDERIC
NOREL) also being an important part of the music. Check out more info at: http://www.christinesalem.com
(Points:
8.5 out of 10)
NATURAL
BLUES ‘ELEMENTARY POWER’ (AAA CULTURE GMBH/GERMAN IMPORT)
The German band
NATURAL BLUES was formed all the way back in 1982 by
guitarist/singer/songwriter NORBERBT EGGER and they had several line up changes
throughout the years, but on their new album Elementary Power the band consists
besides Norbert of Alex Meik (bass), Hubert Hofherr (harmonica), Stefan
Schubert (guitar) and Peter Bachmayer (drums), while guests include Michael Alf
on piano and Florian Speth on drums. The band is Blues all the way, but still
very diverse due to the fact they have songs in all available Blues formats,
which includes classic Mississippi Delta Blues, Chicago Blues, Modern Heavy
Bluesrock and much more. Classic slow Blues influenced songs like Muddy Waters,
Leave you in the Morning, I Hear My Phone Ringing, What My Boss Wants and Three
O’Clock in the Mornin’ as well as uptempo straight-ahead rockers like I Can’t
Breathe and Weepin’n’Moanin’ show NATURAL BLUES at its best. There’s also some
RANDY NEWMANish material included (Fishing Blues), while the politics are being
criticized in a song like Mr. President and especially Shame On You, Mr. Trump,
so overall there is a lot to enjoy here from start to finish. Bluesfans will
absolutely love this record, because NATURAL BLUES is doing the Blues the way
it needs to be done! More info at: www.naturalblues.eu
(Points:
8.3 out of 10)
JESTER’S
TEARS ‘PERCEPTION’ (RECORD JET RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
Formed back in the
early 1990s, the German band JESTER’S TEARS has been around for a long time
now, with 2 album releases between 1996 and 2001, but we had to wait until now
for their 3rd album Perception. The band consists of vocalist
DIMI TSIKTES, guitarist TOBIAS DORNER, bassist BERND HUBER, keyboardplayer
PHILIPP SCHULTHEISS and drummer MIKE SAUTER, and their music is a healthy mix
of melodic heavy rock/metal, progmetal and symphonic melodic power metal. Their
new album Perception is a professional sounding record with a lot of
sensational songs. You can clearly hear this band and its members have been
active for over 25 years now, and I can easily say that this is their best
record so far. After the short instrumental intro The Wish, the album is on its
way with the faster uptempo melodic heavy rocker Harmony, which sounds a bit
like PRETTY MAIDS, yet with some prog metal influences as well. Following The
Only Way is a superb uptempo symphonic melodic power metal tune with strong
hooks and a lovely catchy chorus, while the vocals are really perfect here,
reminding a lot of classic KAMELOT meets HELLOWEEN. I Can’t Deny starts massive
with big harmony vocals and is basically a great melodic progressive metal tune
that reminds me of a cross between PAGAN’S MIND and PYRAMAZE. The calmer Dreams
Aside is a beautiful progressive semi-rock ballad with once again strong
vocals, a superstrong chorus, some nice keyboardwork and a bombastic almost
QUEEN like feeling. Scream Into Darkness is back to faster melodic symphonic
power metal in the classic HELLOWEEN style, while Thorns In His Mind is a great
midtempo Melodic Metal piece. Sorry speeds up the tempo again to KAMELOTish
Melodic Progressive Power Metal, with again some PRETTY MAIDS similarities due
to the vocals of Dimi, who reminds me a lot of RONNIE ATKINS of PRETTY MAIDS,
while instrumentally speaking the neo-classical guitarwork versus the virtuoso
keyboardwork is even revealing similarities to ROYAL HUNT. Who Decides? starts
calm, but develops into a massive sounding progressive/power melodic metal
piece like KAMELOT meets late 80s QUEENSRYCHE, including one of the album’s
finest choruses. Closing track Critical Thinking follows in the same bombastic
epic melodic Power Metal direction. Without a doubt, JESTER’S TEARS delivered
something magical here! Please make sure to check out this fantastic album
a.s.a.p. at: https://www.jesters-tears.de and https://jesterstears.bandcamp.com/album/perception
(Points:
8.8 out of 10)
MAVERICK
‘ETHEREALITY’ (METALOPOLIS RECORDS/BERTUS/SUBURBAN)
I have followed the
Belfast, Northern Ireland based band MAVERICK for quite some time now after
they delivered their fantastic 3rd full-length album Cold
Star Dancer in 2018. 3 years after this sensational album MAVERICK released its
4th album Ethereality. The band’s sound is still the same,
which is pure 80s inspired Melodic Hardrock, but I think this time all of the
included 10 songs are absolute winners. The band’s line up consists of the
brothers Balfour (David on vocals and Ryan on guitar), guitarist Ric Cardwell,
bassist Richie Diver and drummer Jason-Steve Mageney, and due to corona it took
a bit longer to record the new album, but it was worth the wait for sure.
Opener Falling is a superb midtempo Melodic Hardrocksong that reminds me a bit
of classic JADED HEART, including a catchy hook and a lovely massive chorus
that sticks in your head and never lets go. Following Thirst keeps up this
incredible high level, as this is a terrific uptempo Melodic Heavy Rocker, with
again a catchy hook and memorable melodic chorus as if it was still 1989. The
band’s sound is huge and reminds me a lot of the classic late 80s Melodic
Hardrocking days when bands like FIREHOUSE, TRIXTER, SKID ROW and WHITE LION
were on top of the charts in the USA. MAVERICK seems to have released their
finest album so far, with almost every song being a highlight, because when
listening to the uptempo Never, we get to hear one of the strongest Melodic
Rocksongs I have heard in a long time, which is also thanks to the excellent
vocals of David. Switchblade Sister is a little edgier with its SKID ROW
approach, although H.E.A.T. also comes to mind here. Back to full swing
sensational high class uptempo Melodic Rock with the lovely 80s BON JOVI
sounding Bells Of Stygian. Angels 6 follows and is another superb sensational
uptempo melodic/AOR rocker with a chorus that will make fans of H.E.A.T. dance
all night! Up next is The Last One, a midtempo 80s melodic rocker with a
superstrong hook and chorus again, a bit reminding of PAUL LAINE, THE DEFIANTS
and such. Following Dying Star is uptempo melodic heavy rock in the PINK CREAM
69 style, with a classic HAREM SCAREMish guitarsolo, while Light Behind Your
Eyes is a great midtempo melodic rocker. Ares closes the album very nicely as
this is yet another sensational midtempo melodic rocker with a brilliant
chorus. This new MAVERICK album is a must-have to every Melodic Rockfan out
there! If you like bands such as STORMZONE, JADED HEART, H.E.A.T., THE
DEFIANTS, ECLIPSE, GOTTHARD, ONE DESIRE, PERFECT PLAN, INGLORIOUS, etc., then
you absolutely do not want to miss this gem! More info at: https://metalapolis.eu/maverick/ and https://www.facebook.com/MaverickBelfastuk
(Points:
9.0 out of 10)
THE
GOLDEN CREEK 'HEARTBREAKS AND BREAKDOWNS' (OFF LABEL RECORDS/GERMAN IMPORT)
Heartbreaks & Breakdowns is the 2nd
album of the Hamburg, Germany based band THE GOLDEN CREEK, and it’s weird I
haven’t seen much written about them so far, because they have a wonderful
relaxing sound that is basically pure Americana orientated, reminding of bands
like WILCO, RYAN ADAMS, TOM PETTY, CALEXICO, TIM KNOL, STEVE EARLE, THE BAND,
TOWNES VAN ZANDT, etc. The band is formed around Matthias Abel: Vocals, guitar,
harp, Axel Lemmerz: Lap steel, guitar, Wojtek Manteufel: Bass, vocals and
Martin Lohmann: drums. There are 10 songs on the album, with most of them
sounding calm and relaxed with that typical Lap Steel guitar, but a song like
We Loved Elvis is more uptempo Americana melodic pop/rock orientated like
CALEXICO, TOM PETTY and such, while Under The Halo is a strong midtempo rockier
song with a certain VENICE comparison. Another highlight is closing track
Woodrow’s Tale, which is a lovely uptempo rootsy rocker with a strong chorus
and a full rich sound that even has some BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN similarities. THE
GOLDEN CREEK sounds very international, and fans of any of the aforementioned
acts will absolutely love them! Check out this wonderful band at: http://thegoldencreek.com
DON
MARCO & DIE KLEINE FREIHEIT 'GEHST DU MIT MIR UNTER' (OFF LABEL RECORDS/GERMAN
IMPORT)
German singer/songwriter/guitarist Markus
„Don Marco“ Naegele is formerly of the band FUCK YEAH, with whom he released 2
English sung records, but on this first 'solo'
album as DON MARCO & DIE KLEINE FREIHEIT, he is making German spoken
music that is quite diverse actually. 20 songs are included in total and after
the acapella intro D.O.N.M.A.R.C.O., opener Nervos is a catchy early 80s quirky
poprocker, while the lovely Wir haven genug follows in a smooth uptempo melodic
80s rockstyle that sounds like a German version of RICK SPRINGFIELD. Gehst Du
mit mir unter is going into a different direction, a somewhat depressing lo-fi
dark, almost NICK CAVE/LEONARD COHEN-ish singer/songwriter direction. Other
highlights are the uptempo catchy poprocker Osnabruck, the punky rocker
Topspiel der Woche, the jazzy Das Fest and the uptempo poprocker Warten (a bit
like JACKSON BROWNE, but then with German lyrics). The song Leon Russell is
likewise a tribute to the legendary singer/songwriter, and the 7 bonustracks
are demos and additional songs to the original 13 tracks on the album, so there
is a lot to enjoy here. The music is diverse enough to keep things interesting
and I think in Germany it will definitely might become a big success. Check
more info at: https://www.facebook.com/donmarcomusic/
MOON
'SHINE' (INDEPENDENT/USA IMPORT)
MOON is an American duo consisting of
producer SILVER and singer-songwriter Chelsea Dawn, who are making a mix of
diverse styles, although the album feels like a soulful groovy bluesy classic
rockalbum. 5 songs are on the EP, and sometimes they remind me of BETH HART.
The songs are sometimes really rocking (Never Cross Me), while at other times it
goes slowly in a poppier almost R & B ish pop direction, such as Shine and
Sweetest Magic. Chelsea has a great Rockvoice and it’s a pleasure to listen to
this talented duo who seem to come up with a sound that might appeal to a lot
of people. Check for yourself at: http://moontransmissions.com/
PIKEFRUIT
'INFLORESENCE' (INDEPENDENT/USA IMPORT)
Out of Seattle comes PIKEFRUIT, a duo
playing melodic calm chamber pop with some ambient influences, while also
taking bits of synthpop from both the 80s and the modern retro synth based
popmusic sound. They are doing it quite well on their debut album Infloresence,
which consists of 10 songs. The music is as mentioned calm and electronic based
with lush higher pitched female vocals (Nicole) that makes it drift into
dreampop quite easily. Alex is the musician, although he played all the sounds
you hear on the keyboard. However, the overall sound is still quite rich,
thanks to Alex’ diversity on the keyboard that sometimes makes it go into
modern electronic territory, while at other times it feels like a trip into the
past when Synthpop ruled the charts. All together nicely done and for more info
you can check out this duo at: https://www.pikefruit.com/music/inflorescence
and https://pikefruit.bandcamp.com/album/inflorescence
RPWL
'GOD HAS FAILED - LIVE & PERSONAL' (GENTLE ART OF MUSIC/SOULFOOD)
The German band RPWL is one of the finest
progrockbands to emerge the past 20 years, with many great album releases, but
since the lockdown they have been quite active in releasing live albums that feature
recordings from the past and lead singer YOGI LANG even managed to released a
solo album. Anyway, the band has so far released 10 studio-albums and 7
live-albums, and to mark the 20th year anniversary of their debut album God Has
Failed, they decided to re-record this album live on the 14th and 15th of
November 2020, yet without an audience likewise due to the corona restrictions.
Now this recording has been released on CD and LP, and without a doubt, it is
an enjoyable journey back to the RPWL past. 14 songs filled with beautiful
melodies, it's like they are really the modern PINK FLOYD, because most of the
time their music is calm, cool and collected with a focus on melodies created
by subtle keys (as played by MARKUS JEHLE), a slightly soaring guitarsound
(KALLE WALLNER) and the superb vocals by Yogi, while drummer MARC TURIAUX keeps
the rhythm section under control along with guest bassist FRANK THUMBACH. Here
and there backing vocalists BINE HELLER and CAROLINE VON BRUNKEN can be heard,
and I really have to say that this feels like a new RPWL record, despite we are
talking about a re-recording. These guys show they are in the upper league of
pure calmer melodic progressive rock, sitting nicely between PORCUPINE TREE and
PINK FLOYD's finest moments. Check them out a.s.a.p. if you're still not
convinced at: www.rpwl.net
SYLVAN
'ONE TO ZERO' (GENTLE ART OF MUSIC/SOULFOOD)
The German Progressive Rockband SYLVAN has
been around for a long time now and their new album One To Zero marks their
10th record so far. Musically speaking they have always played their own brand
of melodic progressive rock. The band's sound is very relaxed, calm and smooth,
the kinda melodic progressive rock like we also know it from JADIS, FOR ABSENT
FRIENDS and especially RPWL. The comparison to RPWL is not that strange,
because the 2 main members of that band (guitarist KALLE WALLNER and vocalist
YOGI LANG) produced the new SYLVAN album. The band's line up consists of Marco
Glühmann (vocals), Matthias Harder (drums), Sebastian Harnack (bass), Volker
Söhl (keyboards) and Johnny Beck (guitars), with a few guests appearing as
well. 10 songs are included on this new concept album that is based around A.I.
Despite most of the songs have that calmer slow progrock approach with a focus
on melancholic melodies like PINK FLOYD and RPWL, one of the highlights however
is the short but superb catchy uptempo melodic progressive pop/rocker Start of
your Life. However also the calmer melancholic PINK FLOYD/CAMEL/RPWLish Encoded
at Heart and Unleashed Power should be mentioned, because they sound so lovely
and relaxing, you slowly move into a sorta trance of prog overdose. Also the
heaviest song on the album, the epic progressive rocker Go Viral as well as
closing track Not A Goodbye should be mentioned, because this is the longest
song on the album (10 minutes). This album is definitely another German
progrock gem that you want to have in your collection. I saw SYLVAN once live
on stage, but they have clearly progressed throughout the years and perhaps
this new album might be their finest effort so far. Check out more info at: http://www.sylvan.de/
ZITTER
'TICK TOCK' (VNP/INDEPENDENT/SWEDEN IMPORT)
Instead of waiting for the lockdown to
end, the Swedish band ZITTER released 2 studio albums in 2020, of which Tick
Tock is their most recent. The band has been around for a while and on this new
album we can hear their somewhat dirty mean sleazy classic rock and roll sound
with a sorta HANOI ROCKS meets NEW YORK DOLLS meets DEAD BOYS kinda mixture.
Not bad at all, the 8 included songs are a trip back in time when rock was
totally king. The band also throws in a classic Glam ballad in the ALICE
COOPER/MOTLEY CRUE style titled Reach out a Hand, although most of the time the
music is as earlier described sitting nicely in the classic dirty mean uptempo
rock and roll/punkrocksound of the 1970s, yet due to the use of software
instruments, ZITTER has a slightly different and more modern approach than the
aforementioned bands. If you’re starting to become interested, check them out
at: www.zitter.se
(Points:
7.8 out of 10)
PSYCHEDELIC
PORN CRUMPETS 'SHYGA! THE SUNLIGHT MOUND' (WHAT REALITY? RECORDS/MARATHON
ARTISTS/AUSTRALIA MPORT)
Formed back in 2014 in Perth, Australia by
Jack McEwan (guitar and vocals), Luke Parish (guitar), Danny Caddy (drums),
Luke Reynolds (bass), and Chris Young (keyboard), the band PSYCHEDELIC PORN
CRUMPETS are the latest sensational psychedelic rockband to emerge from down
under. Following the footsteps taken by other Aussie bands like KING GIZZARD
AND THE LIZARD WIZARD, TAME IMPALE and WOLFMOTHER, PSYCHEDELIC PORN CRUMPETS
are creating psychedelic rock/hardrock at a very high level on their 4th album Shyga!
The Sunlight Mound. After repeated listens to the 14 included songs, I am safe
to say that this band might be the finest Aussie band at the moment, because
their retro classic rock/psychedelic rocksound is sensational, with many
highlights on their new album, such as Sawtooth Monkfish, the LED ZEPPELINish
Tripolasaur, The Terrors and the uptempo hard rocking Mundungus. The vocals are
perfect and they take classic 70s influences of BLACK SABBATH, URIAH HEEP, LED
ZEPPELIN, THE DOORS straight into a modern rocksound approach, so it doesn't
sound dated at all. There's a lot of cool groovy rhythms floating around, but
they always throw in memorable melodies in both the vocal and guitar department,
such as can be heard very clearly during the aforementioned highlights. Check
out this sensational band at: http://www.psychedelicporncrumpets.com
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