They Grow Up Too Fast

                                                     

Do you remember a band a few years ago by the name of Black Tide? Released a decent enough album back in 2007, did a lot of touring then seemed to fall off the radar completely? Well ladies and gentlemen, they are back! Sort of.

2007 saw the release of Black Tide's début album, Light From Above, which was far from flawless it has to be said, but was a very enjoyable effort and showed the band (who were merely in the teens upon its release, vocalist and guitarist Gabriel the youngest member at around 16 years of age) to have a lot of potential. It had moments of fantastic guitar work and some really catchy songs, which often came across sounding like Ratt being covered by Megadeth. So whilst not the finished article, it did guarantee that Black Tide would be on the right path towards bigger things, including places on the likes of The Warped Tour and support slots with Avenged Sevenfold and Bullet For My Valentine, to name a few. But then they seemingly disappeared until finally, 2011 saw the release of the follow up. Unfortunately it isn't as interesting as the début.

The swagger that the band showed on their first album has mostly diminished for a more generic sound. Now Black Tide have pushed into more commercial territory dominated by previous tour mates BFMV and A7X. Not that their début was not completely suited for radio play, but its obvious they have pushed into that direction considerably. In doing so there is nothing new or hugely interesting here.

That's not to say it is terrible though as it is enjoyable enough, and in some cases the band has improved. Gabe for example, was an incredibly shy front man live and his vocals maybe weren't the strongest, but on Post Mortem he has shown vast improvement and even widened his arsenal with the scattered use of harsh vocals.  They also show some greater maturity by some experimentation (Post Mortem includes a ballad, which I shall come on to again later). However it is obvious that they (at their or their record label's will) tried to push into more mainstream territory with some mixed results.

At times the album seems to have several personalities coming through. Opening track 'Ashes' is definite BFMV styled (and that's not just  because of the Matt Tuck cameo), then following track 'Bury Me' is more A7X sounding, and it doesn't just end here. 'Honest Eyes' initially sounds like it could have been taken from Trivium's Ascendency album, then 'Fight 'Til The Bitter End' tones down on the guitar work and has a Nu- Metal feel to it. That all being said all those mentioned songs are very enjoyable and should work wonders in rock and metal clubs. Curiously previously released songs 'That Fire' and 'Walking Dead Man' are some of the weakest songs on here.

Unexpected highlight is the stripped down ballad 'Into The Sky', partly in that it comes out of the blue against the fast pace of the rest of the album (although quite clichéd, it really works) and even has great use of an orchestra towards its end.

Post Mortem does suffer however from a lot of filler ('Take It Easy' and 'Alone' for example are very forgettable). Another problem is it's longevity; far too many songs over reach the four minute mark and creep to five minutes when there is simply no need to, these songs don't grab your attention for that long. Over all here, a change in musical direction, while not being catastrophic, has meant that Black Tide have become a far less interesting proposition, and Post Mortem is simply not as strong as the break taken to make it, or the change in direction has warranted. Black Tide seem to have become a metal band for people who maybe are just getting into metal, or maybe delve in every so often. This in itself is not a huge criticism as those bands are needed, but as a band that once incited a hell of a lot of interest, their second move is a big disappointment. 

[6/10]

Recommended: Ashes, Fight 'Til The Bitter End, Into The Sky

  

No School Like The Old School. Or Is It The New?

It is a simple fact of life that the best ideas come to you at unexpected times. The idea for this post for example first came to me at about 2am, drunk and watching High Voltage festival highlights last week when my mind is, of course, working at full functionality. After that opening statement I suspect you’re sat there thinking “right...where is this going exactly?” but trust me, some of it was relevant.

High Voltage festival was only into its second year when it managed to pull out big names such as headliners Judas Priest and Dream Theater, not to mention bands such as Queensryche, Jethro Tull and Slash. Up and down the line-up it is a band of classic rock and metal, bands new and old but a sound firmly rooted in the old school. Combine this with the popularity of not just established, legendary bands such as Iron Maiden, AC/DC, the aforementioned Priest and the ilk; but also newer bands who have an old school sound and feel to them such as super group Black Country Communion (who were also a big name on the HV lineup), Black Stone Cherry, Evile and Alter Bridge and it seems that classic rock is the most popular that it has been in a long time.

Of course musical tastes are constantly changing in this most fickle of times, with genres and bands coming into fashion only to be cast aside when the next big thing comes around, but also fashion occurs in cycles, as it looks is happening here with classic rock, maybe a few years ago not being a huge concern to many is now enjoying major attention once again. Just look at the popularity Saxon have enjoyed over the last couple of years, Alter Bridge and Black Stone Cherry are now playing arenas in the UK, and not only did you have High Voltage but even Download Festival was filled with classic sounding bands varying from Twisted Sister, Cheap Trick and Def Leppard to the stoner blues sounds of Clutch.  With this new found popularity, new bands are coming into the fray with an old school sound. A couple of years ago there was considerable hype about a new wave of trad metal bands (NWOTM), new bands with the spirit and sound of metal bands of yesteryear from NWOBHM to beyond, these are the main concern of this blog post.

A couple of years after this initial hype about this supposed new ‘wave’, how are these bands doing? Mostly these newer bands are still going strong and being received well, but they aren’t shaken the world by its foundations as such. 2011 has seen new releases from many of the leading lights in this new wave. Wolf, Cauldron, Enforcer and Rival Sons have released albums this year. Wolf are going quietly strong with well received performances at some of this year’s festivals such as Hammerfest, whilst Rival Sons, most impressively have performed at High Voltage and found themselves as opening band for Judas Priest’s Epitaph UK tour! Cauldron and Enforcer on the other hand (in the UK scene at least) have appeared very quiet, whilst White Wizzard appear to be changing its line-up more than a chameleon changes it’s colours, or an angry Dave Mustaine changes his bandmates. So despite some success, much of these new traditional bands aren’t looking like they are going to become spectacular, and there lies the problem with this new wave, do they have proper relevance? Or are they purely a fun dose of nostalgia?

By following a strictly old school rulebook of making metal music can the likes of Wolf, Enforcer and the rest reach the next level? There is quite a bit of buzz about Rival Sons and their Led Zeppelin esque blues rock/metal, and with the illusiveness of Led Zeppelin have maybe found a hole in the metal void to become truly grow in, but for the others it doesn’t seem as likely. Right now these bands, even with some great albums between them may only seem good and fun, not much more.

Can these bands do anything to become more relevant and then become great bands? Some other classic sounding new bands have arguably managed to do so by embracing elements of the new and contemporary into their old school sound. Black Stone Cherry have taken a southern rock imprint and embraced heavier almost contemporary metal style riffs to become a classic yet modern entity, Alter Bridge have a modern metallic edge to an arena rock sound that fits comfortably in older rock fans and modern metal kids, and even Volbeat have achieved huge success by combining metal and punk with elements of Elvis. So perhaps the NWOTM bands could become more relevant by doing something similar. Unfortunately it is difficult to think of how it could be done without becoming simply a different metal genre, and also it’s hard to imagine any of these bands wanting to do so. Therefore it is doubtful any of these bands will become truly great or leave their mark on the metal scene for generations to come. Mostly they are good fun and certainly worth checking out, but unfortunately not much more.

More A Tidal Wave Than Awoken Tides

    Without a doubt, Reading's Malefice are not only one of the leading lights in the countries wave of young metal bands, but also one of the most respected. Almost relentless touring, both as head-liners and as support to bands such as Arch Enemy and Devildriver and high profile festival slots has seen Malefice gain a great reputation in the UK metal scene. Awaken The Tides is their third album, and by far the strongest.

     Whilst there is no denying that 2009's Dawn Of Reprisal was a very good album, and it put Malefice firmly on the UK metal radar, it was a rather unspectacular affair. It was heavy, aggressive and had killer grooves but was unfortunately not a world beating record which we could have hoped for, but it showed definite signs of potential. Awaken The Tides is the sound of that potential fully realised and is a great evolution from Dawn Of Reprisal. DOR was Charmeleon, ATT is a Charizard.

    Whilst Dawn Of Reprisal was quite formulaic throughout, Awaken The Tides is much more experimental. Upon first listen you quickly realise that there is so much more going on than before. Firstly whilst DOR was clearly groove orientated with some death metal influences, ATT isn't so clear cut musically with a wider range of influences on display. Album opener and title track for example is more straight forward death metal than groove metal (other than the vocals which we will come to in a bit), Chris' drums sounding particularly vicious and strong here. 'Blessed Curse' shows some Arch Enemyesque shredding in the solos, whilst 'Dead In The Water' brings to mind Unearth at times. There is even use of string sections and pianos in places which would not have been thought of before of this band.

    The most noticeable change and improvement however is Dale Butler's vocals. With little variation on previous output, here Dale shows a much wider range of talents than just 'cookie monster' growls. There is a lot of more hardcore sounding vocals, much of the time Dale sounds to have been influenced by Trevor Phipps of Unearth, and blends this hardcore sound with his more familiar deeper growls very well throughout. Dale also, for the first time, tries out clean vocals which actually work extremely well, especially on the chorus of 'Minutes'. All these new styles Dale has incorporated into the sound and they all work surprisingly well.

    The songs on Awaken The Tides are a lot stronger than on previous output as well. 'Outnumbered, Outgunned' is a pit ready 'call to arms' anthem more of the ilk of Dawn Of Reprisal. 'The Day The Sky Fell' opens with a mellow and almost melancholic atmosphere, with the odd outburst of power coupled with Dale's almost pain ridden sounding shouting and emotive clean singing in the chorus'. The album closes curiously with  the near 10 minute 'The Haunting' which for the first 5 minutes is hard, heavy and fast as Malefice do best then suddenly slows before moving to almost acoustic sounding guitars and almost whispered clean singing. This song in particular shows how much Malefice are willing to add and develop to their sound to move forward.

    Awaken The Tides is not only a great improvement upon Malefice's previous material but is a strengthening and evolution of their sound. This is the sound of one of the UK's greatest potentials taking leaps into world beating material and it is a great thing to hear. This should see them becoming fully recognised as a world class metal band, and anything less for these guys will be criminal.

[8.5/10]

Listen to: Awaken The Tides, Minutes, The Day The Sky Fell

Back to the Mattew's Bridge

   There are very few bands out there who generate such levels of love or hatred than Limp Bizkit, and news of a brand new album either made you fill with rage or bounce around the room like a kid who has had too much cola. I myself fell into the latter category.

    For all the haters out there who will undoubtedly plague the internet with views dripping with venom (unintentional cobra pun there I promise) towards the backwards red-capped fronted band, firstly take a deep breath...and now listen. If you are going to take Limp Bizkit with any sense of seriousness you are a moron, this is dumb and silly and that is how it is meant to be, if you want cutting edge then there are two new Devin Townsend Project albums waiting for you.

    Obviously there are some questions that come to mind when it comes to 'Gold Cobra'. 6 years after 'The Unquestionable Truth' how will new Limp Bizkit sound? Will it be as fun as before? Will there be any pure floor fillers which we know they are capable of? Will Fred Durst get all serious on us? Please no! For all you Bizkit lovers out there you have little to worry about.

    Firstly this is still the Limp Bizkit that us 90's kids loved during our teenage years. Wes's riffs are as bouncy as ever without truly worrying the 'Back In Black's' of the riff world. What is rarely mentioned as well is how bassist Sam Rivers and drummer John Otto are formidable as a rhythm section, and DJ Lethal is still as pointless as ever but we still love him. 'Why Try' still sounds as awesome as it did when first revealed last year and should take rock club floors like a storm, the title track is another stellar tune that will make you jump like an escaped loon as well, although the chorus is rather disappointing when you'd normally expect it to erupt, and 'Autotunage', despite following a very pointless skit about the use of autotune, will have fans grinning from ear to ear.

    There are some issues to address here however. Fred Durst once again fulfils his role as a truly awful lyricist and being the ever reliable guy he is he comes up with some very cringe-worthy lines once again: "Holdin' the gold, it's so golden y'all, the golden cobra", "Why you get robbed like a zombie", and my personal favourite "Flush you turds down the drain, down the hatch throwin' craps". So once again on unintentionally hilarious form here for Fred, and analysing his lyrics is mostly a pointless exercise but even the most loyal 'Bizkit' fan will have some issues here. Bearing in mind that Mr Durst is now into his 40's do we really want him to sing about how he is a "Loser" in the cryptically titled 'Loser'? And the chorus (hell the entirety) of 'Douche Bag' is embarrassing even for Fred. 'Killer In You' see's him going into serial killer territory with genius storytelling skills about a murderer that will have Alice Cooper quivering with jealousy (this is of course a joke),  and in 'Shark Attack' his use of sharks is most probably a metaphor, but this being Fred Durst it could almost as easily simply be a song about being attacked by sharks.

    But in all fairness we don't want Fred Durst to become the Shakespeare of Rap and Metal. If you want poetic rapping with great meaning behind it then listen to Nas. If you want silly, immature raps about shooting people with a shotgun for seemingly no reason whatsoever then pick up 'Gold Cobra'. One last point though...whoever drew that album artwork and let it be used needs shooting with said shotgun. The cobra isn't even golden!

[6/10]

Listen to: Bring It Back, 90.2.10, Why Try

   

   

   

Sunshine, Beer and Rock 'n' Roll!

    Despite the odd heavy shower and overcast skies outside the window, it is in actual fact summertime, and as everyone knows summertime is just right for good old fashioned rock 'n' roll! Sitting in the sunshine with a BBQ and cool booze, or on a summer road-trip, perhaps to the next big summer festival, you need some summer tinged rock, and Black Stone Cherry's new opus will fit the bill perfectly.

    What sets 'Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea' aside from their previous works is the change of location for recording, choosing to record in Los Angeles with famed producer Howard Benson, rather than in their home town of Edmonton, Kentucky. Heavy touring widely across the globe has also allowed BSC to record a more universal album with open lyrical content and stories and themes easier to relate to outside of the South rather than much of their self titled's tracks which focus on local legends and stories. 'BTDATDBS' instead is more about their lives on the road and their experiences touring. This is most obvious on the nostalgia tinged 'Like I Roll', a heart felt ballad about life on the road and missing home.

    With the presence of Howard Benson on production duties, with his mainstream pedigree, it could be expected that his influence would have made 'BSC' take another step toward an instant radio play feel, but surprisingly, at times this is grittier than 2008's 'Folklore And Superstition'. Album opener and lead single 'White Trash Millionaire' is the heaviest song they have recorded since their début, but is also (coupled with following track 'Killing Floor') the heaviest track on display here. Howard has allowed front man Chris Robertson to give his strongest vocal display to date, fully showcasing a gravelly style to the likes of 'White Trash...' and pure sincerity to the likes of 'In My Blood'.

    Interestingly some other reviews have stated that this is a noticeably darker album than previous output, but for me this isn't quite the case either. Track number four, 'Such A Shame' tells a story about the death of a stripper who has faced a tough live, but this is the darkest song on here by a long way. There are a couple of truly clumsy attempts at making dirty rock perfect for strip clubs in 'Let Me See You Shake' and the cringe worthy 'Blame It On The Boom Boom', whoever allowed that title and chorus to make the final cut deserves to be taken outside for a stern word!

    Here I have to make a confession...I am a lover of ballads, and for other ballad lovers there are a number of nostalgic, heartfelt and thought provoking numbers on display here. 'In My Blood' as mentioned before covers life on the road, 'Stay' is a beautiful number about wanting a loved one back that most of us can relate to, and album highlight 'Won't Let Go' seems to cover sticking together with a lover or even soul mate no matter what happens. 'All I'm Dreamin' does have an overly syrupy chorus that is even a bit much for me mind you.

    Overall this is a highly enjoyable album and perfect for summer escapades in the gleaming sunshine. It doesn't break any new ground at all, it is just reliable Southern Rock made for this time of the year. Not a perfect by any means with some awful moments, otherwise this is a very decent album and should be blared out of plenty of stereos along with the sound of beers being opened and  meat sizzling away on the BBQ.

[7/10]

Listen To: White Trash Millionaire, In My Blood, Won't Let Go                                

Embrace The Khaos

   Precious few bands can consistently create genuine heavy metal anthems as much as Arch Enemy. Since the arrival of talismanic vocalist Angela Gossow on 2001's Wages Of Sin, Arch Enemy have been a very consistent band, with an instantly distinguishable branch of purely anthemic melodic death metal. Albums such as Anthems Of Rebellion and of course Doomsday Machine have seen this band become one of contemporary metal's strongest and most reliable but breathtaking bands. New album, Khaos Legions not only follows this pattern but is certainly one of their strongest albums, almost matching the strength of Doomsday Machine.
   
    Michael Amott's involvement over the last couple of years with the legendary Carcass is one reason for the long gap between this and 2007's Rise Of The Tyrant, and the influence of the considerably heavier Carcass has undoubtedly had an affect on the writing of Khaos Legions. This is considerably heavier than previous albums and less melodic, but this isn't a drastic shift in style, this is still undeniably Arch Enemy from first listen. The heavier style is noticeable but not majorly different for them.

     Instrumental opener Khaos Overture is immediate evidence that the Amott brothers are still shredding as fast as ever, before creeping into a menacing spoken word speech alerting to the rise of "...a god less entity, they are the Khaos Legions". A major statement of intent to the rage and ferocity that is in store, and before you have time to think, you are immediately thrust into the already anthemic lead single Yesterday Is Dead And Gone. This from the off is where we can see the heavier, thrashier riffing at work yet is still without a doubt Arch Enemy, guaranteed to bludgeon on the live scene.

    Angela Gossow gives one of her strongest vocal performances here as well. Never one to fail to give stunning, powerful rage fuelled performances, yet again Angela gives an intimidating and rousing display. This is music built to empower you, and Angela certainly portrays this throughout on the excellent Bloodstained Cross, the battle cry of Under Black Flags We March and the heavy as a sack of anvils Through The Eyes Of A Raven.

    This is a very strong album by one of the best and most important contemporary metal bands. This is an album which will stand strong as a contender for the years best, and should stand up as one of the bands all time great works for years to come.

[9/10]

Listen to: Yesterday Is Dead And Gone, Bloodstained Cross, Through The Eyes Of A Raven

Stand Up And Fight. No Smiling!

    First of all I would like to say that I thought 2007's The Varangian Way was a hugely enjoyable effort. Over the top as you could have hoped from Turisas. It had pure fist pumping anthems such as Holmguard and Beyond, Cursed Be Iron and Fields Of Gold as well as moments of pure silliness such as In The Court Of Jarisleif and of course that cover Rasputin. So news of a new album out this year exciting me was a bit of an understatement, unfortunately Stand Up And Fight is very dissappointing.

    From Turisas we want silliness, this a band that is far from serious  and I'd imagine would happily admit to it. We also want shout along, uplifting anthems, which TVA had in abundance throughout. On the silliness front SUAF is pretty lacking. This seems to be a more mature album (well as mature as people who dress up as and sing about Vikings can be), which is a shame in some ways as it could have benefited from some oddity such as VA's In The Court...

    So somewhat lacking on the insanity department, does this album provide the fist-pumping powerful anthems that this band is more than capable of? It does, but unfortunately not enough. The title track is one of the strongest anthems that Turisas has ever written, the first verse is quite a calm affair before letting rip into a mighty roar along chorus which this band excels at. Album opener The March Of The Varangian Guard is also a very strong song which is trailed by the equally stellar Take The Day! which is the strongest use of Orchestral parts on the entire album.

    Coming to the use of Orchestral parts, Turisas is a band that has always tried to achieve a grandiose and epic sound using Orchestral elements, creating an atmosphere fit for the battlefield of which they often sing about. Here however this does not come of as strongly as on VA and to a lesser extent 2004's Battle Metal. Other than the songs I have mentioned there is very little here that sets the fire alight. Much of this comes across as more Disney than going into bloody, glorious battle.

    On the whole Stand Up And Fight is disappointing, lacking in the silliness of previous efforts and with precious few immediately powerful anthems to get you ready for the battlefield. We know that Turisas could have made a much better album than this, and hopefully next time they will. In order to make up for the lack of silliness on display here, here is a picture I found on Google.

  
[5/10]

Listen to: The March Of The Varangian Guard, Take The Day!, Stand Up And Fight