Over the past 3 or 4 years, since I became aware of Alright The Captain, I've increasingly realised that it's almost impossible to describe what they sound like to someone that's never heard them. That hasn't stopped me trying to of course but you end up wildly gesticulating and saying things like "the bass goes 'hnnng, hnnng, hnng.....hnnng' and then the guitars go 'chk, chk, kerchiker, chk, chk' and it's all constantly changing and...and...AWESOME"

All that said, poorly, I am now going to try & convey their sound through the written word. And fail.

Suffice to say if you like math rock with dirty ass bass, guitars that get right up in your grill & beats that only Ian Curtis could get away with dancing to, then ATC are going to tick ALL the boxes for you. Live they are without doubt one of the most thrilling prospects out there, positively fizzing with energy and intent. I'm happy to say that on Conversational Skills For The Socially Anxious they have captured that energy and committed it to tape more adroitly than perhaps they did on their debut album SNIB. Don't get me wrong, SNIB is a great album & well worth you checking out, but, as is often the case with debuts, it only hinted at what this fearsome threesome are like in the flesh. 

Conversational Skills was recorded live in the studio, and you can tell. It retains the rawness of the live show but without it sounding lo fi or like it was recorded in a tin bath. All of their trademark sound is here but it appears to have developed from the all-out attack of SNIB in to something more layered and sophisticated with electronic squirrbles more to the fore, especially on closer 'Hurt Burger' which verges in to out & out techno. The rawness and attack is still there, check out 'Key Skills' if you're in any doubt, but fleshed out with a musical maturity that can only be gained by time spent working hard and hitting the road for show after show, like these boys do year after year; 'Lynn Companion' is the best showcase of this, adding a melodic subtly to the rhythmic hammer blows.

Long-time readers of the site will know we've been champions of these boys for a long time now, so it is with no little pride and great satisfaction to see that they have added such an outstanding work to their recorded cannon.

The DJ has been spinning deep cuts of jazz-rock for a half an hour to head nodding and foot tapping approval at Corsica before the three Japanese that form Xaviers take to the stage. After a tentative few minutes the warm thwack of bass drum and synthesiser fills the room and Xaviers thrum into life. There’s drum monstering aplenty amid the guitar exorcisms of Yuki Tsujii and blasts of cow bell from Kenichi Iwasa that come together to cocoon the room with noise. It’s too visceral a creation to be dismissed as muso; such is the force of the trio’s work. Your mum might not like it (although who am I to say what your mum likes?) but Xaviers’ racket seems to be just the ticket for tonight’s crowd such is the number of bodies crammed together up front.

Endless Boogie emerge from Corsica’s narrow corridors just before 10 o’clock. They are appropriately named, everyone knows that, much like Death or Throbbing Gristle - you know what to expect from their moniker. The vibe at their concerts is extremely laid back and jovial too, verging on the 'few mates with a crate of booze in a garage' scenario. Kind of how I imagine what those Fillmore gigs that the Allman Brothers Band played in 1970 were like. Not because Endless Boogie sound very much like the Allmans - it's just the feeling, man. 

Anyway, back to south east London in 2013 and Endless Boogie's songs are loooong, as the set list of five songs in over 90 minutes will attest, but rarely demanding - you can tune in and out as you please - but that doesn't mean they lack vitality. They open with ‘The Savagist’, all greasy throb from the band and frontman Top Dollar bleating about the “the Devil in my bed”.

After bemoaning Corsica’s labyrinthine structure (“I keep going for a smoke and ending up at the toilet and going for a piss where everyone’s smoking. I can do either in any room at home”) the American foursome dial up ‘Empty Eye’ from Full House Head with Top Dollar’s narcotic lead geetar anchored by his bandmates dirty chug. The ragged bar room jam of ‘Smoking Figs in the Yard’ makes you think there should be a chicken wire fence separating us from our grizzled entertainers except that this crowd is too frazzled in their enjoyment to be throwing bottles in appreciation. The room may thin out prior to Endless Boogie’s encore but there are grins to be seen in all directions.

Like many a jam band Endless Boogie have trad rock stylings which they tend not to radically veer from; however, unlike each new generation of haircut retro chancers this is actually their music. The ages of Top Dollar and fellow guitar player The Guv’nor don’t lie - it is us who are the chancers. Top Dollar, in particular, has the gnarled look of a rock and roll Ent but they give it stacks tonight like AC/DC if they’d swapped booze for reefer and who could ask for more than that?

Crossover thrash is and always has been some of my favorite thrash around. From the first note of S.O.D.’s classic Speak English or Die through D.R.I.’s Crossover I have always loved the fast, catchy, chaos that lives and breathes from this music. Hell, in high school my friends and I even had our own crossover band and had written some 2 minutes long crossover thrash songs, granted they were not good songs but hey, we were kids! Hell, I even remember some of the lyrics to the song we wrote called Nic Fit, I believe it went something like “I ran out of smokes / have no more dope / there is no more hope / NIC FIT!” Definitely not Shakespeare but fit the mold of crossover thrash quite nicely I think. By the way, we never made it big just in case you were wondering.

Birth A.D. has release I Blame You and they have done a fine job living up to the crossover thrash moniker. There songs are aggressive, fast, memorable and touch on the socio/political topics in the US today. Some of what they are singing about skirts the edge of offensive (depending on who you are, I guess) but it works in the Devil’s Advocate kind of way. Much like Nuclear Assault brought social issues to the fore front of their music Birth A.D. is doing the same. Luckily these guys are talented enough with their playing and songwriting that the message is portrayed clearly but the music is still fun and Birth A.D. don’t take it or themselves too seriously. For as serious as some of the material sounds, there is still a tongue – in – cheek attitude to it much like the mighty S.O.D. was able to perfect in the 80’s.

What is needed in good crossover thrash is the ability to smoothly take the punk side of rock and meld it with the faster and grimier melodies of thrash and where Birth A.D. are not breaking any new ground with this album they are certainly staying within the formula and creating a nice little spot for themselves in this genre. There is a lot of promise to this band and I Blame You is a solid full length release that showcases what is right with this band and their approach to thrash.

The album has 18 songs but clocks in at a little over 30 minutes long with each song averaging about two minutes. What I really like about this album and what you can really see on songs like the title track, 'This Scene Sucks', 'Popular War' and 'Blow Up the Embassy' is that Birth AD are not afraid to work a subject that most would consider off limits or at least controversial and they allow the punk side of their music to come through and not get lost in the galloping beats of thrash. They have just the right amount of attitude and melody to pull this type of material off and that is a testament to a band that really wants us to take them seriously as a crossover band.

In their opening track 'Mission Statement' they convey right away that they are not there to guide you in the ways of crossover thrash and how you are to react to them but to enlighten you with their music and lyrics and make you think on your own. As they allude to in the first song on the album, 'Mission Statement', no one should really have to tell you to get in the pit, you either do or you don’t either way they don’t care. The message throughout the album is that people need to learn to think for themselves and do what they feel is right and stop being societal automatons and as far as I am concerned Birth A.D. get this message across brilliantly.

The Thermals are an indispensable part of Oregon’s underground scene and having only heard one of their previous releases before, the excellent 2006 The Body, The Blood, The Machine I was unsure what to expect with this their sixth studio album LP Desperate Ground.

Had they “evolved”, dropping the determined but honest rage previously displayed?

What direction had they taken since I’d last heard them; had the no-holds-barred fury and mad juvenile oomph dissipated?

Well, this dark but exuberant release confirms that the pop-punk power-trio don’t appear to be overly concerned about variability or obscure digressions in their musical direction. What you have with Desperate Ground is a magnificent display of stubbornness: a band that has over the course of their 11-year career stuck to their post-pop-punk aesthetic.

Hutch Harris makes sure that the album has a set of very narrow and well directed themes, serving up continuity over all of the 10 tracks which are all a subtle combination of belligerence, anguish, and confrontation. Most of the songs have the same tempo and structure, lasting for only a few minutes each; this means you’re propelled through the whole album at breakneck speed. Lyrically, you could call this a concept album of sorts as the connections between each track is unambiguous: violence and the certainty of confrontation and mortality. Desperate Ground weaves a story from a single view point: a lone soldier in the darkness driven by uncontrollable impulses to annihilate and devastate. An unavoidable ceaseless struggle against natural life as he attempts to battle his way home.

Songs such as ‘Where I Stand’, ‘Howl of the Winds’ and ‘Born to Kill’ (the album opener) are typical of the punk-tinted pop that incites the listener into solemn contemplation while forcing you to triumphantly sing along. ‘Howl of the Winds’ is both stirring and abrasive as it cranks out the riffs and sequence of harmonies. These songs can be contrasted with those later in the album where the shadows fade and the excitement kicks in on tracks like ‘Where I Stand’ and ‘Our Love Survives’.

In summary, Desperate Ground starts and finishes with vigour and dynamism and has lots to offer in between. It challenges the listener to ponder the struggles in life while managing to stay ridiculously entertaining. Perhaps most importantly it retains an aura of fun and excitement; a great album from a band who have become masters of their trade.

I was born, raised, and currently live in Springfield, Massachusetts, a solid 90-minute drive away from the insanity, violence, and horror of the past week in Boston. The distance did not make the ordeal any less frightening, however, as I feared for the safety of my friends in the eastern part of the state upon hearing about the bombings at the Marathon and the manhunt a few days later. It was, needless to say, an exhausting week in Massachusetts.

The incident reached its dirty, bloody claws into the Silk City Tap Room in Florence, MA on April 19th. Their Friday night rock/metal/punk shows, normally featuring four bands, was on that date cut down to three as Allston, MA-based punk rockers Give Up were stuck in lockdown. However, amidst the news that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev had been captured, the room combined two of the things that are best at bringing people together: the aftermath of horrific tragedy, and live local music. A formidable combination, indeed.

The Silk City Tap Room is a small bar located behind the Miss Florence Diner on Main Street in Florence, MA. Upstairs is a billiards room, but for obvious reasons most of the action took place downstairs, where the bar and the stage are located. The stage is but a small alcove in the wall, raised no more than a foot from the ground and with nothing resembling a barrier. If you like small, intimate, but loud shows, this is an ideal location.

In the interest of full disclosure, I should note that Brett Miller, guitarist of show openers Titanis, is my cousin, and that I am good friends with the other members of the band. Feel free to take anything I say about them with a grain of salt (or several), but I do believe their blend of Sabbathian stoner doom riffs and psychedelic atmospherics will please fans of Baroness, Electric Wizard, and Kylesa in the hopefully-near future. For what it’s worth, the crowd at Silk City seemed to agree with my biased opinion, although the below video – a song code-named ‘Isis’ (guess which band inspired the song) segueing into a Melvins cover – doesn’t include their reaction.

These were the second and third songs of the set. Titanis opened with ‘Hyperion,’ a 13-minute doom metal monster in multiple parts, beginning in fast-paced Kylesa mode before going into the Sleep riffs. After the new song and the ‘Night Goat’ cover, they followed up with ‘Europa,’ a somber, atmospheric instrumental piece that bears a noticeably post-rock influence. ‘Europa’ was originally intended to be the closer, but due to Give Up’s absence from the show, their set was extended with instrumental covers of ‘Electric Funeral’ and ‘Iron Man’ and the improvised folkier jam ‘The Roots.’

Following them up were The Scimitar, a new project featuring guitarist Darryl Shephard and bassist Gein of Black Pyramid (the latter also plays in Second Grave) and drummer Brian Banfield of Blood Stone Sacrifice. Those who are familiar with Black Pyramid’s brand of crushingly heavy stoner doom will immediately notice the similarities between the two bands (the band is named after the song ‘Swing the Scimitar’ from Black Pyramid’s new album Adversarial), although The Scimitar has a bit more of a Motorhead kick.

And while the best song they played may have been the Black Pyramid cover at the end (performing, of course, ‘Swing the Scimitar’), that should not be taken as a sign of weakness in The Scimitar’s own material, as forthcoming recorded material will prove. Set opener ‘Void Traveler’ is a proggy, psychedelic number that sounds heavily influenced by Elder (one of the more popular Massachusetts local doom metal acts, and friends of Black Pyramid/The Scimitar). Following up was ‘Babylon,’ a faster-paced instrumental featuring some of Gein’s best bass playing, which transitioned into ‘The Taker,’ the doomiest song in their set. A brand new song entitled ‘World Unreal’ followed that, ending with a cover of Motorhead’s ‘Metropolis’ and the afore-mentioned ‘Swing the Scimitar.’

Birch Hill Dam’s performance that night was my first experience with them, and I walked away with two important pieces of knowledge: one, that the band really, really likes ginger ale (based on the working titles of two new songs), and two, that their brand of fast-paced southern-fried stoner metal is very, very fun live. I initially didn’t recognize their set opener as a Skid Row cover (I saw ‘Slave to the Grind’ written on the setlist and did a double-take), but the following originals ‘Gasoline Fiend,’ ‘Seeding,’ and a new song code-named ‘Schwepps’ had me banging my head. They followed with the cowbell-filled ‘Colossus’ and the extremely catchy ‘Fathoms Below,’ perhaps my favorite two songs in the set. Another new song (‘Canada Dry’) was followed with a cover of ‘Children of the Grave’ (“keeping with the theme of the evening” in their words, referencing the two Sabbath covers in Titanis’ set), and the set was rounded off with ‘Boozehound,’ a cover of Twisted Sister’s ‘Burn in Hell,’ and ‘Bed of Nails,’ the opening track from their first, self-titled album.

Also present that night was Wicked Music, a New Hampshire-based music distributor specializing in heavy metal and punk headed by Antoine Veach. He has been present at every Silk City show I have attended and has drained my wallet each time – not that you’ll hear me complaining. He happened to have two of my favorite albums in stock that night and I simply couldn’t resist:

It was a fitting end to a stressful, fear-filled week. The manhunt for a murderous terrorist is brought to its satisfying conclusion, and the calls for celebration are met with killer (too soon?) guitar riffs. We learn what it means to be united, and witness the fruits of such unity. I can think of nothing more beautiful.

Howl are back. And it only took 3 years and a member shift or two. But 3+2= BADASS! Ever since the last notes of 'The Day Of Rest' on 2010's Full of Hell I've been waiting and wanting more. It's a gift and a curse. Put out albums too often, no one will care. Take too long and everyone will forget about you. Howl had perfect timing, wetting your dry tongue and beating it your newly healed skull. Ahhh... Sounds delightful.

You don't expect a band from Rhode Island to pack such a nasty, dirty southern sludge sound. Right from opening track 'Attrition' Howl waste no time, throwing a guitar solo in before the 30 second mark. Then the full on southern assault hits. Vocals drenched in fire sound as if they were spewed by the devilman himself. I imagine the lead singer rinses with rocket fuel before each gig to keep this up. (I'd imagine it's on their tour rider. If you can find a copy, get it for me.)

Let's not forget or torch throated vocalist's crew. On tracks like 'One Last Nail' and 'Down So Low' they absolutely bond as a unit, the engine of this hellbound machine. Proving versatile in up(ish) tempos to crush the masses. Then switching up a (minor) gear to plow the damn road and anything in the way. 'Your Hell Begins' is a personal favorite of mine. A track that just reeks of vengeance in vocal and musical delivery, only to be closed out with a slow, clean vocal and a flick of a cigarette on your corpse. Pissed off the wrong set of motherfuckers. Blame yourself.

The final blow comes in the form of 'Embrace Your Nerve'. Bringing back the slow, sludgy riffs; taking their time as they've reached their destination, challenging you to stand your ground. A song of victory, or of another hell ride. Guess we'll have to wait a few years to find out. But this should tide you over until the burns heal.

Bloodlines comes out April 30th on Relapse Records. Be sure to bring a fire extinguisher though, your car CD player might start shooting flames.

Support bands and music you love. Go buy the album.

HAIL!!!

“Opium Lord make desolate doom-sludge with a coal black heart.” At least that’s what the press release says. And I can confirm this couldn’t be a better suited description of their music on this 2-track debut EP. This Birmingham band consists of the members Nathan, Neil, Bruce, Beckley and Luke, and they have previously made noise in the bands Mothertrucker, History of the Hawk and Stinky Wizzleteat. Opium Lord was born in 2012 and as they say themselves have been a “proper” band since December last year. They quickly found a label in Thirty Days Of Night Records and recorded this EP The Calendrical Cycle – Prologue: The Healer, which as the name suggests is the first instalment of a three part series.

The first track ‘Heroin Swirls’ contains some of the heaviest sludge/doom riffs I’ve ever heard, which would make Sleep and Electric Wizard fans drool with excitement. At least I nearly needed to borrow one of my kids’ old bibs whilst listening to this heavy sludge-infested doom. Nathan’s vocals instantly stand out from other and similar sounding bands from this genre, as he sounds very hardcore metal and at times he sounds like an angry Gollum straight out of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. But fuck me, this is a heavy track! Listen to the riff kicking in after the slower bit around the 4 minutes mark. It’s hard to listen to this in public (as I usually do) and not bang your head insanely whilst throwing devil hands in the air.

Next track ‘Street Labs’ is shorter (just over 3.5 minutes) and it starts a little bit more uptempo with some extreme heavy guitar riffing over a slow very groovy drum rhythm. Then Gollum pops in again after a minute in the track, but Nathan quickly changes to more brutal screaming and grunting again. Of the two tracks this one is the weaker one, but still very good. It’s just hard to beat the heaviness of ‘Heroin Swirls’.

Opium Lord have come to the world of heavy doom/sludge with two tracks that would interests anyone with a passion for sheer heaviness. They couldn’t have made a better appearance and I for one can’t wait to hear the two follow up releases to this prologue. Just like Lord of the Rings, it would hopefully make a very entertaining trilogy.

Support your scene and buy this for only £1.79. That’s cheaper than a sandwich. Go on!

Mistakes and Regrets. A fine tune by Texan rockers …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead and perhaps former band member Neil Busch thoughts turned to mistakes and regrets when he left his cohorts. Well, he’s back and raring to go again with LVMRKS, a 3-piece who feature past members of Broken Bells/Hella and Red Sparowes.

Debut album Pale Fairytale offers up 9 tracks (actually 8 technically, one is a short prelude) of melodic angular guitar rock that isn’t anywhere near as abrasive or heavy as the aforementioned bands. Think of a punkier and more retro-fied version of The Smiths. The striking (but not necessarily standout) feature of LVMRKS’s sound is Neil’s vocal delivery.

Deadpan and minor-keyed, he reminds me of a baritone and less capable Morrissey, often straining to get the higher notes he wants. The guitar lines throughout could actually be coming from Johnny Marr, such is their meandering style, another reason for the Smiths reference.

Opening song ‘Blue Eye Suicide’ sets the pace and tone for the remainder of the album, with its mid-tempo timing and minor key melody. Second song ‘Valentine’ is one of the better tunes with a slight nod to Richard Hawley. Other highlights are ‘Don’t Save Me’ and ‘Let Go’ which have pleasant if ultimately unremarkable melodies, the latter suiting Busch’s careless vocals better as the instrumentation takes over.

Some tracks however, don’t stand out enough for me, ‘Through Life I’ve Wandered’ suffers poorly with some relentless tom pounding which made me yearn for some snare/cymbals to shift the dynamic of the track.

The overall problem I have with Pale Fairytale is that the sound doesn’t vary enough throughout, the songs are very similar in pace and melody. LVMRKS come across as the support band who have your toe tapping initially, but then have you restless and thinking about a visit to the bar before the main act. As debuts go, it’s not a bad album, just doesn’t strike me hard enough and I find myself listening to it again for review purposes as opposed to enjoyment. So…Mistakes? Maybe. Regrets? Possibly.

Richmond, Virginia is a great town. Some of my favorite human beings reside there. Some of my favorite bands hail from there. The RVA scene runs the gamut; various musical styles, and even more influences coexist and commingle to form truly original acts. Earthling happen to be such an act. One who makes records that sound kind of special. Records like Dark Path, an ominous, thrash-filled celebration of all things crusty, black, and heavy. It reminds me of something I would've loved when I was 16; something I would've saved my lunch money in order to buy. A record I would've put in the CD player while sitting in the mall parking lot and blasted all the way home. Then again in the driveway. And again once inside.

Bottom line: Dark Path rules.

It rules so hard that the last two tracks, 'Wilderness Throne' and 'Pass Into Beyond,' could be the entire record and I'd be happy. Think of the other four songs purely as bonus material. The varied content touches on most genres of metal, but is never predictable or in bad taste. The title track even has a Slayer-esque part near its end. Intentional or not, that is never a bad thing. The members of Earthling have an obvious love and respect for the music that has come before them. There are guitar solos. They are good. There are guitar harmonies. They're good, too. And riffs... so many amazing riffs. It took quite a while to capture all the good here; it was a five-year labor of love. Let's all be glad it exists.

The recording, by Garret Morris (Windhand, Cough, Parasytic) and mastering by Mikey Allred (Inter Arma, Hellbender, Across Tundras), is spot-on; energetic and in-your-face, with just enough character and atmosphere thrown in to keep it grounded. Release will be handled by local Richmond label, Forcefield Records.

Earthling is a rad band and Dark Path sounds like an honest record. No gimmicks, just a good chunk of metal from a very talented band.

For a band that have been around for almost a quarter of a century and who celebrated their twentieth anniversary with a vinyl only release produced by one Steve Albini, Trondheim’s Motorpsycho have surprisingly and somewhat sadly, garnered little more than a cult following outside mainland Europe.

Over the years this consummate three piece have produced rock music of epic grandeur, sometimes sprawling but always with the utmost precision. From Metal through Post Punk to Jazz to West Coast Pop and back again, they have dabbled in pretty much everything a basic three piece can. They even wrote a soundtrack to an imaginary Western with Ronald Reagan as the cover feature.

Recently I have been concerned about a band I have avidly followed since the mid-nineties. As much as I love Rush, Motorpsycho's new found fascination with narrative flow and songs in parts had created a tendency towards meanderings rather than genuine songcraft, yet in Still Life With Eggplant they have pulled together five striking pieces from twenty ideas that the press release suggests had been on the backburner. For the three years since 2010 release Heavy Metal Fruit, the band had worked on 2012’s Prog. concept collaboration, The Death Defying Unicorn, which they proceeded to play every night for three months.

Their fifteenth straight forward studio album, sees original members Bent Saether, HM Ryan (Snah) and relatively new recruit, drummer Kenneth Kapstad team up with friend and guitarist Reine Fiske. The result is five stand-alone songs of high quality which bare classic Motorpsycho signatures. Fiske fits right in, playing second fiddle, yet keeping up with and enhancing Snah’s huge solo wanderings.  Bent’s bass sound has that same idiosyncratic slight distortion and driving force. On pop infused Love reinterpretation, ‘August’, it bounces enthusiastically during the verse providing melody and rhythm in true Geddy style, before the sublime maelstrom of the breakout section. Listen for Fiske’s acoustic guitar work here.

Still Life With Eggplant is still explorative, but is a more immediate album than the band have produced since Kapstad joined in 2007. The opener for example despite being called ‘Hell, Part 1-3’ is infectious in each part. The riffs here are reminiscent of Sabbath and early seventies Deep Purple. Even Snah’s solo has a Blackmore-esque quality to it. The breakdown fade out is a real treat.

In the openings on ‘Barleycorn (Let it Come Let it Be)’, and the final track ‘The Afterglow’, Saether and Ryan show their basic song writing ability and vocal talent beyond the Wilson brothers quality they effect so often these days. The former song opening in to an anthemic shuffle, while the latter finishes the album to startling effect, following the cosmic jazz rock epic, ‘Ratcatcher’.

The latest offering from Norway’s finest is no doubt a work of great musicianship. In places conjuring folk and sixties psyche moods before going into something completely different. Indeed, there can be something Python-like about their craft. Something which will always divide opinion and may explain their lack of higher and wider praise.

Watch out for the leftfield Stoner Rock bridge in the final track (complete with cowbell). Too good.

Man’s Last Portrait is the debut album by New Brunswick trio Forlorn Path, who play a blend of extreme music best described as melodic dark metal. Elements of black, doom, death, and folk metal abound, all while maintaining a unique melodic edge.

Debut albums are strange things. For some groups, that first recording will forever remain their best work, a masterpiece that they are never able to replicate. For others, it is a simple show of their potential and evidence of how much they’ve grown since then. I firmly believe that Man’s Last Portrait fits into the latter category. While there is more than enough potential here to indicate future brilliance, Forlorn Path display a significant lack of experience in the art of creating a full-length record. This is not immediately apparent, however, as they absolutely nail the opening couple of tracks.

'The Coming of Winter' sounds like it could have been taken straight out of an Agalloch album, with a chilling atmosphere and some magnificent instrumental work. Second track 'Empire of Decadence' is even better and displays the diverse range of influences Forlorn Path possess. Starting off with a fast-paced melodic black metal sound, the song eventually slows down for a bit before breaking into a highly memorable death/doom riff. The vocals are competent, nothing special, but they do well enough to complement the music. The song ends on an impressive note, showing off the group’s more subdued side.

'Words Only Wind Can Speak' is another good track but it is from this point on that Man’s Last Portrait begins to dip in quality. While it would be wrong to call these songs bad, the album unfortunately loses much of its initial charm by settling into a repetitive style that is used consistently until the last couple of tracks. It sounds like a minor complaint and perhaps it is – many of these songs are actually pretty impressive as stand-alone pieces – but it comes as a big disappointment after the expectation set by the openers. And ultimately an album should be judged by what it achieves as a whole, and not by the sum of its parts. 'What Lies Beyond' and 'Relics' are both great when listened to individually, but after the boring mid- section they are easily overlooked.

It’s a pity really, because with slightly more variation this could have been a highly impressive debut. Instead, it serves only to reveal the potential that Forlorn Path hold. Regardless, Man’s Last Portrait is available for free download from the group’s Bandcamp page so be sure to check it out, if only for the truly excellent second track.

Wired to Follow and I go way back. I clearly remember the days of going to and gigging with MINIONTV, and being consistently blown away by their output and development. Their NewPath nights were a riot and I always admired their continuing effort to expose and celebrate the left-field music scenes all over the world with great turnout… so where could a band go after that? Well, they've taken a break and Wired to Follow is founded by a couple of MINIONTV members and takes a side-step from their earlier more traditional post-rock sound and off into something more evolved and refined.

Beginning with 'Lucy'(dare I say a reference to The Beatles song, when considering context?) the track blooms and swells out into a glorious rise before crashing down into stunning vocal samples lifted from the Sidney Cohen LSD experiments in the 1950's. The dialogue of a housewife, fascinated and confused by the most overwhelming experience she's lived to date rises the music above into a backing for the experience and soundtracks the swirl of power rushing through her brain.

Following on from the interview WTF move into a beautiful piano piece, 'Unix Epoch', again similar to some of MINIONTV's previous work; heavenly, thoughtful and grand. As both their former and current band, there's always been a finely trodden line between modest sombreness and grand explosive rises and this track is no different, as choir-like synths and drones rise and fall only to crash back into full stunning order.

Sticking with the science-fact/science-fiction leanings the group drop straight over into 'Abort, Retry, Fail?'; arguably their biggest step forward as a unit. The track moves clearly away from their former sound and is a huge pulse of energy akin to the likes of Moby or The Crystal Method. Many of the melody lines in Everything in Colour hold a tonal similarity to psych-trance skeletons Fuck Buttons and this piece is a fine example of that same technique; driving a force along with a crystalline sonic lead that is more found in vocal-fronted bands and often forgotten about in instrumental music (luckily not here).

Finally, we have 'I Wish I Could Talk in Technicolor', the grand outro. IWICTIT appears to be far better as a piece of music lying in context, than previously as a single and it seems perhaps the former track might have been a more immediate grab for people. The EP's closer, now amongst counterpart music and in the context of the sonic theme, is an evolving rise akin to the opener (with a title once again referencing the LSD experiments, just like the EP album cover). Again, this track is a step aside from the work under their previous moniker and must be incredible live.

Speaking of which, should you choose to purchase the EP for the extremely modest asking price of £3, you'll be treated with a beautiful live performance of a track from their forthcoming followup release since they're not able to sit still for long without writing more music.

I have one and only one complaint about Everything in Colour and that is that it's just too short. Now, maybe I'm just eager to hear more, and the desire to 'snowball' and gain momentum over a number of releases is understandable, but perhaps Wired To Follow were never meant for that? The music on Everything in Colour holds a statement of other-worldy beauty and screams to be part of a bigger picture… and this would explain why there is a new EP set for the very near future, and let’s hope that at the end of it the tracks will be compiled into a feature-length composition. Maybe WTF are happy giving people the drip of music so they have more time to evolve, or maybe they're not giving away the whole idea until the end of the show, like a magician with a few more tricks up his sleeve. Maybe, though, this is one of those instances where it would've been better to just plunge straight into the deep end and let the world bite a bigger piece off, like our lovely housewife friend guinea-pigging for Dr. Cohen, sixty years ago…. because I want more.

The US Black Metal scene is something that has been growing over the years. And while some of the bands that started in the early 2000s went many different ways (Never ever use the word “transcendental”. That’s my choice. Not yours) with their music, some just kept playing the same style and getting better at it. Woe began as a one man band by Chris Grigg. In 2010 with their album Quietly, Undramatically they became a full band, albeit playing Mr. Grigg’s songs. Now with Withdrawal, they are a full band effort. And the results show a band with just as much fever as Grigg himself.

The music and actual songs feel much more open and moving on this album. ‘This is the End of the Story’ opens the album and honestly conveys its title. It could have honestly been the album closer; with vocals of a maniac tortured, guitars tremolo picked to holy hell, and drums that have hell in them. Where it catches you, and pushes the envelope is mid-song, with CLEAN VOCALS. Now to some this would be a big deal. I myself find it refreshing; they add emotion in a perfect way. ‘Carried by Waves to Remorseless Shores of the Truth’ evokes the same feeling as the title as well. Feelings of being thrown around by sharp waves and being forced to stare at everything you don’t want to admit to yourself. Woe seems to have the title/music mixture perfect.

The triple threat of ‘Song of My Undoing’, ‘Exhausted’ and the title track….well honestly it left me feeling all of this. Vocals remain in pain throughout, guitars churn and slash, drums banged to all hell. My particular favorite in this trio is ‘Exhausted’. Woe leave me feeling empty in parts, but in a way that is completely amazing. The part of the mind that they express on this entire album is something you need to hear to really understand. I don’t see this as a simple black metal album. Although I’m sure many will pin it as that, I see this as much more. An emotional experience and peek into the thoughts of men holding on to the bare strings of life, at times.

I recommend this album to anyone who likes honest, heavy music. One listen will have you hooked, as it did me. This album will be available through Candlelight Records on April 22nd in the UK, and April 23rd in the US. By all means, pick this up when it comes out. A record that need be heard to feel a bit more in your veins. Support the artists and bands you love. Buy some fucking music.

HAIL!!!!!!!!

For those of you unfamiliar with The Body I suggest you go grab an anatomy book and beat yourself over the head with it. The Body is a two man bulldozer, ready to tear anything apart at a moments notice. Comprised of drummer Lee Buford and guitarist/vocalist Chip King, The Body have released a few full-lengths and a fair amount of EPs. Master, We Perish continues the EP trend, something I am very fond of these days. So, if you’ve struck yourself enough times now, let us cut this body open and see what’s inside.

‘The Ebb and Flow of Tides in a Sea of Ash’ opens up with a siren ringing the destruction to come. Drums kick in and the riff begins. An up tempo affair, this song is fairly short but gets the job done. Nice and dirty sound all over. Shouting vocals, drums that do not stop and THAT RIFF, you know the one I’m talking about. The one that moves your body, no pun intended. Closed out with shrieks of insanity and blurred out drums, you’ve just had a heart attack in less than three minutes. And its only going to get worse.

The unhappy woman speaking and the operatic moans that accompany the single strumming of guitars cords are a haunting beginning to ‘The Blessed Lay Down and Writhe in Agony’. Electronic drums come in and the tempo still stays the same. Building even more are the shrieks of terror that are placed right on top of this. Then the literal shotgun blast (no joke) blows the top off and hell ensues. Let the low end sludge be let loose!! And it has groove. Another set that demands reaction. Finally ending with a claustrophobic mass of musical hell and the vocals, once again, someone give this fucker a hug or a bottle of valium.

“But now we don’t have any value”: a sample that starts off ‘Worship’, our last offering from The Body to the Master. Tribal drums and feedback cloak us for around six minutes until…. The roof caves in. The church is torn to pieces. Hell has been unleashed, but for only 30 seconds or so. Now all we are left with are the remains of burnt corpses, charred bodies, rubble and ash. We perish, indeed.

If you’re still reading and you book-meets-head-headache is gone, you know by now you need to hear this. Three tracks that pack more emotional content and savage destruction than most albums with 12 tracks, nowadays. At A Loss Recordings will let this loose on April 30th on 12” LP, CD EP, digital download and my favorite of them all: Cassette. There’s no debate here, give The Body some love, and grab this album.

HAIL!!!!! FIRE AND BRIMSTONE!!!!!

Brought to life in the Water District in Argovia, Switzerland which (according to their website) is “generally known for its rural landscape and foggy winters rather than for good rock music”. Well, Crimson Rain have disproved that fact…. the bit about not having good rock music not the weather bit. How would I know that? Who am, Michael Fish? Jeeezzzz cut me some slack.

Mankind Is Obsolete starts with a track called ‘Intro’ with a traditional (ie 70s) vibe of orchestration: strings and violins abound. So far so prog. But then we kick into the riff of ‘Endgame’ and things start to get interesting. Initially filtered to sound like it’s coming out of tinny radio speakers before becoming a full-bodied mix, this is Crimson Rain saying that what you are about to hear is neither traditional (ie 70s) prog OR radio friendly.

That being said there are great moments of radio-friendly music on here (more on that later) and some genuinely interesting and fun (*gasp* fun? In prog? Surely not….) moments too. For example, ‘Vigour Of The Law’ features a wonderfully laid back jazz-inspired break down midway through the song. You can almost taste the smoky atmosphere of the Belgian beat club only to have that ripped away from you by an Yngwie-like dash around the fretboard. Genius.

The Prog Metal tag tends to conjure up Dream Theater comparisons and expectations. Crimson Rain however, unlike Dream Theater, never put technical wizardry before melody and the song itself.  And whilst they certainly have the chops, they prefer to build the song around melodies and riffs.  Take for example the track ‘Our Gleam Of Hope’ features choirs that soars melodically and anthemically the musical versions of hope. As does album closer ‘Heliocentric’. Wonderfully haunting.

It wouldn't really be prog with a song that is longer than the time between Tool albums. So say hello to ‘Raise Of The Indignant’. Although it does lose Prog Points (™ & © Me 2013) for being only 11m 34s long. Quitters. Some of you might say that 11 minutes is long enough but that would result in a severe telling off form me so let’s say no more about it. This track is much like a Knickerbocker Glory, layer upon layer of goodness that rewards the patient eater…. I mean listener.

The awesome snakey riff at 4 mins is guaranteed to ruin any mosh pit with it's extra beat. There’s an instrumental section last just 2 minutes, lesser prog bands would have spent at least 8 minutes on this but Crimson Rain jam and then return back to the verse (and vocals) admirably.  7 mins. in and here are some ethereal voices and wintery keyboard sounds accompanied by a distant guitar pulling notes out of the ether. And now an audio sample concerning  secret societies and censorship. Lovely stuff. Although the bass riff at end does sound contrived. Almost like it was tacked on at bassist’s request.

This is an atmospheric and all encompassing piece of work from this Swiss quartet. This is accessible and meaty enough for the metalheads with enough emotion and wizardry (technical playing not the cape and magic wand kind) for the prog fans. And look – only one Dream Theater reference.

Now, who fancies some Toblerone?