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Saturday 29 October 2016

NORTHERN CROWN - THE OTHERS (2016)

NORTHERN CROWN - THE OTHERS (2016)
(originally appearing in AEA zine)

This was a very pleasant suprise! Again, a band I'd heard nothing of previously, to be fair this is their debut album after having released an ep a couple of years previous. This album contains some very accomplished songwriting and musicianship for a debut album so im not sure if the members have had previous bands or not but either way what you have here is a very easy to listen to slab of music. The bands website and promo describe them as "doom" but I have to say I wouldn't agree with them on that , There are some slow chuggy doom parts but it's a hard one to categorise as it fits within the traditional metal and prog genres with hints of black metal, maybe it has a more 'goth' feel to it. They might even be considered the 'pink floyd' of heavy metal. Categorisations aside, the songs themselves tend to be on the longer end of the scale with some great metal riffs and some very trance inducing soundscapes utilising keyboards and other insturments rather well also utilising some aspects of electronic music and some very tasty clean melodic moments... It makes for great chillout music, great for listening to in the dark or falling asleep to. The riffage while slow is never boring, there are many trance like parts invoking images of ancient rome, or Sumerian/Middle eastern passages where the guitars/keys/wind instruments mix together perfectly. The vocals are simply superb, solid metal clean vocals (to my ears reminiscient of john bush from Anthrax) with a hint of power metal and occcassional death metal moments. Over all it suits the production of this album and the mood they are trying to create. The lads have succeeded in creating something special here and they should feel proud of themselves! I really hope this release raises the band into the next level of contenders for the metal throne.

Saturday 1 October 2016

SUICIDAL TENDENCIES - WORLD GONE MAD (2016)

Suicidal Tendencies front man Mike Muir has long been an icon of the skate / thrash / punk scene and
it's great to see him return to form with a new album that brings back the aggression of the past whilst still staying relevant to today.

I'll be honest in saying that while I loved the "Lights... Camera... Revolution" Era and before....  I haven't had a lot of time for them since the "Suicidal for Life" era as I felt they regressed into a state of semi-retardation lyrically and musically it all seemed to dissolve into eclectic mess. It is with great joy that I can say I can listen to Suicidal proudly without having a brain anuerism or wishing for it to be 1989 again

This new album features long time Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo and I wonder if this was the missing ingredient in making this band great again. His drumming is as tight as the proverbial "nuns nasty" and Dave gets to show off not only what a great metal drummer he is, but his fusion / jazzy chops and sense of timing is amazing. He is a great and versatile drummer and gets to show it off to great effect on this record. More importantly he pins down the music brilliantly weather they are winding through a funky jazzy guitar solo, or a crushing thrash or punk riff or a blazing guitar solo it always feels solid and in time. Hail Lombardo!

The other musicians on this record (I have no real idea who they are) are great too.... lots of great thrashy / punky riffs reminiscent of all era's of past Suicidal Tendencies, funky slappy bass lines abound and even the shredding solo's that old guitar player Rocky George was famous for have made a return with this new lineup

Overall its a great record and returns the once mighty Suicidal Tendencies to being relevant and metal again!  


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