Browsing Tag

Hard Rock

Unwanted Guest morbidly went for baroque in their debut album, Grave Metallum

Posted on 28 March 2022

With an intro consisting of news broadcasters announcing the deaths Cobain and Winehouse, Unwanted Guest certainly knew how to make an instant impression with the title single to their debut album, Grave Metallum.

The morbidly carnivalesque hard rock hit puts a baroque spin on grunge while carrying reminiscences to Fable Cry and Abney Park around percussion that would make Mudhoney dizzy, the frenetic bounce of the basslines and doom-harbingering guitars.

Yet, the true beauty in the title lies in the nuanced way Unwanted Guest present our ‘icons’ as the line-up in a freakshow that we voyeuristically watch in the hope we see their rise AND fall. With the media frenzy that whipped around Taylor Hawkins this month, Unwanted Guest was definitely onto something.

Grave Metallum was officially released on March 21st. It is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

California rockers The Guitar and Whiskey Club are back with their signature aplomb-greatness on ‘Does Your Dog Bite’

Posted on 21 March 2022

Saucing the airwaves with something that might remind you of yesteryear, The Guitar and Whiskey Club break down the door with so much style that the crowd cheers in cheeky delighted excitement on ‘Does Your Dog Bite‘.

The Guitar and Whiskey Club is an experienced Ventura, California-based indie hard rock band that was founded by Jeffrey Donovan and are known for their dynamic stage presence.

”The group has already supported some heavies on the scene, including LA Guns, Accept, Vince Neil, The Iron Maidens, Geoff Tate, Dokken and Jack Russell’s Great White.” ~ The Guitar and Whiskey Club

Delighting our ravenous souls with this memorable performance up there with the best of 2022, The Guitar and Whiskey Club shows us their timeless quality yet again with their gritty vocals and skin-splitting guitar skills that shall inspire you to turn up the volume until your eardrums shudder.

‘Does Your Dog Bite‘ from Ventura, California-based indie hard rock band The Guitar and Whiskey Club, has a definite classic feel to it from all corners of this high-powered release. This is the kind of track that will shake your eardrums just the way fans of this genre like it, as the melodies take you to a simpler time that was all about the music and not the follows. Surging through with fantastic delivery and packed full with that extra piece of brilliant that seems to be lacking in current day releases, this is a track to get your blood rushing just right.

Hear the riffs that memories are made of on Spotify and check out their Facebook page for tour dates.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

The alt-rock powerhouse, Silence in Surrender, is ‘Coming Up’ in the first single to be released from their forthcoming album.

Posted on 4 March 2022

South West London’s riffiest prodigal sons of hard rock, Silence in Surrender, have teased what it is to come in their forthcoming album with the release of the first single, Coming Up.

As soon as I hit play, the virtuosic furore shunted me right back to the early 00s metal and hard rock scene; as the dynamic track progresses, they keep the instrumental curveballs coming with the infusion of thrash and the Seattle sound.

I never thought I would see the day when a track could appease fans of Mastodon, Bring Me the Horizon, Faith No More, Velvet Underground and Pixies simultaneously, but Silence in Surrender delivered that and a whole lot more with Coming Up. It appears that they’re the only one that got the memo about bringing the sex appeal back to rock too – the guitar solos should come with an X-Rating.

Coming Up is due for release on March 4th. You can check out the official music video via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Joe Hellmore brings the funk in his self-titled debut alt-rock LP

Posted on 24 February 2022

If it has been a while since you discovered your last guitar hero, delve into the singer-songwriter Joe Hellmore’s self-titled debut album, which delivers everything from hard rock to funk to alt-rock to blues-rock in practically virtuosic fashion.

The eclectic release may not be short on dynamism but one thing that you can always count on is Joe Hellmore’s edgy and technical solos that take up plenty of space while never hindering the fact that his debut LP is a deeply experimental one. Another constant through the eight playfully orchestrated tracks that are never short of visceral energy is the lack of the lyrical cliches that many artists depend on as the bedrock to their sound.

Joe Hellmore’s debut album is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Elegant Chasers went off-kilter with the grungy panache in their sophomore single, Sunshine Mourning.

Posted on 4 February 2022
The Elegant Chasers

The Elegant Chasers brought their grungy panache back to the airwaves with the release of their sophomore single, Sunshine Mourning. We’d scarcely lost the earworm that was implanted through their debut single, Lets Ride, but we found ourselves gripped by Sunshine Mourning in a completely different capacity.

This time, the post-punk tinged track is as caustic as one of Sonic Youth’s most discordant releases in the verses and hooky enough in the choruses to give that stadium-filling effect that resonates as volatile gravitas once you get caught up within it.

The one-man powerhouse is taking full advantage of his independent artist freedom. Instead of attempting to appease moguls by pandering to the mediocrity in their tastes, he opted for an off-kilter track that splices together Nirvana-reminiscent drums, cleverly distorted vocals (we are talking Mike Patton level clever here) and guitars that are pliant enough to make your head spin. It is the epitome of an alt 90s aural riot. We can’t wait to hear what follows in his debut album.

Sunshine Mourning will officially release on February 11th. You can check it out for yourselves via SoundCloud and Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Gunpoint Alibi deliver the evolution that alt-rock fans have been waiting for with their latest single, Bury Me

Posted on 23 January 2022

‘Bury Me’ is the latest fierce slice of alt-rock from the Denver, Colorado-based powerhouse Gunpoint Alibi. What started as a garage-punk cover band in 2019 evolved into a gnarly post-hardcore outfit complete with ensnaring high-octane instrumental hooks and harsh pop-punk vocals that fall away from the Hayley Williams mould (thank God!) into raucous new territory.

Morgan Elizabeth’s vocal confidence runs in parallel to the levels of conviction and dynamism; she could smash through a screamo track just as well as a Taylor Swift hit. And if that wasn’t enough, there’s also the infectious sense of playfulness she uses as she attacks the lyrics with her versatile vocal timbre. We can’t wait to hear how they follow on from this monster of an alt-rock evolution.

Bury Me is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

This Is How I Feel: Camberley rockers The Whiskey Knights let it rip on ‘Trashed’

Posted on 14 January 2022

With a booming start to proceedings that is guaranteed to knock off all the dust from the previously-lonely speakers, The Whiskey Knights show us how they really feel on the brawl-heavy new single all about sensing others who are mentally ‘Trashed‘.

The Whiskey Knights is a 4-piece indie hard rock band from Camberley, Surrey who were formed in 2013 and seem to evolve constantly throughout each release.

”Their sound is best described as a mixture of hard rock, punk rock, indie rock and pop rock.” ~ The Whiskey Knights

With a sip-inducing single that has you knocking another one back to get into the mood again after all the recent heartache, The Whiskey Knights show us what hardcore rock music sounds like in 2022 with a tremendous effort that is sure to boost your immune system up to dominate the year.

‘Trashed‘ from the Camberley, Surrey-based indie hard rock act The Whiskey Knights, is a top-notch new single from a band who let it all out and couldn’t care less what anyone else thinks. Which is ultimately, just the way that they like it.

In a world filled with that fake stench that seems to be growing more horrid by the day in a confusing time for our precious world, this is a reminder to just let your hair down and vent out your true emotions. Bottling everything inside never works anyway.

Check out the single on Spotify and see more via the IG music page.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Angils delivered a stellar slice of progressive metal with their latest single, Drowning.

Posted on 1 January 2022

‘Drowning’ is the latest melodic metal single from the arrestingly talented alternative artist, Angils, who puts their own sludgy signature spin on the genre – to an atmospherically enticing effect.

With nuances of grunge in the harmonised vocals before they break into visceral, guttural angst, the progressive nature of the consistently unpredictable track keeps you hooked from start to finish. From grungy reminiscences to Alice in Chains to angular instrumental interludes to straight-up Pantera-Esque aggression, Drowning definitively offers it all. If the metal scene continues to sleep on Angils, they may as well be in a cultural coma.

It isn’t every day that we discover an artist whose instrumental ability is on par with their immersive songwriting prowess. We can’t wait to hear what follows.

Drowning was officially released on December 30th; you can check it out for yourselves via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lazywall is set to reach nirvana if they ascend any further with their latest single, ‘I Will Rise’.

Posted on 30 November 2021
Lazywall

Hard rock hits don’t come much hookier than the latest single, I Will Rise, from the UK-based alt-rock outfit, Lazywall. They give Rise Against and Shinedown a run for their money when it comes to curating bursts of energy that you can’t help getting caught up in.

It’s rare in the industry to find an artist getting the kind of attention they deserve but from the moment that you hear the volatile post-punk vocals against the steady rolling swagger of the grungy basslines in the intro, you know exactly why they have had such a successful run since 2003. It makes sense why Steve Albini worked on an album with them, why they have performed at SXSW in Austin and Garorock in France and to 50,000 people at the Festival of Casablanca and why they have amassed a global and loyal fanbase.

Bravely, Lazywall doesn’t care about catering to hard rock purists; notably, they have far too much fun pushing the boundaries to the point of eruption to create a brand-new sound. After the teasing post-punk nuances in the intro, I Will Rise bursts into a defiant feat of Avant rock sound with the vocals carrying a Dave Grohl-Esque robustness. Then, it demands repeat attention.

I Will Rise will officially release on November 30th. The lyric video will be available to stream on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Talk Is Cheap: Louisville hard rock band Wyld Ryde run the streets on powered-up new single ‘Gasoline Alley’

Posted on 30 November 2021

As they let us know that you need to be vigilant in this part of town as one erroneous move could have you in difficulty, Wyld Ryde light up our imagination and keep on emitting out high-velocity vocals and devastating guitar riffs that shall certainly wake you up on ‘Gasoline Alley‘.

Wyld Ryde is an explosive 4-piece Louisville, Kentucky-based indie hard rock/heavy metal band that seems to make the speakers bleed with their hardcore music creations.

”Members Chief-Lead Vocals & Guitar, Tommy Blitz-Lead Guitar & vocals, Mick Watkins-Bass Guitar & Vocals and Kidd Vicious-Drums are on a mission to dominate modern Rock music.” ~ Wyld Ryde

Wyld Ryde is absolutely breathtaking from start to finish as the ominous start of this video projects, as they swarm our ears with a thunderously-charged performance that reminds you of the greats from yesteryear.

‘Gasoline Alley‘ from the Louisville, Kentucky-based indie hard rock/heavy metal act Wyld Ryde, is the type of track that might send shivers running down your unprotected spine. They prove why they are one of the most respected outfits around at the moment and are on top form here – with an exceedingly-energetic track – ll about making sure that you know where your place is on these mean streets.

See this roaring new music video on YouTube and get a sense of what they are all about on their IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen