Browsing Tag

Metal

IMMORTALIZER unified a legion of metal fans with ‘We Were Born for Metal’, featuring Ralf Scheepers

Posted on 15 August 2023

The one-man metal powerhouse Dave D.R. has been storming through the Ontario rock and metal scene with his project, IMMORTALIZER, especially after the release of his debut LP, Born for Metal, produced by none other than Ralf Scheepers of Primal Fear fame.

The standout single, We Were Born for Metal, sees IMMORTALIZER wear their influences on their sleeve, but there was plenty of room for the originality engineered by their determination to bring something new to the metal genre. Giving Black Sabbath and Metallica fans a reason to turn away from their favourite records is no easy feat. By breeding something devilishly distinctive in the atmosphere of his seminal single, attention was soon piqued by the tune of fresh blood entering the territory.

The phenomenon that We Were Born for Metal became after its debut earlier this year goes to show how intrinsically linked identity and music are. Scenes are more than tribes; they’re lifeblood, and if anyone can mainline metal into your veins, it is IMMORTALIZER with their classic metal riffs and vocals that galvanise as they unify and defy expectation.

The official music video has garnered over 321k streams. Indulge in the furore by heading to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

She Burns Red are set to unveil their monolithic magnum opus of a debut LP, Out of Darkness

Posted on 6 August 2023

After a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign that proved just how many rock fans were keen to see the debut LP, Out of Darkness, come to fruition following a series of performances at Call of the Wild, Winter Rocks and Love Rocks Festival, She Burns Red are almost ready to unveil their monolithic magnum opus.

If you Punk n Rolled Jimmy Eat World, threw in a few Slash-esque guitar lashings, the ferocious heart-in-throat ear candy melodicism of Foo Fighters and the grungy salacity of Deftones, you still wouldn’t come close to the superlatively amalgamated triumph that ticks all the right rock boxes while evading every rock cliché.

Pairing melodic-hooked instrumentals that are richer than Musk in their era-spanning influence with sentiments that couldn’t be closer to home, the sonics scintillate through the addition of visceral emotion that is mainlined into each of the releases.

With the sticky-sweet pseudo-emo trappings juxtaposed by the juggernautical manicured immensity, it’s no surprise that Out of Darkness has rendered even the most consummate rock journos speechless. To be fair, even the most superfluous verbiage couldn’t scratch the surface of the cavernous depth of Out of Darkness.

“There is something incredibly uplifting about truth and honesty and having the means to express that, to share it with other people. We’re all drained and drowning in our own thoughts but our songs allow us to feel liberated and free to express, hold our heads above the water for a moment and remember we’re all in this together, not divided at all. This is what we hope ‘Out Of Darkness’ will do for people. Enable them to realise… they are not alone. All of these songs come from a place of looking for hope within the darkness.” – She Burns Red

Out of Darkness will be independently released on September 15th; pre-order a vinyl or CD copy here & and grab the last remaining tickets to the launch show on September 9th via Fatsoma.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

The maters of monolithic metal, Bridging Oceans, are back with vengeance in their sophomore single

Posted on 10 July 2023

After the success of their debut single, Not Lost, the up-and-coming monoliths of the metal scene, Bridging Oceans, unleashed their rancorously rabid eponymous sophomore single.

After the intro threw us right back to when Job for a Cowboy dominated the death metal scene in the early 00s, a more melodic side to the international outfit started to break through the blast beats and technically frenetic grooves laid down by the crunchily distorted guitars.

For the same reasons I can’t help but return to acts such as SCUMFUCK for the highest-possible-octane catharsis, I’ll want to sink my teeth into the blisteringly hot ingenuity in this release, which promises even greater things in the international pipeline.

With the drummer and lyricist, Stuart, hailing from Brisbane and the vocalist and guitarist, Stanis, residing in Kyiv, Ukraine, Bridging Oceans stay true to their moniker by being the first-ever Ukrainian and Australian metal band. When the war is over, Bridging Oceans will be prepared to celebrate.

Stream Bridging Oceans’ latest single on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Cork’s prodigal sons of hard rock Outsound obliterated the boundaries between metal and grunge in ‘Adeline’

Posted on 3 July 2023

The debut LP, Megatherium, from the Irish hard rock raconteurs, Outsound, is finally upon us. After outgrowing their roots as a Chris Cornell tribute act and forming Outsound in 2018, the powerhouse has moved from strength to strength in their illustrious career following a string of successful independently released singles.

Blurring the lines between grunge, heavy metal, blues and hard rock, the standout single from the LP, Adeline, is a rhythmically fierce firestorm, which twists a FNM-style bass-driven intro into a syncopated stream of prog rock before the blazing guitars start cutting the record with virtuosic chops and the bouncing breakdowns bring the energy.

At the eye of the sonic storm lies the harmonised vocal lines that wrap themselves around lyrics that are enough to give Keats a run for his money. Songs named after women don’t always hit the universally resonant mark, but rather than lusting or lamenting over a protagonist, Outsound used Adeline as an opportunity to verse nihilistically romantic poetry which beds down into the beauty of the macabre.

Stream Adeline on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ride ‘The Lightning’ in Navigate by Neon’s power chord-charged debut single.

Posted on 25 June 2023

The Lightning is the debut power chord-charged sonic monolith from Navigate by Neon, a one-man project from the professional musician and producer Craig Whale.

After spending 30 years cutting his virtuoso teeth, his technical hair metal guitar licks are razor sharp, but that doesn’t get in the way of them malleably bending into hooks around the vintage analog synths and the vocal lines which soar as high as the guitars, enabling The Lightning to place you on a riff carved plateau.

Fans of Boston and Thin Lizzy will easily lose themselves in the tapestry weaved by the multi-layered guitars and the elevated harmonies, which allow Navigate By Neon to stay on a familiar roadmap while making his own mark on the metal landscape.

Described as nostalgic with a modern punchy twist by Hard Rock Hell Radio, Craig Whale is making all the right waves in the industry. The Lightning is discernibly a triumph, even more so when you factor in the chronic neurological condition which has limited the artist’s ability to play and perform in the past four years. Hit play for an affirmation of what dedication and determination sound like.

Stream The Lightning, which was officially released on June 9th via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Under My Skin: ChemiQueen bravely battles through the frigid rain on Into The Storm

Posted on 27 April 2023

Heavy to the core and stunning all innocent ears into a certain submission, ChemiQueen roars into life like a hungry Lion ready to fight on a stupendously fiery single to battle all wars no matter the weirdly ominous weather outside on Into The Storm.

ChemiQueen is a South Essex, UK-based indie alternative experimental metal/hard rock artist who loves to electrify audiences with a ravishing blend of ear-sizzling proportions.

”Controlled and crafted by the dark queen herself, their intoxicating influence will leave you single-minded, prepare to submit yourself to the ChemiQueen.” ~ ChemiQueen

She’s clawing her way to the peak and taking her band with her for the ride of a lifetime on this skin-peeling session. ChemiQueen means business on this 6-minute plus snack for anyone who needed a lift from the cold climates of doom. Turn this up okay?

Into The Storm from South Essex, UK-based indie alternative experimental metal/hard rock artist ChemiQueen is a raw display of growing intensity which shall wake up any sleepy cats in the neighbourhood. This is vein-popping stuff and shall improve moods for the better or scare many away. That is the point of this creation. It’s certainly not for everyone and that’s okay. This is packed with a grenade-like explosion for all of our hearts. Are you ready?

Listen up on Spotify.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Anni is a symphonic rock siren in her single, The Vortex is Closing

Posted on 26 March 2023
https://soundcloud.com/johnlistermusic/the-closing-vortex-by-anni?in=johnlistermusic/sets/anni-symphonic-rock

Taking me right back to when Apocalyptia deservedly reigned the alternative scene, the symphonic rock artist, Anni, left me nostalgically arrested by her single, The Vortex is Closing, which closed curtains on sanity with elevated ethereal grace.

By choosing the same sonic palette as a wind-up music box as a prelude before bringing in the artfully gothic atmosphere, which wouldn’t be out of place in a Cradle of Filth intro, the humanism creeps in through Anni’s seamlessly cutting vocal lines that compel you to lean into compassion for a protagonist who is fighting a losing battle with inertia and mania.

With enough raw power in her vocal lines they could be used as a natural energy source around the airy interludes, Anni is gorgeously vulnerable and unfuckwithable in the same harmonically pitched breath. We officially can’t wait to hear her debut album, The Revealing, which promises to pull prog rock in around her symphonic rock beguile.

The Vortex is Closing is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Unstoppable: London rockers Compound Radius tries to find the peace within on Victim of our Minds

Posted on 23 March 2023

Gripping our hungry core with a ravenous soundtrack to wake up the neighbours, Compound Radius ravage innocent ears with something rather hardcore and slides all the worries away on Victim of our Minds.

Compound Radius is a London, UK-based indie rock band that smartly submerges funk, folk, soul, electronica, metal and world music into their hard-hitting creations.

‘‘Arnab Datta, aka Radius, is their lead singer, lead guitarist and composer whose songs are multilingual, English, Bengali, Hindi ,Sanskrit Afrikaans etc. His similarly multi-talented wife Aditi provides ideas and female vocals. On drums is the energetic Rajib Chakraborty and on bass the brilliant Dan Mackrill. Compound Radius have been gigging since September 2021 and played their first big show in July 2022.” ~ Compound Radius

Powering in with a weighty harmony with much might and significance, Compound Radius are that all-pro act who doesn’t care what anyone thinks. They impress from all angles on Victim of our Minds and shall take many breaths away with a dragon-like fire.

Victim of our Minds from London, UK-based indie rock band Compound Radius is a rather explosive track which might raise the temperature a tad higher than before. Actually, this will probably burn all plastic away and sends us into a wondrous universe which might slice the doubt out of millions on this thunderbolt.

Turn this up on SoundCloud.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

New Zealand powerhouse Thess have made a monolithic hard-rock return with ‘Kombakke’

Posted on 11 March 2023

If Coal Chamber, Deftones, Alice in Chains, Mushroomhead and Pantera were placed in a smouldering sonic pot, the simmering amalgam would groove in the same hard-rock vein as the latest single from the Nelson, New Zealand-hailing fourpiece, Thess.

After a recording hiatus, the monolithically hard-hitting powerhouse released their brand-new single, Kombakke; and there’s the promise that there is plenty more in the pipeline from the criminally underrated act, which more than has what it takes to send ripples through the industry that are powerful enough to move tectonic plates.

The extended single melodically pulls you through a myriad of progressive stylistic exhibitions of the band’s dynamism – never allowing you to get complacent with the ever-transitory rough rancour that efficaciously delivers catharsis to anyone on the same pissed-off page.

Kombakke was released on February 14th. Hear it for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Strange Authority stretched their wounds in their hard-rock heavy-hitter, L’Appel Du Vide

Posted on 15 February 2023

Amplifying the anticipation amassing around their debut LP as much as the high gain guitars, the New Jersey powerhouse Strange Authority delivered us from hard-rock monotony with the unveiling of the third single, L’Appel Du Vide, from their upcoming album, Aftershock.

With a touch of James Hetfield to the vocals before they descend into Still Remains-Esque guttural furore and instrumentals that push their hard-rock sound far from classic territory, the exploratively volatile release embraces the future of post-hardcore while keeping familiarly heavy riffs at its core.

If it has been a while since you’ve heard lyrics as impactful as the instrumentals, strap yourselves in for the high-octane multi-faceted resonance.

L’Appel Du Vide is now available to stream on Spotify. Stay tuned for the release of the LP, Aftershock, which is in the pipeline and ready to drop in late Spring 2023.

Review by Amelia Vandergast