TYRANN - Tyrann Forever review

 

TYRANN - Tyrann Forever

Dying Victims Productions

Electric Assault Records

OK so I know I'm old but I am not senile, yet. I know it's 2026 but listening to this release you would think it's 1986. The opening cut on here, "Born for Hell", could've easily appeared on one of those Metal Blade compilations from back then. So yeah we're talking about some fuckin nostalgia sound here. But there's a reason for that which will come about a few lines down. 

This is the third full length from TYRANN, a four piece act who hail from Stockholm, Sdewen. They've been around since 2018 and besides the full lengths they've released a bunch of short form releases as well. Musically it's 1980's Hard Rock / Heavy Metal. And for someone like myself was around back then this just sounds so fuckin cool. but hey the members of this band are not strange to nostalgia.

Something important to mention is that the band members of TYRANN are or where in some cool bands I liked before. For example you've got bassist / vocalist Tobias Lindqvist who use to be in ENFORCER. Drummer Jakob Ljungberg was also in ENFORCER as well as TRIBULATION. Just for the record I like TRIBULATION's first album when they were an Old School Death Metal band. What came out afterwards I'm not a fan of.

But next we've got on guitars Adam Zaars who is in TRIBULATION as well as being once in ENFORCER as well as REPUGNANT. And finally there's Joseph Tholl on guitar who was also in ENFORCER and is still in TRIBULATION.

 

Now I'm not saying what these guys are doing makes TYRANN sound like equals to the big heavies of that era. But as far as the second tier bunch or what we called the Underground Metal scene back in the day. Yeah this four piece would've been huge. I mean you've got great vocals. The riffs are decent and the guitar solos are cool. In all honesty it's like a pre-ENFORCER. By the way this is a split release between ELECTRIC ASSAULT RECORDS who are doing the vinyl and DYING VICTIMS PRODUCTIONS who are releasing this on CD.

https://dying-victims.de/

http://electricassaultrecords.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://dyingvictimsproductions.bandcamp.com/album/tyrann-forever

SKRACKEN - Echoes from the Void review

 

SKRACKEN - Echoes from the Void

Dying Victims Productions

I don't know if I've said it yet but in all honesty 2025 is the year of female fronted Metal. Seriously there are so many cool releases this year with women singing on em. And here's another one which took a second look. Honestly the first time I checked out this Swedish band's debut full length I thought it was OK with a bunch of notes written about it. 

Fast forward a few weeks I returned to it and now can say it's a damm good release which needs your attention. First off the genre tagline here is Hard Rock / Heavy Metal. OK sure I'll go with that but these Swedes know some Post Punk circa late 80's. The song writing on here conveys a dark expanse. SKRACKEN just remind me of some 1990's bands who I liked but never scratched the surface of above the underground music scene. 

When you hear Sofie Lee Johansson's vocals it's like a part blues, another is angst ridden Post Punk fuckin Rock and then it's straight up Hard fuckin Rock vocals. Now of course every song on here is her interpretation through the riffs / song structures by guitarists Sebastian Lindberg and Martin Nordin. Tracks like "By His Word" and "House of Greed" are totally rocking dynamic. But then you'll get the soulful melodic number "Witch" which opens up the environment.

Add to that "Her Presence" comes across as a cool rocking 80's Metal number but Sofie Lee Johansson's vocals just take it to the hilt. Plus the song writing is just damm good. "Sweet Silence" is also a damm cool rocker. I mean all in all this album's nine tracks (actually it's eight since the first cut in an instro opener) are damm good. Echoes from the Void is a solid album. I look forward to hearing more from em in the future.

 

https://dying-victims.de/

LISTEN HERE: 

https://dyingvictimsproductions.bandcamp.com/album/echoes-from-the-void

FLY - Or Die! review

 

FLY - Or Die!

Dying Victims Productions

In all honesty every couple a years I'll see and hear some new Hard Rock / Metal act that's supposed to be the biggest thing since sliced bread. In 2025 it's FLY a four piece act who hail from Melbourne, Australia. 

Now in all honesty hell yeah on this the band's full length debut FLY fuckin rocks. The opener cut is an instro but the next official song "Highway Fiend" has a MOTORHEAD vibe which fuckin kills. The following song, "The Sinner" is a full on ripper. It's like MOTORHEAD with Richie Blackmore on guitar. Seriously listen to those riffs because it's Machine Head all the way. And the leads are damm good as well.

As this album continues yeah the MOTORHEAD influence reigns on a bunch of cuts but I also hear VENOM and some RADIO BIRDMAN on "Loser" and "Fly or Die". So yeah this is in spirit a homage to hard fuckin rock from the late 70's whether it was Australian Punk Fuckin Rock or UK MOTORHEAD rock and rule. Great fuckin album. 

https://dying-victims.de/

LISTEN HERE:

https://dyingvictimsproductions.bandcamp.com/album/or-die

TIME RIFT - In Flight review

 

TIME RIFT - In Flight

Dying Victims Productions

Here we have the second full length from this Portland, Oregon trio. Band wise you've got Justin Kaye on guitars and vocals who started this band in 2014 after an earlier act he was in, DOOMSOWER, disbanded. After listening to this album I wanna check out DOOMSOWER as well. Next up you have Terrica Kleinknecht on drums who joined the band in 2017. and finally on vocals there's Domino Monet who became part of this band in 2023.

Now just to get the facts out of the way. Musically this is not Extreme Metal at all. But it's pretty damm great sounding Hard Fuckin Rock. I never heard the band's debut so they're a new find for me. Sound-wise I'm remembering sounds like this from say early 1980s. Hat's off to Justin Kaye who's got a cool catchy package of riffs on here as well as cool soloing. The drum work is just classic sounding. And of course Domino Monet is just an amazing vocalist who adds plenty of soul and rage. 

In Flight is nine cuts in just over 30 minutes length-wise. So that's a classic 80's album time space to say the least. As far as songs go I pretty much like this album from start to finish. But hey as far as outstanding tracks go I'd say opener "I Am (The Spear)" kicks ass. Add to that "Coyote Queen", "Thunder Calling" and "The Hunter" are all cool as fuck. I hope the college radio stations out in Portland, Oregon are having this band's music on rotation. 

Be that as it may if this was the 1980's then TIME RIFT would be one of the coolest bands around. Well hell I remember the 80's so let's make em one of the great bands of 2025.  

https://dying-victims.de/

LISTEN HERE:

https://dyingvictimsproductions.bandcamp.com/album/in-flight

ORANGE GOBLIN - Science, Not Fiction review

 

ORANGE GOBLIN - Science, Not Fiction

Peaceville Records

England's ORANGE GOBLIN has come a long way from just being a "stoner rock" band. Now in all honesty my favorite album by em has always been their second full length Time Travelling Blues from 1998. I mean that's a stoner rock classic. But as time passed the band didn't play repeat with ever other album, like some of their peers, ahem? Instead ORANGE GOBLIN has been one of the few bands from that English Doom sub genre that actually showed progression as well as integrity with every new full length. That's why they can hold the sub genre close to their vest but then go crazy with it. 

Here we have the band's tenth full length since starting out back in 1997. Of course what makes things great is keeping a creative line-up together. And on here you still have original members Ben Ward on vocals, guitarist Joe Hoare and drummer Chris Turner. Their newest member is bassist Harry Armstrong who joined in 2021. With this line-up ORANGE GOBLIN has put out another damm good release. 

Musically this full length is a continuation of the band's sonic journey over the past decade. We;re not talking stoner generic doom. Instead yeah there's plenty of groove laden riffs but not in a peace love dope sense. It's more punch you in the face. Ben Ward still has that roaring baritone vocal. Joe Hoare still comes up with head banging & fist pumping riffs while also crawling into the psych landscape. To me the guy is one of the best guitarists in English doom.

Ya know when I first gave this latest album a listen I was like OK it's cool. Then I think it was a week later where I was playing some of their previous releases. I was getting hyped up on ORANGE GOBLIN's previous releases. So I listened to this one again a few times in a row. You could tell how the band took all of what they did previously and amp-ted it up a thousand fold. ORANGE GOBLIN ain't a stoner rock act. They're Hard Fuckin Rock and Metal. And they're one of the best out there.

https://peaceville.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://peaceville.bandcamp.com/album/science-not-fiction

GREYHAWK - Thunderheart review

 

GREYHAWK - Thunderheart

Fighter Records

I've been seeing a lot of interest in what is called The New Wave Of Classic Metal or Traditional Metal. Hell even the Youtube show Sea of Tranquility now has a segmant on it. Which just shows ya the music is getting recognized by the mainstream. The fact is this stuff has florished in the underground for a long time now. And it's been championed by cool underground labels like Fighter Records as well as many others.

So what we have here is the second full length by Seattle, Washington's GREYHAWK. This is a band I've been a fan of for some time. They started out in 2016, put out two EPs and a full length and I liked their style of metal. I mean it's classic as far as old school NWOBHM and early power metal sounds go. But on this latest release things have changed a bit.

First off there's a line up change. Gone is guitarist Jacquelynn Ziel and she is replaced by Rob Steinway. Otherwise the band is the same. Musically things have changed since their last EP which came out in 2022. Half of the cuts on here still follow the whole fantasy classic power metal route. Then you get other cuts like for example "Ombria (City of the Night)" or "Rock & Roll City" which come across as 80's hard rock. 

I'm not knocking on em since they pull it off well. Vocalist Rev Taylor does a great job with his mid-range singing style as well as his shouts and of course falsetto screams. Of course a big plus is the amazing guitar soloing by Jesse Berlin. He still shreds in the Yngwie Malmsteen style, aka: all over the place. In the end it's a decent album although I wish it was more power metal than hard rock.

http://www.fighter-records.com/

LISTEN HERE: 

https://fighter-records.bandcamp.com/album/thunderheart

SONIC WOLVES - III review

 

SONIC WOLVES - III

Argonauta Records

This fucker rocks! Ya know every once in a while when I'm checking out an album and I'm smiling on the first play hell fuckin yeah. The tagline on this band is Stoner Doom and Rock. Well yeah I guess that's cool. But honestly this platter is pure 70's hard rock and plenty of psych elements for you stoners. 

So some history for ya. The SONIC WOLVES are a power trio from Italy who've been around since 2015. The band members are vocalist / bassist Kayt Vigil, guitarist Nico Nigro and on drums is Vita (aka: Gianni Vitarelli) who use to be in UFOMAMMUT. Together they are a head banging rockers who will also take you onto a cosmic trip. Oh yeah and just for the record Kayt Vigil and Gianni Vitarelli are married. 

So where do we start? Alright not only is Kayt Vigil a fuckin great bass player (she brings the thunder) but she has some savage vocals. Then there's Gianni Vitarelli who spent twenty years behind the kit for UFOMAMMUT, nuff said there. Finally Nico Nigro's guitar work is amazing. The guy kicks in with great groove laden riffs and adds either blues or psych inspired solos. 

Musically this is like an explosion of MUDHONEY, UFOMAMMUT and ORANGE GOBLIN. Yeah that does sound kinda cool and rocking. This is my first time hearing this band so I have no clue what their sound was prior to this. All I can say is that these eight cuts on here are worth your time and money to check out.  

https://www.argonautarecords.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://sonicwolves.bandcamp.com/album/iii

THE OBSESSED - Gilded Sorrow review

 

THE OBSESSED - Gilded Sorrow

Ripple Music

The last time I saw The OBSESSED was a few years back when they played with ANTISEEN and EYEHATEGOD in Chapel Hill, NC. Wino and company played a decent set but it wasn't much different then the time I saw em a year before. I think that the Sacred album from 2017 was out at the time. Back then I thought Sacred was a decent album but it was missing some sort of spirit as in the original OBSESSED mode. 

Now giving this new one a few listens I'm like yeah Wino is back as a guy who knew 70's hard rock, played it, rocked it and then got doomy. So yeah this new album rocks with plenty of 70's groove, a slight bit of doom and a whole lot of fuckin Wino killing it. Along with Wino for the ride in this new version of The OBSESSED is returning drummer Brian Costantin who is from the Sacred days. Next up is Jason Taylor on guitar and Chris Angleberger on bass.  

Favorite tracks on here well there's the opener "Daughter of an Echo" which is a cool ass groove laden rocker reminiscent of certain cuts from 1994's The Church Within. "It's Not OK" is also in that same vein. "Realize a Dream" and "Jailine" come across like 70's Southern Rock cuts. Both songs are a full on blast. 

As far as the more doom laden cuts go "Stoned Back to the Bomb Age" is a fuzz laden-ed head banger. While "Yen Sleep" reminds me of SPIRIT CARAVAN which is cool. Be that as it may I'll always say my favorite OBSESSED album is their debut. With that said I believe that opinion has changed after listening to this multiple times. I think this album blows away everything Wino has done in the past under The OBSESSED banner. 

https://ripple-music.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/album/gilded-sorrow

AARDVARK - Tough Love review

 

AARDVARK - Tough Love

Dying Victims Productions

Honestly I can't believe I'm writing about a band named AARDVARK (says the guy who owns the complete discography of ANAL VOMIT). Alright just for starters this band hails from Australia. There are no aardvarks in that country. Aardvarks live in Africa. They eat ants and are a remnant of prehistoric mammals. Which is a great segway into talking about this band. 

AARDVARK are a four piece act; two guitarists, one of em sings, plus a bass player and drummer. My previous mention of the word "prehistoric" fits in well with this act. Musically this band is a throwback to mid 70's hard fuckin rock. I'm talking 1975 to 1979 aka: just before the NWOBHM era kicked in. There are times when this release comes across like JUDAS PRIEST's Rocka Rolla. And guitarist / vocalist Ed Vaark does an early Halford vocal style well.

All in all Tough Love is an enjoyable album, says a guy who's 60. It's melodic hard rock from a time when bands like PRIEST, THIN LIZZY, UFO and SCORPIONS took listeners into something different in the mid 70's. I can't help but enjoy songs like "Destructor", "Fight Back" and the title cut. Yeah this is a perfect album for people who wanna go way back. 

https://dying-victims.de/

LISTEN HERE:

https://dyingvictimsproductions.bandcamp.com/album/tough-love

COLTRE - To Watch with Hands to Touch with Eyes review

 

COLTRE - To Watch with Hands to Touch with Eyes

Dying Victims Productions

The tagline on this one was New Wave of British Heavy Metal albeit in 2024. But after a few plays I can tell ya (from personal experience) this comes off as pre-NWOBHM aka: mid 1970's sounding hard rock. So sit back and relax as I try to make sense of this to you. 

First off COLTRE are a new four piece act from London, England. This is their debut full length. Prior to this the band put out a five song EP in 2020 titled Under the Influence. Trust me if you like this then you'll want to get that one as well. Line-up wise you've got two guitarists, a bass player and drummer. One of the guitarist sings. How 70's is that?

Now not only does COLTRE come off sounding as something from my early listening ears in the mid 70's. But the production on here is spot on 1970's analog. Yeah this comes off as some rare 70's act that some fuck at a record convention wants a $100 for. Then there's the cover art which to me looks Prog especially with the title. 

But hey as I always say it's all about the music. So if you're into 70'S era sounds by THIN LIZZY, UFO, BLUE OYSTER CULT and even some JUDAS PRIEST then you're gonna like this one. For me I like it but there are some obvious rip offs to contend with. One example is the third cut "Rat Race". Sure it's a great homage to early UFO and a damm good track. But little did I know that the latter half of this album would be a total ode to UFO especially the final cut "Oblivion".

Do you like THIN LIZZY? Then you'll love "Friends Aren't Electric" since it has the bass riff from "Emerald". Add to that I'd swear that the title cut borrows riffs from one of BLUE OYSTER CULT's first three albums. But hey be thankful because COLTRE are not GHOST. And all in all despite this old man's obvious points this is a pretty damm good album. 

For me COLTRE gets huge nostalgia points simply because the music is beautifully done. There's plenty of old school twin guitar lead work. Marco Stamigna has a calm cool and convincing heart felt delivery to his vocals. The rhythm section delivers with thick bass lines as well as cool drum work. 

I mean how can you fault a band when their opening cut "Feast of the Outcast" reminds ya of DEEP PURPLE minus Jon Lord's  Hammond organ. Yeah this is damm good.   

https://dying-victims.de/

LISTEN HERE:

https://dyingvictimsproductions.bandcamp.com/album/to-watch-with-hands-to-touch-with-eyes

RIOT ACT - Closer to the Flame 2xCD review

 

RIOT ACT - Closer to the Flame 2xCD

Global Rock Records

I got to see this band with RAVEN back in late October. RIOT ACT was billed as former members of RIOT playing classic favorites as well as new original material. They came out as a four piece act (more on that later) and started off their set with a couple of originals. Then the band kicked into one of the oldies "Swords And Tequila". I swear their singer was channeling the spirit of past vocalist Guy Speranza. Hell I almost dropped my beer. From that point on I was in awe of this band.

RIOT ACT is basically guitarist Rick Ventura's return to rock. Ventura was in the original RIOT from 1978 to 1984. Those are considered the glory years for RIOT with studio releases like 1979's Narita, 1981's Fire Down Under, 1982's Restless Breed and Born in America from 1983. Just for the record I saw RIOT play with the SCORPIONS and RAINBOW back in 1982.

RIOT ACT was originally supposed to be a five piece act with Ventura plus fellow former RIOT guitarist Lou Kouvaris. Sadly Kouvaris passed away due to the Coronavirus in 2020. But Ventura decided to keep the band going with the other three members.

Now as far they go well you've got vocalist Don Chaffin. Now like I said earlier sure he can channel the spirit of former vocalist Guy Speranza on the oldies. But in his own right Chaffin is an amazing singer (and front man if you get to see em). I mean he does hard rock as well as blues rock to perfection. At times he reminds me of a young David Coverdale with a one octave higher range. 

Then there's bassist Paul Ranieri, where the hell did this guy come from? Not only does he hold down bass duties well, actually better than that. But he adds in leads to a point where he's their second lead guitarist. Finally there's drummer Claudio Galinski. Where did he come from? My guess is from a time machine since this guy is pure late 70's/early 80's drum style. Like Charlie Watts with a spiked wrist band.

So this is a double CD release with the first disc being the band's debut album and the second disc is the original five piece doing old RIOT songs. As far as the originals go they're damm good. Sound wise it's sort of reminiscent of early RIOT but it's more like an unearthed classic from the late 70's. I mean it's got some great fuckin rockin songs which should be radio hits, some bluesy tracks which rip and maybe one track which could be considered a ballad. All in all it's classic sounding, cool as fuck and with a modern touch. 

Standout tracks for me are the opening title track. To me Ventura is showing his Blackmore influence on here. And it ain't his only one. This song rocks and should be a hit. Add to that "Wanted" has a more modern groove touch with respect to the old ways. Once again this could've been a hit in any of the past couple of decades. 

"Smoking Gun" is another cut where Ventura lets his inner Blackmore rain supreme on the bluesy leads. "Stand or Fall" could've been one of the biggest hits of 1980. And it should be for 2022. "Angelina" is what I'd consider a ballad but what a great song. The interplay between bass and guitar almost gives it a prog feel to an obvious pop rock oriented cut. Finally "Rock Love and Roll" is a final showcase of early 80's Metal in yer face.

As far as the second disc goes this one features the original RIOT ACT five piece doing twelve old RIOT songs. Of course many of these songs were played at the show I was at. And they're also my favorite RIOT songs. I'm talking about "Rock City" and "Swords And Tequila" of course. But hey you get a new version of "No Lies" which once again I'm in awe of Don Chaffin's vocals. Of course there's a bunch more.

The bottom line here is that RIOT ACT are the embodiment of past greatness meets modern day acceptance. Sure I'm old and wanna hear the old stuff. But hey their new stuff is killer and they make "Outlaw" sound new and fresh. This might be my favorite album of 2022.

http://www.globalrockrecords.com/index.html

LISTEN HERE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0rzUgEm5Co&list=OLAK5uy_mgr948fQXZqbEIHREOfaxY5uQChF7DRAE&index=1

DEEP PURPLE - Turning to Crime review

 

DEEP PURPLE - Turning to Crime

earMUSIC

At a time when I just started to appreciate one of my all time favorite bands moving into a more prog direction out they come with a cover song compilation. Now of course the precursor argument for this is that DEEP PURPLE started out doing covers on their early albums. Ah yeah I know and I love those albums. But they were re-imaging certain songs from blues and pop music acts into a more psych rock friendly style of the time. 

Be that as it may earlier this year SAXON came out with their album Inspirations which was an all covers album. To their credit it was a decent album albeit they stuck to rock music covers. On here DEEP PURPLE goes way out of the box with their choice of songs to cover. I'll get into them in a few but I give em credit for not playing it safe. 

There's also something else important about this album. The band sounds fuckin fantastic and they're having a blast. With the exception of guitarist Steve Morse, everyone else in the band is in their 70's. Speaking of which Steve Morse, who I never really appreciated as I should have while in DEEP PURPLE, sounds cool as fuck on here. His soloing is absolutely killer as well as exciting.

 

Moving on from there I might have said it before but it bare's repeating. Jon Lord somewhere is smiling because of Don Airey. I mean if you've followed Don Airey's career in hard rock then you know he's done great work. And on here he really shows off his versatility. Finally Ian Paice and Roger Glover as the rhythm section are on fire. But Ian Gillan sure you can't scream anymore but you've steal got that bluesy sound which was always cool.

Now as far as their cover song collection well there's cool, surprising and horrible selections. As far as the cool and surprising go well opener "7 and 7 Is" by the late 60's band LOVE is a decent opener. The band pretty much plays it straight on here. "Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu" by  HUEY SMITH is damm good especially with Don Airey's piano work. Their version of FLEETWOOD MAC's "Oh Well" is cool as well since the band starts off with it being traditional and then Steve Morse rips in with some amazing soloing. He even adds some prog rock style to the old English blues classic.

Some more surprises, "Jenny Take a Ride" the MITCH RYDER classic is done traditionally but with some better guitar soloing and keyboard accents. Paice's drumming on here is fuckin nuts. Next up is also a surprise, BOB DYLAN's "Watching the River Flow". Never heard the original version of it but DEEP PURPLE makes it sound like a jukebox cut worthy of playing at a Texas juke joint. Also I gotta say their cover of "Lucifer" by the BOB SEGER SYSTEM is pretty damm epic. 

  

As far as the bad (or what I don't like) go well to me they're very bad. There's the jazzy "Let the Good Times Roll" from RAY CHARLES. Basically not might type of thing but hey they, mainly Don Airey, do a good job with it. Their cover of LITTLE FEAT's "Dixie Chicken" is somewhat straight forward. I'm sure this was a Steve Morse pick. I've always hated LITTLE FEAT so there you go. Ian sounds horrible singing this cut.

Next up in the bad dept, I'm surprised to say it but their cover of the YARDBIRDS' "Shapes of Things" tries to owe much to the original but switches to the Jeff Beck Group's version in mid song and ends up being boring as it closes. Then there's the whatafuck is up with doing JOHNNY HORTON's "The Battle of New Orleans"? But of course there's CREAM's "White Room" which is their second insult to great 60's rock. Sorry Steve Morse but your solo ain't Clapton. 

The final cut on here is a throwaway jam of touches from the JEFF BECK GROUP, BOOKER T and the MG's, the ALLMAN BROTHERS, LED ZEP and the SPENCER DAVIS GROUP. Yeah gimme a break. The coolist thing I've heard from DEEP PURPLE of late was their jazz inspired rendition of "Smoke on the Water" which I saw on a French TV show. All in all the first half of the album is cool but the ending is questionable.

https://www.ear-music.net/

LISTEN HERE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJpUNGaldCI

THE MAYWOOD in Memorium

 

Back in December when I put out my Best of 2020 list as always I include at the end of it The Worst in Metal for the year. For 2020 that was the lock-downs over the Wuhan Corona 19 Virus. Of course that was a crapper for bands and labels. But it was worse for the small venues who took a huge financial hit by being closed for so long. With that said I just found out that a favorite local venue of mine, The Maywood, is closing down for good over this bullshit.

According to the venue's Facebook page announcement:

"I'm sorry to announce The Maywood is closing its doors for good. 

I held on as long as I could, but I just don't see the light. I want to thank everyone that has contributed to our music scene over the years as in bands, patrons, promoters, and of course the staff. We couldn't have done it without you. I especially want to thank all of the people that helped donate and participate with the fundraisers, as in gofundme and The Maywood Mayhem. Keep on Rockin' and Metal Rules!!!"

For those of you who don't know, The Maywood was a 200+ capacity venue located just south of downtown Raleigh, NC. It use to be called Volume 11. I have been to many great shows at that club since they were the only ones who primarily had local, regional and national Metal/Hard Rock touring bands play there. There's too many great acts I've seen there over the years. In fact I saw bands play there that I never thought I'd get to see since they were usually on big stadium package tours. But hey I saw em and remember em fondly.

The Maywood also was the home venue for two major local events. It hosted the Raleigh Death Fest in recent years and KIFFmas each year for a long time. Add to that in the back of the venue the place rented band practice spaces. A ton of local bands called The Maywood their home. And last year in order to give back to the venue those bands contributed to a benefit compilation with proceeds going to the club.

You can listen to and order the comp. below:

https://maywoodmayhem.bandcamp.com/releases?fbclid=IwAR0YiqtXexkQgS5NWPDRYcwnW28DrFIl2PCB6DjVoCxOklqSiumFVJgN1_Q

The Maywood / Volume 11 was the place where if you went to a show you would see plenty of your friends there. And I cannot emphasize it more, sure there are other venues in town that will have cool shows. But The Maywood was 99.9% metal and hard rock with some punk/hardcore thrown in as well. As of now my outlook is that no other existing venues will pick up that slack. 

One final note, since the late 80's when I decided to call Raleigh, NC my home. I've seen at least a dozen local venues, that I use to see shows at, shut their doors for one reason or another. So yeah seeing The Maywood shut down is sad. But it's certainly not the death of extreme music in our town. The local music scene history shows that whenever a void is open it will soon or later be filled by something else. 

Now like I've said the presently remaining venues which do have a similar capacity will not take up the mantle. The people involved in those enterprises are too hipster, too caught up in social issues and not true fans of metal. I found out last year that one local venue's future plans is to book bands by committee in order to be inclusive. In other words nothing extreme with a drinking crowd but plenty of safe, sedate crap. Yeah well good luck with that. 

But anyways as the past has shown sooner or later someone will open a venue which will cater to us, the fans of METAL and HARD FUCKIN ROCK. But for now we mourn the passing of a friend. Thanks to The Maywood for all the great times. You will always be missed and remembered. 

LUCIFER - Lucifer III review

LUCIFER - Lucifer III

Century Media Records




They're still on Century Media which makes two for em so far. I wonder how long that record contract goes? Anyways I've never been a fan of LUCIFER for a variety of reasons. But in the hope of understanding why I'll explain. The singer's previous band, THE OATH, was like a wanna-be doom version of ABBA. You had the two guys and two hot women in leather. The music was average but the hiptard hoi-poloi media went apeshit over em.


But then that band broke up and their singer, Johanna Sadonis, was placed in front of another good group of musicians which went by the name LUCIFER. Their first album was on an indie label and had so many borrowed riffs/song ideas that not even the hiptards went along with it. Century Media picked em up after that hoping a female fronted act would sell. The singer's husband Nicke Andersson (HELLACOPTERS, ENTOMBED) got on board and the results of that album were not very good. Once again it was average sounding female fronted hard rock.


So here we have their third album and honestly it's mediocre sounding hard rock/heavy metal. Thirty some years ago a guy with eyeliner would be singing this stuff. But at least they wouldn't be obviously ripping off so many past songs from non metal acts. If you liked their second album then you'll like this as well since it sounds just like it. Although Johanna's vocals sound as if she recorded them on her smart phone. Too bad I can't mock the videos the band did for this album. That would take a paragraph or two.




https://www.centurymedia.com/

https://www.facebook.com/luciferofficial

MEAN MACHINE - Rock 'n' Roll Up Your Ass review

MEAN MACHINE - Rock 'n' Roll Up Your Ass

Fighter Records




A little history for ya back in the mid -90's, metal was going through it's own weird times. But so was the whole underground punk/hardcore music scene. Along came a band called The HELLACOPTERS outta Sweden which featured Nicke Andersson of ENTOMBED (not playing drums) on guitar and vocals. They pushed their musical love of THE STOOGES, MC5 and MOTORHEAD to the hilt. It was hard fuckin punk rock n roll and we, my friends as well as a shitload of people in the punk and metal scene, loved it. 


Of course a shitload of other bands jumped onto this bandwagon from around the world. It soon became a new genre for us into the extreme and it pissed off the anarcho punk losers. Every time now when I hear a present day band doing the same thing I get excited as fuck. Enter MEAN MACHINE a three piece act from Barcelona, Spain. Listening to this, their third full length, is as if I'm standing in a club in 1998 getting blown away by some cool punk/metal hybrid act that loves to kick your ass. 


Guitarist Juan Pedro Quesada worships at the altar of Fast Eddie Clarke. The vocals by bassist Raul Mesa are savage punk snarls. Him and drummer Marc Tapies rappid fire through their rhythms as if there's hookers waiting for em after the recording session. All in all I love the living shit out of this release. I was waiting for them to slow down and when they do they're like MOTORHEAD. When they're fast they're like the HELLACOPTERS. This is fuckin great.


http://www.fighter-records.com/

https://meanmachinernr.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/MeanMachineRnR/

ABBATH - Outstrider review

ABBATH - Outstrider

Season of Mist



So where do I start? Alright back in 2016 Abbath, formerly of IMMORTAL, came out with a new band under his name and the eponymous titled debut full length ABBATH. It even had his fuckin face on the cover. Now aside from everything offensive to me about that release's packaging and rock star aura, I actually liked it a lot. 


I've been an IMMORTAL fan forever and I saw that ABBATH debut as a follow-up of IMMORTAL's All Shall Fall release from 2009. It was great and continued the IMMORTAL legacy. But then in 2018 Demonaz and Horgh got IMMORTAL back and released the amazing Northern Chaos Gods. Personally I thought it blew Abbath's release away as far as being true to Norwegian black metal.


So now we have ABBATH's second release and he starts by having a completely new line-up. As far as the sound and direction on Outstrider go, it was a good move. Sure it's practically impossible to remove Abbath's past legacy as far as the basic song structures he uses. But these new members do give him some added help in changing lanes. 


In that regard you've got veteran guitarist Ole Andre Farstad who brings aboard lead work with a varying awry of styles. Whether we're talking thrashy leads (he use to be in a proggy thrash band ILLTI MITA) to some blues as well as some hard rockin metal. It's evident that Farstad frees Abbath from trying to come up solos that sound rehashed. 


Next up comes the new rhythm section of drummer Ukri Suvilehto and bassist Mia Wallace. As far as Suvilehto goes, this guy is a young Finnish drummer who is phenomenal. A great modern metal style of drumming that cuts within death metal as well as black metal. Personally I think he's as good as Kevin Foley (aka: Creature) from the debut. 


As far as the Italian bassist Mia Wallace goes she's no King ov Hell as far as playing and song writing goes and that's a good thing. she fills the bass role just like Ole Jorgen Moe (aka: Apollyon) did in IMMORTAL's final days.


Which brings us finally to the music portion. During ABBATH's first tour they were doing some original stuff, some obscure IMMORTAL cuts as well as an I (as in the band) song, "Warriors". So basically this release comes across like a mix of past efforts by I as well as a less BATHORY influenced IMMORTAL and some grim & frosty hard fuckin rock.


In the end yeah I like this release but after so many plays my bias can't stand up to the truth. Abbath's best effort on here is when he reverts back to I influenced blackened rock. But then he goes back to recycled riffs from IMMORTAL's All Shall Fall and even At the Heart of the Winter stuff. Personally I rather listen to those old albums after playing this.



http://www.season-of-mist.com/

https://abbath.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/abbathband/

THE RIVEN - Self Titled review

THE RIVEN - Self Titled 

The Sign Records




File this one under the tagline; it's not extreme metal but I like it and know something about it. Way back in the mid 1990s, yeah I know the dark ages, there was a important movement within the underground punk rock scene. You had bands who wanted to bring back the rock to punk rock. Along with that came bands who injected plenty of good o'l hard rock and soul sounds which made for some cool energetic music. Another aspect was when bands would have a female vocalist who had a soulful and bluesy sound that hearkened back to the famed female vocalists of the 60's. In the 90s some of my fave bands producing this style of music were the BOTSWANAS, the BELLRAYS and THE DTs. And I'm just naming a few.


Fast forward to the here and now where we have THE RIVEN a four piece act hailing from Stockholm, Sweden. No surprise there since for decades now the Swedes have been taking a pure Americana form of rock music, retro-fitting it and then handing it back to us here in the states. Hey kudos to them because here in America nobody gives a shit about this type of music anymore as far as a popularity standpoint. Sure there are some fans but the best a band like this could do here in the states is get some free drinks from the bar after their set in some dive club. I listen to this release and hear plenty of material which in another point in time could've been on the AOR radio. Unfortunately what gets played on modern day radio is repetitive classic rock, utter garbage TV talent show inspired pop and rap music. 


Now as I step down from my soapbox let me explain what is so cool about the band and this their self titled debut full length. First off you have a balanced mix of mid tempo blues based rockers as well as some soulful ballads. And then as in their song "Finnish Woods" you get a bit of both. What makes a music style like this click is when the guitars, bass, drums all are distinct and clear in the mix. That allows the vocals to become almost an instrument in themselves. Guitarist Arnau Diaz, bassist Max Ternebring and drummer Olof Axegard, you guys nail it.


Which brings us to vocalist Totta Ekebergh. Whether she's up front forcefully rocking out on songs like "The Serpent", "Edge of Time" and "Shadow Man". Or drawing the listener in with a soulful, sultry voice on cuts like the bluesy "Far Beyond" or the Janis Joplin styled "I Remember". The bottom line is that she is amazing to sit back and hear. But of course without a great band of musicians with some cool bass lines, fantastic leads and perfect drum work it would be different. Thankfully that's not the case. There's something to admire in every song on here. So hey I know I'm bias but seriously in my not so humble opinion this is one of the best releases you will hear in 2019. That's if you have that wide range of rock music appreciation. By the way if you like this, and frankly who wouldn't, then check out this band's early EP.
  



http://thesignrecords.com/

https://www.facebook.com/TheRivenMusic

https://theriven.bandcamp.com/album/the-riven

https://theriven.bandcamp.com/album/blackbird

IRON LAMB - Blue Haze review

IRON LAMB - Blue Haze 

The Sign Records




Welcome to the wonderful world of Swedish hard rock revivalism. Full disclosure on my part, I learned about Sweden's ability to take another country's music, retro-fit it and then shove it back into the faces of fans a while ago, aka: late 80s/early 90s. I'm talking about acts like UNION CARBIDE PRODUCTIONS, THE NOMADS (Garage Rock) and of course THE HELLACOPTERS, to name a few. I guess we can now add IRON LAMB to that list.


Are you pining for some MOTORHEAD or THIN LIZZY sounding stuff? Well then here you go people because this Swedish five piece act will fill your coffers. Their singer sounds like a young non smoking Lemmy. The guitarists deliver solid riffs, decent leads and once in a while some duel attacks. The rhythm section just kicks as in all the hard rockin ways it should. There's some keyboards added on a few cuts. All in all this is a great fuckin album.



http://thesignrecords.com/

https://ironlamb.bandcamp.com/music

https://www.facebook.com/ironlambofficial/

GRANDE ROYALE - Breaking News review

GRANDE ROYALE - Breaking News
The Sign Records

Here's the third full length from Sweden's GRANDE ROYALE, a five piece act whose influences range from late 60's Detriot to 1990s Scandinavia. Yeah and since Nicke Andersson produced it plus their name is close to the title of a HELLACOPTERS' record I was kinda thinking it was gonna sound just like the HELLACOPTERS (and not ENTOMBED or DEATH BREATH). Well yes it does but in the style of their Grande Rock and High Visibility LPs. Frankly I never cared for that era of the HELLACOPTERS. I was a Supershitty to the Max, Payin' the Dues and collector of all their small format releases fan, still am. 

Be that as it may GRANDE ROYALE do a fine job on here as far as respecting the rock. There are a few mediocre cuts on here that will make harder core types wretch. "Live With You" is a real downer unless you're into radio friendly pop. There's some Southern Rock worship on "Daily Illustration" as well as "I'm on the Loose". Otherwise this is a decent release of Swedes doing Americanna.

http://thesignrecords.com/

https://thesignrecords.bandcamp.com/album/grande-royale-breaking-news

https://www.facebook.com/GR.sweden/