Author: Team Uber

Various Artists – ‘Fangs Volume 2’ (Mongrel Records)

Are you sat there quite convinced that the only thing that South Africa has to offer to the alternative music scene is Die Antwoord? Well, prepare yourself to be proven completely wrong (again) as I get myself stuck into another compilation album of African metal. Considering Jonny B’s last foray into African metal (Botswanan to be specific) was pretty successful, there was no way he could turn down the opportunity to pick up the second volume of ‘Fangs’, which showcases what the African metal underground has to offer…

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Ambassador – ‘Care Vale’ (Self-Released)

DJ Astrocreep admits to a level of curiosity as to what a post-punk fuelled dark rock band would sound like when reading the blurb that came through from the PR for this release. Six tracks make it look a touch on the thin side, though they come in at over 30 minutes, so there is plenty of meat to the ones they have selected to put on to this release. So, would the reliance on longer tracks serve as a good introduction for myself to the band? One way to find out!

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Trapeze – ‘Trapeze’/ Medusa’/‘You Are The Music. We’re Just The Band’ (Cherry Red)

One member went on to join Deep Purple (and a whole lot more besides), one joined Judas Priest, and the other Whitesnake. They were West Midlands rockers Trapeze – Glenn Hughes, Dave Holland and Mel Galley, and you could argue that Trapeze are best known for producing those musicians rather than for the music they made. Well now is the perfect opportunity to explore Trapeze more closely with these wonderful expanded reissues of the three albums they made in their initial tenure on The Moody Blues’ own Threshold Records label at the start of the ‘70s.

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Napalm Death – ‘Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism’ (Century Media)

The gods of grindcore, Napalm Death’s near four-decade career has seen them grow into one of the most revered names in the global extreme metal canon. Which is all well and good, so long as you remember they aren’t strictly extreme metal. Rooted in the visceral hardcore punk scene of the 80s and having spent much of the 90s experimenting wildly with their sound (to mixed critical and fan reception), ND have never been one to sit comfortably in a pigeonhole. The band’s return to more staple fare at the turn of the new millennium may have reset the balance so far as their core fanbase is concerned, but even in this century they have continued to push boundaries and expand their musical palate to include wider ideas.

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