In a recent review, John B went on a rant about how much the alt metal genre means to him. We will spare you that full rant here for the cliff notes version. This is a genre that has so much competition and some outstanding greats like Seether, Breaking Benjamin and Five Finger Death Punch, among others. You have to really make yourself stand out to make it in JB’s mind. So how does Fear Of Falling do to breakthrough?
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With Cirith Ungol already having been put to bed in the early ‘90s, it seemed like they never would reach the lofty heights of a music scene that they arguably helped shape. Yet the beast could not be kept locked away in the depths of California forever and the calling of fans from across Europe resulted in a resurrection in the last decade. What we have in this particular EP is a handful of songs that were written for those early glory days of the ‘70s and ‘80s that have been given a new lease of life to hit the streets in the wake of a global pandemic to remind the world that Cirith Ungol are very much still alive.
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In another sign that live touring is returning to some sort of pre-pandemic normality, Svalbard have announced that they will follow their appearance at the Damnation festival with a run of dates for this November, with fellow heavyweights CLTDRP and Heriot in tow.
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It has to be said that, with a few exceptions, blues guitarists are like a good red wine – they just get better with age. And it often takes that aging process to garner them the admiration and respect which they deserve. This second assertion has never really been true of Billy Gibbons, as he always has been one of the most respected, if somewhat under-rated, blues artists of his generation, even if his light in that regard was not always allowed to shine within the confines of ZZ Top, especially in their chart-topping MTV-friendly ‘Eliminator’ era… however, the respect in which he is held by his contemporaries was brought home to Monk recently during numerous conversations with fellow attendees at the funeral of Belfast blues legend Rab McCullough, when Gibbons’ name consistently came to the fore during discussions about other great guitarists…
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If you have read John B’s reviews in the past you know that he’s a total sucker for good power metal. It is a genre that can both be super serious while also being fun and cheesy all at the same time. Inherent to the style are huge tones and powerful vocals that can totally wrap you up in the experience. This is when it is done well; when done poorly, JB feels like it falls harder than other genres due to how high the expectations are. So, the question is does ‘Equilibria’ fall flat or live up to his high expectations?
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