Author: UberAdmin

Asylums – ‘Genetic Cabaret’ (Cool Thing Records)

Asylums – ‘Genetic Cabaret’ (Cool Thing Records)

Posted by | Jul 17, 2020 | ,

There is a line in the press release which accompanied this, the third album by Southend agit-poppers Asylums which grates with Monk, as no doubt it will with many ÜR readers, and especially our female ones, when singer Luke Branch refers to the fact that his wife “fell pregnant” during the writing and recording process. We mean, babies are not conceived by a woman tripping over a loose paving stone: there is a biological process involved. However, what Branch’s somewhat misworded statement serves to do is highlight the backdrop against which this new album itself was gestated and brought into the world.

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Stormzone – ‘Ignite The Machine’ (Metalville)

Stormzone – ‘Ignite The Machine’ (Metalville)

Posted by | Jul 17, 2020 | ,

By the time a band, any band, have reached the stage of releasing their seventh album, it is perhaps inevitable to expect they have reached a certain degree of elevation among their peers, a certain level of competency and a certain level of, shall we say, admiration. And, it has to be admitted, that Stormzone have certainly reached a certain level of attainment in their status as, arguably, Northern Ireland’s premier – and certainly most high profile, and coincidentally prolific – heavy metal act, albeit perhaps while being another example of prophets unheard in their own land, headlining festivals across Europe while picking and choosing when and where they play back home.

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Meridian Dawn – ‘The Fever Syndrome’ (Seeing Red)

Meridian Dawn – ‘The Fever Syndrome’ (Seeing Red)

Posted by | Jul 17, 2020 | ,

Jonny B has definitely been picking up a significant proportion of the melodic death metal that finds its way into the “bucket” of albums at ÜRHQ which has been a fantastic way to discover some of the newer bands starting to make waves on the scene. So when this album arrived with a promo claiming that the genre has pretty much died, he was sceptical to say the least. However, not being one to judge an album based on the claims of the press release (otherwise what would be the point in reviewing albums at all!), he gave this the benefit of the doubt and looked into what Meridian Dawn has to offer.

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Michael Grant And The Assassins – ‘Always The Villain’ (Frontiers Music)

Michael Grant And The Assassins – ‘Always The Villain’ (Frontiers Music)

Posted by | Jul 16, 2020 | ,

Michael Grant may best be known to regular ÜR followers as the guitar-slinger for hire in the Guns/Lewis incarnation of glunk pioneers LA Guns, with whom he recorded two studio albums. He may also be familiar to those with longer memories as the driving force behind prospective San Francisco alt-rockers Endeverafter, who threatened to make big noises at the turn of the millennium but never quite turned up the volume… Well, now he has stepped back into the spotlight in his own right with this self-monickered project, which sees him fully in control by playing all of the instruments – well, with the notable contribution of former Guns collaborator Shane Fitzgibbons, who laid down the drums on fivethe album’s 11 highly impressive tracks.

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