With the Hammerfest hordes once again having descended on north Wales for three days of heavy metal action, our resident DJ looks back over his shoulder to the first day of the slightly lighter fare that was offered up by last weekend’s HRH AOR shebang.
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You need only listen to the progression in sound between ‘Devil is Fine’ and ‘Stranger Fruits’ to recognise that Zeal and Ardor have immensely benefitted in the transition from a one-man studio project to full band. Tighter, more complex and with a wider diversity in sound between the project’s black metal leanings and roots blues foundation, Zeal and Ardor possess a mastery of atmospherics which verges on the edge of cinematic, their songs painting a vivid picture of a world that (maybe) never was. That makes ‘Live in London’ – their first live release – a fascinating proposition, giving fans a chance to check out the band at a primordial point of development, still very much coming into a performance style that could see them top massive bills in future.
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DJ Monk first came across – or perhaps that should read “stumbled”, as it was quite late in the afternoon – Hertfordshire bruisers Outright Resistance on the New Blood stage at Bloodstock some three years ago. Although he was covering the event for another publication, who were more interested in the, shall we say, “mellower” ends of the bill, he still made an effort to get his metal fix on, and was impressed by the quintet’s balls-to-the-wall, rip-your-face-off approach. Move the clock forward, and the Stevenage crue are back with a new vocalist and this brand spanking new album.
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Philadelphia-based thrashers Eyes Of The Living might not be an overly familiar name, but the musicians involved have a lot of collective experience under their belts. Two of the guys involved – singer/guitarist Tim Swisher and bassist Chris Moore– were in a band called Abolish during the Nineties. They never scored the big time but did get a decent buzz in their local scene and opened for several significant acts, not least of which being Iron Maiden. After splitting in 1998, they stayed in touch and occasionally got together to play tunes and jam while getting jobs writing music for TV channels.
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Having followed the traditional cycle of album/tour/album/tour – with the emphasis on the live side of their activities – for the past 12 years, Atlanta riot grrls The Coathangers took some rare time off last summer to recharge their batteries, re-evaluate their position and, in their own terms, reconfigure their sound, re-emerging from this self-imposed hibernation with this new collection of 11 songs, just released by Suicide Squeeze Records.
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