Category: Album Reviews

Freeways ‘Dark Sky Sanctuary’ (Dying Victims Productions)

Freeways ‘Dark Sky Sanctuary’ (Dying Victims Productions)

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Four years ago, Canadian hard rockers Freeways released their debut album ‘True Bearings’, a hugely impressive debut that fused the sound of classic hard rock from the second half of the ’70s with the verve of early NWoBHM with real authenticity. Four years later, following the sad demise of their previous record company, Freeways have now linked up with Dying Victims Productions for that long overdue follow up album ‘Dark Sky Sanctuary’.

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In The Remains – ‘Thorn Of Mind’ (Self-Released)

In The Remains – ‘Thorn Of Mind’ (Self-Released)

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Gestated against the backdrop of the pandemic, In The Remains represents a meeting of the minds of two musicians – guitarist Mats Forslund and keyboardist Johan Chasseur – brought together with a love of the music from the era in which they grew up, both as people and musicians. the heady, hard-rocking Eighties yet determined to give it a new appreciation by making it sound fresh and vibrant rather than dated and staid, forcing listeners through a time tunnel that has them wondering exactly where this album is going to take them… the answer, as Monk discovers, is a dark and mysterious journey of exploration and ultimately rewarding discovery.

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My Favourite Nemesis – ‘We Annihilate’ (Seek And Strike)

My Favourite Nemesis – ‘We Annihilate’ (Seek And Strike)

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Finnish five-piece My Favourite Nemesis return with their short, sharp new EP ‘We Annihilate’, a five-track explosion of metallic experimentation and vocal showcasing atop the dense and varied musical concepts that have informed their existing success. Following their recent signing to American label Seek And Strike after their steady gaining of reputation in the modern Finnish metal scene and millions of streams worldwide, My Favourite Nemesis masterfully balance every element of their technically composed and emotionally driven music on this dual-vocal new offering, as Georgia S now extrapolates…

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Henrik Palm – ‘Nerd Icon’ (Svart Records)

Henrik Palm – ‘Nerd Icon’ (Svart Records)

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Swedish multi-instrumentalist Henrik Palm has played with the likes of In Solitude, Pig Eyes, Gösta Berlings Saga and Södra Sverige in the past, and perhaps most notably was one of the early ‘nameless ghouls’ of Ghost. He releases his third album ‘Nerd Icon’ this week, and if it’s anything like his first two, we’re in for another weird and wonderful treat.

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Týr – ‘Battle Ballads’ (Metal Blade)

Týr – ‘Battle Ballads’ (Metal Blade)

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There are very moments in life, whether it be that of an individual or a wider entity such as a band, that can and could be described as “defining”. For Heri Joensen, founder, frontman and main creative force behind Viking metallians Týr it could be argued that one such moment – a musical epiphany, if you want – came when he made the decision to team with the symphony orchestra of his native Faroe Islands and discovered that he could, indeed, team his love of both classical music and folk metal into a glorious, homogeneous, symbiotic singular entity, which now has resulted in, almost five years of traumatic labour later, not only the band’s most ambitious and bravest album but also its most declarative, most cohesive and most cogent to date, as Monk now argues…

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Khirki – ‘Κυκεώνας’ (Venerate Industries)

Khirki – ‘Κυκεώνας’ (Venerate Industries)

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Taking its name from what is believed to have been an ancient Greek a psychoactive compounded brew, as expounded in the Eleusinian Mysteries, this album from Athenian trio Khirki mixes a heady concoction that blends doom metal with traditional Hellenic folk music, arena anthemics and classic rock vibes into a truly intoxicating aural cocktail that produces many flavours and a sense of exploratory sensitivity that will have even the most discerning palette wondering what it has just sampled.

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Manic Eden – ‘Manic Eden’ (Music Theory Recordings)

Manic Eden – ‘Manic Eden’ (Music Theory Recordings)

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It was 1993. The hair metal movement had expended the last of its ‘spray and had been over-taken by grungier, dirtier vibes. One of the biggest, most iconic, most recognizable bands on the scene were put on what seemed to be an indefinite hiatus, with their lead singer deciding to explore more diverse musical directions, leaving three of the musicians who had helped propel him to the top of the arena-selling bills in somewhat of a state of limbo. No that they decided to hang about, as they did what they did best and that was continue making music… and so it was that Whitesnake members Adrian Vandenberg, Rudi Sarzo and Tommy Aldridge found themselves putting together this one-off album, now re-released to mark its 30th anniversary.

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Keith McCoy – ‘Dawn Of The Machines’ (Self-Released)

Keith McCoy – ‘Dawn Of The Machines’ (Self-Released)

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Hailing from the historic Irish city of Limerick, Keith McCoy has been releasing music as a solo artist since 2020, including a number of synth albums/EPs, horror film scores (including a track on a John Carpenter tribute album), four progressive metal EPs and various other projects/session work with the likes of other local acts such as Mysteries End, Hedfuzy, Soylent Chiba… In other words, he’s quite a busy chappie. But, with such a prodigious volume of work in such a relatively short space of time, is it a case of quantity over quantity?

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Neversaid – ‘Bond Over Blood’ (Self-Released)

Neversaid – ‘Bond Over Blood’ (Self-Released)

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There is a well-posited psychological debate that goes by the term “nature versus nurture”, which discusses the relative importance of an individual’s innate qualities (nature) versus personal experiences (nurture) in determining or causing individual differences in physical and behavioural traits, and examines the complex interplay between genes and environment in shaping behaviour and development. It is a debate which has come to prominence in recent years, mainly through the myriad discussions around sexual identity (and, as the grandfather of a non-binary grandchild, this is not a realm Monk intends to enter in this forum), but one which is touched upon in the very title, and subsequent lyrical content of this second EP from London-based emo-punks Neversaid.

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sleepmakeswaves – ‘It’s Here, But I Have No Names For It’ (Bird’s Robe/MGM/Dunk Records)

sleepmakeswaves – ‘It’s Here, But I Have No Names For It’ (Bird’s Robe/MGM/Dunk Records)

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Post rock is a funny genre to Jase W. He absolutely adores so much of the inventive ways to create interesting, dynamic and engrossing music that often seldom has any sort of vocals to speak of and always seems to tiptoe around using tropes within the genre itself and retreading well worn paths of song construction. And hopefully, with any luck if you have a passing interest of this style of music, you’ve at least heard the name “sleepmakeswaves” and if not, this album is your perfect diving in point for a pretty expansive and diverse back catalogue of music from a band that seldom seems to find themselves in the ÜK and Europe.

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Marc Valentine – ‘Basement Sparks’ (Wicked Cool)

Marc Valentine – ‘Basement Sparks’ (Wicked Cool)

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It has to admitted that the history between Über Rock and Marc Valentine is a long and storied one. After all, for nigh on two decades he fronted one of our favourite glunk bands, Last Great Dreamers, before leaving to plough a solo furrow, which has led to this, his second stand-alone album, which cements his position as one of the most distinctive voices in the power pop mien, and one which very proudly celebrates the heritage of the subgenre in truly jubilant style.

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