Category: Album Reviews

Lodestar ‘Zonen’ (Self-Released)

Lodestar ‘Zonen’ (Self-Released)

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Lodestar was originally formed in 1996 by three members of legendary British rap-rock band Senser in order to fulfil their hunger for a heavier musical palette. After releasing two singles, an eponymous album hailed by the NME as ‘a modern metal masterpiece’ and touring with the likes of Tool, the band ceased operating in just a year-and-a bit later in 1997. 2024 sees Lodestar resurrected and, some 27 years later, follow up that acclaimed debut with new album ‘Zonen’.

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Bismarck ‘Vourukasha’ (Dark Essence)

Bismarck ‘Vourukasha’ (Dark Essence)

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When she sailed into active service in August 1940, the German battleship Bismarck was the heaviest vessel afloat, weighing in at a (then) massive 50,000 tonnes, and carrying enough firepower to destroy not just one but several enemy fleets, upon whom she was designed to wreck untold chaos and devastation. Now, almost three-quarters of a century later, another heavyweight vessel of the same name has set sail, designed and determined to deliver an equally crushing hammer blow to all that stands in its way.

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Nate Silva ‘The Chase’ (Self-Released)

Nate Silva ‘The Chase’ (Self-Released)

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Formerly lead singer with Canadian proggies The Slyde, Nate Silva has embarked on a solo career with a debut album that sees him pulling together all his divergent yet inherent musical influences into an album that offers a sort of weird dynamically undynamic, consistently inconsistent, hesitatingly unhesitating amalgam of surprising diverse yet unified styles into a dynamic and versatile collection of songs that profiles every aspect of his ability as songwriter and deliverer of great tunage.

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FM ‘Old Habits Die Hard’ (Frontiers Music)

FM ‘Old Habits Die Hard’ (Frontiers Music)

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Since their emergence onto the then NWoBHM dominated ÜK rock scene 40 years ago, FM – who took their name from the ÜS radio platforms from which they in turn drew their initial inspiration – have proven to be one of the most enduring and consistent proponents of the genre. Not that, like many of us, they have not endured their share of travails – a lengthy hiatus and most recently the sudden passing of founding guitarist Chris Overland – but they have always come bouncing back, and are determined to prove that this is the case once again with this, their 14th studio album.

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The Loyal Cheaters ‘And All Hell Broke Loose’ (Go Down Records)

The Loyal Cheaters ‘And All Hell Broke Loose’ (Go Down Records)

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A little more than two years after declaring that we’re all dead in the long run with their highly impressive debut album, these German/Italian garage punks now prove that they’re not only very much alive and kicking, and making raucous rock ‘n’ roll music to boot, but also very much in it for the long haul as they break loose all sorts of sonic hell on our unsuspecting withered souls with this declarative sophomore outing.

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Beyond The Beneath ‘Borderlands’ (Self-Released)

Beyond The Beneath ‘Borderlands’ (Self-Released)

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We first came across Beyond The Beneath when bassist Davy Greer was recruited into the ranks of the now temporarily dormant Baleful Creed. BTB continued to play a handful of occasional gigs, but these become fewer and more distantly apart as Greer’s new commitment took prominence. We all knew that there were some recordings lurking in the background, but these never saw the light of day, until recently, when Greer, at a loose end because of BC’s continued hiatus, dug around in his musical basement, dusted down the tapes, added a few finishing touches and decided to see what interest remained in them…

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Pat Todd & The Rankoutsiders ‘Keepin’ Chaos At Bay’ (Hound Gawd! Records)

Pat Todd & The Rankoutsiders ‘Keepin’ Chaos At Bay’ (Hound Gawd! Records)

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Pat Todd has spent decades trawling and trolling the dark corners and dusty shelves of the back alley thrift stores of Americana, picking and choosing from influences such as Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Neil Young, the Allman Boys to Tom Waits, Hank Williams to the Wilson brothers in an endeavour to distill all of his education and garnered knowledge into a single, career-defining, genre-scoffing dose of ’70s punk rock, country, blues and roots rock… in a bid to keep all the chaos at bay by producing one chaotic rock ‘n’ roll album that sums up everything he knows and has learned about the artform…

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Accept ‘Humanoid’ (Napalm Records)

Accept ‘Humanoid’ (Napalm Records)

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There are bands from whom you know more or less exactly what to expect each and every time they release a new album. Iron Maiden with their epic lyrical thematics and galloping bass riffs. AC/DC with their basic four-four mid-paced rock ‘n’ roll bravura. Anvil with their tongue-in-cheek-to-cheek no-nonsense sense of fun. Rammstein with their OTT camp take on industrialism. And, of course, Accept, with their traditional balls to the wall (sic) fuck you if you don’t like it Teutonic cross between old school and thrash miens. So, why fuck the formula. Well, thankfully the now crossbred German-American titans do not do so with this, their 17th studio album in their almost 50-year long career, as while it addresses some very modern themes it remains the sort of traditional heavy metal opus we have come to expect and love from the band.

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