White Zombie’s La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume One was a game changing record for this guy in 1992. The cover, the groove, the heavy, the videos…the whole thing was perfect and really opened up my eyes to new music. It has been, even after all these years, one of my favourite albums of all time (number 34 actually).
Astrocreep was a fine follow up, and then after becoming a solo artist, I dug, in varying degrees, his stuff under just his name, which all certainly sounds like White Zombie. That’s the thing with Rob’s solo and new stuff. If you like it, you will like the new stuff, but it is almost too predictable. I can’t be the only one who gets confused on which solo record is which, even if I enjoy them all. There is a Rob Zombie formula, and it has worked, and it still works on “solo” record number eight, The Great Satan, and yeah, I dig it.
Could the song The Devilman be on any album he put out since 1992? Yes. Is that a bad thing? No. There is a notch up on the heaviness on The Great Satan, with songs like Punks And Demons and (I’m A Rock “N” Roller. There is a bit more of a rawness to the sound too, which I am certainly here for. The B movie clips live on, which if they didn’t you know you would miss.
Could the song The Devilman be on any album he put out since 1992? Yes. Is that a bad thing? No. There is a notch up on the heaviness on The Great Satan, with songs like Punks And Demons and (I’m A Rock “N” Roller. There is a bit more of a rawness to the sound too, which I am certainly here for. The B movie clips live on, which if they didn’t you know you would miss.
One is used on Sir Lord Acid Wolfman, which is my favourite title and maybe my favourite track on The Great Satan, as it is the one that strays from the formula the most, but never more than a couple steps off the path to hell. Other tracks I dig are the familiar but different Black Rat Coffin and the circus from hell little ripper, The Black Scorpion. Two minutes, super fast, and organ? Sign me up. Unclean Animals has a Zeppelin riff and satanic flower child vibe that I also dig.
There are no bad songs on The Great Satan. Rob Zombie keeps doing his thing, and his fans will eat it up. In the limited time I have had to listen, I could see it falling on the better half of his Rob stuff when it is all said and done. Another solid, but somewhat predictable record from Rob Zombie…but would you want anything else? 8/10
Mývalyĭr – The Past Tales (Independent Release) [Matt Bladen]
For many years Melodeath has been the reserve of Scandinavia, many bands draw heavily from the history of that area with many bands using the inspiration of paganism and Vikings in their music.
The concepts of resilience, tribe, crusade and adversity are all explored in the music of bands such as Amon Amarth, Wolfheart and Insomnium, these lyrical inspirations captures by the cinematic sound of the melodeath, the death metal aggression, doom metal groove and power metal melodies all combining, with razor sharp riffs, growled or clean vocals, blastbeats and symphonic compositions.
It’s a genre that is easy to pick up but very hard to master, and UK act Mývalyĭr have managed to master it with their debut release. The Past Tales is inspired by these same stories of Scandinavian myth and legend, a debut record that is concept album that is about “eternal conflict, both within and without, that shapes us and runs through every aspect of our history and culture.” These lessons from the past used to create the brilliant music on this debut album.
Formed in isolation during the pandemic, a group of musicians started exchanging ideas and with time and skill this record and this band came to life. A steady build begins the story and Recollection gets things off to a flying start with Joe Clayton ferocious rhythm guitars syncing with Dale Pountney’s bold bass playing, locking into those melodeath riffs that attack like a rusty saw on Reign.
However it’s a set of sharpened edges that have been augmented with keys/strings/traditional instruments from Natalie Fluess, and flurries of blastbeating from Stephen Wilkinson. These musical extras from Fluess mean that Mývalyĭr’s music is complex and progressive. The title track for instance owes as much to Blind Guardian as it does Omnium Gatherum, a ten minute exploration of every facet of what Mývalyĭr do.
The rhythm section guiding the shifts in tone and pace while Kai Boyce’s lead guitar explores the melodic and dramatic tones with virtuosity as ghostly female vocals ring out here in harmonic unison with throat shredding vocals from Kain. These becoming more pronounced on The Mighty Never Fall a proper melodeath rager that goes at full speed.
The production comes from the band with the mix and master from Janne Lunnas, combined with stellar performances makes this debut album from Mývalyĭr more than just a debut record, but a band establishing themselves in a very powerful way within what can be a crowded genre. Come and experience The Past Tales of Mývalyĭr. 9/10
There are no bad songs on The Great Satan. Rob Zombie keeps doing his thing, and his fans will eat it up. In the limited time I have had to listen, I could see it falling on the better half of his Rob stuff when it is all said and done. Another solid, but somewhat predictable record from Rob Zombie…but would you want anything else? 8/10
Mývalyĭr – The Past Tales (Independent Release) [Matt Bladen]
For many years Melodeath has been the reserve of Scandinavia, many bands draw heavily from the history of that area with many bands using the inspiration of paganism and Vikings in their music.
The concepts of resilience, tribe, crusade and adversity are all explored in the music of bands such as Amon Amarth, Wolfheart and Insomnium, these lyrical inspirations captures by the cinematic sound of the melodeath, the death metal aggression, doom metal groove and power metal melodies all combining, with razor sharp riffs, growled or clean vocals, blastbeats and symphonic compositions.
It’s a genre that is easy to pick up but very hard to master, and UK act Mývalyĭr have managed to master it with their debut release. The Past Tales is inspired by these same stories of Scandinavian myth and legend, a debut record that is concept album that is about “eternal conflict, both within and without, that shapes us and runs through every aspect of our history and culture.” These lessons from the past used to create the brilliant music on this debut album.
Formed in isolation during the pandemic, a group of musicians started exchanging ideas and with time and skill this record and this band came to life. A steady build begins the story and Recollection gets things off to a flying start with Joe Clayton ferocious rhythm guitars syncing with Dale Pountney’s bold bass playing, locking into those melodeath riffs that attack like a rusty saw on Reign.
However it’s a set of sharpened edges that have been augmented with keys/strings/traditional instruments from Natalie Fluess, and flurries of blastbeating from Stephen Wilkinson. These musical extras from Fluess mean that Mývalyĭr’s music is complex and progressive. The title track for instance owes as much to Blind Guardian as it does Omnium Gatherum, a ten minute exploration of every facet of what Mývalyĭr do.
The rhythm section guiding the shifts in tone and pace while Kai Boyce’s lead guitar explores the melodic and dramatic tones with virtuosity as ghostly female vocals ring out here in harmonic unison with throat shredding vocals from Kain. These becoming more pronounced on The Mighty Never Fall a proper melodeath rager that goes at full speed.
The production comes from the band with the mix and master from Janne Lunnas, combined with stellar performances makes this debut album from Mývalyĭr more than just a debut record, but a band establishing themselves in a very powerful way within what can be a crowded genre. Come and experience The Past Tales of Mývalyĭr. 9/10
Templar – Conquering Swords (Jawbreaker Records) [Rick Eaglestone]
Sweden’s Templar haven’t just announced themselves with their debut full length album Conquering Swords – they’ve kicked the doors clean off the castle and planted their flag in the stone.
Opener Gates Of Angmar earns every second of 90 seconds It’s cinematic, deliberate atmospheric and equally foreboding, it sets the stage like a drawbridge being slowly lowered before the charge. It also that a tinge of Barbarian on the C64 so well, I am already invested! the charge comes immediately blazing like clashing steel, full of intent, full of swagger, with vocals straight off a Mercyful Fate album Witchking is a certainly a strong start laden with 80’s style arrangements and solos galore.
Excalibur for me, this is the first genuine head-turning moment on the album The galloping rhythm, the soaring guitar harmony, Neffling locking in with the groove on bass while simultaneously carrying the vocal melody — it’s the kind of riff that makes you want to dig out every patch you own and sew them all onto a denim jacket at once. If there is a single from this record that needs a video, it’s Excalibur. Pure, unfiltered heavy metal glory.
Rainbow’s End shows that Templar understand dynamics of making something sounds like early maiden but still have enough awareness to still put a modern flair on it. If you could bottle the feeling of standing on a moonlit battlefield with the wind at your back and your sword raised high, Exiled In Fire would be the label.
Sweden’s Templar haven’t just announced themselves with their debut full length album Conquering Swords – they’ve kicked the doors clean off the castle and planted their flag in the stone.
Opener Gates Of Angmar earns every second of 90 seconds It’s cinematic, deliberate atmospheric and equally foreboding, it sets the stage like a drawbridge being slowly lowered before the charge. It also that a tinge of Barbarian on the C64 so well, I am already invested! the charge comes immediately blazing like clashing steel, full of intent, full of swagger, with vocals straight off a Mercyful Fate album Witchking is a certainly a strong start laden with 80’s style arrangements and solos galore.
Excalibur for me, this is the first genuine head-turning moment on the album The galloping rhythm, the soaring guitar harmony, Neffling locking in with the groove on bass while simultaneously carrying the vocal melody — it’s the kind of riff that makes you want to dig out every patch you own and sew them all onto a denim jacket at once. If there is a single from this record that needs a video, it’s Excalibur. Pure, unfiltered heavy metal glory.
Rainbow’s End shows that Templar understand dynamics of making something sounds like early maiden but still have enough awareness to still put a modern flair on it. If you could bottle the feeling of standing on a moonlit battlefield with the wind at your back and your sword raised high, Exiled In Fire would be the label.
It has that effortless anthemic quality that most bands spend entire careers chasing and never quite catch. The dual guitar work here is at its most exhilarating — harmonies that soar, a chorus that lodges itself in your brain and absolutely refuses to leave. If I were making a case for this band to someone who had never heard them, I would start here.
There is a touch of darkness threading through the melodic framework, of The Sorceress lurking underneath the heavy metal muscle. It is a wonderful palette cleanser and shows a range in Templar’s songwriting that you might not have expected this early in a debut record. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it steers in a slightly different direction, and the album is richer for it.
Trident absolutely refuses to let you sit still. If Headbangers Ball was still about this track would be on heavy rotation It is, in the very best sense of the phrase, completely shameless — anthemic, fist-raising, hook-laden heavy metal with no apologies This is the one you’re going to be screaming along to at the barrier.
Shipwreck caught me off guard on first listen. And then again on second listen. There is a real sense of drama and storytelling here — the title does a lot of work in setting expectation, and the track delivers something more expansive, more cinematic than what has come before. It sits perfectly within the album’s overarching world of high adventure and medieval grandeur while simultaneously feeling like its own distinct chapter within it. The more you listen to this album, the more you get from it, and Shipwreck is a large part of why.
Another standout and arguably the most immediate track in the back half of the record. White Wolf has a directness and a momentum that makes it feel almost like a second wind — the album could have coasted towards the finish line at this point, and nobody would have complained, but instead the band plant their feet and push forward.
The title track closes proceedings in the most fitting way imaginable. Conquering Swords the song is a triumph – an unashamed love letter to the genre that summarises everything this band does brilliantly across the album’s duration melody, power, passion, and a genuine sense that they mean every single note. There is a real emotional pull in hearing an album’s title track as its closer when it’s done right, and Templar do it right.
There is an overall warmth and authenticity, it has the type of production that never gets in the way of the songs, which gives each instrument space to breathe. Patrick W. Engel’s mastering at Temple Of Disharmony puts the final polish on what is already a thunderous record, giving Conquering Swords a timeless, physical weight that sounds as good on vinyl as it does through headphones at two in the morning.
Templar carry the torch of true Heavy Metal with heart, honour, and hooks to spare. 7/10
Philip Shouse – Volume 1 (Wild Kingdom/Sound Pollution) [Mark Young]
Ok doke, Hands up if you have heard of Accept? Gene Simmons? John Corabi? So the aforementioned gentleman has played with some heavy hitters in rock and a member of Accept for a while now. Deciding to step out into the light for a while, Volume 1 represents his first EP.
Its material leans more into hard rock than anything else. Run Away From You sounds like traditional rock that became the staple of radio all through the 70’s. It smacks of the Rolling Stones, but I think that would be a lazy statement and wouldn’t do it justice. It has a wicked chord build that just burrows into your brain in a way that good songs do. Its not an out and out homage, rather it sounds like someone writing their own version of a Stones song, or the Faces.
The Naked Empress, well you could argue that it sounds like Blondie / Stones again with a simple set up that gives away his Nashville roots. Its meat and potatoes rock and roll, the sort of song you would hear as the hero roars up on his bike, just as he’s about to sort a few transgressions out in a small town.
It Gets Better shows off his command of knowing what makes a good song. The structure is one you have heard before – the quiet, clean guitar tone that runs into the overdriven. The lead break is mint, as you would expect, again the whole arrangement is top class. Won’t Let Go (Again) has Simon and Garfunkel vibes to it, especially that acoustic/vocal combination. As soon as you hear it you will know exactly what I mean by it.
There is a touch of darkness threading through the melodic framework, of The Sorceress lurking underneath the heavy metal muscle. It is a wonderful palette cleanser and shows a range in Templar’s songwriting that you might not have expected this early in a debut record. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it steers in a slightly different direction, and the album is richer for it.
Trident absolutely refuses to let you sit still. If Headbangers Ball was still about this track would be on heavy rotation It is, in the very best sense of the phrase, completely shameless — anthemic, fist-raising, hook-laden heavy metal with no apologies This is the one you’re going to be screaming along to at the barrier.
Shipwreck caught me off guard on first listen. And then again on second listen. There is a real sense of drama and storytelling here — the title does a lot of work in setting expectation, and the track delivers something more expansive, more cinematic than what has come before. It sits perfectly within the album’s overarching world of high adventure and medieval grandeur while simultaneously feeling like its own distinct chapter within it. The more you listen to this album, the more you get from it, and Shipwreck is a large part of why.
Another standout and arguably the most immediate track in the back half of the record. White Wolf has a directness and a momentum that makes it feel almost like a second wind — the album could have coasted towards the finish line at this point, and nobody would have complained, but instead the band plant their feet and push forward.
The title track closes proceedings in the most fitting way imaginable. Conquering Swords the song is a triumph – an unashamed love letter to the genre that summarises everything this band does brilliantly across the album’s duration melody, power, passion, and a genuine sense that they mean every single note. There is a real emotional pull in hearing an album’s title track as its closer when it’s done right, and Templar do it right.
There is an overall warmth and authenticity, it has the type of production that never gets in the way of the songs, which gives each instrument space to breathe. Patrick W. Engel’s mastering at Temple Of Disharmony puts the final polish on what is already a thunderous record, giving Conquering Swords a timeless, physical weight that sounds as good on vinyl as it does through headphones at two in the morning.
Templar carry the torch of true Heavy Metal with heart, honour, and hooks to spare. 7/10
Philip Shouse – Volume 1 (Wild Kingdom/Sound Pollution) [Mark Young]
Ok doke, Hands up if you have heard of Accept? Gene Simmons? John Corabi? So the aforementioned gentleman has played with some heavy hitters in rock and a member of Accept for a while now. Deciding to step out into the light for a while, Volume 1 represents his first EP.
Its material leans more into hard rock than anything else. Run Away From You sounds like traditional rock that became the staple of radio all through the 70’s. It smacks of the Rolling Stones, but I think that would be a lazy statement and wouldn’t do it justice. It has a wicked chord build that just burrows into your brain in a way that good songs do. Its not an out and out homage, rather it sounds like someone writing their own version of a Stones song, or the Faces.
The Naked Empress, well you could argue that it sounds like Blondie / Stones again with a simple set up that gives away his Nashville roots. Its meat and potatoes rock and roll, the sort of song you would hear as the hero roars up on his bike, just as he’s about to sort a few transgressions out in a small town.
It Gets Better shows off his command of knowing what makes a good song. The structure is one you have heard before – the quiet, clean guitar tone that runs into the overdriven. The lead break is mint, as you would expect, again the whole arrangement is top class. Won’t Let Go (Again) has Simon and Garfunkel vibes to it, especially that acoustic/vocal combination. As soon as you hear it you will know exactly what I mean by it.
The song lands with me in a way I didn’t expect, with a late 60’s flavour to it, but recorded in a way that doesn’t sound like its out of time. And then suddenly we are at the end with Time Bomb, which rounds off the 5 tracks here in fine fashion. Like the others here, it uses a build rooted in that 70’s/80’s hard rock, with a focus on having just the right riffs in the right place. As an alternative to extreme metal, this is the kind of thing that would do that for you, at least for a short while.
I didn’t know what to expect with this, if it was going to be a vanity project or some overblown nonsense. I couldn’t be more wrong, as the songs here reference their / his influences without it being a straight facsimile of what came before. They sound natural, not forced and as a break from more extreme genres its worth a punt. 7/10
I didn’t know what to expect with this, if it was going to be a vanity project or some overblown nonsense. I couldn’t be more wrong, as the songs here reference their / his influences without it being a straight facsimile of what came before. They sound natural, not forced and as a break from more extreme genres its worth a punt. 7/10
