Every now and again a band comes along who instantly changes everything you think you know about music, all the way back in 1998 a band called Poison The Well released their first EP and I was interested as it was a whole new different take on the hardcore sound, it had emotion and feeling as well as heaviness, and then they changed EVERYTHING with their the groundbreaking and untouchable debut album The Opposite Of December which still to this day holds up as one of the greatest albums ever released and will always hold a special place in my history and my heart.
Now of course, that was a long time ago and they followed it up with some stellar releases and really defined themselves as one of the most original heavy bands of all time, then, they spilt and it all went quiet!? Devastation! Then, there were a few gigs here and there, they became more frequent, new music happened, tours concentrating on celebrating The Opposite Of December happened and were amazing, so what else could they do? A new album obviously, so today after 17 years (I think) we have a new Poison The Well record in the shape of Peace In Place and I personally couldn’t be happier!!
It pains me to say that I feel slightly shocked when Wax mask kicks in as I am not feeling that it is as urgent or driving as I would have expected or wanted it to be, it obviously has has some hallmarks of the trademark Poison The Well sound but if I am honest it feels a little underwhelming after such a long waiting for new music!? Primal Bloom though is much more interesting; the rhythms and time signatures have a little more power behind them and the guitar work really catches the attention and thankfully it is a much better showing and relieves some of the worry.
It pains me to say that I feel slightly shocked when Wax mask kicks in as I am not feeling that it is as urgent or driving as I would have expected or wanted it to be, it obviously has has some hallmarks of the trademark Poison The Well sound but if I am honest it feels a little underwhelming after such a long waiting for new music!? Primal Bloom though is much more interesting; the rhythms and time signatures have a little more power behind them and the guitar work really catches the attention and thankfully it is a much better showing and relieves some of the worry.
Thoroughbreds feels like a much more familiar beast and takes me back to the classic sound, it incorporates lots of twists and turns and has power and grace and really keeps your attention all the way through and you can feel a momentum building but then Everything Hurts has a raw and stripped back to basic sound that creates a feeling of nervousness that it might not go anywhere but then when they unleash the primal rage they keep in their locker it becomes wonderful as its beautifully melodic and also crushingly heavy in places and the way they bounce of each other with these styles it just reminds you that there aren’t many better at this style.
With Weeping Tones we get what feels like another magnificent throwback that is packed full of nostalgia but doesn’t sound old or dated it just reminds me of a time when metalcore was fresh, new and most importantly interesting and fun to listen too, it makes me smile inside and is another reminder never to rule out the OG’s. You can file A Wake of Vultures in the file marked ‘’barnstormer’’, it absolutely smashes its way through you and hits all the right notes of anger and venom and the more it goes on the better it gets, you don’t want it to end.
Bad Bodies is just unrelentingly majestic it controls and directs all of the heavy parts with an expert ease and also manages to be wonderfully beautiful but massively devastating in equal measures, it paints vivid pictures with music and sticks long in them memory even when it’s over. Drifting Without End is just an expert showing of how you should do melodic hardcore, it has a restrained fury that is then cloaked in a beauty and anger that shines through with the sort of skill that most bands will never manage to grasp and to still be able to pull this off after such along break and so far into a career is just breathtaking.
I feel that Melted really should have opened the album! It just nails everything you want and manages to somehow elevate the power more and continues to just get progressively more agitated and vitriolic and really has Poison The Well stamped all the way through
Plague Them Most is probably one of the most perfect album ending tracks you could ever ask for, it has more expertly delivered fury mixed with a haunting type of graceful beauty that only really this band can manage because let’s be honest they actually created and made this style popular and here they just of course deliver their trademark sound and distil it perfectly into a world beating track and it just a feels like a perfectly wonderful way to finish.
I wanted to love this album and thankfully I did! There was a slight fear that after so long the magic would no longer be there or they may somehow dull the sound with a sub-par release, this didn’t happen, barring one track that I wasn’t full sold on the rest of it was immaculately presented and just re-affirmed my faith in this band as comeback albums go this can be put right up there as one of the best, a truly wonderful band have just released yet another truly wonderful record. 9/10
Kal-El – Astral Voyager Vol. 2 (Majestic Mountain Records/Blues Funeral Recordings) [Rich Piva]
I am not sure there is much more I can say about my love of Norway’s Kal-El. They are one of if not my favorite heavy underground band and somehow continue to get better and better each release, even after 13 years or so as a band.
Plague Them Most is probably one of the most perfect album ending tracks you could ever ask for, it has more expertly delivered fury mixed with a haunting type of graceful beauty that only really this band can manage because let’s be honest they actually created and made this style popular and here they just of course deliver their trademark sound and distil it perfectly into a world beating track and it just a feels like a perfectly wonderful way to finish.
I wanted to love this album and thankfully I did! There was a slight fear that after so long the magic would no longer be there or they may somehow dull the sound with a sub-par release, this didn’t happen, barring one track that I wasn’t full sold on the rest of it was immaculately presented and just re-affirmed my faith in this band as comeback albums go this can be put right up there as one of the best, a truly wonderful band have just released yet another truly wonderful record. 9/10
Kal-El – Astral Voyager Vol. 2 (Majestic Mountain Records/Blues Funeral Recordings) [Rich Piva]
I am not sure there is much more I can say about my love of Norway’s Kal-El. They are one of if not my favorite heavy underground band and somehow continue to get better and better each release, even after 13 years or so as a band.
Last year’s Astral Voyager Vol. 1 got the highest marks from me, because it was vintage Kal-El: heavy and melodic, amazing songwriting, and a sound that you know is Kal-El the second you drop the needle. So given that last year’s record was Volume 1, you can assume this review is about Astral Voyager Volume 2. You would be correct. You would also be correct that this record rules as hard as the first chapter does, maybe even a bit more, if that is at all possible.
Written and recorded during the same sessions for part one, the band and their label, Blues Funeral, decided to release the record in two parts instead of a big double record. This was the right move, as it allows the listener to get intimate with the songs on each album, and spend more time with the individual records of which demand that level of attention.
Written and recorded during the same sessions for part one, the band and their label, Blues Funeral, decided to release the record in two parts instead of a big double record. This was the right move, as it allows the listener to get intimate with the songs on each album, and spend more time with the individual records of which demand that level of attention.
Kicking off with Juno, it’s obvious right away this one is going to hang with the last one and frankly all of their other untouchable material. A midtempo, vintage Kal-El track with the riffs and the killer vocals. I love the vocal layers and the earworm chorus, and of course, the guitar work is next level. The Nine has this amazing build up until the Kal-El trademarked killer riff kicks in, and another amazing ten minute journey begins. Ståle’s vocals are some of his best work on this one, and you can hear the growth and the confidence he now has in his voice.
The Prophecy brings the heavy and low end riff goodness and is the chunkiest track of the six on Volume 2. I love it when the pace picks up half way through. You would have thought Kal-El had a song called Juggernaut already but they did not. They do now, and of course it is awesome. It’s everything you want from this band. This one is another example of Ståle leaving it all out there vocally. Closing out on the one-two punch of Pan and Asteroid shows the level of detail the guys pay attention to when tracking, with the latter probably making its way into my top five or so Kal-El songs ever.
Is it fair to give the Kal-El fanboy the new record to review? Is that really objective journalism? No and It’s not, but good thing objective journalism doesn’t exist so I can just tell you that Kal-El is one of the best bands on this or on any other planet and Astral Voyager Vol. 2 rules as much as any of their already perfect catalogue rules. 42:56 of perfection. 10/10
Evermore – Mournbraid (Scarlet Records) [Matt Bladen]
Swedes Evermore deliver more uplifting power metal on album number three. Mournbraid is packed with theatre, built on heavier riffs than you expect (Underdark/Nightstar Odyssey), the vocals are fantastic and burst out of the speakers from the first song
In terms of influences The Illusionist is right up there with the likes of Edguy and Helloween in the boisterous stakes, while Ravens At The Gate goes into the keyboard driven sounds of Stratovarius, the title track picks up pace with some galloping Euro power metal while they don’t shy away from a balladry on Old Man’s Tale where the likes of Savatage can be heard.
Evermore’s music is incredibly melodic it draws from personal struggles and is also very grandiose in the composition ma which is amazing when you consider they Evermore are only a trio; Johan Haraldsson on vocals, Andreas Viklands on drums and Johan Karlsson playing guitar/bass/piano/orchestrations.
Now I’ve always been a massive Edguy fan and Evermore remind me of that band a lot with album three. Heavy when it needs to be, filled with anthemic choruses and emotive lyrics Mournbraid, stand out in today’s current power metal crop. 8/10
ClockTowers – Genesis (Self Published) [Cherie Curtis]
ClockTowers presents Genesis, a short and sweet 8 track album which is abrasive and emotionally raw. Each track possesses its own distinct personality, ranging from melodic, emotive pieces to lively, head-banging anthems. It’s a perfect blend of rough, heavy, old-school riffs and a contemporary, atmospheric backing tracks offering an enamouring and groovy bassline that will get you moving despite yourself.
What strikes me most with this one is the addictive duality within the instrumentals. In the title track, Genesis, for example, the guitar is harmonically clear with a dreamy reverb that’s undercut by low-slug, heavy drumming. The weight of the two together creates a nostalgic and bittersweet punch to the gut.
The vocals are enthralling – brooding, raspy and tightly coiled. While the main source of power and build-up comes from the instrumentals. However after a satisfying hook and catchy chorus, what is thoughtfully added as a cherry on top in a few tracks is an illuminous hight pitched vocal sustains and subtle yet dense harmonies which adds an extra layer of texture which interestingly serves as a breakdown but not in the aggressive headbanging sense most metal listeners are used too.
It was apparent to me from the first listen that of work went into composing this album. I was surprised to find out that ClockTowers consists of only two members and a few guest features, and that they’re a relatively new band formed in 2022. With this level of articulation and such a cohesive and deliberate sound, I’d have thought they have been around since the late 90s or early 2000s. There’s something about their overall vibe that feels instantly familiar. Listening to them felt like rediscovering an album you haven’t picked up in years.
Overall, I really enjoyed discovering ClockTowers and Genesis is my new favourite. I’m a fan of this interesting mesh of genre sound; they have somehow managed to successfully be refreshing and a throwback. It’s made its way onto my daily rotation, if you’re a fan of hard rock and melodic metal give this one a go. 9/10.
Is it fair to give the Kal-El fanboy the new record to review? Is that really objective journalism? No and It’s not, but good thing objective journalism doesn’t exist so I can just tell you that Kal-El is one of the best bands on this or on any other planet and Astral Voyager Vol. 2 rules as much as any of their already perfect catalogue rules. 42:56 of perfection. 10/10
Evermore – Mournbraid (Scarlet Records) [Matt Bladen]
Swedes Evermore deliver more uplifting power metal on album number three. Mournbraid is packed with theatre, built on heavier riffs than you expect (Underdark/Nightstar Odyssey), the vocals are fantastic and burst out of the speakers from the first song
In terms of influences The Illusionist is right up there with the likes of Edguy and Helloween in the boisterous stakes, while Ravens At The Gate goes into the keyboard driven sounds of Stratovarius, the title track picks up pace with some galloping Euro power metal while they don’t shy away from a balladry on Old Man’s Tale where the likes of Savatage can be heard.
Evermore’s music is incredibly melodic it draws from personal struggles and is also very grandiose in the composition ma which is amazing when you consider they Evermore are only a trio; Johan Haraldsson on vocals, Andreas Viklands on drums and Johan Karlsson playing guitar/bass/piano/orchestrations.
Now I’ve always been a massive Edguy fan and Evermore remind me of that band a lot with album three. Heavy when it needs to be, filled with anthemic choruses and emotive lyrics Mournbraid, stand out in today’s current power metal crop. 8/10
ClockTowers – Genesis (Self Published) [Cherie Curtis]
ClockTowers presents Genesis, a short and sweet 8 track album which is abrasive and emotionally raw. Each track possesses its own distinct personality, ranging from melodic, emotive pieces to lively, head-banging anthems. It’s a perfect blend of rough, heavy, old-school riffs and a contemporary, atmospheric backing tracks offering an enamouring and groovy bassline that will get you moving despite yourself.
What strikes me most with this one is the addictive duality within the instrumentals. In the title track, Genesis, for example, the guitar is harmonically clear with a dreamy reverb that’s undercut by low-slug, heavy drumming. The weight of the two together creates a nostalgic and bittersweet punch to the gut.
The vocals are enthralling – brooding, raspy and tightly coiled. While the main source of power and build-up comes from the instrumentals. However after a satisfying hook and catchy chorus, what is thoughtfully added as a cherry on top in a few tracks is an illuminous hight pitched vocal sustains and subtle yet dense harmonies which adds an extra layer of texture which interestingly serves as a breakdown but not in the aggressive headbanging sense most metal listeners are used too.
It was apparent to me from the first listen that of work went into composing this album. I was surprised to find out that ClockTowers consists of only two members and a few guest features, and that they’re a relatively new band formed in 2022. With this level of articulation and such a cohesive and deliberate sound, I’d have thought they have been around since the late 90s or early 2000s. There’s something about their overall vibe that feels instantly familiar. Listening to them felt like rediscovering an album you haven’t picked up in years.
Overall, I really enjoyed discovering ClockTowers and Genesis is my new favourite. I’m a fan of this interesting mesh of genre sound; they have somehow managed to successfully be refreshing and a throwback. It’s made its way onto my daily rotation, if you’re a fan of hard rock and melodic metal give this one a go. 9/10.
We got zombie docs, Alien-style body expulsions, a possibly miscarried fish monster sliding out the cooch, and even booby bits. Now, you give us…reading? Get the fuck out of here!
