Author: Steve Earles
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Wykan – Solace
Wykan are making their music for all the right reasons. Not to show off body modifications; rather, they are all about brain modifications. They have dug deep into the primordial well-spring of the music that we all love. Inspired by the blues (working man’s music, just like heavy metal), doom metal and even a touch of…
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Fallen Legion – Downfall
Downfall is an impressive effort for a young band. It shows a great chemistry between band members Nick Saunter on guitar, Jon Kal on bass, Josh Masterson on vocal and Dylan Waybrant on drums. Their musicianship is first class, as you’d expect from a band that has been playing together for years. Nothing beats hard work! Overall, on…
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Paradise Lost – Believe In Nothing
Paradise Lost’s career has been plagued by changes in sound and direction. You could see this as band-wagon jumping, or fearlessly following their own musical muse. You can decide what you think; it’s good to make your own mind up. What is certain is this. Circa Icon, Paradise Lost stood a very good chance of…
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Peaceville Life – by Paul Hammy Henshaw
“Anything for a Peaceville Life” At the start (At The Gates!) of Hammy Henshaw’s excellent and valuable book, there are quotes about the book from various artists whose bands have been, or still are, signed to Peaceville Records, such as At The Gates, Anathema, Opeth, and Autopsy. I have to share the quote from Fenriz…
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Hallux – Hallux
It would be fair to describe Hallux as a trend-free band. Hallux are a three-piece in the classic vein of Motorhead circa The Three Amigos line-up (Lemmy, Philthy Phil and Fast Eddie), and like the ‘Head, they keep their music lean and mean. Theirs is a brand of crusty, anti-authoritarian thrash metal, inspired by the likes of…
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My Silent Wake – There Was Death
My Silent Wake play the genre of metal known as death/doom, a genre I believe is slowly picking up in popularity. The music is slow, emotional, weighty, heavy as a dwarf star. Heavy not just in the sense of riffs, but in emotion and depth. Two bands that form a good touchstone for this album,…
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Limb – Saboteurs of the Sun
It’s always great to hear a band progress and grow organically. Limb’s song-writing has improved massively. Saboteurs of the Sun (a fine title by the way) has excellent catchy songs that form a cohesive and complementary whole as an album. Limb have moved to territory previously occupied by Hawkwind, Monster Magnet and Mastodon, displaying imagination and…
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Stephen Hawking: A Brief Appreciation
With the passing at the age of 76 of renowned physicist Professor Stephen Hawking, the world has truly lost a beautiful mind. Stephen Hawking (1942-2018) Everybody dies, yet not everybody truly lives; just living to 76 was a great triumph for this brave man. In 1964 at the age of 22 he was diagnosed with…
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Violation Wound – With Man In Charge
A simple summation of Violation Wound’s sound is that they sound like Autopsy or Abscess without the death and doom elements of their music. So, to say it’s stripped down is an understatement. This is no surprise when you realise that Autopsy and former Abscess member Chris Reifert is on guitar and vocals. It really…
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Book reviews by Steve Earles: Rise Up, Women
Rise Up, Women: The Remarkable Lives of the Suffragettes Written by Diane Atkinson Published by Bloomsbury Recently I saw the excellent film Suffragette (which Diane Atkinson was a consultant on) starring Carey Mulligan and Meryl Streep. It’s not often you see a film that changes the way you view the world and its inequality and injustice,…