Tag: rock
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Tylor Dory Trio – Carried Away
If I were to try and summon up Tylor Dory Trio’s sound in a soundbite, it would be that they are a cross between Opeth and Alice In Chains. But that doesn’t do justice to the depth of their music. As you can gather from the name, we have here the classic power-trio format in…
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Foo Fighters – s/t LP (reissue)
It feels strange to be discussing the twentieth anniversary of Foo Fighters‘ debut album now – just months after Universal Music Enterprises celebrated the same anniversary for the release of Nirvana’s In Utero album. It seems weird because, while the original releases of those albums were only twenty-two months apart, they feel as though they…
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Satan’s Satyrs – Don’t Deliver Us
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. “Retro, throwback, ’70s rock worshippers with occult-themed lyrics…” But wait, this isn’t just the same old song ‘n dance. For one thing, this Virginia outfit isn’t female-fronted, nor are they merely Electric Wizard clones… although they did open for the Wizard on its North American tour. Rather,…
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Irata – Sweet Loris
Though Irata are relatively unknown, this Carolina trio comes with some instant sludge cred—this record was produced by Phil Cope and is being released on Kylesa’s Retro Futurist Records. Oh, and they’ve also snagged the opening slot on Kylesa’s upcoming tour. I guess that comes with the territory, eh? Thus, it should probably come as…
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Speedtrap – Straight Shooter
Reviews I’m seen for this simply splendid album seem to focus on two bands as influences on Speedtrap, Motorhead and Chrome Division (I don’t see them as an influence but they share attitudes and influences). For sure I hear Motorhead, which is as it should be, if you don’t love Motorhead, you don’t love life.…
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Mick Wall’s Getcha Rocks Off (book review)
Writing about music now is very different from Mick Wall’s decades of involvement in the music industry, working both in PR and as a writer. Then it was very hands-on. Wall was part of the action. Now it’s digital and antiseptic, with less and less human interaction (much like all life is becoming now). It’s…
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Van Halen – s/t
The thing about albums which are truly progressive (to be clear, I’m referring to albums which break new ground – not necessarily prog rock albums) is that their impact on pop music as a whole takes a bit of time to really register. Sure, there’s a chance that they might break through, win fans and…
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Kadavar – Berlin
Kadavar has really cut its teeth on the road since the release of their last record, 2013’s Abra Kadavar. On their first North American trek, they blew Scorpion Child off the stage on what I can only assume was a regular basis, judging by the Toronto show. And their 2014 headlining gig at the Horseshoe…
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Finger Eleven – Five Crooked Lines
It was very reasonable to assume that Finger Eleven had totally sold out years ago. Back in 2003, the success of “One Thing” – a mid-tempo, melancholy and balladesque number found in the late-playing of the band’s fourth album – dangled the gold-plated chain of pop prosperity before the group and they took it. After…
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NXNE 2015 – Urvah Khan, Cold Cave, Deafheaven
Gig-hopping at NXNE 2015 – from the Bovine to Adelaide Music Hall on June 20th: On the edges of the metal world we get a lot of interesting phenomena these days. With a full program at NXNE, I got some direction and was led to an act called Urvah Khan & the Scrap Metal Army.*…