‘Thin The Veil’ Dark Essence Records Avant-Garde Black Metal
Thinking of black metal often draws up connotations of snow, Norway, corpse paint and church burnings; but in the 21st century, most countries around the world have a burgeoning black metal scene and of course, that is no different for the United States. Total Occultic Mechanical Blasphemy (T.O.M.B.) have been grinding out the black metal circuit for just over 20 years now, culminating in a total of five studio albums released roughly every 3 years. This year has the Pennsylvanian black metal band returning to offer their 6th studio album ‘Thin the Veil’.
When it comes to T.O.M.B., the Americans are known for their melding of industrial grooves and wall of noise approach with traditional black metal; yet, with ‘Thin the Veil’, this album is the sound of band stepping away from those previous sounds and embracing one that is totally second wave of black metal. Yes, that wall of sound approach is still there delivered in that typical black metal way; a relentless onslaught of double bass drumming delivered by none other than the indomitable Hellhammer, a man so ingrained in the black metal scene, it is a high honour to have him be anywhere near an album. However, what makes ‘Thin the Veil’ so enjoyable, are the hypnotically delivered necromantic chants repeated over and over again by Mories of Gnaw Their Tongues fame; these droning chants make this album quite powerful in a dark sense and provide a drive that T.O.M.B. have never quite replicated previously that can be seen during tracks such as ‘No Return’, ‘Pure Noise Necromancy’ and ‘Invocation’ that would appeal to fans of Deathspell Omega, Gnaw Their Tongues and of course, Mayhem.
With ‘Thin the Veil’, this is a real turning point for T.O.M.B., the band have delivered an album of atmospheric black metal, spliced with a traditional second wave black metal that has the potential to be T.O.M.B.’s magnum opus. 75/100 Adam McCann
Traveler
Termination Shock Independent Release Heavy Metal FFO: Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Enforcer, Riot City, Haunt
Traveler exploded onto the heavy metal scene last year with their phenomenal eponymous debut album. This was an album of thunderous trad metal that had the potential to show that Traveler could stand with the best. The main issue was that this debut album was so good, how could Traveler even consider going about following it? The answer to that would come less than a year later with the band’s sophomore album ‘Termination Shock’.
Less than a year since the debut release; there’s a dubious thought that this may be a rush job, tracks left over from the original recordings. Au contraire, ‘Termination Shock’ is a fresh assault of trad metal that will have fans of Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and Satan baying for more. Yet, ‘Termination Shock’ is not just an album of 80’s wannabe nostalgia, there is a contemporary edge to this album that more than easily brings it in-line with a 21st century vision having all the appeal of RAM, Haunt, Riot City and Enforcer that can be seen during the superb tracks ‘Foreverman’, ‘Deepspace’ and ‘Shaded Mirror’. Sure, when it boils down to it, this album isn’t too dissimilar to the debut album, but ultimately, if the blueprint works, why change it?
‘Termination Shock’ is the sound of a band which have got their finger on the trigger and firing with a deadeye sight and there are no storm clouds gathering at a ‘difficult second album’. Instead, Traveler have pushed themselves up and beyond to deliver yet another top-notch album that will be undoubtedly riding high at the end of the year. 9/10 Adam McCann
Testament
'Titans of Creation' Nuclear Blast Records Thrash Metal
Since the turn of the last decade, Testament have been in something of a purple patch returning every four years with albums that have been hotly received. Therefore, it was no surprise that in 2020, Testament are back with their thirteenth studio album ‘Titans of Creation’.
As an album, ‘Titans…’ does an absolutely fantastic job of continuing on the trend that started with ‘Formation of the Damned’ way back in 2008. This means that ‘Titans…’ is loud, proud and in your face with a stunning clean and modern production; sure, it’s not the tin-can production of the likes of ‘The Legacy’, but this is a different beast for a different era and because of that, ‘Titans…’ is exceptionally easy on the ears, every instrument can be heard clearly and digested. Once again, it is impossible to fault Steve Di Giorgio, Gene Hoglan, Alex Skolnick and Eric Peterson, ‘Titans…’ delivers some top-quality musicianship whilst the voice of Chuck Billy prowls throughout dispensing justice and absolution in equal measures. Lyrically, Billy stays very much in the remit of ‘Brotherhood of the Snake’, with tracks that touch on the religion of ancient Egypt and Babylonia as well as taking inspiration from the Old Testament and Native American culture, seen especially during ‘The Healers’, ‘Ishtar’s Gate’, ‘Code of Hammurabi’ and ‘Curse of Osiris’. However, this album finds itself at its most catchy with tracks such as ‘WW3’ and the superb ‘Dream Deceiver’, a track which is debatably one of the best Testament tracks of recent years. There isn’t any new here and Testament aren’t going to do anything unexpected, but who cares? Testament stick to their guns and deliver an album that is equally as good as the album that came before it and might just be one of the best thrash metal albums released this year.
9/10 Adam McCann
Twilight Force
‘Dawn Of The Dragonstar’ Nuclear Blast Records Symphonic Power Metal
It is very difficult to not give a wry smile at the very mention of Twilight Force, the band which blend ‘Dungeons & Dragons’, with symphony and power metal. This band of adventurers struggled through their second quest ‘Heroes of Mighty Magic’, this was an album which although had enjoyable tracks, a technical production left many listeners feeling cold and alienated. This was unfortunately followed by the departure of vocalist Chrileon. Undeterred, Twilight Force rolled another character and returned with vocalist Allyon, setting out on their third quest ‘Dawn Of The Dragonstar’.
The first thing to note about ‘Dawn…’ is that the production issues which plagued the previous album are now resolved with Twilight Force opting for a more traditional power metal album sound. This makes ‘Dawn…’ powerful from the offset. Allyon stamps his authority throughout this album, making sure that those who hear this album remember that he is now the vocal point of the band with this voice soaring freely on tracks such as ‘Long Live the King’, ‘Queen of Eternity’ as well the title track. Furthermore, the return of a decent production allows the symphonic elements of Twilight Force to arise, demonstrating the advanced orchestrations which flow throughout ‘Dawn…’. These orchestrations give tracks such as ‘Thundersword’ the dancing fluttering of an 80’s John Williams blockbuster. However, where the previous album struggled with its more epic songs, the final track on ‘Dawn…’ ‘Blade of Immortal Steel’ manages to side step these issues with its oriental sound developing into a samurai saga, flowing well becoming both memorable and enjoyable.
Considering the changes that have occurred with Twilight Force, ‘Dawn…’ is the product of a honeymoon period. This is an album which is leaps and bounds beyond its predecessor, it is an album which has put the band back on track, it aims to be cheesy and enjoyable and with this it succeeds, but will it have the longevity to be regarded as a truly good album? Only time will tell.
74/100 Adam McCann
Traveler
‘Traveler’ Gates Of Hell Records Heavy Metal
Any band that has had such an illustrious start to their career can freely hold their head up high. One such band Traveler hit the ground running with their excellent 2018 demos and have used this momentum to fire themselves forward at a tremendous pace by striking whilst the iron is hot and delivered their eponymous debut album.
For those who heard the bands demos, ‘Traveler’ continues this trend of face paced heavy metal delivered in a traditional way. You would be forgiven for thinking that this five piece’s debut album sounds as if it was recorded in a small studio in Tyneside, England 1980; but instead, these Canadians use this nostalgia to their advantage. Through up-tempo riffs, carried by a powerful rhythm section, the vocals of Jean-Pierre Abboud sore and at times threaten to break the sound barrier. Due to this, ‘Traveler’ has all the familiarity and enjoyability of early Judas Priest, seen particularly during the title track homage ‘Starbreaker’ and the rousing ‘Behind The Iron’. Furthermore, there are elements of Angel Witch and early Iron Maiden here, but this album isn’t all about living in the past; the raw energy within ‘Traveler’ means that they can easily keep up with more established trad metal bands such as Enforcer and Visigoth whilst leaning on their fellow Canadian peers Riot City and Gatekeeper. ‘Traveler’ is an exceptionally enjoyable album, with its passion and integrity, it serves to remind the listener at its core what makes heavy metal so appealing. The songs here are memorable with a huge amount of replayability; seek this album out and play it loud! 85/100 Adam McCann
Tatius Wolff
‘The Relapse’ Independent Release Alternative Metal
Tatius Wolff is the project and brainchild of former Oblique Visions guitarist Stephen Borg. Following his departure from Oblique Visions, Borg stepped away from music for seventeen years before getting back in the saddle releasing the single ‘Thumbscrews’ in 2017. This single garnered enough response for the multi-instrumentalist to record and deliver his full-length debut album ‘The Relapse’ this year.
‘The Relapse’ gives Borg the ability to really expand on the ideas he placed down on ‘Thumbscrews’. Through ‘The Relapse’, Borg is able to deliver a concept album about living with a debilitating illness and many of the thoughts, challenges and emotions which unfortunately come with it. Tracks such as ‘The Tormentor’, ‘Proelium’ and ‘Trauma’ all show touches of Type O Negative, Nine Inch Nails, Tool and Deftones really show just how powerful Borg can write with their muddy baritone vocal delivery and Gothic influences. Yet, there are tracks here which push Borg’s musical boundaries, the opening instrumental ‘Auxilium’ has enough time and dynamic changes to interest fans of progressive metal and even djent. However, the track ‘False Hope’ does have a similarity to ‘The Beautiful People’ from Marilyn Manson. Furthermore, as interesting as this album is, it does have a quality about it that requires it to be consciously listened to fully appreciate rather than simply background music.
Borg has been away from the musical scene for far too long, but ‘The Relapse’ is an excellent place to begin his foray back into the world. ‘The Relapse’ may not appeal to casual listeners of the genre, but for those who enjoy a deeper meaning to their music with an understanding of song craftsmanship and construction, this album will provide endless hours of entertainment and enjoyability.
80/100 Adam McCann
Til All Is One
‘Vindicta’ Independent Release Alternative Metal
Living as a multi-national unit, America’s Til All Is One (TAIO) are poised to break out of the trenches of the local Los Angeles scene and into the American leagues with their interesting blend of hard rock, heavy metal and alternative. This merging of sound can be seen in no better place than the bands upcoming debut album ‘Vindicta’.
TAIO putting this eclectic mix of genres into the same melting pot may seem like a hefty gamble, appealing to the mass populace at once whilst simultaneously appealing to no one. This may be the case with ‘Vindicta’, there is no doubt here that the songs are actually very good; many of these tracks are exceptionally memorable and enjoyable with a hefty 90’s vibe. However, ‘Vindicta’ seems to jump genre often, flirting with a sound which is part nu-metal and part post-grunge; tracks such as the title track and ‘Drowning’ have all the hallmarks of mid-90’s Faith No More with a touch of Mudvayne, whilst ‘The Virus’, ‘No Consolation’ and ‘The One I Hate’ explore the melancholy multiple harmony avenues of the likes of Alice In Chains, Live and Bush. All this is well enough, but it leaves the listener wondering exactly who TAIO are.
For a first release, TAIO is have delivered something that for all its flaws is very entertaining, yet, it is these flaws which make the release so much fun. Of course, we haven’t seen exactly who TAIO are, but ultimately, this is the band’s debut album, it is a strong start for the band to grow and develop and it will be interesting to see where TAIO go from ‘Vindicta’. 74/100 Adam McCann
Three Dead Fingers
Breed Of The Devil’ Bleeding Music Records Thrash/Heavy Metal
With the calibre of music which has come from Sweden in the last 25 years alone, it is hardly surprising that children learn to play guitar before they can walk, and this is certainly the case with Three Dead Fingers (TDF). This year has TDF taking the plunge into the big leagues as they release their debut album ‘Breed Of The Devil’.
With their age, if there is an expectation that ‘Breed…’ could be a flash in the pan attempt at playing a fad; but that is hugely the wrong assumption. ‘Breed…’ shows TDF smashing out of the traps with a sound that is a hearty mix of traditional heavy metal and thrash, appealing to fans of Judas Priest, Metallica, Slayer and Death before delivering a blindside breakdown of melodic death metal that has all the hallmarks of Arch Enemy and really makes tracks such as ‘Celestial Blasphemy’, ‘Into The Bloodbath’ and ‘House Of The Careless’ stand out. Yet unfortunately, the main vocals appear to be lacking melody and power, but these are propped up by some excellent backing vocals and growls which really solidify this album and give it the oomph it needs.
However, ‘Breed…’ is a decent album, it is rough around the edges, providing an excellent cornerstone for TDF to build on. Ultimately, ‘Breed…’ rocks hard and shows a young band giving it their all to achieve their dreams.
78/100 Adam McCann
Týr
‘Hel’ Metal Blade Records Folk/Metal
There are few bands as instantly recognisable as Týr, their sound is a perfect blend of heavy metal and folk vocal melodies which beautifully encapsulate the mythology of the Faroese and Icelandic skáld. Yet for Týr, it has been quite awhile since the band last graced us with an album. That last album was ‘Valkyrja’ and still stands as strong now as it did in 2013; this album was well received by both fans a critics alike and it was going to take another strong release by Týr to even equal ‘Valkyrja’. Thankfully, this year see’s the return of Týr with their latest album ‘Hel’.
‘Hel’ thrusts forward with a rhythmic beating heart of a war drum and although for Týr, the opening track ‘Gates Of Hel’ throws a feint with the use of growls at the start, it doesn’t take too long for the typical Týr sound to return in this song and indeed the remainder of the album. It is this sound which makes the Faroese marauders so appealing as their music raises and falls like a poet’s inflections. There are no better examples of this than ‘Gates Of Hel’, a song which is made all the more endearing by it’s incorporation of the Scottish traditional song ‘The Bonnie Banks o’ Loch Lomand’, the powerful ‘Empire Of The North’ or the heavy metal barrage of ‘Sunset Shore’ which debatably borrows quite heavily from the riff to Megadeth’s ‘Countdown to Extinction’. However, unlike ‘Valkyrja’, which manages to stand tall at just over 45 minutes, ‘Hel’ weighs in at a lofty 70 minutes and because of this, ‘Hel’ finds it hard at the latter end of the album to hold the listener’s attention with many songs sounding very similar. For those expecting an album similar to or on par with ‘Valkyrja’ will be disappointed, yes it sounds like this album, but ‘Hel’ unfortunately falls below its predecessor. However, that does not make ‘Hel’ any less enjoyable and taken on its own, ‘Hel’ is a very good Týr album that is true to the band’s roots and therefore a lot of fun!
86/100 Adam McCann
Tesla
Tesla ‘Shock’ Tesla Electric Recording Company Hard Rock
It has been more than a few years since Tesla released their previous album ‘Simplicity’ back in 2014 and in that time, the band have celebrated the 30th anniversary of their seminal album ‘Mechanical Resonance’ coinciding with the release of a new song ‘Save That Goodness’ which was written and produced by the perennially shirtless Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen. For Tesla, this partnership with Collen has continued into the latest Tesla release ‘Shock’.
‘Shock’ really is quite an apt title for this album, for those expecting a stereotypical Tesla album will be taken rather aback, mainly due to the producing touch of Collen. The Def Leppard man has waved his magic wand over this album and therefore, ‘Shock’ is very comparable to Def Leppard in this respect; ‘Shock’ is extremely polished, very modern sounding with multi-layered vocals coupled with exceptionally memorable chorus’ that are best portrayed in ‘Taste Like’, ‘You Won’t Take Me Alive’ and the title track. However, it can be debated that Collen has meddled far too much with the classic Tesla sound, turning the band into his ‘mini-Def Leppard’ rather than letting Tesla be themselves. Yet, there are some really good tracks here, ‘Shock’ has an infectiously feel-good factor to it, from the anthemic ‘You Won’t Take Me Alive’, to the lighter-bearing ‘We Can Rule The World’ and the catchy Bon Jovi-meets-John Mellencamp Americana of ‘California Summer Song’.
It has been a rather large gamble with the Tesla sound and at times, this can be difficult to digest; but there is enough here to be both hugely enjoyable and fun. There are those that will really like this album and those that will detest it, but one thing is certain, you will be hard pressed to find a better sounding rock album released this year.
71/100 Adam McCann
Thunder
Please Remain Seated’ earMusic Records 2019 Rock
It has been two years since Thunder released their last studio offering ‘Rip It Up’ and it wouldn’t be long before the fun time London rockers announced that their next venture would be ‘Please Remain Seated’, an acoustic album featuring reworkings of their back catalogue.
To release an album of this nature can be a risk, fans of the band are often embedded in their ways and are often take an instant dislike to a band changing their favourite songs; remember when Bon Jovi took this chance with their 2003 album ‘This Left Feels Right’? However, with ‘Please…’ Thunder have taken the precaution not to touch their hits and stick almost exclusively to album tracks with the exception of ‘Low Life In High Places’ which gets the acoustic reworking, but other than an added choir, there isn’t much change.
What Thunder give with ‘Please…’ is an album of enjoyable reworkings, tracks such as ‘Bigger Than Both Of Us’, ‘Empty City’ and ‘Girl’s Going Out Of Her Head’ are given new leases of life with through an injection of acoustic blues, jazz piano, walking bass and gospel choir. This gives these songs a massively different dynamic by adding a new level of enjoyment and presenting their songs in a mature, easy listening and above all fun format. Unfortunately, some of these tracks don’t exactly develop as reworked, ‘Future Train’ shows little deviation from the alternate version presented on ‘The Rare, The Raw And The Rest’ whilst ‘She’s So Fine’ doesn’t really work in this format and a different song would have been better chosen.
‘Please…’ is very enjoyable and as always with Thunder, it is of the highest quality work. However, there is not much here to drag in new listeners and therefore, ‘Please…’ is best reserved for hardcore fans and collectors of Thunder’s music. 76/100 Adam McCann
T.N.T.
‘XIII’ Frontiers Records 2018 Hard Rock/AOR/Melodic Hard Rock
It has been eight years since T.N.T. released their last album ‘A Farewell to Arms’. In that time, the Norwegian hard rockers have encountered numerous line-up changes; the most important of which has been the departure for the second time of vocalist Tony Harnell. The band immediately began to search for a replacement, settling on the unknown Baol Bardot Bulsara from Spain before releasing their latest album ‘XIII’.
Obviously, this change is immediately noticeable, the melodic tones of Harnell were almost undeniable, yet Bulsara fills this void exceptionally well and it is perfectly understandable why T.N.T. chose his talent. Unfortunately, with this change comes the inevitable finding your feet album and as good as ‘XIII’ sounds, it is full of typical, safe sounding songs with the band seemingly unwilling to step beyond their comfort zone. However, this does not make ‘XIII’ poor, far from it and whilst some of the tracks are relatively average, many of the tracks such as ‘We’re Gonna Make It’, ‘People Come Together’ and the anthemic partying song ‘Get Ready For Some Hard Rock’ make up this deficit.
Long time fans of T.N.T. will not be disappointed with ‘XIII’, although the band stick to what they know, the addition of Bulsara gives the band a breath of fresh air and whilst it may be a far cry from the bands hey-day of the late 80’s, ‘XIII’ is fun and enjoyable, it shows that there is plenty of charge left within the band, especially with the biting ‘Not Feeling Anything’ and yet the band still manage to pull beautiful melodic numbers out of the hat.
‘XIII’ is nowhere near the one of the best albums released this year, even amongst its genre. But it does have an enjoyable charm that will certainly appeal to not just fans of T.N.T., but those within the genre who may not be aware of the bands legacy.
71/100 Adam McCann
Thrash Bombz
‘Prisoner of Disaster’ Iron Shield Records 2018 Thrash Metal
Italy is not the immediate place that springs to mind when thrash metal is mentioned, but Thrash Bombz from Sicily have planted the flag firmly in the ground. Thrash Bombz are currently going through somewhat of a creative patch and following on from their fantastic 2017 release ‘Master of the Dead’, the Sicilians are back with their new album ‘Prisoner of Disaster’.
‘Prisoner…’ is 31 minutes of pure, balls to the wall thrash metal, it does not fritter away minutes with elongated technical passages like many of their peers. Instead, the album blasts forward at the brutal pace of the Teutonic thrash movement spliced with the vocal delivery of their American counterparts and tracks such as ‘Mafia Demonz’, ‘Live to Kill’ and the title track are all prime examples of this.
Fortunately for Thrash Bombz, the album does not have a top-notch production, and this plays perfectly into the hands of the band. It gives ‘Prisoner…’ a sense of integrity and gritty realism that this is a band which live and breathe thrash metal and would appeal to any fans of Toxic Holocaust, Mindwars, Satan’s Wrath or even Overkill and Exodus.
With ‘Prisoner…’ it looks as though the purple patch of Thrash Bombz is set to continue and whilst the album won’t set the world alight, it is certainly a decent thrash metal album. 76/100 Adam McCann
Texas Metal Outlaws
‘Texas Metal Outlaws’ Texas Metal Underground Records 2018 Heavy Metal
Texas has always been a hotbed of music, from the muddy blues of the Rio Grande to shredding heavy metal. To celebrate this, Robert Williams of Ignitor has put together a studio project aptly named Texas Metal Outlaws and features an impressive roster of guests with the band releasing their eponymous debut album this year.
‘Texas Metal Outlaws’ may be four years in the making, but Williams has meticulously and with success, bridged the gap between the Texan underground scenes of 80’s and 90’s. Assembling a stellar cast of Texan musicians including members of Watchtower, S.A. Slayer, D.R.I. and Helstar, ‘Texas…’ provides an excellent peek at the varying different sounds that the Texan underground has to offer.
As an album, ‘Texas…’ is a typical guest fuelled collection, some of the tracks here are pure gold, for example, the drunken D.R.I. crossover thrashing of ‘Malt Liquor Maniac’ would not be out of place on ‘Thrash Zone’, the colossal brooding of ‘Sound of Scorn’ whilst the S.A. Slayer melodic power metal stylings of ‘Rebel Years’ and ‘Within the Spell’ add a different dimension to ‘Texas…’. However, some tracks do fall short of the mark and meander aimlessly. All in all, this album is enjoyable, it shows the varying heavy metal sounds across the Texan underground scene and ranges full on head banging fury to good cheesy fun and there is nothing wrong with that! 74/100 Adam McCann
Testament
‘The New Order’ Megaforce Records/Atlantic Records 1988 Thrash Metal
The thrash metal movement of the late 80’s was up there with the NWOBHM and Sunset Strip movements to be in a band, plenty of bands, all bouncing off one another, releasing music and getting signed to minor labels left, right and centre. After changing their name to Testament, the band immediately hit the ground running with their debut album ‘The Legacy’ in 1987 and the momentum generated from this would carry straight over into the following years second album ‘The New Order’.
‘The New Order’ follows on perfectly from ‘The Legacy’ having an exceptionally similar tone throughout and although this sound is not dissimilar to many of the other thrash bands at the time, it suits Testament down to the ground. The only real issue with the sound is that ‘The New Order’, like its predecessor is top heavy and this means that unfortunately Greg Christian’s bass is drowned out, as are Louie Clemente’s lower drums, however, the album is certainly not without its charm. Furthermore, the primal shout of Chuck Billy and the guitars of Alex Skolnick and Eric Peterson slice through the mix excellently providing a perfect example of how a classic thrash album sounds. In fact, ‘The New Order’ showcases the raw talents of Skolnick and in particular how the Testament lead guitarist has remained an unsung cult hero amongst metalheads, just guitar solo during ‘Into the Pit’ and ‘Disciples of the Watch’ are superb. The talents of the band can be seen during some of ‘The New Orders’ most enduring songs, ‘Disciples of the Watch’, ‘Into the Pit’, ‘The Preacher’ and the title track are all still played regularly and are evidence of the longevity, love and passion that seep out of this album. Moreover, this album is only really let down by ‘Hypnosis’, a song which is nothing more than an elongated introduction to ‘Disciples of the Watch’ and the cover of Aerosmith’s ‘Nobody’s Fault’ which adds nothing to the album other than to fill out time.
When Testament released ‘The New Order’ they would have no idea that it would provide them with an album which alongside ‘The Legacy’ and ‘Practice What You Preach’ would be a trilogy that would provide the band with a legacy as well as help to define a genre. 88/100 Adam McCann
Trespass
‘Footprints In The Rock’ Mighty Music Records 2018 NWOBHM
The New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) era was one of the best times in heavy metal to be in a band, every band suddenly had the dawning that they could very realistically get their record released. But as bands like Diamond Head, Saxon and Iron Maiden began to pull away from the pack, poor deals and bad timing unfortunately left a lot of bands consigned to obscurity and history. Trespass are one of the NWOBHM bands which did not quite hit the heady heights of their peers, but just like many of these bands, Trespass have returned over the last few years and are now releasing material that equals, if not surpasses the work of their youth.
‘Footprints in the Rock’ is the latest album from Trespass and follows on from 2015’s eponymous return being full of the NWOBHM goodness that is expected from the band. Although as an album, ‘Footprints…’ does not have the best production, but this does play directly into the hands of Trespass as it gives the illusion that this album was recorded in a small studio way back in 1981. This production does give the band a relatively live feel and allows the listener to hear the wonderful twin guitar harmony runs, bringing back memories of Iron Maiden’s debut when each guitar could be clearly heard as opposed to a modern indistinguishable production portrayed by many bands.
Age has not dulled the sword of Trespass, the band now sound better than ever, yes, ‘Footprints…’ may be cheesy and at times borders on average with tracks like ‘Little Star’ and ‘Be Brave’ which are not the best, but are certainly not without their charm. However, when ‘Footprints…’ picks up, it is very good; the Greek mythology theme of ‘Prometheus’, the Lindesfarne massacre of ‘Dragon’s in the Mist’, the Anglo-Saxon epic ‘Beowulf and Grendel’ and the excellent descending riff to ‘The Green Man’ are all outstanding examples of the work Trespass have put into this album. Unfortunately, the latter song does manage to compete with Black Sabbath’s ‘War Pigs’ for bad rhyming couplets with ‘he’s making his stand, we don’t understand’.
Trespass have not only outdone themselves with ‘Footprints…’ but they have also exceeded expectations. It is a great album that would appeal to any fans of the NWOBHM movements, particularly that of Satan and Blitzkrieg or the first Demon album. ‘Footprints…’ is guaranteed to be one of the gems of 2018, it will not receive the plaudits and accolades that bigger bands will receive, but it will be treasured by fans of his genre and deserves to be heard. 74/100 Adam McCann
Tribulation
Down Below
Century Media Records 2018
As Above, So Below
Tribulation are an interesting band, they manage to blend black metal alongside gothic and death to create something that is almost relatively unique. This amalgamation over their previous three releases has seen the band go from strength to strength with their accessible, brooding and above all, fun sound.
It was going to take a feat of heavy metal, a maturity, hunger and guile to surpass the bands third album ‘Children of the Night’, but Tribulation’s fourth studio album ‘Down Below’ not only equals its predecessor, but surpasses it in every way. Tribulation have taken the sound from ‘Children…’, listened to their critics, honed their sound and answered with an album that is frankly the bands best work. Each song on ‘Down Below’ is catchy with a replayability which can be rare to find, from the opening beast of ‘The Lament’, the album pinnacle that is ‘Lady Death’, the slightly cheesy yet enjoyable ‘Here Be Dragons’ and one of the most beautiful black metal instrumentals you will hear all year with ‘Purgatorio’, ‘Down Below’ will certainly appeal to fans of black, death and gothic metal. ‘Down Below’ is a shining example of a young band on top of their game doing what they do best and this may sneak out under the radar, to miss out will be to miss out on one of the best albums that you will hear this year.
86/100
Adam McCann
Lady Death; Tribulation 'Down Below', 2018; Century Media Records
Thunderstone: 22/03/2017
O2 Club Academy
Manchester 22/03/2017
Post-Apocalyptic Power Metal gives Manchester the Finnish treatment
During Striker’s literally draw dropping set, any thoughts of rain and being rather damp were dispelled as those lucky enough to catch one of the best bands from Canada were treated to a set of pure heavy metal in the pure sense of the word traditional. Club Academy is starting to fill up a little bit more for another virgin moment. Tonight, fellow Finnish power metaller’s, Thunderstone, are also supporting Sonata Arctica with Thunderstone also playing Manchester for the first time.
Judging by the sheer amount of Thunderstone t-shirts that have appeared in the past 20 minutes, there are obviously a good few amount of people here to exclusively see Thunderstone and who can blame them? Thunderstone have that European power metal feel, however, they exchange the epic feel that you get with a lot of other Nordic power metal for that slight touch of morose that is unique to Finland and would therefore appeal to any fans of Finnish power metal.
Striker are dismantled and removed from the stage relatively quick with Thunderstone looking to go pretty much straight away as Thunderstone rumble onstage to a build-up speech that gives way to 'Veterans of the Apocalypse', the opening track from Thunderstone’s latest album, 'Apocalypse Again'. Instantly, there is no doubt tonight that Thunderstone are here to rule with their blend of beautiful vocal melodies from Pasi Rantanen interwoven between a pounding rhythmic section and soaring progressive style melodies from Jukka Karinen’s keyboards that serve to separate Thunderstone from their peers by not only making them a decent power metal band, but also the big anthemic choruses from the likes of 'Through the Pain' and 'Until We Touch the Burning Sun', that would make Thunderstone appeal to those who would normally shy away from this style of music.
Set List:
Veterans of the Apocalypse Tool of the Devil The Path Break the Emotion Weak Forevermore Through the Pain 10,000 Ways Until We Touch the Burning Sun
Just as Striker were, Thunderstone are pushed for time tonight and prefer to say very little, preferring to let the music to the talking for them. In the few brief moments where Thunderstone do actually address the crowd, there is an air of humbleness around the band who express a deep gratitude to the audience for their continued support especially due to their lack of touring within the United Kingdom itself.
Thunderstone raise the bar once more in Club Academy tonight, leaving Sonata Arctica very little room to actually improve here. It’s been far too many years in the making, but to finally have Thunderstone here in Manchester playing is something to behold and as with Striker, the only overall criticism tonight is the set that Thunderstone was unfortunately far too short and to far too little people, most of which filter in post Thunderstone to await Sonata Arctica. Sadly, it is these people who missed the best two bands tonight.
Adam McCann
The Path; Thunderstone, 'Apocalypse Again', 2016; AFM Records
Thunder: 17/03/2017
O2 Apollo
Manchester 17/03/2017
Thunder give another flawless good-time cheeky chappie Rock N’ Roll performance
For one of the larger venues, the Manchester O2 Apollo is one of the better venues in the city, especially when all the seats are removed for a standing concert. Tonight is a sell-out and this is evident right from the start from a relatively full venue during 70’s power pop/AOR throwbacks, Cats In Space. Due to the sheer amount of people actually in the venue, there is suddenly that feeling, what is it? Dryness! And the general mood of the arena begins to rise in anticipation for Thunder.
Arriving onstage to Samuel L. Jackson’s 'Ezekiel 25:17' speech from Tarantino’s 'Pulp Fiction', a curtain descends revealing Thunder as they blast into 'No One Gets Out Alive', the opening track from their latest offering, 'Rip It Up', released last month. At the very first moment, the sound seems a little weedy before kicking in a split second later with the only logical conclusion being an issue with the descending curtain.
Most of the people spend a good few minutes scanning the stage for the presence of guitarist Luke Morley before realising the guy in the cowboy hat, open black shirt with beads around his neck armed with a Fender Stratocaster isn’t actually Richie Sambora. Morley dances about and swings his guitar about and plays most of the set with Stratocaster as opposed to his usually red Flying-V, which does make an appearance for a few songs later on.
Speaking of dancing about, nobody dances quite like Danny Bowes and the term ‘dance’ is used in the loosest of terms. Bowes has all the moves of your drunk dad at a wedding when his favourite song from the 80’s comes on, but by the same token, you can’t help be drawn in by his cheeky happy persona because let’s face it, Thunder are the ultimate good time band.
Set List:
No One Gets Out Alive The Enemy Inside River of Pain Resurrection Day Right From the Start Backstreet Symphony Higher Ground In Another Life The Thing I Want Don’t Wait for Me Rip It Up Love Walked In I Love You More Than Rock N’ Roll Wonder Days There’s Always a Loser Dirty Love
Thunder are a band that suffered from breaking into the industry at the wrong the time with even a year previous and they would have been world dominatingly huge. Thunder have had their fair share of ups and downs, but that has never pushed through into their live set and they are something to behold live. In a set-list dominated by tracks from 'Rip It Up', Thunder still manage to tear the roof off with their classics. The first one to make an appearance is 'River of Pain' and Bowes doesn’t try to hit the high notes, preferring to bring the melody down with the first thought being maybe he can’t hit them notes anymore, but this is dispelled to more a ‘voice still warming up’ scenario as Bowes brings the hairs to stand up straight during his performance of 'Don’t Wait for Me', 'Love Walked In' and 'Dirty Love'.
Over the years, you could say Thunder have developed a cult following with reception to the bands newer releases treated with just as much welcome and respect as the more famous releases. There are a few odd omissions tonight with nothing being played from 'Laughing on Judgement Day', but there were some songs that had a welcome return to the set such as 'I Love You More Than Rock N’ Roll', but all in all, Thunder were and have always been borderline flawless live with Morley, Matthews and Childs adding their harmonies to the older songs giving them a different dimension, but once more, Thunder blew the roof off tonight and with that, it is back into the rain.
Adam McCann
No One Gets Out Alive; Thunder, 'Rip It Up', 2017; earMusic Records
Thunder
Rip It Up
earMusic Records 2017
Rip It Off
0Thunder are a band that over the course of their careers have split up, reformed, disbanded and once again reformed. This time, it looks like Thunder are back for good and although this saying will haunt them forever; Thunder were in the right place at the wrong time, breaking it big in 1989/1990 was a bad time to hit the big time with their good-time Hard Rock, bluesy riffs and big hair. Just a few years earlier and Thunder would have been huge, but instead they got caught in the riptide of changing times.
These days, Thunder have come a million miles away from the late 80’s Hard Rock where they made their name, other than changing bassists a few times before settling on Chris Childs, Thunder have had the same stable line-up now for 21 years and this experience shows, not just in a live environment, but also on record. Since Thunder got together again in 2002, culminating in the 'Shooting at the Sun' album, Thunder have changed their sound a little, that blues element is still there and if anything, it has been enhanced. However, Thunder can still tear it up when needs be or can kick back with a beautiful piano ballad and like a fine wine, Thunder have matured and it is no wonder that this nets the band the airplay on the classic rock radio stations that they deserve.
During Thunder’s second break, guitarist Luke Morley and bassist Chris Childs worked together in The Union with the wonderful blues voice of Pete Shoulder and this stripped, laid back feeling has obviously transposed its way into Thunder’s writing with Morley being the main man. That was then, it is now 2017 and Thunder have released their latest album, 'Rip It Up'. There are no surprises as to why 'Rip It Up' follows in the same vein as its predecessor 'Wonder Days', many of the songs are stylistically similar sounding with that more laid back, retro style groove which was stamped all over 'Wonder Days'.
Don’t think for one minute though that 'Rip It Up' is West Coast, Fleetwood Mac, Eagles, buy it for your dad, easy listening, as Thunder can still write a good old fashioned Hard Rocker with Danny Bowes’ pipes still as impressive as ever, which begs the question; is Bowes the most underrated rock vocalist? The answer is yes. Thunder manage to rip it up several times across this album, from the title track, 'Shakedown' and the obvious single, 'She Likes the Cocaine' with its gleaming pop style production. However, there are some beautiful ballads here and no one sings a tear jerking ballad like Thunder with the likes of 'Right from the Start' and the album’s closing track 'There’s Always a Loser' strategically placed about the album.
The main issue with 'Rip It Up' itself is that every song has that overly familiar feel to it, like you’ve heard it somewhere before. Hardly surprising really, there are a lot of crossovers in the world of rock, pop and heavy metal, but with 'Rip It Up', it seems like Thunder have collated them all together. From the 'Celebration Day' style riff to 'No One Gets Out Alive', to the 'Jean Genie' groove of the title track itself, 'Rip It Up' sets the precedent from the start with even the bass intro to 'In Another Life' sounding like Alannah Myles’ 'Black Velvet'. It isn’t a secret that Thunder are big fans of The Who with even the band covering tracks such as 'Pinball Wizard', but 'The Enemy Inside' has that quick-fire Pete Townsend style chords that have very similar leanings towards 'Pinball Wizard' and 'The Seeker'. However, it isn’t just outside tracks where Thunder take their inspiration, they even look to their own catalogue. 'The Chosen One' has a chorus which could easily be confused with 'Fade into the Sun' whilst 'Shakedown' has that simple clean bouncy riff equipped with a cowbell that is reminiscent of 'I Love You More Than Rock N’ Roll' both from 'The Magnificent Seventh' with 'There’s Always a Loser' also sounding similarly to 'Watching Over You' from the 'Bang!' album.
All this aside, 'Rip It Up' is actually an enjoyable album, it might be coupled with a crap album cover, but that is the worst thing about the album. 'Rip It Up' does exactly what it sets out to do, deliver a good time through upbeat songs mixed with the more melancholic side showing that Thunder still have plenty to offer and it wouldn’t be surprising if 'Rip It Up' was one of the best hard rock releases of this year.
80/100
Adam McCann
Rip It Up; Thunder, 'Rip It Up', 2017; earMusic Records
Twilight Force: 13/01/2017
O2 Apollo
Manchester 13/01/2017
Twilight Force calls…. ….and Manchester will answer!
A cold wind blew and tonight, the show was played under the threat of snow. Not a common thing here in Manchester, but usually, the threat of snow turns England into a panic ridden community similar to that of the 4 minute warning. Within the grumbling complaints of: “it looks like snow later”, a small pocket of people at the Apollo didn’t care. They were here to see Sabaton, Accept and Twilight Force. With 3 bands playing tonight, Twilight Force take to the stage 10 minutes earlier than was originally announced, causing many people to miss Twilight Force entirely. Twilight Force take to the stage in full fantasy regalia and for the next 30 minutes, Twilight Force manage to suck you in to their fantasy world with their swords raised high and Manowar-esque spoken interludes. Twilight Force are currently touring in support of their second album, 'Heroes of Mighty Magic', with a good 90% of their short set showcasing their latest release. Storming the stage with 'Battle of Arcane Might', the song released as their video from 'Heroes of Mighty Magic', it is impossible to not smile as the chainmail, elven ears and hooded cowls swamp the stage. But the audience isn’t laughing at them, Twilight Force suck you in, you’re in their world – a much heavier and enjoyable place than their latest studio recording with songs such as 'Riders of the Dawn' and 'Flight of the Sapphire Dragon' sounding much beefier in the live environment.
Set List:
Battle of Arcane Might
To the Stars
Riders of the Dawn
Flight of the Sapphire Dragon
Gates of Glory
The Power of the Ancient Force
From the get go, vocalist Chrileon never ceases to move and at every opportunity, encourages the audience to engage with Twilight Force, clapping and cheering leaving the audience far more than impressed as their set drew to a close. It was a shame that Sabaton’s Joakim Brodén didn’t make a guest appearance for his vocal part in 'Gates of Glory', with this being undertook with some vocal trickery through the backing microphones. As 'The Power of the Ancient Force' concluded Twilight Force’s set, there wasn’t a miserable face within the Apollo tonight. Twilight Force certainly more than impressed and with a set like that, definitely exposed themselves to a portion of the audience that may not have heard the call of the Twilight Force before.
Adam McCann
Flight of the Sapphire Dragon; Twilight Force, 'Heroes of Mighty Magic', 2016; Nuclear Blast Records