Sleekstain- Hard

Opening in the way they intend to go on, Sleekstain’s latest release of pure, un-diluted rock and roll channels the energy of classic acts whilst remaining individual and modern.

The music on Hard is all no-frills and stripped down. What solo sections there are are kept short and sweet, only as added sections to compliment some of the songs, rather than as compulsory, elongated areas for the players to show off for long stretches. However, this does mean that the songs can get repetitive and samey, with very little change in the texture or overall sound of the individual tracks.

The 10 tracks on the album are all high in energy and are intended to be played at a loud volume. The songs are melodic riotous, good-time rock and roll party tracks which showcase the bands ability to write uncompromising songs and great, catchy riffs, along with hooks and melodies which are instantly memorable and inspire you to sing along.

Overall, it’s a catchy album, full of good-time songs and soarin melodies. However the lack of variety can make it seem repetitive and samey. Despite this, track for track, the songs are all storming rock belters.

6/10

Voodoo Vegas- The Rise of Jimmy Silver

The Rise of Jimmy Silver is the new release from young blues rockers Voodoo Vegas. Their brand of high-octane guitar rock is both melodic and heavy at the same time.

This album is, from start to finish, a storming album. The 11 tracks, including a brief intro and an interlude track, the Voodoo Vegas definitely have one foot firmly in their roots, with their blues-oriented tracks talking about girls, cars and folk-heroes. The album even includes a once-compulsory acoustic track (what happened to the days when every rock band tried to have one acoustic track on their albums?) The haunting ‘What I Pay’ simply oozes with a spooky, swampy air which sounds like something a 70s Southern Rock band may have come out with. ‘Ferry Song’ furthers the classic vibe of the album and the band’s overall sound with a wailing harmonica solo, imitating train-like sounds and pushing the track along as well as any old-school bluesman. ‘Lost in Confusion’, a pain-drenched ode to pointlessly lost loves goes to show that Voodoo Vegas have a softer side, and can write a heart-rending ballad as well as any 80s arena superstars.

This album is a joyous rock and roll romp, which goes to show that guitar-based music can still kick, yet remain soulful and be played with plenty of feeling.  Definitely a band to watch out for in the future!

9/10

Live Review- Jeff Scott Soto @ Camden Underworld 06/04/13

A far cry from the heady days of performing to sold out stadium audiences, Jeff Scott Soto nevertheless played an energetic and high-octane gig in Camden’s Underworld nightclub in support of his 2012 solo release, Damage Control.

The self-proclaimed “Soto-palooza” package of bands with which Jeff Scott Soto has a direct connection began with Greek glam-metallers Danger Angel who’s loud and proud brand of metal began the night with a high energy set. Soto had contributed backing vocals to Death Angel’s most recent album, Revolutia, and it was definitely possible to hear the similarities in the musical styles of the groups, a similarity which continued right through the whole event. Death Angel’s music melded melodious vocal lines with cranked up guitar riffs, blistering guitar solos and a keytarist who’s synth harmonies added an extra layer to the band’s sound, as well as allowing for an extra body to be running around the stage at all times.

Second on for the night was a trio fronted by Soto’s own guitarist Jorge Salán. The guitar work for which the band was really the vehicle was stunning, with Salán firing of solo after insane solo with flair and showmanship, whilst allowing the remaining sections of the songs to compl^st birthday only a few days before.  

ement the very showy solo playing which featured so heavily. Impressively, Salán was able to keep up a strong vocal performance whilst still playing complex guitar lines. The band was full of old-fashioned rock and roll spirit, and ended with a rousing rendition of the Gary Moore Celtic
 rock classic ‘Over The Hills and Far Away’, as it would have been the late, great guitarist’s 61

The main attraction of the night was, of course Jeff Scott Soto himself. Fronting his multinational band, JSS delivered a stunning performance in what he described as a “homecoming gig” in a “second home.” The set consisted mostly of tracks off his latest solo release, Damage Control, from 2012, (my review of which can be read here) but also featured tracks from earlier in his career. Moving about the stage almost constantly, JSS was able to engage with his audience a lot better than would be possible in a bigger venue, giving this sold out gig a more intimate feel. The only moment that the gig really slowed down was for the brief period that Soto played keyboards on a mellower track. In a moment of spontaneity, the ‘compulsory’ vocal back and forth was interrupted by a fantastic bass solo from the last minute stand in replacement bassist David Z, who’s single-handed rendition of Billie Jean brought a funkier element to the whole event, followed by a stunning cover of Ozzy Osbourne’s classic ‘Shot in the Dark’.  After an epic set which went on for the best part of 2 hours, and coming against the noise curfew in Underworld, Soto introduced his friend, Nathan James (made famous on the ITV show ‘Superstar’), fresh of a tour with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, which Soto also sings for, in order to duet on ‘Stand Up and Shout’ from the soundtrack to the 2001 film ‘Rock Star’, for which Jeff Scott Soto had recorded all of the vocals for the fictitious metal band Steel Dragon. Finally, the riotous set closed with an a cappella verse of Steel Panther’s sleaze-metal track ‘Community Property.’ The whole night was electric, boding well for Soto’s set at Hard Rock Hell AOR later in the week. 

(all photos by Nick Webb)

Jeff Scott Soto- Damage Control

Vocalist extraordinaire Jeff Scott Soto, whose previous credits include Journey, Yngwie Malmsteen, Talisman and W.E.T., released his latest solo album in 2012. His music remains faithful to the era that he started in: Loud, brash, 80s rock and metal.

JSS’s voice here is as powerful as it ever is, showing that despite over 30 years of singing melodic hard rock, he can still hit the high notes.

The album is well balanced with anthemic, thundering guitar tracks, complete with shredding guitar solos, and more melodic tracks which are intended to get lighters rising up in audiences.  Track by track, there are few duff numbers,

Although some may label the whole album as radio-friendly cheese-rock, complete with power ballads and ostentatiousness which wishes that 80s success would once again return- I am partial to 80s bombast, so I am not going to hold that against the album. However the album does feel nostalgic at times, almost refusing to acknowledge any musical developments since Arena Rock stopped getting significant airplay.

Lyrically, the album focuses on standard radio rock themes of love and cars, with little attempt at lyrical depth, the purpose of the songs being to get a crowd rocking, not thinking.

Overall, this is an album for the 80s written in the 2010’s. The album keeps up a rock attitude the whole way through, but does feel at times very much like a nostalgia album of a star still trying to cling onto a bygone era. The album isn't bad at all- it just feels a bit cheesy and nostalgic, and doesn't quite have the same modernised rejuvenation that some similar artists have managed in recent years.

6/10

The Von Hertzen Brothers- Nine Lives

Progressive and melodic, yet at times heavy and more doomy, Nine Lives shows that The Von Hertzen Brothers have a very broad view of what Rock Music can be. Their compositions range from atmospheric, Pink Floyd-esque sci-fi trips, to heavy rocking ball breakers. During all of this mix, however, this Finnish group remain very melodic and soulful.

The band uses their great musical talents to make interesting and complex music which doesn't come across as ostentatious or too flashy. They make use of more interesting scale choices and unusual harmonic progressions and folky aspects of music from their native Finland. Lyrically, they are influenced by as diverse subjects as the works of William Blake and Indian philosophy. Musically, the band relies upon atmospheric songwriting and vocal harmonies for their progressive edge, staying away from million note solos and ridiculously fast passages.

Nine Lives is VHB’s 5^th album, and their biggest to date, coming after 2011’s Stars Aligned, which began to break them in the UK, and gained them recognition with nominations in the Classic Rock awards.

The album opens with the groovy rocker “Insomniac”, which shows that the band can remain melodic whilst playing heavy music. This is followed by the album’s lead single, “Flowers and Rust”, which flows and spins from light melodies to harder choruses. These differences in styles continue throughout the rest of the album, each track showing a different side of the band, yet remaining a coherent whole.

Overall this is a fantastic modern prog album which manages to avoid falling into many of the traps which contemporary progressive music tends to fall into (Putting far more emphasis on harsh vocal sounds or being much more over the top with speedy passages and complex instrumental and solo sections than is necessary.)

8/10

Vega- What The Hell!

Whilst being kept firmly out of the mainstream, British melodic hard rock is in a state of great health. The number of new albums being released is increasing and younger bands are breaking through onto the scene. Vega are at the forefront of this new rise.

Opening with an eerie, circus-esque intro, not entirely in keeping with the rest of the album, Vega really kick in with the second track “White Knuckle.” This track is a lot more melodic than lots of their earlier work, moving slightly away from the harder-edged sound, with soaring vocals and thick keyboard harmonies. The chorus however is a belter, and definitely sets the tone for the rest of the album. Full of belting tracks, and heavy, melodic riffs, Vega are coming into their own, creating a loud, brash sound which retains all the big, crunchy riffs, but extends the melodic approach of the band. Instrumentally, the band is tight, as musical complexity is not at the forefront of this band’s mind, which means that the parts are kept stripped down and basic, any solos are kept short and tasteful. Rather the main focus is on the quality of the songs, all of which are big and aimed at keeping an audience on their feet.

Overall this album contains a few gems of songs (“White Knuckle” being a particular favourite), however there is little variety in the sound, which gives the album a fairly one-dimensional feel. But it’s pure rock and roll nonetheless.

7/10

CrashDiet- The Savage Playground

This fourth release from Swedish Melodic Sleaze Metallers writhes with the spirit of LA’s Sunset Strip circa 1989, adds a healthy extra dose of punk and a hefty coating of melodic, arena-filling sounds to create a positive soup of good-ole’ rock n roll energy. (I apologise for the half-hearted food analogy, but it got the point across I think)

This latest album, The Savage Playground definitely shows off a much more melodic side of CrashDiet’s sound, without losing any of that hard edged pedigree that people expect of this hard working group. Almost constantly on the road since the release of their previous 2010 album Generation Wild, this album has a more live feel to it, and keeps the edges rough and the sound raw.

The band’s hard rock edge can be seen with sleaze-filled tracks like “Cocaine Cowboys” and “Drinkin’ Without You”, a firm nod to the types of larger-than-life bands who influenced CrashDiet. However, on tracks such as “California” you can hear a much more melodic approach to song-writing (although no less rockin’), complete with catchy choruses and multiple guitar tracks which make the song sound huge and creates a sense that the band has musically matured- not just throwing out heavy riffs- but also writing melodic songs.

Overall, this is a great album, especially if you are looking for something which sounds new, yet would equally fit in with the heyday of 80s melodic rock and metal.

8/10 

FM- Rockville

Having recorded over a dozen albums in their nearly 30 year career, this latest offering from British Melodic, Arena and Album Oriented Rock veterans FM shows that, no matter what people say, the 80s are not ready to give up the ghost quite yet. This album holds many of the things that made that decade of gloriously over the top music great: Loud guitars, massive keyboards, highly sing-able melodies, power ballads that require the waving of a lighter, and Anthemic numbers which, if played on a car stereo, tend to render speed limits obsolete. This album definitely holds up to recent work of similar artists who they have shared billings with, and surpasses many.

With a good mix of huge stadium anthems obviously penned for huge audiences to get going to (The album opener “Tough Love” is a fantastic example of this), this album also includes tracks that would be equally at home played in a smaller, club gig, such as “Wake Up The World”, which shows off a more blues-based, Hard Rock edge to the band’s sound. “Show Me The Way” then goes a long way to show that FM can play a Power Ballad to rival anybody around.

The major downside of the album is the fact that it does seem to try to remain firmly in the 80s, with minimal looking forward, which, at times, makes this seem like a bit of a nostalgia album, pining for “the glory days.”

Overall, however, the album is made up of a range of meat and potatoes classic rock, exactly what you’d expect from a band as classic and long-running as this. Definitely one for those with an old-school bent to their music taste.

7/10

KISS- Monster Review

You can say what you like about KISS, and people really do. The fervour and love of their army of fans is matched only by the strength with which many despise their brand of fun-loving, Rock & Roll music. Whilst it lacks any real depth, serious message or great technical ability, Monster definitely offers what made KISS huge in the first place: A slice of high energy Hard Rock that gets fists pumping in the air and the long hair (albeit a distant memory for many of their original fans) swinging.

The 20^th album of a career spanning 4 decades, Monster is the second record KISS have made with the current line-up of Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons (founding members) along with the guitar skills of Tommy Thayer, and the pounding drums of Eric Singer. The follow up to 2009’s Sonic Boom continues with the band’s return to the true 70s sound that they’re famous for. Never a group to push musical boundaries, KISS is still most certainly doing what they’ve always done. 3 minute Hard Rock with plenty of guitar solos and lyrics about little more than Rock and Roll and partying which, whilst alright for some, do not plumb the depths of imagination, imagery or metaphor to decipher, especially as the ideas could have been lifted directly from albums of the band’s hay-day of 30 years ago. The problem with this return to the style of their classic period is that listening through to the album, there is a sense that you’ve heard all the songs before. “Ground-breaking” has never been a term regularly used in terms of KISS’ music, but there is a lack of much of anything special or new on Monster.

The opening track of Monster, “Hell or Hallelujah”, which was first released at the start of July 2012, begins the album with a barrage of classic bombast. The high-energy continues throughout the first couple of tracks, drawing heavily on the Blues-Rock roots of the band, each following the stock Verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-solo format which, although tried and tested as a song-writing technique, offers little in the way of variety. The album features tracks which allow all 4 members the opportunity to have a turn on lead vocals. Although no-one else reaches the power and range of Stanley, Thayer’s tribute to the spaceman aesthetic that his character in the band has on “Outta This World” is a good rocker, although, like most of this album, there’s little inspired about it. The same with Singer’s “All for the Love of Rock & Roll”, while anthems extolling the virtues of specific musical genres are all well and good, music has moved on and evolved since the time that these songs belong in. The guitar playing on this album, whilst definitely better than most attempts at guitar based music that are released today, still lacks the sparkle, polish and sophistication that is needed to stand out even in the specific Rock music charts. The Hard, Party-on aesthetic seems to be wearing a bit thin on these stalwart veterans, with the two original members in their 60s, and Tommy and Eric in their 50s; it’s hard to see how relevant their lyrics are to them anymore.

This album is a welcome return to the 1970s styling of KISS’ music. Although the problem is large amounts of it do sound like off-cuts from previous albums. There are no real possibilities for a modern-day “Rock and Roll All Nite (And Party Every Day).” Unfortunately for KISS they seem to be resting on their laurels a bit with this release.

In a year where many other classic bands have released new albums, while this is definitely a fun, good time record, there’s very little special or exciting about it. The re-hashed formula of the songs makes this a bit of an old, toothless Monster at best. So for previous, and die-hard fans who love what KISS always were, this album continues their legacy successfully enough. But for people looking for an exciting, new addition to the Rock ‘n’ roll cannon, it lacks in many departments.

5.5/10

Nirvana- Nevermind- 2011 Reissue

20 years ago, Seattle band Nirvana released a little album that has gone on to sell over 30 million copies worldwide and “changed the world of music forever”. It is, of course Nevermind. The first single of which seems to be on every playlist ever made, everywhere. Even if you don’t like rock music, ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ is without a doubt, at least one of the most recognisable songs in history.  Nirvana’s sound is one that has been constantly imitated, yet never surpassed, which was epitomised on Nevermind. Although there are some slightly… abrasive moments, such as the ending of ‘Something In The Way’ which takes the ideas of aggression shown in the band’s music to a clashing, distorted climax.  Even though it’s the loud anthems that Nirvana and Nevermind in particular are known for, the album is very rounded, with Ballads like ‘Polly’ and ‘Come As You Are’ being two notable examples.

For a remaster they haven’t really made the album hugely louder (as is usually the case when bands start re-mixing the original tapes) the sound quality of this new version brings the band’s sound right up to date. There are so many different packages for this new issue: With bonus discs of unreleased jam sessions, alternate takes of some of the tracks that finally made the cut, discs of singles, DVD packages, there are so many versions to choose from. There’s almost a sort of “option paralysis” when it comes to looking through the fresh release packages. However, this really is a must-own album. And even if you already have it, there are so many new things added on to the end, and the superior sound quality makes it a worthwhile purchase (especially if, like me your other copy is on cassette!!!)

Van Halen- A Different Kind of Truth- 2012

A recent resurgence in the popularity of Classic Rock music has had many effects. Mainly that many older bands are facing increased pressure to reform, tour and record, and that I can now go into a record store and look for NEW albums by my personal favourite artists (yes, I have the same taste in music as your dad). The first offering from the old-guard of Rockers for 2012 comes from Californian metal masters Van Halen. This is their first album in over ten years, and their first with original singer, David Lee Roth since the 1980s. This is, therefore, a fairly momentous occasion for all fans of the band’s music. However, the album has been confirmed to be made up of mostly reworkings of old demos that never made it onto studio albums. This has made many people angry that the band has lost creativity and originality. What these people seem to forget is that people widely accept that old Van Halen was best Van Halen (VH I was a huge hit for the band back in 1978 was a hit, III in 1998 erm… was not) These songs, therefore, have the hallmarks of the band’s classic sound, infused with the relative youth of Eddie Van Halen’s son, Wolfgang, on bass.

Musically, the band are as strong as ever. The album contains 13 tracks of unashamed, unabashed, joyous Rock n Roll music. The years haven’t diminished the phenomenal guitar skills of Eddie that helped make the band so successful from the start. The solos are still lightning fast, with riffs that, if anything, prove that the band is as heavy as ever. There are few real problems with the music on the album, the biggest criticisms I have are: that occasionally the vocals seem to get a bit messy and become rather unclear. David Lee Roth, the enigmatic front man, although still a great singer, has, over the years, aged and is no longer what he once was. The drums pound away and keep a huge sounding beat going throughout the album

Some of the lyrical material is not exactly genius, with some songs sounding remarkably similar to earlier tracks (Stay Frosty bares a remarkable resemblance to Ice Cream Man) One of the tracks on the album, You and Your Blues seems to do nothing more than quote the titles of old Blues and rock  numbers. The first single from the album, Tattoo although catchy, lacks some of the spark and energy of their earlier songs. With a fairly cheesy refrain which, nonetheless is rather catchy. As a song, it’s not exactly highbrow or musically complicated, but it includes a typical Eddie guitar solo, proving that despite the years he’s still got his famous blazing chops.

In the end, Van Halen haven’t exactly stretched themselves or done anything different with this album. However, as such a well established band, that will either be a positive or a negative depending on your point of view. Nostalgia is probably the best way to listen to this album. Put aside any desires for a new sound, just think yourself into the minds of a 1980s Rock kid, and blast it out loud and proud. For me, it’s what this band’s meant to be: unashamed, unabashed, pure good time Rock & Roll!