Relics - Bring Your Own Blood

Artist: Relics
Album: Bring Your Own Blood
Year: 2016
Rating: 87/100

Huddersfield based quartet Relics provide a fantastic musical proposition on paper. I'm loath to using cliches, but take a dash of Every Time I Die, Cancer Bats and Danzig, add a dash of Motorhead, a pinch of death and roll era Entombed, the raw energy of Kvelertak and the rock and roll riffs and attitude of Clutch, and you have what is ostensibly "beer party rock and roll hardcore" with a side of good old fashioned rock and roll.

Opening track and title track "Bring Your Own Blood" suggests to the listener that it's exactly what they need to do, otherwise they'll find it splattered everywhere, much like an album cover by Unsane. It's hard hitting, it's aggressive, and it's got a huge sense of fun about it. "The Door" hits harder than an aggrieved Floyd Mayweather. Closing track "A*M*S*C*A*D" changes things up a little with its quieter passages, but rest easy, listeners, there's still a fantastic bit of mosh lurking just around the corner.

If there is any criticism to be levelled at "Bring Your Own Blood", it's that you can get so engrossed in the fun that it exudes that three tracks doesn't seem to be anywhere near like long enough. On the whole, though, it's a hugely exciting and promising release, and I can't wait for them to do a full album.

Track Listing:

1. Bring Your Own Blood
2. The Door
3. A*M*S*C*A*D

Witchcraft - Nucleus

Artist: Witchcraft
Album: Nucleus
Year: 2016
Rating: 82/100

Örebro doom metal legends Witchcraft have a back catalogue that speaks for itself in terms of quality of output. Having evolved a long way from simple Black Sabbath worship, the quintet from previous effort (the outstanding "Legend") have now downsized to just a trio, still led by the unmistakable wail of vocalist and guitarist Magnus Pelander. So what can we expect from "Nucleus" that is different to its predecessors?

Well, for a start, the song arrangements. Opening track "Malstroem" kicks things off with some fantastic acoustic guitar and flute before giving way to a more traditional doom metal fare than was ever heard on "Legend". The new trio experiment more with longer songs, and more often than not they pull it off - the title track clocks in at just over 14 minutes in length, but it has a nod to Witchcraft's earliest albums, and the 16 minute "Breakdown" is also an epic. The other major addition to "Nucleus" is not just the acoustic guitar and flutes, but also the extra keyboards in tracks such as "The Outcast" and "An Exorcism Of Doubts" weaving its magic in the band's textures,

Along with the rest of Witchcraft's back catalogue, "Nucleus" is a strong album that maintains Witchcraft's requtation for putting out consistently good music. Long term fans of the band will also hugely appreciate their return to a more stoner/doom based sound, and it's definitely a good album as a starting place for those of you new to their music.

Track Listing:

1. Malstroem
2. Theory of Consequence
3. The Outcast
4. Nucleus
5. An Exorcism of Doubts
6. The Obsessed
7. To Transcend Bitterness
8. Helpless
9. Breakdown
10. Chasing Rainbows

Siena Root - Pioneers

Artist: Siena Root

Album: Pioneers

Year: 2014

Rating: 88/100

Siena Root have been one of Stockholm's best kept secrets for several years now, and after a hiatus which brought about the arrival of new vocalist Jonas Åhlen, guitarist Matte Gustafsson and organist Erik Petersson to join bassist Sam Riffer (some people are just born with it, I suppose) and drummer Love Forsberg, and the result? "Pioneers", a sprawling, hard blues/stoner jam. The main question is, how does the new look Siena Root look against the old one?

Rather good, as a matter of fact. Jonas Åhlen's delivery is reminiscent in a way of former Spiritual Beggars main man JB (also the main voice of doomers Grand Magus) and guitarist Gustafsson enjoys some serious solo trade-offs with organist Petersson in a riff laden attack that is equal parts reminiscent of the Spiritual Beggars themselves along with older heavyweights such as Deep Purple and even John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. "Root Rock Pioneers" is a jaunty, upbeat jam primarily led by the guitar and organ work, while opener "Between the Lines" sets the tone ideally for the rest of the album, and "The Way You Turn" has some incisive drumming on it. While the full length jamming of their previous efforts might have been phased out a little, there is still plenty of that to really enjoy, particularly to be found on "Root Rock Pioneers", "Keep on Climbing" and their own tribute to the Doors in the form of "In My Kitchen".

While the constant changing of the personnel in the ranks of Siena Root might have hampered them somewhat where consistency is concerned, there is no doubting that "Pioneers" works rather nicely as a stand alone album. Definitely worth your while getting hold of this as a starting place where Siena Root are concerned.

Track Listing:

1. Between the Lines
2. 7 Years
3. Spiral Trip
4. Root Rock Pioneers
5. The Way You Turn
6. Keep On Climbing
7. Going Down
8. In My Kitchen

David Bowie - Blackstar

Artist: David Bowie
Album: Blackstar
Year: 2016
Rating: 90/100

With the passing of David Bowie still fresh in the mind of any and every self respecting music fan at the time of this review going to press, the reality of "Blackstar" being the great man's swansong album is the bitterest pill for many to swallow. His legacy can't be understated, as without him, we would never have had the likes of Bauhaus, the Cure, the Pixies, Sonic Youth, Joy Division, the Killers, Pulp, Marilyn Manson and many, many more.

The album gets going with the title track, a sprawling, ten minute melange of minimalist, sparse accompaniment, punctuated with sax and guitar here and there. It's dark, it's experimental, but most importantly, it shows that Bowie has always been capable of balancing both of these aspects of his work while keeping the tightest focus on his songwriting, From a lyrical perspective, "Lazarus" seems almost to pre-empt his death with lines such as "Look up here man, I'm in danger/I've got nothing left to lose/I'm so high it makes my brain whirl/Drop myself on down below", with the closing line "I'll be free, just like that bluebird" leading into a simply outstanding sax solo showing that even in the throes of what is his final studio album, he still was unafraid to try new things. Elsewhere, "Sue (Or In A Season of Crime)" is another dark, jazzy number punctuated with outstanding jazz drumming and stabs of guitar here and there, "Dollar Days" exudes the weary wisdom that can be heard in Bowie's voice, while closing number "I Can't Give Everything Away" is a melancholic closer set against a much more musically uplifting backdrop, with harmonica and sax breaks. Unsurprisingly, it's this closing number that provides the album's most touching moment.

David Bowie may have known that his time wasn't long while he was recording "Blackstar" but his creative well was a long way off running dry, as it well shows. "Blackstar" is a superb album that deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as "Hunky Dory", "Diamond Dogs", "Station to Station", "Low" and "Heroes". A fitting way to end his passage on this planet, and an excellent album all round.

Track Listing:

1. Blackstar
2. 'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore
3. Lazarus
4. Sue (Or In A Season of Crime)
5. Girl Loves Me
6. Dollar Days
7. I Can't Give Everything Away

Ignite - A War Against You

Artist: Ignite

Album: A War Against You

Year: 2016

Rating: 80/100

Ignite are back. Yes, Ignite are back, after a ten year hiatus, which involved vocalist Zoli Teglas spend a short stint in the line up of fellow SoCal punk rockers Pennywise, before injuring his back. Once he made a full recovery, Ignite took back to the studio for the first album they've done since the excellent "Our Darkest Days" ten years ago. So what can we expect from this?

Well, much of the same, but in the case of Ignite, that's never a bad thing. Opening track "Begin Again" is the sort of rallying call to arms we can expect from the Orange County quintet, and the tracks hit harder than a boxer's uppercut, with hit after hit supplementing their attack, as is to be expected. "Oh No Not Again" is a singalong with massive choruses to match the riffs, "Where I'm From" and "The Suffering" are angry diatribes about how the world could be a much better place than it actually is, while the title track "This is a War" and "Rise Up" offer some slower alternatives to Ignite's attack, enough to make the listener imagine that Ignite must be an excellent live band.

Although it's not quite "Our Darkest Days" (although let's face it, it'd be a hard push to match that album in terms of sheer brilliance), "A War Against You" is the kind of return Ignite and their fans were hoping for to give a voice back to those without one. If you're looking for a gateway to Ignite and their music, this would be an excellent place to start.

Track Listing:

1. Begin Again
2. Nothing Can Stop Me
3. This is a War
4. Oh No Not Again
5. Alive
6. You Saved Me
7. Rise Up
8. Where I'm From
9. The Suffering
10. How Is This Progress?
11. You Lie
12. Descend
13. Work