Rival Sons - Feral Roots

Artist: Rival Sons
Album: Feral Roots
Year: 2019
Rating: 93/100

Well, bloody hell. Where do I start with this? Everyone seems to be acquainted with Rival Sons and their energetic, high octane brand of hard rock, only this time it seems to have been cranked up to 11, and unlike Greta Van Fleet, the LA quartet are absolutely the real deal. They've seemingly been on a creative roll since Great Western Valkyrie dropped in 2014, and album number five, Feral Roots, is their first album for Atlantic Records.

It doesn't feel like Rival Sons have elected to polish their sound to excess, which is an encouraging start. Opening track "Do Your Worst" is very much business as usual, with the taut rhythm section of Dave Beste and Mike Miley holding a steady groove down, while guitarist Scott Holiday makes his guitar squeal in a way that only he can against the soaring holler of Jay Buchanan's vocals. Elsewhere, the acoustic intros of "Look Away", "End of Forever" and the title track provide a welcome change of pace, while gospel-tinged closing number "Shooting Stars" winds things down perfectly.

While Feral Roots is certainly more accessible than its predecessor Hollow Bones was, that's something that works in its favour. This album feels very much like the album that would deservedly propel Rival Sons into rock's big leagues, and not a moment too soon, either. I can't recommend this highly enough.

Track listing

1. Do Your Worst
2. Sugar on the Bone
3. Back in the Woods
4. Look Away
5. Feral Roots
6. Too Bad
7. Stood By Me
8. Imperial Joy
9. All Directions
10. End of Forever
11. Shooting Stars

The Twilight Sad - It Won't Be Like This All the Time

Artist: The Twilight Sad
Album: It Won't Be Like This All the Time
Year: 2019
Rating: 88/100

It's been a little over a decade since Scottish shoegaze quintet The Twilight Sad first arrived on the scene with a sonic arsenal that both assaulted and delighted our ears. It Won't Be Like This All the Time is the fifth album in their canon, released on Rock Action Records, a label owned by legendary post-rockers Mogwai. So how does this one stack up?

Well, the album gets off to a strong start with the track "[10 Good Reasons For Modern Drugs]", a heavily layered wall of sound with some stop-start drumming, dense guitars and keyboards from Andy MacFarlane and Brendan Smith respectively, set against the backdrop of the plaintive, mournful vocals of James Graham. Elsewhere, the brightest spots include "VTr", with its strong Brian Eno influences shining through in the music, and lead off single "Videograms" closing the album in fine fashion. 

The Twilight Sad have carved out a reputation for being one of the loudest, most musically intense bands on the live stage, and It Won't Be Like This All the Time embodies this perfectly. The album is consistently strong and the songs are exquisitely crafted. A highly recommended listen.

Track listing

1. [10 Good Reasons For Modern Drugs]
2. Shooting Dennis Hopper Shooting
3. The Arbor
4. VTr
5. Sunday Day13
6. I/m Not Here [Missing Face]
7. Auge/Maschine
8. Keep it All to Myself
9. Girl Chewing Gum
10. Let/s Get Lost
11. Videograms

Soilwork - Verkligheten

Artist: Soilwork
Album: Verkligheten
Year: 2019
Rating: 76/100

With a long and illustrious career behind them now, Helsingborg melodic death metal stalwarts Soilwork gear up to give us their eleventh studio album, "Verkligheten" (in English: Reality). This also gives them the opportunity to announce new drummer Bastian Thusgaard, who replaced Dirk Verbeuren when he went to join Megadeth. So how does this one stack up?

The title track "Verkligheten" sets the tone for what comes before "Arrival" launches itself into life with a barrage of blastbeats, buzzsaw guitars and Björn "Speed" Strid's ability to switch between a mid pitch scream and his excellent clean tones. We get a few other gems among the standard Soilwork fare, like "Bleeder Despoiler", "The Nurturing Glance", and "Needles and Kin", featuring a solid guest growled vocal turn from Amorphis frontman Tomi Joutsen. Elsewhere, Arch Enemy frontwoman Alissa White-Gluz appears on "Stålfågel", one of the more interesting numbers on the album.

"Verkligheten" is a solid album on the whole, but it's not an album that will win Soilwork any new fans, unlike some of its more spectacular predecessors like "The Chainheart Machine" and "Natural Born Chaos", or even "The Living Infinite". However, it serves as a solid introduction to the band for new drummer Bastian Thusgaard, who can deliver some solid blastbeats as well as the slower numbers.

Track listing

1. Verkligheten (instrumental)
2. Arrival
3. Bleeder Despoiler
4. Full Moon Shoals
5. The Nurturing Glance
6. When the Universe Spoke
7. Stålfågel
8. The Wolves are Back in Town
9. Witan
10. The Ageless Whisper
11. Needles and Kin (featuring Tomi Joutsen)
12. You Aquiver (featuring Dave Sheldon)

John Garcia and the Band of Gold - John Garcia and the Band of Gold

Artist: John Garcia and the Band of Gold
Album: John Garcia and the Band of Gold
Year: 2019
Rating: 82/100

It's no secret that I've always been a fan of John Garcia's work since his days fronting Kyuss. From Kyuss, Slo Burn, Unida, Hermano and Vista Chino, to the Band of Gold, his distinctive trademark holler has been delighting the ears of stoner rock fans since 1991, and with the self titled effort from him and the Band of Gold, this is his third solo effort.

If there's one old adage that John Garcia seems to firmly believe, it's "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". More of the same is very much the order of the day: taut drumming, thunderous bass grooves that jolt the ears and buzzsaw guitars, topped off with Garcia's vocals, and it works a treat. "Jim's Whiskers" sets the tone of the album nicely, sounding not wholly different to something you'd have heard by Vista Chino or latter day Hermano. "Kentucky II" is a rollicking groover with a tidy opening riff and more of the same, as are "Lillianna" and "Apache Junction".

If there is a criticism of the album to be made, it's that the album won't gain a lot of traction outside of Garcia's and Kyuss's fan base. Those who know and love Kyuss, and Garcia, by extension, will doubtless find something to enjoy here. More of the same, but that's not a bad thing.

Track listing

1. Space Vato
2. Jim's Whiskers
3. Chicken Delight
4. Kentucky II
5. My Everything
6. Lillianna
7. Popcorn (Hit Me When You Can)
8. Apache Junction
9. Don't Even Think About It
10. Cheyletiella
11. Softer Side

Petrichor - No Silver Lining: A Return to Rain

Artist: Petrichor
Album: No Silver Lining: A Return to Rain
Year: 2018
Rating: 90/100

Two years on from their superb debut, Rain, Leeds based doom metallers Petrichor have decided to revisit the original album and do some fine tuning, as it were. So what has changed?

Well, Petrichor don't believe in overloading the listener with superfluous musical textures, instead only opting to add what they feel belongs there musically, which suits them just fine. What does go in, however, are keyboards that enhance their sound, and a gorgeous guest vocal turn from Vickie Harley on new opening track "This Too Must Die", which sets the tone perfectly. Like the original track on Rain with the same title, the new song has the same theme of doomed love and self sabotage, and Harley's vocals mesh superbly with the sonic clarity of vocalist and guitarist Jon "Crowbane" Crowder's soaring Dio-esque tenor. Elsewhere, "We Are the Fire" and "Nihilist" are the real jewels in Petrichor's bleak sonic crown: the former is a pagan revenge song which blends together a plethora of ideas seamlessly without being afraid to change things up if need be, the latter a sprawling 15 minute epic that comfortably darts between crushing doom metal and traditional heavy metal before its funereal ending to close the album off.

The fine tuning of material on No Silver Lining: A Return to Rain has worked a treat for Petrichor. It comes across as seamlessly worked and provides a new dimension to the band's sound. A new album is due to follow in 2019, and it's pleasing to see they're not prepared to rest on their laurels. A delightfully bleak listen, indeed.

Track listing:

1. This Too Must Die
2. Drown the World
3. As the Dark Steals the Light
4. We Are the Fire
5. Nihilist

Corrosion of Conformity - No Cross No Crown

Artist: Corrosion of Conformity
Album: No Cross No Crown
Year: 2018
Rating: 86/100

With Pepper Keenan returning to the fold after a lengthy spell in Down (that also saw Phil Anselmo and the other members of the NOLA supergroup turn their attentions back to their other projects), the classic Corrosion of Conformity line up (Keenan, Woody Weatherman, Mike Dean and Reed Mullin) returned for their first album together as a line up since America's Volume Dealer. The big question is, however, how does it stack up?

The second that "Luddite" roars into life, it's clear that Pepper Keenan's return was worth it. This is Corrosion of Conformity doing what they do best: crunching riffs, powerful drumming and Keenan's distinctive vocals. The gloomy trudge of "Nothing Left to Say" and "Old Disaster" provides a neat counterpoint to tracks such as "Cast the First Stone" and "Wolf Named Crow", the sort of fare that wouldn't have sounded out of place on Wiseblood or Deliverance.

The only real criticism of No Cross No Crown I have is that the interlude tracks stretch the album out a little too far. Otherwise, it's a solid album. It might not be breaking any new ground, but it's the Corrosion of Conformity that we know and love, and that's the main thing.

Track listing

1. Novus Deus
2. The Luddite
3. Cast the First Stone
4. No Cross
5. Wolf Named Crow
6. Little Man
7. Matre's Diem
8. Forgive Me
9. Nothing Left to Say
10. Sacred Isolation
11. Old Disaster
12. E.L.M
13. No Cross No Crown
14. A Quest to Believe (A Call to the Void)
15. Son and Daughter

Mythic Sunship - Upheaval

Artist: Mythic Sunship
Album: Upheaval
Year: 2018
Rating: 85/100

Danish quartet Mythic Sunship are an instrumental psychedelic rock band in the vein of bands such as Yawning Man, Øresund Space Collective and fellow countrymen Causa Sui. Their four track opus Upheaval is their sixth full length studio effort, having taken listeners on a spaced out journey since 2009.

The second Upheaval gets under way, we're greeted with layers of effects pedal-ridden guitars that are suitably hypnotic without becoming hypnotic's evil twin, boring. In addition to that, when the quartet think an idea has run its musical course, they change things up a bit and re-plot the idea's co-ordinates before a return to the original idea. This is all done with precision and excellent timing.

Mythic Sunship are now very much veterans of space rock, and Upheaval is a solid release, with only the third track clocking in at under ten minutes long. If this album was longer it would cause the listener's interest to waver, but they do enough to engage the listener to make Upheaval an interesting and enjoyable listening experience.

Track listing

1. Tectonic Breach
2. Aether Flux
3. Cosmic Rupture
4. Into Oblivion