Rock – Page 23 – Wonderbox Metal

The Von Deer Skulls – It’s Time To Paralyze (Review)

The Von Deer Skulls have their origins in many different countries and have a suitably unusual sound to boot.

I suppose the best way to describe this band is Experimental Rock with elements of Drone, Ambient and Electronica/Industrial.

The tracks here are largely laid back, relaxed affairs. Low-key riffs and sounds move the compositions forward whilst soft vocals and gentle noises punctuate the flow.

This is relatively easy listening and the overall mood is an atmospheric one. Although I wouldn’t describe them as having a dark sound per se, it’s certainly not a bright and hopeful one either. They seem to be aiming for a slightly creepy, unnerving sound and I think they’re headed in the right direction.

The guitars are largely lo-fi but the distortion is noticeable here and there. They even approach a Rocky beat in places.

This is a good release from a band who are still finding their sound and these songs give them a good base to work from. If you enjoy this kind of Experimental Post-Rock then The Von Deer Skulls should be right up your street.

Give this band some of your time and see what you think.

Ann My Guard – Innocence Descent (Review)

Ann My Guard are from Hungary and play Melodic Rock/Metal. This is their début album.

Mixing the extravagance of bands like Evanescence and Lacuna Coil with the Earthy grit of bands like Hole, Ann My Guard have produced a very impressive début.

The singer has a very powerful voice that’s versatile and strong. The vocals seems to seep from every pore of the music, however they don’t overpower it as the band has a core of Rock/Metal that refuses to be subdued.

This is richly melodic and falls on the more commercial side of the Modern Metal spectrum, although that certainly doesn’t intrinsically mean anything is wrong with it. Quite the reverse in fact, as the songs are strongly written and well-produced.

Although the vocals are undoubtedly the central focus, the music doesn’t slack. The instruments are well played and have a good sound to them. The fact that the guitars are not completely watered down like some bands of a similar style to this should tell you all you need to know. Rather than a vehicle for a singer this is a real band, as the coherence of the album attests to.

The band create very lush and textured soundscapes, with plenty of piano and subtle sounds to accompany the traditional drums/bass/guitar triad. This is an album of memorable tunes and good songs.

Although a lot lighter and considerably less extreme than a lot of the stuff that makes its way onto this site, this is nonetheless a worthy acquisition for when you want something a bit less intense and a lot more floating-ly melodic.

Check them out and have a listen.

Elevators to the Grateful Sky – Cloud Eye (Review)

This is the début album from Italian Stoner Rock band Elevators to the Grateful Sky.

This is a groovy and rocking release from this band.

A warm, happy sound emanates from the album and even in the band’s heavier moments the sound still manages to capture the heat of the desert in every note.

The singer has a good voice that’s as welcoming and familiar as the style itself. Not too high and not too low, it’s in that sweet spot where it doesn’t grate at all and fits the songs like a glove.

The songs are catchy and memorable and altogether a relatively relaxed affair. Even when the band rock out with their riffs at full throttle they still manage to foster a laid-back vibe at the same time.

The tracks have the usual Stoner Rock-styled riffs and composition that’s so definitive of this genre as well as having a bit of a Grunge feel in places. They do throw in the odd curve ball however; horn sections, for example.

Whilst not reinventing the genre this is still a solid and enjoyable release for anyone who likes this style.

Have a listen.

We Have A Ghost – We Have A Ghost (Review)

We Have A Ghost are from the US and this is their début.

The band play Electronica/Industrial-laced Rock. Think Nine Inch Nails/Mogwai/Ulver and you’re on the right lines.

Other points of reference include the little-known/remembered Electronic Rock band Vitro, who released an excellent album named Distort in 1999 of a similar style, as well as the fantastic experimental Paradise Lost album Host.

This is surprisingly complex music that weaves elaborate soundscapes around itself like a cloak of static and charged beats.

Atmosphere and tone are an important part of the We Have A Ghost sound, as well as fostering a futuristic sense of mystery.

A feeling of foreboding is hidden throughout this album. Sometimes it’s hidden underneath energetic sections and other times it’s right out there in the open.

This reminds me of the build-and-release style of Post-Rock/Metal if it had been given an Electronic/Industrial overhaul and the build/release sections were chopped up, warped and separately focused down into shorter songs.

Varied and expansive, this is a great listen, especially if you’re in the mood for something a bit different. The entire thing plays out like some form of soundtrack and the album is suitably cinematic in scope in this regard.

A slow builder that impresses on first listen but nonetheless really shows its charms after repeated spins; this album is a keeper.

Check this out – highly recommended.

The World State – Flier (Review)

Danish band The World State have released their first EP Flier.

Orchestral sounds and touches of Rock and Metal collide in this ambitious release.

The ex-Sirenia singer shows that she still has an amazing voice and her vocals here are exquisite.

The tracks have lots of ideas and effects to hold attention. Ambience and subtlety are used effectively as well as heavier and more intense sections.

Well written songs with a great sense of dynamics and pace pound or slink their way out of the speakers and it’s clear that this is a very talented band.

Each song captures a different mood but all of them are involved and have a playful experimental edge that sounds fresh and exciting. There are three main songs and one piano instrumental.

After listening to this over and over I can’t get enough of it. It’s simply wonderful, that’s all there is to say about it.

At under 20 minutes across 4 tracks this EP is brief but effective. A full album of this would be most welcome!

The Socks – The Socks (Review)

The Socks are from France and play a 70’s-style Stoner Rock.

The album art immediately drew me in, although I must confess that it is slightly marred by what is, for me, a really awful band name. Still, personal taste and all that.

But onto the important stuff – the music. The Socks, (ugh), play good, old-fashioned Rock in a retro style with a liberal dashing of era-appropriate keyboards that add to the feeling of having just stepped out of a time machine. Well almost anyway, as the production has a good modern sound to it. Rather than coming across incongruous though it allows the songs to sound much more alive than if they had gone with a usually-muted 70’s style “authentic” production.

They have songs that are upbeat and joyful, with groove, energy and vigour, while also having songs that are more laid back and introspective. Holy Sons is one of my favourite of this latter type.

The album has a good deal of variety across the 9 tracks, with even some contemporary influences sneaking in occasionally, (Next To The Light contains parts that sound almost Alice In Chains-y, for example).

The singer has a good set of lungs; relaxed and soulful. He makes his mark over well-played and written songs that are both catchy and involving.

This is only their début album but the band display a knowledge and experience of songwriting well beyond what other bands might have acquired by this point.

Despite my reservations about the name; the band acquit themselves nicely and this is a solid album of really enjoyable retro-style Rock. If you’re partial to a bit of this then you can do a lot worse.

Blowsight – Life & Death (Review)

Blowsight are a Swedish Rock band, and this is their latest album. It’s nowhere near as heavy as most of the stuff I cover, but it’s good to have some variety in your Metal diet.

This has the requisite Rocky swagger and attitude, and the songs bleed confidence and self-assuredness. The band are right to have confidence in their abilities though as this is a veritable feast of chorus-heavy Rock songs with a shiny Metallic sheen underpinning everything.

The band play their instruments proficiently and ably enough to show what they can do with a good riff. Sometimes they remind of 80’s party/hair Metal bands only sans “irony” and with a hyper-modern sound, (Play Play Play), other times they’re more like Avenged Sevenfold in their approach, (It’s Me You’re Looking For), and other times they enter power-ballad territory, (Through These Eyes).

The singer has a great voice, full of power and attitude. His chorus lines are huge but not in a sugary commercial way, rather they have a more refined post-grunge feeling, which goes for the music as well. It’s more Audrey Horne than the majority of the radio-botherers, although almost all of these songs has the potential to be a radio-friendly unit-shifter; they even have a song called Hit on the Radio, which admittedly is a little more saccharine than the other tracks here.

A surprising album with a lot to give; varied modern melodic Rock that makes me realise that perhaps all is not lost for the more commercial sounding side of hard music. With the right exposure these could be huge.

Burning Full Throttle – No Man’s Land (Review)

Burning Full Throttle are a Hungarian Stoner Rock band.

The singer has an amazingly gruff voice, like he’s been swallowing wasps or something. It’s rough and ready to rock.

The music is fuzzy and smells of the desert; this is Stoner Rock through and through. It’s only a short album, full of songs around the 3:30 mark, but catchy riffs and catchy vocals are part and parcel of every song. As the album cover suggests; music to drive to.

In some ways there’s not much to say about an album like this; you either like this style of music or you don’t. If you do then you should have no problem getting on board with Burning Full Throttle.

Iron Tongue – The Dogs Have Barked, The Birds Have Flown (Review)

Iron Tongue

Iron Tongue play Stoner/Blues Rock and this album is all about the depth and feeling.

Morose and hallucinogenic without being maudlin or depressive; this album is rough around the edges in exactly the right way.

This is earthy, organic and honest music straight out of a Southern backroom bar. When first playing track one, (Ever After), it’s almost hard to imagine these songs will have or even need a Metallic content, as it really sounds like it doesn’t require it, reminding most of all of a band like Soulsavers.

When the distortion does appear though it gels perfectly with the rest of the song that all other thoughts are swept aside as you are presented with the full smoke-ridden package of musical depth and character.

Each song is veritably dripping with feeling and pain; the soulful vocals spinning out into the ether while the weighty guitars come crashing down in a tsunami of emotion. The highly talented backing female vocals adding further personality and Southern feelings to the passion-rich tracks.

A powerfully memorable release that will be sticking around the playlist for some time to come. If you have a passion for soulful Southern-tinged Rock then Iron Tongue are destined to become one of your favourites.

Black Space Riders – D:REI (Review)

Germany’s Black Space Riders play a diverse modern brand of Stoner Rock and their new album is a whopping 80 minutes in length, so there is loads of content to get your head around.

Sounding very confident and polished, they still have enough snarl to them to give the tracks a bit of bite when appropriate.

This is a very accomplished album, mixing Rock and Metal together with elements of Stoner Rock, Skyscraper-esque emotional Rock, psychedelia and Progressive tendencies to create a very long and very involved album. With a release of this length it would be easy to include filler and bore the listener, but there is precious little of that on D:REI thankfully.

The album has a perfectly configured sound, with everything both clear and slightly fuzzed-up in true Stoner Rock fashion. In fact I’ll coin the term Sophisticated Stoner Rock to describe Black Space Riders, (You heard it here first); at their core is a Stoner Rock Band, but they’ve taken on a heap of other influences and have evolved into something more than these relatively humble beginnings.

With so much variety, interest and ideas in these songs it’s no surprise really that they needed such a long album to showcase them all. Each track has a different mood; a different feeling all based on an essential Stoner Rock core but with ambitious designs on being even more. Every song has its own character and the longer nature of the tracks gives each one the time to develop naturally and embrace the aspect of Rock that it is portraying.

A very complete album that is long enough to provide a journey and deep enough to provide a meaningful one. Highly recommended and highly enjoyable.