Saturday, 31 August 2024

The Georgia Thunderbolt's 'Rise Above It All' - Album Review

The UK has always had a great relationship with the southern rock genre. Whilst we do not produce it ourselves, and I am generally of the belief that southern rock bands need to come from America to truly be classed as such, many of the big hitters of the genre both old and new have often found plenty of support here, as well as in some other parts of Europe - particularly Germany. One of the best southern rock live albums of all time, Blackfoot's Highway Song Live from 1982, was recorded here in the UK - whilst bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd and Molly Hatchet from the glory days of the genre have remained regular visitors to these shores. The UK has also embraced some of the genre's new stars, too, with both Black Stone Cherry and Blackberry Smoke, probably the two biggest newer southern rock bands, being very popular here. Black Stone Cherry's fusion of the heavier end of southern rock with a modern post-grunge sounds has brought the swagger of the south to younger audiences - whilst Blackberry Smoke's more laid back and country-tinged approach has kept the older southern rockers satisfied. The perhaps somewhat more sophisticated and virtuosic Robert Jon & The Wreck have also started to make waves here in the UK - with the California-based five-piece being embraced by southern rock fans of all persuasions up and down the country. Another band which received some attention here in the UK a few years ago was the Georgia-based five-piece The Georgia Thunderbolts. Sadly the band are yet to play live here, although they have done a few gigs in Europe previously, but their debut album Can We Get a Witness (which I reviewed here) received quite a lot of positive press when it dropped in 2021. It followed a digital-only self-titled EP (which I also reviewed here) the previous year, which acted as a taster for the full album to come and launched the band properly internationally on Mascot Records. The band did release an album themselves prior to their international releases, but it seems to have been a small scale effort - and does not seem to formally 'count' as an album, perhaps being something of a glorified demo. I spent quite a bit of time with Can We Get a Witness when it came out in 2021 and I liked the fact that the band felt like a genuinely old-school southern rock act without their sound being too diluted by other influences. It was a refreshing listen, then, and three years on the band have returned with their second album Rise Above It All - which continues on nicely from where Can We Get a Witness left off. Sound-wise, the overall formula here is very similar. The Georgia Thunderbolts have honed their southern rock sound nicely, with a mix of tougher hard rockers and more laid back pieces creating a dynamic album which really seems to fly by despite containing 13 songs. Nothing seems to outstay its welcome, whilst a couple of interesting covers add to the variety - as was also the case on the previous album. Like last time, the album was produced by manager Richard Young and David Barrick - whilst two members of mentors Black Stone Cherry, whom The Georgia Thunderbolts have toured with a few times, also contribute to a couple of songs.

In fact, the songs to feature contributions from Black Stone Cherry members are the first two here - with Black Stone Cherry frontman Chris Robertson adding some additional guitar to opening cut Gonna Shine. The track is a pretty laid back mid-paced southern rocker, which is not too dissimilar from the core sound of bands like Blackberry Smoke. It is not as country-tinged as that band, but the overall vibe is similar - and, despite some of the album rocking harder, I quite like how the band open things up with something which is so overtly southern. Frontman T.J. Lyle, who also adds a lot of keyboards to the album, has the perfect voice for this kind of sound, with his soulful side probably the closest in spirit to the late Ronnie Van Zant than anyone else in the southern rock world today, whilst the the guitar duo of Riley Couzzourt and Logan Tolbert really get what the genre requires when it comes a strong mix of blues-based riffing, country-esque leads, and bluegrass fills. Despite the song settling into a simple mid-paced groove from the off, the guitar playing throughout is busier than it appears - and there is often a lot going on behind Lyle's crooning vocal delivery, with a chorus that features plenty of subtle vocal harmonies as well as some stuttering riffing which adds a little edge to the overall smoothness. This vibe continues on through Rock and Roll Record, which Black Stone Cherry drummer John Fred Young did the string arrangement for, but the song takes a much darker path. It opens with Lyle playing the electric piano and singing in a rich manner - and the song actually reminds me quite a lot of Bad Company by the band of the same name. The piano drives the song in a similarly downbeat manner before exploding into a relatively epic chorus which retains the song's slow burn whilst adding plenty of guitar weight and the controlled roar of Lyle's vocal delivery. The darkness from the piano really helps the song to stand out, but the groove and weight stop it from sounding like a genuine ballad - with the piece instead being a real creeper, which later explodes into a bluesy, edgy guitar solo. It is not a song which grabbed me initially, especially as the second song here, but repeated listens have made it a real favourite. Those wanting the band to rock harder, and who may have been concerned by the more (relatively) laid back opening numbers, will be happy to find that the title track which follows is a real barn-burner. The main riff is simple and hard-hitting - and it is the sort of song that I can see the band opening their sets with going forward. The main riff sounds like a heavier and more southern take on something Jimi Hendrix might have written, whilst the punchy drums of Bristol Perry keep everything ticking. It is not an overly fast piece, but it has more urgency than the previous two songs - and the riff creates plenty of energy whilst the later chorus is easy to latch onto thanks to Lyle's vocal hooks. It is another standout piece for me and it showcases the band's tougher side nicely.

Moonlight Play reins the heaviness back in and returns to the more laid back side which the band showcased during the opening couple of numbers - albeit in a much more pronounced way. Lots of southern rock is actually pretty laid back and this song mixes slow-building verses with clean guitar melodies and a simple piano backing with heavier verses that roar out of the blocks with washes of Hammond organ and some tougher riffing. The way that the song builds as it moves along, though, gives it something of a more expansive sound. It is one of those songs that just feels much wider than others - and there is a cinematic feel thanks to the depth of the arrangement and a mix which balances all of the instruments nicely. Lyle taps into that sound during the chorus, which sees him pushing things vocally somewhat, whilst the aforementioned organ adds a lot of depth. Another explosive guitar solo later takes the song to the next level. Up next is a cover of Frankie Miller's Ain't Got No Money. The band included a strong version of Be Good to Yourself, which Miller recorded a version of, on the last album - so the return to some boogie here is welcome. The piano-led strut sits nicely on the album, with the mix of British blues and southern rock groove helps the song to add some movement to the album. Zach Everett's walking bassline keeps the song grooving, whilst the interplay between the guitars and the piano adds the boogie. Throw in an excellent slide guitar solo, too, and the song is a no-nonsense bit of fun that continues the trend of strong covers from the band. Wait slows the pace down, with some acoustic guitars setting a floatier feel early on - whilst Kurt Ozan adds some aching pedal steel melodies. Much of the band's sound is laid back, even when they are rocking, so the acoustic guitars here do not come as a surprise. Even so, though, this song feels like the lightest touch on the album so far - even with the rhythm section adding a grounding drum and bass pattern to hold everything together. The pedal steel provides the main musical interest behind Lyle's heartfelt vocals and it adds a lot of depth - particularly during the hooky chorus. It feels like a glorified campfire song but it sits nicely on the album. Sticking with the acoustic guitars, Crawling My Way Back to You opens very slowly - with Lyle singing against a sole strummed guitar. It does build up and expand as it moves along, but overall it is another pretty stripped back piece. Perry soon adds some roomy, percussive drumming to the song, giving an organic stomp to the bluesy ballad, whilst some rough guitar leads add to the distant chords. It is one of those songs that has been recorded in a such a way to make it sound old. It generally works, but Lyle's vocals sound a little too polished compared to everything else. A more ragged vocal performance would have perhaps worked better - but the short and organic piece is still a decent effort.

She's Gonna Get It returns to a much heavier sound, and it is only the second song here which really seems to cut loose. The main riff hits pretty hard as it kicks in, particularly given the previous two slower songs, whilst the song overall is a hard-driving, yet mid-paced, rocker which includes plenty of groove and lots of excellent riffing. The guitar interplay returns to many of the classic southern rock tropes of busy fills and off-kilter rhythms clashing together - whilst the later solo is busy and one of the most explosive guitar moments on the album. There are rawer moments during the song, too, such a moment which sees the guitars drop away to leave Everett's bass to take the lead, but generally the song powers forward as a hard rocker - with another strong chorus that is likely to get stuck in the brain. It is a very short song, too, so it gets in and gets out after providing a little injection of pace. Little Jim returns to the album's core sound after the harder rocking previous track - and it goes for a much groovier and creeping approach overall. It is another mid-paced track, but it mixes a laid back riff and punchy drum pattern with Lyle's storytelling vocal delivery - allowing it to sound a bit more expansive than some of the band's other cuts. Whilst not as overt as Crawling My Way Back to You, it is another song which feels like it has been made to sound on the older side. It is a proper rocker, though, unlike the ballad which pulled this trick before, but the mix feels like it has deliberately aged the piece. The guitars fall away in the mix at times, which gives the riff more of a bluesy feel than a hard rock feel - and it is very vocal-centric thanks to the story which the lyrics tell. The approach works but it does feel noticeably different to the hard rock of the previous song - and I do wonder if turning things up a little more would have made the song hit even harder. Up next is a cover of Ron Davies' It Ain't Easy - the most famous version of which is likely David Bowie's 1972 rendition featured on The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. I have not heard the original version, but this take is pretty different from Bowie's rendition - and the song has been turned into a real southern rocker with gospel-inspired backing vocals during the chorus from Sandra Dye and Bianca Byrd. The song is short, as it was on Bowie's album, so it comes and goes pretty quickly - but I like the big sound it creates with the chorus vocal harmonies and the strutting riffing adapts nicely to the southern rock world.

Stand Up very much then returns to the band's core sound, with Everett's bass opening things up - before the song soon settles back into a mid-paced groove. Unlike Little Jim, though, the song feels much more up-to-date in terms of the overall mix - and it reminds me much more of the songs which opened up the album. The main riff is pretty infectious, after the bass teases it early on, whilst the groovy verses showcase what a great singer Lyle is. He may be one of the best singers in the modern southern rock genre, as his voice has a great balance of grit and soul. He lets rip a little more during the chorus here, which is powerful and includes some subtle call-and-response vocal harmonies, whilst guitar fans will enjoy the multiple guitar solos featured - which give the song a more hard-hitting feel even though it remains pretty groovy and mid-paced overall. It is a powerful piece and late-album highlight in my opinion - and one of those songs which takes a few listens to sink in. Another late highlight for me is the busier Whiskey Talkin', which takes a country-inspired main riff and cranks up the distortion on the guitar to ensure that the track packs a punch. The main riff is very much Lynyrd Skynyrd inspired in my opinion, but the rest of the song feels like a collection of many classic southern rock tropes. For a southern rock album there has not been a lot of slide guitar utilised, but there are slide motifs utilised here to create depth, whilst punch is added thanks to a raw and roomy drum sound. The chorus is boosted by the aforementioned slide hooks, and it is another memorable moment, whilst the guitar solo is surprisingly slow-burning given the song's kick. A busier guitar solo may have worked better, but the song remains an overall strong effort. The album then comes to a close with the heavier Pricetag - a piece which opens with a hard-hitting main riff and feels much more overtly classic rock in nature. There is perhaps less of the band's trademark southern strut here, despite the chorus laying into a groove in a somewhat more prominent manner than the rest of the track, with the verses feeling a bit more British hard rock than American southern rock. The heavier feel is welcome, though, as the band rarely really cut loose to go for a barrelling hard rock sound. A couple more heavier songs would have been welcome here I think, but Pricetag is effective in giving the album a final kick before it comes to a close. The guitar solo is very short, though, and I do feel that the band should have really cut loose here with some screaming leads. A lengthy guitar solo would have really capped the album off nicely, but as it stands the riffier piece still injects some energy into the album's closing moments - it just could have been better I think, particularly given that genuine hard rocking moments are in the minority here. Overall, though, I have been enjoying Rise Above It All quite a lot over the past week or so since it dropped. I think a couple more big rockers would have worked well in place of maybe one of the acoustic pieces and perhaps one of the covers (as good as both are) to balance things out more - but the band are clearly not out and out hard rockers, so the current balance is understandable. Despite this, though, The Georgia Thunderbolts are emerging as one of the most exciting southern rock bands of recent times - and Rise Above It All sits nicely alongside their previous album as enjoyable examples of the genre. Hopefully we will see the band in the UK in the near future and I am looking forward to where they go from here.

The album was released on 23rd August 2024 via Mascot Records. Below is the band's promotional video for Stand Up.

Wednesday, 28 August 2024

Dark Tranquillity's 'Endtime Signals' - Album Review

I recently mentioned in my review of Orden Ogan's latest release The Order of Fear (which can be read here) that it was somewhat surprising that I had not properly covered the band before on this blog. Despite being a pretty big power metal fan, the German five-piece had always slipped through the net - largely as they just generally had never really clicked with me in a significant way. They had been a pretty big power metal omission here over the years, though, so it was good to finally delve into one of their albums. Another similar omission here are the Swedish melodic death metal legends Dark Tranquillity. I may not be as much a melodic death metal fan as I am a power metal fan but, nevertheless, I have covered quite a bit of the former on this blog over the years - and would consider myself quite a big fan of the genre. My love of melodic death metal has only increased over the years, too, alongside my greater appreciation of extreme metal more generally - but even before I started to experiment more with much heavier music I was listening to melodic death metal. I have been a fan of Arch Enemy and Children of Bodom for a long time at this point - with bands like In Flames and Soilwork also ranking pretty highly, alongside classics of the genre such as At the Gates and Carcass. Dark Tranquillity have largely always been conspicuous by their absence in my CD collection, though. I picked up 2007's Fiction some years ago, but I only gave it a cursory listen before moving onto other things. It clearly did not grab me at the time and I think that it is fair to say that Dark Tranquillity's take on melodic death metal is pretty different from those bands already mentioned - with the exception, at times, of Soilwork. Looking back, it is hard to see why I did not connect with Dark Tranquillity originally. They are certainly one of the most melancholic and melodic bands from the melodic death metal scene - with a strong gothic influence which includes a lot of keyboards and plenty of clean vocals. Over the past year or so, since seeing them at the 2022 iteration of Bloodstock Open Air, I have started to get into the band in quite a big way. I have not heard all of their albums, as they have quite a few of them, but what I have heard I have really enjoyed - so it was time to jump on the new album bandwagon and review them here. Their thirteenth album, Endtime Signals, was released earlier in the month - and it is their first in four years, following 2020's Moment. It is also an album which sees a rather new-look version of the band - which leaves frontman Mikael Stanne as the only original member left. Original drummer Anders Jivarp and bassist since 2015 Anders Iwers both left the band in 2021, with guitarist Christopher Amott, who had been in the band since 2020, also departing in 2023. These changes leave Stanne and keyboard player since 1999 Martin Brändström the only long-standing members of Dark Tranquillity, with guitarist Johan Reinholdz having also joined in 2020 alongside Amott. Previous line-up changes throughout the late 2010s saw other long-time members leave, too, so the Dark Tranquillity of today is quite a bit different from that of a few years ago. Endtime Signals sees the debuts of two new members, then, with bassist Christian Jansson (Pagandom; Grand Cadaver) and drummer Joakim Strandberg-Nilsson (Faithful Darkness; In Mourning) both coming aboard in 2022. Reinholdz handles all of the album's guitars, meaning that the album was recorded as a five-piece rather than the band's typical six-piece configuration.

Despite these changes, though, Endtime Signals does not see the band significantly change their approach - particularly compared to their last couple of releases, which share a very similar sound and art style. The similarities go back further, but this recent run of albums feel like a loose trilogy in a number of ways - and with Brändström handling the production as well as sharing most of the songwriting with Stanne and Reinholdz there is continuity despite losing the songwriting talents of Jivarp. To cement this similarity, the album opens with the mid-paced and atmospheric Shivers and Voids - a powerful song which opens with melancholic clean guitars before a snare roll introduces a staccato guitar trill which acts as something of a main riff. Dark Tranquillity are not a band for razor sharp riffing, at least regularly, and their overall sound is generally pretty smooth. There are plenty of riffs throughout the album, though, and there is an excellent riffy post-chorus section later in the song, but generally the band go for more of a rounded approach - with crunchy verses backed by keyboards allowing Stanne's growls to shine early on, before a melodic chorus sees a guitar lead float away behind some big vocal hooks. There is still plenty of crunch despite the band's approach to guitar riffing being different from the norm and Reinholdz still gets plenty of opportunity to showcase his melodic style - either through soaring leads or via his soloing, which in this song is busy and hooky. The opening track is very much classic Dark Tranquillity, then, but the second piece Unforgivable ups the pace somewhat and does actually go for a more intense and classic melodic death metal sound. It is a track which showcases the talents of Strandberg-Nilsson early on as it opens with a big drum barrage - whilst the verses are fast-paced with plenty of fast footwork. Reinholdz's riffing here is much more venomous than is typical, whilst the keyboards take more of a backseat. There is still plenty of atmosphere, though, especially during the chorus which slows the pace, ups the keyboards, and throws in a melodic guitar hook, but generally the song feels much heavier and more overtly extreme metal influenced - even if clean guitars are still utilised for depth. Stanne sounds as good as ever and, in my view, he has lost little of his power over the years. The faster track showcases he can still spit lyrics out with real venom - even if he tends to rein it in a little more these days. Neuronal Fire returns more to the band's classic sound, with gothic textures reigning supreme. The song's opening feels lush, with keyboards and guitar hooks forming a real melodic tapestry under which the rhythm section provide some crunch - but the verses are a little more stripped back to favour the guitars. There is a bit more of a toughness to the verses, then, but I do feel that the band gradually grow towards the chorus - with the synths creeping back in before the opening musical motif is reprised to form a chorus hook. The song is perhaps not quite as memorable as the opening two tracks, but Reinholdz throws in a speedy solo - and the track is another strong one overall.

Not Nothing is the first song on the album to feature Stanne's clean vocals - and it is one of the smoothest and most melodic pieces here overall. Stanne excels at both vocal styles and his clean vocals are very reminiscent of gothic singers of the 1980s - his rich baritone suiting the band's atmospheric sound. The track opens with a slow-burning verse, which features Stanne singing clean over some slow guitars, but once the rest of the band crash in he starts to growl again - and the band rock a little harder as the chorus is approached. Given that parts of the verses are sung clean, the chorus feels heavier than some of the more melodic parts of the song - but the harsh vocal hooks are still easy to latch onto. The mix of vocal styles helps the verses to feel like they expand as the song moves along, too, with melodic sections sitting nicely side-by-side with riffier moments - whilst ringing piano notes and a more straight ahead groove backs the chorus. Drowned-Out Voices ups the heaviness again quite a bit. It is not as fast-paced as a song like Unforgivable, but it certainly feels much more overtly metallic - and the riffing from Reinholdz really dominates. The opening guitar riff has a real grinding quality to it, with extreme metal trills for impact, whilst the song is another which allows Strandberg-Nilsson to lay into his double bass drums on occasion. The song is largely still pretty mid-paced, though, although the verses do speed up as the chorus is reached - with a later section feeling thrashier with a metalcore-esque guitar hook behind it. These moments are fairly short lived, though, as the chorus soon crashes in to return to the band's more trademark sound - with the keyboards coming back in a big way. Stanne goes for a bit of a different vocal style during the choruses, too, with more of a deeper grunting style fitting in with the song's heavier overall feel - whilst some harmonies are also used nicely for effect. This is not something which the band make use of regularly but it works in the context of the song - and contrasts nicely with the clean-sung bridge which briefly slows things down considerably. One of Us Is Gone is the first of two songs here to be co-written by a former member - with the late Fredrik Johansson, who played guitar in the band between 1993 and 1999, credited. Johansson died from cancer in 2022, so I am unsure if the band used an old idea of his as something of a tribute to him or whether this was something he wrote with the band more recently before he died - but either way it is nice to see him credited here. Perhaps fittingly, too, the song is a clean-sung ballad - and a really melodic, atmospheric piece. It is pretty different to everything on the album up to this point, but the band have done songs like this before - and it still retains their classic sound. Crunchy guitars are used when needed, and there are some faster instrumental sections later which feature Brändström's keyboards in a big way as well as some strings, but generally the track is a slow-burn - with plenty of emotional vocals from Stanne which fit nicely within the song's atmospheric and dense context.

The Last Imagination feels at first as if it is going to be another slower piece, as it opens quite atmospherically, but in general the song is another pretty typical Dark Tranquillity number which exhibits their core sound. It is perhaps a little riffier in places, and the main verses feeling a little more grinding than is typical thanks to Reinholdz's riffing but, as is typical, the atmospherics tend to build as the chorus is approached - with Brändström's ringing piano notes taking over once the chorus is started. Stanne's vocals during the chorus feel a little throatier than usual, which contrasts nicely with the dominant piano, but the vocal hooks are as integral as ever - and it is good to see Stanne shaking it up a little bit vocally as it helps the album to feel quite dynamic. Lots of the songs here follow a long-established template at this point, but the band have cultivated this sound over a number of years and there is no-one else that really does this brand of melodic death metal quite like Dark Tranquillity. Upping the pace again, though, is Enforced Perspective. Like Unforgivable, it is a song which feels a bit more overtly extreme metal in character - and the guitars are very much the driving force here, despite a pretty hooky synth melody being utilised throughout. The riffing feels much busier and more varied here - with the guitars generally cutting through the mix and moving beyond their typical role of providing a tough rhythm. There are some pretty snappy riffs early on, then, and Reinholdz's later solo is also much more shred-happy. Dark Tranquillity are generally a band which prefer a more understated guitar style, which works so well from a melodic perspective, but they still like to cut loose occasionally and lean into their Gothenburg routes in a big way. This song feels like it could have come out of the 1990s save for the flashy synth leads - with the riffing and soloing being big highlights of the fast-paced and much more venomous piece. Our Disconnect is much more typical, though, with Brändström's warm synths opening up the track as Strandberg-Nilsson lays down a percussive drum pattern around these leads. The song feels pretty rhythmic early on, then, and this is only reinforced once the guitars kick in and the drum pattern becomes faster and more metallic. The song grows in stature early on, then, but generally this is a very synth-heavy piece - with the overall mix favouring space and atmosphere over heaviness. The guitars still provide crunch, with the verses permeated with staccato guitar stabs as the synths shimmer away, but generally this a song which showcases Brändström's songwriting and production style. The chorus again is filled with ringing piano notes, building on the synths from earlier, whilst Stanne uses the space in the mix to sound really powerful - especially during a bridge section before Reinholdz's solo.

Wayward Eyes is another track which sees like it might open in a slower fashion, as it seems quite atmospheric early on, but it is generally another pretty typical mid-paced track - even though the clean-sung chorus is certainly one of the album's smoothest and even most anthemic moments. Dark Tranquillity are generally too melancholic to be genuinely anthemic, but the vocal hooks during the chorus here do feel a bit more up-tempo and it is hard not to be grabbed by Stanne's rich delivery - even if he still sounds very mournful. Elsewhere, though, the song is pretty crunchy and the chorus is still weighty despite the clean vocals. It is perhaps not as busy in terms of guitar weight, but the ringing chords give the chorus an expansive and cinematic sound - with later renditions seeing a guitar lead added, too, for extra depth. A Bleaker Sun is another somewhat heavier piece, with an opening riff which reminds me a little bit of the simpler end of Nevermore. The riff is certainly a bit more intense and progressive-sounding than the band's general approach, but the song is pretty typical after this opening guitar salvo - and it is another expansive piece with a slower chorus to allow for some big vocal hooks and verses which feel slightly more thrashy thanks to some double bass drumming and a simplified version of the opening riff. The chorus is another winner with some warm keyboard melodies and a mix which nicely separates all of the instruments - before the early progressive touches are expanded on by Reinholdz during his solo section which sees the pace slow down to allow him to deliver a slow-burning and spacey run of notes. The album then comes to a close with False Reflection, the other song to be co-written by a former member - this time founding guitarist Niklas Sundin who left the band in 2020. Sundin is still close to the band, though, and remains responsible for all of their artwork - so I imagine this was an idea he threw their way recently. Funnily enough, both of the collaborations with previous members are ballads - with False Reflection being quite similar to One of Us Is Gone - minus the strings. Piano and clean guitar melodies are very much the main driving forces this time, then, but the real star is Stanne. I do not think that he gets enough credit generally for his clean vocals. Clearly he is known for his growls, but he has really expanded his vocal delivery over the years - and his singing here as good as many non-growlers. His calm delivery sits nicely alongside the atmospherically dense synths and guitars - and moments which feature more drive from the rhythm section give the song a bit more of a kick when needed. Closing an album with a ballad does not always work, but I think it does in this case - and the emotional piece channels the band's usual vibes whilst it winds down. Being that this is the first Dark Tranquillity album which I have properly digested, I have really enjoyed the journey. I am glad to have finally got into the band properly - and there are still plenty of other albums I need to get and listen to. Fans of the band's inimitable style will find plenty to love here, though, and it will likely be welcome that the line-up changes have not led to a significant shift in sound.

The album was released on 16th August 2024 via Century Media Records. Below is the band's promotional video for Unforgivable.

Saturday, 24 August 2024

HammerFall's 'Avenge the Fallen' - Album Review

With my last post on this blog being a review of Powerwolf's latest album and this post covering HammerFall - it seems that the summer of 2024 is very much a hotbed of power metal. I feel that I have reviewed quite a lot of power metal over the past couple of years and it has been great to dig back into the genre properly again after falling somewhat out of love with it for a while. Sweden's HammerFall are one band that I always kept up with, though. They were one of the leaders of the European power metal resurgence throughout the late 1990s and the early 2000s, but they do not seem to be held in quite as high regard as they once were. Their first five albums, from 1997's Glory to the Brave to 2005's Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken, is rightly considered a run of releases to rival any other from the European power metal scene - but I am not sure that the band has really ever reached those heights creatively again, despite largely sticking to a recognisable core sound. Nothing that the band has released has been terrible, but there have certainly been some troughs alongside the early peaks - although there have also been some mid and late period winners. Funnily enough, an identity crisis which led to a brief hiatus in 2013 produced 2011's Infected, one of the band's heaviest and most interesting releases, whilst both 2014's comeback (r)Evolution (which I reviewed here) and 2019's Dominion (which I also reviewed here) were also pretty strong. None of these albums are as good as the band's original run, but they show that there is some still juice left in the tank - and HammerFall have become one of those reliable bands which put out a new album every two to three years and each one can generally be counted on to be at least enjoyable. Enjoyable is certainly how I would describe the band's last album Hammer of Dawn (which I reviewed here) from 2022. It felt like a little bit of a let down following the stronger Dominion, but it was still an album I enjoyed when it dropped a couple of years ago - and I also saw the band with Helloween in London around the same time. Just over two years later and HammerFall are back with yet another new release, then, with Avenge the Fallen, their thirteenth album, coming out earlier this month. It is the band's forth album with the current line-up, which has essentially been in place since 2014 - with the exception of drummer David Wallin taking a family-related hiatus during the first half of 2017. The band seem very settled, then, and Avenge the Fallen is certainly more of the same - but it is a better album overall than the previous one in my opinion. Firstly, Avenge the Fallen feels heavier. It is a very riffy album with some strong Accept and Manowar influences. This is nothing new, of course, but there is a particularly strong focus on such a style this time - whilst frontman Joacim Cans conjures up a number of big choruses and hooky vocal melodies. Fans of the band will certainly enjoy this latest platter of muscular power metal from the Swedish five-piece and it certainly feels fresher than the last album - with the highs more comparable to the stronger moments of Dominion.

Anyone expecting a diverse and dynamic album, although I am not sure why anyone would be at this point, will be disappointed in what they hear - but those expecting HammerFall to do their thing successfully will be satisfied right away, as the album's title track kicks things off in fine fashion. A bit of a drone sets the tone early on, before distant gang vocals, which later will form part of the song's chorus, join in. This creates an early hook and when the song gets going with a bass-heavy, mid-paced crunch the classic HammerFall sound is established - with an early rendition of part of the chorus expanding over the first riff. The song is a bit more varied than might be expected, though, with the song's first verse being quite a slow-burner after the crunchy opener, with Cans singing against some simple synths, but the band soon crash in the song builds towards the muscular chorus - which includes all of the big chants previously mentioned around some more traditional melodic hooks. There are certainly strong Accept vibes, then, with the song never really gaining pace - and the crunchy riffing essentially leads throughout following the slower first verse, with Fredrik Larsson's bass high in the mix. A simple guitar solo is thrown in, too, and the song is a groovy headbanger which gets things underway nicely. The End Justifies then ups the pace and the song really harks back to the band's early days in my opinion - and it channels classics like Heeding the Call somewhat. Wallin opens the song with a big drum barrage, and his double bass drumming is essentially relentless throughout, whilst the dual guitar riffing of Oscar Dronjak and Pontus Norgren is full of galloping rhythms and plenty of energy. I tend to think that HammerFall operate at their best when they speed things up - and this song feels vital and full of the tropes which made them so well-liked originally. The drumming is on-point throughout and the mix is well-balanced - with just enough bass to create a depth whilst the guitars contain that true power metal crunch. Cans sounds as good as ever, too, and he has never really lost any of his trademark higher-pitched tone. His smoothness provides a hook over the crunchy guitars - and the song's chorus does that power metal thing of slowing the pace slightly to create a more epic sound, even if the later renditions of such towards the end feel faster.

Freedom is one of those songs which opens without much of an intro. Cans starts to sing as soon as the song starts, as the band lay down a stop-start intro riff underneath his hanging vocal melodies. This works well, though, even if it does detract from the opening riff a little, but by the time the band launch into the verse proper the song becomes another pretty mid-paced cruncher - albeit with more of a galloping feel thanks to Wallin's busier drumming. It is certainly not a fast-paced track, though, despite this double bass drumming - and it is another piece which relies quite heavily on the crunch of the guitars and a muscular chorus with Accept-like gang vocals. There is a lot of chanting during the chorus, which does feel pretty anthemic, and the contrast between these shouts and Cans' more melodic vocal delivery always works well. I particularly like the vocal-led bridge after the guitar solo which features some different melodies to the rest of the song. It is a shame that more is not made of this section, but it helps to song to feel a bit more varied than it otherwise would. Hail to the King is another mid-paced track, but it is one that has strong Manowar vibes throughout. It is not all that different to the other mid-paced tracks heard up to this point, but the rhythmic nature of the piece and the dominance of the bass throughout the verses bring Manowar to mind - as does the chorus which features more gang vocals. The overall sound is sweeter than something Manowar would write though, thanks to ringing clean guitar melodies during the verses, but the overall sound nevertheless somewhat differs from the more Accept-heavy one taken previously. The lyrics are quite Manowar-esque, too, so overall the song certainly harks back to some of that band's classic albums. The song is still very much HammerFall, though, as there has always been a Manowar vibe in some of their work - with Cans' voice giving the song a smoother edge whilst a more extended and shredded guitar solo breaks up the bass dominance elsewhere. After a couple of mid-paced tracks, Hero to All speeds things up somewhat - but it does not feel as frantic as The End Justifies. There is certainly more energy here than in the previous song, which was more groove-based, but it retains the band's classic crunch. The lack of driving riffing helps the song to not feel too frantic, though. It is generally the bass and the drums which create the pace - whilst the guitars during the verses generally provide ringing chords which are changed slowly. Some parts of the song, particularly as the chorus is being approached, feature busy guitar riffing - but generally the song reins it in somewhat, with the chorus instead featuring a guitar lead to back Cans' vocals which helps to set it apart. To make up for the lack of big riffing, some of the guitar playing later in the song feels a bit busier. The aforementioned lead is one such moment, and before the guitar solo there is a bit of an instrumental section with a guitar melody back-and-forth between Dronjak and Norgren.

Hope Springs Eternal is the album's ballad so it slows things down quite considerably and goes for a more atmospheric sound overall. Clean guitar melodies and prominent keyboards create a melodic base for Cans' vocals - whilst the rhythm section conjure up a sombre beat. HammerFall have done quite a few ballads over the years and this one is not all that different from their typical template. The keyboards create a subtly symphonic backing and the song does sound quite grand - particularly during later renditions of the chorus which feature more of a choral effect vocally to harmonise with Cans. Guitar leads and a more emotional guitar solo all contribute to the song's overall slower vibe - and everything comes together to create an effective mid-album change of pace. It is a song which has grown on me quite a bit as HammerFall's ballads do not always do it for me - but this is one of their better ones for a while in my opinion, and the closing guitar solo helps to cement that view. Burn It Down picks up the pace again and the song packs a punch following the relatively lengthy ballad. It does not feel as frantic as some of the band's faster pieces, but it is still very energetic from the off - with Wallin throwing in a few interesting drum tricks and fills to shake things up a little. The mix of machine gun guitar riffing and slower chord changes is classic power metal - and the mix continues to give quite a bit of prominence to the bass which perhaps helps to give this album is heavier overall feel. There is a lot of weight to this album, which has not always been the case with HammerFall, and Larsson is a big part of that - but there is also plenty of tight guitar riffing throughout. The song is perhaps not as hooky as some of the others, though, but there is still plenty of energy throughout. Capture the Dream reins it in somewhat, going for a more mid-paced feel overall, but there is something interesting and rhythmic about the track which does help it stand out. Generally the band's mid-paced songs are very Accept or Manowar focused, but this song does not really feel like either - despite gang vocals again being used during the chorus as is common. The drum groove used has a bit more swing to it than is typical of HammerFall, which gives the song a slightly more organic feel. There are a few riffs and melodies which have something of classic rock vibe, then, but overall the song is still very much classic HammerFall despite this less mechanical and hard-driving vibe - and the chorus is as expected with the aforementioned gang vocals and some simple vocal melodies. Later parts of the song up the pace a bit, though, and the swing from earlier is essentially lost - so the song feels quite varied as it wends it way along.

Rise of Evil feels much more potent following the swing of the previous track, with the song perhaps being one of the most muscular of the album. It is a relatively fast-paced track, but there is a controlled heaviness throughout with lots of big guitar riffing and one of the hookiest choruses on the album. The riffing feels quite Judas Priest inspired, with some stop-start patterns during the verses again allowing the bass to dominate, whilst the chorus is much more old-school power metal in vibe with a hooky guitar refrain acting as a counter to Cans' anthemic vocal melodies. The gang vocals are not really used this time, with the chorus instead feeling more overtly melodic than is perhaps typical - which contrasts nicely with the overall heaviness of the piece. The mix of sounds makes the song one of my favourites here - with the riffing and the chorus being some of the album's best moments in my opinion. The album then comes to a close with Time Immemorial, which slows things down somewhat and goes for a more expanded take on the band's classic mid-paced sound. It is the longest song here at just under six minutes long, so it feels like a bit of a mini epic - with the band mixing things up a little. Whilst certainly not a ballad, the song does include some slower sections which hark back to Hope Springs Eternal somewhat - with plenty of crunch elsewhere to create a tough, mid-paced rhythm. This mix of hard-driving riffing and clean guitar-led atmospheric sections is a good one, though, and the more involved sound and the variation of styles helps the song to sound like a true album closer. It is not a song that does anything substantially different from the norm, and HammerFall have written songs like it before, but it does expand on the core sound slightly as the album comes to a close - injecting a few slight symphonic touches, as well as allowing for some extended guitar soloing. Despite the song being on the longer side, too, it does not feel overly long. HammerFall have never been a progressive band so do not need to stretch out that often - but this song justifies its length and the album closes out nicely because of it. There is certainly a lot to like here for HammerFall fans and, overall, this album does feel stronger than the previous album and some of the band's other lesser releases. It is a solid and very enjoyable album that does what it sets out to do - but it will not convert anyone who was previously sceptical. Power metal fans will find plenty to enjoy, though, and the focus on a heavier sound throughout is certainly welcome.

The album was released on 9th August 2024 via Nuclear Blast Records. Below is the band's promotional video for Hail to the King.

Wednesday, 21 August 2024

Powerwolf's 'Wake Up the Wicked' - Album Review

In a year which has already seen quite a few power metal releases, this summer has dropped what are likely to be seen as two of the year's biggest albums. Whether they are the best remains to be seen, but there are certain bands which have often been seen as leaders of the scene - so new releases from them are always going to be seen as events. A review of HammerFall's latest album Avenge the Fallen will follow this piece at some point, but today we are going to look at the latest release from Germany's Powerwolf. Whilst the five-piece may not have as much history as a band like HammerFall, who essentially helped to spearhead the European power metal revival in the late 1990s/early 2000s, Powerwolf have become big hitters in the genre. With the exception of Sabaton, who are arena-fillers in Europe now, and the current super version of Helloween which is still doing the rounds, there are probably no other bigger power metal bands than Powerwolf. They are already very popular here in Europe - but, like Sabaton, they are also starting to make some inroads into the American market. Bigger and better things are likely on Powerwolf's horizon, then, and it is not hard to see why. In fact, I think they are extremely comparable to Sabaton - both in terms of sound and in overall appeal. Musically, the two bands are quite similar. Both write simple, muscular power metal anthems with plenty of keyboards; whilst both also have a strong theme. In Powerwolf's case, this theme is horror and werewolves - and this schtick has certainly helped bring their live shows and overall image to life over the years. I have seen the band live twice put on a strong show both times - and I have also been listening to their albums for around a decade, having got my start with them with 2011's Blood of the Saints. Despite enjoying them, though, I would not consider myself a die-hard Powerwolf fan. I find their albums to be fun bits of escapism every so often, and I always make an effort to get each new album as it drops, but I do not tend to revisit them that often. This differs to my view of Sabaton, which I would consider myself a much bigger fan of, although I have felt my fandom drift somewhat over the past couple of years following their stale recent album. Perhaps there is only room for one such theme-heavy power metal band in my life, but nevertheless I picked up Powerwolf's ninth 'proper' album Wake Up the Wicked when it dropped last month. It sounds exactly how I expected it to, but I have still been having quite a bit of fun with it. My reforged love of power metal over the past couple of years has likely helped, but I also feel that there is far less filler here than usual. Powerwolf albums often have a few songs which fail to excite, but pretty much everything here is memorable.

Powerwolf's albums tend to be very digestible, too. They are generally around 40 minutes long with each track being fairly short - so they rarely outstay their welcome. This is the case again with Wake Up the Wicked, and Bless 'Em with the Blade kicks things off in fine fashion. It is less than three minutes long and, following an organ-drenched intro, the song showcases the band's fast-paced side perfectly. Lots of Powerwolf's material is quite mid-paced and dramatic, to allow for big choruses, but this track goes for a much thrashier approach with drummer Roel van Helden laying into his double bass drums throughout the verses, whilst the driving guitars of the Greywolf 'brothers' and the gothic keyboards of Falk Maria Schlegel create a perfectly spooky approach. Despite this pace, though, the song is still pretty anthemic - with a shout-along chorus still operating well despite the thrashy atmosphere. Frontman Attila Dorn's voice perhaps does not sound as operatic here thanks to the pace, with him taking a more gravelly road, but the band's core sound is still very much present. Following on from the high-octane opening, Sinners of the Seven Seas operates within the band's more traditional boundaries. The track is a mid-paced one which features a good mix of old-school crunchy riffing, influenced by bands like Accept, alongside a sparser arrangement at times which allows the keyboards and vocals to dominate. It is not uncommon for the guitars to drop out during Powerwolf's songs, as they do during parts of the verses, with the bass leading the way instead, whilst the chorus is a real hooky moment - which does up the pace somewhat whilst still retaining the crunch of the rest of the song. With the previous track taking on a much crunchier sound, Kyrie Klitorem is more lead-based overall. Of all the songs on the album up to this point, it is easily the most cinematic and the most overtly-hooky. It feels a little less heavy than the last two songs and dials up the power metal drama in a big way - with a big guitar lead opening things up with a rendition of the later chorus melody, whilst keyboard and bass-heavy verses allow the vocals to really shine whilst injecting some drama with the odd heavier accent. Essentially all of the songs here have big choruses, but this one showcases the band's slightly smoother side - with more of a choral backing to really boost the vocals and the keyboards generally louder than the guitars in the mix. Heretic Hunters really showcases that comparisons to Sabaton are apt - and the song is a real mid-paced stomper that very much mines the Sabaton well, whilst also throwing in some folk metal elements. The main melody line sounds like it is played on a hurdy gurdy, or at least a synth mimicking such, whilst the rest of the track is very rhythm guitar-heavy. There are few lead guitar moments here, with the folky melody instead leading the charge between each verse/chorus rendition, but the guitars still add plenty of weight - whilst van Helden's drums are perhaps the most interesting instrument during the verses. This is a song which is very much about its chorus, though, and it is very anthemic - with some of the album's biggest hooks which Dorn really sinks his teeth into. I can see the track becoming a real live favourite and it is the sort of fists-in-the-air anthem which has made Powerwolf so popular.

Lead single 1589 is another mid-paced piece and it is one of a number of songs in the band's catalogue which tells a tale from history. It is a bit more fleshed out than some of the other songs here, too, and it is one of the album's longest and most diverse pieces. It opens with the sound of bells and birds, before a cutting piano melody sets the tone which the verses are then built around. The verses build slowly as the chorus is approached, with Dorn singing in a storytelling manner against this piano melody and guitars which gradually grow in stature. Tension gradually builds during the song, then, but by the time the chorus is reached the rest of the band have crashed in - and the chorus is a staccato shout-along moment which is sure to go down well live. A later slow-burning and surprisingly bluesy guitar solo only increases the song's moody atmosphere further - and this style is slightly different for the norm where Powerwolf are concerned. The song is one of the album's highlights as a result. Viva Vulgata has a bit of a swing to it and it is another somewhat smoother track along the lines of Kyrie Klitorem. This is quite a common trope for Powerwolf and the band have written many songs which sound quite a bit like Viva Vulgata, but by the time the chorus rolls around I do not imagine that many fans will mind too much - as it is another extremely hooky moment with big choral vocals and plenty of pleasing keyboard textures. A pretty heroic guitar solo is thrown in later too, which plays off some gothic organ twists nicely, with the track overall being another which builds somewhat towards the explosive chorus. The album's title track follows and it opens somewhat more slowly than is typical - with some gothic choirs and percussive drums setting an ominous tone, but once the song gets going proper it is another fast-paced track similar to the album's opening cut. There are not too many thrashy moments here, but this is a track which puts van Helden to the test with plenty of fast double bass drum patterns - with the guitarists providing plenty of machine gun crunch. Despite the odd slower moment, such as a dramatic pre-chorus, the song is very much one that relies on its speed to make an impact. The chorus remains a shout-along affair despite this overall pace, whilst a later riff-led section hits quite hard as this sound is not all that typical for Powerwolf. Another historical-based piece, Joan of Arc opens with its chorus, or at least a stripped back rendition of it, and then launches into a pretty symphonic intro which is one of the most dramatic sections on the album. Powerwolf's keyboard textures generally mimic gothic organs but the keyboards this time are much more string-adjacent - which creates a bit more of a traditional symphonic metal feel at times. This is welcome, though, given the song's overall grandeur - and it makes sense when parts of the verses are more stripped back to allow the vocals to dominate before the band build towards the big chorus. It is another big sing-a-long moment, too, and the guitar solo is also one of the album's longest and most involved.

Thunderpriest generally ups the pace again and goes for an old-school power metal sound with plenty of thunderous double bass drumming and a simple, yet hooky, guitar lead to draw the listener in from the off. If the album has a weak link, though, I think that this song is it. Compared to many of the other songs here, I feel that it falls flat. It is another fast-paced piece in general, and I think the other thrashier songs here are stronger, and the chorus is also probably the weakest on the album. It does not really do anything different from the band's traditional style - but it does not really seem to go anywhere, with the shout-along style feeling less vital than it often does. It is certainly not a bad song but it feels less exciting than many of the other tracks here which helps it to feel like the album's weakest moment. Opening with a children's choir, though, We Don't Wanna Be No Saints gets the album back on track. It is another slightly smoother sounding piece, with a bit of a swing and theatre to the sweeping chorus and another somewhat more stripped back verse which features some potent drum accents to help back Dorn's vocals. Unlike Joan of Arc, too, the keyboards here return to the organ which is typical of the band's sound. They are used in a similarly dramatic way, but the organ helps this song to sound more classic than the slight shake-up that Joan of Arc was. The children's choir is a fun point of difference, though, and it is reused later as a bit of a breakdown, whilst the chorus also features some barked gang vocals despite the smoother melodies and organ generally present. The album then comes to a close with Vargamor, another track with subtle folk influences. Powerwolf generally include at least one ballad on their albums, and have ended albums with slower songs before, and this is the only song here which could be called something of a ballad - although I would not consider it as such. It certainly opens slowly, with Dorn's voice against an atmospheric backing. This first verse continues on in a slow manner until the first chorus - but the rest of the band then crash in and the track essentially becomes another mid-paced typical Powerwolf anthem with a pretty big chorus. The later verses are a bit slower again, but only relatively, and any pretence of the song being a ballad is soon dismissed. The symphonic sound flirted with earlier returns with a choral-led bridge section, whilst there is a pretty hooky guitar solo used later for effect. The song does slow down as it closes out, though, with a rendition of the chorus sung over an acoustic guitar backing used as a fade out. These slower opening and closing moments of the song work well, though, despite the album containing no actual ballad - and it does give the last portion of the album a bit of a different feel despite the harder rocking approach generally taken here. Overall, though, the album is very much classic Powerwolf. There are a few brief twists and turns here, which are welcome, but generally the band just stick to their core sound. I have enjoyed all of the band's albums but this one is really resonating with me - and I can see myself playing it quite a bit going forward despite Powerwolf in general not being regulars on my iPod.

The album was released on 26th July 2024 via Napalm Records. Below is the band's promotional video for 1589.

Tuesday, 20 August 2024

KK's Priest - Cardiff Review

I mentioned this in my earlier review of Armored Saint's recent show in Nottingham, but last week was extremely busy. Having only had one night away from home since the end of May, last week I spent one night in Nottingham and two nights in Wales - taking in some excellent live music along the way. Armored Saint showcased why they are highly regarded veterans of the American scene on the Tuesday, whilst the Saturday saw me return to Chepstow Castle for the third time for a night of AOR and melodic rock. The Sunday was a return to something heavier, though, and, following the short train journey from Chepstow to Cardiff and a day in the Welsh capital, it was time to head to the Tramshed for a night with KK's Priest. Whilst I have seen Judas Priest three times over the years, I never saw them with founding guitarist KK Downing. I first saw the band in 2011, not longer after he dramatically left, and for many years he seemed to be retired. This changed back in 2019, though, when he joined former Manowar guitarist Ross the Boss at that year's iteration of Bloodstock Open Air to run through a few Judas Priest classics to close out Ross the Boss' set. This was Downing's first live appearance since leaving Judas Priest and it set him on the path to returning to music in a big way. He played his first full concert later that year, at KK's Steel Mill in Wolverhampton (which he owns), and in 2020 he officially launched his new band: KK's Priest. Whilst the band's name is a bit predictable, and somewhat creates one of those Wishbone Ash/Saxon situations where there are two versions of a classic band out there touring, I think Downing is just trying to cash in on his legacy rather than create a new version of Judas Priest. Given that he has been joined in this venture by frontman Tim 'Ripper' Owens, who fronted Judas Priest between 1996 and 2003, there is certainly a lot to link Downing's new band back to Judas Priest - and it seems that both it and Judas Priest are able to live happily side by side, at least for now. With two albums under their belts, KK's Priest have been busy touring over the past couple of years. They undertook a UK tour last year, but I was unable to make any of the shows sadly, so when they announced a handful of other UK shows around their performance at this year's Stonedead Festival I knew I had to make the effort. Luckily the Cardiff show slotted in alongside the aforementioned trip to Chepstow, so a weekend in Wales was planned. The venue of choice for KK's Priest was the Tramshed - which is just to the west of the main city centre and is not somewhere that I had been to recently. I had only been once previously, which was to see Y&T back in 2019, and I do not remember being that impressed with it back then. I remember that Y&T suffered from rather muddy sound - but that was not the case with this show luckily, with both of the bands on the bill having loud and pretty clear mixes. The turnout was decent, but for a weekend and given Downing's stature it could have been better. Owens voiced his displeasure for the venue's efforts in promoting the show during the band's set later, too, which was awkward - so perhaps the band felt a bit short-changed turnout-wise.

Opening the show were Tailgunner, a UK-based five-piece who I had seen earlier in the week supporting Armored Saint. I had enjoyed the band's set in Nottingham so I was looking forward to seeing them live again - and the band delivered another strong set featuring a good amount of material from their sole album Guns for Hire and some choice covers. Their setlist was essentially the same as that which was played in Nottingham, with one exception, and the band powered through their high-octane and fast-paced material with ease - which the growing crowd generally seemed to really enjoy. They garnered a strong reception in Nottingham, but I feel that the KK's Priest crowd warmed to them a little more - and the band fed off the crowd's energy to deliver a strong set. The opening salvo of Guns for Hire and White Death, which were played straight through without a break between them, got the set off to a powerful start - but it was perhaps Beast in the Night this time which struck me early on. The song is a cover, although I am not familiar with the band in question (Randy - who seem to be a bit of a long-lost 1980s Danish metal band), but it really fit in with the set nicely. It was very similar in style to the band's usual sound, albeit a bit more mid-paced perhaps, with a chorus that was easy to latch onto. I hope that the band include their version of the song on their next album, as it is a real deep cut that would not look like an obvious attempt to include something familiar, but this should take nothing away from the band's excellent original material. Warhead and New Horizons were both excellent and upped the tempo again - and sandwiched in between the two was a great battle between guitarists Zach Salvini and Rhea Thompson which saw the pair trading shredded licks back and forth around motifs from In the Hall of the Mountain King. Both guitarists are excellent, and their interplay was arguably the best thing about the band's set, but the rest of the band impressed, too, with frontman Craig Cairns delivering another excellent showing with his high-pitched delivery and commanding stage presence. The whole band really made an effort on that front, though, with lots of poses and shapes being thrown - even during the more mid-paced later duo of Revolution Scream and Crashdrive which showcased a riffier and more anthemic approach then some of the thrash-adjacent material thrown in early on. The sole difference between the two sets came at the end, with a Judas Priest cover unsurprisingly dropped and a version of Dio's Don't Talk to Strangers played instead. Don't Talk to Strangers is perhaps more dynamic and a song with more light and shade than is typical for Tailgunner, but they delivered a convincing rendition of the murky piece - with Thompson delivering a stunning solo as the set came to a close. The setlist was:

Guns for Hire
White Death
Beast in the Night
[Randy cover]
Warhead
In the Hall of the Mountain King [Edvard Grieg cover]
New Horizons
Revolution Scream
Crashdrive
Don't Talk to Strangers [Dio cover]

Half an hour or so after Tailgunner's set, the lights went down and it was time for KK's Priest. Following a rather cheesy intro video which had a demonic figure introduce the band and then morphed into the intro track from the band's debut album, the five musicians took to the stage and launched into Hellfire Thunderbolt - also from the first album. The 15-song set included three songs from each of the band's two albums alongside nine songs from the Judas Priest catalogue. It is good to see that Downing is standing behind his new material in a pretty big way despite still including plenty of old favourites in the set - and early on the new songs dominated. Hellfire Thunderbolt got the set off to a strong start, but it was Strike of the Viper which really impressed. Downing looked every inch the veteran rock star, still sporting plenty of leather, but for me the performer of the night was Owens. He has sometimes been a hit and miss live performer, but there was nothing miss about his performance in Cardiff. If anything, he seems to have gotten better with age - and his endless high-pitched screams and his deeper growling delivery sounded great. He has never been the most natural frontman, either, but he spoke well with the crowd at times - generally letting the music do the talking. He nailed the chorus of Strike of the Viper, with Downing and A.J. Mills (guitar/vocals) trading lead licks back and forth. The new songs were greeted warmly by the crowd, and there was actually plenty of singing along during the numerous anthemic choruses included on the new albums, but understandably the old classics received the biggest cheers. The first old song to be played was The Ripper, which Owens understandably really got into, before the band threw in a bit of a deeper cut in Night Crawler. The Judas Priest songs played were a mixture of the expected and some lesser-played numbers. The balance was well-struck in my opinion, with only one of the real Judas Priest must-plays included - despite there certainly being some other fan-favourites throw in.

With the exception of the encore, the fist-pumping Sermons of the Sinner was the last new track played - with the remaining half of the main set made up of classics. It was great to hear the groovy and Pantera-esque Burn in Hell from the Owens era dusted off for a powerful outing - before the was a short breather in the form of Judas Priest's rendition of the ballad Diamonds & Rust. Another ballad was featured later, but generally the older numbers played were heavy ones. Another deeper cut in Hell Patrol was welcomed by the crowd, before a version of the Fleetwood Mac oldie The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown) allowed for plenty more soloing from Downing and Mills. The rhythm section of Tony Newton (bass guitar/vocals), who it was nice to see again after many years of not being able to see Voodoo Six live, and Sean Elg (drums) really propelled the song forward, too, and it was a good rocker before another ballad in Before the Dawn - which was given its first outing by KK's Priest in Cardiff. The slower track had the desired effect, as Diamonds & Rust had had earlier, and it was good to see the band shaking things up and not constantly relying on riffs and big screams. An obligatory run-through of Breaking the Law and an epic version of Sinner rounded out the main set - with Downing using the later as a bit of a showcase piece and injecting a big solo into the middle of it. Soloing duties were pretty equally split between him and Mills - but this song was very much his moment, and it brought the set to a powerful close despite the PA briefly cutting out during part of it! There was time for one more, though, and the band returned to their newer material for the anthemic Raise Your Fists - which was a fitting closer for what had been an epic evening of anthemic metal. The setlist was:

Incarnation
Hellfire Thunderbolt
Strike of the Viper
One More Shot at Glory
The Ripper [Judas Priest cover]
Reap the Whirlwind
Night Crawler [Judas Priest cover]
Sermons of the Sinner
Burn in Hell [Judas Priest cover]
Diamonds & Rust [Joan Baez cover]
Hell Patrol [Judas Priest cover]
The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown) [Fleetwood Mac cover]
Before the Dawn [Judas Priest cover]
Breaking the Law [Judas Priest cover]
Sinner [Judas Priest cover]
-
Raise Your Fists

It has been great to see Downing active again over the past few years and it was also great to finally catch KK's Priest live after missing out on their tour last year. He has amassed a great band for this latest stage of his career and Owens seems to be better than he has ever been currently. KK's Priest seems to have legs and, two albums in, the band seem fired up to keep going. Hopefully there is more to come from the five-piece and I will certainly see them live again if I get the chance to do so.

Monday, 19 August 2024

Castell Roc 2024

Whilst it has not become an annual tradition, summer visits to Chepstow Castle in Wales for live music have become semi-regular occurrences in my gigging calendar. Concerts have been held in the courtyard of the 11th century castle during the summer for a number of years now, under the banner of Castell Roc, and each year the organisers book a wide range of acts to cater to a variety of tastes. With many of the acts being more of the easy listening variety or tribute bands, quite a few of the evenings do not appeal to me - but every so often something which aligns with my tastes is organised, and a trip to Chepstow gets added to the calendar. In 2017 I headed to the Welsh town for the first time for a night with The Quireboys, FM, and Gun - and five years later (after a pandemic-induced two year delay) I headed back for King King and Cats in Space. Both nights were excellent, with good weather, turnouts, and atmospheres making for memorable experiences. The castle's main courtyard is well-suited for hosting concerts, too, with a slight slope meaning that everyone gets a good view of the stage and there is also plenty of space for a bar, food vendors, and toilets. Once inside the castle walls, then, the evenings there have the feeling of a mini-festival - and it is clear that the locals embrace the events, with plenty of others also travelling from far and wide. Nothing tempted me to make the trip last year, but this year included a triple bill of real magnitude for lovers of AOR and melodic rock - so it was certainly not an evening which I was going to miss. Sweden's H.E.A.T, America's Tyketto, and the UK's own Dare were the three bands to join forces for this night of melodic rock - and given the turnout it was clear that many others were also excited by the prospect. The fact that I had seen all three bands multiple times each did not put me off, either. All three bands are generally excellent live and they are bands which I will see whenever I get the chance to do so. Dare in particular I have managed to see quite a few times in recent years - and I have also seen both H.E.A.T and Tyketto within the past couple of years. In fact, I saw Dare and Tyketto together, alongside Castell Roc alumni FM, last year - in what was another memorable evening of melodic rock. This past Saturday in Chepstow had a similar feel, then, with all of the bands getting similar length sets. H.E.A.T played for around 10 minutes longer given that they were the evening's nominal headliners - but with both Tyketto and Dare playing for an hour each the fans certainly got value for their money. There was supposed to be a fourth band, who were to open the show, but they dropped off the bill. Given that there was not a lot of waiting around between the castle opening and the night finishing, squeezing in an extra band would not have been easy - and would have likely meant that the others would have had to play shorter sets. The loss of this fourth band was no bad thing, then, in my opinion - and it meant that from 7pm when the music started to 11pm when it finished there was little time wasted.

Dare opened the night and filled the first hour of the evening with their unique brand of Celtic-infused melodic rock - although there was more of a focus on their older material than their more recent albums. Generally the band's setlists are a bit more evenly balanced, but the harder-edged material generally won out - which was probably wise given the make-up of the night. Dare are not the most adventurous setlist-wise, anyway, so the setlist was essentially a condensed version of the one that they have been playing over the past couple of years. With drummer Greg Morgan now seemingly back in the band permanently, too, Dare are very much harking back to their glory days in terms of line-up - although the first few numbers played were newer. Two songs from 2022's excellent Road to Eden kicked things off, with Born in the Storm fast becoming one of the band's best songs. It is on the heavier side compared to much of their other recent work, but it is still very atmospheric - and it got the evening underway nicely with its crunchy riff and frontman Darren Wharton belting out the big chorus. Three more newer tracks followed, with Home perhaps being the pick of the bunch. Vinny Burns (guitar/vocals) has always elevated Dare beyond where they would otherwise be, and his Celtic-inspired lead playing during the track was a real treat. There were plenty singing along to the newer stuff, but it was the more classic material which the melodic rock crowd wanted to hear. One track from 1991's Blood from Stone, likely the band's heaviest album, was played - with Wings of Fire the first of a number of sing-a-longs during the set's second portion. Everything else played, with the exception of the closing number, came from 1988's Out of the Silence - an album which is held in high regard in the melodic rock world. A few minor singles came from it, and half of the album was played to fill out much of the band's 11-song set. Singles Abandon and Into the Fire also prompted plenty of singing from the crowd, as always happens whenever Dare plays live, but the highlight for me was a stunning rendition of King of Spades - played, as always, for the late Phil Lynott. Dare have played the song essentially every time that I have seen them live, but it never fails to be a highlight. I also love how Burns' closing solo morphs into part of the Thin Lizzy classic Black Rose. The lightly anthemic Return the Heart was then announced as the final song, with the wordless vocal hooks being belted out by the crowd - but given that Dare still had five minutes left by the time it finished they decided to throw in one more. After lots of chatting, which threatened derail their plans, they opted for their version of Thin Lizzy's take on Rosalie. Dare have sometimes gone out under the name Renegade with an additional guitarist in tow over the past couple of years to pay tribute to Lynott and Wharton's time in Thin Lizzy. It was a fun way to end the set, with the riffy song setting up what was to follow. The setlist was:

Born in the Storm
Cradle to the Grave
Home
Until
Wings of Fire
Abandon
Into the Fire
The Raindance
King of Spades/Róisín Dubh (Black Rose): A Rock Legend [Thin Lizzy cover]
Return the Heart
Rosalie [Bob Seger cover]/Cowgirl Song [Thin Lizzy cover]

Following a pretty quick changeover it was time for Tyketto, who ended up being the band of the night for me. I enjoyed all three of the evening's sets, but something about Tyketto's performance just raised the overall energy levels of the night - and in frontman, and sole remaining original member, Danny Vaughn the band have one of the most underrated singers and performers out there. Like Dare, Tyketto had time for 11 songs - and the set got underway in a somewhat unconventional manner, with Harry Scott Elliott (guitar) opening the show with a bluesy guitar solo. Ged Rylands (keyboards/vocals) backed him with some atmospheric synths, but the solo turned out to be an extended intro for the bluesy, muscular Remember My Name from 2016's Reach. I had not heard the band do the song live before, and it is a bit heavier than is typical for Tyketto, but it worked well as a set-opener due to Elliott's big riffing and some occasional harmonica from Vaughn. This was the only real surprise of the set, though, with Tyketto opting to play many of their best known cuts - with all but two of the songs played coming from their first two albums. The fast-paced Meet Me in the Night and the anthemic Wings showcased the band's melodic rock sound perfectly, with tight vocal harmonies and just enough keyboards to add depth, but is was perhaps the weightier Strength in Numbers which really got the crowd going. Vaughn has lost none of his vocal talents over the years and he really belted out the song's chorus as the sun was going down - which the large crowd in the castle's courtyard shouted back at him. It is the sort of song that is made for the stage and it kicked the band up through the gears - before the acoustic-driven Reach, the only other newer cut played other than the opener, showcased their more sentimental side. Despite being a new song, Reach has become a real fan-favourite since it was released in 2016 and it is likely to be ever-present in setlists going forward. It is hard to pick out highlights in what was such a strong set, but whenever I get to hear Burning Down Inside live I always really enjoy it. It is likely my favourite Tyketto song overall due to the way it builds towards its stadium-ready chorus - and Rylands showcased what he brings to the band during the synth-heavy number. Chris Childs (bass guitar/vocals) got to show off a bit during the breakdown of the funkier Lay Your Body Down, too, with an extended bass solo. It is great that he seems to be firmly back in the band again following some time away before the pandemic, likely due to commitments with Thunder, as he always seems to give them a boost. Lay Your Body Down was another great crowd interaction moment, too, and it saw plenty of singing before a couple of more acoustic-based pieces followed. The Last Sunset in particular, though, got everyone going before the set closer, with Johnny Dee (drums/vocals) leading the crowd rhythmically whilst Vaughn sang. It was left to Forever Young to close out the set, though, with the single and anthem bringing the curtain down on an excellent hour of music that was not going to be topped. The setlist was:

Remember My Name
Meet Me in the Night
Wings
Strength in Numbers
Reach
Rescue Me
Burning Down Inside
Lay Your Body Down
Sail Away
The Last Sunset
Forever Young

The night's headliners, H.E.A.T, are certainly the biggest of the three bands on the bill internationally and those wearing their t-shirts in the crowd also significantly outnumbers those representing the other two bands. Despite this, though, I felt that H.E.A.T struggled to follow the excellence of Tyketto before them. I have seen H.E.A.T live a few times and they have always been excellent, but I did not enjoy this set as much as I have enjoyed the band live previously. Something was not quite clicking for me, which was not helped by some technical issues which Dave Dalone (guitar/vocals) seemed to be having as well as a seeming wish to drag out some of the songs for far longer than necessary. I still enjoyed the set, and frontman Kenny Leckremo certainly did his bit to get the crowd onside, but they were a bit disappointing based on previous showings. Both Dare and Tyketto had had excellent sound mixes, but H.E.A.T's was much muddier, too. This meant that their big vocal harmonies did not cut through as much as they should. The band battled through this mix, though, with the heavier and percussive Back to the Rhythm and Rock Your Body kicking off the set. Generally the band went for heavier songs, which was perhaps understandable, but the mix did not always help them - with the latter and the following cut Hollywood lacking some of their usual power. An early highlight, though, was an excellent rendition of the more cinematic Downtown. It was not a song which I had heard the band do live before, and it allowed Jona Tee (keyboards/vocals) a bit more time in the spotlight - and Leckremo sounded great during the slower, more atmospheric piece. I am not quite sure that he always suits the heavier side of the band which developed following his initial departure in 2010, but songs like Downtown he really owns. He is a powerful singer and a likeable frontman, but he perhaps lacks some of the venom of his replacement - and his habit of holding out the microphone during the choruses only really works if the mix prioritises the backing vocals. He is still growing back into the role, though, and I thought he was great when I saw the band in 2022 - I just think that, for a number of reasons, this set was not H.E.A.T at their best. Beg Beg Beg showcased this, which was stretched out for far too long with lots of attempted crowd interaction and talking. I think some of this was covering for Dalone trying to fix his guitar dropping out but nevertheless it felt rambling. A tighter set would have worked better in my opinion, but there was still plenty of great stuff to come including the early ballad Cry and a powerful version of Point of No Return which I had not heard the band do live before. Despite my criticisms, though, the crowd were certainly having a good time. Not every attempted sing-a-long quite hit home but there was clearly a lot of love for H.E.A.T in the crowd - with Living on the Run and their Eurovision song 1000 Miles both receiving big cheers later on. The end of the set was approaching by this point, but there was time for a couple more - including a raucous rendition of the riffy and metal-adjacent Dangerous Ground. It was left to A Shot at Redemption to bring the set, and indeed the whole night, to a close - and this song was also dragged out a bit with some more soloing and crowd interaction. The band really gave it their all but I have seen them do better - I just think the tech issues and having to follow an inspired Tyketto did for them this time. The setlist was:

Back to the Rhythm
Rock Your Body
Hollywood
Downtown
One by One
Beg Beg Beg
Cry
Point of No Return
Living on the Run
1000 Miles
Dangerous Ground
A Shot at Redemption

Despite my criticisms of H.E.A.T's set, which I still enjoyed I should reiterate, the trip up to Chepstow for a third time was very much worth it. All three bands put on enjoyable sets and, even though I had seen all three multiple times before, they are all bands I will make every effort to see when I am able to. Shows like this remind me why I go and see some bands over and over again - and I am already looking forward to seeing Tyketto again next month on their UK tour with Little Caesar. I may also be seeing Dare again in October if I decide to head down to Looe for the Saturday of Cornwall Rocks. It is great having so many opportunities to see bands like these live - and I hope that H.E.A.T return again soon, too, as their headline show in London in 2022 was excellent.

Friday, 16 August 2024

Deep Purple's '=1' - Album Review

When a veteran band, particularly one which started in the 1960s, releases a new album the thought often crosses my mind whether or not it could end up being their last. Whilst I did not make this point at the time, I had since sometimes wondered if 2020's Whoosh! (which I reviewed here) was going to see Deep Purple gracefully bow out. The album ended with an updated version of And the Address, the opening track on 1968's Shades of Deep Purple, meaning that, in the studio at least, Deep Purple had come full circle. Given the strength of the album, too, and the two which preceded it, it would have been fitting to close out on a de facto trilogy which produced some of the band's best work for a very long time. I, of course, wanted more - but one needs to be realistic, as it only takes someone's health to take a turn or for someone to retire for everything to come to a screeching halt. Deep Purple did release a covers album, Turning to Crime, in 2021, but I do not think that anyone, including the band, see that as an 'official' album and the true follow up to Whoosh!. I have not heard it although I am aware of its general reputation - but given that it was a lockdown project for the band it is hard to get too upset about its existence. 2022 saw a major change in the band, though, with guitarist Steve Morse stepping away after 28 years to care for his wife - who has since sadly died from cancer. Given all of the line-up changes which have taken place during Deep Purple's history - it really seemed as if the last iteration of the band (Mark VIII) would be the final one. Mark VIII had been together since 2002, when keyboardist Don Airey replaced Jon Lord, and was the band's longest ever iteration - staying together for 20 years. Comparatively, not many bands are even active for 20 years, so this was an achievement in itself - but I did wonder if Morse leaving would be the catalyst for the end of Deep Purple. This was not to be the case, though, and in came Simon McBride (Sweet Savage; Snakecharmer) - a Northern Irish blues-based player who was known to both frontman Ian Gillan and Airey due to McBride having played with their respective solo bands live over the years. Despite his stints in a couple of bands, McBride is likely more known as a solo artist - and he has produced a number of bluesy solo albums over the years. He is someone I had been aware of for a while, so I had no doubts that he would fit nicely in Deep Purple - but his inclusion seems to have gone much smoother than expected. The reviews of his live performances have been universally great and he seems to have excited some who had become a bit jaded with Deep Purple. The next test would be in the studio, though, and, four years on from Whoosh!, Mark IX of the band has got underway proper with the release of =1 - the band's twenty-second album of original material. Strange title and bland artwork aside, =1 continues on the excellent work of the band's last three albums. Producer Bob Ezrin returns, who seems to be a key part of this modern Deep Purple sound, whilst McBride instantly makes his presence known with some excellent riffs and solos. Airey has essentially been the driving force in the band recently, and that largely remains the case on =1, but this latest album does feel a bit riffier than the recent previous efforts - with McBride and Airey striking up a good relationship which allows the band's three classic-era members to shine.

There are plenty of strains carried over from the previous albums, though, and this very much remains a modern Deep Purple album in terms of quirk, the overall shuffling groove present, and Gillan's odd-ball lyrics and vocal ticks. There is certainly plenty to enjoy here for fans of Whoosh! and similar; and the album kicks off with Show Me - which is a pretty good representation of what else is to come here. The song opens with some choppy guitar rhythms, interspersed with short, spidery leads, before Gillan starts to sing and the band settle into a strong grooving verse - with Airey's Hammond organ the driving force and the ever-reliable drumming of Ian Paice keeping time. The rhythm section of Paice and bassist Roger Glover often shine on this album, as they have done regularly of late, given how groove-focused it is. The bass really rumbles along nicely here, despite the Hammond stabs driving the verses, before big guitar chords and some simple harmony vocals bulk out the slightly heavier chorus. The first of many instrumental sections on this album is also found here, with Airey utilising a synth for some buzzing and fast-paced leads - which McBride trades off with for a while, before the pair team up for some lightning-fast runs. The song is a great way to kick off the album and showcase the band's modern core sound again - and it leads nicely into A Bit on the Side. A Bit on the Side feels a bit more expansive early on, with some cinematic guitar chords kicking things off, but generally this is another pretty shuffling rocker. It is much more guitar-led than the previous track, though, with Airey's keyboards taking on a lesser role. McBride and Glover chug along nicely during the verses, giving Gillan's voice a potent bed to rest on, whilst the chorus here is similar to the previous one - with subtle vocal harmonies and ringing guitar chords. Despite pulling back somewhat, Airey still gets to show off later in the track with another synth solo - which leads into a bit of a battle between his organ and Paice's drums. There are lots of twist and turns on this album, and this little drum break is a welcome one, but McBride's later guitar solo is much more expected - and he really stretches out here showing off a mix of speeds and styles. Upping the heaviness again, Sharp Shooter feels a bit of an old-school classic rocker - with a lumbering guitar riff driving everything, which is augmented nicely by the organ. This mix of an overdriven guitar and a Hammond organ has been a staple of British classic rock since the 1960s and the combination never fails to excite. McBride's riffing here varies from weighty to snappy, which gives the song a dynamic feel, whilst Gillan puts a bit more into his delivery due to the heavier vibe - and he sounds potent as a result. The chorus is hooky thanks to his potency and the aforementioned riff backing the vocals - whilst a later keyboard solo is busy and full of old-school progressive rock excitement. Those who may be unsure about checking out something new from Deep Purple should give Sharp Shooter a go as it certainly ticks a lot of those old-school boxes.

Portable Door is similar and it is another track which really harks back to the band's classic 1970s heyday - with the sheen of 1984's Perfect Strangers. The song opens with a hooky guitar lead, which is not something commonly done on the album. McBride's guitar playing here certainly channels the spirit of Ritchie Blackmore at times, in a way that it generally does not elsewhere. This song feels like a deliberate tribute to the band's past, though, so the opening lead is fitting - as is his later solo which feels more neo-classical than anything else here. Airey also lays down a roaring organ solo in the song, too, moving away from the synth leads which have dominated his solos up to this point. Everything feels retro, but in the best possible way - with the verses once again driven by some pulsing organ and the choruses drenched in lashings of the stuff. Screaming guitar accents and tough underlying riffing give the song weight - and it is another track for the sceptics to sample. Old-Fangled Thing picks up the pace. It has an urgency to it which differs from many of the more mid-paced tracks found here - with a bit of a blues-based rock and roll feel which taps into McBride's background and also some of those rock and roll covers the band used to play live. McBride throws in plenty of snappy, bluesy licks here - whilst Glover's walking bassline is right out of the 1960s. Rumbling organ keeps the song grounded in the Deep Purple cannon, though, with a venomous, rhythmic vocal-led section later on particularly benefitting from the Hammond as the song takes a heavier turn into a guitar solo. If I Were You slows the pace down following the snappier previous track - opening with some lyrical guitar leads against a string backing. It is the album's first ballad, not something which Deep Purple write regularly, but the slower piece is a welcome addition to the album - and it retains much of the core sound, though, with plenty of organ during the verses and a chorus which is a bit weightier thanks to McBride's guitar. Gillan also turns in a more varied vocal performance, too. I like how he has adapted his style to suit his aging voice, but he is rather one-note these days. He makes it work, but the more varied approach taken here is also welcome - and he injects plenty of emotion into the song even if his voice does creak under the pressure. McBride also enhances the mood further with an excellent solo, which certainly builds on his history as a bluesman. It is full of bluesy phrases and emotion - giving the song a real focal point at the same time. Pictures of You returns to some more akin to the album's core sound and the mid-paced rocker feels pretty bright thanks to McBride's power chord riffing and the halo given to it by the organ. Following a couple of different-sounding songs, though, this more traditional-sounding piece hits the spot - with one of the album's hookiest choruses showcasing Gillan's knack for a decent melody and the overall dominance of Airey on the band's sound. The organ is ever-present, despite the guitar riffing, and the Hammond is possibly the element which defines Deep Purple's sound more than anything else.

I'm Saying Nothin' segues from the previous song in a manner which is not too common for Deep Purple - with the track building on the previous one somewhat whilst taking the sound in a heavier direction. The overall pace is similar, with the song being a strutting mid-paced rocker, but the sound feels much denser overall - with the Hammond filling every gap, whilst the guitar and bass tones used are much gruffer. Glover in particular shines here. His bass is pretty high in the mix during this song and the heavier verses are given their potent edge thanks to his precise playing. The track is not as hooky as some of the others here from a vocal melody perspective, although Gillan still does his thing as only he can, but the track instead shines due to the riffier feel and the creeping Hammond which dominates. There is also another great instrumental section here which features guitar and keyboard solos being traded. McBride has some strange effects on his guitar during these solos, too, which gives them an extra edge - whilst the power of the organ needs no such thing as it rumbles through the speakers. Lazy Sod ups the pace again somewhat and the song is another which really harks back to the band's heyday. I could imagine it sitting nicely on the underappreciated and somewhat left-field Who Do We Think We Are from 1973 thanks to the bluesy riffing from McBride and the ever-present organ. It also helps that there is another hooky chorus here which really sticks in the brain. It was one of the songs to be released as a single before the album was released and I liked it from the off. It is full of all of the band's usual quirky vibes whilst injecting plenty of their old-school weight back into the sound. They sound fired up here despite the shuffling groove with Gillan in particular making the most of the rhythms to weave his lyrical melodies. There is plenty more soloing, too, with a screaming guitar solo followed by an expansive and busy keyboard solo again harking back to the 1970s. This is another song where occasional hints of Blackmore can be found in McBride's playing - which is fitting given the old-school vibe conjured up. Now You're Talkin' retains an upbeat feel, with the song upping the pace again somewhat - mixing that rock and roll feel hinted at earlier with a classic Deep Purple Hammond-led sound. Airey very channels the late Lord during the verses here, with his Hammond sound a dead-ringer for some of Lord's best work, whilst an excellent neo-classical guitar and keyboard melody utilised later in the song is very much a throwback to Blackmore and Lord. McBride and Airey have already become the perfect duo on this album, perhaps more so than with Morse previously, as this melodic break showcases - whilst Gillan seems to really come alive during this track thanks to its upbeat vibe. He even tries a bit of a scream at one point, with mixed results, but he is clearly feeling fired up - which is great to see.

No Money to Burn returns to a more mid-paced sound and after the busier couple of previous songs the more spacious arrangement here is welcome. Paice's drumming seems to drive this track, his potent and slightly jazzy playing keeping everything ticking, whilst a hypnotic guitar and keyboard riff provides the main backing for the verses. The verses feel a little stop-start, though, but this just allows the drumming to shine. Each rotation of the riff is punctuated by some of Paice's excellent drumming and this helps the overall arrangement to feel a bit different - and give Gillan a varied backdrop to sing against. The song lacks a big chorus, but it does not feel like a track that would benefit from one really - as this is one which is more about grooves and riffs. It feels heavy as a result, then, which is only expanded upon when Airey launches into his solo which feels much more gothic than usual - using some string-drenched effects to lay down some Keith Emerson-esque melodies. I'll Catch You slows things down again and acts as another ballad - with it opening in a similar manner to If I Were You earlier in the album. McBride uses some bluesy leads to open the song up with Paice laying down a simple beat behind him - but once Gillan starts to sing Airey takes over with some piano melodies. Piano is not commonly heard in Deep Purple, but it works nicely during the verses here - before the organ returns to back Gillan's emotional chorus delivery. Like the previous ballad, too, there is another strong vocal performance from Gillan here. He varies up his delivery again somewhat to create that emotional feel - and the plentiful keyboard textures from Airey also help with this. McBride delivers another strong guitar solo, too, but it is busier this time - moving away from the more emotional feel of the previous ballad to something faster paced. The album then comes to a close with Bleeding Obvious, which is a bit longer than is typical here. It is not exactly an epic, but it does feel a bit more stretched out than many of the songs here - which are generally pretty snappy and contained. The busy guitar and keyboard opening sets the tone, with McBride and Airey laying down some impressive runs and phrases, but generally the track is another pretty typical mid-paced rocker with a strong groove. It does not change the script that much, then, but it does feel that there is a bit more room for each idea to breathe - with extended soloing also included. Both McBride and Airey get extended solo spots, which is welcome, but the song does take a bit of a twist towards the end - with a piano and string led poppy section showcasing some whimsical Gillan vocals and counterpoint bass melodies. This vibe is short lived, though, with a potent riff soon kicking back in to allow the band to rock out on a groove again - which the band essentially ride out on as the album comes to a close. Given how much I have enjoyed the band's other recent releases, I expected to enjoy =1. I think that it is fair to say, though, that it exceeded expectations as each song here is memorable - especially after a few listens. It took a few spins for everything to sink in but with Deep Purple that is nothing new - and McBride has done wonders for his band. I liked Morse in Deep Purple, but McBride already feels at home - and I hope there is more to come from Mark IX.

The album was released on 19th July 2024 via earMusic. Below is the band's promotional video for Portable Door.