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Lunasound - Gold Star Black Moses
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Black Moses' debut album fell on my doorstep a mere three days ago - well past the submission deadline of July - however when you get an album as good as this you just can't ignore it, so much so that it has gained our coveted first review slot courtesy of Fooz becoming a Big Review. In some senses it has a lot in common with the Fooz release - it's not a full-on heavy rock effort, more a well thought out mix of dark and light, loud and mellow, raw and psychedelic - but it has a very much more traditional British sound to it by virtue of the guys being from various parts of England. It does not sound like any other music being produced today, rather it sounds like something from the late 60s but with better recording quality. The vocal harmonies are very cool, and add a kind of Aerosmith feel to the proceedings. I'm not really an Aerosmith fan, but don't get me wrong - Black Moses are nothing like them, just some of the vocal melodies kind of make you think that way. Black Moses are obviously a band that are very happy with and used to the recording process, as only an experienced band could produce an album of this quality, with so much space and variety through it. They really do take you back to the days of old, when music was real and cocaine was for breakfast. Verdict: Top quality British rock. |
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Sweet Nothing The Icarus Line website: http://www.theicarusline.com
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Mono is the debut album from California's curious The Icarus Line. These guys are still in their very early 20s, yet have produced an immense album and consequently have received a lot of credit. Opening track Love Is Hapiness is an absolute stormer, it really is. Basically aggressive punky metal is what comes across. It is really an impressive track and the best start they could possibly have to the album. The next few tracks meander along the same lines while lacking the class of the opener until In Lieu slows things down to bring in a more experimental and reflective feel. It doesn't particularly work, but at least they've tried a bit of variety. Feed A Cat To Your Cobra brings them back to form briefly before coasting through to the joyous effects-laden climax. Verdict: An impressive debut. |
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Marshan website: http://burieddreams.com/marshan
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Marshan is from Glasgow, Scotland. One of my friends from New Jersey went to Glasgow recently. I asked him what Glasgow was like. He said it was like New Jersey. I thought that was kind of funny. Marshan melds the wonderful production of Dave Chang (To me, Dave is the man every band should hire as producer) with sonics reminiscent of Welsh pot-princes Acrimony. In fact vocalist ...or in this case one of the vocalists, there seems to be two....sounds eerily like Acrimony's Dorian Walters with maybe a little of the late Shannon Hoon in the mix. Crazy. Where I found Acrimony a little stale with a one-size-fits-all approach, Marshan liven things up with toe tappers, head bangers and a cool, little hypnotic ballad. In fact the sparse, mostly acoustic driven Deep and Meaningless is one of my favorite cuts off of the album. It starts off slow and builds into a jumbilia of bass, drums, guitar and vocals. Kind of like if the Grateful Dead got a kick in the ass during the last part of a I Know you Ryder/China Cat Sunflower jam. I'll also say that if you juxtapose Deep and Meaningless with the happy little butt-shaker that is Mutton Chop Hop you'll get the full Marshan vibe. This is one band that knows how to write a song and sound like they are having a good time doing it. They kept this album tight, no filler added, with six tracks clocking in at just over a half-hour. Despite the tough subject matter of songs like Needle Eye (which grooves like an electric router!) it's a half-hour of feeling like you've landed in Marshan happy land, where the drinking fountains serve Schnapps, the trees are made of Godiva, the flowers are lollipops and the sun never sets. You just don't want to leave. Verdict: ********** |
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Plan E
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I was a big fan of Plan E's mini-CDs E For Your Ears and E For Your Eyes, so it was with pleasure that I received this new album. I still like the almost drone-rock sound to it, though I find Found & Lost less satisfying than the previously mentioned releases. It seems less experimental, and hence has less of a charm about it. Until, that is, the bonus track kicks in. Now I'm not sure, but I think it might actually be the whole of the rest of the album, played backwards! I don't know, but whatever it is, it rules!! It just sounds like a weirder version of the album tracks, which is after all what I was hoping for all along. It's cool. It's not often you see a 36 minute bonus track!! Verdict: Interesting as ever, but the bonus track is the best. |
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Bottom website: http://www.bottommusic.com
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An all chick stoner platter. I had high hopes and listened with great interest when I first gave it a spin, and on my virgin listen I have to say I could feel the groove. This isn't the best album around, but it certainly rocks and shows that the girls can give any guys a run for their money. I've played it quite a few times now and it has continued to grown on me. It is an album which at points is full of groove and promise, and at points seems to fall back a little. Love Song 2 no. 1 for example feels like a filler and the pure doom of Got Meth doesn't quite hit the mark, while Hell Of A Life and Forever Gone are really strong, groove-laden tracks. I'm pretty sure that this stuff would be shit hot live Chief knob-twiddler on the CD was Billy Anderson - certainly an impressive name, but I fall on the Dave Chang side of the debate. While Anderson gives a really solid, meaty guitar sound, it often seems over the top. Chang on the other hand has a great knack of getting things just right, for my tastes at least. Vocally Anderson tends to throw in heavy effects, where Chang just does what is necessary and that little bit extra for genuis. I think this record could have done with a hybrid of the two sounds. Unfortunately with the recent demise of Mans Ruin it looks as though Bottom may be a bit shafted as far as the record company goes, which is probably why they don't seem to have had much press in the UK. Unfortunately they had to cancel their European tour, but I hope to catch them when they eventually do make it over to the UK, as from what I've heard they are awesome live. Verdict: Rockin' stuff, but I don't think this is Bottom baring their all. |
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Zonata website: http://www.zonata.nu |
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Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. I've been waiting for years to hear something that matches the undeniable quality of Helloween's Keeper Of The Seven Keys opera (that's the plural of opus by the way, I just looked it up), and finally I've found something that might just cut the mustard. It's not quite up to the standard of the Masters, but it's pretty close albeit in a less Germanic fashion. Brilliant vocal harmonies, thundering drums, twiddly guitars, it's all here in spades. Some of the lead work on Life? actually sounds reminiscent of Brave New World era Maiden. They've even opted for the famed Derek Riggs to draw the cover, who all but the young Slipknot fans should know was responsible for the majority of the Maiden artwork. Verdict: Goes on too long, but otherwise excellent. |
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Xploding Plastix |
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Fantastic. This is one of the best albums I've heard in a long time. Norwegian duo Xploding Plastix have come up with an extremely original blend of sounds bringing together countless instruments over a pseudo-jazz backdrop. One of their influences is 70s Italian erotic film score, which rears it's head through throughout the body of work. The album is one big cauldron of atmosphere from beginning to end, with no vocals save the occasional sample. Party music this isn't, but if you've passed the days when only Slayer can turn you on then give this a spin. It will bring an entirely new sensation to your ear, one which you're not likely to forget. Verdict: Top marks, I love it. |
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Enthroned
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Oh no, please God help me. I suppose you could describe Enthroned
as a combination of Morbid Visions era Sepultura,
generic thrash counterfeiters from the early 90s, and an inexperienced Cradle
Of Filth. Actually that doesn't really sound like a bad description
so I'll have to clarify it by saying I think it's pretty average. While Enthroned
do have some reasonable music here, you can tell the ideas have all been
lifted from elsewhere. Where it comes to joining everything together is
where Enthroned really fall down. It is all
very amateurish. Armoured Bestial Hell sounds
like an album written and performed by a group of fairly competent 15 year
olds.
Verdict: Uninspiring satanic fruitbouncers. |
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Terveet Kądet |
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Non Ultra Descriptica is Attitude's second review of Terveet Kądet - or third if you count the fact that we reviewed the previous release twice. The Ultimate Pain didn't get a very good review, and although I think this album probably is better, it isn't really that great either. It is quite hard to describe, but it ranges from trebly angry metal to more melodic sections. Production is acceptable, but doesn't do anything to enhance the music. There is good and bad on the CD - closer belaja smert is a haunting, droning track and the best track on show. diabolic however, while having really interesting ideas, sounds like a poor man's Same Difference-era Entombed. Verdict: Hit and miss. Some will interest you, but nothing will amaze. |
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