Bulgaria’s Serpentine Creation are one of those extreme metal bands whom seem to become more assured with every release. While they’ve not necessarily become any more melodic, it is easy to hear how their music has become grander with the passing of time. Their 2012 debut album ‘Dystopia’ featured some fairly straight black metal, played quite well but let down by budgetary constraints. Three years on, ‘The Fiery Winds of Armageddon’ was afforded a bigger send-off, with clearer separation between the instruments. The band showing a broader musical palate on those tracks, too, with some great solos and twin lead sounds to balance out the heavy pneumatics. More than just a stop-gap, 2016’s ‘Incest’ not only continues from where the previous recordings left off, but also introduces more new ideas.
Monthly Archives: December 2016
SEVEN – Shattered
After forming in 1989 – towards the end of melodic rock’s heyday – Seven attracted the attention of the legendary John Parr. With Parr as producer, the Brit AOR band recorded and released two moderately successful singles and subsequently toured with anyone who’d have them. They shared stages with the suitable (Richard Marx) to the questionable (Jason Donovan) and various acts in between . Although there were plans to release an album, the band were subsequently dropped by their record label and soon went their separate ways.
THE 1957 TAIL-FIN FIASCO – The 3 Song Drive EP
On their first two releases (2011’s ‘Private Jet Flashback‘ and 2013’s ‘Cruise Control EP‘) The 1957 Tail-Fin Fiasco proved themselves to be masters of retro cool. Armed with a quirky sense of humour and an unhealthy obsession with Steely Dan, the two men at the core of the Fiasco made audiences wonder how such authentically American sounding music could ever have been spawned from the UK. Not only that, but from the wilds of Essex, too – hardly a breeding ground for AM radio pop.
SIMPLE MINDS – Acoustic
Thanks to a long running MTV show, the idea for rock bands to rework their wares acoustically – or, indeed ‘Unplugged’ – reached the point of frenzy in the 1990s. That MTV show saw appearances from the likely (Neil Young, Bob Dylan), to the more interesting (REM, Alanis Morrissette), right through to the completely unexpected (Nirvana, Staind, Pearl Jam). Naturally, some performances worked better than others – it showed how Staind, in particular, just didn’t have the spark or the songs for the format – but, nevertheless, the idea of the acoustic show proved popular with audiences across the globe. Years on from MTV’s peak popularity, the acoustic format still endures: in 2016, we saw acoustic albums from Status Quo, Peter Frampton, Jimmy Somerville and more… Even UB40 got in on the act – with disastrous results.
The Real Gone Advent Calendar 2016
As is traditional at Real Gone every December, we like to count down to Christmas with various clips. 2016 might have been rubbish, but that’s not going to stop us digging up archive videos!
A new clip will be uploaded here every day until the 24th. Hopefully, something will entertain and inspire you to dig out a long neglected album or three…
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