Mark Mangold is an AOR legend. He first made waves as a member of American Tears, but for most AOR fans, will be better known as a member of melodic rockers Touch, makers of one the best early 80s rock discs and openers of the very first Donington Monsters of Rock Festival. That performance might now be better known for Touch’s bassist/vocalist having an incident with a bee, but it meant the band’s place in the rock history books was secured. Following Touch’s premature split, Mangold worked with Michael Bolton and eventually teamed up with vocalist Al Fristch to form Drive, She Said in 1989. In their original lifespan, the band recorded three very enjoyable melodic rock discs. The following years saw Mangold carving out a solo career, playing with other short lived bands and also sporadically reforming Drive, She Said. Say what you like, but you can’t say he hasn’t been busy.
Category Archives: Album & EP Reviews
HOT MOTH – Small Fires EP
Brighton’s Hot Moth create a sound that’s a bit like experiencing an aural collision between the crunchy but song-driven aspects of the much missed Oceansize and the cerebral, clankier elements of cult heroes The Fierce And The Dead. The three songs on their 2016 EP ‘Small Fires’ aim for the gut as much as the head and combined create a fine, if far too short, voyage into arty mathrock territory.
BACKDAWN – I Shall Burn Your Empire
French metallers Backdawn released their first full length release ‘Through Extermination’ in 2013. The hard working band then spent the following years promoting that album and setting about creating even stronger material for its successor. That successor, 2016’s ‘I Shall Burn Your Empire’, was crowdfunded by fans and mixed by Annihilator’s Jeff Waters. The results are spectacular.
THE LONG TALL TEXANS – The Devil Made Us Do It
In the early 80s, rockabilly music had a real resurgence. While Brian Setzer and The Stray Cats represented the commercial side of things, a year or two from their breakthrough, they were just one of about a hundred upright bass slappin’, retro haired combos tapping into a musical past. Boz Boorer’s Polecats, The Meteors and many others were making noises and The Klub Foot club became a hive of activity for fans seeking out these high energy sounds. 1982 also saw the formation of The Long Tall Texans.
FUTURE TALK – The Path That Sadness Paved EP
2015 saw a lot of alt-rock bands with a slight emo slant breaking through, particularly in the UK. Few are as impressive as Gloucestershire-based quintet Future Talk, a band whom seem to recognise that huge melodies are equally as important as musical prowess. The band’s appeal is also very much helped by the fact that the four songs on their ‘The Road That Sadness Paved’ EP have less of the sheen and fewer vocal filters than is often associated with acts of a similar style.