Orlando’s Caffiends play good, raucous punk that’s strongly influenced by early Screeching Weasel, The Vindictives and NOFX. Since their formation, they’ve issued several EPs and shared stages with The Ataris, The Queers, Swingin’ Utters, Teenage Bottlerocket and numerous other top bands. 2014 saw the release of a sixteen track full-length release reissuing a bunch of out of print tunes, so for those who’ve yet to experience the band that record is an excellent way to catch up.
Category Archives: Album & EP Reviews
X-DRIVE – Get Your Rock On
Spearheaded by unknown guitarist Jeremy Brunner, X-Drive is a hard rock project that celebrates 80s melodic rock in a particularly unashamed and brazen fashion. Joining Brunner on this particular journey are ex-White Lion bassist James Lomenzo, Montrose vocalist Keith St. John and Midline drummer Fred Fischer. They say you can’t always judge a book by the cover, but this band’s general style should be obvious after one look at their dubious choice of album sleeve. It’s not as bad as Montrose’s staggeringly awful ‘Jump On It’ – a sleeve that clearly inspired the end result – but it’s pretty unnecessary.
NORTHERN OAK – Of Roots And Flesh
As far as metal-based subgenres are concerned, folk metal is often overlooked. While Skyclad are often viewed as that particular niche’s favourite sons (they have arguably been the most commercially successful), dozens of other bands have worked hard to make a place for themselves within the scene. Sheffield’s Northern Oak built a cult following after releasing their debut EP in 2008, eventually gaining critical acclaim from Terrorizer Magazine for their subsequently released albums. After releasing their second full-length album ‘Monuments’ in 2010, the band appeared at the Bloodstock Festival and concentrated on live work. Breaking a four year studio silence, ‘Of Roots and Flesh’ (recorded with Electric Wizard producer Chris Fielding and again self-released) is a very accomplished work, its dozen tracks creating a sprawling musical landscape; often dense, but always with just enough atmosphere to ensure nothing ever feels too overwhelming.
BLACK MOTH – Condemned To Hope
In 2011 Leeds-based stoner metal merchants Black Moth unveiled their debut album ‘The Killing Jar’, an excellent riff-based affair that impressed on first listen and thrilled on each subsequent play. The result was one of the year’s best metal releases. With their US equivalent Ruby The Hatchet releasing a strong and similarly themed debut the following year and Earthless releasing a giant, sprawling double set ‘From The Ages’ in 2013, the standard for doom and stoner grooves remained at an impressive high, thus giving Black Moth much to live up to upon their return.
W.A.S.P. – The Headless Children
After the release of three studio albums and a live record, by 1988 US shock-rockers W.A.S.P. had gained a loyal fan-base. However, thanks to their potentially objectionable songs and frontman Blackie Lawless’s larger-than-life attitude, the band had even more detractors. Since their stage show featured raw meat, torture racks and naked women and their albums were filled with more profanity and sexist material than most bands had dared to commit to plastic by that point on the time line of hard rock history, they made life-long enemies with Tipper Gore and her self-righteous band of moral guardians in the US.