Tony ‘The Cat’ Martin rarely gets any credit for his time in Black Sabbath between 1987-90/1993-97. That’s a pity, since he always did his absolute best with the given material, while tackling a job that – in rock terms – was the epitome of “dead man’s shoes”. Maybe those six studio records would now be better respected if they’d been issued under a different band name? We’ll never really know for sure. In many ways, this fourth release from Italian guitar maestro Aldo Giuntini – the third to feature Martin – is similar to those largely unloved Sabbath records in that many of the tunes come at a stomping mid-pace with a gritty guitar sound – perfect in many ways for Martin’s vocal range. While it’s a record with no real relevance at the time of its release [and certainly a far cry from the “breath of fresh air” promised in the press materials – what were they thinking?], it certainly would be unfair to suggest that ‘IV’ doesn’t have a good stab at providing some old school entertainment.
Category Archives: Album & EP Reviews
BLACK SABBATH – 13
As any metal fan knows, the first four Black Sabbath albums defined an entire musical genre. Four slabs of vinyl with monolithic riffs that inspired future generations; riffs which many emulated, but few matched – especially in terms of superb tone. From 1973 onward, Sabbath continued to make good music, but it didn’t always match the impact of their earliest work.
THE NEW FUTURES – Radioactive EP
By the close of the first half of 2013, with the once great Train having derailed themselves into vacuous pop oblivion and Maroon 5 still churning out horribly autotuned music guaranteed to annoy all but the most tolerant, the field seemed more open than ever for a new adult oriented rock/pop band to impress the world’s radio listeners. Step forward The New Futures – a four piece band whose debut EP takes its cue from similar kinds of commercially savvy bands from the 90s and beyond – and with nary an autotune knob or ukulele in sight, they’re already headed in the right direction!
EVOLETAH – We Ache For The Moon
In the summer of 2012, Australian alt-rock quartet Evoletah released their third album ‘Sleepwalker’. While often showing the makings of a talented bunch of musicians, a lot of the material was indistinct; there were individual tunes to be cherry-picked for enjoyment, but overall, the release felt somewhat samey.
DETROIT REBELLION – Detroit Rebellion ’67 EP
In the first quarter of 2013, blues duo Detroit Rebellion (once again, not from Detroit) dropped a release that captured a real sense of energy and grit. Across it’s four songs vocalist/guitarist Jeff Toste and drummer Mikey Lams proved themselves worthy of standing alongside other similar duos. It’s more than fair to say – at least on the lion’s share of the material – with regard to their swiftly delivered follow up ‘Detroit Rebellion of ’67, those who loved ‘Fork In The Road’ will find more to love here, while those unmoved by lo-fi blues sounds remain equally unmoved. You’re either with the Rebels or you’re not – and if two men tackling the lo-fi blues is your bag, man, you’ve come to the right place.