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.
Category Archives: Album & EP Reviews
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.
II.II.II – A Conundrum On My Coffee Table EP
In 2011, UK alternative metal band Mishkin released their debut EP ‘Row Away From The Rocks’. Featuring some hefty guitar riffs and an impassioned vocal, the EP pointed the way towards great things in the future…and then the band broke up. Mishkin’s vocalist Ben Davy subsequently joined art rock band II.II.II (aka 222), a band formed alongside his old bandmate Will MacGregor on bass. 222 pits their musical aptitude against ex-Tangaroa members Matt ‘Baldi’ Baldwinson and Si Blakelock on guitar and drums respectively. The combination of talents from the two bands makes for a very tight – if a little scary – alternative/mathcore outfit.