Eleven years after the release of their well received ‘Wings of Love’ album, the bulk of Find Me’s ‘Nightbound’ sees the much loved AOR band often sticking to a tried and tested brand of melodic rock. A couple of tracks deviate from the formula to explore different avenues of classic rock, but it’s fair to say that this fifth album plays very much to the fan. Drawing influence from bands like Survivor – whose Jim Peterik scores co-writing credits – and more modern melodic rock bands like Lionheart, the material has no real care for fashion, but what it does, it does brilliantly. So much of the strength in the band’s sound is due to vocalist Robbie LaBlanc (sometime of Blanc Faces) who possesses one of the best melodic rock voices of his generation. When you have someone like Robbie on board, capable of summoning the power of Joe Lynn Turner circa 1985 and the huge melodic sounds of a peak Dave Bickler or Steve Overland, there’s little point in trying to branch out or add new twists to a classic rock backdrop – his huge voice handles the 80s influenced sounds so perfectly.
Category Archives: Album & EP Reviews
THE HALF-CUBES – My Girl / Someday
This two track release from The Half-Cubes is, in power pop terms, pure gold. Its pedigree is assured thanks to two different aspects. Firstly, as their name suggests, this band are made up from half of power pop legends The Flashcubes and, secondly, the tracks featured are both re-workings of classics from the Eric Carmen catalogue. Although neither track has been drastically rethought, both sound great with a brighter production sound than Carmen’s original recordings were ever afforded. ‘My Girl’, in particular, plays like a genre classic for 2024, despite its mid 70s vintage.
MAMMOTH VOLUME – Raised Up By Witches
Swedish stoner rock band Mammoth Volume are an interesting prospect. Their work isn’t shy in sharing the kind of 70s guitar tones you’ll find on early Queens of The Stone Age recordings, or exploring the corners of retro sounds beloved by latter day Opeth, but there’s always more to their albums than fuzzy heaviness and Hammond drenched grooves. ‘Raised Up By Witches’, their fifth release, in many ways, finds their mix of blues, fuzzy stoner metal and jazz coming of age.
SLUGCRUST – Discharge(d) EP
With its combination of hardcore punk bass grumbling, abrasive vocals, crust punk edge and grindcore ferocity, Slugcrust’s contributions to ‘Bind’ – a split EP release with hardcore/crust punk band Swamp – gave listeners a window into some tautly arranged, but truly uncompromising noise. Despite the most intensive riffs attacking like a cross between early Napalm Death and classic Discharge, the band clearly decided that simply wasn’t brutal enough and have cranked up their sonic attack about threefold for this absolutely punishing follow up. On ‘Discharge(d)’, most of the material takes its cues from their previous EP’s ‘Decibel Rebellion’ and increases not only the speed but also the volume on four of the five tracks. If that’s not enough, it allows its title cut to deliver a brutal, doomy assault that fans are unlikely to forget.
DUEL – Breakfast With Death
Duel’s 2017 album ‘Witchbanger’ served up eight slabs of fuzzy stoner rock that captured a genuinely great sound. Most of the guitar work came with a retro warmth as if everything was being slightly distorted by Orange amps, and when the band hit a genuine groove, the rhythm section sounded unshakable. The title cut played out like in the manner of a top notch stoner act attacking something by Monster Magnet with more of a swagger; ‘Cat’s Eye’ approached a world of melodic fuzz and a jagged groove with a genuine ease, and the slow and moody ‘The Sake Queen’ mixed the NWOBHM tones of Diamond Head with a more thoughtful and bluesy approach, but still sat naturally alongside the record’s slightly heavier tracks. Of course, the indelible influence from the likes of Sabbath and Mountain were there, but it was a pleasure to hear a stoner/doom band who were unafraid of mixing things up a little, and who also had the confidence to share shorter arrangements rather than letting a more typical epic doom approach pummel the audience into submission.