Category Archives: Album & EP Reviews

BRIDGES LEFT BURNING – Disappointment, Disapproval, Disbelief EP

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Having already released the ‘Life Behind Boundaries’ EP in 2007 and ‘Breath of Loss’ full length in 2010, Zweisel’s Bridges Left Burning had already begun to make a mark on the German hardcore punk scene. The first thing that’s notable about their third release ‘Disappointment, Disapproval, Disbelief’ – released by German DIY label Down The Drain Records – is its professional sound; one that’s almost tailor made for the cult American label Victory Records. The band is much stronger than before, both musically and lyrically, and this EP features some very hard edges and even harder messages.

From the opening bars of ‘Creationists Are Idiots, As All I Can See Is Stupid Design (the handrail on our way to idiocracy)’, the band power head on into a world of fiercely political messages backed by sledgehammer riffs, somewhere between hardcore punk and metalcore. Following a chunky opening, Christian Schwarz’s drums kick in and have a fantastic sound bringing lots of bottom end. Matthias Peschl’s vocals are harsh, adopting a raspy Gallows or Give Up The Ghost approach as opposed to Sick of it All style hardcore shouting (though the band resort to this on occasion). This is a vast improvement on his under-produced metallic growl on parts of the band’s earlier releases. There are moments where metal influences creep in via a musical motif which utilises a twin guitar sound, but there’s no mistaking the band’s punk roots, especially once those guitars are overlaid by a chorus of voices at the track’s end.

‘You’re The Change’ ups the pace, and with that comes more of a punky ethic; there are slight influences from post-‘Today’s Empires’ Propagandhi and Strike Anywhere, while the bulk of the number is still being driven by heaviness. The lead vocal is backed by gang vocals, while the guitars bring rhythm based riffs which have a very generic quality. Lyrically, once again, it shows Bridges Left Burning as a very politically charged band (“it’s time to make a stand, let’s turn these common wrongs to ethically acceptable rights. There are alternatives. Let’s cut the blinds! We must be the change we wish to see.”) ‘Slaughterhouse of Glass’ follows suit but has a slow mid section, bringing in a slight chuggy metal influence, before the twin lead guitars build up tension before returning to straight-up hardcore punkiness. ‘Horus of Disapproval (Adding God To Misery)’ bring nothing greatly different to the table musically (though a brief guitar solo makes an appearance), but lyrically previous messages of fighting for change make way for an anti-religious stance which, in places, is far more direct than those suggested on the opening track.

‘Call It Treason If You Will’ presents the band in best form though, featuring some great bass work from Benedikt Hain whose playing has a thunderous live sound on occasion. Once again, the content is extremely angry with anti-war and anti-propaganda themes (“And there we are, calling to arms again, fighting a war for no reason but one: The hegemony of few. A nation trapped in self-delusion, unwilling to change. Patriotic you follow blind, shun to think for yourself. You’re governed by an elitist group, depredating, raping, killing, searching for idiots like you, who do not demand answers nor doubt.”) Lyrically it’s very harsh…often making Bad Religion’s punk dissertations sound like whimsy. As before, the drum work is extremely tight, while the twin guitar attack of Daniel Rothkopf and Andreas Quandt provide riffs fusing hardcore punk and metal influences with fantastic results.

With a much better production than on their previous releases, Bridges Left Burning have an unshakable sound, with the best parts of ‘Disappointment, Disapproval, Disbelief’ recalling the work of the great 90s hardcore punk bands like Strife. In all, it’s a great EP, one worthy of a release on a bigger label.

[All proceeds from the sale of the EP will be donated to PETA, with it being offered on a “pay what you want” basis; click on the widget below].

May 2011

STRAUSZ – Zombies Are Making Love EP

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zombies strauszThis piece of electronica is a rock opera/concept album about a bunch of zombies who trouble a couple who are in the middle of “making hot sex”. The twist here is that those zombies turn out to be benign and only want to join in, apparently. That’s just wrong. It’s masterminded by Brazilian born Diogo Strausz, who naturally provides all the keyboard loops and other “virtual instrument” sounds.

I love a concept album, and, as a long-time supporter of The Chemical Brothers, Röyksopp, Steve Hillage’s System 7 and The Orb, am not against music with electronic leanings and danceable qualities when done well. But, honestly, this is pretty bad. Strausz claims to have a few key influences within his work: although it’s possible to see where he’s been influenced by the likes of Daft Punk, the claim that you’ll also find Justice influenced dirty bass grooves on this EP is possibly a stretch of the imagination too far. There is a brief section where a bit of fuzzy bottom end gets a moment in the spotlight – and things look up as a result – but any comparison between this release and the finished, professional grooves of an act like Justice is possibly a little insulting…

The opening act, ‘Candle Flames’ is somewhat of a mood setter, with a simple repeated keyboard line. The fact that this gets dull after less than a minute should be a warning. The Spanish guitar style noodlings which break up the main electronic loops should be a welcome inclusion in principle, but the fact that most of the other music stops in order to accommodate those guitar sounds makes the result somewhat jarring. After a badly acted skit featuring the “hot sex” couple spotting the zombies, we’re into the second act. ‘Zombie Hunting’ sounds like the soundtrack from a Japanese arcade machine overlaid with noises of guns, whips and full on zombie groaning. It becomes clear that this arcade machine sound was Strausz’s intention, since at the beginning of ‘Act III: The Duel’ a heavily processed voice shouts ‘FINAL BOSS!’ and there’s a quick burst of an arcade-style tune which seems so familiar. There then follows three a three minute pulsing beat overlaid by a badly played droning keyboard which has a very late seventies feel. Hard enough work on its own, but then it gets worse as the arrangement gives off a bad disco vibe once the friendly zombies start to sing. Yes, they’re singing zombies. No, they’re not very good.

Over the course of ‘Act IV: Time For The Truth’ (the EP’s longest piece), there are elements of twee electronica, but more importantly – once the track finds its stride – you’ll find at least three minutes of a solid, danceable groove, unusually with a bit of grit to back it up. The fact that the grittiness is overlaid by a plinking sound which could have been given a bit more oomph can be overlooked, since Strausz has at least attempted to construct something half-decent here. It doesn’t last though, since ‘Act V: Zombies Are Making Love’ combines tuneless early 90s club-style electronic dirges with more of those shrieking zombie vocals. Whether or not this was intended as a joke, it’s just awful. ‘Act VI: Fresh Meat’ has a very disco vibe, which again turns to high camp once the zombies start wailing. If you’re still listening by now, you’ve got a huge amount of patience.

As far as electronic music is concerned, this EP occasionally has hints of something which could appeal, but there are huge chunks of this release which sound like a man tinkering with a casio keyboard and drum machine in his bedroom for fun. On the whole, it’s all pretty tiresome and it’s hard to imagine even the most loyal of electronica buffs having too much time for this. Maybe more of those promised “dirty basslines” would have helped.

June 2011

LIMP BIZKIT – Gold Cobra

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During the first half of 1997, nu-metal had really started to make an impact in the UK. KoЯn had a couple of albums under their belt which had gained them a sizable cult audience, some of the cooler folks had the Coal Chamber album (which they’d likely bought for extortionate import prices) and nu-metal/rap-metal crew Limp Bizkit made waves with their cover of George Michael’s ‘Faith’ and their debut album ‘Three Dollar Bill, Yall$’ – an album which would go on to sell several million copies. The band saw increased popularity with their next couple of albums, reaching their commercial peak in 2000, when ‘Rollin’ scored a number one hit in the UK and its parent album ‘Chocolate Starfish & The Hotdog Flavored Water’ hit the number one spot in seven different countries. Between 1999 and 2001, Limp Bizkit was one of the world’s most popular alternative bands with their genre-mixing sounds seemingly appealing to so many music fans.

By the time of their last album, 2005’s ‘The Unquestionable Truth, Part 1’, the truth was, the tide was turning. Limp Bizkit’s popularity had plummeted, with many viewing Fred Durst and co’s arrogance and swagger as an embarrassment. Whereas only a short time earlier, they gathered awards for their million selling records, ‘TUQP1’ failed to chart in various countries, including the UK. The album is now all but forgotten by many. At the height of the band’s fame, Q Magazine praised ‘Chocolate Starfish’ for “great knockaround songs” and “gonzo bluster”, yet after the band’s demise, that same magazine claimed it to be one of the 50 worst albums of all time, placing it at #11.

Six years after their flop swansong, Limp Bizkit returned with ‘Gold Cobra’. On the opening track ‘Bring It Back’, once the DJ loops and handclaps mixed with hefty guitar chug hit their stride there’s an instant familiarity. And once Durst steps up to the mic and claims he’s “gonna turn this place into a muthafuckin’ danger zone”, it feels like their six year vacation could have been a mere six months. In fact, the best tracks on could have been released a decade earlier and sounded exactly the same. ‘Shark Attack’ reinforces these feelings, being an equal match for the most memorable numbers from ‘Starfish’. The track features one of the album’s funkiest grooves, and while there’s still a bottom-end metallic riff, it’s not overdone. Each of the musicians has a solid role to play here – and even Durst manages to reign in his arrogance and sound like he’s advocating fun.

With a hard mix of drop D riffing, funky grooves and solid rap performance, the amusing ‘Autotunage’ offers another stand out. The heavy riffs and catchy chorus are joined by a humorous streak (most obvious on an intro slagging off autotune abuse). These elements combined present Limp Bizkit at their best; these five minutes are a sharp reminder why you used to love the band (even though you may have spent years denying that). Likewise, ‘Why Try’, features great performances from all concerned. Durst’s rap comes with a solid delivery and lyrics which aren’t too cringe worthy, while Borland’s riff offers a decent level of funkiness as well as the required amount of bottom end.

On a couple of softer numbers where Durst pushes aside rap for actual singing, the band manage to sound professional and self-assured without the accompanying bucket of arrogance. ‘Walking Away’, in particular, is surprisingly mature. It shouldn’t be forgotten that for all of Bizkit’s childish shouting, musically they have a lot of experience – and here, that really shows. With reverbed, clean guitars and a reasonable vocal, this number (heavily inspired by Incubus, it has to be said), presents a side of Limp Bizkit which doesn’t surface nearly often enough. Even a more metallic climax with Durst screaming doesn’t spoil the mood – at least he’s not being threatening. ‘Loser’ manages to meld Limp Bizkit’s rap stylings with those softer alternative rock elements incredibly well. The vocal features understated rapping (almost a spoken word) and a strong (sung) chorus, while the music itself has just the right balance between atmospheres and hard rock riffing. Borland’s heavily treated guitar solo should have sounded out of place with its sharper edges, but somehow it works.

Obviously, there are plenty of tracks featured where the heavy-handed anger and tough talk actually gets in the way of anything decent. ‘Get A Life’ is structured around a juggernaut-sized riff, over which Durst shouts “get a life, get a mothafuckin’ life / You don’t wanna see what I can do when I’m nice / You don’t wanna be my enemy, I promise you / If you do, muthafucka bring it on!”. After a few listens, it’s the kind of thing which gets tiresome. Even worse, ‘Douchebag’ is little more than rap metal by numbers with “harder than you/better than you” themed lyrics which reach their zenith on a chorus with Durst repeatedly shouting “douchbag, I’m gonna fuck you up”. While ‘Shotgun’ has a decent tune and even better fuzzy guitar solo, the message contained within (regarding the US’s lack of gun control) is hampered by too much repetition. While somewhat better than both ‘Get A Life’ and ‘Douchebag’, any good work is undone by the end, when a looped sample of a shotgun being cocked and loaded provides “entertainment” for a bit too long.

‘Gold Cobra’ suffers the same major pitfall as all of Limp Bizkit’s releases, post ‘Three Dollar Bill, Yall$’: the formulaic grooves and OTT arrogance both wear a little thin if you attempt to get through the whole album in one sitting. In fairness, there’s about half an album’s worth of good tracks to be found on here, but you’ll have to be willing to wade through the trash to find them. With the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality, ‘Gold Cobra’ is hugely unlikely to win Limp Bizkit any new fans just as it’s equally unlikely to gain any real respect from the press following years of backlash. In reality, despite plenty of inconsistencies, when it comes to the rap metal/nu metal sound, Limp Bizkit are still among the best when they get it right. It’s a shame they couldn’t get it right a bit more often here.

June 2011

DEF LEPPARD – On Through The Night

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Def Leppard’s third and fourth albums – 1983’s ‘Pyromania’ and 1987’s ‘Hysteria’ – are two of the biggest selling rock albums of the 1980s.  The latter is one of the biggest selling rock albums of all time.  With these two albums, (over)produced by the legendary Mutt Lange, Def Leppard perfected their signature brand of soft metal with big hooks and even bigger harmonies.  Although a lot of this signature sound is down to Lange’s mastery of the studio, the band had a strong focus on melody and vocal harmony right from the beginning.

With regards to the band’s 1980 debut album ‘On Through The Night’, this is never more obvious than on ‘Hello America’, a track drenched in harmony vocals and tinkling synthesizers.  Those harmonies typify the vocal stylings which Def Leppard would soon make their calling card; and even at such an early stage, this blatant pandering to a music industry across the Atlantic could be seen as Def Leppard wanting to break out of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal as soon as possible.  Balancing a fairly throwaway lyric with a tough-edged arrangement, this presents one of the best examples of the early Leppard’s gift for melody and as such, made it the perfect choice for a single.  Between the commercial hooks and riffs, the guitar work exchanged between Steve Clark leads and Pete Willis’s solid rhythm brings an edge with a slightly more metallic leaning, but despite their best efforts, these guitar riffs still don’t quite match the work of their then heroes UFO and Thin Lizzy.

Although not quite as polished, ‘It Don’t Matter’ is also very melodic, with an opening riff which has plenty of groove.  That riff appears sporadically throughout, but during the verses, it gives way to very basic chord pattern, which is coupled by an equally simple bassline and a cowbell which, in places, could rival Blue Oyster Cult’s ‘Don’t Fear The Reaper’ for its lack of subtlety. It’s a track which – as part of a bigger picture here – certainly hits the spot; although it’s relatively basic approach probably could have been improved upon, had the more confident Def Leppard re-approached it for their second album sessions with Mutt the following year.  ‘Satellite’ is a statement of simple, no nonsense hard rock which showcases some great staccato guitar parts and a decent chorus.  What lifts above being ordinary is a rather grandiose mid-section, featuring a wah-wah drenched solo, some unexpected clean rhythm guitar and something nearing a bass solo.  It’s an interesting approach and hugely professional given Leppard’s relative youth at this time.

Even though there are lots of pointers towards some very promising talent, there’s no denying that ‘On Through The Night’ contains a couple of potential clunkers.  The worst offender is, in fact, the album’s opening statement, ‘Rock Brigade’.  Any song which contains the word rock in its title has the ability to make people cringe, but delivered from a bunch of teenagers whom fashion a chorus out of ‘Watch out it’s the rock brigade / oh no, it’s the rock brigade’, well, let’s just say it’s pretty questionable at best.  Luckily, Rick Allen’s rock solid drum part and the front line of Steve Clark and Pete Willis on guitars give those questionable lyrics a boost; the arrangement has enough cockiness that you just might manage to forgive the youthful song writing.  But only just.  Likewise, with ‘Answer To The Master’, the listener is expected to take the barrage of teenage arrogance with a bag of salt.  Again, any dodgy song writing is balanced out by a decent arrangement and tight playing: in this case, there’s a great twin-lead guitar part, a couple of energetic solos and Rick Savage’s punchy bassline, which definitely ranks as a high point here.  Rick Allen’s drum fills aren’t too shabby either.

‘Colonel’ Tom Allom’s production may not have the perfectionist qualities that Mutt would later bring to subsequent Leppard albums, but his approach is more than fine for the songs here.  As expected though, as a man best known for producing all of Judas Priest’s 80s albums, his techniques bring out the best elements on the harder numbers.  A rousing rock tune, ‘Rocks Off’ may not be the lyrical equivalent of Lennon/McCartney, but it captures the hard rock Def Leppard rather well, with a powerful riff which is reminiscent of ‘Stained Class’ era Judas Priest, while ‘It Could Be You’ and ‘Wasted’ (the latter also released as a single in a different recording) offer almost as much oomph.  Providing you can make it past ‘Wasted’s lyrics of teenage debauchery, it’s fine enough, albeit in a disposable sort of way.  Similarly, ‘It Could Be You’ breaks no new territory for the NWOBHM, but it has a naive charm.

‘Sorrow is a Woman’ is a bit of a mixed bag in terms of arrangement.  The verses are loaded with melody – the rhythm guitar work is beautifully clean, the lead guitar work occasionally hints at a jazzy infliction here and there and (as with ‘Answer To The Master’) the bass work provides the real highlight.  Throughout this number, Savage’s bass is presented very highly in the overall mix, and while he doesn’t play anything too complex, his work is more than just an anchoring role.  In fact, this track’s weak links come via it’s occasional hard rock moments; the chorus riffs sound like they’re building towards something big, but stop short.  In many ways, the rockier moments just interfere with the more intricate arrangements elsewhere.  With an atmospheric spoken word intro (courtesy of The Strawbs’ Dave Cousins), ‘When The Walls Came Tumblin’ Down’ has hints of pomp at its beginnings with Elliot vocalising over a soft guitar line.  While this hints at something bigger than straight-up hard rock, it doesn’t last.  The electric guitar riffs chug along in a manner that’s not too subtle – and as such place Def Leppard alongside many of their NWOBHM contemporaries.  What sets the band apart here, though, is their use of harmony vocals and a huge pomposity as the track progresses; those lead vocals are tempered by some well-placed harmonies and then overlaid by Clark’s vibrato lead work.  It’s one of ‘On Through The Night’s more adventurous numbers, but even so, it doesn’t live up to the epic ‘Overture’, which closes the album.

A track which appeared in a slightly different form on the Def Leppard demo tape and on their self-financed 7” EP, ‘Overture’ gets a full polish up and re-recording here.  As the opening notes drift in, there’s something here that’s a bit different – more mature, certainly far more adventurous.  The clean toned guitar work has a beautiful quality and Savage’s bass and Elliott’s vocal help take it to a higher level.  Keen listeners will recognise a similarity in the guitar part to moments featured during the UFO number ‘Cherry’ (from their 1978 album ‘Obsession’), but that’s as far as any similarity goes.  Once the drums crash in, Willis and Clark tear into a Thin Lizzy inspired twin lead, before the band powers into the rest of an already epic number.  Elliott can be heard in a strong, natural vocal role, backed by a few great harmonies in places, while Savage’s bass line gallops across everything with a far amount of abandon.  Also finding places for a couple of the album’s best guitar solos and a second twin lead which sounds like a cheeky nod to Iron Maiden (then, very much peers to the fledgling Leps), the seven and a half minutes of ‘Overture’ represent ‘On Through The Night’s finest achievement.  The band really still ought to hold this up as something of which they can be proud:  the first two minutes, in particular, may even be the best thing Def Leppard committed to record during their first three years.

Some of the song writing may be clichéd and the general rock posturing a little green in the gills, but the seeds of the Def Leppard sound can be heard scattered across various moments of ‘On Through The Night’.

In terms of live performance, the songs featured here were all but left on the shelf after the ‘Pyromania’ tour of 1983/4, with only ‘Wasted’ and – rather surprisingly – ‘Rock Brigade’ making sporadic appearances once again after 1999.  It mightn’t always have the polish of their arguably more popular works, but why Def Leppard have all but disowned ‘On Through The Night’ is a mystery.  As far as debut albums go, it’s got its share of great moments.

While it could certainly be argued that their second album (1981’s ‘High & Dry’, the first of three albums with Mutt Lange in the producer’s chair) is far more structured in terms of performance and the band really make the best of their new-found tougher, leaner sound, the carefree, youthful experimentation the band enjoyed on their debut shouldn’t be overlooked as often as it has been. And while – as a whole – ‘On Through The Night’ may not be as enduring across the ages as Iron Maiden’s debut or Judas Priest’s ‘British Steel’ (also both released in the same year), it’s strongest moments are among the best to emerge from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal.

 

June 2011

 

NIGHT RANGER – Somewhere In California

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As one of the legendary melodic rock bands, Night Ranger’s back catalogue has more than its share of great moments. Even their ‘Feeding Off The Mojo’ disc from 1995 has more than enough to recommend it, even though the band themselves no longer seem to consider it part of their official back catalogue. 2011’s ‘Somewhere In California’ doesn’t match early classics like ‘Dawn Patrol’ or ‘Midnight Madness’, but compared to parts of 1998’s ‘Seven’ and its successor ‘Hole In The Sun’ (delivered some ten years later), it definitely has a more traditional Night Ranger feel on many of its tracks.

‘Growin’ Up In California’ opens with a staccato riff which gives way to a brief twin lead. Once the track kicks in, against a more 21st Century Night Ranger sound, there are moments which hark back to the past, more so than in a long while. Although heavily filtered (perhaps unnecessarily), the vocals recall classic Night Ranger, but it’s Eric Levy’s ugly synth sounds which are the real clincher. They have the same sound that Alan “Fitz” Fitgerald bought to the first couple of albums (most notably ‘You Can Still Rock In America’ from 1983’s ‘Midnight Madness’). Those keyboard sounds alone are enough to suggest Night Ranger are seeking to recapture some of their early spirit. The hard chug which dominates ‘Lay It On Me’ – coupled with a sneering vocal which sounds like something Jack Blades wrote for Aerosmith – mightn’t be greeted with open arms by all fans (‘Hole In The Sun’ was derided for being too “modern”), but a huge “whoah” on its chorus may redress some balance. It’s a shame that beyond such a promising “whoah”, the chorus itself falls a little short. The featured solo, however, is a corker; more notes and flash than melodic space filler, but even so the playing is superb. ‘Bye Bye Baby’ moves away from chugging rock and delivers something else in the classic melodic rock mould, it’s essence very old-school Night Ranger. The keyboards and guitars have almost equal space in the mix at times, while the vocals shared between Blades and Kelly Keagy are very pleasing throughout. The chorus is where the real greatness comes, though; it’s melodic, it’s simple and infectious – everything you’re looking for from this brand of tuneful hard rock.

Just when you think ‘Somewhere In California’ could be pandering a little too much to Night Ranger’s rock tendencies, ‘Time of Our Lives’ redresses some balance. Night Ranger were known for their big ballads early in their career, and although ‘Time of Our Lives’ doesn’t hit the heights of ‘When You Close Your Eyes’ or ‘Sister Christian’, it’s solid enough. Appearing in the slot which traditionally would have closed an 80s Night Ranger vinyl, it’s a number with a soaring quality, full of great harmony vocals. The lead vocal is a little scratchy in places, but the harmonies make up for that. A definite high point, ‘Live For Today’ melds classic rock and psychedelic elements in a way which would make Kings X proud. This isn’t new for Night Ranger, of course, since Blades has often shown a fondness for fuzzy retro cool; but with its multi-tracked guitars and keyboards fleshing out the sound on this track, he’s rarely captured the mood as well as he does here. On the flip side, a great guitar solo aside, ‘Rock N’ Roll Tonite’ is a horrible embarrassment. Lyrically full of clichéd rubbish, Jack Blades steers everyone through a stomping rocker which tries too hard to create an unnecessary party atmosphere. The least said about it the better.

‘It’s Not Over’ is a number where the spirit of old Night Ranger comes through the absolute strongest. While the production gives things a slightly tougher edge, the overall feel of the song is very 80s. The chorus is incredibly strong – harmonies all present and correct – and the guitar leads exchanged between Brad Gillis and Joel Hoekstra are spot on. ‘No Time To Lose Ya’ indulges the band’s more melodic qualities also, with a punchy rocker which has all the hallmarks of classic AOR. A strong chorus a great arrangement are boosted by a superb lead guitar break which mostly focuses on twin lead work, though naturally, Hoekstra can’t resist throwing in a neat twiddle at the end…Alongside ‘Bye Bye Baby’ it’s a number which represents the 2011 Night Ranger in their most natural way. The end of the track, in particular, with its huge vocals and soloing underpinned by solid rhythm work shows why Night Ranger have always been so highly regarded.

‘Somewhere In California’ is the best Night Ranger album since 1988’s ‘Man In Motion’. Those who’ve been disappointed with the band’s harder sound over the previous couple of releases should certainly give it a listen. Although there are still a few harder rock tendencies creeping in here and there – particularly during the album’s first half – older, more dyed-in-wool AOR/Night Ranger fans should find enough consolation for the band’s supposed former misfires here.

June 2011