Ever since her breakthrough on the melodic rock scene in 2010 with ‘Sign of Angels’, Scandinavian vocalist Issa Oversveen has been one of Frontiers’ Records most bankable – and prolific – artists. Delivering the equivalent of a new album pretty much every two years, she’s kept herself in the spotlight, gained a lot of positive press from online sources, and become something of a fan favourite. Even 2023’s ‘Lights of Japan’ – her weakest album to date, due to a rather hard production sound – was home to a few great AOR tracks, and over the years, her voice has clearly held up very well.
Category Archives: Album & EP Reviews
GURT – Satan, etc.
The arrival of ‘Satan etc.’ marks the end of a five year silence from Gurt. Within a few bars of the album’s opening track ‘The Most Dying Way To Die’, however, it’s as if the UK based riff monsters have never really been away. The perfect re-introduction to the band’s self-proclaimed “party doom” sound, the number presents the heaviness of your average Orange Goblin tune and dresses it up in spangly glam rock platform soles. By delivering a stomper of a riff that sounds like the guts of Black Sabbath playing something from the ChinnyChap universe, they’ve automatically secured their audience’s attention – and they know it, too – before the track progresses with a hugely confident air that allows a sludgy riff punctuated by great stops, and even a Rob Zombie-esque groove to derail the almost danceable moods. It doesn’t seem to matter what twists the music takes, either; every time the main glam stomp returns, it feels like the musical equivalent of the ultimate b-movie bad-ass, coming back stronger after being slapped down by the hero of the piece. The buzzing guitars are relentless with their fat melodies; the drums lock down a ferocious groove, and even a retching vocal can’t kill the feel good vibes. Gurt haven’t just returned – they’ve returned in style.
BROKEN LUNGS – Love Is Temporary And So Are We
On this follow up to ‘The Price of Decadence’, Broken Lungs aren’t thinking small. Their ‘Love Is Temporary And So Are We’ EP kicks off with a devastatingly heavy chord, followed by another, underscored by a fierce bass rattle courtesy of Alex Dewhurst. It’s a relatively simple musical device that’s guaranteed to jolt the listener, but whether you’re already a fan or approaching these Brummie hardcore merchants for the first time, they immediately have your attention.
THE SPEED OF SOUND – A Cornucopia: Minerva
Celebrating their thirty fifth year in the music business, Manchester’s The Speed of Sound have pulled out all the stops for the follow up for their critically acclaimed 2021 release ‘Museum of Tomorrow’. As it’s title suggests, ‘A Cornucopia’ offers fans a whole bounty of music, and the band have split that into three volumes. The first disc, ‘Minerva’ is a fourteen track indie-ish journey which explores a musical universe that takes in jangling retro guitar work, 60s fuzz, a bit of power pop and a few other styles.
PAUL DI’ANNO’S WARHORSE – Stop The War EP
When it comes to trad metal, Paul Di’Anno is a legend. His two albums with Iron Maiden are genuine classics. His voyage into more melodic climes with his eponymously named band showed a strong affinity with great hard rock and metal; the short lived Killers shared a strong combination of heaviness and melody with Di’Anno clearly in good form, and his brief tenure with Praying Mantis also yielded a decent live recording showing off some very recognisable vocals.