Rise of The Wood’s debut album – 2017’s ‘First Seed’ – shared some impressively fuzzy sounding riffs, capturing an overall sound that mixed stoner rock with a few good old rock ‘n’ roll thrills, but despite a huge amount of chutzpah, never really felt like essential listening. It was a record with some great ingredients and a great energy, but compared to similar fare from other bands, it lacked a little something in the songwriting department, and was sometimes blighted by a shouty vocal that didn’t always suit the music in hand. Taken on its own merits, though, it wasn’t without charm: ‘Hyperspeed’ played like a superb tribute to peak Corrosion of Conformity; ‘Faded Horizon’ captured the darkness of Alice In Chains tunes like ‘Nutshell’ very well, and ‘Hell Yeah’ fused stoner metal elements with a groove laden approach that showed how easily the band could handle a great riff. It was a flawed record, yes, but not without entertainment value.
Alfavrak launch new album with ‘Bita till’
Yesterday, Swedish rockers Alfavrak released their new album, ‘Kass kontroll’. What can potential fans expect from this new record?
Frost* issue stand-alone single ‘Western Atmosphere’
Here’s some good news for those Frost* fans who’ve yet to track down the Japanese edition of the much-loved prog band’s 2024 album ‘Life In The Wires’. The previously exclusive bonus track ‘Western Atmosphere’ has been issued as a stand-alone digital single.
The track sees Frost* mainman joined by Zappa/Devin Townsend band member Mike Keneally, Steven Wilson collaborator Randy McStine and the ever reliable Nick D’Virgilio (ex-Spock’s Beard/Big Big Train) and is very much an interesting but melodic treat.
THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #88
Welcome back to the Real Gone Singles Bar, the place where we explore some of the individual tracks that have landed in our inbox over the previous few weeks. This time out, we bring a new track from a great pop punk act, a great sounding number written in record time, a perfect blend of metal and industrial on a brilliantly aggressive workout, an equally great number that’ll appeal to lovers of melodic singer songwriter material, and more besides. Obviously, as 2025 begins to take shape, we’ll be bringing you many more treats… In the meantime, we hope there’s something new to enjoy here!
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SYPHA – Borderland EP
The release of their ‘Sober’ single in 2022 heralded Sypha’s arrival on the metal scene as something worth celebrating. That track shared a heavy riff which blended a classic metal sound with a more modern edge, working something that sounded like Shinedown crossed with the swagger of an on form Halestorm. In Alicia Pilling, the band also possessed a hugely melodic talent, and the blend of sounds led to a near perfect slice of chunky yet accessible metal. Subsequent singles proved that this was no fluke: with each successive track, the band flaunted a great sound, and the vocals continued to suggest Pilling would be an asset to the UK’s rock scene.