Mark Mangold is an AOR legend. He first made waves as a member of American Tears, but for most AOR fans, will be better known as a member of melodic rockers Touch, makers of one the best early 80s rock discs and openers of the very first Donington Monsters of Rock Festival. That performance might now be better known for Touch’s bassist/vocalist having an incident with a bee, but it meant the band’s place in the rock history books was secured. Following Touch’s premature split, Mangold worked with Michael Bolton and eventually teamed up with vocalist Al Fristch to form Drive, She Said in 1989. In their original lifespan, the band recorded three very enjoyable melodic rock discs. The following years saw Mangold carving out a solo career, playing with other short lived bands and also sporadically reforming Drive, She Said. Say what you like, but you can’t say he hasn’t been busy.
HOT MOTH – Small Fires EP
Brighton’s Hot Moth create a sound that’s a bit like experiencing an aural collision between the crunchy but song-driven aspects of the much missed Oceansize and the cerebral, clankier elements of cult heroes The Fierce And The Dead. The three songs on their 2016 EP ‘Small Fires’ aim for the gut as much as the head and combined create a fine, if far too short, voyage into arty mathrock territory.
Watch ‘Galacticon’, the new video from Ummagma
Cult electronica/dreampop duo Ummagma have just released their new single ‘Galacticon’. You can now watch their new video clip below. The new clip is as dreamy and minimalist as the soundtrack itself.
Check out the new video from Hot Moth
Brighton’s Hot Moth released their ‘Small Fires’ EP today. It’s available on a pay what you want basis over at Bandcamp. Here’s a taster via the official video clip for ‘Levelling The Tales’.
BACKDAWN – I Shall Burn Your Empire
French metallers Backdawn released their first full length release ‘Through Extermination’ in 2013. The hard working band then spent the following years promoting that album and setting about creating even stronger material for its successor. That successor, 2016’s ‘I Shall Burn Your Empire’, was crowdfunded by fans and mixed by Annihilator’s Jeff Waters. The results are spectacular.