Slipknot & System of a Down confirmed for Australian festival

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As the list of confirmed acts for the 2012 Soundwave Festival grows, Slipknot and System of a Down have been added to the line-up.  They join other recent confirmations Coal Chamber for what’s beginning to look like a not-to-be-missed bill.

The confirmed acts so far are as follows:

SYSTEM OF A DOWN
SLIPKNOT
LIMP BIZKIT
MARILYN MANSON
HOLE
A DAY TO REMEMBER
MACHINE HEAD
LAMB OF GOD
TRIVIUM
ALTER BRIDGE
LOSTPROPHETS
ANGELS & AIRWAVES
COBRA STARSHIP
THE USED
YOU ME AT SIX
DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT
UNWRITTEN LAW
COAL CHAMBER
DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL
THURSDAY
FOREVER THE SICKEST KIDS
RAISED FIST
DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN
ZAKK WYLDE’S BLACK LABEL SOCIETY
MASTODON
UNDEROATH
SAVES THE DAY
CIRCA SURVIVE
STEEL PANTHER
JACK’S MANNEQUIN
MESHUGGAH
THE SISTERS OF MERCY
ENTER SHIKARI
FOUR YEAR STRONG
BLACK VEIL BRIDES
MADINA LAKE
ZEBRAHEAD
HATEBREED
BIOHAZARD
TIMES OF GRACE
CKY
STREET DOGS
DRAGONFORCE
GOJIRA
KVELERTAK
LETLIVE
HELLYEAH
CRO-MAGS
THE CAB
RELIENT K
VERSA EMERGE
HEROES FOR HIRE
KILL HANNAH
THE DANGEROUS SUMMER
CHIMAIRA
FRAMING HANLEY
WATAIN
ROYAL REPUBLIC
I AM THE AVALANCHE
TURISAS
RIVER CITY EXTENSION

…and the dates:

Feb. 25 – RNA Showgrounds – Brisbane
Feb. 26 – Olympic Park – Sydney
Mar. 02 – Showgrounds – Melbourne
Mar. 03 – Bonython Park – Adelaide
Mar. 05 – Claremont Showgrounds – Perth

Read a review of Devin Townsend’s ‘Ghost’ here,
Read a review of Devin Townsend’s ‘Ziltoid The Omniscient’ here.
Read a review of Limp Bizkit’s ‘Gold Cobra’ here.
Read a review of Relient K’s ‘Is For Karaoke’ here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SHY – Shy

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Despite unstable line-ups, UK rockers Shy have bravely soldiered on, sporadically releasing albums since 1983.  Their career peak was arguably in the second half of that decade when their albums ‘Excess All Areas’ and ‘Misspent Youth’ gained the a fair amount of press attention, if not the commercial breakthrough the band deserved.  Over the years, Shy’s best known vocalist Tony Mills has quit the band twice (his time elsewhere yielding a short-lived power metal band named Siam and the release of various solo albums).

This self-titled disc represents yet another beginning of sorts for the band.  Tony Mills is not on board, having found a job fronting Norwegian hard rock outfit TNT.  In his place is Lee Small, previously of Phenomena.  While this 2011 release marks Small’s debut on a Shy disc, he has worked with the band previously, having performed at live shows in 2009.  He doesn’t always have the banshee wail and range offered by Mills, but all things considered he does a great job.  Actually, since the top end of Mills’s range can be a little hard to take, in some respects, he does a better job.

‘Land of a Thousand Lies’ opens with a huge, pompy intro – all synth strings and cinematic moments, like ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ played by an 80s hard rock band – so Shy arrive in very much an on form manner.  By the time the guitars crash in they settle on a rock-solid mid paced groove. Guitarist Steve Harris’s playing have some decent bottom end, over which Lee Small proves himself worthy of the task in hand.  His voice is clear and strong, with the range on show being more than worthy of the epic style music.  In addition to bombast and pomp, there’s a memorable chorus thrown into the mix and a couple of top-notch solos – straddling an eastern influenced widdle and classic rock playing.  By the time these five and a half minutes have wound up, there’s a strong sense that the rejuvenated Shy mean business.

‘Blood on the Line’ is a great punchy rocker, where the lead guitar fills are spot-on.  Another strong chorus showcases Shy’s strengths, while a bridge section leading into the featured solo has all the hallmarks of AOR’s glory days.  While the lead elements are crisp, there’s a little muddiness with regard to the rhythm guitar work, but not enough to spoil the good work laid down here.  Taking things up a notch farther, ‘So Many Tears’ captures Shy at full-pelt, with maximum rock posturing and hard rock riffing very much the order of the day.  It’s not as strong as ‘Land of a Thousand Lies’ or ‘Blood on the Line’, but in terms of old school rock thrills, it still delivers.  This is a number with a lack of subtlety – particularly with regard to the excellent guitar solos.  By the end of the number, the whole band are tearing it up and there’s barely room to breathe, but somehow, Joe Basketts still manage to shoehorn in a line of pompy keyboards – and he’s still toying with that cinematic style, as heard on the opener.

The rockers are great enough, but it’s when Shy lean towards the more obviously melodic they really come into their own.  For chorus and all round melody, ‘Ran Out of Time’ is a brilliant number.  While Shy hang on to a little of their pompiness, the chorus is rooted in the AOR tradition with its superb hook rounded out by a strong backing vocal.  There’s something about it that suggests it could have found a home amongst the more metallic moments of Gary Moore’s ‘Run For Cover’ or the Hughes/Thrall album, though this probably has a great deal to with Small’s vocal inflections which recall Glenn Hughes in the 80s.  A similar kind of AOR mood cuts through ‘Over You’, but if anything, it’s even better.  The band take a great chorus and give it a rousing send off, with some staccato guitar lines and a classy vocal arrangement.  In terms of ideas, it’s certainly tried and tested – and by AOR bands in their hundreds – but when it works, it works.  And when it works this well, why change it?  ‘Save Me’ is loaded with great 80s style keyboards and vibrato filled guitar leads.  There’s another instantly memorable chorus here and Small’s lead vocal has a real presence, but despite being a stand-out number (and featuring some wonderful lead guitar work, once again) it doesn’t quite match ‘Over You’ for absolute AOR greatness.

The near eight minute epic ‘Sanctuary’ tries too hard to make an impression with a huge keyboard intro, sampled voices and some uber-pomp throughout, and as such, is possibly among the album’s weaker cuts.  It’s slightly bloated nature isn’t unsuited to Shy – and probably keeps the opener in good company – but the big production and even bigger performance doesn’t escape the fact that Shy are always at their strongest when not trying quite so hard, even though they’re great musicians.  There are some reasonable solo spots throughout, but nothing which’ll keep you coming back as often as those pure AOR choruses on the likes of ‘Over You’ and ‘Ran Out of Time’.

Tony Mills may not be around, but Shy still have plenty of well-crafted songs up their collective sleeves.  They aren’t attempting to change the world here, but why should they try?  Shy set out to bring you good, old fashioned hard rock on this self-titled release, and strong playing and stronger choruses are on hand throughout to make sure it hits the spot.  While the brand of hard rock is of the 1989 variety as opposed to the more common/popular sounds of 2011, this album is certainly none the worse for that.  It’s not perfect, by any means, but definitely highly recommended.

October 2011

Florence + The Machine debut new video

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Back in September, Florence + The Machine released a video of ‘What The Water Gave Me’ as a teaser for their much anticipated second album.

They’ve now released a video for a second track, which you can watch below.

‘Shake It Out’ was released on the 2nd October.  Its parent album, ‘Ceremonials’ is available from October 31st.

Thin Lizzy box set track listing details revealed

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In July 2011 it was announced that Thin Lizzy were to release a lavish box set containing as many of their BBC recordings as could be unearthed.  Since tapes were expensive, it was common practice at the BBC until 1978 to wipe and re-use old tapes which they felt no longer served a huge purpose (though what was junked and what was not was often down to luck), the plea went out to fans to provide any off-air recordings they may have which were no longer in the Beeb’s archive.

The tracklisting has now been revealed and while some of the material has been previously released elsewhere, it is a treasure trove of goodies for the Lizzy fan.  The asking price at Amazon UK is £64.99.

THIN LIZZY AT THE BBC – TRACK LISTING

Disc 1

1.   Look What The Wind Just Blew In (Sounds Of The Seventies, 1971)
2.   Return Of The Farmers Son (Sounds Of The Seventies, 1971)
3.   Whiskey In The Jar (John Peel Session, 1972)
4.   Suicide  (John Peel Session, 1972)
5.   Black Boys On The Corner (John Peel Session, 1972)
6.   Saga Of The Ageing Orphan (John Peel Session, 1972)
7.   Vagabond Of The Western World (John Peel Session, 1973)
8.   Gonna Creep Up On You (John Peel Session, 1973)
9.   Little Girl In Bloom (John Peel Session, 1973)
10.  Randolph’s Tango (John Peel Session, 1973)
11.  The Rocker (John Peel Session, 1973)
12.  Slow Blues (John Peel Session, 1973)
13.  Randolph’s Tango (Bob Harris Session, 1973)
14.  Little Girl In Bloom (Bob Harris Session, 1973)
15.  The Rocker (Bob Harris Session, 1973)


Disc 2

1.    Little Girl In Bloom (Rock On Session, 1974)
2.    Little Darling (Rock On Session, 1974)
3.    Showdown (Rock On Session, 1974)
4.    Sitamoia (Bob Harris Session, 1974)
5.    Little Darling (Bob Harris Session, 1974)
6.    Slow Blues (Bob Harris Session, 1974)
7.    Showdown (Bob Harris Session, 1974)
8.    It’s Only Money (John Peel Session, 1974)
9.    Little Darling (John Peel Session, 1974)
10.  Still In Love With You (John Peel Session, 1974)
11.  Black Boys On The Corner (John Peel Session, 1974)
12.  Sitamoia (John Peel Session, 1974)
13.  She Knows (John Peel Session, 1974)
14.  It’s Only Money (John Peel Session, 1974)
15.  Sha La La (John Peel Session, 1974)
16.  Philomena (John Peel Session, 1974)


Disc 3

1.    Dear Heart (Bob Harris Session, 1974)
2.    Banshee (Bob Harris Session, 1974)
3.    Half Caste (John Peel Session, 1975)
4.    Rosalie (John Peel Session, 1975)
5.    Suicide (John Peel Session, 1975)
6.    Emerald (John Peel Session, 1976)
7.    The Warrior (John Peel Session, 1976)
8.    Cowboy Song (John Peel Session, 1976)
9.    Jailbreak (John Peel Session, 1976)
10.  Don’t Believe A Word (John Peel Session, 1976)
11.  Johnny (John Peel Session, 1976)
12.  Fools Gold (John Peel Session, 1976)
13.  Johnny The Fox Meets Jimmy The Weed (John Peel Session, 1976)
14.  Killer Without A Cause (John Peel Session, 1977)
15.  Bad Reputation (John Peel Session, 1977)
16.  That Woman’s Gonna Break Your Heart (John Peel Session, 1977)
17.  Dancing In The Moonlight  (John Peel Session, 1977)
18.  Downtown Sundown (John Peel Session, 1977)


Disc 4 (BBC In Concert 1973/1974)

1.   The Rocker (In Concert, 1973)
2.   Things Ain’t Working Out Down At The Farm (In Concert, 1973)
3.   Slow Blues (In Concert, 1973)
4.   Gonna Creep Up On You (In Concert, 1973)
5.   Suicide (In Concert, 1973)
6.   She Knows (In Concert, 1974)
7.   It’s Only Money (In Concert, 1974)
8.   Still In Love With You (In Concert, 1974)
9.   Showdown (In Concert, 1974)
10.  Rock N Roll With You (In Concert, 1974)
11.  Baby Drives Me Crazy (In Concert, 1974)


Disc 5 (Live at Hammersmith Odeon, 1981)

1.   Angel Of Death
2.   Renegade
3.   Hollywood (Down On Your Luck)
4.   The Pressure Will Blow
5.   Killer On The Loose
6.   The Boys Are Back In Town
7.   Are You Ready
8.   Baby Drives Me Crazy
9.   Emerald


Disc 6 (Live at the Regal Theatre, 1983)

1.   Introduction
2.   Jailbreak
3.   This Is The One
4.   Cold Sweat
5.   The Sun Goes Down
6.   The Holy War Live
7.   The Boys Are Back In Town
8.   Rosalie
9.   Baby Please Don’t Go
10. Still In Love With You
11. Dancing In The Moonlight
12. Thin Lizzy Baby Drives Me Crazy


Disc 7 (DVD)

1.   The Boys Are Back In Town (Live at The Rainbow, 1977)
2.   Emerald (Live at The Rainbow, 1977)
3.   Dancing In The Moonlight (Live at The Rainbow, 1977)
4.   Massacre (Live at The Rainbow, 1977)
5.   Still In Love With You (Live at The Rainbow, 1977)
6.   Don’t Believe A Word (Live at The Rainbow, 1977)
7.   Are You Ready (Live at The Rainbow, 1977)
8.   Sha La La (Live at The Rainbow, 1977)
9.   Baby Drives Me Crazy (Live at The Rainbow, 1977)
10. Me And The Boys (Live at The Rainbow, 1977)
11. Jailbreak (Live at The Regal Theatre, 1983)
12. This In The One (Live at The Regal Theatre, 1983)
13. Cold Sweat (Live at The Regal Theatre, 1983)
14. The Sun Goes Down (Live at The Regal Theatre, 1983)
15. The Holy War (Live at The Regal Theatre, 1983)
16. The Boys Are Back In Town (Live at The Regal Theatre, 1983)
17. Rosalie (Live at The Regal Theatre, 1983)
18. Baby Please Don’t Go (Live at The Regal Theatre, 1983)
19. Whiskey In The Jar (Live on Top Of The Pops, 1973)
20. Jailbreak (Live on Top Of The Pops, 1976)
21. Don’t Believe A Word (Live on Top Of The Pops, 1976)
22. Dancing In The Moonlight (Live on Top Of The Pops, 11/08/77)
23. Dancing In The Moonlight Live on Top Of The Pops, 25/08/77)
24. Rosalie (Cowgirl Song) (Live on Top Of The Pops, 11/05/78)
25. Rosalie (Cowgirl Song) (Live on Top Of The Pops, 22/06/78)
26. Waiting For An Alibi (Live on Top Of The Pops, 1979)
27. Sarah (Live on Top Of The Pops, 1979)
28. Chinatown (Live on Top Of The Pops, 1980)
29. Are You Ready (Live on Top Of The Pops, 30/04/81)
30. Are You Ready (Live on Top Of The Pops, May 1981)
31. Back On The Streets (Live on The Old Grey Whistle Test, 1979)
32. Don’t Believe A Word (Live on The Old Grey Whistle Test, 1979)
33. Ode To A Black Man (Live on The Old Grey Whistle Test, 1981)
34. Somebody Else’s Dream (Live on The Old Grey Whistle Test, 1981)
35. Renegade (Live on Three Of A Kind, 1983)

 

 

SARACEN – Marilyn

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Saracen have been making music since the 80s, and their debut album ‘Heroes, Saints and Fools’ saw the band lumped in with the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. They disappeared during the 90s and resurfaced with a fourth album in 2006. That album, ‘Vox In Excelsio’ was released by the UK melodic rock label Escape Music, who also reissued some of Saracen’s earlier work.

The band’s 2011 project is an adventurous work – a musical tribute to the life and work of Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe featuring a selection of guest vocalists, including Robin Beck in the lead role. Before we even begin to look at the merits of the music, however, the sleeve art must be bought into question. Yes, it looks like the artwork on so many other Escape Music releases, but that’s not the real issue. The big problem here is its suitability: who decided a knight’s crest and Saracen helmet (adorned with the “s” from the band’s logo) would be suitable packaging for a concept album about Marilyn Monroe?!! There must have been literally hundreds of other far more suitable artwork designs out there.

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