THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #61

Welcome back to the Real Gone Singles Bar, the place where we explore some of the more interesting mp3s and individual tunes that’ve landed in our inbox over the previous few weeks. In proper Singles Bar tradition, this week’s column covers a lot of musical ground by taking in country and a couple of singer songwriters alongside some extreme metal. There’s even time to introduce a new rock band. It’s unlikely that everything here will appeal to everyone, but as always, we hope you find something new to enjoy.

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THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #59

Welcome back to the Real Gone Singles Bar, the place where we explore some of the individual mp3s and other bits that have landed in our inbox over the previous few weeks. In true SB tradition, we bring you a genuine mixed bag this time around, with a Europop gem, something with an electronica base, a couple of massive metal tunes, a slice of indie folk, and more besides… As always, we hope you find something new to enjoy…

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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.

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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.

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