A little west of Birmingham – often said to be the birthplace of metal – their lies an entire country with an almost equally rich musical heritage in terms of rock music. In the 70s, Wales birthed the often overlooked Man, the underrated Budgie, and the should’ve been huge Lone Star. Lone Star’s second album ‘Firing On All Six’, whilst perhaps not as big as monolithic works by Deep Purple, is an easy match for any of the great material released by UFO or Uriah Heep. It’s been even less documented that the country has actually spawned a healthy stoner and doom metal scene. Spearheaded by the former Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard (later MWWB) and Dope Smoker, there are a truckload of good, heavy riff-makers filling an opulent Welsh underground in the twenty first century.
Tag Archives: metal
THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #33
Welcome back to the Real Gone Singles Bar! For our first SB feature of ’24, we’ve dug deeply into our inbox of mp3s and assorted goodies to bring you another round of quick fire entertainment in our usual style. You’ll find the usual variety, with a dose of melodic punk, some alt country, huge rock and even some progressive black metal to tempt you. With January traditionally being a little quieter for submissions, we’ve taken the opportunity to include a couple of older tunes here that didn’t get covered during the last weeks of 2023, but that doesn’t mean a dip in quality. After all, you can’t put a sell by date on great music! As always, if you feel you have something of interest that you feel would suit a future Singles Bar – or a full review – at Real Gone, please don’t hesitate to get in touch…
THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR: A NEW YEAR’S EVE LOCK IN 2023
After launching the Real Gone Singles Bar in June 2023, we found ourselves covering an even broader range of music than before. It became a natural home for anything that mightn’t see a follow up album, or music that, perhaps, might not lead to a full review. The popular feature also became an easy way to introduce people to new music, and our inbox became very busy. Naturally, by limiting the feature to eight tracks per week, not everything made the cut. In fairness, not everything deserved to, but we heard a lot of stuff that was too good to not share.
THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #32
Welcome back to the Real Gone Singles Bar, the place where we dip into the various individual tracks and mp3s that have landed in our inbox over the previous few weeks. As 2023 draws to a close, the tunes are still coming. This week, we’ve got a second track from a great singer songwriter, a couple of strong pop punk bits, and the return of the legendary Michael Des Barres. It’s a slightly rockier selection this time around, but we hope you’ll find something of interest.
Do you have a new or recent single you feel would be suitable for inclusion in a future Singles Bar? We’re always on the lookout for new material, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch via the contact button at the top of our home page!
*
INTO THE DEEP – Blackfin
Featuring ex members of Pivot, Into The Deep are a metal band who centre their musical narratives around conservation, the ocean and its wildlife, and other nautical themes. It’s a more than admirable idea, and certainly makes a huge change from thrash and hardcore’s often clichéd anger. It’s a shame, then, that most of their lyrical content on ‘Blackfin’ remains largely inaudible to the untrained ear.