Last full length Afraid Of Heights was way back in 2016 but now the four-piece are back with sixth album Crisis Of Faith. (Technically their seventh album if you count their debut under a different name in 1999). Yep, these guys have been around for a long while and it appears they’re not short of ideas or inspiration on Crisis of Faith.
Take dramatic opener ‘Forgiveness I + II’, for example. These two tracks (Part I and Part II) were released in 2020 along with an accompanying short film/music video. Here you can check them out in all their glory. ‘Forgiveness I’ starts off sounding like System Of A Down-lite then transforms into a contrastive subtle of classic heavy rock vibe. Then just over halfway through it totally transcends into a completely different song (‘Forgiveness II’) which sounds more like a cut off a David Bowie record, complete with a laid-back jazzy section. If Billy Talent are trying to say ‘expect the unexpected’ with this six-minute start to the record, mission accomplished. From then on in though, it does become more expect the expected territory from the pop-punk band. Catchy, light-hearted uplifting punk tracks with soaring choruses and toe-tapping riffs, ‘Crisis Of Faith’ is a fun collection spattered with moments of greatness amongst more generic elements.
Since forming at the dawn of the millennium the world has undergone some dramatic changes and Comeback Kid have managed to roll with the punches for over twenty years now. This year sees the group release their seventh studio album entitled Heavy Steps, their first full length in over four years, which co-incidentally has been co-produced by none other than John Paul Peters, the recording engineer behind Comeback Kid’s debut record, 2003’s Turn It Around.
Heavy Steps takes exactly zero prisoners from the get go, it’s title track immediately setting the president for the rest of the record as it rages onward with the force of a runaway train. “I think of our new single ‘Heavy Steps’ as a bold statement of a riff right off the bat, and lyrically coming from an unhinged perspective about tearing through life” states frontman Andrew Neufield, and tear it does. He goes on to describe the track as having a “just test me” type of sentiment to it, made all the more obvious by Neufield’s vocal performance, not just here but throughout the entire album. His delivery more urgent and pissed off than ever before but also showing maturity, soaring vocal harmonies scattered across the album show he’s no one trick pony.
Boston’s Great American Ghost have never done anything by half, always aiming to the push the boundaries of extremity, Torture World sees the band return with a whole new level of sonic violence. In recent releases Great American Ghost have vented their anger at issues ranging from Government complicity in sex trafficking and abuse to the fear of failure that keeps so many people caged in a perpetual cycle of apathy and lethargy. Torture World carries on this trend, with urgency and passion, the EP tackles issues revolving around the struggle for equality that has resulted in the significant social unrest of the last couple of years. Having teamed up with producer Will Putney (Knocked Loose, The Amity Affliction), Torture World does not pull its punches.
VRSTY‘s first release on Spinefarm Records, Welcome Home, sees them refining their sound, resulting in singles ‘Massive’ and ‘Shameless’ racking up over a million hits on Spotify. Showcasing enormous sound, coupled with Joey Varela’s impressive vocal range, VRSTY have turned heads and sparked plenty of interest in the industry. Now, just over a year later, it’s the time for their highly anticipated full-length and it has a lot to offer.
Similar to the opening on Cloud City, the opening track ‘Finesse’ blows the roof off the place. This loud and punchy banger showcases what the New York collective are all about. It’s a bold statement, both lyrically and musically. Following track ‘Soul’ continues on a high note; an incredibly varied track, it changes pace regularly. Starting off quite simply with an old rock and roll riff it evolves into a full-blown metalcore powerhouse. Joey’s everchanging vocals make the song fascinating and catchy as hell. ‘Closer’ and ‘Sick’ continue the agenda of roof kicking, both solid and catchy bangers. They’re somewhat formulaic tracks, but hit the spot nevertheless, providing yet another testimony of the band’s ability to produce all-round crowd-pleasers.
First forming in 2008, Finnish six-piece Battle Beast have always dealt in bombastic, heavily europop-infused power metal. From the very beginning they have taken liberal influence from both the grandiose symphonics of Nightwish and Within Temptation and the more straightforward melodic accessibility and song structure of fellow genre heavyweights Sabaton and Powerwolf. Sixth album Circus of Doom is no different in this respect; their newest ten track offering is a lean, punchy and immediate collection of power metal anthems.
Between Steven Ansell’s production work for other bands (Arxx, The Xcerts, etc), Laura-Mary Carter’s recently released solo record and running their own label, the band somehow found time to record a brand new EP, and then before the year had even passed they crafted an entirely new record to follow it up. That new record is Ghosts On Tape, the bands sixth full length studio venture, and perhaps their most intrepid yet…
It’s a well known fact that Brighton is the birthplace of many of the UK’s most coveted independently creative artists, and Blood Red Shoes are certainly one of the key components to this observation. Naturally progressing from the darker tone of previous EP release Ø the duo are flexing their morbid intrigue with a record that’s ominous by design. In the bands own words; “It is broody, apocalyptic, gothic, stark, and unguarded. It is an unforgiving record in a way we have never made before.” “The darkness is right in the foreground, and every note and every choice of sound is designed to paint the same ominous picture.”
This is immediately apparent by the analogue tones entwined with brooding piano notes on opening track ‘COMPLY’. The slow, dragging build tensioned by Ansell’s lamenting lyrics as the song slowly becomes more crackled and distorted, the lingering sense of dread that’ll send a shiver down your spine before the infectious rhythms of ‘MORBID FASCINATION’ kick in. An alluring, catchy number that would feel apt scoring the end credits or main theme of a slasher flick, Laura takes the lead vocal spot here and channels some final girl energy, harbouring confrontational thought yet basking in contemplation of it all.
