Ocean Hills - Santa Monica

 

Ocean hills are a five piece American rock band who have just come on to the scene this year (2020).  The band is made up of Zoltan Teglas who was the lead singer of Ignite for 25 years along with Peter Lukacs on lead guitar, Daniel Szebenyi on keyboards and bass, Reinder Oldenburger on rhythm guitar and an unknown on drums. To be honest I haven't heard anything by Ignite but it is clear that they were quite successful and have given Ocean Hills a bit of jump start in their career.  OH signed a worldwide record deal with German label AFM records back in April.  I can't even find any information about the other members of the band at time of writing in terms of their history.  

Due to this jump start, unlike a lot of bands, I found Ocean Hills pretty early in their journey as single "Death or Liberty" was on my release radar playlist on Spotify back in April/May.  That and other single "A seperate peace" were the first two singles released by the band and already they were on rotation across playlists not only Spotify but other streaming services too.  They really grabbed my attention.  I thought the lead singers voice was amazing, as was the kind of alt rock vibe they were creating.

I think the album "Santa Monica" was actually due to come out earlier in the year but got put back to end of November due to covid.  This is a great album full of pure rock anthems and great melodies.  One thing I like most about the songs is that most contain these great guitar solos.  They are not overly complex I would say but they sound amazing due to the cleaness and pureness of the sound thats made from them.  "Like a Lady" is probably my favourite for this.  This solo is a bit longer and in fact stretches out the track to just under 6 minutes but it feels like 4.   The thing that makes Ocean Hills good is that the guitar sound and Zoli's voice go hand in hand.

They do have a deluxe edition of the album but I would say its not really worth it.  This is because they have just made  extended editions of 3 of their hit tracks but although one of the tracks has been extended by 1 min 20 secs.  Another is only extended by 20 seconds and the other by 2 seconds!  And they are trying to get people to pay more for this?  

Overall though lets focus on the music. Afterall this is available to stream.  This is a really good debut album and I can see why they have managed to get themselves on so many prominent playlists across various streaming services so early in their journey.  Zoli the singer may have given them the platform to get out there but they have some cracking muscians to show this is just not a one man band.  I will be looking out for this band in the future to see how they grow for sure.

Albums I am looking forward to in 2021

 Thought I'd take a look at albums I'm getting excited about/hoping to get released in 2021

Avenged Sevenfold - Last album "The Stage" was released in 2016 and they have been active on social media about their new album.  From the sounds of it they know what they want to do but haven't recorded it yet. It sounds like they want to have a string section so it sounds pretty ambitious and exciting.  They also say though that they want to release it when they can start touring again so who knows if it will make 2021 or not. I hope so.

The Dust Coda - Band I discovered a few years ago. A great rock and roll outfit and they are set for releasing their second album "Mojo Skyline" in March.

Foo Fighters - "Shame, Shame" was disappointing as the first single to be released from their new album which is due out February. But they are the Foo Fighters and there is bound to be at least some bangers on the new album

Ghost - No release date set but an album is due next year.  They seem to be getting better and better so looking forward to see if they can keep the momentum going with the new album.

Greta van fleet - Singles "Age of Machine" and "Way to soon" sounding good.  This is due out in May and is sounding promising.

Myles Kennedy - This one is recorded and in the bag. No release date at time of writing but says it is heavier and electric than his first solo album.

Mason Hill - The debut album by Mason Hill is a long time in the making and was delayed by covid. The singles off this were sounding huge so looking forward to see if they can make the album match high expectations.

Nosound/Giancarlo Erra - Great band which is lead by Giancarlo Erra. Giancarlo has stated on social media that both a solo album and a Nosound album are on the cards for 2021.  Looking forward to see what direction he takes on these new albums. No release date at time of writing.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - This one is more of hope rather than knowing whether they are going to release an album in 2021.  With the return of John Frusciante I really can't imagine they have been sitting doing nothing this year even with Frusicante releasing a solo album.  

Royal Blood - "Troubles coming" was in my top 10 songs of last year. No release date for the new album yet but its on the cards.

Tremonti - He is using the same studio as Myles did his 2nd solo album to record Tremonti's 5th album.  Hopefully this will land in 2021 and knowing Mark Tremonti's workrate you wouldn't put it past him.

Wayward sons - I watched a Planet rock lockdown gig this year where these guys were headlining and they were excellent. They have announced a 2021 UK tour to go with the new album but doesnt seem to have a release date for their 3rd album yet but they do say its due out in 2021

Steven Wilson - Pretty much the god of prog but seems to be going in a rock pop direction. Still as adventurous as ever in his music and looks like more keyboards to appear in this album than before.  "Future bites" due for release end of January.

With the lack of touring in 2020 I think their will be a bunch of albums in 2021 but these are the main ones I am looking forward to.

Nothing But Thieves - Moral Panic

 

"Moral Panic" is the 3rd album by Essex lads, Nothing but thieves.  The band formed in 2012, releasing their self titled debut album in 2015. They then went on to release their second album "Broken machine" in 2017 and now in 2020 we have 3rd album "Moral Panic.  This is a 5 piece band comprising of Conor Mason on vocals, Joe Langridge-Brown on guitar, Dominic Crack on guitar, keyboard and piano, Philip Blake on bass and James Price on drums. NBT are a band I have been aware of for a number of years now.  I think their most famous track and really the one track I had heard prior to this year was "Amsterdam" which was on their "Broken machine" record. I have to admit that song didn't really do it for me and it didn't make me want to investigate them further at that time.

Fast forward to March 2020 and one of my gig buddies brought a single which NBT just released to my attention which was "Is everybody going crazy?".  This song was the first single to be released off "Moral Panic and is not only an incredibly catchy pop rock song.  But it was also incredibly timely given what was happening in the UK when it was released. This was at the time Covid first hit and the country went into lockdown and "Everybody going crazy?" seemed to some up well the wellbeing of the nation, not only then but now as I type this.

It wasn't just a one off monster of song they released as the quality of the singles released after this continued to build the momentum for the album coming out in October 2020 showing not only quality but the bands versatility as well.  "Real Love song" was another memorable anthem while "Unperson" mixed things up about with a really funky riff almost making you want to get up and dance to it.  Then "Impossible" turned things on its head as it slowed things right down and really displayed the amazing vocal range of Conor Mason.

These tracks also fitted well into the album.  One thing I really notice about this album is the amazingly creative variation in the structure of the songs. Yes there are songs which you could put in the typical verse, chorus, verse chorus pigeon hole like "Real love song and "Everybody going crazy". But when you look deep into the record songs like "Phobia" and "Can you afford to be an individual?". You find a band that really are trying to step out and do something different.  Combine that with Conor Mason's extreme vocal range and different is something we really do have here.  "Can you afford to be an individual? is probably my favourite song on the album at time of writing as its one of those songs which builds and builds and Conor's singing ends up sounding like Rage against the machine's Zach de la Rocha.  Probably a comparison you wouldn't have thought when you first listen to NBT.

Overall this is a great record. I do think that it was unfortunate in the timing of the release of the album.  They had always set October as the release date and this became a time when many other artists delayed their album too as well as other artists who had planned an October release date. Meaning it may not have had the attention it deserved at the time. And I would definitely admit I haven't spent as much time with this album as it deserves and that is why I am glad I have gone back to it now.

Kalie Shorr - Open Book

"Open Book" is the debut album by 26 year old country singer/songwriter Kalie Shorr.  In the few years preceding this album she had released a few singles and an EP where she gathered some momentum leading up to the release of this album in 2019.  I actually only discovered Kalie this year by watching a Country 2 Country virtual gig which I was watching due to Tenille Townes playing.  It was a unique gig in the sense that it was being streamed worldwide on you tube and the 5 female country artists playing were socially distanced on stage and took turns playing their songs.  For me that night Tenille and Kalie were the stand outs and that is how I started to get into Kalie's music.

It is quite intreging looking at both Tenille and Kalie who are of similar age and also both having released their debut albums in the last few years. Also both are country artists who have fantastic range in their voices. But when you look at their albums and what they are writing about that really is where the similarity ends.  Tenille's album although dealing with some sad topics is mainly full of hope and joy. While Kalie really seems to have had a hard time and is dealing with these hard times by putting a pen to paper and taking it out through her music.

"Open Book" is a terrific album on a number of levels.  I am not often a lyrics person and more often than not it's because I don't really understand what artists are talking about and the deep meaning behind songs. But here Kalie is just so up front, honest and straight to the point in her lyrics it's not only easy to relate to them but it's easy to understand them.  One of my favourite lyrics in the album is on the opening track "Too much to say" where she sings "I've got more unclaimed baggage than an airport lost and found, if no-one picks it up it just goes round and round and round".  This is not only a brilliant analogy but also something everyone experiences at one point or another in their life.  Mental health struggles are real and if you don't talk about it, it will just keep doing loops round your head until you do.  

As well as mental struggles being a theme throughout the lyrics in the album, Kalie also outlines the reasons for those struggles too with things like drinking whiskey and smoking and having been played by ex-boyfriends.  You don't need a degree in music to work out what the song "FU Forever" is about.  I do wonder if that song may shoot her in the foot as it is basically swearing.  But at the same time now Taylor Swift is swearing in albums it kind of opens up the floodgates for it just being acceptable.

So lyrically this album is brilliant but that's not the only thing about this album that makes it great. On another level, musically it is great too.  Right from the opening track where a mouth organ comes in, in the opening notes, it pulls you in to the album instantly.  "The World Keeps Spinning" has this amazing slow marching drum beat.  While "Gatsby" has this great moment which means the song was made for live performance.  When it gets to later in the song and Kalie sings "When I get up, I get down, I take my meds and I hit the town".  It's just one of those moments which is perfect for audience participation as its a singalong moment.  For me though the biggest highlight comes in "Lullaby" in the chorus where Shorr's vocals just seem to glide and soar.  It's such a memorable and magical moment I just want to play the track again and again.

Overall Shorr may have gone through many hoops and challenges in her personal life leading up to making this record.  But through channelling all these hard times into her record and combining it with her amazing song writing ability, she has produced a record which has succeeded on so many levels.  At the time of writing (December 2020) she has now released an extended version of the album. Interestingly and unconventionally she has not added extra songs on to the end of the album but mixed them into the rest of the songs on the album.  Not heard of this being done before and not sure how I feel about it but the new tracks are good too.

Tremonti - Cauterize

 "Cauterize" is the second album by American heavyweights Tremonti which was released back in 2014. For this album, Wolfgang Van Halen replaced Brian Marshal as bassist.  In 2020 Wolfgang is getting quite a name for himself after releasing a track in his own project but he has been around the music scene a lot longer than some people may think.  Eric Friedman remained on guitar for this album while Garret Whitelock was on drums.  The tracks from "Cauterize" and 3rd album "Dust" were recorded at the same time, with "Dust" being released a year later. The spearhead of the band, Mark Tremonti, who is on vocals and guitar said that the tracks on both the albums were divided so that both albums had balance in terms of different types of songs.....

Well yes he certainly divided them up ok and you can see in "Cauterize" there is a mix of songs.  But one thing, in my opinion, he didn't do was divide them up in terms of the actual quality of the songs.  I just feel that not only is this the weakest album he has put out as a Tremonti release but also anything he has put out by Alter Bridge too.  I do feel quite alone in this opinion as from what I have read it does seem like this album got a favourable reception.  But I do feel there are songs on here which either just don't work or I just don't think are very good.

First of all "Flying Monkeys".  This was actually released as a single and the two times I went to see Tremonti in 2018 supporting their "Dying Machine" record, they played this song both times.  And I tell you what - every other song he played those nights I thoroughly enjoyed.  But when "Flying Monkeys" came on I felt disappointment. I just wanted the song to end each time.  The guitars feel so heavy that it feels like it is just weighing the song down. For me it just doesn't work.  Another song which falls flat on the album is "Providence".  For me the "epic" track was attempted here to finish with a bang as it sits at nearly 6 minutes.  But it feels messy as if the different parts have been glued together badly.  The solo is a highlight but it comes too late to save the track. Given the standard Mark has delivered in both Alter Bridge and this band before this I know for a fact he is a lot better than this.

I have just gone into 2 tracks here I don't like and I would say there are more tracks that I think are just really average, particularly someone with the talent of Tremonti. But there are also some bright moments in amongst these.  The album starts off with "Radical Change" a ferocious track which actually starts the album off well with a catchy chorus and infectious hooks.  Title track "Cauterize" and "Another Heart" are main stays in the bands live set to this day.  "Cauterize" being in the same vein as "Radical Change" while "Another Heart" being more anthemic and slightly slower.  These are easily the standout moments from the album and worth listening to.

Overall this is the weakest effort out of the 4 Tremonti albums currently available.  Mark and members of the band are so talented and the 3 other albums are awesome. To me this is just like a bump in the road.  Nobody's perfect.  As I say though there is some good tracks on here that are worth a listen and since this album was well received maybe it is just me.  But for me this is an album I don't go back to and don't plan on going to in the future.  But this won't put a dent of what I think of Tremonti. A very, very good band.

Tremonti - All I was

 

"All I was" is the debut album by Tremonti which was released back in 2012.  On the surface it looks like a solo project as the band name comes from Mark Tremonti's surname. And he is very much the driving force behind the band.  But it is very much a band rather than a solo project with Eric Friedman on guitar and bass on the album and Garret Whitlock on drums.  I only got into Tremonti a couple of years ago when a mate asked me if I wanted to go and see them live.  I had never heard of them before that so started watching some You Tube videos.  I learned a valuable lesson that day.  The first few videos I watched were of live festival performances and it sounded awful.  After watching a few I was about to give up when I think it was "Proof" where it was an official lyric video came on.  The song actually appears on this album.  And it pulled me in and I started to listen more to them.  I must add here that I have now seen Tremonti live twice now and they are amazing. And I wont be judging bands on mobile phone footage again!

Mark himself does lead vocals and guitar on this album and is more well known for his work in Creed and Alter Bridge. But this band still has quite a following but at the same time they have not had the same kind of success as those other bands.  The feel and tone of the music on "All I was" is different from Creed and Alter Bridge too.  It is heavier and the tone of Mark's voice has got a more aggressive feel to it. This makes it not have the same mainstream appeal as the likes of Creed.  Although Mark's voice is more aggressive I must note here, at no point does he scream or have that growling sound.  He is actually singing.  It's just the tone of his voice does give off that dark and aggressive vibe.

But is "All I was" actually any good?  Well yes this really is a fantastic album from such a versatile songwriter.  From what I have read, one of the reasons Mark formed this band was because he had songs that just didn't really fit on Alter Bridge or Creed albums but were still good enough to see the light of day. And thank goodness he did.  The thing about "All I was" is that I wouldn't say there are any songs on here which stand head and shoulders above the rest. And at the same time there is not really a weak link either.  It's a collection of songs which work well together and are of high quality without their being an absolute monster hit.  In the time of writing this Tremonti has 4 albums out and in his live set he still plays many songs from this album.  Which personally I think is the testament to how good an album is. That if after 4 albums you are still playing songs from your first album and at the same time you have quality output from your other three albums. You must have been doing something right in the first place.

As I said the album doesn't have a weak track on it but at the same time doesn't have any monster hits. But I do have my favourites, namely "Things I've seen", "Proof" and "New Way Out".  These songs have really good melodies and perhaps the more lighter moments on the album.  I also love "So you're afraid", particularly the bridge of this song.  It has these great drum fills followed by what sounds like a really technically hard guitar solo.  That song and "You waste your time" were the main singles to come from this album. But listening to this album as a whole they blend in rather than stand out.  Another song which is still good enough for the live set is "Wish you well" which is often played at the end of the show as Mark introduces the song.  "This is our last song, and until next time, I.........wish......you.......well" before diving into the song which is another great tune and I love it when he does that.

Overall "All I was" is a great album.  I think now I have heard all 4 of his albums I don't think its quite as good as "Dust" or "Dying Machine" but there are certainly no duds on this album and as I say it is the album that got me into Tremonti and does show what we knew already. Just how talented Mark is. But in addition to this it also shows he is a good recruiter in Eric and Garret and they certainly play their part in making this a great album too.

Alter Bridge - The Last Hero

 

"The Last Hero" is the 5th studio album by American rockers Alter Bridge and was released back in 2016.  A bit of background to this review first of all.  I only got into Alter Bridge the last couple of years and reviewed "Walk the sky" when it came out last year. This year I have gone back to the beginning and reviewed their first 4 albums in order.  All of them are absolutely fantastic and I have really enjoyed listening to them. But I tell you what. There is something about 4th album "Fortress". Usually I can stop listening to albums once I have reviewed them and move on to the next one to review. But a sign of a really, really good album is one which I go back to after reviewing and "Fortress" is one of those albums. So much so getting to listen to "The Last Hero" has taken me a while to get round to.

But in saying that one of the tracks off "The Last Hero" which was "The cradle to the grave" was actually the song that pulled me into the world of Alter Bridge a few years ago. I think "The Last Hero" is seen by many and even by the band as one of Alter Bridge's weaker album.  I have seen fans rank Alter Bridge albums and often this is low down.  And even in Alter Bridge setlists not many tracks off this album get much of an airing.  I think when I went to see them last year only "Crows on a Wire" was the only track in their setlist from this album.  But is it a weak album?  I really don't think so.  

Alter Bridge albums are the equivalent to the top 6 teams in the English Premier league.  All capable of winning but they can't all win.  The competition is really, really high.  The tracks are the equivalent to the players the teams have.  You've got "Blackbird" which is probably the Kevin de Bruyne  and so on.  "The Last Hero" is probably like Tottenham.  They may not win any title or trophies due to the competition but they are always up there and competing. Basically last hero is still a fantastic album.  

Alter Bridge I have noticed that they do like strong openers and closers to albums and this album is no different.  "Show me a leader" kicks things off and the epic title track "The last hero" closes proceedings.  "My Champion" has a really fun riff and a strong chorus which I like a lot.  They are probably the stand out tracks but tracks like "The writing on the wall", "This side of fate  and "You will be remembered" along with other tracks combine to make a rollercoaster of an album.

Overall a brilliant album with a lot of good songs on it. If I'm being honest not their best album. But if you compare this album to other artists without comparing it to their own. This is a very good album and well worth your time.  If this album was released as the first Alter Bridge album it would have been a lot more successful. But when you are coming after an album like "Fortress". You have got an uphill battle to be on the same level at it to begin with.

Taylor Swift - evermore

Well who would have thought that this year we would get 1 new Taylor Swift album never mind 2 Taylor Swift albums.  It just shows someone who is completely in love with her craft.  "evermore" is Taylor Swift's 9th studio album. Considering she is only 31 that is a pretty impressive amount especially considering how successful they have been.  But not only that the difference and uniqueness in the albums can be seen as she keeps reinventing herself and pushing herself to make new and refreshing music.  That is until now. As "evermore" is more of a continuation from "folklore" as the sounds and general feel of the albums are generally speaking the same.  She said herself that she was just in a happy place and it just felt right to keep on recording songs after "folklore" and those songs became "evermore".

It's interesting looking back on "folklore" now.  I was so glad and surprised when it came out.  To me "Reputation" and "Lover" which were the albums that came before "folklore" were quite disappointing. The shift "folklore" took was wonderful and it was a really strong album just to kick back to.  However for me, while it is a good album, apart from "betty" its not an album I found I really go back to.  And believe me when I say during albums 2 to 5 I went through long phases of Taylor Swift. But with "folklore" I found that I had other albums out at the time I would rather listen to.  I think the reason for this is the type of album it was and the same goes for "evermore".  The main focus of the albums are storytelling so I think to truly appreciate and really get into these albums you need to appreciate lyrics and the stories these stories that Taylor is telling.

Now I would say on the whole I am just not a lyrics person.  I am much more focused on the instruments and how the vocals sound rather than what is actually being said.  Now that's not to say  the music isn't good on "evermore" because there are good tracks on this.  But in terms of listening to it a lot I think you need to be into the lyrics more.  I think its more down to the type of music.  These soft folky type songs are good but there are no anthems on these types of record.  They are not the type of songs you would sing along to at a concert. They are more the type you would go to an intimate, seated venue and would be sat in silence while being wowed by Taylor's talent.

Looking closer at the tracks in "evermore". Opener "willow" has some amazing vocals by Taylor especially the chorus which is particularly soothing.  Second track "champagne problems" is piano driven and another tender track.   "no body, no crime" is one of my favourite tracks of the album as she collaborates with old friends HAIM. Interestingly it appears it is just Taylor on vocals as it feels HAIM contribute more with their instruments rather than their vocals to this song.  I like the beat to it and one of the more interesting songs on the album.  Another cracker is "long story short" which to me is the "betty" of the album". Nice upbeat song.  There are a few songs which do feel a bit flat and pedestrian like "happiness".  It feels those tracks are like what I said earlier and focus on the storytelling rather than how they are sung and the tune behind it. Making them not really standout as much.  There is just not much vocal variation on songs like this.

Overall though this is another strong album by Taylor.  There are some forgettable moments but there are many moments of magic too which see Taylor at her best.  In terms of listening to this long term I don't think this will be an album I will go back to but that is down to the type of music it is rather than the actual quality of the output.  One thing is for sure is that Taylor has spoiled us this year and given us something refreshing and different in this difficult year, twice over.  Personally I would hope in the future she would go down more of the "betty" and "long story short" direction.  Just so we get that more upbeat direction which personally I prefer to listen to from her.

Alter Bridge - Fortress

 "Fortress" is the 4th album by American hard rockers Alter Bridge.  It was released in 2013 which although was only a 3 year gap between ABIII and this release.  The band were busy touring not only ABIII but Myles was also touring with Slash while Tremonti released his first album "All I was".  This was really the start of band members working relentlessly on not only Alter Bridge but their other projects too.

When I first listened to "Fortress" it does have the feeling of an album that is slightly more adventurous and ambitious than their other albums.  It was my surprise when looking at the track list that 6 tracks out of 12 come in at between 4 and 5 minutes.  While the other half of the album comes in between 5 and 8 minutes.  Most notably the album is bookended with arguably the 2 most ambitious tracks in "Fortress" the title track closing the album while "Cry of Achilles" opens the album.  I love the opening notes to "Cry of Achilles" with its winding, fast paced accoustic guitar, before building into an epic rock track full of soaring choruses and epic guitar solos.  I wouldn't say this is a good a opener as "Slip to the void" on ABIII as I think "Slip" could only be an opener to an album where as "Cry" could fit anywhere in the album.  But listening to them on their own merit I think "Cry" is better than "Slip".

In terms of the closer "Fortress" there is a similar debate to that with ABIII as to whether the second last track should have been the closer rather than "Fortress".  "Fortress" is a great track and at 7 minutes 36 seconds is the longest track on the album.  But second last track "All ends well" almost spells out that it should be the closer.  Its almost begging in fact to be the closer.  I love some of the lyrics to this song, "If you believe in nothing else, just keep believing in yourself".  Its such a song of hope and looking forward which is really my argument that it should of been the last track.

Looking at this album though it is littered with great tracks, the ones mentioned are good.  But take a look at a track like "Bleed it dry".  More of an album track and doesn't seem to get much of an airing live these days. But what a track".  Such intensity and drive for the first half of the song, then the pace totally slows down to build into this amazing guitar solo which is so pure and crisp and slowly builds up again before the intensity kicks in again to see the song out.   My other favourite tracks on this album do still receive plenty of live airings in "Water Rising" and "Lover".  "Water Rising" is the first Alter Bridge track Mark has lead vocals on and it really is an amazing song. Myles still contributes to the vocals during the chorus but its mainly Mark.  Mark doing this really does add a new dimension not just to this album but also to their live shows.

Overall this is a great album.  I think what is evident here is that they are good at writing songs of all lengths.  I do think they were more ambitious with writing longer songs and they have pulled it off.  Yes I know they wrote "Blackbird" before this and nothing on here tops that song. But what song by anyone does :-P

Alter Bridge - ABIII

 

"ABIII" is the appropriately titled 3rd album by American hard rockers Alter Bridge.  The album was released in 2010 following their highly successful debut album "One Day remains" which was followed by "Blackbird".  The latter features one of my favourite songs of all time which was called "Blackbird" too.  But how would "ABIII" stack up against its predecessors which they set the bar so high on.  Would they try and create something as epic as "Blackbird"?

Well they gave it a damn good shot that is for certain.  In terms of song distribution in this album I like to see it as a club sandwich. Where you have got bread on top being the first 4 songs.  Then you have the next 2 songs after which are some filling. Then another song which is another piece of bread. Then you have another 5 songs which comprises of some more filling.  Then the last 2 songs are another piece of bread.  All combine to give you 14 tracks or as I like to view it a club sandwich.  But why have I used this analogy........   Well the bread is absolutely awesome.  Just think of the best bread you have ever tasted then listen to these tracks and you can see where I'm coming from.  Then you have the filling.  These tracks aren't quite so good. But still fit well on the album and lets face it you still need filling regardless how good the bread is and I think that the same could be said for this album. Its all the pieces combined which make this special.

So lets look into the first 4 songs on the album. They open up with "Slip to the void".  In my opinion the best track one on any Alter Bridge album to date.  Myles haunting vocals creep in followed by thundering guitars.  This song would only fit in on the track one slot in an album. They would need to change the song entirely for it to fit anywhere else.  Then you follow that with "Isolation" which was the first single they took from that album at the time.  A real rocker and in covid times now a more relatable song than ever given all the lockdowns all over the world.  Then you have "Ghost of days gone by" and "All hope is gone" sitting at tracks 3 and 4. Such strong songs that they still get airings on their tours.

This is followed by the bit of filling in "Still Remains" and "Make it right".  Then you have probably the best power ballad they have done in "Wonderful Life".  I still think of this as a cover even though its an Alter Bridge song.  It's not their typical song but its so powerful and I wonder why more bands don't cover it as its that good.  Again this song still gets its place onto set lists often done by Myles acoustically. 

Bit of a bigger filling after "Wonderful Life" with 5 tracks which are still pretty good and hold the album together well but not quite as big as the tracks stated before.  But what about the ending to the album?  Well I do wonder if there was arguments or should I say disagreements on what song to end the album on. Because tracks 13 and 14 feel like they are in competition with each other on which is the better closer.  In the end they have gone for "Words Darker than their wings" over "Life must go on".  I think on any other Alter Bridge album "Life must go on" would be the closer without question, maybe with the exception of "The end is here" on "One day remains".  The lyrics and the pace of the song are such a poignant way to end an album.  But then they go and pull "Words darker than their wings" out of the bag and really they have made one of my top 5 Alter Bridge songs ever.  This is the first time Myles and Mark share vocals on a track.  Myles has a moment where he hits a high note in the climax to song, and the album.  In the Royal Albert Hall DVD he admitted not to playing this song live because of that high note. But anyone who has watched that DVD will know he absolutely nailed it.

Overall "ABIII" is a wonderful album with such a great structure. Full of full on rock, some powerful ballads and a fitting end.  I think this album really cemented their status as rock greats and showed they were here to stay.  At this point in their career they already had enough for a greatest hits album and not many bands can truly say that after 3 albums.

Amy MacDonald - The Human Demands

 

In 2007 Amy MacDonald burst onto the scene with her debut album "This is the Life".  This was one of the first albums I ever reviewed.    Back then I used to always tip up and coming bands and artists for success.  But often I predicted wrong with bands either splitting up or just disappearing from the limelight.  Amy though is one of the exceptions to that.  In my "This is the life" Review it headlined "This will certainly be the life for Amy...........after releasing this cracker!".  So for a change I actually got it right as 13 years later she is still going strong with her just releasing her 5th album "The Human Demands". From my own perspective I thought her first two albums were exceptional, while albums 3 and 4 were still good but didn't quite have the anthems that her first 2 albums had.

So how does her 5th album "The Human Demands" shape up?  Well when first single "The Hudson" came out prior to the release of the album I had mixed feelings about the track.  If you take the track with out the lyrics I thought it was excellent.  But looking at the lyrics it did get the feeling that Amy has used some of these before.  Now it may not seem like a big deal to have reused certain words.  But I feel they are so prominent in her early songs that it makes it feel less imaginative putting them in this album.  I'm talking about words like "Shining bright" which appeared on an old song of hers "Don't tell me that its over" and also appears in the opening line of "Wish for something more".  Also in this album she uses the word "spark" quite a few times which of course appeared on an earlier album.  May not seem like a big deal but it did annoy me slightly when listening some of the tracks as there are plenty of words out there to use. :-)

Because of this and the second track which was released as a single "Crazy Shade of Blue" was quite a slow track and I wasn't really feeling it.  Therefore I did have low expectations for the album.  However I was pleasantly surprised by the album.  There is some great song writing on here and some really upbeat songs which see Amy produce the kind of music we know she is capable of making and really what has been lacking in the last few albums she has made up for here.  Examples include "The Human Demands" title track, "Bridges" and "We could be so much more"

Although "Crazy Shade of Blue" was slightly disappointing I think more because I think she is at her best with the up tempo tracks.  There is a track on here which is an exception to that and that is "Young Fire, old flame" which is a slower acoustic track which Amy has absolutely nailed and really works well.  I feel another track in particular though stands out as something which sounds a bit different for Amy and that is "Strong again"  as I think its a glockenspiel or something like that which makes an appearance throughout this track.  Its another chirpy number and probably my favourite currently on the album.

Overall I think this is a great album.  Although I had my slight annoyances with the lyrics you cannot fault the actual tunes and in general the lyrics on the whole are very good.  And lets face it when you've got someone with a unique a voice as Amy's who is as good at this at delivering the lyrics vocally;  it just shows right there why she has been successful as she has and will continue as long as she wants. 

Bring me the Horizon - POST HUMAN: SURVIVAL HORROR

 

"POST HUMAN: SURVIVAL HORROR" is a 9 track EP by Sheffield bred UK metalers Bring me the Horizon.  According to Wikipedia this is the first of 4 EPs which will be released over the next year which once all done will combine to make an album.  It does bring the question straight away - why didn't they just add an extra track on here to make it 10 tracks and become a proper an album in itself?  Already it's sitting at 32 minutes which bands often release as full length albums.   It is a strange route to go down as often this tactic is used by bands in their infancy before building up to their debut album trying to gain momentum.  Where as BMTH already have that momentum and already very well established.  Maybe they just have so much material they want the world to hear.

I cant say I'm too familiar with their whole back catalogue but I did really enjoy "amo" which they released early last year and did make it in to my top 10 albums of last year.  That album saw them branching out and trying new things from their well documented metal routes.  Then after that they released an EP "Music to listen to~dance~to.....". I would say the whole title but its incredibly long.  A bit like the EP which although is just 8 tracks, sits at 1 hour 15 minutes.  That saw them become even more experimental but to be honest I wasn't that impressed with it.

So what what direction did they go in this EP.  Well they have continued to push boundaries but at the same time have returned to their heavier routes.  This is because out of the 9 tracks on the EP, 5 of the tracks are collaborations with other artists.  I do like the approach taken to all the collaborations regardless of whether I like the songs or not.  What I mean by this is that there is a balance between Oli Sykes vocals and the guest vocals.  Meaning it still as the BMTH vibe throughout the album with the other vocals coming in to give the songs a new dimension and to give a variation in their sound.

I would say my favourite collaboration on the album is with BABYMETAL in the song "Kingslayer".  BABYMETAL are such a fun and unique band and the bands compliment each other so well in this song.  The next track after that "1x1" features the Nova Twins which means some more female vocals. To be honest I have never heard of the Nova Twins before hearing this but this makes me want me to investigate them more.  Which is the beauty of collaborations. It allows fans of bands to discover other bands that maybe they wouldn't have found otherwise.  There is one collab which I didn't think worked quite as well and that is with Amy Lee of Evanesance on the last track "One day the only butterflies left will be in you".   This on paper is probably the biggest collaboration on the album as Amy Lee and Evanesance are massive in their own right.  It's not that it's a really bad song. It's ok. It just doesn't really fit on the album. And I don't think the two vocal styles compliment each other as well as some of the other collaborations on the album.

The other 4 tracks on the album are full on Bring me the Horizon tracks who are well and truly back to their heavy roots.  The singles "Parasite Eve" and "Ludens" in particular really do pack a punch and maybe fans who were disappointed with the direction the band went with "amo" will be pleased that BMTH are returning to playing the sort of music that got them into them in the first place.

Overall this is a good EP.  I think this is a band who are taking advantage of the current music landscape and releasing more music as its just so accessible with streaming services.  And also with the current pandemic unfortunately making music is all they can do right now.  I think this EP will be a stepping stone for the band as they continue their rise and global success.  Bringing in various artists has on the whole expanded their sound for the better and I think will bring them new fans as well as give their fans so new music by other bands to listen to that they might not have been aware of.  But even out with the collaborations they show that they can deliver the goods on their own too.

Black Stone Cherry - The Human Condition

 "The Human Condition" is the 8th album by American hard rock band Black Stone Cherry. Surprisingly although they have been around since 2001, they have only just come on to my radar in the last month.  I haven't had the chance to really delve into their back catalogue but I have heard the majority of their hits over the course of their career and based on first impressions they seem to have quite a lot.  Most notably songs like "Blind Man", "Me and Mary Jane", "Blame it on the boom boom" and "White trash millionaire" to name a few.

But it was listening to the new singles from this album that were released in the run up to the album coming out which drew me in.  These are "Ringin' in my head" and "Again" which fittingly are tracks 1 and 2 on the album respectively.  "Ringin' in my head" is quite possibly the most polite start to an album I've heard as Chris Robertson the lead singer sings "People, people your attention please" as the opening line.  What a nice introduction to the band and the album to draw the listener in.  I'm not really sure if this song is written about covid or not as he goes on to sing "I gotta tell you all about a new disease, its snuck right up from beneath our nose....". So maybe is.

I would say generally this is a pretty heavy album and the songs are pretty, straight and to the point.  There are some songs  which have small silences before they start, almost acting like mini breaks in the album but usually they are just about 10 seconds.  I would probably say my favourite songs are the power ballads of the album.  I say this because they do feel still quite heavy and certainly not stripped down songs but I reckon you could still get the lighters out at gigs.  They are "When angels learn to fly" and "If my heart had wings".  Funny how they are both about flying.

Another potential covid track is "Live this way" with Robertson wailing in the chorus "Life is way too short, to live this way".  Whether it was written pre covid or or about covid. It's pretty appropriate timing regardless.   Maybe because of this I am drawn to this and could quite easily become an anthem if they were to release it as a single.  But for their third single after releasing "Ringin' in my head" and "Again"; they released "In Love the pain".  This song has such a good riff and another great chorus.  It does feel many of the heavier songs do have a certain general formula but each song still has some sort of uniqueness. But it works which makes it all worthwhile.

Interestingly even though it is a 13 track album they felt the need to put a cover in there too.  Track 10 on the album "Don't bring me down" is a cover of the Electric light Orchestra song which was originally released in 1979 on their "Discovery" album.  It certainly doesn't feel out of place on "The Human Condition".  In fact it fits in quite nicely.  I don't think they have surpassed the original but they certainly haven't murdered it either.

Overall I am glad to have found Black Stone Cherry.  I may have been very late to the party with BCS but I'm here now and this album in my opinion is a triumph.  I feel I have only scratched the surface talking about a few tracks on the album.    But it is very good all the way through.

Smith & Myers - Volume 1 & 2

 

Smith & Myers are 1/2 of the hugely successful rock band, Shinedown.  Comprising of Brent Smith who is the vocalist and Zach Myers on guitar.  While Volume 1 and 2 is their first album.  They have released a few EPs which were purely covers and also toured during gaps in the Shinedown schedule. Playing covers and Shinedown songs.  It very much seems like a fun side project for the two of them which has gathered momentum and now a debut album has reached fruition.

One thing this album does raise to me though, is that is it really all about the music? Or is it more than that? is it the way the album is comprised and made up.  The reason I say this is that Smith & Myers have not taken a conventional approach to this album in any shape or form.  Which in term makes it very unique. But is this a good thing?  They call this a double album which is made up of 10 songs on volume 1 and 10 songs on volume 2.   They have done 10 cover songs and 10 original songs.  Instead of splitting down the middle and putting out a covers album and an album of original songs.  They alternate covers with originals on each albums so its 5 and 5 on each album.

This does in itself raise challenges as the album feels more of a collection of songs rather than what I would deem an album to be.   For example when you listen to Shinedown's last album "Attention, Attention" it very much has a beginning, middle and an end and the way the album flows is amazing.  But with this release, having covers dotted about all over it doesn't have that same flow.  Sometimes also I just want to get into the new tracks they have released that I want to get into where as the covers I have heard most of them all before many, many times.  Don't get me wrong Smith and Myers do put their own spin on the songs they cover but essentially you still know the songs.

But really that's all the issues I have with the release.  In terms of the actual songs Brent and Zach prove yet again that they really are a cut above in terms of song writing and performance.  I absolutely love the original songs they have done on both volumes.  Favourite songs from Volume 1 are "Coast to Coast" and "Not mad enough".  Favourite songs from volume 2 in particular are "Bad at Love", "New school shiver" has a really good upbeat tempo about it and "GBL GBD" has some great lyrics.

In terms of the covers "Rockin n the free world" and "Valerie" are my favourites from Volume 1. On Volume 2 it does feel like a totally different version of Billie Ellish's "Bad guy" since its acoustic. And for me the best bit of the original is the quiet vocals launching into the frenzied crazy beats.  But I suppose with covers its about making them sound like your own and doing something different with them and Smith and Myers have certainly done that here. "Losing my religion" they absolutely nailed. I do think they missed a trick on the Oasis cover of "Don't look in back in anger."  The piano intro to that song is legendary and instantly recognisable.  And here Zach does it on an acoustic guitar which doesn't quite have the same impact. But to be fair to them after the intro Zach nails the vocals and this is such a poignant song to finish on especially for fans who went to the Shinedown show in Manchester a few years back where Zach performed this song.

Overall I would say this is a collection of songs rather than an album. But does it really matter?  I don't think so.  As far as I'm concerned if Smith and Myers are going to produce music which is this good they can do whatever they want.

Alter Bridge - Blackbird

 

"Blackbird" is Alter Bridge's second album which came out in July 2007.  This was long before I had ever heard of Alter Bridge. In fact I discovered them about 10 years later.  But how would they follow up their excellent debut "One day remains"?  Well one difference from the "One day remains" era to this one was that lead guitarist Mark Tremonti did most of the songwriting on that album where as on "Blackbird" it was more of a joint effort with all band members getting credits for the songwriting.  One thing I also heard was that it wasn't until starting the songwriting for this album that the rest of the band found out that lead vocalist Myles Kennedy played guitar.  And boy can he really play.

I suppose when you review an album that was released 13 years ago, you wouldn't go back to it unless it was special.  I wouldn't go, oh, do you remember that really bad album that was released in 2007 called Blackbird?  Think I need to go back to it and absolutely go to town on it and say how bad it really is. Seriously though I am reviewing this because this is a classic album that I want to talk about.  

There are so many good tracks on here.  You really feel Alter Bridge followed up their debut and are now forming a cohesive unit that just bounces off each other.   "Rise Today",  "Come to Life", "Brand New Start"  and "Before Tomorrow comes" are made for arenas/stadiums festivals. They are massive sounding sing-along all out rock songs. "Watch over you" shows that other side, that slower powerful ballad type song.  Although these songs stand out I wouldn't say there are any tracks which don't "fit".  

If I was going to criticise one thing about this album its the decision making rather than the songs.  There are 3 versions of the album.  You have the core 13 track album, you have another with 1 bonus track and then another one with 3 bonus tracks.  Bonus tracks to me must be stopped because whether you listen to it on a CD, vinyl or streaming platform it changes the album. Its not a bonus, it becomes an extra chapter. To me everyone should be one the same journey.  Luckily the version I listen to is the UK version which finishes with one bonus track which is "We don't care at all".  At the end of "One day remains" they finished on "The end is here" which you can't really top as an ending.  But they have gone for something different with "We don't care at all" as it is a more explosive end to the album which is a bit more firey than the other songs.  But hey perhaps they don't care at all that people are on different journey's :-P

Overall this is such a good album. While the ending is different for what version you listen to. One thing is for sure that on the whole it is an incredible journey to go on.

Oh hang on a minute did I forget to mention one of the tracks in particular?

Oh of course the title track "Blackbird" I suppose deserves a mention.  Why is this?  Well it just happens to be one of my favourite songs of all time right now.  For a long time my favourite song of all time was Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" and I think people view this song as Alter Bridge's "Stairway".  You can see the similarities as they are both 8 minutes long, have epic guitar solos and epic vocals.  But I think that's where the comparisons end.  Look at the structures of the songs.  "Stairway" builds more throughout and has verse on verse, rather than really having any choruses. And then has a big climatic finish.  Where as "Blackbird" is more verse chorus verse chorus bridge chorus guitar solo, chorus with the outro and the intro being the same.   The powerfulness of the choruses are their to see and really are soaring with Myles's amazing vocals.  What makes the big guitar solo unique for Alter Bridge is that it's actually in 2 halves with Myles taking the first half and Mark taking the second half.  The tone change in the solos is very clear and makes it even more epic.

I can't believe it took me so long to find this song but I'm so glad I did.  "Stairway" was put into Led Zeppelin 4 right at the end of the album as the climax.  Whereas "Blackbird" was put into the album with the same name as very much as the centrepiece.  There are amazing tracks which surround "Blackbird" on the album and are still in their live sets to this day.  But "Blackbird" is a track I don't think they would dare take out of their live sets. It is simply just too good.

Biffy Clyro - A Celebration of Endings

 "A Celebration of Endings" is the eighth studio album by Scottish rockers Biffy Clyro.  Well officially it's there 8th. But it could quite easily be argued its their ninth if you include last years quite brilliant "Balance, Not symmetry" soundtrack which was in effect is another Biffy Clyro album.  They are a band which seems to have snowballed fans over the years with every album release and have now headlined many festivals sometimes to the confusion of other bands like Nine inch Nails. They came on before them at Reading and Leeds festival one year and they claimed they didn't even know who Biffy were so were confused why they were above them in the bill.

But when you think about Biffy and how they got to this level; I really think its because they are unique and if you listen to a song by Biffy you will often instantly recognise it as being them. Whereas others in the rock genre it is not always as clear cut.  And that is what makes Biffy special.  I would say over their career that even though they are getting bigger and bigger, they haven't always hit the jackpot in terms of what I would call a winning album.  One of the reasons for this is because they have a tendency to write more complex songs which don't always come off as good songs.  Often its the simpler songs they write do come off and they are the ones that propelled them into the big time.  For example 27 and 57 in the early days and "Many of Horror".  But what differentiates them is when the complex songs do come off they are special. Look no further than the likes of "Living is a problem because everyone dies" and "Glitter and Trauma". Both technically ambitious songs but pulled off magnificently into classic songs.

But where am I going with this with "Celebration of endings".  Well it feels like they have 11 tracks here which are complex but delivered in a way which is accessible to the listener. Giving it instant appeal.  This is an absolute corker of a record which really stands out amongst their back catalogue.  One of the reasons for this is the introduction of a string section in some of the tracks and also piano in others.  They have expanded their sound and it is amazing to listen to.  They still have the fun, upbeat, jump up and down tracks.  I like "Tiny, indoor fireworks" and opener "North of no South" in particular. Especially in "North of no South" when Simon sings "Can you feel it".  Well Simon, YES WE CAN!"

I think the irony of calling this album the "Celebration of Endings" is because the last track on the album "Cop Syrup" really is a triumph in itself.  Listening to this track on first listen you really would not have guessed where it would end up.  It starts off so heavy and shouty for the first few minutes almost displaying the madness the band have been going through the last few years. Before half way though the track the strings come in for a long outro like finishing in a mountain landscape of peace and tranquillity.   Then the track kicks into gear for a final minute of pure madness.  Such an epic way to finish the album.

Overall Biffy really have done amazingly well on this record.  Replacing Iron Maiden as Download headliners may have surprised some. But listen to this along with the rest of their back catalogue and you'll find they have more than enough ammunition now to deliver the goods at these festivals.

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Tenille Townes - The Lemonade Stand

 Tenille Townes is a 26 year old singer songwriter from Alberta, Canada.  Interestingly the number of albums she has is different going by what source you look up.  Going by her own website her latest release "The Lemonade Stand" is her debut album.  On the other hand however if you look up her Wikipedia page "The Lemonade stand" is her 3rd album with "Real" made in 2011 and "Lights" in 2013.  However there is no chart position next to these albums and they are also not on Spotify.  Maybe she is classifying "The Lemonade Stand" as her debut as its her first album with a worldwide release and she is signed to a major label with this album in the form of Columbia Nashville.  One more thing to note before I get stuck into the album is that she has raised over 1.9 million dollars for Sunrise House, a shelter for homeless youths in Alberta. A very impressive feet.

I found Tenille through an add on Facebook and thought her voice was amazing. But one thing which really strikes you when you see Tenille perform is that she just seems to be having an absolute ball. She is so happy and it's infectious.  And I would say over half the album you can feel this joy and energy driven right into the recordings.  There are a lot of upbeat songs on the album; From opener "Holding out for the one", "Jersey on the Wall - I'm Just asking", "Lighthouse" and "White Horse" along with various others scattered throughout the album.  At the moment "White Horse" is probably my favourite.

She is very much a country singer and in 2019 she picked up 4 awards at the Canadian country music awards.  You wonder with country superstars such as Taylor Swift and Kacey Musgraves moving away from the genre that there is a gap in the market now for Tenille to fill and with an album like this she is certainly putting forward a good case to fill that space.

There is another aspect to the album with the slower songs on the album such as "I kept the roses" and album closer "The most beautiful things".  While they are good songs I do feel she is at her best with the up tempo songs and having fun.  But at the same time this does bring a certain balance to the album.

Overall whether this is the debut album or her third album, it is a great album to listen to and one all country music fans should really be paying attention to. I hope her older albums do see the light of day if they are any good. As it would be interesting to see how she has developed into the songwriter she is today.