13/04/22 - Ghost @ Ovo Hydro, Glasgow

 Tonight, saw Ghost return to Glasgow in support of their new album "Impera".  They brought along with them two supports in the form of Twin Temple and Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats.   My gig buddy for tonight was Campbell and we had a good catch up in the Clyde built restaurant where we had dinner prior to the gig.  As we were eating, we could see the queues build outside the Hydro and we knew the first band weren't due on till 7 so we made our way over about ten to seven.

It didn't take too long to get in and as we walked in, we found Twin Temple in full flow already.  Going into the arena, apart from the stage area it was pitch black, so it was a case of trying not to bump into anyone and at the same time trying not to lose Campbell. Struggling to find out much on the internet about band members and where they are from, but I think Tobias Forge of Ghost mentioned later on in the evening that they were from America.  What instantly struck me about Twin Temple where they were quite different experience.  They had a female singer, guitarist, bassist, drummer, keyboardist and saxophone player.  It felt more of 50's, 60s rock and roll vibe.  From the songs I heard it was quite refreshing to have the saxophonist getting most of the limelight. While the guitarist had his moments it was definitely the saxophone player who stole the show.

Most of their songs were focused on Satan and all that sort of ideology.  Which kind of puts them in a position where a lot of people would turn away because of their own beliefs. But if you base it on the music rather than what the lyrics are it was a good set to start the night.  There was some sort of drinking blood ritual at the end of the set then the lead singer and guitarist had a snog.  While this was happening the rest of the band hand an almighty free form jamming session reminiscent of something The Mars Volta are well known for.

The next band up were Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats who hail from Cambridge, England.  They very much had a metal vibe while still having audible vocals. If the singer passed me in the street I wouldn't know as he had his long hair covering his face the whole set.  There was no doubt these guys rocked hard musically but perhaps were about stagnant onstage compared to the other 2 bands tonight.  They were good to see once but probably not a band I would go back to.

Next up were tonight's headliners Ghost.  I saw Ghost in 2019 on their "Prequelle" tour so had been looking forward to this one.  The stage set up I think was pretty much the same as last time from memory.  But the faceless ghouls (the band members except Tobias Forge) had different costumes which I understand were inspired by Star Wars.  Once again tonight Tobias Forge showed what a great frontman he is.  He has great stage presence and good interaction with the audience in between songs.  The guitarists got in on the act too and were having funny interactions like after one song trying to out do each others guitar solos. 

Obviously these things add to the show and go away to make the show memorable.  But the thing with Ghost is they have the music to back it up.  And now having 5 albums out along with various other releases they seem to be snowballing more and more fans into their world.  Out of the 20-song set, nearly 75% of tracks were from the last 3 albums.  4 from new album "IMPERA", 5 from "Prequelle" and 5 from "Meliora".  Then they played "Kiss the Goat" and "Mary on a cross" which was a double A-side single brought out in 2019.  They also played a cover of Metallica's "Enter Sandman" which they did for the Metallica covers album.  

My personal highlights were "Miasma", "Dance Macabre" and set closer "Square Hammer". But overall, it was a blistering set from a band who keep getting better and better. 

Photos by Campbell Hunter

Youth Illusion - Seeking Answers In Silence

 "Seeking Answers in Silence" is the 2nd EP by London alternative hard rockers Youth Illusion.  And is a follow up to the "Terms of Submission" EP.  They sight their influences as the likes of Rise Against, Biffy Clyro, AC/DC, Guns & Roses, Offspring, Green day and Thrice.  In other words, right up my street.

I think the thing which strikes me most about this EP is just how catchy and infectious the songs are.  Although the bands I have mentioned above you can definitely hear in their music.  In terms of the lead vocals, I would describe them as a lot cleaner cut than bands mentioned but the guitars and bass give it them that edginess.  I see this as a good thing though as it differentiates them.  There are more moments where the vocals are more aggressively delivered like towards the end of "Blood on my hands" and also some of the backing vocals on some of the other songs.  This will certainly give the band some versatility in their music going forward. The Guns & Roses element can be heard in the likes of the solo of one of the singles they released prior to this EP coming out "Help me to believe".

This is a 6 track EP, and such is the strength of it I imagine it was difficult to choose singles off it.  They all pull their weight well.  My favourite song at the moment is probably "Down" but it does change.  I love the soaring chorus and the excellent riff which runs ragged throughout the track.  

Overall, I think this a great EP showing a band with masses amount of potential.  I know I'm looking forward to seeing what they come out with next.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Unlimited Love

 "Unlimited Love" is the 12th album by Calfornian funk rocksters the Red Hot Chili Peppers.  I first got into the Chilis by chance after noticing the album Californication in a random record shop in America in 1999 and picking it up on a whim.  I didn't realise at the time what a significant album it would be in the Chili's history and would be the start of a 23-year period and counting of classing myself as a Chili's fan.  

"Unlimited Love" follows 2016 album "The Getaway".  Personally, I thought that album didn’t get enough praise.  It didn't have the big funk rock epics of days gone by and was more down tempo than other albums. But to me it is still a really solid album.  As we now know it would be the last album Josh Klinghoffer would appear on as lead guitarist, making way for John Frusciante to come back into the fold for the first time since he left the band in 2009, following the Stadium Arcadium tour.  That is really the big headline news for this album and has been talked about so much.  It seems the band were finding it hard to find that creative spark when trying to record the new album with Josh and it seems John was keen to get back in, so it seemed to make sense.

Many have criticised the Josh era and it’s not his fault but the Chilis only releasing 2 albums in the past 13 years isn't a great work rate.  I didn't rate 2011's "I'm with you" and thought it was an album which Josh was more finding his footing in the band.  I did go and see the Chili's on that tour too and you could see that Josh skipped a few Frusciante's solos which did highlight just how good a guitarist Fruciante is.  But as I said on "The Getaway" Josh I felt did find his feet and it was a great album.  There has also been a lot of talk about Frusciante saying he won't play any songs that he hadn't contributed too writing. One camp says he should play all Chili songs, but I disagree with this.  He has been involved in at least 6 of the Chili Peppers albums now which are arguably all the best they have done.  And to him playing the others would be like playing covers. Chili's albums aren't short either so there’s enough tough decisions to make creating a tour setlist than having to include songs from the other albums he didn't appear on too.

But anyway, John being back is a very big deal which is why I have talked about it so much.  But what about "Unlimited Love"? How does that match up?  Well, it's a mammoth 17 tracks coming in at 73 minutes and I am in 2 minds about the length.  On one hand it's been so long since the last Chili's record you are just pleased to get value for money and if it was just 30 minutes you would feel a let-down having waited so long. But on the other hand, I feel have an album this long it is harder to make it a cohesive album and can just turn into a collection of songs rather and lose its structure and I feel it does do that at times.

I wouldn't go as far as saying this is a diverse or experimental album by any stretch.  It still has that funk rock Chili's style all over it.  They have their sound and in terms of big rock acts there is not really anyone doing what they are doing at least to their level.  This means if they did change their sound, they would end up doing what other bands are doing and, in the process, losing what people like about them in the first place.

I would say some of this album is a continuation in a way of "The Getaway" in that a lot of the album does have that more relaxed vibe, tracks like "It's Only Natural", "Not the one" and "Veronica" epitomise this.  John obviously plays a big part in the writing again and his solos are on point especially on the likes of their first single on the album "Black Summer".  Interestingly for the first time as far as I'm aware John sings the chorus on "Heavy Wing".  He has done backing vocals loads in the past and at gigs usually gets his own segment and does a cover.  But I think this is the first time he has shared lead vocals with Anthony.  And it works too, to me it's never been debatable that he is a great singer.  This is shown through a lot of his solo stuff where he used to sing a lot before he moved onto doing more electronic music.

Another great track is "Aquatic mouth dance", this is where Flea really shines as the Chilis go into funk rock overdrive with trumpets and all. Like something from Mother's Milk.  But I think my favourite track at the moment has to be "These are the Ways".  This track is so catchy, has a great chorus and riff. But often the unsung hero of the Chilis, drummer Chad Smith, really gets to shine here through is excellent drum fills.  

Overall, this is a great album.  I think making it so long they have fallen into the trap that a few songs that wouldn't have made it on to the album if its shorter and would in turn make it a better album. But then again, some people may have liked those tracks so maybe the best bet was to make a longer album.  Coming back from all his solo electronic escapades it's clear Frusciante is still one of the best guitarists around and it seems his chemistry with the rest of the band is as if he never left.  This is great to see and hear and I hope the Chilis now get in a rhythm of writing music again, so we don't have to wait 6 years for the next album.

The Fallen State - Between Hope & Disillusion

"Between Hope & Disillusion" is the 2nd album by Devon based (for the majority of the band) UK rockers The Fallen State.  I have been following this band ever since I saw them support Tremonti 4 years ago.  Back then they only had a couple of EPs out where as now not only have they released their excellent debut album "A Deadset Endeavour", but now in 2022 they have their second album "Between Hope & Disillusion".  And as album titles go it sounds like it could not be more appropriate for what the band has gone through the last couple of years.

The challenges of covid were there for all bands and The Fallen State were no different.  But on top of this lead singer Ben Stenning decided to part ways from the band.  From the outside it didn't look like this was a rock and roll bust up of egos by any stretch.  But just someone looking to follow a different path and the rest of the band respected that.  It did leave a hole in the band and a choice by the rest of the band of what to do with the band.  They clearly still wanted to make music so they had the option of getting a new singer in and either go under a different name or continue the name and get a singer in who could sing the old songs too.

The first option of changing the name of the band was basically what happened to Creed when they split up and three-quarters of the group went onto form Alter Bridge and got Myles into to sing.  Then the other option was to continue the name like Iron Maiden have done multiple times in their history having many different frontmen.  The key is that changing the band name leaves the rest of the catalogue behind whereas keeping the name doesn't.  So clearly The Fallen State decided to keep the name and brought in Adam Methven on lead vocals.  

It's a difficult position to fill, Afterall the lead singer has such a big job connecting with fans both during shows and interviews.  And Ben is someone who did that amazingly.   But I have to say the way Adam has filled Ben's shoes has been amazing.  His videos and posts on social media have shown someone who really wants to be part of the band and be at one with the community The Fallen State have created.  But more importantly he has the vocals which fit like a glove to The Fallen State's sound.

One noticeable thing about this album is how good Adam's vocal performances are on here.  And I don' just mean his range. I'm talking about the way he delivers the vocals.  Round every corner on this album, he delivers the vocals in different patterns all the way through, and it keeps the songs and the album as a whole interesting.  None more so than "Mirrors".  This is the longest track The Fallen State have ever done and it's so good, if you weren't looking at the time, it doesn't feel like 6 minutes.  But the journey you are taken on here both the vocals and instrumentally is amazing.  Normally with rock songs this long you would find a winding guitar solo to fill some of the time, but Adam's varying vocals dominate more than anything which makes it different.  My favourite bit is the Oceansize style vocal later in the song.  I think though it shows you don't need a guitar solo to make an epic rock track.

Obviously with this album Adam was going to be the big news story, being the new frontman and whether he could adapt.  But the rest of the members deserve their due too. It takes a team effort to make an album this good. This album starts with "Running from the Sun" which comes out the traps all guns blazing, and the relentlessness continues for the first four tracks - "Wolves", "Knives" and "River".  "River" is my favourite track at the moment.  But they are all just really good rock tracks with great riffs.  "Mirror" comes next and acts well as the centrepiece of the album.  Then the back end of the album you have "Standing Tall", "Take it from Me", "Gallows", "Can't Get Through to You" and "Ammunition". 

"Take it from Me" feels to me like the heaviest song they have done.  "Ammunition" is not quite epic closer as "Fragments" was to their debut album.  But still a good track.  I think the thing about this album is that there are so many songs on here they could release as singles as they sound massive. I wouldn't say there are many you could call album tracks and definitely no filler.  This puts them in good stead for live shows having already released that stunning debut and this effort is certainly on a par.  It would be good to see them hopefully land some big support slots to get them some more recognition.  They are too good not to be getting more notice.

Ghost - IMPERA

 

"IMPERA" is the 5th album by Swedish rock/metal band Ghost.  They have always been quite a hard band to pigeonhole.  Many metal publications have listed Ghost very high up in end of year polls.  For example, Loudwire put "Square Hammer" as best song of the decade in 2019.  They have always dressed like a metal band in their outfits, but their music does lean to more rock territories.  But this is not classic rock either.  They seemed to have this operatic style, dramatic kind of rock which they have homed in over the years since their formation in 2006.

While the first 3 albums did well for them, they seem to be a band on a steady upward trajectory and 4th album "Prequelle" helped this tremendously.  This was my entry point to Ghost, and it was such a fulfilling album in every way.  It felt like they took all their musical know how and stringed everything together perfectly to make one of the best albums of 2018.  I don't often talk about every song on an album in a review, but I did for that one as really every song was a story worth talking about.

The reason I have focused on their history so far, particularly "Prequelle" is because I'm trying to emphasise just how high a bar, Ghost set themselves for this album "IMPERA".  Not just for themselves but fans eager to see to exactly if they could do it and to see for the band themselves.  As the singles came out, one by one, it was clear that the standard was still mighty high.  With "Hunter's Moon", "Call me little Sunshine" and "Twenties".  "Twenties" in particularly had a WOW factor about it with a short brass section coming in like in a Lord of the rings scene where there is about to be a big battle.  But all these songs are punchy, catchy and full of hooks.  So needless to say, it set expectations even higher for the album.

On my first few listens to the album, I kept thinking to myself, well this is just another Ghost album, it's not as good as "Prequelle" and nothing is better than "Square Hammer".  But as I kept listening to it more and more, I kept unlocking more and more and realised it is a completely different album to "Prequelle”.  For instance, "Prequelle" the average song length was 3-4 minutes with a few over 5 minutes.  This has 5 songs over 5 minutes with a couple over 6.  There are also 3 instrumental songs on this, first track "Imperium", "Dominion" and "Bite of Passage".  These are all short tracks lasting 30 seconds to just over a minute.  Rather than being interludes, I would say they are more set up tracks effortlessly gliding into the next track of the album.  "Dominion" is a notable one as it comes before "Twenties" so has brass on it leading into the brass intro of "Twenties".  There are no long instrumentals on this like the mesmerising "Misasma" from "Prequelle" but it seems more of conscious effort to make this album different.

Generally, there is such a feel-good vibe running through this album.  Singer Tobias Forge delivers vocals with such confidence and swagger signally a frontman at the very top of his game.  The longer tracks on the album compliment the shorter tracks so well and allow the songs to really breathe and for other members to let loose. Especially through the guitar solos on "Griftwood" and closer "Respite of the Spitalfields".  2nd track "Kaisaron" is a classic too and I wouldn't be surprised if "Spillways" is the next single.

Overall, this is another absolutely fantastic album by Ghost.  They were already playing arenas in the "Prequelle" tour and with this album they look to fill them even more as the word keeps spreading just how good they are and how they continue to keep pushing themselves further.

Plush - Plush

 

"Plush" is the self-titled debut album by American 4-piece rock group Plush.  I came across this band about a month ago when I saw that they were supporting Slash in the States.  I looked for more info on the band like I usually do on Wikipedia only to find another band called Plush from South Africa.  I wonder if this will cause an issue for them in the future.  

This band is quite unusual in a way that this is a rock band, and all members are female with Brooke Colucci on drums, lead guitarist Bella Perron, Ashley Suppa on bass and Moriah Formica on vocals and guitar.  Pre-Plush - Drummer Brooke made has had some success from posting her talents on social media while Moriah has appeared NBC's "The Voice" in America.  Amazingly these girls are all aged between 18-21 and when you hear this album you will discover why this is so amazing, these girls are seriously talented.  It is sad to talk about an all-girl rock group being unusual in 2022.  But, to me it feels like it is.  You may say HAIM fit the bill but even then, they still tour with a male drummer more often than not.  

There is a load of bands with female singers - Paramore, Wolf Alice, Halestorm and Evanescence to name a few.  But to have every instrument played by a woman is quite unusual.  Now from their ages and the fact that they are aged between 18-21, you may have guessed they are a very new band.  Their first single was out February 2021.  This band is far from big yet, but they are making some serious noise in the rock community. Having supported bands like Slash, Sevendust, Daughtry, Halestorm and Evanescence.  It doesn't look like they have reached European shores yet but that will no doubt be because of the pandemic and focusing on the States for starter.  But I think it's only a matter of time.

The reason I say this is because this is a very exciting debut album.  Every song has such strength and charisma.  And for a debut album they seem to have hit the jackpot with who they got to produce this as the production is noticeably fantastic.  What we have here are songs which were born for arenas as they are sing along rock anthems.  Singer Moriah has such a powerful voice.  I know I previously mentioned Halestorm and Evanescence who are global rock heavyweights these days.  But this album goes hand in hand with anything those two ever made. In fact, I would say better just going buy the fact I have never really got past the singles for those two bands.

"Hate" seems to be their biggest song to date as it's had far more plays on Spotify than the other 4 songs in their top 5, sitting at just over 1.3 million streams.  And it is a great punching rock track.  But the likes of "Champion" and "Athena" along with many others are just as good. It just seems they haven't had as much airplay.  I love "Sober" it's probably my favourite track on the album.  There are some more rock ballad type songs on here too, but you still find Moriah reaches those high notes on pretty much every song.  And if you can reach those notes then why not.  

Overall, this is an excellent debut album by a very exciting band.  They are clearly all very talented, and I feel the best is still to come. But with this album it's clear they have already set quite a high bar for themselves.  The music world in general needs a band like this and because of this hopefully they'll get the opportunities to grow and develop into a band we will still be talking about in 10-20 years’ time.

Muse - Drones

 

Drones is the 7th album by 3-piece rock juggernaut Muse.  This album was released back in 2015 and the "Drones" tour was my second time seeing the band.  This was the album that really got me back into Muse after what I thought at the time was two weaker albums in the form of "The Resistance" and "The 2nd Law".  However, after listening to these 2 albums recently my opinion has very much changed on both.  But does "Drones" still hit the heights I thought it used to?

Well, all I can say is absolutely yes.  With 5th and 6th albums; "The Resistance" and "The 2nd Law" they moved their sound into different territories and really experimented a bit with it still sounding like Muse.  Meanwhile "Drones" sees them back rocking and rocking really hard.  In fact, most Muse albums up until this point have the piano feature quite a bit.  But on "Drones" I can only detect it on bits of "Mercy" and "Globalisation".  

The main singles released from this album were "Dead Inside", "Psycho" and "Reapers".  While they all are of high quality. "Reapers" reaches places that go harder and more technical than I can remember Muse going before.  For me, it is their 2nd best song they have ever done behind "Citizen Erased" off "Origin of Symmetry".  The intro which kicks off with the magical drumbeat, before the guitar comes in and the song takes off.  And it takes you on such a rollercoaster for the duration of just under 6 minutes.

But the singles are only part of the story to this album.  "The Handler", "Defector" and "Revolt are also absolutely cracking rock songs.  While "Aftermath" is a dreamy spacey track, like "Explorers" off "The 2nd Law".  This also has some fine guitar work on it.  "Globalisation" is probably the biggest surprise of the album as it is the longest song they have ever done, sitting at 10 minutes.  Yes, they a 3 part track to finish off "The Resistance" and a 2 part song to finish off "The 2nd Law". But I think this is the longest single track.  And it is epic.  Seamlessly moves between sections, great singing, great guitar parts and a strong piano section.  The last track "Drones" is the only weak track on the album as it's just the guy’s harmonising.  It's not a very long track but personally I would rather them finish with "Globalisation".

Overall though it doesn't deter from the album's greatness.  I think it is a very underrated Muse album and I would put it just behind "Origin of Symmetry in my top Muse albums list.