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Goat The Head – Simian Supremacy

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Goat The Head is a Norwegian death metal band, ‘Simian Supremacy’ is the bands debut full length release and according to the cover it is brought to us ‘by means of primal caveman death metal’. This is a band that prides itself in being primitive in sound, the music is brutal and the bands caveman instincts certainly shine through strongly here. The caveman gimmick of this band is really quite an amusing one, due to the gimmicky nature of the bands approach however I fail really to ever take the music of this album particularly seriously. Fourteen tracks are contained within this ‘Simian Supremacy’ album, and with titles such as ‘Beast Man’, ‘Bone Throne’, and ‘Darwinian Minions’ the band is relentless in putting across its primitive point.

The music is kept simple at all times throughout this album, it’s quite an effective sound but always there is that underlying element of the caveman marketing strategy that has been used here. In all areas the music is quite well put across by the band, this is a decent display of extreme sound but I just wish the band didn’t feel the need to rely on a gimmick to sell records. Goat The Head is not really a band doing anything new, the sound created here merely sees the band recycling popular death metal guitar riffs of old and placing atop of this sound truly generic grunted and growled vocals. The lyrics are at times a little laughable here but in the main you can’t quite decipher what the bands singer is saying anyway so it doesn’t really matter. The titles of the tracks usually come across quite clearly in the vocals, other than that however you’ll have to strain your ears a lot if you’re wishing to make out the lyrical content of this album.

Goat The Head is a band that is relying very much on an extremely gimmicky approach, the band is signed to TABU Recordings and quite honestly I don’t know why the label saw it fit so sign them. The music is not bad as such here, it’s just not at all original and although when you listen to this album you’ll rise a wry smile; you’ll ultimately wonder why on earth the four members of this band are wasting their time and talents in a project of ‘contemporary primal caveman death metal’ when surely they could be using their musical expertise elsewhere and coming up with music that is a tad more original and a smidgeon less contrived.

If you think it’s cool to like such bands as Send More Paramedics and Cannibal Corpse then you’ll probably quite like the music of Goat The Head also. Whereas the other two bands mentioned deal with the subjects of cannibalism and zombies, Goat The Head instead choose cavemen as their gimmicky musical subject of choice and although it’s fun to listen to the bands music for a few minutes; it soon all becomes rather tiresome. Don’t get me wrong, ‘Simian Supremacy’ is not technically a particularly bad album but it’s certainly not at all original. Goat The Head should take their wooden clubs, remove their animal fur, return to the drawing board and have a little think about what they’ve come up with here; the stone age needs to be left well and truly behind and the four members of this band must really now move onto pastures new.

Label: TABU Recordings
Release Date: November 19th 2007

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Kunt and the Gang – One Last Wank and One Last Cry

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Kunt and the Gang is a hilarious comedy act from Basildon in Essex; a town famous for also bringing to the world such stars as Depeche Mode and Big Brother 8 winner Brian Belo. ‘One Last Wank and One Last Cry’ is the latest album to have been released by Kunt and the Gang; the third album in a trilogy of releases which started back in 2005. Basildon has brought an excellent artist to the world here, from start to finish this album is highly amusing and never does the music on display here fail to make me smile. There are thirteen tracks on this album; the lyrics always are incredibly juvenile but extremely funny also.

The album begins with ‘Perverts on the Internet’, right from the offset the music will have you smiling and you just wont be able to stop grinning as you listen to this album. Instrumentally the music is quite amusing in itself, a tacky drum machine is used and what sounds to be an incredibly cheap keyboard also. The instrumental sound is certainly not the strongest in the world, it adds to the comedy value of the music however and this is something that is further enhanced by the excellent quality of the lyrics. Tracks such as ‘Men With Beards (What are they Hiding?)’ and ‘The Illegal Download Song’ also are particularly impressive here, not one of these thirteen tracks failed to make me laugh in fact and this whole album is one that I would certainly recommend listening to.

The music of Kunt and the Gang is incredibly light hearted, the lyrics are rather crude and at times a little on the offensive side also but it’s all in the name of good fun. This album is not to be taken too seriously, it’s to be listened to and enjoyed with tongue firmly remaining in cheek. This is not your average comedy act, the lyrics are far ruder than you’d usually expect to hear and this is something that I personally absolutely love about the music of this artist. There is a lot of fun to be had from listening to this album, the spoken vocal approach of Kunt and the Gang is one that works extremely well and lyrically this album has a lot to offer in terms of comedic appeal.

If you’re up for a bit of comedy and don’t mind toilet humour then the music of Kunt and the Gang should really be right up your street; this is such an amusing album and every time I listen to it I smile. Available at a price of just £8.99 from Amazon this is an album that I would highly recommend investing in, you certainly get your moneys worth with this and a laugh per second will surely be gained as you listen to ‘One Last Wank and One Last Cry’. Don’t expect to find much lyrical intelligence here, do however be safe in the understanding that toilet humour is used in plentiful amounts and that the lyrics have been written to shock. Give this album a listen; seek it out, give it a spin, and prepare to smile more than you’ve ever done so before.

Label: Disco Minge Records
Release Date: May 5th 2008

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Sinew – The Beauty Of Contrast

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Sinew is a German band from the city of Marburg, a self-proclaimed ‘Cinemascopic Alternative Rock’ band and I have no reason whatsoever to disagree with their own personal definition of their sound. The music of Sinew is most definitely highly atmospheric, the sound is well put across in the music and this is something that comes across strongly throughout this ‘The Beauty Of Contrast’ album. The band has been together since 2004 now and in the four years spent together a great closeness has most definitely been built. The four musicians of Sinew bounce well off one another, vocally the sound created here is supremely impressive and instrumentally also there is much enjoyment to be gained from listening to this album.

What I like most about this album is that it has twelve tracks but this sounds like a lot more. The tracks often contain multiple different sections, right from the offset with first track ‘The Allegory Of The Cave’ this is something that immediately becomes apparent and as the album progresses this style of sound is one that further continues. The tracks progress beautifully, the vocal work is stunning here and the guitar riffs also offer plenty. ‘The Beauty Of Contrast’ is one of the most beautiful albums I’ve heard in a long while, always the band has much to offer with this release and never do any of the twelve tracks here fail to impress.

Sinew is a band with some supremely strong pop sensibilities, throughout this album the guitar hooks always are excellent and the fine vocal tone of the bands singer Sascha Junker is one that never fails to impress me. Vocally the bands music works better during the softer moments I feel, Sascha Junker has quite a gentle voice and when he sings he does so with a terrific melodious quality. The more shouted vocal approach is by no means bad, the bands sound just comes across better I feel when the band goes out and out on a strictly melodic attack of music. Sinew is a band that blends seamlessly the two genres of progressive rock and indie-pop also; it’s quite a strange combination of sound but one that works out well for the band.

Vocally is where the main strength of Sinew lies, the instrumental section must also be given much credit however and every element of the instrumental sound is excellent throughout the twelve tracks of this album. The keyboards come across well in the music as too does the guitar sound and the drumbeats also possess much power. The atmosphere created here is all in the instrumental section, the vocals sit beautifully atop of the instrumental side of things but the music always is instrumentally excellent and the sound marvellously worked by the four musicians of Sinew.

For those that like their alternative rock then this is an absolutely excellent album to listen to, the music put across by the band with this ‘The Beauty Of Contrast’ release is always excellent and German band Sinew certainly show themselves to be exceptional here. This album builds incredibly well, never is there a moment of weakness and at every second here there is much to be taken from the music. ‘The Beauty Of Contrast’ is an excellent album from start to finish, a fine debut album from Sinew and one that is sure to make you smile. Definitely consider giving this album a go, it’s a beautifully atmospheric release and one that is more than worthy of a place in your personal music collection.

Label: Alveran Records
Release Date: 3rd March 2008

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Midasuno – Songs in the Key of Fuck

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‘Songs in the Key of Fuck’ is the interesting 2007 release from Midasuno, a ten track album which kicks off excitingly with ‘Sister Temptation’ and ends powerfully with the simply smashing ‘Sleepwalkers’. It’s certainly an interesting album from the Merthyr Tydfil four-piece; an excellent ten track release where fantastic use of keyboards and samples is made throughout. The bands members begin as they mean to go on here, not once does the music of Midasuno disappoint and never is there a dull moment here as Midasuno crusade their way through a fine forty minutes of music.

This album comes complete with a number of excellent tracks, there is a great energy that runs through the very heart of this release and not once does the fine instrumental style of Midasuno cease to amaze. The vocal style of the bands singer Scott Andrews will not appeal to all, he has quite a distinctive voice; not a conventionally strong singer but certainly there is great power in the voice of the man. There’s quite a whine about the voice, it comes across well though and it’s really very hard to describe exactly what the Midasuno vocal sound is. The vocals compliment the instrumental side of things brilliantly; the music is well put across by Midasuno and all elements of the music come together well throughout this ‘Songs in the Key of Fuck’ album.

The guitar sound created here always is strong, the drumbeats also are powerful and instrumentally the music always has much to offer. All ten of the tracks on this album build well, the music is progressed fantastically by all four of the bands musicians and all components of the bands sound compliment one another fantastically. The four members of the band gel well together as musicians and this is always something that comes across with this album. A powerful hard hitting rock sound always is created, the tracks are atmospheric and always the energy levels are kept high here. The presence of the keyboard in the bands sound often helps to create the bands fine atmosphere I feel, this element of the bands sound is one that works well for Midasuno and this is something that really makes the bands music stand out. In the vocal department is another area in which Midasuno make a name for themselves as a band, it’s hard to compare the band to any other vocally but certainly the vocal style is excellent.

For those that like powerful guitar hooks then I highly recommend listening to this ‘Songs in the Key of Fuck’ album, some will be put off by the bands vocal sound but I personally really quite appreciate the vocal approach of Midasuno. The music is fast and fun, it comes complete with plenty of power and is also packed full of atmosphere. Midasuno is a band that fuses elements of rock with electronica also; an excellent sound is created and this is one that works out extremely well for the band. It’s worth taking a listen to the music of Midasuno on their Myspace page I feel, if you like what you hear there then certainly consider investing in this album of theirs; you’ll surely not be disappointed with what you find.

Label: Sugar Shack Records
Release Date: 6th August 2007

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Elliot Minor – Time After Time

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‘Time After Time’ is the first track featured on the self-titled Elliot Minor debut release, it’s also the sixth single lifted from the album and is yet another storming anthem from the excellent Elliot Minor. It worked well at the beginning of the album and also sounds strong as a stand alone release. It’s an energetic track, an atmospheric and uplifting piece of music that is sure to put a smile on the face of all those that hear it. The chorus comes belting out with this one, it’s an incredibly well structured piece of music and never is there a dull moment as Elliot Minor thrash through this succulent smasher of a single.

For those that have appreciated the previous singles of Elliot Minor then this is yet another track that is bound to be of appeal to you all. If you’ve got the album and are already familiar with the standard edit of the track then what you’ll also find with this single is an instrumental version of the track. If you’re wishing to get down to a bit of Elliot Minor karaoke then I’d certainly recommend investing in this one; the instrumental element of the music is brilliant in itself but if you fancy yourself as a bit of an Elliot Minor expert then obviously you can fill the vocal void with your own supreme singing voice.

‘Time After Time’ is a track which is well worth a listen; pop over to iTunes and give the track a download right now and I am sure that you will not be left disappointed.

Label: Repossession Records/Warner Music
Release Date: June 23rd 2008

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Transmit Disrupt – Painting You On This Canvas

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Transmit Disrupt is a five-piece alternative band from Stoke, a fiery rock band with a huge degree of power and passion contained within the music. The vocals are incredibly well sung, the guitar riffs are strongly put across in the sound and the drumbeats also are absolutely excellent. ‘Painting You On This Canvas’ is a fantastic five track EP from the band, a supreme display of furious rock power and a release of music that is sure to impress all that hear it.

Right from the offset the EP is excellent; ‘Painting You On This Canvas’ begins with ‘Prelude’, a minute long introduction which sets the ball rolling perfectly. Never is there a dull moment here, always the music of Transmit Disrupt is absolutely fantastic and never does the bands sound cease to amaze me. Such power is contained within the vocal performance here, this I feel is without doubt the strongest element of the music and instrumentally also the bands music has much to offer. Every track here is strong, the vocal sound is phenomenal and the way the instrumental side of things works alongside this truly is greatly effective.

‘Take A Bow’ is perhaps the best track that this EP has to offer; it has it all and never does the band seem to put a single note out of place. Closing track ‘Fade Away’ also is excellent, in truth not a single one of these five tracks disappoints but it is most definitely ‘Take A Bow’ that is the most powerfully put across piece of music present here. Always the vocal performance is hugely believable, the lyrics are exquisitely put across here and the passion within the voice is made clear for all to hear. Always you feel that the bands members are greatly enjoying making the music that they are; never is the music half-hearted and not once is the sound created here anything short of exceptional.

‘Painting You On This Canvas’ is a high energy display of rock, this is a fine EP from Transmit Disrupt and I certainly look forward to hearing much more from the band. Transmit Disrupt is a band that I can see going from strength to strength as time unfolds, success will surely come and this will be nothing less than the band deserves. This is a highly talented band, all five members of Transmit Disrupt here contribute finely to the overall construction of sound that is the ‘Painting You On This Canvas’ EP. I definitely recommend giving this EP a listen; you’ll surely not be disappointed and chances are that you will in fact be mightily impressed.

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Fall Out Boy – Beat It

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Fall Out Boy covering Michael Jackson’s ‘Beat It’ is without doubt going to be some peoples idea of hell caught on record; I quite like Fall Out Boy however and when this track first emerged was really quite looking forward to giving it a listen. The track features John Mayer, a man that prior to listening to this record I had no previous knowledge of and given his ghastly guitar solo on this track I have no intention whatsoever of seeking out any further material of his either. Fall Out Boy’s ‘Beat It’ is somewhat of a disappointment I feel, it sticks to the original script of the track fairly religiously without ever really offering anything new to the sound. There are of course added guitar element here, other than this there’s just nothing to set it apart from the original though. Truth be told I’d much rather listen to the original than this, the cover is by no means a bad one but it’s certainly not as strong as the original Michael Jackson version of the track.

At times here Patrick Stump’s vocals go hideously out of tune, I’ve seen the man perform live and even then his voice was up to more than this. The vocal sound created here does on occasion sound a little strained, in the main the performance is quite a powerful one and the track is full of energy but there are certainly elements of the sound that let the overall quality of the cover track down a little here. John Mayer should be culled for crimes against guitar after his solo here, Patrick Stump needs to hang his head in shame for his occasional tuneless nature, other than this though the track is really quite a good one. I probably make the cover sound worse than it really is here; it’s not a bad track, not as strong as it potentially could have been but still not a massively disappointing effort. I love Michael Jackson’s ‘Beat It’, any artist covering the track faces a terrifically tough task but this was most definitely a valiant effort on behalf of Fall Out Boy.

Label: Mercury
Release Date: 25th March 2008

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Midasuno – Sister Temptation

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In 2007 Midasuno unleashed upon an unsuspecting world their ‘Songs In The Key Of Fuck’ album, an album that burst into life with the track ‘Sister Temptation’. As their first release of 2008 the band have decided to release the track as a digital download; it’s a powerful piece of music, a strong track with a fiery guitar riff charging through the very heart of the music. With its fusion of rock and electronica ‘Sister Temptation’ never poses a dull moment, it’s action packed from start to finish and an incredible four minutes of music it is too.

Two B-sides have been chosen to accompany the digital download; both were recorded live in session for the BBC Wales Adam Walton Show. ‘Sister Temptation’ is without doubt the finest track that can be found here, both B-sides are however very much appreciated and each of them have plenty to offer. Midasuno is an absolutely excellent band, expect to hear a lot more from them in future and certainly don’t forget to give ‘Sister Temptation’ a listen. I’d highly recommend giving this one a download, it’s out on the 7th of July and a much needed track in every iPod/personal music system across the land.

Label: Sugar Shack Records
Release Date: 7th July 2008

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Kidnapper Bell – Less Me, More Sky

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Hailing from Birmingham, Kidnapper Bell is an Anglo-American four piece; a band that has with this ‘Less Me, More Sky’ EP put to record four tracks that are all completely different in sound. What I like most about this EP is the freshness with which the band approach the music here, the sound created on this EP is always packed full of energy and never does the music of Kidnapper Bell disappoint in the slightest.

Kicking off in style with ‘What Arthur Said’, the band then progresses through to second track ‘The Frequency’ with great excitement and a huge level of musical intelligence. The music has been well put across by the band here, always there is plenty going on within the sound and certainly the four tracks of this EP do not disappoint. The drumbeats always are excellent throughout the four tracks, the vocal style at all times shines through strongly and every element of the bands sound just seems to come together flawlessly here.

Kidnapper Bell is a band that has seemingly appeared out of nowhere, never before had I heard of this band but I’m certainly glad that I have done so now. This is a band that all should listen to, the music is absolutely exceptional on this EP and I can’t wait to hear more from Kidnapper Bell. I’d love to hear a whole album of music from this band, it would be excellent to hear what they could come up with and if Kidnapper Bell could put to record ten or more tracks of this sort of quality then this really would be a fantastic thing to hear. Expect to hear much more from Kidnapper Bell in the not too distant future.

Release Date: 21st June 2008

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The Vincent Black Shadow – Fears in the Water

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The Vincent Black Shadow is a Canadian five-piece band signed to the Bodog record label. ‘Fears in the Water’ is the debut album from the band and comprises of a grand total of thirteen tracks amassing to fifty one minutes of music. For the most part the tracks tend to clock in at around the four minute mark and the sound created here can be quite a hard hitting one.

The ‘Fears in the Water’ album is quite an interesting one, the band features a female lead vocalist and it is her voice that stands out strongly throughout the album as the key feature of the music that has here been created. The vocal style of The Vincent Black Shadow front woman Cassandra Ford is extremely similar to that of Gwen Stefani, the vocal sound created throughout this album comes across strongly and always there is great power in her voice. Although the bands singer is strong; not always do the other components of the music work too well here with this album. Sometimes it seems that this band is trying to create a few too many sounds at once and the music therefore can on occasion sound a little messy.

Beginning with ‘Metro’ the album starts quite strongly here, the chorus is rather repetitive but the track does I feel work quite well. The vocals sound strong here but the repetitive nature of the music detracts away from the overall quality of the sound that has here been created. It’s a well constructed track, the chorus can cause quite an irritation however and this is in fact something that is true of many of the tracks on this album. Never is the music particularly bad as such, the instrumental element just has quite a tendency to be more than a little repetitive.

Throughout this ‘Fears in the Water’ album the guitars always possess great strength and accompany the vocals perfectly. The guitars are excellent, the vocals are brilliant, but often the melodies created here are not hugely impressive. All too often here the tracks begin well but soon become irritating as the repetitive nature of the music begins to grate. This is not to take anything away from the quality of the vocal performance; always the voice of Cassandra Ford is incredibly strong here and never does the power of her voice cease to amaze me.

Title track ‘Fears in the Water’ is probably the best track that this album has to offer, the music is well presented by the band here and always the sound created here is a strong one. The track progresses well and never is there a dull moment here. There’s some strong guitar work, the vocals are powerful as ever and every element of the music just seems to come together to perfection. I really have a great appreciation for the title track on this album, the sound created suits the band strongly and had the band produced more tracks here of this sort of style then the album would be a lot better I feel. It’s a powerful rock track, the best way to describe the sound created here would be to say that it is quite similar to that of Evanescence and my opinion of the track is that it is absolutely excellent.

‘Dream’ has to be my least favourite track from this album, it just doesn’t seem to work and the plodding pace of the instrumental element and stretching of the word ‘dream’ to about ten seconds in length is really quite an odd one. It’s by far the weakest track on this album in my opinion, I just fail to see the appeal of the track and every time I listen to it the droning nature of the music fails to impress me. There are times here when the vocal performance is incredibly strong and huge power can be felt protruding through, for the most part however the track just seems to fail.

The main positive that can be drawn from this album is the excellence of the voice of front woman Cassandra Ford, the guitars possess great strength also but it is truly the vocalist that is the star of the show here. Despite the supreme vocal performance here, the music created is really quite a disappointment on the whole. Many of the tracks featured on this album do not progress too well at all and listening to this album can therefore be quite a disappointment. The Vincent Black Shadow is most certainly a band with great potential; work certainly needs to be put in on the instrumental side of things however as at current I just do not feel that this band is quite the finished article. The repetitive nature of the music is a great let down here, something that stops the album from ever being truly excellent and an element that holds back the overall quality of the music.

Label: Bodog Music
Release Date: 5th November 2007

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