While there are probably plenty of rock musicians who would rather not work with an Axl Rose, a Tarja or a Mark E Smith, fully instrumental rock bands rock bands remain extremely rare. Even those artists known for instrumental virtuosity and extended jams tend to incorporate at least some vocals into their music. Which makes London four-piece The Fierce and The Dead one of a very rare breed.
After the successful “Stabbing a Dead Horse” tour with Trojan Horse and Knifeworld at the end of 2012, the band have now recorded their second full-length album “Spooky Action”.
From the opener “Part 4″ onwards, one thing soon becomes clear; this is an album of instrumental compositions rather than a showcase for instrumental chops. Most of the eleven tracks clock in at no more than three or four minutes yet seem to pack in a lot of music in a short time. Despite the lack of vocals the tracks feel closer to songs that to most bands’ typical token instrumental numbers.
There’s little in the way of conventional soloing; the guitar lines vary between repeating circular patterns and thrashing riffs, with the occasional ambient interlude. There are times where the music centres on a massive dirty-sounding bass riff as around which the twin guitars orbit. In other places it feels like Matt Stevens’ solo work write large, arranged for a full electric band rather than looped acoustic guitar, but there are all kinds of other things in there. The interlocking guitars of Matt Stevens and Steve Cleaton sometimes recall the mid-70s and early 80s incarnations of King Crimson. The rhythm section of Kevin Feazey and Stuart Marshall often evokes a punky feel, compounded by a raw and live-sounding production that gives the whole thing a lot of energy. Although few punk bands ever attempted the sort of time signatures found on this record.
This is not an easy record to categorise. There are elements of progressive rock, post-punk, indie/alternative and metal in the music, resulting in a record that is both all of those things and none of them. But this a record that has feet in many camps rather than one that risks falling between stools. If you’re looking for genuinely adventurous music that’s not willing to conform to the conventions or clichés of any one genre, then Spooky Action is a record that’s well worth paying some attention.
I have been listening to the leftover promos sent to Trebuchet Magazine, and I’m beginning to see why some professional music journalists become jaded and cynical. Some of it’s OK, but just not my thing, but I’m reminded that there is some god-awful rubbish out there.
The spooky Canadians’ third album has lightly less stoner metal riffing and more psychedelia, with less emphasis on fuzz-toned guitar and more on sinister Hammond organ. There’s no change in their focus on 70s horror film motifs, with song titles like “Lord Summerisle” and lyrics about crimson altars. With plenty of Alia O’Brien’s flute the end result is a cross between Jethro Tull on acid and Uriah Heep from Hell.
This record is allegedly too “mainstream” for me, but it’s got a very similar vibe to albums like Luna Rossa’s “
This duo have been kicking up a storm on the live circuit, and their début album manages to capture the power and intensity of the band’s live performances. The combination of raw and dirty blues riffs and powerhouse drums as a lead instrument in the vein of John Bonham or Keith Moon make a glorious rock’n'roll noise. This a record that needs to be played loud for maximum effect.
With song titles like “The Lizard King”, “Ladyland Blues” and “Stoned” the subject matter of Magenta’s sixth studio album ought to be obvious here. As with any Magenta record, strong echoes of Yes are never far away, with some very Steve Howe like phrases from guitarist Chris Fry. Similarly, Christina Booth’s sings in similar register to Jon Anderson, although her performances have a lot more emotional depth. One standout song is the beautiful ballad “Pearl”, its less-is-more simplicity contrasting with the more complex epics on the album, with a superbly emotive vocal. As a whole, the album takes a position midway between the dark intensity of “Metamorphosis” and the commercial Magenta-lite of “Chameleon”. As a distillation of a lot of what’s good about Magenta’s music this makes a very good starting point for new listeners.
Over the past few years Touchstone have built up a very strong reputation as a live act. They rock hard enough to appeal to metal audiences, but their music has more than enough atmospherics and dynamics to appeal to progressive rock fans. They’re a band with feet in both camps without falling into the obvious clichés of prog-metal.
It’s been a long time since Fish’s last studio album. The gap since 2007′s “13th Star” approached Kate Bush or Peter Gabriel proportions, and there even were times when it seemed that the possibility of future albums hung in the balance, with vocal problems that at one point appeared to come close to terminating his career. But after spending eighteen months on the road playing as as part of an acoustic trio, he reformed an electric band for some gigs with Glenn Hughes last year, and made it clear he was still a force to be reckoned with.
Colours in the Dark is the third solo album from Finnish metal diva Tarja Turunen, following on from 2010′s “What Lies Beneath. A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since Nightwish dramatically sacked their lead singer way back in 2005. Her old band have re-invented themselves while Tarja herself bounced back strongly and quickly found her voice as a solo artist.
I first saw Maschine at the 2012 Cambridge Rock Festival, when they played as the opening act on main stage on Sunday. Despite being a member short and playing as a four-piece they went down a storm to an audience whose average age was probably twice that of the band.
I first encountered the singer-songwriter Lu Cozma supporting Fish on his short May tour of the UK, playing as duo with Steve Askew on acoustic guitar plus programmed rhythms, and the pair made a very strong impact, such that were invited back to support Fish again later in the year
“My Dark Surprise” is the new solo album from Iain Jennings, keyboard player of Mostly Autumn.
When I first encountered Shadow of the Sun supporting The Heather Findlay Band in November 2011, they were something of a work in progress. The new project from Dylan Thompson, former guitarist of The Reasoning laid some solid foundations for the future, but at that time there were some aspects that still needed a bit more work.