Those who were already familiar with Autogramm thanks to the band’s debut album (the comparatively baroque but still New Wave-identified No Rules which, honestly, a few more guidelines to get by) will be shocked when needle catches groove and “Born Losers” opens the A-side of Music That Humans Can Play. There, keyboards seem to actively restrain the song’s tempo as a really spare beat feels like it wants to break free of its restraints (or maybe it just feels that way to this critic), but falls in line and seems to fit well with the rest of the composition by the time singer Jiffy Marx introduces himself with the words, “It’s not the end of the world/ Even though it feels like you never get the girl” – by then, the band has listeners’ collective attention locked down tightly. From there, the song’s movements are one hundred per cent right out of 1986 and the band never seeks to develop the sound they’re making beyond that; very lean electric guitar tones intertwine tightly with the song’s keyboards and make for an undeniable, unstoppable force which ebbs and flows dramatically – and holds listeners so dearly that listeners will find they actually feel a little crestfallen when the song fades to a close. That’s when they’ll realize that Autogramm has them hooked; they may be surprised that it proved to take no time at all to happen, but they’ll be happy to buckle in for the ride.

After “Born Losers” settles listeners in, the searing wall of synths which opens “WannaBe” may shock them a little, but not so much that they might consider abandoning ship. In fact, after the wall parts to let drums, vocals and all the other instrumentation in the song in, listeners will find they’ve been unwittingly hypnotized again as the song’s dynamics shift from bracing to lush and back again easily, while Marx inserts one subversive lyric after another which might seem bold or brash coming from any other frontman (see lines like, “You can be as outrageous as you wanna be/ You can be anything that you wanna be”), but rub listeners like a soothing massage – in context. When listeners finally figure that out, they’ll rush to keep up because they’ll feel as though they’ve caught the band in the act of subverting listeners’ expectations – but then the song evaporates without a trace. “Hey Allie” follows a similar pattern with greater focus placed on the song’s “soundtrack” potential, but then the side ends a little awkwardly with the inclusion of the greatest New Wave song to appear after The New Romantic era – “Why Do We Dance.”

An important note on “Why Do We Dance”: ??For the four minutes and thirteen seconds it takes to play through the final song on the A-side of Music That Humans Can Play, Autogramm proves that their love of New Wave is anything but ironic as they earnestly patch together a flawless set of variables that Devo perfected four decades ago, and illustrate that their love is true. Here, keyboards wail like sad sirens while drummer Silo hammers the beat into the composition like nails, and Marx and bassist CC Voltage assemble a performance that is undoubtedly a tribute and testament to New Wave as a form, but also emotes better than artists like The Cars, Gary Numan, 20/20 or Devo ever could. Because of that, Autogramm proves that they are definitely the frontrunners of this next wave of New Wave artists; nobody is doing what Autogramm is doing on “Why Do We Dance” and, because of that, listeners will be ready to find out what the B-side of the album might hold as soon as the needle lifts.

…And those listeners won over or intrigued by what the A-side of Music That Humans Can Play held will find the B-side serves an even richer presentation which is apparent right away. As soon as “Love Is For Fools” kicks the running into gear, Marx’s guitar calls echoes of Big Star and Alex Chilton’s early solo work to mind. The swaggering guitars and pristine vocal melodies are absolutely phenomenal here, and don’t let listeners go for a second; it’s difficult to resist the urge to lift the needle after the song finishes and re-start the song a few times, because it is just that good. The song which follows “Love Is For Fools,” “Plastic Punx,” is exactly as good as its predecessor – the song shifts gears and includes some elements of Billy Idol’s “high Eighties” music as well as (again) some strains of Devo, and then treads closer to the territory that Elvis Costello occupied in the late Seventies and early Eighties for “Yesterday.” Standing back from it, listeners may be genuinely amazed at just how versatile Autogramm proves they can be on the first half of this side; while some critics could easily dismiss what they’re hearing as just being the work of a band simply mimicking the work of artists they admire, the truth is that Autogramm has made some great strides forward on Music That Humans Can Play. Granted, the album is not perfect and does stumble pretty hard – particularly after “Yesterday,” where the band spends the final three songs in the record’s running either tripping over themselves (“Westbound” just layers too much sound on a song which is an easy call for the weakest on the album), trudging in a way which is memorable in the worst imaginable manner (Marx can do a lot of things – talk about the dream he had last night isn’t among them) or trying to re-write “Girls On Film” (“Dive Right In”) – but the higher points on the A-side of Music That Humans Can Play as well as the early running of the B- excuse the foibles – or at least prove they’re the exception on the album and not the rule. Here’s hoping that Autogramm is capable of refining their sound just a little more on their next album – they’re much improved on Music That Humans Can Play, next time – if they reign themselves in just a little tighter – they may release a document which proves to be truly revelatory. [Bill Adams]

Artist:
https://stomprecords.com/bands/autogramm/
https://autogramm.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/autogrammband/
https://www.instagram.com/autogrammband/

Album:
Music That Humans Can Play is out now on pink “Plastic Punx” vinyl, or on “Born Loser” blue vinyl. Buy it here, on Autogramm’s Bandcamp page.

The post Autogramm – Music That Humans Can Play LP appeared first on Hellbound.ca.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s begin at the beginning of the album, and work our way in.

As soon as needle drops, listeners are introduced to “At Ease” and are immediately set at it as a drum pattern which feels like it was just played (read: not played to a click track – there is an obvious pocket to sink into, there at the beginning of “At Ease”) finds a warmth that is perfectly settling, and guitars and bass start coloring passages to make the song feel lived in. Even on first listen, there is a sense of comfort to be found in “At Ease,” and listeners will feel it before Dani Meza starts singing but, when he does, it’s perfectly apparent that he’s already feeling the rhythm as much as listeners are. Throughout the cut, Meza sighs along with a sense of satisfaction that is impossible to miss and is incredibly attractive.

“At Ease” actually sets all the precedents and parameters for the album and, after the song lets out, great attention is paid to meticulously populating the rest of the A-side of the album with like minded entities. “Orion’s Belt” follows “At Ease” and actually feels shorter than it is because the energy in the song is just so similar to that of its’ predecessor. Happily though, the more staccato-feeling bass that powers “You’re My Style” instantly sets it apart and re-captures listeners’ collective imagination. As was true earlier, Meza keeps up his sly, understated vocal, and that keeps listeners warm through “When It Comes To You” – in spite of watery phase/chorus effects sounding like they’re trying to break Ben Lumsdaine’s perfect – and perfectly fragile – beat. That “beat interrupted” sensation is actually more unsettling than one might think and, because of that listeners will enter “Taste Of Sugar” nervously – but the beat in that song is as stable as anything by Mitch Mitchell and so the song slides along easily, even when horns bleat unexpectedly before the side ends. When it does end though, listeners will find themselves rushing to their turntables to keep the album moving – the hook is set deep into them, and hopes that the B-side is of comparable quality to the A- are high.

In fact, the B-side of the album far exceeds the quality of the A-, and the difference is evident right away. As soon as the second side’s movement gets under way, there’s a jubilant, almost playfully light step about “Here And There” that is immediately accessible. There, the bass and drums really tease listeners along and Meza has to really work to keep up as the rhythm gives his body chills he can’t forget and a chorus of female back-up singers call him (and listeners) to follow along. Granted, there is no obvious relief in the song and that helps it slip into a higher, more seductive gear, but it’s effective enough to win fans and get them to forgive the clear misstep that “Glutton For Romance” represents (the halting and hesitant manner in which the song’s lyrics are delivered makes it sound like a love song delivered by Garth Algar – it’s a farce) and lets “Got You” arrive as the culmination of love song greatness that has mostly only been hinted at, to this point. With a set of keyboards which sound like they might have been lifted out of The Doors’ catalogue in all the right ways, “Got You” presents itself as the confident turning point in the album’s creative vision; here (and after this too), the romance that’s implied feels true and not at all contrived. The energy is strong enough that it also informs “Another Type Of Sickness,” and the last embers of it continue to glow in “The World Views The Gentle As Weak” (which gets over in spite of having an abominable title) as it closes out the album.

Standing back, having run all the way through I Planted, Apollos Watered, But God Kept Making It Grow, there is simply no way to deny that it’s a complicated album. True – there are some good points – and there are also some weak ones. It’s easy to appreciate some of the music on this album, while there re also some ideas that are under-developed. Simply said, the muse which inspired the music here as well as the development of that music itself is a work in progress but, after having experienced it, listeners will have the taste for it that will get them to sample it again, and will have them hoping for an even better, richer flavor when the crushedvelvets return with a follow-up album, someday. [Bill Adams]

Artist:
https://thecrushedvelvets.bandcamp.com/album/i-planted-apollos-watered-but-god-kept-making-it-grow
https://tidal.com/browse/artist/30429574

Album:
the crushedvelvets’ I Planted, Apollos Watered, But God Kept Making It Grow LP is out now on TCV Records. Buy it here, on bandcamp.

The post the crushedvelvets – I Planted, Apollos Watered, But God Kept Making It Grow LP appeared first on Hellbound.ca.

After “Killer Crush” does successfully establish its tone, “Love You More” follows and doesn’t exactly change up the sound so much as deepen it in a similar manner to how Leonard Cohen deepened the thematic turns through The Future. Again, very electronic and pre-programmed beats uphold the cut (this becomes consistent throughout the duration of the Purple Pain LP) and whispering synths as well as Collins’ more dramatic vocal styling are the elements which power the song and supply its flavor but, on the wrong day, “Love You More” can feel like it’s taking an eternity to get through its’ three minutes. “Shittin’ Tears” follows quickly and redeems its predecessor with some much more infectious and bluesy guitar styling , but “A Matter Of The Art” sees Collins backsliding quickly in all the wrong, emotionally self-indulgent ways to close the side. There, the singer croaks and groans hard over a gently pattered piano and agonizes in ways which quickly cease to feel worth investigating; for just under four and a half minutes, the singer pores over the inherent difficulties about songwriting and the concept of baring one’s soul in a believable way as the tape rolls but, after having already endured other such investigations, the play begins to bleed together. By the time the needle lifts from the side after “A Matter Of The Art” closes, some listeners will find themselves politely hoping that Scott Collins has other more interesting inspirations which might appear on Purple Pain‘s flip side.

…And, while the B-side begins at a point that’s just about as dimly-lit (calling it “dark” would be a shade too far) and muted as the A-side of the album was at its terminus, it doesn’t remain there for long. “Kiss Like Me” continues to tread the ground that “Love You More” overturned on the album’s A-side, but does so with a slightly better angle similar to that of Cowboy Junkies. From note one, “Kiss Like Me” lilts beautifully along as Collins rasps and rattles rapturously, and listeners might be surprised when they learn that the singer holds himself responsible for the demise of the relationship that fails in the song. In the end, it’s hard not to feel for him, instead of judging him and, as the side progressed, the band just keeps rolling along as “The Town Went Out On Us” ventures close to sounding like Lou Reed returning from Berlin while “Silver Bullet” tests the singer’s capacity for self-flagellation at half-speed and “Quitter” finds Collins holding himself accountable for not being able to just let go (of the girl? Of his pride? There are several possibilities) as the album closes. In the end, the album closes in much the same place it opened; while each song clearly articulates movement, Scott Collins remains very much in the same position he was when he started. While some critics would complain that the singer’s obvious inability to move forward is a clear shortcoming, repeated listens reveal that the reason for that unmoving position rests with the fact that Collins is holding back. The singer has illustrated obvious talent in the nine cuts on Purple Pain, he just needs a little more time to let his muse and music season in order to make grander statements.[Bill Adams]

Artist:
https://scott-collins.bandcamp.com/album/purple-pain
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61559185347466
https://www.deezer.com/en/album/575153421
https://www.instagram.com/savantgarde__/p/C6659oyOdtN/?locale=ru&hl=am-et&img_index=1

Album:
Purple Pain is out now, both on vinyl and digitally. Buy it here on Scott Collins’ bandcamp page.

The post Scott Collins – Purple Pain LP appeared first on Hellbound.ca.

Recorded in 2023 in Chicago, the A-side of “Live… And Let Die” opens earnestly with a great version of “I Wanna Be Forgotten” that is just captivating. There, after introductions are made, Bass Drum Of Death just launches into “I Wanna Be Forgotten” and never looks back; guitars are overdriven to the point that they nearly melt down, and Colin Sneed pummels his drum kit mercilessly while John Barrett’s vocals season the song and make the high end sparkle. As potentially nihilistic as the grind of the guitars could get, the song stays bright and exciting throughout and, when it does slam shut (after just two and a half minutes!), listeners will feel as though they’ve been slapped in the mouth – and so will rush to keep up with the album’s running.

After the album’s precedents have been set by “I Wanna Be Forgotten,” “Nerve Jamming” lifts the introductory beat from The Ramones’ “Teenage Lobotomy” but makes the guitar tone in the song just a little more grimy and gnarly in keeping with the band’s image before evening out the sound of those two extremes and finding a balance with “No Soul”and “Left For Dead,” which strike every primal pleasure centre in listeners’ brains and “Velvet Itch” just batters the last functional nerves that listeners might have in them before stylus lifts and asks listeners to flip the record over if they dare.

Those listeners who do take up the challenge will be handsomely rewarded as soon as needle touches down and “Everybody’s Gonna Be There” starts the B-side running. There, after some obligatory screech and skronk, Barrett taps an instantly gratifying vein as he balances melody and urgency – bolstered very well by Sneed and Trent Cocteau – and rips through two and a quarter minutes of spectacular rock that is as molten as it is melodic. After that, the running does not slow as the bandmembers each exercise their vocal chords through the hard stomping of “Say Your Prayers” and batters through an excellent, revved up take of “Shattered Me” before sounding as though they’ve spontaneously chosen to walk out into the desert (whether imaginary or not) through “Get Found” and then remaining there for the grunting, grinding showcase of “No Demons” and finally closing on a lighter and brighter note in the form of “Crawling After You.”

Now, after having ground and stomped their way through most of the B-side’s play, closing on a brighter, speedier note as “Crawling After You” does offers a solid way out of the album, but it could easily be argued that the close of the album doesn’t want to make those who have run front-to-back with Live… And Let Die start over and indulge repeated plays so much as just wishing the album was longer. Listeners who run front-to-back with “Live… And Let Die” may find themselves wishing that the release was a double album or, failing that, on a different medium altogether – which could offer a more complete presentation of the concert experience. Simply said, “Live… And Let Die” will leave listeners wanting more but the nature of the medium tries not to leave any loose ends dangling from the record too. In effect, what listeners end up getting from “Live… And Let Die” is a very challenging album which starts strong but leaves demand very high by record’s close. [Bill Adams]

Artist:
https://www.bassdrumofdeath.com/
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100047278503815
https://www.instagram.com/bassdrumofdeath/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5LtAyeDVOVcydj65LvgICY

Album:
Bass Drum Of Death’s “Live… And Let Die” LP is out now. Buy it here from Cobraside Records’ official web site.

The post Bass Drum Of Death – “Live… And Let Die” LP appeared first on Hellbound.ca.

As strong as such praise may sound, it’s worth pointing out that the gratification which comes from Undefeated befins to appear as soon as needle drops and “Do One” opens the A-side of the album. There, Turner seems to begin humbly (check out lines like, “Some people are just going to hate you/ No matter what you do/ So don’t waste your time trying to change their minds/ Just be a better you.“) before ratcheting up the levels of defiance in a manner that is instantly rewarding (“It took me years to learn this/ More than I’d like to admit/ But through my ups and downs I figured one thing out/ Don’t take anyone’s shit”).

The levels actually go up still higher after “Do One” introduces Undefeated in the most remarkable ways. “Nevermind The Back Problems” clatters together and spits in the face of the possibility that punk’s life force might be in question with a sneer which could only have come from the United Kingdom before pumping the brakes for some introspection in “Ceasefire” and then stomping right back down hard on the accelerator for the music store MASH note, “Girl From The Record Shop.”

On “Girl From The Record Shop,” how much Turner has refined his songwriting craft over the last nine albums is really evident. Sure – songs about girls have always been in the singer’s repertoire, but Turner’s newest attempts feel more meticulously constructed than those on previous albums. The first few cuts on the A-side of Undefeated prime listeners well, but the particular standouts like “Girl From The Record Shop” and “Pandemic PTSD” hit square in the middle of the side and so definitely require a time investment – but they’re definitely worth it. “Girl From The Record Shop” really sets hearts racing, but “Pandemic PTSD” just cannot help but be a thematic centrepiece; lyrics like “I’m haunted by a kind of mourning for the life that we left in 2019/ I know it wasn’t perfect, but it’s what I knew/ Physically distanced, told we’re in it together/ But socially removed from our snickering betters/ Far too smart to abase themselves by following their own rules” sum up the frustration that many people felt during the pandemic, even if we might recognize how pragmatically important the practice was now, in hindsight (although it’s still a button issue, and the fallout of that isolation is still felt).

As the side plays, “Letters” continues with the same pragmatic bent and contrasts the song’s tempo with the minor chords which drive the song as well as the singer’s (lyrically) admitted frustration before finally closing with the geographically-conscious “East Finchley.” There, Turner finds a way to balance love and frustration beautifully as lines like “When they put up the barriers at East Finchley Underground/At the end of the tunnel that led to your road/ They cut off my route to the only saafe place I’d find/ It cost money I didn’t have for me to go home” present the image of a familiar place in unfamiliar circumstances, issued in a tone and with an inflection which will have listeners rushing to investigate because there is anger without confrontation apparent. There is reserve, but a critical spirit too – and that emotional hook is huge and listeners will find that they’re still wrestling with that as stylus lifts from side.

Perhaps because he knows he closed the A-side on a heavy note, Frank Turner elects to completely change the subject at the top of the B- and, while the energy is very similar, the approach is much different. “No Thank You For The Music” (which is very possibly the most uniquely British way of telling people how disinterested they are in the concept of digital music consumption) valiantly attacks online music culture with a well-honed balance of poppy caprice and bile in its belly (check out lines like, “Now I’m surprised to report that as I enter my Forties / I’ve returned to being an angry man/I can see clearly now that the drugs wore off/ Some kinds of music just aren’t part of the plan,” which pairs the manic snarl of a street preacher with Elvis Costello at his most punky-melodic) and the songs flies beautifully with the sense of sensory overload which powers it. That aforementioned energy holds up but plays a little leaner through “The Leaders,” and uses the same chord progression under the coyly-entitled “International Hide and Seek Champion.” Now, as that series of songs plays through, the energy never fades under levels that are undeniably infectious – which begins to feel a little problematic, somehow. By “…Champions,” listeners may actually find they’re beginning to tire of what they’re hearing, which is what makes the break exhibited by “Show People” so welcome.

For “Show People,” everyone (including Turner himself) gets the chance to catch their breath as they go from a run to a brisk walking tempo – in contrast to lyrical fare which pays respect to all the people who make a concert happen (like sound men, lighting crew, security et cetera), behind the scenes. While the tempo of the song does decrease, it never gets quite as overwrought as Elton John did with “Tiny Dancer” – which serves it very well. Listeners will find that they relish the movement that “Show People” makes as it runs and, when it ends, the sense of satisfaction that comes with it is just stellar. “On My Way” follows and echoes “Show People” a little as well as seasoning in something similar to Bright Eyes’ more romantic side before Turner makes his way to a piano to further reaffirm that image through “Somewhere Inbetween,” but the real peak was achieved before and during “Show People” and everything after it is just an enactment of an extended outro. The final cut of the album, the title track, treads ever-closer to that “Elton John” line as the Turner rolls the piano out again, but also has the presence of mind to bring a guitar and drummer along to make the cut a little less balladesque, and more like a victory as the song crashes to a close on the title lyric.

After the needle has lifted and listeners have a minute to digest where the title cut left them, listeners who have run front-to-back with Undefeated will eventually concede that they can take the ride through the album again – but that decree may not come as immediately as it did with Frank Turner’s previous work (like with Poetry Of The Deed, England Keep My Bones and Tape Deck Heart and FTHC in particular). The process of affection which comes to Undefeated is a more gradual one but fans can rest assured that they’ll eventually find what they’re looking for here. While certainly more difficult, Undefeated isexcellent and, when you’re not expecting it, is capable of packing a wallop which will leave listeners won. [Bill Adams]

Artist:
https://frank-turner.com/
https://www.facebook.com/frankturnermusic/
https://www.instagram.com/frankturner/?hl=en

Album:
Undefeated is out now. Buy it here, directly from Frank Turner’s official website.

The post Frank Turner – Undefeated LP appeared first on Hellbound.ca.

After needle catches groove on the 7” single’s A-side, “Mantra” earnestly works their magic in an easy manner that no one could possibly expect – before they experience it for themselves. A very arid and drone-y guitar part coupled with a methodical beat and tempo will get listeners nodding along with the song sympathetically, but swooping and reversed guitar dive-bombs really seal in the “acid rock” flavor and lock it down for the band before the song closes. Clocking in at just two minutes and forty-seven seconds, listeners will concede that their collective appetite has been whetted by “Mantra” but, with no lyrics and with the song being so short, no one who hears “Mantra” will be able to claim that the song was so substantial that they walked away satiated, so they’ll be rushing to flip the record over in hopes of finding something greater on the B-.

Happily, the B-side of the single surpasses its counterpart and will leave listeners feeling better than “Mantra” did. Dense reverb adorns the opening guitar licks of “Surfers On Acid,” and will instantly cause lovers of surf rock to feel looser and more comfortable as the song plays. Images of Dick Dale and Billy Zoom will both manifest and intertwine in listeners’ collective mind’s eye as the song’s rhythm builds and a very nasal electric guitar appears on top of it; playing any way it can – forward and backward – to make an unforgettable impression before recognizing that its time is up and sliding easily out to a close. Listeners may feel like they’ve been shorted when they realize that “Surfers On Acid” only clocks in at about five seconds longer than “Mantra” but, before long, they’ll realize that the sensation is due mostly to the fact that they’ve really been well won by the cut and, while that realization still doesn’t really salve the situation, their hunger for more music will have been well-honed and those who run front-to-back with this single will be anxious to find more music by Trabants as soon as possible. [Bill Adams]

Artist:
http://www.trabantsmusic.com/
https://trabants.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/trabantsmusic/

Record:
The “Mantra” b/w “Surfers On Acid” 7” single is out now. Buy it here, directly from the band. https://trabants.bandcamp.com/album/mantra

The post Trabants – “Mantra” b/w “Surfers On Acid” 7” single appeared first on Hellbound.ca.

DAY 1

Full Band List from Day 1: Sunken, Andracca, Lamp of Murmuur, Waldgeflüster, Obsidian Kingdom, Falls of Rauros, Ultha, The Infernal Sea, Der Weg Einer Freiheit, Fellwarden, Panopticon, Regarde Les Hommes Tomber, Triptykon

Falls of Rauros 

Hitting the Ocean Room Stage of the festival, Falls of Rauros began their set by letting the crowd know they hail from Scarborough, New England, and are now here for the first time overseas in Scarborough, England. I was pleasantly surprised to see an exhilarated bunch in the audience giving them the amped up welcome they damn well deserve. Filled with loads of misanthropy and melodic emotion that entwines itself in folkish foundations, you could see the natural ambience ricochet off of every corner of the room when they broke into their song Banished. And as they carried us through mystical consistencies, it all felt like it came to a close, faster than it began.

The Infernal Sea 

(And my Dödsrit crisis)

On the 17th of May, Dödsrit had announced they would be pulling out of the lineup for Fortress following a medical emergency. This, somehow, fell under my radar and I continued to boast to everyone and their uncle before the festival about how excited I was to finally be catching one of my favorite bands play. With that being said, when Dödsrit was scheduled to hit the Ocean Room for 17:45, I made sure I was at the barrier a half hour in advance in order to gain the perfect vantage point. I then slowly began to realize that something wasn’t quite right. The screens depicting the band’s name was not Dödsrit’s logo and the band in front of me completing soundcheck was definitely not Dödsrit. After looking at the set times and band list one hundred and ninety nine times and for a moment wondering if I was hallucinating, I found the Facebook post regarding their withdrawal from the festival. I was grief stricken with disappointment and my own internalized embarrassment. However, this did not last long because suddenly, The Infernal Sea hit the stage.

The Infernal Sea isn’t a band I was previously familiar with but funny enough, I recognized their logo as they’re set to play a show locally to me in September of this year. And as it goes, they were incredibly fast, heavy, visceral and loud. This caused any ounce of sadness to be absolutely shredded out of my bones without even a second thought. They went on an absolute crusade of blast beats and black n’ roll that left us all with thrash tainted enthusiasm to spare.

Panopticon

I remember seeing Fortress Festival’s line up for 2023 that featured the ever mystical Panopticon, and at the time, being unable to make the journey from Canada to catch them play. When they were announced to be playing again this year, I was happier than a pig in shit to finally be catching them. They played tracks like the stunning Into the North Woods and all three parts of The Long Road. The bassist had the best foot tap going while he was having the absolute time of his life. Their live fiddle player even had a moment where his luscious locks got caught up in his bow, but he bounced back with a smile and a laugh to the crowd. Their heart-felt, grandiose, unorthodox approach to Black Metal was a refreshing switch of atmosphere and memorably breathtaking.

Regarde Les Hommes Tomber

Armed with lit candelabras and burning incense to lock you into their realm of tremolo rhythms and mesmerizing vastness, there was no denying the weight of Regarde Les Hommes Tomber instrumental offerings and the fixated attention they had from everybody in the room. When bands incorporate external elements like visual and sensual production, it amplifies your all around experience as a festival goer tenfold; you become one with the provided masterful showpiece. With the vocalists shrieks and sheer magnitude of down tuned sounds that echoed through the venue, it was no wonder everyone was so entranced.

Day 2 

Full Band List from Day 2: Ante-Inferno, Blood Countess, Thy Light, Domhain, Vemod, Abyssal, Furia, Mortiferum, Gaera, Fluisteraars, Blackbraid, Misþyrming, Wolves in the Throne Room

Thy Light

It is the second day of Fortress Festival and somehow it’s an even more beautiful and extravagant day than the first? So naturally, you want to start the most perfect day off with some Depressive Suicidal Black Metal. Piercing my soul and cracking in with thunderous double bass, it’s hard to correlate the band that I listen to in my darkened hovel of a bedroom to the one I’m seeing right in front of me wafting so much energy. They’re stark and bleak but that pairs so well with their gorgeous swept solos and very fitting stage attire. I’m left with more satisfaction and thrill than I am depressive or suicidal. 

Fluisteraars

The sheer amount I have waffled on, and on, and on, and on, about Fluisteraars to just about anybody that will listen and to anyone who has ever watched me over at BangerTV, is probably concerning. If I had to pick one band that has never done me wrong and I could list you the entire discography front to back with hearts pouring out of my eye sockets in the process, it would be Fluisteraars. As it is extensively more difficult for bands to make travels from Europe to North America and vice versa, I had come to terms with the fact that it may be a quite lengthy period of time before I ever got the chance to lay my eyes on this incredible project from the Netherlands. 

Fluisteraars directly translates from Dutch to Whisperers; I will inform you right now that there were no whispers to be had during their set, especially not coming from me. Coming out in coordinated outfits that felt more sophisticatedly charming then your typical Black Metal attire, it was fitting for a band that has never boxed themselves into the norm, as well as a nice change of pace for the all around environment. They played enchanting melodic pieces like Nasleep and Tere Muur, paired with tracks like Brand Woedt In Mijn Graf that navigated heavier, faster and more engulfing passages. Their vocalist swayed around the stage with huge flowing gestures that felt more like I was having spells cast on me than anything at all. When they announced their final song, I wasn’t ready for it to be finished, but being cheeky, they closed the set with a 20 minute glorious masterpiece. I had goosebumps beyond my level of comprehension. 

Blackbraid

Hailing from the Adirondack Mountains in the state of New York, Blackbraid has made quite the name for themselves in a very small period of time. Just like the mountains they call home, their visuals are stunning and their sound just as huge. Dark red light devoured the stage, accompanied by animal skulls, pelts and sage to incorporate their proud indigenous roots. Sgah’gahsowáh guided the crowd with his piercing vocals and exuberant, overflowing energy. It was an emotional experience fueled by anger and blood soaked history that made its own place with vigor and resilience. 

Misþyrming

Extreme is the first word that came to my mind. AND POWERFUL! There was a fellow standing to my right having the absolute time of his life; from head banging, to screaming, to knowing every single guitar piece of every song and singing it loud in the crowd. I can easily say this was probably my favorite, and by far the best crowd of the whole festival. With an immense dose of technicality and fast riffs, Mispyrming was incredibly tight and spot on. 

Wolves in the Throne Room 

With an immense backdrop of knotwork and green vines, Wolves in the Thone Room’s drone-like ambience bounced from wall to wall. With such a vast discography from years past, they hopped back and forth from more recent endeavors to releases from the mid 2000s; giving us a taste of everything and anything entwined into one. They were cathartic, gracious and loud, wrapping up the end of the festival in the best way they possibly could.

Fortress Festival is a tremendous experience from the venue, to the seaside brine, to the array of bands that come internationally to provide such a wicked mix of sound, to the merch shops like Mercian Storm and Cult Never Dies, to the festival goers, and every little piece in-between. And hey, did you hear Agalloch will be headlining Fortress Festival 2025? I quite frankly will not be missing it for the friggin’ world. See you next year!

https://reaperagencyuk.bigcartel.com

The post Festival Review: Fortress Festival 2024 appeared first on Hellbound.ca.

As soon as needle catches groove, listeners who are familiar with the music on Jar Of Flies will feel a flutter of excitement as “Rotten Apple” opens the EP’s A-side because the remastering job applied makes the song sound so bright. Granted, the methodical pace and minor key that the song was written in as well as Layne Staley’s simmering vocal tone insist that listeners move toward the performance to find their way in, but the reward is immediate because the mix on this vinyl reissue has been so carefully presented; the lead guitar figure scrapes in an almost vocal (or talk box) manner while the rhythm guitar part and Staley’s vocal both possess disarming and worrisome qualities which are impossible to deny or escape by the time the song reaches the sense of disillusionment (“what I see is unreal”) of the chorus. As was also true when the EP was first released, this remastered, re-issued presentation of “Rotten Apple” could best be characterized as feeling haunted – but but the greatest improvement made on this reissue is just how vivid the texture of the song is; even if it was escapable (it isn’t), listeners will be well and deeply hooked, here.

After “Rotten Apple” casts the spell, “Nutshell” ups the game further by reaching deeper into Alice In Chains’ emotional barrel. There, with a dry-eyed sense of reserve which simply never appeared in pop, rock or metal before, the band achieves a state of sadness and reflection that was previously reserved only for somber poets like John Keats, Robert Frost and Edgar Allen Poe (see lines like, “We chase misprinted lies/ We face the path of time/ And yet I fight, and yet I fight/ This battle all alone/ No one to cry to/ No place to call home”) and brings it all into a form that no one had done before – but would ultimately inspire an entire genre’s worth of superstars. Bands like Godsmack (who even cribbed their NAME from AIC) Deftones, Saliva, Staind and Disturbed all owe a creative debt to Alice In Chains but when they pick up acoustic guitars, the reason for that creative decision can be traced to the power exhibited in “Nutshell” and a desire to even come close to the quality presented. “Nutshell” remains a knee-buckling standard, set thirty years ago.

Following “Nutshell,” Jar Of Flies shifts gears and transitions into the most bombastic song in its running – which is somehow also its lightest. “I Stay Away” begins gently with a guitar figure that is melodic and folk-infused, and the vocal melody layered on top rings with all the color of classic rock, initially – but brows will furrow before long even if listeners are long familiar with the song. After that first classic build, Layne Staley’s vocal tone turns sardonic and almost wants to taunt listeners as lines like “Why you act crazy/ Not an act maybe/ So close a lady/ Shifty eyes shady” intone darkness and malaise before finally wringing the last drops of pain and distance out of the title lyric. The power of “I Stay Away” is spectacular and, upon exposure to it, ;listeners will have to work to catch their breath in preparation for “No Excuses,” which closes the side.

Within the context of this new, 30th anniversary reissue of Jar Of Flies, the sound and power of “No Excuses” simply cannot be overstated. Now, the quality of the song has never been cast into question – not for nothing was “No Excuses” the breakout single from the EP (particularly on radio) – but the song’s placement here coupled with how it sounds elevates it to a whole other level and, when the song ends and needle lifts, listeners will be left rushing to flip the record over in hopes of retaining the energy level left by “No Excuses.”

As strongly as the EP’s A-side ended, the B-side will have listeners wondering what the inspiration was for the B-side as “Whale and Wasp” opens the running with an instrumental which calls to mind a whine of pain – but doesn’t really go anywhere. Throughout each of AIC’s releases to the point that Jar Of Flies came out in the band’s chronology, Jerry Cantrell’s guitar always played a role that was capable of driving a song or infusing it with emotion – but that was always complimented by a vocal performance which could point listeners in one direction or another.Comparatively, “Whale and Wasp” is rudderless; the minor key in which the song is composed implies desperation but, with little in the way of drums to power the song along from Sean Kinney, that sense of desperation feels lost and confused too – so while the cut is only two and a half minutes long, it feels frightening and seems to play forever. That sensation lightens exponentially as “Don’t Follow” shifts to a major key and Cantrell’s arpeggios add some gentility to the play – and the harmonica which appears in the song adds a timeless quality that it’s possible to lose oneself in. There is no dark turn in the song too – which really pushes it into a warm and lush place similar to that which Alice Mudgarden went in “Right Turn” on Sap – except without Chris Cornell’s help. Unlike “Whale and Wasp,” “Don’t Follow”’s four minutes and twenty-two seconds fly past listeners and, when the song ends in almost exactly the same way it began, it leaves listeners in a much brighter place, emotionally – thereby implying that a resolution might just be on the way.

…And just when listeners think Alice In Chains may indeed end Jar Of Flies on the bright note with which “Don’t Follow” implied, “Swing On This” turns the screw just enough that listeners can see a bright resolution, but not quite receive one. Through the first verse, Alice In Chains uses the strengths which were already established elsewhere on Jar Of Flies – bright and brassy acoustic guitar from Jerry Cantrell, an excellent walking bass line from Mike Inez, tasteful and reserved drumming from Sean Kinney and a good vocal from Layne Staley (which feels like a nod to the singer’s beginnings as a hair metal singer). That first verse in “Swing On This” actually comes across as feeling like it might represent a brand new beginning for Alice In Chains – until the chorus drops into a minor key and dissonance overtakes the movement, making it feel sick and so exactly like an Alice In Chains song. As much as it is “exactly the kind of thing fans would expect from Alice In Chains” though, the bait about “Swing On This” is how intrinsically malevolent it feels as it plays and, when it ends, how dark it feels – even when the bandmembers can be heard laughing before the needle lifts. That last eerie turn is the thing that will keep listeners coming back to Jar Of Flies again and again; as far as the EP does get from what is the established norm for Alice In Chains, it still always feels like there’s a way back. For other records that the band would release after this one, that wouldn’t always be true – but that’s the brilliant thing about Jar Of Flies, and that’s why it continues to hold a special place in fans’ collective heart – made only warmer by this remastered reissue. [Bill Adams]

Artist:
https://aliceinchains.com/
https://www.facebook.com/aliceinchains
https://www.instagram.com/aliceinchains/

Further Reading:
Ground Control‘s Alice In Chains Discography Review
The Classics 040 – Alice In Chains – Dirt (reissue) 2LP
Vinyl Vlog 217 – Alice In Chains – Record Store Day 2×7’’ set
Vinyl Vlog 181 – Alice In Chains – Live Facelift EP

Album:
The 30th Anniversary vinyl reissue of Alice In Chains’ Jar Of Flies is out now. Buy it here, on the band’s official website.

The post Alice In Chains – Jar Of Flies 12” EP (30th Anniversary Reissue) appeared first on Hellbound.ca.

As soon as needle catches groove and “Anthem Part 3” opens the A-side of One More Time…, longtime fans will have no difficulty finding their way in at all; while Travis Barker takes a little too much liberty with the mix (the band’s drummer is also the album’s producer – and his drums are very prominent in the record’s overall sound), Mark Hoppus’ and Tom DeLonge’s vocals ring through both brightly and brilliantly – and hold the line when the song shifts gears about three minutes in so that, when the song crashes to a close, listeners will recoil from the blast and be struck enamoured; the opener hits listeners just the same as Blink 182’s Nineties albums did but manages to come off feeling like a genuine return – not a canny or contrived one. That energy endures through through “Dance With Me” as both Hoppus and DeLonge keep pushing their vocals either through their noses (which somehow manages to sound like Mike Burkett, in delivery) or right at the top of their throats, which adds a sense of urgency. After that, the side stumbles pretty clearly with the mid-tempo “remember when” dreck of “Fell In Love” (which tries to be a romantic song for twenty-somethings and should not have been attempted by a band who’s members are all pushing fifty) but recovers really well when “More Than You Know” steps on the accellerator and finds some fury that Blink-182 never really showed so clearly before. Lines like, “I don’t feel pain, I feel more than you’d ever know/ I don’t feel shame, I don’t have highs but I’ve got some lows” really make it feel the emotion implied isn’t just put on – it has been lived in and hasn’t quite been resolved yet, which is a great hook and will hold listeners through what might qualify as the band’s attempt at melodic hardcore (“Turn This Off!”) as well as the band’s “reeling in the years” attempt at sweetness (“When We Were Young” – which just sounds too old and reserved for this band) before finally landing on solid ground with some new attitude problems on “Edging” to close the side.

To its credit, “Edging” blasts through with some great new inspirations like discovering fresh new life (“They’ll be hanging me quick when I’m back from the dead”) and new ways to articulate an attitude problem (see, “I’m a punk rock kid, I came from Hell with a curse/ She tried to pray it away, so I fucked her in church”) which rank as the best stuff on the side and, after the song ends less than three minutes later, will have listeners flipping the record over, eagerly – hoping to find anything that plays as well as “Edging” does.

…And they do! While the B-side of One More Time… forces listeners to wait through some hard-won lessons extolled through the dour (by Blink-182 standards) opening cut, “You Don’t Know What You’ve Got,” the going begins to get great when “Bad News” digs through hard times at breakneck speed before resolving with the realization that the character singing the song is better off – content, even – without the girl who left. “Bad News” is a brilliant turn for Blink-182 because it grows up and realizes that pining for a girl is a young man’s game and there needs to be other ways to play; it feels unlikely, but “Bad News” is the reassurance for forty-something punks that there is life after the girl leaves – and it sounds great.

After “Bad News” sets a new precedent for listeners, the B-side of One More Time… does stumble a little (the “Hurt” interlude does not need to appear after “Bad News” – at all) but regains its balance as Turpentine” rages just the right way and asks, “What if I’m not like the others?” before picking up a loose piece of vitriol which feels like it might have fallen out of Green Day’s Nimrod sessions (specifically when the band recorded “Platypus” and unloaded some hatred) before offering listeners one of the best songs Blink 182 has recorded in its 32-year career: “Other Side.” There, all of the track has already been laid through the other songs on One More Time…, so the band simply follows the trail through great memories which lead to loss and heartache and the knowledge that nothing will ever be quite right or the same again – but the story still isn’t quite over – and there may yet be happiness, in the end. Again, as is true in other moments on One More Time…, “Other Side” is a very different kind of song for Blink-182 and has a chance to win a very different kind of fan. This new type of fan is already very familiar with the cookie cutter kind of sophomoric pop-punk that Blink-182 built a base on, but they’ll be really attracted to this new angle that’s laced through One More Time…. “Childhood” is the song which closes out the album (and does it with some date-checking and disillusionment), but “Other Side” is the great, late-playing peak that Blink-182 fans both old and new needed to hear – it is the great summary of the inspiration that yielded One More Time…, and leaves listeners with a warm feeling in their bellies that they can take away from the album, or revisit repeatedly.

Stepping back from One More Time…, it feels almost childish to characterize this album as a kind of event which can still win new fans as well as giving longtime fans more of what they needed from this band, but that’s exactly what it does. It could easily be said that One More Time… brings with it a sense of closure that the band could say is what they needed to walk away, but the problem with that is that the album is just too fucking good – front-to-back and top-to-bottom, there is just too much about One More Time… that is easy to inhabit. As much as the whole point of this album was to let the band walk away, it’s too good for fans to not take it personally if this turns out to be where Blink-182’s story ends. The band will just have to try again with another release – if they want to make walking away justifiable. One More Time… is not the note on which the band can end. [Bill Adams]

Artist:
https://www.blink182.com/
https://www.facebook.com/blink182/
https://www.instagram.com/blink182/?hl=en

Listen:
Blink-182 – One More Time – [Youtube stream]

Album:
One More Time… is out now. Buy it here at Blink-182’s official store.

The post Blink-182 – One More Time LP appeared first on Hellbound.ca.

As good as it does get though, that doesn’t mean Judas Priest doesn’t take a minute (or, more accurately, five and a half) to prime the proverbial pumps on their machine to get it warmed up. “Panic Attack” is that warm-up and finds Priest including some keyboards with its metal guitar arrangement. That inclusion could be called divisive, in theory – metal heads of a particular vintage often tend to view keyboards with no small amount of suspicion – but their inclusion works very well, here. In this case, the song rolls along really well with Glenn Tipton and Ritchie Faulkner trading guitar lines back and forth and the low end being held down tightly by Ian Hill and Scott Travis but, as usual, the real shining light in the composition continues to be Rob Halford. While not reaching registers as high as he once did, the singer takes the opportunity to work on his lyrical delivery (check out lines like, “The clamour and the clatter of incensed keys/ Can bring a nation to its knees/ On the wings of of a lethal iron, bird of prey”) and the results instantly register as higher than Priest has done on its last few albums, and more impressive too – and after it hits, the band doesn’t bother to pause and let the punch sink in, they just keep looking for more great marks to hit. Vocals get higher and energy more manic as the song progresses and, when it peaks (about thirty seconds before the song’s conclusion), listeners will be able to feel a climax that’s better than the band has reached in a very long time. In a word, “Panic Attack” is absolutely glorious.

Rather than standing back to admire their handiwork, the band just keeps pressing forward with more power – more fury – as the A-side continues. “The Serpent and the King” shreds expectations with incendiary guitar solos delivered at an excellent tempo before the side needs changing and the track does exactly what songs which are named after albums are supposed to do by exemplifying the themes, forms and styling which defined the making of the album. Featuring ever-so-slightly more music on the B-side than was on the A-, the album’s title track tees up a fantastic and undeniably metallic experience complete with some great drumming and guitar work as well as twin vocal performances by Halford (which were indeed recorded twice – not double-tracked – to excellent effect) which all comes together to present a true standout cut on the album. The levels do not dip at all, but the movement takes on a distinct strut and swagger through “Devil In Disguise” before once again causing metalheads to throw their fists in the air, horns up, for “Gates Of Hell” – which doesn’t aim for a contrived “satanic panic” pose but rather just seeks to match the squalid imagery implied with a great, hard performance before the needle lifts from the album.

While choosing to open the C-side with a mid-tempo dip in energy as “Crown Of Thorns” does is definitely questionable, the movement immediately recovers with “As God As My Witness” (which, again, illustrates that Priest continues to be the standard by which classic metal bands should be judged) and “Trial By Fire” helps the power from its predecessor recede neatly by presenting a “classic Priest” album cut to close. Readers might notice that the language in this part of the review has begun to become a little repetitive, and there is a reason for that: there are no significant dynamic shifts in the middle of the album which imply movement, growth or change. Even so, when the needle lifts and side needs changing, listeners will find that their energy to do so remains as high as that of the album – and so they won’t question if they’ve had enough yet.

For those running front-to-back with Invincible Shield, “Escape From Reality” is unquestionably the weak link in the album’s running – and that it opens the album’s D-side is just a shame. Simply said, the song just suffers from having been preceded by too many high points; those who hve already heard the strong points in Invincible Shield‘s running will find that Faulkner’s guitars in “Escape From Reality” feel a little stilted; they suffer from featuring a fraction of the fire that other cuts on the album flaunted, and so is forgettable as a result. Likewise, Halford’s performance on “Escape From Reality” features no great melody and nothing that resembles a daring performance – it’s just perfectly average. Happily, the side does recover immediately after that disappointment with “Sons Of Thunder”though, and listeners will happily concede that all is forgiven. Traces of classicism flow in the undercurrent of “Sons Of Thunder” as Tipton and Faulkner blaze brightly through guitar parts which favor brevity above all, but do not skimp on fireworks – and Halford sings with the authority of a battlefield commander; his voice does not fly as high as it can, but sizzles with passion and grit to really make listeners feel it.

The ending of “Sons Of Thunder” is just powerful enough that Judas Priest could have closed out the running of Invincible Shield and fans would have been satisfied – but instead they include “Giants In The Sky”for one last blast. There, Halford really wants to make sure that listeners know the song was included for a reason as mentions of, “Till the bitter end” and “leaving a legacy” factor into the lyric sheet, but the soaring guitars in the song are the things which reach for and attain the stratosphere even more handily than the vocals and, after all of the band’s members throw in a few closing notes, the cut slams forcefully to a close.

Standing back from it and taking the album as a whole, the truth is that no one who runs front-to-back with Invincible Shield will be able to deny how great an achievement it is. Yes, that the album is Priest’s nineteenth is impressive and that the band has been running for fifty-five years is remarkable, but those things don’t really rank as selling points for this album – it would stand out regardless of those things. Ignoring all the history and achievements that Judas Priest has enjoyed, listeners will still be able to recognize just how good Invincible Shield is and that deserves commendation above and beyond any other praise that the band has been offered previously. [Bill Adams]

Artist:
https://www.judaspriestinvincibleshield.com/
https://www.facebook.com/OfficialJudasPriest/
https://www.tiktok.com/@judaspriest
https://www.instagram.com/judaspriest/

Album:
Judas Priest’s Invincible Shield 2LP is out now. Buy it here on Amazon.

The post Judas Priest – Invincible Shield 2LP appeared first on Hellbound.ca.