Well, this isn’t bad but it doesn’t really blow me away
either. Solace is yet another band playing the doom/stoner rock style and they
do it fairly well. They just don’t add much in the way of originality. The
vocals don’t do much for me, either, sounding at times like a slightly bored
Chris Cornell. If this came on the car radio I’d probably turn it up, but at
home with all the crap I have to chose form I don’t picture ‘13’ getting too
many spins. On the plus side the band sounds tight, guitarist Tommy Southard
shows some chops, and “Common Cause” featuring guest vocals from “Wino” (The
Obsessed, Spirit Caravan) might be worth a few more listens. (Bob Ignizio)
This album just shreds from start to finish. Blending
blazing eighties thrash with more modern metal styles, Soulless create a sound
both classic and contemporary. They would fit in well with bands like Witchery,
Arch Enemy, or early In Flames, but ultimately have a sound that sets them apart
as their own band. ‘Agony’s Lament’ features killer riffing and guitar
harmonies, and nice use of dynamics throughout. The lyrics are right out of the
Metal Theology 101 textbook: lots of stuff about succumbing to endless pain,
grinding the pious beneath cloven hooves, and what not. Hey, you didn’t really
expect a thrash band to sing about sunshine and kittens, did you? The songs
that stood out for me were “The Soulscythe”, “Terror of Twilight”, “Downward”
and “The Fleet of Fury”, but it’s all pretty solid. No ballads, no rap.
Soulless don’t throw any surprises or curveballs at the listener, they just
deliver top notch 100% grade ‘A’ metal. What more do you want? (Bob Ignizio)
Let's face it,
when a band you really love changes their line-up, you fear the worst. It's
just a fact of life. We fear change when it involves something we enjoy. Well,
the Spiritual Beggars have done just that. J.B. and Roger Nilsson are now in
the band replacing departed vocalist/bassist Spice. Nilsson on bass, in fact,
does an above average job on the low end making for some better music and as for
J.B., well, that's another story. Former vocalist Spice had a very distinctive
gravely tone to his voice and combined with his phrasing and vocal stylings it
made up a big part of the character of Spiritual Beggars. J.B. just doesn't
have any of those traits. Now, I am not saying that he is a bad singer, that
wouldn't be fair. He has a very good voice that has no flavor of its own. At
times he sounds like an early 80's David Coverdale and other times he just
sounds like some guy in a bar band. There is just nothing that makes him
memorable and at times he makes the band sound like a Deep Purple cover band.
On the other hand, “On Fire” is perhaps the best Beggars album to date in
regards to the music. Songs like “Fool's Gold” and “Tall Tales” really stand
out and show how far Mike Amott and company have come in the musicianship
department. There are heavy hooks and groove aplenty on this album, but all in
all it just falls short because of the lack of a stand out vocalist. You might
be better off with one of the Beggars previous albums, like 2000's “Ad Astra” or
the 1996 release, “Another Way To Shine” for some 1970's heavy groove at it's
best. (Mr.Lee)
I have about 50 Hawkwind CDs in my personal collection, so
when I heard this band’s killer “Hawkwind Medley” (featuring Hawkwind vocalist
Dave Brock) on the radio that was all the reason I needed to pick this up.
There’s also a cover of Bowie’s “Space Oddity” (not so killer), but the main
part of this album is based on the concept of writing songs about science
fiction movies like ‘Star Wars’, ‘Alien’, and ‘Stargate’. The music is a mix of
seventies progressive rock (ala ELP) and modern power metal. Now I know what
you’re thinking - Cheez Whiz city. And that’s pretty much what we’ve got, too.
But this entire project seems to have been conceived with a sense of fun, and
it’s hard not to be carried along by its enthusiasm. Songs like “Set the
Controls”, “Songs of the Ocean”, and “Starchild” are catchy and fun, and
throughout the production and playing are impeccable. If you're a Hawkwind
fan, you'll probably have to buy this just for the medley. If not, you may
still want to check this out if you dig progressive power metal and/or science
fiction. (Bob Ignizio)
Well, this isn’t bad but it doesn’t really blow me away
either. Solace is yet another band playing the doom/stoner rock style and they
do it fairly well. They just don’t add much in the way of originality. The
vocals don’t do much for me, either, sounding at times like a slightly bored
Chris Cornell. If this came on the car radio I’d probably turn it up, but at
home with all the crap I have to chose form I don’t picture ‘13’ getting too
many spins. On the plus side the band sounds tight, guitarist Tommy Southard
shows some chops, and “Common Cause” featuring guest vocals from “Wino” (The
Obsessed, Spirit Caravan) might be worth a few more listens. (Bob Ignizio)
This album just shreds from start to finish. Blending
blazing eighties thrash with more modern metal styles, Soulless create a sound
both classic and contemporary. They would fit in well with bands like Witchery,
Arch Enemy, or early In Flames, but ultimately have a sound that sets them apart
as their own band. ‘Agony’s Lament’ features killer riffing and guitar
harmonies, and nice use of dynamics throughout. The lyrics are right out of the
Metal Theology 101 textbook: lots of stuff about succumbing to endless pain,
grinding the pious beneath cloven hooves, and what not. Hey, you didn’t really
expect a thrash band to sing about sunshine and kittens, did you? The songs
that stood out for me were “The Soulscythe”, “Terror of Twilight”, “Downward”
and “The Fleet of Fury”, but it’s all pretty solid. No ballads, no rap.
Soulless don’t throw any surprises or curveballs at the listener, they just
deliver top notch 100% grade ‘A’ metal. What more do you want? (Bob Ignizio)
Let's face it,
when a band you really love changes their line-up, you fear the worst. It's
just a fact of life. We fear change when it involves something we enjoy. Well,
the Spiritual Beggars have done just that. J.B. and Roger Nilsson are now in
the band replacing departed vocalist/bassist Spice. Nilsson on bass, in fact,
does an above average job on the low end making for some better music and as for
J.B., well, that's another story. Former vocalist Spice had a very distinctive
gravely tone to his voice and combined with his phrasing and vocal stylings it
made up a big part of the character of Spiritual Beggars. J.B. just doesn't
have any of those traits. Now, I am not saying that he is a bad singer, that
wouldn't be fair. He has a very good voice that has no flavor of its own. At
times he sounds like an early 80's David Coverdale and other times he just
sounds like some guy in a bar band. There is just nothing that makes him
memorable and at times he makes the band sound like a Deep Purple cover band.
On the other hand, “On Fire” is perhaps the best Beggars album to date in
regards to the music. Songs like “Fool's Gold” and “Tall Tales” really stand
out and show how far Mike Amott and company have come in the musicianship
department. There are heavy hooks and groove aplenty on this album, but all in
all it just falls short because of the lack of a stand out vocalist. You might
be better off with one of the Beggars previous albums, like 2000's “Ad Astra” or
the 1996 release, “Another Way To Shine” for some 1970's heavy groove at it's
best. (Mr.Lee)
I have about 50 Hawkwind CDs in my personal collection, so
when I heard this band’s killer “Hawkwind Medley” (featuring Hawkwind vocalist
Dave Brock) on the radio that was all the reason I needed to pick this up.
There’s also a cover of Bowie’s “Space Oddity” (not so killer), but the main
part of this album is based on the concept of writing songs about science
fiction movies like ‘Star Wars’, ‘Alien’, and ‘Stargate’. The music is a mix of
seventies progressive rock (ala ELP) and modern power metal. Now I know what
you’re thinking - Cheez Whiz city. And that’s pretty much what we’ve got, too.
But this entire project seems to have been conceived with a sense of fun, and
it’s hard not to be carried along by its enthusiasm. Songs like “Set the
Controls”, “Songs of the Ocean”, and “Starchild” are catchy and fun, and
throughout the production and playing are impeccable. If you're a Hawkwind
fan, you'll probably have to buy this just for the medley. If not, you may
still want to check this out if you dig progressive power metal and/or science
fiction. (Bob Ignizio)