This is actually The Atomic Bitchwax’ fourth album, but
whatever. It ain’t the title that matters, it’s the music. I haven’t been too
impressed with TAB in the past, but this album really grabbed me. I’m guessing
a good deal of the credit for the band’s new appeal for this music fan has to do
with the exit of Monster Magnet guitarist Ed Mundell and his replacement by
ex-Core guitarist/vocalist Finn Ryan. Don’t get me wrong, Mundell is one of my
favorite guitar players. But when he was part of Bitchwax, the focus always
seemed to be on Mundell’s lead playing, and many of the songs were just
instrumentals serving that end. This new line-up features vocals on every track
and seems more focused on writing great seventies style hard rock that still
delivers the killer leads, but not at the expense of good hooks. The vocal
melodies really stand out, something that I find lacking in a lot of bands these
days. Think such commercial yet still rockin’ bands as Thin Lizzy, Deep Purple,
Cream, and Blue Oyster Cult. The first two tracks on this disc (“The Destroyer”
and “You Oughta Know”) would be classic rock radio staples if this had come out
in 1973. A cover of Deep Purple’s “Maybe I’m a Leo” more than does justice to
the original. “The Passenger”, the only song on here for which lyrics are
included, is another good tune. Even better, though, is the laid
back rocker “If I Had a Gun”. Not every song is a total killer, but at
least most of them are distinctive. Everything's in the same ballpark,
more or less, but within those bounds TAB manages to come up with enough variety
to keep things interesting. It's definitely worth picking up for stoner
rock fans and seventies aficionados, and one of the most enjoyable rock records
I've heard so far this year. (Bob Ignizio)
Well, napalm has done it again. Yet another heavy metal
band that blends the most extreme with the most melodic, and yet another album
that succeeds triumphantly! Battlelore's latest, ‘Third Age of the Sun’, is a
majestic mixture of metal fury and Tolkien-influenced fantasy, and one that is
simply enthralling. From the throaty growls of new vocalist Tomi Mykkanen to
the lilting mezo-soprano of Kaisa Jouhki, through the soaring leads of guitarist
Jussi Rautio and the haunting keyboards and flute of Maria, this album is an
entrancing blend of the pounding and the magickal. At first glance, Tolkien
metal sounds like a Manowar fan's worst nightmare, but Battlelore really pulls
it off. The band never ventures into the pretentious, relying instead on sheer
songwriting ability to weave their tapestry of power and mystery. Again, I
can't pull one or two outstanding tracks off of this CD, they're all great! A
truly impressive achievement. The Heathen Hippy gives it five gold rings.
(Taliesin Govannon)
Buzzoven – ‘Welcome to Violence’
(Alternative Tentacles)
This CD collects Buzzoven’s first album and first two EPs
(originally released between 1992 and 1994) in one convenient package. Although
this sort of plodding, ugly heavy rock has been done to death by now, Buzzoven
were one of the first and arguably still one of the best of the bunch. The
vocals remind me of ‘Animosity’ era Corrosion of Conformity, and the music is
heavy, dissonant, slow, and occasionally kind of jazzy. It’s good for what it
is, but I can only take so much of this before I need to cleanse the palette
with some Ramones or something. I mean, Buzzoven makes Cathedral and Candlemass
sound upbeat. But these guys obviously have their fans, and the quality of the
songwriting makes it apparent why. It may be depressing, but at least the songs
are memorable. (Bob Ignizio)
Caribou is Dan Snaith, who used to go under the name
"Manitoba", but was threatened by punk rocker Handsome Dick Manitoba over the
use of the name, so he changed it. His music is part electronic, part indie
rock. There are glimpses of real instrumentation, as well as samples. It's sort
of a DJ Shadow meets Sebadoh. Fans of acts like Fourtet will likely dig
Caribou's sound. This record is full of beautiful melodies, sharp drum breaks,
and light whispery vox. It's one of my favorite records so far this year. It's
nice to see someone merge the worlds of electronic and indie rock so seamlessly.
Standout tracks here are the opener, "Yeti", and the smoothed out hip-hop of
"Pelican Narrows". If you like music that's actually good, go buy this. (Eddie
Fleisher)
This is actually The Atomic Bitchwax’ fourth album, but
whatever. It ain’t the title that matters, it’s the music. I haven’t been too
impressed with TAB in the past, but this album really grabbed me. I’m guessing
a good deal of the credit for the band’s new appeal for this music fan has to do
with the exit of Monster Magnet guitarist Ed Mundell and his replacement by
ex-Core guitarist/vocalist Finn Ryan. Don’t get me wrong, Mundell is one of my
favorite guitar players. But when he was part of Bitchwax, the focus always
seemed to be on Mundell’s lead playing, and many of the songs were just
instrumentals serving that end. This new line-up features vocals on every track
and seems more focused on writing great seventies style hard rock that still
delivers the killer leads, but not at the expense of good hooks. The vocal
melodies really stand out, something that I find lacking in a lot of bands these
days. Think such commercial yet still rockin’ bands as Thin Lizzy, Deep Purple,
Cream, and Blue Oyster Cult. The first two tracks on this disc (“The Destroyer”
and “You Oughta Know”) would be classic rock radio staples if this had come out
in 1973. A cover of Deep Purple’s “Maybe I’m a Leo” more than does justice to
the original. “The Passenger”, the only song on here for which lyrics are
included, is another good tune. Even better, though, is the laid
back rocker “If I Had a Gun”. Not every song is a total killer, but at
least most of them are distinctive. Everything's in the same ballpark,
more or less, but within those bounds TAB manages to come up with enough variety
to keep things interesting. It's definitely worth picking up for stoner
rock fans and seventies aficionados, and one of the most enjoyable rock records
I've heard so far this year. (Bob Ignizio)
Well, napalm has done it again. Yet another heavy metal
band that blends the most extreme with the most melodic, and yet another album
that succeeds triumphantly! Battlelore's latest, ‘Third Age of the Sun’, is a
majestic mixture of metal fury and Tolkien-influenced fantasy, and one that is
simply enthralling. From the throaty growls of new vocalist Tomi Mykkanen to
the lilting mezo-soprano of Kaisa Jouhki, through the soaring leads of guitarist
Jussi Rautio and the haunting keyboards and flute of Maria, this album is an
entrancing blend of the pounding and the magickal. At first glance, Tolkien
metal sounds like a Manowar fan's worst nightmare, but Battlelore really pulls
it off. The band never ventures into the pretentious, relying instead on sheer
songwriting ability to weave their tapestry of power and mystery. Again, I
can't pull one or two outstanding tracks off of this CD, they're all great! A
truly impressive achievement. The Heathen Hippy gives it five gold rings.
(Taliesin Govannon)
This CD collects Buzzoven’s first album and first two EPs
(originally released between 1992 and 1994) in one convenient package. Although
this sort of plodding, ugly heavy rock has been done to death by now, Buzzoven
were one of the first and arguably still one of the best of the bunch. The
vocals remind me of ‘Animosity’ era Corrosion of Conformity, and the music is
heavy, dissonant, slow, and occasionally kind of jazzy. It’s good for what it
is, but I can only take so much of this before I need to cleanse the palette
with some Ramones or something. I mean, Buzzoven makes Cathedral and Candlemass
sound upbeat. But these guys obviously have their fans, and the quality of the
songwriting makes it apparent why. It may be depressing, but at least the songs
are memorable. (Bob Ignizio)
Caribou is Dan Snaith, who used to go under the name
"Manitoba", but was threatened by punk rocker Handsome Dick Manitoba over the
use of the name, so he changed it. His music is part electronic, part indie
rock. There are glimpses of real instrumentation, as well as samples. It's sort
of a DJ Shadow meets Sebadoh. Fans of acts like Fourtet will likely dig
Caribou's sound. This record is full of beautiful melodies, sharp drum breaks,
and light whispery vox. It's one of my favorite records so far this year. It's
nice to see someone merge the worlds of electronic and indie rock so seamlessly.
Standout tracks here are the opener, "Yeti", and the smoothed out hip-hop of
"Pelican Narrows". If you like music that's actually good, go buy this. (Eddie
Fleisher)