The Union of Crowns - Bury Tomorrow

The Union of Crowns

Bury Tomorrow

Nuclear Blast

Rating: - 7/10

British Metalcore crew attempt to reinvigorate genre

                For the past few years Metalcore has been stuck in a rut. The old guard (Killsiwtch Engage, Shadows Fall, All That Remains) have all delivered below par album, especially All That Remains who’s last offering For We Are Many was so bland that it sank like a cruise linear in the Mediterranean. Bands such as Parkway Drive and The Devil Wears Prada have stepped out from the pack, this has to with Parkway being the best at the heavier end of Metalcore creating monstorous beatdowns, The Devil Wears Prada on the other hand have branched out from the generic Metalcore formula adding influences from the world of extreme metal especially on their latest release Dead Throne and the absolutely fan fucking tastic Zombie EP.  The new breed haven’t faired much better to be honest with bands like Rise to Remain, Of Mice & Men & Miss May I have produced good but generic records that reek of the sum of their influences, there albums aren’t bad they just sonically remind the audience how absolutely groundbreaking Alive or Just Breathing really is.

                The arrival of Hampshire’s own Bury Tomorrow, who on their second album The Union of Crowns have delivered the huge jump start that the genre desperately need. Whilst this album may not be as constant as The End of Heartache by Killswitch or The Fall of Ideals by All That Remains and may not stray from the template created by those bands. But it does make up for it by creating Metalcore anthems; the track Lionheart could rival established classics such as The Rose of Sharyn and This Calling. The band have clearly taken influence from the bands that inspired the first wave of Metalcore, riffs can clearly be heard that would have fit onto At The Gates albums or any band from the Gothenburg scene. This makes the album stand out from the rest of the bands in the scene adding a crushing brutality that has been missing from the scene for a long time, possibly since the very early Unearth and Vision of Disorder albums.

                Like fell British Metalcore pioneers While She Sleeps, Bury Tomorrow have resisted sticking to the formula and falling into mediocrity. Instead the band have strayed from the path and delivered a album that not only takes influence from what was great about Metalcore and moderises it will a killer production making everything sound as huge as possible. Hopefully more bands take notes on what Bury Tomorrow have done and follow their example. Metalcore could be in for resurgence.

For Fans of: - Killswitch Engage, At The Gates, While She Sleeps.

Hope and Hindrance - Heart of a Coward

Hope and Hindrance – Heart of a Coward

Rating: - 7/10

Former Sylosis frontman comes into his own on  debut album

                After his split from UK metal titans Sylosis in 2010, vocalist Jamie Graham has returned with his new band Heart of a Coward. Although this release does not have the technical precision of Sylosis particular their epic (yet incredibly long) 2011 album “Edge of the World”, Hope and Hindrance combines the sound of Sylosis with a hardcore energy reminiscent of bands such as While She Sleeps.  The album could have been as generic as many other metallic hardcore bands who just stick to monotonous breakdowns rather than pursue new musical ideas and are perfectly happy to belong to a scene, what sets Heart of a Coward apart from the pact is the use of the Djent guitar tone taken from the mighty Meshuggah which adds a toughness and intensity to the bands riffs and especially during the crushing breakdowns. The album does go a little too metalcore at moments and could leave listeners wondering if they had been transported back to 2003 and at times the album does fall into the typical breakdown hardcore clichés. Where as this album may not set the world on fire it is a solid and interesting release from a promising UK band who are at least combining their metallic hardcore roots with a new and exciting musical idea and sound.

For fans of :- Sylosis, Meshuggah, Hatebreed

A Different Kind of Truth - Van Halen

A Different kind of truth

Van Halen

Interscope

Rating: - 8/10

Veteran Rock n roll legends return… with spectacular results

“I told you I was coming back” croons David Lee Roth on the track Blood and Fire, from this alone you should have grasped that Diamond Dave has returned and is performing a star jump for the first time in over 28 years.  As proven with recent classic rock bands returning and making albums, the results are mixed. They can be really good like Sonic Boom by Kiss or they can be the biggest pile of horse crap the world has ever seen like Chinese Democracy by Guns n Roses. I am incredibly pleased to say that the Van Halen album is as good and maybe on par with Sonic Boom.

After the commercial gluttony of the Van Hager era (5150’s a good album but there is little more than a few miscellaneous tracks) and the tragic and completely terrible Gary Cherone era which is best left unspoken of. After a hugely successful tour in which they managed to make as much money as Chelsea have wasted on players by just touring America (im not complaining but they’ve not been to the UK since 1995, so I believe were owed a show… lets say Sonisphere).

The album had to be great in order to live up to the hype and expectations following the hugely successful tour, which thankfully it is. The 80’s commercial sheen has been replaced with a gritty but well produced sound and the tacky keyboards have been replaced by a more stripped down sound similar to the sound of the bands 1978 debut. DLR proves he has not lost it; his bizarre lyrics which are delivered with a huge amount of character and charisma. Songs like Stay frosty (an ode to Ice cream man from the debut album) is both eccentric and   bizarre whilst being a incredibly well written song, However it does sound like the Hula Hula song from South Park. The trio of Van Halens Eddie, Alex and Eddie’s son Wolfgang who replaces Michael Antony on Bass all shine on this album. Alex’s thundering rhythms combine effortlessly with Wolfgang’s groove bass lines, for such a young man he proves he can play and easily fills the shoes of Michael Antony. However the highlight of the album is Eddie’s solo’s and riffs, many people doubted after his recent alcohol problems might have hampered his guitar playing ability. They couldn’t have been more wrong, Eddie sounds more inspired and energetic than he has since the mid 1980’s, showing every guitarist in the world why he is and will always be one of the greatest guitarists in the world. On tracks such as China Town and The Trouble with Never Eddie’s souring solo’s show off  how good he still is, without sounding forced or ever showing off.

Overall this album is a solid return from the band, by returning to their roots they have managed to remind the world why the band are one of the biggest bands in the world. Now please can we have some UK shows please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Influenced by Kiss, Led Zeppelin, The Jimmy Hendrix experience

Also try: - Sonic Boom – Kiss

Runnin wild – Airbourne

Dr Feelgood – Motley Crue