A British band playing modern American Hard Rock? These guys not only can do it, but they do it really well.
If I ask you to list some rock bands from the UK, names like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Sex Pistols and Oasis will probably come to your mind. However, although the band I’m about to review here is from the West Midlands in England, their music has nothing to do with the NWOBHM, Punk Rock or Britpop: we’re talking about a musicality almost 100% inspired by a more contemporary American Hard Rock from bands such as Soundgarden, Black Stone Cherry and Alter Bridge. With that said, let me introduce you GlassBullet, a very good British Hard Rock band who are about to release a new EP called Black Eyes on July 19, which is definitely worth a listen.
This talented Birmingham-based quartet has all it takes to become a great success not only in the UK, but also in any other part of the world, including the much-desired North American market. All band members look really focused on what they’re doing individually and, more important than that, collectively, which is essential for the cohesiveness and professionalism found in their music. If they’re already starting on such a high note, one can imagine how far the band can go with some extra years of experience and good support in terms of marketing and logistics. But lest we forget the most important part here, in other words, the music, and that’s their biggest strength on the path to stardom, as it never sounds cheesy, boring or shallow.
If you don’t believe me, just listen to the opening track, Black Eyes, and you’ll see how good GlassBullet are: the Velvet Revolver-ish intro to this song has that cool feeling from modern Hard Rock, plus all instruments and vocals sounding very clean and professional without losing that rawness so important in true Rock N’ Roll. Not only that, its catchy heavy riffs together with a nice guitar solo at the end turn it into an excellent choice for any Rock N’ Roll radio playlist, even with the song surpassing the 6-minute barrier. And the awesomeness goes on in the song Pride & Pain, with its even catchier riff and an above-average performance by guitarist Ben Evans (who’s also a member of British Heavy Metal band Hostile) and drummer Alex Caldicott.
The song SID (which means “Society Is Dead”, according to my reliable sources) showcases a more straight-forward Hard Rock with hints of Southern Rock, especially the riffs and the interesting guitar solo with lots of feeling after the 4th minute of the song, while the last track, Shot In The Dark, simply shows us this band is really good in composing totally addictive riffs. Besides, it surely has all the necessary elements to become a radio hit: an awesome chorus, good lyrics, a heavy and exciting rhythm, and even some pleasant progressive parts halfway through the song.
Even the nice album art, designed by FarhaRAWRR Photography, reminds us of some album covers from the aforementioned Hard Rock bands from the US. And if after all that information you’re really curious to know more about GlassBullet and how they were able to be so British and American at the same time, you can take a listen at their previous EP called Misguided, released in September 2012, at their official bandcamp page, while you wait for Black Eyes (which will be available on the same location and also on iTunes and other online stores) to be released in July.
Best moments of the album:Shot In The Dark was my favorite of the four tracks.
Worst moments of the album: It’s not fair to choose a “bad” song out of only four, especially due to the high quality of all. Let’s wait to do it when they release a full-length album, right? That’s also the reason why it didn’t get more than a 3.0.
Released in 2014 Independent
Track listing 1. Black Eyes 6:16
2. Pride & Pain 4:59
3. SID 6:16
4. Shot In The Dark 5:07
Band members Lewis Ward – vocals, guitar
Ben Evans – lead guitar
Tom Bushell – bass guitar
Alex Caldicott – drums
Australian Hard Rock icons are back in “beer”, although not as good as expected.
For the sake of heavy music, Australian Hard Rock gods AC/DC are not going to retire as many websites and newspapers like the National Post and Billboard said a few weeks ago. Those were only false rumors promptly denied by the band itself, which means we can keep enjoying AC/DC’s unparalleled music legacy without worrying (at least for now) about the band breaking up. However, just as many other huge heavy music icons in the world, such as Iron Maiden, Motörhead, KISS, among others, Angus Young & Co. are investing in other sources of income or alternatives for the gigantic tumble all physical album sales and even part of digital sales have been suffering in the past decade due to illegal downloads.
Thus, one of the most explored markets by all of those bands, including AC/DC, is the alcoholic beverage industry, and among the AC/DC beverages we have the AC/DC Premium Lager Beer. The band’s motto for their beer is “Australian Rock meets German beer”, and according to their website, “If you wanna rock hard, you need the right beer. AC/DC, the infamous Hardrock Legends from down under, have been delivering true rock for the last 40 years. Now they give their name for true pint-sized Australian taste as well.” In addition, the information AC/DC provides about their beer is that “AC/DC Premium Lager Beer is 568mL of true German Premium Lager with mouthwatering 5.0% alc. This lager fires up your tongue like TNT, comes with a great beer-loving taste and is brewed in accordance with the Rock`n Roll manifesto of 1973 and the German purity law of 1516.”
The only problem is that, besides those powerful words and the beauty of the can, nothing else really stands out when you actually taste the beer. It’s just an average golden color beer with a tiny white head that doesn’t last for too long, and a not very exciting malt taste with hints of grassy hops. The aroma of corn and grains is not bad, but it’s not as good as many other lagers in the market, and also the beer tends to become too watery after a while if you don’t drink it fast. I know this happens with many other beers, but believe me, with the AC/DC one this “process” is extremely fast, and if you are a head lover you’ll probably hate this beer.
One thing that really bothered me after drinking the AC/DC beer was the unpleasant bitterness in the aftertaste. I enjoy drinking all types of beer, including some very bitter ones once in a while, but if the beer leaves that strong bitter taste after you’re done with it, then it’s an issue for me. I’m not sure why they called a beer that leaves such an unpleasant taste in your mouth a “German premium lager”, because I’ve never tasted a premium beer with that negative characteristic. And that’s what will probably disappoint all AC/DC diehard fans the most: the fact that a beer that’s being sold as “Australian Rock” with “German beer” feels more like a rip-off marketing strategy than something natural and honest. How can it be German if it’s brewed in France? I’m far from being a beer connoiseur, but that disparity between countries doesn’t make much sense to me.
Anyway, if you’re still interested in trying it, the AC/DC beer is available in Austria, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Germany, Luxembourg, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and probably in some other countries not listed, like Australia, Italy and France. By the way, why is it not listed as available in their home country (Australia) and in the country of production (France)? There’s either something missing from their official website, or their distribution strategy is one of the weirdest and most incomplete things I’ve ever seen in my entire life.
You can go to their “Dealer” section on the official website and search for a dealer where you can buy some AC/DC beer, and if you live in Canada it’s available at The Beer Store, just browse by location to find the nearest store to where you live, and you can also check the list of all other beers available in each store.
To sum up, although we’re talking about one of the biggest Rock N’ Roll bands in the history of mankind, their beer is just average and worth just a single try, nothing more than that. If I were you, as a Heavy Metal fan, I would go for a Trooper Beer, which is a lot more tasty and well-crafted than the AC/DC one, and the price is not that much higher. Unfortunately, the AC/DC Premium Lager will not shake you all night long. At least not in a good way.
Beer details
Category: Imported
Attributes: Light
Type: Lager
Country: France
Brewer: Brasserie Licorne Sas
Alcohol Content (ABV): 5.0%
Price: CAD$ 2.25 (1 × Can 500 ml)
Southern Metal as raw, exciting and heavy as it can be.
Southern United States has always provided headbangers lots of awesome bands such as Crowbar, Corrosion of Conformity, Down and, of course, Groove/Thrash Metal gods Pantera, and if there’s one thing that elevates this type of heavy music above many other genres is the passion those bands add to their music, an incredible mix of Rock N’ Roll, Country Music and Blues that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. Now, directly from Chickasha, Oklahoma, comes the excellent Southern Metal band Anti-Mortem, and their debut-album New Southern is just as heavy and dirty as hell.
The Anti-Mortem guys play with their hearts and souls throughout the entire record, never sounding bored or tired, which pretty much represents what Southern Rock really is. The songs might not be the fastest nor the most creative in the world, but they’re fuckin’ heavy (especially the lyrics and riffs), keeping the energy bar always high for the delight of all metalheads, hard rockers and bikers who enjoy sharing a cold beer with friends at a pub while listening to some good heavy music. Do not expect to listen to anything new or different in their music, like keyboards, electronic effects or any other kind of shit, the music here is just pure Rock N’ Roll.
The opening track, Words Of Wisdom, is an excellent summary of all that was said above: awesome heavy riffs the likes of Crowbar and Down, those dirty vocals we love, and a slow and heavy chorus that is totally catchy; while the following song, the title-track New Southern, provides us some more pure Southern Metal, as if the band is paying a tribute to Down with it. Then come my favorite song in New Southern, the powerful 100% Pure American Rage, with its engaging rhythm, direct riffs, cool lyrics (“We took all we will take / Our hate is American made / City to city, state to state / Our rage is American made”) and another great vocal performance by singer Larado Romo, and Hate Automatic, a more traditional Hard Rock tune with a chorus tailored for live performances. And if you didn’t like what you’ve listened to until here, well, I feel really sorry for you.
However, if you’re a true hard rocker and wants some more Anti-Mortem inside your ears and brain, you’ll enjoy the next song, Black Heartbeat, an interesting mix of Hard Rock and Glam Metal with elements from bands such as Skid Row, Alice In Chains, A7X and Audioslave, and simply love the excellent heavy tune I Get Along With The Devil, with its very southern sonority and explicit lyrics. Then we have the average song Path To Pain, which despite it’s nice vocals is nothing really outstanding; Wake Up, the type of song all hard rockers and bikers from the United States and the rest of the world just love from the bottom of their hearts; and the good Ride Of Your Life, with highlights to the good riffs which blend amazingly with the vocals.
New Sothern’s last part has some good and not so good moments, which includes Stagnant Water, with total focus on the heavy riffs and the rumbling sound of the bass guitar, with a very cool guitar solo; Truck Stop Special, a generic song that doesn’t add any value to the album; Jonesboro, another average song which despite its good start could have been a lot better after all; and a fun and very competent cover version for Mr. Big’s A Little Too Loose as a bonus track. I guess the lyrics for this song (“I got a little too loose / In Oklahoma city”) were the inspiration for Anti-Mortem to record their version of it, don’t you agree?
And finally, ladies and gentleman, we have another 100% serious contender for “best album art of the year”: the front cover for New Southern is astonishingly perfect! Kudos to American artist Brent Elliott White, who has worked with so many awesome bands such as Trivium, Arch Enemy, Megadeth, Death Angel and Chimaira, which makes it easy to see why Anti-Mortem ended up choosing him to illustrate their music.
In summary, as I previously said, there’s nothing new in the music found in New Southern, but how can someone not get thrilled with it? It’s raw, honest, dirty and fuckin’ heavy, exactly the way Southern Metal should be, and while we have bands like Anti-Mortem spreading their powerful crude melody everywhere, we can rest assured heavy music will never die.
Best moments of the album:Words of Wisdom, 100% Pure American Rag, I Get Along With The Devil and A Little Too Loose.
Worst moments of the album:Path To Pain, Truck Stop Special and Jonesboro.
Released in 2014 Nuclear Blast Records
Track listing 1. Words Of Wisdom 4:24
2. New Southern 4:06
3. 100% Pure American Rage 3:36
4. Hate Automatic 3:57
5. Black Heartbeat 3:43
6. I Get Along With The Devil 2:57
7. Path To Pain 3:34
8. Wake Up 3:23
9. Ride Of Your Life 3:50
10. Stagnant Water 4:44
11. Truck Stop Special 4:05
12. Jonesboro 4:19
Bonus track 13. A Little Too Loose (Mr. Big Cover) 5:20
Band members Larado Romo – Vocals
Nevada Romo – Guitar
Corey Henderson – Bass
Zain Smith – Guitar
Levi Dickerson- Drums
I am just a little doll… I live here in your yard!
I don’t know if our Heavy Metal babe this month should be called “Metal Chick of the Month” or “Metal Doll of the Month”, but either way she fuckin’ rocks behind her Korg keyboards. Also known as Plastic Chic, Scarbie, HellToy, Burned´n´burried, Forsaken Doll, Sindie, The Living Doll or Schizo Doll (so many beautiful nicknames, don’t you agree?), but better known as Hella, she’s the crazy keyboard player for Finnish Heavy Metal/Hard Rock monsters Lordi.
Hella was born (or should I say manufactured?) on January 2, 1985, and as you can see her character is a mix of human and doll. Her name is an old Finnish female name, which in her own words is “soft but somehow creepy at the same time”. She has created her character together with lead singer and founder Mr. Lordi, and according to her fictional biography, “Hella is one of the victims of the notorious madman just known as Ruiz, and is the twisted result of his insane experiments. Hella was captured and held in captivity for months by Ruiz, until eventually she was brutally cast in plastic and rubber. Ruiz´s sick compulsion was to try to build a real living life-size doll for his own amusement.”
Although our Scandinavian doll has a background with classical piano, she became famous in the world of heavy music by playing keyboards, which came to picture a couple of years ago when she met a Heavy Metal band that was looking for a keyboard player. Then in 2012 Hella finally joined Lordi, with whom she recorded the keyboards and backing vocals for the thrilling album To Beast or Not to Beast, in 2013. And I’m pretty sure I don’t need to say her favorite song from this album is Schizo Doll, right? Furthermore, she mentioned that Lordi, more specifically the amazing song Would You Love a Monsterman, was already in her playlist in 2002, 10 years before she joined the band, which just shows us how thin the line between coincidence and fate is.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Besides her career with Lordi, she has recently written and sung in Finnish a vocal part for the song Miksi?, which is about the experience and pain of a person who was bullied as a child, with Finnish band Postikortteja Helvetistä (in English, Postcards from Hell). By the way, this project is part of a charity called Sovatek Säätiö, a specialized psychosocial rehabilitation organization, which focuses on substance abuse and mental harm prevention and treatment. Way to go, Hella!
The Schizo Doll is claimed to be a huge Heavy Metal fan, especially in terms of Melodic Heavy Metal, and her favorite bands include great names such as Amorphis, Katatonia, Porcupine Tree, Children of Bodom and Behemoth. Moreover, she also said it’s not difficult to find her listening to other music styles and artists, as for example Amy Winehouse, the Red Hot Chili Peppers or the Scandinavian Music Group. It all depends on how the heart of this gorgeous plastic babe is beating.
The last fact about Hella is something more than common for any regular person born in the land of ice and snow: her favorite drink is, or course, vodka. Well, I’m not sure how a doll drinks vodka, but it would definitely be a real pleasure for me and many other Lordi fans to have some (or many?) shots of Koskenkorva Vodka or Koskenorva Salmiakki with her while listening to some good old Heavy Metal. Kiippis!
“My influences come mostly from metal music, melancholic and melodic. I also enjoy punk, hard rock, jazz, folk, love playing classical piano notes…so what can I say, I’m a goth-punk-hippie-rock’n’roll-girl.” – Hella (as stated in Lordi Army)
A new Teräsbetoni album would have been a lot better for all of us.
It looks like Finnish singer and songwriter J. Ahola is really determined to go on with his solo project, Heavy Metal/Hard Rock band Ahola, which means that unfortunately there’s no sign of a new Teräsbetoni album anytime soon. In fact, Ahola seems to be his main band now, not only a project, but I really wish it was the other way round, especially after listening to his new album Tug Of War.
Albeit Ahola’s new album is a million light-years away from being bad music, and the musicians involved are very competent, Tug Of War lacks all that originality and especially the punch from any of the Teräsbetoni albums. In other words, for a guy that has been in a band responsible for powerful classics such as “Taivas Lyö Tulta”, “Metallisydän” and “Missä Miehet Ratsastaa”, it’s hard to accept generic material with song titles like “I Need You” and “Dog”, and it’s even worse due to the bland way he’s using his voice.
The End of the Line opens the album and, despite its promising intro, lacks a lot of energy in its entirety, especially J. Ahola’s vocals which are not what we all wanted to hear. Road of Creation is a more Doom Metal track with his voice sounding a lot better, but again it’s not a great song; and the title-track Tug of War is stronger than the previous tracks but still lacks that “it” factor.
Tug Of War continues with the two best songs of all: On the Run, a nice Hard Rock track with an interesting chorus; and Still Metal, a song that keeps us wondering how awesome the whole album would have been if it had the same Manowar-ish approach as here. Fortunately, Rock’n’Roll is another solid song (although too generic) that keeps the momentum, but on the other hand One Among the Crowd is a weak ballad and the worst track of all, and followed by the generic The Final Incantation drags the album back to just regular.
Things do not get better with The Will You Always Had, a totally forgettable song, and I Need You, which sounds like a tired Teräsbetoni playing. And finally, we have Dog, an average Hard Rock track with a bad chorus (feel like a dog, really?); Age of Hubris, with some good riffs to elevate the album level a little; and Beerland 2, a total waste of time.
And I’m not even complaining about the fact he’s singing in English now, as I understand (although do not agree) that the Finnish language was kind of limiting his boundaries. The real problem here is that Ahola sound like a sell-off, like something made just for money. I know we cannot expect Ahola and Teräsbetoni to be the same, but it’s sad to see such a talented Power Metal musician, a guy that loves Manowar, Rainbow and Deep Purple, doing some generic material. May the power of the mighty Odin open his eyes and take him back to what he does best: awesome Power Metal.
Best moments of the album:On the Run and Still Metal.
Worst moments of the album:One Among the Crowd, The Final Incantation, The Will You Always Had and Beerland 2.
Released in 2014 Playground Music
Track listing 1. The End of the Line 4:30
2. Road of Creation 5:15
3. Tug of War 4:02
4. On the Run 3:17
5. Still Metal 4:03
6. Rock’n’Roll 3:48
7. One Among the Crowd 4:27
8. The Final Incantation 5:18
9. The Will You Always Had 3:16
10. I Need You 4:29
11. Dog 4:20
12. Age of Hubris 3:28
13. Beerland 2 2:24
Band members J. Ahola – vocals, guitar
Jari Laitinen – bass
Antti Mäkelä – drums
Antti Karhumaa – lead guitar
Not many girls accept the challenge to “hide” their beauty behind a drum kit, but when they dare to pick up the drumsticks and start playing, the results are usually awesome. That’s exactly the case with our Metal babe this month, the amazing Heavy Metal/Hard Rock drummer Linda McDonald, also known as “Nikki McBurrain”, from the all-female Iron Maiden tribute band The Iron Maidens, and “Brandy Castillo”, from the all-female Ozzy Osbourne tribute band The Little Dolls . Besides those two tribute projects, she’s also the drummer for the cover bands Valley Dolls, Crabby Patty (I’m So Unclear!) and Unholy Pink, and the drummer/co-founder of the all-female Heavy Metal band Phantom Blue from its start back in 1987 until they parted ways in 2001.
Of Irish and Japanese descent, which kind of explains her exotic traces, Linda Ann McDonald was born in the city of Great Falls, Montana, United States, and by the age of 4 she was already drumming on her mom’s kitchen plastic containers, then taking guitar, piano, drums and violin lessons. Linda also attended several drumming and ear training courses at the Dick Grove School of Music to improve her playing skills.
Her biggest idols in the world of music are of course the beasts Clive Burr (R.I.P.) and Nicko McBrain, but she also mentions important drummers such as Simon Phillips, John Bonham, Alex Van Halen and Phil Collins as other influences in her music style. Linda is currently endorsed by Paiste cymbals, Vic Firth drumsticks, Drum Workshop drums, pedals and hardware, Coffin Case and Monster Energy Drink, and in terms of success and media, she has been featured in lots of music magazines such as Kerrang!, Metal Hammer and Modern Drummer, some Heavy Metal/Hard Rock radio shows, as well as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and won many prizes including “Best Drummer/Performance of Drums and Percussion” at the 7th Annual LA Music Awards in 1997, and “Best Female Drummer” at the 3rd and 7th Annual Rock City News Awards Show, in 1998 and 2001 respectively.
Although she’s more recognized nowadays for her contribution to the music of The Iron Maidens, in my opinion the most electrifying moment of her career were her years smashing the drums with the amazing band Phantom Blue, with whom she recorded two full-length studio albums entitled Phantom Blue (1989) and Built to Perform (1993), an album of previously recorded demos called Prime Cuts & Glazed Donuts (1995), the live album Caught Live! (1997), and finally the EP Full Blown (1998). If you don’t know anything about this band, I suggest you listen to the entire Built to Perform album HERE: it’s impossible not to bang your head with this pure Hard Rock release. Despite the band breaking up in 2001, Linda and Courtney Cox, one of her bandmates from The Iron Maidens, joined former Phantom Blue members Kim Nielsen-Parsons, Gigi Hangach (who was the inspiration for one of our previous Metal chicks, Mia Coldheart) and Tina Wood for a reunion at a very special öne night only” concert in 2009 for the benefit of brain research in memory of Phantom Blue co-founder Michelle Meldrum, who died of a cystic growth in her brain in 2008.
With The Iron Maidens, Linda has recorded the albums World’s Only Female Tribute to Iron Maiden (2005) and Route 666 (2007), the EP The Root of All Evil (2008), and a video in 2010 entitled Metal Gathering Tour Live in Japan 2010. You can find a lot of excellent videos from Linda and the other “Iron Maidens” kickin’ ass on YouTube, as for example this amazing version for The Evil That Men Do live in Las Vegas in 2012. And it’s easy to understand why The Iron Maidens are so good in what they do: according to Linda, excelling as a tribute band is all about recreating the whole live show vibe of the original band, including first of all the sound, with the stage, clothing and signature moves of the members up next.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
When asked about her favorite Iron Maiden songs to perform live, she always mentions the unparalleled classics Phantom of the Opera and Revelations as her top ones, mainly due to all the power and emotion they have. Furthermore, our gorgeous drummer considers the superb Maiden Japan as one of the most important albums of her life: in her own words, “Clive Burr is just on fire on that recording!”, and it was Clive’s perfect drumming on that album that made her decide to play the drums. Besides Maiden Japan, Linda said she would truly love to play the all-time classic Somewhere In Time from beginning to end one day. What can I say about that? That would be an impeccable concert without a shadow of a doubt.
In addition, among her favorite non-Iron Maiden bands and musicians, there’s a lot of awesomeness such as Pantera, Judas Priest, Stormtroopers of Death (S.O.D.), Steve Vai, some non-traditional Heavy Metal bands and artists like Static X and System of a Down, and even Barry Manilow. Linda also mentioned during one of her interviews that the song Fast as a Shark, one of Accept’s biggest classics and by far my favorite song from those Teutonic Heavy Metal masters, really opened her eyes to the power of Heavy Metal. All those formidable choices just corroborate her marvelous taste for music, don’t you agree?
And at long last, Linda is also an avid pet lover, having a dog, a cat and a parakeet in her home. I wonder if she has ever tried to teach any of those animals how to do that weird scream Nicko always does in between some songs during an Iron Maiden concert, or how they react to her intense drumming and to the music she listens to at home. Anyway, one thing I’m certain about is that those are really lucky pets.
The Panther is back with another good album, although not as captivating as their previous ones.
After three long years waiting for more profanity, boobs, pussy and especially good heavy music, American Heavy Metal/Hard Rock band Steel Panther is finally back with their third full-length album, the good All You Can Eat. And that’s the main issue with this album: it’s only good, not awesome, and very few songs are truly exciting or memorable.
Of course we were not expecting anything so fuckin’ awesome such as the classics Death To All But Metal, The Shocker, Asian Hooker, Tomorrow Night or Gold-Digging Whore, not even that the whole album was as original as Feel The Steel and Balls Out, but the lack of punch and the annoying repetition of most of the choruses make me wonder if the band was feeling “tired” while recording All You Can Eat, and even if they recorded it only as an excuse for more touring and selling more merchandise.
However, the “Fanthers” don’t need to get too worried about it, as the Panther’s main characteristics are still there keeping the album at a good level: their talent as musicians continues to be impeccable, especially Michael Starr’s voice, and their lyrics full of profanity and obscenity give the album that special touch that makes us laugh while listening to it in our cars even during a snow storm or a traffic jam. Moreover, another positive thing in the album is the addition of some elements from Blues and Thrash Metal, giving some tracks an extra dose of originality.
And the album starts in a very promising way with the heavy and funny (and undoubtedly one of the best of all tracks) Pussywhipped, with its “epic” intro and amazing riffs and drums, and Party Like Tomorrow is the End of the World, the album’s first single with inspiring lyrics (“Have sex (yeah!) / With every female of the species he say / The end is near (yeah!) / So don’t you worry about the HIV”) and a video (see below) that cannot be described with words. Well, if I do so, this website will probably be banned due to censorship.
Then we have the amazing Gloryhole, which is exactly what we want to listen to when the band is Steel Panther: it’s by far the most Hard Rock of all tracks, with Michael Starr at his best, and it’s impossible not to sing along with the lyrics (“I don’t wanna know / Who will suck my cock tonight”). The following two tracks are totally forgettable songs called Bukkake Tears, which is not a bad ballad but at the same time nothing really exciting, and Gangbang at the Old Folks Home, with a chorus so repetitive it’s really hard to listen to the entire song. Fortunately after that torture the Panther redeem themselves with the excellent mix of Hard Rock and Blues from Ten Strikes You’re Out, which not only has the best instrumental of all but also awesome lyrics.
That’s when all problems really start in All You Can Eat, as the rest of album is pretty much filler and there’s actually nothing we’ll be eager to see them playing live: The Burden of Being Wonderful might have its funny lyrics, but it’s a horrible song overall; Fucking My Heart in the Ass might have a very funny name, but the lyrics are way too repetitive (how many times does he have to say “fucking my heart in the ass”?) and the riffs are too generic; although B.V.S. has a very good riff by Satchel, the lyrics are way too silly (“Big Vagina Syndrome is becoming a common disease / Ladies that have this affliction are never easy to please”? Was that really necessary?); You’re Beautiful When You Don’t Talk is another ballad inspired by some 80’s mellow classics that doesn’t work at all; If I Was the King is more Stoner and has some good moments, but it’s a bit tiring after a couple of minutes; and last but not least, She’s on the Rag is a very generic song that, after the classics Girl From Oklahoma (from Feel The Steel) and Weenie Ride (from Balls Out), makes the ending of the album really disappointing. Where’s that traditional love/sexist ballad to end the album in a magnificent way?
Finally, if there’s one thing that really stands out in All You Can Eat is the album art: it’s just perfect, a true masterpiece, and a serious contender for “Best Album Art of the Year”. In my opinion, only Mel Brooks’ all-time classic History of the World: Part I and the testosterone-fueled movie The Expendables 2 were capable of recreating the Last Supper more brilliantly than the Panther. But as what really matters is the music itself, that doesn’t make All You Can Eat a must-have album in the end. In other words, it’s good, but not what we really wanted to eat.
Best moments of the album:Pussywhipped, Gloryhole and Ten Strikes You’re Out.
Worst moments of the album:Gangbang at the Old Folks Home, The Burden of Being Wonderful, Fucking My Heart in the Ass and She’s on the Rag.
Released in 2014 Kobalt Label Services
Track listing 1. Pussywhipped 4:37
2. Party Like Tomorrow is the End of the World 4:01
3. Gloryhole 4:32
4. Bukkake Tears 4:47
5. Gangbang at the Old Folks Home 3:47
6. Ten Strikes You’re Out 3:24
7. The Burden of Being Wonderful 3:29
8. Fucking My Heart in the Ass 4:14
9. B.V.S. 3:57
10. You’re Beautiful When You Don’t Talk 3:49
11. If I Was the King 3:42
12. She’s on the Rag 3:50
Band members Michael Starr – lead vocals
Satchel – lead, rhythm and acoustic guitars
Lexxi Foxxx – bass guitar
Stix Zadinia – drums, percussion, piano
When you put together heavy music, beer, Jägermeister and talented musicians, the result is usually pretty good, and that’s what happens with German Heavy Metal/Hard Rock band Motorjesus. They used to be The Shitheadz until 2006, when they had to change their name due to censorship, but it doesn’t seem they ended up chosen a name less controversial than “Shitheadz”. Anyway, their new “concept” album, Electric Revelation, is a really good alternative for fans of Anthrax, Pantera, Motörhead and any other bands perfect for motorbikers and beer drinkers.
And I’m not kidding when I call this a concept album, even if it’s extremely hard to imagine this type of band trying to add a storyline to their album: how about all songs and the amazing album art being inspired by the story of a fictitious (or not) character called Motorjesus? If you’re a religious person that enjoys Heavy Metal you shouldn’t be mad at the band for doing this. Consider this a tribute Motorjesus is paying to the religious figure of Jesus Christ (it even sounds like White Metal sometimes), but with the mighty power that comes from Heavy Metal amps.
What other name could have been given to the motorized intro if not The Arrival? Got it now? Anyway, the first real song of the album, the amazing Trouble in Motor City, seems to be totally inspired by the great classics from Motörhead and Anthrax, especially those Hard Rock riffs we all love so much, while the next track, The Run, has some damn heavy bass lines and is pure Stoner Rock. And pay attention to the lyrics, you’ll enjoy them a lot (“Raise your dead from the sleep / There’s a sacrament to keep / After all dead and gone / There’s an army of one…”).
Honestly, I’ve never heard a song with “beast” in its name that’s not badass, as for example Iron Maiden’s “The Number of the Beast”, Exodus’ “Strike of the Beast”, Cradle of Filth’s “Beast of Extermination”, Rob Zombie’s “Superbeast” and so on, and the same can be said about Speed of the Beast, a very fast tune tailored for hitting the road with some excellent guitar solos. Then we have Back in the Action Car with its “Long Live Rock N’ Roll” type of riff and a very 80’s Heavy Metal approach, and the semi-ballad Rust, an average song that’s not memorable at all.
The “ceremony” goes on with 100.000 Volt Survivor, which despite having another good classic riff, falls flat after a while, and the awesome title-track Electric Revelation, one of the best tracks of the album with highlights to the pretty cool bass intro from Roman Jasiczak. Midnight Rider, a heavy song that will please all fans for sure, sounds inspired by some old Anthrax tracks, and The Warning is another good example of how traditional Hard Rock should be done.
In my opinion, the last three tracks of the album are the ones with the most creative and interesting lyrics: Ressurection Man could be easily turned into a true religious song if all the heavy riffs and drums were removed from it; Dead Army offers a little more of that Motörhead sonority, with a great job done by singer Chris “Howling” Birx; and The Right Hand of the Devil was made for banging our fuckin’ heads while listening to the important “message” in it.
To sum up, another excellent album that comes from Germany in 2014, but this time with a total American Hard Rock approach instead of that traditional German Power Metal we all know, making it an excellent alternative for hard rockers searching for new music. If you think Rock is dead, bands like this one are here to prove you wrong. Because while Jesus saves, Motorjesus rock.
Best moments of the album:Trouble in Motor City, The Run, Speed of the Beast and Electric Revelation.
Worst moments of the album:Rust and 100.000 Volt Survivor.
Released in 2014 Drakkar Records
Track listing 1. The Arrival (Intro) 0:40
2. Trouble in Motor City 3:35
3. The Run 4:06
4. Speed of the Beast 4:03
5. Back in the Action Car 3:10
6. Rust 4:52
7. 100.000 Volt Survivor 5:12
8. Electric Revelation 4:03
9. Midnight Rider 4:08
10. The Warning 3:21
11. Ressurection Man 4:20
12. Dead Army 3:52
13. The Right Hand of the Devil 4:01
Band members Chris Birx – vocals
Guido Reuss – guitar
Andreas Peters – guitar
Roman Jasiczak – bass
Oliver Beck – drums
Excellent drummer (and a great guy too!) Geir Arne “The Cannon” Dale talks to The Headbanging Moose about the history of his Hard Rock band Humbucker, their excellent new album King of the World, the music scene in Norway, his “dream tour”, his favorite Canadian bands, among some other cool stuff. And, of course, he answers the mysterious question “Who is Dirty Nelly?”
The Headbanging Moose: Let’s start with some details about the history of Humbucker: although the band was created back in 1998, it was only in 2012 with your debut album R.O.C.K.S that Humbucker really became alive. In addition to that, your official website states that “In 2000 the band had five original songs and made a demo that did not do any good for the band. In 2002, due to difficulties combining their day jobs with the rocking, the band called it a day and took a “vacation” that lasted until 2010!” What exactly happened with you guys? And why was that 2000 demo so harmful for the band?
Geir Arne Dale: Well, the demo wasn’t directly harmful for the band, but it was what it was. We didn’t have a singer back then for starters. Three of us shared the vocal duties and let’s face it: We’re better musicians than singers so the demo was made more for ourselves than to make something happen for us. But you know, we believed even back then in our stuff so we shipped it around a bit. Most of the record companies didn’t even answer us. And the few that did were very short in their description of the project’s future: “No!” 🙂
Back then we were only in it for fun, and in 2002 we thought a vacation would do us good as some of us changed day jobs and all of a sudden had to leave for weeks at a time so it became difficult to get the rehearsal routines going as they should. We also was, let’s say, a bit tired of each other I think after heavy partying for four years. We didn’t take it too serious back then. The focus was all wrong. We were all like Ace Frehley and Peter Criss. Taking all the fun right there and then, not caring about the future, so a break was needed. After eight years, in 2010 we started again to see if it still worked. It certainly did and after getting new singer Jan Boen in, we decided in 2012 we had everything we needed to make a record. The before mentioned five songs from 2000 were re-recorded and ended up all on the first album R.O.C.K.S, so something good came out of the old days eventually! The response from that album was mind-blowing and that gave us a reason to do another one as we have just done. Who would have thought that back in ‘02! 🙂
THM: The beautiful country of Norway is renowned for its many Black Metal bands, such as Mayhem, Burzum, Gorgoroth, Emperor, Dimmu Borgir, Satyricon and many others that pretty much helped define that music genre. How was it to grow up as a Hard Rocker in an essentially Black Metal country, and how difficult it is for any Hard Rock band to succeed there?
GAD: WOW! You’ve done your homework Sir! You know the black metal guys did their music and we did ours. It wasn’t hard at all cause in the eighties the melodic hard rock scene was just as big in Norway, if not bigger, and the two genres didn’t do too much together. The black metal bands from Norway have really set their marks on the world. They’ve done a great job for themselves for sure. And all these bands have created more interest for Norwegian rock in general too, so it’s all a good thing and I think everyone that does any kind of Norwegian rock owe these guys a big thank you. They’ve been excellent promoters for all of us.
THM: As mentioned in our album review, King of the World is a truly kickass Hard Rock album. How was the whole creative process for the album? What worked well, and what ideas did you guys have to give up because you felt they were not good enough?
GAD: The writing process was very relaxed as we wrote the songs in between gigs during last part of 2012 and during 2013. We were finished with the last song just a few weeks before we went into studio to start the album. Like I said before, we thought we would only make one album so we didn’t rush anything. We wrote the new songs just as much to widen our live set. When it was clear that we wanted to do a second album, we were almost there with the songs. We recorded drums and bass in our nearest town called Notodden with acclaimed engineer Njal Frode Lie. Then we moved the operation to Trondheim. That’s why we did the drums and bass in Notodden so we didn’t have to drag the drums to Trondheim which is pretty far from where we live. We met up with one of Norway’s most decorated producers, Mr. Hallgeir Rustan. From a small country like Norway, he has produced albums that have sold worldwide some 25 million copies all together and he’s also produced over 40 Top-10 hits in the UK so he knows what he’s doing. I went to school with him in 86/87 and we’ve kept in touch from time to time since then. We all had a great time in the studio except Lars Stian, the bass player, who did his part in Notodden and had to stay home to perform his day job during the time we were in Trondheim. The atmosphere was great with lots of jokes being thrown around. Hallgeir has an incredible know-how when it comes to arranging songs and he did an amazing job for us. He’s the one who founded Stargate you know so he’s a guy who knows his business. When his two partners decided to move to the USA, he stayed home and is doing his thing from there. We can’t thank him enough for the job he did for us and co-producing with him is one of the nicest experiences I’ve had in years! I really hope we get to do it again ‘cause I think we then would be able to develop our music and sound further.
We’ll see… no one knows what the future brings, but I don’t see us do another album without Hallgeir… With Hallgeir to produce and engineer, Beau Hill to mix and master, Mr. Cordelières on the artwork and Hugh Gilmour to design the package and put everything together, we really feel we have found ourselves a “Dream Team” here! I can’t remember a thing that really didn’t work well actually. We had a great time working with this album and it was all a joy.
THM: This question might sound silly, but one of the best songs of the album, Dirty Nelly, seems to be inspired by some special girl. Who’s she? What’s the story behind that song?
GAD: Hahaha! Well, it’s a cool question cause it could very well be for real but I’m very happy to say it’s not!:-) I wrote that song so I can tell you it’s all pure fiction. I’ve never, thank GOD, experienced a girl like that. At least not that I can remember…and I think I would have! BUT: There’s probably thousands of “Dirty Nellys” out there and guys who wonder what their baby’s up when she comes home with the morning light with her boots in her hands so who knows…maybe someone will recognize the situation…:-) Thank you for liking the song. I appreciate that. It’s one of my favorites on the album too!
THM: How about your tour plans to promote the new album? Are you playing only in Norway, or are there already any dates being scheduled for other European countries and even other parts of the world, like North America?
GAD: We are going to tour Norway as much as we can this year. You know, it’s easiest for us as we’re here. But in September we plan to embark on a month and a half tour in Europe. We would most certainly love to tour North America if we could! We have a lot of favorites from that part of the world: Coney Hatch, Triumph, Loverboy, Rush…you guys have produced some serious rock bands during the years so we’ll do it if we can. Only trouble is that it’s so damn expensive you know, so we will have to see how the new album does for a starter and take it from there. But who knows? We would love to shake hands with you at a show one day Sir!:-)
THM: What would be Humbucker’s “dream tour”, I mean, which bands would you just love to go on tour together, and why?
GAD: That’s a great question and a very tricky one to answer actually…there’s so many…but if I have to mention one band, I think maybe a tour with Whitesnake would be great for us. Mainly because of the audience. I think the audience would have picked up on us a bit too as both bands represents the same time period in music style. I think a lot of their fans would have like our stuff too, so some gigs with them would have done us real good…
THM: When Humbucker started in 1998, Hard Rock was still really big on the radio and TV, fans loved buying the albums of their favorite bands, and there were no such thing as illegal downloads, so it was basically a paradise for any new Hard Rock bands and an easier path to success. On the other hand, nowadays any new or independent band has to work their asses off to get some recognition, and even so no monetary return is guaranteed. How do you see this evolution of music and media, and how does it impact what Humbucker are doing or plan to do in the future?
Album Review – Humbucker / King of the World (2014)
GAD: It’s really hard to say what will happen. All I know is that if people keep wanting music without paying for it, I think the music scene will be very boring in a few years. When all the old heroes and arena bands are gone, few can take over cause they will never get there ‘cause of devastating income. It costs a lot to keep a band alive and if you don’t get a radio hit or something on TV, it’s very hard to make it to arena-level just by touring. I think that if we want new arena bands to continue we just have to pay for their music, simple as that.
But the world moves on you know so we have to adapt in a way. I’m just not sure that we will ever have the time we had in the eighties and early nineties again. We probably never will, but one can only carry on as long as possible and hope something “happens”… My only advice to people would be: Buy the music! Everyone can afford it so why not? Music business today with all the piracy and streaming is like asking a carpenter to build you a new dog house for your Shetland Sheepdog…after putting a lot of work into it, after he’s made an awesome place for your dog, you don’t want to pay him for his work? I just don’t get that…..
Our mixer/masterer Beau Hill in the US said that if we had released this music in the eighties, we would have been instant worldwide dominators. Today that’s not possible. That says a lot…
THM: The album art from King of the World is awesome and couldn’t be more Hard Rock than that. Why and how did you choose Ludovic Cordelières of Rusalka Design for designing the front cover, and how much did the band influence on his process of generating it?
GAD: Thank you very much for those nice words! I appreciate you bringing that up because Mr. Cordelières most certainly deserves it! If you want to see how he made it, and other amazing artworks of his, please visit his website at www.rusalkadesign.com. For an album called “King Of The World”, I don’t think anyone could have made a better cover! It’s just the perfect thing…That “guy” on the cover IS the king of the world! 🙂
The cover was an already existing artwork of Cordelières called “Monarch”. I was searching the internet for pictures to use for the cover (The album was originally going to be called “One Size Fits All”) when his site turned up. I looked at this picture and as we also had a song called “King Of The World” on the album, I just thought that would be perfect and totally awesome for the title and we talked about it at rehearsal and decided to go for it. I then sent Ludovic a mail asking if he would let us use it. Luckily he answered back with a clear yes, and I then asked if we could add some stuff and suggested a couple of things added to make it more “Humbucker-ish” to put it that way and he didn’t mind at all. He’s a fantastic guy and I loved working with him. Everything came back with exactly the right addings and it turned out great. We added the “R.O.C.K.S.” cover under the left foot there and added some more instruments, had our “H” placed on the hat and “Priscilla” on the nametag on the honey box. “Priscilla” is a song title from our debut album, so people who have that album knows “who’s there”… That’s pretty much it. The rest is the original artwork. I asked Hugh Gilmour what he thought of it and he said: “It’s classic, a bit provocative and very rock and roll! I Love it!” For us that means: Perfect! 🙂
THM: How much do you know about Canadian Heavy Metal and Hard Rock? Are any Canadian bands part of your day-to-day playlist? If so, which are your favorite ones and why?
GAD: Personally, that’s a very easy question to answer. There’s a lot of great Canadian bands! Always was too! I have to say I’m a huge Coney Hatch fan! “This ain’t love” is one of my favourite songs to date! I love the drum sound on that record! I was stunned when I heard it and I still enjoy listen to them today. Triumph is another favorite. I think that the “All The King’s Horses/Carry On The Flame” track from their “Surveillance” album is one of the finest pieces of music ever made in the genre. The groove and tempo when “Carry On…” takes over is just awesome! And the vocal lines on that song are amazing with one of the coolest “bridges” out there. (As a matter of fact, I had to listen to it again as we speak!) I think Thom Trumbo did a phenomenal job producing that album at the time. Again with a great drum sound exactly as I like it! I had my youth time in the eighties you know so there you go… 🙂
THM: Thanks a lot for the interview. Do you have any final words to all Heavy Metal and Hard Rock fans worldwide, especially to the ones in Canada that have recently discovered the music from Humbucker?
GAD: Thank YOU Sir! You know, we need all the help we can get in this business and fine people like yourself who devote your time to pick up bands that you don’t see on the cover of Rolling Stones Magazine every day, is fantastic! It’s really really helpful and very appreciated indeed! To the fans in Canada who like our music: We are honored that you do! And if you like “King Of The World”, please check out our debut album ‘R.O.C.K.S’ too! Due to change of distribution partners in Norway, the new album is unfortunately delayed worldwide but will be available at Amazon and wherever you buy your fine music during first half of April. We don’t take anything for guaranteed and every new fan is a thrill! If you want to join our Facebook page we would surely appreciate it! Just follow the link here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Humbucker/194616527226293.
As the great Mick Jagger would say, I know it’s only Rock N’ Roll but I like it.
What once was a cover band to AC/DC, Motörhead and other classic bands back in 1998 can now be considered a reality in the world of heavy music: Norwegian Hard Rockers Humbucker are definitely here to stay. After a huge hiatus from 2002 to 2010, when they got back together to finally record their debut album R.O.C.K.S between 2011 and 2012, it’s time for one of “Norway’s coolest and most hard-working rock bands” (according to the band itself!) to release their second album, the pure Hard Rock party King of the World.
Actually, the Hard Rock in King of the World is far away from being pure: it’s just that when I say “pure” I mean “dirty”, got it? Because pure Hard Rock must have dirty lyrics, dirty riffs and dirty musicians. Of course a band can be very dirty but professional at the same time, without losing that delightful raw musicality perfect for enjoying a beer with friends and family, and that’s exactly what Humbucker do in this album. This can already be seen in the opening track, “beautifully” named Self-Made Son Of A Bitch, which after its short bass intro turns into a motherfuckin’-drunk-kick ass Hard Rock song with an excellent chorus and everything it needs to become a hit.
One Size Fits All keeps the party moving with its very traditional Rock N’ Roll approach, and I truly believe this song was made to be played exclusively at a Rock N’ Roll pub full of beautiful girls, close friends and awesome beer. The same can be said about the title-track, King Of The World, which sounds a lot like a Hard Rock version for the all-time The Rolling Stones’ classic “It’s only Rock N’ Roll (But I Like It)”, and Gone Fishing, with its funny lyrics, heavy riffs and rhythmic drums. In my opinion, the beginning of the album couldn’t have been any dirtier and more traditional than this.
Then come one of the best songs of the album, Dirty Nelly, a superb tribute to the good old Rock N’ Roll from the 60’s with some extra “spice” from the 80’s, and Harder Being Me, a generic ballad a la Mr. Big’s “Wild World” that doesn’t have the same punch of all previous tracks, but that doesn’t compromise the overall quality of the album by any means.
The last part of the album has its highs and lows: while Lone Rider has a nice metallic riff and is a pretty good song to hit the road, Lord Have Mercy and its country elements are not enough to make this song a memorable one. Hey You! raises the bar just a little with its nice guitar solos and cheesy chorus, and the last track of the album, I Did It All (Thank You & Goodnight!), is a goddamn awesome tribute to the one and only Motörhead, one of the biggest influences in the band’s career as previously mentioned.
Moreover, if you still have any energy (or beer?) left for some more thrilling Hard Rock, you’re going to love the bonus tracks Strongman, an excellent fast tune previously released by the band only as a single available for digital download, and a very competent cover version for Whitesnake’s Wine, Women An’ Song.
A very interesting fact about Humbucker is that the band is even selling special signed CD copies of King of the World in jewel case in their website, showing how much they care about their “baby” and, of course, their fans. And finally, we all have to admit how cool the album art is and give lots of kudos to the awesome French Photoshop artist Ludovic Cordelières of Rusalkadesign.com. If you have some free time, I really suggest you go check out the “making of” video and other details about Pattern Platform I: Monarch, the “name” of the art that became King of the World’s front cover, it’s really interesting.
In summary, are Humbucker an excellent Hard Rock band with very talented musicians? Yes. Are they trying to reinvent the wheel with their music? Not even a little. And that’s probably why they nailed it with King of the World: we all know it’s only Rock N’ Roll, but we certainly like it. Yes, we do.
Best moments of the album:Self-Made Son Of A Bitch, One Size Fits All, Dirty Nelly and I Did It All (Thank You & Goodnight!).
Worst moments of the album:Harder Being Me and Lord Have Mercy.
Released in 2014 Abysmal Sounds
Track listing 1. Self-Made Son Of A Bitch 2:40
2. One Size Fits All 3:17
3. King Of The World 2:41
4. Gone Fishing 3:07
5. Dirty Nelly 2:48
6. Harder Being Me 4:11
7. Lone Rider 3:41
8. Lord Have Mercy 4:11
9. Hey You! 3:25
10. I Did It All (Thank You & Goodnight!) 2:21
Bonus tracks 11. Wine, Women An’ Song (Whitesnake cover) 3:44
12. Strongman 3:41
Band members
Jan Anders “Longbeard” Bøen – lead vocals
John Petter “No Thanks” Pershaug – guitars
Vidar “Maniac” Svanheld – guitars
Lars Stian “Too Late” Havraas – bass
Geir Arne “The Cannon” Dale – drums
If I ask you to list some rock bands from the UK, names like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Sex Pistols and Oasis will probably come to your mind. However, although the band I’m about to review here is from the West Midlands in England, their music has nothing to do with the NWOBHM, Punk Rock or Britpop: we’re talking about a musicality almost 100% inspired by a more contemporary American Hard Rock from bands such as Soundgarden, Black Stone Cherry and Alter Bridge. With that said, let me introduce you GlassBullet, a very good British Hard Rock band who are about to release a new EP called Black Eyes on July 19, which is definitely worth a listen.
The song SID (which means “Society Is Dead”, according to my reliable sources) showcases a more straight-forward Hard Rock with hints of Southern Rock, especially the riffs and the interesting guitar solo with lots of feeling after the 4th minute of the song, while the last track, Shot In The Dark, simply shows us this band is really good in composing totally addictive riffs. Besides, it surely has all the necessary elements to become a radio hit: an awesome chorus, good lyrics, a heavy and exciting rhythm, and even some pleasant progressive parts halfway through the song.
THE HEADBANGING MOOSE 