Tag Archives: rock n’ roll

Beverage Review – AC/DC Premium Lager Beer

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Australian Hard Rock icons are back in “beer”, although not as good as expected.

Rating7

IMG_1641For 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.

IMG_1644Anyway, 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)

Album Review – Anti-Mortem / New Southern (2014)

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Southern Metal as raw, exciting and heavy as it can be.

Rating4

anti-mortem_new southernSouthern 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.

anti-mortemNew 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

Album Review – Humbucker / King of the World (2014)

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As the great Mick Jagger would say, I know it’s only Rock N’ Roll but I like it.

Rating4

Humbucker_KOTWWhat 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.

HumbuckerMoreover, 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

Album Review – Motörhead / Aftershock (2013)

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They’re Motörhead, and they play Rock N’ Roll.

Rating4

Motörhead_AftershockAlthough I consider creativity and innovation crucial when reviewing a new album, I simply ignore that if the band in question is Motörhead, AC/DC, KISS or the Ramones. I don’t expect and don’t want to see Lemmy playing the piano and singing about the crisis in Syria or Angus Young adding any electronic shit to his music. I just want them to keep on rocking until the end of the world, and that’s exactly what you’ll find in Aftershock, Motörhead’s brand new album: 100% pure Rock N’ Roll!

The first track of the album, Heartbreaker, has some really heavy bass lines and sounds pretty good for a live performance. Then comes Coup De Grace, another fast track with funny lyrics and good solos, and Lost Woman Blues, which is Motörhead playing a high quality blues with Lemmy singing beautifully from the bottom of his heart. The next track, End Of Time, is simply fast and heavy while the next track, called Do You Believe, is my favorite one from the album for some beers at a Rock N’ Roll pub.

The following three songs make up a nice sequence to listen to while on the road: Death Machine has a cool guitar solo, Dust And Glass can be used as a “strip-tease” ballad, and Going To Mexico, well, as a Brazilian guy I prefer “Going to Brazil” (if you know what I’m talking about), but this song is pretty badass too. Another one of my favorites is Silence When You Speak To Me: this track has a great message from our “God” Lemmy, with some terrific riffs and lyrics. On the other hand, Crying Shame is my bottom one here, because although it’s traditional Motörhead, it sounds just like a filler track.

motorheadworldpromonew_638The last four tracks of the album have their ups and downs: Queen Of The Damned is a good track that reminds me a lot of Ace of Spades (maybe it was on purpose as we have the “ace” on one song and the “queen” on the other one?); Knife is not bad, but it lacks a little more punch; Keep Your Powder Dry is one more suggested song for a day on the road; and Paralyzed is what the band has mastered doing since the beginning. In other words, it is fast, heavy and kicks fuckin’ ass!

The front cover art is by far their best one since Inferno, from 2004, and the lyrics are the same as always, but who cares, right? Regarding the musicians, Phil offers us a ton of awesome riffs and solos again, and Mikkey keeps on smashing his drums perfectly. And what else is left to say about our 67-year old Rock N’ Roll icon Ian Fraser “Lemmy” Kilmister? I think the best definition for Lemmy is a beautiful “poem” declaimed by the characters Chazz, Rex and Chris Moore in the classic movie Airheads (if you’ve never seen it, you’re a loser):

Chazz: Who’d win in a wrestling match, Lemmy or God?
Chris Moore: Lemmy.
Rex: Beeeehhhh!
Chris Moore: …God?
Rex: Wrong, dickhead, trick question. Lemmy IS God! 

In summary, all songs sound the same as many awesome Motörhead classics such as Overkill, Iron Fist, Fast and Loose, Ace of Spades, The Chase is Better Than the Catch, Going to Brazil, among others, which in the end is exactly what we were waiting for. The day Lemmy, Phil and Mikkey record a “Metal Opera” or a conceptual album about the life of some French king, the world will come to an end. Until then, let’s have a beer and bang our heads together with our girlfriends, friends, family or anyone else that enjoys some good Rock N’ Roll, because that’s what this band plays.

Best moments of the album: Do You Believe, Going To Mexico and Silence When You Speak To Me.

Worst moments of the album: Crying Shame and Knife.

Released in 2013 UDR GmbH

Track listing
1. Heartbreaker 3:05
2. Coup De Grace 3:45
3. Lost Woman Blues 4:09
4. End Of Time 3:17
5. Do You Believe 2:59
6. Death Machine 2:37
7. Dust And Glass 2:51
8. Going To Mexico 2:51
9. Silence When You Speak To Me 4:30
10. Crying Shame 4:28
11. Queen Of The Damned 2:41
12. Knife 2:57
13. Keep Your Powder Dry 3:54
14. Paralyzed 2:50

Band members
Lemmy Kilmister – bass guitar, vocals
Phil Campbell – guitar
Mikkey Dee – drums