Much like the ever present Lemmy, Motorhead are a band that will seemingly never die. Having created the DNA for blending punk and thrash metal together, they have since spent decades honing their craft and laying waste to all that stand in their way. While they may have had to cancel their recent UK tour due to Lemmy’s health, the release of Aftershock, their 21st album, proves that they are not going anywhere soon.
AFI – Burials
Most of my album reviews are quite long, often going over 500 words. As I am very much a trainee journalist I’ve decided that while this is all very good, I should probably occasionally limit myself to a word count. Therefore, from now on, every now and then I shall be doing shorter album reviews of only a couple of hundred words. Apologies if that annoys anyone but… well I don’t really care.
Those of us who grew up in a certain generation will be well aware of AFI. These gothic misfits were a big part of the soundtrack to many people’s teenage years and, therefore, their return with Burials, four years since their last album, is likely to fill many with mixed feelings. Does it still work now you’re in your 20s and over your teenage angst? Were they ever actually any good? Or can they be filed under other embarrassments like Panic! at the Disco?
The Devil Wears Prada – 8:18
The Devil Wears Prada are one of those bands that constantly feel like they should be moving onto bigger and better things. Now on their 5th album 8:18 they have been plying their brand of atmospheric metalcore for eight years and despite having an impressive amount of material out in that time, they have never seemed to move beyond being almost there.
Soulfly – Savages
Being born out of one of the most influential heavy metal bands of recent years, Soulfly have always been compared to what came before. Which is a shame, because Max Cavalera and co are actually a really kick ass heavy metal band. Savages is their ninth album and see’s Zyon Cavalera, Max’s son, sitting behind the drum kit for the first time.
Deaf Havana – Old Souls
Merry Christmas all, while I’m waiting for Dr Who to come on I decided to write up a review. In case anyone is wondering I will actually be doing all my end of year lists in 2014… I’m weird like that.
If you had asked me which of the albums on my big list of those I want to review before the end of this year that I was most likely to dislike, I would have pointed towards Deaf Havana’s Old Souls. Somewhere down the line this band got filed away in my brain as being in with all the alternative kids with their tight green jeans and stupid hats. Now don’t get me wrong, I like a lot of bands those kids have adopted, but my sub-consciousness has at some point decided that Deaf Havana were not worth checking out. Therefore I know absolutely nothing about them, but Wikipedia informs me that Old Souls is their third album.
Carcass – Surgical Steel
Carcass, their very name screams pure bloody metal. The British grindcore legends were favourites of the brilliant John Peel and reigned supreme in their original run between 1985 and 1995. Their return in 2007 was therefore greeted with glee while the announcement they were to write and record an album, which was released earlier this year. induced full blown delirium. With Daniel Wildling (Trigger the Bloodshed) coming in on drums and Ben Ash (Pig Iron) on guitar to join original original members Jeff Walker and Bill Steer Surgical Steel was created.
Dream Theater – Dream Theater
Dream Theater used to be so ingrained with the idea of Mike Portnoy that to have an album that doesn’t incorporate any of his ideas seems strange. However, that’s exactly what they’ve done and they’ve only gone and made it a self-titled release. With Mike Mangini in from the start this is the album that will represent exactly where a Portnoyless Dream Theater will be going in the future and their fans will be desperate for them to smash it out of the park.
Children of Bodom – Halo of Blood
It wasn’t that long ago that Children of Bodom were one of the next big things in heavy metal. They perfected a melodic death metal sound that was winning them fans left right and centre. Sadly things begun to go a bit pear shaped, as personal problems and a few dud albums left quite a lot of people scratching their heads wondering what had happened to the Finnish maestro’s. With that in mind latest release Halo of Blood has a lot of pressure on it’s shoulders as it seeks to prove that Alexi Lahio and co still have it.
Letlive – The Blackest Beautiful
letlive. are one of those rare bands who appear to be the whole package. Whether they are writing songs that blend melody and insanity together in a concoction that is sweet yet sour, heavy yet gentle and all in all just simply intoxicating or taking the time smashing the shit out of things, in a very literal sense sometimes, in live shows which in my own experience bring audiences together in a way that few can do, they seem to do it perfectly. So quite frankly it’s a disgrace that I’ve taken this long to write up a review of The Blackest Beautiful. Particularly as it is without a doubt one of the albums of the year.
Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegal’s – Walk Through Exits Only
The words Phil Anselmo and extreme metal are probably enough to have any right minded metal fan excited. Well that’s exactly what Walk Through Exits Only is and it’s full of a apparently very pissed off Philip H. Anselmo (as he is now apparently known) teaming up with his band The Illegal’s to release an album chock full of heavy as fuck metal.
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Ramblings About Wrestling 