HRH Mag Issue XIV by Hard Rock Hell Magazine

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Welcome to VOLUME Welcome to HRH Mag…

XIV

Christmas and New Year are fast approaching and with them the light at the end of the (very long dark and damp) tunnel for the music industry. The news is now dominated by vaccine delivery rather than development, so here’s hoping 2021 will be brighter for us all. Just to remind us of what a fantastic all-immersive festival can look like, check out HRH Vikings II in Photos – yes it was in an age before a certain virus was even mentioned, but seeing what a great time we all had helps us look forward even more to the third instalment next year! Talking of bright things – this issue of HRH Mag features a superb piece about the revival of the vinyl record by Hard Rock Hell Radio presenter Steve Beastie. See if you can spot any covers you own – I know I did, just not going to say which (It’s rather prog, that’s all I’m saying!). We have the second “Redtank’s Guide”, this time to the world of grindcore. Si writes with such passion - I’m not the

world’s biggest extreme metal fan, but still found myself checking out a couple of his recommendations. It gives me great pride, as a huge fan of the band, to be able to bring you the first-ever cover feature for HRH Mag spotlighting Black Stone Cherry. Our very own legend-ofthe-pen Adam Kennedy spoke with their non-stop guitarist Ben Wells about their new album and how lockdown has affected the band. This is, of course, a recurring theme in many of the interviews this issue – we also speak with the legendary Ace Frehley, Phil Campbell, Alice Cooper’s guitarist Orianthi, Janet Gardner of Vixen fame, Sevendust’s Clint Lowery, Geoff Downes of Yes, blues-rock legend Snowy White and many more. We managed to spend time too with the whirlwind that is Matt Stocks – even succeeding in extracting his top 5 for our contributor’s End-of-Year Favourite Releases of 2020. With the most reviews we’ve ever squeezed into one issue (well, we couldn’t exactly go to many gigs could we?!) plus regular features such as Viki Ridley’s Fresh Hell, Atom Heart Mutha Recommends and my very own Guide to 1991, there’s plenty in this issue for every rock fan. Have a great Christmas break, and get ready to rock together very very shortly! Toby Winch Editor

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! ! ! H A E LL Y

News + Features 7

LATEST NEWS

FAVOURITES OF 2020

EDITORS DOZEN

THE VINYL REVIVAL

REDTANKS GUIDE TO ...

FRESH HELL

Interviews

GEOFF DOWNES

BLACK STONE CHERRY

KING KING

ICONIC EYE

ORIANTHI

ARMORED SAINT

CASSIDY PARIS

ACE FREHLEY

SEVENDUST

CATS IN SPACE

PHIL CAMPBELL

VOODOO SIX

JANET GARDNER

REDLINE

SUSAN SANTOS HRHMAG.com

Interviews Cont... MATT STOCKS

COLDHARBOUR

CROSTPATHS

SNOWY WHITE

RED SPEKTOR

KING KRAKEN

Editorial

Managing Editor - Toby Winch info@hrhmag.com Contributing writers: Adam Kennedy, Viki Ridley, John Ellis, Charlie “Glamrat” Simpkin, Steve Beastie, Simon Redtank, Simon Dunkerley, Doug Bearne, Matt Stocks, JJ Kennedy, Martin “Badass” Short, Jezebel Steele, Michelle Evans, Dennis Jarman, Neil Coggins, Si Fox, Si Bonney, Andy Sayers, Adrien Perrie, Emma Bennett, Paul Sabin, Mike “Mikki” Smith, Toby Winch

Reviews

ALBUM REVIEWS

Contributing photographers: Simon Dunkerley, Adam Kennedy, Tom Gold, Gottlieb Bros, Graeme Milne, Scott Chalmers, Jay Gilbert, Konstantina Frasia Photography

Design

HRH ZONE

Mark @ ASYLUMseventy7.co.uk

HRH VIKINGS II IN PICTURES

ATOM HEART MUTHA

Management

Publisher - Emc3i john@emc3i.com

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advertising@hardrockhell.com 020 7097 8698

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Chic Festivals

Chairman / Founder - Jonni Davis

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Chief Operating Officer - Fleur Elliott Media and Label Director – John Ellis john@hardrockhellradio.com Head of HRH Press & Media Sales - Toby Winch toby@chicfestivals.com

I’ve kept the movie rolling But the story’s getting old now HRHMAG.com

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Hard Rock Hell Official Photographer Simon Dunkerley simond@hrhmag.com HRH Artwork & Design - Stacey Roberts / Toby Winch All contents ©HRH Mag are published under licence. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced, stored, transmitted or used in any way without the prior written permission of the publisher. HRH Mag is a trading name for emc3i Ltd (company number 48200) registered in Guernsey. All information contained in this publication is for information only and, as far as we are aware, correct at the time of going to press. emc3i Ltd cannot accept any responsibility for errors or inaccuracies in such information. You are advised to contact manufacturers and retailers directly with regard to the price and other details of products or services re- ferred to in this publication. Apps and websites mentioned in this publication are not under our control and we are not responsible for their contents or any changes or updates to them. If you submit unsolicited materials to us you automatically grant emc3i Ltd a licence to publish your submission in whole or in part in all editions of the magazine - including any physical or digital format of said magazine throughout the world. Any material sent is at your own risk and, although every care is taken, neither emc3i Ltd nor any of their employees, agents or subcontractors shall be liable for loss or damage.

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OFF YER ROCKA ANNOUNCE HEAVY ROCKA IMPRINT PLUS 3 NEW BANDS Some fantastic news from our colleagues at Off Yer Rocka Recordings as a third new imprint has been announced. Heavy Rocka joins Metal Rocka and Stoned Rocka as part of the OYR stable – and if that wasn’t enough, 3 new bands join the family – Stevie R Pearce and the Hooligans, Son of Boar and Woven Man. John Ellis, head of the label, commented “Whilst the world continues to take strange twists and turns and the uncertainty of live music remains, we at OYR updated you of our 2 new sister labels last March – Metal Rocka and Stoned Rocka. Well, today it gives us great pleasure to introduce our third new imprint, Heavy Rocka! We look forward to introducing you to our latest signings...” We can’t wait to see how the new bands progress at OYR!

DAY SPLITS RELEASED FOR HARD ROCK HELL XI CITY ADDED TO EVENT FOR NOVEMBER 2021 Hard Rock Hell are beyond delighted to be able to announce that due to unprecedented demand additional capacity has been added at a sister HRH Site in Gt Yarmouth for Hard Rock Hell XIV which is to be held on November 4th-7th 2021! This means that accommodation packages for the sister site, plus weekend and day tickets are available NOW from www.hardrockhell.com until they run out. The HRH Sister Site is just a 6-minute taxi ride from the main arenas. Free parking will also be available at the event site. Please note HRH Sister Site accommodation packages do not include event passes, so need to be orders as well. In addition, a limited number of campervan pitches are also available at just £130 (passes also required) for the whole weekend. If that wasn’t enough, additional tickets have been made available for anyone who wishes to upgrade their existing package to include Thursday 4th. Weekend (Fri / Sat) ticket holders can visit the website or call 0207 193 1164 to add the Thursday night. To help fans decide which package to go for, the day splits have been released – the event features not only Ugly Kid Joe, Skid Row, Terrorvision, The Wildhearts, Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons, Vandenberg, Tigertailz and Wolfsbane but also the long-awaited return of Black Spiders. Visit www.hardrockhell.com or call 0207 193 1164 for all the info

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HRH ROADTRIP XI 2021 SELLS OUT

It is with great pride that HRH can announce that HRH Roadtrip XI – Ibiza 4th-12th May 2021 – is SOLD OUT. An additional 11 hotels were added and these rooms are now full, meaning this will be the biggest and greatest HRH Roadtrip there has ever been, with thousands of rock and metal fans heading to the Spanish island of Ibiza to join Reef, Skindred, Joe Lynn Turner, John Coghlan’s Quo, Jizzy Pearl’s Love/Hate, Wayward Sons, Ten Years After, Massive, Midnite City and many many more for a week of fun in the sun next summer! For more info or cancellations head to www.hrhroadtrip.com or call 0207 193 1164

HRH VIKINGS III RESCHEDULED TO DECEMBER 2021 HRH have, reluctantly, rescheduled the extremely popular HRH Vikings III festival to December 2021 due to the continued Covid-19 restrictions. The line-up, however, remains almost intact – but with the incredible Korpiklaani and Audn replacing Borknagar and Saor respectively. In addition, HRH Vikings III welcomes back the amazing Atorc by popular demand plus Battle Born, Eoten and Accursed Years.

They join Ensiferum, Burning Witches, Thyrfing, Warkings, Metsatoll, Skyforger, Grimner, Konvent, Vanaheim, Gwydion, Kull, Wretched Soul, Valafar and Metal Castle at the O2 Academy in Sheffield on 4th and 5th December 2021 for one of the true highlights of the HRH calendar. Grab your tickets from www.hrhvikings.com or call 0207 193 1845

DARE WE HOPE FOR A BETTER 2021? THE CLUBS OF IBIZA THINK SO Although Europe is in the grip of the 2nd wave of Covid-19, there has been a flood of good news coming our way over the last few days, giving some light at the end of the tunnel for rock fans around the world starved of the live music that makes our lives – normally – what they are. With effective vaccines now being rolled-out and talk of Spain paying for tourists’ Covid-19 tests as they enter the country this means that the incredible Spanish island of Ibiza – home of course to Hard Rock Hell Roadtrip in May – is now actively gearing up for next summer’s holiday season.

In a recent statement from the boss of the Ibiza mega-club Eden – the main venue for HRH Roadtrip in 2021 – it was revealed that they are planning to open in Spring 2021, alongside many of the hospitality businesses the sun-soaked island is famed for. This is great news for HRH Roadtrip XI which runs from Tuesday 4th May to Sunday 9th May 2021. For all the info about this incredible event head to www.hrhroadtrip.com.

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HRH PROG XI SELLS OUT – PLUS NEWS FOR 2022 Amazing news from HRH HQ that HRH Prog XI, featuring Rick Wakeman, Wishbone Ash, Carl Palmers ELP Legacy, Pendragon, Focus, Hawklords and many more has completely sold out. Just as was predicted, Prog X and Prog XI are both gone but by fan demand the residential 3-day, 3-arena Prog Special will return to Camp HRH Great Yarmouth for Spring 2022! Tickets and packages will go on sale January 2021 so keep an eye out for that. For more info and cancellations head to www.hrhprog.com or call 0207 193 1865

STEVIE R PEARCE AND THE HOOLIGANS FIRST SIGNING FOR HEAVY ROCKA RECORDINGS

Heavy Rocka Recordings have announced their first signing – the superb Stevie R. Pearce and the Hooligans.

(AC/DC), Craig Goldy, and Scott Warren. 2019 also saw the release the second single and video “Set My Soul on Fire”.

Describing himself as having a foot in the gutter, the other on the sidewalk, Stevie is better known perhaps (depending on whether you’ve just found him or not) for his endeavours in Jizzy Pearl’s latest incarnation of Love/Hate and his work in Warrior Soul, and as original hellraiser of the Black Bullets.

In December 2019 – with a new Line up featuring ex-Black Bullets Carl Donoghue and Lance Skybaby plus Lifer Richard Jones, The Hooligans released “Rush of Blood to the Head” – a single to mark the announcement that Album 2 is on the way, and is set for release in Spring 2021 on Heavy Rocka Recordings entitled “Major League Son Of A Bitch”. A further release – “Give Me Everything: Live In Blackpool” – was also issued. Recorded at the legendary Waterloo Music bar, supporting a sold-out Massive wagons show, it gained critical acclaim for the deliverance of “30 minutes of pure adrenalin”.

Stevie R Pearce is an experienced performer, globally, locally and probably in your front room. If there’s a glam rock icon he hasn’t toured with, then lord knows who they are. He has stood in the shadows, and at some point or another has probably given you the best night of your life – you just didn’t know who he was! However, what is more pertinent than playing with these remaining icons, which is no mean feat in its own right – is the fact that in addition to all that work, Pearce is a songwriter in his own right and Stevie R Pearce And The Hooligans is the result. His debut album was originally released in late 2017, but re-issued on Cargo Records in March 2018, so people who missed it the first time around can revel in its glory – believe us, it is worth it! And it doesn’t do quite what you’d expect it to either. Given his history, you’d imagine that Pearce’s solo work would be sleazier than Donald Trump’s search history, but whilst there are elements of that (so there should be, by the way) it is evident that this is an avenue for the guitarist to flex some creative muscles of his own away from the day jobs. From start to finish it is a Leopard printed, punk-tinged hard rock assault that is somewhere north of turbo-charged. Delivered with real venom and with an undercurrent of violence – yet all the while totally understands it is rock n roll and it should be fun. The first single “Bad Day” caught the ears of Planet Rock, particularly The Hairy Bikers who heralded The Hooligans as the best band to come out of the south in a long time. Indeed, “Bad Day” is still playlisted on the station. Following some extensive DIY touring with the Hooligans, and a 5-week jaunt across 30 states of the USA opening the controversial yet highly anticipated Dio Returns Hologram Tour – the first of its kind – with Love/ Hate which featured Dio’s former journeymen including Simon Wright

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Indicative of an artist that wanted to express himself on his own terms, away from the shadows of others. His time in the spotlight, out of the shadows, is time well spent. The self-proclaimed “king of winging it” isn’t reinventing the wheel with misguided ideas of grandeur but instead setting the fu**er on fire and kicking it over a cliff. Absolutely!

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TWISTER HIT #5 ON ITUNES ROCK CHART WITH DEBUT ALBUM HRH Highway to Hell winners Twister hit #5 on the iTunes Rock Chart with their stunning debut album ‘Cursed & Corrected’ in November. The album hit the chart at #13 on Friday 13th, then rose to 11th, then to 6th, finally peaked at an incredible #5! The long-awaited “Cursed & Corrected” was recorded, produced and mixed by the brilliant Tony Draper at Parr Street Studios, Liverpool and mastered at the legendary Abbey Road Studios by Frank Arkwright (The Killers, Frank Turner, Biffy Clyro) – England’s greatest mastering engineer for contemporary rock music. “This is the 5+ years of our lives in a record,” says frontman Stevie Stoker. “Everything that has happened to us personally and professionally as a band over the last five years has created these songs. Every single track is a little piece of us poured out in lyrics, guitars, bass, and drums. From heartbreak and frustration to joy and elation this album epitomises what we are as a band and sets the precedent of what we want to achieve.” Twister – Cursed & Corrected is out now via Off Yer Rocka Recordings and is reviewed later in this issue.

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WORDS: ADAM KENNEDY PHOTOS: GOTTLIEB BROS AND ADAM KENNEDY

Geoff Downes? Yes!

Following the success of their US Tour in 2019, progressive rock heavyweights Yes have released a new live album captured during the final days of that leg of the tour. ‘The Royal Affair Tour: Live From Las Vegas’ was recorded at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas on 30th October last year. The album features 10 live tracks including a cover of “Imagine” which features shared vocals by John Lodge from The Moody Blues. HRH Mag recently caught up with Yes keyboard player Geoff Downes to find out a bit more about the band’s latest concert album, their US adventures, and the plans going forward for both himself and Yes.

there as well was something great for me because it was very much a band of which I was one of the founding members. So, they were great times.

You’ve got a new live album coming out which was recorded during happier times when you were out on tour in the US last year. Have you always found that the audiences out there have been receptive to the music of YES?

I think that when we got off the airplane coming back from the States on August 1st, I think it was last year, I don’t think anyone could have predicted what might occur since then. I think the album is a very nice memory of that tour particularly. I think that we are very excited that this is finally coming out and people could at least get some feel of what the live show was about.

Well, yeah. It was great from my standpoint because we also had Asia on that bill along with John Lodge and Carl Palmer. So, it was very much a family affair in some ways. It was great to be working with John, I’d not met John Lodge before. I’ve always got on well with Arthur Brown who was on the bill along with Carl. So, I got to know a lot of people that I’d studied years ago when I was sort of an A-Level student. Bands like the Moody Blues. It was a bit of a trip down memory lane from my standpoint, but certainly, it was a good feast of progressive music, albeit some of it was based in the sixties and seventies. But, at the same time, I think having Asia

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What was so special about that night in Vegas, in particular, as opposed to the rest of the shows on the tour? Well, I think it was because it was towards the end of the tour and by that time, we had honed down our craft in a way. When you first go out, in the first couple of shows, generally those are not the ones to try and capture. So, the Vegas show was pretty much towards the end, maybe the third or fourth show before the end. I think that everyone was absolutely in great form then and I think that it was a really nice show to capture that.

Looking at the tracklisting, it represents the vast body of work that Yes have produced over the years. But the curious thing for me was also looking at covers that are on the record, like “Imagine”, and also, “America”. What was the idea behind including those tracks rather than adding a few more Yes original songs? Well, I think the thing was, that it was nice to have a nod towards some of the things that the various members had done in the past. I think that in the case of Alan being on the original “Imagine” recording in John Lennon’s band - that was a nod to Alan in a way. And there were other elements in there, I think we did a tribute to John Wetton in the Asia set. We did some ELP with “Lucky Man”, so I joined in on that one. So, I think there were tributes to all of the individual members who are like a big sort of progressive rock family, or certainly a lot of mainly English musicians from that era. This Yes lineup has been together for a few years now. You’ve got Billy Sherwood and I know Jay Schellon has been playing some of the shows on drums. Jon Davison has been with the band since 2012. How does it feel as a group now? Does it feel like all of the parts are moving in the right direction so to speak? Yeah, I think they are a lot more relaxed. When you go into a band, particularly a band like Yes, it takes a while to put your feelers out and get comfortable in the role. I think Jon Davison, when he joined in 2012, you know, initially it’s a bit of a formidable challenge. And then, I wasn’t sure myself when I first joined in 1980. But I think as time goes by, you put your feelers out and you start to feel comfortable and you bounce off the other musicians in the band and you become much more natural and comfortable in the roll. When Billy came in, when Chris died, he was sort of a bit similar. He had to kind of find his own space in a way. He was a very tough act to follow Chris. He was a pioneer of a lot of things that made Yes a great band. So, I think that now we’ve had time, maybe the last four or five years with the same lineup, it’s felt very natural and I think that everyone is really happy with the way it’s gone, and hopefully, we will go when we can get back out again. There is a continuous theme that’s run through the Yes albums over the years and that is the artwork of Roger Dean. I know that at these shows there was some sort of exhibition, or there was a feature of his work. I know that Roger also developed the artwork for this live album. How much direction or input do the band put into the album artwork? Well, I mean, Roger is very, very integral with Yes’ albums. He likes to get a little bit of a taste of what the album’s going to be about, whether it be a couple of titles or we play him a little bit of a track or something like that - it gives him a direction. And then if the album’s got a working title or anything like that he’s brilliant at the way that he grasps what the band is trying to do at any given time. Roger is very, very, in tune with what goes on with the band. That’s one of the reasons why it’s been very much a sympathetic relationship over the years. Roger has a very good understanding and is very close to a lot of people in it. I’ve known Roger for forty years and obviously, he was involved with Asia as well. So, it’s a very natural thing that the kind of music we make is very much suited to Roger’s artwork.

Whenever I see you play on stage, it’s like you’ve got like your own command centre up there on stage. It’s quite impressive. Could you walk us through your stage setup for a show? I think that a lot of people are a bit confused and they’ve said, well a lot of the time you’ve got your back to the audience. I think it’s kind of a toss-up between just a head-bobbing around or peering over some keyboards - or some people being able to see what I’m doing. And I’ve opted for the latter. Having, a pretty vast array of keyboards in a sort of horseshoe shape just enables me to create a lot of those sounds from yesteryear because being a keyboard player in Yes, there are four or five other keyboard players with completely different styles. A lot of the sounds are very, very signature keys sounds like Mellotrons, Hammond organs, acoustic pianos, and all of that stuff. I don’t find that I could get that kind of noise out of just a couple of keyboards. It’s nice to have a sort of hands-on thing. So, I go out with about 12 keyboards. And you know, some people think it’s overkill, but I think for the most part people are quite interested in looking at it and saying well, what does this one do? Why have you got that? Or why have you got so many? But it’s something that I’ve always done really. And I think that when you look at Steve as a guitarist, he’s got all of these different tricks. He pulls out his Portuguese 12 string or his pedal steel. He has got all of these different stringed instruments that help create the sound. Yes has always been a very innovative band and I think that it sort of comes with the turf that you’ve got such a variety of instruments you can call upon at any given time. We are heading towards the end of this year. Do you have any loose plans for yourself? Are you working on any projects to keep yourself busy at the minute, or are you just kind of taking a nice break? We are working remotely on another Yes album at the moment. So that’s taking shape slowly but surely. It’s very difficult because everyone’s in different locations. Alan is in Seattle. Steve’s in Devon. I’m in Wales. Jon Davison has been in Barbados for quite some time. So, we’ve sort of been a little bit scattered. Billy has been in LA. But I think we are just looking forward to compiling all of that and then, you know, seeing how it all maps out next year. Hopefully, we’ll be able to go out and tour the album next year depending on whether it gets finished or not this year, or whether it goes over into next year - I’m not sure. I think it’s important that we keep an eye on making new music. I’ve been doing quite a few other little side projects, nothing major, just a couple of bits here and there. Thankfully the technology is there which enables you to create remotely as well. So, I think if this had happened thirty or forty years ago, music history would have been changed forever. It would not have been possible to make all of the great music that had been made in the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. So yeah, we are just being practical about it. We are just going to keep our heads down and, hopefully, they’ll open the gates to us again and we can come out again. ‘The Royal Affair Tour: Live From Las Vegas’ by Yes is out now via BMG records.

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WORDS: ADAM KENNEDY

BEN WELLS

here does the time go? It feels like just yesterday that Black Stone Cherry was introducing their now tried and tested sound to our eager ears via the likes of “Rain Wizard” and “Lonely Train”.

Now on to album number 7 in the BSC arsenal, and the band are most certainly on classic form. That hard-rocking, southern soaked sound which prevailed in the band’s early releases once again feels at the forefront. With the band’s 2020 touring activities largely cancelled due to the ongoing pandemic, the Kentucky based quartet took to the studio, where they self-produced their latest Mascot Label Group release “The Human Condition”. The band’s new album will be released just one day before Halloween, but rest assured, despite the timing of the release, this album is certainly all treat and no trick. HRH Mag caught up with the band’s energetic axeman Ben Wells at home in Kentucky to get the lowdown on Black Stone Cherry’s eagerly anticipated long-player. So obviously the UK is a special place for Black Stone Cherry. The last time I saw you perform over here was when you were headlining Ramblin’ Man Festival last year. That was an incredible show and such a special night. It felt like one of the best times I’ve seen you live in a long time. How did that night feel like for you? That was one of the most amazing shows. That festival, we love that festival. We think it’s just one of the coolest vibes. The lineups are so cool and different and we like how it’s laid out. It’s big, but it’s not overwhelmingly big. We’ve got to headline that festival twice now, and each time is just like, I don’t know, it’s just a special thing. And the weather has been great every time we’ve done it - luckily. The energy you get from playing a festival like that, it’s just something you don’t find everywhere. And we’re very, very fortunate to have a good relationship with that festival. Speaking of your British fans, I know that you were awarded our “Axeman of the Year” award, at last year’s HRH Awards. Were you expecting that? How did you feel about that?

You know, that was unexpected, I was blown away by that. I remember first hearing about it and I just thought it was incredible and I’m humbled and I appreciate it so much. I wish I could have been there to see it. I was hoping there’d be a video of it. I think there might be one somewhere, but I was totally humbled and blown away by that, it meant a lot. Over the summer, besides Black Stone Cherry, you collectively came up with something quite new and original when you got together with Monster Truck and you created The Cherry Truck Band. I just wondered, did you enjoy that experience? And is it something that Black Stone Cherry may do again in the future or was it purely just a one-off? No, we enjoyed it. And we thought it was something fun for not only us to do, but for fans to see how the writing process works. We wrote that song over a series of Facebook live sessions. We wrote it live to the world and recorded it. So, I think it was something that hadn’t been done yet, during the middle of all of this and it was really neat. I mean we are definitely up to doing it again with Monster Truck or anybody else. I think that it’s a really fun thing to do. I noticed that you’ve also been working on your surfwear brand - The Surf Monster Company. I was just wondering, can you tell us a little bit about that project? Yeah, it’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, but you know, normally when we’re on the road, it’s hard to devote your time and energy into a different venture. So when I found out that we weren’t going to be touring a lot this year, I was like, well the silver lining in this is that I could put some time and energy into something else creatively that I wanted to do, and that was Surf Monster. And we are having a lot of fun with it. My wife and I, coming up with designs and working with different illustrators. It’s just really, it’s a fun thing and it’s another creative outlet that I’ve been wanting to do for a while. Getting onto the album release. This is now your seventh album, which seems crazy. It feels like just yesterday when you brought out your first Black Stone Cherry album. How are you feeling about this album? Are you sort of excited about it? Are you nervous? Are you curious to hear what the fans have got to say about it? Or is it a case of all of the above?

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I N T E RV I EW - B L AC K S T O N E C H E R RY - B E N W E L L S

I think all of the above. I think every time you put out an album, there’s always anxiety and excitement around it and you want to know what people think about it. And you can’t get too caught up in that because at the end of the day the album we put out is the album that we’re proud of and we always will be proud of it. If you read too many comments online, good or bad you can kind of get caught up in that. You know, it’s kind of hard not to do that. But for us, if we didn’t love what we did, we wouldn’t put it out and this album is something we’re super proud of just because we recorded it during the pandemic as the world was shutting down. And we kind of looked at each other and we’re like, well, you know, we don’t know what the rest of the year is going to be like, but we’re at least going to have an album to show for it. So we just kind of buckled down and put all of our energy into this. It kept us going. We at least had the recording process to keep us creative during the beginning of this pandemic. And we just put all of our energy into it, and we selfproduced it and recorded it. John - our bass player has a studio and our monitor engineer on the road, he engineered the record and he also mixed it. And so, it’s just something we’re super proud of that we could do this in-house and I think the fans are gonna love the songs on this record too. There are some heavy songs on there. It’s very wide open, and then there’s a couple of really great ballads that we’re super proud of as well. You mentioned there about the record being self-produced. I mean, was that a conscious decision that the band wanted to be in control of the whole process and of the record’s destiny, so to speak? Yeah, I mean, this will be the third record that we’ve self-produced. And so, when we signed on with Mascot Label that was one of our things, we said our stipulation was we wanted creative control. So we want to be able to control the sound of the recording of the band. We’ve worked with some excellent producers and we’ve learned a lot from them, but I think now at this point in our career, we kind of just know what we want to sound like, and we assume we know what our fans want from us. And we can’t spend a ton of money on hiring somebody else just to kind of tell us the things we already know, you know what I’m saying? So it’s just more fun for us too. But with that comes a responsibility and that responsibility is pushing each other as far as we can go to make sure

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that we get the best performances out of each other that we can. What was the first track that you wrote or laid down for this album? What was the song that got the ball rolling, so to speak? The first track we recorded on the album was, “Some Stories”. And that’s a song that we’ve had for 10 years now and we’ve always loved it. And this time it was able to make its way on the album. We changed a few things about it, but that was the first one we laid down, mainly because we were just really familiar with it, so it felt good to start with that one. And the title itself, The Human Condition, it’s quite a thought-provoking title. What were you guys thinking about in particular when you came up with that theme or the title for the record? Well, we were talking at the beginning of the year on the phone - this was before the pandemic, we were talking about writing songs and what songs are going to go on the record and whatnot. And John just kind of said off the cuff, he said, a lot of these songs are about the human condition. And we were like, that’s kind of a cool title. So we kind of just saved that for a while. And then for some reason, it kept popping back up - either we would hear other people say it or we would read it somewhere. And we thought once we looked back at the collection of songs on the record, we thought it was a great title, and a great year to have that title out there because everybody is experiencing so many different emotions and things of that nature. So yeah, we thought as you said, it’s a thought-provoking title and it kind of made sense to go along with the album. There are some fantastic songs on this record and the latest single “Ringin’ In My Head” I believe that one’s been around for a while. What brought you back to that song to revisit it. I understand you took a slightly different approach from its original form, is that right? We wrote that in 2017, it was supposed to be for “Family Tree” and we liked it, but we didn’t love it at the time. But we liked it enough to want to bring it back. We knew we loved the chorus and the first verse. So, we got in the studio this time and we just kind of rewrote the whole second verse and we wrote a new bridge for it. And once we were able to rework it, it became a better song. This goes to show that sometimes

I N T E RV I EW - B L AC K S T O N E C H E R RY - B E N W E L L S

you can write songs that are years old and then all they need is a little bit of updating, a little bit of tweaking and then it becomes a very strong song. And that’s kind of what we did with a lot of songs on this record really or songs that we’d had in the past that we just knew we love, but they needed to be reworked. We had the luxury of being in the studio, doing it ourself, and we were able to kind of take those songs and fix them to the level they needed to be at. From a guitarist point of view, what’s your favourite track on the record to play and why? Well, I’m not sure yet, because we haven’t been able to play any of them live yet. Hopefully, I’ll have a better idea once we start playing some of these live. One of my most favourite, just straight ahead, rock songs on the record is called “Ride”. And we’ve had that song since 2003, probably. And mainly because it’s not a super crazy guitar song, it’s just fun to play because it’s simple. And like I said it’s like a freight train. And “Again”, it’s going to be fun to play because that’s a fun riff. I don’t know, there are so many cool ones that I listened to and I can envision playing. So I don’t know, I don’t have a firm answer yet just because we haven’t had the opportunity to play. Like you mentioned before, there’s a nice balance of tracks on the album, it’s got a nice flow. There are some slower tracks and then the next one will be an absolute banger. I love some of these heavy tracks on this record like “Push Down and Turn”, “Live This Way” and “The Chain”. And obviously, the first single “Again”. They feel like some of the heaviest Black Stone Cherry songs I’ve heard in a while. Was that intentional, to sort of push the boat out and go a little bit heavier or did it just kind of happen organically? Well, I mean, it was intentional to the degree of we knew we wanted to make a rock record because that’s what we are, we’re a rock and roll band. Well “Push Down and Turn” is a new song. “Live This Way” we’ve had for a few years. But you know those riffs and that energy has always been with us. I think it was just time to put that back into the forefront of what we do, and I think that’s why fans are gonna love this record because it is the Black Stone Cherry that maybe a lot of people were first turned on to - the energy and the riffs and some of the heaviness. And I’m glad that we are focusing on that again, it feels really good.

One thing I love on the album is the cover of “Don’t Bring Me Down” by ELO. That one took me quite by surprise. What was it about that song that made you want to cover it? We love ELO, we are huge ELO and Jeff Lynne fans. We listen to it all the time on the bus because our musical influences range through so many different things. And Jeff Lynne is one of our big influences. But we were sitting in the studio and we were looking for a song to cover that was going to be a bonus track. We tossed around a couple of different ideas and nobody was sold on the other ones. And then Chris, I think pulled up, “Don’t Bring Me Down”. Chris and John Fred won, and we were like instantly, of course, this is what we have to do. Just because it’s already a great song, it’s a great melody. And so for us, we didn’t change it a lot. We just kind of made it a little bit heavier just as if we had written it, you know, it’s already perfect as is. And then once it came out and got mixed, we were kind of like, well this can’t be a bonus song, this has to go on the album. And I’m thankful it is because it’s a fun moment on the album and it’s a surprising moment for some because they wouldn’t expect that. In terms of your stage performance, I have to say you’re one of the most energetic guitarists I’ve ever seen play. How do you go about preparing for a show? I mean, do you have to conserve your energy throughout the day or take a long nap before you go on stage? Or is it just pure adrenaline once you get on stage that takes over? It’s just pure adrenaline, you know? I mean there are some days where like, even if you don’t feel good like you’re kind of sick or something on the road, or if you’re just tired and it’s 10 minutes to the show and you’re just yawning on the bus, but once you get up there, it’s like, boom it’s like come to life. For me, it is anyway. And I love that there’s no better feeling than that. And I love just getting up there and running around and feeling the power of the music and that’s what I just truly enjoy. And like I said, there’s no better feeling than playing live. “The Human Condition” by Black Stone Cherry is out now via Mascot Label Group

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PHOTOGRAPHY: SIMON DUNKERLEY

HRH VIKINGS II in Pictures

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H R H M E TA L I V I N P IC T U R E S

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WORDS: CHARLIE “GLAMRAT” SIMPKIN

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ADAM KENNEDY PHOTOGRAPHER & WRITER

DOUG BEARNE REVIEWER AND INTERVIEWER

“BADASS” MARTIN SHORT HARD ROCK HELL RADIO PRESENTER, WRITER

Although 2020 may have garnered fewer releases than usual due to the pandemic, there has still been some outstanding albums to come out of this musically challenging year. Here are a few of my favourite long players to have been released over the last twelve months.

I am Doug Bearne, album reviewer, gig reviewer and interviewer. I also do a two-hour weekly Rock Show on KTCR FM, a station based between Bristol and Bath, which goes out locally on FM and world-wide online. I love going to gigs and listening to music of many genres.

As a retired trucker who has travelled the world, I spent some time driving 18-wheeler semis in Canada and the USA. It’ll come as no surprise that my favourite genre is Southern Rock.

Erja Lyytinen – ‘Lockdown Live 2020’ “The Queen of the Slide Guitar” captures a historic moment in time. Recorded in Finland amid the pandemic, this unique live album perfectly captures a feeling we are all longing for – that being the return of live music.

Putting together a top 5 is really tough, but here goes..

Orianthi – “O” This record marks the Antipodean guitar shredder’s first solo album in seven years. Subsequently, recent single “Impulsive” has been in regular rotation on my stereo as well as our airwaves since the album’s November release.

Black Stone Cherry – ‘The Human Condition’ The Kentucky-based quartet are back to their very best with album number 7. Lynne Jackaman – ‘One Shot’ The former Saint Jude lead vocalist headed out to Muscle Shoals to make her magnum opus. The album was a long time in the making, but it was worth certainly the wait. Mike Ross – ‘The Clovis Limit Pt. 2 ‘Transitions’’ British blues/rocker Mike Ross truly won me over with recent single “None of Your Business” from his magnificent latest album. It’s a real earworm for sure.

((Adam Kennedy is an experienced music photographer and writer for HRH Mag, amongst other outlets. He is based in the North East of England where he is also a house photographer at the O2 Academy Newcastle as well as the O2 City Hall. ))

MARK LEARY ILLUSTRATOR & GRAPHIC DESIGNER

A horrific year for so many reasons, but atleast there has been a few bright moments to it. Here are 5 of mine Code Orange - ‘Underneath’ With an evolved sound expanding on the post-metal elements of Forever, Code Orange have built what could prove to be their greatest album yet.

Mr. Bungle, ‘The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny Demo’ The songs on The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny Demo were written in the ’80s, but still kick up a storm up in 2020.

Smashing Pumpkins, ‘Cyr’ Full of ‘80s synth nostalgia and darkwave vibes their Cyr double album prove how great the Smashing Pumpkins can be when they’re on top of their game.

Bury Tomorrow, ‘Cannibal’ After the awesome Black Flame, the new album Cannibal starts an inferno. They balance great melodies and gut wrenching brutality throughout. Vile Creature, ‘Glory, Glory! Apathy Took Helm!’ The self-identified ‘angry, queer, gloom cult’ deliver more experimental sludge, pulsating doom and feral vocals, confronting issues of gender, discrimination and self-identity. Plus it’s worth it for the album artwork alone.

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South Of Salem – The Sinner Takes It All An amazing debut album which I have been saying since it’s release would be a contender for number one, and it is still there now. A wonderful selection of songs, all with something to offer. Really well produced and put together, the album has given some great singles, I’m sure with more to come. Scarlet Rebels – Made in Sonic One A fantastic Live mini-album showcasing the band’s amazing songs and great live performance. A great substitute for not being able to get to gigs this year.

Crown Lands – Crown Lands Amazing debut LP from this Canadian band. Every song is a winner, and I really can’t wait to catch this band live next year. Haxan – White Noise This long awaited debut album from the trio really was worth the wait. The definition of ‘All Killer, No Filler’ !

Ward XVI – Metamorphosis I am a sucker for a good concept album, and they just don’t get better than this unnerving tale of a disturbed child and her road to incarceration, complete with killer tunes.

Massive Wagons – House Of Noise A band that are going from strength to strength, packed with great songs including my favourite track of 2020 “The Curry Song” Cats In Space – Atlantis What more can I say, other than go and read my review elsewhere in this issue!

Deep Purple – Whoosh Fifty+ years into their career and they still sound fresh and relevant, how many bands can say that!? Sealand Airways – Sealand Airways The debut release of the year, by a country mile - a wonderful distillation of all that was good in ‘70s and ‘80s music, with their own spin on top.

The Outlaw Orchestra – Pantomime Villains Another long-awaited debut album. A real mix of great songs which really fails to disappoint – every track is a joy.

JEZEBEL STEELE HARD ROCK HELL RADIO PRESENTER

I struggled a bit to come up with my top 5 albums of 2020, it’s been a weird year - I’ve only been to one live gig, but I’ve listened to more music, and played more new stuff on my radio show than ever before. These are my favourite albums of 2020:

Professor Elemental & Mr Frisbee – Let’s Get Messy 2020 has been a funny old year, and so I had to include Professor Elemental in my top 5, because if you need a good old fashioned helping of silly… he’s your man!

Ozzy Osbourne – Ordinary Man I’ve always liked Ozzy, and for me this album stands up against his earlier great works. My favourite track from the album is Ordinary Man, featuring Elton John

The Dark Design – Twelve Tall Tales I love a good storytelling song, and this album delivers exactly that. The album has made me smile and made me cry, and for me, there’s no better reason to love it The Outlaw Orchestra – Pantomime Villains For some good old fashioned feel-good fun, you can’t beat the Outlaw Orchestra, and this album is everything you would expect from them.

Ward XVI – Metamorphosis The story of how one little girl went on to become a killer is probably not the most commercial plans for an album, but Ward XVI managed to create a masterpiece. The operatic nature and the bleak subject matter are mixed so beautifully that it left me in tears, whilst at the same time made the hairs on my arms stand up

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MICHELLE EVANS (BEEGIRL) MUSIC WRITER

I love travel & music. Pair them together, and I’m loving life! This year I’ve missed my live gigs but am happy to report that I’ve mastered the art of air-guitar during lockdown!

Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters I know, I know. Not metal, but it did win Best Rock Album at the Grammys. Fi-Fi still packs some fabulous grunt into the very raw & genuine album.

The Kills - I Put a Spell on You They certainly did. It’s simple, sexy, and with the unfamiliar tempo change, you are taken to another level. The Pretty Reckless - Death by Rock and Roll Hooked from the moment I heard it. It’s my ‘Get-up! You’ve got sh*t to do’ song. A total reason to get the hairdryer out & design your own music video!

Deftones - Ohms Love the Deftones. This is a newbie, so is on high rotation right now. Good solid 9th album, as expected by the lads. Can’t wait to hear it live. Sons of Apollo - MMXX My running album of choice. It’s an absolute challenge, but I’m totally invested. Think Chariots of Fire: The Hellfest Edition.

Well I can’t sing, I can’t dance and I play piano badly so it’s a good job I seem to be able to use a camera to give my artistic side an outlet. I started photographing back in the mid-’80s but missed the thrill of the music and mosh pits too much so stopped. Since starting back about 8 years ago I’ve realised it’s a very different scene but through hard work and a bit of luck have managed to get the position of Head of Photography for Hard Rock Hell Festivals. Now the thrill is capturing that moment in time or at least it will be when we get back to live music!

Psychlona – Venus Skytrip From the first spacey tones of “Blast Off” to the last sludgy riff of “The Owl” this album is superb. It’s really hard to describe why but everything just sounds and fits right. Easily my album of the year, I can’t rate it high enough. Massive Wagons – House of Noise They are the epitome of a British Rock and Roll band, hard-working likeable chaps who thump out some great catchy riffs and tunes that the crowd can easily relate to. This album continues in the same vein with huge tracks like Curry Song and Banging in Your Stereo. One of the best live bands around. Red Spektor – Heart Of The Renewed Sun Those who know me will know why I’ve picked this one, packed with heavy blues and psychedelic riffs. The 2nd album from these Stoke based heavy blues rockers who are busting to get out and play this live.

Deep Purple – Whoosh Definitely not an empty retirement album but rather a powerful full on classic Purple tour de force. Ian Gillan and co are on fire with their latest release, heaps of Hammond and some funky tunes with the odd old one like “And The Address” for good measure.

SIMON REDTANK HARD ROCK HELL RADIO PRESENTER

Redtank here, from Redtank’s WeekENDER! And The HRH Punk Show. This year has certainly been challenging and unparalleled, and I hope you are all staying safe and well. Even in these circumstances there have been some fantastic music releases, here are my top five!

Master Charger – Origin of the Lugubrious The latest release from Midlands trio Master Charger must be my favourite of the year. From the moment I got it, I loved it! This is sludgy stoner metal at it’s very best, a magnificent riffladen beast of an album.

VOTOV – I.X.X.I. Canadian old school death metal at its finest, this is a powerhouse of an album with lashings of thrash undertones, I.X.X.I. certainly keeps the death metal flag flying. Aetherial – Nameless Horrors The Australian death metal band’s second album is nothing short of a brutal masterpiece and will be my December album of the month on Redtank’s WeekENDER! Vitskȁr Sűden - Vitskȁr Sűden Stoner/space rock with moments of beauty, the debut album from this Los Angles band absolutely blew me away earlier this year. Vitskȁr Sűden deserve to be huge!

No Murder No Moustache – Hold My Beer EP Anti-establishment Celtic infused punk rock at its best. One of my favourite band from Redtank’s H.R.H. Punk Show this year. The title track sums up 2020 perfectly.

1968 – Live in Los Angeles Another superb local band who during their 2019 US tour played at the legendary Whisky A Go Go and recorded and released it so we can hear it in all its glory. This has really captured the essence of their live show, a must buy.

MATT STOCKS DJ, WRITER, PRESENTER, PODCASTER, AND NOW, PUBLISHED AUTHOR Laura Jane Grace - Stay Alive

There’s been a fair few “lockdown” records released during 2020, but for my money, LJG’s collaborative effort with producer Steve Albini is the only essential one.

The Chats - High Risk Behaviour In a year filled with doom and gloom, these Aussie party starters injected a much-needed dose of highoctane, good time, punk rock ‘n’ roll with their debut album, High Risk Behaviour. Fair dinkum, lads.

Creeper - Sex, Death & the Infinite Void Southampton goth gang Creeper ditched the emo & horror punk influence of old for their second studio album, leaning instead on the sounds of ‘90s Britpop, ‘70s glam rock, ‘50s rockabilly, and the soundtrack music of David Lynch. I’m excited to see where they go next. Dream Nails - Dream Nails For my money, self-proclaimed “punk witches” Dream Nails are the most exciting young punk band in the UK today, as their excellent self-titled debut album undoubtedly attests. For fans of X-Ray Spex, The Slits, The Undertones, Bikini Kill, and Sleater-Kinney.

AC/DC - Power Up If it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it! It’s a well-known fact - long-running joke, even - that AC/DC have been making the same music for nearly half a century. But when it sounds this good, why would you even dream of tampering with the recipe? Power Up, the band’s seventeenth studio album also happens to be the best one since ‹The Razors Edge› - proving there›s still plenty of life in the old dogs yet.

STEVE BEASTIE HARD ROCK HELL RADIO PRESENTER

Chuff me what a year it’s been! I know we’ve all had a lot to put up with but on the music front it’s never been better. 2020 is the best year for music since 1980 and not being able to go to gigs has seen me spend more money on music than ever before in my life, including being a teenager in the ‘70s when that was all I had in my life. More than anything I want to see these bands live in 2021. We’ve taken gigs, music and our musicians for granted. Let’s put that right in 2021 and get out there and show our support, our LOVE for these people who make us happy and support our venues too. The Vapors - Together The Vapors return with their best album EVER and prove that you don’t need to dine out on past glories. Every track is a singalong track and instantly enjoyable.

No Good Sons – Sin Reprisal One of those sneaky albums that flies under everyone’s radar, however, once you get hooked on the southern attitude, catchy hooks and great lyrics your radar will always be busy. Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate Nostalgia for Infinity Every time Malcolm and Mark release an album it’s worth investigating, even if prog rock isn’t your thing. Tracks with instant appeal alongside slow-burners make for an album with a long life.

Outlaw Orchestra – Pantomime Villains When a band you follow avidly finally get around to releasing their debut you always take a sharp intake of breath before listening and cross everything you can cross, even if age restricts the crossing of some things. When you finally hear it and it turns out THIS good and way beyond anything you could have hoped for, you breathe out, and you know all is well in the world. Superb debut. The Dukes of Bordello - I Think I’m Turning Psycho Part of the Deaf or Glory EP which is available on sexy as chuff spattered vinyl. The Dukes of Bordello are pure fun and this, besides being an anthem of our times and so appropriate for 2020, is one of the catchiest songs you will ever hear.

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WORDS: ADAM KENNEDY PHOTOS: GRAEME MILNE

ALA

N NIMMO

from KING KING

ritish blues rockers King King have undergone a lot of changes since the release of their last studio album ‘Exile and Grace’, but since the revamp to their rhythm section and the addition of a second guitarist, the band have now regrouped, re-energized and returned with a brand-new album titled “Maverick”. HRH Mag caught up with the band’s frontman Alan Nimmo in Glasgow to get the lowdown on their new record, his experiences putting the finishing touches to the album amidst the pandemic, and the changes within the King King camp. You’ve got a new album coming out on the 27th of November. To what extent did the pandemic and the lockdown impact on the recording and the finalizing of the album? Well, we were recording the album before the lockdown and we were kind of sailing through it, getting on with that. And, you know, there are always obstacles in the way, even at the best of times. And then the studio, it’s a one-room studio. So, of course, they are trying to fill their diary as well. So there were days available and days not available, etc. So it was hard enough to start with, but we managed to get the bulk of it done. And then there were three songs left that I hadn’t put a vocal on yet, and they closed the studio for the lockdown. So, it was like a disaster - we had to wait and wait and wait. And then eventually, they very kindly opened the doors just for me and then set the

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place up so that I didn’t have to be in the control room at all. We didn’t have to be near each other, they set me up with headphones and a talkback mic etc. and I just literally came in. Of course, the one great thing about having had a little bit more time to wait for that is the more preparation you do before you record anything, the faster things go down. So, they gave me the studio for five days to get the last three songs done. And I had all of them done on that day the first day. Because you know what you’re doing then, you know what I mean? You’re prepared. Then you go right, just press record. and I sang all of them and I just got them all done very, very quickly. I’ve learnt my lessons for the next time - be prepared. You know all those lessons at school you get when they say be prepared and do your homework? I’m going to start doing that because it takes way less time to get an album done.

IN T E RV I EW - Ki ng Ki ng The line-up of the band has gone from four members to five. You’ve got your brother Stevie involved now. What was the idea behind adding a second guitarist to the lineup? Believe it or not, this is something that wasn’t like an overnight decision and I just decided let’s get a guitarist now. It’s just something I’ve quietly been planning for a few years now, before the lineup change. Lindsay and I used to discuss this quite often. And I knew that at some point there was another guitar going to be needed for a few different reasons. I knew that there were parts that I was having to sacrifice in terms of playing because I need to focus on the vocals - I need to focus on singing. It’s weird because the tables have turned. After all, I was always a proud rhythm guitar player. It was really important for me to get the rhythm side of things great and happening. I found myself compromising a bit of that over the years because I knew that I needed to prioritize singing. So, there is that, and with the new stuff as well there are parts that need sort of the other guitar player to play for me or play with me or play a different part along with it. And the more the band grows, and the profile of the band grows, and the bigger you get, the more engagement you must have with the audience. So I need to be able to focus on that. The remit of King King walking on to the stage is just how quickly we can get the audience in the palm of my hand and get them onside right away. Then everyone’s relaxed and comfortable. And I learnt that lesson from watching the Fabulous Thunderbirds many, many moons ago. They walked on stage at a festival in Norway and I stood and watched the first number. And by halfway through the first number, they had the entire audience just sitting there like puppies begging for a biscuit. And I was like, that’s how this needs to be done. And I took that from them, and I’ve made it my purpose to do that. So of course, there was always going to be another guitar player needed at some point. And there was only ever one guitar player that I was ever going to work with, and it was going to be Stevie. Plus, I’ve got the bonus of one fantastic backing vocalist to be in there.

guitar in. And we’ve done that on this recent recording that we’ve done live, and it sounds amazing. It just adds such a nice percussive feel to the tunes. So there’s plenty of work for us there, and again it’s all just an effort to improve King King. Looking at the song titles and listening to the lyrics, there seem to be some positive and uplifting songs on the record such as “Everything Will Be Alright” or “I Will Not Fall”. They all seem to have quite uplifting positive messages behind them. Was that your intention to go with a positive outlook particularly in these strange times? Yeah, absolutely. I suppose if you listen to the lyrics on some of them - in particular, “One World”, I’m still talking about the same thing as I was talking about on the “Exile and Grace” album. I equate them all to the song “Broken” from that album. But I feel that “Broken” was - maybe not defeatist, but I was kind of like, man, where’s the hope? This time around what I wanted to do was say no matter what we get, no matter what gets thrown at us here, pardon the pun, but we will never give in, let’s just keep going. I wanted it to be more positive and I’m glad that that’s been noticed. I wanted a positive, hopeful feel lyrically, whilst still relaying the message that I wanted to talk about.

King King will release their fifth studio album “Maverick” on Friday 27th November 2020 via Channel 9 Music – King King’s new independent label.

We’ve already done a lot of recording for a live thing that we are going to do later this month. We recorded it live and I’ve just been listening back to a couple of the tracks. And you know what, between Stevie, Zander and Jonny as well now, when I’ve got three backing vocalists behind me. It’s just elevated the sound of the band up even stronger. It’s just fantastic, such a difference gets made when the backing vocals are strong. So I mean the whole idea of getting Stevie in was quietly preplanned a long time ago. I just had to get Stevie to agree to it. With adding Steve to the lineup were you ever concerned about receiving comparisons to the Nimmo Brothers, and are you trying to treat this as two completely separate entities? Well, I mean, you’re never going to escape that. We will never escape the whole Nimmo Brothers, Stevie Nimmo Trio and King King comparisons - especially in certain places in the world. Not to mention any names, but Holland. They just don’t seem to understand the difference at all. It’s like they don’t understand that they are different bands. I mean I’ve had a few questions online like, are you going to be playing any Nimmo Brothers songs? Are you going to let Stevie take the lead vocal or anything like that? The answer simply is no. This is King King and this will always be King King. Stevie’s got his place in the band and he’s got his job in the band and that’s what he will be doing. I will be the frontman and singer of King King, and that’s it. We won’t be adding any Nimmo Brothers songs. What we will do is we will use our own experience, and what we’ve got in terms of our advantages and skills as the Nimmo Brothers to bring to King King. So, there will be places where I no longer need to check the pedal that I put on that gives me the dual guitar sound (the harmonizer) and we don’t need to do that anymore - so things like that. Because when I record these songs like that, I don’t use a harmonizer pedal in the studio. I record all of the separate parts - I’ll record it all separately. So now we’ve got a great focal point as well. Stevie and I can stand together and do that, and play parts together. You know, all that. So, it just makes for a better show, a better performance and all of that. And then there are great parts that we can find that we can use the extra guitar for. But what’s pleasing me at the moment, it sounds trivial, but it’s really exciting to me is that there is the stuff that we recorded with an acoustic guitar in the background as well. And we can now incorporate that into the live shows. You can pick up an acoustic guitar now and again. Because sometimes there are some songs where it’s not going to be necessary for two guitars to be playing the same thing. And there’s no point in trying to add another part guitar just because, just play the part that’s already there that’s missing from the live show and put the acoustic

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IN T E RV I EW - IC ONIC EY E

WORDS: PAUL SABIN

None of us were excited by what we’d got. We couldn’t put our finger on what it was, and we all got a bit despondent and Jane decided to step away and did her last gig in December 2019 when we supported Last in Line. Then we looked again for a replacement and Janey came in. We played her the stuff we’d done but didn’t let her hear what Jane had done, so basically, she started with a blank piece of paper to see what she could do. Janey has written some fantastic melodies that bring out the best in the music and its something that we are all now grinning our heads off at and are happy. PS: So, Janey, what’s your background? JS: My main thing has been Supersonic Seventies with Greg Hart and Andy Kitson (CATS in SPACE) where we covered some of the best tracks of that era. We’ve toured that as a theatre show for the best part of eleven years as my alter ego Janey Bombshell. Greg and I actually did an album in the vein of the seventies off the back of it, called `Rocka Roll Around’. It was a pastiche thing, there was some glam rock, some pop, a bit of everything. I put my hand into writing then and Mick Wilson was also involved. It caused quite a stir at the time as it was so different. But before all of that, I’d sung in pubs since I was fifteen. I was always the one wanting to get in amongst it. I was an early concert goer. With Iconic Eye, it was a mutual friend of mine and the bands on Facebook that suggested meeting up, and I did some research and thought yeah that’s a bit of me! It’s my background and it came at the right time and I thought let’s give it a go. Now I’m back writing again I’ve realised how much I’ve missed it. You should never settle; you’ve always got to keep progressing.

HRH Mag’s Paul Sabin caught up with Iconic Eye’s founding member and guitarist Greg Dean and new vocalist Janey Smith ahead of their upcoming new EP release. PS: Looking back at the bands line-up evolution so far, your first singer, Lee Small, who appeared on the 2014 `Well Begun’ album was replaced by Tim Dawkes for the release of `Hidden In Plain Sight’ in 2015 and then in 2016 ahead of `Into The Light’, Robin Mitchard took over guitar duties from Neil Fraser and Jane Gould came onboard as the new vocalist. At that point, your sound changed to a more melodic, AOR style. Was that intentional? GD: The first album made quite an impact. There was no PR or anything but people seemed to really like it and we got on to the HRH main stage just on the back of that album which was great, and we also played Download but we found Tim didn’t work out live so he left. We advertised for a new singer and I think in my head I thought another guy would come along but Jane came in and Robin, who is a phenomenal guitarist and they fitted with the songs and we then just started writing more. Then Robin left and Neil Hackett came in who has written stuff on the new EP too. It was kind of an evolution but now with Janey joining its more of a revolution! JS: Like that, I’ll have that one ha-ha! GD: Janey is more of an out and out rock singer so I can write harder, melodic songs rather than the softer AOR type stuff now as that’s where we want to be, and it suits her voice perfectly. PS: So, when you went into the studio to write `Back From Behind The Sun’ Jane was still with the band right? GD: Yes, so what happened was, we went in the studio to write the EP. That was five songs, one cover, called `Jane’. Now called `Janey’ I think ha-ha! Neil had written one and I’d written the other three. Jane said she wanted to write more of the melodies, so we didn’t write those, we left those to her. Then when we’d all finished recording in the studio, we all kind of sat down and said what do we think. Because the thing is, you always want the new thing to be a step up from the old thing, and we all thought `Is it?’.

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PS: With a new exciting line-up and the harder sound now, what can the fans expect moving forward? GD: It’s interesting when you’re on stage, you tend to look for two things; you look for the audience singing your choruses back to you, which is always an amazing feeling, but the fans can kind of sway a bit to the music and that tends to indicate that we need to increase the tempo a bit. So, what we’ve tried to do on the new EP is to step the tempo up and this is the sound of Iconic Eye moving forward. JS: For me, the new material is catchy and anthemic. We are keen to go more commercial with things so more people can relate to it. `Ghost Town’ was written, for instance about what’s going on now, but when the pandemic first started. GD: We need our product to be as accessible as possible, so more people we can get onboard the better. PS: Talking of accessibility, you recently did a live performance which was streamed on the net didn’t you. What was it like performing without an audience for your first live gig Janey? JS: It didn’t bother me to be honest, though the cameramen were quite loud ha-ha. The reason we do all this is to perform in front of a live audience, but I knew that people were watching, and probably more were watching than would have attended the gig. I’m not camera shy so I loved it. We were so lucky with the venue, lighting display and pyro. We were blessed and excited in this current situation to be able to do it. PS: You’re doing your EP launch at the same venue aren’t you? GD: Yes, but this time it will be slightly different in that it will be a real gig with an audience, albeit a socially distanced one and will be streamed at the same time. PS: What’s next after the launch? JS: I’m champing at the bit to get out there, I get frustrated on a daily basis that I can’t get on a stage. GD: Its difficult really as we’ve got some gigs we have announced and we’ve got some we haven’t announced, but in the current climate its really hard. We don’t want to announce a tour to then days later have to cancel, so we will bide our time and sort the tour when we are certain. We want to get out there and play, to move up the ranks and become one of the best bands in Britain.

IN T E RV I EW - OR IA NT H I record, but I just think that as an artist you go on different journeys and so that’s why some things take longer. People are like why does it take so long? It’s like, well, because you have to go on a journey sometimes to figure out where you really want to be at and know what you want to put out. So that’s why it took me a minute, you know? AK: You’ve worked with artists like Michael Jackson, Santana, Carrie Underwood and Alice Cooper, traversing those vast musical styles. Do you think that has fed into your playing and your repertoire with this new record?

Orianthi

WORDS: ADAM KENNEDY

Having performed and toured with some of the biggest names in the game, platinum-selling recording artist Orianthi is finally switching her focus back to her solo career. The Antipodean guitar shredder has played alongside the likes of Alice Cooper, Carlos Santana, Carrie Underwood, and Michael Jackson throughout her star-studded career. But the question on her fans lips for some time has been when will Orianthi release another solo record? After a seven-year wait, that time is now with the release of her new album “O” via Frontiers Music SRL. HRH Mag’s Adam Kennedy recently caught up with Orianthi at home in Los Angeles to get the low down on her latest offering. AK: It’s difficult to be a touring artist right now because you can’t go out on the road. However, it also allows you to be a bit more innovative and creative and do something a little bit different. I know that you recently played a live streaming show from the Whisky a Go-Go. What was that experience like for you?

O: To be honest with you, not really. I grew up listening to a lot of country pop-rock. Jimi Hendrix through to Savage Garden, INXS, U2, and Johnny Cash - all that different stuff. So, I don’t know, it’s a weird thing. I don’t know if I’m influenced by other people. Sometimes, if it’s close to working with people then straight after I can get influenced. But usually, like with this record that I made, I was listening to a lot of nineties music and a lot of stuff that I grew up listening to. And so, it took me back a bit and then I got into the studio. I think that definitely after working with somebody like Alice or Michael you’re influenced directly after, and maybe you can take it with you somewhat. But I think with this record, in particular, I just kind of went back to listening to all of the stuff I did when I was a kid. I did listen to Michael and all that. But it was just more like, I think when people hear the record, they’re going to hear a lot of sounds that sort of have like a Muse almost meets INXS and Hendrix feel. There’s a lot of different layers to the record that I kind of wanted to do and experiment really with different things. It was a fun project for sure. AK: Listening to the album, the first thing that I noticed was that the opening song is called “Contagious”. That song title alone seems quite pertinent at the minute with the fact that we’re living in a time with a pandemic - was that intentional or just coincidental? O: Oh, completely coincidental. I made this record a year ago. And it was funny because everyone’s like, oh, “Contagious” is going to be the first single right? And I’m like, no, I think that’d be a terrible thing because it’s like with everything going on, I think that’s really poor form. And people would say, but it’s a strong song. It’s like, yeah, it’s strong, but at the same time It’s just not right timewise. And like I said it was written a year ago and it’s basically a positive song. It’s about saying hate is contagious. Do you know what I mean? Like rising above that. AK: You’ve got a new video coming out for the song “Impulsive”. I’ve seen some shots online and they all looked great. Can you share with us any details about the song and that video in particular?

O: Well, it’s a pretty crazy video, that’s for sure. And we had a lot of fun with it - I mean because it’s impulsive. And the song is basically about some of my life and so I kind of wanted it to be that way visually - so it’s pretty O: A little odd, you know? It was bizarre because there wasn’t an audience colourful. Jim Louvau - he’s an amazing photographer and friend of mine, he directed it. And my band came in, and we just had a blast. And then we - apart from five cameramen. I would say, is it showtime yet? And they played the Whisky show a couple of days after that. But yeah, we just shot it would say it’s showtime - but there’s no one there. And I mean, there’s even at the Doll House here in L.A. So, it’s like a life-size dollhouse, it’s really cool. less than a TV audience, you know what I mean? So, it almost permits you And yeah, each room is very colourful and I kind of picked that because I to mess up, because the energy of the people isn’t around. And so, it was unusual, but hey, that’s just what we have to do right now to keep things safe just thought I came out with “Sinners Hymn”, which was kind of darker and heavy and whatnot, but this song is fun, you know? for the people that attend and until we can figure out a way forward. I’m hoping that happens soon because sporting events are still going on. I was AK: The first video I saw from this album was for “Sinners thinking the other day if there was a network that would get a stadium and Hymn”. Can you tell us a little bit about the inspiration behind it’d be nonstop on-demand music like MTV or something that would have that song? big concerts. You could just buy tickets at home for now, like an MTV or VH1 O: It’s a classic blues story. It was kind of movie-esque by the way I’ve - something like that. It would be kind of cool. Since we watch football and painted the picture of this blues musician. And he’s like, tearing up every all that kind of stuff, but it’s wild. town and causing havoc, getting drunk, messing around with different AK: You’re about to release your first new studio album in women, going to the next town. It’s kind of like a real blues. Do you know seven years. You’ve done a lot of things in between and what I mean? It’s like that bluesman story. It’s not about anyone in particular. performed with a myriad of artists. Did you feel that now When I was growing up and being inspired by so many different blues is the right time to switch the focus back towards your solo guitar players, that being their sort of story. Whether it be Robert Johnson career? and hearing about his story and everything and then, you know, just different musicians back then and all that. So, I wanted to just paint a picture O: Yeah, I mean, I made this record about a year ago. And it was of that. It’s like a real storytelling sort of ode to Hendrix and an ode to Buddy something I just really wanted to do with my great friend Marti Frederiksen. Guy and all those musicians that have inspired me. Robert Johnson, all of He and I just got in the studio and did it in like 28 days. And it was just them, you know. something that I felt the need to do because it’s been such a long time since I released anything solo. I had all of these songs that were just being written AK: In terms of yourself as a guitarist, have you ever had any so fast, and especially when Marti and I got in the room. And before that, appetite to do an instrumental album, like a kind of a Vai or I was making another record. It was kind of a hip hop record, which is Satriani style record or does that not interest you so much? weird. I was collaborating with all these different pop producers and beats You know what, I did kind of an instrumental thing when I was younger. and P Diddy’s crew and all of that. It was really different. I don’t know, I just thought it would be a good idea to do something different like that, and And I did do “Highly Strung” with Steve. Now that you just reminded me, I did record a meditation record, which is completely instrumental, which outside of the box. You know, but it wasn’t really what I wanted to do. I forgot about until now, so I may release that. I was using different sound After the first song I wrote with Marti, which was “Rescue Me”, I was like, bowl healing frequencies, and different things. It’s a completely instrumental you know what, no, I want to make a rock record with elements of synths record I was making about a year ago, two years ago. So, I might finish and beats and stuff. I don’t want to make a full-on, beat orientated thing that. where I’d just work with a guy with a computer or something, you know? So “O” by Orianthi is out now via Frontiers Music SRL. yeah, it kind of just happened like that. But I still do have an experimental

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IN T E RV IEW - Ar more d S ai nt

When Armored Saint Met Supertramp and… Barbra Streisand? HRH Mag’s Neil ‘Not’ Coggins caught up with Armored Saints’ John Bush, to talk all things band, lockdown, and Barbra Streisand… NC: Congratulations on ‘Punching the Sky’, another solid effort in the Armored Saint arsenal! It’s been 5 years since the previous album ‘Win Hands Down’, and 10 after the one before that, ‘La Raza’. Are you comfortable with taking time between records, or is it more of a necessity nowadays to stay on the road? JB: In a perfect world we would put out records more often. I marvel at my favorite bands of the ‘70s (Thin Lizzy, UFO, Aerosmith, etc…) who were able to put out records every year. That with touring AND extracurricular activities. They were incredible!!! How the hell did they do it? But it’s the way it is for us at this point. We combine being musicians with other forms of making a living cause quite frankly we have to. The records will live on way after we do so they have to be of the highest quality. It’s our legacy. We haven’t been a touring machine like we were in the ‘80s for a long time. We strive for great tours that will be fun, lucrative, and as high profile as possible. I would like to avoid 10 guys in a van all crammed in a room at the Red Roof Inn. That wasn’t even fun in my 20s. NC: It’s been a whopping 36 years since the release of the debut, March Of The Saint. How has writing and recording an Armored Saint record changed in all of those years? JB: Most of March was recorded at the lavish Ocean Way Studios on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood. The other people recording while we were there were Barbara Streisand and Supertramp. Although we had a blast we kept saying to ourselves this shit must be expensive!! And it was!! That recording pretty much put us in debt for the rest of our run with Chrysalis. This record’s guitars and bass were recorded in Bill Metoyer’s backroom studio. The vocals were all done at Joey’s house in his attic home studio. The budget was about a tenth of March’s and it sounds wayyyyy better. That’s one of the positives of technology today. We also use technology to help us with the writing cause we don’t have the time to hang out in a rehearsal studio for 6 hours a day. I reflect on those days nostalgically - I just don’t know how productive they really were in hindsight.

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NC: Do you still get a buzz from the whole process surrounding the release of an album: writing, recording, mixing, promoting and touring, after all these years? JB: Absolutely. It’s extremely rewarding when you finish writing a song. All the members put their stamp on it and it gets recorded. You hear the final mixes, see the artwork and this embryo of an idea becomes this product that hopefully fans will dig. You rehearse new songs, put them in the set with the older songs and it becomes another part of the group. This is what you dreamt about years ago when you began. If it doesn’t still give you a buzz then you should call it a day. NC: The album title ‘Punching the Air’ can be interpreted as defiance or celebration: do you think this album is an amalgamation of both, and where did the title actually come from? JB: Ha! Well how about both! Sounds good to me. My original thought was celebratory but defiance works too. Recently a journalist said to me maybe you’re punching God. I said well that’s a perspective of frustration that certainly can be felt at the moment from people. I really enjoy getting listeners’ own view of the lyrics. It’s really amazing. I do love the feeling an athlete has when they raise their arms up in victory. Or the raised arms of an audience at the end of a musical performance. There’s nothing like it. The lyrics and this title can have multiple meanings. Better if it does. NC: In these days of Spotify and streaming, do you think the lyrics are as important as they once were? I used to love sitting there with the LP insert and studying all of the lyrics but with more people streaming, that experience is becoming rarer. Also, what lyrical themes are explored on the album and where is the inspiration mainly drawn from? JB: Well obviously as the main lyricist of course I think they’re extremely important and always will be. Certainly having vinyl or even a CD makes the listener more connected with the music in terms of having an actual tangible product to read the lyrics. Or at least to this old school guy it does. You can always find the lyrics online too. We explored many topics on this record. A lot of social commentary for which there is an abundance of current topics to choose from. Personal feelings of coping in life and a little sarcastic sense of humor always works too. Attention deals with the dependency of the digital world, Missile is a song about the divisiveness of our country and Never You Fret reminds everybody what a great band Saint is to name a few.

IN T E RV IEW - Ar more d S ai nt NC: The whole Covid 19 situation has thrown the whole music industry on its head. How much of the album was written and recorded before lockdown, and how difficult was it to complete the whole process? JB: We were fortunate that all our recording was done by lockdown. We gave the tracks to Jay Ruston and he was able to mix it on his own, so in terms of our record getting finished it was a non-factor. It would actually be just our luck that hell would break loose right when we hit the studio. Luckily that was not the case. There could’ve been a decision to delay the record however my feeling is fans are already deprived of going to concerts, why deprive ‘em of listening to a record too. You need a new record now more than ever. NC: Even established acts such as Mastodon have had to claim unemployment benefits during the pandemic. How difficult is it for a band like Armored Saint to keep the wheels running as it were? And despite not being able to tour it, do you think releasing a record at this time keeps you in the public eye? JB: Everybody has got to do what they got to do to survive. We are in uncharted waters right now. Live shows may be one of the last forms of entertainment to open up worldwide! So musicians have to get creative. Livestreams, more production videos. Whatever it takes. It would’ve been agonizing to have our record finished and to have to sit on it for a year. Perhaps longer. It was a no brainer for me. Release it! NC: There is also the documentary due to be released. How long has the idea for this been in the works, and how much input did the band have during the process? JB: Russell Cherrington is a filmmaker friend of ours in Britain. He ran with the idea and got some great interviews done. Everyone from Lars and James to Cliff Burnstein and Max Norman. He was aggressive in making it happen and filled up his passport in doing so. Furthermore, he asked uncomfortable questions at times which makes it feel raw and real. We helped provide a bunch of photos and footage. He did a great job and it will be entertaining for Saint fans as well as all music fans. It’s a good story of persistence and unity. Remember most of Saint has known each other since we were in grade school. 50 years!!

NC: You mention Metallica - was it a surprise that they were keen to be a part of it? And what memories do you have of those days in the ‘80s when you were playing gigs with them? JB: It was very nice of them to be willing to be interviewed. Every group wants them to talk about their band. Obviously they can be very selective. Even though our communication can be sporadic we will always have that history together in the early days. The Metallica, WASP, Armored Saint tour in 1985 is still something people talk about all the time. We had a blast and had some crazy times where we were all discovering life. Metallica, Saint and Death Angel two nights at the Kabuki theatre in San Francisco was also a classic show. Watching metalheads become so passionate about Metallica was a once in a lifetime situation. They went on to be the biggest band in the world. It was cool to witness that development first hand. NC: With 2020 being a virtual write-off for live music, what’s in store for Armored Saint in 2021? Are promoters fighting amongst themselves to book you onto tours and festivals? JB: I’m trying to stay optimistic for shows happening in 2021. There are still plenty of territories that Saint has either never played or haven’t played in years. I want to make that happen. Festival season in Europe in particular is always a blast. I also would like to get out a DVD of the Symbol of Salvation in its Entirety Tour we did in 2018. We filmed a bunch of shows and it was a special run so I would love to get that released. Also the documentary. There’s a lot going on, but of course performing songs live from Punching the Sky is a top priority. NC: Finally, for a bit of fun, Armored Saint have been asked to curate a festival featuring 6 bands as well as yourselves. In non-running order, who would your dream bill be to share a stage with, and why? JB: Rival Sons, Mastodon, Faith No More, Anthrax, Metallica. Oh and Saint of course!! Maybe a surprise guest performance by AC/DC in a 500 seat club adjacent to the festival site! NC: Cheers guys, much appreciated!!

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WORDS AND PHOTOS: ADAM KENNEDY

C a s s i d y Raised on classic hard rock and metal and inspired by female rockers such as Lzzy Hale, Joan Jett, Pink, Pat Benatar & Avril Lavigne, Cassidy Paris is on a mission to inspire a new generation of younger fans not only to listen to Rock ’n’ Roll, but pick up a guitar instead of a phone. Hailing from a musical family - that includes her father Steve Janevski (Wicked Smile, The Radio Sun) - has certainly put Cassidy on the right path. As the old saying goes ‘the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree’ and that’s certainly the case with this Melbourne based singer/songwriter. The Aussie teenager recently released her latest single ‘Like I Never Loved You’, and for her latest offering, Paris worked with her mentor, songwriter and producer Paul Laine (The Defiants, Danger Danger). During lockdown Cassidy Paris also featured on the New Wave of Classic Rock Webfest 2, gaining her even more exposure in the UK market. Of course, Paris is eager to follow in the footsteps of her dad and perform at HRH. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for that one. Here at HRH Mag, we caught up with Cassidy at home in Melbourne to talk about her latest single, the music scene back home in Australia and her plans going forward. AK: You’ve just released your new single “Like I Never Loved You”. Can you tell us a little bit about that song and how it came to fruition and maybe a little bit of the background about the song? CP: The musical direction was something that I’ve been wanting to write for a while now. So, when Paul (Laine) and I sat down together, we knew kind of where we wanted to go with it. Kind of a more angsty type of song crossing pathways between pop and rock. It has a lot of different eighties and seventies rock influences that I tried to incorporate into it. And it has a bit of a modern spin on it as well, which is really cool. And I think that the outcome is fun and I love singing it. I’m a writer who bases my songs on personal experience. So this one was a combination of a couple of people. So yeah, it was really fun to write and I’m happy with the outcome. AK: You mentioned there about working with Paul Laine (Danger Danger). He’s a bit of a heavyweight in the industry - what was it like working with Paul and what did he bring to the table? CP: With Paul, it’s always a fun time. And I always reiterate that I am so blessed to have such a fantastic support system behind me. And Paul is no exception to that. I’m lucky to have worked with him on multiple occasions. I always refer to him as the rock and roll Mozart. He’s just the best at what he does. He’s such a killer songwriter and performer and I’m just really, really excited about working with him more in the future. AK: I’ve seen that you’ve been doing bits of stuff over here as well with the NWOCR webcast and things like that. Have you been overwhelmed by the reception that you’ve received on this side of the pond? CP: Yeah, absolutely. I’d love to play in the UK, particularly at HRH. My dad’s gigged at that festival on multiple occasions so it’d be a dream to come over. Hopefully very soon once the coronavirus thing resolves. I think that it’s cool to see so many people enjoying the music that I’ve produced worldwide and it always blows my mind when I have people saying, ‘Hey, I love your new song “Like I Never Loved You”’ from the UK. And I’m like, that’s so cool to me. And that’s why I do this. I just want to make people happy. And I think that it’s been a cool response. AK: So in terms of the pandemic, I know Melbourne’s been a bit up and down. You’ve gone in and out of lockdown. How are things right now? CP: As you said, it’s been a little bit of a funny ride in Melbourne, well in Australia in general, but particularly Melbourne with the coronavirus. We haven’t had it hit as hard as some other countries so I’m very thankful for that. However, there was a stage in Melbourne where it was getting pretty bad, so the lockdown restrictions came in and it looks to have resolved a little bit, but again, we don’t know how long we’re going to be in lockdown. I’m looking forward to getting out there and playing some of my new material. I think that’s one thing that I’m missing. I’m missing performing, but as you said, the New Wave of Classic Rock and the outlets that I’ve been able to perform on streaming sites has been a cool experience. So, I’m very lucky that we have social media outlets at a time like this. AK: Have you found that you’ve wanted to be creative during this period of lockdown? CP: I think this time has been awesome for me in a way because it has allowed me to write a lot of new material and it has allowed me to rehearse some material. But as you said, the main thing for me that I’m missing is getting out on that stage and rocking that stage with the audience and having a bit of fun. So there are some downsides and some negatives, but I think the positive of it all is being able to do different things in terms of music from my home. And also, I’m in year 12 this year, so it’s been a bit of a jolty ride in that way as well. So, I think that the balance between music and school, as it’s been all online with me this year, has been something that has allowed me to escape from this

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P a r i s whole pandemic. AK: You come from a musical family. Your dad (Steve Janevski), obviously we know him very well over here. He’s played in the UK many times. Have you always wanted to be a musician? Have you always wanted to follow in your dad’s footsteps or was there ever any doubt that that’s what you were going to do? CP: Yeah, I think growing up with my dad, always being involved in the music industry had an effect on me - one hundred per cent wanting to pursue it. I think that I had this memory when I was little, Dad gave me a little pink guitar with my name Cassidy written on it - I always call it one of my turning points. He exposed me to a wide variety of music, which was cool, but predominantly and mostly rock music. So I think that had something to do with me wanting to pursue it. And again, I think watching Dad play as a youngster, it was just very inspirational to me. And I was like, wow, I want to get up on that stage and do that one day too. So I’m very, very lucky to have had that. AK: And obviously, your dad plays the guitar with you as well. So that must be fun having him along for the ride as well. CP: Yeah, absolutely. I think it’s cool to be able to travel and do what I do with my dad. It’s been an awesome bonding experience and most of the time I travel with my family. So it’s always been a pretty cool experience to be able to do that. And I’m very thankful and lucky that I was able to do that playing with Dad and gigging with him on and off stage is always a lot of fun. AK: How do you find the rock music scene back home in Australia? Whenever I speak to artists in Australia they always tell me the same thing - that it’s quite challenging because there are only three or four cities you can kind of perform in. How do you find the rock scene back home? CP: Yeah, absolutely. I think Melbourne, in particular, is a great city that you can perform in. I think that also Australia in some aspects does have its downsides. Like it’s a bit of a thing of Tall Poppy Syndrome here. You can’t get your music out to a wider audience before it takes off somewhere else, which is a little bit difficult for artists like me who are trying to build an image and (position) themselves in the music industry. But I think countries like the UK and America, it’s been helpful to get that support and to have it out somewhere else. And I’m just really lucky that I was able to have that. So, I think in terms of Australia, I think several people have helped me here. I think Wicked Smile, my dad’s new band, and even people from Black Majesty and The Radio Sun have always been supportive of myself. And the community around that has always really helped guide me. So I’m thankful for that aspect of it. AK: So, in terms of your musical style, which artists would you say have shaped or influenced your musical direction, obviously besides your dad and his projects? CP: I think that there are many different artists. I love bands like Def Leppard. The Hysteria album has always been a really big inspiration on my music and where I want to take it. And I always love current stuff as well. Like I love the band H.E.A.T. I love Erik Grönwall, he’s just a legend. And I think even women in rock like Lzzy Hale from Halestorm has also been a big inspiration for my music. So, it does vary as I always say, it’s a combination of eighties rock, seventies rock as well and modern rock. So I’m excited to see where I can take it. AK: From a personal point of view, besides music, I would say Netflix has been a bit of a saviour during the lockdown. Which shows have you been watching recently? Is there anything that you can recommend our readers? CP: I have been watching Cobra Kai - I don’t know if you’ve seen that, but it has elements of eighties rock music that makes its way into the show, which has been cool. I’m an eighties person, so I love watching all those eighties inspired shows. I love Stranger Things as well. So, there was a point, I think it was at the beginning of the year, probably before lockdown. But I have rewatched it since because I love it so much. I showed my dad Stranger Things, so that was a cool experience because my dad only really watches AFL - Aussie Rules Football. That’s probably the number one thing that’s just on repeat in our household in terms of television, especially now that the Brisbane Lions are back up there, on the ladder. I think it was cool to be able to sit down and watch an eighties inspired TV show with him. So, we’ve been watching Cobra Kai and Stranger Things. AK: You’ve got your new single out now, where do you go from here? CP: I think performing is always something that I’m looking forward to, and I know I keep going back to that, but it is something that I’m missing at this time. So I look forward to getting out there and getting over to countries like the UK. I’m looking forward to interacting with fans in person worldwide. And I think that’s the big next step as well is just doing a variety of new things that I’ve got lined up. I’ve got a music TV show at the moment in the works as well. So I’m excited about that. So, there are several things that I’m looking forward to in the future. “Like I Never Loved You” by Cassidy Paris is out now.

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WORDS: VIKI RIDLEY

Ghosts of Men

Who are you? Ghosts Of Men, two-piece heavy alt-rock. Think QOTSA if they were composed entirely of Morecambe & Wise. That’s what a wise man once said. Roll Call? I am Alam, the beating heart and soul of the band, the power and the glory, forever and ever; A-lam. (drums) He’s Clem: I am Clem. I do all the other stuff, Guitars, Bass, Singing, tea. Hailing from? You know that squidgy bit of North Essex, just between Colchester and Halstead? Nestled in there we are.

Journey so far? Well. That’s one hell of a story and for Ghosts Of Men it starts in a windswept and deserted airfield in 2009. This was before I (Alam) had joined. My journey starts in a windswept and deserted football ground in a windswept and deserted March in a windswept and deserted 2014. I had been asked to fill in on drums for a couple of small festivals. I’d heard of GOM and I kinda liked the wonky grungy stuff they did. I said yes. I arrived at my first rehearsal with a whole kit, minus the snare drum. *Clegg - At that point I knew Alam would fit in brilliantly. Shortly after that, the much-beloved Stav (a minutes silence) (he’s not dead) left and we decided to change the sound and direction of the band, focusing on a heavier, more lively two-piece sound. Music to tear car doors off to. That was late 2014, and since then it truly has been a whirlwind of the silliest and most adventure-filled degree. We have answered the phone loudly and badly, we have fallen down a pissy hill, we’ve played hundreds of smaller festivals and a few of our favourite larger ones, toured in almost every country in Europe, released an album (one more on the way very soon), a couple of EP’s and at least 6 videos – we’ve travelled the length and breadth of the land, making music and picking up fans, friends and other bands all along the way. It’s been hard work and taxing but a complete joy. We’ve been lucky enough to establish ourselves on a couple of grassroots festival and venue scenes from the folk and punk side of things (we’re frequently the heaviest act) to the heavy rock and metal scene where we’re frequently the lightest act but being somewhere in the middle and not easy to pop in a box has, in fact, added to our appeal. This year, as I’m sure was the case for a lot of acts was set to be our biggest and busiest with

a headline at Bearded Theory and slots at HRH14, Bloodstock and Boomtown Fair. But it was not meant to be… Regardless we’ve kept practicing and writing and laughing and we’re set to go into 2021 with a brand new album and a SH*T TON of pent-up energy and mischief. Influences/sound? It’s vast. And too long a list to say what all our influences are but from Black Sabbath to Fat Boy Slim probably sums it up well. It’s much easier to say how people say we sound – we get QOTSA and Clutch a lot. We’re pretty happy with that. When we write we’re trying to sound like Ghosts Of Men as much as we can but, of course, other things will come out. Biggest gig/proudest moment to date? Our biggest gig was either Strawberry Fair or Beautiful Days, both 5000-10000 people, and really great but I think maybe some of our proudest moments have been with smaller crowds. We frequently introduce crowd participation games like ‘Festival Twister’ (Trade Mark 2019 Ghosts Of Men) or once; a whole year of mid-set raffles/meat draws that we never sold any tickets or had any prizes for. I think our proudest moments have been the ones that have made people dance and sing and smile the most. On a more personal level, Clem once shouted the ankles off a horse which I know he’s very proud of. And it is said that I, Alam, have the biggest hands in the biz. What does the future hold for Ghosts Of Men? We have an album all fettled for the world to hear, it’s called EXHALE.......(pause for effect)….. and songs do keep falling out of our heads. We’re really hoping all this Covid business flips off so we can get back to playing some killer shows, seeing loads of killer bands, and enjoying it all with some killer mates. Not actual killers though like Jeffrey Dahmer and Jack the Ripper. THE Killers is fine, as far as we know they haven’t actually been proven to have killed anyone. And watching bands with some killer whales is an admin nightmare.

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F R E SH H E L L

WORDS: VIKI RIDLEY

n i u R f O s d Lor

Who are you? We are Lords of Ruin. An alternative metal band from the north of England, made up of five seasoned musicians, who have all previously left their mark on the UK hard rock/ metal scene. Officially formed in December 2017, LOR spent their early years perfecting their style and writing original music to entertain fans of all genres, and now have become a household name in the underground music scene with a strong, ever-growing legion of fans.

Roll Call? Lord Dox - Vocals + Acoustic Guitar: The sharpest dressed man on stage and consequently, the sweatiest come end the of the show, so it’s heavily advised to avoid physical contact directly after the set. He is not to be disturbed within 10 mins before stage time while he meditates, ensuring his vocal cords are fully charged and gathering the strength to put on a kick-ass show. Lord Steve-O - Drums: Chief pot and pan basher. Like many drummers, he nearly always has multiple bands going at any given time, so has played across a wide range of genres, pop to rock, folk to metal. Some say that his cap is the source of all his powers and is impossible to remove. Any photographs suggesting otherwise are fakes. Lord Liam - Bass: Lord of the low end and the band clown. Probably the 2nd most active stage presence in the band behind Lord Dox. On the road and backstage he’s always cracking jokes and generally behaving like a tool to keep up morale. Signature moves: being late for practice and always needing something to eat. Lord Stones - Guitar: Expert guitar tinkerer. Usually brings a new guitar to every practice. Has almost mastered the art of changing guitar strings in his sleep so he can spend more time playing and less time on maintenance. He could probably snap a string mid-song and replace it without anybody noticing or missing a note. Lord Kev - Guitar: Shredder extraordinaire and secondary band clown. Has a never-ending supply of memes that could probably get a chuckle out of a monk. We aren’t sure when his birthday is, we think he was created in a laboratory of some kind, which would explain his superhuman guitar playing. Hailing from? Since we are spread out between the north-east and the northwest of England, we simply say we hail from north of England. To tell the truth, in the early days the band was formed with members mainly from the Newcastle area and so we branded ourselves as such, however after some line-up changes the geographical range of our band only grew. So, to be accurate, our members come from Newcastle, Durham, Carlisle, and Penrith. Journey so far? What a roller-coaster it has been. What started out as a drunken idea between Dox and Steve-O has now become an exciting and prosperous project. Initially, we spent a lot of time in the practice room, writing our set and perfecting our live show, and since our members had already gathered decent followings with past projects, we were able to gather a decent reception once we went public and started playing shows in late 2018. In 2019 we went through some personnel changes, but nevertheless, we were able to put ourselves in the spotlight with some amazing gigs including a slot at Call of the Wild festival and supporting Bigfoot for 2 dates on their farewell tour. In August that year, we released our debut single “In From The Cold,” (available on all major streaming services) which was really well received with many praising the accompanying music video. At that point, we had built a decent network of fans and contacts and soon we were approached by promoters, venues and bands all over the country offering us slots at various gigs & festivals, and helping us get our music on radio & TV channels all over the world. You could say that we are still riding on the success of the single today, however, we know that we cannot stay static - but the world had other ideas...

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We had so much great stuff lined up for 2020. Festival appearances including HRH, SOS, and Wildfire, a mini-tour with our good friends Promethium and Tantrum, and looking to get in the studio to work on our next release. At the start of lockdown we were hopeful to still play some gigs in later months of the year, but as time went on more and more shows had to be postponed or cancelled. As well as that there have been ever-changing social restrictions put in place which is a real sucker punch for a band as spread out as we are, meaning we couldn’t all get together properly for rehearsals or studio time. Fortunately though, we have been able to use the time to individually write some new material which is sounding really good so far - and also look at our entire catalogue to decide which tracks we think best represents us as a band and be suitable for potential EPs, albums etc. Hopefully, once we’re able to get together again we’ll have a host of fresh material to work with and it will motivate us to explode back onto the stage when the time comes. As well as this, we’ve been able to keep a steady social media presence going to let everybody know that we are still alive and kicking and will be back on it as soon the industry gets the green light. Influences/sound? Between us all we carry quite a range of influences and experiences, from blues-rock through to thrash/death metal. If we had to describe ourselves to potential listeners, we might say that we appeal to fans of bands such as Alter Bridge, Stone Sour or Shinedown. I suppose the good thing about LOR is that we don’t think we belong in one particular genre, we have different songs that can appeal to different people, thus we are able to craft a setlist appropriate to each show. At this point the crowd favourites are starting to establish themselves so hopefully we can continue to write music in a similar vein. We just like to write music that sounds great to us and reminds us of bands that we all love. As we mentioned above we are individually writing some new material which will obviously have different flavours depending on the writer so it will be interesting for the fans to hopefully hear these and try to work out the various angles of our combined sound. Biggest gig/proudest moment to date? In February 2020, just before we were halted by lockdown, we played Rockmantic at The Brickyard, Carlisle. A legendary show in its own right and such an honour for LOR to be invited to play. In the years since our inception we have built up a small legion of loyal fans and to see them come together to support us was something special. They were loud, supportive, singing our lyrics back to us, they made us feel like rockstars - truly a dream come true. The set couldn’t have gone any better. We had a new line of LOR t-shirts on our merch stand and these were selling really well which culminated in our best merch earnings to date. At the end of the night, we were just over the moon and we all just knew that LOR was going to be something special!

What does the future hold for Lords Of Ruin? Well, the definite next-step is to get some more music released. We’ve been riding the success of our debut single “In From The Cold” for a while now and as a band we know we need to get some more stuff out there. We’re working on a few tracks in the studio at the moment, one of which will likely become our next single, with others being kept for an EP or maybe even an album release in the very near future. In terms of gigs, a lot of the shows from 2020 have been postponed to 2021 and we have been fortunate to have our places carried over as well so it’s pretty much just like we’ve had to pause for a year so, hopefully, 2021 will be the year we hoped 2020 would have been. Beyond that we just want to keep growing as a band, writing better songs, playing bigger shows, becoming better musicians, and just doing what we’re doing for as long as our sanity will allow us, and all the while having FUN, that’s all there is to it.

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WORDS: VIKI RIDLEY

Neuronspoiler

Who are you? Neuronspoiler from London and we play relentless, old-school heavy metal! With this band, you can expect epic songwriting, anthemic choruses, killer solos, top-notch production - especially on our latest release and pretty much everything that is considered heavy metal. A lot of bands do their best to copy someone else’s style or even dumb down their music to match their technical abilities, we don’t do any of that and we give it to you full-on and raw!

Roll Call? JR on vocals and lead screaminator, David on lead guitar and epic solo master, Matt on drums and thunder roll, Adam on lead guitar as part of the twin lead attack and Radek on bass giving Steve Harris a “run to the hills” for his money.

Hailing from? Adam and JR are British but JR was born in the Caribbean while Adam is a ‘proppa Londoner’ born and raised on the mean streets of the North West. David is a special import from Honduras in Central America, Matthew we are pretty sure comes from Mars and Radek is Czech and has a wealth of experience in castles, medieval architecture and beer! A proper London style mixture of backgrounds and influences.

Journey so far? So good, so what? No really, it’s been an amazing ten years as a band with three albums and one EP under our belt. We wanted to have a bold vision for our latest album ‘Spoiled for Choice’ and chose legendary Grammy award winner Flemming Rasmussen to produce it…and he actually agreed! Rasmussen is the recording mastermind behind the trio of universally acclaimed Metallica albums; Ride the Lightning, Master Of Puppets and …And Justice For All. The band appointed renowned mixing engineer and producer Charlie Bauerfeind to work his magic on the recordings. To our knowledge, the only other time that production team worked together was on the landmark Blind Guardian album “Nightfall in Middle-Earth”. So no pressure at all for this album (HA!), but a decade of spoils deserves a landmark album and we overcame our nerves in the studio to crank out ten killer tracks of pure metal magic. Ten years strong, ten tracks recorded in just ten days! Well ten and a half if you count an added morning for stopwatch timed solos. Bloody hell we love doing things the hard way!

‘What the hell are stopwatch timed solos’ we hear you ask?! Well unfortunately we spent so much time trying to perfect the songs that we got to around 3pm on day 10 (the final day of recording) and still hadn’t recorded ONE. SINGLE. SOLO! Appreciating that ‘St Anger’ wasn’t exactly the Metallica vibe we were going for, Flemming graciously cleared some of his schedule for the next day and uttered the words that would keep us up for the rest of that night... ”you’ve got three hours tomorrow”. Being the keen mathematicians we are, we worked out that to record the 25+ solos on the album in 3 hours roughly worked out to 5 minutes per solo. So if the pressure of laying down solo after solo in front of the man who’s helped craft some of Hammet’s heftiest leads wasn’t enough, the pressure of the other guitar player literally being sat next to you with a stopwatch ticking definitely got the heart pumping! Did we succeed? Well, you’ll have to listen to the album to find out! (SPOILER ALERT – We NAILED it!)

Influences/sound? We pay homage to the all-time greats like Maiden, Priest and Dio without copying them or straying into copyrighted territory. We don’t rip off anyone and after creating something of a discography of an EP and two full-length albums, it is important that we don’t become repetitive or predictable.

Biggest gig/proudest moment to date? We did get flashed once by a buxom woman in Wales before a gig, so that HAS to be a contender! But seriously, it is inspiring having had a few people tell us our music has helped them go through tough times, depression, and even tsunamis!

What does the future hold for Neuronspoiler? World domination…well what’s left of it anyway. We have played up and down this great nation of ours, at working men’s clubs, pubs, festivals (although not Hard Rock Hell…yet!) and we are always struck by the voracious appetite that British audiences have for authentic heavy metal. British audiences respond when you play from the heart and you put in a decent shift in entertaining people who’ve spent money to see you play. We give them a show, guaranteed. What is certainly within our power is to become a better Neuronspoiler than we were yesterday and you can be damn sure we’ll give it our best shot!

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WORDS: VIKI RIDLEY PHOTO: SCOTT CHALMERS

South of Salem

Who are you? We are South Of Salem Hailing From? Bournemouth, UK Roll Call? Joey - vocals Kodi - guitar Fish - guitar Dee - bass Pip - drums

Journey so far? We formed the band in 2018. We had all played together and toured in various acts over the years and for South of Salem it really seemed to come together naturally. Once we got in the studio with Scott Atkins we honed our sound down and the whole thing just clicked together perfectly. I’ve never recorded a record like it before - it really felt like we were capturing lightning in a bottle. We played our first show in February in our hometown and soon after we went into lockdown. We decided to keep our record release for September as planned and have just rolled with the punches.

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Influences/sound? Our sound definitely has its roots in 80s rock and metal - with a modern production. Catchy melodies, big riffs and searing solos. We are huge fans of Crue, Ozzy, Metallica, Motorhead, Alice Cooper, GnR…I think if you dig that then you’ll hopefully dig us! Biggest gig/proudest moment to date? Our proudest moment so far is definitely releasing our debut record during a pandemic. It’s been crazy but all the positive reviews, airplay and reception have been amazing. We couldn’t have asked for more. If anything, it’s made us stronger as a group and helped us come up with some original ideas to keep things moving during lockdown. We’ve also just played our first socially distanced show a couple of weeks ago in Southampton and had a blast. It’s definitely something else looking at a crowd of people rocking out with a pint in their hand sitting at a table! We really weren’t sure what to expect but I think a bit of live music was just what the doctor ordered for us and those in attendance. What does the future hold for South of Salem? We will be releasing our next video by the end of the year and of course as soon as this whole thing eases up a bit we will be taking our stage show on the road and tearing it up. We are all so stoked to get out and play as soon as it’s safe to do so.

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Who are you? The City Kids :)

WORDS: VIKI RIDLEY

s d i K y t i C The

Roll Call? JJ Watt (vocals, guitar), Berty Burton (bass, vocals), Dennis Post (guitars, vocals), David Sanders (drums, vocals)

Hailing from? All over the shop! Carlisle, Nottingham, Leeds, Copenhagen... mainly not originally from there either haha. Technically a UK band though. Journey so far? JJ - Prefer them with Steve Perry ;) After I fixed my hand issues about a year ago, I started recording for fun really, a couple of motorhead tracks, with Berty, and Stevie Pearce dropped some guitar and vocals on one. I sent Berty a couple of original tracks, and he was up for that. I bumped into Dennis when another band I was in was supporting Warrior Soul, and he ate my pies (fine Scottish steak n gravy ones I had been craving haha), so, essentially was going to do me a couple lead parts, and ended up doing them all, and vocals, and it was working really good. We know Dave, and, after a brief chat and a couple of demos sent, he was up for laying down the drums. So, by March time, we had a debut album, felt like a band (and a lot of fun), a bonus covers album, and off we went. B - As Tigertailz were having some downtime - I was trying to find the best ways to keep creative and keep idle thumbs at bay, so I had a go at trying out some home recording just to try some things out. JJ then started to send me material to lay down bass on, until he sent me an albums worth of material to work on. I’d have these demos on my phone listening to them to see what I could come up with, then after putting down some overdriven basslines and a lot of p*ss and vinegar we ended up coming up with our debut album ‘Things That Never Were’. Not only that, we also recorded a sh*t ton of covers with loads of our friends that we made as a bonus pre-order album aptly named ‘Sh*t That We Like’. Not too bad, huh? Such good value for money! DP - This is by far the highest price anybody has ever paid for 2 Scottish pies, haha! DS - JJ and I had spoken on numerous occasions about laying some tracks down together and it just never happened, but in late 2019 he dropped me over the demos for the album and told me who else was on board for it. Having shared a stage with each of the guys over the years, and with how easily the tracks hooked me I couldn’t say no - fast forward to early 2020 and we have an album out worldwide and a 2nd one demo’d and we are yet to have all 4 of us in the same room, crazy really. Influences/sound? J - I have so many influences, and there’s probably a little bit of everything in there. Its punky, a bit country I guess in places, sleaze rock, and good old rock n roll. The sound is big, but not overly polished, raw, and emotional.... hopefully! Almost everyone mentions social distortion, who are one of my favourites, but I think that’s quite down to my voice really. Definitely more to us than just that, but it’s kinda cool. DP - I´m very much in the same boat with JJ. What´s so great about this band is that what we do and how it ends up sounding comes from a natural place. We got around 25 songs written since the first album was released, so the creative floodgates never closed again after they got kicked open. Anybody who has ever been in a band, knows how incredibly valuable that is. B - I’m pretty much a generic AC/DC and Motorhead kinda guy through and through, but through all the classic rock, sleaze and punk n roll tastes, I’ve definitely found my sound of my bass playing very similar to Duff McKagan, Gene Simmons and Lemmy, to name but

a few hard rock bassists. But surprisingly more so out of all of them (especially as a bass player) is Malcolm Young - ever the one to hold the foundation of the song and playing the guitar so hard you’re as good as punching the fu**er! DS - I’m with the rest of the guys on this, I listen to such a varied range of music that I just grab influences from anything and everything, I’m all about big hooks and something you can bang your head to, that’s what I love about our music, makes you want to crack a beer and have a great time. Biggest gig/proudest moment to date? J - No gigs, as we very cleverly released a debut album in the middle of a pandemic! I think the proudest moment was seeing the response when we did the pre-order, then the release. It was pretty awesome and humbling. We have had so many kind words written about us. B - Not only that, but to have the likes of Tracii Guns and Kory Clarke kindly lending their time and talent to also feature on the album too was something that younger Berty probably never would have comprehended! For them to dig the songs themselves was pretty fu**ing cool in its own right, but for them to really shape the tracks they performed on took the album to a new level and left us a debut we could really be proud of releasing. DP - What JJ and Berty said! Humbled by the reception, thrilled doing the Maiden thing with Tracii, and of course completely mindblown I got to play on a record with Kory Clarke! DS - I gotta agree, the fact we’ve put the album together without ever meeting to play together is amazing, the fact it was picked up and distributed by Cargo Records also and then just the fact that without anyone ever seeing us on a stage they just were hooked by the album and blew up the pre-order, the feedback we have had has been immense, hopefully they still like us when they see it live haha! What does the future hold for The City Kids? J - Hopefully a gig haha and then many more! In seriousness, assuming things get back to where we need them, we have a few festivals already to play, from Dementia Aware Fest, to Rockmantic, HRH NWOCR, Call of the Wild Festival and Rocking the Bowl so far, as well as a cheeky headliner at Bannermans in Edinburgh (one of my absolute favourite places), and we have Kickin Valentina and Sweet Teaze joining us on the bill there. Will be one hell of a night! We also have around 22 songs demo’d for the next album, it won’t be all of them, but, while there was little else to do, I just kept writing. Less guests on the next one too, more about us, although there will be 1 or 2 special ones I’m sure. B - We’re also working on a full UK tour when all has settled down, so we will indeed be hitting up our favourite venues up and down the country and maybe even bring some of our friends and favourite bands along for the ride! We will also be looking at getting more content and videos released for promoting our debut when we can get all 4 of us together in one room again including a fun idea I’ve come up with for a video with The Suicide Notes - so keep your eyes peeled for when that unfolds! Then come 2021 album 2 I’m sure will drop sooner than you’d think! The tracks that have been written for this one is definitely a step away from what you already know about The City Kids; rough around the edges, dirtier than before and just plain old FILTH! DP - Whatever happens, I strongly suspect it will include a fair amount of alcohol and of course, Scottish pies! lol DS - Another record and a load of gigs, all fuelled by alcohol and pies, sounds bloody good to me, what more do you need haha!

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Editor’s Dozen

WORDS: TOBY WINCH

Metallica – Metallica

Pearl Jam – Ten

The single “Enter Sandman” was released in July ’91, and just a month or so later the self-titled work, better known as The Black Album, was unleashed on the world. Now it has to be said, my attention was taken up more by the grunge releases of the summer but while the likes of Pearl Jam and Soundgarden were taking up residency in my “best of’s” the metal gods were starting to really enter the lexicon of 1991. For me, the earlier “One” and its epic video had taken Metallica from also-rans to ones-to-watch (yes, I was quite late to the ‘Tallica party!) and this album proved that they were a cut above the rest. It would be a couple of years until I finally got to see what the fuss was about live, and to this day a Metallica gig is something to savour with tracks from this album such as “Enter Sandman”, “Sad But True”, “The Unforgiven” and “Nothing Else Matters” being firm live favourites.

In July 1991, Pearl Jam released their very first single – “Alive”. It has to be said, that during the writing of this Editor’s Dozen, it’s become clear that the grunge explosion has become somewhat muddied when it comes not so much regarding actual release dates (thanks to the wonders of Wikipedia!) but to when bands’ singles and albums came to my attention. I do know for certain that my brother and I bought Pearl Jam’s Ten for each other for Xmas ‘91 and probably bored our parents stupid by playing it non-stop that Christmas break. It’s also worth noting here that although Temple of the Dog was recorded first, it was Ten that brought Vedder, Gossard. McReady, Ament, and early drummer Krusen to the mainstream – with Ten finally hitting the number 2 spot in the US in late 1992, a year after its release – and Temple of the Dog then gaining a new lease of life. Regardless, it was such an interesting time and Ten was such a perfect album it’s never far from a current playlist.

Nirvana – Nevermind

Lynyrd Skynyrd - 1991

Released in September 1991 - excuse the pun, but Nevermind had a cleaner and therefore more commercial sound than it’s predecessor Bleach. History will show that this album brought grunge to the attention of the world at large, with singles “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and “Come as You Are” hitting pay dirt and propelling the album to sell over 30 million copies. Looking at the dates now, it’s incredible how close together the releases of Nevermind, Ten, and Badmotorfinger were. August and September 1991 will never be forgotten by any fan of the grunge era, although some fans of the “hair-metal” genre might not see this time as fondly, perhaps marking the early demise of the more glam side of rock and metal. It may have taken a decade or two, but that scene has recovered, so all is forgiven, right?

Grunge was obviously the leader of the pack genre-wise in 1991, but that didn’t stop a mainstay of my record collection – Lynyrd Skynyrd – making a solid if unspectacular studio comeback. I can’t help thinking that perhaps they should have done this a year before, especially as they had reformed in 1987 to put out a live album – but it seems legal issues had slowed the process down somewhat. Regardless, this first studio album since 1977’s fateful Street Survivors (with its infamous band shot engulfed by flames on the cover) is a solid piece of work sporting some great grooves such as “Smokestack Lightning”, “Keeping the Faith” and “I’ve Seen Enough”. The album was the start of a true second coming for the southern kings of rock, which would see them release another 8 studio albums up to and including 2012.

Temple of the Dog – Temple of the Dog

Ozzy Osbourne – No More Tears

The self-titled album by the collaboration of Cornell, Vedder, McCready, Cameron, Ament, and Gossard was originally released in April 1991, before the grunge scene made headline news. It wasn’t until the summer of 1992 that the single and video for “Hunger Strike” was pushed hard by the label and the album took off, due to the success of Soundgarden and Pearl Jam. So this album technically makes this list but didn’t caress my ears until ’92, but it is arguably the best album of that early grunge era with incredible tracks from start to finish – not a filler in sight. Simply a stunning piece of work dedicated to Andrew Wood, the frontman of Mother Love Bone who tragically passed away before his genre went stratospheric. It’s almost an even bigger tragedy that just as Temple of the Dog was revived as a live act, Chris Cornell took his life and that, I guess, is sadly that for Temple of The Dog. 38 HRHMAG.com

In this year of the grunge explosion, it’s perhaps surprising not to see Alice in Chains in this list – their key early releases (Facelift and Dirt) actually came in 1990 and 1992 respectively. However, bassist Mike Inez does have a writing credit for the legendary bassline on the title track of this stunning album by the Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne. No More Tears is Ozzy’s sixth as a solo artist and also features the combined talents of Zakk Wylde, Randy Catillo, Bob Daisley, and even Lemmy Kilmister. Brilliant tracks such as “Mr Tinkertrain”, “Mama I’m Coming Home”, “Hellraiser”, and the awesome “No More Tears” make this one of the best Ozzy albums, good job too as it would be 4 years until the almost as good Ozzmosis would appear.

E d itor’s Pi ck s of 1 9 9 1

Soundgarden – Badmotorfinger

Rush – Roll The Bones

Released in September, Badmotorfinger, and in particular “Outshined” (the first track I heard from the album) was my personal way into the grunge scene, same time as “Smells Like Teen Spirit and “Alive” but this was the one. The video to “Outshined” kicked things off, although apparently the band, especially Kim Thayll, hated it - and claimed that the director was too busy concentrating on the Metallica video for “The Unforgiven”! The band were only shown the alternate ‘unfinished’ version of the video sometime after, and much preferred it! Badmotorfinger is the third studio album by the band, and the first to feature bassist Ben Shepherd. Almost every track is a gem although “Jesus Christ Pose”, “Rusty Cage” and the aforementioned “Outshined” caught the ear of rock fans worldwide and placed Chris Cornell and co. at the top table of the grunge scene.

The 14th studio album by the Canadians, this could easily have got missed amongst all the grunge that was flying out at the time - but not for Rush devotees like me! 1989’s Presto was definitely a return to form for the prog 3-piece after their dabbling with the more electronic side of prog-rock (Power Windows and perhaps a little less so on Hold Your Fire) and Roll The Bones built on that platform to become possibly my favourite Rush record, even giving the likes of 2112 and Moving Pictures a run for their money. Incredibly, another album released in September 1991 and another not to leave my car CD player for months and years to come. The album was well-received hitting number 3 in the States and number 10 in the UK.

Red Hot Chili Peppers – Blood Sugar Sex Magik

8 Guns N’ Roses – Use Your Illusion I & II

The ‘Chilis are one of those bands that have been going a lot longer than you think, and Blood Sugar Sex Magik is actually their 5th studio album. The release would be a marked departure from its predecessor Mother’s Milk from two years earlier, with a more chilled tone perhaps best embodied by the stunning “Under The Bridge” (notably covered by girl-band All Saints in 1998) and “Breaking The Girl”. Produced superbly by now-legendary Rick Rubin the album saw John Frusciante at the peak of his powers, before leaving just a year later due to the stresses of fame. There are still hints of their heavier and funkier past with great tracks such as “Naked in the Rain” - featuring a sick Flea bassline - but this release set the tone for decades to come. Fun Fact : On last night’s repeat of The Chase, Bradley Walsh asked which band features Anthony Kiedis as singer. As always, easy if you know it!

I’ve counted the simultaneously released Parts I and II – both hit the shops on September 17th 1991 – as one for this piece, therefore this 100 or so word summary has to cover an incredible 30 tracks! There are many highlights, perhaps one or two fillers, but overall this is an incredible collection of hard rock tunes many of which are now considered true classics. My personal favourites are “November Rain”, “The Garden” and the amazing cover of “Live And Let Die” from volume I, and “Civil War”, “Estranged” and the massive single “You Could Be Mine” from volume II. Dig deep and there is plenty to love on these discs. Two years later came The Spaghetti Incident, and I have to be honest looking at the track-listing for that final album of the original G’n’R era and I don’t recognise a single tune. But maybe that’s just me and my old age. It wouldn’t be until 2008 that Axl - sorry, G’n’R – would release the pretty damn good Chinese Democracy. And guess what – nothing since!

White Lion – Mane Attraction

Badlands – Voodoo Highway

One of the many casualties of the grunge revolution was surely Mike Tramp’s well established White Lion. Their first album in 1985 Fight to Survive was followed by their biggest success in 1987 with Pride – from which two hit singles “Wait” and “When The Children Cry” emerged. This album, the follow-up to ‘89s Big Game, certainly had many “hair-metal” traits but was a cut above the rest (in my opinion!) with several heavy touches and riffs, you just have to listen to “Leave Me Alone” to see how well they fused the hair and heavy, so to speak, very much reminiscent of 1987 / Slip of the Tongue Whitenake. Stunning tracks such as the opener “Lights and Thunder” and “She’s Got Everything” very much stand the test of time. Mane Attraction was their 4th studio album but just a year later the band had called it a day and wouldn’t release another album until their comeback in 2008.

It was near impossible to pick my 12th album for this dozen, with so many great records being released this year! 1991 also saw Marillion’s Holidays in Eden, Little Angels’ Young Gods, The Smashing Pumpkins’ Gish, Skid Row’s Slave to The Grind, Tesla’s Psychotic Supper, and Jethro Tull’s Catfish Rising. But Badland’s 2nd album Voodoo Highway, featuring Ozzy guitarist Jake E. Lee is the one album out of all of these that I keep coming back to, with incredible tracks such as “Shine On”, “Soul Stealer” and “Silver Horses” never being far away from a playlist. Although drummer Eric Singer had left after the first album to join none other than classic rock titans Kiss, this is an album full of class but also raw power and an incredible display of southern tinged hard rock.

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WORDS: STEVE BEASTIE

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The music industry is a strange and wonderful thing especially when it comes to listening to music and, in particular, to buying music. If you’re as old as me you remember them all: vinyl; 8 Track; cassette; CD; download and streaming … and now, with vinyl outselling CDs for the first time in over three decades we find ourselves back at the start. If you ARE as old as me then you will love this return, this huge vinyl revival. If, however, you were glad to see the back of it and embraced the CD revolution then you will wonder what the fuss is about and are probably scratching your heading and shouting “WHY?!” I have a confession to make before we get going, I totally sold out to CDs back in the day. I believed the ad campaigns, I believed the music industry that told me we could eat our breakfast from a CD, wipe it with a cloth, or even a Brillo pad, and it would STILL play as normal and the sound quality was unrivalled and that’s true to this day … the bit about the sound quality, it’s still really the standard for those wanting sonic perfection. However … it didn’t take me long to realise I had sold almost my entire vinyl collection for something that DID sound better but for a product that was cold and lacked soul. No matter how I tried I couldn’t connect with CDs, or any of the other music mediums for that matter, in the same way I did with vinyl and my love for it has held to this day. In fact it’s probably deeper now than it ever was.

thumbing through them, often removing one for closer inspection that I’d no idea what it was, who it was or even what type of music it was but the cover … oh the cover … that is magnificent and that’s how a lot of us back in the day discovered new music, new bands, simply by being attracted to the artwork on the cover. Admittedly, it didn’t always work, but so many times it did … Court of the Crimson King? Dark Side of the Moon? BOTH albums that don’t even mention the band or album title on the cover but now EVERYONE knows what they are and who they’re by.

There was always something unique about the buying experience with vinyl, something special, something that became a part of you.

The real joy, though, was always finally making the decision on what to buy, the assistant popping it into a special album carrier bag that wrapped itself snuggly around your precious cargo. Sitting on the bus with your arms around it like you were protecting a small child and every now and again, sneaking a little loving peak inside, just to make sure it hasn’t changed, that you’d got the right album.

I would always rush to the record shop (Celias) straight after school, sometimes during dinner hour, just to be there as much as anything. I certainly didn’t have the money to buy records every day of the week but somehow, being there with the vinyl, seeing the covers, the neatly lined up stacks and

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I never got any of that from CDs or cassettes. Squinting, even back then, to read the credits or lyrics and no love at all for a very small picture on the front.

F E AT U R E - T H E V I N Y L R E SU R G E N C E Getting into the house, throwing your coat onto the banister, rushing upstairs, turn on the record player, hearing it spark into life and then removing your treasure, for the first time, from the carrier bag … gazing down at the cover with little love heart eyes, holding that gaze … there’s something you never noticed before, top corner … and there, bottom right, this is going to need closer examination but for now I would open the cover, look inside, reach in … slide it out, YES! It came with a lyric sleeve as well, not just a PWS (Plain White Sleeve) what a bonus! Gently, GENTLY, reach in and carefully remove the gorgeous untouched, shiny, pristine piece of ebony … the hairs on your arms twitch with the static, your heart twitches with the excitement and anticipation. It will never be this pure again. You place it softly, carefully onto the turntable, you start the turntable and place the arm and needle over the edge, squatting down to make sure your aim is true. This is not the time for missing the disc, it has to be right. You don’t get another first time. You don’t get this moment ever again as each album gets and deserves the same treatment, the same care, the same love. From the moment you ‘release’ the arm and the needle begins its oh so slow descent it’s one of the most magical moments for me. The silence, the tension, the expectation and anticipation, it’s almost too much … a few light crackles and BOOM! This is it, the love affair begins… I would sit with cover in hand, scanning every single inch, reading every single word, singing along to a song I’d never heard before but I knew, because I had the lyrics in front of me … 20 minutes later and I would turn it over and repeat the whole process. This would go on for hours, until I knew the record, the songs, inside out and if there was a song that didn’t quite sit right, one song that I couldn’t quite get on with instantly, I’d get up and move the needle forward only to find, often many years later that the song I was missing out, would eventually become my favourite track of the whole album. I love albums that do that. Albums that make you work at your relationship with them, that aren’t always full of instant hooks that need time to grow and develop just like any relationship. Fast forward to 2020 and those dreams and thoughts and whimsies are no longer in the past. The love affair has resurfaced and old habits never die as I find myself waist deep in vinyl purchases over the last couple of years but especially so in 2020.

Not being able to get out and see bands perform live has left us all with a hole, a huge music shaped hole that needed plugging and for me, seeing so many current bands embracing vinyl and releasing or re-releasing albums has been such a haven and so welcomed, it is the only thing that has kept my sanity in check. Everyone who is anyone from old school masters like Deep Purple, Blue Oyster Cult and Magnum right through to up and coming bands, current bands, like Pearl Handled Revolver, Sons of Liberty and Goldray, and everyone in-between has reached out to vinyl to either keep their income going in whatever small way they can or to try and catch the imagination of music lovers during difficult and trying times. These days though a simple vinyl release is never enough and often there are extra treasures to accompany your beautiful purchase. Signed artwork, signed cover, t shirts all sorts of different packages to draw people into the music and to make that purchase. The quality of the vinyl over the years has improved immeasurably as has the sound quality and the packaging. Vinyl today is no afterthought. It’s no add on to everything else that is available, it is the reason to buy todays music and, for me, the main reason to buy that music. I want to recreate those emotions of old, to recreate those love affairs and relive those exciting moments of buying vinyl. Whether that is popping to one of the many local record stores that have opened up or visiting the band’s website or social media outlet. So many ways to lure me in and part with my cash, it’s not fair really, it’s not an even fight. I have the cash, they know it, and it seems they also know I am only too keen to part with it. Of course some bands have been releasing vinyl for a while now, even current, modern ‘working’ bands have helped fuel this revival and kudos to them all for embracing it. Magnum are one of those bands. They have always been supporters of vinyl and have released a constant line of high quality music on the black stuff, culminating this year with the splendid ‘The Serpent Rings’. The standard in musicianship and song writing doesn’t seem to diminish at all with the passing of time and the vinyl artwork is, as always, a real delight. Perhaps the biggest and maybe the best of 2020 is the new album from Deep Purple, ‘Whoosh!’ It is certainly the best value package I’ve seen in a long time, perhaps ever. An album will ultimately always be judged on the quality of the music so it doesn’t really matter what the packaging looks like at the end of the day,

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signed by the band. This is ANOTHER great thing that bands are doing these days to make that connection with fans and music lovers. No stunning artwork here, no boxed set, no inner sleeve, we are back to the good old PWS but because of the nature of the music, short, sharp, catchy tunes, it all works. A vibrant black and yellow cover with one of those retro sliding word puzzles spelling out the album title ‘Together’. It works. Just as much as an elaborate piece of artwork does, this simple approach works. All genres of music are covered these days with vinyl. Blues with great 2020 albums from Walter Trout (Ordinary Madness – red vinyl), Dion (Blues With Friends – black vinyl) Joe Bonamassa and his new album, Royal Tea, complete with art book (yellow vinyl). Prog Rock, Blue Oyster Cult (The Symbol Remains - white vinyl) Goldray (Feel the Change – white vinyl). Country Rock, Cadillac 3 (Country Fuzz – red vinyl) … even Little Mix have a multi-colour vinyl album out underlining that no matter what your music preference, you can get involved with vinyl.

however, if the music is stunning and some of the best a band has ever created and alongside that you not only have great packaging and it’s affordable then you’re starting to look at something close to perfection. For around the 60 quid mark the ‘Whoosh!’ album comes in a beautiful double vinyl album, it comes with a T Shirt, it comes with 3 other 10 inch vinyls of live recordings from the recent tour, which it just so happens would be worth the price on their own, and if you line all those extra discs up they connect to make up a bigger picture add to that another set of artwork and all presented in a beautiful box and you have something that Deep Purple fans and vinyl lovers alike will fall head over heels in love with from the moment they see it. The old guard have really turned it on in 2020 with their vinyl output with the likes of Ozzy Osbourne also getting in on the act at the start of the year but more recently you have a couple of outstanding vinyl efforts from such diverse musicians as Fish, with his album ‘Weltschmerz’, and The Vapors with their wonderful album ‘Together’. Both of these vinyls are presented very differently but each with their own endearing charm. For Fish, and what he has claimed is his last album before retirement, ‘Weltschmerz’ is one last hurrah of such monumental proportions that we can only dream of as an end our own respective careers, whatever they may be. This album, as with Deep Purple’s effort, would not be what it is on CD, download or cassette, but on vinyl it is pure joy, a thing of wonderful beauty. The artwork, always fabulous with Fish albums, is off the chart brilliant and it has that extra thing I wrote about above, a wonderful lyric inner sleeve complete with the continuing incredible artwork. The whole thing is literally breath-taking from the moment you see the cover, take out the inner sleeve and allow that heart stopping first needle drop. Furthermore, this is an album of increasing returns too. It is not full of instant hooks, though it has its fair share of instantly loveable songs, this is more of an album to grow with and the more you listen, the more you love. Another endearing thing about this album is the ‘family’ effort put into getting the albums out to everyone, done by Fish himself and his family. Boxing, mailing and getting albums out with a family conveyor line simply adds to the warmth and good feeling towards the big man and this, his final vinyl, before a well-earned rest to concentrate more on his garden. For instant hooks and instant love appeal then The Vapours have that covered but this is also no 20 minute wonder and the kicker with this album, for the princely sum of 24 quid you can have a CD version to accompany your precious vinyl and even better, they will be both be

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So far I’ve mentioned double albums and single albums and artwork and inner sleeves but there was so much more that took the eye with vinyl. There was coloured vinyl which back in the day wasn’t good sound quality, unlike today where there’s little or no difference in quality whatever the colour of your vinyl. I remember DEVO went all out and released their album ‘Are We Not Men’ on a few different colours so the completists would want them all. (I got it on a mucky brown marble colour.) Vinyl also made things pop … unlike characterless crystal CD cases or anonymous cassettes or non-event downloads…they had artwork and that artwork had features. They came with posters and postcards, they had moving parts like the wonderful Led Zep 3 which had a wheel and windows. When you turned the wheel it changed what was in the windows so you could have a new cover every day. The Armed Forces album by Elvis Costello was an incredible thing, the sleeve had folding pieces to it so it was like unwrapping a present and, again, you could have a different cover each time, and it also came with an extra bonus EP. The Rolling Stones album Sticky Fingers, a cover created by Andy Warhol, which had a real moving zip on a pair of jeans and inside, behind those jeans? Inside it was what blokes used to wear under their jeans and tighty whitey underpants. Perhaps the strangest or cleverest of all was Rick Wakeman’s album ‘No Earthly Connection’. Always one for creating great vinyl complete with cover and artwork this album surpassed all others in that it had a picture of Rick on the front that was like a swirling pool. It only became clear when you made the mirrored tube up (provided) and placed it in the middle to correctly view the picture. This was astounding stuff and something that doesn’t work on any other format. All of these and many more iconic albums made the artwork an integral part of the whole package.

Nowadays you can even buy a test pressing, limited to maybe 2 or 3 copies. You’ll pay a premium price but only one or two other people will have the same thing as you IN THE WORLD … that’s something rather special. But for your vinyl lover, or this particular vinyl lover, I haven’t even mentioned the best thing yet and it wasn’t the double album or even the triple album, which Roger Waters released in 2020, a sublime live version of the Us and Them tour, no … the very best thing was the gatefold sleeve and it still is. It’s almost a pretend double but in reality a single with extras. Some of the greatest albums ever recorded were gatefold sleeves: Sabbath Bloody Sabbath; Houses of the Holy; Night at the Opera; Hotel California. All of these were truly wonderful albums on music alone but add to that the artwork AND the gatefold sleeve and we are entering another dimension of vinyl pleasure here. I have sat for hours on end listening to those albums and marvelling at the incredible artwork, in the case of Night at the Opera, simply adding dirty fingerprints to a pristine white cover. Current bands are releasing albums with gatefold sleeves too. Bands like the excellent Sons of Liberty who re-energised last year’s brilliant album ‘Animism’ and individually numbered on a very limited run of orange vinyl in a gatefold sleeve, the only thing missing was a lyric inner sleeve but it was still a thing of great beauty and sold out. It kept the band in the public eye and gave their fans something to look forward to and to enjoy. It’s still available on black vinyl in a gatefold sleeve and you could do worse than start your vinyl collection with that very album. Not everyone has a record contract or the wherewithal to finance a vinyl run but there are ways for bands to make it happen. Limit the run as Sons of Liberty did with their self-financed vinyl. Have fans pay in advance through one of the many online kick-starter schemes. The fabulous Wille and the Bandits for instance have exceeded their target for the new album already after only a few days. The album will be released next year and you can have different levels of vinyl package, including those T shirts, signed pictures and even hand written lyrics. Thunder, a little higher up the pecking order, are a band too that have always done well with vinyl and one of their albums, ‘Rip It Up’, saw them release as an option a ‘blank cover’ and all the band drew on it, so no album was ever the same. Original or what? They have a new album out next year that has a pop up centre, artwork that becomes 3D when you open the sleeve. I cannot wait to get my grubby little mitts on it. You don’t have to be a music teacher or even a geography teacher to love vinyl, you don’t need leather patches on your elbows or need to drink real ale and become a chin-stroker, you simply have to love art and music and realise that vinyl is a quite unique package. A unique package that can take over your life. You don’t need to spend a lot of money to join the vinyl re-revolution but once you’re in, once you do buy into it, immerse yourself in it, there’s little hope for you as you see all of your money floating away on a regular basis. We are in the middle of a full blown, wonderful, glorious vinyl revival but this revival is new, it’s fresh and it’s offering a lifeline to some bands who can’t tour until this lockdown is over. There may not be a lot of money in it for bands but it can help keep them relevant, keep them in the public eye,

make sure fans still know they’re around. We can’t get out to gigs as we’d love to so why not get on board with the vinyl revival now? Visit your local independent record shop and support local businesses. Remember if you buy old vinyl then check it … it should be scratch free, certainly dust and crud free. Take your time in the shop, look around, savour the moment. If lockdown has taught us anything it is to enjoy the simple things, the fleeting things and vinyl shops are always worth taking your time with. For only a few pounds now you can own those older classics as originals. Vinyl is not only the closest you will ever get to firing up the flux capacitor and visiting the past but it’s also a great way to keep this industry going, to support the people we love, the creative minds we need to get on board with and their new releases. Everyone remembers their first vinyl so choose wisely, choose VERY wisely. “What was yours Beastie?” I hear you ask…you probably think it’s something uber cool like Made in Japan or Led Zep 4, maybe even Dark Side of The Moon. Well my friends, my first vinyl blows those away for sheer coolness, it was none other than Top of the Pops 1974, not only a very cool album with all the No.1 hits of the year on it by NONE of the original artists (all of the tracks were covers by the house band!) but it came with FREE giant calendar poster of the young lady on the cover. I told you earlier, vinyl albums usually have great ‘artwork’. In quizzes I’m ya man for chart hits of 1974 as this chuffer, for some strange reason, always sticks in my memory and has a very special place in my heart, just as it did for the 13 year old Beastie…maybe for different reasons though. Find your favourite band and if they have vinyl, you know what to do… come and join the vinyl revival! Catch Steve Beastie every Tuesday on Hard Rock Hell Radio

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WORDS: SIMON REDTANK

Hi guys, hopefully you enjoyed the guide to death metal in the last issue and hope you are all keeping safe and well. This issue of Redtank’s Guide To… will be exploring one of the most extreme of all music genres, and one of the most misunderstood. This is Redtank’s Guide to… Grindcore!

rindcore is one of the most, if not the most, extreme types of music out there and I wouldn’t give someone who wanted an introduction to the genre a Pig Destroyer album as a starting point. With these guides I try to also cover what are, in my opinion, the early bands/ albums that have influenced and shaped the genre. A couple of the albums featured here may not be classed as grindcore but I feel they have without a doubt, a place in defining grindcore. Before I go through my favourite albums, I would like to go into the background of what grindcore is and how it started. The beginnings of the genre started in England in the mid-‘80s majorly influenced by hardcore punk, thrash and early death metal bands. Initially regarded as high tempo noise-filled hardcore punk, with distorted down-tuned guitar, overdriven bass with added vocals consisting of growls and high-pitched screams. Along with hardcore punk, song lyrics were mainly social and political concerns but gore and black humour are also abundant. Another defining feature of the grindcore sound is the blast beat, which is generally a repeated very fast beat played on the kick drum, snare, and hi-hat. Although the term ‘blast beat’ was coined by Napalm Death, it is, in fact, native to Jazz. The blast beat had been used prior to grindcore by bands such as Repulsion and Dirty Rotten Imbeciles. As I mentioned in the ‘Guide to … Death Metal’ being a bit older does have some perks! I was able to experience the first death metal albums but from a distance, with grindcore I was in the centre of it! I would travel to Birmingham every weekend and pay a couple of quid to get into the early grindcore all-day gigs at the Kaleidoscope, skateboard in hand, and watch bands like Napalm Death, Carcass, Extreme Noise Terror, Cerebral Fix and Genital Deformities play to a few dozen people from a stage that was nothing but a couple of wooden pallets. A year or so later in November 1989, I was at the Hummingbird in Birmingham watching Napalm Death headlining the Grindcrusher tour supported by Morbid Angel, Bolt Thrower and Carcass. Grindcore will, I think, always be an underground scene, Napalm Death being the main exception having reached incredible success and acceptance in the metal world and would have been headlining this year’s Hammerfest (damn you Covid-19!!!) Another very notable feature of grindcore is the ‘micro song’ with tracks that are mere seconds long. Napalm Death still hold the world record

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for the shortest song with ‘You Suffer’ coming in at precisely 1.316 seconds! A huge part of the history and success of grindcore is not a band but a ground-breaking, visionary and to be honest, brave independent label called Earache Records. Founded in Nottingham in 1985 by Digby Pearson, Earache pioneered extreme music. The labels first release with catalogue number MOSH 1 (that iconic cataloguing system is still being used) was ‘The Return of Martha Splatterhead’ by The Accused, followed by a Heresy/Concrete Sox split LP (that’s “Long Player” for you young whipper-snappers!) MOSH 3 is now a historic milestone in music

R E D TA N K ’ S G U I D E T O D E AT H M E TA L history, the one and only ‘Scum’ by Napalm Death. Another honourable mention must go to legendary Radio One DJ John Peel, who from the very start championed the genre. If you want to dig a bit deeper into grindcore then check out some of the ‘Peel Sessions’ recorded live at his radio studio. One of the amazing things that grindcore did was to unite and bring people from different backgrounds together. You were unlikely to see many punks at a metal gig, likewise you would not expect to find metal fans at a punk gig. Grindcore appealed to metal fans and punk fans alike. The crowd (are 30 people a crowd?) at those early grindcore shows in Birmingham were made up of metalheads, punks, skaters, and crusties all watching the same bands. The only other type of music I can think of that has brought people together like that is Two-Tone. As with all ‘Redtank’s Guide to…’ features the albums that I recommend are my personal favourites, and what I think give a good representation of the particular genre. I am in no way saying they are the ‘best’ albums. As grindcore tracks are generally very short, so shall be my reviews of the following eight stunning albums. Well, apart from… Napalm Death – From Enslavement to Obliteration (1988) Earache Records I really must start with the godfathers of grind, Napalm Death! I have decided not to feature the band’s debut album ‘Scum’ instead I have opted for their second album ‘From Enslavement to Obliteration’. What is this idiot doing, I hear you shout! Don’t despair, I am going to talk about it!! ‘Scum’ is a legendary and ground-breaking album opening with the repeated chant of ‘multinational corporation, genocide of the starving nation’ it definitely makes a statement. Featuring ‘You Suffer’, ‘The Kill’ and the incredible title track, the album is certainly not lacking in any way. I love the album, but it is the definition of an album of two halves with side one recorded in 1986 and after a near-complete line-up change side two was recorded in March of 1987. For me ‘From Enslavement to Obliteration’ is a more coherent piece of work from a legendary Napalm Death line-up. Apart from bass player Jim Whiteley, the ‘Scum’ side two line-up recorded the follow-up album, and what

a line-up!! Lee Dorian on vocals (who will later form doom legends Cathedral) Mick Harris on drums (who has also played with Extreme Noise Terror and Doom) Guitarist Bill Steer, who had already formed Carcass and played on ‘Scum’ all by the age of 17. The Napalm Death bass was picked up by a true grindcore legend, the one and only Shane Embury. I was introduced to Shane Embury a few months before he joined Napalm Death, a fifteen-year-old me and best mate Lee White spent an evening in a flat with Shane and I swapped a Megadeth video bootleg for a copy of ‘Human Error’ by his then band Unseen Terror (more about them later) which he graciously signed (see the photo!) Shane Embury is nothing short of a machine, if I listed the bands that

he has been part of there would be little room for any other reviews. I saw Napalm Death in 2017 supported by Brujeria and Lock Up - Shane played bass for all three bands! “From Enslavement...” cemented the sound of Napalm Death. Guttural growls, pained screams, speed, blast beats and the grinding slower breakdowns. Opening with ‘Evolved As One’ and as with the opening track to ‘Scum’ one lyric ‘Weak Minds’ is repeated over a slow and purposeful track, highlighting the influence of bands such as Killing Joke (as you can still hear in the latest album) the next track ‘Its A M.A.N.S World’ is relentless ferocity with blast beats aplenty. For me grindcore is not all about speed, the slow grinding breakdowns make the music interesting and unexpected and the album is packed with the juxtaposition of blast beats and crushing breakdowns. The influence of death metal can be heard on ‘Unchallenged Hate’ a track with an opening section that would not be out of place on an Obituary album. The album is close to being the grindcore template for many bands to come. If you are new to the genre this is where I would recommend you start your journey. Thirty-two years after the release of ‘From Enslavement…’ Napalm Death are continuing to release incredible albums, their latest release ‘Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism’ is my favourite album of 2020 (so far!) Infest – Slave (1988) Off the Disk Records It was not only UK hardcore punk bands like Discharge and GBH that influenced the sound of grindcore, but credit also must be shared with hardcore bands from the USA like Minor Threat, Dead Kennedys, and Black Flag. Formed out of California in 1986 and splitting up in 1991 (they have since reformed) Infest were not around for long initially but in my opinion, along with Septic Death, were the originators of US grindcore. Generally described as a hardcore punk band, Infest are still an undiscovered gem. Their first full album ‘Slave’ released in 1988 sounds like an evolution of hardcore into grindcore. Yes, the album sounds like hardcore, has hardcore vocals, there is no growling or screaming, but bear with me… it has blast beats, grinding guitar and bass, the production sound is beautifully distorted without compromising the hardcore punk element. While some tracks are without question hardcore like ‘Pickled’ and ‘V.Y.O’, other tracks are grindcore ‘Sick-O’ starts with typical hardcore styling then transforms into the love child of Henry Rollins and Barney Greenway, finishing with a grinding riff that any grindcore band would be proud of. For me, the highlight of the album is the stunning ‘Where’s the Unity’ - grinding, dirty guitars mixed with complete relentless ferocity, it perfectly mixes the attitude of punk and aggression of grindcore. As previously mentioned, skateboard and Metallica artist Pusshead’s band Septic Death released a very similar sounding album ‘Now That I Have Your Attention What Do I Do With It’ which is another hidden gem. I’m sure there are people out there that

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R E D TA N K ’ S G U I D E T O D E AT H M E TA L will argue ‘Slave’ isn’t a grindcore album and that’s fine, I think Infest’s ‘Slave’ has a pivotal place in the history of grindcore. Now here is the rub… the album is quite rare and not available on music streaming sites but do not despair I will be featuring them on my Redtank’s WeekENDER! Show on Hard Rock Hell Radio - the awesome Mrs Redtank gifted me an original copy last Christmas! Unseen Terror – Human Error (1987) Earache Records Shane Embury and Mitch Dickinson formed Unseen Terror in 1986 (Something Telford should be known for along with the Iron Bridge…) The band were quickly signed by Earache Records and released their debut and only album ‘Human Error’ with a line up of Mitch Dickinson (Heresy) on guitar and vocals, Pete Giles on Bass and Shane Embury on drums. Human Error is an interesting and unique album for a couple of reasons. Firstly the lyrical content is a mixture of nuclear war and social, political subject matter as you would expect. Also, there are a couple of tracks about Garfield, yep that a-hole of a cartoon cat! The album is lyrically written brilliantly, including the ones about that ginger cat ‘ODIE – Garfield thinks you suck’… Although it’s not the most technically accomplished album I don’t think I have heard another album that sounds quite as unique as this one. The guitar sound has an almost buzzing edge to its distortion which make it very distinctive. Mitch Dickinson’s guitar playing style is easily recognisable from many subsequent grindcore and death metal bands, and considering ‘Human Error’ came out in 1987 it’s clear that it has been very influential. The drumming from Shane also has a unique sound and style, the drum sound is sharp and crisp, with a rhythmic thump, thump, thump followed by a quick fill. Changing only fast to faster with the occasional mid-tempo section, it does sound like only one or two drums were used on the entire album but, as with the guitar sound, it’s pretty much the same for the entire album… ‘Garfield Strikes Back’ has a mid-section that is quite unexpected! In this case, it’s not a criticism at all… it works! The album sounds fantastic from start to finish. As far as the bass sound goes all I can say is it’s comparable to Metallica’s ‘And Justice For All’ If you know what I mean. I consider ‘Human Error’ one of the best early grindcore albums and if you have not heard it, then I highly recommend giving it a listen. Wormrot – Voices (2016) Earache Records Now let’s get a bit more up to date. I was at Damnation Festival back in 2012 and there were lots of people wearing t-shirts from a band called Wormrot, best check them out I thought… and damn, I’m so glad I did! The Singapore grindcore three-piece were formed by vocalist Arif and guitarist Rasyid in 2007, immediately after completing two years of mandatory National Service. Current drummer Vijesh joined in 2015. Wormrot don’t have a bass player, they had a bassist in 2007 but not since. With just drums, guitar and Arif’s incredible voice Wormrot are one of the most brutal sounding bands on the planet. Signed to Earache Records in 2009, after label founder Digby Pearson heard their debut album ‘Abuse’, Wormrot released their second album the iconic ‘Dirge’ in 2011. ‘Abuse’ and ‘Dirge’ are both fantastic albums and deserving of being featured in this article. Along with Napalm Death, Wormrot are my favourite grindcore band, but it was their third album ‘Voices’, released in 2016, that absolutely blew me away. For me, the album has the perfect combination of blast beats, breakdowns, guttural and high pitch vocals. The production is perfection, the sound is dense, textured and utterly enveloping. ‘Voices’ kicks off at one hell of a ferocious pace, it truly is an assault on the senses, utterly brutal. Wormrot fire the first four songs at you with such intensity that you literally can’t take a breath. You are given a bit of time to compose yourself during the opening 17 seconds of ‘Oblivious Mass’ before the assault is resumed. If I was asked what grindcore is, this is the album I would put on. The breakdowns are so heavy that it really is hard to comprehend that the sound is created with only a guitar and a set of drums, the same goes for the entire album regardless of the speed at which the music is played. ‘Fallen into Disuse’ is a masterpiece, it opens with such force with its crushing riff before bursting into a complete wall of sound. Arif’s voice has such power in both his growl and scream, it unites the band as the perfect grindcore package. ‘Fake Moral Machine’ is another standout track and again shows the outstanding talent, power and range the band has. Coming in at just over 26 minutes, with song lengths ranging from 6 seconds to nearly 4 minutes, this is not only an album… it’s an experience!

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WORDS JOHN ELLIS PHOTOGRAPHY TOM GOLD around 13 years old, I was at a friend’s house and he showed me his brother’s record collection. It was not the music that got me into music, it was the album covers! I had never seen anything like the artwork on those vinyl albums by Iron Maiden, Ozzy, Marillion, and Meatloaf and that was it, I was hooked. I really miss the record shop, Saturdays spent in ‘Our Price’ meeting mates and checking out the ‘metal’ section (bear with me, I will get to the point eventually!) The album cover in a way died when the compact disc took over, it’s a great thing that it has come back with a vengeance! Anyway, let’s get to the album in question… I had not heard of Cerebral Fix in 1988, I found the ‘Life Sucks… Then You Die’ album on one of those Saturdays spent at the record store. It is still my favourite album cover. The artwork is just fantastic, gory, funny and has so much going on, but it was the tag line in the top left corner ‘now that’s wot I call thrash 1’ that made me buy it.

Pig Destroyer – Phantom Limb (2007) Relapse Records We are heading back to the USA for this one. Pig Destroyer were formed in 1997 by vocalist J.R. Hayes, drummer John Evans and guitarist/grindcore legend Scott Hull (A**l C**t, Agoraphobic Nosebleed) from the ashes of political hardcore band Treblinka. They were joined by sampler Blake Harrison in 2006 and in a similar vein to Wormrot had no bass player until John Jarvis joined the band in 2013. Pig Destroyer have achieved great success and alongside Napalm Death are one of the few grindcore bands to obtain mainstream recognition. Their popularity, in part, is due to the fact that they stand out for a few reasons. The inclusion of samples and electronic instrumentation definitely give Pig Destroyer a unique sound that makes their appeal stretch to a wider audience, and Hayes lyrics are also incredibly written and highly poignant. As with Napalm Death and Wormrot, Pig Destroyer epitomise grindcore being ferociously brutal and heavy with a speed that few can keep up with. With grindcore, the vocal is as much a part of the overall sound as the guitar and drums, when in most genres of metal the vocals sound as if they are being sung over the music, in grindcore the vocal is part of the music. Hayes vocals are something else, frighteningly heavy while still coherent and when combined with the samples in a track, it’s easy to understand why Pig Destroyer are one of the best bands out there. I have decided to recommend Pig Destroyer’s third album ‘Phantom Limb’ as it was the album that introduced me to the band and is still my go-to album from them. Released in 2007 with stunning album artwork by John Baizley and according to Hayes contains ‘the most deranged metal songs that he could come up with’. The album, as you would expect, is full of blast beats and is as heavy as hell, but is also really technical too. You can hear death metal influences on ‘4th Degree Burns’ and also thrash on the title track ‘Phantom Limb’. One thing I absolutely love about the album is the amount of time and tempo changes. ‘Heathen Temple’ is full of changes - starting at a blistering pace, then moving into an almost ‘Meshuggah’ down-toned vibe which the band play around with for quite a while, adjusting tempo and speed. ‘Heathen Temple’ is such an amazing piece of songwriting and highlights just how talented Pig Destroyer are. ‘Girl in the Slayer Jacket’ is again an example of how multi-layered and sophisticated the songs are on this album. Pig Destroyer kept us waiting for five years until their next release ‘Book Burner’ in 2012, which is another fantastic album but 13 years after I first listened to it, ‘Phantom Limb’ still sounds as good as it did in 2007 and never fails to make my jaw drop. Cerebral Fix – Life Sucks… Then You Die (1988) Vinyl Solution I hope you are sitting comfortably? Because it’s storytime! When I was

Cerebral Fix are generally classed as a thrash band, and their second album ‘Tower of Spite’ released in 1990 is definitely thrash but ‘Life Sucks…’ is something else. Like punk, grindcore needs to be underproduced, it can 100% be precise and clean but it needs to sound and feel like what I can only describe as dirty and gritty. ‘Life Sucks…’ has for me, the near-perfect mix of speed, grinding riffs and growling vocals, the entire album sounds really raw and certainly has an element of menace about it. Since the first listen ‘Warstorm’ has remained one of my favourite tracks ever! The riff that starts the album off is incredible, its raw, loose and punches you straight in the face – and having two guitarists gives the album’s sound weight, something that is very rare for grindcore bands. One thing I love is how the tracks go from slow chugging to frantic without warning, and the drumming really dictates the album’s pace with excellent rhythm going straight in to blast beats (I class them as such) This album has the same effect on me each and every listen, it makes me want to bounce around the room - it has groove and buckets full of energy. I won’t go through any other tracks,

do me a favour and just give ‘Warstorm’ a listen, doesn’t matter if you love thrash, death metal or black metal I reckon you will love it!! Now here comes another rub… the album has never been released on CD or re-issued on vinyl so there are only a finite number of this frankly stunning album in existence, however, you can get hold of a copy quite cheaply, which in itself shows how undiscovered and underrated the album is. Stay safe and well guys, hopefully see you at an HRH festival in the near future… Redtank OUT! Check out Redtank’s shows on Hard Rock Hell Radio, Redtank’s WeekENDER! Every Sunday 7 – 9pm The HRH Punk Show with REDTANK! Every Monday 11pm

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WORDS: ADAM KENNEDY PHOTOS: JAY GILBERT

Ace Frehley, co-founder of the legendary KIss and 2014 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, continues his reflections on a lifetime in music with the release of ‘Origins Vol. 2’, a thoughtful and exciting collection of new covers.

o stranger to cover versions throughout his entire history – having recorded, rebranded and repossessed such notable nuggets as “New York Groove”, “Do Ya”, and “I Wanna Go Back” throughout his 8 studio albums - this new compendium contains songs that have all inspired and shaped the legendry guitarist’s life jukebox. Of course, Frehley’s latest offering follows on from the ‘Origins Vol. 1’ covers album which was released back in 2016. HRH Mag recently caught up with Ace Frehley at home in California to get the lowdown on his latest release, as well as his career in Kiss and his plans going forward. After the release of the first ‘Origins’ record, did you feel like now was the right time to revisit your covers project? Yeah, the album was done at Christmas time, but because of the pandemic, the release was delayed until September. I think I picked up where I left off. There’s quite a wide spectrum of artists covered on the record, varying from legendary hard rock and blues bands. With the tracklisting on this album were you looking to represent as many different musical styles as

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possible that have influenced you over the years? The songs on the album are songs that influenced me as a teenager when the English invasion came to America and guys like Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Pete Townsend, The Beatles and The Stones. Those are the guys that taught me how to play the guitar. When you were going into the studio to record ‘Origins Vol. 2’, did you already know which tracks you were going to record or did it all kind of come together in the studio? No, I didn’t know. We did one at a time. We didn’t plan ahead and pick out all twelve songs from the beginning. We just started going through my album collection and I started thinking about the songs that influenced me. It was an ongoing process and very spontaneous. You’ve got a whole raft of guests on the record, including the likes of Robin Zander, John Five, Lita Ford and Bruce Kulick. How did those collaborations come about? Well, they are all friends of mine. I asked them to perform on the record and they were more than happy to do so. Lita spent the weekend at my house. I’ve known Lita since she was in The Runaways. They used to open for Kiss. I’m good friends with Robin. I’m good friends with Bruce. I’m very good friends with John Five. So yeah, they were more than happy to help me out on this record.

Did you have each song in mind for the artists to perform on the record or did they kind of choose the songs themselves or did it just happen when you got into the studio with each guest? The only song that I had prepared to do with Bruce was “Manic Depression”. Because we’re both fans of Jimi Hendrix. And, I’m pretty sure Bruce picked that song and I was more than happy to do it. When you’re going in to record such unmistakable tracks, like “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” or “Lola”, do you enjoy the challenge of trying to put your own stamp or interpretation on these kinds of classic numbers? Well, the album was a lot of fun to record because it brought back memories of my childhood. Also, it gave me the ability and allowed me the ability to put my stamp on it and it “Aceify” it. You know, my vocals, my solos, my arrangement - which I kept pretty close to the originals. I’m a big fan of Humble Pie, but I knew I wasn’t going to be able to sing a Steve Marriott song because my vocal range is limited. So I incorporated the help of Robin Zander for that. As far as “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”, I’m sure I could have sung it, but I thought it would have been a nice twist to have a woman sing “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and Lita just killed it. I coached her for two days in my own studio in Rancho Santa Fe, California. And she did a wonderful job. Now that you’ve got these two cover albums behind you, is there a plan to continue in this series and do an ‘Origins Vol. 3’ at some point? Yeah, after my next studio record. Right now, I’m writing songs for my next studio album, which is untitled at the moment. And, after that’s completed then we’re planning on doing an ‘Origins Vol. 3’. So the answer is yes. What is the timeframe for your new studio album? I don’t know - with the pandemic, everything has been pushed back. So I don’t know. All I know is I have free time now because all of my concerts were postponed. So, I’m starting to record as soon as my studio is finished. I’m building a new studio in the new home I just moved into. So, I will probably start tracking in about three or four weeks. I know that there is one Kiss track on the record, which is “She”. Out of the whole vast Kiss discography, what was it about “She” that made you want to record that song in particular? Well, I had been performing that live with my touring band and when the record company asked for a bonus track, I thought “She” was the perfect vehicle. Not only because it’s a great song, but we had been performing it live with my touring band and I was able to showcase the vocal ability of my touring band. They did a great job on that; I thought the harmonies were spot on. The album has done well. I’ve seen some great chart positions. Have you been happy overall with the response to the record so far? So far about 80% of the interviewers have made the comment that they think ‘Origins Vol. 2’ is better than ‘Origins Vol. 1’. So that’s exciting. You’ve had a long and successful career in the music industry. Would you say that you still have got the same fire in your belly as you did when you first started out? I’m actually having more fun now because, you know, in Kiss I had to deal with Paul and Gene’s egos. As a solo artist, I control my destiny, produce my own records, write my own music for the most part. And,

I’m having a better time now than when I played in Kiss. Out of all those Kiss records that you recorded, do you have a favourite? And if so, which one and why? ‘Dynasty’ was a great album, and the ‘Alive’ record was a great record. And then the reason I mentioned ‘Alive’ is because most guitar players cite that as the reason why they picked up the guitar and how I influenced a lot of guitar players in America and probably around the world as well. It’s funny that you should mention ‘Alive’ because that was the very first rock record I ever got as a kid. So, it’s kind of the album I grew up with as a teenager. Those shows back in the seventies were groundbreaking. You were household names and there was so much hysteria surrounding the band at that time. How did that feel for you? Was it something that you enjoyed? Or did it ever get a bit overwhelming? It became overwhelming at times, you know, putting the makeup on day after day. It was pretty much like a rollercoaster ride. The thing that annoyed me the most was the over merchandising of the band, which I blame on Gene. And, that was one of the reasons I left the group in 1981. With the whole mystique and the enigma behind the masks, I mean that must have added a lot of pressure for you. Was that something that ever concerned you or were you happy when the band decided to unmask? It added pressure in certain ways, but in other ways, I could walk around without the makeup and nobody would know who I was. So, you know, I had my anonymity and on stage, I was the Space Man. How do you feel at the minute with Kiss being in the midst of their “End of the Road” tour? Is that something that you’re still open to the idea of getting involved with when the tour reprises? Or do you think that you’re now happy to put that chapter behind you? I haven’t been invited, but if I am, it’s going to cost them. I’m not going to do it for free. It’s been a little while since we’ve seen you over here in the UK. When things get back to normal again, and we can enjoy live concerts again, is the UK on your agenda to come back over here? Yeah, I’d love to do a European tour once the pandemic is dissipated and it’s safe. I miss playing in Europe. European audiences are wonderful. I’ve always been well-received in the UK and the fans are great and they’ve given me a lot of support over the years. So yes, I miss performing there. But, you know, right now everything is up in the air because of the virus. What are your plans going forward at the moment? Well, I’m finishing up building a recording studio where I’m going to start recording my new studio album, which is unnamed. And I have no idea when it’s going to be released, but that’s the first thing on the agenda. And then, like I said, after that’s released, I’ll start working on ‘Origins Vol. 3’ and hopefully, by then concerts will have gotten back to normal. Plus, I’m working on a second book, ‘No Regrets Two’ is the working title and I’m also working on a score for a sci-fi movie, which I can’t really talk about at this juncture. ‘Origins Vol. 2’ by Ace Frehley is out now via on Steamhammer / SPV.

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WORDS: ADAM KENNEDY

Clint Lowery of Sevendust Unlucky for some, whilst lucky for others, the number 13 is viewed differently by cultures around the world. Superstitions aside for US-based rockers Sevendust, their latest record Blood and Stone is the 13th studio album in their discography. For Sevendust, their latest offering solidifies a bond which started back in 1994. The band’s new album also comes hot on the heels of their astounding cover of Soundgarden’s “The Day I Tried To Live”. The latter of which made it to the Top 15 at Active Rock radio in the USA, and deservedly so. HRH Mag recently caught up with Sevendust guitarist Clint Lowery to get the lowdown on their latest release. AK: You are about to release your 13th album on the 23rd of October which is quite close to Halloween. But whichever way you look at it, the 13th album it’s either lucky or unlucky. How are you feeling about this album release at the moment? CL: You know, it’s weird. I mean, we didn’t expect to be around this long in the first place. So, anything after three or four records in, we didn’t think we would last that long. So everything we do is a bonus, it’s a milestone of sorts. So, we feel strongly about the record. It’s always first it’s us making ourselves happy, doing records, and songs we’re proud of. And usually, if it’s authentic and people believe that we believe in it, then it usually does okay. I mean, some people might say, it’s not heavy enough. Some people might say, there’s not enough melody. You are never going to make everyone happy, but I think it’s a solid record. I’m very proud of it, but you know, it’s like a new child you put into the world, you do it, you’re all invested in it emotionally and physically in. Then you just put it out there. And then it’s a vulnerable feeling because you don’t know how people are going to perceive it. AK: You recently released a lyric video for the title track of the album “Blood and Stone”. Could you tell us a little bit about the background of that song and the inspiration behind it? CL: The reason that “Blood and Stone” kind of became the title of the record is that it was born from that song. And there’s a lot of songs about the band as a whole and what we’ve endured. The longer we’re together, the more we realized what we’ve accomplished together. That song is talking about the sacrifices that we’ve put in, the time we’ve lost at home, the things that we’ve dealt with throughout our career - it’s not all glamorous, it’s not all fun and games, it can be very difficult. Some people struggle with mental issues, substance abuse, different things. It’s like a long marriage that you go through ups and downs. So, it’s more about blood and stone - blood is what we’ve sacrificed, what we’ve given, and the stone is the foundation that we still have today. And those two words kind of symbolize that for me. And, it just seemed like a proper title for our brand. As you know, Sevendust has been around for a long time now. AK: I just wanted to talk to you about your cover of “The Day I Tried To Live”. It’s such a great version of that song. When you are approaching covering a track like that, especially from a band like Soundgarden and the sadly missed Chris Cornell did you want to kind of honour the original version of the song or did you intend to put your own Sevendust stamp on that? It must’ve been a difficult balance to strike… CL: Oh, I mean, once we decided on the song, we could have done an entire cover record of Soundgarden songs and we were huge fans of the band. But one thing that we did, as you had mentioned early on, we have to do this justice. Especially with Chris Cornell passing and leaving us so soon. And we just really felt like if we were going to do it, it needed to have the spirit of the original. The drums Morgan made sure he was a lot on the groove that Matt Cameron had. There are some of the ambient guitar things that we tried to preserve, but we had to bring the key down a lot. I mean, Chris Cornell sings very high in the stratosphere, so that wouldn’t have been an easy thing for us - number one - and it wouldn’t have sounded like us. We still wanted to have the Sevendust influence but preserve the original in a way where it honoured it, we didn’t stray too away from the vibe of the first one. So I think we did a good job. It’s one of those things that I just really wanted to do. I did not want to put out a song that was a cover and people just really get turned off by it. And that was the biggest fear. And I think people have enjoyed it because it is like the first and it has the same spirit, I guess. AK: As you said, you could have done an entire Soundgarden album. But why did you choose “The Day I Tried To Live” out of all

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those tracks? What was it about that particular song? Did you try a few before you settled on that? Or was it just that was the one that you went to straight away. CL: That was the one. Elvis (Michael Baskette) was the referee. We were throwing around all of these songs. And he mentioned that. It was the one I wasn’t thinking about doing. We didn’t want a really weird deep track. We wanted a deep cut. We wanted something that wasn’t the obvious either, not the “Outshined” or “Black Hole Sun”. We wanted something a little more abstract, but at the same time, very familiar and encompass what that energy was. So he mentioned that. At first, I’m like, there’s no way, it’s way too high to sing. And then I started thinking about it, like, we can do that. I tuned it down and I sent the guitar tracks - we were almost done with the record. I sent the scratch track to Morgan and Elvis, and they tried the drums. And then when I got back down, we finished it out. But we weren’t going to decide on putting it on the record until we knew it was finished and it sounded right. AK: Besides Sevendust, it’s been quite a productive year for your solo material as well. You’ve released a new album at the start of the year. You’ve released an EP over the summer. Has having this time away from the band given you more downtime to focus on your solo career? CL: It was the original plan. I haven’t been able to focus on it because I wasn’t able to do the tours that I was scheduled to do - all of that got shut down. So it’s unfortunate for that project. I mean, I was just getting ready to go on and do another run and I wasn’t going to do a ton of touring. You know, I wanted to cut my teeth as a lead singer live. It’s a whole different skill set. So I was having a lot of fun with that before it got shut down. But it is what it is. I’ll revisit that when the time comes, maybe I’ll open up some Sevendust shows too - who knows? We’ll try to keep it alive any way we can. But, I enjoyed the tiny snapshot I got of doing that. And, it was a lot of walking through fear and just getting up there and doing it. And I had some good response from the record and the EP as well. And that’s all I can ask for. It’s unfortunate that the pandemic hit, but there’s a lot of bigger things to complain about, you know. AK: With your solo material, do you think that’s allowed you to sort of try and create songs that you wouldn’t necessarily write or record with Sevendust? Is that kind of the idea with the project? CL: That’s the purpose. It’s the little quirkier side of my songwriting that I get to explore with that. There’s not a limitation on Sevendust but there is a formula, there is a vibe. So, when I do this stuff for myself, it’s liberating because I don’t have to rely on others - I don’t have the committee. I don’t have to go through the democracy of a band. I can just do it. And it’s a fun feeling. It’s a lot of pressure, but I like working. I liked taking on those responsibilities, it’s just fun for me. I’ve never thought of myself as a lead singer, but I have developed myself as a singer a little more and that makes me a bigger asset for Sevendust at the end of the day. If I didn’t do that, I would just be a little bit resentful I think of Sevendust just because I’m a writer, I like to write. I don’t want to wait two years between each record and I want to do it. And they’re cool with it. You know, for the most part, I mean, they know I’m not trying to leave the band. They know that my commitment is there, but I do love doing it. AK: I just was looking at your Instagram page and I saw a picture of you and Eddie van Halen. I just wanted to ask how much of an influence was Eddie on you as a guitarist? CL: Oh man, I mean I’m not going to say anything that hasn’t already been said. He was the template. He was the bar that none of us reached. There was a swagger to him and unbelievable creativity that just being around and seeing it, just made you a better player, just made everyone better. He influenced an entire globe of guitar players, you know, and I just loved him. I loved his songwriting. I loved everything about it. He can do all the acrobatics you want, but he was just a really amazing musical soul. His musical IQ was off the charts and I just loved everything about Eddie Van Halen man. I always said to Wolfie or anyone in that camp the day that that guy is gone, it’s going to hurt. He was a beacon of light for so many guitar players. Man, he just loved it. You see the little footage of him saying, just play man, that stuff that’s circulating. He talked like that all the time. You know? I wish I could have been around him more that’s all. I wish I could have just seen him more. I got a good opportunity a few times to watch him play, talk to him and god man he’ll be missed. “Blood and Stone” by Sevendust is out now.

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WORDS: PAUL SABIN

The Intergalactic rise to fame of CATS in SPACE since their inception in 2015 has been a rollercoaster ride to say the least, and with a new vocalist and a new album about to be unleashed, there’s lots to talk about - so we caught up with the cat man himself, Greg Hart to get the lowdown… PS: Going back to 2015, what made six musicians, each with their own respective musical careers decide to get together and start a band? GH: Hi everyone at HRH, welcome aboard the crazy spaceship! It’s well documented but basically I wanted to write an album purely for my own ‘need’, an ‘itch I had to scratch’ you may say. I was writing with Mick Wilson from 10cc, and pretty soon we realised we had some great tunes emerging and I felt putting a ‘studio band’ together would be a cool idea. So I rounded up the best men for the job. It was all very selfish and self-obsessed but I wanted to do a real ‘70s style album as if it were 1976 or whatever. Just for me! The fact that so many people were waiting for a band like us was a real bonus.

sounds enormous and good… by the time the first show came along I was already writing for the second album as we all knew this thing ‘could’ run.

PS: How did the line-up come about? GH: Steevi Bacon was already with me at this point and he helped from day one to get everything together. I knew Dean Howard, Jeff Brown and of course Andy Stewart so they were my ‘go-to guys’, no one else was considered at this point. I had recently met Paul Manzi and he was perfect for the vocal position. It was dare I say very ‘organic’ and sometimes in life, the stars align and they sure have for what became CATS in SPACE. We just had a magic from day one, weird but true. We made a good racket!

PS: On the face of it, to the uninitiated, your music isn’t anything new, leaning heavily on musical influences from most of the rock and pop world, from The Beatles through to Queen, ELO, The Sweet, 10cc, Thin Lizzy and many more and yet with three studio albums and one live album under your collective belts, your sound and lyrical content seems able to withstand the test of time and draw in new fans too. What do you attribute that to? GH: I like to think we offer quality music that moves people and that will last - that’s all we wish to do. Stir a passion within. We have seen, very quickly, that there are thousands of music fans our age as well as younger and indeed older, who love classic rock, proper classic rock like it was and have pined for a band to come along like us - dare I say. What we do comes from a very good place, it is 100% honest and not contrived. We are not trying to be cool and hip, we are just making music for ‘our

PS: Did you plan to continue after the first album? GH: We didn’t even plan to play live!! Dean pushed for that - I wasn’t so sure but we knew we had a great album and a wonderful chemistry, so we thought why not! From the very first minute of rehearsals, I kid ye not, we all looked at each other and just went ‘wow’ hang on, this

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PS: `Too Many Gods’ was very theatrical in its content, have you ever considered turning it into a musical? GH: You’re not the first to ask this and the answer is yes, we would love to. In fact, looking back over the four albums there are tunes now that would thread a whole story together, including of course our mini-concept piece ‘The Story of Johnny Rocket’. It’s a bucket list tick we all want, so yes. I’m not scared of saying we are a bit ‘jazz hands’, albeit hard rock jazz hands!

I N T E RV I EW - C AT S I N SPAC E generation’. The fact that it goes so well is a testament to the simple fact that quality will out over hype, every time. We get so many incredible comparisons it is just wonderful. When someone says we are ‘the new Queen’ or whatever it’s just amazing. Though a tad embarrassing! Even if it is just one person saying that we mean that much, it makes what we do and what we write, so rewarding. I could talk all day about the messages and comments we get from people - genuine stories that touch us deeply. We are just so grateful we get to do this and take people into a happy place. Which let’s face it we all need these days. PS: You have supported some big names already, in what is for a band, a fairly short career, including Deep Purple, Status Quo, Thunder and Phil Collins, how did those support slots come your way? GH: We were on a few ‘radars’ and our management at the time were approached as the agents felt CATS would be a cool addition to these tours. These people saw what a great live entertaining band we are not everyone sees that, yet, but they will! Francis Rossi, Ian Gillan and all those guys watched our sound checks every night. The compliments we got were amazing and very funny from Mr Rossi! He stayed on stage for our soundcheck every night playing in the background... great fun! PS: Is there a dream headliner that you would like to support next? GH: Yup, Queen, Peter Frampton, ELO, Cheap Trick, or for me personally any band with Roger Manning (Jellyfish) in it… I keep messaging him, we have spoken and I will make that happen! PS: Every album has the now familiar ingredients of brilliant vocal harmonies, powerful melodies, a twin-guitar sound, and of course great lyrics which seem to sit halfway between a fantasy world and the harsh real world. How does songwriting happen, is there a method you, as a band, always follow? GH: Thank you! Yes, we work very hard to make everything big grand and thoughtful. Well, songwriting is always a weird thing for me. I tend to conceptualise the album upfront, discuss it with the guys and then they leave me to get on with it. I’m always a year in front! Mick Wilson, who has been my writing partner for a lot of each album, will come and join in and we may take 6-10 months of writing before we present the band with the demos. It’s a fabulous time and my happy place to be honest. With Atlantis I had no Mick for various reasons and I dug deep to create what is about to emerge. Steevi came up with some amazing lyrics and indeed the album title and moving forward I will be working with his lyrics more ‘cos they’re fab. The band all played the best they have ever played and we decided to rock out more, and let rip. PS: You’ve been working hard for some time now to get material recorded for the upcoming album Àtlantis’ but it’s not been without its problems along the way with Paul Manzi deciding to leave the fold and join The Sweet. Did he have any input on Àtlantis’? GH: No, Paul left after the first half of the ‘Narnia’ tour. At that point, I had maybe three or four songs formulating, as I am normally writing that far ahead you see. PS: Mark Pascall, known as the vocalist for the South West based rockers Departed came on board as Paul Manzi’s replacement and did some live shows with you but this didn’t last, what happened? GH: Mark is a great singer and did a superb Christmas campaign with us. His voice is destined to be a fantastic AOR type voice with the right vehicle for it, but I felt towards the end that the age difference and vibe is not suited for what CATS does, and alas things didn’t work out as we hoped. Adding to the work ethic required to make the album, things just didn’t suit both parties I feel. PS: How did that set back the recording of Àtlantis’? GH: As things mapped out, Atlantis became the hardest thing ever, but for personal and health reasons. I lost my father midway recording and Steevi’s partner lost her mum three weeks later. It’s been a very very hard road for us, but the upside is, you hopefully will hear the emotions in the grooves of the new album. PS: You then got the superb talents of Damien Edwards on board, who appears to be perfectly suited to the role. How did you find him? I’ve known Dames for a while now and he has sung in our ‘Supersonic 70s’ theatre show, so I knew just what an astonishing singer he is, but I never knew he wanted to do original stuff like ours. I invited him down to do some backing vocals and he smashed them all pretty much inside

two sessions. When the situation with Mark arose, I phoned him and asked if he felt like trying out as he knew the songs and we were very much behind schedule, especially if we had to audition again. He came down and blew me away. His voice was perfect for CATS, so much so! Our engineer Ian Caple said to me that Dames is the best singer he has worked with in 40 years. High praise! Again, things line up for a reason - I believe that. He is the final piece in our puzzle. His voice is just wonderful and I know whatever I throw at him he does it and beyond with such effortless quality it beggars belief. I really do rate him as good as any singer there is out there - anywhere. To have him sing our songs and indeed start to write some stuff is a very, very exciting time for us all. The future is bright! PS: What is Damien’s background? GH: He toured the live Jeff Waynes ‘War of the Worlds’ show, completed some theatre productions like ‘The Roy Orbison Story’ - he has been a hired gun for many big shows, but finally he now gets to shine in his own right. And trust me when people hear him live it’s going to be a game-changer for this band. Sorry Dames - no pressure mate! PS: There is also a link between Damien and Space Elevator, who did a UK tour with you isn’t there? GH: Yes, Dames knows The Duchess very well as they have toured together as backing singers and he sang on both their albums. PS: You have posted several videos of Damien singing some of your older material. Are there any plans to revisit and re-record any of your earlier releases? GH: We have been very busy, yes… We have an eye on Germany and feel they need to be introduced to the band as it is now, so we have plans to release some stuff early 2021 over there. If the demand is there, we may do something for the UK after Atlantis settles down (which I hope doesn’t happen anytime soon!). We have loads of stuff planned whilst we cannot gig, which is great as the band just want to play and sing and write so all is very good and the mood is better than it has ever been. Which, considering the climate right now, is quite mad! But we are all full of beans here. PS: With `Atlantis’ due out shortly, how did COVID impact on recording the new album? GH: Luckily not too bad, asides from Jeff being stuck in Belgium for half of it. We had five weeks out at the start of lockdown but the studio is in the middle of nowhere so we were able to come and go and keep on it soon after that. I started demoing last November, so the break we had was good as it gave me time to finalise the last three songs which were proving to be tricky. Steevi was recovering from his operation in January too, so the band were not able to even play together until June. So, yes, we were quite lucky in that respect. What it did do was make Atlantis the album it is now, so as ever these weird things that are thrown at you often help you for the better. And we all feel the new album is the best of our careers, from any band we have been in. That’s how much we all feel about Atlantis. And the artwork? Well - that is something else. Our good friend and in-house artist Andy Kitson has once again created a monster… so lockdown helped us I feel! PS: How will live performance bans affect the promotion of the album? GH: It’s a slight worry as it is for all bands, but we felt if every band shelves their new album because they can’t tour to support it, then no one would bring out new music in 2020 and people need to have some light and something to look forward to. So, we decided no matter what our album would emerge for Christmas and stand everyone in good stead ready for when the touring starts again. And when it does? CATS will be poised ready and promise a show unlike any we have done before. It’s going to be a full length two-hour show herein, no more messing about! We have four albums to pull from and the fans, we feel, want us to deliver a FULL show wherever possible. That’s the aim for 2021. Bring it on! PS: Let’s hope we will all get to hear CATS in SPACE on the world’s stages very soon in whatever format this brave new world will dictate! GH: You can be sure of it, we have new turbos fitted to the Spaceship and quality rock in abundance - stay safe everyone and be nice to each other.

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WORDS: SI BONNEY

n these cold, locked-down autumn nights, you’d be forgiven for thinking all was quiet on the metal music front. Fortunately, my friend, you’d be mistaken, for the likes of Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons have been hard at work and their second album stormed into the scene on the 13th November 2020! We were lucky enough to score some time with Phil to talk about the new release, touring with his sons and saying Fluffy in Welsh…

Phil! It’s great to have you back to HRH in the wake of your second studio album with the Bastard Sons, “We’re the Bastards”! How are you feeling about the musical direction of the new project? We just did what we always try to do and that’s to write good rock songs. I think we’ve spread our wings a bit more on this album and there’s a few songs like “Born To Roam, “Desert Song” and “Waves” that are a slight change in direction but I don’t think anything seems out of place on this album.

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Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons is still quite a young project, and this is still only the second full album you guys have released. How do you go about finding your sound? Did you have some idea going in? Not really, the good thing about this band is there’s 5 different people of 5 different ages bringing in 5 different influences into the songwriting process so it’s like a big melting pot of musical ideas, which is always great to have. It’s kinda a mix of classic and modern rock but I always say at the end of the day a good song is a good song, no matter what genre it’s in.

IN T E RV IEW - PH I L CA M PBE LL With all your projects you have played to audiences of tens of thousands, with some of the biggest names in the game. What was your favourite show you ever played? There’s far too many to mention but all shows are great shows as long as there’s a crazy audience and my guitar is in tune! You have accomplished so much in your musical career, from awards coming out your ears and the 20-years-in-themaking solo album, to forming a behemoth headline band with your sons. Is there anything in particular left on your career bucket list that you want to accomplish before you hang up the strings (many decades from now ;) )? Just keep going with this band at the moment and looking forward to seeing how far we can take it with The Bastard Sons! It’s great travelling around Europe taking them to cities and countries they have never been before so as long as we can keep doing that for a few years then I’ll be happy. Or apart from that collaborating with Elton John but I’m trying to be realistic! My soon to be father in law is a massive, massive fan of yours, both The Bastard Sons and Motörhead, and told me that I had to ask you two things: Were you a fan of Motörhead before you joined and did being a member ruin your ‘earing? (Also, and I’m not sure why, but he asked how you say “Fluffy” in Welsh…) To answer those 2 questions simply, yes and yes. Regarding the third part I have absolutely no idea what he’s talking about but I do know that fluffy in Hungarian is Bolyhos…don’t ask how I know that! Thanks a lot for your time Phil, I’m loving the new album and I can’t wait to see you guys back on the stage banging heads and cashing cheques! All the best going into the new year brother man! I hope to catch you guys soon!

How do you find working with your sons? I know I used to clash with my old man when I worked with him… It’s not much different to working with a regular band as being in a band is like being in a family anyway. Todd produced this record too and did an amazing job. He’s recorded Tyla, Dane and Neil so many times over the years with their other bands and Todd also produced my solo record last year so it was quite a comfortable experience as the process was just so natural. How does touring with the Bastard Sons differ from touring with Motörhead? The quality of the tour buses and hotels! Haha. Obviously I’m a bit more chilled out these days compared to my Motorhead days so that’s the obvious difference. If we have a day off we usually either go to a museum, go bowling or just go to a restaurant and have a nice meal. That would have been a bit different with Motorhead! I was gutted you had so much cancelled due to COVID this year! Is the diary looking busy for 2021? We were going to have our busiest year to date this year so fingers crossed 2021 will be our busiest year instead. We’ve rescheduled our 3 tours from this year to next year and 90% of our festivals we’ve managed to get rescheduled plus we’ve had a few more festival offers for next year so we are all just really hoping everything goes ahead next summer onwards. Hard Rock Hell XIV is now rescheduled for November 2021 – the last time the HRH family met you was for the Awards and your performance back in 2018 – what do you remember of that night and what might be different about your set 3 years on? Yeah it was a great night hanging out with Nibs, Nigel Glockler and his wife, Biff Byford and Ben Ward and his wife. We go back a long way and it was nice to see Nibbs take an award home and also Ben and Nigel. And it was great to go onstage before Michael Schenker the following night so I had a chance to watch his set! Obviously next year we will be adding songs from the new album to the set so it will be great to finally get chance to play them live!

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WORDS: ADAM KENNEDY PHOTO: JOHN MCMURTIE

MATT

PEARCE

FROM

rit rockers Voodoo Six recently planted some new roots out in the US when they signed a deal with Explorer 1 – a new Hollywood based full-service music company. As a result, the band are ready to make their music resonate across the pond as well as in the UK, Europe and beyond.

The first release to come from this exciting new venture is the band’s sixth studio album “Simulation Game” - and although there may have been a few bumps in the road to get to this point, with the pandemic resulting in the release date pushed back from March to October, there is now a light at the end of the tunnel for Voodoo Six.

VOODOO

SIX

that he brings to it than what Luke had, who is more of a traditional melodic songwriter involved with the heavier riffs. But Nick’s much more, I hesitate to use the word modern because I’m probably talking about bands that have been around for 20 years, but you know what I mean? It’s not old school seventies, his kind of influences are from much more nineties and onwards, you know, much more kind of abrasive kind of music. Even though he does love a good tune. AK: What was the timeframe for the recording of this album?

HRH Mag recently caught up with Voodoo Six guitarist Matt Pearce whilst at home in London to talk about the band’s new album, their deal with Explorer 1 and what his plans are with side-project Matt Pearce and the Mutiny.

MP: It was done at the end of last year, I think. It didn’t take a lot of time recording. As I said, there was some work being done on the songs and then when we went in, we tend to work quite quickly. We’ve always been lucky to have the kind of people where everybody just learns the stuff well. So, we just go in and we bang it down. Joe Lazarus on drums who, as you know, I’ve worked with as well with my thing. He’s just so great. You go in for like a day and he just bangs the drums over a couple of days and you’ve got the drums for the album. Or we went in a couple of days, me and Tom Gentry who is doing the guitar on it with me as well. And we go out there to the studio for a couple of days and just bang it out because people do the preparation, you know what I mean? It’s not sitting there for days trying to think of ideas. You do your homework because the headmaster will tell you off if you don’t - so a strict regime.

AK: Voodoo Six are getting ready to unveil their first new album since 2016. How are you feeling ahead of the album release?

AK: Besides Voodoo Six, how are things going with Matt Pearce and The Mutiny at present? Have you got anything in the pipeline or any signs of a follow-up?

Founder member Tony Newton said of the new record and fresh start for the band, “It feels like this is the right time for us. We’re incredibly proud of the new material and can’t wait for people to hear “Simulation Game” and join us for some amazing live shows. We are excited to sign with the new US label Explorer 1. We always felt the band would do well in America.”

MP: I think it’s a mixture of everything. It’s a new label Explorer 1. So I think we’re very curious how it’s going to go with them. We have some nice expectations because they’re working with a lot of good people. You know, Steve Harris and KK Downing and people like that. So, it’s nice to be on that roster and we’re very curious to see what they can do in this climate. The elephant in the room all the time at the moment, it’s like we’re putting an album out, but we can’t gig, and you can’t go out and promote it in the normal ways. So I think there’s a curiosity from all of us really in that, how do we promote this album and what response is there going to be if we can’t get out there and gig it? So, yeah, it’s a strange time to put out an album, but then again, people want new music. People want new stuff to listen to. So in a way, it’s good because they’re stuck at home and they want to hear something new. So, why not the new Voodoo Six album - give it a go. AK: You just mentioned there about Explorer 1 with whom you’ve signed a new deal and they’re a Hollywood based full-service music company. Can you tell us a little bit about that and how the opportunity came around? MP: Well, it’s a new company and it’s been set up by this guy that’s been a friend of the band for a long time. They are really good friends of Tony’s this guy called Paul. And he’s kind of set up this dream record label kind of thing. He’s just always wanted to put something together that he felt is the way record labels should operate nowadays. And everybody’s freaking out about what a great set up it is. And I think just for the fact that the people that he’s luring to come onto the label when you see their roster so far, I think that’s been proven. I think because we’ve had the kind of the thing of knowing him for a long time it just felt like a very, very natural thing for Tony to get involved in the label and then to get us involved in the label. As you probably know, Tony has also been playing and very involved in the KK Downing project, you know, like he’s playing with that. He’s been helping out with the album and stuff. So, he’s kind of part of this whole deal in a nice way, so that it feels very, very natural for us to be involved in that. And we need a good label because we haven’t had one yet. We’ve had a lot of bad ones, so it’d be nice to have a good one. I think it’d be only fair that we get to have a good record label once in a while. AK: In terms of the album itself, what would you say was the starting point for the record? MP: It’s the same kind of thing that usually happens - Tony starts formulating some ideas and then we’ll go around and work with the ideas either in the modern world where you chuck some ideas about over MP3s via email and stuff like that. But usually, it’s going around to his place in his studio and just working stuff up. And then when we’ve got enough songs, it’s a question of getting some proper drums down and getting some proper vocals. And so it’s kind of like the very traditional way that the Voodoo Six thing happens, it’s all quite controlled and very precisely put together. It’s not like us standing in a room having a jam and then running the tape or whatever. We don’t work like that in this band. I don’t think many bands work like that anymore because they don’t have the studio time to do that. The pre-production I think is hugely done nowadays before people set foot in a studio to record it. So that’s the kind of the process. And like I say, Nick’s been involved right from the very start of this one. And I think he has a different energy

MP: Yeah, I’ve been working a lot. Like last year we did about half of it and then this year in the lockdown I just wrote a bunch of more stuff and I’ve just literally started working on it again. So, it’s kind of in the process, but it’s just going to take a little bit of time. And again, there’s no deadline or anything. So, I’m going to hope and maybe get it out like spring next year would be nice. But in this kind of weird limbo state that we’re living in at the moment, there’s no kind of immediacy. It’s almost like you’re trying to, again, in the way that we’re putting this album out is trying to artificially give yourself a deadline and an urgency, because if you don’t, then you just don’t do anything. So, this is really what I’m doing at the moment is getting some urgency into that and trying to get it finished off really. AK: With shows on hold at the moment due to COVID, how much are you looking forward to plugging in and getting back on the road? MP: Well, it’s indescribable really. I mean, when I see things popping up on Facebook memories of the last time I was out playing with Voodoo Six - I think a year ago - pretty much exactly was the HRH CROWS weekend, which was an amazing weekend. It was one of my most fun things from last year. Because we did the Voodoo Six show on Saturday and then I did my thing on Sunday. And to have a whole weekend there playing the music in my life with the two projects was just lovely. And that was the last time that we’ve done a gig with Voodoo. Because again, we had the new songs, but then we went from there and we were finishing off the album. So that probably gives you an idea of the timing of it - that was a year ago we were playing new songs from the album at HRH. So I think we were kind of really in the middle of getting the album finished and we had these ones ready that we wanted to do. And that was nice because they got an amazing response and you never know with four or five new songs in a set, you never really know how that’s going to go down - but they went down well. So that was encouraging, the new direction or whatever. AK: With things still in limbo at the minute, are there any loose plans of how things are going to happen going forward or is it all just very much a case of taking every day as it comes? MP: I think it’s just going to be adapting to it, isn’t it? I mean like we were saying with an American label the plan would have been to get over there and play, and there’s just literally no idea right now of when that’s going to be possible to happen. So I imagine it will be playing near home and maybe playing something in the UK when that’s possible. But I think we’ll just begin with the album and get songs out, and try to get songs on the radio, and trying to build up that awareness of what we’re doing really. But like you say, it’s just tricky because the main way of promoting stuff has been kind of cut off from everybody. You know, we have that whole thing of, hey, we have all got gigs all the time because nobody sells records anymore. And then, we’re not allowed to gig anymore. It kind of leaves everybody in a little bit of a sticky point, but you know, we will just keep doing it. Like I said, maybe we’ll just end up working on some new Voodoo Six stuff in the meantime if the gigs don’t come around or whatever. Or maybe we’ll end up doing some socially distanced things like what you’ve had up in Newcastle if that ends up being a thing. “Simulation Game” by Voodoo Six is out now via Explorer 1.

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WORDS: MIKE (MIKKI) SMITH

Janet Gardner Janet Gardner was the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the legendary glam metal band Vixen. More recently, she has dedicated her time to her solo career, aided and abetted by her husband and fellow guitar maestro Justin James. HRH Mag’s Mikki Smith caught up with them both recently to find out how things in the Gardner / James household are bearing up in this strangest of all years… Mikki: I suppose this is a question you’ve got fed up of answering. How have you been doing through all this pandemic with lockdown and how everything’s going throughout the world? Justin: It’s been interesting. I mean, of course, we miss the normal everyday life things and obviously getting out and playing shows and doing that. But on the flip side of it, it really allowed us time to just buckle down and work on the new album and get it out as fast as we did. So there were little bits of good things that came out of it. And then actually also too, just real good quality time with our family. Janet: I noticed there’s like hardly any traffic now because so many people are working from home. So there are little, tiny, silver linings that you have to kind of, appreciate through all this terrible stuff. Mikki: It was the same over here in the UK about two months ago, the traffic was just non-existent. There was nothing on the road. It was brilliant. Justin: Yeah. It makes it easy when you do have to go somewhere that’s for sure. Mikki: Yeah. The downside is everything that comes along with it. With you being married and being together all the time, it’s not like it’s a normal band where they wouldn’t get to rehearse or get together, you’re there with each other all the time. You’ve got more time to work more on the music. Janet: Absolutely. And the nice thing too is, we have a home recording studio. So when we do work out new songs or new ideas, we can just dive right into it. And it gives us something to do when we’re locked in the house. Justin: Yeah. And we can squeeze it in, in between things too. You know, we don’t have to commit to a certain amount of studio time, we just have the freedom, whenever we feel like it, we do it. And when we’re not feeling it, we don’t. Mikki: I suppose if you’re a band starting out at the beginning you’re more constrained by what record companies want and for more established artists like yourself, I suppose you’ve got that bit of freedom. And as you say, working from home and being together all the time, you’ve got a lot more freedom. Janet: Yeah. And Pavement (label) have been really great with that too. As far as trying to work with scheduling, we got this thing done early, why don’t we just put it out a little early? So they jumped right on it. They’ve been really great with supporting us as artists too. And they really don’t intervene a lot unless it’s something really important. They kind of let us be artists. So we’re very fortunate to have them too. Mikki: So the next question has to be how have you found working and living together? Do you ever get on each other’s nerves? Do you have disagreements? I don’t think I could work with my wife 24 seven. I think I’d drive her mad! Justin: Well, we do have disagreements. Of course, we don’t agree on everything, but we’re both pretty good about picking our battles carefully. And we both know

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that if one of us is unhappy with something, that there’s a good reason for it. So we always kind of work together to resolve any small disagreements, most big things we agree on anyway. So we’re pretty lucky there we are in it together. Janet: One interesting thing too, is I think most of our disagreements come on about things that are outside of working on the music. And it’s like when we get to go do that, it’s an escape from everything else. And we just dive into it right. Justin: It definitely is, we just base it on our inspiration together. If there’s something that we’re both not totally inspired by then we know it’s not right. If that’s something that we both jump in on mutually, we know that we’re on track. So it’s, pretty easy to work through that stuff. Mikki: And I think that comes across well. I’ve watched other interviews that you’ve done, videos of you on stage and listened to the music, and I think the title you’ve picked for your album synergy kind of just sums up you both, from what I can see, looking from the outside, it kind of sums up you working together to produce something better. Janet: That’s exactly. You just nailed down the definition of synergy. And that’s why we thought it was a good name because we both feel that way. We think that we both offer a lot alone, but when you put it together, you get one plus one equals three. We both feel that we make each other better. Absolutely. Justin: I don’t think we’ve ever written a song where the other one hasn’t come into it and added something to it that just took it to another level. And it’s always been a partnership with every song on all three albums that we’ve ever done. I don’t think there’s one song that one of us just completely wrote from start to finish. It’s always the two of us one will come up with the foundation of a song and then the other one will come in and add little touches here and there. And it just brings it to another level. Janet: Absolutely. Mikki: I think that comes across as well with the songs. They don’t seem to be one particular style, not what you would call a typical such and such type record. Janet: You know, the foundation is hard rock, but it does venture off into blues or seventies, different variations of rock over the last few decades, but that comes across as well. Mikki: I absolutely love your single wounded. Janet: Thank you so much. Speaking of wounded, that was an interesting song. We were fortunate enough right before the whole pandemic kicked off, to be touring in Australia. And the riff idea came up right before we left for Australia. I thought at first it was too busy. It just wasn’t going to be usable. And you know Justin said, Oh no, I can do something with that, and he came up with a melody and it’s like, Oh my God, this is it. It’s perfect.

Mikki: That’s right - you were in Australia, you played a festival over in Melbourne, didn’t you? The Melodic Rock Festival, I do a lot of road crew for a band called Midnite City and they played there as well. Janet: We really got those guys. We got on really well with them, especially during our downtime. Justin: With them on that trip we just hit it off right out of the gate. They are some of the nicest people and just a great, great band! Mikki: So you’ve got this new album out – “Synergy” – what are your hopes for it, what do you want it to do? Is it something you’re doing for the financial aspect or are you doing it for the love of music? Justin: Money never hurts and it’s never bad to make some money off of your art. But first and foremost, it is for the love of music. I mean, we just do it for ourselves mainly to get that itch out of us and please ourselves. And then at the end of the day, we hope that it touches other people and they enjoy it. And you know, that’s really the driving force behind it. I think we both just have such a giant music bug in us that we have to do it to get that out of us and express ourselves. Janet: Yeah. It’s definitely not about the money. Like Justin said we wouldn’t be upset if we made some money, but it’s definitely not what it’s about. Or what we’re in it for, we’re in it because we love it. Also like Justin said it’s great to share it with our fans. I just love it when they say they were moved by a song or it made their mood better. That is just so satisfying. Mikki: Which do you prefer, writing the songs and releasing them or being on the road and playing them? Janet: Oh, that’s a tough one. Both have their benefits. It’s great to create something and take that blank canvas and form it into a complete song and then listen to the end result - it’s a very satisfying feeling, but there’s also that amazing feeling of getting up on a stage, run around and feel the charge from the crowd, feeling the loud music and the kick drum just pound you in the chest. Justin: Yeah, and just making that direct connection that you’re there live at that moment, it’s nice to move people through recorded music, but there’s nothing quite like standing right there in person experiencing it with the crowd. Janet: The nice thing too is, when you record the music you get that instant satisfaction for yourself, but when you play it live and you get to see the excitement in their faces, that’s very satisfying, To see that result right away from somebody and know that you’re touching them and they’re enjoying themselves, they’re escaping reality from all the craziness in the world. I know I can sit here and I can lose myself and forget everything that’s going on just by listening to music. Mikki: If you are a musician, does it change the way you listen to music? Janet: No, I’m a fan of music more than anything, just because we make music doesn’t mean we pick apart other people’s music. It’s about emotion and feeling. And I still get that from other artists all the time. Mikki: What bands/music are you listening to? Justin: I guess it depends on the type of day. If somebody at work or something’s got under my skin and really ticked me off, I’m going to throw on some Skid Row, Slave To The Grind and just crank it up and just press the pedal to the metal and drive down the street. If I’m sad or feeling down, then for me personally, I’ll turn to Gary Moore and listen to some nice blues rock stuff that just really gets you inside. Janet: I still go to my old standby Aerosmith. There’s nothing in life that an Aerosmith song can’t fix for me! Mikki: You actually did a gig with Skid Row back in 1991? The Milton Keynes Bowl? Janet: Yeah, we played with them recently too, with Vixen. We played, I don’t know, maybe four or five shows with them. So yeah, back in the day and then not so long ago. Mikki: So are you finished with Vixen? Janet: Yeah, I think everybody’s happy right now. I’m a never say never kind of person, but I don’t foresee that happening. Justin: You wouldn’t say no. Mikki: So if the call came in, you wouldn’t say no? Janet: Well, I’m really, really happy with everything in my life. So I really don’t see that happening. I mean, I wouldn’t see them calling me anyway. I think they’re happy too. Mikki: Okay. We’ll leave that one there! Going back to Synergy the picture on the cover, the two chimpanzees. That is an absolutely brilliant cover. Any story behind the picture? Janet: The same artist designed and worked on all three of our album covers and the first two CDs that we put out. We went under the Janet Gardner name, but it always featured a photo of the two of us on the cover. So when it came time for this one and we decided to change the name, to both of our names, because it’s always been a partnership between the two of us. We wanted something a little different. We didn’t know what, but the artist sent us over different ideas that he was coming up with and they just weren’t hitting us. I think we got to the point where we were driving him nuts. So it was a joke, he sent over a picture of one of the chimpanzees with a cigarette hanging out of its mouth, playing guitar. Justin: He said, well, how about this? Then it was a complete joke. We both looked at it and went, wait a minute, that’s actually kind of cool. The first album cover, on our first CD, where it’s got Gardner/James. We have two chimpanzees on there doing it, so it started as a joke, but then it just kind of stuck, it struck something with us and we just thought it was really cool. I’m a huge fan of the band UFO, and they always had kind of unique and different album covers, and it’s just kind of for some reason reminded me of that a little bit. And I just thought it was really, really cool. And just kind of humorous and different. Janet: Well, it has attitude to it! Justin: That’s what we want, we never want to take ourselves too seriously at the end of the day, creating music and going to a live concert is all about having fun, and escaping the troubles that we see on the news every day and everything else. We just thought that was a great example to show it’s just for fun. It’s just fun and it’s quirky,

that’s it. Mikki: If you could put the ultimate band/team together for your music, who would you pick? Either past or present, who would you pick to be your band, co-writers, producers, who would be your ultimate team, your dream team? Janet: Well, I already have my dream team with Justin, that’s the corny answer. It’s true though, we love our band, Richie and Anthony are both great guys, great players. We enjoy being with them on and off stage. I don’t know. I’m happy. Justin: The only thing that I would love to have is the opportunity to work with Mutt Lange and have him come in and produce one of the albums or something like that, because some of those Def Leppard albums are just phenomenal. Janet: Yeah. That’d be good. Justin: We have talked about maybe getting guest people or having other guys play stuff, but we get so comfortable in our own creative zone. It’s really, it’s almost sacred. I know that sounds really weird, but it’s almost like, man, if we get somebody else in here, it’d be weird. Janet: Maybe in the future. That’ll come if we hit a block in the road with writing a song, but for the time being it’s good the way it is. Whenever we’ve possibly considered bringing somebody else in, or to contribute on something, it’s just like, oh…it’s our precious baby. Justin: Yeah. You know Jakey Lee and you know guitar players that I would love to play with. But it is, as far as this band goes, I am completely happy with what we have. Mikki: What if Steven Tyler wants to sing a duet with you?! Janet: I’d definitely want to sing a duet with him! Mikki: What’s the one song or from history you wish you’d have written? Janet: Wow… Justin: That is a tough question! Cause there’s thousands of great songs. All I know is as a guitar player, I would say Still Of The Night by Whitesnake. Janet: Oh, that’s a good one. Very good song. For me it would be Living On A Prayer by Bon Jovi. Justin: Yeah, I remember the first time I saw the video for Livin On A Prayer, the impact of the song, the video, all of it, I was like, wow, that’s really good. It’s a timestamp on your life. Especially with songs that really hit you, you always remember where you were and what you were doing at that moment. And music is just such a universal language and it’s incredible what an impact a good song can have on you. Janet: Right! It can bring you back to exactly where you were when you first heard it. Justin: And it can provide so many emotions and feelings and memories… Janet: It’s magical. It really is. Mikki: So which song provokes the most emotions for you? Justin: There’s a lot, but they’re all different types of emotions. I’m trying to think. But of course 50 songs are coming to my head right now! Mikki: Ok, if you had to pick two songs or two records to take with you on a desert Island and nothing else, which two would you take? Justin: That’s a little easier. For me it would be Kiss - Asylum, just because that was the first full album that I got, and I listened to from start to finish - and I became a massive Kiss fan after that. Janet: I’m going to go with Boston’s debut album that had a huge impact on me when it first came out. And like you were saying, if there’s songs that provoke certain emotions out of me, that’s one of them. Long Time, every time I hear that, I go back to a time in my life where I was having a rough time. And I just remember listening to that album nonstop and that song strikes a chord with me, and Aerosmith’s Toys In The Attic. Mikki: What are your plans for the future? Obviously you’re very limited getting out, promoting and doing things for the album. What are you doing to counteract that? Janet: Actually, and we haven’t announced this yet to anybody, we’ve hinted at it, but tomorrow we have a brand new music video that’s going to come out for the official second single of the new album! Justin: You know, I think probably just continue to demo new ideas and take advantage of this time and just make the best of it and write and write. Janet: And then make more videos. May as well. We can’t go play live. People can’t come and see you. So we may as well be cranking out some YouTube videos to kind of counteract that. And hopefully, next year we can get back out there. We’re hoping that we can get across the pond in the spring. Hopefully, you’ll let us in the country! Mikki: It’d be great to see you in concert! Janet: Yeah, we have some stuff booked, but we don’t know if it’s going to come off or not. Justin: Yeah, we do tentatively. We’re supposed to be back over there in March. Mikki: That’d be really good. Is there anything you’d like to say to your fans? Janet: Well, thanks for all the support and love, the reaction to Synergy has been absolutely heart-warming and amazing! Thanks for the support and hope to see you on the road sometime soon, as soon as it’s safe. Mikki: I think the fans would like to say thank you to you too for the music. I know I would! Janet: Thanks a lot Mike. I hope we can meet up at a show and go for a beer real soon! Janet Gardner - Synergy is out now via Pavement Entertainment Listen to Mikki Smith every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday on Hard Rock Hell Radio

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WORDS: JOHN ELLIS

Redline released the critically acclaimed Gods and Monsters last year, and were looking forward to an action-packed 2020 – and we all know what then happened in the world. HRH Mag caught up with the guys to find out how that affected them as a band, and how they plan to move forward in 2021, and what happened when they toured with the legendary Saxon and The Quireboys…

Hi guys, good to meet you, how do we find you today? All good thanks! Missing the vibrant gig scene and not looking forward to having to eat all these Scotch Eggs for a substantial pint lol!! For the uninitiated tell us a little about the background of the band. Biddi: Well we got Kez Taylor on vocals, sometimes known as ‘Shepherds Pie or Powerpipes’! Down The Front Media coined those ones when reviewing us at a Planet Rock Fest! Kez did a stint with The Handsome Beasts for a while before joining us. Ade Yeomans, mad axeman who was once recruited to be an extra on ‘The Vikings’ (you

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get the picture!) is a founder member along with myself and we’ve drunk and pillaged in a few bands together over the years. Steve ‘Reg’ Hill on bass….he’s on a hellhound train to achieve a bass sound that will stun buffalo! He’s called Reg because he was in the Starfighters with Stevie Young (so too many Steve’s lol )…and, newest recruit Chris Basener AKA The Shredmeister! (a graduate from The Munich Guitar Academy), Chris has written books on guitar technique and released a couple of great solo albums under his own name, clever F*****. And little old me, Mark Biddiscombe (Biddi) on the pots n pans, hanging around with the real musos! I started off in Chainsaw, then a stint with Cumbrian metallers Bitches Sin.

INTERVIEW - REDLINE It doesn’t seem 13 years since the release of the album Ignition, have you had any line-up changes and how has your sound evolved? Ade: We released Ignition on our own label Antarctic Records back in 2007. We were struggling to maintain a stable line-up and eventually split for a while and then reformed when Escape Music offered us an opportunity to record an album with them in 2011. We recorded a few tracks off Ignition along with some new material. During this process, we had a couple more line-up changes and re-recorded the album Vice which was released in 2012 on the Escape label, and also the Rubicon Records label in Japan. The album was very well received, especially in Germany and the USA. The overall approach and sound of Redline has always been traditional balls to the wall British hard rock / heavy metal, and in general, critics have always put us in the same bag as Saxon, Priest, Dio…although we always felt that maybe we weren’t quite as heavy as that, and we were leaning more towards traditional hard rock. Escape Music were looking for another album from us and we felt that we hadn’t fully evolved stylistically…we were looking for a more aggressive edge. At this point we were fortunate to meet up with Chris Basener, me and him really hit it off and I think his style of playing gave the sound the attack we were looking for. We have different styles but we combine well I think. It’s all got a bit heavier and darker in approach. This was the formula we wanted to go on and write Gods And Monsters. You released the album Gods and Monsters in late 2019 to critical claim, what were your plans for 2020 and how has the current situation changed how you look to the future of recording? Kez: As you say, we got the album out at the end of last year, had some great reviews and things were going well. We were lining up a series of mini-tours in Germany and Greece as well as some Scandinavian Festivals and a bunch of headline shows around the UK… then Covid! FFS!! We definitely want to tour Europe and the UK as soon as we can. There has been such destruction in the entertainment industry, sadly some of these venues and gigs just won’t be there any more, but we are confident with the never say die attitude of all the bands, venues and outfits like HRH, we will get back to where we were. Chris: I think more and more recording, or at least songwriting and preproduction of tracks will take place in home studios and band members collaborating via the internet. It’s cost and time effective, obviously due to Covid there has had to be a lot of working from home lately, and bands like ourselves are sometimes scattered all across the UK and even different countries so online is a way forward for us. As always, this needs to be followed by some intensive blocks of rehearsal to get the vibe and the power going to really mould the songs into shape. King of the Mountain is used on television at the end of the Isle of Mann TT races, how were you approached for the use of your music? Biddi: We originally wrote King Of The Mountain as a tribute to the TT Races back in 2006 as we are all bikers and huge fans of the races. The song was actually on our first independently released album, Ignition. It got a good amount of radio play, but the TV production company at the time were not interested in using rock music as part of their broadcasts. North One Television took over the rights to film the TT Races in 2009 and expressed interest from what they heard radio wise. We had a new line up so sent them a re-recorded version with Kez on vocals. They loved it! Used on all their TV coverage, it became the anthem for the TT! Gutted to hear it’s been cancelled next year due to Covid…we were scheduled to play on the island. We headlined there twice at The Villa Marina and it was such a blast…Bikes, Beer, Heavy Metal..we were like kids in the sweetshop! There is even a pinball machine called Full Throttle that featured the TT Races and had King Of The Mountain and a load of other songs of Vice as the gameplay soundtrack, it was manufactured in the UK by Highway Pinball. I think Ade actually got the high score on it once! What can you tell me about your approach to songwriting, traditionally are you a band that jams out new ideas together or do you each bring individual ideas that you work on? Chris: A bit of both really. We wrote the last album at ‘Regfield’, this is Reg’s studio, we call it Regfield because we went onto record Gods And Monsters at the legendary Rockfield Studios with Nick Brine who produced The Darkness. We tend to work ideas out there and jam them through, using a Roland kit and small combos so we can keep the levels down and discuss elements of what we are doing. I tend to put down a lot of ideas at my home studio and share them with the guys before

kicking them around down at Regfield so we have some strong starting points. Ade will also come in with a bunch of cool riffs to try out… Biddi with some lyrics, Kez with some melody lines and Reg looking at helping to arrange various sections of the songs and of course, trying to stun some buffalos! LOL!! Once we’ve got the main bones of it sorted, we’ll go on down to Robannas Studios in Birmingham …and blast it out with the pedal to the metal to put some meat on it! After that, we do a pre-production recording of the tracks. This is useful - with Gods And Monsters, we were able to send the songs to Nick Brine so he knew what to expect from us at Rockfield. What are your favourite bands that you’ve shared the stage with? Reg: Undoubtably Saxon and The Quireboys. We did a 14-date UK Tour with these guys and it was, as you would imagine…mayhem! Biff is such a nice guy, really helped us as did the rest of the band, he even wore a Redline T-Shirt when we played our ‘home gig’ at Wolverhampton. But he’s got a real wicked sense of humour. Opening night of the tour, after we came off stage he invited us to get stuck into all the pizzas laid out in the green room - help yourselves lads! Unbeknown to us this was the entire Saxon crews nosebag for when they kicked back at the end of the nights load out. Hungry roadies? Ho Ho…dangerous! But we got ‘em plenty of beers and late takeaways so all was good! Front-of-House gave us an awesome sound, Jacky Lehmann Saxon’s soundguy was really into it and mixed some audio for a few of our live videos from the tour. Then there’s The Quireboys…well what can you say! The party truly never stops with those guys. Spike is well y’know…Spike! We got him pissed on Rattler one night and he fell off the stage and crocked his ankle. Clutching a walking stick he told the crowd at the following gig that he got his injury playing footy against Saxon….my arse!! LOL! Great blokes, great times! Kez; Yeah it was really something else…did a duet of Wheels Of Steel onstage with Biff…bloody amazing. In the scheme of things we’ve been lucky enough to support a whole host of some of our favourite bands including Y&T, Bernie Torme, Argent, Toseland, Martina Edoff…really missing the gig scene now! As difficult as it is to predict the future, what plans do you have for 2021? Biddi: We’ve got some ideas for new songs in the pipeline and we are going to the record these next year. A couple of singles, an EP, an album. It’s difficult to get any real traction going at the moment because of the continual changing of regulations due to the virus. When all travel restrictions are lifted and social distancing relaxed then we can put our shoulders to the wheel and get things moving. We are hoping to play our songs to the HRH faithful in 2021. We played one of the early HRH Festivals in Minehead and it was totally awesome!!. There are no better indoor festivals in the UK. If you have never been…what have you been doing?! Get yourselves to the next one!! On that note, we really want to get some tours sorted out. Europe especially.. as our music has always gone down well over there…so if any promoters or agents are reading this…please get in touch! Are there any new bands that our readers may not know that you’d recommend? Gin Annie, Skam, King Creature, Collateral, and if you like a touch of AC/DC…you really gotta check out Burnt Out Wreck….some really great stuff out there! Thanks for catching up with me today, any last words? Last words? Sounds ominous! LOL !!! Well…what can we say…it’s been a real joy to chat, a big shout out to HRH Mag and all in the HRH Watchtower who have kept the rock’n’roll flame burning through these dark months. Let’s all get rocking in 2021…like we’ve all had enough of 2020 that’s for sure! If we all survive one Scotch Egg per pint we’ll see you down the front making some noise!!! Redline – Gods and Monsters is out Now via Escape Music

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WORDS: ADAM KENNEDY

Susan Santos Award-winning and critically acclaimed guitarist Susan Santos recently unveiled her incredible new 4-track EP “The L.A. Sessions”. Susan’s latest offering follows hot on the heels of her 2019 album “No U Turn” which saw the Spanish blues/rock artist win “Best Performer” at the European Blues Awards and “Best Album - Female” at the LA Critics’ Awards. Susan recorded “The L.A. Sessions” during December 2019 in Los Angeles, California. All songs were written by Susan and feature Fabrizio Grossi on bass and Tony Morra on drums. HRH Mag recently caught up with Susan Santos at home in Spain to find out a little bit more about her latest release. Your EP is called “The LA Sessions”. Of course, it was recorded out in Los Angeles. Was it a conscious decision that you wanted to go out and record in LA? Were you touring out there at the time? A few years ago, I decided that I wanted to record outside of Spain with musician friends because it’s a new experience. But the thing is, last summer I met Fabrizio Grossi, who is the producer of the EP, at a festival where we played together. He invited me to play a song on stage with the band Supersonic Blues Machine – where I played with Billy Gibbons. And since then, we’ve been in touch and I listened to the albums he has produced for a lot of important people. I thought that he understands the music that I love, and it could be perfect because he’s an amazing guy and a great musician. And so, I said, okay, Fabrizio I want to go there and record a few songs. Each of the songs on the EP appears to be set in LA. Besides the name, it feels like there’s an LA theme running throughout the songs as well. Did you have those songs written before you went out to LA or did they kind of come together whilst you were in the studio? Last year, it was a normal year, and I had a lot of gigs in Spain. Sometimes, I wrote songs in my hotel room before soundcheck. And, I said

- yes, I want to record it next month. The thing is I wrote those songs so close to the recording. I wrote more songs as well - I went out to record the entire album. But I have other new songs that will maybe on the next album or the next single or maybe next year. The release features Fabrizio Grossi from Supersonic Blues Machine. Like you were just saying, he plays on bass on the EP as well as recording, mixing and engineering The LA Sessions. What was it like working with Fabrizio and what did he bring to the table? The first thing is that he understands perfectly the way I want to a song to sound. He understands that I want this sound for my guitar. I think that it’s so important that a producer makes a good ambience in the studio because we had never worked together. It was so easy, and I think maybe next time we can work again together. Do you have a favourite track on the EP and if so which song and why? Maybe “Somebody to Love”, because it’s a different song from my entire career. It is something like a blues shuffle, but it has a taste maybe of - I don’t say Spanish music, but you know, there is something different in the minor key that maybe makes it sound more exotic. “The L.A. Sessions” is out now on 7” inch vinyl and digitally.

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Matt Stocks is no doubt a name most of our readers will be familiar with – the writer / presenter and DJ includes Kerrang! Radio, Metal Hammer, Classic Rock and Scuzz TV on his impressive CV. More recently, Matt has been busy hosting his podcast, Life In The Stocks. He is also set to release his first book, Life in the Stocks: Veracious Conversations with Musicians & Creatives via US-based Rare Bird - as this issue of HRH Mag goes to print.

Matt explains more about his latest endeavour and brings us a no-holdsbarred taste of what his book has in store. -------------------It’s no secret that 2020 has been, well, a bit of a s**t year. I’m sure I speak for everyone there. One thing this year has taught me, though, is to be grateful for what we do have, and I’m thankful to have my health and my sanity—for the large part—intact. Something else that I’m extremely grateful for is this: the week before the UK went into national lockdown back in March, I was offered the opportunity to turn my iTunes chart-topping DIY podcast, Life In The Stocks, into a book. It’s all thanks to the fine folk at Rare Bird: an LAbased publishing house that have put out writing by the likes of Sean Penn, Chuck Palahnuik, and Keith Buckley from Every Time I Die — to name just a few. It’s actually thanks to Keith Buckley that the book deal came about in the first place. Keith and I did a Live Q&A together last summer, to talk about his two books out on Rare Bird: Scale and Watch. I published the audio from that evening as a podcast episode, and Tyson Cornell, the head of Rare Bird, heard the episode and loved it. He fast became a fan of the show and went on to listen to around fifty episodes, before reaching out to me in March to express interest in turning my podcast into a series of books. With a global pandemic looming, the opportunity could not have come at a better time—I still haven’t had a paid gig since March—and I got to work right away on what would eventually become my first book: Life In The Stocks: Veracious Conversations with Musicians & Creatives (Volume One). Below is a short extract, taken from the first chapter, Adolescence. I hope you enjoy it. If you do, please consider buying the book - it would make my year! Take care of each other out there!

CJ RAMONE—RAMONES, SOLO ARTIST CJ: I was born in Queens, New York. My dad worked at a gas station and my mom was a stay-at-home mom. We were a very blue-collar family and we lived in a neighborhood called Fresh Meadows, in an apartment building set right on a major highway. We lived there until I was about two, so I don’t have a lot of memories of it, but I’ve seen all the pictures and everything like that. We eventually moved out to Long Island, and that’s pretty much where we set down our roots. The town that we settled in—Deer Park—was right next to an aircraft factory where everybody in the area worked. My dad worked there for a while, and I started working there almost directly out of high school. Then, while Ronald Reagan was in office, the Air Traffic Controllers went on strike and Reagan gave the companies permission to fire them and hire new people, which kind of weakened the unions. Long Island’s entire economy at that point was basically aerospace and fishing: either you worked on fishing boats and clamming boats, or you worked for the aerospace industry, or at one of the machine shops that supported the aerospace industry. All the people who worked for these companies were union workers with good-paying jobs for blue-collar people. But when all factories shut down, the companies packed up and moved down south to right-to-work states where there were no unions, and I lost my job. When the factories closed down, the jobs in Long Island just dried up and we went into a

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severe depression. It was really bad: at one point on the main street in my town just about every storefront was closed down. MATT: Is that what pushed you to join the Marines? CJ: Yeah. I woke up one morning, I was twenty-one years old and working as a landscaper, and I said to myself, “I’m not going to live and die in my hometown. There’s no way.” And my dad’s family was a military family: my dad and all his brothers served. So it was a pretty easy decision. I went down, signed up, and when I got the date that I was set to leave for boot camp, I finally told my parents I’d enlisted. My mom was totally against it, though. MATT: How come? CJ: She found out she was pregnant whilst my dad was in the navy, and it would’ve been an older sister, but the baby died. My dad went UA [unauthorized absence] and deserted from the navy to be at home with my mom and bury my sister, and he got into a lot of trouble for it. My mom always had a bad taste in her mouth about the military after that. MINA CAPUTO—LIFE OF AGONY, SOLO ARTIST MINA: I grew up in New York City. I’m from an old-school Italian upbringing. I lived with my grandparents and my grandfather fought in World War II. I never knew my mom: she OD’d at the age of twenty, when I was one. And my dad was a professional junkie his whole life. He died in 2002, at the age of fifty-six. MATT: Was their connection drugs? Is that how they met? MINA: I’ve heard many truths about their life, and I still don’t know what to believe. I’ve heard my father’s view, my father’s sister’s view, and my father’s brother’s view of who was who, and who behaved how. Every once in a while, I think I can still taste the trauma of what I went through in my mother’s belly, and how she felt as a human being. And I basically mothered and fathered my father throughout his life, by putting him up and paying for his wake and his funeral. But he was an amazing man. I don’t wish to deceive people into thinking that I’m hating on my dad. I love my dad very much. He was an incredible artist. He built boat engines and jet parts in the Air Force, and he could come into the backyard with a nut and a bolt and a month later have a HarleyDavidson built. He ran with the Hells Angels, too. I had Hells Angels in my backyard every Sunday, which was surreal and amazing. He also painted murals, he pinstriped, and he tattooed in jail. He was amazing. I think he’s where I get a lot of my creative side from, only I use it to write songs and poetry. JESSE MALIN—HEART ATTACK, D GENERATION, SOLO ARTIST JESSE: My mom passed away when I was in my late teens and my sister was in her early teens. She was a single mom, and she was forty-three when she died from breast cancer. There was a five-year lead-up, too. I’d been living in the city prior to that. I left Queens to be in Manhattan and do my music, and I lived in my rehearsal studio and crashed with my friends. I wanted to be downtown because you could be freethinking, it was cheap to have a space back then, and there were cool clubs and movie theaters everywhere. I also preferred all that to going to school in a mainstream middle-class borough. So at that point I was in the city doing the band Heart Attack, just touring and putting out records. When my mom got sick, it was a real shock and it was very upsetting. During those five years, I had to move home to help out and take care of her, and it just got worse and worse. When she eventually passed, I stuck around to take care of my sister, and we had to figure out where we were going to live. We go through these things in life, I guess. And it was a difficult time, but we got through it. TOMMY VICTOR—PRONG, DANZIG, MINISTRY TOMMY: There’s a Spike Lee movie called Summer of Sam that perfectly captures what New York City was like in the 1970s. It was pretty bad back then. There was an onslaught of street violence, graffiti, and drug addiction, and that was all during the time that I grew up. MATT: Do you remember being exposed to all that as a young kid? TOMMY: Absolutely. Growing up in Queens, I saw all of it. I used to frequent bars at a very young age, and back then it was unheard of for anyone to be sober.

MATT: How old were you when you started drinking? TOMMY: Probably about eleven. That was what everyone was doing, for the most part. The smart kids, and the ones who had parents who were watching what they were doing were shut indoors and you never saw them. They were in their houses and apartments, studying and paying attention, and they were the ones who probably succeeded in life. Everyone else fell into a whole other life entirely. MATT: What do you remember about your childhood? TOMMY: My childhood was pretty tumultuous. I’m the youngest of five, and everyone else got out of there and went off to college, so I was sort of left on my own. My mother was the only one around, but she was working all the time, and whenever I wanted to leave the house I’d have to look out the window to see who was around, just so I could try and avoid getting my ass kicked. I was constantly paranoid about getting beaten up by the older kids in my neighborhood. I had this Lou Reed T-shirt when I was about twelve or thirteen, and I got so much shit for wearing it. They’d all say, “Who the hell is that? You faggot!” I’d even get shit for wearing a Deep Purple T-shirt because no one knew who the hell they were. People don’t understand what New York was like back then. You really had to earn your cool. It was tough down there: I was under constant attack from everybody. CJ RAMONE MATT: Were there a lot of drugs in New York when you were growing up? CJ: Absolutely. Just about everybody I knew smoked weed, took hallucinogens, and did heroin and cocaine—the whole gambit. It was all available. MATT: It was obviously a very different city back then, too. What are your memories of being a teenager in New York? CJ: I remember New York City when it was really bad, when it was on its knees. In the early 1970s, after President Nixon was impeached and President Ford came in, New York City was completely broken and falling apart. They’d stopped picking up garbage and things got really bad. There’s a famous headline from the New York Post from that time, that says, “Ford to City: Drop Dead.” Apparently, that’s literally what he’d said. New York was just a wasteland back then; parts of it looked like a warzone. A lot of buildings had been vacated and were falling down, and a lot of them had been knocked down and burned down. That’s kind of my earliest memories of New York. But there was still something cool and gritty about it that I was always attracted to. Matt Stocks - Life in the Stocks: Veracious Conversations with Musicians & Creatives – is out shortly via US-based Rare Bird.

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I N T E RV I EW - C O L D HA R B OU R

Coldharbour are a 3-piece from Norfolk who like nothing better than hitting the rehearsal room and creating metal and prog-infused grunge rock. Your editor Toby spoke primarily with guitarist and singer Tom as they enjoy the great feedback their latest single is generating. HRH: Hi Guys, good to meet you! For the uninitiated tell us a little about the background of the band... Tom: Well, we are a 3-piece band from Norwich, Norfolk. We formed in 2018 and started out as just myself (Tom Brown, Guitar/Vocals) and Ian Arnold (Drums) with Alex Coe (Bass) joining a little later. Our first gig was at the B2 in Norwich, which is one of Norwich’s major grassroots venues. We gradually expanded to other venues in the East Anglia area such as The Waterfront in Norwich and The Bull in Colchester. In 2019 we released our debut 6-track EP Subject & Symmetry which garnered attention not only in our local area but also in other parts of the UK. It even got the attention of our local BBC Introducing who invited us on for an interview. Our sound is the combination of our different musical backgrounds, combining grunge, metal and prog. HRH: Your latest single, Silence is Deafening, is receiving some much-deserved attention – including on Hard Rock Hell Radio. How do you think your sound has evolved since 2019’s Subject and Symmetry? Tom: I would say our sound has become more cohesive. When we were writing the EP we were still learning to write together and finding the right balance between our different influences. With Silence Is Deafening, which is the first single from the album we have been writing, it felt more natural and organic for us. This song (as well as other new songs we’ve written) have come together more effortlessly. When we listen back over the EP you can tell the writing was a little disjointed at times and we could tell who was the main driving force behind particular songs. With the writing for this album, everything felt like a much more unified effort. HRH: It’s clear that your sound has a big grunge element who, as a band and individually, are your biggest musical influences? Tom - I was heavily inspired by the ‘90s grunge sound, particularly bands like Smashing Pumpkins, Silverchair, Nirvana and Alice In Chains. Alex - For me, my influences stretch out more on the prog side, when it comes to writing my basslines it’s bands such as Mastodon, Rush and Dream Theater. Ian - I’m into a little bit of everything but I lean definitely more towards metal. My biggest drumming influence is Matt Garstka (Animals As Leaders) but band wise I’m mainly influenced by Lamb Of God, Tool and Alien Ant Farm. HRH: Your Facebook page has the band name with ‘UK ‘ after it – I feel there’s a tale to tell here… Tom: I’m sad to say there isn’t. We added the UK to our social media platforms because there is an American band with the same name and to avoid confusion. Sadly this has not worked as we still occasionally get messages from people thinking that we’re them. I wonder sometimes if they get messages from people thinking that they’re us!

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WORDS: TOBY WINCH

HRH: What’s your approach to songwriting? Do you just jam in the rehearsal room and see what materialises or do you meticulously write parts in advance? Tom: A little bit of both. Some songs start out as just one riff and we’ll jam it out in the rehearsal room, building it up gradually working out all the parts. Other songs, either myself or Alex will write away from the studio in a much more meticulous way and demo at home - in order to send out to the rest of the band ahead of rehearsal. Whichever way we write a song all three of us have an active role in the writing, even down to the lyrics. HRH: What are your favourite bands that you’ve shared the stage with? Tom: This is a hard one, cause there have been so many awesome bands that we have played with. One band though that does stand out is King Kraken. We played with those guys last year in Chesterfield and they have such an amazing stage presence and sound, we were completely blown away. Another band worth mentioning is Unit 33 from Colchester, who were energetic and powerful. They really made us feel welcome the first time we came down to play in Colchester. HRH: As difficult as it is to predict the future, what plans do you have for 2021? Well this year has definitely been pretty awful for almost all musicians and we’ve definitely missed the time in the studio. Getting the album finished and recorded is going to be our main priority now. Obviously we will still be looking to play gigs. Hopefully as and when restrictions are reduced, we’ll be able to travel more and reach a wider audience. HRH: Are there any new bands that our readers may not know that you’d recommend? Tom: I would recommend some the bands in our local music scene who we are also good friends with such as; Kamensko, a stoner band in the same vien as Kyuss. Scarlet, an indie rock band who like us combine varied influences from Pink Floyd to Evanescence. Arms To Oblivion, old school metal with a sound similar to Killswitch Engage. Apollo Stands, a metal band combining old school and modern metal influences. Last but not least, Hyperfox, a punk electro dub trio with some killer tracks. HRH: A loaded question if ever there was one - if HRH did a grunge based event and you were asked to appear, who else would you like to see play – especially the headliners? Tom: That’s an easy one, Seether for a headliner. Although we all have different musical backgrounds we all cross over in our musical tastes. For a grunge based event, Seether is one of the bands all three of us love. Other bands we would want to share the stage with would be Hands Off Gretel and Spidervayne to name a couple. The Velveteers would be another great band to play with, we supported them last year in Bedford as part of their UK tour and it was an amazing show. HRH: Thanks for catching up with me today, any last words? Tom: Thank you for chatting to us, it’s been fun. To everyone out there please check us out online and hopefully you’ll come say hi to us if we’re playing a show near you!

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I N T E RV I EW - C R O S T PAT H S

Unstoppable alt-metal outfit CROSTPATHS continue their ascension with the launch of their sophomore EP, Mutated, which came out on 27th November, and made an early name for themselves with the release of last year’s self-titled debut EP. Consisting of Ritchie Murray Jack (Lead Vocals), Owain Lewis (Bass/ Vocals), Michael Edwards (Lead Guitars), and James Mason (Drums/Percussion), they have recently signed to Enso Music Management. Recently, the band’s focus has firmly shifted to their thunderous new EP, Mutated. HRH Mag’s John Ellis cornered the lads for a bit of a chin-wag… Hi guys, good to catch up with you today! For the uninitiated tell us a little more about the band... While growing up in Gastonia, North Carolina, Fred Durst took an interest in breakdancing, hip hop, punk rock and heavy metal. He began to rap, skate, beatbox and DJ. While mowing lawns and working as a tattoo artist, he developed an idea for a band that combined elements of rock and hip hop... Ah bugger, that was Limp Bizkit’s Wikipedia page! Damn copy & paste! As for us, we’re an alt-metal / nu-core band from Kent, England. Dropped our debut EP in late 2019 and we’re just about to follow it up with another one that’s basically the same but better! Great to see you have the EP ‘Mutated” out on the 27th, how have you found ways around the obvious difficulties this year has thrown at the industry? To be honest, that’s an ever evolving answer. At the time of the first lockdown we’d almost finished the EP, ‘Rampage’ just needed vocals and then we would’ve been set to put it out late spring/early summer! Instead we ended up reaching out to some local artists we knew in the Kent scene who remixed our first EP so the content could keep flowing. We stayed in touch via Zoom, like the rest of the world has been, and managed to squeeze in a couple of rehearsals as restrictions were lifted. How do you engage your audience socially now and get the message out there? That’s another one that’s evolving as we speak. We’re a very new band who are still trying to grow our audience let along engage with them. Interviews like this are a great way for people to get to know us a little better, alongside podcast/radio interviews etc. and of course our social media channels.

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P A T

WORDS: JOHN ELLIS

How do you feel about adapting to newer ways of putting on a live show and captivating an audience? We’ve actually turned down some socially distanced gigs as we just don’t feel like it’d work for our band. Full respect to everybody who’s persevered with putting them on though. The longer this goes on the more we’re considering the potential of live-streamed performances but we’d only want to do that if it’s to a high standard that could try to go some way towards replicating that “live show” atmosphere (not filmed on our phones in the corner of a rehearsal room). I really like the energy of the single “Rampage” how do you replicate what you do on stage in the confines of a studio? Funnily enough, we’ve often asked ourselves the reverse question. “How will this sound live?” Our first EP was written and recorded entirely in a recording studio, the whole time we focused on ensuring the tracks were going to be energetic and fun to perform on stage. For ‘Mutated’ a lot of it was written more traditionally through rehearsal room jams. ‘Rampage’ specifically was written around the time we played our first couple of shows back in Feb/March, right before lockdown! I can hear Papa Roach and a very cool early NuMetal vibe on the EP, what bands do draw influence from and what music are you listening to that may help define your sound? Papa Roach are certainly one of them, so thank you! We wear our influences on our sleeves so most people will probably recognise Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, Skindred, and Fever 333 in elements of what we do. We’ve been lucky enough to receive some airplay on BBC Radio Kent recently and the DJ described us as “a hybrid lovechild of Rage Against the Machine and Enter Shikari.” We’ll certainly take that! So where do you go next? Sainsbury’s probably. Weekly shop needs doing. I always ask bands to recommend new music that we can look out for and even play on Hard Rock Hell Radio, who do you recommend?Pulverise, Dohny Jep, Neshiima, Hessian Renegade, Caine, NO:IR, Struck/Down... We could be here all day! Any last words? To the man dressed in camouflage, on crutches, who stole my wallet: You can hide but you can’t run!

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A L BUM R EV I EWS

METALLICA - S&M2 NEIL “NOT” COGGINS 20 years after the release of the divisive (Metallica? Divisive? Hahaha!!) double live album S&M, the legendary metal machine once again performed two concerts with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra to create this huge beast, a package spreading over two and a half hours. The original S&M was an ambitious project to say the least, with the famed, late composer Michael Kamen at the helm. Here he is replaced by Edwin Outwater and Michael Tilson Thomas for a selection of tracks spanning a 37 year recording career. The opening ‘Ecstasy Of Gold’ (performed by orchestra) and ‘Call Of Ktulu’ could easily have been lifted from the first S&M, and early on it’s apparent that this affair is as much as a tribute to the original event rather than a whole new take on band and orchestra, with the symphonic parts being identical to original. ‘For Whom The Bell Tolls’ sounds huge though, as it should, and remains one of the prime Metallica cuts that really benefits from an orchestral backing. From then on, it’s a case of finding out which tracks works well and which don’t in this setting - happily, the majority do. Of those that do work well, unsurprisingly, it’s the more mid-tempo material that goes over well. ‘The Outlaw Torn’ is an unsung hero in the Metallica back catalogue and here it sounds simply magnificent, with James Hetfield in fine voice to boot. Three tracks from latest album ‘Hardwired’ make the cut, ‘Halo On Fire’ being another highlight of the album - the final 2 and a half minutes being amongst some of Metallica’s finest moments ever. Seriously! The second act of the show is where things start to go wrong however. There are bold ideas to be sure, but why they made it past the planning stage is a mystery. ‘Scythian Suite’ and ‘Iron Foundry’ are not new

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Metallica tracks, but classical pieces reworked by the orchestra. The latter sees the band leap out of their comfort zone and join the orchestra in what some may see as innovative (spoiler alert: Mekong Delta were doing this over 30 years ago) and which plainly doesn’t work. Kudos for them for trying though, maybe a different choice of opus may have been better. Speaking of comfort zones and being as far out of them as possible, Hetfield then performs ‘The Unforgiven III’ alone with orchestra. Watching the Blu-ray it’s evident that even the frontman of the biggest band in metal can still show nerves - in truth, he does pull it off but it’s a long-winded distraction that nobody really asked for at the end of the day. Another ill-thought-out idea is in the form of an acoustic ‘All Within My Hands’ (the most intense song on St Anger having its soul ripped out here), while there is an amazing version of ‘Anaesthesia (Pulling Teeth)’ performed by orchestra double bassist Scott Pingel. ‘One’ is as outstanding as ever, as is ‘Master Of Puppets’ and even ‘Nothing Else Matters’ is bearable. Predictably they finish with ‘Enter Sandman’ (no ‘Battery’ this time - booo!) to round off a real rollercoaster of an experience. When it works, it works very well but there is far too much filler here. Why they ignored ‘Fade To Black’ and ‘The Thing That Should Not Be’ (both tracks should work great) is a mystery but as a whole, for a loyal Metallica fan, the whole package is still enjoyable. The concert film itself is awesome to look at (apart from the crowd shots of people who look like they should be at the opera) and sonically the mix of metal and orchestra can’t be faulted. But ultimately it is still slightly flawed, one lies in hope that ‘Dyers Eve’ will be on S&M 3 come 2039… Metallica S&M2 is out now via Blackened Recordings Neil presents Full Metal Racket and The C60 Mixtape Show on Hard Rock Hell Radio

A L BUM R EV I EWS ANAAL NATHRAKH - ENDARKENMENT NEIL “NOT” COGGINS There is the old mantra - if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. There are plenty of bands that apply this mantra successfully, others not quite so. The beauty of Birmingham duo Anaal Nathrakh (named after the incantation from Merlin in the film ‘Excalibur’) is you know exactly what you’re going to get, yet at the same time their grinding blackened noise throws up enough curve balls to keep everything fresh and innovative despite not deviating from their core sound. ‘Endarkenment’ is their 11th full length in their 21 year career to date - and instead of becoming grumpy old men in slippers they carry their rage over into one of metal’s most intense and unforgiving outfits. The thing that sets them apart from their peers is of course vocalist Dave Hunt (AKA VITRIOL) and his soaring vocal melodies which on paper shouldn’t work in extreme metal but Nathrakh are not your average extreme metal band. ‘Libidinous (A Pig With Cocks In Its Eyes)’ and ‘The Age Of Starlight Ends’ are typical Nathrakh ragers - pummelling drum machine beats, screeches, guttural growling and screams that would make King Diamond blush, with some stellar lead work from maestro 6 stringer Mick Kenny. Listen carefully below the thundering blast beats and you can hear subtle melodies reminiscent of Dimmu Borgir and other premier league black metal acts but the symphonic noise is as unrelenting throughout the rest of this 10 track affair. ‘Feeding The Death Machine’ starts off with a Gothenburg melo-death style riff akin to early Dark Tranquillity, before another of Hunt’s trademark choruses. Intensity is the key here, just like every other Nathrakh album, but holding the listener’s attention over the ten tracks is what makes them special. Tracks like ‘Create Art, Though The World May Perish’ demonstrate just why their formula works so well and also showcases that Hunt is maybe one of the most underrated metal vocalists also. Closing track ‘Requiem’ even finds room for an acoustic passage and full on metal shredding. Fans of Nathrakh will no doubt lap this up, any newcomers to their wall of noise will either fall into one of two camps: either run off terrified, yearning for the comfort of their Alter Bridge albums or discovering one of their potentially new favourite bands. ‘Endarkenment’ is a blackened joy to behold from start to finish and one of the best things about it is being safe in the knowledge that

its successor will either be as good as, if not better, than this album. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! Anaal Nathrakh – Endarkenment is out now via Metal Blade Records

Neil “Not” Coggins presents Full Metal Racket & The C60 Mixtape show on Hard Rock Hell Radio

LIK - MISANTHROPIC BREED NEIL “NOT” COGGINS

There are few things in life more satisfying than listening to an oldschool sounding death metal band going for it full pelt with their Boss HM-2 pedals on full distortion. It may be 30 years since Entombed first released ‘Left Hand Path’ on an unsuspecting world but their legacy still lives on in bands like Entrails and fellow Stockholm noiseniks LIK (meaning ‘corpse’ in Swedish...which is nice). ‘Misanthropic Breed’ is the quartet’s 3rd studio full length and follows on very nicely from 2018’s ‘Carnage’ which really turned heads in the OSDM scene. The band members have earned their chops over the years playing in bands such as Bloodbath, Face Down, Witchery, Grave and Katatonia and have used those experiences to create this meaty slab of prime Swedish death metal. The opening one-two punch of ‘The Weird’ and ‘Decay’ fly by in a fuzzed up flurry before slowing down somewhat on the highlight of the album ‘Funeral Anthem’. LIK are obviously not afraid to apply the brakes to great effect, the grinding mid-tempo riff ensuring that this song may become a future death metal classic. See kids, not everything has to be a hundred miles per hour! ‘Female Fatal To The Flesh’ is another slow, detuned monster with a riff as heavy as a really heavy thing. After the short instrumental interlude of the title track, ‘Flesh Frenzy’ comes thrashing out of the blocks followed by ‘Morbid Fascination’ - sure to get the sleepiest of moshpits flailing with a bludgeoning opening riff and driving rhythms. The whole affair is rounded off nicely with ‘Becoming’ featuring some neat lead work. In this day and age it’s highly unlikely that LIK will ever hit the dizzy heights of their peers like Entombed, Unleashed and Dismember but that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve any success. In a world of death metal bands splintering into different factions (*cough* Entombed and Morbid Angel), dabbling with dubious industrial sounds (looking at you again Morbid Angel!) and churning out uninspired, tedious atrocities (Six Feet Under take a bow) it’s refreshing to hear bands like Entrails and LIK carry

on the Swedish death metal sound with aplomb - and not only that, but release great albums. And not just great, but fun to listen to. A real treat for those desperate to live in 1991 again. LIK - MISANTHROPIC BREED is out now via Metal Blade Records Neil “Not” Coggins presents Full Metal Racket & The C60 Mixtape Show, on Hard Rock Hell Radio

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A L BUM R EV I EWS DEVILDRIVER - DEALING WITH DEMONS I DENNIS JARMAN Hallelujah! Devildriver are back and barking at their belligerent best with their colossal new studio album Dealing With Demons I. Currently available and released via Napalm Records it sees band founder Dez Fafara and his four cohorts at the top of their game with their first new original material since the 2016 release Trust No One. In that four year gap they released an interesting album of country covers and Dez reformed the godawful Coal Chamber but thankfully this new album has banished those demons! It’s Part one of two albums and Dez has stated in the press release that the second one will be even heavier. He formed the band in Santa Barbara, California in 2002 and the band name comes from the bells that Italian witches used to drive evil forces away but fast forward to the present day as this latest release could do the same. It’s their ninth studio album since their self-titled 2003 debut. This new turbulent ten track terrorizer kicks off with ‘Keep Away From Me’. An eerie intro explodes into life with a pummelling groove. Dez still has that primeval roar and the kick drumming from Austin D’Amond is earth-shaking! ‘Vengeance Is Clear’ lives up to its title as the guitars of Mike Spreitzer and Neal Tiemann writhe, churn and crunch hypnotically over another visceral lead vocal. It’s all devilishly ghoulish fun that shifts into a metronomic midsection to make it even more devastating. Loads of venom is spat out with glee throughout ‘Nest Of Vipers’. Touches of melody add a sense of calm amongst the mayhem as Dez asks “Let me ask you. If I died for you, would you die for me?”. Snare and kick drums propel the unhinged rage of ‘Iona’ to the finish line as the guitars are like weapons of mass destruction in their potency, as is the bass guitar barrage from Diego Ibarra. The rhythms of ‘Wishing’ are a force of nature to be reckoned with. The verses are delivered with a clean vocal but the choruses burst out with a feral rage. ‘You Give Me A Reason To Drink’ is a stuttering riffed stomp as Dez shares a cathartic vocal with his son Simon Blade Fafara. A ghoulish groove mesmerises (or even Dezmerises) throughout ‘Witches’ but the spotlight is stolen by a wrist and ankle snapping drum assault. The title track is a lesson in violence as it surges along with all guns blazing. Dez is truly demented here and needs to be to keep up with the musical insanity. Jams are well and truly kicked out during ‘The Damned Don’t Cry’, the fastest and heaviest track on the album. Rhythms are so

complex it’s like an aural vortex! ‘Scars Me Forever’ is one last blast of bewildering hate. It’s a metal monster of body blow drumming and some of the most gory riffing they’ve produced. Not to be outdone, Dez delivers his final vocal as though he his dragging the lyrics from the very depths of hell. A mind-blowing end to a very welcome release and I personally cannot wait until for Part 2 to arrive! Devil Driver – Dealing With Demons I is out now via Napalm Records this becomes commonplace on this album - a chorus with a massive hook. It goes without saying that the vocal is brilliant, but however brilliant a vocal may be, it is nothing without a quality song, and this is a quality song, make no mistake. ‘Revolution’ is a choppy rocker, and this revolution sounds like a party. Loads of melody and power where required, and of course there is another massive hook. ‘Sunday Best’ comes across like a mash-up between the Kinks and Slade, (though without the Noddy Holder vocal sound I must add quickly!). I have written “bouncy is the only word” in my notes - this is short, under three minutes, but a very sweet piece of music. Lots of bands try to write songs which will garner radio airplay, even on the latest Rammstein album the second track was called, simply, radio. Cats are even more up front, here, with ‘Listen to The Radio’. I just wonder how many rock DJs will be opening their shows with this track, (I know of one at least!). Almost pop-rock in its jauntiness but made exceptional by some stunning guitar work and a great sing-a-long chorus. To quote a catchphrase from a pop show in the dim and distant past (to be spoken in the broadest Brummie accent you can imagine, by the way) “I’d buy it and give it five”. Older readers will understand. There is a single release from the album, ‘ I Fell Out Of Love With Rock and Roll’ which has one of the best lyrics I have heard in ages “No-one’s taking heroin or throwing TVs down the hall, that’s why I fell out with rock and roll”, as I said, you need good songs, but this band write great songs. This track is almost a power ballad and really gets under the skin in the best way possible. ‘Marionettes’ follows and ups the pace a little before kicking in an interesting time change and taking off. This is a cracker of a track and played by a band rapidly proving themselves to be one of the best I’ve heard this year. Having said that, they decide to mess with my head by turning, albeit briefly, into a pomp-rock band to rival the masters, by whom I mean Styx. ’Queen of the Neverland’ is full of vocal harmonies, wonderful melody and intricate guitars, including a superb solo which is the cherry on this particular cake.

CATS IN SPACE – ATLANTIS MARTIN “BADASS” SHORT After nine months sequestered in the studio UK classic rockers Cats in Space emerge with a new record and a new lead singer, and what a record, and what a singer! Damien Edwards is a star of musical theatre. He recently played Parson Nathaniel in the stage version of Jeff Wayne’s ‘War of the Worlds’ and took the title role in Bill (‘I own Everton FC’) Kenwright’s production of The Roy Orbison Story. This sort of pedigree is unusual in a rock band and the difference is clear from the first note and virtually the first note I made, when listening to this album, was, “amazing vocals!!”. So, to the record itself. The 70’s rock template that Cats have made their own, has been expanded here to embrace some of the more prog aspects of that era’s music. I noticed some interesting use of sound effects and synthesiser on a few tracks, including ‘Dive’, ’Space Ship Superstar’ and ‘Marionettes’. The first two of which are the opening two tracks on the album and segue nicely before developing into a jaunty rocker with - and

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I love the way the band stays true to its ‘70’s rock template but manages to ring the changes track by track. ‘Magic Lovin’ Feelin’ throws in a guitar sound which remined me of the great Bert Weedon, this could, and should be a singles chart hit! I know that might sound sacrilegious when writing about a rock band, but back in the day, and by that, I mean the ‘70s, the charts were full of rock music, this would have been in there without a shadow of a doubt. Placed well in the track listing is a sweet, gentle acoustic ballad ‘Can’t Wait Until Tomorrow’ which gives the listener a breather before ‘Season’s Change’ arrives sounding like Manfred Mann’s Earth Band with Dennis de Young on vocals. The hook is massive and the instrumental middle pleases. The title track completes the album, beginning as a ballad with thoughtful and poignant lyrics “Is it real? Does it matter? Wish everything was how it used to be”, this could be an anthem for 2020. Moving up the gears, the guitars soar and, as the track hits top, it becomes truly epic and deserving of its status as the title track. This album is simply magnificent and certainly in the top three I have heard this year.

Atlantis is out now via Harmony Factory/Cargo Records Catch Martin “Badass” Short every Sunday on Hard Rock Hell Radio

A L BUM R EV I EWS ACE FREHLEY – ORIGINS VOL. 2 ADAM KENNEDY “Space Ace” returns with the second instalment of his Origins series tracing the artist’s reflections of a lifetime in music. Looking down the tracklisting, the first observation that you may notice with this album is the distinctly English influence. During his career, Ace Frehley has been inspired by many of the British invasion bands of the ‘60s and ‘70s including the likes of The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Animals and many more. This album is like a classic rock jukebox and the perfect driving album. ‘Origins Vol. 2’ features a whole raft of anthems including the unmistakable “Space Truckin’” by Deep Purple, “30 Days in the Hole” by Humble Pie, and a thunderous rendition of “Manic Depression” by Jimi Hendrix - these being just a few of the highlights on this twelve-track release. For each track on the album, Frehley has applied his distinctive stamp. For this record Frehley has invited a whole raft of his esteemed friends and guests including the likes of Robin Zander (Cheap Trick), John 5, Lita Ford and Bruce Kulick to name but a few. Of course, the album would not be complete without KISS classic “She”, during which Frehley’s band are on fire and very much “Alive”. For rock fans, ‘Origins Vol. 2’ is like a walk down memory lane. And there’s only one way to describe this album – it’s simply Ace.

ORIANTHI - “O” ADAM KENNEDY Having performed alongside the likes of Alice Cooper, Richie Sambora, Michael Jackson and Carlos Santana in recent times, Antipodean guitar goddess Orianthi is finally switching the focus back to her solo career with the release of her latest album “O”. Now sometimes with guitar virtuoso albums, they can be a little bit too technical or heavy on the instrumental side of things. But with “O”, it’s quite the opposite. Not only is Orianthi a gifted guitarist, but she also has an amazing singing voice – she is the complete package in that respect. Orianthi’s latest offering gets underway with “Contagious”. An interesting title for these strange times. The song is actually about how hate is contagious, rather than a commentary on these pandemic times. The track has a big production, which sets the tone for the rest of the album. Producer Marti Frederiksen has worked his magic on this record. Tracks such as the rather sultry “Blow” and the incredibly funky “Sorry”, have a slightly more mainstream radio sound. Whereas the beautiful ballad “Crawling Out of The Dark” showcases more of Orianthi’s country/pop influences. Stand out tracks on the album include “Rescue Me” with its big riffs and even bigger hooks. Likewise, recent single “Impulsive” has an almost Stones-like swagger about it. Of course, the album is full of Ori’s fiery fretwork but the solo on this track, in particular, is out of this world. It may have been seven years since Orianthi’s last solo album, but it was certainly worth the wait.

LIKE A HAWK – RELEASE THE HAWK (CUSSICK STUDIOS) TOBY WINCH Any regular listener to Hard Rock Hell Radio will recognise at least two of the tracks from this brand new EP from Northern Ireland’s Like a Hawk. “My Disgrace” and “Wake Me Up” have made regular playlists on my Sunshine Factory Show for a few months now, and this collection of tracks takes these two ridiculously catchy tunes and adds three more superb songs which showcase more of their emerging talents as a 4-piece. If I had to choose one of the new three, it would be “Too Much”, with it’s luscious intro and almost Nirvana like chug but with a more classic-rock lead. “Girl Like You” wears it’s hair like it’s 1986 with groovy vocals and cool bassline, while “Bitter” adds a metal aspect nicely blended with a modern attitude. What I love about this band’s output is that you can hear all sorts of genre influences without it ever getting muddy or overindulgent. This is good-time rock’n’roll but with an added alternative edge, almost grungey in places, sleazy in others. Stunning vocals with great harmonies, perfect cowbell (is cowbell ever NOT perfect?), exquisite guitar work and a tight rhythm section ensure that this release is a big statement of intent for a band who will no doubt look to be forging their way into the scene this side of the Irish Sea. Jump on a ferry when this pandemic malarky has passed lads, let’s see what you can do!

CONNOR BRACKEN AND THE MOTHER LEEDS BAND - NIGHTBIRD MOTEL ADAM KENNEDY When it comes to musical cities of the USA, Asbury Park, New Jersey is right up there with the best of them. One of the latest musical exports to come out of that area is Connor Bracken and the Mother Leeds Band, who have recently released their sophomore album ‘Nightbird Motel’. At the top of the album “When The World Stops Turning” is a good old fashioned US rock n roll number with an uplifting chorus. There is a real timeless quality to the tracks on this record. The band aren’t chasing current trends but rather making music that will last forever, and songs like “Read on You” and the doo-wop tinged “Photographs of Johnny” are a testament to that. In the middle of the album, “Blame on Me” has a more contemporary sound than the rest of the songs on the record. It’s a tad heavier, with some bluesy undertones. This track stands out on the album in a good way. Bracken and company have a real skill of being able to write and record danceable rock and roll music, and “Liquorstore” certainly fits this bill. Whilst the band sinks their heart and soul into the beautifully heartfelt “Nightbird”. Over the years Asbury Park, New Jersey has become synonymous with artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Little Steven along with Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. With “Nightbird Motel” Connor Bracken and the Mother Leeds Band stand side by side with their peers having produced an album that perfectly encapsulates that distinctive sound of the Jersey Shore.

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A L BUM R EV I EWS THE GYPSY PISTOLEROS – THE GREATEST FLAMENCO SLEAZE GLAM BAND EVER! SI FOX Hola mi amigos…! The problem with reviewing anthologies is that the music itself has already been reviewed and most fans of the band will have most if not all the tracks on the album, so why release them? Well the answer is simple - to give an introduction to the curious and an overview of the back catalogue to whet the appetite of any potential new fans…and what a great introduction to The Gypsy Pistoleros this is! For anyone not familiar with their unique sound, they are one of a very few bands that can honestly lay claim to the “unique” tag, as you would be hard pressed to find anyone else, even after all these years, that have the sound and swagger of The Pistoleros. It has been said before that they could be the house band in a particular club patronised by truckers, bikers and vampires in one of Tarantino’s finest movies and there is no argument here - indeed they hold the truly auspicious record of playing the prestigious Rocklahoma festival more than any other artist and listening to the 18 tracks offered up here it’s easy to see why. With a solid selection from their back catalogue ‘The Greatest Flamenco Sleaze Glam Band Ever!’ showcases why they have built a solid reputation amongst fans over their almost 25 years on the rock ‘n’ roll rollercoaster, refusing to pander to mainstream commercialism and staying true to their roots, and those roots are punchy, tequila soaked, sleazy, flamenco infused punk rock ‘n’ roll. Full disclosure - I have been a fan of these guys since first hearing them back in the mid-noughties and as the first drums roll in like a bailaor’s thundering Cuban heels hitting the dancefloor on the opening track “Ay Que Dolor” I’m transported back there again… Whilst their bi-lingual delivery may not be to everyone’s taste, there’s no denying that it only serves to add weight and authenticity to these self-styled pioneers. Following on from the opener the album saddles up and takes us on the trail across the range of these badass bandidos. Anthemic favourites such as “Pistoleros, Pistoleros”, “Wild, Beautiful, Damned” and “Livin’ Down With The Gypsies” are included along with the more melodic “Sangre Till Dawn” and “Wild Is The Wind”. Through the Ramones-esque “Close As You’ll Ever Be” to the musical lament of “Los Suenos De Los Muertos” the tracks encompass everything the Gypsy Pistoleros are about. Their choices of covers is solid too - “Livin’ La Vida Loca”, “Gypsies, Tramps And Thieves” and “Ay Que Dolor” could all have easily been penned by the band and as such fit seamlessly into their repertoire.

I to disagree? Because that’s exactly what they are, and with their brand-new album ‘The Mescalito Vampires!’ due out shortly this is the perfect time to discover, rediscover or bring yourself up to speed with these sleazy gitanos. Olé! Hasta luego! Gypsy Pistoleros – The Greatest Flamenco Sleaze Glam Band Ever! is out now via Riot Records Catch Si Fox for The HRH Sleaze Show every Thursday on Hard Rock Hell Radio

This anthology is entitled ‘The Greatest Flamenco Sleaze Glam Band Ever!’ and who am

A quiet person that had one love – music - he spent his life learning, writing and performing it with the utmost passion. While off stage Rory was a private person - he would find time to chat to the many fans he saw walking round Cork, outside at gigs after a show and yet on stage he was on another plane!, I don’t think any guitarist has pulled more tone and heart out of a Stratocaster and Vox AC30 ever. In 1970 after Taste folded he went solo under his own name - Rory Gallagher Band - and over the years released 14 albums many with his long-time bass player Gerry McAvoy. Since his passing in 1995 his brother and manager Donal has continued his legacy by releasing unheard songs and recordings to many eager check-shirt wearing fans new and old. Onto this “Best Of”. Ask any Rory fan what their favourite song is and you will get so many different answers, this was one of the strengths of his music so for anyone to pick a best of is an arduous task indeed. We are taken from the 70’s through to the 90’s in a few hours of pure musical bliss. The raw bluesy tones of the guitar that opens “What’s Going On” is calmed only by the subtle tones of his vocals before ripping into a purest of solos. The subtleness of the acoustic guitar in “Just The Smile” gives way to the high energy and power behind “Shadow Play”. Rory could go from string bending high energy solo to the subtleness of slide in a beat, and this I think makes his music so accessible and different to so many fans, once they find it! “Ghost Blues” shows this slide off well and gives a nod to the skiffle music he loved so much. Included in this “Best Of” is a rare outtake of “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” with the legendary Jerry Lee Lewis from the 1973 London Sessions. It ends with Taste and Rory’s version of the blues classic “Catfish Blues”, it’s raw, dirty and you can feel the soul he is pouring into the music, I’ve not heard better than this.

RORY GALLAGHER - BEST OF RORY GALLAGHER SI DUNKERLEY When it’s easy to reel off so many great showstoppers from a musician you know the back catalogue really is something interesting and special. Rory Gallagher was one of those musicians and has a back catalogue many a musician would sell their soul for. Even in his early years in the Fontana showband he showed his roots and drive as he steered their style towards R&B until finally in 1966 he formed and unleashed Taste on the world - and he never stopped from that point on. At the age of 22 he stunned a weary Isle of Man Festival crowd with an inspired set that ended with the superbly powerful “Catfish” - as does this “Best of” release.

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Widely acclaimed by fans and peers as one of the greatest guitarists ever - yet he still remains in the niche that requires some research to find, but when you hunt out a record and the needle hits the groove for the first time you are hooked forever. Did Jimi Hendrix say that Rory was the best guitarist ever, one of the greatest myths ever? So much can be said about his playing, writing and performing but in the end it’s best just to let the music do the talking. The 2-CD set really is a great selection from a vast catalogue of music and will draw listeners down the wormhole and off to the record shop. ‘The Best Of Rory Gallagher’ is out now on vinyl, CD and digital via UMC

A L BUM R EV I EWS ECLIPSE - VIVA LA VICTOURIA STEVE BEASTIE After releasing one of the best albums of 2019 Swedish rockers Eclipse haven’t left it at that and now release a rather wonderful live album of the tour that followed that album; Paradigm. The tour was ‘Viva La VicTOURia’ - a play on the opening track of that last studio album and again, opening track on this live album too, and what a stonking opener it is and fittingly, it lays down a marker for the whole album.

If you listen to this and it doesn’t make you want to be right in the middle of the audience, front and centre, bouncing, chanting and singing along then can I suggest you take up tennis or croquet? This may be a little too lively for you!

Throughout this entire album everything is delivered in the wonderful upbeat, full-on pep way that Eclipse always deliver their songs. From the opening song the crowd are on board and all through the recording they need little urging to get involved and sing along or chant when expected, without ever drowning out the band. The balance between band and audience is perfect. I want to be able to pick out the band as individuals and as a whole but I want to feel as though I’m part of the audience as well. I get all of that from listening to this cracking recording. There are only 3 songs in total missing from the Paradigm album and I always think that shows the confidence of a band in touring and performing so many songs from a new album. They could be forgiven for settling on only playing 3 or 4 and padding the live set out with older material, just as good but probably more loved by die-hard fans and much easier to get the crowd on their side from the off - but confidence is high in their ability and songwriting and with every reason. If you slot older fan favourites and anthems like ‘Never Look Back’ (one of my favourites) which pings in this live format around these well-crafted new songs then you have the makings of a fantastic gig. That’s exactly what comes over on ‘La VicTOURia’ the confidence, love, ability and connection of band to the audience.

PCATBS isn’t a rip off of anything. It isn’t a clone; it isn’t a second thought or some half-hearted side project. PCATBS is a serious presence in the typography of the heavy metal/ hard rockin’ scene, and they prove that yet again with “We’re the Bastards” (WTB). See, WTB isn’t some lite version of old material; not even close. It’s got a hard soul all of its own, and it’s a waymarker on the journey of a band finding their sound. Remember, this is only two albums in, and so far the consistency has been tasty. Real tasty. First things first, the music is super clean, and it makes the album extremely balanced. Every track melts into the next and the end product gracing the ears of the listener is a consistent and solid piece of hard rocking metal. The album starts off setting the pace. The eponymous opening track exhibits everything on show; a dynamic range of sound, the clean riffs that are to characterise the album, straight-up heavy guitaring without anything being too busy and the vocal talent of Neil Starr easing us into the atmosphere. In fact, the first track is almost an anthem track - you can already hear a festival crowd chanting “We’re the bastards”. The pace keeps coming, with a flurry of tracks offering a safe and consistent sound and style. Not only that, but there are loads of catchy future crowd favourites on offer, such as “Promises Are Poison” or “Bite my Tongue”. On top of that, there are the likes of “Hate Machine” or “Destroyed” for those of us who like a little cheeky peppering of that hard-hitting heavy metal spice.

PHIL CAMPBELL AND THE BASTARD SONS - WE’RE THE BASTARDS SI BONNEY What do you get if you cross the rifftacular heavy metal icon guitarist from Motörhead, three of his sons and the vocalist from Attack! Attack!? The answer to that question could have gone PLENTY of ways, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t expect Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons (PCATBS) to be something whichever way it went. That being said, there was no obvious direction for them to go in. You might be asking yourself “big old Si, why the hell would you say that?” but hear me out: why the hell wouldn’t you say that? What about the sound of PCATBS even slightly indicates the cacophony of influence shredding in its midst? And let me tell you, that’s what makes this band of kin and kindred souls so goddamn exciting.

To finish up, we have the song “Waves”. This is my favourite track on the whole album, for many reasons, but listening to it I was hit with the essence of the album. Beautifully written, straight up musicianship coupled with vocal talents perfectly married to it. Well written, extremely well produced, and just overall well executed. Not to mention super easy to listen to. Overall, there’s nothing fancy here - they aren’t experimenting or going crazy, there isn’t an orchestra or some cameo saxophone in sight. They’re clearly loving the journey and the sound they’re developing, and I am too. It’s one of those albums that has a brilliant, almost dynamic simplicity. It’s just good, honest hard rockin’ heavy metal for the masses. And you know what? It’s awesome. Easy listening, skilled musicianship, and something I’m looking forward to seeing live in the new year. Those bastards have done it again!

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AC/DC - POWER UP JJ KENNEDY With the world being in a very dark place at the moment as the pandemic alters people’s lives in enormous ways, we do need an escape if ever so briefly. With all the lockdowns and restrictions it’s difficult to get that but one thing that can’t be curtailed is our love of music. Okay, there are no gigs to go to but we can still pop on the headphones or crank up the stereo and listen to our favourite artist, bands and records. Throw in your favourite band releasing a new album and at least it’s a start. This happens to be no ordinary band though. Unless you’ve been living on Mars or in a bubble (pardon the pun) we are talking one of, if not the, biggest band on the planet with global record sales of 200 million and the second biggest selling album of all time. On November 13th, which in typical AC/DC style happened to be a Friday, they dropped their 17th studio album on us called Power Up and showed us they are back in business again. This Rock N Roll train has been thundering down the line for the last 47 years. It looked to be on very hard times and ready for the scrapyard at the end of September in 2016 and came close to derailing in 1980 and 2017 but it’s never actually stopped. This train can’t stand still and who would want it to?! The first big question - is Power Up any good? Going by the public’s buying appetite it’s a yes - it has just hit number 1 in over 8 countries, and stands at present to be the fastest-selling album of 2020. So, the demand for AC/DC is still there. It won’t challenge the likes of Back in Black, Highway to Hell or even Let There be Rock but it could just be the strongest album since Flick of The Switch. AC/DC aren’t going to write albums as they did in the ‘70s and early ‘80s - they set the bar so high I don’t think they have those albums in them anymore. That’s not to say they do bad albums as most bands would give their right arm and leg to have some of them in their back catalogue. In terms of songs, they do knock out a few fillers now and again. Still very good songs but compared to what has been before, a fair number are album fillers. So, what can we expect from Power Up? Nothing new really - it’s the same formula. Loud, head shaking, foot-stomping, full of testosterone, innuendos, guitar-based bluesy hard rock’n’roll with a certain swing, swagger and groove. Produced once again by the legendary Brendan O’Brien and clocking in around 40 minutes, the production is crisp and the only concern for me is the sound of Phil’s hi-hat and cymbals. They’re a bit too swooshy and sit too high in the mix, like you’ve blown your budget on the best drum kit available but only have money left to buy second-hand low-quality cymbals. Musically it’s absolutely loaded with melodies, hooks, big backing-vocals and choruses - not quite on the par of say Highway to Hell, but still big. Angus as per usual is splattering quality riffs and leads around the studio. Brian is sounding incredible considering he’s now a barely believable 73. He still has that wispy gravel growl, as though he’s just swallowed a

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full pack of razor blades with broken glass and washed it all down with a bottle of Jack Daniels. Stevie does Mal proud and along with Cliff and Phil keeping the rhythm section as tight as ever. On a side note here you do have to feel sorry for Chris Slade. Twice called up by the band and twice replaced by Mr Rudd. Technically a more gifted drummer but Phil just has that AC/DC groove and no-nonsense style that gives the band that swing. With Phil being regarded as the first real DC drummer I guess when clean and healthy he will always get the nod. Realize is the opening track and what a belter to start with! 17 seconds in you damn well know who it is. Getting ready for the gym, run or workout then get this track ready - it will pump you up. With its big catchy chorus, it’s my favourite cut from the album. Realize was the second single release which is a little bit of a surprise as plenty more suitable contenders to get the music to the wider masses appear on the rest of the record. This is a song Malcolm had that both the Youngs worked on for a long time. The pace slows down for Rejection - like Rock Or Bust this just plods along. I could mention Angus’ playing but it’s the same on every track, does he ever not sound incredible? Shot In The Dark was the lead single. Like RnR Train and Play Ball before it, catchy and a true sing-along song. Defintely a song for the non AC/ DC fans to appreciate and the radio stations that might not otherwise have them on their current play selection. Through the Mists of Time is up next – and I will probably get shot for this but this is the side of AC/DC I don’t particularly like. Too pop for me, and I don’t much like the guitar tones – they remind me of Anything Goes, Big Jack, Rock the Blues Away. Kick You When You’re Down & Witch’s Spell are two solid tracks, catchy, great choruses that just stick in your head, but Demon Fire really is the gem of the album. Johnson sounds menacing on this track as the tempo goes to 10 - when they tour expect this to be on the setlist. The tempo lets up a touch with Wild Reputation - another steady song and another catchy chorus that you’ll be singing to in your head. The quality doesn’t let up with No Man’s Land and Systems Down - typical AC/DC doing what they do best and like most tracks on the album just excellent choruses that compliments the songs. Oooo er misses no guesses what they are on about with Money Shot what’s the antidote yells Mr Johnson. I think we know! The album closes with Code Red with its chugging riff and once again Brian sounding damn good as do the rest of the band. The band make it clear that Power Up is a tribute to Malcolm as it was his wish for AC/DC to carry on and keep making music - with Angus keen to get some of the unreleased music they had worked on out there. Perhaps the last thought must go to Angus. Not many people have picked up on this, but how brave is he is to release this record without having his brother by his side. It may have been a risk, but one I feel that was well worth taking – so thank you, AC/DC, and Angus Young We Salute YOU! Catch JJ Kennedy every Thursday on Hard Rock Hell Radio

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AMARANTHE – MANIFEST CHARLIE ‘GLAMRAT’ SIMPKIN Amaranthe are known for their 3 distinctive singers each with a different style contributing to their untameable genre. Some say they are pop metalcore; others say just heavy metal and Elize Ryd (vocals) calls it “dance/rock with a taste of melodic death metal”. It is hard to describe them and I have found it hard to describe this album. This six-piece band from Sweden say they have stepped up their game with this release, and I was asked to investigate. Manifest kicks off with a ‘Fearless’ pulsating dance/techno beat with Elize’s voice echoing through the keys before being slammed with thunderous drums and slashing guitars chords. As the first verse melts into an uplifting bridge, Elize’s vocal beauty is on full display as it runs in a catchy chorus – giving me feels of a heavy metal entry into the Eurovision Song Contest which we all know belongs to the Swedes! Let’s just say it would definitely get my vote! ‘Viral’ is the second track to be released with a music video to go with it during the pandemic. The theme of the music video is truly relevant to the current state that the world is in via the realm of social media, everything going…viral. The video shows the band members scrolling through their devices answering the same questions that every musician is facing right now, “When are you going to play again?”. Talking about how the world is deceptive sending people in the wrong direction but they have found the answer and it’s going viral which this track did and was very well received by fans. A song that really didn’t settle right with me is the midway track, ‘Adrenaline’. I was expecting a fast and hard paced track – it’s ok but kind of reminded me of a heavy metal Britney Spears. Fellow swedes H.E.A.T had a track of the same name on their latest album and that truly didn’t let up whereas this track just seems to glide on by. I was looking forward to thrashing my head about and pumping my fist in the air, but instead, I waved and cricked my neck. ‘Strong’, featuring the outstanding Noora Louhimo (Battle Beast) has just been released with a music video and it’s enjoyable, but I was expecting a lot more vocally from two such vocal powerhouses and strong women, pioneering in the rock metal scene. Noora and Elize both shine on this track with the keys offsetting the beginning of the song and is enjoyable, I just wished I got a full-on vocal performance from them both. Here comes the point of heartbreak with the next track ‘Crystalline’. A beautiful cello and violin lull you into this song, the softness and almost angelic aura of Elize’s powerful instrument exudes and she controls it effortlessly. Nils Molin’s clean vocal matches Elize’s power and control - he is a perfect match and the

balance in this song is amazing. The soft beginning does then bring on the churn of guitars and thumping of drums, a rock ballad in its own way, giving me flickers of “Amaranthine” in my mind. Continuing in the heavens, the Trinity has fallen, and ‘Archangel’ begins. The humble rumble of the church choir is shattered by Henrick Englund Wilhelmsson’s dirty vocal grit and growl with Nils carrying us in a hard-hitting chorus with the echoing undertones of electro keys. Everything starts with a ‘BOOM!’ - easily my favourite track of this whole album and I love that Henrik has a full run on this track. He’s rapping, he’s growling, he is the soul of this track! I get horror movie soundtrack vibes. If you said to me that this track is on the new Resident Evil soundtrack, I would completely believe you. The slight techno key tones remind me of Marilyn’s Manson’s title track for the first Resident Evil film plus Elize’s growl is a little surprise. The breakdown is awesome (except from Elize’s little interruption just before it kicks in, I felt it un-necessary), the drums and crashes thunder through with Henrik spitting his grit laden lyrics left right and centre. A brilliant track! I have found that each song has its outstanding moments but the running order doesn’t make for easy listening. It doesn’t quite flow for me. Olof says that this album is the “logical continuation of Helix (2018)” and that it is the “most mature and philosophical album we’ve made”. The writing, when you dive deeper into the meaning of the lyrics can be seen as very mature and observant of how the world is right now but they have done it in such a way that isn’t in your face and unless you are looking for them can actually go unnoticed. The arrangement of the songs on the album left me a little unsettled, it almost stops and starts like a dodgy clutch. No matter how many times I listened to the album from start to finish, I found it difficult to like how the album played, it didn’t quite flow right for me. Overall, most of the tracks are great, the writing is brilliant, Olof, Johan Andreassen (bass) and Morten Løwe Sørensen (drums) have outdone themselves with the musical arrangement and both Nils and Elize have challenged themselves vocally even though I would have liked more from Nils. Olof Mörck (guitarist and songwriter) has said that this time around it was easier to write for him “This time around I knew exactly what we wanted him to sing and he brought a lot of his own suggestions; he’s a phenomenal singer”. I think the album is great, but I didn’t exactly want more. If we did scores in HRH Mag, I would give this 4 horns out of 5. Manifest is out now via Nuclear Blast Records. Catch Charlie “Glamrat” Simpkin every Tuesday on Hard Rock Hell Radio

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ARMORED SAINT - PUNCHING THE SKY DENNIS JARMAN Since their formation in 1982 in Los Angeles, California, Armored Saint have defied trends and become music press darlings – the same press who would normally rather champion the latest record company money-maker than a band with longevity. So thankfully here they are once again following their last release, the 2015 Win Hands Down album with the recently released Punching The Sky on Metal Blade Records. And how can you not like a band when the drummer is called Gonzo? Eleven tracks here bristle with chest beating confidence as opening track ‘Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants’ sets the standard from the off. An eerie intro heralds seven minutes of brain mangling heavy metal as the riffs come thick and fast from Phil Sandoval and Jeff Duncan. The iron lungs of John Bush are still a force to be reckoned with after all these years and from my point of view, his two stints with Anthrax made them a much better band! Snapping snare drums pin the song down and the call to arms chorus of “Standing on the shoulders of giants, punching the sky everyday”. My attention span never wavered for ‘End Of The Attention Span’ as a metal maul of razor sharp riffing slashes and thrashes taking no prisoners. John barks the vocals out with aplomb and raging guitar solos midway just up the ante. The industrial tinged intro to ‘Bubble’ precedes the earworm main riff. They take their feet off the gas here as this tasty number pounds along around the catchy choruses and a headbanging midsection heads off into a clubbing outro.

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‘My Jurisdiction’ is a hefty hard rocker and a spotlight stealing lead vocal is the icing on the cake to the punchy dynamics. ‘Do Wrong To None’ is kick drum driven, pit opening thrash with hypnotic riffing that scythe throughout this monster. ‘Lone Wolf’ is a ballad with balls that breezes along on catchy riffing, laid back bridges and a dreamy lead vocal until it muscles up midway for yet another majestic drum driven outro from Gonzo Sandoval. Air guitars are compulsary for the cocked and loaded neck breaker ‘Missile To Gun’. ‘Fly In The Ointment’ is a bare knuckle bruiser of laid back verses and brutal choruses but it really comes to life in the final third with some seismic kick drumming. ‘Bark, No Bite’ has bass guitar heavy verses from Joey Vera and it crushes in the caustic choruses that definitely bite as well as bark! ‘Unfair’ is a spine tingling slow burner as John croons over a gently picked guitar. A militaristic drum beat eases in as does the bass guitar to make it even more emotionally powerful musically and vocally as John soars to the heavens over a full band outro. Final track of their eighth studio album comes from ‘Never You Fret’. It closes the album fast and furiously on a fireball of face melting fury. The jams are well and truly kicked out here as they lock in tight for a heads down thrashout! Armored Saint – Punching The Sky is out now via Metal Blade Records

A L BUM R EV I EWS MY DYING BRIDE - MACABRE CABARET (NUCLEAR BLAST) ANDY SAYERS Where to start? Well I’ll drop back a stage. I initially started to appreciate My Dying Bride a year or so back having heard a couple of singles and that appreciation was cemented by their excellent release of ‘Ghost of Orion’ back in March. Discovering that they were releasing an EP this November I jumped at the chance to hear it pre-release and share my thoughts. Deliciously dark, sombre, and melodic, steady paced ‘Macabre Cabaret’ is another superb offering. If you enjoy thoughtful music designed to allow you to experience sadness, melancholy and depth of feeling then this EP is for you. If you know My Dying Bride then you will not be disappointed, if you are yet to discover them then Macabre Cabaret is an excellent introduction. Death doom at its finest, the EP offers three tracks. Starting with the title track ‘Macabre Cabaret’ leading you down a long dark path and into ‘A Secret Kiss’ that was released as a single recently (you may have heard it on Hard Rock Hell Radio). Finally, you are taken to the third and final track ‘A Purse of Gold and Stars’ which then gently lifts you into a lighter, more ethereal place with hope and peace at the end. I thoroughly recommend this work. You will not be disappointed Catch Andy Sayers every Wednesday on Hard Rock Hell Radio

ENIGMA EXPERIENCE - QUESTION MARK (FUZZORAMA RECORDS) ADAM KENNEDY Truckfighters guitarist Niklas ‘Mr Dango’ Källgren has teamed up with ex-Truckfighters/Witchcraft drummer Oskar ‘Pezo’ Johansson and Maurice Adams from Breed/Motorfinger on vocals to form a Scandinavian supergroup of sorts - Enigma Experience. The band’s new album ‘Question Mark’ is a complex and incredibly technical melting pot of musical sounds and styles. The opening track “Realityline” runs at an impressive and somewhat progressive 11 minutes long - an ethereal musical journey, with complex time signatures, and psychedelic undertones that swell and become heavier as the track unfolds. Maurice Adams on vocals is reminiscent of the late great Chris Cornell in places. Subsequently, this can sometimes give some of the songs on the album, an early Soundgarden feel. There is a real hypnotic quality to tracks such as the rather doomy number “Corruption” and the frantically paced track “Equilibrium”. The latter of which is one of the standout numbers of this 8-track release. With its intricate riffs and rumbling low-end groove, it certainly hits the spot. Enigma Experience has a great way of being able to switch gears even partway through a track. “In My Mind My Secret Place” is the perfect example of this. The song is very different from the rest of the album, with its acoustic opening, and an almost ‘60s aesthetic at the beginning, which quickly changes pace halfway through the song’s 7-minute duration. Enigma Experience is a band that not only crosses geographical divides within Scandinavia (Sweden and Norway respectively) but with ‘Question Mark’ the band also blurs musical lines to great effect.

ENSLAVED – UTGARD (NUCLEAR BLAST) EMMA BENNETT It’s been a long journey from Hordanes Land to Utgard, and for thirty years Enslaved have never conformed to their name at any step. Continuing to transcend the narrow boundaries of “traditional” black metal musical, mythical and ideological tropes, their fifteenth studio outing presents the listener with an unskippable series of soundscapes evoking powerful images that are at once universal and uniquely personal. Despite its Norse name, Utgard is no homage to one particular mythology, rather a reminder that we carry our own magic with us, highlighted by the choice to name ‘Flight of Thought and Memory’ in English, detaching the concept from Odin’s ravens. Sonically complex without being demanding, this album invites multiple listens as it is suitable for meditative background or active musical appreciation, not to mention providing a chance to shamelessly rock (o)Ut in the form of bangers ‘Jettegryta’ and ‘Storms of Utgard’, or sing along to the heart-swelling ‘Homebound’. Enslaved continue to be progressive without self-indulgence, even taking a sidestep into gothic post-punk with the driving bass and synths of ‘Urjotun’. Tear-jerking closer ‘Distant Seasons’ deserves the kind of airplay that turns a band into a household name outside of metal circles. This would be a great album to use to introduce sceptics to black metal if it wasn’t for the fact that very few other albums, let alone bands, would come close in quality and variety. Enslaved have spoiled us rotten with their consistent excellence, and Utgard raises the bar yet further.

KING KING - MAVERICK (CHANNEL 9 MUSIC) ADAM KENNEDY Regrouped, rejuvenated and revived, King King are back with a new album and a new line-up to boot. Bass player Zander Greenshields and drummer Andrew Scott have very quickly settled into the band’s rhythm section, and with brother Stevie Nimmo further bolstering the band’s line-up, it’s certainly onwards and upwards for this award-winning British blues/rock outfit led by the talented Alan Nimmo. From the opening bars of “Never Give In”, that unmistakable King King sound featuring Nimmo’s wonderful tone, and Jonny Dyke’s whirring Hammond prevails from the off. Recent single “I Will Not Fall” has maybe a bit more of mainstream sound, but still that distinctive King King DNA at its core. With this album, there are some real positive messages and fantastic song writing. Just glancing down the tracklisting you can immediately see this in song titles such as “Everything Will Be Alright” and “Whatever It Takes To Survive”, to name just two. There is a nice variety of tracks on the album from beautiful ballads such as “By Your Side” and “When My Winter Comes”, to the somewhat funky “One World” and the uplifting “Dance Together” standing out on the release. Now with such a radical shake-up in the King King camp, you could well regard Alan Nimmo as a Maverick, hence the album title, but in this case, those risky moves have certainly paid off.

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A L BUM R EV I EWS KING CREATURE - SET THE WORLD ON FIRE (MARSHALL RECORDS) ADAM KENNEDY Now it would have been very easy for artists to put their feet up and watch Tiger King during lockdown (I know I did, at least at the beginning). But even Joe Exotic couldn’t tame or tempt Cornish rockers King Creature into slacking off during the first national lockdown. The band knew that it was the right time to be productive and capitalise on this unplanned period of downtime. And so that’s exactly what they did, as they ventured into their makeshift studio/HQ to lay down their sophomore album. Recent single “Captives” is one of the standout tracks on the record. The band have had their share of Alice In Chains comparisons, and with this track, in particular, you can certainly hear their influence. Throughout the record, the band unleash mosh pit inducing numbers such as “Falling Down Again”, “No Getting Out Alive” and the “Demon Within”, each of which is executed at breakneck speed. The pace of these tracks is catalysed by a ballistic assault of rhythms from drummer Jack Bassett. A few people have said 2020 needs more cowbell and you certainly get that with “I Quit”. The final track on the record “Live Forever” has an old school metal feel. But of note is the duelling guitar solo during the song, which is simply astounding. Fuelled by heavy grooves and the band’s characteristic twin part guitar harmonies, this album has more tasty content than a Cornish Pasty. Just like the album title declares, brace yourselves, King Creature are about to ‘Set the World on Fire’.

ALPHA WOLF – A QUIET PLACE TO DIE (SHARPTONE) ADRIEN PERRIE Given the climate under which I write this, It’s difficult enough for bands at the moment. Let alone one under pressure to deliver on the traditionally ‘difficult second album’. Enter Alpha Wolf, with Australia’s answer to the question ‘What can Covid go do to itself?’ Having formerly toured with personal favorites of mine Polaris and August Burns Red it’s clear these guys have learned from their peers whilst avoiding the pitfalls of blatant emulation. The term ‘Metalcore’ so often bandied about the heads of phenomenal bands left to flounder on the fringes of ‘genrefication’ when there are so many elements to their multifaceted bows. Opening with a barrage of irresistible driving groove, the title track represents perhaps a contradiction in terms to the implication of its name. ‘Creep’ once again does quite the opposite featuring some impeccably crafted rhythmic elements. A trend continued through ‘Golden Fate; Isolate’ which ups the pace as it progresses. Lead track ‘Akudama’ arguably a standout, represents the very definition of a neck breaker. I’d challenge even the most staunch critic not to bounce to this one. My only fault with this record is that there’s a stylistic void as it continues. The latter tracks do meld together somewhat but there’s nothing necessarily bad about that for the thoroughly initiated. ‘Ultra Violet Violence’ another clear pit opener and there’s a welcome reinvigoration to the final 2 tracks ‘Restricted (R18+)’ and by their standards the almost ballad-esque ‘Dont Ask…’. Masters of their craft? Not yet, but there’s enough here to prove them worthy of their position. ‘A Quiet Place to Die’ is quite frankly anything but. With their middle fingers firmly raised to those who say there’s no good ‘new’ metal anymore, this is a suitably ‘Djentelmanly’ return to the fray. Catch Adrien Perrie every Thursday on Hard Rock Hell Radio

YES - THE ROYAL AFFAIR TOUR: LIVE FROM LAS VEGAS (BMG) ADAM KENNEDY Who would like to be spending their evening at a live show right about now? Of course you would. With opportunities to see your favourite bands being few and far between right now, the next best thing that we have is our trusty live albums. And if you’ve worn out your copy of Thin Lizzy’s “Live and Dangerous”, Kiss “Alive” or Cheap Trick “At Budokan” then maybe it’s time to turn your attention elsewhere. Embracing this sentiment to the fullest, progressive rock titans YES are back with an all-new concert album recorded at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas during the band’s 2019 US tour. With ten tracks on the album, “Live From Las Vegas” opens with the majestic sounds of “No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed” showcasing Geoff Downes shimmering keyboard work. YES come together seamlessly throughout, playing at the top of their games, but particularly during intricate and complex numbers such as “Tempus Fugit” and “Siberian Khatru”. Howe’s dazzling slide skills and Davison’s phenomenal range are illustrated during “Going for the One”. Of course, the album would not be complete without the inclusion of YES anthems such as “I’ve Seen All Good People”, “Roundabout” and “Starship Trooper”. ‘The Royal Affair Tour: Live from Las Vegas’ is the perfect representation of key cuts and live favourites from the extensive YES back catalogue and a great record of a time when we could still enjoy live music. If you are missing your live music fix, then this album is your antidote.

WHEN RIVERS MEET – WE FLY FREE (ONE ROAD RECORDS) ADAM KENNEDY During the lockdown, several bands have turned their attention to playing live streams. But there has been one band that has grabbed our attention in the process and that’s British husband and wife blues/rock duo When Rivers Meet. The pair have been attracting thousands of viewers at their regular live streaming shows, and deservedly so. Amid the pandemic, the band have also finished recording their debut album “We Fly Free”. When Rivers Meet are performing music that is instantly recognisable as blues. It’s got that old school sound, but with a bit of a contemporary twist. Opening track “Did I Break The Law” makes you immediately sit up, and shout what is this? I want more. The duo brings together beautiful vocal harmonies, which are accentuated by dirty slide guitar licks – now that’s a winning combination for sure, particularly in tracks such as “Walking On Fire”. “I’d Have Fallen” has a slightly more Americana twang about it. In places, it reminds us of Johnny Cash’s take on “Hurt”. Whilst “Battleground” has been receiving regular airplay on rock radio in recent times, and on the strength of this song alone, it’s easy to understand why. Then just when you think it can’t get any better along comes the atmospheric number “Breaker of Chains”. For blues lovers “We Fly Free” is a purist’s paradise. Who would have thought the unmistakable sounds of the Mississippi Delta stretched as far afield as Colchester?

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A L BUM R EV I EWS BENEDICTION - SCRIPTURES (NUCLEAR BLAST) NEIL ‘NOT’ COGGINS It’s been a long 12 years to wait for the Brummie death metal stalwarts 8th release and in this scene of technical wizardry, hyper-speed triggered blastbeats and style over substance, ‘Scriptures’ is a breath of fresh air albeit in an old school death metal stylee. The 12 tracks on offer here sum up the five-piece perfectly: no-nonsense, straight-forward death metal with an emphasis on catchy riffs and actual songs. There are no 8-minute epics on show, no widdly instrumentals, no orchestral backing tracks or even pig squeals - just down ‘n’ dirty bludgeoning death metal...and very enjoyable it is too. There are riffs aplenty in tracks like ‘Stormcrow’ and ‘Tear Off These Wings’ that could effortlessly stir up rabid mosh pits the globe over. Benediction are just as happy to write thrash-outs such as ‘Rabid Carnality’ but they also know when to apply the brakes to great effect in songs like the stomping ‘The Crooked Man’.

Their target audience is more likely to be DM veterans weaned on a guttural diet of Death and Obituary rather than aficionados of the newer deathcore bands such as The Black Dahlia Murder but that doesn’t mean that their more simplistic approach to the genre shouldn’t be enjoyed by those with a penchant for the newer bands. They’re not UK death metal legends for nothing, and ‘Scriptures’ is yet another stellar addition to their arsenal. Albeit one that’s taken 12 years. Catch Neil “Not” Coggins every Tuesday and Sunday on Hard Rock Hell Radio INSIDIOUS DISEASE - AFTER DEATH (NUCLEAR BLAST) NEIL ‘NOT’ COGGINS It’s a little known fact that 43.2% of the metal bands on this planet feature Napalm Death four-stringer Shane Embury. Insidious Disease first came onto the scene back in 2010 and released their debut ‘Shadowcast’ - fast forward a decade and the death metal supergroup are back with another slab of unrelenting death metal. Also featuring Dimmu Borgir’s Silenoz, ex-Nile sticksman extraordinaire Tony Laureano, Susperia axeman Cyrus (no relation to Miley) and ex-Morgoth vocalist Groo, the quintet have bashed out another 10 tracks of heaviosity that somehow manages to be an amalgamation of equal parts of their respective bands. There is a groove on offer on tracks like the opener ‘Soul Excavation’ but also blistering extremity on cuts such as ‘An End Date With The World’ and album closer ‘Secret Sorcery’ - although none of these songs are Radio 2 fodder anyway. There is just enough to keep the listener interested over its 44-minute duration, but there is a noted lack of variety within the tracks and the songs do tend to blur into one another. Repeated listens highlight some neat razor-sharp riffs though but at the end of the day, this side project is never going to eclipse the work of their day jobs. Not a future classic by any means, but certainly worth a listen regardless. Catch Neil “Not” Coggins every Tuesday and Sunday on Hard Rock Hell Radio CADAVER – EDDER & BILE (NUCLEAR BLAST) ADRIEN PERRIE ‘True legends never die. Only Death is real. Hail the return of Cadaver’ Edder and Bile represents Cadaver’s 1st record in over 16 years. Featuring the carnal battery of Megadeth and Soilwork icon Dirk Verbeuren on the drums, this aural assault also contains notable cameos from Massacre’s Kim Lee and Jeff Becerra of Possessed - something you wonder if they all were during the creation of this truly demonic noisemonger. ‘Morgue Ritual’ begins as all things should with a suitably terrifying blast beat before dropping into an acerbic and surprisingly catchy groove. A perfectly acceptable formula continued through ‘Circle of Morbidity’ (anyone spotting a running theme here...?) and showcasing the first vocal cameo of the record. Unsurprisingly there’s no let-up as Massacre’s Kim Lee joins in on ‘Feed the pigs’. It never ceases to amaze me in a genre oft not featured in mainstream press the sheer breadth and depth of creativity to be found in metal’s extremes. ‘Final Fight’ sees some of the finest riffery on the album and ‘Death Machine’ is almost melodic in places. By the end of ‘Reborn’ I’m genuinely left wondering if Dirk would still be alive by now if this was live. The title track revisits some of the previous infectious grooves. And given the almost lightning average song length of 2:40 on this record it’s particularly impressive how they’ve amalgamated the fast, the brutal, and the breakdowns whilst losing none of the flow. Closer ‘Let Me Burn’ offering as it were the most sedate and lengthy offering here to be found. Dark, foreboding, feral, and ferocity itself embodified. The perfect release for 2020.

Catch Adrien Perrie every Thursday on Hard Rock Hell Radio SUSAN SANTOS - THE LA SESSIONS EP (SUSAN SANTOS) ADAM KENNEDY Award-winning guitarist Susan Santos returns with a follow up to her 2019 album ‘No U Turn’. As the name implies Santos went out to California to record her latest four-track release, where she worked alongside bass player/producer extraordinaire Fabrizio Grossi (Supersonic Blues Machine) and drummer Tony Morra. Grossi also recorded, mixed and engineered the release - he is a man of many talents for sure. The songs contained within this EP were not only recorded in California, but most of the stories within the songs are set there too. The opening track “Dirty Money” was the first single to be released from ‘The LA Sessions EP’. With its up-tempo riffs, southern twang, foot-stomping rhythm and infectious groove, the song immediately grabs your attention. Santos switches things up with the funky, hard-hitting sounds of “Fever”. With its big hooks and catchy chorus, it will be a singalong favourite when performed live for sure. Emotions run high with “Somebody to Love”. Santos declaring ‘I need somebody to love, I need someone to hold me tight’. Susan’s emotive playing sits perfectly in the track. With this song, the guitar supremo’s playing has a much cleaner tone and an atmospheric ambience. The final track on the EP is most certainly worth the “Wait”. The latter of which also happens to be its title. There are certainly southern rock undertones here. Susan’s slide fuelled guitar solo has a hint of Duane Allman’s influence, and her wonderful tone prevails throughout. At just four tracks long, ‘The LA Sessions EP’ is so good that it leaves you wanting more.

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A L BUM R EV I EWS DAYLIGHT ROBBERY - THE ENEMY WITHIN (SOLAR FLARE) MICHELLE EVANS ‘The Enemy Within’ is Birmingham’s Daylight Robbery’s 3rd album, 6 years post the release of their hard rock guitar driven ‘Falling Back to Earth’. The band returns, this time without vocalist Tony Nicholl - instead band members Mark Carleton & Colin Murdoch share a lead vocal marriage as Daylight Robbery stomps their boots into a new era of hard rock. Opening track ‘Into the Shadow’ washes in like a gothic horror film, where you find yourself slowly walking up a dark and lonely corridor until you come to a rustic wooden door. You turn the handle expecting to be greeted with Nosferatu, but instead are faced with an immediate change of tempo which pulls your arm directly into a heavy melodic metal party. You smile, tease up your long locks, channel your inner Queensryche, and grab a bourbon on the way to your dancing cage (or is that just me?) With ‘The Enemy Within’, fans can expect a heavier sound compared to the band’s past haunts. Songs ‘The Enemy’ & ‘House of Pain’ play like eyeliner anthems, with a series of dirty metal riffs that would make punters at Sunset’s Whiskey a Go Go proud. Here, Mark belts out a visceral vocal drive that encourages you to take notice. We hear you! Not every song demands intensive energy, ballads ‘Alone in the Rain’ and ‘Time to Choose’ with a change of singing lead, takes you back to the band’s harmonic earlier days, and could easily grace a Rock of Ages flashback sequence. Final track ‘Within’ harnesses a slight uneasy echo of the taunting opening track, but is ultimately, in my opinion, the fist-pumping song of the album that promises to delight a live audience. This is where their guitar slamming power chords can be synced with a crowd’s etching vocal chords to deliver a bonding moment that only a Covid vaccine can unite.

The Enemy Within is a strong album, with the above-mentioned songs as highlights. With most tracks over 6 minutes long, Daylight Robbery’s intent is to take you on a full album journey old school style. Play it like it should be played, and enjoy the ride.

get a live rock-metal gig in 2020, as he flawlessly layers the combined musical experience and individual talent of each band member. Ample with energy, the title track ‘Chaos Engine’ is a musical platter for your inner core. It is a modern-day alternative homage to the classic grunt rock of yesteryear. An ensemble for your dirty jeans. Mark Donoghue’s vocals command your attention but release you enough to appreciate the fine-tuned guitar riffs and accompanying drums. You may have heard ‘The Grey’, and ‘Freak’ on their previous E.P, however, these songs have been refined to a new level of rockexperience that demands the re-release. There is a clear definitive split within the song ‘The Grey’ that steps up the beat for a Sabbath-esque type effigy but still allowing King Kraken to stamp their own footprint. The guitar riffs in final track ‘Castle of Bone’ take on a new level outside of the song itself and will put a smile to your face. King Kraken have had praise as a great live act, and with track moments like this you understand why. It is unlike the other tracks on the album, falling further down the stoner rabbit hole. Channelling a little Clutch, Orange Goblin, and a twinkle of Alice in Chains in the chords, it is a solid ending.

KING KRAKEN – CHAOS ENGINE (METAL ROCKA RECORDINGS) MICHELLE EVANS There is no easing into it. King Kraken’s new E.P Chaos Engine delivers a gnarly dose of hard rock from the get-go. No foreplay here! The recording, so polished you can hear every note, makes you sit up, listen, and mutter a low, bellowing ‘yeeeaaaah!’. The admired production values of producer Romesh Dodangoda is not lost here. In partnership with King Kraken, he brings you the closest you are going to

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What I like here is the fact that King Kraken don’t mind showcasing their musical influences. There is an air of familiarity throughout the whole experience, but it never settles on just one thing. Oddly, this makes it more original. You as a listener are rewarded with all the jelly beans. However, you can’t help but feel a little short-changed listening to Chaos Engine. Not because it’s not great, because it is. But by the end of the four songs, it feels like the journey has ended way too quickly. You feel left with heightened emotions and half an album. Why the band couldn’t have waited a little longer to pull together a full album offering, I can only wonder. They could have delivered one of the great rock albums of 2020. King Kraken, stop dragging your heels. Album please!

A L BUM R EV I EWS NIGHTBLADE - IGNORANCE IS BLISS ANDY SAYERS If you like no-nonsense, straight up, high energy, in yer face rock, then this is the album for you. Ten tracks of driving rhythms, great tunes (nearly said choons there!) riffs and soaring guitar solos will have you rocking away. Formed ten years ago the band are tight and polished as demonstrated on this latest album. Although they had a brief hiatus after 2015 the band are more energised than ever with “Ignorance is Bliss”. Several singles have been released from the album with “Stop” the latest coming out on 20th November. Every rock album has its obligatory ‘quiet one’ on it somewhere and in this case, it’s the ninth track, ‘Find The Strength’. More of a gentle song than the others they still manage to pack in great guitar work, excellent singing and soft beats. The track builds to a marvellous crescendo of power as reaches its final conclusion. I’m struggling to decide whether ‘Find The Strength’ as just discussed or the fifth track ‘What If?’ is my favourite. ‘What If’ has thought-provoking lyrics and at over seven minutes has plenty of energy, driving beats, and really catchy hooks. I can’t decide so I’ll leave that sort of choice to you. The group are Mark Crosby, the vocalist who also writes the lyrics, Sam Morse on guitar, Tim Cutcliffe on bass and Rich Lawley on drums. Their musical influences are wide and diverse which gives them plenty to bring to “Ignorance”. Definitely worth a listen, the album is out now and available from all the usual sources including the band’s website www.nightblade.co.uk . For those that like to have a physical copy the CD won’t disappoint either, with decent artwork and a nice lyrics booklet.

Hear Andy Sayers Rocks It! Show on Hard Rock Hell Radio Every Wednesday at 10.am

album ‘Feed My Soul’ in 2006. Shortly after that Faulkner left. Various other line-up changes through the years leave only Newton and second guitarist Matt Pearce around to be part of this recording. I suppose that would make Pearce technically speaking, first guitarist, but not having the various solos on the album separately credited I’m not sure who, between Pearce and guitarist Tommy Gentry, is taking the lead role. Suffice it to say there are some very tasty solos on this album, so well done whoever is responsible. I first discovered Voodoo Six with the release of their second album ‘First Hit For Free’ and also bought their next two ‘Fluke?’ and the brilliantly titled ‘Songs To Invade Countries To’, but somehow their last album sneaked under my radar. The question really is, does this release make me feel as if I need that album ‘Make Way For The King’, owing to that fact that it was vocalist Nik Taylor-Stoakes first with the band, and this is his sophomore recording. I will reveal all later.

VOODOO SIX - SIMULATION GAME MARTIN “BADASS” SHORT Voodoo Six became into being after a collaboration between bassist Tony Newton and guitarist Richie Faulkner – the latter now far better known as KK Downing’s replacement in Judas Priest. These two gathered a group of musicians around themselves and recorded their debut

This is, first and foremost, a hard rock album, full of hooks and catchy chorus lines. The rhythm section of Newton and drummer Joe Lazarus drive this album like a rock juggernaut, laying waste all before them, the rest of the band seeming to hang on for dear life on some tracks. “Liar and Thief” kicks serious ass, as do “Never Beyond Repair” and “Inherit My Shadow”. Some nice tonal changes occur during “Last To Know” and “Control”. Now and again I felt the band lost their way a little on - ironically enough - “Lost” and both “Brake” and “One Of Us” were a little weak to these ears. Overall, though this is by no means a duffer of an album. Will it send me into the back catalogue for album number five? The order has been placed. Voodoo Six – Simulation Game is out now via Explorer 1 Records Catch Martin “Badass” Short every Sunday on Hard Rock Hell Radio

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A L BUM R EV I EWS SAVOY BROWN - AIN’T DONE YET MARTIN “BADASS” SHORT This is a band that have been around since I was a thirteen-year-old boy, at that time, 1967, I was a dyed in the wool Monkees fan, and had a lot of growing to do musically before I would be able to appreciate the wonderful music that Savoy Brown, and in particular sole founding member Kit Simmonds, produce. The debut album ‘Shake Down’ was released just five weeks before The Monkees released ‘Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones Ltd’, to give you a better idea of the longevity of the band, and ‘Ain’t Done Yet’ is their 33rd studio release. Now there has been, of late, a number of bands returning to the studio after a long layoff, some reasonably successfully, like a bottle of wine that has been left to mature and when opened found to be quite tasty, but sometimes a little stale. Savoy Brown are like a cellar of vintage wine, and as the bottles reach that perfect time, each are opened, year after year. The 2020 vintage is particularly fine. This album is a box of blues delights. Opener “All Gone Wrong” tells you from the off that you are in the hands of an expert bluesman. The solo is sublime, glorious blues, no widdling here, this track just grooves. The guitar sound of Carlos Santana comes to mind during “Devil’s Highway”, but as he and Simmonds are almost contemporaries, one wonders who influenced who. “River On The Rise” shows that age hasn’t withered the Simmonds vocal cords by very much at all, and this wonderful track pulls at the heartstrings with a plaintive guitar and the lyric “River’s on the rise, what am I to do?” “Borrowed Time” has a deeper vocal tone and I love the reverb on the guitar during this one. The pace is picked up by the title track, with a touch of the Stevie Ray Vaughan rocking blues style apparent here. Following this with a gentle blues ballad is risky but it works, “Feel Like a Gypsy” feels fine. Now Kit Simmonds takes ZZ Top’s “La Grange” riff and reworks it taking it to a lighter more joyful place, and put a bit of a ‘bop’ in there, for “Jaguar Car” - they should have this playing on a loop in a certain Birmingham car plant! Heading for the deep South, “Rocking In Louisiana” would have you believe that is where this band’s roots lie, rather than on this sceptred isle, while the solid Memphis blues of “Soho Girl” confuse the casual listener even more! The album concludes with a four-and-a-half-minute blues guitar workout, backed by a gently rolling rhythm from the rest of the band - “Crying Guitar” had the opposite effect on me, it brought nothing but joy. This is a truly astounding blues record of the highest quality you can imagine. Listening to this album is an experience that you will want to repeat again and again.

Savoy Brown – Ain’t Done Yet is out now via Quarto Valley Records Catch Martin “Badass” Short every Sunday on Hard Rock Hell Radio

THE PINEAPPLE THIEF – VERSIONS OF TRUTH SI REDTANK It’s hard to believe that The Pineapple Thief have been around for 21 years - I discovered them as soon as I heard the drummer Gavin Harrison from Porcupine Tree was with the band. Although they have been together for a long time, the band really made waves with their 2018 album ‘Dissolution’ which is frankly a masterpiece of modern prog. Anyone who was at last years HRH Prog event at the Sheffield O2 Academy and saw their headline set will surely agree that The Pineapple Thief are one of the best progressive bands in the world today. ‘Versions of Truth’ is the 13th studio album by the band - 10 melancholy, beautifully harmonized and brilliantly constructed tracks that are backed with a signature groove and pace from Gavin Harrison. While not having the immediate impact of ‘Dissolution’ this is, none the less, a magnificent album. This is going to be one of those albums that gets better and better with each listen. The opening track ‘Version of the Truth’ pulls the listener straight in with Bruce Soord’s stunning harmonised vocal and builds to a signature heavier mid-section, then beautifully flows to a climatic finish. For me, the standout tracks of the album are ‘Break it All’ with its intricate construction and drumming from Harrison that shows exactly why he is regarded as one of the worlds best. The song seems to have so much going on but without disrupting its flow and is absolutely stunning through headphones. ‘Leave Me Be’ with it’s darker sound and deliberate drum track really stands out, it’s that kind of track that would be at home as an album opener. The soaring chorus is one that stays with you instantly and will have you singing along from the next listen on, a perfect way to inject additional energy and punch to the middle of an album. Hopefully, the band will tour when the world returns to some kind of normality - this is an album I am definitely looking forward to being played live. The Pineapple Thief – Versions of Truth is out now via Kscope Catch Si Redtank every Sunday and Monday on Hard Rock Hell Radio

SEVENDUST BLOOD AND STONE (RISE RECORDS) ADAM KENNEDY Sevendust’s thirteenth album is a release that solidifies the band’s long and successful career that dates back to the mid-90s. Coincidently the band’s latest offering also features thirteen tracks, including twelve original songs and a cover. Opening track “Dying To Live”, with its frantic riffs and relentless groove certainly packs a punch and immediately grabs your attention. Sevendust are masters of melodic music, and tracks from the album such as “What You’ve Become”, “Desperation”, “Against The World” and “Blood From A Stone” are a testament to this. On the other hand “Feel Like Going On” is a bit on the slower side of their repertoire, and possibly aimed at more of a mainstream radio audience. The cherry on top of this solid album release is the cover of “The Day I Tried to Live” by Soundgarden. Of course, it’s a bold move to cover a track by the grunge supremos - you’ve got to be able to do it right and do it justice. However, Sevendust have nailed this cover whilst perfectly honouring the memory of Chris Cornell. It’s a real highlight on the album and it’s no wonder that the song has been gaining so much radio airplay as a result. Thirteen may be unlucky for some, but not for these US-based rockers. From start to finish, ‘Blood and Stone’ is packed full of arena-filling anthems.

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BLACK STONE CHERRY – THE HUMAN CONDITION TOBY WINCH Maybe I should put a disclaimer in here – Black Stone Cherry are a personal favourite of mine – and that’s probably the biggest understatement of this, and the previous, millennium. As such, this review of their 7th studio album, The Human Condition, was never likely to be from a neutral standpoint, which might have caused problems if it had not been up to scratch! Album teasers “Again” and “Ringin’ In My Head’ certainly hinted at a strong long-player release from the Kentucky 4-piece, best known for rock radio and dancefloor bangers “Blame It On The Boom Boom” and “White Trash Millionaire”. To put the release into perspective, Black Stone Cherry hit the scene with a flourish back in the mid-noughties with their self-titled debut, featuring the timeless classics “Rain Wizard”, “Lonely Train” and “Hell and High Water”. They perhaps peaked (in the eyes of the wider rock world at least) with the aforementioned crowd pleasers from 2011’s Between The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea. 2014’s Magic Mountain sported live fan-favourite “Me and Mary Jane”, 2016’s Kentucky the heart-string-puller “The Rambler” and 2018’s Family Tree saw “Bad Habit” catch the ears – so we’ve not been short on great tracks coming from Chris, Ben, Jon and John. There is however a different feel to this release – a harder edge perhaps – some heavier riffs, a helping of more-than razor-sharp solos. The first 3 tracks on offer show off this heavier feel well. The album kicks off strongly with “Ringin’ In My Head” – and with perhaps a prophecy come true? According to guitarist Ben Wells elsewhere in this issue, the album’s opener was written way back in 2017 but the lyrics are eerily accurate for 2020 although almost certainly not for the reasons intended! “Again” has that perfect blend of hard-edged riffing, an instantly memorable melody, and the signature Black Stone Cherry energy. “Push Down & Turn” is modern sounding ‘Cherry with a harder edge that certainly retains their winning formula structure-wise. “When Angels Learn to Fly” does it’s best to lull the listener into thinking that the heavier start has been put to one side – but no, “Live This Way” kicks straight off with one of the heaviest passages of ‘Cherry you are likely to hear this side of Mammoth Cave, Kentucky. “In Love With The Pain” and “The Chain” (no relation to the Fleetwood Mac song!) give the listener some time to recover without letting up on quality, before “Ride” hits you squarely between the eyes with an absolute belter of a track that

is one of my favourites on offer. No ‘Cherry album would be complete without a gig-in-mind hand-holder / waist-squeezer (have I invented a new term there?) song and as always they hit the spot – I dare any couple at a future gig not to hold each other a little tighter when they play “If My Heart Had Wings”! Black Stone Cherry love a cover - “Can’t You See” from Between The Devil… is superb and one of my favourite tracks live, and I think they may have hit the spot again with a great rendition of “Don’t Bring Me Down” by Electric Light Orchestra. It avoids being cheesy and finds the perfect balance between authenticity and putting a new stamp on a classic. One thing the guys from Kentucky certainly are is distinctive and consistent in their sound – so at first, I thought I had rolled onto another band for a few moments when “Some Stories” kicked in – I love this intro, so damn cool. It’s these moments that keep you coming back for more listens, which in turn lead to more little sonic discoveries all through this great record. “The Devil In Your Eyes” is similar – in fact, both this and the previous track could easily justify an earlier spot on the album, but then again – these are the perfect rewards for listening to an album in full rather than just the odd single as is so easy and almost the default these days. Album closer “Keep on Keepin’ On” is an upbeat affair, and hits just the right note to make you want to press play from track one again. Nothing beats seeing Black Stone Cherry live in the flesh, and it seems we will likely have to wait quite a few months for that to happen - at least in the UK - but this superb album will keep old and new fans happy for the time being. Turns out then that I really should not have worried about that disclaimer – this is a stunning album, another fitting entry into the Black Stone Cherry canon. 2020 may, if memory serves correctly, be the first year that the better half and I have not managed to see the band in the flesh since 2008, but this release will make sure that we book our spot for 2021 when we can have our next ‘Cherry hug moment… Black Stone Cherry – The Human Condition – is out now via Mascot Records. Catch Toby every Tuesday and Thursday on Hard Rock Hell Radio

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A L BUM R EV I EWS TWISTER – CURSED AND CORRECTED JEZEBEL STEELE I’ve seen Twister before, a few years ago, at a little festival where they blew the roof off in front of a VIP crowd, so I know that they aren’t from New Jersey in the mid-1980s with big hair and tight trousers, but I can’t help hearing that band in their sound. In 2019 they won Highway to Hell X in Sheffield and joined the Off Your Rocka stable as a result with a record contract. The album is the result of 12 years of hard work from Stevie and the band, and crikey, from that festival to this album the band have certainly grown up a lot! I started out by putting the songs into the right order because I do have a tendency to listen to albums out of order. Now the album is in order, I started Twister’s latest offering with the sensibly titled “Intro”, which begins with an odd scratchy sound and I wondered to myself if we’re in for some prog-like alien experience? Then the drums kick in and all thoughts of aliens disappear as I realise I’m being taken on a journey and the drums and guitar are just sounding the entrance to what comes next. Moving into the anthemic “Young and Affected”, and I’m just hearing solid rock sounds, I’m also ready to dig out my spandex and strap on my air guitar, this music makes me want to rock. The guitar solo on “Natural Survivor” is nice, I mean really nice, the sort of solo that you need to see live to truly appreciate the beauty of it. “Call to Arms” is a singalong that by the second chorus I’m shouting “What Are We Waiting For” and ready to storm a castle – any castle, the music puts fire in your soul (well it put fire in my soul). The simplicity of ”Mystery” leaves no room for error, and fortunately, there are no mistakes in this beautiful track. I heard it here for the first time and haven’t stop playing it since and for me, this is my favourite track on the album. “Cursed & Corrected” was released on Friday 13th November, which was a good day for them as the album hit Number 5 on the iTunes download chart. It doesn’t surprise me as the album is easy to listen to, but difficult to get out of your head. The guitars and drums are solid, the vocals are polished and I realise that likening their sound to Bon Jovi is possibly a disservice - the sound is more than 1980’s USA hairspray metal – it’s British at it’s best.

Catch Jezebel Steele on Hard Rock Hell Radio every Saturday and Sunday afternoon.

Twister is out now via Off Yer Rocka Recordings

lineup that is ready to rock, the band have unveiled their first major release since 2017’s sophomore album ‘Into The Light’. Iconic Eye mark this new chapter in their history with a five-track EP titled ‘Back From Behind The Sun’. The title of which being a reference to the group’s re-emergence after a three-year absence from releasing new material. Of course, the title track itself kicks things off at the top of the release. The song very quickly showcases the vocal prowess of Janey Smith, as well as introducing her to the band’s fans. Smith makes her mark early in the EP by demonstrating her phenomenal vocal range in the latter stages of the opening/title track. There is certainly a theme at play within the Iconic Eye camp. Smith’s predecessor was, of course, Jane Gould. And with this continuation of namesake vocalists, the band decided to include a cover of Jefferson Starship’s “Jane” as the second track on the EP. The latter of which has been a staple part of the group’s live set for a while. But the studio version is a real highlight of the EP. The track is a classic rock anthem and an earworm to boot. Icon ic Eye have certainly done the track justice. Of the four original tracks on the EP the thunderous rhythms and twin part guitar harmonies of “Ghost Town” are of note. Now don’t get this track confused with the two-tone anthem of the same name by The Specials, it is a song inspired by the lockdown and the lack of people witnessed by Smith on a walk to the local village shop! The melodic sounds of “Have My Day” and the up-tempo rocker “Femme Fatale” perfectly closes out the group’s five-track offering, the latter of which being one of the standout tracks on the EP.

ICONIC EYE – BACK FROM BEHIND THE SUN EP ADAM KENNEDY Iconic Eye are no strangers to the HRH community, having graced the stages of our events in both 2016 and 2018. But since that last appearance at HRH AOR, there have been some changes within the Iconic Eye camp. Few bands have changed their lead vocalist and managed to successfully carry on - but try telling this to Iconic Eye. The British five-piece now features a rebooted lineup that includes new lead vocalist Janey Smith (previously known as Janey Bombshell), who joined the band’s ranks in early 2020. And now with a regrouped

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We all know that it’s never easy to replace a lead singer in a band. But as the old saying goes, sometimes you have to take a step backwards to move forward. Based on Iconic Eye’s latest release it’s fair to say that the band has returned stronger than ever, with a regrouped line-up and new material that is set to blow your socks off. With Iconic Eye’s ‘Back From Behind The Sun’ EP new vocalist Smith has proved that she isn’t just any old ‘plain Jane’. Iconic Eye – Back From Behind The Sun is out now on all digital platforms.

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WORDS: JEZEBEL STEELE WORDS BY JED LEIGH

Snowy White: Just A Guitar Player Who Likes Playing Blues

The guitar legend Snowy White may be at the silver end of a long and varied musical career, encompassing shifts with Thin Lizzy to Pink Floyd, even dropping in on the UK Charts with his own hit Bird of Paradise back in 1983 – but he is still very much on top of his game and his latest album (with his band The White Flames), Something On Me, was released on 2nd October this year. HRH Mag’s Jezebel Steele caught up with Snowy to get the low down and his take on the year that is 2020… Jezebel: I’ve been listening to the album this morning – it’s very mellow…

International Economic Forum, with Vladimir Putin in the audience

Snowy: Yeah, it’s mellowish, but that’s me these days; it sort of reflects my moods and my approach to music right now

I decided I’d had enough of the hassle of travelling, and unfortunately my fingers no longer do what my brain tells them to do and I can’t play like I wish I could, and I don’t want to disappoint people. I decided then not to do any more gigs, so I haven’t! So that hasn’t affected me either, in that way, I wasn’t going to go anywhere, I’ve had months, years of touring around the world with Roger Waters (the Pink Floyd guy) and I’d sort of had enough. I have other strings to my bow, so yeah, the touring was over 18 months ago for me.

J: How did the whole lockdown affect the production (did it help at all)? S: It wasn’t a problem at all, it helped actually, I was lucky, I’d gone into the studio in February to put some backing tracks down with the bass and drums and a few ideas, and we’d actually recorded enough for the album; and a week later the lockdown came down so I was able to spend my time in my little studio, which basically consists of a computer and a few guitars these days, and take my time and do all the guitars and the vocals, and work on tracks, change things, and not feel like I was missing out on anything because I couldn’t really go out anyway! J: On the back of that, there’d normally be a tour - when you do go back on tour, what will be the first song you play? S: That’s an interesting question, but I’m not getting back on stage. I decided not to tour, not to do any more live shows. I made the decision, not last June, but the June before. My last gig was in St Petersburg, in Russia, at the St Petersburg

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J: Well that leads me to my next question, because I’ve got my time machine back from the shop, and you and I can go back through history and collect a super band. Who are we grabbing, and why? S: A super band, probably wouldn’t have me in it, it would have to be really great musicians… Like, well on guitar I’d have Jeff Beck, and on bass, who would go with Jeff… Jaco, Jaco Pastorius would go with Jeff, that would be an interesting lineup J: So who will front it?

S: Let me think, who would I enjoy fronting that band? Gosh, you’ve got me there, I would have thought somebody cool… like Robert Palmer! J: I suppose if we’re going to put this super band on, where are we going to put them on for one night only, where? What venue? S: I’d put them on in my local theatre in Petersfield, the youth club around the corner, I don’t want to go too far, so I can walk around the corner and see a band! J: I think this is a great band, and if my time machine would make this happen, we would put this on. I like that you’ve played in front Vladimir Putin, and you’d put this super band on in your local theatre! S: I’m not very good in the music business, I was never good at going to other people’s gigs and hanging around backstage. If I was on stage and the spotlight hit me, my immediate instinct was to step out of it, I just wanted to play guitar. All these sort of things, playing for Putin, playing in the local pub, it’s sort of all the same.. as long as I’m playing my guitar then that was alright. My favourite part of my career was when I had a 3-piece band we just toured around Europe and we would play anywhere. We played theatres, we played people’s front rooms on a Monday night for the hotel, you know it was fantastic and to me that’s what music is all about. You do a gig, and you’re lucky if you get a good gig, and it sounds good, the band’s in a good mood and the audience is great and you get those moments, those really fantastic moments when everything gels and comes together and that to me is what I was always searching for. I wasn’t searching for fame or fortune, for lots of accolades, I just wanted those moments. J: You’ve played with lots of people, Thin Lizzy, Pink Floyd, you were friends with the late Peter Green, you’ve done a lot, how difficult is it to for you not say to yourself “I’ve done enough now”, what makes you carry on? S: It’s not difficult to stop, I think it’s force of habit because that’s what I do, I’m a musician and if I don’t do the music there’s not much going on. I’ve done a few things, like you say, played with Thin Lizzy and Pink Floyd, but it doesn’t feel like I’ve achieved much out of all that. Like I said before, it was my own little band playing small gigs, that was the important thing for me. I don’t have a problem not playing, because I have done a lot over the years and been playing for 50 years maybe more, 55 years, mostly with that one guitar. It’s the danger of repeating yourself in the end or getting stale, so I have to wait until I get a real urge to do something, I can’t force it and think I have to do another album… I just have to wait. J: And it’s worth the wait…! I really like the title track, and I like the fact that it’s the sort of album you play when you get home, it’s relaxing… S: People have said that to me, it’s sort of afternoon music, sitting there with a cup of coffee and that’s fine with me; I’m not trying to break any records or stir anything up, I just want people to enjoy listening to the album. That particular track, I think it’s the only one on the album that I did everything myself, in my little studio. I took a lot of time to get the sounds nice, space in it and the feel, you can listen to it and say “that’s nice” it’s listenable more than once. That’s the secret of a successful album or successful song, people get to the end and think I can listen again. A lot of songs aren’t like that, some of the stuff I have written haven’t been like that, so that’s where I’m at, I just want to make listenable stuff - but with a bit of soul and a bit of feel and featuring some nice guitar sounds, nothing earthshattering, just nice

bit of 12 string, some harmony guitar, have a few solos… so do you want the gig? Yeah alright, then I said shall we have a jam, so you can hear me play, and he replied… you wouldn’t be here if you couldn’t play. So that was my audition with Pink Floyd! We went back into the studio and Roger said, while you’re here, why don’t you play the guitar solo on Pigs on the Wing in the middle of it, use any of the guitars. So I picked up an old strat and played a solo, I think it was the second take and it was pretty good. Then a few days later, I got a call from Roger saying I’ve got some bad news for you, we’re going to put half of the track at the beginning of the album, and half at the end which means your solo won’t be on the album… but on the 8 track the record doesn’t stop, it just keeps going, so on the 8 track they put the whole of Pigs on the Wing with my guitar solo, which is why it’s only on there. J: Does it still exist in the world? Is it still available? S: I’ve got one, still in the cellophane, I’ve no idea, so that’s the story and why I’m only on Pigs on the Wing. A few years later I made a compilation album of my own, and you have to get permission to use tracks, and I wanted to try and get everyone on it, that I’d played with in my career. I got quite a few people, and the only one I didn’t get was Pink Floyd; you’ll never get a Pink Floyd track on a compilation album, so I rang Roger and asked if it was OK to use Pigs on the Wing for my compilation album? I’d like to put the whole thing on with my guitar solo and he said yes, as long as Dave agrees. I rang Dave and he said as long as you can find the tape. So I found the tape and went into the studio and remixed and changed my guitar solo, and it came out on my album Gold Top and I think it’s the only album (that I know of) that has a Pink Floyd track on it. So I was able to end up using the whole track, after all those years! I didn’t realise at the time, but I was quite honoured that they let me have the track, but at the time I was more naïve. I had no idea of context, it didn’t occur to me that this was a “big” band. I was a narrow-minded blues player and was possibly the only guy in England who hadn’t heard Dark Side of the Moon! I just drifted into it, I didn’t know what they sounded like until they sent me some albums with tracks on that that they wanted me to learn. There was Wish You Were Here and I thought “oh that’s not bad”. J: You are an absolute treasure trove of stories… S: This is how it was, I’m no good at that sort of thing… I’m just a guitar player who likes playing blues! R: How would you like to be remembered? S: Oh I have my headstone already sorted… Here lies Snowy White, blues guitarist, didn’t woke up this morning!

Snowy White and The White Flames Something On Me is available now. Catch Jezebel Steele every Saturday and Sunday on Hard Rock Hell Radio

J: I think that’s a good way to be, do you have a secret to your longevity, and have you really had the same guitar all those 55 years? S: I had the same guitar for 45 years, my old Les Paul, I auctioned it in Beverly Hills a few years back. The reason I learned to play the guitar, I heard some blues being played on the radio, and I wanted to know what it felt like… and nothing has changed. In my head I’m still a simple blues-er. J: Does it still feel good? S: It does, but my fingers don’t do what my brain tells them to do and it’s a little bit frustrating. I still pick up the guitar and play, but it’s not something I’d particularly want to play for anyone else, I do it for me these days. J: You appeared as a musician on the 1977 Pink Floyd album Animals, but only on the Eight Track… S Pink Floyd were looking for an extra guitar player for augmenting their live work, when you record, when Gilmour recorded, he put down three or four tracks of guitar on one song, so live, you couldn’t reproduce that, you’d need another guitar player to help. Somebody called me and said Pink Floyd’s manager has been trying to get hold of you, maybe you should give them a call, I think they’re looking for another guitar player. And I said, Pink Floyd, no that’s all that funny stuff, I play blues… so I didn’t bother! Then another person said you know Steve O’Rourke’s been trying to get hold of you, maybe you should give him a call, so I gave him a call…”Yeah, they’re looking for another guitar player, and your name’s been mentioned, what do you think?”…So I went to the office in the West End, and we went down to the studio, and I met the band and they were doing a track called Pigs on the Wing, and so Roger said to Dave why don’t you take Snowy into the office and tell what the gig is about. Dave said you’ll need to play a bit of bass, and a bit of rhythm guitar, a

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WORDS: JOHN ELLIS PHOTOGRAPHY: SIMON DUNKERLEY

ed Spektor are one of the best respected heavy stoner bands in the UK. HRH Mag had a chat with the guys and got a candid account of the making of the new album Heart of the Renewed Sun and the difficulties of the release during lockdown. But with an invigorated outlook on the years ahead with new drummer Jonny they plan to take the world by storm. 2021 will not know what hit it!

Afternoon gents, good to see you again...how are you today? All good my friend, a lot of hope on the horizon with the vaccine on the way so hoping we can get some level of normality back…! It’s been a difficult year all round for bands, labels and gigs - how have you found launching an album in these strange times? It’s been fine, it hasn’t been any stranger than the recording of the album so it’s been business as usual as far as Heart of the Renewed Sun goes. But seriously, it’s given us the space and time to make some videos, which we always said we’d do, but never got round to for one reason or another. Was there ever a temptation to look at a longer time release? Ha!! Over my dead body… no seriously, if it was delayed anymore it would have been over my dead body. It took 3 years to do this album, it was like it didn’t want to be released. Recording it was a nightmare, just getting into the studio was impossible, the mastering, getting it signed with Kozmik Artifactz, then promotion of the release. It was long enough already. So, long story short….no definitely not considered delaying it for the pandemic! Where does the title Heart Of The Renewed Sun Come from and how did you approach the concepts for the album artwork? The title of this album had to fit the effort and pain we went through to make it, but also about the end of that chapter and move forward without the baggage of the past, rise out of the ashes, but not so cheesy. We stumbled across the “Heart of the Renewed Sun” as another way of saying Phoenix, something not too obvious and had felt right. The artwork was about doing something fresh and new, and like the title not too obvious and cliché. Something John pulled off beautifully. Many of the songs on Heart of the Renewed Sun already found their way into your live sets, Warflower and Revol for example. How do you know when the recording of these songs reflects the energy of the live versions? That’s a good question. Capturing the energy of live recording isn’t easy, but both Warflower and Revol were recorded before they were ever played live. Revol is over 3 years old. I guess that’s why it sounds very different to the live version, we had moved on and also I guess had the space to experiment to achieve the melancholy sound on the album.

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You’ve gone through a line-up change this year, will the dynamics of writing new material change to reflect this or do you already have a definitive plan to work to? Yeah, we said we never would, but we were forced to in the end. But thankfully Jonny joined us in March this year and it’s been awesome. He’s a top guy, got cool grooves, solid timing, is a graffiti artist as well and we get on and have a laugh - which is the hardest part to get right. Writing wise, we have no plans, other than looking to get some recording done of the tunes we have jammed and written so far and keep writing. Writing is pretty much the same as before, jam until we get something we like, work out a structure and boom a song. The new album certainly feels true to the sound from your brilliant debut album, but seems to have taken some interesting changes stylistically. There’s a very authentic doomy blues feel to many of the new songs. Do you draw influences from what you’re listening to today or are your influences a lot older? We’ve thought about this a few times. I think it’s more like the debut was - a moment in time and reflective of a short amount of writing. But this album is more of a crosssection of what we play in the practice room. Doom blues is cool though, we’ll take that, but we are always surprised what people are picking up in the music, we don’t try to do a certain style - it just happens. Although it’s hard to predict the future right now, what are your plans for 2021? We think the future is going to be whatever it will be. The main thing we need to do is just focus on Red Spektor and do what feels right and get back to grassroots. We have been lucky finding Jonny, and the ideas and creativity are spiking but we want to grow as a band again, so 2021 is the year to find out what that looks like. Are there any newer bands that you’re listening too now that you’d recommend to our readers? We all have quite varied tastes in music, these are some of what we listening to at the moment - check out the latest albums from Mr Bungle, Psychlona, Master Charger, Sound of Origin, Devil Electric, the lockdown album by Witchtripper was cool, then there’s 1968, F|U|S, also kick ass! Thanks again for speaking to me today, any final words? Cheers John, the main thing is a big thank you to everyone that has stuck with us over the years and we hope to catch you all on the road sometime soon. Peace!

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A T O M H E A R T M U T HA R E C OM M E N D S

The heavy underground is a vast and ever-expanding place, we live in an era where music is readily available and relatively easy to come across. Each week for ‘Atom Heart Mutha’ I listen to show submissions as well as look further out to see what great music there is out there. Here are some recommendations of albums I think are well worth seeking out and discovering, you can find these artists on Bandcamp and social media as well as hear them on The Atom Heart Mutha Radio Show every Friday at 1.00pm on Hard Rock Hell Radio.

Kadavar – The Isolation Tapes (Robotor Records) Berlin’s Kadavar are no strangers on the stoner rock scene, their notoriously heavy rock’n’roll songbook has helped the band find themselves as world-class leaders within the dope n doom scene. 2020 found the band releasing something far more spiritual and cosmic to the surprise of fans and critics alike. Recorded during the initial lockdown in 2020, the impact of the global situation on lives around the world as well as on Kadavar as artists too is evident. The record flows from start to finish with astral grace and trippy beauty - Pink Floyd and in particular, Meddle and Dark Side Of The Moon will undoubtedly be used as a comparison for this particular direction for the band. It has a motoric and vintage Krautrock feel too and offers an altogether calmer and more metaphysical experience than past releases. It’s an unexpected release, but an extremely welcome one.

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AT OM H E A RT M U T HA R E C OM M E N D S

Horizon – The White Planet Patrol (Cursed Tongue Records)

Red Spektor – Heart Of The Renewed Sun (Kozmik Artifactz)

Alicante in Spain appears to be the unlikely hub of some of the very best heavy psychedelic cosmic jams around right now. Pyramidal released one of my favourite albums last year and now it looks like Horizon has done the same for 2020! Horizon have been making superb heavy psych and space rock for nearly a decade, their latest (and third) offering finds them at the top of their game. The signature spaced out sound of the band remains but has evolved into something with far more expansion, depth and warmth. Opening opus “The Backyard” is driven by cosmic groove and beautiful vintage ‘70s riffage; it’s an irresistible fuzzy trip! There are heavy psych hooks aplenty on “King Serpent” and “Blind World” but it’s the albums title track that really shines here as not only the sets highlight but also one of Atom Heart Mutha’s favourite tracks of the year.

Staffordshire’s finest stoner doom trio return this year with a brand new album filled to the brim with everything that makes them one of the finest bands on the UK underground circuit right now. Building on the stoner grooves of 2016’s brilliant self-titled debut album, Heart of the Renewed Sun finds the group channelling their live sonics and showcasing the diversity of sound you get from a Red Spektor show. Current AHM live favourite ‘Revol” makes a welcome appearance on the album and absorbs itself into your mind with the most delicious of bluesy doom riffs; the rock’n’roll juggernaut moves on with “Long Way Down” and outstanding album opener “Warflower”. Red Spektor are firing on all cylinders right now and if ever there’s a chance to see them live. Take it!

Master Charger – Origin of the Lugubrious (Stoned Rocka Recordings)

Electric Hydra - Electric Hydra (Majestic Mountain Records)

Gentleman John James and the Master Charger boys have achieved the impossible and managed to release an album that captures the sharp acidity and swagger of their on-stage sound. Taking leaps forward with their musical style, “Origins of the Lugubrious” offers 7 brilliant tracks of gravelled stoner metal and mammoth psychedelic rock - and packages it with irresistible riffs and rhythmic grooves that are guaranteed to make your head bounce. There are touches of Sabbath here and there and nods to Matt Pike’s band High on Fire too. Like Red Spektor, Master Charger are a formidable force of nature on stage and Origins of the Lugubrious effortlessly displays what it is that makes them a powerful live prospect.

Sweden’s Electric Hydra are the latest signing to the fantastic Majestic Mountain Records label and have joined a roster that boasts brilliant artists such as Saint Karloff, Kal-El and The Hypnagogics. The band have turned heads for a while now and the most recent single “Blackened Eyes” has helped draw comparisons to Fu Manchu and Queens Of The Stone Age. Stand out tracks “The Betrayal” and “It Comes Alive” show the promise of making good on the reputation they already have as a formidable live act. The bands sound is raw and powerful with brilliant hard rock’n’roll vocals by Sanne Karlsson and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a finer set to scratch that heavy rock itch this year!

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ONLINE SHOP, BAND INFOS AND MORE:

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WWW.NUCLEARBLAST.DE

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/NUCLEARBLASTRECORDS

@NUCLEARBLASTEU

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WORDS: MICHELLE EVANS PHOTOS: KONSTANTINA FRASIA PHOTOGRAPHY

2020 was the year that nobody predicted…except maybe psychic Sylvia Browne! Our world of music was dropped on its head, much like a metalhead diving into a crowd dispersed of people. But from despondency, comes inspiration, innovation, comradery, and the overwhelming love of our music industry. Just ask South Wales’ King Kraken, who in 2020 released their ‘Chaos Engine’ EP, got a record deal (with Metal Rocka Recordings), and are now in the throws of recording their debut album. HRH spoke to King Kraken about what makes a band, live music, lockdown & um… snakebites! Q: King Kraken, such a great name for a band! How did it come about? Mark: Well...now then, what I would have liked to say is that a Kraken is a huge terrifying beast of the deep. Many fears in its wake and a Kraken perfectly fits the huge massive slabs of monster riffage that we like to put out! Also, the ‘king’ of a species is a cannibal. What is more badass than a Kraken that eats other Krakens? A King Kraken! However, the truth is far duller. Originally one of the boys came up with the name Kraken. Rich (drummer) suggested we stick ‘King’ in front of it and the rest is history! I prefer the first explanation which is completely untrue. Sounds a helluva lot better than ‘Stick KING in front of it boys!’. Well...there we go. Q: Pete, you created King Kraken. How has the journey been for you? With a record signing, and a positive fanbase, did you expect to be where you are today? Pete: I wanted to be around people with the same passion and need to create and play heavier within a genre that I felt happier in. I yearned for a band where we were all on the same page with the same goals and mission to get things moving the way I wanted. My advert stated ‘NO DIVAs!’ I’m not sure I managed to find a band without divas as such, but we respect each other’s work we all put in and that is evident in our songwriting. I truly believe that the songs are a complete manifestation of our passion and need to push the boundaries with fresh and exciting music that is gaining momentum. I love what’s happening. Q: Combined, you have a wealth of passion for music. What

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does that bring to King Kraken? Mark: We have all come from different musical backgrounds. This is evident in our writing. Each member contributes equally. So much so that if a single member writes a complete song to bring to rehearsal it usually leaves a shadow of its former self, although for the better. You got Pete who loves Jinjer at the moment...and vodka...ALWAYS vodka. Richard who loves Pantera. Karl is full-on Slayer. I love Black Label Society and Queen. Adam is...well...born in the wrong era. He is full-on classic CLASSIC rock (that needed two classics) eg Spooky Tooth, Hendrix et al. Adam: I think the reason I got into a lot of the music that I really like is because of my parents, and because when I was 13 I started a Saturday job in a local guitar shop, and I got ‘schooled’ by the owner as well as a host of regulars who would’ve fitted right in on the set of Almost Famous. I remember asking my father how bands decided on the music they were going to play, and his answer was simply, ‘they’re just playing the music they like son’. Whilst it’s clear that isn’t always the case, it really should be, so that’s what I do, most of the time anyway! Richard: I have always been a self-taught drummer but when I wanted to learn new techniques of playing I would just turn to YouTube and watch videos of people teaching or my favourite drummers such as Vinnie Paul, Bill Ward, & Ian Paice. I have always found that very handy at learning new stuff. Q: How collaboratively do the band work together? Does each member have a specific role? Mark: It usually starts with someone bringing a riff. Pete can usually come up with full songs that get torn apart at rehearsal. I will come up with the

occasional full song that gets... yes you guessed it… torn apart at rehearsals and I also handle 95% of the lyrics. Karl is absolutely, unequivocally the ‘riffmeister’! Adam will NOT listen to pre- written songs that we post to each other. This is to his advantage as he gets to listen to them with fresh ears. Rich knows what works and what doesn’t. If it doesn’t pass the Rich test it usually needs changing. The important thing is we all have input to each others roles and I believe that is how King Kraken work best. I mean...it’s that formula that got us to where we are today. Karl: Well, the honest answer is that Pete and I are both ‘riffmeisters’ of the band. However, I believe I slightly outrank Pete for the reason that, when we are in rehearsal and something isn’t quite coming together, I can usually pull something out of thin air that will fall into place. Q: If 2020 was a riff, how would describe it? Karl: Well definitely not a riff that I would come up with. It would most likely be a riff where all strings on the guitars and bass were all out of tune and plenty of palm-muted nonsense chucked in too. Q: And Mark, you write horror fiction. Does this lend into your songwriting? Mark: It does indeed influence my songwriting as in the songs I like to tell actual stories and not just address issues pertaining to this and that. To give a little secret away ‘Chaos Engine’ from our latest EP is actually all about The Purge, ‘Freak’ is about the dark side of the internet, ‘The Grey’ is about alien abduction, ‘Castle Of Bone’ is about a greedy ruler that has no thought for the people he rules, etc. It’s all stories. Q: If you were going to turn one of these songs into a horror film script, which would it be and why? Mark: That’s easy. One of our early songs off the first EP ‘Under The Sun’. It’s quite apocalyptical and biblical. It’s all about God having a gutful and giving Earth back to the Devil. The Devil comes back and starts cleaning house. I would watch that. Q: King Kraken’s new music has a filthy edge, but also feels specific & polished. I don’t know whether to listen with a Bourbon or fine Malbec. Was this the aim? Working with producer Romesh Dodangoda? Mark: We have always been a live band. The songs that we write develop as we play them live. To quote a member of the band ‘we need to play these songs live before we record them for the songs to evolve’. That kinda’ dictates what songs go on the album. We wanted someone who could capture the live, raw sound of King Kraken whilst giving a polished produced feel. There was only one choice. It’s unbelievable to think the same guy did Motorhead, Bullet For My Valentine and Bring Me The Horizon because each band has such a vastly different sound. That is a true talent. We wanted to catch our live energy sound and have a really big sound like King Kraken and OMG did he deliver! Romesh is an absolute legend. As a true producer, he wanted to know how we wanted to sound. He took the time to listen to our ideas and totally understood where the band wanted to be. That’s a good producer! It was an absolute pleasure to work with this guy. We are going back to finish our debut. And to answer your original question, Lambrini with 2 gallons of snakebite and ya good to go! Q: You’ve been using lockdown productively, creating new music in your studio. What can people expect from your debut album? Mark: Honestly, I believe that those who are familiar with the Kraken can expect THE KRAKEN. Lockdown has improved us, damn if only I could post songs right now! If you like us now...wait till the album! There’s something for everyone... a cliché I know but f**k it! You want the Kraken, it’s coming! We honestly believe that this is gonna be a killer album! And to be humble, it won’t be for everyone, but it’s gonna be a BELTER! You will find songs about serial killers, war, outcasts, the devil, Robert Johnson’s crossroads and of course… Batman! GOD I love Batman!

get the comments at the end of a gig. Those are the best! Might have been a quiet night but when ONE person comes up and says, ‘loved it’, you have done your job. Q: What can your audience expect from a King Kraken gig? Mark: Tunes! Aggression! Melody! And a bloody good time! Come to a King Kraken gig and forget about all your stresses and shit for a while and let go! Q: Seriously, how much do you miss live music? Mark: It feels like I have lost a limb, to be honest. All we want to do is share our music with as many people as possible. It’s the way we express ourselves. King Kraken might as well not exist without the Kraken fans! 2020 has been a real struggle. To coin an old phrase, you don’t realise how much you miss something till it’s gone. We must keep positive. Gigs will return and with it a ton of new King Kraken material. There are things that can be done such as live streaming, but nothing replaces the energy and connection of a live gig. You’re there feeding off the band, the band are feeding off the audience. You simply don’t get that any other way. Q: Since we are talking about gigs. Let’s reminisce about King Kraken’s best gig? Mark: HRH Metal 4, Birmingham 02! Hands down! 15 minutes before going on I took a sneak peek from backstage, & there were only six people in the audience. When we finally took to the stage the room was rammed to capacity! And they stayed. The day before we went randomly around the crowds giving out CDs with stickers on them with our slot time on it. Seeing those people in the crowd made the connection even stronger. Everyone got into the spirit of it all. It was a magnificent gig. Q: You were finalists for Bloodstock’s Metal 2 the Masses and have recently signed with Metal Rocka Recordings. How has your world changed? Mark: It’s crazy to think that we formed in 2018. Here we are 2 years after its inception and King Kraken have been signed. We literally gigged our asses off when we got together. We wanted as many people to hear us as possible. We are like, Holy Sh*t! Is this us right now? We feel that although we are the same band, responsibilities to ourselves and our fans have shifted up a gear. If anything, to answer the original question... our world has changed to the point where we now work harder, and not only do we welcome that… we fu**in’ love it! Pete: It’s a real honour to be part of the HRH team, (signing to) Metal Rocka has made 2020 a bit more digestible. I’m just the same as every other musician out there who is screaming to play again especially in the larger arenas and festivals planned. Let’s just hope this virus fu**s off soon so we can get back on it! Q: What words of advice can you give new bands that are coming together for the first time, especially during 2020? What excites you about new music? Pete: Ahh man, there’s literally so much raw talent out there and we’ve had the privilege to play with so many amazing local bands who we love. I’m really excited for the new wave (of music) that’s coming and will definitely be sharing the spoils wherever we can. We love playing with the awesome Southwalian talent box that’s out there and we will be lucky enough to experience lots more talent in the UK scene we’ll be playing with as soon as this bullsh*t calms down a bit. Mark: I believe that Covid-19 and all this lockdown sh*t has afforded the creative to be...well...creative. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that times are difficult and hard, and it feels like that you are slowly being crushed by restrictions and rules but know this. If you are in a band and coming together for the first time, then WRITE! Just do it and don’t think about it. Most importantly, four words...DO NOT GIVE UP! To new bands, if you give up then the world just might have missed out on the next Metallica, Dimmu Borgir, Jinjer, Slipknot, whoever is your taste! KEEP WRITING, KEEP CREATING. The important thing to remember is if you can survive in the face of adversity then you will come out the other side! Any band that does that deserves checking out!

Q: And, what are the biggest things you’ve missed during lockdown? Mark: What we have missed is working together in a rehearsal room and gigs, gigs, gigs! The lockdown has shown how much you miss something when it is taken away. We have new material and are itching to show it but the powers that be prevent that. It’s very strange. “Signing to Metal Rocka is the best thing we could have done. They believed in us.” Q: What’s next for King Kraken? Will 2021 be the year you were expecting 2020 for the band? Mark: 2020 was our year! We were gonna conquer the world! Then we thought ‘F**K THIS’, we’ll do it anyway. We wrote tunes individually. We became creative if only to not let the restrictions ‘Kill the Kraken’. We hoped that at some point the lockdown will ‘Release the Kraken’ and it has. We now bring all these ideas to rehearsal. 2021 brings new responsibilities with our recent signing. We see this as a natural progression to spread our music to a wider audience, whereby our current fans can come on the journey with us. Signing to Metal Rocka is the best thing we could have done. They believed in us. They saw what we had to offer. They liked it! There are plenty of irons in the fire and if everything comes to fruition 2021 will be a very exciting year indeed. Q: When you are on stage, how do you know you’ve connected with a live audience? What is the difference between a good gig and a great gig? Mark: Simple! When the crowd sings back our lyrics! BUT also… when you

King Kraken – Chaos Engine is out now on via Metal Rocka Recordings on all digital platforms.

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WORDS: VIKI RIDLEY

DARK CIRCLE

Nikki Davenport

Q) Introduce yourself Nikki... What’s your name and where do you come from? A) Hi Viki – it’s lovely to talk to you and thanks for asking me to do this interview! My name is Nikki! I come from a small town in the North West of England called Rochdale (but I’m not a small-town girl – ha ha) Q) Tell the HRH Mag readers about yourself! A) Well, I know you probably won’t believe me – but my school reports always said that I was ‘a quiet & conscientious student’ – haha - I’m still conscientious but I don’t think my friends would describe me as quiet! I like to have fun, I’m adventurous and can be pretty spontaneous - much to my husband (Lee’s) dismay as he’s much more methodical and likes to have time to mull things over, so I probably get on his nerves a bit. I have a love for all things spooky and weird – like most of my friends haha. Halloween is my favourite time of the year – in fact, every day is Halloween in my house! I love rock & metal music and going to gigs and festivals. I enjoy horror films, reading, fitness, health & well-being and getting involved in charity work. I’ve done loads of different challenges over the years to raise money for charity, including mud runs, parachute jumps, abseils and I also trekked along The Great Wall of China in 2016 to raise money for The British Heart Foundation. That was one of those spontaneous – ‘I’m doing it’ things and when I told Lee, he was like ‘Well, you can’t travel to the other side of the world on your own’ and I said ‘Well, come with me then’. He wasn’t keen on the idea at first – but after he thought about it for a bit, he decided to join me and it was an absolutely amazing experience which we both loved. I love to travel, and back in 1999 I combined my love of travel with charity work and spent six months working on a project in SOWETO, South Africa, where I worked with families affected by HIV & AIDS. Prior to that I spent six months living on top of a mountain in Norway, studying and preparing for our African adventure - completing tasks to really push our limits – ‘make the impossible possible’ was the motto! I climbed the highest mountain in Norway – wading through snow up to my thighs, completed a firewalk, hitch-hiked around Scandinavia and sold postcards on the streets to raise money for the project I was going to work on in Africa – sometimes in -20 degrees, plus loads of other crazy stuff! It was a real test of character and not everyone who signed up made it through – but I’m pretty resilient and always up for a challenge, so as difficult as things were at times, I never gave up and it was an experience I’ll never forget. What else do I do? I have three jobs – I work for the local council for the first part of the week as a Business Support Assistant, I teach five swimming classes per week and I also carry out Independent Quality Assurance Audits on Residential Children’s Homes. I’m also a listening volunteer with Samaritans and completed the Samarathon this year raising over £300 for my local branch. Q) Nikki, how did your lockdown go? What did you do to

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keep your spirits up during the restrictions? A) I actually enjoyed the lockdown (told you I was weird!). It’s been nice to spend some time at home – as usually, I’m off out at a gig or festival somewhere so it was nice to actually spend some time pottering in the garden and appreciating the space we have at home. I feel fortunate for that, as I’m aware – and particularly through my work with Samaritans - that some people have really struggled not having their own space and being cooped up without a garden or outdoor area has been difficult. I was lucky enough to be able to work from home for one of my jobs which has been great as I can fit a workout in at lunchtime – which I can’t do when I have to go to the office! With the absence of gigs, I’ve had a lot more time on my hands and as I like to keep busy – I filled that time studying and I’ve just become a RockFit Instructor! Q) Tell me more about RockFit – how did that come about? A) I first heard about RockFit in February this year whilst attending Rockmantic in Carlisle. One of the attendees put a post in the Rockmantic event page that there was a RockFit class on the Saturday morning before the event. I thought that sounded like just my kind of thing – I love a good cardio class but even better – this one has decent tunes!! On the Friday night, I asked around who fancied coming with me and loads of people were like

‘yeah – defo!’ But, obviously when their hangovers kicked in the following morning – everyone jibbed out haha. So off I went and I absolutely loved the class – with tracks from Motley Crue, Kiss, Def Leppard, Guns n Roses, Alice Cooper, Marilyn Manson & Rammstein to name a few – I was buzzing when I left so went on-line to see if there were any classes near me. Unfortunately, there weren’t but I saw that they were looking to train new instructors! So, I made some enquiries and discovered that a prerequisite for being a RockFit Instructor was to have a qualification in Exercise to Music or equivalent – which I didn’t have. So, I did a bit more research, found the course I needed to do and enrolled myself on it – and seven months later, I have now gained the qualification and completed my RockFit Instructor training and hope to start classes (socially distanced and COVID risk assessed) in the New Year! There are so many awesome tracks to learn but I’m hoping that people will love it as much as I do and want to come to my classes! One of the things that happened because of lockdown was that RockFit launched on-line classes and this has been brilliant. I signed up straight away so have been rocking out in my living room most days haha! Check out www.rockfit.org.uk and there’s really supportive Facebook group – ‘RockFit UK Online’ which I know you’re a member of too Viki, but I haven’t seen you sharing your sweaty selfie yet! HRH) I would have come with you and danced off my hangover! Haha Nikki I shall do one, just for you! Q) Where did the love of rock music begin for you? A) I grew up listening to The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks and The Beach Boys. My Dad (rest his soul) always played music in the house – loud - on his ‘Top of the Range’ Sharp VZ 3000 stereo (which I still have in the attic.) I remember him playing Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ full blast – and jumping out of my skin when the bells started ringing on ‘Time’ haha. Music became my own when I discovered Billy Idol when I was about 12 – I got ’11 of the Best’ on cassette for my birthday and played it to death and the first album I bought myself was ‘Charmed Life’. I joined the Billy Idol fan club when I was 13 and still have my membership card (No 1692 lol). My first gig was on the 18th May 1993 - Bon Jovi at Sheffield Arena when I was 16 on their ‘Keep the Faith’ tour. Me and three friends got our tickets with the coach package for about £23 from ‘Rocks Off’ – our local record store and ventured off. Music becomes very much your own at that age and you create your very own soundtrack to your life. Q) And your favourite genre of rock? What or who really blows you away on stage? A) I absolutely love Alice Cooper. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen him and the stage show just blows me away – I never, ever get bored no matter how many times I’ve seen it, I could watch it every night! So, it kind of follows that I love other artists who have been inspired by Alice – so Rob Zombie, Wednesday 13 & Marilyn Manson. I absolutely love Beasto Blanco too – with Alice’s bass player Chuck Garrick and Daughter Calico. I was ecstatic to learn they were playing at Bannerman’s in Edinburgh on my birthday a couple of years ago so made a weekend of it – and the highlight was getting to meet all of the band afterwards – I was made up! - Another band who never fails to deliver is Metallica. The live shows are immense and their performance last year at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester was just amazing. I re-watched it on YouTube the other week – it’s just brilliant. Again – I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen them. I’ve got so many big band faves – but it would be remiss of me (being their Number 1 Fan!) not to give a special mention for my love of Massive Wagons!! Those guys really do blow me away with their energy and they have worked so hard to get where they are and I’m made up that they’re starting to get the recognition they deserve. Check ‘em out!! I was made up that they played my 40th birthday party a few years ago (see pic)– it was a great night!! Q) Nikki, you’re a big festival goer, I know you’ve travelled far and wide to attend many. When was your first Hard Rock Hell Festival and what was it that made you attend? A) Yes, I’ve been to many a foreign festival including Graspop in Belgium, Frontiers Rock Festival in Italy, Barcelona Rock Festival in……. erm, well Barcelona, Hard Rock Hell Ibiza and Rock Am Ring in Germany. In fact, it was at Rock Am Ring in 2007 that I met the guy who introduced me to Hard Rock Hell, you’ll know him as Tonito (can I have a setlist, please) Bermudez. It’s funny meeting people abroad at a festival when it turns out that you attend the same festivals back home! We’ve been friends ever since and it’s those friendships that make me keep coming back to Hard Rock Hell. It’s like one big family reunion and the majority of people now on my friends list I’ve met through a shared love of live music. My first Hard Rock Hell was HRH IV in 2010 when it was at Prestatyn which was headlined by Airbourne – wow - was that a good show! Another highlight of that week-

end was seeing a band called Furyon, absolutely love them. If you haven’t got a copy of ‘Gravitas’ – you need it in your collection! Sadly, they’re no longer together as a band but I still hold out hope for a reunion :) Q) Tell the readers what it is about HRH that makes you want to keep coming back? A) The people and the music – it’s as simple as that! Q) What is your craziest HRH memory to date? I’m sure you have many! A) Ha! My craziest memories are probably the ones I can’t remember!! I do remember one year, plying all The Treatment guys with shots of Strawberry Corky’s until there was none left. Another year – Tequila shots with Bigfoot – I think that was the year I got thrown out for being drunk – although reliable sources tell me that I was just a bit unsteady on my feet, leaning on the bar. I put it down to high heeled New Rock boots haha. It was one of the years Saxon played and it was a bit too crowded so I think security just had to get a few people out and I was an unfortunate victim (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it lol). But actually, I think one of the craziest memories was at the first HRH Awards. Each table had a bottle of Jager and a bottle of Cloven Hoof – we got through those pretty quickly so it wasn’t long before Celina was minesweeping other tables haha. We were well and truly ‘Hoofed’ that night and boy did I feel it the day after. I happened to notice a graze to my knee and elbows and a couple of bruises and asked Lee (hubby) whether I’d fallen over (another incident relating to high heels?) It turns out that Lee (drunk) was trying to carry me (even more drunk) across the grass on the way back to our chalet as obviously I couldn’t walk my spiky heels on it – and the bugger dropped me!! I think the line went something like…..’Oh yeah, now you mention it, I think I did drop you.’ Q) To date, who has been your favourite artist to appear at HRH? Or your favourite event lineup? A) I loved seeing Skid Row, Black Stone Cherry, Buckcherry and Airbourne to name a few at the main HRH event back in the day - however since the addition of HRH Sleaze – there’s been loads of great bands who have played and it’s probably my fave of the HRH events band wise now that it’s split into so many events. I was made up when Backyard Babies were announced to play the first HRH Sleaze, along with Falling Red, The Senton Bombs, Psychobabylon and The Idol Dead – all my faves!! But it’s not just about the big-name bands – I’ve discovered loads of new music through HRH and seen so many up and coming bands – The Texas Flood, Massive, The Treatment, The Burning Crows, Bonafide, Mason Hill, Bad Touch, Buffalo Summer, Trucker Diablo, Bigfoot, Those Damn Crows, Screaming Eagles, Thirteen Stars, Black Spiders, Anchor Lane – the list goes on. And I know it’s a running joke amongst the HRH regulars – but I don’t care how many times The Quireboys play – they’re always fun to watch and I love them!! Q) It has been said that the DC are a clique and that we are only in it for the free drinks and the pizza! Nikki, I know you are vegan, don’t drink alcohol and are very focussed on health and wellbeing. What is your experience of being in the DC, as a non-drinker and clearly very much against the naked dancing, goat sacrifice ceremony that we hold every November (just kidding guys!)? A) I’ve been a HRH regular for 10 years, and was nominated for the DC in 2016. It’s quite dangerous being plied with that much free alcohol at 4pm in the afternoon – it gets a bit messy haha. But – the DC are hardcore drinkers – and I was well up there!! But my hardcore drinking days are behind me, thanks to a New Year’s Eve encounter with a bottle of Polish Vodka! Now you’ll just see me bouncing around high on caffeine! I can take it or leave it and I’m a bit of an all or nothing girl. I’d often go for months without drinking if I was training for an event as I get the worst hangovers, and it’s impossible to stick to a training schedule when you’re bedbound for the weekend after a Friday night sesh! So, I’ve decided that life is too short and it’s amazing how much you can achieve when your weekend isn’t ruined by a hangover! Thanks Nikki, I can’t wait for a RockFit flashmob dance at HRH!

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