HRH Mag Issue XXII - November 2023 by Hard Rock Hell Magazine

Kenny Wayne Shepherd VOLUME XXII - TVEIR OK TUTTUGU

CONTENTS 04 Kenny Wayne Shepherd 08 Viki’s Gates of Hell - 08. The Rattlebacks - 10. Bittersweethearts - 12. Dirty Mitts - 13. Sleep In Motion - 14. Muddibrooke

18 Danko Jones 20 Crowley 22 Green Lung 24 HRH Awards VI - Hard Rock Hell Radio DJ Nominees 26 Starbenders 28 Cobra Spell 32 Ward XVI 34 Nikki Stringfield 36 Chris Shiflett 38 The Struts 40 Hannah Wicklund 42 The Cadillac Three 44 Live Reviews - 44. Bywater Call - 46. Robert Jon & The Wreck - 48. Winery Dogs - 50. Rival Sons

- 52. Glenn Hughes with Support: The Damn Truth - 54. Europe - 57. Hawkwind - 60. Arctangent Festival - 64. Stonedead Festival - 66. Fairport’s Cropredy Convention - 68. Skindred with Support: Cody Frost and BlackGold

70 HRH Sleaze VI Photo Gallery 74 Bernie Marsden 76 Heavenly Cream 78 Rival Sons 80 Dirty Honey 82 Bywater Call 84 Amaranthe 86 Robert Jon & The Wreck 88 Robin Trower 00 Album Reviews

102 Stories From The Merch Stand 104 Nightblade 106 Woven Man

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Welcome to volume XXII Editorial Chief Editor - Adam Kennedy adam@hrhmediahub.com

The Team

Designer - Charlotte Hooper Contributing Writers: Russell Peake, Viki Ridley, Adam Kennedy, Paul Davies, Charlotte Hooper, Dennis Jarman, Peter Ray Allison, Simon ‘Spindles’ Potthast, Diane Davies, Victoria Llewelyn, Eliza Lee, Ruth Cranston

Management Publisher - Dark Watch BVI Limited HRH Experiences Ltd Chairman / Founder Jonni Davis European Director John Ellis john@darkwatch.net

Contributing Photographers: Adam Kennedy, Simon Dunkerley, Eric Duvet, All Others Credited.

Head of Marketing Charlotte Hooper charl@darkwatch.net

Advertising Kelvin Williams kelvin@hrhmediahub.com

Head of Sales Jessica Lloyd jess@darkwatch.net

Subscriptions Visit hrhmag.com/subscribe or email info@hrhmag.com

HRH Official Photographer Simon Dunkerley simond@hrhmag.com

As always, a huge thank you to ALL the hardworking bands, photographers and writers that have contributed to this issue. It’s very much appreciated by us all.

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Kenny Wayne Shepherd It’s nigh on thirty years since he released his debut platter, Ledbetter Heights, since when Kenny Wayne Shepherd has reliably fulfilled all the expectations of those with an enquiring ear for masterful guitarists. His blend of subtle influences is finely interwoven into his sonic play. It’s coupled with a powerful technique that still sets him apart from many of his contemporaries. His tour itinerary and ticket sales prove as much as does the sales returns on his highly productive output of releases. His latest long player, Dirt On My Diamonds Vol 1, flawlessly represents his guitar-slinging style that goes against the grain of the meaning behind its title as he tells me: “Naming a record is always the last part of the process for me. We usually go with a title from one of the songs and Marshall Altman, my co-producer, felt very strongly about Dirt On My Diamonds being the title track of the record, because he thought it has all the elements of what people expect from Kenny Wayne Shepherd.” Kenny explains why: “It’s high intensity, it is blues, it is rock, it has a great vocal performance on it and great energy from the band. Also, the message of the song is relevant to the world that we live in today.” He elaborates further: “The song is about embracing our flaws, the flaws of the world, perfection is not accomplishable. There’s no such thing as a perfect thing, right? That’s what makes us unique as people: our differences, our imperfections. Those are the things that allow us to grow. So, rather than trying to pretend that they don’t exist, it’s better to embrace them, because they help us to grow. The whole thing is like a little ‘dirt on my diamonds’; my edge is rough.” Kenny brings his thoughts on this subject into sharper focus: “With social media, I look at my kids, everybody’s social media has created this imaginary world where everybody’s trying to pretend they’re perfect. They have all these filters on their pictures and special effects to make them look different like they’re posing in front of a background. And that’s not really where they’re at. All these things are trying to create this fiction of the perfect life. And reality is much more beautiful to me.” As the near perfect definition of a ‘road rat’, Kenny is speaking to me prior to a show at the Amphitheatre in Jefferson City, Missouri as he reveals his itinerary: “We’re in transition from the previous tour and into the tour that’s going to be supporting the new record, Dirt On My Diamonds Vol 1. The record comes out on November 17th. As a rule, I don’t play songs from the new album until it has been released. But the record company has put out two songs from the

record so far...” Kenny reveals more about this to me: “We’re starting to work those up and maybe work them into the show. I would say, in my opinion, the official launch of the tour supporting the new record, where we’ll be featuring a lot of songs from it, that’ll be at the beginning of next year.” Kenny is at the point in his career where he has joined the rarified ranks of his guitar heroes, as one himself, as he details a crucial encounter: “Meeting Stevie Ray Vaughan, that was a huge pivotal moment for me. Watching him play just lit the fire of inspiration inside of me to want to play with the same kind of passion that he played with. But it wasn’t just him. It was Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top, Jimi Hendrix, BB King, Albert King, Freddie King, Albert Collins, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton and so on and so forth. There’s a number of guitar players that inspired me to practice harder and to try and learn how to do what they do.” Kenny continues this theme: “Anybody who was a trailblazer on the guitar as an instrument and they were associated with blues or rock music and Southern rock type roots-based music. I listened to that stuff, and I absorbed all of it” Something else he absorbed into his life is a very decent collection of guitars: “I would say it’s not compared to some of my friends like Joe Bonamassa, for example. I’ve never even counted the number of guitars that I have, I would say it’s north of 100. But, you know, I’ve never actually laid them all out and tried to count them. I don’t consider myself to be a collector,” he modestly adds. “I just acquired the tools that I need, and I use them. I’m very hard on them, which is one of the reasons why I never got into trying to collect and preserve these flawless vintage instruments because if I play them, they’re just going to get banged to hell and back and then I’m going to be destroying history. So, I just kind of find the tools that I feel I need in my arsenal to get the job done and stick with that.” A reluctant collector, he is a guitar maniac at heart as he furthers: “I admire guys like Joe. He’s really gone out of his way to get this incredible collection. It is incredible! He’s preserving and is a custodian of those things.” However, KWS feels the weight of responsibility as he confides: “I bought a mint condition Stratocaster back in the late 90s. It was a ‘58 Strat that looked brand new. I started playing it the night that I bought it and, within one year, the finish was completely coming off all over the place because I play so hard, and so aggressive. That’s when I knew that I can’t do this to these things and delete them for the

collectors.” Amongst DOMD-V1 incendiary blues-rock bombs of songs, Kenny has created a rocked up take on Elton John’s Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting. He explains his reasoning for its inclusion: “I just keep a running list of songs that I think would be fun for us to cover and where we could do a good version of those songs. Then it remains to be seen, once we get in the studio, if we really do a good version or not. But I was right on this one because we did a really good take of it. It always has to be an artist that I respect and admire.” He continues: “ The mark Elton’s had on the world of music is massive, he’s one of those artists that could do any genre and, in this particular case, what a great rock and roll song!” There is a connection between Kenny and Elton as he discloses: “Davey Johnstone, his guitar player, is a friend of mine. I really admire him both as a player and as a human being. He’s just such a great guy. So, it’s a way for us to pay tribute to those guys.” There is a significant anniversary hoving into view that started his starry journey, but first: “The 25th anniversary of Trouble Is... also delayed this album coming out because we had to celebrate its anniversary. Anyways, after we get these two albums out (Vol 1 & 2), I think we’ll be directly following them with the 30th anniversary of Ledbetter Heights. We’ve already started recording a new version of that record. The Trouble Is... album that we did is a relatively faithful recreation of the original just 25 years later with almost all the same musicians, same songs, same arrangements, and it sounds incredibly familiar when you listen to the new version. The Ledbetter Heights album is not going to be that way for the simple fact that I had a different singer altogether on it and we parted ways after that record. Obviously, he’s not going to be singing on this new recording. So, whether Noah sings the songs, or I sing some...there’s no way we can recreate the sound of the original. So, having that in mind we can take certain liberties to reinterpret some of the songs and maybe come up with new and different versions of them. He adds in closing: “Hopefully, I’ll get that one out for the 30th anniversary and maybe do a similar tour where we go and play the entire album live like we did with Trouble Is...”

Words by Paul Davies Photo Credit: Jim Arbogast

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THE RATTLEBACKS Who are you? Oi oi! What do you mean you don’t know who we are? In the words of Greta, how dare you! I shall give you the humble and certainly serious answer… we are the best rock band you haven’t heard of, how about that for ya! Remember when rock music used to be exciting? No? We don’t either, we were all born post grunge when the fun stopped. The band itself was created because we just weren’t hearing the music we wanted to hear, so whether we are successful in our attempt is one thing, but the aim is to make people realise that hard rock music is far more exciting than someone with a laptop in a nightclub. Roll Call? Josh Clarke – On lead vocals Max Horn – On lead guitar Coxy – On rhythm Jack Hollamby – On bass Seth Markes – On drums Hailing from? All over the South of England. However, we are firmly located in Brighton these days, collectively this is where we got this together. We share a studio with Saint Agnes, Sick Joy and Blue Stragglers and it has been great to see the success they are all collectively having. We hope some of that room magic has rubbed off on us! Journey so far? Fraught with disaster! It is good fun though. Spinal Tap continues to be the holy texts of how a rock band actually functions.

That aside we spent many a year writing and defining our sound as a band before a twoand-a-half-year hunt for the “voice” himself that is Mr Josh Clarke. It was tough in that period as it felt like we were not moving forward, but in reality we were. We learnt a lot about what it takes to turn up every week even when you’re just treading water. I guess the band really gelled in that period, we refused to give up or compromise on a singer that wasn’t right and now we hope it is time to unleash that pent up energy to the world. Influences/sound? We are what should have happened after grunge, taking from all the influences from that era and the rock eras before it. We add a twist of modern, with a dash of riffs with a side of solos and some God-damn charisma. Biggest gig/proudest moment to date? THE ALBUM that is coming. Which we aren’t supposed to be talking about yet as all focus in on our upcoming EP Kink which comes out on the 17th of November. But I can safely say that I can die a happy man because we created the album that we have always wanted to create. Spending 13 days (at the time of writing) and our life savings to make, what we believe to be, the best hard rock record in a long long time. You could even say that Kink is just giving you the appetiser before you get the real taste.

What does the future hold for The Rattlebacks … Well in our immediate future we have Kink and then the album in 2024, perhaps even a live record in between. Alas we cannot peak into the goblet of rock and foresee what the future holds. What I can tell you is the upcoming 24 months are going to be crucial for us to get our message across. If we can get the opportunity to get our band seen and heard then the possibilities are endless. Being fans of this genre we really do think there is a market for The Rattlebacks and we want to be putting ourselves in the shop window to be the next Download headliners, if we can, that is the dream. So, if you are looking for a new band to believe in give us a try, have a listen & come to a show. I promise we will do everything in our power to be the band you want to see because the hard rock fan has as deserved better for far to long.

Photo Credit: Rob Blackham PAGE 9

BITTERSWEETHEARTS Who are you? Zoë: Hello! I am Zoë Rose Infante, the lead singer of the Bittersweethearts. I have an identical twin sister and two younger sisters, and we were all born and raised in Long Beach, California. Music runs in my family, with my dad being in bands both in the past and present. He even bears a resemblance to Mick Jagger, which I find pretty cool. While my mom may not be musically inclined, she is the most beautiful person I have ever seen. She had a modeling career and traveled the world for it. I consider myself fortunate to be a perfect blend of my parents, a model musician who gets to travel the world while living my childPAGE 10

hood dream. I have a deep love for playing music, singing, and I can also play a little guitar and bass. Singing has always been a part of my life, but writing has always held a special place in my heart. Since I was young, I have been writing poems and transforming them into songs, often finding melodies in my sleep and waking up to jot down my ideas. Alyssa: Hi! I’m Alyssa Mia Robertson. I play guitar and sing back-up vocals in Bittersweethearts! I have a twin sister and an older brother, and we’re all born and raised in Santa Monica, California. Our family pet is Charli, who is an adorable and spunky little Morkie puppy. Overall, I have a wide

range of interests! Obviously, I love playing music: I sing and can play guitar and bass, and play a little bit of the drums and keyboard. Singing has always been a part of my life, and I’ve been playing guitar for a little over 10 years. In addition to playing music, listening to music is another past time of mine. Although this list is very long, two favorite bands are My Chemical Romance and The Darkness. I also like collecting vinyl records, and looking for rare, cool finds. In addition to my musical interests and endeavors, I have a deep appreciation for literature and writing! Books are just like music in a sense; I love reading because, just like a song or an album,

a book can capture an entire world of emotions and experiences. When it comes to writing, I enjoy writing poetry—over time, these poems often turn into lyrics of some sort. Sometimes, in my own songwriting experiences, the words will often come before the music or the melody; when I write, I can almost hear the music in my head. Another interest of mine is going to concerts! Live music is such an immersive experience, and I love the sense of community they create. The most recent concert I attended was The Darkness at the Wiltern in early October. The Darkness is one of the best live bands, and they always put on an outstanding performance. If you’re ever given the chance to see The Darkness in concert, I heavily suggest you take it! Roll Call? Zoë: I am the lead singer of Bittersweethearts, a band that I created last year with the assistance of my manager, Ali . I expressed my desire to start a band on an Instagram story, and Ali immediately reached out, saying, “Let’s do this.” Through auditions, I was able to find the perfect musicians to join my band after some trial and error. I am absolutely in love with my band. Alyssa: I play guitar and sing backup vocals in Bittersweethearts! I auditioned for the band last fall. But, I became a permanent member in November 2022, making me the newest in this solidified line up. Hailing from? Zoë: I was born and raised in a peaceful Southern California beach town called Long Beach. Currently, I reside in Venice Beach, California, and I am thoroughly enjoying every moment of it. Alyssa: I was born and raised in the beautiful and sunny city of Santa Monica, California! I’m lucky enough to actually still live here. In addition to my mom and dad, I have a twin sister and an older brother, and a dog named Charli. Journey so far? Zoë: Despite Bittersweethearts being just over a year old, we have already embarked on coast-to-coast tours of the United States, as well as traveled to Canada and Europe. It has been an incredible blessing, and we are immensely grateful for the love and

support our band has received. With only a few songs available on streaming platforms, it’s just a taste of what is yet to come. Alyssa: I joined the band in November of 2022. My initial experiences with this band were sort of a whirlwind; a few months after I became a member of the band, Bittersweethearts were going on our first European tour! Since then, we’ve done a coast-tocoast tour of the United States, a tour of the Pacific Northwest and Canada, and released our newest song, “Empty.” Influences/sound? Zoë: I was raised on the Beatles, and their lyrics, melodies, harmonies, and overall brilliance have been a constant source of inspiration throughout my life. Growing up with rockstar parents, I was exposed to a wide range of exceptional music, from the Beatles to The Rolling Stones, the Zombies to the Cure, Etta James, Carole King, Grateful Dead, Blondie, No Doubt, Duran Duran, Billy Idol, Jonathan Richmond, the Velvet Underground, the Talking Heads, and many more. This diverse range of music has undoubtedly shaped my sound and vibe. Alyssa: There are so many bands that influence me. The biggest and most impactful influence is My Chemical Romance. I heard “Helena” in middle school, and I immediately wanted to learn how to play guitar so I could play music just like theirs. My Chemical Romance also inspired me to pursue music in a professional capacity, too; after seeing them play at the Hollywood Bowl in 2011, I realized I wanted to play live music for the rest of my life. As a guitar player, I really like to hone in on my tone. There are several guitar players that have influenced my tone in one way or another, such as the chorus effect and rhythmic playing of Kurt Cobain, the jangly and ethereal playing of Johnny Marr, and the fuzz sound of St. Vincent (just to name a few). As a band, I think our sound is a mix of bands like Blondie, No Doubt, The Smiths, and much more! We’re all from pretty eclectic musical backgrounds, so that definitely reveals itself in the nuances of our music. Biggest gig/proudest moment to date? Zoë: While we have yet to perform

at iconic venues like the Forum or Madison Square Garden, every show we play, whether big or small, holds immense significance to us. Each performance is a special moment that I wouldn’t trade for anything. However, my proudest moment thus far is undoubtedly selling out a show in Germany. It was an incredible experience. Alyssa: Relatively speaking, we are a “new” and “young” band. But, that doesn’t change how proud I am of what we’ve achieved in our first year of being a band: a new single and two tours! We have accomplished and grown so much as a band in 2023! There was also a show in Germany where a woman said I’m the new Kim Gordon. There was also a time after a gig where someone said I had the same punk rock energy as Frank Iero (who is one of my favorite guitarists from my favorite band, My Chemical Romance). My favorite shows played so far were our shows in San Francisco, Vancouver, and New Westminster. What does the future hold for you? Zoë: As 2023 comes to a close, my excitement continues to grow. We are in the final stages of completing our debut album, and I am beyond thrilled. Trust me, you won’t be ready for what we have in store! Additionally, we have a plethora of adorable new merchandise, including baby tees, tote bags, and possibly even lighters, that will be released soon. I am incredibly excited about these new additions. Furthermore, we have a tour scheduled for the beginning of 2024, so Europe, get ready! We are coming back to deliver an unforgettable experience that will knock your sweet socks off. Alyssa: Although everything is winding down as 2023 comes to a close, there is much, much in store for Bittersweethearts! We have a European tour slated for March 2024, and we’ll be hitting the studio soon to write and record (and release!) an album. Something I’m looking forward to for the band is some new merch coming up! I myself love band merch, so it’s definitely a lot of fun to design it. We’ve accomplished so much in 2023, so I’m excited to see what else 2024 has in store for the Bittersweethearts!

Photo Credit: Press Supplied PAGE 11

DIRTY MITTS Who are you? At our essence, we are Dirty Mitts, a cocktail of hard and classic rock. Born in 2022, we emerged with a fervent passion to infuse the unyielding spirit of rock’n’roll with a modern flair. This dedication has produced a unique sound characterized by its bluesy undertones, vintage nuances, and an electric fervor that promises to captivate listeners. We aren’t just another band; we see ourselves as a resurgence, a fresh voice in the rock scene, with a promise to deliver foot-tapping, heart-pounding music. Roll Call? We have Tommy leading with the vocals, Matt setting the groove on the bass, Mo crafting melodies on the guitar, and Mateusz driving our beats on the drums. Hailing from? Our roots are spread across the globe. Tommy and Matt bring the UK vibes, Mateusz carries the rhythmic beats of Poland, and Mo, with his Middle Eastern essence, represents Egypt. These varied backgrounds not only shape us individually but contribute to our unique collective sound.

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Journey so far? Carving our space in the rock realm, Dirty Mitts has been a thrilling expedition so far. We’ve stormed past the 200,000-stream mark on Spotify and unleashed our raw energy in venues all over the UK. But we’re no strangers to the stage. Mo’s guitar once set the atmosphere ablaze for a 20,000-strong crowd in Cairo. Over in Poland, crowds have been thumping to the beat of Mateusz’s drums for years. Matt’s been jamming since his younger days, but when he’s not setting the groove, he’s the band’s brain, diving deep into the world of law. Then there’s Tommy - always in the spotlight, from his drama school days to belting out numbers in the West End and even making an appearance on BBC Doctors. With Tommy around, every gig turns into a full-blown spectacle. Rock on! Influences/sound? Our inspirations are a rich tapestry of sound. The foundational vibes stem from the indomitable spirit of 70’s rock’n’roll, with giants like AC/DC, The Rolling Stones, and Free forming the bedrock of our influences. But we’re not confined to just that era. We blend elements from different genres and decades, ensuring our sound is both

familiar yet strikingly unique. Biggest gig/proudest moment to date? Recording 7 songs in just 3 days wasn’t just a testament to our dedication; truth be told, that’s all our budget would allow! But our intense rehearsals paid off, enabling us to lay down each track in just a few takes. Our commitment to our craft was further validated when renowned fashion designer Mounir Ghazi commissioned us to create a unique track for his upcoming rock-themed collection, set to debut next year. It’s not just a collaboration; it’s a testament to the versatility of our sound – proving we can not only rock the stages but also set the rhythm for the runway! What does the future hold? There’s a lot brewing. Our EP, “Hands Off,” is poised for a grand launch on November 10th, and it’s just the appetizer. An expansive album is in the pipeline for 2024. Parallelly, our ambition is to light up live stages, especially targeting renowned festivals next year. The journey is just unfolding, and it promises to be a rollercoaster of rhythm and rock. Photo Credit: Press Supplied

SLEEP IN MOTION Who are you? We are a band called Sleep In Motion and we come from Nottingham in the UK. Roll Call? I play guitar and sing for Sleep in Motion. Alex is the one who sits at the back of the stage and keeps us all in check on the drums and Lewis is always dancing away on the right playing the bass. We still love doing this as a three piece. We have spoken a few times about adding a fourth member at some point but we just really love the dynamic of the band currently. Also, we have a great way to make decisions. If we don’t always agree with each other, it always ends up in a vote between the three so most decisions can be made quickly which sometimes is a blessing. Also travelling is a lot more spacious as a three piece were not as on top of each other all the time so it’s a dream. Hailing from? We are all from Nottingham originally so we do class Nottingham as our hometown. We all love the music scene in Nottingham too. We love being apart of it and there are so many great venues and other artists around not just in the rock and metal scene but a huge collection of different genres spanning all over the city. It’s

always a pleasure to come back home to play and we love the crowds that we get to play too at home. Journey so far? We formed in late 2021 so not too long ago. We started the band as a side project as we were currently touring with another band. However, things didn’t work out with the other band and this became our full time writing and touring project. We’ve worked tirelessly over the past year and a half to write and produce this album and we are so incredibly proud of what we’ve created together. We believe it’s some thing truly special and we’re just anxiously awaiting the release date now and cannot wait to see the reactions from the fans and new listeners. Influences/sound? It’s a tough question and I do struggle to answer this one a lot. But if I had to give a comparison to any other bands it would be somewhat a lovechild of Alter Bridge and Stone Sour. Maybe a little bit of Avenged Sevenfold and Three Days Grace in there too with a sample of our heroes Pearl Jam and Nirvana. I don’t know. These are just bands I love to listen too so am sure that growing up around these bands as a kid and learning their songs that it can be

heard in my writing style. Biggest gig/proudest moment to date? We headlined our favourite venue The Bodega in Nottingham in the summer and that was so much fun. We love Nottingham so much and it’s just such a great night when we get to play at home. We are back at Rough Trade in Nottingham November 10th for an album release show. We know this will be and incredible night with all our friends! Also, we just released Terminal the lead single from the album and it went straight to number 1 on the iTunes Metal Charts on release day above Metallica and Slipknot so we were so happy and proud when we woke up to see that. What does the future hold for Sleep In Motion? We’re touring the album for the remainder of the year and then we will be heading out again around the UK in the Spring for the second Leg in support of the album. After that we’ll be releasing new music too. We have a plan to get over to the Netherlands next year as well as a few other countries in Europe. It’s starting to shape up to be a busy one and long may that continue! Photo Credit: Press Supplied PAGE 13

MUDDIBROOKE Who are you? We are MuddiBrooke - the Alt-Rock trio! Roll Call? I’m Brooke; the lead singer and guitarist of MuddiBrooke. On bass and backing vocals, we have Italian-blooded, Anna Melidone. And on drums we have the energetic blur, who is Morgan Pettigrew. Hailing from? We were all born, raised and living in Derbyshire. It’s a massive help being smack-bang in the middle of the county when it comes to touring! Journey so far? It all started in October 2019; after ten years of being a solo, singer-songwriter, I had a vision of an all-girl, country-grunge-rock band called ‘MuddiBrooke’. I went out looking for members, this is when I was introduced to Anna. I told her I was holding auditions and we had a jam together. Straight away, we just clicked. As I PAGE 14

hadn’t been in a band for a while, I was a bit rusty with equipment; and in the rehearsal room where we met, I tried to turn up the vocal PA, which after an awkward silence, Anna said “I… think that’s the bass amp.” I felt so stupid but we laughed so much at that. It broke the ice. Anna has since said to me “I was pretty nervous for that audition, but as soon as you did that I thought, oh it’s ok, she’s a dummy too.” And we’ve been close friends ever since. The following January (2020), we found Mary Prince, an amazing drummer from Sheffield. And that’s when we officially started as a band! Bad timing though, admittedly, as we didn’t play our first gig until late Summer 2021. Saying that, we did manage to release our first single in May 2020; a few months after we formed. Followed by a few more singles, which each achieved international radio airplay, including Kerrang and Planet Rock, which we were ecstatic about! This all led up to our debut EP ‘Lu-

nacy’, which was released in October 2021. Spring last year, we sadly had to say goodbye to Mary. Life got a bit too busy for her and she decided she had to leave us. Anna and I then went on the hunt for a new drummer, and while we did this, we needed a temporary drummer for our shows we already had booked - so then we met Morgan. He started out as temporary, just to help us out really, but he ended up staying and officially joined us in Summer 2022. Which were all very happy about as he is an absolutely fantastic drummer and has brought a lot to help develop our sound. Since then, we’ve achieved so much in such a short amount of time! We supported Nick Oliveri (from Queens Of The Stone Age and Kyuss), we’ve supported Reef (and partied with them), The Virginmarys (my personal favourite), Black Spiders and Black Star Riders. We also played a slot at Bloodstock Festival this year,

which was so much fun! That has been our biggest crowd to date. Influences/sound? We didn’t stick to the country-rock vision - we naturally started to sound very Grunge and up to now, we just keep getting heavier, but still keeping a slight hint of country within our vocal melodies and harmonies. Saying that, we’re also very heavily influenced by the 80s era when it comes to songwriting, from bands such as The Pretenders, Adam Ant, The Police, Elvis Costello, Eurythmics, Joan Armatrading the list goes on! So if you can imagine that style but in then version of Deftones, Nine Inch Nails, Skunk Anansie, Garbage.. then you’ll get a vision of our sound! Biggest gig/proudest moment to date? I think it would have to be when we played at Bloodstock Festival this Summer. It was a Saturday slot at 6pm and everyone piled in to watch us (and stayed until the end)! It was the biggest crowd we ever had. Loads of people were singing along to our songs - we couldn’t believe they knew all the words! We even saw a few who

had copied my stage makeup.. it was an amazing experience, one we will never forget! What does the future hold for you? We’re just about to release our new single, ‘ADHD’, which will be out on 20th October; in support of ADHD Awareness month. It’s the second single of our debut album, which we are planning to release late next year! We are touring pretty much solidly from now until February. We’ve got a co-headline tour with Sleep In Motion throughout November, a couple more dates with The Virginmarys in December, and then in January, we’ll be supporting Wayward Sons on all dates of their UK tour! We can’t wait!! Here’s all the dates we have coming up: November 4th | Hard Rock Hell | Great Yarmouth 10th | Rough Trade | Nottingham 11th | Little Buildings | Newcastle 17th | The Vaults | York 18th | Retro | Manchester December 1st | Planet Rockstock | South Wales 8th | Tivoli | Buckley (supporting The

Photo Credit: Jason Bridges

PAGE 15 PAGE 9

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Are you ready to rock? Do you want a good time? If the answer to any of those questions is yes, then Danko Jones are perhaps the group you are looking for. The band is an elite trio dedicated to the noble art of riffs, melodies, and life-affirming rock anthems. Danko Jones returned in September with their new album Electric Sounds. Adam Kennedy caught up with the band’s front man Danko Jones himself whilst in Europe to chat about their latest offering. Danko Jones started 2023 in the UK as part of a formidable touring package featuring Black Stone Cherry and the Darkness. The band’s high-octane repertoire was the perfect fit for such an action-packed tour. “I love playing arena tours. Doing arena tours is something we’ve never done on our own. So, it’s always been an opening situation,” said Jones. “There’s no pressure on you, your night ends early, and you can do whatever you want after that.” Of course, there are perks of touring at such a high level. “There’s catering all day usually. So, you don’t have to worry about where to get food or anything. And the backstages are like just locker rooms and they’re pretty nice and clean. So, there’s nothing to complain about.” The band’s latest album came together with the members being in separate parts of the world. “One thing the pandemic taught us and putting out Power Trio in 2021 taught us that we don’t have to be in the same city. So, after Power Trio came out, Rich moved to Prince Edward Island, and JC moved to Finland,” he said. “So doing this record, we did it remotely. Even recorded it remotely, even though Toronto was our base, Rich flew to Toronto to do his drums. I live in Toronto already. So, it was just a car ride away. And then JC, he sent his bass tracks from Finland.” The reception to the new album has exceeded

PAGE PAGE18 18

the band’s expectations. “It’s been the most well-received album we’ve ever put out. I’m kind of surprised. It’s great. Guess Who’s Back went number one in Germany, and that wasn’t even supposed to be a single. It was just a teaser track that we put out to announce that the new album was coming out, and German radio started playing it. It went number one three weeks ago, then it dropped to number three. It’s back to number one again. I guess that’s spurning on ticket sales in Germany because most of the German shows are going to be sold out,” he said. “That doesn’t happen to us, we’re a band that doesn’t go gold, we don’t go platinum, we just put out records and play shows. And over the years, the reputation has helped us tour. So, people come to see the show. And so, to have success in some other area that helps the live tour.” A solid work ethic and a repertoire of hard-rocking anthems have helped Danko Jones push forward. “We’re not on a big major label. And we don’t have the big strong management arms. We do have management, we were on a label, but we’re just this rock band that just keeps going. We put out an album every two years,” he said. “We get the nods. And you know, we get acknowledged. It’s not as if nobody knows about it. But also, we’ve been on this plateau.” He adds: “And now it’s just plateauing for the last four albums, and then this album comes out and holy sh*t, everybody likes it online. I’m trying to disengage from social media, but when we put out the singles, I was on and I was reading the comments, and everybody seemed to like it.”

it. And I’d like some of our songs to have that as well,” said Jones. “So Good Times is like that. Shake Your City is like that. These kinds of songs that anticipate a party. And then there are other songs that just feel like not necessarily speaking about a party, but it feels like it should be played at a party too. So, there’s that kind of energy.” Some commentators have described Electric Sounds as a bit faster than their other records – but was that something that the band set out to do intentionally or did it happen organically? “We don’t have any intention in terms of songs, how they’re going to sound. We can craft it, whatever comes out, and whatever sounds best, that’s what we leave with,” explains Danko. “If the best songs we write are all mid-tempo for the next album, then it’s going to be a mid-tempo album. We don’t deliberately try to write fast songs because we want to play faster songs. I just don’t think we’ve got it in us. It’s just whatever comes out.” Looking into the new year, the band will be heading out in support of their new record. “The next six months are pretty much mapped out but after 2023 ends, it’s just a lot of talk. So hopefully things start getting confirmed. We’ll see, there’s probably going to be more headline shows and club tours. Of course, festivals from June to August. And the thing that’s being talked about is shows in faraway places for us like Australia and South America. So hopefully that can come to fruition.” Electric Sounds by Danko Jones is out now.

Danko Jones writes songs that encapsulate the spirit of rock and roll and get the party started. “I’ll always be a sucker for those kinds of songs because I love listening to those kinds of songs myself. Whether or not there’s a party going on, or whether or not the song ignites a party in my own life while I’m listening to it is another thing. But I do like the spirit and the energy of

Words by Adam Kennedy Photo Credit: Daniel Berbig

PAGE 19 19 PAGE

BRING THE FIRE The Northeast of England has produced many fine artists and bands most of whom have ventured forth from the ‘foggy Tyne’ to achieve international success. However, each and every one started their journeys honing their craft in small clubs and venues, sticking together to become a formidable entity ready to take on the world. Enter Crowley, who have the musical charms and brio to be the next breakout band from this geographical hotspot. Fronted by two talented ladies, Lidya Balaban, on vocals, and guitarist Eliza Lee, both veterans of the Northeast rock scene at their still relatively young age. Crowley has been casting a melodious hard rock spell over their growing fanbase for some time. This began with their first single, The Witching Hour, followed up by Something Wicked This Way Comes, consolidating their supernatural sound as Eliza, firstly, tells me about the

PAGE 20

Inspiration behind their band name: “It was Lidya that suggested it. But we intentionally wanted something that would kind of sum up the occult themes. I’m a big believer and I like the Crowley references,” she asserts. “As much as it’s a reference to Aleister Crowley, it’s more so a reference to the musicians that were inspired by him in the ‘70s and I think it’s just a nice word.” Lidya, she of the screaming powerhouse voice, relates to me how the band got together: “We did a few gigs together in our old bands. We used to be on the same bill quite a lot. I always really wanted to work with Eliza, obviously watching the stuff that she was doing with her old band. Then out of the blue one day, she dropped me a message, just after lockdown, when both of our bands had kind of ended.” This moment of serendipity brought these

Gemini musical twins together. They both hit it off immediately and, in doing so, got Eliza out of vocal jail: “I was singing in my old band before, which I’m not particularly good at, and I don’t particularly enjoy. That’s because I hate having to look after my health and all that nonsense,” she sighs with relief. It also removed the weight of playing the guitar, in her previous band, from Lidya’s shoulders: “It was the same for me but the other way around,” she chuckles in between taking a sip of her blood red wine. “I was playing the guitar in my band and didn’t really want to because I like to have the freedom to move around. Plus, it’s something that I got to a certain level with then got bored with it. It worked out in both of our favours.” Lidya furthers: “We write little fun songs about spells and sacrifice. All of that good stuff.” Crowley has an image that their growing band of followers identify

with. “I knew Lidya,” remarks Eliza, “but even then, we didn’t know each other super well and the rest of the guys I didn’t know well. So, when we got to know each other, as with anything, it was what common ground do we have to talk about? And it was just like, ‘oh, we all have lots of occult books’ and ‘how many ghosts have you seen?’ It happened naturally.” says Eliza. “It’s just like who we all really are,” chips in Lidya. “It’s always a plus if you get on with your bandmates and we get on really well.” Released close to Halloween [Oct 27th], Crowley’s third single, Pyre, continues a fine run of spooky inspired tunes. Lidya’s bewitching scream coupled with Eliza’s detonation of heavy riffs further defines their burgeoning sonic sphere as Eliza details: “I wanted the first second of music that anyone ever heard from us to be Lidya doing a massive scream. Because she can!” Lidya nods in firm agreement as they also recount the writing process for their second single Something Wicked

This Way Comes: “I wanted to do something Macbeth-ish. Because, if we’re inspired by witchcraft, surely, they’re archetypal. So, I started with that, and I wrote it on an acoustic, which is unusual for me,” recalls Eliza. Lidya continues: “It was one of those that you brought the intro and the chorus, and I’d never read Macbeth. I had to do a speed read of the play.” Well, this ‘double, double toil and trouble’ by the band created a spellbinding slab of hard rock that pricked the ears of the rock fraternity via some airplay. A measure of Crowley’s promising career trajectory is revealed by Blitzkrieg guitarist Nick Jennison helming the production duties for latest single, Pyre: “He’s disturbingly brilliant,” states Eliza. “He’s an absolute delight,” confirms Lidya. Although having to still hold down day jobs whilst they grow Crowley into a full-time professional entity, live dates are coming thick and fast with an appearance at Hard Rock Hell in November. They are also appearing

in Newcastle and Glasgow with Fury during November. “There are more people showing up wearing our T-shirts. T shirts that I’ve got my face on,” says a startled Lidya. “I didn’t tell her I was going to do that until we ordered them,” laughs Eliza. “I was just like, by the way, I’ve ordered 50 T-shirts with your face on. Sorry, mate. I hope you don’t mind’” they both cackle…As with their T-shirts, Crowley are most definitely a band to watch out for. Pyre the new single from Crowley will be released on Friday 27th of October and is available on all streaming platforms. The band will be performing at HRH 16 in Great Yarmouth on Friday 3rd of November in Room 2. For further information on the band please visit: https://www.crowleyband.co.uk/.

Words by Paul Davies Photo Credit: Adam Kennedy

PAGE 21

Green Lung have witnessed a meteoric rise in recent

like that tightness made its way onto the record,”

the Pendle Hill. The songs had real-life locations. You

times. The band toured with Clutch and subsequent-

explains Tom. “It’s felt like the band has evolved a bit

could go and visit the songs.”

ly signed a record deal with Nuclear Blast, putting

since we’ve been on the road. I think we will have

the band on a steady footing for the release of their

more confidence; I think even musically, it’s shifted

He adds: “Suddenly, it clicked that this album could

forthcoming album.

to more of a big classic rock kind of vibe.”

be presented almost like a sort of documentary

The group recently penned a record deal with

about British folklore. And that was a celebration

This Heathen Land is the most complete manifes-

high-profile label Nuclear Blast. “Working with

of sort of weird Britishness. And that’s always been

tation of the band’s vision to date, fulfilling their

Nuclear Blast has been a learning curve. Everything

a big part of Green Lung from the beginning,

long-held goal to, in the words of vocalist Tom

has been pretty DIY up to this point. And then

something we told ourselves. Let’s make this a really

Templar, “create the definitive soundtrack to the folk

just tightening the screws all over the place and a

eccentric British sort of subject matter.”

horror film in our heads.”

budget for music videos. It’s almost felt to me like

Those themes run strongly throughout the band’s

a debut record again. Like we’re on a bigger stage,

new album. “This isn’t like a folk horror album nec-

Speaking about the year so far, Templar said: “It’s

and it’s been a really fun challenge most of the time,”

essarily. It’s like folklore. And more generally, I think

been an interesting year. We sort of came out of

confirmed Templar.

it has more emotional range, it has more narrative

the blocks of the pandemic doing the Black Harvest

range, I think each song, lyric wise is trying to make

record. And we’d grown a lot while we were on ice,

This Heathen Land could be described as a concept

as it were.”

album. “It’s funny this one. Now it feels a bit like a

it a little short story,” confirms Tom.

concept record. But that was sort of retrofitted in

Green Lung had a strong idea visually of where

“I think getting out and playing shows that all

a way. We were just writing song by song. Towards

they wanted to take the artwork for the new album.

culminated I suppose with the tour with Clutch

the end of the process, once we had seven or eight

“When I started working on that with Richard, Scott

last autumn. I think all that road experience has

songs realising that maybe subconsciously, I’ve

helped hugely with the idea of going for a sort of

helped this year in terms of doing the new record

been writing about local folklore that was in specific

Penguin Seventies paperback kind of look. And

and playing a bunch of festival shows. It was nice

places around the UK,” said Tom. “Hunters in the Sky

when Scott said that it, in turn, fell back into the

to come off a long five-week tour and then go into

is like a sort of right-to-roam type of anthem set on

sound of the record, because it made us think about

the recording studio soon afterwards because it felt

Dartmoor. Mountain Throne was set in Lancashire at

what were the synth sounds that BBC documentaries

PAGE 22

in the early 70s about folklore might have.”

Scott adds: “In terms of influences, it’s just so much

sort of 60s and 70s was shaped by the occult.”

fun. Every aspect of it was just an opportunity to This Heathen Land showcases the evolution of The

flex in a different way than we’re usually able to. The

“But I think it was definitely when I was 16-18, there

Green Lung sound. “Musically, I think we found

guitar solo is like the most ridiculous Judas Priest-

was a bit of a boom in occult rock - Uncle Acid, Ghost

ourselves at a bit of an impasse after Black Harvest,

style thing out, and we had so many big harmonised

and Rise Above Records were responsible for a lot

because we have done the proto-metal thing. And

guitar moments. It was just an expression - a bit of a

of it. I got in that way, not through black metal or

we’ve done the Deep Purple worship stuff before -

love letter to that era of metal.”

industrial music,” he said. “It was just timing really.” Looking beyond the album, the group will be hitting

the Hammond organs and that kind of thing. And I think we kind of naturally found ourselves thinking

Thematically, the occult plays a part in the band’s

the road in support of the release. “I think this UK

about how we continue to use keys in a way that

songs and material, but how much of an interest do

headline tour is big for us. We’ve got some plans

still feels like classic metal and still feel as warmly

they take in that area? “It’s kind of a natural thing

for more European dates next year, and we’ve got

nostalgic,” said Scott. “I think we kind of naturally

from being a kid and being obsessed with fantasy

some big festivals coming in that are really exciting,”

stumbled into Martin Birch territory. So like Rainbow

novels,” said Tom. “I think Electric Wizard, when that

concludes Tom. “It’s been such a hard year of work,

records and the first couple of Dio era Black Sabbath

album came out in 2007, was probably the high

getting the album recorded, working with the label

albums.”

point of my initiation into all that kind of stuff. It did

for the first time, building it all, getting music videos

come from rock music.”

done - it’s a tonne of work. I think next year is just going to feel really free and fun because it’s going

Mountain Throne has been receiving a huge amount of airplay support. “I think it was one of the earliest

Tom adds: “We had books, and I was always a nerdy

to be on the road, which is personally my favourite

songs on the record, and it was one that we really

kid. I work in publishing, so lots of my lyrics come

thing.”

wanted to feel like Green Lung, but it feels a lot more

from reading rather than watching movies. But I

classic metal as well,” explains Scott. “It feels like you

think that everything from Blue Oyster Cult, Alice

This Heathen Land, the new album from Green Lung,

still have got a pair of flares on, but you’ve got a bul-

Cooper to Electric Wizard. There were lots of entry

will be released via Nuclear Blast on 3rd November.

let belt as well. So, it was a kind of a meld of almost

points that get you into understanding that. I’d say

early NWOBHM style classic metal with the kind of

Gary Parsons’s book - Turn Off Your Mind was a big

proto-metal that we’ve always called upon.”

one for me. It was a really useful overview of how the

Words by Adam Kennedy Photo Credit: A Ford

PAGE 23

Hard Rock Hell Radio DJ Nominees Date: Wednesday

in a while. I have listeners all over the globe and all over

invite from the ‘HRH’, Ie, the late Queenie. Couldn’t say no

Time: Too Early

the age range and you’re all welcome to join us

to the old girl. If I had, I’d have avoided driving in tunnels

Message: From the Editor

for the rest of my life. So, to the Regiment and all that!!

Editor: Jezebel, how do you feel about interviewing some of

Turning to Dan, Your show can be heard every Friday

However, I then realised it was ‘Hard Rock Hell Radio’ so

the nominees for this year’s HRH Awards in November?

night at 7pm UK time, But for those who aren’t

I investigated and thought yeah! There are some really

Me: Sure boss, I have my passport ready, and I could do with

acquainted with you, what is your show all about?

good presenters at HRH, it would be great to be part of

a couple of days in the sun… who am I talking to?

Dan: You’re going to expect to hear lots of underground

that team and here we are. That being said, if I’m being

Him: The HRH Radio DJ’s

extreme music. The show isn’t for the faint hearted. The

nominated for an award, then the standard of presenting

show strapline is - above, below and beyond the world

has clearly gone downhill.

I packed a small suitcase and hit the road to talk to the four

of metal. I want people, who are interested in the heavier

Ro: It has to be 6 years now, I think it was 2018. This

nominees in this year’s Hard Rock Hell Radio DJ Category.

side of metal, to tune in and listen to new bands they

station provides a lot of freedom to play what I wish,

This year’s awards ceremony is being held at the HRH16

probably wouldn’t have heard before and hear a few

and has a creative team behind the scenes keeping the

event on Wednesday 1st November, and sadly the voting

classics thrown in as well. Supporting bands and getting

station running smoothly. It’s great to have a group of

has already closed. However, without further delays, and

them heard is vital to the scene.

people supporting you and the show for the audience around the world.

in no order of importance, let’s meet the contestants; and in true beauty contest style, I asked each one a series of

Paul, Your show can be heard every at Tuesday

Dan: My first show with HRH was the week before

questions, and then we had the swimsuit finished the

10am…

Christmas 2019. Only a few months before the pandemic

evening with the ball gown round.

Paul: Yeah, I used to be a Friday, but I was told Tuesday

hit. That lockdown I decided to start doing interviews

was a better slot. I think I’m gullible

while bands were sat idle and that snowballed into a

Q: Thank you for agreeing to this interview, firstly, for

regular thing for the show now having had some of the

the viewers at home, please describe your outfit

It is a better slot, and nobody else could fill it in the

biggest names in metal on the show and some of the

Ro: Just a nice plain black suit, with Doc Martens, and

same way that you do, however for those who aren’t

emerging acts. HRH is the cornerstone of the British rock

Beanie Hat

acquainted with it, tell us a bit more about your

scene and has been for many years now. I jumped at the

Jon: I was so excited to be nominated for this prestigious

Tuesday show

opportunity to be a presenter and have been proud of

award that I asked an AI Image Creator to dress me

Paul: Entertainment along with Groove Soaked, Feel

that ever since.

appropriately in evening dress for an official HRH Awards

Good Rock N Roll. When did you begin working in music media, where

portrait. I’m sure you’ll agree it’s done a good job and put me in a very ornate vintage frame as well. I hope you

It’s a show that incorporates new music, up and

did it start?

like the tie!

coming talent, has an odd classic thrown in every

Paul: I started in 2019 after being interviewed by a

Dan: Always black, like my soul

now and again, there’s some surprises, some waffle,

guy who was ex BBC Radio when I was in the world-re-

Paul: The outfit’s nothing too special, just a little off the

top quality guests, in depth interviews along with me

nowned band ‘67 Kung-Fu Eskimos’. That man of 30 years’

shoulder number I bring out once in a while. It’s made of

trying to entertain the listeners with my own brand of

experience, ex-BBC Radio you know, did an hour special

Crinoline (he means crimplene, but I’m not going to tell

humour.

on the band. He announced 2 of our songs then played

him) it has an elasticated waist so I can eat as much as I

the wrong ones! He continually got the band name

want without concern. Underneath I’m sporting a Denim

Finally Ro, Your show can be heard from noon on

wildly wrong, in fact never got it right in the whole hour!

& Leather Banana Hammock and as I’m arthritic I need

Friday and again on Sunday at 2pm, would you mind

I thought, this guy hasn’t got a clue, I can surely do better

to look after my feet, so I always put my feet in a pair of

telling those who don’t know… what’s it all about?

than this, no wonder the BBC got shut. So with those

felchers.

Ro: My show, DarkCompass, features new, unsigned and

thoughts in my mind ‘Pure Rock Fury’ was born and I’ve

independent artists you might not have heard from, as

never looked back since.

My hairs been done by Vidal Baboon and I’ve treated

well as a couple of regular Rock Bands you would have.

Ro: DarkCompass, has been around for 19 years now,

myself to a spray tan so I can look naturally orange

A great mix of styles and tunes.

as a It was more of a technical exercise, making it a

and streaky coz I’m down with the kids me you know...

podcast back in 2004, rather than a platform for music, Of all the stations in all the world you ended up at

but became the show that it is quite quickly, when I

HRH Radio… how long have you been with HRH, and

started interviewing bands and recording live sessions in

Jon, Your show can be heard from 9pm to Midnight

why this station?

London in 2008. From then on, it’s become cathartic, and

every Saturday, but for those who aren’t acquainted

Jon: I was here from day one of HRH Radio, and with

get joy out of making shows for an audience to enjoy.

with you, what is your show all about?

its predecessor station since 2011, so you could say I’ve

Dan: Musically I was playing in a small rock scene,

Jon: My show is for everyone. Everyone who wants a

done my apprenticeship! The listeners, and indeed the

that just wasn’t my thing, and I saw the opportunity to

good time on a Saturday night whether they go out (they

whole HRH family, are not only great people but they

present my own show and show my true musical tastes,

can listen back later), or whether they stay in with me. It’s

really do know their stuff when it comes to great music.

mixing with the music I love and care about. Music

always a healthy mixture of classics, mosh pit bangers,

Paul: 22 months now and haven’t they flown?!?

should drive emotions and create feelings, the music I

new cuts, and the odd surprise you may not have heard

There was initially some confusion coz I thought it was an

play is hand picked and you can guarantee that every

PAGE 24

track I play, I appreciate and am a fan of. From my POV,

out of his face on a daily basis, but I’m clearly not very

you simply cannot just start playing tracks and hope

good at it. What am I listening too? – ‘Herb Alpert &

for the best, you have to have knowledge of what you

The Tijuana Brass Band’ play ‘Clutch’. Their version of ‘A

are playing and knowledge of the genres you are rep-

Shogun Names Marcus’ is sublime.

resenting. That comes with decades of buying records, trawling through bands, reading, gig frequenting, and

If you win the award this year, how do you think

going balls deep into it all!

you’ll handle the additional fame and accolades?

Jon: My first taste of radio was at Red Radio, the student

Jon: To be honest it’ll probably all go to my head, I’ll

station of the University of East London, back in 1994.

overindulge in everything, hit rehab, then after a few

A year later I hosted a Rock night in my local pub that

years of being a guest panellist on bad daytime game

ended up running for 11 years, then moving onto

shows, I’ll end up in pantomime with Syd Little and that

bigger things after I created the Rage Against The Ma-

annoying woman from Big Brother.

Contestant Number On e: Ro Cutler

chine for Christmas No.1 campaign. It broke a Guinness

Dan: It’s an awesome honour to be recognised and

His show is DarkCompass

Record for downloads, and changed everything. This

without sounding cliché, that is enough of a win for

He likes Oreos and Horror Films with Heavy Metal

opened the door to me working with the likes of The

me, but if a win was to come my way, I would do a lap

Rolling Stones (a No.1 album), AC/DC (their highest ever

of honours, employ a PR team, find a nice shelf for the

UK singles chart placing), The Justice Collective (another

award… I’d have a better trophy cabinet than Spurs!

Christmas No.1), Nirvana re-releases, Rik Mayall’s World

Paul: I’d like to think I’d accept it with grace and

Cup song (RIP legend), Stewart Lee & ADF (No.1 in the

humility, but in all honesty, I’ll maybe for once in my life

official sales chart), and the legendary upstarts The

be stuck for words. When I get back home, I’ll probably

K**ts (No.1 in the official sales chart)...but the biggest

go on a massive drinking session at the Salisbury Ale

door to open of course was HRH Radio!

House. Do you want to come?? I might even buy you a

Soundtracks

drink. Only might though, let’s not get carried away. When you’re not being an international music

Ro: It’s fabulous to win an award, it confirms all the

sensation… what else are you doing, and what are

hard work you do, but it’ll not go to my head. I’ll keep it

you listening to?

polished and look at it from time to time and say “I did

Ro: I’m the music curator for the station, so it’s always

that”, and be proud.

the station for review and play. Any down time, I spend

You’re up against three other great presenters, who

time with the family, enjoying their company. With two

do you think you could beat in a bare knuckle tiddly

Contestant Number Two: Joe Morter

of the three children I have being at opposite end of the

wink match?

His show is Saturday Nights 9-Midnight

UK, driving is another factor.

Dan: For sure, three awesome presenters who really do

He likes Lots of Things

Jon: What else am I doing? Well I’m keeping busy with

bring a big game to the station, so congrats to them for

my clients, trying to make them bigger, better, more fa-

also being nominated. With regards to beating them at

mous online as always…also enjoying traveling around

tiddlywinks, my fingers are too big for tiddlywinks so

speaking at events, conferences, and the like…I’ve

could we have a good old fashioned rock/paper/scissors

always enjoyed that part of the work. As for what I am

showdown!?

listening to? As always a bit of a mix ‘n’ match really. Just

Paul: Well, Dan’s an International Jet Setter, so with his

looking at my recently played list it consists of Bring Me

schedule, he’ll probably be delayed in some airport

The Horizon, Blind River, Rolling Stones, Niro Knox, Jo-

lounge somewhere and won’t make the match, result-

anovarc, Pulp, Starset, Hardcore Superstar, Little Angels,

ing in me getting a bye to the next round.

Wig Wam, Mr. Big, Levellers, Amaranthe, Leanne Louise,

Jon is too busy annoying Simon Cowell with his next

Crowley, Bobby Darin, The Flirtations, The Blackout, and

Christmas Number 1 campaign so his mind will be else-

Jonathan Wilson. Had I written this on another day that

where. As for Ro… I saw him playing with his squidger

list would’ve probably been different!

earlier and he looked like he knew how to handle it.

Dan: I love all kinds of rock and metal but of course the

However, I’ve been told on numerous occasions that I’m

extreme stuff is right up there. It’s funny, as I live in a

a huge winker, so I reckon I could take them all.

tranquil area of Barcelona Province, so when it’s time

Ro: I’ve heard Jon, Paul and Dan all cheat at tid-

to relax, I can’t slam on the metal - as it would p*ss off

dly-winks, so I’d just have to play my honest game and

neighbours, or people on the beach, so to keep the

see what the outcome was. Kidding (maybe!).

peace, when my headphones aren’t handy, I play jazz,

Jon: We may have to set up a match on stage and do

Latin music, chill-out on my speaker. But this means that

this properly as we’re all quite competitive at Tiddly-

when it comes to the end of year genre lists on Spotify,

winks. I couldn’t possibly predict which way it could go.

full on, and I listen to as much as I can that comes into

Contestant Number Three: Dan Chantrey His show is HRH Metal with Dan Chan He likes Metal, Dogs, Sports, Cold Beer, Hot Weather and Good Wine

my top three are usually Latin orientated following in fourth place and onwards by death, black, industrial, all

Gentlemen, thank you all for your time, I wish you all

the ‘cores etc!! I can never post the lists on socials!!

the very best of luck on the night.

Paul: I’m super happy to say that thanks to this nomination I’m now an ‘award nominated international

Well ladies and gentlemen, you’ve now met the nominees

music sensation’. I’ll dine out on this for years to come

for this year’s HRH Awards in the category Best HRH DJ.

and bore people rigid with tales of being a nominee!

Who is my money on? The one that gave me the envelope

What am I doing? - Well, I do lots of charity work, mainly

full of cash, obviously!

blind dogs for the guides, prevention of children etc. I like to keep Jack Daniels profits looking healthy and I’m also employed by David Coverdale to iron the wrinkles

Interview by Jezebel Steele

Contestant Number Four: Paul Cash His show is Pure Rock Fury He likes Sunny Weather, Funky Shorts, Nachos, Trimming his Nasal Hair with a Contraptoin and Chilling with Mrs. Pure Fury and Their Two Cats

PAGE 25

Into The Night with the StaRBenders Atlanta-based rock n’ rollers Starbenders recently released their new album, Take Back the Night, via Sumerian Records. The band have toured the UK and Europe on multiple occasions this year. “We went over to Europe and the UK with the band; that was from January to March. So, we were there for two months. And it’s still surreal to think about how many places we went,” explains Kriss. “Other than that, we’ve just been staying busy with being on the road. So, I’m really happy with the way the year has been so far.”

PAGE 26

The band’s label, Sumerian Records, has really supported the group thus far. “It’s been great working with them. They have an indie mindset, which means that, as you mentioned, they have all the hot bands. They take chances with their artists, and they don’t really go by the numbers, they go by the music,” explains Aaron. “So that means that we’ve had a free hand to be who we are as Starbenders, which is to write the things we want to write and do the videos we want to do. They’ve been very accommodating and encouraging with us being who we are. And you can’t say that for a lot of labels - certainly not majors.” Starbenders’ sound traverses a wide musical spectrum encompassing pop through rock. But do the band prefer not to be put in one musical box or genre? “I don’t even know if it’s necessarily an aversion to labels or genres or anything like that. I think, to us, this is just

rock music, and we don’t really think about it when we incorporate some element of a different genre. It’s just what we do. I tend to think that genres and categories, that’s kind of for the consumer and the press - they need to categorise things that we don’t. So, it’s just not even something we really consider,” said Aaron. “When we pick up a guitar or a bass, or when we start tracking something, it’s like, what comes down is what comes out. And if somebody’s inclined to categorise it a certain way, then, I mean, that’s the way it is. But for us, we are definitely free with our music. And we’d like to remain so irrespective of any labels anybody might place on us.” When you look at promotional photos of the band, their artwork or music videos, one thing that is immediately apparent is the group’s striking image. “I think it definitely plays a big role for us because we’re just such big

fans of that classic rock and roll mythology. I think there is an aesthetic, that’s always going to be timeless to me,” said Kriss. “I think even nowadays, more of the pop world are embracing a lot of the old school rock things and rap, hip hop are doing the same thing.” He adds: “It just represents that people don’t seem real. They seem like they’re from a different planet. I just think we always try to strive for our own unique spin on what’s been done in the past. It’s just another way or another outlet for expressing ourselves. Each of us has our own kind of individual thing that we should do as far as the way we dress ourselves. And that’s cool, too. It’s not like, we’re all dressing exactly the same. Even though a lot of bands do that. I think we have our own archetypes within the band, aesthetically. And sonically, of course.” Aaron adds: “I would say dressing up is half the fun. I mean, I tell my friends that my job is to

travel the world, make music and play dress up with my best friends. And that is this charmed existence. I think rock and roll is like cooking, 80% of it is in the presentation. It’s like Kriss said, it’s about having that larger-than-life persona.” Aaron elaborates further: “We look like this all the time. If you saw us on the street, you would say well, that’s a band. I mean, this is how we look all the time. When we go out to eat, we go to a show, we get on a plane, this is how we tend to look. And just like Kriss said, I think it’s another avenue for expression. It’s another way to add to the aesthetic of your art, and I am being serious. I think most of rock is honestly visual. And that clothes are a big part of that.” With the release of their new album, Starbenders will be taking their latest offering on the road. “We’re just ready to tour as much as we

can, and rock and roll,” said Kriss. “We’ve been on the road consistently since last September except for holidays and whatnot. And I think it feels good to have this momentum. Aaron said before, we’re a live band, and that’s where we truly express ourselves and let ourselves be known to the world. So, I think what’s best for us is to keep playing as many new places we can go to for this record, and that’s it. And then we’ll figure the rest out later.” Take Back The Night, the new album from Starbenders is out now via Sumerian Records.

Words by Adam Kennedy Photo Credit: Vegas Giovanni

PAGE 27

Casting Their Spell Interview with Sonia Anubis International sleaze rock quintet Cobra Spell strike with their debut album, 666, out December 1, 2023, via Napalm Records! Founded in 2019 by up-and-coming guitar phenomenon Sonia Anubis (ex-Crypta, ex-Burning Witches), Cobra Spell’s current line-up is completed by Kristina Vega on vocals, Twitch streamer Noelle dos Anjos on guitar, Hale Naphtha on drums and Roxy Herrera on bass. With these aces under their studded leather belts, Cobra Spell are gearing up to introduce their first full-length, aiming for nothing less than 80s rock ‘n’ roll world domination. As one would imagine, the group have spent 2023 concentrating on the impending release of their new album 666. “We have been working on this new album, 666. And all our focus went into that. We wanted to record the music videos and we wanted to give our full attention to that,” said Sonia Anubis. “We want to go full force in the next festival season when we have the new album. We had an easy summer, but we’re working on next year.” Cobra Spell recently penned a deal with high profile label Napalm Records. “It’s an absolute honour to be working with them. Mostly because I have worked with them before in a band that I was part of in the past. And with Crypta. And that’s such a great experience. The way they distributed our debut album, it was just great working with them,” she said. “To work with them with Cobra Spell is great to be continuing my musical career in collaboration with Napalm. And they have a bunch of great bands on their roster, it’s just cool to be part of that. It helps for sure for us to grow further as a band.” Last year the band released their second EP Anthems of the Night. “They were a collection of songs that I wrote at the time. I didn’t want to do a full album, I wanted to go for something shorter like an EP,” explains Sonia. “These songs were inspired by the night. Like the fun nights, reckless partying, and that was a lot. This EP was just a work of passion. So, it didn’t have any kind of rush or deadline. It was just done on my own time. At the time I was being part of Crypta and that had my priority. So, it was an EP, a collection of songs

PAGE 28

that I really put some time in working.” Perhaps if you’ve seen promotional images of Cobra Spell you will notice that the band has a very strong identity visually. “For me, it was something extremely important from the beginning. When I founded Cobra Spell, I had already in mind, the whole idea of where the band had to be going. So sound wise, but also visually. Certainly, when you’re playing in a band that is inspired by a decade, it’s very expressive visually,” explains Sonia. “If you look at bands from the 80s, think about David Lee Roth and Alice Cooper, all these bands are so expressive, and so outrageously. They really catch your eye, and I wanted to bring that back.” She adds: “It’s quite important for us to have that visual factor along with the music that also has to be very authentic. At least when I’m writing I am so usually inspired by the 80s that I really try to bring those elements back in my song writing.” The band’s first EP was released right amid the COVID 19 pandemic during 2020. “Love venom, which is our first EP was indeed released exactly when the pandemic was starting. I remember recording the first tracks of the EP and hearing something about COVID starting and we were all like what the hell is happening? And the confinement was brought in and all of these situations that we never had heard about became reality,” said Sonia. “It pushed me to release this album from home. I had to home record a lot of stuff on this EP.” “It’s all very do it yourself. This is the magic of the first EP thing. It was really a collection of homework,” said Sonia. “As for the mixing, it was just sent. This is the thing about living in today is that we can send everything through the computer through email and someone else can mix it. Something that maybe in the 80s wouldn’t have been possible. This is what made it possible for us, the internet kind of finished that up in a way. And getting it mixed and mastered and releasing it and promoting it on the internet. It has been our way to kind of survive and get the EP to the audience.” Cobra Spell recently released the single “S.E.X” from their new album. “Theme wise, I wouldn’t say it sets the tone for the theme of the overall album, but it’s one of our faster

tracks of the album,” said Sonia. “It’s quite a rager, it’s a faster track. It’s very inspired by Whitesnake.” Aside from an intro, the single is sits at the top of the release. “It is the first song on the album. And we wanted to start with a bang, something that brings you in and gives us a big slap on the face. So that’s kind of the attitude of this song.” Will we see Cobra Spell in the UK any time soon? “We have some touring plans, but we are still working on more. So, we’re releasing everything right now. We would love to come to the UK and we’re going to work hard on getting there. We have not played there yet. So, it will be very nice to make that happen with our new album. But yeah, I can assure you that we going to give 100% to play all those countries that we haven’t played at yet. And besides the new single release, we’re going to release two more music videos,” concludes Sonia. 666 the new album from Cobra Spell will be released on December 1st, 2023, via Napalm Records.

Words by Adam Kennedy Photo Credit: Raquel Garcia

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HEAD OVER TO WWW.HRH66.US FOR MORE INFO OR SCAN THE CODE

PAGE 37

WARD XVI

Case Notes: The last time I visited Whittingham Asylum was in 2020, and the inmates of Ward XVI were about to release their 2nd album Metamorphosis. Three years later, and I’m back at the gates of the asylum to venture into the depraved minds of the inhabitants of Ward XVI once again. I have “emotional history” with this case, I still get goosebumps when I listen to the album and I consider myself a fan of the band. However, I must try not to let my undoubted bias influence the outcome of the interview.

It’s Monday 2nd October, and 24 hours ago the inmates launched a crowdfunding experiment, with the hopes of raising £5000 in just 30 days. I caught up with Psychoberrie and Doktor Von Stottenstein to have a chat about the, the crowdfunder, the new album and the great things on the horizon. So, it’s been a while – how are you doing, and what have you been up to? Dok Von Stottenstein: Touring and writing mostly. We finished touring the album last year and have been doing mainly festivals in 2023 while also writing the new album.

PAGE 32

What was the idea of the crowdfund, and why that figure? Dok Von Stottenstein: The idea really came about with the need to raise money for the recording of the album. We had saved a bit, but the costs of recording and so on has increased since 2020 (like everything else). We were conscious of timescales and couldn’t remortgage our houses again so we thought up of a way to raise enough money to help cover it so that we didn’t compromise on the quality. We had a lot of reservations about it so kept targets small, chose options to receive what was raised as we honestly didn’t think it would work or people would be interested in it seeing as it doesn’t contain the new album. The target and stretch were blown out of the water by the first day so now we can really not only release the best album we can, but market it, dress it / build props and so on. We’re very lucky You’re not known for following rules, and this crowdfunder doesn’t offer an option of buying getting the new cd when it comes out.. was there a reason for this?

Psychoberrie: In the past we’ve always funded the albums ourselves but we’re not in a position to do that this time. We’ve put in from our own pockets, had loans etc, but we’ve a young family and with the rising costs our pay just can’t stretch to it anymore. With the last album we had a very successful pre-order campaign and if we were just a plug in and play band we’d have been laughing but we channeled every penny into the stage show and that stage show was still done on the very cheap in comparison to what we wanted to do with it. If we offered the album as part of the crowdfunder that would have just paid for the recording, mixing and mastering and then we’d be at 0 to start on the set and the props. We want to come out bigger and badder than last time so that’s why we intend to rinse you twice. You released it at 8am, and by noon you’d hit your target were you surprised by this? Dok Von Stottenstein: Yeah. I didn’t think it would raise that in 30 years let alone 30 days. The new album will see the culmination of the Psychoberrie trilogy or will it? Is there a

4th album lurking the back of your minds? Psychoberrie: There’s always ideas rolling around in my mind for album 4 and at the moment I have several different directions that I could take it in. I’ll let the ideas roll but I’m not going to lock in an idea until we come to write it. I like having it completely open at the moment. I’ve always been working two steps ahead with these three albums so I’m purposely leaving it as a blank canvas. Metamorphosis was such a brilliant album, how difficult has it been to sit and write the next chapter? Is there pressure on you to match the creative success that Album 2 undoubtedly was/is? Dok Von Stottenstein: Easier than I thought to be honest. Whilst we were touring I was thinking how are we going to top this? But then I stopped thinking of them as something that had to constantly better the one before it because that’s just daft, they are completely different albums defining 2 completely different times in Psychoberrie’s life. This one will never have the same intense emotion that carried through the last album because we’re not in that dark stage of childhood anymore. But it will go harder and it will definitely be a lot more evil than the last album, whilst still holding that torment in her mind and it’s still very much psychological, but I don’t think you’re gonna cry so hard you miss your stop on the bus again**. ** Note: On the day in question, I was on a bus listening to Metamorphosis instead of getting off, I was so engrossed that I missed the stop and ended up in a different town

Dok Von Stottenstein: There is a significant amount of pressure; the number of inmates has grown in size as have their, and our, expectation of what and where the show should be seen. That all adds to the logistical planning, budgeting, costs and also demands as people want to see us all over the country (and beyond) so we’re nearing that glass ceiling in terms of scale and demand and we’ve got to be ready to smash through it. We’ve learned much from the last album in terms of production, release, promotion and so on. Less compromise and trust in the wrong places and learning from mistakes we made. The last album also was released mid covid so we did have more time than now in terms of prep time, but we also had significant cons in terms of the impact of promoting which we want to remedy this time.

I have been fortunate enough to see you play a couple of times, for those who haven’t had that experience, do you still have dates coming up? Dok Von Stottenstein: We’re headlining the second stage of Whitby goth weekend on Saturday 28th at the met ball room. Then appearances at HRH Nov 3rd and Rabidfest in Oxford Nov 4th before we wrap up 2023 at Manchester Rebellion with Lawnmower Deth on 16th Dec.

Now we’ve been so far successful with the crowdfunding campaign, there’s also the repayment of faith to all those who have separated them with their hard earned cash which at this moment in time is something not to be squandered we always had ourselves to blame in terms of funding and the subsequent results of it, now we owe major debts pf gratitude to people.

However, just before I leave, is there anything you want to say? The stage is yours Dok Von Stottenstein: Just want to express our gratitude for all those who have joined us along the way. You ain’t seen nothing yet!

Touring under our own steam and watching and listening to reactions to certain songs etc has also helped us with writing the new one Metamorphosis had many songs that were a slow and moody buildup to a crescendo its great on cd but at times difficult live as you don’t want to lose the momentum and atmosphere; this time around we’re going straight for the throat with some of the heaviest stuff we’ve done.

Jezebel: I can see that visiting time is almost over, and I can see that the cells are being unlocked once again for the inmates. I hate to leave, but I’m afraid that if I stay I’ll never meet this print deadline and Psychoberrie will have me under the same spell that she has every other inmate!

One last thing, can I come and visit you again, when the new album is ready, and we’ll have another chat? Dok Von Stottenstein: Of course.

Words by Rachel Thomas-Rayment Photo Credit: Simon Dunkerley

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NIKKI

STRINGFIELD After gaining notoriety internationally by touring with renowned tribute band The Iron Maidens and Heaven Below, a female rocker from Dallas, Texas, Nikki Stringfield, recently unveiled her new fusion album “Apocrypha”. Stringfield’s debut solo album has been a long time coming. Besides touring with The Iron Maidens, the guitarist has been building towards the release of her latest offering throughout 2023. “I feel like everything was leading up to the album release on September 29. And now that it’s over, it’s just like, wow, I feel like I just haven’t had a chance to catch my breath, but in a good way,” explains Nikki. “Touring has been busy for the Maidens. We did a six-week run in Europe opening for Accept. We spent two weeks in Australia. It’s been a lot of touring. It’s been super busy, and we’re really happy about that.” The US-based guitarist’s last EP was released at a time when it was difficult to get out on the road and promote music. “I released my EP Harmonies For The Haunted for Halloween of 2019. And I didn’t get to do much with it because the pandemic hit shortly after. We were all stuck at home, especially in Los Angeles. It was very strict lockdowns,” confirms Nikki. On the plus side, the pandemic gave the esteemed guitarist the time to create music for her full-length release. “I just had a lot of time to sit down and focus on new music. So, a lot of the songs lyrically came from a dark place of being stuck at home, not knowing what was going to happen. If the world would ever go back to normal,” said Nikki. Events transpiring in America also provided a source of inspiration for the guitarist. “There were literally riots and fires everywhere in Los Angeles; I was like, this is kind

PAGE 34

of apocalyptic. I wasn’t sure what was going on. So, a lot of that came out in the music.” Nikki adds: “I just started recording and trying to get everything done. And, of course, I didn’t get it all done in time. And once touring picked back up, it took a long time to finish the album. We finally got it done. Once we were done earlier this year, I just had to pick a date and go for it, or else we weren’t going to get to release it this year with the crazy busy schedules. But yeah, it came about on its own accord of just the world we lived in at the time.” The title of the album is called Apocrypha. “I like weird things,” said Nikki. “I watched a bunch of stuff on the History Channel or just weird documentaries. And they were talking about the Apocrypha, which are all of the texts that are banned or left out of the Bible. Translated from Greek, it means forbidden text. I was like, oh, that sounds cool.” For her latest album, Nikki wanted a punchy title. “My EP was Harmonies For The Haunted, which is a mouthful. I was like, Apocrypha sounds cool. It kind of sounds apocalyptic.” Many high-profile guitarists often lean towards instrumental guitar records, this was something that didn’t appeal to the artist. “I don’t think I’ve ever really wanted to do instrumental as much as I love a lot of instrumental records. I’ve always been drawn to bands like Nirvana, or Papa Roach that have a simplicity about them. And the vocals have always been a huge part of me in songs. I want a chorus that I can sing along to. I want a solo that I can sing along to as well. And so, I always knew that I wanted vocals, and that was a big reason why I stepped up and did the vocals, just so I can get it done and do what I want and follow that vision.”

One of the tracks on the album that may take you by surprise is Nikki’s cover of Kiss From A Rose. A song originally released by Seal. “I’ve always loved that song. I don’t know why. I’ve just always loved that song. And I always love singing along to it. And so, I have to cover the song,” said Nikki. “I’ve been saying it for years, it was like, I’m going to put that on this album. I looked at a lot of the covers, because it’s such a huge song. There are a million covers of it online. But they all kind of follow the original for the most part. It’s such a crazy song, with vocal harmonies everywhere. Guitars can do a lot of that. Let’s have a lot of the guitar harmonies take over where the vocals are. And so, I love the way it came out.” With her solo album in the bag, Nikki will be shortly turning her attention to a new Heaven Below album. “Since my album is finally done, we are switching gears and finishing the new Heaven Below album. And a lot of it’s already done,” explains Nikki. “We made it where the last track on my album kind of goes into the new Heaven Below album. So, it’s a little easter egg for people who like both.” Nikki Stringfield has some high-profile solo dates before the end of the year. “We’ve got two shows in December in Arizona. Like I said, it’s hard to juggle all the schedules and everything. So, I’ll be opening for Burning Witches for those two shows. And then in January, I’ll be opening for John Five in Las Vegas.” Apocrypha by Nikki Stringfield is out now.

Words by Adam Kennedy Photos Credit: Press Supplied

PAGE 35

PAGE 36

Chris Shiflett You may know him as the guitarist for the Foo

looks on acoustic guitar, and maybe he’s thrown in a

thinking about making a record. I was just writing

Fighters, but Chris Shiflett is so much more than axe

mandolin, and maybe he’s thrown in a banjo, or he

songs. Because through that whole period, I didn’t

man for Dave Grohl and company. The versatile artist

just gives you a bunch of different flavours to play

know how I was going to put the music out. I didn’t

continues to push forward with his solo career with

with.”

really want to put it out as a record, I just wanted to put it out as songs. So, I wasn’t thinking about any

the release of his new record Lost At Sea. Lost At Sea perhaps could be labelled as being an

of that for most of the time we we’re recording, and

Most of the album was recorded in Nashville, where

Americana album but there is so much more to the

eventually we kind of thought well shoot for ten

the celebrated guitarist worked alongside friend,

release than that. “I never really put boundaries on it,

songs, and that’ll be a record.” He adds: “I think it

producer, and collaborator Jaren Johnston from The

but I just think each time you make a record, you’re

works together as a record. But if I’m being honest,

Cadillac Three. Speaking about working with Jaren,

in a different place in terms of your listening habits,

during that timeframe, I was just writing songs. I

Chris said: “He brought a lot, because he’s a great

and what you’re trying to do and how you want your

really wasn’t paying any attention to what was going

singer and a great guitar player, and just an amazing

guitar to sound,” he says. “So, this one, more than any

to come next?”

songwriter with such a good sense of what a song

others it’s just kind of whatever each song felt like,

needs and what it doesn’t need.”

wherever it felt like it needed to go, that’s what we

Chris Shiflett’s recent single Damage Control has

did. It wasn’t like, we’re making an Americana, we

been described by some as a Summer Anthem.

have to have this and that. And that’s really fun.”

“That’s the only song that that I didn’t write in that

But how did Jaren get involved with the album pro-

period immediately before recording. It was an idea

ject? “I met Jaren years ago when I was in Nashville for a week when we were recording the Sonic High-

The term Americana has become a broad church.

that I’ve been kicking around for a while. I had an

ways record. We were working at Zac Brown’s studio

“Americana is a funny term nowadays, because it’s

idea I had completely forgotten about until talking

Southern Ground. And I went to a Dierks Bentley

evolved so much over the years. To me anything

to Jaren,” he says. “I was having a conversation with

listening party for the record that he was putting

that’s kind of like guitar, bass, drums, and maybe

him about what type of songs we should be record-

out at that time. I met Jaren there. We just stayed

some keyboards, anything with that setup nowadays

ing and what the album needed and all that sort of

in contact over the years,” he says. “For this project,

is called Americana. So, it could be classic country, it

stuff. And he just offhandedly mentioned something

I interviewed him for my podcast. I was a fan of his

could be rock’n’roll, it could be blues.”

about The Clash. And I was like, wait a minute, I’ve

music and a fan of his work. It started with me asking

got something that feels a little Clashy.”

if he would want to get together and write a song,

But what is it about Nashville that separates it from

and we did that. Then we wrote a couple songs. And

the rest of the USA’s musical cities. “I mean, it’s just

He adds: “I dug it up and listened to it and sent it

I think through interviewing him, I maybe realised

been the hub particularly of country music. And

to him. And he said, yeah, let’s do it. And then we

that he was a producer as well. I hit him up to see if

obviously, it’s a lot wider than that nowadays, but

tweaked the arrangement. And it’s very different to

he would produce a couple songs for me. That was

it’s been sort of this centre of the country music

the demo. That’s kind of what always happens with

the initial genesis of making this record.”

business for so long,” says Chris. “LA is similar in

these things you go into the studio with one idea,

different ways. But it’s a place where people go from

and you come out with something different.”

A trip to Music City brought the pair together in the

all over the country, all over the world to go and try

studio. “I went out to Nashville, and we recorded

to make it there. And so, you have this just massive

Whilst the anticipation builds for the release of Lost

Dead And Gone and Blacktop White Lines one

community of talent.”

At Sea, the artist has been taking in some solo dates.

weekend. And I just loved the way it sounded. It

“It’s been a busy year. And I’ve been doing slotting in

just was dynamically a little different and felt really

He adds: “I love being out there, and I love working

some solo shows here and there, and playing some

good. Once we got through with those two songs, I

out there. And I’ve definitely come at it from a differ-

of the songs,” he says. “We were playing a bunch of

was like, Dude, we’ve got to make a record,” explains

ent place. I’ve gotten to know people over the years,

the new songs from this new record before people

Chris.

and I’ve got a lot of friends out there and all that sort

had heard them. And it’s always an interesting thing

of thing, but I didn’t move to Nashville when I was

to gauge people’s reaction.” He adds: “You could feel

Whilst in Nashville, Chris worked with artists like

18 to try to make it as a musician. I moved to LA. I

with Dead and Gone and Damage Control and some

guitarist Charlie Worsham, Tom Bukovac and Nathan

don’t really know that side of it, of the city, and what

of the songs they would get a really good reaction

Keeterle on the album. “That was kind of a different

that’s like to go out there and try to cut your teeth

in the room. And that’s always a good sign.” Chris

experience for me, because normally, on my solo

in it. But I’m sure it’s got to be one of the toughest

concludes: “It’s exciting to finally get the whole thing

records, I’ve played the lion’s share of the guitar

places in the world to get a foothold and you have

out there.”

stuff. And often when I do that, I almost just get

to be so good.”

bored with myself. I long to hear somebody else’s

Lost At Sea the new album from Chris Shiflett will be

guitar playing on it,” says Chris. “For this one to have

Like many albums that have been released in recent

on every track, there’s three of us playing guitar,

times the songs were largely written during the lock-

and three very different type of guitar players, and

down period. “It was a product of the circumstances

everybody’s filling a different space it just gives you

because like everybody else, I was just at home with

a lot of great options. I mean, Charlie alone, by the

all this time on my hands. And it had been a minute

time you track the song he’d have given you multiple

since I’d made a record,” he says. “I wasn’t even

released via Snakefarm on October 20th.

Words by Adam Kennedy Photo Credit: Press Supplied

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Interview with Luke Spiller Rock icons The Struts are about to drop their brand new, fourth studio album Pretty Vicious. Catching up with the voice of the group, Luke Spiller, who tells us all about their upcoming release, their plans following for 2024 and some reflective moments from his performance at the Taylor Hawkins Memorial concerts last year.

Starting with the lead single Rockstar, Luke explained the growth of the band who still keep hold of their trademark party-rock sound. “It’s really explosive, and it’s not only the fastest track on the record tempo wise, but I believe it could be the shortest one as well. I think it was one of the songs that once we’d submitted the record to the label, it was always getting a real bit of great feedback, and I think we just wanted to show everyone what we can do. We can still create really hard-hitting rock music and I think we’re perfectly aware that in the past we’ve sort of strayed into many different genres in the rock world, but this one was so raw and in-your-face, it’s also a lot of fun as well!” Recorded in Nashville, Pretty Vicious has been a highly-anticipated album from the Derbyshire foursome and one that took a lot of planning, coordination and creative decision-making. Luke expressed “In terms of the writing process, it was a really unique record because some of the songs had been sort of living in The Struts ether, so to speak, for quite some time, and it’s no mystery, but I think Covid and the lockdown, early 2020 really put a halt to everything musical, and there are a few songs that were intended to be on the third record, but when we went to make our lockdown record in that seven to ten day period, we decided to only release everything that we made within that window so it would be like really cohesive. When it came to this record, it was like, okay, we have this song and we have this one, and another idea, Falling with Me, was also a song that was recorded demo wise in 2019, which never made the third record. So, we took the best part of about 18 months to write new material, really kind of pushed the boundaries and then on top of that, there was also a couple of ideas but for whatever reason, they just never got finished and they just never quite worked. Then, when the studio time was booked in Nashville, we had about, I think it was about nine days or eight days to record musically everything that we wanted to. So we picked like twelve, eleven songs and that also put the pressure to be like, okay, this song’s really, really great, we need to

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get this right, we need to get the arrangement right, we need to get the lyrics right because we’re getting on a plane to Nashville in like two weeks, and this song is too good to not have on the record. And funny enough, Rockstar was one of those songs. So we managed to sort of have a good chunk of time to make a lot of great demos which I think has a really, really strong record, which I think people will hear.”

This new album also demonstrates the progression they’ve endured as a group and individually since first forming back in 2012. Luke commented “I think lyrically and as a writer, I’d say that I’ve become a lot more confident in my own abilities to get a point that I want across and actually, not be afraid to write really personally. There’s a lot of moments on this record where I’m talking about stories that, aren’t all fun, and I think The Struts have been known as a good time band since we really came out and there are moments on this record where I’m talking about moments that I’ve experienced that are not my proudest or I’ve sort of made terrible decisions, so I think having that confidence in sort of like presenting those sort of narratives to a record is something which is quite new and unique for me personally. When it comes to the band, that goes without saying. I think the group has never sounded or played as good as they have, up until now, and I think that’s just a case of the fact that we’ve been touring relentlessly and as much as we could, COVID or not from 2015, well, at least coming to America anyway. But you can really hear that like the band’s really jelled and everyone is just sounding their absolute best up to date. So you’ll hear that.” Whilst Luke explored his growth as a writer and as a band member, he also reflected on some of the incredible opportunities he has had since his career began, including being asked to perform with Queen for the Taylor Hawkins Memorial Concerts. “[it] was just so beautiful, but yet sad at the same time. There was such a whirlwind of emotions, but on top of that, it was a truly once in a lifetime thing. I mean, just to be able to look behind me and see Roger Taylor playing and then run up to Brian May, and of course that was kind of like this crazy super band with the members of the Foo Fighters as well. So that was probably one of my personal greatest moments to date without a question.” Talking about how this chance bloomed, Luke explained “we toured with the Foo Fighters just before our second album was released and we

ended up going out on the road with them for pretty much the best part of an entire year. And when we were doing that, I’d also met Taylor a few times when he was performing with Chevy Metal, his covers band. So I’d already sort of met up with him and done a couple of songs and he was sort of aware of my love for the same music that he loved and I ended up performing Under Pressure with him and the Foo Fighters almost every single night on the tour, and we just kept in touch, you know, we were just big fans of each other and I would go around his house and jam and we’d play cover shows together, and, when everything that transpired happened, very shortly before, me and Taylor and his covers group were about to do a bunch of shows and we were in the process of trying to carve out some time in between our schedules to sort of do a load of early Queen songs and sort of go out there and do them. And I got the call from Pat [Smear] and he said, ‘hey man, look, we are all aware that you and Taylor were going to be doing these shows together and, Brian and Roger sort of want to come and pay their respects, how would you like to do those songs, but with Brian and Roger?’. And I was like yeah I’d love to be a part of it yes. In any capacity, that they felt comfortable with me doing so and it was brilliant. Really brilliant.”

To accompany the official album release, The Struts will be touring America for the rest of 2023 with a well-deserved break over the festive period. But there ain’t no rest for the wicked as Luke spoke of plans for 2024 “I think we’re waiting just to sort of see how the records perceived. But there’s a couple of other things in the works, which I’m not sure if I can say at the moment. But, it’s The Struts - we don’t sit around and not do anything for months on end. I’m sure we’re going to be back out and touring come February, March, or at least doing something. Maybe some more Europe dates because we didn’t get to do a lot of that this year. We probably only did about three or four weeks of Europe and in the UK, of course we couldn’t get to Japan this year or Australia. So hopefully more of that from next year so a bit more venturing out, maybe.” Pretty Vicious will be available on a variety of formats including vinyl, CD, digital download and on streaming platforms from 3rd November 2023 via Big Machine/John Varvatos Records.

Words by Charlotte Hooper Photo Credit: Press Supplied

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Hannah WicklUnd PAGE 40

Eyes on The Prize The Prize finds Hannah coming into her own following the release of the Hannah Wicklund & The Steppin Stones debut album in 2018. The new album showcases personal development translated through intentional musicianship all pointing to the thesis of the record: passing the baton from girlhood to womanhood. The Prize has been produced by Sam Kiszka, marking the Greta Van Fleet bassist’s first producer credit outside of his band. The album also features Sam on bass, keys, and organ, while fellow Greta Van Fleet member, Daniel Wagner, holds it down on drums. The US-based artist has spent 2023 working towards the release of their new album. “It’s been a very productive year. And I think that it’s been going so fast,” said Hannah. “The first half of the year has been a lot of getting ready and getting things prepared for the second half. So, I’m about to be embarking on more of the journey of the record here soon with touring and all that stuff.” The artist’s new album showcases the evolution of her musical sound. “Ultimately, I wrote this record in my main transition from girlhood to womanhood. And I think that I unknowingly kind of charted that process through this record. Some of it is story based. And then some of it is more message based, you know, more of the lessons that I learned and some of them are I think ultimately tools.” She adds: “It was kind of a manifestation tool and just starting to think about yourself in a different light outside of your youth.” The Prize has been a long time in the making. “The writing part of this record was a very quick kind of seamless process. I think I had the first song written probably in like September 2018. And then I wrote the last song; the prize was the final song that I completed for this record, and that was in January of 2019. And so, I worked on certain songs for a lengthy amount of time. And I’d had certain ideas kind of ruminating for a while, but I was like a five, six-month long process of writing.” Songwriting aside, finding the right people

to make the record took its time. “The hard part was nailing down the right producer for me. I met with many different producers in 2019 on the west coast, the LA kind of scene,” she says. “And I was not really looking for a producer in Sam [Kiszka of Greta Van Fleet], who ended up producing my record. We’ve been together now for coming up on two years. And so, this record brought me lots of things, more than just the right producer.” Hannah adds: “When I went into the studio, we just kind of went in just for sh*ts and giggles. Sam hadn’t produced anything. And we were working with the same management for a minute, and that was how we got connected. And Sam had always wanted to try his hand at producing,” explains Hannah. “He knew that I was looking for a producer. So, we got into the studio, and it was such a different vibe than any other recording experience I’d had. Because I’ve been going into studios since I was 14. And as a young woman, a young girl, there’s a little bit of that kind of looming, condescending, you know, just kind of the looking down upon you kind of energy. And this was my first time being in the studio with someone who felt like my peer. Sam’s two years younger than me, and he’s been part of a band and I loved being in a band. I miss having my solid band mates in the Stepping Stones. For 14 years I was in a band, and he brought that energy back to me, which kind of helped things come full circle, because this record felt it was just so much fun to make.” Hannah adds: “I wouldn’t change a thing about this record. So, my confidence in the studio was really brought out by Sam, and this record is my favourite thing I’ve ever made.” Hannah’s latest material shows an evolution beyond staple songs from her repertoire such as Bomb Through The Breeze. “I love Bomb Through The Breeze. I’m very grateful for that song. I love playing it live. Playing that song live is a f*cking hoot and holler every time - I love playing it. But this record is definitely more for me. This record is the more mature me. My last record was 100% me as well. But I was probably at my most confused time in my life when I was making and recording

and writing that record. And this was kind of the opposite,” explains Hannah. “This record was me leaning in to finding myself and leaning into healing parts of myself that needed attention that I hadn’t been given. And I wouldn’t be surprised if my next record, I got back into a little bit more of the guitar riff zone. I think I’ll be able to write outside of myself after having done this record, because this was such an introspective really important record for me as a human to go through.” With Sam and Daniel from Greta Van Fleet featuring on the record, will the pair be joining Hannah on tour on her upcoming headline UK dates. “I don’t think no, they’re not going to be making an early entrance into Europe. But my brother is going to be coming over and playing those shows with me. He’s playing drums. And then Kevin, my brother’s bass player, who I’ve known since I was four years old. I’ve played with them many times.” Aside from her headline dates, Hannah Wicklund will also be supporting Greta Van Fleet on their UK and European arena tour. “We’re very excited for the Glasgow show. Because our grandfather was born in Glasgow. So yeah, I think my mom’s going to make it over because she’s never been and she’s like I can’t pass up seeing both my kids play in an arena at the city where my father was born. My grandfather played guitar and banjo was in a barbershop quartet – he was very musical. So, I’m very much so looking forward to that show.” Wicklund is looking forward to perhaps a more extensive UK run in the new year. “I’ve been very eager to return after COVID because it’s been four years since I was over there,” she says. “I’m very excited and I will be back over for a nice healthy headline tour next year.” The Prize by Hannah Wicklund will be released on January 12th, 2024, via Label 51/ Flatiron Recordings.

Words By Paul Davies Photo Credit: Jamie Goodsell

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Life In The Fast Lane Interview with Jaren Johnston The Cadillac Three are getting ready to release their sixth studio album, The Years Go Fast. The band’s latest offering is the product of coming through trials and emerging on the other side — battle-scarred, a little older, a little wiser, and more willing to be vulnerable. It’s expansive in sound, reflective of the way The Cadillac Three continue to tinker with their swaggering brand of country rock, but it still sounds like only the three of them can.

But the creative wheels began turning once more. “It had been two years, and we hadn’t put out any music, and we were just like, oh sh*t, that’s not our style. And so then I had to start hunkering down,” explains Jaren. “We started bringing writers out with us on the road, friends of ours that we enjoy being creative with. And trying to tell some of that story. The more personal songs came a little earlier because I was going through the loss of my dad and all that kind of stuff.”

Between life on the road and finishing their new record, 2023 has been a somewhat productive year for the Nashville-based trio. “It’s been nonstop. And kind of exhausting because we spent the first, I would say three or four months touring hard, but also trying to finish the record,” explains frontman Jaren Johnston. “It’s been a lot of deadlines, at least for the first part of the year. And the rest of it’s been super-hot with crazy storms and outdoor shows. And shows getting moved because of weather. Like so many things that were beyond our control that have been happening. It’s been a wild year.”

The writing on The Years Go Fast is perhaps a little more personal and vulnerable than some of the group’s previous output. The events and life experiences that transpired during the pandemic gave the band food for thought when writing the new record. “We all went through experiences during that time. And you’re probably going to hear a lot of songs coming from songwriters over the next ten years, that showcase this dark passenger,” he said. “Mine came out really quickly.”

In 2020, the group released two albums by way of Country Fuzz and Tabasco & Sweet Tea. During that period, TC3 released an incredible thirty-one songs in one year. Somewhat of a prolific work ethic – perhaps you will agree. The band’s new album sees The Cadillac Three returning to the forefront. “We were thriving. There was also not much else to do, if you remember correctly back then. So, I think we did do that. But then I think there was part of it after coming out of COVID and touring got back, with everything that we were going through in life, those kinds of changes, I was just exhausted. The last thing I wanted to do was sit down and write; I was creatively exhausted. I guess the last thing I wanted to do is come out with a new concept and new vibe for the Cadillac record,” explains Jaren. “I was like, well, let’s just go tour the two we did because we hadn’t had a chance to tour those yet. And so, I think it was a very nice little break.”

Jaren adds: “It hit me in such a weird way. Whether it was me living at a beach house with my three-year-old son and my wife and going absolutely mad and drinking like crazy and just partying all day, but then still being a dad. And then losing my dad,” he says. “That hit me so damn hard that I immediately just started writing about it. So that’s songs like Love Like War or Pistols On The Levee. And then there’s the redemption side of those songs too, I think - Coming Down From You, Double Wide Grave, but it’s still dark because it was a dark f*cking time.” If artists have yet to embrace that period in their material – perhaps it will come in the not-too-distant future. “I think you’re going to hear a lot of songs from people over the next ten years, whether they know it or not. As more time passes, I would imagine that they won’t call it - this is what I went through during this time. But there’s a piece of them in that two-year period that is lying in there somewhere, and their brain is going to find it,” reflects Jaren. “I think a lot of people dealt

with crazy sh*t during that time. A lot of marriages broke up. I’ve got Rockstar friends that just didn’t make it. It was a very weird time. Some of the best times of my life and some of the worst times of my life. So, there’s a lot to write about there. It gave me a lot of creative spirit.” Writing about these turbulent life experiences can also be a way of processing some of these emotions. “It’s therapeutic when you’re doing it. I think it’s not always fun listening back to it. Because you could be really angry at that person that you’re writing about; you can be angry at yourself,” he says. “You’re like, man, that time was crazy. This is awesome. I’m so glad that I documented this. I forgot that I felt this way. But there it is.” The album title, The Years Go Fast, feels apt in more ways than one. “I remember ten years ago, in 2013, when we signed a record deal, that we said we were never going to sign with Cadillac. We were in a van driving back and forth to Texas,” recollects Jaren. “The first time we went to the UK - that first Barfly show, that seems like yesterday. It’s crazy. So yeah, it feels like it’s gone by really fast.” The Cadillac Three are getting ready to hit the road in support of their latest release. “We’re doing a headline tour actually. We’re leaving tonight. It’s called The Years Go Fast tour here in the States. But it’ll go through to the first week in December. Then we are taking more time off for family stuff and then holidays. And then start back in the spring, I would imagine,” concludes Jaren. The Years Go Fast, the new album from The Cadillac Three, will be released on the 27th of October. For further information, visit https:// www.thecadillacthree.com/.

Words by Adam Kennedy Photo Credit: Alex Berger

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e iL vREVIEWS

BYWATER CALL

STEELIES, HARTLEPOOL Toronto may be a long way from the Tees Valley area, but that didn’t stop Canadian blues/rock outfit Bywater Call from making the long trek across the Atlantic to play at Steelies in Hartlepool for the second time this year. Bywater Call were the opening act for US rockers Robert Jon and the Wreck’s at their sold-out show in the same room earlier this year. Only on that occasion the band performed in a somewhat truncated fashion, as a stripped-back duo, but this time around, the rising stars of the scene returned with a full seven-piece band and as headliners in their own right. Earlier this summer Bywater Call were invited to perform on Joe Bonamassa’s Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea cruise around the Mediterranean. A high-profile invitation indeed, especially coming from the guitar supremo himself. A strong crowd was in attendance to witness Bywater Call’s return to Hartlepool. This date being the group’s second date in the North East of the weekend, following on from a concert at The Cluny in Newcastle on Friday evening. The pair of shows in our region were punctuated only by a date in Edinburgh on Saturday night. Following a wonderful acoustic blues set from Newcastlebased guitar virtuoso Paul Rose, it was time for the Canadian ensemble to take to the stage. From the opening notes of Bring It Back, the audience was spellbound.

A soulful rendition of Sign of Peace took the Hartlepool audience to church. But who knew Church was this late on a Sunday? Meghan Parnell’s soaring vocals are in a league of their own. The band put their spin on Stephen Still’s classic Love The One You’re With. One thing which separates Bywater Call from the rest is their ability to jam. In that respect, the songs when performed live take a life of their own. Guitarist Dave Barnes’ incendiary slide guitar play lit up the stage all night long. Whilst the addition of horns, saxophone, and keys adds a wonderful texture to the band’s repertoire. Several songs into the set, the Ontario-based outfit had the room singing along during an uplifting airing of Silver Lining. Barnes made his guitar quite literally sing like a bird during a spellbinding performance of Sweet Maria. With a tambourine on her arm, Meghan engaged the audience with some call and response, and the crowd didn’t have to be asked twice. Of course, each song in the set was greeted with rapturous applause. The Hartlepool fans received a rare treat when the band premiered their funky new composition Turn It Around, and it did not disappoint. The uber-talented seven-piece closed out their main set by putting their stamp on a cover of The Weight by The Band before the night ended with encore number Left Behind. Bywater Call’s appearance in Hartlepool on Sunday evening was as sweet as Canadian Maple Syrup. Words & Photo Credit: Adam Kennedy PAGE 45

ROBERT JON & THE WRECK THE BOILER SHOP, NEWCASTLE

Californian five-piece Robert Jon and the Wreck rode into the Boiler Shop in Newcastle for the band’s second NorthEast date of the year. The US-natives performed a sold-out show in Hartlepool in February. And with the release of both a new live and studio album, the band were back for round two. With the in-demand group’s action-packed tour schedule, Robert Jon and the Wreck have barely been away from Europe in recent times. The band’s current tour is part of The Wreck’s fourth transatlantic run of 2023. In that respect, the well-travelled group’s relentless work ethic is almost incomparable. The US rocker’s latest show at the Boiler Shop was their largest North-East concert to date. Robert Jon and the Wreck’s versatile sound spans the whole spectrum of the roots/rock arena. And with a songbook full of radio-playlisted singles and sing-along anthems, the Tyneside audience was in their element from the opening notes of Pain No More at the top of the show. The infectious melodies of tracks like Do You Remember and Tired of Drinking Alone stay with you for days. They are real earworms. Perhaps that’s part of their draw; once you hear the song, you can’t get it out of your head. Couple PAGE 46

that with the band’s incendiary twin-part guitar harmonies and frontman Robert Jon Burrison’s incredible voice, and the group are a force to be reckoned with. Each member of Robert Jon and the Wreck are virtuosos in their own right. And they each took their moment in the spotlight throughout the set. Lead guitarist Henry James is one of the most gifted guitarists on the rock scene right now. The audience’s jaws dropped every time Henry stepped up to the edge of the stage and unleashed his ferocious fretwork during countless solos. Of course, with a new studio album in tow, the band included tracks from their latest release including, Bring Me Back Home Again, Don’t Look Down and the incredible title track, Ride Into The Light, itself. One of the group’s radio hits, Oh Miss Carolina, featured in the latter stages of the show. Whilst the incredible chemistry and incendiary playing of the group shone through during main set closer, Cold Night. With each return visit, Robert Jon and the Wreck continue to build momentum. And just like the sentiment of the last song of the evening, Shine A Light On Me Brother – Robert Jon and the Wreck continue to shine on, and their star is getting brighter. Words & Photo Credit: Adam Kennedy

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WINERY DOGS

RIVERSIDE, NEWCASTLE When it comes to The Winery Dogs, just how deep is the talent pool? Because this superlative set was awash with flourishes of jaw-dropping technique and eye-watering brilliance from start to finish. A wave of collective emotion flooded the Riverside floor just as soon as Messrs Portnoy, Sheehan and Kotzen took to the stage. And once the damn broke there was simply no stopping a veritable flood of blues-based, post-grunge classics. Three names synonymous with game-changing albums and must-see global tours assembled on Tyneside to kick off the second leg of this year’s UK headline tour. And it seems age is no barrier to three genuine rock and roll survivors. Dream Theater, Mr Big, Poison and more have benefitted from the expert touch of three consummate professionals. But it’s what Portnoy, Sheehan and Kotzen are doing now, rather than what they’ve achieved in the past, that’s truly remarkable at a time when the safety net of

the norm continues to stifle ambition. In February the long-awaited III reinforced The Winery Dogs’ reputation as true rock and roll disruptors spoiling for a fresh fight. Sure, it stuck to the blueprint of pairing post-grunge power with nuanced classic rock. But not for the first time all three band members took the opportunity to creep beyond the comfort zone and collaborate without boundaries. The gloves were off and no punches were pulled as III proved to be the magic number. No wonder its prime cuts featured so heavily here. There was an intuitive, instinctive — and, in truth, occasionally self-indulgent — feel to a 16-song set as the peerless Portnoy led from the back. And the three amigos casually reinforced their reputation as ‘the musician’s musicians’, leaning on minimum chat and maximum flair. The Dogs’ bollocks? You bet.

Words by Simon Rushworth Photo Credit: Adam Kennedy PAGE 49

RIVAL SONS NX, NEWCASTLE

Autumn is always a busy time of the year for music fans. So much so that this month has traditionally and affectionally been named Rocktober by many. And with gig season in full swing, Californian rockers Rival Sons descended upon Newcastle on Saturday. The band arrived in the North East following a sold-out show at the Roundhouse in London on Friday night. The two-time Grammy-nominated outfit are in an incredibly creative place right now. Rival Sons released their album Darkfighter in June to critical acclaim. The band will follow up with their new companion album Lightbringer, on the 20th of October. Ahead of the album’s release, the quartet arrived at HMV Newcastle on Saturday afternoon, where fans of the group got the opportunity to meet their heroes in person. The band caused quite a stir by wandering into the store through Eldon Square rather than through the rear entrance of the shop. Countless fans travelled far and wide to meet the band; some had even made the journey from Ireland to be there. Each patron brought with them memorabilia and albums for the group to sign. One fan even brought his prized Fender Stratocaster. But once the dust had settled from the signing, it was time for the band to hot-foot it to NX in Newcastle, where they were performing on Saturday evening. A sold-out crowd was present to witness the Sons’ first show in the region since 2019. Time off the road due to the pandemic allowed Rival Sons to get to work on their astounding pair of 2023 releases. And with their new albums in the bag, Saturday’s concert featured eight songs from their latest output. Opening the show with Mirrors from June’s Darkfighter release. Frontman Jay Buchanan is a one-of-a-kind. He has the qualities and hallmarks of lead singers of yore; his voice transports the listener to a different time and place. Like an old soul with a young heart. Jay’s voice could melt butter, and he left everything out of the stage. Buchanan didn’t hold back for a second. For over two hours the frontman sank his heart and soul into his performance. And in the latter stages of the set, he asked PAGE 50

the audience to help out. Declaring that he wasn’t sure if he had enough gas to get home. And who could blame him after two hours of vocal acrobatics. Despite that passing comment, Jay went on to deliver one of the most pitch-perfect opening lines to a song you’ve ever heard. The singer is in a different class. Similarly, guitarist Scott Holiday’s fuzz-fuelled riffs and incredible guitar tone created a sonic tapestry which cast a spell over the Tyneside audience. The axe man even grappled with double-necked guitars on a couple of occasions, as well as delivering a feverish guitar solo during Face of Light that left the Newcastle fans shellshocked. At the back of the stage, powerhouse drummer Mike Miley’s hard-hitting groove, is the heartbeat of Rival Sons. The smiling, talismanic figure sat on his drum riser as he dished out a back-to-back arsenal of earth-shattering beats. Bass player Dave Beste is the perfect foil to Miley in the band’s incomparable rhythm section. But what of the setlist? With four years since the band’s last appearance on Tyneside, the US-based outfit had a lot of ground to cover. Fan favourites such as Electric Man, Open My Eyes, and a breathtaking rendition of Jordan sat seamlessly alongside tracks from the band’s two new albums. The inclusion of Torture mid-set took the audience back to the early days of the group. A ferocious airing of Nobody Wants to Die illustrated the calibre of the output of the band’s recent material. Whilst Buchanan discussed how the song Mosaic from their upcoming Lightbringer album was the song which broke the fever, he knew at that point that the writing for the album project was complete. The live performance of the song was simply transcendent. A beautiful stripped-back airing of Shooting Stars led by Buchanan on an acoustic guitar ushered the group towards the final stages of their two-hour set. And with no heirs and graces, or false walk-offs, Rival Sons played straight through before closing their set in the humblest of ways with Secret. On Saturday evening, the Californian Sons shone in Newcastle. Perhaps the gig of the year on Tyneside? With only ten weeks left of 2023, only time will tell. But one thing is for sure - Rival Sons have raised the bar very high for those to follow. Just like the title of one of the songs on Saturday’s setlist - if you missed out on this show, then that’s Too Bad. Words & Photo Credit: Adam Kennedy

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GLENN HUGHES & THE DAMN TRUTH BOILER SHOP, NEWCASTLE

Rock legend Glenn Hughes turns back the clocks during a combustible show at the Boiler Shop in Newcastle. The year was 1973, and rock titans Deep Purple were going through some personnel changes. Bass player Roger Glover and lead singer Ian Gillan departed the band, which in turn paved the way for the arrival of Glenn Hughes from Trapeze and Saltburn’s own David Coverdale. An era that has been referred to in the annals of rock history as Deep Purple Mark III. During this time, the band produced a pair of seminal albums, Burn and Stormbringer respectively. A few years later, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore would depart Deep Purple allowing for the appearance of the late great Tommy Bolin and Deep Purple Mark IV. With this came the group’s tenth studio album, Come Taste the Band, before Purple went their separate ways in 1976. This short but sweet period of Deep Purple produced many unmistakable anthems. Thankfully, for fans of the iconic outfit, Glenn Hughes, the former bassist, and singer of Deep Purple, is celebrating this bygone era of the group on the road with a tour that is entirely dedicated to performing Classic Deep Purple Live. The Voice of Rock as he is known by millions arrived at the Boiler Shop in Newcastle where a huge crowd was there to greet him. Purple light aptly shone down on the stage, as the man of the hour opened the show with a gargantuan rendition of Stormbringer before a harmonious airing of Might Just Take Your Life followed. The beauty of this tour is that Glenn Hughes is not just performing the music created by himself and his esteemed bandmates but rather trying to recreate the magic of the Deep Purple live experience. A true 70s rock show, perhaps in the vein of the Made in Europe album or California Jam, only in a more intimate setting and without the crowd of 250,000 patrons in the case of the latter. Every song in the set took on a life of its own, jammed out and extended, allowing each member of the group to truly shine. Keyboard player Bob Fridzema is the ideal performer to go to battle with the licks created by the late great Jon Lord. Similarly, long-time guitarist Soren Anderson, who has worked with Glenn for approximately 17 years, continues to execute the riffs, solos and melodies handed down by Ritchie Blackmore with the respect, humility, and technical excellence they deserve. Whilst powerhouse drummer Ash Sheehan is the ideal foil for Hughes and company to play off and held down a tight and solid groove all night long. Ash even got to take a drum solo during You Fool No One.

With Hughes’ approach to recreating the Purple live experience, most songs performed in the set came in at around the 10-minute mark. As such, the show, including the encore, featured nine of the band’s unmistakable anthems. Many vocalists in the latter stages of their career would not be able to hit the same dizzy heights which Glenn Hughes illustrated throughout his latest date on Tyneside. They don’t call him the Voice of Rock for nothing. Glenn has lost none of the power, range, or passion that he has become known for throughout his career. The set was replete with vocal acrobatics aplenty. The unmistakable introduction to Mistreated transported the Newcastle audience to classic rock heaven, whilst Hughes and company showcased the funkier side of the Purple repertoire during Gettin’ Tighter. The main set closed with You Keep On Moving. But we all knew what was coming - there was no way Glenn was going to close out the show without his signature number. As anticipated the night came to a close with perhaps one of the greatest rock anthems of all time, the being Burn. The latter was the perfect way to round out not only the show but also a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Deep Purple’s seminal release. In Newcastle, Glenn Hughes was on fire in more ways than one. Canadian quartet The Damn Truth have been sharing the stage with Glenn Hughes on this run. The band have recently been in the studio with legendary producer Bob Rock as they work towards the release of a new album. The Damn Truth recently announced their brand-new single “I Just Gotta Let You Know”, will be released on Friday, September 20th. It’s the first single taken from their forthcoming 2024 studio album. And it’s also the first new music since the band’s 2021 album “Now or Nowhere.” Bob Rock also produced the latter. A release that received high praise from fans and the industry alike. The Damn Truth’s intro tape of White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane played over the venue’s PA and appropriately set the scene for the band’s performance. A hard rocking rendition of This Is Who We Are Now opened the set, whilst fan favourites such as Only Love, Look Innocent and set closer Tomorrow certainly hit the spot. With their classic rock stylings and retro aesthetic, The Damn Truth perfectly fit the bill for such a tour and occasion. The band’s energy, stage presence and arsenal of infectious anthems were enough to win the band over an army of new fans on Tyneside. Just like the surname of their esteemed producer, The Damn Truth sure know how to Rock.

Words & Photo Credit: Adam Kennedy PAGE 29 53 PAGE

EUROPE

the group, picking a setlist for such a show was always going to be an emotional experience. As the band transported themselves to those points in their career and what each song meant to them.

Europe reflect on their storied career at The Glasshouse in Gateshead as the band reach a landmark year in their musical history.

And even with a 26-song setlist – frontman Joey Tempest joked, “If you don’t hear your favourite song tonight, it’s not my fault - it’s those guys,” as he pointed to his bandmates. But the reality of the show was that Europe left no stone unturned. There was something there for everyone.

THE GLASSHOUSE, GATESHEAD

Released in 1983, Europe’s eponymous debut album reaches its 40th anniversary this year. And subsequently, the Scandinavian rock legends are on tour celebrating this musical milestone. Europe’s show this time around was not just your average live affair, this was billed as an evening with the band, and with two sets and a start time of 7.30 pm running through until 10.30 pm, the event certainly lived up to its expectations. A documentary-style video featured on a makeshift cinema screen at the front of the stage set the scene for the night ahead. Interviews with each of the band members were thoroughly enjoyable as the group shared stories from the early days of Europe. Coupled with archive images and footage, it was the perfect way to start the evening. Joey Tempest told the tale of how they left an early keyboard recording of The Final Countdown sitting on a shelf for some time. Can you imagine how different things may have been if the song had never seen the light of day? Subsequently, the band discussed on video how they weren’t all in agreement initially about naming the group after a continent, but based upon their successful 40-year career, it hasn’t done them any harm, that’s for sure. The “evening with” format was a great approach to celebrating the band’s back catalogue. As the opening documentary concluded, the curtain fell, and the band appeared on stage as they opened the show with On Broken Wings, Seven Doors Hotel from the band’s debut album and the classic Rock The Night. Joey Tempest is the consummate frontman. Frequently towering over the audience from atop of the stage monitors, engaging the fans in song, or throwing his white mic stand around the stage, the Swedish singer was a joy to watch all night long. Start From The Dark was an early highlight in the set. With its heavy and somewhat infectious groove, coupled with John Norum’s blistering fretwork and impeccable tone, it certainly hit the spot. Likewise, Tempest’s voice was in fine form. The inclusion of Walk the Earth from the band’s 2017 release of the same name brought the group’s careerspanning setlist up to date. As the show progressed, Europe continued to walk the packed-out audience down memory lane. Even for PAGE 26 PAGE PAGE28 54

The band teased new material with the inclusion of Hold Your Head Up, which as well as being a catchy number, showed the musical evolution of the band and their sound. It was one of those songs that made you want to sing and clap along, and the audience did exactly that. Dreamer slowed down the proceedings momentarily. The song showcased Mik Michaeli’s beautiful and intricate keyboard playing. The track featured only Mik and Joey on vocals during what was a beautiful moment in the set. Rock fans and guitarists, in particular, regard John Norum as one of the best in the business. And his virtuoso playing during Vasastan proved that point perfectly. The first set hurtled towards a well-deserved interval with a showstopping rendition of Carrie. But there were more anthems from The Final Countdown album to come in the latter part of the evening, as you can well imagine. In the second set, a stripped-back acoustic rendition of David Bowie’s Space Oddity was of note. Drummer Ian Haugland recollected lost memories from touring with Def Leppard in the US in 1989. Of course, a rock show would not be complete without a drum solo, and Ian took his moment in the spotlight with a dazzling display of drumming set against a backdrop of the William Tell Overture. Of course, the mega hits were always going to feature in the later stages of the show. And what a way to round out an impeccable evening. Tempest gave a nod to a friend from Redcar, that being Whitesnake’s David Coverdale during the main set closer Superstitious. The frontman injected a few bars of Here I Go Again, to great effect. A two-song encore featuring fan favourite Cherkoee and the band’s unmistakable anthem, The Final Countdown, brought the evening to a close in the best way possible. Europe showed that forty years since the release of their debut album, they are still going strong and showing no signs of slowing down. Words & Photo Credit: Adam Kennedy

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HAWKWIND

THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL, LONDON If further proof were needed, tonight’s show demonstrated why Hawkwind remain the Sui generis of space rock; a movement they played a pivotal role in creating. After over a half-century since their Ladbroke Grove beginnings, no other continuing survivors of this outré genre exist with a constant founding member whose productive creative output remains a strong aural elixir for a vast legion of their dedicated followers. As the focal point and fulcrum of Hawkwind’s musical direction, octogenarian Dave Brock doesn’t do this alone and this evening’s show, in this worldfamous venue, without compare, represented an alliance of performance between each band member and a devoted audience. This camaraderie was initially expressed by another oneof-a-kind artist as Arthur Brown staged a remarkable opening set donning multiple out-of-this-world shimmering costumes and theatrical masks, not forgetting a luminous beard of multiple colours. His band followed in sartorial suit, plus a stage set of mannequins adorned with exotic dressing, as they fired up tonight’s cosmic proceedings. Lean as a dancer and demonstrating his still impressive vocal range, Arthur Brown indubitably is an otherworldly national treasure. Premiering three new songs, in his nine-song set, reassuringly reveals the creative juices flowing powerfully from Brown’s brainbox. The ritualistic holding hands circular dance at the close of his set between Brown and his band was a life-affirming sight of unbridled joy to behold. Then a laser light show projecting architectural formations in front of a backdrop of space-themed visuals, complemented Hawkwind’s setlist as they blasted off with Levitation. The musical kinship between all players and audience connected together like tugging a, sometimes frayed over the years, golden thread that reeled in boundary bending bygone eras to the present reinforced by a trippy medley of The Psychedelic Warlords (Disappear in Smoke) and You Know You’re Only Dreaming - the former lifted from 74’s Hall Of The Mountain Grill album (named after their favourite cafe

on Portobello Rd), the latter from 71’s In Search Of Space release. Following this, William Orbit joined the ongoing space ritual unfolding onstage from Arrival In Utopia onwards. He, like many in attendance, was captivated at a young age by the spacey sonics explored by Hawkwind. Tonight, he twiddled knobs, strummed a guitar and encouraged sounds from his keyboard set up all to, at times, indecipherable results within the sound mix. Nevertheless, he clearly revelled in his back of stage role amongst some of the songs that shaped and formed him. Rama (The Prophecy) and The Beginning from their most recent and amazing studio album, The Future Never Waits, set the mystical tone to maximum. Interestingly squeezed in between the propulsive psych power of Spirit Of The Age and Assault And Battery, this venerable entity premiered a new song, Underwater City, on which Thighpaulsandra (Timothy Lewis) and Orbit conjured up a deep spacey melange of keyboard effects. It’s particularly evident in the abstract edge that TPS adds to Hawkwind’s sonic presentation that this ever-voyaging crew of musicians is elevated by his presence in the sound mix. This year being the 50th anniversary of their seminal live album, Space Ritual recently given a restored box set of bells and whistles helmed by the remarkable mixing wizard Stephen W. Tayler, the band whistled back down the sonic wind of years with Born To Go, Brainstorm and Master Of The Universe overriding the occasional enervating dip in proceedings. Now a favourite live staple, Right To Decide’s singalong chorus followed by Arthur Brown’s eccentric return to utter the poetic words to Ten Seconds Of Forever seemed to sum up the overall Space Ritual of tonight’s event. It propelled tonight’s show towards its conclusion as Welcome To The Future appositely wrapped up a transcendental experience for tonight’s amassed gathering of Hawk-Heads. Words by Paul Davies Photo Credit: Adam Kennedy PAGE 57

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ARCTANGENT

FERNHILL FARM, SOMERSET And so, the time has come once more for ArcTanGent to take over Fernhill Farm and deliver yet another astonishing line-up of some of the finest Post-Rock, Progressive Metal and Experimental music on the planet. Now in its ninth year, ArcTanGent has established itself as one of the must-attend festivals of the summer, winning both awards and critical acclaim. It’s easy to see why this is the case as over 100 bands take to the five stages over four days, providing an eclectic selection of bands covering a wide gamut of genres. As such I feel it’s more apt to present my highlights of the whole weekend rather than attempt a full play by play account. On the first day of the event, only one of the stages is open for the early bird and VIP ticket holders to ease them into the weekend. Out of the line-up on the Wednesday, Five The Heirophant were a standout act for me fusing Jazz, Metal and Psychedelia to create a unique sound. What can I say? I’m a sucker for a band with a saxophone. Later in the day, Edinburgh based post-metal outfit, DVNE took to the stage with a selection of tracks from their 2021 album, Etemen Ænka. Nearby Bristol Techno-Metallers Scalping closed out the first night of the event. Well… Almost. One thing ArcTanGent is renowned for is its Silent Disco that runs from 11pm to 3am each night. Even on this first night with only a couple of hundred people taking part, there is something very unique about lying in your tent and hearing hundreds of voices screaming along without accompaniment to classic tunes such as Chop Suey and Break Stuff. The festival proper kicked off on Thursday morning with Swedish trio Barrens playing a selection of tunes from their debut Penumbra on the main stage and easing us into the day with their brand of melodic, ambient tunes. The setup of the festival has two acts at a time playing on stages at different sides of the site and then swapping to the other two stages so that there is a near seamless transition from one band to another with only a short walk for the punters between stages. Additionally, there is the Elephant at the Bar stage which runs acts alongside the two other smaller stages. One act that may not be for everyone, but certainly deserves a mention are The Guru Guru. This Belgian based band defy a succinct description but could be categorised as eclectic experimental musical performance art in a possible Marmite-like situation, I find vocalist Tom Adriaenssens’ pyjama clad stage persona becomes a tad grating after a while and actually detracts from a band that delivers a very unique sound. Fellow Belgians Brutus put in an outstanding performance later in the day, with ultimate respect going to Stefanie Mannaerts for effortlessly pulling off what I believe to be one of the most difficult combinations in a band, that of Lead Vocals and Drums. One ATG tradition that I seem to have developed is that of laying on my back and staring up at the sky as the sun sets by the main stage. Last year it was MONO that provided the soundtrack for that moment. This year, that honour fell to Chicago post-rockers Russian Circles, whose intricate music took us through the transition into evening where the mighty Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs headlined the Yokhai stage and Salem metalcore band, Converge closed out the main stage. Friday morning felt like waking up in the middle of a ritual as the soundcheck for Heilung rang out across the campsite at some ungodly hour, bringing everyone out of their tents and into the PAGE 60

misty morning in search of the source of the noise, or more likely, coffee. An early set from collaborative project Curse These Metal Hands got the crowd’s blood pumping before Aussie progressive metallers Caligula’s Horse took the stage for the last show of their tour, setting it off in style with the ATG crowd providing the band with what was officially the World’s Loudest “G’Day Mate” to see them off. Ever popular Irish post-rock outfit And So I Watch You From Afar gave us an excellent early evening set with a diverse selection of tunes taken from their vast discography. Over on the Elephant at the Bar stage, another unique act headlined the evening in the form of Clt Drp. This Brighton and Hove based electropunk trio are one of the most exciting bands I’ve seen in a while, with a highly energetic performance and music that brings to mind echoes of bands like Senser. Their latest album, Nothing Clever, Just Feelings hits the shelves on September 7th and is well worth a listen. Speaking of unique acts, Friday’s main stage headliners came in the incredible form of Heilung. In a stunning example of music as ritual, Heilung turned in an epic theatrical performance that really does need to be seen to be appreciated fully. Lavish stage decoration, lines of armed vikings, gorgeous costumes and a dazzling light show all came together in what was an amazing headline set for the experimental folk musicians. A Burial At Sea opened up the Yokhai stage on the last day of the festival once again proving that I have a soft spot for bands with brass instruments as they turned in an excellent performance to start the day. Another excellent, unique act graced the Elephant at the Bar stage in the afternoon in the form of Brighton based Electronic Post-Hardcore duo, fakeyourdeath. Definitely one to watch out for and well worth seeing if they are playing in your area. An epic afternoon of performances from Rolo Tomassi, The World is a Beautiful Place and I am No Longer Afraid to Die and Deafheaven kept the audience’s spirits high as the weather took a slight turn for the worse. But it was the legendary Devin Townsend that would round off the weekend with a selection of hits taken from across his expansive career as the festival drew to a close, leaving just enough time for one more round of Silent Disco and a final refrain of Chop Suey to waft across the campsite. The tenth anniversary ArcTanGent will be taking place at Fernhill Farm on 16th - 19th August 2024 and tickets are on sale now at https://arctangent.co.uk/tickets/ Words by Simon Potthast Photo Credit: Derek Bremner, Jonathan Dadds & Joe Singh

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STONEDEAD FESTIVAL NEWARK SHOWGROUND

As the UK festival season nears its end for the year, we headed over to Newark-on-Trent to check out the action at Stonedead Festival. From the inaugural and relatively small show back in 2018, the Stonedead team have worked hard to get to 2023’s five thousand capacity festival which showcases new talent alongside some of our established rock favourites. This year’s event featured a whopping nine bands which needed an early start for Collateral, with many of the sell-out crowd missing them as they were still entering the main arena. An eclectic line up featured from Canada, Deraps, Florence Black standing in for Mason Hill, a large Northern Irish contingent in the shape of The Answer, Therapy? and Black Star Riders. The latter’s new recruit Sam Wood looking like a young Scott Gorham, and headliners Blue Oyster Cult. The event was another great day in Nottinghamshire. And tickets are selling fast for next year so we’ll hopefully see you down the front. Keep up to date with the latest Stonedead news at http://www. stonedeadfestival.co.uk Words & Photo Credit: Pete Key

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FAIRPORT’S CROPREDY CONVENTION CROPREDY

Cropredy, more than just another Folk Festival. An annual pilgrimage for many, Cropredy Festival has been going since 1976 and apart from a few covid years it has not missed a year. Starting out as a get together for Fairport Convention it has grown from around 750 people to the 20k it draws today, they certainly must be doing something right as it generally sells out way before the event. Like Fairport Convention, the festival has its roots in British folk music but over the years has pulled in genres from the wider music scene and regularly includes rock, prog, metal, blues and world music which keeps the festival and the band fresh and enjoyable. Indeed, one of the most memorable sets over the years was Alice Cooper and his full stage show, proving it is so much more just another folk festival. Yes, it has its traditions and quirks, but this all makes it what it is. The main festival layout with one stage and the amphitheatre style field offers a great place to sit and listen to the bands or getting your jig on in the mosh pit where dancing is optional but certainly welcome and recommended as the night air cools down. Oh, did I mention the 100ft outdoor bar that serves fine ales in sun, rain and thunder without fail and is in fact the only bar onsite so you can quite often spot the odd rock star quaffing a beer and having a chat. This year the festival line-up is as varied as ever and offers something for everyone, on top of this there is the field 8 stage and the ever-growing fringe festival held around Cropredy village which welcomes the many 1000’s of visitors every year. Kicking off the whole weekend we have a short acoustic set from ‘Fairport Convention’, joined on drums by Dave Mattacks who has stepped back into the band since Gerry Conway left last year. Next ‘Merry Hell’ hit the stage with a highly energetic set to really up the tempo for party night, followed by ‘Wilson and Wakeman’ which saw Damian Wilson crowd surfing until he bumped into Simon Nicol in the crowd who politely declined to join him in a song as he was off duty. ‘Toyah and Robert Fripp’ bring their Sunday lunch sessions to the stage with a mix of their own songs with some well selected covers. This included as superb PAGE 76 66

version of Kashmir, one they had to nail as Robert Plant was reportedly in the crowd. ‘Nile Rogers and Chic’ ended the night on a high with a full-on disco set, the only thing missing was the flashing disco floor but that didn’t seem to stop the crowd who revelled in the performance. Friday morning and the gates open early to let people find their fave spots and have a look round the many stalls. Here you can find all the usual festival regalia, merchandise and food from just about any part of the world, plenty to set you up for another day of fine music. Before the music started there was a great talk by graphic artist ‘Roger Dean’, most wellknown for his album artwork for the likes of Asia and Yes amongst others. Opening the music today was a new band for me and one I will certainly be keeping an eye on, ‘Joshua Burnell’ classed as too folk for prog and too prog for folk, a great way to blow out the cobwebs and get the body energised. ‘Kiki Dee’ gave a rousing acoustic set covering her many years of music, accompanied by guitar virtuoso ‘Carmello Lugeri’. ‘Peat and Diesel’ offer up a look at Scottish island life though their punk edged Celtic songs. They are having a great time with plenty of onstage banter, you could imagine them jumping up and pogoing at any moment. Reggae hits the stage in the form of ‘Easy Star All Stars’ who bring a wild collection of dub style covers from the likes of Pink Floyd and Radiohead. One of the most anticipated sets of the weekend was Dave Cousins who led ‘The Strawbs’ through an amazing and timeless set which also happened to be their final live show and farewell gig, Joined on stage by ‘Adam Wakeman’ they ended their set with Part Of The Union and Ready. Quite rightly it was met by rapturous applause and cheering at the end of what would be 50+ year career. ‘Fishermans Friends’ had a lot to follow but they bought their sea shanties and stories from Port Isaac sitting rooms to the big stage and had the whole crowd singing along. I wandered back to the campsite and listened afar as headliners ‘10CC’ played to a welcoming crowd and brought the night to an end. As ever Saturday comes all too fast, I take timeout to wander round the village and canal towpaths to take in the wider and very relaxed side of the festival. Around the campsites its all very jovial with the sounds of music on the wind and the smell of breakfast/lunch in the air mixed with the psst sound of another morning beer opening.

Heading back to the main field I managed to catch the end of ‘Morganway’, a relatively new young band, close your eyes and you were transported back to Fleetwood Mac in the 70’s. Riffy chunking songs and powerful vocals. I can see them getting a lot of airplay and good festival slots. I hadn’t seen ‘Solstice’ for many years and wasn’t disappointed by them, founder Andy Glass and the band delivered a full on and highly energetic mesmerising set. Looking forward to seeing them again at HRH Prog festival in November. ‘Gilbert O’Sullivan’ had the unenvious takes of the graveyard slot which he grabbed and made his own. He drew on a back catalogue to be proud of and pulled out a set that kept the crowd enthralled in it elegance and style. Now for the band that’s it’s all about and without them the festival wouldn’t exist, ‘Fairport Convention’ and friends. The crowd knows all the songs and revel in the set that included some standout guest slots from Ashley Hutchings, Vikki Clayton, Becky Mills, Hannah Saunders & Ben Savage and finally included Matty Groves which was dropped last year to the disappointment of the crowd. The final call to the stage for Fairport and as many of their guests as they can muster for Meet On The Ledge, it’s highly emotional and means so much to many, A farewell to all and see you next year. Cropredy 2024 will be 8-10 August in Cropredy Village, Banbury Oxfordshire. Line-up and details will be announced on https://fairportconvention.com/

Words & Photo Credit: Simon Dunkerley

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SKINDRED

WITH SUPPORT FROM CODY FROST & BLACKGOLD

NX, NEWCASTLE

It’s been somewhat of an incredible year for British rock group Skindred. Earlier this year, the Newport natives hit the road as main support to KISS on their farewell arena tour. As those who have witnessed the group will tell you, Skindred has always known how to work a crowd, and the band’s recent arena shows were a testament to this. Arena tours aside, Skindred released their eighth studio album in August. The release subsequently climbed to the dizzy heights of Number 2 in the Official UK Charts, and deservedly so. On Saturday evening, Skindred made a prime-time TV appearance on BBC 2 alongside Take That, Johnny Marr, and indie darlings The Last Dinner Party. On the eve of their highprofile Jools Holland appearance, Skindred arrived in the North East for a sold-out appearance at NX in Newcastle. The band brought with them in tow not only their explosive headline show but also a strong undercard featuring Nu-gen star Cody Frost and crossover band Black Gold. The latter wowed the North East crowd with their unique brand of rock/ metal with a hint of hip-hop. Imagine if The Beastie Boys joined forces with Slipknot, and you would perhaps be in the right ballpark. But when you add to that Black Gold’s stage presence and their masked and somewhat enigmatic appearance you get something quite special.

On a Friday night on Tyneside, the audience was always going to be up for a good time. And even with the unpleasant weather brought about by Storm Babet, it didn’t stop the North East faithful from showing up in their droves. Skindred took to the stage to the sound of The Imperial March from John Williams’ Star Wars score. The band opened with Set Fazers, the first of several tracks from their new album Smile to feature in the show. Others included If I Could, Life That’s Free, L.O.V.E (Smile Please) and crowd pleaser That’s My Jam. Standing on top of a riser centre stage, frontman Benji Webbe certainly knows how to work the audience. Bedecked in a long black coat and shades and grasping a flag-draped mic stand, the singer had the crowd amped-up from the off. Whether Benji is working an arena crowd or the confines of a more intimate theatre-style venue, the Welsh singer led the charge all night. Anthems from the band’s repertoire like Kill the Power and Gimme That Boom were welcomed with open arms from the hardened Newcastle audience. Whilst a two-song encore which concluded with new song Our Religion and the classic Warning, replete with the now legendary Newport Helicopter, brought Skindred’s action-packed thirteen-song set to a close. For a band that’s been pushing the boundaries of contemporary rock/metal since 1998, it’s good to see that Skindred are now reaping their rewards. And just like Skindred’s new album title, the Newcastle crowd left NX at the weekend with a Smile on their faces.

Words & Photo Credit: Adam Kennedy PAGE 69

PHOTO GALLERY Photo Credit: Simon Dunkerley

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Bernie Marsden PAGE 74

WORKING MAN Bernie Marsden lived a wonderful and storied music business life for which he will be fondly remembered forever. Emerging from Buckingham as a notable guitarist in his first break out band, Skinny Cat, at the tender age of seventeen, he rapidly developed as a professional musician firstly with an ill-fated stint in UFO, then in Jethro Tull alumnus Glenn Cornick’s Wild Turkey. However, it was joining Cozy Powell’s Hammer which would eventually steer him on a course into the realms of rock royalty as Deep Purple’s Jon lord and Ian Paice were charting their own musical post Purple journey. Remarkably, around this time, Marsden also managed to squeeze out two very decent Babe Ruth studio albums. However, when fate comes a-knocking, it’s wise to open the door with a welcoming smile, which is what Marsden did by contributing his guitar skills to a Paice Ashton & Lord album. It was during the aborted second album recording sessions, in Munich, where Bernie Marsden first met David Coverdale. This became history in the making as it eventually led to Whitesnake being formed, with Micky Moody & Marsden becoming one of the greatest double guitar partnerships in rock history. I know this for a fact because as a wide-eyed fourteen-year-old, ear deep in the Purple family tree of associated recordings, I bought my first gig ticket to see Whitesnake on their first headline tour promoting their debut album: Trouble, at the Liverpool Empire on November 20th, 1978. For many reasons, it became a fateful evening… Deep Purple MKIV had played their final show on this very stage, so there was an intoxicating febrile air of anticipation heightened by an excellent support set by Magnum, who played their now seminal debut album Kingdom Of Madness to an appreciative audience. With maestro Jon Lord on keyboards and David Coverdale exhausting his lungs by belting out his vocals, it was the impish looking guitarist who caught my attention with his searing melodic fretboard runs of sweet notation and a permanent smile plastered on his cherubic face. This is my first memory of Bernie Marsden who, with six string slide master Micky Moody, graceful bassist Neil Murray and rock-solid drummer Dave ‘Duck’ Dowle, left a lasting impression on my musical tastes. I witnessed Bernie play live on many occasions since and have fortunately interviewed him. Some fool said ‘never meet your heroes…’ well, they would not have met a more humble, gracious, genial and fun-loving

human being, with a remarkable recall on his life and times in rock’n’roll, than Bernie Marsden. RIP. His excellent autobiography is testament to this. He leaves a legacy as a masterful guitarist, performing live and in the studio with a bevy of legendary artists and bands; a talented songwriter, collaborating on global hit songs, steeped in the blues-rock genre; and a stand-alone artist with an impressive resume of solo recordings. His recent Inspiration series of recordings: Kings, Chess and Trios for the Conquest label beautifully betrayed his deep devotion to the blues. Tantalisingly, just prior to his untimely passing, Bernie completed the recording of a highly anticipated original album of new songs. He had approved the sequencing, audio masters and artwork. He fittingly named this solo album Working Man and it’s bloody brilliant! The first track, Being Famous, sums up Bernie’s humble nature and attitude to life as he lyrically observes the lavish treatment today’s rock stars receive. Its music has a hard rhythmic bar-room band feel, replete with Marsden’s excellent soloing, and is wonderfully reminiscent of early classic Whitesnake albums. Midtown then fully reveals his songwriting acuity on a bluesy up-tempo ballad of struggle over which Bernie ladles a creamy guitar solo. Longtime sweetly re-treads a descending guitar picked D chord trope. It’s a wistful autobiographical romantic narrative of a life in music and is enchanting in its subtle execution. Speeding things up a little, Invisible’s pounding drums and guitar harmonies, catchy riff and sensual vocals by Jaime Kyle is a sassy showstopping song. Keeping things light, Son I’ve Never Known is a toe-tapping country blues tune that showcases Marsden’s inimitable melodic twist of guitar play as does Valentine’s Day with its double-tracked guitar harmonies. The opening acoustic atmospherics to Steelhouse Mountain eliding into shimmering guitar harmonics, chordal motifs and trilling fretboard runs is an interlude of acoustic expertise that heralds in the country blues feel of the title track, Working Man. It possesses a smart arrangement and subtle guitar fills. In fact, there’s a heady blend of blues and country rock running right through the heart of these top-grade compositions. As further evidence of this musical theme, Savannah reinforces this beating heart of music which is encased in a countrified southern rock box of deft musical contents. Futhermore, Hammond maestro Bob Fridzema also adds a serene touch of class to some of these choice cuts

His hard blues rock traits never far away, Bad Reputation drops an old-school ten tonne riff that cuts a deep earthy groove for Marsden to overdub smouldering guitar solos. Finally, You Know and The Pearl airily run out this final solo album of unquestionable class across a beguiling blend of compositions. And it’s the sweet aftertaste of Bernie Marsden’s trademark guitar playing that lingers long after the tranquil groove of the instrumental final track The Pearl runs out. Quite a feat, Marsden has left us with his best solo album to savour on this monumental end statement to close out a much-loved musical career. In summation, the final words go to two of his former band mates who have both written noteworthy epitaphs to their friend Bernie Marsden. Neil Murray: “I knew Bernie as a friend and musical colleague for almost fifty years, starting when I stood in for Cozy Powell’s Hammer bassist Clive Chaman on quite a few shows, progressing through gigs and recordings with Whitesnake, MGM, the Moody Marsden Band, Company Of Snakes, M3 Classic Whitesnake and Bernie’s own band, as well as many ‘function band’ type of performances. Since Bernie’s passing, I’ve realised that I probably had the most enjoyable times of my life when I was with Bernie, both musically and personally. Although I have worked with many other famous musicians and singers, I think I had the most satisfaction and the most fun playing with him. We’ve lost a great character, a brilliant guitarist, singer and songwriter.” Ian Paice: “My first meeting with Bernie was in the Paice, Ashton & Lord collaboration. When he came into the audition, he was like a breath of fresh air. Confident, talented and very funny. He got the job immediately. When I joined Whitesnake it was great to be working with him again. He told me that at the PAL audition he was so nervous inside, that his way to get through it was to put on the complete physical reverse of his inner feelings. Super confident! Of course, by the WS time he was established in his own right not only as a musician but a great songwriter. I never laughed so much on the road with the “Snakes”, and a lot of that was down to Bernie”. Working Man by Bernie Marsden will be released via Conquest Records on Friday 24th November.

Words By Paul Davies Photo Credit: Fabio Gianardi

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Heavenly Cream

Interview with Malcolm Bruce

Quarto Valley Records recently announced a new album, “Heavenly Cream: An Acoustic Tribute To Cream.” The album takes us on a magical journey - travelling the brief course of the iconic band’s musical life - back to the raw, stripped-down magic of the creativity of Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, Eric Clapton, and Pete Brown. Passionately produced and mixed by Rob Cass, the new album will be released via Quarto Valley Records on November 3rd. The album features appearances from a cast of many, sadly some like Bernie Marsden and Pete Brown, are no longer with us. Malcolm Bruce son of Cream bass player Jack Bruce features throughout the album. Speaking about how the project came to fruition, Malcolm said: “It’s really down to Pete Brown, the chief lyricist for Cream or my dad’s collaborator who passed away a few months ago. And that’s why I’m kind of taking the helm with all this promo. Because if he was still around, he’d be doing some too. But it basically came from his discussions with the A&R guy at this label, Quatro Valley, a guy called Mike Carden, who has a long history in the business. I think he was with Eagle Rock and lots of different labels over the years. And so, Pete Brown had a friendship with him for a number of decades, I believe.” Malcolm continues: “Pete was talking to Mike about the actual documentary that they made of Pete’s life, which still hasn’t seen the light of day, but I believe, will at some point. And so, then they started thinking about other ideas. And this idea came up - what about making an acoustic Cream record, and then shooting a documentary.” As the project started to gain momentum, artists were approached to get involved. “We just started reaching out to people, and I’ve had a little bit of experience with these kinds of things. I did a tribute to my dad in 2016 with Pete. So, the year before we started this project, we did a show

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at Shepherds Bush Empire,” said Malcolm. “We spent nine months reaching out to everybody that my dad had ever worked with, or loved him or whatever, and seeing who we could get.” With their wish list in hand, artists started to come forward. “Everything kind of just settles. Maybe the really big names might come on board, they might not, it just depends on how they feel about the music, how they feel about where they are with their own careers, all of that kind of stuff. So, I think we’d lucked out,” said Malcolm. “Obviously, we had Ginger [Baker], Paul Rogers and Deborah Bonham is great. I’ve known her for a little while.” He adds: “Everybody that came on board was great. And I think they were there for the right intentions, rather than it being sort of a pretentious type thing.” When you think of the great electric power trios, Cream immediately comes to mind. But how did the ensemble approach reworking these timeless blues rock compositions into an acoustic format? “I like all kinds of music, but if you think about some of the heavier bands, you could take Sabbath songs and do them on ukulele or do them on a flute - it doesn’t really matter. I mean, it’s music as music. And I think once you get over that aspect of it’s meant to be a particular thing, then it can become whatever you want it to be,” said Malcolm. “And sure, there’s like a Spinal Tap element to it, we’ve got to do versions of our songs, acoustically with the London Philharmonic, or whatever, you know, it’s kind of a little bit pretentious, but we just went in with that intention of honouring the catalogue.” Malcolm adds: “We didn’t overthink it. It’s like, Okay, let’s get some great musicians in a room. But there were specific arrangements - a string arrangement, or a horn arrangement, or whatever, which will take a song in a particular direction, but the rest of it is like, Okay, we know the form of the song, we’ll have a couple of acoustic guitars. And if we get Ginger Baker on drums, it will probably

sound alright.” How important was it to Malcolm to preserve his father’s legacy? “I’ve had the opportunity to think about this a lot over the years. When you’re a kid of somebody that has that kind of iconic career, there is an expectation that you play that music or keep it going, and I think that’s lovely. As long as it doesn’t eclipse your own self and your own creativity,” explains Malcolm. “I happen to be a writer myself and an artist myself, and the next stage of my career is to push that agenda. To get me out there as an individual rather than just the son of Jack Bruce, but at the same time, it’s important to me that he is recognised and continues to be recognised because what he achieved is amazing. And he is underrated.” He adds: “It’s 50-60 years ago now Cream, but then he had a long career doing so many things for great bands with all kinds of people over the years. From jazz stuff to rock stuff with Gary Moore or all the people that he worked with. So there is an incredible body of work there. And yes, as a family on social media and working with labels and stuff like that’s still being pushed forward. And I think it’s important to do that. And I’ve played with Ginger Baker’s son, Kofi, over the years. We’ve done quite a lot of touring and playing the music of Cream. And that’s been great. But I think at this point, it’s time for me to attempt to figure out how to work with this algorithm thing with my own music.” “Heavenly Cream – An Acoustic Tribute To Cream,” featuring Malcolm Bruce, Ginger Baker, Bernie Marsden, Pete Brown, Joe Bonamassa, Paul Rodgers, Bobby Rush, and many more, is released by Quarto Valley Records via www. quartovalleyrecords.com.

Words by Adam Kennedy Photo Credit: Press Supplied

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Great Scott!

Interview with Scott Holiday Great Scott was an interjection of surprise and amazement used by Doc Brown in the Back to the Future movies. When you listen to Rival Sons guitarist Scott Holiday on the band’s pair of latest albums and current live tour – perhaps you will be left saying the same thing. Rival Sons have released two albums throughout 2023. Starting with Darkfighter in June, the Californian rockers followed up with companion album Lightbringer in October. The band kickstarted their Autumn UK tour in the capital with a sold-out show at the Roundhouse. A far cry from the band’s early days playing venues in and around Camden. “We have a special place in our heart for the Roundhouse. Early on, we played some Classic Rock Award stuff there. And we’ve even seen other artists there,” said Scott. “We were playing venues like The Barfly and some of the other smaller gigs out there and thinking, this would be good if this was not an award show, and this was our show. But it felt good; I like the room, it’s special. And then be able to sell it out, it feels nice. But then as I mentioned, we have so many great friends around town. So, London brings a lot with a little reunion and an audience, which was lovely.” The UK has become a home away from home for Rival Sons. In the early days of the band’s career, the group were welcomed with open arms. “Things were happening here more than they were happening at home,” recollects Scott. “This was a place we continually came back to. We would work here, we would do photo shoots here, we did press junkets and we came and spent a lot of time in the UK. We made a lot of friends that we consider family here. And it just feels good to come to a place that understands what you’re doing and appreciates it and embraces you.” He adds: “This is a place for us.” Besides the release of the band’s two new albums, they’ve been touring in the US. “We just finished up a tour with the Smashing Pumpkins. It was really fun. There were a really big band for me and some of the other guys. We were able to make great friends with them. And play beautiful outdoor venues all summer long,” said Scott. “We have two records coming out. This is a new thing,

something we’ve never done. So, it’s been fun. It’s been busy.” With two albums coming out almost a few months apart, did the band always envision a multi-album project? “We finished all the songs. We were about to sequence and choose what’s going to stay or go,” explains Scott. “I could feel that this is too much music for one record. And the idea of breaking it up, as soon as I brought the idea to Jay, he loved the idea.” Scott adds: “He [Jay] was really adamant about having a refractory period between these sorts of songs that were a little darker and content in lyrical form and with a little more despair reaching in them. We would separate the songs that had more lifting kind of resolve.” The pandemic afforded Rival Sons more time than usual to work on this bigger album project. “Normally, this band has been working inside of 40 days to make an album. Because of the nature of everything we had, the pandemic, how studios we’re booking, how people can even work in a stretched way. As soon as we started to work that way, we were happy that it was stretched out. We didn’t rush anything specific,” said Scott. “We can hear and work into the story instead of just pounding it out quickly.” For their latest album projects, the group worked with long-time producer, Dave Cobb. “The band really met Dave before he was award-winning. So, we’ve been friends and worked together since before all that happened. And he’s always brought something great to the table,” said Scott. “I do some producing and write records and have done that for a long time, before this band even. And when I met Dave, he was doing something that I had never been.” Scott adds: “He immediately wanted to push the band. Let’s not do those songs. Let’s do something completely new. Which for me, it was a really crazy idea, a really bad idea. That’s what I thought, this is a horrible idea. Can you imagine bringing in all the songs you worked on for the record, that you have in your head, and then working off the floor with all new material - lyrics, music, everything? You think this is a suicide mission. But this is a way he works. And every

song isn’t like that with him. But he brings that to the table - a spontaneity. And that means you have to trust yourself and the musicians that you work with. And that means you have to also dig really deep. You can’t go in there and do what you’ve been practising or relying on for a month, or two, or three or six, or for some people a year. You have what’s in you, that’s what’s going to come out. And what do you want to be on that tape? You’re going to do it right now.” “I love the idea of this. Because the way modern music is made, it’s accustomed to building a home, your foundation. And he kind of framed it out. Even before that, you’ve got your blueprints, which will be your demos. And then you very slowly build this beautiful home building. And in the end, it’s like you’re careful about everything. And it’s long form. I like the idea that tape brought, and I have called it comparative more to like capturing a wild animal, like throwing a net,” explains Scott. “So, if you’ve got these great musicians, really what you want to do, and I use this when I produce myself is, you want to hear what they’re doing. Who they are, and then cut them loose and maybe almost back them into a corner a little bit. Get them really riled up, and then get them really excited and sounding good. And then let them just go and capture it. And that ends up being a lot cooler than the thing they’ve been working out for six months tired. So, he brings that.” Next year, Rival Sons have their sights set on festivals. “We’re staying busy. We skipped festival season for the most part this summer to do other stuff. So, next year, we’ll be doing all the clusters of the festivals that we would normally do in Europe and the US,” he said. “We’re talking to Australia right now. South America. Japan. We have a lot of plans kind of spinning right now,” concludes Scott. Darkfighter and Lightbringer, the two new albums from Rival Sons are out now.

Words & Photo Credit: Adam Kennedy

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As Sweet As Honey... Interview with Marc LaBelle from Dirty Honey With a brand-new single, “Won’t Take Me Alive,” already Top 20 at U.S. rock radio and A listed at Planet Rock (UK), and coming off of two consecutive, sold-out 2023 headline tours of the U.K. and Europe, Dirty Honey, one of rock’s hottest young bands will see their brand-new album, Can’t Find The Brakes, released on November 3rd.

while,” he says. “It’s always the building blocks of material that are building over here of all these unfinished ideas. And then it’s a matter of sitting down and really carving them out and creating full song structures with lyrics and melodies and everything and arrangements. So yeah, I mean, we probably started the summer before last, or before this one.”

Subsequently 2023 has been somewhat of a whirlwind year for the US-based outfit, with very little room for downtime. “These last five or six weeks were slotted at the beginning of the year as time off, and then things just kept happening, opportunities kept popping up,” explains Dirty Honey frontman Marc LaBelle. “We did a great festival in Philadelphia, and then a bunch of Guns and Roses shows and obviously, some other sort of one-off shows. So, it’s been a lot of flying all over the place. Back and forth to the airport here at LAX. Going across country and coming back, just trying to carve out some time for yourself and rehearse for the tour coming up.”

The title for the new record Can’t Find The Brakes is the perfect metaphor for life in the fast lane playing in a rock and roll band. “For me, and for all of us in the band, when we were looking at titles, it was so evident that it was such a great one to use, because it’s so indicative of our lives at the moment. We’re non-stop. We never know what’s up next for us, and you’re just kind of taking life a day or an hour at a time. So, we’re on this fast-moving train of touring and promotion and shows and writing and creating. And we don’t know where it’s going. And we don’t know when it’s going to end. So, we’re just happy to be along for the ride,” confirms Marc.

With the release of the band’s new album just around the corner – how does the group feel heading towards the big reveal of their latest offering. “I think it’s a little bit of a mix of excitement and nerves. Obviously, there’s some new flavours on this record for our fans and for the new fans. So that’s always exciting, but it’s also a little nerve wracking to see what they’ll think,” he says. “At the end of the day, we make music that we appreciate and love first and foremost. I heard one of my friends say a long time ago, they told me you have to write for yourself first because if you’re writing for other people and other people’s tastes, and you don’t necessarily like it, you’re going to come out with a song that might be unsuccessful, and you don’t even like it. So, if at least you like it and want to listen to it first, you’ve at least created something for yourself that you can appreciate. That’s sort of how we always approach it.”

The band’s recent single “Won’t Take Me Alive” has received strong radio support in both the US and Europe. “We kind of knew that one was going to do well. We played it for the first time, I think on that European run we did this past winter. I mean, the European audiences really seemed to love it. So, we were like, Okay, this is going to be a fun one to release when that day does come,” explains Marc. “It’s been nothing short of amazing the response so far. And I think even some of the other songs that we’ve been playing and experimenting with on that run got equally or were a better response. So, I’m just excited for it to come out.”

The recording of the album took place with the band’s long-time producer Nick DiDia Down Under. “The recording specifically took place between April and May down in Australia. And we’ve been writing stuff for it for at least a year prior to that. So Won’t Take Me Alive has been kicking around for a

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The idea for the single came about whilst in the UK. “John showed it to me in London and right away obviously I gravitated towards that. I thought it was a really great riff. And then once we finished it, we were like, we’re f*cking playing it tonight. Let’s go,” said Marc. The band’s hit single provided the score for TNT’s 2023 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. This was something which meant a lot to

the Dirty Honey frontman. “I’m a huge hockey fan. I play hockey. Yeah, it’s my favourite sport. I grew up playing ice hockey. And I play with Rod Stewart’s boy actually out here. He was a professional for a little while. And he played in the UK. Most recently, I think in Milton Keynes. But yeah, it’s a huge part of my life and still is and always has been since I was two years old, it’s been a part of my life. So, to come full circle and have that be played in the NHL Stanley Cup Finals. It’s a big deal for me, not so much for the guys. But certainly, it’s important.” Performing shows alongside Guns and Roses was a dream come true for Dirty Honey. “Those gigs are obviously great for us because musically I think we’re a really good match. And Slash has been a very vocal supporter of the band.

He is obviously near and dear to our hearts. We love him and to have that reciprocated is a life moment right there that most rock musicians strive for. And we’re very fortunate enough to have created something that he appreciates.

there and build,” he says. “Obviously there’s some other places that we need to get to. But I think we will take a minute here to appreciate what we just created and then get back to work in a timelier fashion so that we can get some new music out.”

So that’s great. Then we heard through the grapevine that Axl was a really big supporter of the band too, which was really cool. We got to spend some time with them, those are the moments that I really cherish,” said Marc. “Obviously, you’re going to win some people over when you play for that many people, but it’s more about the backstage hanging. I literally have memories that last a lifetime at this point from those gigs. There are some pinch me moments for sure.”

“I think looking ahead in the very near future, creatively and visually individually figuring out what the next single is going to look like in terms of a music video. That’s obviously on the short list of things to do is to figure that stuff out. And I’d also like to get creative with that and create some more video content to share with the world that’s not a music video, maybe we do a live thing in a studio somewhere, because I think us playing live is one of our most valuable assets.”

Heading into the new year, the band’s focus will be on touring and promoting their new album. “It took us a little while to get this this record out, just because the touring schedule got so crazy on the back end of COVID. You’re playing catch up like we did. We did Europe three times in 18 months. That was all just a by-product of COVID. You’ve got to get over

In terms of touring will we see a UK return for Dirty Honey in the not-too-distant future? “I don’t know if we have any concrete dates locked in yet. I think once the album comes out, and we get a sense of how it’s doing and where I think they’ll shape a tour around that. And hopefully, it’ll be around in 2024. But I think that’s the plan,” said Marc. “We have

to get down to Australia and do that hellish flight down there and to Japan and couple other places for the first time. Hopefully, South America as well. But it’s just about, you can’t go to these places without any sort of idea who’s going to show up. So going there with a Guns and Roses or like a Black Crowes or something is probably a good idea for the first run, and then you go back, and you build on what you started.” Can’t Find The Breaks by Dirty Honey will be released on the 3rd of November.

Words by Adam Kennedy Photo Credit: Press Supplied

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BYWATER CALL Following their recent appearance on Blues heavyweight Joe Bonamassa’s Keeping The Blues Alive at Sea cruise, Canadian seven-piece Bywater Call recently returned for a run of UK headline shows. Earlier in the year, Meghan and Dave from the group dipped their toe in the water, so to speak, with a run of UK shows as support to US rockers Robert Jon and the Wreck. But for their last dates on this side of the pond, the group left five of their bandmates at home in Canada to make the run less logistically challenging. Speaking about their last UK tour, lead singer Meghan Parnell said: “It was a blast, we had a wonderful time. We didn’t know what to expect. Dave and I don’t do a tonne of that, where we strip the music down. We were nervous about properly representing a seven-piece band.” She adds: “The audiences were so receptive to it.

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Again, we didn’t know coming into the tour whether they would be into this version of the band. I think what our intentions were was to go ahead and introduce ourselves to the UK audience before we did this tour coming up and drum up some interest, and I think we accomplished it; we seem to have some fans over there. So, we’re excited to show them the whole band experience.” Performing music that was written for a seven-piece band as a duo is not the easiest of tasks; perhaps you will agree. “It was certainly an eye-opener,” says Meghan. “This will be our fourth time going to Europe to tour. And going over as a two-piece is a completely different experience on so many different levels. Financially, we’re not dragging around seven people in a van. You have to have at least four hotel rooms, if not more. But yes, introducing them to the duo first is the logical way, not vice versa.”

When translating the music from a seven-piece group to a duo, the pair had to rethink song arrangements. “This music was all written around a seven-piece band,” explains Meghan. “There are some tunes in the repertoire that do lend themselves nicely to the two-piece. And I’m sure part of that is the way that we started writing them. A lot of those tunes started with Dave picking on the guitar, and we stripped it back to that idea. So, there’s definitely a handful that lend themselves very well to it.” Thankfully, the full band were back together for their latest UK tour. Bywater Call warmed up for their headline run with an appearance on the Keeping The Blues Alive at Sea Cruise in Europe. The latter is a musical voyage curated by bluesman extraordinaire Joe Bonamassa. “Most of the guys, including myself, have never even been on a cruise ship,” explains Meghan.

“There’s music everywhere, all the time, and there’s tonnes of really talented musicians to talk to. We had a couple of guys get up on stage with us on our last show.” She adds: “Everybody’s very accessible. And then to be able to be in the same bed for four or five nights, playing three shows and be able to walk back to your room after the show - that’s awesome.” With a captive audience and a whole raft of music fans on board, the cruise was the perfect environment to showcase the band’s talents. “It was a cool opportunity to introduce ourselves to people who may not have come across our band,” she said. “We got an opportunity to do the All-Star Jam at the end of the cruise, which was very humbling.” During the All-Star Jam, the group played alongside Joe Bonamassa, Josh Smith, and Reese Wynans along with Jimmy Vivino’s band. Bywater Call are presently touring in support of their latest album, Remain. “So that was a COVID baby. We had started writing a couple of those tunes before we went on our very first European tour at the beginning of 2020. And Remain, the title track, which is a pretty special tune for us. We had written that one, and it came together really easily. We brought that on tour with us

in 2020. That became the staple of that album,” explains Meghan. “There were a couple of other tunes that we brought on the road that we workshopped while we were on tour, and they changed a lot as the year or so went by.” Sadly, as we all know, the pandemic resulted in a halt to touring activity around the world. “When COVID hit, we weren’t particularly inspired for the first bit of it. It was weird days, obviously. But as it dragged on, and we weren’t quite sure when we were going to come out of it, we were like, this is an opportunity. And really, we needed to get back into writing. So, we used the downtime and started workshopping tunes,” said Meghan. “Once we could get the whole band together, we started developing those even more in terms of the full band sound.” The difference is that these songs had never really been played in front of an audience. “It was different to the first album because the first album was pretty road-tested. We’d played most of those songs a lot before we went into the recording studio. And for Remain, we had barely played them,” said Meghan. “We didn’t really know what reactions would be to some of those tunes. We hadn’t been in front of people with them. But yeah, it came together.”

The band has fond memories of their duo shows earlier this year. “We just had such a wonderful time, the two of us there, the people that we met, everybody was so awesome,” said Meghan. “The landscape is just completely different than home. In Toronto, we tear down any building that has any kind of historical significance. Whereas you get anywhere in Europe, and the history is all around you.” The rest of the year will revolve around touring for the Canadian seven-piece. “Most of this year is mapped out for sure. It’s been a crazy year of touring for us. And we’re taking it into December. So, when we get back from tour, we have a few weeks in November where we’re doing shorter runs in Ontario or at home to some new markets. And then we’re going back down south of the border for a run at the end of November through mid-December,” explains Meghan. “Throughout the year, we get together when we’re at home, we’re having some fun right now self-producing; we’ve never done the music completely on our own. And we want to see where we go with that.”

Words & Photo Credit: Adam Kennedy

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The Catalyst Interview with Elize Ryd Amaranthe’s forthcoming album, The Catalyst, will see the light of day on February 23rd, 2024, via Nuclear Blast Records. The Catalyst is the most conceptually coherent piece of work in Amaranthe’s storied history. Dedicated to notions of transformation and revelation, it delves deeper than any previous album. But with the long wait until the grand reveal of the band’s forthcoming album – how are Amaranthe feeling about the release at this point? “Usually, I would feel very nervous. But I think since I’ve been doing this now for so many years, I kind of have gotten over that nervous anxiety stage,” explains Amaranthe vocalist Elize Ryd. “The concept of the album is, in my opinion, very fun. And so, I am actually very excited to get it out there. We have released two songs. And for every song, I want to release the next one - just to get it out there as fast as possible. I’m like, no - wait, you haven’t heard this yet. So, every song is very unique in its own way. I’m very much looking forward to the whole album being out.” Elize shares the background behind the album title – The Catalyst. “It was born based on the whole situation we all went through. And after manifesting, during the COVID break, we then figured that the catalyst is a very interesting term. And to us, it’s more about, for each individual person, what could be the catalyst? Or everything is a catalyst in that it throws you into the next stage of your career maybe, or of your life or in the world in general. This thing was the catalyst for this event to happen. So, we got very inspired by the title of this album - The Catalyst. We created this kind of mood board, where each song represents some kind of catalyst.” Amaranthe’s last album, Manifest, was released amid the pandemic. Of course, this

was a turbulent time to be releasing new music for the group. “It was very different. The biggest difference was that we couldn’t go out and play any live shows until much later. We only made one tour for that album actually,” said Elize. “We had more time to follow up on the feedback and stuff like this, which we usually wouldn’t have as much time to do.” The singer explains how their recent single Insatiable came to fruition. “We’ve always been a band who likes to touch a little bit on environmental questions, and the world in all and the universe and the spiritual things,” confirms Elize. “It sounds like a happy catchy song. But the lyrics are, of course, much deeper. And it’s our way of getting our minds and thoughts out there to cover up important messages with a more positive vibe. And I think the lyrics are very good on this album overall. But mostly, it’s from our side as songwriters that we always had the need to talk about a subject, and then we turn that into a song.” With the band’s new album having a strong conceptual theme. Has the group considered performing the album in full on their upcoming live shows? “It would be very possible to be able to make a show like that. I mean, you gave me an idea here. I love it,” she says. “It could then, in that case, have a clear timeline, where it starts back in the days with vampires and stuff, and then goes through different decades into the future. But that’s nothing we have planned. Unfortunately, the plan now for the story is to start to play the two singles that we have released already. And then I guess we’re going to build into the live show the songs that have been chosen as singles.” Amaranthe announced their new album live from the stage at Wacken this past summer. Of course, the logistical challenges of the festival this year have been well-documented. But how was the Wacken experience for Am-

aranthe this time around? “That’s the thing when people asked me how Wacken was? I was like - Oh, it was amazing. It was as great as it always is. And then I realised because we were lucky enough to go there when the rain had settled, and it was not so muddy in the places we were. We couldn’t really see that it was less people. It’s very hard for the eye to see if it’s 50,000 or 70,000 people. So we had an amazing experience. The people were happy, and it was overall as fantastic as it is every time. So, we were hardly affected by the circumstances.” Amaranthe are preparing for a high-profile co-headline European tour with Dragonforce in Spring 2024. “I’m super excited,” confirms Elize. “I’ve always liked Dragonforce, and especially their energy. They’re a very fun band, and I think it fits Amaranthe both musically and also on the personal level. So, I am extremely happy and very excited. I know it’s going to be a very fun tour with these guys.” As we hurtle towards 2024 and the release of The Catalyst in February, the band have their plans mostly worked out. “We’re going to shoot some videos again in January, I think. And then we will release the album in February, and then we have to plan for the European tour. And we’re going on the tour. Then we have summer festivals. And then after the summer, it’s not 100% confirmed yet what’s going to happen. So, we’ll see. We have some suggestions in the pipeline, but nothing 100%. So, the first half of the year, that’s pretty clear,” concludes Elize. The Catalyst, the new album from Amaranthe, will be released on February 23rd, 2024, via Nuclear Blast Records.

Words by Adam Kennedy Photo Credit: Press Supplied

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Southern California’s Robert Jon & The Wreck recently released their seventh studio album, Ride Into The Light via Joe Bonamassa’s Journeyman Records. For their latest offering, the group teamed up with legendary producers such as Don Was, Kevin Shirley and Dave Cobb, along with guitar legends Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith. The band has been touring relentlessly, including several visits to the UK since lockdown restrictions were lifted. This side of the pond has become almost home away from home for the versatile American rockers.

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Robert Jon & The Wreck performed a short run of

in the airport, or when you’re on a ten-hour flight,

better. It forced us to think about it a little bit more

shows in Europe earlier in the summer, capitalizing

but it’s all in there, and it’s just being ready to be

than we had, and I think it only made it better. So

on festival season. Speaking about those dates,

plucked out.”

finally getting to release it is something that we’ve had on our books for so long that it just makes it

frontman Robert Jon Burrison said: “It’s been great,

even better.”

man. The crowds were awesome. And it was great

The band’s latest release sees them teaming up

to be back, even for a little bit. We all never really

with Joe Bonamassa’s Journeyman Records. Speak-

got over the jetlag part. So, it’s been a wild ride, but

ing about their relationship, Robert said: “It came

But why did the band choose to record their live

it was great. We love coming out here.”

about from having a relationship with the team,

album in Europe rather than at home in the US? “I

which started from us going on a cruise for one

think that we’ve had a stronghold in Europe for a

The band’s latest release saw the five-piece team

time and hitting it off with everybody and creating

long time now. I think we’ve been asked by more

up with amongst others legendary producer Kevin

a relationship with people. We always thought it’d

people out here in Europe for a live record than

Shirley (Iron Maiden, The Black Crowes). “It’s so easy

be great to work with the team they have over

people in the States,” he says. “There’s a bunch of

to work with Kevin,” said Burrison. “I think part of

there, but that wasn’t the reason why we hung out

different reasons, but one of the reasons is, if we

that helps because we knew Kevin. We met him

with them, talked to them, or drank with them. It

do a hometown show, it’s a lot of fun. And a lot of

on the [Joe Bonamassa] cruises, so he wasn’t a

was natural how it came about. It wasn’t - hey, nice

those people are friends and family of the band,

stranger or anything. It was just, oh yeah - we’re go-

to meet you for the first time, let’s work with you.

and there’s a different energy that you get with

ing to go and work with Kev. We didn’t even think

It was kind of a building thing and talking about

friends and family than when you get 350 people

about everything he’s done, until he started telling

ideas and what could be done and different ways

who are just excited to see us in Brussels, which

us stories,” he said. “We’re just here to record music

to do things before we even got in bed together

they are friends and family - but it’s a different type

with Kevin, and he’s great, and we all get along. It’s

- if you will. So, it seemed like a very honest and

of energy that you get. So that was one aspect

just really fluid. It’s really nice. It’s a great space to

natural thing to do, and it’s been great.”

that we thought about. We did think about doing it back at home in our hometown venue, and we

be in when you’re in the studio to have that fluidity and have that relaxation. We are there to record the

For those who have yet to see Robert Jon and the

wanted to make it a little bit more exciting for

best music we can and to the best of our abilities at

Wreck in concert, the band released “Live At The

everyone. Brussels being the heart of mainland

that point. So, he helps fuel that.”

Ancienne Belgique” in April of this year. The live

Europe, and a beautiful venue at that, it all came

recording had been a long time in the making.

together perfectly. And Manny, our tour manager

One of the band’s recent singles is called, Bring

“I think it even made it better because it was in

out here, was a very pivotal part in all that.”

Me Back Home Again. A song about life on the

the works for so long. We had the plan to do it in

road and missing your loved ones. “Half the year,

2020. And we had the venue, and we’re like - this

The band recently performed a run of UK headline

we want to be back home. Some of us do. Some

is it and then 2020 got pushed, and then 2021 got

shows to round out their European touring

of us are fine with being on the road as long as we

pushed. So, I think it just gave us a chance to hone

activities for 2023. “We love the UK. We love the ac-

can,” says Robert. “I think that it never shows itself

in everything,” explains Burrison. “The original plan

ceptance from every part of the UK, that’s allowing

at the same time, but when you’re sitting there

wasn’t to have a video team there. So that got

us to come back,” concludes Robert.

writing that song, you have emotions that come

added. During COVID, I think we became better

out that you might not think about when you’re

musicians. So, the overall quality of everything is

Words & Photo Credit: Adam Kennedy

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Robin Trower

Robin Trower’s journey remains one of honouring his blues roots whilst expanding his musical horizons. ”Listen, I’m out in a rural spot here”, he warns me in his gentrified accent over his mobile phone, “so, if I lose contact with you, I’ll ring you back.” Far from being put out to pasture, to graze on dribs and drabs of work generated from his past glories, Trower is the absolute definition of a workaholic releasing over a dozen albums since the year 2000.

His current album is a collaboration with the smoky voiced blues singer Sari Schorr and is his first with a female lead singer as he tells me: “We are managed by the same guy, Alan Robinson, and last year he asked me to think about writing something for Sari. That’s where it started. He sent me a CD of her, and I just recognised immediately that this is a great voice. I got really interested and it went on from there,” he adds. So, they got down to recording an album but not all the songs were written by the time the studio red light lit up: “It’s a 50/50 thing,” he counters. “Some of the tracks I already had, but I wrote some songs for her and there’s a couple of things that I already had done before.” Robin elaborates: “One thing that I done before was, I Will Always Be Your Shelter. I put that on my last album, but I did a new arrangement in her key. That was the first song we tried together because I could just hear her singing it. Although, I knew I had to rearrange it and give it to her in her key.” Robin sounds energised by the creative experience of working with Sari as he details how they recorded the remarkable Joyful Sky record: “I would send her my home demos, because she was in New York, to make sure that she was happy with the song and happy with the key,” he reveals. “Then she would try it out on that home demo, and I would listen to it and make adjustments. Once we knew what we wanted to do with the song, I would do the backing track then she came in and did the vocals.” This new experience seems to have adrenalised Trower as he explains: “I think that I’ve

PAGE 88

done one track many, many years ago with a lady singer. But this was a completely new and fascinating project for me,” he enthuses. “I think the most important thing was that she bought into my material. That’s the key to it. When I heard her on the demo, I just knew that it was gonna be really, really good.” With ten songs clocking in at forty minutes, it kicks off with a smouldering blues banger on Burn: “It’s a song I had recorded before; not in that key; not in that arrangement, but it has never come out before and Sari is dynamite on it.” The Circle Is Complete is the longest track on the album and is another song that Trower was working on prior to this collaboration: “I already had the backing track for that, and the instrumental part came along later,” he recalls. “Because I already had the backing track, it wasn’t written for her or in what I would call a perfect key, but she knocked it out of the park. So that went on the album.”

Releasing an album every 12-18 months, Trower is a prolific songwriter as he laughs thinking about this: “Musical ideas do seem to come quite naturally. You say I’m prolific, well, I’ve just finished the next album after this,” he chuckles. “I think during lockdown, I did a lot of writing because I wasn’t doing anything else. So, I had a stockpile of ideas and songs,” he states. Given their alternating work schedules, it appears impossible for Robin and Sari to tour Joyful Sky together. However, there is something special in the can ready for release: “We have just made a live show video, me and Sari, and a lot of songs from Joyful Sky are on it,” Robin reveals. “It’s going to go out on the internet around the time of the album’s release date.” Robin tells me more: “We recorded it in a proper venue. There was no audience but it’s a proper show.” Continuing with the theme of collaborations, Robin fondly recalls the three albums he recorded with the legendary Cream bassist/ singer Jack Bruce: “Well, I mean, we’re talking about another dynamite talent, aren’t we? Amazing energy and a wonderful voice. It was sheer joy to know and to work with him.” He furthers: “It was a pretty natural thing. We had a great time doing it, especially the third

album, Seven Moons. I think that is the one we were most pleased with.” 2023 is also a milestone anniversary year for Robin as the remastered 50th anniversary release of his debut solo album, Twice Removed From Yesterday, recently hit the shops: “We did a lot of rehearsal for putting that first album out.” He continues: “We put down the backing tracks and Jimmy (Dewar) would sing over and I would do whatever lead was still missing. Some of the leads went down live, but it was a very natural process. Basically, we were just having fun. We had no idea if it would be successful or not.” Guitarists strive to create an inimitable sound, one which anyone, anywhere, will recognise as being them. Trower is such a guitarist as he opens on how he came to develop his technique after leaving Procol Harum and going solo: “My last album with Procol was Broken Barricades after which I had taken up playing a Strat.” The eureka moment for Trower, changing from a Gibson Les Paul to a Fender Stratocaster, seems to have occurred by happenstance when on tour supporting Jethro Tull: “It was Martin Barre’s, from Jethro Tull, spare guitar. And I very rudely picked it up at soundcheck without asking him. I thought, ‘I like that’. The thing about the Strat is it has a human voice quality to it which I really respond to.” The heady mix of Robin Trower’s Fender Strat sound and Sari Schorr’s classy, smoky vocal on Joyful Sky is an alluring musical document that true blues aficionados are sure to respond to in their droves.

Words By Paul Davies Photo Credit: Rob Blackham

PAGE 89

m u b l AREVIEWS entirely satisfied with the finished albums back in the day (due to budget limits and time constraints), it’s clear he wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice.

And, in 2023, Jensen’s successfully put the metal into Winger’s hair metal — Beach’s fretwork, Kip’s bass and the ever-reliable Rod Morgenstein’s drums elevated to the next level after lying relatively dormant for all these years.

WINGER

CHAPTER ONE: ATLANTIC YEARS 1988-1993 During the excellent 2023 rockumentary I Wanna Rock: The 80s Metal Dream, a rather downbeat Kip Winger recalls his early days as a struggling session musician with ambition to burn. Despite some big hitters fighting his corner — including influential producer Beau Hill — the Denver native just couldn’t catch a break in his bid to become recognised as a serious songwriter and band leader. A two-year stint playing bass with Alice Cooper helped to pay the bills but Kip couldn’t ignore the nagging voice inside his head urging him to hit reset and go it alone. Parting company with the Coop was a bold move but the decision to relocate to New York and hook up with old buddy Reb Beach proved to be the catalyst for three of hair metal’s era-defining albums. And given a shiny Ted Jensen (Eagles, Green Day, Evanescence) remastering, Winger’s first three records suddenly pack enough of a punch to floor even Beavis and ButtHead…but more on that later. That Kip oversaw Jensen’s reboot of Winger (1988), Winger II: In The Heart Of The Young (1990) and Pull (1983) is no surprise. Never PAGE 90

Of course, 1988’s self-titled debut sounded exactly as it should back in the day: poppy, fluffy and full of MTV-ready hits guaranteed to make young girls weak at the knees. And on the subject of young girls, let’s address the elephant in the room: Seventeen wouldn’t see the light of day in 2023 and for very good reason. But a ballad very much of its time still ranks as one of hair metal’s most iconic and instantly recognisable hits. Winger’s self-titled debut is crammed full of more of the same: pop rock by numbers perfectly capturing the late 80s mood. Kip and co. recorded videos for four singles but this dazzling debut was Hysteria-like in its potential for even more — Without The Night and Poison Angel were just two of the killer tracks that never made it off the album. Seventeen and the superior Headed For A Heartbreak both nestled inside the Billboard Hot 100 as Kip finally received the recognition his talent deserved. Winger — the album — hung around the US album chart for a staggering 63 weeks and its success led to high profile tours with Bad Company, Scorpions, Bon Jovi and more. Significantly there was no second album syndrome for a singer songwriter who’d waited far too long for his shot at the big time. In The Heart Of The Young doubled down on the sure-fire radio hits and showcased a musician finally hitting his stride in the nick of time. Über ballad Miles Away landed Winger another Top 20 hit while late additions Can’t Get Enuff and Easy Come Easy Go — both staples of Winger’s live set to this day —

beefed up the band’s glammier side.

Then there was the eclectic Rainbow In The Rose: included as a B-side on Miles Away, its sprawling outro and Beach’s frenetic fretwork added a progressive touch to a band always happy to look beyond the hair metal playbook. But Kip and co. hadn’t banked on two animated anti-heroes embarking on a mission to belittle the Winger brand and by the time 1993’s Pull hit stores it was the norm to poke fun at one of hair metal’s onetime scene leaders. MTV pair Beavis and Butt-Head constantly berated their poor mate Stewart Stevenson for wearing his Winger tee and what started out as a cartoon in-joke quickly became a career killer. Given its gutsy refrain, Pull might be seen as Kip’s steely response to the merciless ribbing by his fictional critics — it’s a fine record that develops the band’s progressive leanings and allows Beach, in particular, to put the pedal to the metal. Heavier, rootsier and multi-layered, it’s the Winger record that put two fingers up to Beavis and Butt-Head and fired a parting shot at Grunge’s new breed. Junkyard Dog (Tears On A Stone) is a song as far removed from Seventeen as it’s possible to imagine but of course Pull was a commercial flop. The album’s one single, Down Incognito, swiftly disappeared without trace. But during a dizzying six-year run, Kip had lived his dream and Winger’s first three records, repackaged here with a disc of demos, have never sounded better. The addition of a 16-page booklet, collating photos and images from the band’s personal collections, captures the vibe around a band that briefly threatened to outrun Poison, Ratt, Cinderella et al. Once upon a time Winger were the ones who had it all and Chapter One tells that story in all of its hair metal glory. Words by Simon Rushworth

CHRIS SHIFLETT

FOGHAT

DEAD MAN’S WHISKEY

SONIC MOJO

IN THE STORM

Foo Fighters guitar virtuoso Chris Shiflett releases his third solo album ‘Lost At Sea’, packed with pure Nashville flavour and feelgood Southern Rock. Chris’s career spans over 25 years, starting out in the punk rock dive bars and journeying through global domination with Foo Fighters to his love of country, honky tonk blues and melody, he’s about as diverse a musician as you can get. We are treated to ten tracks covering everything on the broad spectrum between country and rock music, brought to life by Chris’s glossy guitar skills adding finesse and polish.

For a band who the most assiduous of rock fans will recall as being humungous in the heyday of 1970s rock, Foghat, now under the careful control of drummer Roger Earl, has been the acme of productive energy over the past few years of incessant gigging and recording. Their latest, Sonic Mojo, ups the ante on their previous studio release Under The Influence, which was notable for Earl’s previous employer in Savoy Brown Kim Simmonds‘ creative involvement. Sonic Mojo continues in the same adrenalised vein as it rocks hard with original blues/ boogie songs and band favourite blues covers. But it’s also a deeply poignant record as it contains three final co-writes with Kim Simmonds. The first is album opener, Little Bit of Everything, that stakes out the good times bluesy remit of this recording. Drivin’ On and Time Slips Away is also where Earl and co put the ‘hat’ on these Simmonds songwriting collaborations. Singer Scott Holt delivers a classic blues rock vocal as producer and lead guitarist Bryan Bassett plays thrilling lead and slide throughout. Locking down the low end with Roger Earl, bassist Rodney O’Quinn’s supple bass runs assist Earl in providing Foghat’s trademark rhythmic boogie swing. Roger’s brother, and Mungo Jerry alumnus, Carl Earl shows up and sits at his piano for the country rock stopover on I Wish I’d Been There. Bang on the nail covers including BB King’s She’s Dynamite, Willie Dixon’s Let Me Love You, Baby and Chuck Berry’s Promised Land are a heartfelt homage that Foghat pays to these blues masters proving, as the album title states, that they have never lost their Sonic Mojo.

The idea for a second album all began in 2020, however due to the pandemic, delays were inevitable. It has taken a while, but as with anything from this London groove machine, it’s been worth the wait. Produced by Chris Clancy and Colin Richardson the pair were on hand to ensure the best was extracted from the band. ‘Into The Storm’ is twelve separate experiences of divine capability.

Words by Paul Davies

Words by Diane Davies

LOST AT SEA

This work of Chris’s is the antithesis to what he does with Foo Fighters. It is chilled, sweet, bluesy and soulful. A far cry from the monolithic performances he delivers on the stadium stages across the world. To have a foot in both camps successfully can be a tricky thing to achieve but Chris has the skills and the charm to pull it off. The other very noticeable thing about the album is that Chris has an incredible singing voice, in the perfect Americana style, that compliments the musical arrangement perfectly. Liberally peppered with beautifully harmonised guitar solos too, this album will be adored by fans keen to hear more of his guitar work and totally showcases the extent of his credentials. Recorded, for the most part, in Nashville, produced by long-time friend and collaborator Jaren Johnston, the songwriter behind many a Country/Americana hit, each track is original, alternative and a seamless blend of dulcet melody and riff driven grit. Top track for me on this album has to be ‘Damage Control’ because it makes me feel like I should be on a desert island with a healthy rum punch in my hand. Having said that, the whole package puts you in a holiday mood, Chris’s distinct, intrinsic style is enough to cheer anyone’s rainy day. Words by Victoria Llewelyn

After a soothing instrumental intro, it’s straight into ‘Masquerade’ with electrifying guitars from Billy Kons and Elliott D’Alvarez, backing up those flawless vocals of Nico Rogers. The track ‘Ravens Call’ has more deeper shadows, while ‘Island In The Storm’ takes a gentle path before rising into a massive game changer, the production is superb. Classic guitar on ‘Fighting To Survive’ with harmonies that supply soulful and captivating moments. The bass of James Titley and Charlie Gray’s drums, get ‘What’s Your Name’ underway and it’s another that has heartfelt lyrics. The ballad ‘Closer To You’ softens things down, with an entwined melody of some significance. Nico’s voice is resplendent, he takes every word and reaches the limits of his range with perfection. All backed by striking guitar and it’s a completely immaculate piece. ’Time’ follows and the riffs are restored, quite an uplifting song, with those individual guitar licks. ‘Fear Is Cold’ well maybe it is, but there’s nothing chilling about this last number. Strong and mastered with experience, the timing and outpouring is exemplary. Hats off to Dead Man’s Whiskey for choosing Andy Sneap’s (Judas Priest) Backstage Studios, those eminent producers and for taking the time to get every element at its utmost best. The reward for the band, everyone involved and finally all those who listen to ‘In The Storm’ is 50 minutes of utter bliss.

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formula as he bucks the trend and stays true to his roots. Those roots always lay in fantasy, sorcery and epic enchantment. No surprise, then, that of the four albums collected here, Magica is definitive Dio. Given the strength of a largely overlooked conceptual classic, it’s surprising the much-mooted follow-ups never happened.

DIO

THE STUDIO ALBUMS 1996 - 2004 There’s a churlishly dismissive school of thought that suggests anything beyond 1987’s epic Dream Evil only serves to dilute the magnificent Dio canon. Sure, those first four, fabulously pompous, post-Sabbath albums helped to define a glorious decade in metal and prove the diminutive Ronnie James Dio could, indeed, go it alone. But it’s ridiculous — shamefully disrespectful, in fact — to draw a line under Dream Evil and ignore the plethora of polished work that followed. Dio was far from finished in 1987 and was still going strong more than 15 years down the line. Proving the point, this definitive collection of the ‘later years’ reimagines the final four solo albums on kaleidoscopic marbled vinyl and all four deserve a timely reappraisal. Significantly, Angry Machines, Magica, Killing The Dragon and Master Of The Moon span a challenging period from the height of grunge through to nu-metal’s peak. This was a time, remember, when everyone from Def Leppard to Slash tried to reinvent themselves as surlier, edgier and down tuned versions of their former selves. Many less fortunate 80s behemoths simply curled up and died in the face of the Seattle scene’s ascendancy and numetal’s early 90s onslaught. But Dio, undeterred, rode the storm. And this enlightening box set is a lesson in faith and self-belief — Dio sticking religiously to a tried and tested hard rock PAGE 92

Shortly before his death, Dio confessed that he’d already done the groundwork where Magica II and III were concerned. And yet he chose to release 2002’s Killing The Dragon and 2004’s Master Of The Moon before briefly circling back to Magica. Who really knows why? Magica is the only album afforded the double disc treatment within The Studio Albums 1996-2004 set and deservedly so. It’s an epic, enthralling piece of work that’s every bit as immersive as Holy Diver or Sacred Heart. And the highlights come thick and fast on suitably supernatural transparent blood red and black smoke vinyl. Has Craig Goldy ever sounded better as he launches into Losing My Insanity like a man possessed? And why did Dio always shy away from ballads? His affecting vocal on As Long As It’s Not About Love is simply sublime. Otherworld’s Zeppelin-esque groove is another Goldy-inspired tour de force and then to cap it all there’s the compelling Magica Story across side four: the spooky, spoken word denouement to an utterly absorbing piece of work. Magica might well have been intended as the first act of a career-defining trilogy and the inclusion here of the cobalt blue seven-inch version of Electra hints at what was to come. But as a standalone insight into Dio’s evervibrant imagination, it recalls an inspired individual with creativity to burn. And in the year metal fans were ‘treated’ to Limp Bizkit’s Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavored Water, Papa Roach’s Incest and Linkin Park’s Hybrid Theory, it’s remarkable Magica made the cut — let alone made its presence felt. Four years earlier Dio had teamed up with Tracy G (guitars), Jeff Pilson (bass), Vinny Appice (drums) and Scott Warren to give grunge an almighty kick up the arse.

Angry Machines was an album out of time and yet classically Dio: set closer This Is Your Life belongs on a Broadway musical with its booming piano and soaring vocal even if Black makes a play for the Soundgarden crowd. A beefy production favours Pilson and Appice but the main man still finds time to steal the show during the stunning Stay Out Of My Mind. Reissued here as a Halloween orange and black marble vinyl, Angry Machines has been described as Dio in the doldrums and cowed by grunge. Don’t believe a word of it. If fans were hoping for Magica Pt II by 2002 then Killing The Dragon (repressed on transparent yellow and black marbled vinyl) emerged as a fiery alternative. The record’s ace in the pack proved to be a pre-Whitesnake Doug Aldrich with the ex-Lion man delivering classy lick after classy lick. As Dio strayed into Alice Cooper territory on spine tinglers Along Came A Spider and Better In The Dark, AC/DC alumnus Simon Wright shored up the back end. But it was the surprise appearance of the King Harbour Children’s Choir, on Throw Away Children, that really upped the eerie ante. Dio’s final solo album paired Wright with the returning Pilson and Goldy: Master Of The Moon makes for a suitably robust sign-off. In retrospect it’s possible to attach even greater significance to One More For The Road, the End Of The World and Living The Lie as Ronald James Padavona unknowingly counts down towards the end of a storied career. Presented on electric blue/milky clear marble vinyl, Master Of The Moon doesn’t sound like an album fast approaching its 20th anniversary. Riffmeister Goldy shines bright on Shivers and Dio brings the doom on the deliciously dark Death By Love. Think you know one of metal’s most endearing frontmen? This classy collection encourages you to think again. Words by Simon Rushworth

JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE HOLLYWOOD BOWL, AUGUST 18 1967

Unreleased live performances by Jimi Hendrix are as rare a discovery as finding a genuine artefact from the lost island of Atlantis, and just as disputed as such would be. Yet…here we have a two-track recording of the Jimi Hendrix Experience purported to be released for the first time ever, via any source, capturing this game-changing trio five days prior to the US release of their debut, Are You Experienced. Furthermore, it certainly seems to be a buried treasure finally seeing the light of day for Hendrix aficionados to pore over. Invited by John Phillips to open for The Mamas & The Papas in front of a 17,000 strong audience, following a disastrous US tour opening for The Monkees; dropping out after nine dates, the JHE blazed a similar trail to that at The Monterey International Pop Festival in June ’67. There’s a rugged honesty at play as they scorch through Purple Haze, The Wind Cries Mary, Foxy Lady and Fire. One can almost hear the shock and awe effect of a ‘turned-on’ crowd having their collective minds blown by these unreleased at the time but now universal classics. Raw grit re-imagined covers of Howlin’ Wolf’s Killing Floor, Dylan’s Like A Rolling Stone, The Troggs’ Wild Thing, Muddy Waters’ Catfish Blues and a blistering Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band bewildered an audience enveloped in the ‘summer of love’ expectations of the headliner’s music. It was a musical moment when all the leaves turned from brown into an explosion of rapidly budding shoots of an altogether new era of rock/blues. This was to be The Mammas & The Papas original lineup’s final concert, and the Jimi Hendrix Experience was to return to The Hollywood Bowl the following year as headliners by which time everyone was experienced. Words by Paul Davies

THE STRUTS PRETTY VICIOUS

The Struts have delighted us with the announcement of their highly-anticipated fourth studio album Pretty Vicious, leaving listeners with zero disappointment! The album oozes their signature rock ‘n’ roll and classic rock combo with a party-for-theears from start to finish, giving fans a taste of their notorious arena-energy. One thing

you can always guarantee with new music from The Struts is that each track becomes an earworm enticing you with its addictive sound. A perfect example of this would be Too Good At Raising Hell which opens the album with a mighty riff and sound similarities with the likes of The Rolling Stones, Queen and Oasis. This could also be said about the lead single, Rockstar which hosts the fastest tempo out of this 11 trackrelease and certainly lives up to its title! The rhythm section and vocal harmonies stand out for me in this piece in particular; you can envision this as a live performance or as a perfect addition to any road trip! The growth within the band’s sound, specifically with the tightness of their brand appears mastered by each individual in the band. From the lyrics to Luke’s vocals, which have been taken to another level of pure skill, alongside Adam’s shredding, Jed’s bass runs and Gethin’s punchy beats puts this album on a pedestal. Pretty Vicious will be available to purchase on CD or Vinyl, and available to stream from November 3rd, 2023 and is an absolute must for all melodic-rock lovers! Words by Charlotte Hooper

Bad Intentions, which follows in a similar vein. For his latest release, KWS presents a very contemporary-sounding blues/rock record. And tracks like lead single Sweet and Low are a testament to that. Kenny makes his guitar sing like a bird during a Wah-infused guitar solo, with maybe a touch of the artist’s Hendrix influence prevailing during this brilliant number.

KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD

DIRT ON MY DIAMONDS VOL. 1 Five-time Grammy-nominated guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd returns with his latest studio album, Dirt On My Diamonds Vol 1. For his latest offering, the US-based bluesman headed to the legendary FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The latter is a facility that has been utilised over the years by the Rolling Stones, Otis Redding, Wilson Picket and Aretha Franklin, to name but a few. At the top of the album, the title track sets the scene for the release. You can immediately hear that distinctive Muscle Shoals sound. A mid-tempo number with a heavy blues groove and layers of soul courtesy of the addition of horns. And, of course, Kenny’s blistering fretwork is present from the off via the inclusion of a rather fiery solo. The latter could also be said about track

Best of Times switches things up momentarily. The song presents a slightly funkier side of the record. You would expect nothing less from an album produced in Muscle Shoals. Poetic lyricism shines through on this track. The song presents lyrics that perhaps many can relate to. From the funky Muscle Shoal sounds of Best of Times, Kenny continues to explore the many varieties of the blues genre with the soulful blues sounds of You Can’t Love Me. The Hammond/keys playing on this track are of particular note. Perhaps the wildcard on the album is a cover of Elton John’s Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting. The inclusion of the song feels perfectly fitting and maybe a nod to Elton as the rock legend concludes his farewell tour. Kenny and the band put their stamp on the timeless classic to great effect. For the blues aficionados, Ease My Mind is a treat for your ears. It’s a wonderful slow blues number showcasing Kenny’s gifted guitar playing and astounding tone. In conclusion, just like the title illustrates – Dirt On My Diamonds Vol 1 is a real gem. Dirt On My Diamonds Vol 1 by Kenny Wayne Shepherd will be released via Provogue Records on the 17th of November, 2023. Words by Adam Kennedy

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HAWKWIND

WITHIN TEMPTATION

GREEN LUNG

Forever pushing the frontiers of their exploratory space-sonics, Hawkwind’s ground-breaking voyage into the then nascent realm of space-rock took the imagination of a turned on and tuned in masses on an earth-shattering cosmic ride with Space Ritual. It quickly became a landmark live release and one which is generally held in high esteem and with great affection by space-rock enthusiasts.

Bleed Out is the eighth and latest album from the Dutch symphonic metal sevenpiece Within Temptation, which has been released ahead of their forthcoming UK and Europe tour. Existing fans of Within Temptation will recognise six of the eleven tracks as previously released singles.

Green Lung’s ‘This Heathen Land’ is a deliciously theatrical new step for the pagan rock powerhouse as they venture toward progressive and gothic rock flavourings. The record encompasses huge stylistic developments for the band with a noticeably, dare I say it, ‘shinier’ production style than previous offerings. I was unsurprised to read that Tom Dalgety, the newest addition to the Green Lung production team, has worked with Opeth and Ghost, the latter of which sprang to mind immediately when listening to ‘Maxine The Witch Queen.’

SPACE RITUAL

BLEED OUT

This super-deluxe eleven-disc CD box set is a time capsule stuffed with recordings. It includes the original album, being an annotated blend of tracks from the Liverpool and Brixton 1972 shows, that is sprinkled with a space dusting remaster and two further discs which are a 50th anniversary stereo remix all helmed by Hawk-head Stephen W Taylor.

Sharon den Adel’s beautiful and iconic vocals have given Within Temptation a unique musical signature that few can mimic, and the band have not rested on their laurels. Instead, they have evolved from their earlier gothic-tinged music to a more mainstream metal sound. Bleed Out is an incredible fusion of searing guitars and Sharon den Adel’s amazing voice, where one does not overwhelm the other. However, there are times when her vocal skills feel underused.

Remarkably, this Space Ritual universe of sounds is expanded with many more sonic marvels in store for the most avid of fans with all three full contemporaneous concerts split over six further discs. This includes the entire Sunderland Locarno show that is fully restored and released for the first time here.

There is an almost operatic sound to the music on Bleed Out. Unfortunately, there is also little variation between tracks. All too often one track will blend into another. Whilst this creates a seamless listening experience, it also means that there are no stand-out tracks that really grab the listener.

Factor in a stunning 5.1 Surround Sound mix and this is a complete reflection of this group’s onstage activity in this portal of time. Then there’s a 68-page illustrated booklet and a reproduction of the ultra-rare original tour booklet. For those whose wallet and purse might not stretch to accommodate this lavish collection, there’s also a clear double vinyl and 2CD set.

That does not mean Bleed Out is a poor album. It is a perfectly fine musical experience but lacks the energy and power that typified Within Temptation’s earlier releases, such as The Unforgiving. Instead of a rollercoaster of emotions, what we have a powerful sonic litany that does not deviate from its razor-sharp focus. As a concept album, Bleed Out explores the themes of resolute resistance perfectly.

What is true is that all these sets represent value for money especially for those who boldly go for the full Space Ritual experience. Words by Paule Davies

Overall, Bleed Out incorporates everything that we have come to expect from Within Temptation. It is an incredibly produced album that does not have any bad tracks on it. Words by Peter Ray Allison

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THIS HEATHEN LAND

It’s encouraging, however, that the group retain a healthy amount of doom-laden fuzz throughout the album, managing to miraculously steer clear from any sense of being ‘overproduced’ but rather, this triumph of an album, plays as the truest encapsulation of the folk-horror fantasy yet. Scott Black’s lead guitar lines command real attention, particularly the solos on ‘The Forest Church’ and ‘Mountain Throne.’ The keys playing completes the record and leaves me wondering once again why the organ fell out of popular music favour for so long, it’s a good thing that John Wright and Green Lung have come to resurrect it. Of course, both are allowed to sore owing to the Bonhamesque weight of the rhythm section. ‘Song of Stones’ stands out as particularly successful in fulfilling the bands desire to “create the definitive soundtrack to the folk horror film in our heads.” The delicate influences of English folk immediately invoked the infamous pub scene in cult classic ‘The Wicker Man’ for me. The vocal performances by Tom Templar are enthralling as ever, a dependable constant since the earliest Green Lung releases. ‘This Heathen Land’ is a masterpiece of unapologetic and fantastical pagan fun. Having listened from beginning to end, I am ready to sign Satan’s black book with a smile on my face. Words by Eliza Lee

struggle to keep a check on their quality control.

MÖTLEY CRÜE

SHOUT AT THE DEVIL 40TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION In case you missed it, 2023 is officially the Year Of The Devil. Yes, four decades after the Sunset Strip’s sleaziest quartet dropped the decadent follow-up to Too Fast For Love, Mötley Crüe’s Shout At The Devil has been given a glossy birthday makeover. Released on every conceivable format, it’s the Deluxe Limited Edition Box Set that truly does justice to a band that wrote the original hair metal playbook. Not content with including the 2021 remaster of SATD on orange and yellow splatter vinyl, there’s a red and white splatter LP collating various demos and rarities plus the entire album on CD and cassette. But that’s just for starters. In fact, given the plethora of fanfriendly added extras crammed inside this carefully curated Crüe treasure trove, it would be easy to overlook the music. But this is a music magazine…so let’s start there first. Looks That Kill and Too Young To Fall In Love still stand the test of time as raunchy, raucous MTV-ready anthems showcasing the true potential of West Hollywood’s most outrageous poster boys. As soon as both songs were given the video treatment — and afforded regular rotation on rock music’s favourite new platform — there was simply no stopping Vince Neil and his dolled-up buddies. But SATD’s always been as much about the misses as the hits and this edgy attempt at touching all bases isn’t a classic from top to bottom. Far from it. Bastard and Red Hot come across as toe-curlingly cringy in 2023 (and probably did in 1983) as the Crüe

Then there’s the band’s Marmite cover of Helter Skelter — available as a picture disc reissue for Record Store Day earlier this year and still liable to spark debate within the divided fan community. Some suggest Mick Mars and his mates breathed new life into The Beatles’ original, whereas others point to a clumsy, uncaring and systematic destruction of a pop rock classic. This abrasive 2021 remaster does little to settle the issue as the Crüe turn everything up to 10 and have one hell of a party in the process. SATD is a record of contrasts: In The Beginning’s bizarre spoken work intro. voiced by engineer Geoff Workman — a.k.a. Allister Fiend — and the infamous pentagram sleeve hints at something more conceptual in nature. Yet there’s no recurrent theme or consistent messaging to speak of as the Crüe simply flirt with the idea of being Sabbath-lite. Instead, a record that shifted 200,000 copies in the first two weeks of its release mixes Bastard’s violent refrain with the dreamy 90-second instrumental God Bless The Children Of The Beast and juxtaposes the anti-love song Too Young To Fall In Love with Knock ‘Em Dead Kid — Nikki Sixx’s brutally honest take on the night he was sprung by a bunch of undercover cops playing at being Hell’s Angels. It’s all good fun…and always has been. Taking this band seriously is the first mistake anyone ever made. SATD’s recording and release cycle coincided with Nikki Sixx and his pals being booted off high profile tours, forced to pay extortionate hotel room deposits in response to their ‘hellraising’ antics and exposed for their misogynistic behaviour in the national press. Crüe always complemented their music with shit-stirring headlines and a killer combination of hype and hooks propelled the LA metallers into the stratosphere.

And in many ways the Deluxe Limited Box Set of SATD underpins Crüe’s career-long focus on the bigger picture. Aside from the tunes, the treats are the trick when it comes to persuading devoted completists to part with their hard-earned cash just six months after the colour-vinyl reissue of the band’s first five albums. Given that SATD — and its on-off focus on occult symbolism — led to widespread accusations that Crüe and their followers worshipped Satan, it’s little wonder a bulging box is full of suitably subversive memorabilia. There’s a Devil board with metal planchette, a metal pentagram seveninch adapter, a pentagram felt bag, a devil candle holder, band member tarot cards and a 12”x12” pentagram séance board. Could a 40th anniversary package be any more devilish? Whether any — or all — of that will be enough to tempt the Crüe diehards to dip into their pockets for the umpteenth time remains to be seen but it’s not like BMG have skimped on this all-singing, all devil-worshipping set. It just all feels a little too much for a band that never really claimed to be Black Sabbath’s second coming. Crüe were always dangerous enough without the added Devil worship and 40 years down the line it feels like SATD was simply a flamboyant stepping stone towards future notoriety rather than a hedonistic manifesto for Mr Satan. There’s no doubt songs like Shout At The Devil, Looks That Kill and Too Young To Fall In Love deserve their place in the upper echelons of the Crüe canon and it’s worth celebrating this era-defining album for those earworm highlights alone. Everything else here is a rather bizarre bonus. Words by Simon Rushworth

Style over substance is a criticism that’s frequently been levelled at various incarnations of a band that continues to operate at the highest level — most recently alongside fellow 80s heavyweights Def Leppard.

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IN THIS MOMENT

NIGHTBLADE

THE CADILLAC THREE

The eighth studio album from L.A.’s In This Moment opens with a solo kick drum, reminiscent of a heartbeat which continues until the snarling vocals take over and The Purge, the first single from the album, begins. Brink’s vocals seamlessly transitioning from dark melody to visceral screams, paired with the band’s unmistakeable industrial sound make this an instantly unforgettable opener.

UK Rock band Nightblade release “That’s the way you want it” on December 8th as they return with there 4th album. Issuing 10 dirty rock songs for the world to consume. Kicking of with the title track some classic riffs accompanied with some interesting melodies. “The Vibe” follows, one of my favourite tunes on the album, I sense a little Sabbath flavour here and there in the rhythm section, and song #3 “Too Far Gone” blasts out like you know how blurry life can be under the influence, the rhythm guitar on this tune really hits the spot. “Your world my thoughts” this one vocally took me back to Motley Crue’s debut, the whole album retains a rawness which bands don’t normally maintain over time. “Let me In” follows, the most well written and produced song on the album. A ballad with guest vocals from Givvi Flynn and a highlight of the album all round, the keys have a Sabbathy haunting touch which was particularly special. Song #6 follows with “New year’s Change” straight in double time with a heart-warming punk edginess to rock out. Track #7 “Baker Street” indeed the very song covered with a different angle from the original, a Sabbath Punk approach would be my description and gives everyone a tone and understanding of the band and where there coming from musically.

“The years go Fast” A blistering 12 track album this time around from The Cadillac Three, Young & hungry kicks off, at first, I thought there’s a little tilt to the traditional southern approach to rock and roll. However classic taste of the southern feel returned with Double Wide Grave and Coming Down From You.

GODMODE

What follows is a slightly more experimental outing for the band as they utilise new techniques and collaborators to evolve their sound. This is the first album since 2008’s The Dream that has not had Kevin Churko as producer, instead opting to enlist his son, Kane to produce it. Spencer Charnas of Ice Nine Kills, provides guest vocals for the conversational back and forth of Damaged, dealing with themes of PTSD and self-doubt. Several tracks on the album were also cowritten with producer/composer/musician Tyler Bates, with I Would Die For You being the first track written for and released as part of the soundtrack for John Wick: Chapter 4. The influence of 90’s artists such as Tool, Nine Inch Nails and the Prodigy runs through the veins of this album and is especially evident in tracks like Sacrifice, which shares the DNA of many of these. Continuing with that train of thought is a storming cover version of Army of Me by Björk, which incidentally also features on another movie scored by Tyler Bates, Sucker Punch. Being the band’s first studio album postpandemic, it would seem to indicate the direction and sound going forwards for them. If this album is any indication, then the future certainly looks to be incredibly exciting, providing a fresh new sound for fans and newcomers alike. Words by Simon Potthast

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THAT’S THE WAY YOU WANT IT

“Your Disguise” follows with another uptempo punk edge driven tune, a great lick in the guitar solo, you can tell how passionate the lead guy is. The penultimate song #9 “What I Shared With You” goes down a ballad style. I can tell this is where the band’s song writing skills gels on this style of a song, well thought out and with some additional tones and instruments that don’t follow any cliché rule. The finale for the album, song #10 “A song coming on” is the most aggressive vocally. A good time punk rocker and I can imagine the crowd pleaser for the fans of Nightblade. The guitar work is great, original, I’d like to hear a mix with the guitars brought out a little more. Applause For the raw punk edge feel album accompanied with a couple of tasty ballads. Words by Russell Peake

THE YEARS GO FAST

One of my favourite tracks on the album “The Worst” (apologies for the oxymoron) was written to please and it did very much. Followed by “Love Like War” and “The torch” - classic easy listening southern rock. My favourite track on the album “Dressed up To Die” has a modern feel, with a modern sound. “Hillbilly” follows which I can only describe as pure commercial country. Next up is “This Town is a Ghost” and “Go to Bed Lonely” finely tuned and produced with definition. This album ticks all the boxes from a fan’s perspective. “4 Chords and The Proof” is a short diddly and then finishing of the album is “Pistols of the Levee”. A mature album for all to enjoy. The Years Go Fast overall is a fine slice of southern Rock with additional seasoning. Jaren Johnston’s vocals are top drawer, and the rhythm section comes across glued throughout the album. The band are currently on tour in the US. Hopefully the UK won’t have to wait to long to see the boys perform the album live. Words by Russell Peake

Indeed, in the same year Korn’s Issues, Limp Bizkit’s Significant Other and Slipknot’s self-titled debut changed the face of metal, Thunder’s creator-in-chief carried on regardless. Cool hand Luke adds a cheeky country twang to All I Ever Wanted and the jaunty title track is just the job. Then there’s the beautifully frank You Still Need A Friend. The second-best Thunder ballad behind Love Walked In? Just putting it out there.

GIVING THE GAME AWAY REISSUE

All of these songs and more get a green and mustard vinyl makeover which, given the otherwise attractive choice of colours across the range, seems a little harsh. But don’t let looks deceive you.

There’s a Mark Knopfler-meets-Eric Clapton vibe underpinning Giving The Game Away’s ambitious, expansive opener.

Giving The Game Away’s 2023 reboot might appear to pay homage to slime and cat vomit but there’s nothing sickly about the music within.

And it’s ‘almost lost’ classics like Just Another Suicide (You Wanna Know) that benefit most from Thunder’s timely reissue campaign. Songwriter Luke Morley has rarely written with the freedom and style that’s a recurrent feature of the band’s often overlooked fifth album.

And once the needle touches the wax it’s a non-stop pleasure trip with Danny Bowes delivering one of the performances of his career.

THUNDER

And when the Back For The Crack EP sold out of its initial press within three days, the conversation quickly turned to cracking on with a full album. By now Bowes had bowed to the inevitable and the band wrapped up Shooting At The Sun in time for a March 2003 release.

SHOUTING AT THE SUN REISSUE After five albums and a two-year hiatus, Danny Bowes wasn’t too bothered about making more new music with Thunder. But when your best mate’s Luke Morley, there’s always another sensational song with your name on it. And even Bowes couldn’t resist the urge to lay down a four-track companion EP to the band’s ‘comeback’ tour in 2002. That run of shows — on the Alice

But what’s the band dug out from the archive to add that extra special touch to the expanded Giving The Game Away reboot? As with all of the vinyl reissues it’s a selection of live deep cuts that make this set well worth the investment. A brace of tunes from Thunder’s 2012 Manchester Academy gig — Numb and It’s Another Day — and two more from back-to-back Nottingham shows are your bonus treats. Rolling The Dice and ‘Til It Shines feature from two late noughties Rock City shindigs with the latter — a lowly joint 117th in the band’s ‘most-played’ according to Setlist.fm — setting the suitably serene seal on a simply stunning double vinyl package. Giving The Game Away? There’s no fooling Thunder fans. Words by Simon Rushworth

Seamlessly switching between charismatic rock god (Rolling The Dice) and lounge-suited Vegas crooner Cooper-headlined Monsters Of Rock bill — reminded the masses that Thunder could still kick ass.

THUNDER

(Numb), this is Bowes at his brilliant best.

A typically diverse record — fusing blues, rock, soul and Americana — gets the purple and orange double vinyl treatment as part of the ongoing rollout of Thunder’s back catalogue. And an album never previously available on wax now looks as good as it always sounded. In many ways Shooting At The Sun is Morley’s manifesto for Thunder Mk II and, four years after the release of Giving The Game Away, an upbeat return to form brought about an unexpected noughties ‘revival’. Just check out the sublime solo on the groove-laden Somebody Get Me A Spin Doctor. Wow. Or skip to the poignant

Pete Shoulder co-write The Man Inside: it’s little wonder the Winterville frontman ultimately ended up flanking Morley in much-missed blues rockers The Union a few years down the line. The honky tonk rock and roll of Everybody’s Laughing allows the cheekier side of Bowes’ electric personality to shine through and lead track Loser features a trademark Morley riff that’s so typically Thunder. Both tracks are reprised on side four: by raiding the live vaults the band continue to add value to this longawaited run of reissues. Interestingly, the bonus version of Somebody Get Me A Spin Doctor — culled from Thunder’s 2002 Marquee show in London — captures crowdpleaser Bowes at a time when the frontman still had to be convinced that there was life in the old dog yet... Words by Simon Rushworth

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THUNDER

THE THRILL OF IT ALL REISSUE Even grunge had peaked by the time The Thrill Of It All reminded fans that melodic blues rock was still a thing. Released between the Seattle scene’s rapid fall and the rise of nu-metal, a Thunder record rarely sounded so out of time. But that was never going to bother Luke Morley and Danny Bowes.

HEAVENLY CREAM AN ACOUSTIC TRIBUTE TO CREAM

This is Heavenly Cream as the subsequent passing of Ginger Baker, Pete Brown, Mo Foster and Bernie Marsden gives the title of this release a far deeper meaning than originally intended. With tracking commencing in 2018, it’s a solemn reminder that life and music must be enjoyed to its fullest. Finally released five years from its inception, this album of seminal songs, exquisitely rendered by a super grouping of musicians, is a fitting testament to Cream’s heritage. Deeper PAGE 98

And the band’s fabulous fourth album, still revered within the fan community as one of the band’s most compelling masterworks, laughs in the face of fashion.

Bowes fell ill with pneumonia and laryngitis during that fateful Far East trip and several dates on the UK leg of The Thrill Of It All tour were pushed back again.

It’s also a bona fide example of triumph in the face of adversity…plenty of it, in fact.

That the record charted at all was some kind of miracle but a solid debut inside the Top 20 reflected the quality of the dreamy title track, the fun and funky Hotter Than The Sun and the brooding This Forgotten Town — featuring an acoustic intro straight out of the Metallica playbook (honestly).

The Thrill Of It All first appeared in Japan as early as September 1996 but it was another five months before UK fans could get their sticky mitts on the follow-up to Behind Closed Doors. That delay was due, in part, to guitarist Ben Matthews being diagnosed with acute tendinitis — suddenly Thunder’s scheduled UK dates had to be postponed.

Pretty in pink and clear double vinyl, the 2023 reissue pairs the album’s stirring staples with a selection of live tracks culled from sets in Manchester, Nottingham and Japan.

At the same time, a busy Bowes was negotiating a deal to release the new record via Castle Communications on the band’s short-lived B Lucky imprint. Thunder headed out on a week-long tour of Japan immediately before the February 2 UK/European release date but the setbacks kept on coming.

In fact, the Club Citta, Kawasaki version of Welcome To The Party is a suitably raucous upgrade on the album version of an upbeat banger that always sounded like it belonged on Backstreet Symphony…

grooves are mined and the music swings like a dazzling haymaker in tribute to Jack, Ginger and Eric.

Your Love and Deserted Cities Of The Heart as does the recently departed Bernie Marsden on Crossroads.

Remarkably curated by multiinstrumentalist Malcolm Bruce, his father must be beaming with overwhelming pride someplace, somewhere at his herculean effort. He’s not only corralled together a unique ensemble of musicians he has also directed these well-crafted and elegant arrangements. As on the beautiful We’re Going Wrong where Malcolm’s graceful lead vocals spookily soar over a haunting string arrangement, detailing a song his father wrote about his faltering marriage to Malcolm’s mother.

The undisputed legend of the Chitlin’ circuit Bobby Rush delivers an old school blues lesson on Spoonful and Sitting On Top Of The World with the wonderful Maggie Bell. All great projects must come to an end, and this is a special one as the voice of bluesrock Paul Rodgers closes out one hour of pure blues bliss on Born Under A Bad Sign.

This is a hypnotic primer as elsewhere Deborah Bonham’s sensual vocal is a revelation on I Feel Free and Badge as is Pete Brown as he soulfully vocalises his lyrics on White Room, Politician and Theme To An Imaginary Western. A hard rocker at heart, Nathan James runs up a golden stairway of octaves on Sweet Wine, with lyrics written by Malcolm’s mother Janet Godfrey, and impressively howls on Tales Of Brave Ulysses. Queen of the blues, Maggie Bell is superb on Take It Back. Current king of the blues Joe Bonamassa revels in Sunshine Of

Words by Simon Rushworth

This incredible list of top-grade vocalists is backed up by a once in a lifetime conglomeration of magnificent musicians as Ginger Baker, Mo Foster, Neil Murray, Frank Tontoh, Clem Clempson, Mo Nazam, Tony Remy, Winston Blissett are among many elevating this gold standard project heavenwards. Recorded at Abbey Road, this cathedral of contributions to Cream will continue to ensure the immortality of the trio who blazed like a comet shaking the fathomless foundations of the blues. Words by Paul Davies

HRH Sleaze earning them the unofficial accolade of being most people’s ‘new band of the weekend’. Hearts and Hand Grenades studio work is as loud and unapologetic as their live performances, if you like the kind of bands that put a bat up the nightdress of the rock music scene then this is the album for you. It boasts strength, skills and courage throughout and will wake up the sleepiest of jaded rock fans everywhere.

HEARTS & HAND GRENADES WHERE I BEGIN

Hearts and Hand Grenades exploded onto the scene fairly recently, having earned their stripes on the covers circuit for several years prior to creating their own brand of fiery, rebellious, energetic rock. ‘Where I Begin’ is their second album, following on the back of a highly successful UK tour last summer including a blistering performance at

Stephanie Wlosinski’s power vocals are nothing short of a battle cry, although you can hear plenty of diversity in her style and range as the album progresses, such as in the poignancy of ‘Beautiful Pain’. The pop-rock sound of ‘Better Off Alone’ has popularity potential in droves, a trendy tune driven by contemporary beats. Contrast that with the next track ‘I Just Want My Rock’ which features Nu Metal screams, country style banjo twanging and hip hop, and you’ll get an idea why diversity is the name of the game here.

Atreyu’s Brandon Saller and Trivium’s Matthew Heafy. Ready for release on 10th November - it is notably available in shocking pink and black splatter vinyl! This album tears around the subgenres of hard rock, cemented with impeccable guitar work, melodic hooks, and inspired song writing; each track demonstrating a fresh sound, playing perfectly to the strengths of the featured artist.

SOPHIE LLOYD

IMPOSTER SYNDROME Pretty much any guitarist of the modern day will recognise the name Sophie Lloyd – starting as a self-proclaimed “bedroom guitarist” of YouTube, to touring the world with Machine Gun Kelly – her musical rise has been rapid and well deserved. Her debut 11 track album “Imposter Syndrome” boasts an impressive lineup of special guests including rock heavyweights Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale,

Kicking things off, opening track “Do Or Die” featuring Nathan James of Inglorious is a full throttle rock anthem with a clear nod to classic and hard rock of the 80s, and blistering harmonised solos setting the tone for the rest of the album. Hook-laden “Pressure” follows, featuring a more contemporary sound. “Runaway” drives straight down the sunset strip with 80s inspired sleaze rock influences, whilst “Fall Of Man” is a straight up metal track and “Judge And Jury” transports us to 2000s post-grunge. Sophie Lloyd manages to achieve all of this while somehow managing to maintain a signature sound?!

Once you’ve listened to the album throughout, you’ll wonder if there’s anything musically that Hearts and Hand Grenades can’t turn their hand to. This album demonstrates how much they’ve grown as an originals band over the last two years, and how unafraid they are to experiment and shove the boundaries that little bit further. Hearts and Hand Grenades are just what the music scene has been waiting for, and I look forward to seeing what they plan to amaze us with next. Words by Victoria Llewelyn

A rare slower moment of this album is the title track “Imposter Syndrome”, an epic, mid-tempo, shred ballad perfectly complemented by an incredible vocal performance from Lzzy Hale. The standout instrumental track “Lost” showcases an impressive display of guitar gymnastics between Sophie and fellow guitar virtuoso Cole Rolland. Fraught with emotion, this track serves Maiden and Satriani inspired lead lines, and incredible twin solo work. To summarise, this album is an absolute banger and gets a “stank face” out of 10. Words by Ruth Cranston

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neck initially on the spectral intro to opening track, A Wave On The Ocean Of Eternity, that scales creamy heights of beautiful guitar work.

NICK FLETCHER QUADRIVIUM

Nick Fletcher has been on a remarkable solo run and his latest album, Quadrivium, lengthens his sonic stride by furthering the already deep footprints left by 22’s The Cloud Of Unknowing and ‘21’s Cycles Of Behaviour. With guitar playing as twisty as a packet of fusilli pasta, Fletcher’s mastery of the complexities of the guitar is fully represented, once again, on this excellent release adding to his ever growing and highly respected solo canon. Once more, imaginative ideas take flight and glide out from his guitar

Accompanied by the outstanding former Jeff Beck drummer, Anika Nilles, who creates a strong and supple backbone fusion of commanding percussion, Overture To The Cosmos rampages with a melodious progressive fusion of interplay. It’s underpinned by Tim Harries’ excellent bass work and producer/musician extraordinaire Caroline Bonnett excels on keyboards and synths. Track three, Riding The Event, welcomes another progressive maestro as Dave Bainbridge delivers deft keyboard flourishes to accentuate the captivating free form feel of this intricate passage of music. Bainbridge does as much and more on the intriguing The Fifth Parallel and on Aphelion’s stylish Holdsworthian design of sound. Fletcher’s arrow true guitar technique and musical prose is, at the best of times, as light as air. Notes float mellifluously like celestial clouds across the soundstage. Also, there are smooth as silk textures seared by

2023, via Frontiers Music SRL, it was recorded at Key Bank State Theatre, Cleveland, Ohio on November 9th 2022. 80+ musicians from the ages of 12-18 from more than 40 schools in Ohio performed alongside Night Ranger. Lead singer/bass player Jack Blades added “It was a dream come true to have Night Ranger music accompanied by an entire symphonic band..... including our own, although now we’re spoiled and we want to carry the orchestra with us wherever we go”.

NIGHT RANGER

40 YEARS AND A NIGHT WITH CONTEMPORARY YOUTH ORCHESTRA Some reviews sometimes need digging deep into but the new live Night Ranger album ‘40 years and a night with contemporary youth orchestra’ is a dream for me to tackle as it’s my favourite juke box full of their classic cuts. Due for release on October 20th, PAGE 100

They hit hard and heavy with set opener ‘You Can Still Rock In America’ that follows a teasing full on orchestral intro. Night Ranger still crank it up with the verve it deserves to be as the band lock in tight around an impressive vocal from Jack, ending on twin lead guitar solos and a crowd fuelled chorus. The crowd go nuts again as they rock out for ‘Sing Me Away’, one of their heavier songs, point proven by more twin lead work and whammy bar overload.

sharp and expert runs of instrumental notation as though dusted with icing sugar - Ziggurat Of Dreams pt. 1 & 2, The Helix and more - that will alert connoisseurs of Holdsworth, Metheny, Hackett, Beck etc… that here is a rapidly developing major talent, with a deep backstory of music ripe for discovery, to keep an attentive ear out for. The eastern influence of guitar and tabla like percussion on To The Stars We Shall Return eliding into The Journey To Varanasi, replete with Mahavishnu inflections, broadens the overall palette of this deeply devised musical statement. The poignant solo guitar, enveloped in a cosmically charged misty soundscape, on Standing On The Edge Of Time, closes out a pitch perfect multifaceted album of rich compositional layers. It represents Nick Fletcher’s musical standing undergoing another rapid spurt of growth on this release. If music is the food of love, then Quadrivium is most definitely a rib sticker. There’s plenty of scintillating musicianship and compositional twists and turns here to satisfyingly digest on many, many repeated visits. Words by Paul Davies

Another big hitter sees ‘Sentimental Street’ probably leave not a dry eye in the crowd as drummer Kelly Keagy croons over prominent keyboards and full-on band backing. Once again orchestral strings add power, this time to ‘Night Ranger’, elevating it to a new level as it closes on a full-on metal outro, introduced by Jack, getting the parents to stand up and adding “You have some kick ass musicians here”. They close their mindblowing set with their most potent ballad ‘Sister Christian’, once again sung by Kelly Keagy, stretching it out to nine minutes, draining every last drop of emotion when it reaches the tear-jerking choruses. Words by Dennis Jarman

STORIES FROM THE MERCH STAND Code-Name: Aunty Wainwright A view and anecdotes from the world of the HRH Merch Desk brought to the pages of HRH Mag by HRH Radio’s Jezebel Steele aka Aunty Wainwright. Name: Unknown Alias: Aunty Wainwright; Evil Aunty Jezebel Location: Merch Desk Date of Birth: Unknown Hair Colour: Varies Place: Flea Market Weakness: Beards Special Abilities: Unknown The dossier didn’t give me much to go on, but I agreed to the mission as it meant I could get out of the office for a few days. The mission was to watch the Merch Desk and see what was going on. There had been chatter on the lines that deals were being made, and secrets traded.

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The plan was to surveil and eventually convince Agent Wainwright to share secrets with us. I approached the merch desk in Birmingham, and watched covertly, the following are transcripts of actual recordings made Great Yarmouth 2021 Punter Z: What’s a lucky dip tee shirt? Subject: You give me a fiver, and tell me your size, I’ll give you a tee shirt Great Yarmouth 2022 Punter Z: Have you got any of those lucky dip tee shirts this year? Subject: How many fivers have you got? Birmingham 2022 Punter A: Have you got any merch by Church of the Cosmic Skull Subject: No petal, they aren’t playing this weekend, so there’s no merch for them Punter A: What do you mean they aren’t playing… who am I listening to on stage then? Subject: That’s Blaze Bayley Birmingham 2022 Punter B: Can I have your strongest drink please? Subject: The strongest I have is a bottle of water Punter B: I’m not drunk, I don’t want water, I’ve got money Subject: And we’re not a bar, we’re the Merch Stand

Sheffield 2022 Band G: Can I borrow a pen, to sign some stuff Subject: Yes, I have a black marker pen here Band G walks away with pen Subject: Oi, that’s my pen you’re nicking, bring it back! Band G: This is my pen Subject: No, we both know it’s mine, and I’d like it back now (not the actual words used) Onlooker from Band M: She’s firm, but she’s fair! Punter J approaches Merch desk the next day with a packet of pens Punter: These are for you Subject: Why? Punter: I heard that someone stole you pen yesterday, so I bought you some more Subject: Thank you so much… would you like a sweety? Birmingham 2022 (1:30pm) Band A: We have some ep’s, some cloth badges, and a lighter Subject: OK, how much do you need to make, to ensure you make a profit? Band A: A tenner? Subject: OK, so if I sell a bundle for fifteen quid, you’ll make a profit? Band A: Yeah, but I doubt they’ll sell, we’re on Stage 2 Subject: OK, here’s the deal… you do your thing (be fabulous) and I’ll do a bundle deal, come back at 9pm

Birmingham 2022 (9:00pm) Band A: Did we sell anything? Subject: Six bundles at fifteen quid each Band A: Blimey! Great Yarmouth 2022 (Day 1) Band B: We have five cd’s available at fifteen quid each Subject: How about I sell them as a bundle deal? You can have five cd’s for fifty quid? Band B: I don’t know how many you’ll sell, but if you think it might work (he’s not convinced) Great Yarmouth 2022 (Day 3) Band B: How many cd’s did you sell Subject: Singles ones, not many… we were too busy selling them in bundles of five Great Yarmouth 2022 Band O: Why do you want a miserable face? Subject: Because it’s funny Stockport 2022 I watched as our subject handed over a box of cd’s that had been left by a band in Great Yarmouth. She’d brought them home with her, and then arranged to meet the band manager at a public location in Stockport Band C: Thank you for this, I usually do the merch for this band… you are now the standard… Well Evil Aunty Jezebel sold XXX for us Great Yarmouth 2022 I see sales being made, and people walking away eating sweets. After approaching one, I ask

Q: Where they got the lollipop from? A: Oh, if you pay with cash, she gives you a sweety Q: So if I buy something, I’ll get a sweety? A: Oh no, only if you pay with cash I carry on my surveillance, and this appears to be the case – if you pay with cash at the merch stall, you are indeed rewarded with sweets Great Yarmouth 2023 Punter V: You remind me of that woman from Last of the Summer Wine Subject: Who, Nora Batty? Punter V: No, her from the shop that sells everything Subject: Oh, you mean Aunty Wainwright… she’s my spirit guide… do you want a cd to go with that tee shirt, and I’ll do you a great deal on it Punter V: OK then, here I have cash Subject: Good man, you can have a drumstick lolly Great Yarmouth Day 3 2021, 2022, 2023 Punter: We’ve been looking all over for you, do you have any event tee shirts left? Subject: Sorry petal, the only one I have is the one on the wall, what size are you after? Punter: XL and a Small please Subject: Well I do have the one I was saving for myself, and there’s a small on the wall… do you have cash? Great Yarmouth 2022 Manager X: Well if you aren’t going to sell our

stuff, I’ll sell it outside then Subject: We both know you’re not allowed to do that, and I will report you if you try Manager X: Did you add those sales to the list? Subject: This is not my first rodeo Conclusion For some unknown reason, the merch stall is where everyone gravitates towards, not just because the band merch is there, but it seems like a friendly hub of activity. There’s usually a box of sweets hidden behind the counter. She will maximise the sales for the bands as much as possible, and treats everyone equally – whether it’s a multi-platinum selling band’s rep or a start up from Colchester playing their first festival for HRH… they’re all treated like the rock gods that they are. As for the customers, I’ve seen the same faces come back year on year, looking for this year’s lucky dip deal, or just a catch up and a chat. I will continue to surveil the subject at this year’s HRH XVI and report my findings.

Words by Rachel Thomas Rayment

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Nightblade You Want It, You Got It

Interview with Mark Crosby PAGE 104

Irrepressible riff masters Nightblade are back with their fourth album in a staggering four years. The prolific rock crew released their stunning new album, That’s The Way You Want It, on Friday, 8th December. The band’s latest offering follows hot off the back of their 2022 album Hope To Be There. “We’ve been busy with the album. We invariably do two sessions in the studio to record an album,” explains Mark Crosby. “What I mean by that is on a typical album that is ten songs, we record five songs in one day, and then five on another day, and split up the mixing in between.” A prolific work ethic – perhaps you will agree. In between working on the new album, the band have had some personnel changes. “We’ve also been bedding down a new drummer, which we’re quite excited about. So he will be obviously on the new album,” said Mark. The bells and whistles of a new album campaign also take time to get right. “We’ve been working on all of the videos, singles and PR and everything that collectively comes with that. So, we’ve been pretty active one way or another this year,” he said. Nightblade’s latest offering marks the band’s fourth album in four years. And whilst some bands may take a sizable break between albums, the group are happy to keep churning out the new releases as long as the quality lives up to their expectations. “As long as the content is good and as long as the creative juices are flowing there is merit for doing an album per annum as it keeps you in the public eye. It’s good for PR and keeps momentum and all of the rest of it,” explains Mark. “The previous album, Hope To Be There, there was overspill and indeed, there always are some surplus songs that are left over. We also had a few to play with to kickstart That’s The Way You Want It. But even if there is some overflow from the previous album’s writings, I still always write some new stuff.” For the group’s new record, they had done something different to their previous releases. “We have done the first cover that we’ve ever done in six albums. After much deliberation we finally decided to cover Baker Street,” said Mark. The band have put their spin on the timeless Gerry Rafferty classic. “We have rocked it up a little bit. But there is an opportunity for AirPlay. You could approach any radio station with that.” He adds: “We’ve been given the rights to release it as a single by BMG. So, they are the big boys, they have

been very complimentary, to say the least about our cover. And with that goes a particular video.” Inspiration-wise for the new album, life experience provided an abundance of emotions and opportunities to reflect upon. “I write about a lot of different scenarios …the things that go on in life. This is something that’s quite personal,” he said. “But that’s what drives me. A certain scenario can happen, and it will trigger an idea, and the concept, when I need a song title, and indeed, sometimes a melody too.” Mark adds: “A lot of the stuff that I write about are things that happened. And there’s an abundance of good ammunition out there I feel for songwriters. If you keep your eyes and ears open one day somebody can say something to you and it just triggers real good concepts and a good idea. I’m one of these guys, I’m always jotting things down on the back of a pad and always recording little bits and pieces on my phone for ammunition for when I sit down at the end of the day. It gives me some fuel which to write with.” The band invited Givvi Flynn to put vocals on one of the ballads on the album. “I have been toying with the idea of having a female vocal on a track or two for some time. But it’s easier said than done. You either gel with another vocal or you don’t. It’s either going to work or it’s not, as I’ve found that previously,” explains Mark. “Givvi is alternative rock, and she likes our stuff. And indeed, I like her stuff. Givvi and I sing together very well. So, we do a song called Let Me In.” He adds: “We work and gel tonally and vocally very well with each other. It was a straightaway thing.” The collaboration was their first, but hopefully not the last. “We may well do some of the stuff together too,” said Mark. Nightblade are already looking into 2024. “We are working on next year. Obviously, we’ve done the album, bedded in Harry the new drummer, and we’re looking at next year now and doing some dates,” explains Mark. “We’ve got some nice things bubbling away. We’re just sorting singles and videos out which, to be honest, will take us through to October and November. So, it’s a natural timing that we will be going out there next year.” That’s The Way You Want It, the new album from Nightblade, will be released on Friday, 8th December. Words by Adam Kennedy Photo Credit: Press Supplied

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WOVEN MAN Welsh doom-stoner outfit Woven Man recently released their new album Sardonic Waters via Off Year Rocka Recordings. HRH Mag caught up with the band over Zoom to get the lowdown on their latest offering. How has 2023 been treating you so far? Sardonic Waters was recorded just before the pandemic. And then we finished it in January before COVID happened. So, we’ve been sitting on it for a couple of years like a Golden Egg. We’re currently going through a little bit of a quiet stage, but that’s only because we’ve been waiting for the album to come out and work life commitments and things. With the songs now a few years old at the time of the release, do the band still enjoy playing the track from Sardonic Waters? Or are you already thinking about what comes next? We still enjoy playing the tunes. And although it’s two or three years down the line, they still feel relevant to what we’ve been trying to do. It wasn’t hard graft; it was quite easy graft in a way. But we did it just kind of natural. It was a completely organic process. We didn’t throw much away. We have got hundreds of other riffs.

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Sardonic Waters is a concept album – tell us a little bit about the story behind it? The story is basically about a band of piratey kind of guys. Everywhere they’ve sailed, they’ve amassed a certain amount of treasures and wares and the next sort of step for them is how can they become immortal and get to spend these wares forever. So, they set out on a journey to find the old Celtic goddess for the sea, which grants immortality if you manage a kill her. Long story short, it’s about the journey and the trials or tribulations of getting to her, and then she wipes them all out. Did Woven Man intend to create a concept album from the off? I just genuinely don’t think that we set out to do a concept record. It was just that the tunes all seemed to closely fit together. Although they sound different. They don’t sound the same. I mean, we mess about sometimes playing bits of one song in the other song because we know we can do it, and we know it fits.

type of music that we’re playing. Because I come from a stoner/grunge background. So, I was not used to playing the type of riffs that I had to learn to play. And it took me into the second record to actually find my feet, to be honest, and probably likewise with some of the other guys. So, the second record was more ambitious and more collective. It was a harder album to play. But it was an easy process. What are the band’s plans moving forward? Yeah, we’d like to try and do a video for the song Them Who Dies. And just bring the Woven Man name back into the forefront. And again, with the album release, be more productive in that respect. I mean, the thing is, it’s like anything when you are sitting on an album, you’re waiting for it to come out. Some of the guys get a bit restless, they go do other things. But at the end of the day when it when it comes to Woven Man you want to get back on that stage, you want to do some gigs. We want to get back on the horse. Sardonic Waters by Woven Man is out now.

They always say that the second album is the hardest for a band to record. Is this something that the band agree with? The first album was a learning curve. It took me six months to get my head around playing the

Words by Adam Kennedy Photo Credit: Press Supplied