Acid Age "Perilous Compulsion" Album Review

  For everything that's come before and what has yet to pass one thing can be said about the incomparable War Jazz juggernaut Acid Age there will always be some sort of  insane wackiness within the music they unleash,although their roots are stepped in Thrash Metal they've evolved that thrash foundation into a fusion of all the best parts of Jazz,Death Metal,Black Metal and Progressive Metal with psychedelic elements and plenty more twist and turns along the way, if you thought their previous masterpiece Semper Pessimus was full of wacky surprises well nothing will prepare for the absolute lunacy that is Perilous Compulsion.

  

  

  The incoming madness is commenced with the crushing riff fest that is Bikini Island that countdown intro creates a really combustible and frenzied atmosphere, the relentlessness throughout this has elements of crushing Death Metal combined with jazz infused basslines and face melting shredding while the phenomenal drumming really pushes the boundaries to extreme levels of heaviness,an added bit of trivia behind this track is reference to Bikini Atoll/Marshall Island ,which was used as by the US as a nuclear testing site after WW2 up until 1958, onto the sublime dynamics of the brilliant State Your Business which shows a  few new elements to the bands overall sound including backing vocals courtesy of Jake and the use of clean vocals to give a killer progressive element to proceedings,once again there's another "easter egg" with the concept of the song & lyrical content which has taken inspiration from an episode of The Twilight Zone entitled "Button Button" , the mind bending Third Eye Locksmith  at times the vocal delivery has subtle homages to Sadus, the musicianship is on another level and switches seamlessly from Thrash,Death To Black Metal while having an ultra heavy rhytmn section,the leads are tinged with insanely sublime psychedelic elements which makes for yet more unpredictability on this opus.

 

   

    Time to get into some relentless thrashing with the overload of speed and heaviness that is Revenge For Sale this is an absolute ripper of a song which combines all the best elements of Thrash & Death Metal, those subtle vocal variations add yet another dimension to the overall sound, once again the rhytmn section destroys like a wrecking ball, the further you get into this album that trademeark Acid Age wackiness keeps going to levels beyond comprehension ,this is really noticable with Every Cliche were we're treated to an absolute cacophony of riff designed to melt your face and make your ears bleed,the volume of riffs along with that sublime bassline is disorientating and dizzying at times and the drumming is insanely sublime.

  Just when you thought there were no more twist and turns to come we get likely one of the most insane songs i've ever heard in my life in the form of  Rotten Tooth , if you've ever wondered why the band have the "War Jazz" moniker well you get it in spades with this terrific song, blues tinged psychedelic intro before launching into yet another cacophony of riffs and blast beats,crazy leads coupled with those deliciouly sublime basslines make for some insane listening, a little after the 5 minute mark just when you thought you heard everything this band can do,next thing you know you hear a Harmonica,suffice to say if you think this doesn't work ,you're wrong it's blends in seamlessly with the bands trademark wackiness, epicness is the name of the game with the ridculously excellent Hamster Wheel ,this goes through plenty of twist & turns and has plenty of progressive elements,the harmonies created between all the different vocals variations goes to absolutely insane levels of quality,it's like they've hit a pinnacle of creativity and  musicianship and renedered everything that came before obsolete,the clean vocal parts on this song are beautifully executed and at times make the song sound like some sort of ballad,yet another element the band can add to their repetoire.

  

  Perilous Compulsion has been 4 years in the making and that wait has been more then worth it, that proverbial glass ceiling has really been shattered now and Acid Age have hit a level worthy of their truly sublime War Jazz wackiness, despite being a long term fan of the band not in my wildest drrams did i think they could unleash the insane levels of skilled musicianship that you'll hear on Perilous Compulsion, dare i say it about Semper Pessimus but they really have surpassed that on a magnitude unimaginable to myself, everything about this from the production,musicianship,song arrangement all the concepts behind the songs are miles beyond what their previous album offered, like any album i've listened to before there was always that element were something would make me laugh or put a smile on my face due to that wackiness,that's all still there added with some crushing brutality, tinged with psychedelic elements that will leave you disorientated and as mentioned previously a rhytmn section that renders everything before it obsolete. this one will possibly be top of my end of year list,a bonafide masterpiece that will be extremely hard to top.

RATING:10/10

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Lock Horns "Red Room" Album Review

  Six years on from their excellent debut album Molon Labe Progressive Metal Force Lock Horns finally unleashed their highly anticipated second album Red Room,this is a monstrous step up form the much loved debut offering ,this is full of mind bending unpredictable brilliance that will leave you speechless.

 The absolute cacophony of mindfucks commences with the brilliant The Origin Of Evil Impulses not confined to one specific genre you can hear industrial elements layered with Progressive undertones,the seamless progessive between clean and abrasive vocals adds plenty of depth and feeling to this track, mixed with aggressive vocals and punchy rhytmns Rust packs an absolutely devastating punch leaving you even more disorientated , the madness continues to evolve with the mind blowing Skin and Bones, the punishing brutality within this track is at times mind blowing,you can literally feel the anger and lack of control through the vocal delivery.

 The relentless power and speed of Lab Rat takes the mind boggling consequences to even more disturbing levels, lyrically and musicially this sounds like some gone wrong botched experiment were control and the lack thereof seem to have a sense of duality through manipulation and coerciveness, we're treated to some absolutely soaring interludes with the phenomenal Impressions Of a Dream the groove and time signatures are something to behold on this and the soaring vocal deliveries give a whole new dimension to the overall them within the album,there is a beauty invloved to all the lack of control and it's executed magnificiently by the band.

 The rip roaring relentlessness of The Golden Mean delivers a short sharp shock to the sense leaving a trail of destruction in it's wake,this one is full of progressive riff gymnastics,the drumming is executed with razor sharp precision and the deranged vocals leave the perfect desired effect, closing track Expressions Of Madness is full of slow heavy grooves that leave a sense of unnerving insanity and a dread that's ready to crush the senses into oblivion.

  Lock Horns leave no cross unturned on this absolutely mind blowing release.although short in length Red Room ticks all the right boxes ,the whole theme of control and the lack thereof really hits home with devastating consequences,for all the superlatives alot of people have been saying about this the anticipation and hype is 100% real,this is a modern masterpiece and a definite contender for Album of The Year.

  RATING: 9.5/10

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IG: https://www.instagram.com/lock_horns/

Acid Age "Live In Belfast" Album Review

   The beginning of 2023 brought about a few significent events that would change the landscape for the incomparable war jazz merchants Acid Age, around the start of February would see them have their 10th anniversary and was that an experience in itself,what would happen after is the band entered Metal 2 The Masses a few short weeks after and a few months later what still seems surreal they would be announced as the winners which resulted in them performing at Bloodstock, their live shows are something to behold,if you haven't witnessed that madness you reallt are missing out, eventually by the tail end of the year they would record their first ever live album aptly titled Live In Belfast during a live set in The Limelight 2 on 29th December,this release contains select favourites from their phenomenal Semper Pessimus album and some cracking unreleased tracks that will be on next years Perilous Compulsion album.lets delve into this absolutely superlative offering.

 Kicking things off with the Nero-Claudius inspired The Burning Of Rome, this tracks seems to be a template in their live sets and is an absolutely monstrous song full of twist and turns and always goes down a treat, the first taste of what they have in store in the future comes in the guise of the asbsolute rifftastic Revenge For Sale this combines relentless speed with a technicality that is fitting to their wacky sound and time signatures,those familar with the band know full well there's always some sort of hilarity or comedic value,this is a common theme at any of their live shows and as always Jude comes up with some anecdote to get the crowd more invloved and part of the whole experience.

  

    Possibly one of my favourite newer songs is the stonkingly heavy Third Eye Locksmith the groove throughout this is possibly one of the heaviest i've heard in a long time,as can be expected with their trademark wackiness the song goes in all sort of directions leaving a feeling of disorientation with each passing second, yet another new song and like the previous two Every Cliche  will also be another one on the upcoming Perilous Compulsion,this track has the most insanely fast riffing that leads to all sort of mind bending time signatures,within it's base this is a definitive Thrash Metal anthem but you have a bit of Jazz Fusion incorporated into mix,the bassline in this is shockingly heavy and levels the senses like a wrecking ball, there's yet more getting the crowd invloved anecdotes before setting an unstoppable blaze with the rip roaring My Wretched Womb, the absolute madcap wackiness of this songs always puts a smile on my face,the combined elements of jazz fusion,black and death metal all layered on top of a technical thrash nuances is seriously mind blowing and is something that sets this band apart from your traditional Thrash or Death Metal acts.

 Acid Age have really stepped up their game in the last few years with one of the best albums within the Irish scene in the last 5 years,their live shows have become the stuff of legend,people literally don't know how to think or react to the levels of technical ability that they're witnessing,also the fact that they're going to be gracing their presence at Bloodstock Festival for the second year in a row by opening up the whole festival on the Sophie Lancaster Stage is no fluke, the new songs on this live offering are a taste of the lethal dose of  what to expect on their highly anticipated upcoming opus Perilous Compulsion, this release is an awful lot of fun to listen to from one of the most underrated bands out there today, do yourself a favour and go listen to this band.

RATING: 9.5/10

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Nømadus "Axis Primordial" Album Review

   Ever since i discovered Nømadus the progression and evolution of their sound has been absolutely mind blowing,there's a very noticable maturity musically and lyrically,the band have being creating massive waves throughout the local scene since their inception in 2016, this year alone the band reached the final of Metal 2 The Masses and despite getting the runners up spot the band would earn a reputation for their devastating live performances and unsuprisingly (to me) would eventually get the call to appear at the hugely popular Bloodstock Festival and by all accounts they once again delivered the goods ,furthermore all this is about to culminate in the release of their highly anticipated debut album Axis Primordial.

  As soon as you hear that opening riff on Last Words Of Wisdom you can feel the depth and scale of the journey you're about to be taken on the progessive element and groove within the song have a truly epic and passionate aura which sets the tone for what's to come on the rest of this adventure, Apex Breath opens with a gradual build then explodes with sheer ferocity before going into a melodic and progressive tangent which gives the atmosphere an really emotional feel,the lead guitar work on this is exemplary and very awe inspiring, the crushingly heavy and groove laden Fraction treats us to some absolutely heart wrenching lyrical and vocal delivery, again the progresive element throughout this just compounds the high level of musicianship been unleashed by the band.

  The brief instrumental that is Hadean creates an atmosphere that feels beautiful and melancholic and sets the tone brilliantly for The Ultimate Fuse to push the progressive element to another level while injecting vitriol fueled vocals,pounding drums and meticulously constructed rhytmn and lead guitar work, the standard just keeps getting better with each track on this and we get a full on barage of heaviness and speed with the sublime Paradox(Nerve Burn)  the drumming on this is pretty relenetless and sets a different tone to what proceeded it the aggression combined with the progressive riffing adds another layer to these passages and sets the album up for a explosive ending.

  The penultimate stages of the album go into a much higher level with the monumental heaviness of The Pounding Curse which reaches epic porportions of progression with mutiple and well blended time changes throughout before unleashing an absolutely heartfelt and majestic guitar lead,the groove laden element also hits an unstoppable level, which are all pushed by the passionate vocal delivery, the melodic tendencies get pushed up a notch with Scent Of Death add the crushing heaviness to this and you have a fantastic mix of atmosphere and aggression, closing track The Passage brings every element on display to the fore with calculating precision,it nows becomes noticable that this was a very taut and well exceuted meticulously constucted piece of work only adding to the obvious persausion that this band are going to getting better in the long run.

  

  Axis Primordial offers an absolutely fantastic portrayal of the struggles with mental health and the ultimate sacrifice involved to maintain your own sanity and how it affects the people around you,the progressive elements, atmosphere and every facet of this album are nothing short of sublime offering plenty of heartfelt passion,aggression and a level of musicianship second to none, Nømadus have lit a fire that is unextinguishable and that fire shall spread throughout the land with devastating consequences,furthermore this is a definite contender for album of the year.

      

SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2caGUbjIGxotyPDiY9tFVJ?si=HhebjWaASN6M7vIuoW04Hw

BANDCAMP: https://nomadus.bandcamp.com/

YOU TUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@nmadusofficial1563/featured

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/nomadusni

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/nomadusofficial/

Skypilot "Simple Beasts" Album Review

 

   A career spanning 20+ years without any line up changes is unusually rare,this is the case with Northern Ireland Stoner Rock Veterans Skypilot you'll always get quality output with these this is very much the case with album number three  Simple Beasts, following on from 2019's The Affront the band have really upped their game to another level on this release,it's very noticable that the members have developed a unique understanding of what they do well with perfect aplomb.

   Album opener Waffledust flows with a tasty grooves and intertwined with soaring and emotive vocals,there's a somewhat epic feel to the track, Octofuzz is a solid kick ass groove laden rocker with a slight homage to Northern Ireland Rock Legends Therapy? , title track Simple Beasts has a nice smooth atmosphere at the start were the vocals gradually build until outbursts of those tradermark soaring vocals hit with a passion and verve that are hard not to admire and enjoy, time for some big fat juicy riffs with the briiliant Klusterfun.

  Halfway through the album and we're treated to the excellent Jazz Club there's a slightly Alternative/Grunge element throughout this track giving more depth and feel to the album,the drumming on this adds a really dynamic rhytmn to proceedings, 8 In The Face is were you get to hear the full range of  what Vocalist Dave Hall is truly capable of ,this is likely the most emotional track on the album while still maintaining the trademark groove, Through The Window continues with more groovy intricacies,there's also a level of emotion present and once again the drumming really pushes and drives the power to another level, closing track  Knifed On The Beach is another lenghty track nearing the 8 minute mark there's a constant powerful groove continuously switching between mid paced riffage and powerful vocal deliveries a more then perfect way to end a really quality release.

  Skypilot are a band that know what they're good at and keep it simple yet full of dynamics ,passion and emotion,there is also a very minimal amount of singing throughout the album this just adds a relentless Riff Machine element to the bands sound,this element is further pushed by the ridiculously powerful drumming, if you're a fan of Therapy? and Clutch would highly recommend giving Skypilot a prolonged listen,you won't be dissapointed,if you want no filler all killer riffs for days in a Stoner Rock style look no further then Skypilot.

SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0pjRiiB7XzLNnbptsoa8Ru?si=c73rnxk-RSeH8T9vzB7EXw

BANDCAMP: https://skypilotofficial.bandcamp.com/

YOU TUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEZeir2cOKCtqJHex835ZdA

BIG CARTEL: https://skypilotmerch.bigcartel.com/?fbclid=IwAR3qU1712cpuAifQhOPAjNpTOLoCHg6IQ1aAtZNo79It3nPPvpSOp8XIRkE

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/SkypilotOfficial

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/skypilotofficial/