Sardinian stoner rockers Loose Sutures give us a guide to the sado world on their third album, Sado Sex For Dummies.
In only four years, Loose Sutures have cracked out three albums. That’s pretty ambitious for stoner rock. Downshifting to a trio, the band is now Antonio Pilo (guitar, vocals), Marcello Meridda (bass, percussion), and Marco Angius (drums, vocals).
“Highway Shooter” is a rambler, and a great way to start off the eight-track set. I feel like I am driving down the road just listening to this. The vocals have a pronounced echo to them, and the guitars are fuzzy and firing. And there is a tasty lead break toward the end. What more could you want? “Another Hell” is a little more stood-up and direct. It has an excellent reflective solo in the second half. “Sadism and Gallows” has a haunted feel to it, while “White Line” starts out at speed (which I expected, given the title), then turns slow and trippy, which I did not see coming. A wild rage does come back, and it kicks.
“Kinky Katy” is on the edge of side two, and it is unsettling. The sideways and sawing riffs make you think something bad is about to go down – or maybe it already did. “He’s My Friend” has a very punk execution that is a fantastic diversion this late in the set. “Cowbell From Hell” is a short bit that goes Amboy Dukes on us, which counts as another surprise. The end is “Black Star Flashing,” a song that is very involved with itself. It is the kind of thing I would nod my head to, and along with, at the conclusion of a sixpack. Great stuff. If you like stoner rock at all then you will get into this. Recommended.
Sado Sex For Dummies is out on Friday, May 26th through Electric Valley Records on digital and vinyl. Look to the links below for the available varieties.
Phantomime is an EP of cover songs from pop metal master of celebrity Ghost.
Tobias Forge is the frontman and only permanent member of Ghost. Formed in Sweden in 2006 while Forge was in his twenties, the band has found success and achieved an incredibly high level of fame. The music varies from hard rock / soft metal, especially in the earlier days, to pop-oriented rock that loads in catchy and memorable choruses and hooks – thereby explaining the success. The band is a sight to see live as they always proffer a grand performance that is gratefully received.
Phantomime is an EP of five covers: “See No Evil” by Television, “Jesus He Knows Me” by Genesis, “Hanging Around” by The Stranglers, “Phantom Of The Opera” by Iron Maiden, and “We Don’t Need Another Hero” by Tina Turner. That is a fascinating choice of seemingly unrelated tunes. We’re going to have to track-by-track this one.
“See No Evil” by Television from The Blow-Up (1982). You have instant recall when the track begins if you are old enough to have heard it when it first came out. Television seems like a deep pull, but they did have their moment in the sun, and you can relive it here. Very nicely done with clever fills and great guitar work.
“Jesus He Knows Me” by Genesis from We Can’t Dance (1991). This version is quite urgent and choppy compared to the original. Frantic, you might even call it. Well, it might only be slightly scaled up, truly – it is a quick rush that gives you a flush, both catchy and upsetting. And still relevant.
“Hanging Around” by The Stranglers from Rattus Norvegicus (1977). I am a HUGE fan of Stranglers music from this era, so I am glad to see any attention drawn toward this set of theirs. And I think Rattus Norvegicus is particularly overlooked in the US. The version here is wonderful, preserving the spirit of the keys and adding Forge’s polished vocals. Great guitar, again.
“Phantom Of The Opera” by Iron Maiden from Iron Maiden (1980). This song fucking slaps. They nailed a replicant of the opening riffs and the charging features of the song. Then, using Ghost-like fills, they metaled every aspect. Forge sounds great on this – of course quite different from the original but this really works. The record is worth buying for this track alone.
“We Don’t Need Another Hero” by Tina Turner from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome soundtrack (1985). I never liked this song very much, but I get why it fits in this EP. If I am in the mood to hear Tina Turner, I wouldn’t choose this song first. Comparing the original to the new version, I am leaning toward Ghost. It is also fairly easy to visualize a Ghost set on stage that is reminiscent of the sets and costumes from the film.
Ghost has done this before – both If You Have Ghost (2013) and Popestar (2016) were EPs where four out of five of the songs were covers. I favor this new one because of the Stranglers and Iron Maiden tunes. Ghost fans are sure to like it. Recommended.
Phantomime is out now and available everywhere in the wide world. Check out Ghost’s official site or Bandcamp for a quick snap at the links below.
The mighty Clutch brought their No Stars Above Tour to Cincinnati on Friday, along with Amigo The Devil and Nate Bergman.
Clutch
I am not sure just how many tour legs Clutch is doing this year. There are at least four, but let’s think about the nearest US dates. The current one is with Amigo The Devil and Nate Bergman, then in a few months (after returning from Europe) they are out again, with Red Fang and Dinosaur Jr. Now, if we pause to think about this for a minute, we will realize those sets are fascinating combos. In this first case, the supporting bands do not seem to sound much like Clutch, but the three work spectacularly well together. In the second case, the same, except on a different plank of the spectrum. Incredible. What we do know is that Clutch always puts on a great show and everything else is icing on the cake.
Nate Bergman opened the night at the Andrew J. Brady ICON Music Center on the river in Cincinnati, Ohio. I have raved about this venue before so I will mostly spare you the accolades this time around. I will say that the place is new, less than two years old, and it has a huge stage. The first two bands set up across the entire width of the stage, making them very spread out, much more than is usually the case. That’s not a big deal … it is just different.
Nate Bergman
The show began when Nate Bergman walked out on stage by himself and stood beneath a single white spotlight. He sang the first song solo, unaccompanied, and the crowd was silent, mesmerized by his soulful, haunting voice. The full band joined him after that, and they played through a set of rock-tinged folk/country songs that ran the range of emotions. This was my first time seeing him live, but it won’t be my last.
Nate Bergman
Amigo The Devil is the stage name of musician Danny Kiranos. His music is frequently described as murder folk, which I have come to understand as folk-like songs about unsavory subjects. I’ve seen Amigo The Devil at least a dozen times, always at huge music festivals where he came on stage by himself with only his banjo and guitar. He is an affable fellow, and he always worked the crowd for a while and flashed his disarming smile then sang a song about how he hoped the husband of a lady friend of his would die. I have heard everything he has ever recorded, and I never miss a chance to see him live.
Amigo The Devil
This time, it was different because Danny brought a full band – something I have never seen before. His most recent album, Born Against, had a bigger production than some of his previous work and maybe he thought he would give that a try to tour, too. It worked out spectacularly. I recognized every song, but this time around they sounded a little different. It is still Amigo The Devil, and the songs are still on subjects most won’t sing about, delivered with an absolutely heartbreaking sincerity. It was a wonderful set, and it was also nice to see him perform outside of the festival setting. Now, if I can just catch him in a small club sometime…
Amigo The Devil
Amigo The Devil
The band I have seen most live is Clutch. I am a metal head from way back, and I have been going to metal shows for decades. My usual haunts are heavy / death / doom / black / thrash metal, and I do mostly see those sorts of bands. But Clutch is my favorite band. I would watch a live Clutch show every week if I could. I have heard all of their music, too, and I know most of the lyrics from the repeated plays. There is a Clutch song for every mood, every time of day, and they never let you down.
Clutch, Tim Sult
Another fascinating thing about the band is their set list changes for every show. It is on a sort of rotation, but it is entirely unpredictable. They post a photo of the set list from every show on their Instagram and Facebook accounts, so go and take a look at them sometime. It is incredible the amount of music that must be in their heads all the time to be able to pull up songs they haven’t played for a while and not miss a beat.
Clutch, Dan Maines
There aren’t any Clutch songs I don’t like, but of course I have my favorites. They played new songs from their latest album, Sunrise On Slaughter Beach, and they also played tunes that reached all the way back to the beginning. With so much music to choose from, there is no going wrong. At the show, you never know what’s coming next – it could be “Hot Bottom Feeder,” a great song I haven’t heard them play live before, or “Worm Drink” from the certified classic album Blast Tyrant. Apart from the incredible music and the dynamic performance, the thrill of not knowing what comes next is a big part of the experience.
Clutch
The band – Neil Fallon, Dan Maines, Jean-Paul Gaster, and Tim Sult – sounded incredible, just as everyone thought they would. Fallon had a big stage to roam on, and he made use of it in his usual fashion, moving back and forth, front and back, and engaging the audience. Another amazing show. The No Stars Above Tour continues through mid-May before taking a short break. I have included the tour posters for the four announced legs below so you can check the dates. See them every chance you get. I know I will. And if you would like to see more photos of the performances, there are links to photo galleries for all three bands below, too.
Skeletons is the new album from Michigan rockers Pop Evil.
Pop Evil began in North Muskegon, Michigan more than twenty years ago. After years of hard work, they cracked into a stream of rising popularity kindled by their album Lipstick on the Mirror (2008). Five more records followed, and with touring and regular appearances at major festivals, their fanbase swelled rapidly. I first became impressed by the band seeing them live – they always put on a great show, and they were certainly a highlight of last year’s Blue Ridge Rock Festival. They play an approachable style of hard rock that has an irresistible appeal to a wide range of music fans. The band is Leigh Kakaty (vocals), Dave Grahs (guitar), Nick Fuelling (guitar), and Hayley Cramer (drums).
There are ten tracks on the new record, plus the short intro mood-setter bit, “Arrival,” which precedes the lead track, “Paranoid (Crash & Burn).” The opener lands with a hard pound. Catchy and interesting, it engages and gets you moving. The chorus is melodic and singable, and the lyrics are relatable. This one will be an anthem at live shows. Harsh crosscuts scintillate between the smoother moments, creating a perfect storm. This is a great opening song. “Circles” is next, an up tempo roller that is linear and on target. The structure is similar to the first song, but the composition operates in a narrower range, focusing on momentum. “Eye of The Storm” is a sonic stomper with extended levelling passages, and “Sound of Glory” is a short talkative piece that sets up the title track to close side one. “Skeletons” is more like a ballad than any of the others so far, but it has its hard edges, too.
Side two continues in the hard rocking framework set up on the first half. The songs feature guest appearances by members of Devour the Day, Zillion, and most notably for me, Ryan Kirby from Fit For A King who contributes to “Dead Reckoning,” one of my favorite songs on the album. The music on this record has a continual surging power and an indefatigable resilience that fans will love. Recommended.
Skeletons is out now through MNRK Heavy records, and is available everywhere, including through the links below.
Steve Vai’s collaboration with Johnny “Gash” Sombretto finally gets a wide release thirty years after it was recorded.
There are stories about lost albums, entire records that were recorded but never released. The reasons are sometimes contractual or esoteric. In the case of the Johnny “Gash” Sombretto and Steve Vai record, the reason it never came is tragic. Vai, an avid motorcycle enthusiast, met Sombretto through a friend around 1990. Steve put together a collection of songs over the years inspired by his love of motorcycles, and he convinced Sombretto to sing on the album. Sadly, before the music could be released, Johnny died in a motorcycle accident. Steve Vai put the recordings aside in 1998, but has now decided to let the world hear the music as a tribute to a singer most people never knew about.
“In The Wind” opens the door on goodtime hard-edged nineties rock and roll. Sombretto does sound the part, and I have no doubt that if events had taken a different turn and luck had been on his side, he could have had a long career as a front man. It is a hearty rock rollick that is hard to resist. “Busted” has a slightly heavier edge to it, a grittier feel. The melodic moments come fast and furious on this one, too. Vai’s lead breaks are short and sweet on these two, but the guitar picks up some with “Let’s Jam.” Not very much, though – the center of attention on this record is clearly Gash. “Woman Fever” closes side one on a bluesy note.
The flip side continues to walk the ground established by the first four songs. The record is fairly short, and the songs tend to cruise in a radio lane. “Danger Zone” is the pushiest piece, and “Flowers Of Fire” is the most contemplative, essentially a ballad. The album is worth hearing for its place in rock and roll history, and to listen to a singer who could have been big. Steve Vai’s presence is prominent throughout as well, of course, shining through on the compositional front and the always-impeccable guitar contributions. Recommended.
CD and digital versions are available on January 27th with vinyl to follow in February through Mascot Label Group’s Favored Nations Entertainment.
DoctoR DooM, the four-piece stoner rock act from France, helps you start your year off right with A Shadow Called Danger.
I first came across DoctoR DooM when I heard their album This Seed We Have Sown (2015) that I picked up during a Ripple Music sale. The vibrations I experienced that day live in my synapses still. I have been waiting ever since for another infusion – at last it has arrived. The band is Jean-Laurent Pasquet (vocals, guitar) Bertrand Legrand (guitar), Michel Marcq (drums), and Sébastien Boutin Blomfield (bass).
The new album is heavier than the last, doomier in parts. The first track, “Comeback to Yourself,” starts off that way, heavy, but shifts into a lighter frame after a number of bars and starts to cook. Immediately, you start to feel 1974 rising from its resting place and sweeping the room with renewed vigor. Light yet meaningful, delivered with purpose. The perfect jump. “What Are They Trying to Sell” follows with a different tone. I don’t know what they had in mind when they wrote it, but to me it makes me see the beach from the perspective of the PCH. But then it slows and becomes dramatic, telling a different story. It is a journey. Nice organ work on this track by Jim Blomfield, too.
“Ride On” is a quiet piece, filled with eager solitude that builds to eventual explosion. The switch (or you might call it a progression) happens in other songs, too, like “Hollow.” Here though it is more gradual and has the biggest tidal change. These songs, the whole album, are lookbacks in a way, sure, but they are reinventions more than replications. In that sense the music is filled with surprises even as it brings on nostalgia. The beautiful and sad “Sarabande” closes the show and leaves you wanting more.
If the new album is any measure, the second decade of DoctoR DooM will be even better than the first. Recommended.
A Shadow Called Danger is out now through Ripple Music. Explore the possibilities at the links below.
Warsaw stoner rock band Müut lets loose on their debut long-player, Made Me Do It.
Müut began just a couple of years ago. Initially inspired and informed by punk and hardcore music, the compositional direction of the band eventually shifted toward a hard rock version of stoner rock, with big nods to classic forms. The result is a cracking set of rock and roll with exotic undertones. Müut is Vlad Guzmán (vocals, bass), Mateusz Pacholczyk (drums), Krzysztof Geryk (guitar), and Szymon Kaim (guitar).
“Another Bill To Pay” is a hard-charging rock song, up-tempo and loaded with catchiness. The lead break is designed for broad appeal as well, not taking up too much space. A very good, rollicking beginning. “Graso” seeks to keep the energy high, but in a very different way. The opening lyrics have a stabbing quality to them, like an attack on the listener. They mellow as the song continues, but you never forget the opening peal, which is itself repeated for good measure. “Fight The Müutonegro” offers a nostalgic appeal to old school tropes, and so does “Braindead,” in many ways, although different ones. These familiar bits a remolded and integrated into modern settings, giving them new life. Side one ends on “Enter Thy Name,” a pensive, reflective number that is an effective cooldown.
The back half continues with the premise establish by the early songs. I especially like “Last Tattoo,” which has a dominating presence and is a genuine battering. The tone changes midway, and the song transforms somewhat, making it all the more appealing. The final track stands out as well, “Salvation Fix.” It is a gruff way to exit, and I like it a lot. This record is good hard-edged rock and roll. Give it a spin.
Made Me Do It is out now. In the US, Bandcamp is a good place to pick it up.
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