Monthly Archives: April 2024

The Sound of Origin – Album Review

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The Sound of Origin – Man in the Arena
Self-released
Release date: 27/10/2023
Running time: 44 minutes (approx.)
Review by: Alun Jones
9/10

Right, let’s get down to business and get this review out into the world asap. This album has already been released, and as it’s pretty bloody good, let’s shout it from the rooftops as loudly as possible.

The Sound of Origin are from Huddersfield, and this is their sophomore album. I’d previously encountered the band thanks to their cover of ‘Sick Things’ on the quite bloody brilliant “Killer: 50 Years Later” Alice Cooper tribute album, released by Pale Wizard Records. I was keen to hear a full album from these Yorkshire Doom merchants and I wasn’t disappointed.

‘This Ain’t Free’ bursts from the speakers with a booming, catchy riff and a mix of screamy versus melodic vocals. It grinds, it rolls, it grooves: and that’s a fairly good summary of the whole album. Doom metal with a welcome varying pace, it’s brutal but hypnotic. First single ‘Birthright’ is an infectious bruiser and one of many tracks that remind me of the glory days of titans like Alice in Chains. Relentless, but still melodic.

‘Crown of the Cynic’ gives The Sound of Origin the chance to flex their progressive, doomy muscle with its longer run time and thudding power. I air guitarred along to this unashamedly! There’s some mighty passion here, notably in the anguished vocals.

Kyle Thomas of Exhorder and Trouble fame crops on two tunes, ‘Frail Old Bones’ and the title track. On the former, the band rock out in a fuzzy style not too dissimilar to Thomas’ day job or even good ol’ COC. The latter finds the band in a slower, pummelling pace and KT pushes the dramatics to hair raising levels.

The Sounds of Origin can throw together elements of Stoner, Doom and Sludge with great style and enthusiasm. One welcome surprise though, was hearing final track ‘Lightbringer’ which reminded me of Angel Witch – head down, old school NWOBHM vibes all the way!

My preconceived ideas may always skew any observations I make on a band’s influences. The Sound of Origin’s “Man in the Arena” is a great album that is bigger than the sum of its parts, and builds on the classic inspirations. A solid effort, this album will no doubt be a contender to make my Top 10 of the year. Just a shame it’s not available on vinyl.

Check out The Sound of Origin on Facebook, Instagram, Spotify and Bandcamp.

This review is brought to you by Platinum Al in association with Ever Metal.

Singles Night at the Virtual Hot Tub #33

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Yeah, it’s that time again! Time for another Singles Night at my Virtual Hot Tub. These nights are always huge amounts of fun, with some rockin’, some ripe cheese and some surprises. Plus the occasional dud, just to keep me on my toes.

Recap time, for the newbies: Singles Night is all about digging into my collection of 7 inch singles, which have come into my possession from various sources. I play through the pile, one after the other, A side then B side. There’s all sorts of genres and styles in that pile and sometimes the unexpected CAN happen.

So grab the’sen a drink (I recommend the booze) and let’s see what we get in this pile of 45rpm glory…

  1. Royal Blood – “Limbo” / “All We Have is Now”
  2. The Cult – “Spiritwalker” / “A Flower in the Desert”
  3. Zodiac Mindwarp & The Love Reaction – “Planet Girl” / “Dog Face Driver”
  4. Slade – “Mama Weer All Crazee Now” / “Man Who Speaks Evil”
  5. Kevin The Gerbil – “Summer Holiday” / “Hawaiian Holiday”
  6. Boney M – “Belfast” / “Plantation Boy”
  7. Elton John – “Part Time Love” / “Cry at Night”
  8. Chas & Dave w/ Rockney – “Strummin'” / “I’m in Trouble”
  9. Showaddywaddy – “Rock’n’Roll Lady” / “I’m a Traveller”
  10. Suzi Quatro – “She’s in Love with You” / “Space Cadets”
  11. Chuck Berry – “My Ding-A-Ling” / “Let’s Boogie”
  12. Queen – “Hammer to Fall” / “Tear It Up”
  13. Def Leppard – “Animal” / “Tear it Down”
  14. Queen – “I’m Going Slightly Mad” / “The Hitman”
  15. Gary Moore – “Parisienne Walkways” / “Fanatical Fascists”
  16. Music from ‘The Sting’ ft. Marvin Hamlisch on piano – “The Entertainer” / “Solace”
  17. Showaddywaddy – “Heartbeat” / “Lucy Jane”
  18. David Soul – “Silver Lady” / “Rider”
  19. Frank Sinatra – “I Believe I’m Gonna Love You” / “The Only Couple on the Floor”
  20. Hot Chocolate – “You Sexy Thing” / “A Warm Smile”

Who wants to guess the lamest track of the bunch? If you guessed Kevin the Gerbil’s song, you’d be dead wrong! I’m a lifelong Roland Rat Fan and anything from his world is golden to me. In actual fact, there’s noting awfully cheesy on that last – certainly not Chas & Dave or Showaddywaddy, either.

Starting off bang up to date with a great single from Royal Blood, the rock genre delivered the goods with bangers from The Cult, Zodiac Mindwarp, Queen and Def Leppard. I’ve only just noticed that Queen wanted us to “Tear It Up” whilst the Lepps wanted us to “Tear it Down” – crazy!

Talking of crazy, I love Slade and that single was a gift from my pal Greeny at his wedding (it was number 1 when I was born). A happy addition to the collection.

Another fun night, it got a bit hazy with the beverages piling up. I’ll keep you posted with more of these soon.

Oh, and one more thing: RIP David Soul.

Wales Comic Con

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Wales Comic Con

Saturday 6th April

Glyndwr University, Wrexham

The last time I was at Wales Comic Con in Wrexham was back in August 2022, and a lot has changed since then. That last event I called “a triumphant return”, though it seems that everything moved back to the substitute venue in Telford. Now the convention appears to be back in North Wales for good, which I’m very happy about.

I mean, I don’t even know where Telford is. Somewhere near Birmingham, I think, so a couple of hours away. Whereas Wrexham is fifteen minutes away from home. It’s easier for me to get to Liverpool, so why would I go to Telford?!

Wales Comic Con was certainly more modest this year. I could tell right away, as I was able to park on the University grounds. The event was reduced to just one sports hall, rather than sprawling over the campus. There were less people milling about, which was actually a bonus, as in previous years the halls could get very crowded.

As always, there were plenty of vendors selling all manner of wierd and wonderful merchandise. My family and I had a right old time adding paraphernalia to our respective collections, and were well satisfied by the wonders on offer.

Our only issue with the event was that some of the celebrity guests had cancelled. In particular, Christopher Lambert of Highlander and Greystoke fame was a temptation we couldn’t resist. I’ve given up on the celeb autograph hunting game as an expensive disappointment, but I was ready to come out of retirement for Connor McLeod.

Unfortunately, M. Lambert had cancelled his appearance (possibly some time earlier), though there had been no warning from the event organisers. In fact, event staff on the day were somewhat vague as to whether he’d cancelled or not. Refunds will be provided, but the Highlanders absence was quite a blow. This was not a kind of magic.

The cosplayers saved the day, as always, with some great displays of imagination and creativity. There were fewer than previous years, obviously, but were still very impressive. Thanks to everyone who posed for photos!

A reminder re the photos on this blog: I am not a professional photographer. I have a nice (but old) camera, and I’ve recently been beset with technical difficulties. My trusty PC has died and I’m cobbling this together on an old laptop running Windows 7 and no photo editing software. So I hope the pics are OK – feel free to share etc as you please, cosplayers.

In conclusion, it was great to have Wales Comic Con back in it’s proper home, and despite a few issues, we all had a great day. Let’s hope the move back to Wrexham will herald a return to form and this convention can get back on its feet.

Deathchant – Album Review

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Deathchant – Thrones
RidingEasy Records
Release date: 13/10/2023
Running time: 37 minutes
Review by: Alun Jones
8.5/10

OK, so this one’s a grower. This is the third album by Deathchant, and it started as “good” but progressed to “great!” pretty smoothly after a couple of listens. There’s a lot going on with “Thrones”, and it wasn’t necessarily what I’d assumed beforehand. Yes, there’s heavy, sludgy grooves and psychedelic shine as would be expected, but it’s tempered with a classic rock sensibility that adds both power and gravitas.

This is personified most obviously in tracks such as ‘Mirror’ and ‘Chariot’, both of which come ferociously pounding out of the gates and boast a melodic lead guitar that reminded me (very pleasantly) of Thin Lizzy. There’s also plenty of crunch in those tracks, and the doomier sections of the title track, which builds brilliantly within its 7 minutes and 40 seconds of contrasting ooze and fast paced rock.

It was the track ‘Mother Mary’ that first grabbed my attention, though. This relaxed, more introspective track, tucked away at number 4 on the playlist, immediately convinced me that there was much more going on with Deathchant than I’d immediately suspected. Anyone with any class can tell you that Sabbath’s ‘Planet Caravan’ is a momentous, pivotal track on ”Paranoid”, and it’s the same here. ‘Mother Mary’ quietly entices the listener into a different, dream-like realm.

‘Hoax’ does the opposite, waking the listener up with a jolt – and the album closes with the heaviest song of the lot, ‘Tomb’, part doom march and part striding, muscular beast. The vocals can sometimes seem a little low in the mix, but overall the finished work has enough twists and turns to ensure we’re always engaged.

As an album, ‘Thrones’ teases at first and will full-on deliver if you give this album a little time. Crafting together gloomy proto metal and snazzy classic rock frills, Deathchant have created something original – it’s thrilling and cathartic at the same time.

Fins out more about Deathchant on their website, Bandcamp, Instagram and YouTube.

This review has been brought to you by Platinum Al in association with Ever Metal.