Platinum Al’s Top 10 Rock/Metal Albums of 2019

Posted on December 29, 2019 by platinumal

2019 has been an exceptional year for new music. It started off slowly, but by the end of the year I was struggling to keep up.

As per last year, Ever Metal asked me to produce a Top Ten of my favourite rock and metal albums of the year. So here we go:

Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard – Yn Ol I Annwn
Speedealer – Blue Days Black Nights
Obey – Swallow The Sun
Acid Reign – The Age of Entitlement
Sunn O))) – Life Metal
Earth – Full Upon Her Burning Lips
Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovel – Very Uncertain Times
Giant Dwarf – Giant Dwarf
Monolord – No Comfort
Crobot – Motherbrain

All fantastic records. Honorable mentions this time to Kadavar, Firebreather, L7, Wizard Rifle and Duel.

For more rock reviews, interviews and top tens, head over to Ever Metal.

Happy New Year everybody – wishing you a very healthy and prosperous 2020!

And thanks for vising Platinum Al’s Virtual Hot Tub! Make sure you come back next year, and if you’ve got any requests or suggestions, please get in touch.

The Crippens – Gig Review

Posted on May 31, 2018 by platinumal

The Crippens + Emissaries of Syn + Ballpein + Soulless System + Abominate + Spam Javelin

Saturday 19th May 2018

The Tivoli, Buckley

Six bands spanning a range of punk, hardcore, thrash and death metal – all for £7.50? You count Platinum Al in, guv’nor! Anticipating a night of good ol’ fashioned face melting tunes I was off to the Tivoli in Buckley for what seemed the first time in absolute yonks.

As I bounded into the Tiv and was drawn like a magnet straight to the bar, our first band of the evening – Spam Javelin – had started playing. They play fast, loud and fun hardcore punk, with a dose of well placed humour. I was very impressed by Spam Javelin’s set and need to check them out again. Recommended and a good start to the night!

Up next were Abominate, who’s music was essentially a revved up a chainsaw thrown into a pit of acid vipers. It’s full on death/thrash metal and by ‘eck, it is good. Intense and with a crafty helping of heavy, crunching sludge to boot – Abominate are a force of nature and very superb indeed.

Local band Soulless System were up next. Their sound is heavy, grinding and brutal thrash – though their set seems dogged by sound issues tonight. It perhaps doesn’t help that they don’t use a live drummer. It’s a shame as the band can obviously play and have some very tasty riffs. Get these boys a drummer and sort the sound and they’ll light it up.

Then what happened? Oh yeah, Ballpein played and smashed my face in. Repeatedly. Amazing band, full on hardcore punk with a metallic edge: if you want exciting, fast songs and brutal riffage this is the band for you. Ballpein are also amazingly good on stage, confident and having fun as they grind out their (not very) delicate ballads about serial killers.

Another North Wales crew, Emissaries of Syn, played next – attacking with their blend of crusty grinding noise. EOS are relentless and played a non stop set of mind warping punk thrash goodness. Great stuff and again, confidently played on the big Tiv stage. I’ll keep an eye open for more.

Finally, our revered headliners took to the stage and belted out some classic hardcore punk. Once they were Doctor and, now they’re just The Crippens, but this reformed bunch of maniacs disguised as musicians are back and slaying all before them. A great set, I have never before witnessed such a mesmerising gang of misfits in the wild. Perhaps a tear escaped as I reminisced about long ago 80’s skate rock. Whatever, I am SO glad I got to see this band live.

And that was it, another great night at the Tivoli. Well done to the bands who played; thanks to the Tiv for being brave enough to put on something a bit different; and full marks to Knoxy who organised this and helped raise some funds for mental health care in the process. A legend.

You can find all the bands above on Facebook, it’s easy.

The Tivoli website is here.

The Men That Will Not Be Blamed for Nothing – Gig Review

Posted on April 27, 2018 by platinumal

The Men That Will Not Be Blamed for Nothing + IDestroy

Tuesday 20th March 2018

Live Rooms, Chester

Please do accept my humble apologies for the delay, good sirs and ladies – one has had a considerable amount of business to attend to before this esteemed review of the above musical personages could be completed. I’ve been drinking gin, mostly.

Way back in March, I was indeed fortunate enough to witness a spectacle unlike any other in this historic town of Chester. The Live Rooms: performance theatre hall, proprietor unknown, was the establishment in question; wherein I did encounter a motley band of anarchists known as The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing.

And what an encounter I did experience, dear reader. Not since that time the circus arrived through town parading an ungodly assortment of freaks and oddities (a Mr Merrick included, no less) have I seen such debauchery.

First of all, the audience and I were entertained by three young ladies, though unlike any other maidens one could classify as such; the wonderful IDestroy. They were excellent purveyors of the art form known as “punk rock”, wielding mighty instruments that wrought tuneage both aggressive yet delightful.

I am sure that these estimable young ladies will not begrudge an old fool such as myself in proclaiming that they could not, or indeed should not, be considered “wall flowers”. IDestroy possessed astonishing songs that proved highly enjoyable; energetic and confidently performed.

A most invigorating start to the evening’s proceedings; one can only ponder: “Why is there not more of this sort of thing readily available”? Good show, indeed.

And so, our humble headline act claimed the theatre stage, and began a relentless musical bombardment that would be heard across the distant lands of the Empire’s colonies. The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing were indeed a sight and sound to behold.

Modern listeners may be forgiven for assuming they have witnessed a grown up edition of successful children’s entertainment Horrible Histories, yet with added ferocious guitars. Though the message within the music is not hidden, the glorious racket TMTWNBBFN portray is fine entertainment, even for those straight into the workhouse with no pretension of education.

The band had mischievousness in abundance; so whilst regaling the gathered revellers with mirth were able to determine their stage presence in a manner unlike any other I have before encountered.

This, dear reader, is what I believe has been classified as “steampunk” – and what a jolly riot it was. A cacophony of history, politics and humour accompanied by pulverising rock music – the perfect soundtrack to a evening on the gin in a Whitechapel boozer.

Afterward I departed for my carriage, grinning like a buffoon and clutching a new “record” to play on my phonograph.

With sincere thanks to all concerned, etc. etc.

Find out more about The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing here.

Find out more about IDestroy here.

The Live Rooms website is here.

Thanks to Lynda Rowlands for the brilliant live photos!

Gym Playlist #1

Posted on January 30, 2018 by platinumal

Have you been hitting the gym since the start of the year? Punishing yourself with cardio and weights as you fight to shed those extra pounds that attached themselves limpet-like over the festive season?

I’ve been slaughtering the gym since the start of the year, but then I always do. Not that it seems to do any good.

Whilst I’m there, pummelling away at the flab in a vain attempt to get in shape, I need some tunes to motivate me. The music in the gym is usually dancey disco stuff, which is fine if you’re dancing, but when I’m working out I need something a bit more aggressive.

Albums by various bands get a regular spin, but I also made this iPod playlist to help me focus like a Viking ransacking a monastery. Sometimes I’m so amped I feel like I could run through the wall, rather than just plodding on the treadmill.

You could do worse than to listen to this cacophony yourself.

Rocket From The Crypt – “Pushed”
Audioslave – “Cochise”
Big Chief – “Lion’s Mouth”
Metallica – “Die Die My Darling”
Foo Fighters – “The Pretender”
Rage Against the Machine – “Guerrilla Radio”
Anthrax – “Only”
Corrosion of Conformity – “Heaven’s Not Overflowing”
Pantera – “Fucking Hostile”
The Cult – “Rise”
Probot – “Shake Your Blood”
Suicidal Tendencies – “War Inside My Head”
Beastie Boys – “Sabotage”

There you go: 47 minutes of energetic, in your face music to psyche you up and get you in the mood to destroy. GO!!!

Bring Your Own Vinyl Night #13

Posted on October 6, 2017 by platinumal

Bring Your Own Vinyl Night

The Queen’s Head, Mold

Friday 29th September 2017

It’s Vinyl Night! Once again, Halcyon Dreams hosted the Bring Your Own Vinyl Night at the Queen’s Head in Mold, North Wales. An evening of beer, good company and – of course – spinning tunes!

You know the drill by now, so I’ll fast forward straight to my set.

There was a theme this time, which I stumbled on whilst playing these records over the previous months. I decided to play songs that weren’t performed in the English language, which produced a few interesting ideas. Here are the ones that made the cut:

Anhrefn – Molly Melys/Rhedeg I Paris

As I was in Mold, how could I not kick things off with something Welsh? Anhrefn were a superb Welsh language punk band that I saw several times back in the early 90s. I had a cassette of their album “Dragon’s Revenge” from those days, and successfully tracked down a vinyl copy not long ago. This is actually two tracks – sorry, a bit sneaky: “Molly Melys” is a traditional folk song evoking Celtic tradition. It’s a short, mellow introduction before it suddenly erupts into “Rhedeg I Paris”, a fast paced, energetic, melodic rocker in the vein of the Clash. Fantastic!

Cypress Hill – Loco En El Coco

This is, of course, the Cypress Hill track “Insane in the Brain” but performed with Spanish lyrics. Taken from “Los Grandes Exitos en Espanol” – their Greatest Hits in Spanish – and for some reason these versions just sound even funkier in Spanish. I love the whole album for that reason. Check it out, I recommend it.

Anhrefn

Cypress Hill

Faith No More – Evidence (Italian Version)

This isn’t the “funk metal” Faith No More you may know. Rather, this is a kind of smooth jazz-funk hybrid from the album “King for a Day… Fool for a Lifetime”, here performed in Italian. Apparently singer Mike Patton is multi lingual and there are versions of this track in several other languages too. It’s a great song, showing FNM stretching out and writing something across musical boundaries: and it really works.

Plastic Bertrand – Ca Plane Pour Moi

And finally, I went with this French language pop punk/faux punk/new wave confection. It’s a fun little treat that bounces along with a life of it’s own. Loads of fun to end the set.

That was it, set over. All songs in different languages. I could have chosen a few others (I have a record by Kvelertak in Norwegian) but I figured that would do.

A great night again – thanks all! Who knows if there’ll be a theme next time. I’m just looking forward to another Vinyl Night!

The Halcyon Dreams blogspot is here.

The Halcyon Dreams mixcloud page is here.

The Halcyon Dreams Facebook page is here.

The VOD music website is here.

Random Bike Ride Playlist 2017 #1

Posted on August 7, 2017 by platinumal

It’s been a long, long time since I posted a random bike ride playlist. My PC has had a few technical issues which impacted on my iTunes selection. Oh, the joys of digital music.

Anyway, I went on a big cycle ride and left the music choice up to the iPod. This is what I heard whilst on shuffle.

Amy Winehouse – “Tears Dry On Their Own”
Municipal Waste – “Lunch Hall Food Bawl”
Sex Pistols – “No One is Innocent”
Napalm Death – “Born on Your Knees”
Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash – “If I Were a Carpenter”
Nancy Sinatra featuring Lee Hazlewood – “Jackson”
PJ Harvey – “Good Fortune”
Killing Joke – “S.O.36”
Husker Du – “Wheels”
Manic Street Preachers – “Motorcycle Emptiness”
The Cult – “Wilderness Now”
John Lee Hooker – “I’m Gonna Kill That Woman”
Valient Thorr – “Problem Solver”
Rocket From The Crypt – “Ratsize”
Pearl Jam – “Footsteps”
SNFU – “Electric Chair”
Ramones – “It’s Gonna Be Alright”
Van Halen – “Where Have All the Good Times Gone?”
PJ Harvey – “Meet Ze Monster”
Social Distortion – “Writing on the Wall”
Solarized – “Chrome Shop”
Thin Lizzy – “Silver Dollar”
Beastie Boys – “Shadrach”
Johnny Cash – “Daddy Sang Bass”
Pat Benatar – “Hit Me With Your Best Shot”
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts – “Love Me Two Times”
Anthrax – “I’m The Man”
The Answer – “Evil Man”
Judas Priest – “Here Come the Tears”
Fu Manchu – “Missing Link”
Jello Biafra & The Melvins – “Yuppie Cadillac”
Clutch – “Ship of Gold”
Jimmy Eat World – “Hear You Me”
Stevie Wonder – “For Once in My Life”
The Cult – “Full Tilt”
The Byrds – “The Times They Are a-Changin'”
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts – “Love is Pain”
Weezer – “Pork and Beans”
Manic Street Preachers – “Suicide is Painless”
Bad Company – “Seagull”
The Clash – “Jimmy Jazz”
Reverend Horton Heat – “In Your Wildest Dreams”
The Monkees – “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone”
The Who – “See Me Feel Me”

Wow, I didn’t even know I had that Pat Benatar track!

There you have it – a mix of genres making a nice, eclectic mix of music. Till next time…

St. Andrew’s Day Playlist

Posted on November 30, 2016 by platinumal

In the past I’ve posted playlists for St. David’s Day (obviously, home nation and that) and St. Patrick’s Day. About time I posted something for my Celtic brothers up north.

The following list is not meant to be exhaustive, rather it showcases a number of bands/musicians who hail from Scotland. In some cases, there’s just one band member who fits the bill – for example, Garbage (supervixen vocalist Shirley Manson being Scottish). But there’s some connection to Scotland that means the artist is on the playlist.

Nazareth – “Hair of the Dog”
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band – “Faith Healer”
The Average White Band – “Pick Up The Pieces”
The Skids – “Into The Valley”
The Jesus and Mary Chain – “April Skies”
Primal Scream – “Jailbird”
Alestorm – “Flower of Scotland”
The Exploited – “Attack”
The Proclaimers – “Born Innocent”
Big Country – “In a Big Country”
The Vaselines – “Molly’s Lips”
Garbage – “Only Happy When it Rains”
Eurythmics – “Here Comes The Rain Again”
Mogwai – “San Pedro”
The Rezillos – “Somebody’s Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight”
Simple Minds – “Promised You a Miracle”
Lulu – “The Man with the Golden Gun”
Stiltskin – “Inside”
Stealers Wheel – “Stuck in the Middle with You”
Ultravox – “Vienna”
Sean Connery – “in My Life”

There are a few other bands in my collection that probably could have made the list, like The Sweet for example (singer Brian Connolly was born in Glasgow). But you won’t find any Wet Wet Wet, Travis or Texas anywhere near my record collection.

Yes, you did read number 21 correctly.

Should Rod Stewart be on the list…?

Vinylicious – Chester Vinyl Night #2

Posted on November 25, 2016 by platinumal

Vinylicious

The Lock Keeper, Chester

Friday 18th November 2016

And lo, for the second Vinyl Night in Chester, a name was bestowed upon the event: Vinylicious.

The Lock Keeper pub graciously invited the gang back for a second round of Bring Your Own Vinyl Night, held again in their upstairs function room. The concept remained unchanged: bring along some records; play a 15 minute set; have a few drinkies. As always, it was VINYL ONLY.

This time my set ran like this:

Dead Kennedys – Holiday in Cambodia

Just like last time, I messed up my first song. I’d intended to play “California Uber Alles”, but neglected to check the running order on the sleeve. Preferring to go from memory, I cued up “Holiday in Cambodia” by mistake. As previous, this was no major catastrophe – both songs are brilliant (I just felt my original choice fitted better with my loose theme). This fantastic piece of US punk can be found on the essential “Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables” album, and if you don’t own it – you should.

Rage Against the Machine – Know Your Enemy

It wasn’t easy to pick just one song from the classic first RATM album. I chose “Know Your Enemy” as it both fit the theme and rocks like a bastard. I love all of the Rage Against the Machine albums, but the first one is legendary. This song has a full fat riff; pounding rhythm; and aggressive lyrics. Perfect. Some mad guitar effects from Tom Morello too.

Public Enemy – Prophets of Rage

A nice link from RATM to PE: Prophets of Rage is the name of the new group featuring members of both (along with B-Real from Cypress Hill). Plus this track, taken from the total master piece that is “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back”, is a total monster. Chuck D rhymes with cool style over a hard beat, creating a song that is infectious and immediate. Indispensable hip hop.

Corrosion of Conformity – Shallow Ground/Vote with a Bullet

Yes, I was a bit cheeky and played two songs! I figured, what the hell. Both tracks are from the fantastic “Blind” album, that announced the steady rise of COC to the top of the 90’s metal scene. “Shallow Ground” is a really nice mellow number, quite uncharacteristic and providing contrast to the other album tracks. It lulls the listener into a false sense of security… The next track, “Vote with a Bullet”, is one of the greatest heavy riffs of all time. It’s incessant and pounding, sounding like Thor’s hammer smashing a mountain to pieces. Absolutely love it!

Did you guess the “loose” theme? Well, with the shock result of the US presidential election, I couldn’t resist some aggressive politically driven tunes. Nothing direct, but still to the point.

How did the night go? Well there were plenty of punters who turned up to spin their records, about the same as last time. However overall numbers were down, a huge disappointment considering the extensive promotion that was utilised.

The guys will regroup in the New Year and look at how to build this event bigger and better. Vinylicious was still a great night though, some classic tunes were played. Till next time, vinyl lovers!

The Chester Vinyl Night has a Facebook page, click here.

You can also find The Lock Keeper on Facebook here.

Bring Your Own Vinyl Night #9

Posted on November 14, 2016 by platinumal

Bring Your Own Vinyl Night

Queen’s Head, Mold

Friday 4th November 2016

It was great to be back in Mold for another Bring Your Own Vinyl Night. It’s been a long time since the last evening in the Queen’s Head, with summer holidays and whatnot getting in the way – so it was good to see the familiar faces and crank out some tunes.

The usual rules applied: each person got 15 minutes on the decks to play whatever they liked, genre free – vinyl only!

Adam went for it first, here’s an over view of his varied and very enjoyable set:

Voice of the Beehive – I Think I Love You
Grandmaster Flash – Whitelines
Queen – One Vision
Willie Nelson – On the Road Again

I am so jealous of that Willie Nelson single!

Halloween had just been and gone a few days earlier, so I was still in a spooky mood. This time, my set went like this:

Monster Magnet – See You in Hell

One of the many stand out tracks from Monster Magnet’s classic “Powertrip” album, this is acid drenched stoner rock at its finest. The retro sound is augmented by a churning organ that whirls around as the bass chugs. Psychedelic wonderment from Monster Magnet that sounds like a forgotten late 60’s gem. I’ve owned the “Powertrip” album for many years on CD, but recently acquired the new vinyl re-issue. Money well spent. A truly great, under appreciated band.

Donovan – Season of the Witch

This fantastic song was featured in the Tim Burton movie Dark Shadows, a film I’m a huge fan of (though it appears not many other people are). Whilst the previous song sounds like something from the sixties, this one is. It’s a mellow groover that manages to wander out of hippy territory and sound somewhat sinister… Love this track, I felt it was a suitable jam for a Halloween inspired set.

The Damned – Plan 9 Channel 7

Ah, the Damned! Where would a Halloween themed set be, without a tune from these punk rock proto-Goths? One of my favourite bands, one of my favourite songs – from the indispensable “Machine Gun Etiquette” album. Every home should own this! The song is, of course, written about a viewing of Ed Wood‘s infamous “worst film ever made” – Plan 9 From Outer Space – on American horror channel 9. Vampira, James Dean, Hollywood after dark – it’s all here in a perfect slice of rampaging pop punk.

The Misfits – American Nightmare

Finally, more horror punk from the masters themselves – the one and only Misfits. On this track, Danzig and pals abandon the usual Ramones inspired turbo punk and offer up a ridiculously catchy rockabilly number. Complete with handclaps and Danzig crooning more like Elvis than ever, this track sounds like a lost piece of 50’s nostalgia. Classic stuff.

There we have it ladies and gentlemen – another great night in Mold! Thanks to the guys from Halcyon Dreams and VOD music – and Dylan who helped out with an extra turntable! More soon…

The Halcyon Dreams blogspot is here.

The Halcyon Dreams mixcloud page is here.

The Halcyon Dreams Facebook page is here.

The VOD music website is here.

Chester Vinyl Night

Posted on October 19, 2016 by platinumal

Chester Vinyl Night

The Lock Keeper, Chester

Friday 7th October 2016

So the two Bens – Ben the Swede and Coben – decided to stage a vinyl night in Chester. Not to detract from the great night in Mold – but living in Chester they were keen to see how it would go. There had been plenty of feedback from Chester locals who would love to try out the concept and play a few of their own records whilst having a few beers.

After some research, the Lock Keeper pub near the canal, just down Frodsham Street, was selected as the ideal venue. The upstairs function room was ideal, with loads of space and a DJ area at the back. The pub itself offered some fine beers at reasonable prices, so it was all set.

The idea was the same, borrowed from Halcyon Dreams and VOD: bring along a few records, have a 15 minute set to play whatever you like – vinyl only.

I volunteered to do my set early on, whilst waiting for the punters to arrive. Thus following on from The Swede’s opening repertoire, it was my turn. Playing to an audience of six people.

Creedence Clearwater Revival – Bad Moon Rising

I’d planned on playing the superior, and slightly less well known, “Born on the Bayou” by CCR as my first song. However I mixed up Side 1 track 2 with side 2 track 2, and we got this evergreen classic instead. No major mishap, “Bad Moon Rising” is a fantastic song anyway. Always reminds me of “An American Werewolf in London”.

The Stupids – Mega Zombie

This is from one of the first records I ever owned, the “Frankfurter – Eat EP” by UK hardcore punk band The Stupids. They were at the forefront of late eighties skate rock, and sound tracked many a days skateboarding in my youth. This sublime song is just over one minute in length, with the words “Mega Zombie” repeated 27 times. Very fast and a true challenge to prepare the next track in time!

The Ohio Players – Fopp

Luckily I just made it, and dropped the needle on this magnificent chunk of seventies funk. The song first came to my attention via the Soundgarden cover, eventually I picked up a CD “Best of” compilation (also featuring “Love Rollercoaster”, as covered by RHCP). Not long ago I added the Ohio Players album “Honey” to my vinyl collection – which both songs are taken from. This is a solid piece of funk rock with a cool groove.

Tone Loc – Loc’ed After Dark

I wanted to play some tunes to show case some variety, and felt that a bit of old school hip hop would be nice. “Loc’ed After Dark” is the B-side from the “Wild Thing” 12 inch single. I chose it as again, there’s a nice funky beat. Got me strutting my stuff in the DJ booth, anyway.

So alas, my set was over – with still only six people in the audience. Never mind, the evening picked up and soon the function room was full. I even got to play a couple of tracks again at the end of the night to a fuller crowd!

The Chester Vinyl Night was a great success, with a room full of people enjoying the music and drinks. There was a picture quiz which proved popular, and a wide range of tunes spanning several genres – from dub to hip hop to classic rock. There was even a Phil Collins tribute section…

There will be more Vinyl Nights at the Lock Keeper soon. Well done to Ben and Ben for organising the evening – looking forward to more of the same soon!