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N.E.W. Metal Productions Christmosh – Gig Review

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N.E.W. Metal Productions Christmosh

6th December 2025

Mcleans Pub, Pentre, Deeside North Wales

Have you been good all year? Have you eaten your greens, minded your Ps and Qs, and got your Ever Metal reviews in on time? If yes, then good news: the final North East Wales Metal Productions shindig of the year is here – the annual Christmosh party! A fabulous six bands appearing at Mcleans Pub in Pentre, Deeside, covering a wide variety of Rock/Metal music and all gathered together to celebrate a festive end to 2025.

Warming us up like a welcome open log fire was Victim of Damp, alias N.E.W. Metal Prods ally Frank Williams, here given a seasonal makeover as Christmas of Damp. With Christmas jumper and trusty guitar in hand, COD gave us some choice cuts including new additions such as Therapy?’s ‘Screamager’ along with free shots and a melancholy Pink Floyd cover. The promise of Crimbo tunes wasn’t forgotten, with a rousing version of Slade’s evergreen ‘Merry Xmas Everybody’ – event guru Fozzy (in Santa suit) on vocals.

Victim of Damp

‘Agro’ by The Raging Mabels is one of the Greatest Songs Ever. Their entire set of high speed, thundering yet melodic Zeke-like Punk Rock was an absolute, total joy from start to finish. I cannot praise this band highly enough, even though they forgot to bring merch (again). There should be a new Raging Mabels album out in the New Year, so be prepared for a cultural explosion of Nirvana ‘Nevermind’ levels. And if that doesn’t happen, every single one of you can suck balls.

The Raging Mabels

Sadly, last time SOOTO (Something Out Of The Ordinary) played Pentre a couple of months back, I failed to write up my review. That cruel oversight is about to be reversed. SOOTO deal in classic Hard Rock/Metal, and with the female vocals they’re like Stevie Nicks singing for Thin Lizzy. Professional but not superficial, SOOTO have a raw energy and love of the riff, combined with dynamic songcraft and expert playing. A fantastic set that was over too soon.

SOOTO

The only band I’d never seen before, Heroes of the Gauntlet were a pleasant surprise indeed. Billed as “Symphonic Power Metal”, I was concerned these guys would be a full-on cheese fest. They have two singers (male and female) with fantastic voices, and a microphone that turns into a sword. Add in some serious Power Metal riffage and super confident stage personas, and you’ve actually got one hell of a show. Heroes of the Gauntlet were gloriously over the top and it’s impossible not to love them! All they need is a live drummer and these Heroes cannot fail.

Heroes of the Gauntlet

Bad Earth we have met before, and yes – hands up, I am a bit of a fanboy. But when a band deliver this much power and presence on stage, how can anyone not be? A “Rockcore” trio from the North Wales area, what that genre entails is dishing out filthy Punk/Metal riffs and pummelling, killer rhythms that you can feel as well as hear. They get better and bolder all the time – though the silly buggers are very humble about it – and this night was no exception. New recorded material is due soon, so beware: Bad Earth have never shied away from delivering crushing, groove infused Rock and I don’t think they will.

Bad Earth

To say I was excited about the return of the fuzzed out, sludgy sound of Master Charger to Mcleans would be an understatement. Their album “Posthumous Resurrection” was one of the never ending delights of 2025, plus last time they were here, these boys absolutely killed it. Make no mistake, Master Charger can and will deal out a mighty, megalithic slab of Stoner/Doom that will make the earth tremble. And that’s exactly what they did, with every asteroid-heavy riff and mammoth beat ploughing through the audience mercilessly. Another off-the-charts performance and a great finale.

Master Charger

What a night. Quite possibly the strongest line-up at Mcleans that I’ve ever witnessed, featuring many of my personal favourites.

But now it’s down to you. Christmosh was the last North East Wales Metal Productions event of the year, till the return of Pentre Fest in February 2026. These events, these bands need your support. If you’ve ever considered a trip to Mcleans, then you need to be there on 27th and 28th Feb 26. No excuses!

Singles Night at the Virtual Hot Tub #39

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Are you ready for more rock’n’roll?  And very possibly lots of other genres of music too?  In that case, pilgrim, you’ve come to the right place.  You know it – it’s another Singles Night here at Platinum Al’s Virtual Hot Tub!

Now, for any of you brave readers who are muddled and befuddled by what a Singles Night involves, here’s the lowdown.  You see, I  possess a huge collection of 7 inch vinyl singles, none of which have been listened to (yet).  So the concept is to spend an evening playing these records – both sides – and have a grand old time doing so.

During the course of the night, we’ll hear a variety of music, old and new, with plenty of surprises.

That’s not so scary, is it?

Grab yourself a drink and let’s check out the latest playlist:

  1. Cheap Trick – “The Flame” / “Through the Night”
  2. Stiff Little Fingers – “Silver Lining” / “Safe as Houses”
  3. Belinda Carlisle – “Live Your Life Be Free” / “Loneliness Game”
  4. Salt-N-Pepa- “Let’s Talk About Sex (True Confessions Edit)” / “Let’s Talk About Sex (Super Crispy Mix)”
  5. Herb Alpert’s Tijuana Brass – “Up Cherry Street” / “Numero Cinco” / “Mexican Shuffle” / “The Girl From Ipanema”
  6. Magazine – “About the Weather” / “In The Dark”
  7. The Lotus Eaters – “The First Picture of You” / “The Lotus Eaters”
  8. James Brown – “Rapp Payback (Where iz Moses?)” / “Rapp Payback Pt. II (Where iz Moses?)”
  9. Huey Lewis & The News – “World to Me” / “It’s All Right (Live)”
  10. Dannii Minogue – “This is it” / “It’s Time to Move On”
  11. Queen – “Bohemian Rhapsody” / “These Are the Days of Our Lives”
  12. The Kinks – “Tired of Waiting for You” / “Come on Now”
  13. Big Country – “Wonderland” / “Giant”
  14. Timbuk 3 – “The Future’s So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades” / “I’ll Do Alright”
  15. Derek & The Dominos – “Layla” / Eric Clapton – “Wonderful Tonight”
  16. Jesus Jones – “Right Here, Right Now” / “Move Me” / “Damn Good at This”
  17. Big Country- “In a Big Country” / “All Of Us”
  18. Electric Light Orchestra – “Don’t Bring Me Down” / “Dreaming of 4000”
  19. The Belle Stars – “The Clapping Song” / “Blame”
  20. S’Express – “Hey Music Lover” / “Have a Nice Day”

Not a bad evening’s entertainment at all.  A thrilling exploration through several genres, from pop to punk, rock to funk, and more.  The only song I wasn’t a fan of was that hideous Clapton claptrap, so that’s a pretty decent result.

Lots of highlights, and I’m shouting out SLF, James Brown, Big Country, The Kinks and Jesus Jones as particular favourites.

Hope you enjoyed that list of killer tracks.  More soon!

Singles Night at the Virtual Hot Tub #38

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Singles Night! At Platinum Al’s Virtual Hot Tub! It’s back – and better than ever!

What is it? A night where I play through a pile of as yet, never spun 45rpm vinyl singles. Both sides, whatever the genre, in whatever random order the fates have decided for me. There’s all sorts in that collection of 7 inch records, so it makes for a fine playlist (with a couple of drinkies to aid the process).

Here’s the latest playlist:

  1. Toyah – “Don’t Fall in Love” / “Snow Covers the Kiss”
  2. Doctor and the Medics – “Waterloo” / “Damaged Brains”
  3. The Screaming Blue Messiahs – “I Wanna Be A Flintstone” / “Jerry’s Electric Church”
  4. Blue Oyster Cult – “Astronomy” / “Magna of Illusion”
  5. Motorhead – “Overkill” / “Too Late, Too Late”
  6. Sex Pistols – “C’Mon Everybody” / “The God Save The Queen Symphony”
  7. Pete Mac Junior – “The Water Margin” / Godiego – “The Water Margin”
  8. Peter Sellers & Sophia Loren – “Goodness Gracious Me!” / Peter Sellers – “Grandpa’s Groove”
  9. The Professionals – “Little Boys in Blue” / Gillan – “I’ll Rip Your Spine Out”
  10. Stevie Wonder – “Lately” / “If It’s Magic”
  11. Psychedelic Furs – “Heaven” / “Heartbeat (Remix)”
  12. The Cars – “Drive” / “Stranger Eyes”
  13. Sex Pistols – “God Save The Queen” / “Did You No Wrong”
  14. Run DMC – “It’s Tricky (Remix)” / “Proud To Be Black”
  15. Bow Wow Wow – “Go Wild in the Country” / “El Boss Dicho”
  16. Atomic Rooster – “Tomorrow Night” / “Play the Game”
  17. Black Sabbath – “Hard Road” / “Symptom of the Universe”
  18. Anthrax – “I’m the Man” / “Caught in a Mosh (Live)”
  19. Anti-Nowhere League – “I Hate… People” / “Let’s Break the Law”
  20. Eighth Wonder – “I’m Not Scared” / “J’ai Pas Peur”
  21. Lynsey De Paul – “Ooh I Do” / “Nothing Really Lasts Forever”
  22. Sly Fox – “Let’s Go All the Way” / “Como Tu Te Hama”

A great selection. I can honestly say that I’m not ashamed of any of those singles. Except, maybe, “Goodness Gracious Me” which is somewhat… ah, dated, shall we say? At least the lovely Sophia Loren adds a touch of class. And she’s not the only beautiful lady in the list – I always had a crush on Lynsey De Paul.

Notes:

Two Sex Pistols records included here. including the wonderful “God Save The Queen”, one of the greatest rock’n’roll songs ever recorded. And we all know it got to number one really! There’s also a track from Jones and Cook as The Professionals, here on a Sounds flexi disc with Ian Gillan.

“The Water Margin” was a classic Japanese television series, shown in the 1970s. I vaguely remember it, but watched a later 1980s re-run religiously. The theme tune is brilliant. This single features a version in English on one side, and Japanese on the other.

Some great classic rock in this list, with Blue Oyster Cult, Atomic Rooster and a later Black Sabbath single (on purple vinyl in this case). A legendary couple of Motorhead tracks too, plus Anthrax throwing down some proto rap metal.

More punk from the Anti-Nowhere League: both of those tracks are fantastic.

A really enjoyable evening of music: random but unforgettable. More soon.

Singles Night at the Virtual Hot Tub #37

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You wanted it – you got it! Another Singles Night at the Virtual Hot Tub. This is where I spend an evening playing 7 inch singles that have found their way into my vinyl collection, from any number of different sources. None of the records have been played before, so I spend a few hours playing both sides and working through that pile.

There’s usually plenty of variety in the stack, with songs old and new, from any genre. Anything can happen, so just enjoy the ride.

Grab a drink and let’s check out the latest playlist:

  1. The Beatles – “Now and Then” / “Love Me Do”
  2. The Dickies – “Banana Splits” / “Hideous” / “Got It at the Store”
  3. S.S.S. – “CDC” / “Bath Night” / “Thrash with a Small Moustache” / “Black Night White Light”
  4. 999 – “Little Red Riding Hood” / “Wait For Your Number to be Called” / “I Ain’t Gonna Tell Ya”
  5. Roxy Music – “Jealous Guy” / “To Turn You On”
  6. Ram Jam – “Black Betty” / “I Should Have Known”
  7. Bee Gees – “Tragedy” / “Until”
  8. ABBA – “One Of Us” / “Should I Laugh or Cry”
  9. Sweet – “Love is Like Oxygen” / “Cover Girl”
  10. The Alarm – “Spirit of ’76” / “Where Were You Hiding When the Storm Broke? (Live)”
  11. Nancy Sinatra – “Love Eyes” / “Coastin'”
  12. Kool & The Gang – “Joanna” / “Tonight”
  13. Rick Dees & His Cast of Idiots – “Disco Duck (Pt. 1)” / “Disco Duck ({Pt. 2)”
  14. Matthew Wilder – “Break My Stride” / “Break My Stride (Instrumental)”
  15. Bee Gees – “Night Fever” / “Down the Road”
  16. Dire Straits – “Romeo & Juliet” / “Solid Rock”
  17. Nilsson – “Without You” / “Gotta Get Up”
  18. Sinitta – “Right Back Where We Started From” / “I Just Can’t Help It”
  19. Sabrina – “Boys (Summertime Love)” / “Get Ready (Holiday Rock)”
  20. Oceanic – “Insanity (Legendary Mix)” / “Reality”
  21. Charlie Pride – “The Most Beautiful Girl” / Johnny Cash – “Ring of Fire” / Crystal Gayle – “Miss the Mississippi & You” / Tammy Wynette – “Stand By Your Man” / Bertie Higgins – “Key Largo”

Twenty one records this week, and enough variety to keep anyone on their toes. Disco, punk, pop and rock classics – this was one of my best Singles Nights yet.

Notes:

The Beatles single is their last ever song, released recently and backed with their first ever single. A must for the collection.

That Dickies single is on yellow vinyl, naturally. The 999 record is plain old black vinyl, but I’ve been after that for a very long time. It was one of the songs on the first punk/new wave compilation I heard, it confused me as it didn’t sound “punk” (or what I thought was punk at the time). Great song.

SSS stands for Short Sharp Shock, a hardcore/skate thrash band from Liverpool that I can’t believe I never saw live. The last track is dedicated to Metallica bass legend Cliff Burton.

That final 7″ country record i picked up for 50p in a charity shop. Plain sleeve, so very little information – some fantastic songs though. not least my all time hero, Johnny Cash.

Singles Night at the Virtual Hot Tub #36

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It’s that time again – Singles Night! Yes, the night at my Virtual Hot Tub where we play a variety of 7 inch singles and have a few beverages. A record listening party, if you will, but only involving 45 rpm discs.

There’s a huge stack of unplayed singles lurking round the Hot Tub. Some old, some new, some that have been given to me as a gift. They’ve collected together over time from all manner of different sources, and they need to be played.

So play them I will, A side first then flip ’em over for the B side – playing through the stack for the sheer fun of it.

Pour yourself a drink and join me, who knows what we’ll hear?

Here’s the playlist:

  1. Chafed GBI – “The Regulator”
  2. Jim Jones & The Righteous Mind – “Get Down Get With It” / “Ace of Spades”
  3. Elvis Presley – “Are You Lonesome Tonight? (The Laughing Version)” / “From a Jack to a King”
  4. Bad Company – “Feel Like Makin’ Love” / “Wild Fire Woman”
  5. The Alarm – “Absolute Reality” / “Blaze of Glory”
  6. INXS – “Need You Tonight” / “Move On”
  7. Vapors – “News at Ten” / “Wasted” / “Talk Talk”
  8. Lita Ford – “Kiss Me Deadly” / “Broken Dreams”
  9. Depeche Mode – “Just Can’t Get Enough” / “Any Second Now”
  10. Shakin’ Stevens – “Green Door” / “Don’t Turn Your Back”
  11. Simple Minds – “Ghostdancing” / “Jungleland”
  12. Duran Duran – “The Reflex” / “Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me”
  13. The Motors – “Forget About You” / “Picturama”
  14. Chic – “I Want Your Love” / “(Funny) Bone”
  15. Slade – “Know Who You Are” / “Dapple Rose”
  16. Thin Lizzy – “Killer On The Loose” / “Don’t Play Around”
  17. Roxy Music – “Over You” / “Manifesto”
  18. Madonna – “Material Girl” / “Pretender”
  19. AC/DC – “Heatseeker” / “Go Zone”
  20. David Bowie – “Fashion” / “Scream Like a Baby”
  21. The Alarm – “Rescue Me” / “The Hurricane Sessions (My Land Your Land)”
  22. ABBA – “Gimme, Gimme, Gimme” / “The King Has Lost His Crown”

Twenty two songs this week, and some real beauties in that session. From great classic rock (Bad Company, Thin Lizzy, AC/DC) to 80’s pop (Depeche Mode, Madonna, ABBA) to punk/new wave (Vapors, The Motors) there’s a wide spread of awesome songs.

Some notes:

Chafed GBI is a “supergroup” comprising Scott Ian and Charlie Benante of Anthrax, with Dave Grohl on drums. It’s a single sided, colour vinyl 7 inch of the classic Bad Brains song released for Record Store Day.

The Jim Jones & The Righteous Mind single is on coloured vinyl. While it does contain a cover of the Slade song on the A-side (though that was a cover of an earlier tune), the B-side is not the song made famous by Motorhead! Still great though.

An amazing night of vinyl spinning. More soon!

Pentre Fest 2025

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Pentre Fest 2025

Mclean’s Pub, Pentre, Deeside

Friday 21st & Saturday 22nd February 2025

Here we go with another Pentre Fest, the absolute highlight of my musical calendar! This is the crowning glory of North East Wales Metal Productions‘ festivals – and a huge deal to both the bands and the fans. I couldn’t wait to get to Mclean’s in Deeside and enjoy the music!

This year, another stellar line-up of bands from both near and far, with a good spread of genres. Ever Metal was in full force, with Beth and Mare joining myself for the festivities. With all of us in attendance, we split reporting duties to cover as much as possible as easily as we could.

And so, here are the reviews I composed all by my lonesome, concentrating on musicians that I wanted to contribute to (rather than all of them).

If you want to read the full review, try this here link to Ever Metal.

Friday 

Mother Thunder 

I saw Mother Thunder play in Pentre a few months back, they were superb.  This time around, they were even better.  MT play a hard hitting, groove laden take on classic rock/metal – think Thin Lizzy twin guitars with a bit of Maiden chug – and sublime female vocals.  Heavy rock with irresistible riffs, Mother Thunder lit up the room and could’ve (should’ve) been higher up the bill.  

Apollyon Rising 

Filling in last minute, Apollyon Rising were a man down as their bass player was on holiday in Morocco.  The selfish git.  But with a bit of soundboard wizardry, the remainder of the band confidently gave us a set of prime thrash metal that didn’t shame their reputation one iota.  I knew they could pull it off.  As a wise man once said, never doubt a band with a killer logo (and the talent to match). 

Saturday 

DXRK Winter 

Thankfully, I managed to catch the latter half of DXRK Winter’s set and I glad I did.  They were on first on the main stage in the afternoon, their brutal metal attack was brilliantly performed and went down really well with a crowd that could’ve been chilling, but didn’t.  A worthy act to play higher up the bill. 

Cry for Mercy 

You can’t go wrong with the blues based classic rock swagger of Cry for Mercy.  Great tunes, all built around the majesty of the riff and a persuasive groove.  I loved every second, it’s a shame they were on so early.  Never miss a chance to see Cry For Mercy if you get it.  Their new songs were just as good as old, new album is out soon! 

Victim of Damp 

Frank Williams, aka Victim of Damp, is becoming a popular mainstay of Pentre gigs.  His bipolar set comprises one half of mellow, hangover curing melody followed by a series of playful, Pythonesque parodies.  And he gets more confident every time. 

Bad Earth 

It just wouldn’t be Pentre Fest without these guys!  Bad Earth delivered a reliably ferocious set of raucous biker rock and despite sound hiccups on the first couple of songs, soldiered on admirably.  This was take-no-prisoners rock’n’roll to make Lemmy proud.  Their acoustic set was also a blinder, cooking up some awesome sing-a-long responses from the crowd outside. 

Mike West & the Missing Links 

It’s been a good few years since I saw Mike West play a solo acoustic show at Pentre.  Mike’s brand of dark country and bluegrass is now augmented by a band of drums and fiddle, adding a certain folky, Levellers feel to the tracks.  A brilliant diversion under the surprisingly blue skies of the late afternoon, this set was further proof that a metal festival can experiment with genres. 

The Raging Mables 

Now I was really looking forward to seeing this band.  I’d enjoyed viewing their Pentre Fest pre-event interview with Beany, plus they have one of the best band names ever.  No arguments.  The Raging Mables were like the Ramones playing ZZ Top, a 200mph Zeke-like melodic explosion of punk’n’roll.  One of the most perfect bands ever.  

Toranaga 

Back to some welcome thrash metal, it was indeed a huge bonus to get to witness the power of Toranaga at Pentre.  These guys are exceptional musicians, their shredding guitars creating a sound akin to classic Bay Area Thrash from the likes of Exodus and Testament.  And that is very, very good.  Their cover of ‘Mad House’ by Anthrax warmed my ancient heart, too.    

Stuntface 

Stuntface hail from just up the road in Wrexham, and it was great to see them finally bring their brand of flat-out, relentless hardcore punk to Pentre Fest.  Their songs are furious yet melodic, played super-fast and with a huge grin on bass player/vocalist Wayne’s face.  An absolute treat – Stuntface must play here again! 

What a blast that was! The guys at NEW Metal Productions always put on a heck of a show and this was no exception. Didn’t get tickets for the Black Sabbath gig this summer? Get yourselves out there and support underground metal, you’ll feel better.

My favourite Pentre Fest so far? Only time will tell…

Singles Night at the Virtual Hot Tub #35

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For the first time of 2025, let’s indulge in another Singles Night. A night of spinning records, having a few drinks and enjoying the vibes.

The “singles” in the event title refers to vinyl singles: the 7 inch, 45 rpm discs that were once the pocket money swallowing masters of the weekly music chart. Now I have a massive stack of said singles, and on some nights I dig a load of ’em out, and play ’em. Both sides – A then B – and onto the next.

There are many wonders to be found amongst the hefty pile of 7″ records. And a few oddities. But the randomness and variety always an entertaining night.

Grab a drink and settle in with my latest playlist:

  1. Generation X – “King Rocker” / “Gimme Some Truth”
  2. David Bowie – “Modern Love” / “Modern Love (Live Version)”
  3. Motorhead/Girlschool – “Please Don’t Touch” / “Bomber” / “Emergency”
  4. The Alarm – “Presence of Love (Laugharne)” / “Knife Edge”
  5. Depeche Mode – “See You” / “Now, This Is Fun”
  6. Dana – “All Kinds of Everything” / “Channel Breeze”
  7. The Steve Gibbons Band – “Eddy Vortex” / “Little Suzie”
  8. Shirley Bassey – “So In Love” / “As Long As He Needs Me”
  9. Darts – “Don’t Let It Fade Away” / “Early In The Morning”
  10. Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “Oliver’s Army” / “My Funny Valentine”
  11. David Bowie – “Blue Jean” / “Dancing With The Big Boys”
  12. AC/DC – “Guns For Hire” / “Landslide”
  13. ABC – “The Look of Love” / “The Look of Love (Part 2)”
  14. The Jam – “Start” / “Liza Radley”
  15. Jimmy Cliff – “Reggae Night” / “Love Heights”
  16. The Sweet – “Little Willy” / “Man From Mecca”
  17. Propaganda – “Duel” / “Jewel”
  18. Patrick MacNee & Honor Blackman – “Kinky Boots” / “Let’s Keep It Friendly”
  19. A-Ha – “Hunting High and Low (Remix)” / “The Blue Sky (Demo Version)”
  20. The Creatures – “Miss The Girl” / “Hot Springs in The Snow”
  21. Queen – “Somebody To Love” / “White Man”
  22. Ike & Tina Turner – “Nutbush City Limits” / “Help Him”

Twenty two records this week, and a few strange ones are still creeping in – some are the remains of a bundle of singles I bought at a car boot sale for a fiver. I kept Dana in the collection due to the Eurovision connection, but Shirley is a superstar.

Punk and New Wave genres are nicely represented in this selection, with great songs from Generation X, The Jam and Elvis Costello. A-Ha, Depeche Mode and ABC bring in some pop classics, while good old rock’n’roll is delivered by AC/DC, Motorhead and Girlschool.

Two great 1980s Bowie discs made the playlist and there’s a favourite from Queen (though it’s one of my least favourite songs of theirs). Adding to the 70s vintage is a cheeky number from Sweet, which never fails to raise a smile!

Another successful night spinning vinyl. More to come soon.

Uncle Slam – Album Review

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Uncle Slam – Will Work for Food/When God Dies 

Dissonance/Cherry Red Records 

Release date: 26/07/2024 

Running time: 2 CD compilation 21 tracks 

Review by: Alun Jones 

7.5/10 

Wow, was I asleep or something there?  How did I manage to miss Uncle Slam back in the late 80s/early 90s heyday of crossover?  At that point in time, I was 100% in this bands target demographic: young skateboarder with a love of hardcore punk and thrash metal.  And yet Uncle Slam and I never crossed paths till now.  Thanks to Dissonance/Cherry Red records, we have this double album compilation of the bands second and third albums, and I can fill in some gaps. 

The obvious starting point here is Suicidal Tendencies.  It’s a lazy option to begin here, but the similarities in sound and style between Uncle Slam and ST are so abundant that we can’t ignore them.  Both bands are from the Venice, LA scene, with various members of Suicidal appearing within the ranks of Uncle Slam at one point or another.  Anyone (like me) just arriving to this mosh pit will be astounded how the Slam guys seem to have been largely forgotten. 

The first album, “Will Work For Food”, features a satisfying metal crunch along with the punk energy.  To be fair, the influence of ST, early COC and DRI mingle with the classic thrash of Testament and Nuclear Assault pretty seamlessly.  Fans of any of those bands will dive straight into ‘Left for Dead’ and ‘Roadkill’ right from the off.  The rest of disc 1 follows in a similar frenzy of crunching metal guitars and aggressive pace, and it’s all great fun.  The only oddity is a re-working of Led Zeppelin’s ‘Dazed and Confused’, barely recognisable as it’s been reimagined so drastically – but brilliant for it. 

Disc 2 presents us with Uncle Slam’s third and final album, ”When God Dies”, released in 1995.  By this time, dominant musical genres had fluctuated, and this record shows Uncle Slam developing their sound.  The title track opener thus delivers more chunky metal, but shoe-horns some funky breaks in the style of (Suicidal off-shoot) Infectious Grooves.  It’s a less thrash, more punk and alt rock influenced sound, but although something of a departure, it still works for the most part.  As a result, songs like ‘Procreation’ still rock, but ‘Summer in Space’ is just silly. 

For some, this collection will be too similar to good old Suicidal Tendencies to stand on its own merit.  I would disagree: there are plenty of other influences here, not just the main offenders.  And who cares, anyway?  This isn’t just a sound, it’s a whole vibe – Venice beach, Dogtown, punk rock and skateboarding on a never-ending summer vacation.  Uncle Slam deserve their moment in the spotlight, and I’m not gonna deprive them of it.  Neither should you. 

There’s some Uncle Slam on Spotify for you to check out.

This review is presented by Platinum Al and Ever Metal.

Devil Moon Risen – Album Review

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Devil Moon Risen – Fissures of Men 

Self-released 

Release date: 06/06/2024 

Running time: 36 minutes approx 

Review by: Alun Jones  

7.5/10 

Ready for something a little different?  Something born from the familiar, but tantalisingly different?  Then step right this way, Platinum Al has a musical odyssey that will intrigue you.  We’re talking about the debut album from Devil Moon Risen, a trio out of Phoenix, Arizona, and it’s all kinds of unexpected. 

We’re starting in the realm of desert rock, but Devil Moon Risen have added some spice to their chimichanga with elements of punk, sludge and doom metal.  So, off we go with a thuddingly heavy, groovy chugger in ‘Bad Sketch of a Killer’ that twists into a creepy waltz and back again. 

Like Primus playing QOTSA songs on an album produced by the late great Steve Albini, the songs feature unpredictable, powerful bass and thrashing guitars.  It doesn’t always quite gel, ‘The Rim’ is more of a challenge to get into, but “Fissures of Men” is always surprising and brave.  

When everything falls into place though, the results are superb, as with the full-on rock-out distorted delight that is ‘Shaun Powell’.  Elsewhere, there’s more Frankenstein-like craziness such as ‘D.T.T.B.O.W.T.B.’, which launches like later era Danzig before offering some more laid-back grooves, then morphing to a black metal wail. 

“Fissures of Men” is a journey and then some: Devil Moon Risen have taken the obvious starting point and run off in a totally different direction (or three).  Whether it’s noise rock or some as yet uncharted genre of music, the album is sometimes demanding and always unpredictable.  If – or when – you’re ready, “Fissures of Men” could be just the education you need. 

Check out Devil Moon Risen on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Spotify and Bandcamp.

This review is brought to you by Platinum Al and Ever Metal. You’re welcome.

UK Subs – Gig Review

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UK Subs + The Crapsons

Saturday 16th November 2024

The Rockin’ Chair, Wrexham

UK Subs have been around for a while. Their roots go right back to the early days of British punk rock, incorporating dozens of albums and nearly as many band members. They’ve released an album for every letter of the alphabet, A to Z, and have played all over the world. And guess what? Despite being a fan for years, I’ve never seen them live. Time to correct that mistake, with the Subs appearing just up the road from me in Wrexham.

The Rockin’ Chair used to be known to me as Central Station, and I’ve seen a fair few bands there (such as The Damned, twice, if I recall). This was my first visit to the venue in it’s new guise, though happily not much had changed.

Our fearless support was Birkenhead based The Crapsons, who dealt a reliably fun and furious selection of fast punk rock numbers. Most songs are brief and to the point, played well and enthusiastically, with a healthy dollop of tongue in cheek humour. Highlights included ‘Fuck Off’ and its sequel, ‘Fuck Off Again’, but the whole set was energetic and enjoyable.

Yours truly popped off to the bar, where I spotted legendary UK Subs vocalist/visionary Charlie Harper, who was merrily hanging about chatting to fans. I returned after The Crapsons set, picked up a copy of the newly re-issued “Flood of Lies” album, and asked Charlie to sign it. This he gladly did, as well posing for a selfie. Seems like nothing is too much for this true gentleman of punk, Charlie happily agreed to requests with a pleasant “No worries!” What a lovely bloke.

Unfortunately my selfie was not lovely. I’m a total novice at such things, and made the classic mistake of taking the shot from a low angle. Thus, my rock’n’roll claim to fame features a smiling Charlie, but is ruined by me looking like a huge necked gorilla.

The crowd in The Rockin’ Chair had built considerably, and when the UK Subs took to the stage, there was a roar of approval. Straight away the band sent forth a barrage of songs from their vast back catalogue. Sadly, however, the sound for the frist half dozen songs was diabolical. Alvin Gibbs’ bass was phenomenal, rumbling and gliding along, but Steve Straughan’s guitars were totally lost. Thankfully this seemed to improve from ‘Down on the Farm’ onwards, with the sound coming to life.

No problems with the drums, played expertly by Stefan Häublein. And of course, Charlie was superb: a benign punk rock general leading his faithful troops over the top, on a charge into a rock’n’roll no man’s land where we could all party together. ‘Warhead’ was rousingly brilliant, everyone singing along. ‘Stranglehold’ (the first Subs song I ever heard, fact fans!) was still a blast of fresh air, all these years later.

Returning for an encore, I remember ‘CID’ and ‘You Don’t Belong’ received by an audience who really didn’t want it all to end. UK Subs persevered through sound problems with power and professionalism, giving the loyal fans an unforgettable night. Personally, I was stoked to finally hear these songs live and be part of a UK Subs audience. Fingers crossed I’ll get to do it again. Thanks to all for making this happen, it’s amazing to see classic bands of this stature in the local area.