Black Tusk return with their seventh album (no, I can’t believe it, either), which they’ve entitled “The Way Forward”. It’s their first as a four piece, with Andrew Fidler (guitar/vocals) and drummer James May now augmented by guitarist Chris “Scary” Adams and bassist Derek Lynch.
The past few years have been tough for the band members, but their indestructible determination and formidable will has seen them stride onward regardless. It’s this perseverance that provides the album with its title and its unifying theme. Undeniably, the sludge metal sound is there as expected, but with additional guitar parts and a feeling of relentless tenacity.
Lead track ‘Out of Grasp’ and ‘Brushfire’ are both furious samples of big, dirty riffs played with furious conviction. It’s a fast paced set of aggressive yet entertaining energy – as a listener, I was dragged along with the band and could appreciate their steadfast refusal to let the ills of the world conquer them.
Many of the songs are around the three-minute mark, meaning we rarely get chance for a breather. ‘Breath of Life’ and the title track both have the opportunity to expand a little, though neither relinquishes their sheer intensity. The instrumental ‘Ocean of Obsidian’ is the slowest, trippiest number here, featuring a cavernous, cathedral-like sound.
So welcome back, Black Tusk. With “The Way Forward” they’ve dredged the swamp and pulled up a steaming, ruthless slab of metal that sounds unforgiving but positive. Absolutely bloody great!
Every now and again, some thing lands on my desk that I’m compelled to write about. Something out of the ordinary and different. Unexpected, even. And it doesn’t need to be something from a well known artist, or from a genre I’m familiar with. Sometimes, something arrives completely out of the blue and demands attention.
“Don’t Be Cruel” by Jamie Spilsbury is in that category. Jamie is a man of many interests, though I had no idea that he’d made an album. This album, wrenched from Jamie’s creative impulses and filtered through numerous pop culture references and electronica, can only be a document of his journeys through multiple realities and dimensions…
Some of what you will hear is music, some of it spoken word, dramatisations and skits – but all of it is experimental and different. It’s a journey into the abstract that takes in dozens of reference points. Starting with ‘The Letter M Song’ the listener is taken by surprise with a pleasant little tune that sounds like a long lost Sesame Street excerpt, but backwards. ‘Ballroom Memories’ is a delightful, relaxed big band/swing number that’s like a missing Glenn Miller track.
‘Stayin’ Together’ is a clever tribute to 80’s synth pop movie tunes, it’s Debbie Gibson at the Mall playing arcade games. The best song here is no doubt ‘Voidness’, a quite lovely piece of ambient electronica that’s perfect to chill out to.
Surrounding these musical adventures are the comedic skits, which range from spoof news bulletins to a genuinely creepy spoken word Lovecraft piece. There’s weird science fiction, Pulp Fiction style armed robbery, and Indiana Jones – literally nothing can be predicted here, it’s a startlingly varied mix of influences and ideas.
Jamie spent only a small amount of time putting this album together, in what must have been a fever of activity. And it’s the ingenious assortment of thoughts and concepts that really makes an impact here. I’m not sure I understand everything that’s going on (yet), but the sheer exuberance and commitment to create is very impressive. Strap on your ear goggles and get ready for a crazy adventure. You might be inspired to make your own musical journey…
Follow Jamie on X for more info, and a link to “Don’t Be Cruel”.
Pentre Fest is a big deal to me. And I’ll bet it means a lot to plenty of other people too, who are just as keen to enjoy this festival of underground – but not unloved – metal bands. I look forward to this event every year. I mean, after the Christmas festivities, how else are you gonna survive the misery of January?
Yours truly was the lone representative for Ever Metal at Pentre this year, so all the reviews were my responsibility. I tried to see as many acts as I could, but it wasn’t always possible. And so I can cover as much ground as poss, the summaries will be short and sweet this year. But trust me, I’ll keep you on the straight and narrow.
The festival began on Friday evening, Edd Case and his acoustic set on the new outdoor Keymo stage being my introduction. It’s a proper stage this year, with steps and everything. Edd played a great set of acoustic tracks, including some Maiden, Neil Young (nice Soundgarden segue/tribute) and plenty more. Most impressive.
Heading inside, Omega Throne was on next. Their set was an exciting blend of Death/Black Metal, with some intriguingly dark, gothic elements peppered through the songs. A great set that combined power and fury with a little mystique.
That was followed by the lunatic genius of Mad Spanner. Now a one-man band of crazed thrash metal with a backing track, Mike aka Mad Spanner offers brilliant musicianship, wry humour and furious energy. I’m still recovering from this set, God know how he does it.
Back inside and Bloodmores were up next. This was a great set of pounding, heavy Thrash/Death metal, excellently played and with a surprising amount of foot stomping groove.
Tonight’s original headliners, I Saw The World Burn, were sadly unable to play. We sincerely hope all is well in that camp. At the final hour, however, Cadence Noir were able to fill the headline spot with their gothic tinged folk punk’n’roll. Cadence can always be counted on to get everyone jumping and jigging around, and they did a fine job of finishing Day the First of Pentre Fest.
Saturday’s wake-up call was DAM.G, alias Rob from Thrashatouille’s “grown up band” (not my observation, but one overheard on the day!). A melting pot of progressive metal with Rob’s growl augmented by phenomenal female co-lead vocals, it was certainly a powerful and memorable set.
Outside was a pleasant surprise: the disco funk of Mrs Gizlo. Who’d have expected that? Not me, but it was great fun to hear something different and it certainly got the crowd moving.
In Which It Burns took to the indoor stage next, and gave as a relentless set of thrash metal. It was only mid-afternoon and these Pembrokeshire ragers delivered the goods with super-fast, aggressive tracks. Nice work.
Liverpool’s Ogun were on the main stage next, with some meaty thrash metal of their own. Fast and brutal, I really enjoyed these guys and their total take-no-prisoners approach. Wish I’d bought a t-shirt.
It was freezing outside, so deep apologies from me to the various artists I missed outside, whilst huddled inside with a pint. North Wales Deathcore deviants Dystopian Sun kept the fires burning with some intense yet bouncy metal that roared by like a Sasquatch driving a stolen pick-up truck.
Rule of Six had an early start on Saturday morning. Whilst most of us were still hiding from encroaching hangovers, these lads set off at 4am to get from Northern Ireland to North East Wales for this gig. I’ve never seen so many guitars on stage (four plus a bass!) but all Rule of Six’s instruments were well employed, with their melodic metal proving an uplifting and thrilling experience. Maiden comparisons are a bit obvious, but apt. Great show and nice contrast to much of the bands so far.
From one band who crowded out the main stage, to another band who spent little time on it: Broken Jaw refused to be restrained and preferred to wander around the room! Their blend of punk energy and attitude with metal riffery made sure no-one in the audience was allowed to put their feet up.
Afterward, I dared to make a rare venture outside to witness Skinflick, who I’d heard very good things about. This two-piece outfit gave us some filthy Industrial EDM dripping with sleazy beats – another very cool divergence from the expected.
Beyond Salvation made their way to Pentre from Manchester, and pretty much laid waste to all with a blistering set of thrash metal. The band were both brutal and energetic, with superb playing, that kept the gig going on full steam. There was no chance for the audience to flag here!
I’m actually gutted that I missed SOOTO out on the Keymo Stage. Blame the cold, blame the drink, blame me for being useless: I should’ve been there, sorry. Can we get SOOTO back please? I promise I’ll pay attention this time.
Every year at Pentre Fest, there’s at least one band that I go full-on Fan Boy for. This year’s recipients of the accolade were the amazing Struck/Down, who played huge sounding groove metal riffs that immediately had me hooked like a fish. For me, Struck/Down were the best band of the weekend by a distance. T-shirt purchase? Tick. CD purchase? Tick.
Finally, our last band of a fantastic event were Extreme Metal leviathans Krysthla. The foot was down on the pedal as Krysthla hurtled us through the last set of the weekend with a rapid fire, unrelenting batch of songs.
And that was it, Pentre Fest was over for another year. I’ve been downhearted ever since, missing the camaraderie and fell-good vibes of the event – not to mention the out of this world music. Thanks and huge respect to Fozzy and Beany, North East Wales Metal Productions, McClean’s, and all the bands and crew who made this happen.
Welcome back, folks, to Platinum Al’s Punk Rock Corner, here at Ever Metal HQ. The eagle eyed and elephant brained amongst you will recall that we’ve already reviewed some of these UK Subs albums, although that was in their delicious vinyl form. This time around, our mates at Cherry Red have lovingly curated a 5 CD set of Subs albums, together with a healthy bunch of bonus tracks to make this a tantalising package.
We’ve already discussed, in previous reviews, how UK Subs mastermind Charlie Harper has overseen an alphabetical run of albums with titles from A to Z. This compilation gathers together the final parts of that run, from W to Z (though to be honest, these Subs nutters didn’t even stop at Z, they kept going). Thus, listeners are gifted with an indispensable collection that covers output from the exceptionally strong line up of Harper, Jet Taniguchi, Alvin Gibbs and Jamie Oliver (not that one).
I’d be a pretentious fool if I didn’t tackle these albums in alphabetical/chronological order, so let’s jump in with “Work in Progress”. This is probably my favourite of all the albums in this collection, though accepting the high standard on offer, I have no reason why. It’s a rambunctious bundle of high-speed punk rock: ‘Creation’, ‘All Blurs into One’; coupled with clever ventures into rockabilly (‘Eighteen Wheels’) and more. The wonderful ‘Hell is Other People’ has become something of a personal anthem for me, and it will for you, too! This disc includes seven bonus tracks, comprising some old Subs classics and new bruisers such as the joyously MC5 sounding ‘666 Yeah’.
From W we’re on to X, with “XXIV” – and more fast’n’furious punk rock shenanigans with ‘Implosion 77’, ‘Monkeys’ and ‘Momento Mori’ – just for example. The Subs aren’t afraid to go off tangent with the jangly acoustic guitar with attitude of ‘Coalition Government Blues’ and R&B energy of ‘Wreckin’ Ball’. There’s just one bonus track this time, the riotous and righteous co-operative anthem of ‘Workers Beer Company’, rounding off another solid and varied album.
“Yellow Leader” may or not have been written concerning a certain political party leader, you’ll have to listen and decide for yourself. What I do know is that this album kicks off in supreme style with the frenetic pace of ‘Sick Velveteen’, bouncy thump of ‘Artificial’ and blues punk of ‘Bordeaux Red’. ‘Chemical’ sounds almost metal, ‘Rebellion Song’ is an acoustic punk protest song and ‘Sin City Blues’ throws in some welcome Rockabilly, creating another multi-faceted and accomplished recording.
Eventually, Charlie and the lads completed their mission from A to Z, with the monster that is “Ziezo”. The end may be in sight, but the UK Subs don’t take their foot off the gas – as proven by tracks such as ‘Oligarchy’, ‘Banksy’ and ‘This Machine’ fulfilling the full throttle end of the punk rock promise. The pallet is embellished by the punk-blues of ‘Disclosure’ and jaunty ska of ‘City of the Dead’, delivering a fine album that’s accomplished and enjoyable.
So we’ve reached the end of the alphabet, kids – but that’s not quite the end of our story here. The set also includes “Acoustic XXIV”, an album comprising of acoustic tracks that were originally packaged with a limited edition version of “XXIV”. I had assumed the songs here would merely be acoustic versoins of songs from that parent album, but far from it. There are 13 songs making a surprisingly great change of pace. Comprising of folk punk (‘Sleeping Rough’)’ and protest songs (‘Stop Global War’), it’s an accomplished and satisfying listen in it’s own right. I could image Johnny Cash having a go at ‘Higher Tide’, and I think that’s some compliment indeed.
Who would’ve guessed that the UK Subs would actually fulfil their aim and complete this bonkers endeavour, releasing an album for every letter of the alphabet? Punk rock wasn’t supposed to burn this brightly for so long, but it has. What’s more, the UK Subs haven’t let their standards slip – these final albums in the run are as strong as anything they’ve released in their long career. Genuinely brilliant. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you – UK SUBS.
Welcome to 2024! And welcome back to Platinum Al’s Virtual Hot Tub – your number one blog for all things groove and hip.
As has become tradition, my first post of the year is always a look back at the previous year’s successes. What posts in 2023 were the most popular, in terms of views? What would you, loyal readers, like to see more of?
Here’s a countdown of the Top 10 blog posts. A few surprises this time around, I assure you…
Every October, I launch my Halloween Horror Fest. This involves watching lots of horror movies, and writing brief reviews of them. They rarely generate much traffic, but this years blog featuring Brides of Dracula and House of Usher has scraped into the Top 10.
In April, we said a sad goodbye to our family pet cat, Jenna. This blog was a short memorial piece actually written by my daughter, which quite a few readers appreciated.
Another post contributed by my daughter (I need to get her writing more), this piece declared her hatred of bugs. Some readers agreed, others didn’t – but plenty read it all the same.
I was surprised that this blog post performed so well! Focussing on details of my latest skateboard set-up, it was a bit niche – but the crowds flocked to it regardless.
Another skate related post, I was less surprised that this one did well. A revisit to my first ever skateboard, a plastic 1970s relic, that was brought back from extinction.
Comic Cons and similar events usually feature highly in these annual stats, though I attended few in 2023. This horror themed, Manchester based fest was memorable and provided some horrific photos.
I had to request a recount when I saw these results, just to be sure – but this blog about a small, local vintage car show stole top honours for this year. I was surprised, but happy that something different was so successful.
And there, faithful readers, you have it. A total of 48 posts were published in 2023, with these ten being the most successful. Some surprises indeed, but these are the the cold hard facts – and they can’t be denied!
Thank you to all who have participated in the success of Platinum Al’s Virtual Hot Tub, by reading, sharing and liking the posts. I really appreciate your support.
As we stride on into the New Year, I’d like to wish you all the very best in health and happiness.
And don’t forget to keep visiting the Virtual Hot Tub – you wouldn’t want us to get lonely, would you?!
It’s Christmas time, there’s no need to be afraid… Certainly not when North East Wales Metal Productions are having their Christmas party! Yes, it’s Chrismosh, an annual celebration featuring awesome metal bands, playing live in McClean’spub in Pentre, North East Wales. Also the site of Pentre Fest, an event I regularly go crackers for – not to mention other gigs aplenty – this evening was a special seasonal gathering.
First up were Divinitas, from over in Manchester, who stepped in to fill the bill at the last minute, saving the day like Prince Charming on a steed of steel. These lads are loud and ferocious, unleashing chunky riffs that made the room bounce. The songs (particularly the closer, ‘Mirror Fiction’ – if I recall the name correctly) feature harsh vocals wrapped in torment and frustration. Divinitas played a devastating set that was energetic and performed with admirable conviction.
Next up were Liverpudlian metal titans Devil’s Henchmen, who not only have some of the best t-shirt designs I’ve seen in ages, they can also utterly destroy. These guys play music that reminds me why I loved thrash so much back in the eighties. Reminiscent of old school Slayer, Devil’s Henchmen are fast and utterly brutal. They even play a Misfits cover (‘Where Eagles Dare’, YEAH!!!) in a set that had usjumping around like the Krampus with his hooves on fire. Absolutely bloody marvellous.
Our final band of the night, the mighty, magnificent King Kraken, had travelled up from South Wales (a fair old trek, believe me) to deliver a sleigh full of Christmas cheer. Since they played at Pentre Fest back in February, I’ve waited impatiently for the return of this band and their groove metal machine. The boys don’t disappoint, with monsters like ‘Green Terror’ and ‘Devil’s Night’ as exciting and powerful as ever. We’re even treated to a couple of new tracks, never performed live before – truly, Christmas has arrived early! With a superb set, King Kraken are simply unstoppable, a perfect way to end the night.
Three great bands, a welcoming venue, organised by the ever-reliable NEW Metal Productions. Thank you. Merry Chrismosh to all, and to all, a good night.
Let’s talk about Tankzilla. To start, what a rad name! According to the band’s PR, “Satan fucked a Panzer and the offshoot is Tankzilla”. Which pretty much sums everything up nicely. So nicely, in fact, that the rest of this review is a bit pointless.
Tankzilla are actually a duo consisting of Peter Van Elderen (guitar and vocals) and Marcin Hurkmans (drums), who started jamming together after their previous bands split. Before you get clever and assume that these guys are gonna be just like Royal Blood, they’re not. They have a whole lot more Motorhead in their dirty DNA.
‘Lucifer’, the first track, proves this nicely, with an opening riff reminiscent of ‘Deaf Forever’ by Lemmy’s crew. The song quickly erupts into a bludgeoning juggernaut all of its own, crushing everything in its path and setting the course for the rest of this slab of sonic destruction.
Yes, the power of the mighty riff rules in Tankzilla’s blitzkrieg campaign. ‘Crossroad’ drops more loud bombs adding a funky feel, while tracks such as ‘Wolfpack’ and ‘Soulsurfer’ have a hard rocking edge. The assault slows a little with ‘Brother from Another Mother’, but keeps unleashing maximum firepower. Bonus points for the sample from The Mandalorian too in ‘Mutant Freak’. This is the way!
The final song, ‘Hard Way’, has a Melvins vibe to it – something else which makes me very happy indeed. Whether firing on all cylinders or easing off the gas a little here and there, this debut album is devastatingly excellent. Tankzilla are a relentless, riff loaded monster and nothing can resist their onslaught. Definite Top Ten of the year list for me.
No time now, but remind me to tell you about that time with Motorhead in Europe, when we took the band to visit a military museum on a day off. Philthy was hungover, so Lem let him sleep it off in an old Russian tank. We closed the hatch and scarpered, leaving Phil in there all day. He only just made it to the next gig in Copenhagen by the skin of his teeth.
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