Andrew Danso

The term ‘cut & paste’ never so readily applied to this lot – as if it were a sub-genre they’d been attempting to create, while inadvertently mimicking all of their heroes, riff by riff. Everything has just been cut side by side with no tie, or trail to interlink with the previous section – it’s just stuff played back with a lot of quasi UFO sounding samples layered within the mix. There’s no attempt to bring you to a certain point in each track; you’re simply thrown in to a lot of half baked ideas, which create the deception of chaotic-cum-planned songwriting - on closer inspection it’s a load of crayons in the wrong hands.

Giants On Jupiter must know what they’re up against. They understand the risks, citing past masters Kyuss, Opeth and Tool as influence which they’ve honestly drawn from. However, envisioning these greats as some sort of new found formula, (lifting all of their favourite parts made by their heroes, and then bundling them alongside one another to make up a track), is completely daft.

It’s much like an overly zealous DJ turning up to a corporate event. He’s only got 30 minutes, and has 30 artists which legally have to be played back. Each minute, the tune entirely changes, skipping from genre to genre. From rock to jazz, euro-rave to classical. Embrace The Unknown veins in something similar. This is therapy for poor chaps suffering from antsy strains of hyperactivity.

3/10 PowerPlay issue #133

DeEvolution wants to be more intellectual and zany, than it does heavy and ballsy - but to little surprise it pulls apart on both substances. On the one hand you have gifted musicianship, with the guitars being used more as weapons by means of free hand arpeggio sweeping at every gasp for air, or to bridge a gap before a chorus kicks in. And on the other you have song structure and a vocal to bed in, that if planned and executed correctly, will make theses tracks feel as if they’ve got substantial depth, and not just the shallow fancy bonnet. There are almost two sides to everything in life, and thus the obvious con which follows technical brilliance is the disregard for heart. Cynthesis bold technical exploits serve to highlight that beyond the shredding, and fancy drum rolls, they don’t have much else to say.

The problem with DeEvolution is that Cynthesis haven’t been honest with themselves. They’ve tried to make this into a progressive package, packed full of thoughtful philosophy, and plotted story telling. But in reality the faux philosophical rambling, is simply a way to break up the instrumental brilliance which the band really want to crack on with. The result is a wooden record, packed full of pompous instrumentation, and no soul to go with its brain.

6/10 PowerPlay issue #133

Looking back on an era that was by all means closer to the cusp of perfection than we’re at now, and then wanting to change that takes nothing but Dutch courage. Barn Burner don’t necessarily roll of the tongue as a stoner infused classic rock act, but that’s exactly what they’re trying; imitating that 70s era in rock, with a far greater emphasis on chugging, and edgy riffing, that either starts fights, or just adds to an endless homage of beer drinking for the night.

Yes, it’s accessible, much beyond what the band themselves would like you to think. There’s nothing challenging, or complex as the press release indicates, and furthermore Bangers II: Scum of The Earth doesn’t flaunt a new trend in genre. This is simply stoner rock with a little bit of 70’s sprinkled on top. It’s very much in the usual vein – which is fine. But for a band to blow so much hot air and then play something which is complete generic, beer swaggering stoner rock, makes their world fall flat. This is a tall order for rock lovers, and a must for the drugged infused zombie bangers amongst us.

6/10 PowerPlay issue #133

If the feeling of torment is to be met upfront on Nagual, then certainly, there’s not much it could do wrong. It wreaks havoc on the listener, cycling through space rock, droned guitar, and sludgy metal riffing – not to mention vocal samples throughout, that are not even in sync with the albums sound. The vocal is often used as an instrument, added for atmosphere, instead of simply spearheading the tracks by means of a lyric. Yes, the story is very much in its atmosphere. Nagual does its best to carry you from section to section, but no doubt, the feeling of malnourishment soon kicks in, as there’s nothing to frantically clinch onto.

I The Witch’s vision is in here somewhere, but there is so much editing, so much lunacy in its production, it’s too difficult to decipher the record the band envisioned it to be. However, our ears tell us that this isn’t meant to be enjoyed, but connected with – it no doubt succeeds in the former.

4/10 PowerPlay issue #133

This is the confirmed artwork we're going ahead with on Find. I'm very satisfied with the result, and I feel it resonates really well with all of the material on the project. This was designed by Maarten Kleyne, who has been a massive inspiration to work with, especially this time around. We went on a bit of a creative journey to try and collect all of our ideas, and over the past few months this is the final output.