Andrew Danso

‘What a bunch of head cases’ you might say in response to hearing the EP played back in your kitchen. Not that they’re a little madcap or that the music echelons into the candid territories of white-noise, it’s just that somehow, they’ve put their adlib and improvised riffs into fully structured, metal tracks. It’s convincing. Tied in knots like the metal-cum-jazz fleeting Ephel Duath, Castles pull off their complications with a great amount of aplomb, staying toe-to-toe with some kind of structure; but they're more an unpredictable animal, the more you try and conform their sound to a single buzzword or schmaltzy phrase.

‘The punk end of hardcore metal with a capital P’ is probably the best you’re getting out of this snobby critic. Or, the most therapeutic migraine you’ll get, for under a tenner. Take your pick.

9/10 Powerplay #140

Despite the casual image, Lay Siege are focused on grinding through a brand of metal that’s dissonant and visceral in feeling. “Obolus” is an EP that not only displays talent through well written formula, but the record feels as if it’s exploring the unseen depths of your belly, in fits of horrific angst. Convincing is not just a buzzword attached to this fledgling quartet, it’s the darn truth.

Opening track “Explorer” is energetic in progression, but it’s laced in those dramatic, discordant chords, with the slightest of nods to both Virus and Bloodbath. They stick to their guns throughout, not chopping the material for want of a different theme, or unconfident in the darkness they’re exploring. This is an imaginary, well-crafted diabolical experience, from a young and untested bunch – judging by the rate of superlatives spluttered, their loathing really pleases us.

8/10 Powerplay #140

Tool are often referenced in spite of the hopeful act not sounding anything like them, but only by a means of being alternative prompts the comparison (that's probably to do with not knowing you sound like, or a dose of identity crisis - in ATQOs case, it's probably a bit of both). Always The Quiet Ones single “Freak Show” stands around the commercial arena of Scottish band, Biffy Clyro, and treading lightly on the visceral riffing that Tool or A Perfect Circle tend to chop through – however, this is tame stuff in comparison.

That’s not to say ATQO are any better or worse for it; they clamour through their energetic rock with an American-indie sensibility, that’s a little quirky, thematic and weaved in personality. A Clyro knock-off this isn’t: there are delicate progressions pushing things along different hard rock regions, which help keep the record sharp and unpredictable, even if the tracks follow nauseating, familiar patterns. The tight production also gives them a leg up, for what is a pretty convincing debut.

7/10 Powerplay #140

Are Rizon serious-minded, or quid-quo-pro parody? We think it’s the former. “Masquerade” combines not one toe-curling genre but two, that’s becoming something of a standard trend to follow, when creating euro-metal. Putting Scandinavian metal beside power-rock is going to create something fairly familiar, and Rizon create an indulgent package that’s completely histrionic, and almost paradoxically defunct of emotion. Despite the entire collective giving it all they’ve got – notably the vocal improvises groans and yelps in between the actual lyrics – it’s the lack of balance in their emotional drama which tears the material apart. Put better: How can drama be drama when drama’s happening all the time? Got it? Yep, thought so.

That’s not to say there’s isn’t a niche for “Masquerade” to slot right into, which by its very definitions will find great comfort within that lukewarm, melodic section of a power-rock catalogue. Be warned Manowar, and Turisas fans, here’s a band to rival your fluffy-cheesy fun. Well, maybe not half as much fun.

2/10 Powerplay #140

This is hardcore at its most rootsy, bent on capturing the brutality of the verse and thinly sung chorus. It’s interesting to hear the kind of impact Meshuggah are having on metal in its modernity, as more and more bands turn to an eight stringed assault outside of the Swede’s experimental bubble. But with a twist, Confession often riff on their lowly strung guitars throughout the verse, and pep up the choruses with the strumming of chords, layered with a specific vocal style, which goes a long way to characterise crummy teen dramas – indeed the contrasts here are stark.

It’s almost like Oceano and Sum 41 spawning a lovechild, but only on the special circumstance that the child can go completely bonkers in one second, and then on the flick of a switch, become crummy and fragile; Houston we have a balancing issue. It’s not an original or artsy style that you need to familiarise yourself with – In Flames’ recent material combines the two on the less extreme, Trivium the same. The problem here is the extent of polarisation that’s happening. The nigh Meshuggah down-tuned assault, eclipsing in a Blink 182 chorus isn’t designed to read well, never mind sound good.

Better to forget about quantum time signatures - this is truly the stuff you’ll want to scratch the back of your eyes over.

3/10 Powerplay #140

The most difficult pill to swallow when it comes to FeedForward, is that the band themselves take it all with militant seriousness, blind to the sophomoric nature of the work. It should be a huge amount of nostalgic fun, but instead, it all washes off into whimsical daftness.

Their riffing owes influence to the likes of Marillion and Whitesnake; inevitably when the vocal gets raging they sound like most progressive-cum-eighties conversions of Nightwish. They’re an ambitious collective though, with the tracks often fractured enough to warrant an arrangement slinging in early Nightwish (think “Elvenpath”) – which is much less of a complement than you might think.

Early Nightwish was haggardly under produced, and it puts into focus that aspiring progressive acts really ought to leap onto a producers shoulders to convert their big ideas into something believable; needed to create the dips in energy for the verse extensions not to wearingly drag on, and clever twists to swirl the elements in a track. Three amps, a microphone, and a drum kit, simply isn’t enough anymore.

5/10 Powerplay #140

Blood Ceremony are a kind of doom-stoner prestige, riffing around veins that Sabbath pioneered, occasionally dressing up their progressions with a finger-popping organ, and the odd flute line – this is very much an old school 70s affair. They’d go along with tagging their music 'psychedelic' or 'trip' to add substance to what is a niche genre, very much in hibernation. But it's not true, as Blood Ceremony capture more of an old-time groove in their flow than anything experimental.

The undercooked production and underplayed performance by the Canadian rockers is to be expected in what they’re trying to achieve; even the guitars when riffing throughout their “War Pigs”-esque, “I’m Coming With You” are sloppy in their take, which goes at quite a length to give the band a quality of authenticity through the cans (as well as lead vocalist, Alia O’Brien, sounding somewhat tanked off her feet).

6/10 Powerplay #140