Archive for March, 2021

Album of the Week 12-2021: Smith/Kotzen – Smith/Kotzen


From the first notes I heard from the project of Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith and multi-genre guitar virtuoso Richie Kotzen, I was looking forward to their self-titled debut album. It is always interesting to me that Smith’s side projects generally tend to sound nothing like Iron Maiden and Smith/Kotzen is no exception. Significantly more rock than metal, with notable touches of blues and even some soul, ‘Smith/Kotzen’ is a triumph in the songwriting department first and foremost, despite ample impressive lead guitar work, sounding like the album Whitesnake should have been making for the last decade or so.

On paper, Smith/Kotzen may sound like the a Frontiers-style project with two big-name musicians thrown together in the hope that it will work. There are two important differences, however. First of all, Smith and Kotzen have been friends and in fact neighbors for years, during which time they have frequently played together just for fun. Secondly, no outside big-name writing or production teams have been brought in. ‘Smith/Kotzen’ is the result of both singer/guitarists bonding over their love for bluesy hardrock with memorable, but not too beefy hooks and organic, largely single-coil guitar sounds.

Both Smith and Kotzen deliver some excellent riff and lead guitar work here, but the thing that blew me away most about the tracks that surfaced prior to the album is the vocal interaction. Kotzen is easily the star there, with his raw-edged soulful power taking on most of the climactic moments, but Smith’s lower, heartfelt blues delivery is perfect for many of the album’s verses. In fact, when Smith takes on the main lead vocal on more subdued tracks like the rootsy ‘Glory Road’, Kotzen’s more flamboyant style is not missed for a second. And when they sing together, their voices appear to be made to harmonize with each other.

Interestingly, a similar distribution of work appears in the lead guitar work. While Smith is allowed to stretch out and improvise a little more than in Maiden, his focus seems to be on memorable melodies injected with bluesy bends, whereas Kotzen’s leads are a little wilder, though not without trying to wring all the bluesy soul out of every note. Especially in slower tracks, such as the fantastically dynamic ‘Scars’, the benefits of this interaction really shine through. Neither of the musicians is trying to play the other one off the record. Instead, Smith and Kotzen choose to let the excellent songs speak for themselves.

While ‘Smith/Kotzen’ might offer nothing particularly new in terms of stylistic choices, it is rare to hear experienced musicians sound this fresh and inspired this long into their careers. Honestly, I hope Smith/Kotzen is not a one-off project, because these guys obviously bring out something good in each other. Something generally more subdued than the bands they are mainly known for, but that is a major strength of the album. The current rock music landscape simply needs songs like ‘Scars’ and the powerful closer ”Til Tomorrow’. An amazing debut with hopefully more to come.

Recommended tracks: ‘Scars’, ”Til Tomorrow’, ‘Taking My Chances’

2021
03/28
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Album of the Week 11-2021: Cryptosis – Bionic Swarm


Until not so long ago, Cryptosis was known as Distillator and they made tight, somewhat technical thrash metal that was energetic, but not too unique. ‘Bionic Swarm’ is their first album under their new name Cryptosis and immediately proves why the name change was necessary. While parallels can be drawn to Vektor, Voivod and Havok’s more technical work, the music on ‘Bionic Swarm’ is a unique blend of science-fiction inspired thrash metal, more extreme metal and subtle symphonic and atmospheric touches that don’t detract from the aggression. ‘Bionic Swarm’ is already a contender for the best debut album of the year.

While the tight, busy riffing and whirling lead guitar work on ‘Bionic Swarm’ puts the Dutch trio firmly within the technical thrash metal realm, the plentiful dissonant chords, tremolo picking and bassist Frank de Riet’s characteristic synth arrangements bring to mind some of the more adventurous black metal bands. However, Cryptosis does tend to keep their songs blunt and to the point, no matter how atmospheric they are. Song structures are very interesting as well, with tracks like the slower ‘Prospect Of Immortality’ reminding me of how a band like Suffocation often doesn’t have a clear verse-chorus structure, but still moves the song forward in a completely comprehensible fashion.

Thrash metal albums that take you on a journey are quite uncommon these days, but that is exactly what Cryptosis’ debut album does. The music on ‘Bionic Swarm’ is clearly sci-fi-themed, but not with the usual spacey synth sounds. Instead, Cryptosis takes an almost psychedelic approach here. That may be an odd term to describe such fast music with so much precision in the drum and guitar work, as well as the harsh, almost hardcore-ish bark of singer/guitarist Laurens Houvast, but there is just something otherworldly about the sonic tapestry here.

Additionally, ‘Bionic Swarm’ has a very pleasant flow. Every song is exactly where it should be on the album in order to retain the listeners’ attention. Because of this, ‘Bionic Swarm’ is best listened to in one sitting, but there definitely are some highlights. My favorite moments of the album are mainly characterized by high-quality riffs that find the middle ground between Coroner and the technical melodeath of bands like Revocation. ‘Transcendence’ leans towards the technical death metal side of things, while ‘Conjuring The Egoist’ proves that the trio can still thrash like the best of the genre. ‘Mindscape’ and the aforementioned ‘Prospect Of Immortality’, on the other hand, stand out due to their more proggy approach.

For me as a journalist, it can be frustrating to review albums like ‘Bionic Swarm’. While all above descriptions of the band’s music are somewhat accurate, none of them paints a complete picture of what Cryptosis actually sounds like. This frustration is quickly nullified by how excellent the music on ‘Bionic Swarm’ is. It is truly the first debut album of the year that completely blows me away and the fact that it comes from the Dutch thrash metal scene – which I used to be a part of myself – makes the surprise all the more pleasant. If you like any of the bands mentioned in this review, give Cryptosis a chance. They don’t sound exactly like any of them, but that might just be what makes them so great.

Recommended tracks: ‘Conjuring the Egoist’, ‘Flux Divergence’, ‘Transcendence’

2021
03/21
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Album of the Week 10-2021: Thunder – All The Right Noises


Despite breaking up twice over the course of three decades, Thunder is still around and more miraculously, they continue to release material that is comparable in quality to what is considered their classic material. On ‘All The Right Noises’, guitarist Luke Morley continues to be one of the greatest post-seventies songwriters in British hardrock while the musicianship on the album is nearly impeccable. The pop metal sensibilities Thunder once had have completely vanished, but as long as they keep on making rock ‘n’ roll this energetic with hooks that refuse to leave your memory, that should be no problem.

Some Thunder albums stand out due to their tight songwriting and lean heavily on their strong melodies as a result. ‘The Magnificent Seventh’ and their excellent comeback ‘Wonder Days’ are prime examples of this. ‘All The Right Noises’ is not one of those albums, but it is an album that is lifted to a significantly higher level by its spirited performances and its near-perfect production. Danny Bowes is simply a force of nature. His voice has not deteriorated one iota since the band’s earliest releases and he convinces with his powerful chest voice once again here.

The soul influences that became quite prominent on ‘Rip It Up’ are further expanded upon on ‘All The Right Noises’. The bluesy British rock is still front and center, but you can practically hear the imaginary horn arrangements on the likes of ‘You’re Gonna Be My Girl’, ‘Young Man’ and the powerful opener ‘Last One Out Turn Off The Lights’ without even trying, while the female backing vocals contribute greatly to the soulful exuberance of the choruses. Where ‘Rip It Up’ failed to capture that energy all the way through, however, ‘All The Right Noises’ succeeds. This is enhanced by the rhythms, which appear to be ever so slightly more playful this time around.

Having said that, the highlights on ‘All The Right Noises’ are the songs that are slightly different from the formula. The fantastically titled ‘Don’t Forget To Live Before You Die’ is carried by a really cool groove and has a great tension build-up, climaxing in a pounding riff that brings Whitesnake’s ‘Judgement Day’ to mind. ‘The Smoking Gun’ is one of those folky, yet still kind of rocking songs that Thunder truly excels at, while ‘Destruction’ is made a stand-out by its exciting sense of darkness. It’s a dynamic track in which tense verses and a suprisingly heavy riff enhance each other.

Not unlike ‘Wonder Days’, ‘All The Right Noises’ is another piece of evidence that Thunder is still a relevant band with excellent songs in an era during which many of their peers are solely driven by nostalgia. They don’t quite transcend themselves as much on the songwriting front as on ‘Wonder Days’, but Thunder hardly ever sounds this powerful on studio recordings. Normally, one would have to put on one of their many live releases to capture the full energy that Thunder harbors, but it’s fully present on ‘All The Right Noises’, therefore justifying its title.

Recommended tracks: ‘Don’t Forget To Live before You Die’, ‘Destruction’, ‘The Smoking Gun’

2021
03/14
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Album of the Week 09-2021: Witherfall – Curse Of Autumn


Witherfall drew my attention with their sophomore album ‘A Prelude To Sorrow’, which to this day I consider a masterpiece of dark progressive power metal. At the time, my hope was that the other activities of vocalist Joseph Michael and guitarist Jake Dreyer did not go at the expense of Witherfall and fortunately, it only took them two and a half years to come up with a fine follow-up in the shape of ‘Curse Of Autumn’. It is slightly less dark and oppressive than ‘A Prelude To Sorrow’, which I prefer as a result, but ‘Curse Of Autumn’ is another excellent work that blends traditional and contemporary heavy metal.

The main difference between ‘A Prelude To Sorrow’ and ‘Curse Of Autumn’ is that the latter feels far more chorus-oriented and that is an important part of why ‘Curse Of Autumn’ feels slightly more predictable. Witherfall is perfectly capable of writing an excellent, memorable chorus, but I do feel like choruses are repeated far too often occasionally. ‘As I Lie Awake’ is a particularly prominent offender here. While it is a cool song with excellent melodies, it would have been a lot better if it was a minute shorter by sacrificing a few repeats of its chorus.

Fortunately, the good outweighs the bad by far on ‘Curse Of Autumn’. The uptempo power thrash of opener ‘The Last Scar’ caught me a little off-guard, as its immediacy was not exactly what I was expecting. However, it is a great opener that to me sounds like a more clever Cage. ‘Another Face’ is an excellent power ballad that appears to follow the template for such a song closely initially, but quickly evolves into something more interesting, while the title track and the instrumental ‘The Unyielding Grip Of Each Passing Day’ form an excellent, highly dynamic diptych.

Highlighting the album, however, are its two lengthy tracks. ‘Tempest’ is one of the most interesting metal epics I have heard in recent years structurally, as it goes through apreggiated acoustic chords, pounding riffs and fast palm-muted sixteenth notes without ever losing its melancholic character, which is mainly carried by Michael’s fantastic vocals. Closer ‘…And They All Blew Away’ is another story entirely. So much happens within its fifteen and a half minutes of playing time that it would be difficult to do it justice in written words, but it is admirable how Witherfall keeps the song dynamic and comprehensive even when the musicians’ virtuosity is on full display.

Although I prefer the overall sound of ‘A Prelude To Sorrow’, ‘Curse Of Autumn’ is another piece of evidence that Witherfall is one of the finest bands in the contemporary metal landscape. They have a passionate singer, great compositions and virtuosic musicians who know when to take a back seat to the music. Also, ‘Curse Of Autumn’ has possibly the best drum sound I heard come out of the Morrisound Studios in decades, though I suspect Marco Minnemann may just own a fantastic-sounding kit. Here’s to hoping Witherfall will stick around long enough to treat us to a few more great albums like this.

Recommended tracks: ‘…And They All Blew Away’, ‘Tempest’, ‘The Last Scar’

2021
03/07
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